Returning to the Grindstone & Muttering About Tatoos

Since the US Labor Day [end of summer] is over, I guess I should come back from my blogging vacation.

Oh, I didn't take a vacation from reading. Just from doing reviews, which was a good thing. I mostly reread books I wanted to visit again, which was good for you since I already reviewed many of them.

My longest read? Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson series which I've been itching to read straight through for years. Now I'm a big fan of Patricia Briggs so I won't bother you yet again about her craftmanship and imagination. Not only do her main characters evolve consistently through the series, but the secondary ones do too. Even the vampire antagonist, Marsilia.

But I did have some bones to pick.

Cover Art is always important. According to many experts it's key to selling books. But when you have a series, covers can become a problem. Take Mercy Thompson's tats, starting with Moon Called. Nice sleeves and the signature coyote one below her navel. Even has hints of a service station shirt.

Won't plague you with seven or eight covers, but the cover for Silence Fallen corroborates my
grumble. Note the tat above her breasts. Of course she could have gotten a new one. But removing the sleeves that reached her shoulders? Not so likely, I think, especially when Night Broken shows different sleeves and a coyote above her breasts.

So much for being picky. I did enjoy revisiting Tamora Pierce's Tortal world from the Becca Cooper trilogy through the Trickster books. Love the historical development of the society and the struggles to return lady knights to the society. Still, find an implied problem with the technology, though. It's rather static over a couple hundred years.

Wandered through some other authors, but mostly eliminated my to-read pile. Surprising how many books didn't last three chapters. Which is why they were festering on the pile.

Did get some new reading done, mainly R. S. Belcher's new book, The Night Dahlia,  which finally arrive from the family lending library. The kid didn't ask for it back, so I think it's getting stuck to my bookshelves.

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My Writing Rut

Most important for me, I did get Running from Demons published. It can now be found at a number of different stores/venues as an ebook. I'm having problems getting the print on demand version up so it isn't yet available. I know they say it's easy, but you forget I have two black left-thumbs.

Short Blurb:

Pillar Beccon can't remem-ber belonging anywhere, especially not in the Freemage commune where she grew up. After she graduates from high school, she jumps at the chance to learn why her mother ran away from her family far to the East. But danger haunts her journey as a demon seeks to destroy her.

Running from Demons tells the story of Pillar's search to find a place to call her own. The book continues the chronicles of Andor, a land where the mundane world clashes with one of magic and demons. If you love paranormal stories of discovery and mayhem, this is the story for you.