Quilts and Books

I have quite a weakness for these little books and I wish I could tell you why. They’re like candy—super sweet and if you eat too many you’ll get sick. I find myself reading several of these all at once and then not going near them again for months at a time. They have the most awful titles and their plots are often based on communication failures. The “Big Misunderstanding” is frequently used as is the ever popular/most despised secret baby plot. There’s really a lot to hate here, yet lots of intelligent, rational romance readers go back for more time and again. I’m one of them. They’re so darn cheap on Fictionwise and if they’re awful, I can delete the electrons back into the ether. No trees have been harmed.

If I understand it right, Harlequin Presents are supposed to be strong emotional books involving ruthless, rich, gorgeous heroes who are brought to their knees by the plucky heroine who generally seems to be down on her luck, but is determined to make it on her own. The good one…

I don’t really have time to review as many books here as I’d like, but I think I’d be remiss if I’d let this one go by. Once again I’m in awe of an author’s ability to not just write a novel, but to carefully craft it so that each word is important and if you read it too quickly you might miss an important point. The Scottish Companion is Karen Ranney’s latest book. I have a couple of her recent books on my TBR pile, but decided to read this one out of order as I’m not aware that it’s connected to any of her previous books.

TSC is the story of Gillian and Grant—two people who’ve known tremendous loss. They are thrown together when Gillian, the paid companion of the title, accompanies her employer on a visit to Grant’s estate. Gillian’s employer, Arabella, is a very strange young woman who is obsessed with medicine to the point that she has absolutely no interest in anything that goes on around her unless it has to do with a medical ailment. Grant needs a wife and as he has no interest…

My Phillies won the East--stole it right out of the hands of the Mets. It doesn't get any sweeter than this. I am not going to sleep all week, I know it! And there he is, the NL MVP, J-Roll.

So I bought this circle tool at guild 2 weeks ago and tried it out right away. It was so much fun I made another one. And I have fabric laid out for a 3rd, only this one will be larger--16 circles instead of 9. It sure is a fabric hog, but they are so cool looking. The smaller ones will make nice table toppers. I'll make a new runner for the top of the entertainment center in our family room, too. Someone(s) will be getting one of these for Christmas!

I think Jo Goodman must be the best writer no one ever talks about. I am in awe of the way she uses dialogue to reveal character, advance a plot, and let us see how and why the h/h come together. Her books are lengthy, yet I never feel as if a word is wasted. Indeed, if you don’t read closely you could easily miss a key detail. Her books are to be savored and are best read in lengthy chunks of time when you can relax and engage.

Her latest book, If His Kiss is Wicked, is another excellent read. I’ve had it for a couple of weeks now, but postponed picking it up. Because now that I’ve read it, I can’t look forward to another new Jo Goodman until next year. Just like Jo Beverley. It’s worth the wait for a new book by one of the Jo’s. IHKIW begins with a prologue where the heroine, Emma, is persuaded by her cousin, Marisol to keep an assignation on Marisol’s behalf. Chapter 1 opens several weeks later and when I met Emma again I was totally unprepared for what had happened in the interven…

I get more sewing done during football games. I can choose between quilting the 2006 retreat mystery quilt or piecing the kid's gecko wall hanging. Not that you can tell, but there's Archie Manning on the tube. I'm rooting for the Saints, though.


Hmm, colors on this one don't look quite right. It's not really so washed-out. I wish I were better at using the flash on my camera.
Back to the game!

One of Julia London's historicals has an epilogue that takes place some 50 years after the end of the book when the heroine is on her deathbed. I read on AAR once that lots of readers hate that epilogue--they don't like the idea of ending a book with a death. I think it's a wonderful epilogue and I prefer to think of the book ending with a realization that this couple had a wonderful marriage and happy life together. Anyhow, that book made Julia London one of my favorite authors and I've enjoyed her contemporaries as much as I've liked her historicals. In fact, I think I like the contemporaries even better.

So all this to lead into the fact that I pretty much devoured American Diva over the last 24 hours. AD is the 3rd and final book in her Thrillseekers Annonymous trilogy. Hero Jack Price accepts the job of bodyguard to pop singer Audrey LaRue while she goes on a nationwide tour because she's been receiving death threats. Don't be mislead, this is not a sus…