Darren Marlar launches his website; Julie Anne Fidler launches her book

My co-host, Darren Marlar, has launched his website, www.marlarinthemorning.com.

It's hard to believe Darren has been here at 101QFL for almost a year! I've truly enjoyed working with him. He has a great sense of humor and a seemingly indefatigable work ethic.

Check out his site; even if you aren't able to listen to the station, the website is full of fun stuff, including the chance to listen to some excerpts from our show. The female voice you'll hear is moi. :)

By the way, have you heard the very strange but oddly appealing "Toast"? Click on the "Best of 18" here. I don't know just why this song is funny to me, but it is.

Warmest congratulations to fellow-blogger Julie Anne Fidler...

...whose first book, Adventures in Holy Matrimony, is due out today.



Nope, I haven't had the chance to read it yet, but if it's anywhere near as engaging as Julie's blog, it's bound to be good. She's funny, outspoken, unpredictable and unguardedly, vulnerably honest, but one thing that comes through loud and clear is her genuine love for God.

Says Julie Anne: "I've dreamed about this all my life. Sorry if I get a little goofy or overly sentimental here, but I spent a lot of years looking at other people's books, looking ahead to the day when I'd be a published author.
I guess I didn't think I'd be 26 when that day arrived, but I'm so grateful for that. I'm glad I'm a young author. Praise God."

Julie, you can certainly be excused for getting sentimental. This is HUGE.

I hope to read the book soon and even interview Julie. Stay tuned.

Been reading some great books...

Over Memorial Day weekend, I guess I didn't get out much. I read The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, and enjoyed both very much, although they are two very different types of books.

Both have been made into movies (apparently The Scarlet Pimpernel has had more than one cinematic treatment), none of which I've seen. I'd always wanted to see A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, but now that I've read the book, I don't know. I'm afraid the differences between the book and the movie might bug me.

Tree is one of those books that I've heard about all my life and had never read. At first it was slow going...for the first chapter or two I was wondering, "What exactly is this book ABOUT?"

Then I stopped caring what the book was about, and just got caught up in the characters and their situations. Author Smith is unflinching when it comes to describing the more painful aspects of poverty-stricken life in Brooklyn just after the turn of the century--but she provides enough hope and humor to relieve the stark reality and uplift the reader. Some rough language (actually, more than I would have expected for a book written in 1943.

At the moment, I am bookless and hating it. True, I tend to get to sleep earlier when I'm not engrossed in a book, but I'm missing out on one of the joys of life.

If you've read either book, I'd love to read your comments.