Book Review: Written in Red by Anne Bishop

Written in Red by Anne Bishop

I’ve never read anything by Anne Bishop before but I read an intriguing review of this one and then saw that my library had it readily available so I decided to give it a try. I loved this book and am not going to even try to pretend any different.

Imagine a world very similar to ours, except in this world the inhabitants that were here first didn’t let the humans take over as they settled the colonies and moved west. Instead there is an uneasy truce where the terra indigene (or Others) and humans co-exist, bartering with each other for things they need or want. The Others that live close to, and interact with humans, live in closed communities called courtyards and human laws don’t apply in the courtyards. When the Others in the Lakeside courtyard take in a runaway human as their liaison and make her one of their own, they won’t give up without a fight when someone tries to take her back.

I was immediately immersed in this alternate reality. The book takes its time describing how the courtyard operates and there are many day to day details. There’s a long setup and the action doesn’t start happening until about 50 pages from the end. This did not bother me one bit. I was so totally wrapped up in the workings of the courtyard, I was surprised when I looked at the pages and saw how far I was. Meg is one of those underdog heroines who learns that she’s stronger than she thought and I really liked her. She is a blood prophet, which means when she cuts herself she has visions. I was a little wary of this going into it, but it turned out to be a very small part of the book and not graphic in details. The Others were my favorite part. I loved them all: Simon, Sam, Tess, Henry, Vlad, Winter, Grandfather Erebus, the Ponies… I can’t even name them all. They are not human and don’t even pretend they want to be. They are a mixture of species: wolves, vampires, elementals, and even a woman who reminds me a lot of Medusa. These characters and this world will be in my head for a very long time.

Really, this is the best new urban fantasy I’ve read in a while. My only complaint is that I had to go and read and love the first book in a brand new series and now I’m stuck waiting for the next one.

Conference Weekend

I aways love general conference weekend. The messages are inspirational and I get to spend time with my family. And I can "attend church" in my pajamas or equivalent. Ever since I've lived on my own, I have the same routine for conference weekend. During the Saturday sessions, I clean my house or sort through clutter and just keep busy. During the Sunday sessions, I go to my parents house and watch it there. As the kids have gotten older, the noise level has increased so I can definitely say I listen closer on Saturday. I'm guessing we'll go full circle and eventually the noise level will decrease again as they all get old enough to sit still and at least not talk, even if they aren't listening.

I used to embroider to keep my hands busy during conference. My mind doesn't wander when my hands are busy. I have a dresser scarf that I have been working on for probably 10 years. The only time I ever get it out is during conference and for the past few years I haven't even bothered. It's hard to embroider when you have kids crawling on you. I'd like to finish it one of these days so I can actually get some use out of it. I guess that means I should actually work on it.

Anyway, it was a nice weekend, even if it was too short. Now the weatherman says we're going to have wind storms tonight so I think when I get home from work, I will make sure everything outside is secure and stay inside for the evening. I have a book to read, so it won't be a problem. :)

Romance Novels Saved Me :)

I went through a period in my life where the only thing I would read was romance novels. A co-worker got me started and used to bring in boxes of her old romances for me to borrow. I had never really read a “romance novel” before but I ate these up. Then I moved to Oregon for a year with my now ex-husband and during that year that lead up to our divorce and the year after it, romance novels saved me. They really did. In Oregon, I was miserable and depressed and far away from family. I needed an escape and a chance to catch my breath from dealing with real life. The trip to the library was one of the highlights of my week. I read my way through countless numbers of books. Regency and historical romance were my favorite, but I read just about anything as long as it was in the romance genre. Even after the divorce when I moved back home for a while and was struggling and so unhappy, I just kept reading. I don’t know why but for some reason reading about two people falling in love and overcoming some kind of obstacle and ending with hope for the future (if not happily ever after) was exactly what I needed to believe in, in spite of the fact that my own marriage didn’t last.

I look back on those books with a great amount of fondness and happy memories. I don’t even know half the authors I read, but I do remember Julie Garwood, Lynn Kurland, Nora Roberts, Judith McNaught, Johanna Lindsey, Diana Gabaldon, and Julia Quinn to name a few.  A few years ago I tried to re-read one of my favorites from Judith McNaught and it didn’t hold up well for me, even though I had re-read it many times before.  I tried a couple more times with the same result so I just stopped trying.

I don’t read many books that would be considered straight romance any more. I like them in small doses and have new authors that I prefer. But if you look my preferences and look at the books I consider my favorites, almost every single one of them has a romance or a romantic sub-plot or relationship arc. It holds true even with the books that were favorites growing up. In fact, I really believe that just a small bit of romance makes almost any book better. I’ve learned that I make my own happiness whatever my circumstances, but what is it about happily ever after that we crave so strongly?  I’m definitely not alone in feeling that way.

1 Year Down

I started this blog 1 year ago today, mostly to see if I could use a blog to document what I was doing with my life. This will be my 34^th post and I’m pretty sure I don’t actually like blogging. Mostly because I’m not really a writer and it’s hard for me to get my words down on paper or in print form. I was always better at grammar than creative writing.  Plus, blogging takes some time.  LOL – And I’d rather spend my free time reading.  However, I’ve decided not to give up just yet, mostly because I’m just not ready to quit.

On the home front, I’m in the mood to purge. Could it be because it feels like spring is coming? I already cleaned my freezer and some of my kitchen cupboards and I’m going finish that this week. Then I think I’ll start on my closets and then my garage when it’s a bit warmer. It always feels so nice to get rid of things I don’t need, don’t want, and don’t use.

CERT

I finished my CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training class last night. We had our disaster simulation exercise and it was very interesting, and a lot of fun. We were in a warehouse and had a drama club from a local high school act as the disaster victims. They had been all bloodied up and were moaning and screaming and did a really great job of acting like they were hurt and in shock. I was on the rescue team and had some catching up to do since I missed that class while I was in Texas. I’ve never been in a disaster and it gave me a lot of things to think about.

I took the class because it was something to do outside of my comfort zone and I would like to be able to keep my head about me and help my family and neighbors in a disaster.  I didn’t study the information in the book as well as I could have although I do have it now for a resource. But I came away from the class with a couple things. First, I have an outline of a plan to get myself a little better prepared for an emergency and I want to sit down with my family and make sure we all get better prepared. And second, I won’t be any use to anybody doing medical triage or search and rescue. :) Even the sight of fake blood makes me a little queasy and I don’t deal so well with panic. So I’ll be working on clean up or somewhere else away from the bodies in the event of a disaster. And that’s ok. Better to work with my strengths and leave the other things to people better able to handle it. So all in all, it was a good experience and I learned some valuable things.

Now I’m trying to think of what I might want to do next. I genuinely like learning and trying new things.

There and back

I spent last week in Texas for work.  It was a good trip despite the fact that I woke up Monday morning with a cold. I went from this:

 

To this:







 Of course, by the time I got home, the new snow had pretty much melted away. That’s the nice thing about this time of year. Even when we do get more snow (which we probably will), it doesn’t last long and I know spring is coming.

Small town Texas is definitely not for me but it was a good trip. I crashed when I got home on Friday and took it easy all weekend. Now life is back to the usual routine.

My Funny Valentine(s)

I love how the song says You make me smile with my heart. That's totally what I was doing when I saw these:

I sent all my nieces and nephews some Valentine's candy in the mail along with some free printable Valentine's puzzles and games I got online. Nothing fancy, but who doesn't love getting fun stuff in the mail? It's just my way of celebrating the holiday. And this is what I got in return.  :)

I love being an aunt (or ant). All of my kids are so great and I just love them to pieces.