Monday Book Giveaway (July 6, 2009)

Second things first! I’ll announce the winners in a minute. But first, I’ll tell you about this week’s giveaway.

Jack Getze generously offered five copies of his novel Big Numbers for a giveaway! Big Numbers is a hilarious and suspenseful mystery about Austin Carr, a stockbroker caught between the rough economy and a child support payment based on his former salary. When his richest client announces he’s dying of terminal cancer — and the client’s hot, trophy wife desperately needs help, he thinks he’s found the answer, but instead, he’s got a string of people trying to kill him. I’ll write a longer review in the next couple of days, so check back.

In the meantime, if you’d like a copy of Big Numbers, comment below. Then come back Monday to see if I’ve drawn your name from one of my hats. Remember, I’ll be drawing five winners, so your chances are great this week! Contest open to anyone, anywhere, who has access to reliable mail service.

Now! Let’s clear my shelf! I’ll keep drawing until I choose a duplicate, so refresh your screen until I announce we’re done. We might have one winner or more than 50!

The winners of Clear My Shelf are …. (insert mondo drum roll!!) …

1. Jane! Jane chose Watch Me by Brenda Novak.

2. Nicola! Nicola chose The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker.

3. M.J.! M.J. chose My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult.

4. Cindi! Cindi chose Was It Beautiful? by Alison McGhee.

5. Raych! Raych chose The Constant Gardener by John LeCarre. Woot! No doubles yet!

6. Alyce! Alyce chose High Fidelity by Nick Hornsby. Alyce is running her own giveaway all month — pop over for a chance at several great books!

7. ... Ah, shoot. I’ve drawn a duplicate request. Guess we’re done. *sigh*

If I’ve drawn your name, please send your snail mail addy to katrina (at) stonoff (dot) com. If I didn’t, well we’ve hardly made a dent in my shelf, so we’ll be repeating this game very soon.

Don’t forget to comment below for a chance at Big Numbers, and come back next week for “Choose Your Book.” Thanks for playing!

Now, the hat (#51):

This one doesn’t have a label, and if I remember correctly, I bought it a yard sale. There were two exactly alike, and I gave the other one away.

Hand-blocking would have given this hat more shape, but I like the simplicity of no color, no band, no trim and a uniform shape. The brim is wide enough for the hat to still be interesting.

Unfortunately, that off-white felt is a bear to keep clean, so I rarely wear this one.

Swimming Update

Swimming went much better this evening.

I went in a little early and talked to the teacher. I told her that my Girly Girly is quick to pick up on low expectations, that she was capable of doing all the things they were asking of her.

The teacher said, “Yes, I remember from last year.” Then she added,”So I have permission to be rough on her, make her do things she doesn’t want to do?”

“Absolutely,” I said. “Also, she hates sitting on the deck, so if she refuses to do something, make her sit on the side of the pool, and it’ll turn her behavior around.”

The first time the teacher asked Girly Girl to do something, she refused, and the teacher sat her up on the deck and moved on.

Joke’s on me! It was a very warm day, so instead of shivering miserably like she’s always done on the deck, she was quite comfortable.

However, the next time she was asked to do something, she did it. And she did everything they asked her to do.

Look at this!!

I have a photo just like this one with the assistant instead of the teacher, but he’s underage, so I posted this one instead.

I have hope.

Summer ≠ Swimming Lessons

I just discovered a gorgeous website. Kids With a Little Extra is dedicated to Conny Wenk’s stunning photographs of kids and young people with Down syndrome. Seriously, go oggle at these beautiful children. You’ll want one of your own!

 

This photo, in particular, was a balm to my poor, wounded mother’s heart.

It’s swimming season again. *heavy sigh* I hate summer. I just hate it.

First, a little history. Girly Girl has been taking swimming lessons since 2004, mostly Red Cross lessons at the city pool. In August 2006, she was doing very well, and the following June nearly passed Level I. Then she had a disastrous experience. By the end of second session 2007, she’d lost all of her water skills except the ability to bob.

We enrolled her in one-on-one lessons at a private gym. She loved that, and quickly got over her fear, but she made absolutely no progress in three sessions. Her teachers adored her, but the moment she resisted, they stopped pushing her. So she very happily bobbed and did alternating arm swings as she walked in the kiddy pool. She learned nothing.

Last year, we went back to the city pool, and we did five sessions there. She’s now done twenty sessions total — 20 sessions! – and she’s in Level I. 

But I’m still determined she learn at least enough to swim to the side of the pool if she falls in, so I dutifully enrolled her again this year. As I sat on the bench with the other moms, I couldn’t help but notice the difference between their attitude and mine. They were confidently talking about how they were going to do two sessions this year, and thought their child might jump two levels. One for sure. I just prayed my child wouldn’t be “a screamer” this year and that I wouldn’t cry through every lesson.

Who Needs Coffee to Wake Up?

This is Cookie (the one on the right):

She’s a dappled, long-haired, miniature Dachshund, and she’s absolutely fearless. Yes, she’s the size of an average house cat, but she doesn’t know it, and she’ll happily take on the German Shorthair next door. You’re only as vulnerable as you feel, right?

Yesterday morning, I woke up and let her out to go the bathroom, like I always do. Then I went back to my bedroom and got dressed. As I stepped back into the kitchen, I glanced outside … and saw a coyote loping casually through the back yard.

My blood ran cold, my stomach dropped, my heart stopped — all those clichés. Where is my little dog? was all I could think.

She was right where is in the photo — on the deck outside the sliding glass doors, asking to be let in. Soooo grateful, I let her in.

Normally, she takes off after wild animals. She’s chased deer out of the yard. She treed a raccoon in the rafters of the garage once. And yes, she has chased after coyotes before. We worry about her. A lot.

This morning, I woke at 6 a.m. with one of the worst migraines of my life. Mars brought me my meds in bed, and all the stirring around woke up Cookie, so he let her out.

I could hear her barking at something outside — her excited bark. Then I heard another sound — hard to pick out because her hound-dog howl was much closer and drowned it out — but it sounded like the yip of coyotes.

I needed to get up and bring Cookie in, I thought. But before I could move, her excited barking changed into a horrible yelp. A high-pitched sound that could only have come from an animal in dire circumstances.

One of the things writers learn to do is study their own behavior, and translate them to other situations. For me, I learned this morning how I might deal with the loss of a child, and someday I’m sure I’ll use that response in my fiction.

I leaped out of the bed and slammed open the door to the deck. As I stepped out, a scream tore from my throat, “NOOO!!!” It was a harsh, guttural thing, a threatening sound.

Mars tore around the corner of the house in front of me, and he was back with the dog before I could reach the edge of the deck. “She’s all right.” 

My legs could not support me. I sank down to the wooden surface with relief, and gathered my little dog into my lap.

She was soaked with dew and trembling. Later, we found a small tear above her eye, and it’s clearly very tender. If you touch anywhere near it, she snarls. But she’s alive and OK. 

And hopefully scared to death of coyotes now.

I know I am!

Monday Book Giveaway (June 29, 2009)

Right to it — today’s winners are M.J., Valorie and nfmgirl! Congratulations! They each win a brand new copy of Diana Rowland’s hot, new urban fantasy, The Mark of the Demon (which I reviewed here). Please send your shipping information to katrina (at) stonoff (dot) com, and I’ll get your books winging toward you!

Now, for this week, it’s time once again to play Clear My Shelf.

This is my giveaway shelf, crammed full again, as you can see.

Study the shelf (you can see a bigger image by clicking on the picture) and choose one book that you’d like to have. Your odds of actually getting it are much higher if you choose a book no one else has picked.

Next Monday, I’ll start choosing names from one of my hats, and I’ll keep choosing until I choose a book I’ve already given away. So if the first two people I draw request the same book, I’ll have one winner. If everyone chooses a different book, everyone will win, and I’ll have two lovely barren shelves to prove it. Understand?

So, to recap: your task is to study the picture above and choose one book in it that you’d like to have.

Except for Wanda. Wanda can ask for a copy of Trudy J. Morgan-Cole’s By the Rivers of Brooklyn because I told her I was going to do an Any Book I’ve Mentioned giveaway, and then I changed my mind. So, Wanda! Go ahead and ask for Trudy’s book, and you have a good chance of winning since you’ll be the only one asking for it (since it isn’t on the shelf). And this is summer, and fewer people are reading blog. So ask away, Wanda!

As always, contest open to anyone who has access to reliable mail service, even if they’re related to me or won today. Anyone except Aime, apparently (don’t worry: I’ll make sure she has a copy of The Mark of the Demon).

Now, the hat (#50) from which I chose the winners:

This is one of my funkiest hats. There’s no label, and I cannot remember where I got it (I suspect it came in one of the ebay boxes).

It looks to me like something that would be used as a stage prop for a British Comedy of Manners. I can SO see Miss Prism in this hat.

I don’t think the hat is really old because it’s clearly machine stitched, but it’s made of a natural fabric (silk?), old enough to suffer insect damage. And you can see the poor rose is completely squashed.

But it must have been a decent hat at one time because the crown is lined with a stiff webbing to give it shape, and you can tell it definitely had a shape once.

I like this picture of me. The weird shape of my nose is emphasized (I used to call it a ski jump nose), and there’s a hint of Ye Olde Witch in the photo, but not the green-skinned, warted Wicked Witch of the West. Rather the mischievous Wise Woman from Puritan times, schooled in herbs and other questionable dalliances.

I’m a Grownup! Finally.

We went to a farewell party Thursday to honor Mars’ boss, who is moving to Canada. They are lovely people, the boss and his wife, and we will miss them very much (though we certainly wish them the best of everything).

But that’s not my point here. My point is — the food. It was a simple afternoon reception, just hors d’oeuvres and wine, but oh, baby! Look at that food!

You’re looking at:

• shrimp stuffed with jalapeño strips, wrapped in bacon, and grilled.
• gorgonzola and fig preserves, served on rice crackers
• button mushrooms marinated with garlic and onion
• open face sandwiches made with thinly sliced beef tenderloin, cream cheese spread, and fresh herbs
• the obligatory crudites with fresh dill dip
• brie with apricot preserves served on homemade crostini

Yes, the hostess outdid herself. Every single bite was culinary-orgasm worthy.

When I was a girl, I used to daydream about food like this, served at parties like this. Parties where sparkling people ate delicious, sophisticated food while engaged in witty repartee and sitting on a deck overlooking a stunning meadow edged with 300-foot pines. That’s what grownups do, I thought (my concept of grownup was seriously skewed by reading lots of Mary Stewart).

Guess I’m a grownup now. Whoo hoo!

 

P.S. How funny is it, that both Aime and I blogged about finally being grownup.

I’m a Big Kid Now!

As I near my 21st birthday, I’m appreciating the responsibilities of real life more and more.  I work 2 jobs, I pay bills, I clean my bathroom when it needs it, I feed the dogs. I’m slowly settling into my adult routine. Excitement for me now is more likely to be painting my dining room than parties or bars. When trying to decide what to do last night, my roommates and I went through our options.  We could rent a movie… We could do yard work… We could play Scrabble… 

Which is how I ended up roller skating behind a giant, untrained, overexcited dog named Rosko on a Friday night.  That’s what grown-ups do.

Which is exactly how grown-ups end up in the emergency room with stitches.

      

 

Providence Hospital, Portland, OR

Mark of the Demon (Book Review)

I can think of no better way to kick off a summer of great reading than with Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland. 

There are two kinds of beach reads: books that are either very lightweight or episodic, so you can dip in or set them aside at your whim without losing track of the story; and books that are so compelling that they are a vacation in themselves, and everything around you drops away (even the snoring old man on the next beach towel and the explicit-language hip hop the kids are playing).

Mark of the Demon is definitely the latter. So if you are in charge of keeping small children from drowning? Do NOT take it to the beach! Unless the children are particularly annoying (KIDDING!).

Brand new homicide investigator Kara Gillian is assigned to investigate a murder where the victim has a symbol carved into her chest, a symbol Kara recognizes from photos of thirteen victims of a serial killer that hasn’t struck in three years. Because she also recognizes vestiges of arcane power, Kara summons a demon to ask for help identifying the symbol, but instead of the helpful, low level demon she called, she gets an unspeakably powerful, impossibly beautiful creature who touches her and …

Well, let’s just say I wouldn’t throw that being out of my bed for eating crackers.

So anyway, Kara has to find the killer before he strikes again (and definitely before the next full moon), while at the same time resisting the urge to call Rhyzkahl back. Oh and without making the mysterious, grouchy FBI agent assigned to the case suspicious.

Mark of the Demon is a riveting story.  And sexy too, have I mentioned sexy? I’ve been moving through my soccer-mom summer schedule in a bit of a fog because a huge chunk of my brain is always between the covers of the book, wondering what’s happening while I’m away. I didn’t want it to end, especially since I have to wait until January for the next installment in the series.

You Gotta Know What She Wants

I’m blogging today over at Happy Endings. Click on over to hear what I learned at Writers Retreat Workshop about how important it is to know what your character wants.

Monday Book Giveaway (June 22, 2009)

This week is THE weirdest coincidence in the history of the Monday Book Giveaway. The winners of Trudy J. Morgan-Cole’s fabulous historical novel, By the Rivers of Brooklyn are … (insert biggest drumroll ever) … the same two people who won last week! Yep, Pam and Kat Bryan, congratulations! You’re lucky twice in a row!

I have to say, I seriously debated whether the rest of you would think it was rigged (but why would I rig it? I adore all of you!). But we all know the rules: “contest open to anyone, anywhere, who has access to reliable mail service, even if they won today or are related to me.” So it was definitely meant to be Pam and Kat! On a whim, I drew a few more numbers, to see who might have won if I hadn’t played fair (no worries — I do not have unfair in me), and I drew … myself once and Trudy herself (the author) twice. At that point, I had to concede to the inherent rightness of the initial drawing, bow to the whimsical deities of fate, and give the heartiest of congrats to Pam and Kat, who are clearly in their favor this month!

For next week, oh, my dear bookloving friends! Diana Rowland’s book The Mark of the Demon officially drops tomorrow, and I’ve been dying to give it away since I first got sucked into it. If you haven’t read urban fantasy, it’s a great introduction to the genre because it’s crafted magnificently —  proof that good storytelling is universal and has nothing to do with genre. I’ll post a book review within the next couple of days (fair warning, it’s more gush than review, once again). But honestly, I couldn’t be happier giving any other book away. This is the perfect summer read: compelling, exciting, facinating, and sexy.

To enter, just comment below before noonish Sunday (or whenever I close comments). Contest open to anyone … oh, right. You already heard that part. I’ll choose three winners because it’s paperback and because it really is that good. Best of luck! 

Now, the hat from which I drew Pam’s and Kat’s numbers (Hat #49):

This is another straw hat made by Sonni of San Francisco and purchased at a boutique in Foothills Mall in Tucson. This one has gotten a fair amount of wear. I like the blue, and how it brings out my eyes.

Like all Sonni hats, it’s exquisitely blocked, but you can’t really see it in this picture.

My other straw hats have an elastic cord that holds the hat on, but this one does not. Problem is, straw hats are extremely lightweight, so a little bit of wind will just take the hat and run with it.

As a result, it was this hat that motivated to buy hat pins, and I have several vintage hat pins. When I had very long hair, I’d wear it in a bun, and literally pin the hat right into the bun.

Now, however, I don’t have enough hair to hold the hat. And there’s much more wind around here than in Tucson, so I’m much less likely to wear this hat outdoors.