Up early this morning to help Lana get her car to the shop. Her air conditioner isn’t working, which is almost life threatening in southern Louisiana during June/July. I thought I might as well get my blogging done early, but alas the internet is running very slowly for me this morning.
I spent a good part of yesterday reading stuff from folks right here in blog land, and I have to say we have some amazing talents at work right next to us. First I read “Corpse Candles,” the new Lillie St. Claire tale by Bernita Harris, which you can find in the collection Weirdly II. Bernita’s story is the only one I’ve read so far, but it was excellent. Some lovely writing, as I always expect and always get from Bernita. This is what I meant in my post yesterday about pining for some beautiful prose. The story is not sacrificed, but there is that little extra that sings.
Next I read some virtually impossible to get graphic novels from Steve Malley. Full Throttle Steve, that is. Wow these were good. The first was Templar, a story of modern day “Knights Templar,” featuring a kick ass heroine named Maddie Sinclair. This should be widely available and I don’t know why it isn’t. Then I read Serina by Steve, which is set in New Orleans. This isn’t an action story. It’s a story about relationships, but the pacing and dialogue were so outstanding that I turned the pages to the finish far too quickly. This one I’ll probably reread at a slower pace later. However, Steve (and I’m looking directly at you out of my computer screen now), talk about leaving a guy “hanging” with the end of volume 2. I sure would love to know what happens in that volume 3 that you say you might never write. Great characters.
That's, that's all, folks.
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29 comments:
i know that feeling, when the net is slower than bull snot in freezing temps :(
thx for the tip on steve, still looking for bernita's stuff....
Thanks for the tips! And good luck with Lana's car. Where you are, you MUST have a/c. Snowflake's a/c is out, but in chilly Detroit, it doesn't matter. Oh, there's one or two hots days where I act like I might die, but being from Texas, I know better. There you can die without it!
"Stoned" ? I think I'm missing something....
Laughingwolf, picturesque, my friend.
Michelle, yeah, I remember when Lana came down here. It was during the summer. And one day when we were out walking I thought she was going to die from overheating. AC is life.
Heff, just a riff off a Kid Rock tune. About all I'm stoned with this morning is being tired. Gonna have a nap as soon as I take Lana to work.
Are you a Kid Rock fan? Gotta say I am. His latest CD is great and he puts on a heck of a live show.
Charles, thank you.
There are some people one would do almost anything not to disappoint but always fear one will.
I'm supposed to be getting a graphic novel from a publisher soon. The first one I've ever gotten to review. I'm interested to see it.
I'm glad to hear Bernita's new anthology is out and will put it on my list.
;) lol
Travis, I'd like to see Kid Rock live. I like his stuff pretty well. I really loved "Devil without a Cause," and "I am the Bullgod." Haven't listend that much to the last album. I'm still in shock to see him on country music channel.
Bernita, "Corpse Candles" certainly doesn't disappoint.
SQT, I see a lot of variety in graphic novels. Steve's were nice and long and meaty, but some are just glorified comic books. I've not read more than a dozen or so myself.
Shauna, I can vouch for Bernita's story.
Thanks for the kind words.
Serina 3 got pretty seriously derailed. I had it about 2/3 drawn and 1/3 inked when Katrina came along.
No way to use my old ending now. If I want to finish that story, I have to revisit not only 'Serina's' death, but the death of that whole demi-monde. Maybe when I'm a little older and a little more eloquent, I'll be up to the task.
Yes, Bernita's writing sings!
:-)
Hope Lana's car is repaired quickly. Or she can borrow your motorcycle....
heh heh
:-)
A volume 3 that might never be written? Oh that would drive my nutty!
You know what else drives me nutty? When I go to the bookstore and see an interesting second volume of a trilogy, with volume 3 right next to it...but no volume 1 anywhere to be found! And then customer service tells me it's out of print. Then I run over to Half Priced Books, and it's not there either. And I can't find any used copies on the internet.
Ooops...mini rant there.
Hope Lana gets her car fixed. I can sympathize. Sounds like some good stuff. Need to look for all of those.
Wow. What a treasure of talent one can find in the blogosphere. I've come across so many wonderful writers over the past two years that most fiction I read nowadays are from people I've met in this space.
Automotive A/C repair...Cha ching!
If you're in my friend, Glenn's mobile air conditioning area, Charles, he's the best.
http://www.farrellsac.com/
Mark,
Zen and the art of automotive maintenance?
Robert Persig wrote a masterpiece on motorcycle maintenance.
And even afterall these years, I'm so jealous.
It was the kind of book I waned to write as a young guy perplexed by motor mechanics and never quite getting it.
And Persig gives us a god in the machine.
Frozen internet and broken down ACs... interesting coincidence!
There's nothing like being so engrossed in a book that you get to the end before you even realize just how far into a story you are. Let's hope you get that Part 3.
Steve Malley, I thought the books were pretty eloguent but I can understand your issue. Good stuff, though.
Chris Eldin, she got it done yesterday and is ensconed in fresh new AC as we speak.
Travis, Yeah, I hate when you can't find volume 1 myself. I've had several series over the years where that has happened, although in the days of the interent and online ordering I don't have that trouble much anymore.
Sidney, you won't find the Malley stuff, although you should be able to. BTW, that was kind of cool about you being sent the ad for "Witch of Talera."
X-dell, definitely. I'm doing the same thing.
Mark, you know it.
Bernardl, thanks for the link. We fortunately have a pretty good and reasonable garage within a few miles. Not the case when we were in Metairie.
Ivan, I enjoyed Pirsig's book immensly.
Anndi, looks like I'll have to wait for part 3 but it will be worth the wait I'm sure.
You are so good about keeping up with your reading.
Good luck with the a/c problem.
And I hope your internet has sped up to lightning speed!
You said "stoned." Tee hee!
(Thanks for the help with my car, baby. Love you lots!)
Haven't left a post here for a while, Charles. Thanks for stopping by www.bloodredtales.com and doing a little reading. Man, life can get carried away! Especially when the internet is slow! Dirty buggers!
I once rode through Southern Louisiana and Mississippi in a car without air-conditioning and that's not an experience I'm longing to repeat.
You make those books sound great. One of the best things about blogging is that I will again never be stuck trying to find writers whose work I want to read. I've got a reading list that just won't quit...
Barrie, we are talking about getting another internet provider but we are limited by living out in the country.
Lana, no prob, sweetness.
Brandon, it was a good story. Good to see you around again.
Mary Witzl, you poor dear (about the lack of AC in southern Lousiana). Yes, plenty of good books to read and I'm glad to find them from the smaller publishers and less well known writers.
Oooh, air-conditioning! I completely agree on that one. We came out to Nevada for a few days and it's 116 degrees. Way too hot.
I'm reading "Goth" right now and it's a little hard to get through. It's really dark, more so than Stephen King.
Christina, that is not just hot, that's freaking hot.
It's all good, except for the slow internet and temporary loss of AC.
My Sunfire lost its AC but it's not quite as dire in Detroit.
Good luck with speed and freon . . .
Charles I have an award for you...
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