Sandra Byrd's "Mist of Midnight"--a Gothic Victorian treat

I've become a slightly more impatient reader in recent years.  If a book doesn't grab me fairly soon after I open it, I have trouble making myself keep reading.

Mist of Midnight, by Sandra Byrd, offered no such problem. As soon as the reader meets Rebecca Ravenshaw, then finds out her extraordinary quandary, you're in.

This from Amazon.com:

"In the first of a brand-new series set in Victorian England, a young woman returns home from India after the death of her family to discover her identity and inheritance are challenged by the man who holds her future in his hands.

"Rebecca Ravenshaw, daughter of missionaries, spent most of her life in India. Following the death of her family in the Indian Mutiny, Rebecca returns to claim her family estate in Hampshire, England. Upon her return, people are surprised to see her...and highly suspicious. Less than a year earlier, an imposter had arrived with an Indian servant and assumed not only Rebecca's name, but her home and incomes."

Rebecca is a likable heroine, and I kept turning pages to find out how she would deal with her plight and her growing attraction to Captain Luke Whitfield, who has taken over her family's estate. In true Gothic novel fashion, we have to question whether the handsome captain is friend or foe. (We're hoping it's friend, because we're a little in love with him ourselves.)

In fact, the entire story has that Gothic atmosphere that I used to enjoy in writers like Victoria Holt.

About Sandra Byrd

Sandra Byrd

Sandra Byrd first drew me in with her contemporary French Twist  series about a young woman who becomes a pastry chef in France,  Then I loved her Tudor series, Ladies in Waiting.  I'm not surprised that her Victorian series, Daughters of Hampshire, should be any different.

I've read dozens, if not hundreds, of Christian fiction books.  Sandra Byrd has that something extra that makes a writer stand out in the genre.  Faith is naturally infused into her books in, as she once told me in an interview, an "organic" way.

Most of all, her books have the quality I ask for of any writer:  Make me care about the story and characters.  Give me the sheer enjoyment of reading that makes me keep turning the pages.  Sandra Byrd does that, in spades.

Disclosure: I was provided an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.  This is my honest review.

15 Books That Will Always Stick With Me

I noticed something that's been going around Facebook recently.  People are "tagged" to list the books that have stayed with them, or stuck with them.

No one has tagged me on this, but I recalled that a few years ago I actually blogged about my own list.  So, ta-da!  Here it is again.

(I almost didn't list the Bible, because it's really in a category all its own, but no list of "books that stayed with me" is complete without it.)

1. The Holy Bible

 "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." - Hebrews 4:12

It's a living thing.  It's unlike any other book that has ever written or ever will be.  

And now to ordinary, man-made books:


2. Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte--After loving this book almost all my life, I finally wrote a review of it here.   It's not "the mother of all gothic novels" for nothing. It has everything: romance, mystery, suspense, a dangerously attractive love interest and a heroine we admire and care about.

3. Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte--Heathcliff is the ultimate bad boy that you can't help falling a little in love with (although, as I've matured, I see him much more as a villain than as a romantic figure.) Windswept moors, sobbing heroines--it's a mess, but you can't help being captivated.

4. Through Gates of Splendor, by Elisabeth Elliot--The gut-wrenching true story of  missionaries killed while trying to give the gospel to a remote tribe.  Written by the remarkable widow of  one of the missionaries.

5. The Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis---technically more than one book. (My favorite is probably "The Silver Chair")--I was avidly reading these books as a child, many years before the movie hype came along, and probably before many of you were born! Still, I continue to re-read them about once a year.

6. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott--Introduced me to the joys of fiction when I was a very little girl. Now, as an adult, it seems a bit quaint-- but I still love it.

7. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen--I've always loved the way Darcy and Elizabeth are inexorably drawn to each other throughout the book, despite ostensibly not being able to stand each other. And Elizabeth is one of the coolest heroines ever...feisty, funny and beautiful.

8. The Red Knights of Hy Brasil, by Christine Savery--This was a childhood favorite when I was a missionary kid in Beirut, Lebanon. I had lost it, but a few years ago I found a copy online, and yes, I do read it again occasionally. I also give this book at least partial credit for my lifelong obsession with Ireland, and desire to go there. I blogged here about finding the book after many years.

9. Not My Will, by Francena H. Arnold--I blogged about this book not too long ago here. Written many years ago, it still stands the test of time.

10. Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers--Showed me how really excellent, top-notch and absorbing Christian fiction can be...and the message has been literally life-changing for some young women I know.

11. The Atonement Child, by Francine Rivers--What would you do if you were a Christian college student about to marry a star preacher-to-be---and you were raped by a stranger?  And you were pregnant?  Rivers handles this question with unflinching real-ness.

13.Wisdom Hunter, by Randall Arthur-- Probably the most brutally honest look at graceless Christianity to date. Combines a fascinating story with vital spiritual insights.

14. The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom--This true story of a Dutch woman imprisoned by the Nazis for helping Jews is an incredible portrait of faith and grace.

15. Auntie Robbo, by Anne Scott Moncrieff--Another childhood favorite that I've found and bought again online. I blogged about it here.

The list could go on...and on...and on!

Head over to my book blog...

...to read my review of "Deeply Odd," by Dean Koontz.

What were your favorite childhood books?

The Favourite Book. Honor C. Appleton (1879 – 1951, English)

This is Children's Book Week, so I'm bringing back a post from the archives about my favorite childhood books.  What were yours? Let me know in my comments section!

I've been a voracious reader since I was able to string words together. Interestingly, I don't have much of a memory of the books that were read to me before I could read myself, but I vividly remember the books I loved as a child.

Here is a nod to some of them.

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott, is the first full-length book I remember reading. I was eight years old.

This is a picture of the actual version I read. It was an abridged version, but I loved the illustrations. In my mind, that is still what Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy look like.

My Aunt Jean (sadly no longer with us) had recommended it to me, saying "You'll cry your eyes out and back in again!"

This was just before my family went to Beirut, Lebanon as missionaries. We were in New York City for several days before our ship sailed, and my parents bought me beautiful hardbound copies of "Little Men" and "Jo's Boys." I was in heaven.

This book laid the foundation for my lifelong love of The Chronicles of Narnia. I saw British friends reading it at Manor House School in Beirut, and that sparked my interest.

Even as a child, I was able to see the spiritual parallels. Years later, I made sure my own children read them.


I received this book as a Christmas gift when I was a little girl, and it was a treasure trove for me! I also loved Blyton's "Mallory Towers" series.

This was the first Noel Streatfield book I read, but I think I probably ended up reading all of them. They were all about children who were very talented, either as skaters, dancers or actors. I enjoyed them immensely.

I was delighted when the books were actually mentioned in the movie, "You've Got Mail."

Those are just a few. You can read here about my other favorites, Auntie Robbo and Red Knights from Hy Brasil...and here about what my love of a childhood book has to do with a murder in an English village!

Reading enriched my childhood and continues to do so today!

What were YOUR favorite books as a child?

Can't-stop-readable Victorian Suspense: Anne Perry

"With insight, compassion, and a portraitist’s genius, Perry illuminates the shifting tide of emotions encompassing Queen Victoria’s London and the people who live there—aristocrats, brothel owners, thieves, Dickensian ruffians, and their evil keepers. She takes us through dangerous backstreets where the poor eke out their humble livings, and into the mansions of the rich, safe and secure in their privileged lives. Or so they believe..."--Goodreads.com

Note: This post was originally posted on my book blog on 4/28/12

William Monk is the kind of man Heathcliff would be if Heathcliff wasn't violent and cruel

Not long ago, I realized I was up-to-date with Elizabeth George's mysteries (and not only that, I was having some reservations about her books), when I started casting about for a new series to get involved in.

I love Victorian mysteries, so I decided to check out Anne Perry's Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series.  I read and enjoyed a couple of them.

But then I read the first in her William Monk series, and I was hooked.

William Monk is the kind of man Heathcliff would be if Heathcliff wasn't violent and cruel. :)  He's dark, brooding, attractive and mysterious.  But he also has a heart, and I fell in love with him immediately.

How do I picture William Monk...maybe a little like this? (Actor Richard Armitage)

The author's troubling history

It wasn't long before I found out that Anne Perry is a convicted murderer herself.  It's complicated, but she was very young when it happened, she has served her time and apparently deeply regrets the whole thing.

Some people have said they wouldn't read Perry's books because of that.  But I actually believe in redemption, second chances, and that people can change.

And darn it, she writes a great book!

If you decided to get into the series, I definitely recommend you start at the beginning, with "The Face of a Stranger."  There's a definite arc to Monk's story, and each book adds to its trajectory.

The story

I found the book riveting from page one.  William Monk wakes up in a hospital with no memory of who is or how he got there.

He has been in a serious carriage accident that has robbed him of his memory.  Eventually he learns that he is
a London police detective...and a very good one, but also a very disliked one.  Apparently the William he used to be was arrogant and downright mean.

He can't tell the police--especially his supervisor, Superintendent Runcorn, who obviously dislikes him and probably for good reason--that he has no memory.  He has to go back to work, because it's the only way he has of earning a living.

Immediately he's thrust into a high-profile murder investigation.  Fascinatingly, it seems his detecting skills haven't suffered too much from the accident--those seem to return instintively.

But obviously he's hampered by the fact that there are people everywhere who know him (and most can't stand him), while he doesn't know them at all.

(By the way, snatches of his memory do return throughout the series, but I'm well into it, and he still doesn't remember everything.)

Monk is a fascinating character, and as we can see his basic goodness and compassion, we like him and are rooting for him to succeed.

Hester Latterly

How do I picture Hester? Maybe a little like an un-glam Kate Winslet, or a younger Emma Thompson?

This book also introduces a character who becomes extremely important to the series--Hester Latterly, a nurse who worked with Florence Nightingale in the Crimean War and who is on sort of a mission to reform the appalling Victorian hospitals and antiquated ideas about nursing and health care.

Outspoken, independent and strong, Hester is the opposite of the kind of woman Monk is usually attracted to, and yet he is drawn to her.

Thanks to the character of Hester, I've learned so many fascinating things about the history of nursing.  In fact, each Monk book has significantly enriched my knowledge about a remarkable time in history.

I'm really enjoying these books, and I dread when I'm finally up to date on them.  They've pretty much comprised my leisure reading for the past couple of months.

I highly recommend them to anyone who loves mysteries and enjoys books set in the Victorian era.

Update: Since I posted this on my book blog in April of last year, I've read all the William Monk books right up to the most recent one which  I'm currently reading, A Sunless Sea.  I'm still just as enthusiastic about the series.

Two of the Best Time Travel Books You'll EVER Read

Note: This review was originally posted on my book blog on 5/24/11

First of all, why am I reviewing two books at one time?

Take note: Do NOT read Blackout without a copy of All Clear right next to you. The two books are basically one book.

No, I don’t mean All Clear is a sequel to Blackout. I mean, they are two parts of the same book.

I, unfortunately, did not realize this when I checked Blackout out of the library and devoured it--only to get to the end and a message saying something to the effect of, "this story will be continued in the next book..."

Naturally, my library didn't have All Clear on the shelf when I raced back to get it, so I had to wait a few days.

The fact that I read this enormous book in one day (granted, it was a day in which I had not much else to do, and I'm a fast reader) is testimony to what an extremely good book this is.

Kind of obsessed with Connie Willis right now

I read Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog after reading a review of the book by one of my favorite reviewers, The Ink Slinger. His review prompted me to buy the book, and began a small mini-obsession with books by Connie Willis.

I've quickly surmised that my favorite books by Willis are those that involve time-traveling historians from Oxford, England, in the late 2050's.

Blackout

Blackout begins in Oxford with a few historians preparing for trips to World War 2 England.

Merope (who is going by the name Eileen in the past) is observing evacuated children at a rich lady's estate. Michael plans to go to Dover. Polly...who has already experienced V-E Day on a previous "drop" (as they call time traveling sessions), wants to experience London during the Blitz.

Fortunately, unlike most time travel related books I've read, these historians are totally prepared. They've been prepped on the fashions, manners and lingo of the time they're visiting. Polly even knows exactly where each bomb will fall during the time she's in the Blitz, so she can avoid those places.

Despite all this, all three time travelers quickly realize that something has gone wrong. They can't get their drop sites to open...which means they're stuck in the past.

Just at a critical point, the book ends abruptly. I mean, ABRUPTLY. That's why I'm telling you to have All Clear on hand so you can pick it up immediately!

Criticism of Blackout

During the time I was waiting to get my hands on a copy of All Clear, I read some extremely negative customer reviews of Blackout on Amazon.com

I could actually relate to some of the criticisms. For one thing, I agree that neither book needed to be quite as long as they are...and they are both very long books. There is quite a bit of redundancy and extraneous stuff that could have easily been trimmed down.

However, one of the common criticism was that Blackout introduced some characters whose stories seemed to go nowhere.

Well, those characters reappear in All Clear, and they are vital to the story.



All Clear

I don't think it would be too much of an exaggeration to say that All Clear is one of the best books I've ever read.

The suspense builds, with heart-quickening intensity, throughout the entire book. The criticism that Merope, Polly and Mike were hard to care about is totally voided (in my opinion) in the second book. I absolutely cared about them, and was vitally concerned about what was going to happen to them.

In Blackout, it was becoming obvious that something was going wrong with time travel. As All Clear picks up the story, the fear that the time travelers have done something to dangerously alter the space-time continuum solidifies.

And there's a lot at stake. If the historians have done anything, however small, to affect the course of history, then Hitler could have won the war, and we'd all be German-speaking slaves of the Nazi regime.

An eye-opening history lesson

I have to say that I came away from these books with something akin to awe for the British people who lived through World War 2, especially the Blitz. "Keep Calm and Carry On" wasn't just a cute poster for them. It was their life.

Can you imagine having to go through your daily life, going to work or school as if everything was normal, only to be constantly interrupted by air raid sirens and having a short amount of time to get to a shelter? Not to mention the shortages of food and clothing, and the frequent news that someone you knew and maybe loved had died on the very streets where you lived.

Yet the British people did this, with amazing strength and courage. These books were a vivid and fascinating history lesson for me.

I heartily recommend these books, under a few conditions:

--If you don't mind reading very long books (I happen to love them)
--If you don't mind losing some sleep staying up too late to read
--If you love history and are intrigued by time travel
--If you don't mind putting up with some frustration as long as you're rewarded with a satisfying conclusion.

For me, the journey was well worth it.

I have a crush on Adam Dalgleish

This is actor Clive Owen. No, he's never played Adam Dalgleish, but this is how I picture him!

(Note: this post was originally published on my book blog on 12/15/10)

Thoughts on "discovering" a "new" author

Don't worry, my affections are still securely directed towards my dear husband. But I have a new literary crush, thanks to the fact that for the first time in my life, I'm reading P.D. James.

How have I reached this advanced age as a passionate reader, and not read any P.D. James mysteries? After all, she's hailed as the natural heir to Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. Her books have been made into numerous British television series (none of which I've seen, either.)

But isn't that the great thing about life? You can go for years reading books, and suddenly find this author that's new to YOU. Suddenly there's this treasure trove to dive into.

The Quintessential Detective Hero

Granted, I'm only on my second Adam Dalgleish book, but he strikes me as the perfect detective hero.

If the British national motto is "Keep Calm and Carry On," Dalgleish definitely fits the bill. He seems to face the most daunting situations with equanimity and cool.

He's the classic strong, quiet type, but he has his sensitive side. After all, he's a published poet as well as a Scotland Yard police officer.

Of course, he has tragedy in his background--the death of his wife while giving birth to their child. But he doesn't dwell on that.

I'm not just guessing that he's handsome; we're actually told that by other characters. "Tall, dark and handsome," in fact. Even alluding to Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice. (Crushing yet?)

My Vocabulary Enriched

And you know what? I thought I had a pretty decent vocabulary. People used to accuse my co-worker Joel Griffith and me of conversing in a different language; no, it was just the language of people who know a lot of big words and like to use them with other people who understand them.

But my vocabulary is practically infantile compared to that of P.D. James. I finally started keeping a pen and notebook next to me while reading her mysteries, so I could jot down words with which I was unfamiliar to look them up later.

Here are some of them:

puissance
apposite
minatory
theurgy
solecism
exophthalmic
etiolated
nugatory
pavane

Granted, I may never use these words, but at least I'll understand them if I ever run across them again.

And it's good to know that at my age, I can still learn something new.

My P.D. James quest continues....

So, I finished The Black Tower and am now in the middle of Shroud for a Nightingale.

I look forward to many more pleasant hours curled up with my latest crush. :)

Come on, movie producers and casting directors. Clive Owen IS Adam Dalgleish! :)

Who is your literary crush? Let me know in my comments section!

Saturday Review of Books: The Hunger Games

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen in the upcoming "The Hunger Games" movie

After months (years?) of hearing about this book, and the trilogy that it launches, I finally succumbed and read The Hunger Games.

Why had I resisted for so long?  Well, I'm kind of ambivalent about dystopian fiction.  Some of it I'm perfectly fine with, intrigued and captivated even.  But some of it I find just too bleak and depressing.

I'm one who often uses fiction as an escape from reality.  Our own world is awful enough--why escape into a world that's even worse?

But after several friends and loved ones told me that, basically, the story trumps the bleakness in The Hunger Games, I downloaded it on my Kindle, and on a day or two with plenty of time on my hands, I dove in.

My verdict?

I really liked it.

I was hooked from the beginning, when we first meet Katniss Everdeen, a young girl doing her best to help her family survive in a world where food is hard to come by and death by starvation is an everyday affair.

Katniss is a real heroine--brave, intelligent, spirited, and skilled as a huntress.  You like her immediately and are rooting for her right off the bat.

And that's a good thing, because she's about to be plunged into the worst ordeal that could befall a young person in her world.

The Story

The Hunger Games are the ultimate reality show.  Two young people, a boy and girl, from each of 12 Districts in this post-apocalyptic America (now called Panem), will be dropped into an "arena" where they must not only survive, but fight to the death.  The last one standing is the victor.

(The "arena" varies from year to year, from desolate and barren landscapes to those filled with trees and bodies of water.  Basically, whatever the "Gamekeepers" think will make the most entertaining show for the audience.)

As it turns out, the boy from Katniss' district that accompanies her to the Hunger Games is Peeta Mellark, a baker's son who years ago literally saved her and her family from starvation by a single kind act.

The two are mentored by Haymitch, a past Hunger Games victor who is drunk more often than not.  They come up with a strategy to please the "Gamekeepers" and the audience of this intricate reality show.  They'll pretend that Peeta is madly in love with Katniss, and that the two are star-crossed lovers.

But only one can emerge the victor, right?  So not only must Katniss guard herself from actually feeling affection for Peeta, she must remember that ultimately, one or both of them is going to die.

What I Thought

Well, the story did trump the bleakness.

Suzanne Collins is definitely a great storyteller.  Her background in television writing is obvious, as the book practically translates itself into a movie as you're reading it (and of course, it will be a movie, coming out in March.)

While she's a good writer, she's no better than a host of other writers.  For instance, while reading this, I thought of  Lisa T. Bergren's River of Time series, which also features a brave, spirited, skilled young woman.  Instead of a dystopian setting, Bergren's heroines (Gabriela and her sister) go back in time to medieval Italy, a place teeming with just about as much danger and violence as any postapocalyptic world.

Bergren is every bit as good a writer as Collins.  Collins just came up with this incredible story and she tells it beautifully.

The Hunger Games is an automatic page-turner, because the reader is so invested in Katniss and whether or not she'll survive, you simply can't wait to find out what happens.  Every page is another adventure.

My Thoughts: The Spiritual?

One thing I couldn't help but notice was the complete lack of spirituality in the book.  It makes sense, of course, because obviously this is a world where the idea of God and/or religion has been completely done away with.

For example, there are frequent mentions of special days like one's birthday and New Year's Day, but no mention of Christmas.

Katniss never once calls upon or reaches toward anything higher than herself.  As a Christian, that struck me.  I can't imagine being in extreme peril and not being able to cry out to God.

The world in which Katniss lives is clearly Godless.  And it has reached a point where life has obviously so little value that the society can eagerly and happily be entertained by a lavish production that ends in the deaths of 23 young people.

In this way, the book reminds me of the Roman Empire at the height of its excess and bloodthirstiness.  Just as the Romans eagerly watched Christians being eaten by lions, the society Katniss inhabits takes avid pleasure in watching the gory deaths of the young people.

(The comparison to Roman times is actually fairly clear in the book--even with many of the residents of "the Capitol" having Roman names like Octavia, Flavius, etc., and people like the Gamekeepers sitting at perpetual banquets where they gorge themselves on food and wine.)

You can't help but look at our own society and wonder just how much (or how little) it would take to get us to that point.

Bottom Line...


The bottom line is that The Hunger Games fills all my requirements for a great read:  compelling, intriguing story that keeps me turning pages; characters I care about and become fully invested in, and good writing to make the story come to life.

Do I think it's any better than a host of other books I've read?  No...obviously, like the Twilight series and others, it has just had the fortune to appear at the right time to appeal to a huge audience--and to young people who may just now be realizing how awesome a good book can be.

I will definitely read the other two books in the trilogy.

I'm linking up today with Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books--click the icon for more info!

Saturday Review of Books: Nightmare,, by Robin Parrish

I'm not one for horror movies or anything Satanic, but I have to admit--I'm a sucker for a good ghost story.

And I've always wondered--what's the deal with ghosts anyway? As a Christian, I believe souls go directly to heaven or hell when they die. So what are these things that creditable people have obviously seen?

Robin Parrish's Nightmare takes a look at such questions, and from a Christian worldview--while delivering a suspenseful and often quite scary page-turner of a tale.

The story centers around Maia Peters, a young criminal justice major whose parents are renowned paranormal investigators--or "ghost hunters," a term she doesn't like.

Maia has decided to walk away from such investigating and plans to go into law enforcement.

Then a fellow college student, the very wealthy and beautiful Jordin Cole, makes Maia an offer she can't refuse--generous payment for taking Jordin to the most haunted spots in America in an attempt to touch the paranormal.

Jordin's reasons for this quest unfold as the two take trips to places like the Stanley Hotel (famous for Stephen King's The Shining). Gettysburg, Alcatraz, and other spooky sites. And they get more than their share of paranormal evidence...leading Maia to believe that Jordin is a magnet for such activity.

The story culminates in a fast-paced, thrilling showdown between good and evil that leaves no doubt as to Who will be the winner in any such face-off.

Like some reviewers, I would have like to have seen the characters developed a bit better. I had a bit of trouble connecting with and even liking Maia initially, although she does grow more sympathetic as the tale progresses. But ultimately, that didn't affect my enjoyment of the book at all.

I especially liked--and was simultaneously creeped out by-- the chapters dealing with Maia and Jordin's visits to the haunted sites. They didn't just visit--they spent nights there. Alone. Very creepy, chilling, scary and well-written chapters.

If you like a good ghost story, this one is for you.

Join the Saturday Review of Books, hosted by Semicolon!

Someone just reviewed one of my favorite, but somewhat obscure, books of all time!

Someone else loves a book I've always loved!

Several months ago, I launched a blog completely devoted to my passion for books and reading--Cindy's Book Club.

I've really been having difficulty attracting readers to my book blog, which is rather frustrating! One of the things I do to try to gain readers is participate in Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books--a wonderful book meme.

Today, I was inordinately thrilled and excited to find that someone else had not only heard of Auntie Robbo, by Ann Scott-Moncrieff, but was actually reviewing it, and seems to love it as much as I do!

Carol of Magistra Mater-Reflecting Wonder writes:

"P.G. Wodehouse meets Robert Louis Stevenson.

Mix two parts E. Nesbit with three parts Jerome K. Jerome.

Here is a diamond of a book!

I want to wave down readers and persuade them to read this gem. "

She goes on to say:

This is a book I plan to read at least once a year until I slip into my dotage. I laughed aloud; I disrupted my husband's concentration, intruding with quotes. I have plans for read alouds with the grands. I'm baffled whyAuntie Robbo has remained unknown to me before now.

I couldnt' agree more with Carol's review. I DO read Auntie Robbo at least once a year, which is why I had to seek out another copy to replace my falling-apart one in 2004.

You can read about my love for the book, and how I found another copy online, here.

I also blogged about it and one of my other childhood favorites here...and listed it as one of the "15 books that will always stick with me" here.

According to Carol, you can read Auntie Robbo in full at Gutenberg. I'm echoing Carol's "dare you to read the first chapter!"

In fact, I think it's time I read it again. :)

Oh...and please check out my book blog? I would love to have more than a handful of readers!

And be sure and check out Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books!

My latest book trailer! Lauren Grossman's "Once in Every Generation"

As I've mentioned here frequently, I'm a professional free-lance voice-over artist. One of my favorite jobs is to voice book trailers. Here's my latest, produced by the wonderful Misty Taggart of Video Trailer to the Stars.