VDAY: A Global Movement to End Violence Against Women and Girls

Check this OUT. It means the world.

PART I - Judging a Book By It's Cover?

Lately, I've found myself sucked into a seriously High Fantasy novel (and by this I mean fire breathing dragons who can talk. Yes, yes, I know; please don't ask.) And, I have to say, I find it incredibly fascinating in the way book covers periodically get the ol' redo - particularly those of the fantasy/sci-fi genre.

Case in point: Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series. First off, I must say that I have quite surprisingly and entirely unexpectedly found this to be a very addictive storyline. Finished Book 1 awhile back, thought I was through and then, just the other day, found myself picking up Book 2 because...

I have got. To see. What happens. Next.

Who knew? It has all the basic goods you'd expect to find a good fantasy novel: a brave unassuming hero, a powerful Wizard father-like figure; a dark force of evil that must be defeated; a love interest which can never be...the usual stuff. And alas, I have fallen under its' spell.

So, I was looking at the original edition's cover art and the more recent edition's cover art (don't ask how/why I have both editions - it's one of those bibliophile problems that occurs when you forget you already own a book) and thought....WOW. What a difference.

Here is the first cover for Book 1, Wizard's First Rule:
(Richard our hero, astride the dragon; Kahlan, the Confessor in white gown, and Zed, resident Wizard of the First Order in dark robe with flowing white mane.)

And more recently, the NEW cover for this same exact title:

Ack! Where did everybody go?! Looks like my fire breathing, talking, red dragon got the axe for the new cover (poor thing. I really like her); and Richard and Kahlan seem to be wandering the woods alone. Our author name certainly got a more attention grabbing font size, along with a "New York Times Bestselling Author" mention!

It's just like the David Bowie tune goes: "Ch-ch-ch-changes...!"

(To come in PART II - what happens when you throw in a film/TV adaptation?)

I'll take a "Jacob", please.

Yes folks, there is a really neat-o thing to check out here. Have I ever mentioned my sweet tooth/fang?

Yuuuuuuummmmy.

The Best Book Cover....EVER!!!

I mean, seriously. Do I even need to explain WHY?!!

Another frozen moment...

Once again, I was rounding the corner on my way home from work, when I came across yet another gorgeous sunset. Hellman Ave at dusk is truly a 'magic hour'.

Dog Fact #9: Short Stories & The A.S. King Omnibus Project

Hey!
Having just posted my own review of her new book, The Dust of 100 Dogs, I was mightily excited when this popped up in the blogging pipeline. I love hunting for an author's other writings ( if it's someone I truly enjoyed reading); here you will find links to some of A.S. King's short stories, published in magazines and the like. Check. It. Out.

Dog Fact #9: Short Stories & The A.S. King Omnibus Project

Book Review: The Dust of 100 Dogs by A. S. King

Oh, I do enjoy a good pirate yarn, I do. Give me a fast ship, high reckless seas, a fine sharp sword, and I shall be lost to the telling of the tale. In A. S. King's debut young adult novel, The Dust of 100 Dogs, not only was I lost to the tale, but I was loving it all the crazy way to the end.

As our story opens, we meet a fierce young woman, Emer Morrisey, an Irish lass fighting desperately for her life, the life of her lover, and for her enemy's ultimate doom. She has buried a treasure in the sands of the surrounding beach, and hopes against hope that none have witnessed the deed. It is then, in a cruel turn of fortune, that Ener receives a terrible surprise: the "businesmarlinespike marlinspike, and the curse of the dust from 100 dogs. In that moment, Emer begins the unfathomable ordeal of living the literal lives of 100 dogs, human memories entirely intact.

Fast forward 300 years. One hundred dog lives have been lived, and Saffron Adams (formerly Emer Morrisey) is born. All memories from all former lives (canine and otherwise) still remain intact. She impresses teachers with her knowledge of history. Gives her mother, a chronic melancholic imbiber, hope for the family's future, and generally dreams of the day when she will be free to go off on her own and search for her long ago buried treasure.

King, in possession of an excellent gift for compelling storytelling, interweaves the lives of the two girls with meticulous richness. Emer, we learn, is only a small child when Oliver Cromwell invades her village in 17th century Ireland. Her firsthand accounts of the madness and fright of war are unnerving, as is herlife with a cruel uncle (a curious survivor of her village's crushing slaughter), and her eventual path into pirating. Saffron, no less fascinating, sees all the world - including her family - through the ultra-experienced eyes of a soul gone too long without. Some of the most comedic moments come as Saffron imagines how her past pirate-self would have handled a situation (something that usually involves eye gouging, her pirate trademark.) And sprinkled throughout the tale are "Dog Facts", things that Saffron has learned about herself and humankind during her 100 lifetimes as an acutal dog.

The Dust of 100 Dogs is an absolute page-turner; my only disappointment was in reaching the end of an excellent pirate's yarn.

Highly recommended.