Egyptian Princess

I realized after I posted my Ireland pictures that I hadn't posted any of my Egypt trip. We went down there to meet up with my parents and cruise the Nile as well as visit the pyramids. It was heavenly (though completely, uncomfortably hot). And it was very safe, considering we hit this magic hole between when the revolution ended and when the Egyptians became riled up again. We were there just two weeks after the revolution ended. The tour guides kept saying, "Back during the revolution..." and we would all turn to each other and say, "Two weeks ago..."

I was sad that we missed out on Abu Simbel but it was way further south than we went. I love traveling with my parents, they do it in style. We had luxury hotels and a beautiful boat on the Nile. Tourism is dead down there (kind of understandable) but the poverty was a bit of a shock for my husband.

The Temple of Philae. They moved this temple piece by piece when they built the dam on the Nile and the area flooded.

My mama and I at Luxor Temple.

Best photo bomb ever by my parents' friend.

Lol. My mom is awesome.

Minarets and satellites.

All four of us at Luxor Temple.

This was happening on one side of the boat...

...and this was on the other.

Fathom by Merrie Destefano - Book Review

Fathom by Merrie Destefano is about Selkies and monsters and adolescence and confusion and love and courage. Kira lost her mother and sister when she was young. She believes that her mother killed her sister and then committed suicide. But her father and grandmother are keeping secrets. And something starts to change when a new group of kids shows up in town.

I have no words. It was beautifully written; it had a compelling cast of characters; it ended so smoothly with just a hint of a cliff hanger. From the very beginning the premise and the poetry of her prose gripped me. Kira had such real and true emotions. Every moment I felt just like a teenager again with the hormones and the confusion, so effortlessly shown through the waves of feeling.

The twists and turns kept coming, but everything was resolved by the end. The end was stunning and bittersweet but left enough room for more of a story without leaving the reader wanting. There were some truly eerie parts where I pulled the covers up higher and glanced around my room looking for monsters.

I was slightly confused by one thing because the story is based on the west coast of the States, but it seems the group of Selkies swam from Ireland (as far as I could tell). How did they do that? Other than that, I will highly recommend this book.

This book was given to me by the author for review.

Looking Back On My Year So Far

I've come a long way this year, from working full time for an engineering company to dropping to part time and then leaving entirely to freelance as an editor (my dream!).

I've read 66 books and written most of a novel along with multiple short stories and blog posts.

I am participating in the classics challenge by November's Autumn and have 3 classics to go. I'm running my own challenge to revamp original fairy tales (speaking of, I start reading Robin Hood next month, who's with me?).

I've moved to Belgium and traveled to Egypt, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, and England. I'll be going to France to snowboard in December and who knows where else.

I consider myself a pretty well-rounded person. I like who I am. But I want to continue growing and learning. I always want to become better. I'm turning 26 in a little over a month. I would love to have a set of goals lined up for the coming year. Should I be cliche and do the 27 Things Before I Turn 27? (Ugh, 27 sounds so old.) Have any ideas for what goals I should reach?

Ireland!

We went to Dublin and surrounding countryside for Labor Day weekend. Let me tell you, the rumors are true, Ireland grass is neon.

It was beautiful. We really enjoyed the Jameson whiskey tour and the Guinness brewery tour (yum!), but we particularly enjoyed the countryside. We visited the Boyne valley and also the peninsula of Howth. Stunning views and green, green, green.

Twelve Months by Steven Manchester - Book Review

Twelve Months by Steven Manchester is a novel about living. Don is diagnosed with stage four cancer and is given a year to live. So he lives. The book follows his journey through a bucket list and back to his family's side.

I definitely teared up at the end. But I'm having trouble voicing my opinion on this one. It was a lot of telling, but in a way that is different from the norm. I didn't feel like I was being chastised or lectured. I felt like I was getting to witness someone else's experience, but it felt so perfect that I couldn't really believe it. I wasn't emotionally involved except that the writing pulled emotions from me.

The writing was great. It was poetic at times and portrayed daily life in a beautiful manner. I didn't necessarily love any of the characters, but I certainly loved the prose. Perhaps it's better that way because you are allowed to be a bit numb while reading about someone dying. It wasn't gruesome, and it seemed that Don (though it was first person) hid a lot of his pain and feelings from his family and the reader.

I liked it, but as with any controversial book, I'm torn. It's hard to get a message like this one across smoothly. It has some great messages, some real gems, but they were too obvious for me. I will recommend this one for the writing alone, as that hooked me.

I received this book from the author for review.

Yoga for Life

I started a yoga class a few weeks ago. I've wanted to do it for probably years, I just never had the guts to go (I'm an extreme introvert and completely shy if you didn't know). I finally bucked up and went and wish I hadn't been such a chicken. But I'm realizing that I've been doing yoga my whole life.

When my mom has back problems, I've given her massages and given her advice that I think will help. One of those bits has been to stand on knees and hands and bend her back up and down while breathing deeply...cow and cat in yoga anyone?

WildVeda on Etsy

When I was in elementary school I found a trumpet in my friend's closet and started messing around with it. I had so much fun that I started lessons and then joined the school band a year earlier than normal and subsequently bought a shiny horn for myself. I played jazz up until high school when I decided to quit and sold my beautiful silver trumpet. Whenever I practiced trumpet, don't ask me why it was just comfortable, I stood with one leg propped up on the other like a flamingo...tree pose?

And probably the most obvious: as a child I slept with my butt in the air. My mom thought it was the most adorable thing, but honestly it's just wonderful to sit like that. Child's pose is my favorite in yoga. The back stretch is wonderful, and I still think I could sleep like that.

LindsaySatchell on Etsy

Author Interview Jess Lourey The Toadhouse Trilogy

Hi Jess!

Just a few questions for Jess Lourey who wrote The ToadhouseTrilogy: Book One. I reviewed it last week and wanted to get into the mind of the author. Here we go:

So I think the question on all our minds, since your book is about books, is what is your favorite book and why?

Oh man, you started out with the killer question! That’s like asking me which of my kids I like the best. I’m not going to weasel out, though. If I had to pick the best, all-time book, the one I read at a very influential point in my life and that has resonated with me ever since, I’d pick Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon. That book just spoke to me in my early 20s, took me away somewhere raw and beautiful, and changed my sense of myself. My favorite piece of classic literature is probably Sinclair Lewis’ Main Street, but the more I research for The Toadhouse Trilogy, the more I realize how many amazing classics there are just waiting for me to read them and fall in love.

How did you get from writing murder mysteries to young adult?

December Dread comes out next month, and it’s the eighth book in my Murder-by-Month series, which means I’ve been writing mystery novels for over seven years nw. When I set out to write the first in The Toadhouse Trilogy over a year ago, though, it didn’t feel like a deliberate choice to switch genres so much as giving voice to a story idea that I had that I became obsessed with. I hope my mystery roots serve me well in the pacing of The Toadhouse Trilogy. As my ten-year-old son likes to tell me, the best YA is YA with a secret.

Who is your favorite character in The Toadhouse Trilogy: Book One?

I want to say Aine because she is the main character, but to be honest, she and I butted heads so much that I’m still a little sore. She’s so strong-willed that she didn’t stand for much author manipulation. I found myself losing sleep over Spenser, her brother, though, and feeling sad for days when bad things happened to him. And I also have a deep crush on Gilgamesh. Hmm. You know, some days, when I’m at my weakest, I just wish someone else would hurry up and write these books so I could read them, but then I wouldn’t get the honor of wrestling with these characters, all of whom I’ve come to love.

Any particular reason you chose to write about fairies?

You know how when you learn a new word, suddenly you hear it everywhere? Once this story idea came into my head, I started seeing parts of it everywhere, and I only had to weave them into the fabric of the larger story. I knew there had to be a magical element, the “writers” in the world I was creating, and the more I started digging in classic literature, the more I realized how often fairies appear in some of the greatest works of fiction ever written. So, the fairies knocked, so to speak, and I answered the door.

I’m not sure if you’ll answer this one, but can you give us a hint as to where Aine and Spenser will go next?

I can do you one better. At least I hope you think it’s one better. J Here’s the description for Monsters: The Toadhouse Trilogy, Book Two:

Aine, Spenser, and Gilgamesh have retrieved the first object, but their time is running out. Biblos the Book Worm has returned, and he is devouring the greatest novels ever written in his hunt for the threesome. Their desperate search for the remaining two objects is further complicated when Madame Bovary discovers the secret of the toadhouse and escapes her novel to wreak havoc across worlds. Aine leads the desperate race through Babbit, Frankenstein, Beowulf, and The Jungle, confused by the developing romance between her and Gilgamesh, worried for her brother Spenser who is growing ever inward, and amazed as her and Spenser's magical powers develop by the day. Will they retrieve the second object, or will Biblos destroy them first?

Thanks for doing this Jess. Can’t wait to see more of your young adult books.

It’s been my absolute pleasure! Thank you for having me.

Jess Lourey is the author of The Toadhouse Trilogy: Book One, the first in a young adult series that celebrates the danger and excitement of reading. She also writes the critically-acclaimed Murder-by-Month Mysteries for adults with a sense of humor. She's been teaching writing and sociology at the college level since 1998. When not gardening, writing, or hanging out with her wonderful kids and dorky dog, you can find her reading, watching SyFy-channel original movies, and dreaming big. You can visit her website at http://www.jesslourey.com/toadhouse/index.html, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/jess.lourey, or email her at jesslourey@yahoo.com.