strange and random happenstance

THIS GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED! My "Surfeit of Spying Spellmans" giveaway ends this Friday, so enter dagnabit! Free lovely books you could win! What's not to love? So enter enter enter! There are 8 prizes to be won, so there's a big chance that could be you! Also, hopefully coming soon I'll have hilarious posts about the Chicks Dig Timelords event I went to on Sunday and the Shannon Hale event yesterday. As a teaser, let me say, one story involves terrifying small children by pretending to be a waxwork, the other involves some cloistered nuns loving Mr. Darcy! See, you have to return or otherwise you will never know!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 10:38 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Chicks Dig Time Lords, Curse of the Spellmans, Free Schmidt, Giveaway, Lisa Lutz, Mr. Darcy, Nuns, Revenge of the Spellmans, Shannon Hale, The Spellman Files, The Spellmans Strike Again

Well, today, despite deadlines and homework and everything else going on there's one thing I would not miss for anything. That's Shannon Hale! She's speaking at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville at seven tonight and I've been so excited. I called the store so early to check on the whole signing line thing that I am literally number 1 & 2! I saw her speak when she was promoting Book of a Thousand Days, and she was dynamic, energetic, funny and engaging, and made sure to spend time with everyone, especially the kids. I've been hoping for a long time that she'd head back my way, and she finally has! Especially in light of the news that she won't be travelling in the nearish future due to a happy event (she's pregnant again, this time with twins!) I wouldn't want to miss this. So the car will be gassed, the oil will be changed, my passenger, little to her knowledge, will be quizzing me on my print production terms for my final next Wednesday and I'll be off to Illinois. But what could make this even better? Well, Kristen from Bookworming in the 21st Century will be there! We've chatted online and are goodreads and facebook buddies, but now I finally get to meet her! I mean, go check out her blog, almost a thousand followers! WOW! Just, wow. Tomorrow should be a great day, and a nice reprieve from homework, despite the terms sheet that will be in my hand.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anderson's Bookshop, Book of a Thousand Days, BookWorming in the 21st Century, Homework, Kristen, Naperville, Shannon Hale

Instructions by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess
Published by: HarperCollins
Publication Date: April 27th, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 20 Pages
To Buy

The official description:
"Trust Dreams.
Trust your heart,
and trust your story.

A renowned storyteller whose words have transported readers to magical realms and an acclaimed illustrator of lushly imagined fairy-tale landscapes guide a traveler safely through lands unknown and yet strangely familiar . . .

. . . and home again."

Things have turned black at the House of Night. Zoey Redbird’s soul has shattered. With everything she’s ever stood for falling apart, and a broken heart making her want to stay in the Otherworld forever, Zoey’s fading fast. It’s seeming more and more doubtful that she will be able pull herself back together in time to rejoin her friends and set the world to rights. As the only living person who can reach her, Stark must find a way to get to her. But how? He will have to die to do so, the Vampyre High Council stipulates. And then Zoey will give up for sure. There are only 7 days left…

Enter BFF Stevie Rae. She wants to help Z but she has massive problems of her own. The rogue Red Fledglings are acting up, and this time not even Stevie Rae can protect them from the consequences. Her kinda boyfriend, Dallas, is sweet but too nosy for his own good. The truth is, Stevie Rae’s hiding a secret that might be the key to getting Zoey home but also threatens to explode her whole world.

In the middle of the whole mess is Aphrodite: ex-Fledgling, trust-fund baby, total hag from Hell (and proud of it). She’s always been blessed (if you could call it that) with visions that can reveal the future, but now it seems Nyx has decided to speak through her with the goddess’s own voice, whether she wants it or not. Aphrodite’s loyalty can swing a lot of different ways, but right now Zoey’s fate hangs in the balance.

Three girls… playing with fire… if they don’t watch out, everyone will get Burned."

Before Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw was a small-town girl who knew she wanted more. She's ready for real life to start, but first she must navigate her senior year of high school. Up until now, Carrie and her friends have been inseparable. Then Sebastian Kydd comes into the picture, and a friend's betrayal makes her question everything.

With an unforgettable cast of characters, The Carrie Diaries is the story of how a regular girl learns to think for herself and evolves into a sharp, insightful writer. Readers will learn about her family background, how she found her writing voice, and the indelible impression her early friendships and relationships left on her. Through adventures both audacious and poignant, we'll see what brings Carrie to her beloved New York City, where her new life begins."

Clever Candace... not only will you get your current followers, by making this a kind of YA diary tell all, you might get some new teen readers. Trying to turn this into a Twilight Mom teen bonding experience, it's so cute, kind of desperate, but I think I'm buying into it.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 3 comments  

Labels: Arthur Rackham, Burned, Camdace Bushnell, Carrie Bradshaw, Charles Vess, Drawing Down the Moon, House of Night, Instructions, Kristen Cast, Neil Gaiman, P.C. Cast, Sex and the City, The Blueberry Girl

Never judge a new doctor by his first episode, always judge them by their second. The first is all kind of new and maybe a little weird, the second is when they come into their own. I gotta say, I'm loving Matt Smith. Not my lustful worshipping of David Tennant, but in a quieter, he's goofy and works as a sort of Tom Baker Doctor kind of way. The second episode of a new companion always has to be a huge moment, the moment not when they meet the Doctor and deal with him on their turf, but the moment when he takes them out into his turf. His turf happens to be the British Isle floating in outer space. There are weird menacing mechanical carny booths, think Zoltar, in the 30s, but with a real hidden wicked streak and total control over the ships populous called Smilers. Theirs a complete distillation of all things British into one wickedly fun market, like Bladrunner with bunting. There does seem to be more of a children slant, could it be that they're actually going to not traumatize children forever? No, this episode would so have traumatized me. I already have an unnatural fear of elevators, if one of those Smilers went all evil and dropped me into the bowels of a ship for not doing my homework, I'm sorry, I would have totally lost it. It's that underlying menace of what the Smilers do and that no one stands up to them or even tries to change it that makes the Doctors arrival so important.

So we have an oppressed British people hurtling through space and a Queen, cause there always has to be a Queen, searching for a truth that she is not meant to find and when she does, it's a doozy. But it's the Queen that makes this episode the best. Sophie Okonedo as Liz 10 was a combination of Lara Croft and V. Flowing cap, guns at the ready, and lots of goblets of water laying about as if she were in the movie Signs. The eventual saving of the day happens, of course not from the Doctor but from Amy, who was very Arthur Dent and saved the world in her pajamas. But the Doctor being wrong, and not just slightly wrong, but majorly wrong, was interesting. This Doctor is willing to make harder decisions... he's willing to let there be a looser, versus all winners come hell or high water. But Amy tempers him. Too bad next week we have the stupid overused Daleks, because I like where Steven Moffat is taking us, new villains not the same old same old... well at least that's what I thought till I saw those freakin' Daleks!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 3 comments  

Labels: Amy Pond, Bladerunner, Daleks, David Tennant, Doctor Who, Lara Croft, Liz 10, Matt Smith, Signs, Smilers, Sophie Olonedo, Steven Moffat, The 11th Doctor, Tom Baker, V, Zoltar

I must apologize, I meant to get my post up for episode three last Saturday after it aired, and then the dreaded homework did interfere. But at least this means, two for the price of one Saturday! It's like a mega sale at K-Mart! A review of two episodes, versus the paltry one you'd normally get, I say that's a win, and not just me covering my ass. Last week's episode saw what appeared to be politically motivated bomb attacks leading up to the Thatcher general election of 1983. Pretty ho hum episode, nothing really big or revolutionary, except this episode exemplifies a tread I'm hating more and more, the PTSD of soldier's pre PTSD. Now, I'm not saying that they didn't have it, far from it, the shell shock is a horror I can never imagine. My problem is the labeling of it as PTSD pre labeling. I guess it's the whole, I know more than you because I know the name smart aleck from the future Alex, versus just dealing with the horror and helping the person afflicted. Ray had some great moments, as did Shazz the week before. I am intrigued by these episodes apparently each having one of the supporting cast being a focal point, as well as the odd fade to black freeze frames that I feel will somehow tie into the overall mythology of the show and the final solution. Plus, what is the significance of the stars and 6-6-20... is that a future date that something happens on or does it relate to the dead man Alex keeps seeing? Nothing really great stood out on the Gene Hunt front, but just for being Gene he gets a 7 out of 10. Now Alex... ah Alex, you did fail this week. Great hair and red earrings, but that strippy/leopardy shirt!?! Knocks you down to a 5, lowest yet for this season!

Ah, look who we have in episode four! Bryan Dick. Now this boy has become synonymous with cult and sci-fi shows that I just happen to love. From Adam on Torchwood, Sykes on Being Human, to even David Tennant's second in command in Blackpool, it's fun to see Bryan! Basic drug syndicate story with a family creating a monopoly and an undercover cop in the middle. Though there was some nice cryptic graffiti for Alex and I'm thinking Gene's license plate might be important, July 75 I believe it said... Alex wore a really ugly turquoise shirt with a hideous necklace, making it a 7 day. But Gene, oh Gene, a perfect 10! You drove, slightly drunk, cause it was near the dinner hour, smashed a desk with a golf club, but best of all said that a crippled man had the right to compliment Alex on her tits cause he was handicapped after all, but nothing can top your speech at the end, you almost had sunshine coming out of your ass. You go my non-pc Gene. You go!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 1:38 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alex Drake, Ashes to Ashes, Being Human, Blackpool, Bryan Dick, David Tennant, Gene Genie, Gene Hunt, K-Mart, PTSD, Thatcher, Torchwood

Stopping Time by Melissa Marr
Published by: Wally Lamb Books
Publication Date: March 16th & 23rd, 2010
Format: Kindle
Rating: ★★
To Buy Part 1
To Buy Part 2

Leslie has been doing better since she left the world of fairies behind. With no more Irial or Niall, she might be alone, but she is safe. They are of course watching over her, forever bound together in a love triangle that none can escape. While Leslie and Irial had their time together, albeit with her in a drunken haze as she was the conduit for Irial to feed his people, she never got her time with Niall. While it's impossible that her and Niall could ever be together, could they perhaps stop time and get just one night?

I really loved where Ink Exchange left off, with Leslie reclaiming her life. This just seemed to be two steps back for her. The fact that they will never really be apart and that their lives are a convoluted mess, a quagmire that she was stepping out and distancing herself from as best she could made great sense. To go back and temporarily revel in that mire seemed part wish fulfillment, part falling back into bad habits. Sometimes you should not go back into stories, sometimes the ending you wrote is right. Also sometimes you get too much information between Niall and Irial and this makes it even more of a love triangle. I liked the vague. I didn't so much like this.

But, if you want to check it out, and if you're a fan of the series who wouldn't, it's wonderfully free for Kindle on Amazon, likewise it's included in the extras of the paperback release of Fragile Eternity.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Fragile Eternity, Ink Exchange, Irial, Kindle, Leslie, Melissa Marr, Niall, Stopping Time, Wicked Lovely

Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr
Published by: HarperCollins
Publication Date: April 24th, 2008
Format: Hardcover, 325 Pages
Challenge: Fantasy
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

Leslie has had a tough go of things lately. Tough might even be too nice of a word. Her mother split, her Dad is mentally gone, if physically there, and her brother Ren is into drugs and consorting with the worst type of lowlifes. Her best friend, Aislinn, has a weird threesome going with Seth and Kennan and has taken to keeping too many secrets. But who's Leslie to judge, she also has her dark secrets, horrors that happened because of what her life has become that she'd rather forget. She has one remaining hope, one thing that will keep her going till she's able to head off to college in the fall, a tattoo. If she can just find the right ink to adorn her body she can reclaim it as her own and move beyond the something that happened. But all is not right at the tattoo parlor... the proprietor, Rabbit, is having bizarre back room dealings with dark faeries for nefarious purposes. Leslie is destined to be a victim once more... the tattoo that calls to her happens to be the mark of the king of the Dark Court of fairies, Irial. Because the secret her best friend Aislinn has been keeping is that fairies exist, and she is the Queen of one of the four courts, the Summer Queen. Aislinn thought she was keeping Leslie safe by holding out on her, by having her guarded unknowingly. But things have a way of becoming complicated, especially when her guard, Niall, is falling for her, and he has a past relationship with Irial, who he forsook for the summer court.

Things start to become more dangerous and more inevitable once Leslie's inking has begun. With a mixture of dark blood, tears and shadows, Leslie becomes slowly entwined with Irial. But a simple ink exchange binding a mortal to a king for the purposes of sustaining his people has the unintended effect of making Irial care for Leslie. Victim she might be, but Irial wants only the best for her, as does Niall. But is it too late? Could Leslie stop the process before it is complete? Her new feeling of empowerment and the control over her own life might all be an illusion, feelings lent from Irial, and not her own. In trying to feel safe and protected she has placed herself unwittingly in the worst type of danger. Aislinn's codling of her friend helped to create another horror in order to assuage her guilt over not being their before. But things will of course get far worse before there is any chance of them getting better.

Looking back on my previous review of Wicked Lovely, I said what this series needed to hook me was a darker edge... well I sure got it! Leslie is a far more compelling character than Aislinn ever was. For all Aislinn's "problems" with fairies, she had a relatively easy life. Leslie has not had this easy life, her encounters with humans are far worse than what Aislinn has had to deal with... she was made queen after all! Whereas Leslie and her dark past attracts the worst kind of fairies who desire to use her as their conduit to human emotions. She is turned into the very thing she abhors most, a junky and a drug source in one. The two things that destroyed her life in the first place she unwittingly evolves into. In an effort to escape, and who wouldn't want that after what she's been through, she destroys herself more. For a time I was very worried that Leslie would have no redeeming quality, that she wouldn't be able to reclaim her life and her body, that her descent into debauchery would continue. I, of course, should have had more faith in the author. A helpless female is all well and good just so long as she isn't that by the close. I enjoyed this darker tale in Marr's world of fairies, a sort of depraved version of Labyrinth, with the Goblin King being played with equal elan by Irial and Niall... at times the boy's seemed more stilted and less engaging than Leslie, but soon all was well and the story kept the pages flying. Final verdict... the next book is near the top of my to be read list, and I'm far more optimistic after reading Ink Exchange than after reading Wicked Lovely... I think this series has the potential for hooking me yet!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Aislinn, Dark Court, Drugs, Ink Exchange, Irial, Kennan, Labyrinth, Leslie, Melissa Marr, Niall, Rape, Reading Challenge, Ren, Summer Queen, The Goblin King Tattoo, Wicked Lovely

Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr
Published by: HarperCollins
Publication Date: April 20th, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Hunger for nourishment. Hunger for touch. Hunger to belong.

Half-human and half-faery, Ani is driven by her hungers. Those same appetites also attract powerful enemies and uncertain allies, including Devlin. He was created as an assassin and is brother to the faeries’ coolly logical High Queen and to her chaotic twin, the embodiment of War. Devlin wants to keep Ani safe from his sisters, knowing that if he fails, he will be the instrument of Ani’s death.

Ani isn’t one to be guarded while others fight battles for her, though. She has the courage to protect herself and the ability to alter Devlin’s plans—and his life. The two are drawn together, each with reason to fear the other and to fear for one another. But as they grow closer, a larger threat imperils the whole of Faerie. Will saving the faery realm mean losing each other?

Alluring romance, heart-stopping danger, and sinister intrigue combine in Melissa Marr’s next volume of Melissa Marr’s New York Times bestselling Wicked Lovely series."

Oh can't wait! While I liked Wicked Lovely, it was the darkness in Ink Exchange that really brought me into this series. This looks like a dark one!

This Body of Death by Elizabeth George
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: April 20th, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 704 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"While DI Thomas Lynley is still on compassionate leave after the murder of his wife, Isabelle Ardery is brought into the Met as his temporary replacement. The discovery of a body in a Stoke Newington cemetery offers Isabelle the chance to make her mark with a high profile murder investigation. Persuading Lynley back to work seems the best way to guarantee a result: Lynley's team is fiercely loyal to him and Isabelle needs them - and especially Barbara Havers - on side. The Met is twitchy: a series of PR disasters has undermined its confidence. Isabelle knows that she'll be operating under the unforgiving scrutiny of the media, so is quick -- perhaps too quick - to pin the murder on a convenient suspect. The murder trail leads Lynley and Havers to the New Forest, and the eventual resolution of the case. Its roots are in a long-ago act of violence that has poisoned subsequent generations and its outcome is both tragic and shocking"

Sure they cancelled one of my most favorite shows when they cancelled Lynley. But that didn't stop Elizabeth George from writing! Yeah! More Lynley and Havers!

The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith
Published by: Pantheon
Publication Date: April 20th, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The delightful new installment in Alexander McCall Smith’s beloved and best-selling series finds Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi traveling to the north of Botswana, to the stunning Okavango Delta, to visit a safari lodge where there have been several unexplained and troubling events–including the demise of one of the guests.

When the two ladies of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency arrive at the Okavango Delta, their eyes are opened, as if for the first time, to the natural beauty of their homeland. With teeming wildlife, endless grasslands, and sparkling rivulets of water running in every direction, it is breathtaking.

But they can’t help being drawn into a world filled with other wildlife: rival safari operators, discontented guides, grumpy hippopotamuses. On top of that, the date has still not been set for Mma Makutsi and Phuti Radiphuti’s wedding, and it’s safe to say that Mma Makutsi is beginning to grow a bit impatient. And to top it all off, the impossible has happened: one of Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni’s apprentices has gotten married. . . . Of course none of this defeats the indomitable Precious Ramotswe. Good sense, kindness, and copious quantities of red bush tea carry the day. As they always do."

You could always do with a little more of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency!

The Bedwetter: Storise of Courage, Redemption, and Pee by Sarah Silverman
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: April 20th, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Dear Reader:

My name is Sarah Silverman. I was once primarily known for saying the word "poop" and getting paid above market rates for it. But those days are over, because I am now going to be known for having written a book. Why did I write a book, you might wonder? Because it just seemed like the right time to be getting into the publishing industry.

I'm kidding. Publishing is rotting like an abandoned possum carcass on the shoulder of I-95. I know that for a fact, because shortly after my book deal was announced, I kept hearing people lament the imminent demise of literature. These days there is only one reason to write a book: to be taken seriously. And that is exactly what is about to happen to me. I'm an author now! Like Ernest Hemingway and Fyodor Dostoevsky!

When I was asked to provide text for an author page, I decided to approach it in a scholarly manner, because that's what authors do. I looked to other author pages for inspiration, and I learned so much. For example, while Hemingway and Dostoevsky do not have their own author pages on Amazon.com, Paris Hilton does. And so does former teenage porn star and multi-tasking fellatrix, Traci Lords. Hemingway and Dostoevsky might be wondering, quite literally, "Whom do I have to blow to get my own author page?" If someone had a cruel sense of humor, they might respond to Hemingway, "How about your head off? Oh wait – you already DID that!" But such a remark would be in bad taste, and as a serious author, I'm above all that.

I also learned that Paris' dog, Tinkerbell Hilton, has her own book too. I read a few pages and found the prose to be overwrought, but you can imagine that, being a dog, she'd be coming from a place of needing to prove something. By the way, here's a quote from a review of Paris' book that I found on her Amazon.com author page:

"Heiress, socialite, model, actress, singer and media darling Hilton loves her life, knows how to get what she wants and matter-of-factly explains how anyone can be a glamorous, fun-loving, tiara-wearing heiress just like her… [Paris’] advice to 'channel your own inner heiress, create your own image, and project an extreme sense of confidence' is an empowering message for young women."

This was profoundly inspiring to me. It made me realize: if young women can read Hilton's book and become heiresses, they can likewise read my book and become anxiety-ridden bedwetters. And amidst this generation of disposability that favors the digital over the physical, shopping online rather than in stores (oops, this is awkward!), and reading from LCD screens rather than from print on paper, it's nice to know that I will have left a permanent stain by which future generations shall know of my existence. So read The Bedwetter, if not for me, then for the children."

Sarah Silverman is either really really on, or really really off. She can be the funniest or the cringe worthiest. We'll have to see what this one is, though I will always love her for "I'm Fucking Matt Damon." (Warning, profanity to follow, which, it being Sarah Silverman, you should have guessed.)

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alexander McCall Smith, Elizabeth George, Lynley, Melissa Marr, Radiant Shadows, Sarah Silverman, The Bedwetter, The Double Comfort Safari Club, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Wicked Lovely