BMBR: Anne Stuart's Never Kiss a Rake, Never Trust a Pirate, and Never Marry a Viscount.

I might be a little mixed up on what you're never to do with this guy or that guy, but I'm sure you can figure it out.

Quick synopsis: three Victorian-era sisters each embark on an adventure to prove that their late father didn't embezzle and that he was murdered.

This trilogy is a lot of fun to read. When it came time to read the third book, I very happily sat on the couch with two sick kids while they watched kids' shows ad nauseum. I didn't even feel that guilty about missing work.

Bottom line: read them. They'll be worth the price of your favorite book medium, whether that's eBook form, real book form, or borrowed.

Enjoy!

BMBR: The Girl in the Box books 1-3 by Robrt J Crane

This "boxed set" was, and I think still is, free on Kindle. It's worth the price. I honestly and foolishly believed that it was a trilogy.

Ha ha ha! Feel free to laugh at me here.

Nope. The end of book three is a cliffhanger (just like books one and two. Actually, the ends of the books are the only times I remember having to read on), and it looks like I will have to shell out $5 a pop at least three times.

I can't say that the writing is good enough to justify the cost for me, but I won't tell you not to go for it.

If you're into books that are a bit like reading an X-Men movie (similar subject matter), then you should definitely try the free first three books on Kindle. I'll let you decide if you want to find out what happens after that.

My bottom line: I never made an effort to find time to read this like I do other books. It wasn't ever bad and it has potential, but it wasn't engaging enough for me to pay to continue on with the series.

Don't Shame Me in to Sharing

This lovely little cartoon was on Facebook.

If the caption above the cartoon had not said "Share if you are against bullying" above the strip, I definitely would have shared.

If the only caption that the cartoon had was "Share if you are against bullying," I might have shared.But since the second caption (the one below the cartoon) said, "I bet 99% won't," I'm not sharing.

Why?

Because I feel bullied (and like I'm being shamed).

This applies to ALL of those lovely cartoons/pictures/eCards that beautifully encourage you to espouse the indicated cause.

By all means, share and post pictures and cards and whatnot for the things that you believe in and hold dear to your hearts.

But please don't make me feel like you're going to think that I'm an asshole if I don't. How about you just share the card without the guilt trip?

I bet you more people would share.

AND, you'd know who shared because they WANTED to -- not because they thought that you'd think less of them for not sharing, and not because they don't have the guts to say, "Fuck off, you bully!"

Monday's Muse 2014-09-29

My Muse has said that my entire book must be scrapped unless each characters' names are super symbolic, which is good because if she'd said that I should use plain names I'd have to scrap my book for sure.

Here's a run-down of who all is in When Winter Comes by Spinny Tupper:

Angelica Snow is the sweet girl stuck in the small town of Littleton, Dom Masters is the Mayor who is attracted to her pale good looks and is determined to teach Angelica all about what she wants.

Sybil Mercury is Dom's manic depressive wife who is jealous, but is she jealous of Angelica, or is she jealous of Dom?

Jack Winter is the new guy in town, and he just might be cold enough to show Angelica what she really needs.

Torn in three directions, Angelica needs to decide who will show her heart if it should stay in or get out of Littleton.

And don't forget about Tom. He's watching Angelica all the time, so he'll know what happens When Winter Comes.

I Have a New Muse!

The Worst Muse‏@WorstMuse

A seasoned warrior wearing plate armor that protects none of her vital organs or major blood vessels.

The Worst Muse‏@WorstMuse

I mean really, how could you possibly go wrong with this advice?


    Janet Brockwood had had enough. She was done. Done with this whole war. She was never going to fight with another enemy again. Mostly because an arrow speared her delicious bosom about three inches above her armoured bustier, and she was bleeding out, but hey, she was sexy as hell.

Nope, not wrong at all!

Feeling Bad About Your Body?

I needed to read this today.

I'm blaming my hormones 99% on this one, but I've been feeling really fat and ugly these past few days. Been believing my own bullshit, as it were.

It's been tough of late because of a broken bone in the bottom of my foot that's been taking forever to heal, but I think that it's finally on the mend, but it's been two and a half years!

So what does 2-1/2 years of minimal exercise get you?

Well, if you take your almost-2yo to Parent and Tot Gymnastics and spend 45 minutes trying to keep your kid with his group, it makes you feel like you ran a marathon (and it makes you cry. In front of all the other parents), that's what.

The good thing that came out of yesterday?

I've realized that I need to relax just a little more in gymnastics. You know, let your kid do what he wants to so that it's fun, but at the same time keep him from interfering with the other classes going on around you, and you have to do that without touching or blocking the kid because that makes him cry and then you cry and you feel like a fucking failure as a parent, but hey, you are aware that you need to just calm the fuck down, Mommy!

The better thing that came out of yesterday?

My foot's not that sore!!

The rest of my body feels like it wants to die, but whatever. I can start (carefully) exercising again. Which is good, because the kids can run faster now, and some of the stores are pretty big around here.

The best thing that came out of yesterday?

Bedtime.

Because that's when my Confident Believer put the Scared Little Bitch to sleep.

Positive Thinking Day

Saturday was Positive Thinking Day.

Seeing that got me thinking about all of the Gratitude Challenge postings that are popping up all over Facebook. Since when is it a Challenge to be grateful? It's called having good manners, people, and it's as simple as saying "please" and "thank-you".

You know how you teach manners to your kids? You model the behaviour, that's how. You can tell them and explain to them what good manners are until you're blue in the face, but they're kids, so they're not listening to you. But they are watching you. Every move you make. Even when you're sleeping.

So, if you're modeling good manners, you're being grateful everyday, and that's pretty darn simple.

As far as positive thinking goes, if you're telling me that my kid is a glass-is-half-empty kind of guy and that we need to change that outlook in him, you might want to take a look at your own Glass Theory outlook on life!

Modeling. It's all about the modeling.