New Shop for our Colorado Front Range Locals

I just can't resist giving a big thumbs up to our dear friend and long time retailer, Destiny Douglass. I visited her new shop, Farmhouse Vintage, in downtown Elizabeth yesterday and I was so impressed. It is brand new and already so cute and fabulous. Of course, I'm also thrilled that she is carrying my books in her shop. We even sold a couple the day I delivered them to her. Destiny, I wish you all the best in your new endeavor!

For more information check her website at  http://www.farmhouse-vintage.com/ or visit her facebook page.

Advance Review of Diane Rapp's new novel

I was so happy to read an advance copy of Dragon Defense, Diane Rapp's third novel in the Heirs to the Throne series. I thought I'd post the review I wrote for her here. The book should be out in July.

http://quicksilvernovels.com/

Fantastic friendly dragons, telepathic wolves and humans, a space ship crew bent on destroying the planet, and a feudal system under reform by “spacers” from Earth who make the planet Drako their second home. What more could a reader want? Diane Rapp’s imagination appears boundless and her ability to bring a story to life is impressive. I enjoyed this third installment of the Drako adventure as much as the first two novels in the Heirs to the Throne series.

Dragon Defense is a delightful completely unique fantasy blended with science fiction. King Donovan and Queen Krystal, along with their three exceptional cloned daughters and an extensive cast of interesting well developed characters attempt to overthrow Jarrack, a dangerous madman bent on using mind control to extend his life and rule Drako. At the same time, an Institute space ship commanded by a dangerous spy approaches the planet with the intent of revenge and planetary destruction. All the while, romance blossoms for the King’s daughters who use their considerable talents to help free Jarrack’s children from their desert prison, search out and repair a dangerous radiation leak, and train teenagers and dragons to form a strange air force defense system.

The story is complex and thought provoking. The plots and subplots weave threads of space travel, life extension and cloning, mind control, telepathic communication with animals, and evolving social structure into a fascinating tapestry. As the tale winds to an exciting and suspenseful conclusion, the humans, dragons, and wolves must join forces to defend the planet using cooperation and ingenuity, since most of the planet’s previous technology has been abandoned and outlawed.

The rich descriptions of Drako and its inhabitants transport the reader to another place and time. Diane does a marvelous job describing the beautiful intelligent dragons and the experience of humans who fly on their backs and once again, the wise telepathic wolves play a central role in helping the humans overcome Jarrack’s treachery. I recommend this unique and very intelligent book for readers who like adventure, romance, science fiction, or fantasy. It’s all in there!

Authors Need and Appreciate Publicity

Mountains in Ushuaia, Argentina (the end of the world)

As I finalize Current Assets and prepare to launch this third in series, I especially love the idea of free publicity. I've just uploaded both Darcy Farthing novels to askDavid.com.   Check out my pages there for Currents Deep and Deadly on http://tinyurl.com/874728a and  Currents of Vengeance  http://tinyurl.com/73k5szt  I invite other authors to check out ask David for a little free publicity. 

New Darcy Farthing Novel Coming Soon




The Adventure Continues

 

I'm in the final stages of editing the manuscript for Current Assets, the third Darcy Farthing adventure novel. I am grateful to my manuscript readers who are providing excellent comments, and to all the fans of Darcy, Mick, and the gang. The books are available on amazon.com at http://tinyurl.com/3fqqg7e and on http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ 




First in Series: The Adventure Begins

  

I expect to release Current Assets by August. I wonder if third time is a charm works for novels? Darcy Farthing is not a household name yet, but who knows what might happen in the future.   http://www.arleenalleman.com/

Here is an advance review of Current Assets
 by author Diane Rapp. Check out her books at http://quicksilvernovels.com/

Having enjoyed the first two novels in Arleen Alleman’s mystery series, I was anxious to read an advance copy of Current Assets. Arleen wrote another fascinating novel! The characters take a short luxury cruise down to the western Caribbean, but the story mainly takes place on Marco Island, off the Florida coast. Alleman brings back familiar characters from the first two novels, making established readers feel like they dropped in for a visit with old friends. We care about these characters, understand their flaws, and hope they work out their complicated relationships. New readers are given enough back-story so they won’t wonder what happened earlier.

The plot has plenty of intrigue and adventure, nail biting scenes, and charming descriptions of Marco Island. The action starts when Tom Smythe shoots a fellow police officer, and Mick scrambles to help prove the shooting was self-defense. Mick recently found record keeping problems with records of police asset forfeiture sales in Florida and realizes that Tom found another case of police corruption. The book explains how criminals forfeit cash, jewelry, vehicles, and real estate connected with their crimes. Individuals in police departments might “lose” paperwork to sell those assets for personal gain.

Arleen Alleman always does her homework. She weaves real facts into a sophisticated narrative, keeping readers on the edge of our chairs until we finish the story. Her new characters are well developed and suspense builds throughout the novel. Why would honest citizens turn to crime? Will Mick be able to prove Tom’s innocence when the only witness is the injured officer? As bodies start to fall, we worry that Darcy’s curiosity might get her killed.

Readers also learn about Darcy’s personal life. We imagine pouring a cup of tea and sitting on the deck while manatees move through the nearby canal. We enjoy hearing about Darcy’s love life and her tenuous relationship with her daughter. After all, Darcy is an old friend and we just dropped by for a visit.

Great Calorie-Reducing Idea

Once again, the idea is not mine, but I think this is a good article. I always advocate cutting back on restaurant portions, sharing meals, and gaining awareness of how many calories we consume. This article presents ways to "remake" restaurant favorites at home with way fewer calories. One reason I like this approach is that just reading the recipes gives you an idea of how to make your own cooking healthier and less fattening.

 http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/5-fast-food-favorites-healthier-home-170300002.html

Those of us who grew up eating rich foods, heavy in gravies and sauces, might require a weaning process to cut way back on that "style" of eating. Instead, we should consider replacing our usual menu items with what I call "clean" food. By this I mean grilled or roasted meat with herbs, garlic, and other seasonings, but no gravy or sauce. Likewise, vegetables prepared in the microwave with just a sprinkling of water, a little olive oil, and seasoned with herbs, such as oregano (delicious on broccoli), basil, or tarragon. Of course, tomato based sauce prepared with a little olive oil and lots of garlic and herbs adds almost no fat and great taste to whole grain pasta or vegetables. Try it on steamed cauliflower.

Some food manufacturers do get the need to present healthier choices, and whole-grain pasta in moderation is a great example. Likewise, try substituting whole wheat flour for white flour in almost any baked goods recipe and enjoy the wholesome nutty flavor it adds to oatmeal cookies, pancakes, and nut breads, for example. We routinely cut the amount of sugar in recipes by half or more, and they are still plenty sweet enough. As many of you know, pureed vegetables can be added to cake, cookie, and bread recipes as well.

This reminds me of the "glop" I discussed in one of my first blog posts. When you throw whole carrots, spinach, squash, blueberries, bananas, oranges, apples, or virtually any fruit into a blender along with orange or cranberry juice, you get a smoothie-like drink that could not be healthier. You can't really taste the vegetables and you can play with the combinations until you have your own favorite "glop." The point of this being that you are consuming healthful food, not just juice.




Couldn't resist adding a random pictue of one of my jewelry art designs. This is "Yellow Wood." Hand-sculpted pure silver tree and leaves, with amber and man-made yellow sapphires fired into the silver, with gold wire trim.



Thirteen Tips for Healthy Weight Loss

I've found another really good article on weight loss that tells a more realistic and honest story of what we need to do to maintain health and shed some pounds. Take a look at these thirteen basic tips and keep in mind that the bottom line is lots of fiber, whole grains and vegetables, healthy fats, lose sugary treats, and a big dose of common sense.  http://gma.yahoo.com/13-things-diet-experts-wont-tell-weight-loss-170358888--abc-news.html

Exercise alone might build muscle and stamina but is not the answer for major weight loss. That said I'm off to the gym. Not to lose weight, but to stay strong and keep my metabolism healthy. 

Another random travel picture: Blue Mountains, near Sidney, Australia.

Rambo's Daffodils

This morning, my husband rushed into the house to tell me that Rambo's daffodils are coming up in the garden. I had to rush out to see the tiny sprouts emerging between patches of snow at the edge of the deck. It is such a small thing, but after so many years we are still excited at our personal sign of renewal. It is hard to believe that eleven years have passed since I knelt beside the low stone wall placing small amounts of Rambo's ashes in lieu of bone meal into each bulb hole. When we inevitably leave this home, this will be the thing we miss the most.

Rambo was with us for a relatively short time. We adopted the huge strong grey tabby not knowing that at the age of two, he already suffered from the beginnings of kidney failure . . . probably from early neglect. As we know, cats must have ample fresh water all the time to avoid his fate. He was the best cat imaginable. So smart that he learned to sit and raise up his paw to "shake" with astounded visitors. But, what made him so endearing and precious was in part the road we traveled together during the last year of his life.

Each afternoon when we returned from work, we went immediately to the kitchen and pulled a stool up to the counter. As we unraveled the ringer's bag that had become an odd decorative fixture hanging from the cupboard above the sink, Rambo would run into the room and jump onto the stool. There he would hunker down and wait patiently as we stuck the needle in his ruff and filled him with life-saving fluid. Every once in a while if we had not changed the needle or our technique was a little off and he felt the jab, he would turn his head and look back at us with an indescribable look of, well, of understanding.

When he finally succumbed, he and we had extended his life by a year. He was the best of cats and our sadness over losing him was profound even though it was expected. Obviously, as a result of the daily treatments the three of us--two humans and a cat--formed a unique bond of mutual cooperation and care.

We're not exactly the most sentimental or sensitive people in the world, but this experience touched us deeply and remains a strong link in the bond between us, the two humans left behind. And so, we take a ludricous amount of pleasure in watching the inch-by-inch progress of Rambo's daffodils as they push upward and finally bloom, then sadly die back, only to return a year later along with the rush of memories of an intelligent loving animal.