Anthologies, Anthologies



First, we have to celebrate! Phils win! Phils win!

My preoccupation with the World Series coupled with a quilt deadline has resulted in fewer lengthy chunks of time for reading. So mixed in with the full-length books I finished this month are a couple of anthologies. And I just got started on a third. I love 100-page novellas. I can usually knock one off in an hour and get back to whatever other stuff is waiting for me. It's often chancy with novellas. Some authors are very, very good with them. Some.... eh, not so good.




I pretty much lucked out with these two. The first one, It Happened One Night, is a Regency collection that was an interesting experiment inspired by an idea of Mary Balogh's. What if 4 authors agreed to write stories based on the same basic plot? How similar or different would the stories be. Mary was convinced the stories would be quite different, and she was right. In this case the plot is 2 lovers reunite after a chance encounter at an inn. The 2 haven't seen each other in 10 years. It was fun to see how differently each author did this. Unfortunately, I wasn't crazy about all 4 stories. But I loved the one by Mary Balogh. Truly, she excels at the short format and she can still pack an emotional punch. It was worth adding this to my Mary Balogh collection just for this story. I also really liked the one by Jacquie D'Alessandro. Stephanie Laurens' story was typical in that it involved a bit of intrigue and a hero who insisted on calling the shots. I usually like Stephanie Laurens, but I'm not so sure the short story is a format suited for her. The final story by Candice Hern was sweet, but I couldn't get engaged by it. I'm shallow--I just don't like stories featuring older couples. Oh well. I wish they'd asked Carla Kelly to be part of the anthology. She's another author who excels at the short format.

The second anthology To All a Good Night was a fun read all the way through. My favorite was the one by Jill Shalvis, but I honestly enjoyed them all. These authors are great with witty dialogue and I love watching their characters spar and get to know one another.


Finally there's this one here that I'm just getting ready to start. I'm reading it more for the J.D. Robb story--a tune up for the next full length book due on Tuesday, Salvation in Death.








So, I mentioned a quilt deadline. A very good friend wanted a Halloween quilt for her mother who was born on Halloween. I found this kit and finished it up Monday, just in time to get it in the mail. I heard from my friend that it arrived safely today. Yea! I hope they like it. Anyhow, the color in the picture is a little washed out. But if click on it you can see the colored thread I used on the black fabric. It was a varigated thread in fall colors. It was a dream to sew with and I'm pleased with the results.


And here's a shot of the back. You can see the stars I quilted into the middle border.

Comments

  1. JaceOctober 31, 2008 at 4:10 AM

    To All A Good Night sounds interesting - I'll see if I can find it here. :-)

    The quilt is absolutely gorgeous. The details are amazing ... it must have taken you some time to make it. Fantastic work, Phyl.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ChristineOctober 31, 2008 at 9:01 AM

    Congrats on the Phillies win! ;)

    Is Suite 606 a new anthology? I've seen it pop up here and there, but wasn't sure if it was new or not. I'm only on Book 5 of the In Death series... so I have a long way to go before I'm ready, but still, I'd like to have all my ducks ...er books... in a row! LOL

    The quilt is gorgeous!!! Your friend's mother is going to love it! Thanks for posting pics.

    HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

    ReplyDelete
  3. PhylNovember 1, 2008 at 12:43 AM

    Thanks, ladies.

    Yes, Christine, Suite 606 is a new anthology. It was just released this week. If you're only on book 5, you have a while to go until you get to this one. Enjoy the journey. I sure did.

    ReplyDelete

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