Teaser Tuesday!

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading.

My teaser this from page 1 of Touch of Dark by Karen Chance. 

"I knew I was in trouble as soon as I saw the obituary.  The fact that it had my name on it was sort of a clue."

Literary Road Trip ~ #1

The Literary Road Trip is hosted at Jen's Bookshelves.  I am sharing Minnesota authors!  I am starting out my leg of the journey with Lois McMaster-Bujold.  You can check out her blog here. 

I chose to start out this road trip with Lois because I have had the pleasure of meeting her a few times.  I have been fortunate enough to be able to not only attend book signings, but also dinners with Lois McMaster-Bujold and a group of her fans. 

Lois McMaster-Bujold was born in Ohio, but now resides in Minnesota.  She writes science fiction and fantasy.  She is one of the most acclaimed writers in her field.  She won the Hugo Award for best novel four times. Her novella "The Mountains of Mourning" won both the Hugo and Nebula Award. The Curse of Chalion won the Mythopoeic Award for Adult Literature and was nominated for the 2002 World Fantasy Award for best novel, and both her fourth Hugo and second Nebula were for Paladin of Souls.

She is best known for her Vorkosigan saga.  Shards of Honor (1986), Barrayar (1991), Ethan of Athos (1986), Falling Free (1988), Dreamweaver's Dilemma (1995), The Warrior's Apprentice (1986), Borders of Infinity (1989), Brothers in Arms (1989), The Vor Game (1990), Barrayar (1991), Vorkosigan's Game (omnibus) (1992), Mirror Dance (1994), Cetaganda (1995), Memory (1996), Young Miles (omnibus) (1997), Komarr (1998), A Civil Campaign (1999), Miles, Mystery and Mayhem (omnibus) (2001), Diplomatic Immunity (2002), Miles Errant (omnibus) (2002), Miles, Mutants and Microbes (omnibus) (2007), Miles in Love (omnibus)(2008), Winterfair Gifts (2008), and CryoBurn (Forthcoming, late 2010).

She broke into the Fantasy realm in 1993 with The Spirit Ring, then wrote The Curse of Chalion (2001),

Paladin of Souls (2003) (sequel to The Curse of Chalion),  The Hallowed Hunt (2005).

I was introduced to Lois and her amazing work when The Sharing Knife Series was pubished.  This series consists of: Beguilement (2006), Legacy (2007), Passage (2008), Horizon (2009). 

You can check out a list of all of her books and awards at Fantastic Fiction.

Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews

Magic Bleeds: Kate Daniels Book 4 by Ilona Andrews -

Amazon Product Description


Kate Daniels cleans up the paranormal problems no one else wants to deal with-especially if they involve Atlanta's shapeshifting community.

And now there's a new player in town-a foe that may be too much for even Kate and Curran, the Lord of the Beasts, to handle. Because this time, Kate will be taking on family.
 
I was hooked on this series from the go.  I have been awaiting this book, and now am awaiting the next one, which I will preorder as soon as I am able.  I started reading this as soon as I finished Changeless by Gail Carriger and put it down only to sleep and work - yes, I read while I ate.  Loved it!  The characters are great, the plot is solid, and the relationships are fantastic.  I truly enjoy the dynamics between the different shifter groups and the humans.  Kate is a fantastic heroine!  The author keeps you engaged all the way to the end.  One thing I like about this series is that the end of the book feels finished - but not over.  It, like the three books before it, is a great read.
 
I have to share my favorite quote from this book - it says so much about the kind of character Kate is.  (It is at a point when the council is meeting to decide Kate's place - so to speak.  I was going to use it as a teaser, but I will be reading a different book on teaser Tuesday).

"Some of you know me. Some of you have seen me fight and some of you are my friends. Have your vote. But know this: if you come to remove me, come in force, because if you try to separate me from him, I will kill every single one of you. My hand won't shake. My aim won't falter. My face will be the last thing you'll see before you die." 

WOW! What a week!

School is out!  The kids are probably more excited than I am, but I can't say I am not glad for it to be summer break!  89 days of sleeping in, reading all day, and staying up too late!  Life is good!  Thanks to all my followers for hanging in there this week when I was too busy to blog!  I will be posting about Minnesota authors, working on my challenges, and participating in Camp Read-a-lot (SELCO) so there should be lots to see coming up soon!  I will be posting some stats from my school reading club too!

Monday!

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. It is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.  Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

This is what I got in my mailbox!

The Flanagan book is for my son - I have only managed to read book 1 is this series.  I enjoyed it so much I told my son he needed to check it out - now he is a huge fan and the newest Ranger's book is preordered as soon as possible! 

After the Darkness came from the Early Reviewers at LibraryThing.  I have always been a Sheldon fan so I am looking forward to reading this one!  It will be on the top of my TBR.

Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews has been long awaited - so this is my very next read!  This one won't even make the TBR, it went from the amazon box to my bag.  I plan to start it this evening!

Claire de Lune showed up in my mailbox and I am thrilled!  This one is on my summer read list (which is entirely toooooo long, but I can't wait to try to get them all read and reviewed).



It's Monday What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey Through Books.

What I am reading:

I just finished reading Changeless by Gail Carriger.  It is the sequel to Soulless and I enjoyed it very much - although I was unhappy about the ending.  I will be impatiently awaiting book three so that I can find out what happens next!

I am also reading The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan - this is a great one, I am almost finished with it, as well as Mind Games by Carolyn Crane.

Next I am reading (as I said above) Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews.  I have been waiting for this one and am very excited!

What's on deck?  Addiction by Sandra Marshall - which unfortunately has been pushed to the NEXT pile a couple times already.

It's Friday! Let's Hop!!!

It's Friday - time to hop!  This meme is hosted by Crazy-for-books.com!

Thanks for stopping by!  Can't wait to see you while you're hoppin' around!