Web of Lies

It is time once again to talk about fiction. This month's blog tour is for Web of Lies, by Brandilyn Collins. I really enjoyed this novel. It came unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago, and once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. This novel combines two heroines from two different novel series, and it works suprisingly well. Here's the blurb from the back cover

After witnessing a shooting at a convenience store, forensic artist Annie Kingston must draw a composite of the suspect. But before she can begin, she hears that Chelsea Adams wants to meet with her--now. Chelsea Adams--the woman who made national headlines with her visions of murder. And this vision is by far the most chilling.

Chelsea and Annie soon find themselves snared in a terrifying battle against time, greed, and a deadly opponent. If they tell the police, will their story be believed? With the web of lies thickening, and lives ultimately at stake, who will know enough to stop the evil?

What I appreciated most about this novel is that the characters rang very true. Often in mystery/suspense novels, the heroes/heroines are superpeople. They have something that's above average that helps them solve the mystery. In this novel, instead of the characters being "super," they are aided and guided by God, sometimes despite their own wishes. I did not feel as though I were reading about a world in which I have no part, but I felt as though I were reading about my friends and neighbors(although I hope nothing like this ever happens in my neighborhood!).

My only complaint, which isn't really a complaint, but I can't think of the right word, was that I guessed who the murderer was very soon after he(or she) was introduced. But instead of being annoyed, I was intrigued as to how the story would work itself out. I was very pleased with all the twists and turns and didn't blame the characters for not figuring it out sooner. I must have been feeling really logical that day.

I will definitely be checking out Brandilyn Collins' other books. If you'd like to read the first chapter it can be found at her website, or to learn more about the author, check out her blog.

No Surprises Here

You May Be a Bit Obsessive Compulsive ...

Meticulous and detailed oriented, you have some irrational obsessions. Maybe it's your super neat closet or washing your hands a gazillion times. You probably know it's weird, but you just can't stop thinking about it. In fact, the more you think about your quirks, the more you have to do them.

What Personality Disorder Are You?

Your Linguistic Profile:

65% General American English

35% Dixie

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

0% Yankee

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

The following is somewhat encouraging

Your English Skills:

Grammar: 100%

Vocabulary: 100%

Punctuation: 80%

Spelling: 80%

Does Your English Cut the Mustard?

Can you tell I'm bored and it is 2 o'clock in the morning.

I bought shoes today

Birkenstocks.

I've always wanted some.

I registered for my baby shower, too

I didn't need much

I guess it's a good thing

to be a hoarder

sometimes

Well, sorry I haven't posted much this week. Every time I've tried it was either thunderstorming or I realized I was in a foul mood and probably shouldn't try to write. Thanks to the wonders of pregnancy I have not been sleeping well, and if I do manage to get to sleep I am awakened by violent thunderstorms. Spring is most definitely here(in shoes of green(sorry splitcat, I couldn't resist)). Anywho, The trees have burst forth in full green splendor. It is quite lovely, and as it has been overcast, the gray of the sky accentuates the green of the trees and grass. I'm not sure when spring took over as my favorite season. Fall is still a very close second, but fall in the suburbs isn't nearly as beautiful as fall in the mountains. If we ever make it out of this exile into the mountains, I may change my mind again. But for now, Spring is the thing. I think I saw the honeysuckle blooming as I looked out the back door today, and we found a firefly in the back yard(during the day) last week.

On another topic entirely, as I sat in the recliner last night trying to get to sleep(it's the only place I can get comfortable enough to sleep) I watched a movie on Nickelodeon. As the movie progressed I was increasingly disturbed by its message. Basically, behaving with any sense of decorum, politeness, or grace in public or for the benefit of your family is a harsh punishment for a free spirit and robs them of all joy and happines to the point where they must leave those etiquettely minded evil doers so they can "be themselves." No wonder kids are so obnoxious these days. Is this then the downfall of civilization as we know it? Is it now okay to do and say the first thing that comes into your head without thought for the people around you? Self-restraint must now be a curse word. I am aware, of course, that this is not a new problem, after all, there is nothing new under the sun, but it does seem to be reaching epic proportions. I've even considered sending my children to etiquette lessons as they get older. Starting a revolution of politeness. Perhaps with the radical motto of "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." Instead of "Love yourself, love no one else."

Am I ranting? Sorry. My frustration level this week is running on a full tank. I can't sleep, I can't even lay down all the way. I can't seem to make any progress on my house, for every mess I clean three or four are in the process of being made(I include myself, I am notoriously bad at picking up after myself, which is frustrating). Just breathing makes me tired. My cat yells for food, I feed her, and she promptly throws it up. It's not like I only feed her once a week so she has to gobble it all at one sitting. Maybe she's bulemic. She could stand to lose a few pounds. I can't wear shoes that tie or buckle, it's too hard to reach. And I hate wearing shoes that don't tie or buckle. I actually wore sparkly flip flops the other night. I am thoroughly ashamed of myself. But at least I could jam my feet into them. At this rate I'm going to end up a size 12. (for my unenlightened, or male, readership, pregnancy releases a hormone called relaxin which relaxes all your joints, and can cause your feet to grow and spread(like I really needed bigger feet)). And if you really ever need to be frustrated, play Lego Star Wars(the video game) with a five year old (I did learn my lesson on that one, then splitcat and I tried to play with 2 players, it was almost as bad, the game won't let you get very far apart from each other, and we have very different styles of game play). But it is a very cool game with only a few minor annoying bits. It's great to explode into little pieces of Lego when you die. Okay, I think I'm through complaining now. Thanks for listening. :)

We finally had a few minutes to talk about names for the babies. This is going to be tougher than I thought. My favorites from last night are Sebastien and Benedict. Splitcat didn't like any of my previously chosen names, except Daniel, which is ok. I tend toward the more fanciful, while he sticks to the good basics, like William, David, Stephen, and Richard. Although he did come up with Roland(as in the "Song of") and Benedict. We both like names from the Arthurian legends, but somehow, I don't think a kid named Gawaine would do well socially. Maybe we should each get to name one whatever we want and then surprise each other when they are born.

ITS......

ANOTHER BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's official now, we've got two boys on the way. I will admit to a few mixed feelings. I was really hoping for another girl, but growing up I always wanted twin boys, so I got exactly what I'd always dreamed of. Kinda makes you wonder who planted that idea in my head in the first place :)

It's been an exciting few days, but I haven't had time to post. Our Easter Sunday was very quiet and relaxed. We went to my sister-in-laws house. splitcat found the most money in the easter egg hunt. I think he came up with $12. P. found about $5 in quarters. I mostly got candy. I was still really tired from the day before, so I didn't hunt with my usual fervor.

Last night I had to help splitcat with his National Honor Society Induction Ceremony. He was in charge this year. It's really frustrating sometimes to tire so quickly.

But now I have to go get my children form their grandparents. P. has pretend Kindergarten Day at school today. He gets to ride a real school bus and practice going through a lunch line.

Let the Celebrating Begin

Our Easter celebrations began today at my parent's. The Easter Egg hunt was successful. At dinner, my father said a blessing, then P. wanted a turn. He began his standard blessing, then stopped and said, "I have a special prayer for Easter." He thought for a second, "Easter Bunny, please help us find all the eggs. Amen." Later, we had communion and my mother talked to all the kids about what Easter means.

The food was as good as I hoped. Along with the chicken we had twice baked potatoes, squash casserole, a corn casserole, deviled eggs, baked beans, and stuffed celery. And as a correction to yesterday's post, it was my grandfather and his friend that procured the "stuff" recipe many years ago.

So a good time was had by all. Now we just have tomorrow's festivities.

Feeling Better

I'm finally feeling better. I'm still having some allergies and general pregnancy complaints, but nothing as bad as earlier this week. Yesterday was good because I got an autographed book in the mail. I'd been expecting the book, but not the autograph. I thought it was kind of fun. The only other book I have autographed is from Janet Fitch(White Oleander). She came to my college and I was invited to the dinner given in her honor as a representative of the English majors(one of the perks of also being the english department secretary). I was seated next to her at dinner and we were able to have some brief conversations between the President of the school's name dropping. I was so embarrassed for our school. She was a nice lady. So anyway, I'll be blogging about the book I received yesterday towards the end of the month as I've rejoined the christian fiction blogging alliance.

I'm looking forward to Easter. We are going to my parent's tomorrow, and splitcat's parents on Sunday. My mom is making chicken and stuff. Stuff is a white bbq sauce that comes from Big Bob Gibson's in Decatur, Alabama. I believe my great-grandmother obtained the recipe from Bob himself, and it has long been a family favorite. We ate at Big Bob Gibson's the last time I was in Alabama a few years ago. I like my mom's sauce better, and my uncle's is superb. mmm, I can't wait.

This Easter is a little hard for me. P. keeps asking me questions about the Easter Bunny. Where does he live, what color is he, how big is he, etc. I have talked to him about the real Easter story countless and innummerable times, but it stills seems out of his mental grasp. Last year he was so adamant that Jesus died on the Cross and that was the end of the story, I asked his teachers if they had taught the whole Easter story. Of course they had. But at the time he had little concept of death, so the idea of resurrection was even tougher. I guess I will just have to keep plugging away.

Speaking of P. splitcat turned on Star Wars Episode One earlier tonight for P. to watch. The next two hours he was in a totally euphoric Star Wars state. He likes Darth Maul's "olded" light sabers. And during the slow parts of the movie he replays the battles scenes with his own light sabers. He came upstairs and started to get ready for bed when it was over, and he seemed disappointed that it wasn't time for bed yet. But instead of going back downstairs to play, he went in his room and played Star Wars until I told him it was time for bed. I have to say, that going to bed at night is one of my few parental triumphs. There is rarely a deviation from the norm, partly because P. doesn't deal well with change, and partly because it's the one thing I have always been adamant about. E. resists on occasion, but if she's feeling well and didn't have a nap I don't usually have a problem with her. Last year we had them in bed at 6:30 every night, and they slept until 6 :30 or 7 the next morning. This year we've held steady at 7:30. At least they start at 7:30 and are usually in bed by 7:45. I hope we can keep it up next year. I'm tired just thinking about how tired I am going to be.

Wednesday Woes

The good news is I managed to sleep last night. The not so good news is that I felt worse today. At about 3:00, after sleeping most of the afternoon, it suddenly dawned on me that I might have a fever. And I did. Splitcat informs me that if I have whatever was bothering him last week, I have another 4 days or so. But if I still have a fever tomorrow, I'll call my midwife. Apparently sudafed works differently on my pregnant body. Instead of being totally wired, I couldn't keep my eyes open. But when I'd wake up, my heart would be racing. It was very weird. What was weirdest is when I woke up from my afternoon nap and was watching television through a feverish haze, I saw a commercial for a beach destination. And I remember thinking, that's weird. All the people they are showing are in same sex groups. And I laughingly thought, it must be a gay and lesbian commercial. Imagine my surprise when it was exactly that. It was a weird thing to see upon awaking.

I added a new link to a blog called Film Chat. I found it whilst next blogging. I like it because he does intelligent reviews from a christian perspective.

I was disturbed to find out that they are making The Golden Compass, by Phillip Pullman into a movie. When I first read this book, I loved it. It was original and a compelling read. But after reading the final books, I was left with more than a vague sense of disquiet. I learned shortly thereafter that he is an ardent self-described atheist. And the series "His Dark Materials" is very obviously anti-religion and anti-God. Plus it has an unhappy ending for the two main characters. I've tried to stay off any Potter bandwagons, either pro or con, but this is one I will have to stand firm on. These are some of the only books I have actually thrown away instead of giving away. And though I try to keep an open mind in general about fiction, since it is fiction, the agenda in this series is just to plain for me to ignore. It is also a little sad to me that people have become so fixated on the whole Potter debate, they've missed the loads of other young adult fiction that could cause so much more trouble. I guess that is what keeps me committed to my own writing. There is so little Christian fiction for teens. If you go to your local (non-Christian)bookstore and peruse the YA section, at least half or more of the books are fantasy. At my local Christian bookstore the YA section barely takes up two small shelves. This is obviously a place where Christian writers are needed. For both the Christian and secular market. I think perhaps teens are undermarketed in Christian fiction because, in theory, there shouldn't be anything too objectionable in the adult fiction sections. But I think it is important for teens to read fiction that concerns their own age group and its problems and not have to be satisfied reading "safe" historical romances about 29 yr old widows with 8 children in 1890 Montana. (ok, so that was a really bad generalization, and there are some really good new adult fiction books coming from the CBA or whatever they're called now. But a 16 yr old should be able to read books about 16 yr olds. (it's late, so I hope this makes sense(if it doesn't, blame the sudafed))).

quick update

My dr. visit was fine. Heard both heartbeats. Baby Boy was in the 150's, baby A was in the 130's. I have an ultrasound next tuesday. I just took some sudafed. can't stand the misery any more. so i'll probably be awake all night. woohoo.

Good Morning

I just wanted to say good morning to my faithful readers. I am not feeling so well today. I think my allergies have started to turn into a sinus infection or a cold. I haven't been taking anything because cold and allergy medications make me really loopy and I do things I wouldn't normally do(not bad things, they just give me this weird boost of self-confidence). I have a dr.'s appt this afternoon so I will post any results later tonight. P. goes back to school today. He's been really good lately, so I will definitely be missing his presence. He had his kindergarten placement screening yesterday. She said he did very well and was very attentive. She suggested he might need speech. I just laughed and told her that was fine, he was already eligible. But I am hoping by the time school starts he'll have worked out his last few mixed up sounds. I started teaching him how to read his color words yesterday. He already knew several on his own. I think we will start learning to read this summer. I've been afraid to teach him, I don't want him to be bored in class. But they do Kindergarten so differently now, I think he'd be okay. It's a little frightening how quickly he picks thing up.

ewwwwww

I love my cat. But she just threw up in one of the two pairs of shoes that currently fit me. I can't help but wonder if it was deliberate.

Storms and Such

I ran into the damage caused by Friday's tornadoes on my way to church today. I was almost there when I ran into a road closed sign. After going the long way around and crossing a barrier that was open to local traffic only, I made it to church. Just past the church driveway the road was stacked with fallen trees. When I walked into the building it was dark and quiet. The power was still out. So we had church without electricity. It was a good service. Pastor taught on the Mercy Seat and we had before us a replica of the Ark of the Covenant. A man from Mobile Ala. has built models of the entire tabernacle and travels to different places sharing them. My grandmother was fortunate to attend a full scale replication done at the Brownsville Revival in Pensacola a few years back. I've seen some of the videos and it was really incredible.

Anyway

After seeing the storm damage I was glad we had taken everyone to the basement. Tornadoes are one of the three things I have nightmares about(the other two are snakes and large waves).
I remember with great detail all the tornadoes I have been near. When I lived in Florida we had hurricanes, Frederick being the defining storm of my childhood. When we moved to New Jersey we still got a hurricane(can't remember what that one was), and when we moved to Georgia we became acquainted with tornadoes. The year we moved here I had to sit out a storm at my middle school. Our bus was late, and when it finally arrived and we went outside, the sky was green. I had never seen a green sky before. It was pretty scary, as all of nature had also hushed. We were hustled back into the interior of the building and a few minutes later we could see massive hail failing and we could hear the wind roaring. Fortunately there was no damage to prevent our passage homeward, but there was quite a bit of damage elsewhere. It was not until my college years that we had several years of intense tornado seasons. One did major destruction one town over from my school. Pieces from a building were found in a lake 60 miles away. My mother was in the area at a retreat and her Miata had some serious hail dents in it. I remember having to take shelter in my dorm on several occasions. One tornado I was blissfully unaware of until after the event. I was off campus at dinner and was surprised to learn upon my return that a tornado had touched down not too far off. I just thought it was a stormy night. I remember that one because it was such a beautifully stormy night. I love to watch thunderstorms from a porch and feel the wind before a storm(I have been known to frolic in the approach of a storm). So it was really cool to take a walk in the aftermath. The sky was black and the wind was still gusting and the rain was blowing down from the trees. It was invigorating.

It is so easy to take nature for granted-to be oblivious to it. A storm demands our attention and requires us to be aware of ourselves and of God. I've never completely understood my own feelings at being in a storm. It is both a (for lack of a better word)primal feeling and a feeling of worship. When I see an afternoon thunderstorm approaching I make an excuse to walk outside to feel the cool wind and smell the scent of rain. I linger as long as I can. Overwhelming my senses and forgetting the mundane and rejoicing in the beauty of creation and in the Creator. It is one of the times when I feel most truly alive and most myself.

A day in the park

We decided to go on an adventure today. We loaded up some snacks, the kids, and a couple of fishing poles. As we pulled out of our neighborhood we made the decision to hunt down a nearby lake we had never heard of. It is a city park and you must drive through a section of semi-historic houses to reach it. It was a beautiful drive down a lane of brick bungalows with dogwoods and azaleas all abloom. The lake was much larger than anticipated and had nice walkways and a playground. The children and I played while splitcat hunted for a place to fish. When at last he returned it was with the disappointing news that the fish were not biting. So we had a snack and the children played again on the playground. It is a strange thing to let your children wander off and to watch them interact with other children. It not only conjures memories of one's own childhood, it is also a reminder that your own children are growing up.

We stopped for lunch at Miss Donald's(which is how McDonald's is pronounced around here) where the children played some more. When it was getting close to time to leave, we heard the unmistakeable wailing of our son. splitcat managed to locate him and bring him to our table. The front of his shirt was all stretched out and the back of his neck was red. A little girl had grabbed his shirt and pulled very hard on it for a long time. We were proud that he didn't retaliate. One nice mother came and asked if it was a girl or boy, she sighed with relief when told it was a girl, she had two boys. But I thought it kind of her to make sure it was not one of her own children. That doesn't happen alot. Most of the time the mothers are paying no attention to their children. I shuddered to see a mother send her tiny child, who was maybe two, alone into the play area while she stood in line. If the restaurant had been empty, I could see doing that with an older child. But it was packed. I just don't understand modern parenting. Maybe I am too protective. I try to keep watch from a respectful distance, but not from so far away that I cannot quickly soothe a scraped knee or a bruised ego. But I was proud of my children for how they handled themselves on both playgrounds. It gives me hope that I am not such a bad mother after all.

If you didn't notice, I just created a Flickr account. I don't have a lot of photos yet, but hopefully more will follow. And yes, that is me hiding behind the crabapple blossoms. Please excuse my allergy eyes, I promise splitcat hasn't been beating me. I will try to get a better picture, sans black circles.

A Week of Saturdays

Spring Break is so confusing. Like it really takes a lot to confuse me these days.

Yesterday I took P. out for a haircut. He looks very cute and has very short hair. Hopefully it will last awhile. We all have hair that grows really fast.

Today I took E. to the mall to spend her Build-a-Bear gift card from her Aunt. She picked out the Boxer. We did lunch and wandered for a bit. Then we went to the Home Depot and picked up some paint samples. I've decided I want to paint my room blue.

Splitcat is finally feeling a little better. It has been a rough week for allergy sufferers. The pollen count was over 5000 the other day. I've had occasional fits of sneezing, but mostly from the dust I've stirred up on my bookshelves.

Here are the books I am getting rid of so far. I've got lots more, but these are all I've had time to type up. the H denotes a hardback, the rest are paperbacks. They are in varying conditions, but are all good readable copies.

Mystery
Beaton, M.C.: Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage
Brown, Rita Mae and Sneaky Pie:
Murder, She Meowed
Wish You Were Here
Crane, Hamilton: Miss Seeton Rocks the Cradle
James, P.D.: Devices and Desires
Myers, Tamar: Splendor in the Glass
Paretsky, Sara: Burn Marks
Whitney, Phyllis: Woman Without a Past-H

Christian Fiction
Burkett, Larry: The Illuminati
Rivers, Francine: The Last Sin Eater

Fantasy
Greeno, Gayle
?:The Ghatti's Tale Book 1(I know I have it, just have to figure out where)
Mind Speaker’s Call: The Ghatti’s Tale Book 2
Exile’s Return: The Ghatti’s Tale Book 3
Sunderlies Seeking: Ghatten’s Gambit #1
The Farthest Seeking:Ghatten’s Gambit #2
Lee, Tanith
The Wars of Vis-H
The Secret Books of Paradys I & II-H
The Secret Books of Paradys III & IV-H
The Secret Books of Venus I & II
Saberhagen, Fred
The Lost Swords: The First Triad-H
The Lost Swords: The Second Triad-H
The Lost Swords: Endgame-H

Sci-Fi
Aldiss, Brian W.: Non-Stop-H
Burroughs, Edgar Rice
A Princess of Mars
The Master Mind of Mars and A Fighting Man of Mars-H
Robinson, Kim Stanley
The Martians
Red Mars
Green Mars
Blue Mars
Rosenburg, Joel: D’Shai

Should you be interested in obtaining any of these titles, please email me(there should be a link on my profile page). Some of the hardbacks are really heavy, so if you are interested in those, I may not be able to ship them without monetary assistance. But if you want more info(or pictures) on any of them, just email or IM me.

I'll list the rest as soon as I make a list.

Spring Cleaning

The Children are away for tonight and tomorrow. We are cleaning out closets. I am very impressed with the progress we have made. We have 4 bags of garbage, several piles and bags for a garage sale, and a couple of bags for the thrift store. And that's just from the downstairs living room and the closet under the stairs. There were some boxes under there that I have not opened in several years. Going through them without all the insane attachments to stupid things yielded 2 trash bags from 2 boxes. Now only one box is full, and I can probably get rid of some more, but my eyes are tired. One box had all my college notebooks, and since I had the habit of scribbling poetry, stories, and letters in my notebooks, I have to go through every page. I have a lot of letters I never sent, so those are like the diary of my life. I am very tired, but it is the good tired of knowing you have accomplished something significant.

But it is emotionally draining to go through my stuff. Splitcat and I were fairly prolific writers during our dating years, so I have to stop and read letters every once in a while. I found in one notebook where 4boymom and I were writing notes at a particularly horrific youth retreat. My brother-in-law was trying to get her and splitcat together. I think she was the first person I told that I "had feelings" for him. They did eventually go on a couple of "outings" with my sister and brother-in-law. Fortunately for 4boydad and I, it didn't work out. (Here is some fun trivia. Splitcat and 4boydad have been friends since their early teens and were roommates in college. I have known 4boymom since I was 13 and her sister(we'll call her 3girlmom) was my college roommate.) Anyway, it was strange reading about what I thought was hopeless love. I was 17, he was 23. And we were "just friends." Now we have been married ten years and have oodles of children(or rather will have). And I have about 20(ok, I counted there are 15) plastic boxes piled around my living room(the miracle is that 5 of them are empty). Most of them filled with baby and toddler clothes. At least the twins will have clothes. The scary thing is how much baby stuff I have given away and how much remains.

Well, it's 1:39 am and my eyes are itching and tired, so I'd best be off to bed. I've a lot to do tomorrow before the children return. We have to hide all the toys we are selling or giving away.