Men of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong

My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars

I’ve had this Kelley Armstrong anthology on my Kindle for months. Decided to read it this weekend, and I’m sorry it took me so long. I loved this book! It’s an anthology of sorts, but for me, it was mostly the backstory of one of the main male characters in Armstrong’s Otherworld series, Clayton.  And, unlike some backstories which serve mainly to let  you know a character’s history, Clay’s is riveting as a tale all on its own. A entire novel about his life would have worked for me, he’s that interesting.

The little boy werewolf–bitten, not born, and thus a rarity nearly unheard of–is completely endearing in all his fear, anger, and most of all, confusion as to the why’s of just about everything. His growing love and fierce devotion to the man who rescues him from near-certain death is heartwarming, risky,  and even amusing at times, and his path to adulthood is filled with danger and frustration.

As always, Armstrong’s world building is solid and completely believable, and all of her characters are multi-dimensional, even the bad guys. Now I remember why I enjoyed the Women of the Otherworld so much, and am thinking I have to go back and re-read the entire series, including some more recent additions I haven’t gotten to yet. I highly recommend this anthology, though I do think it would make a lot more sense if you’ve already read the first few Otherworld novels. At least, the first one, Bitten.

Men of the Otherworld

Noir Erasure Poetry Anthology

New Release

Silver Birch Press’s latest anthology is out! I’m very excited about this one, because it features something that was completely new to me (and maybe to some of you), erasure poetry. The trick with erasure poetry is to take a page from a book or other printed material, black out or otherwise obscure most of the text, and leave behind words that create a poem. It is not as easy as it sounds, believe me. Those darn words don’t cooperate, and many times, are not where you’d like them to be to make your poetry work. But it is SO much fun, and I find myself hunting down examples of this art form online, and being amazed at the beautiful and unique ways poets have found to obscure the unwanted words. There will be more posts on this subject matter later, because I’m fascinated with it, and want to share some links with you. But for now, I just want to say how much fun it was to create a poem for this collection. 

Silver Birch Press has done a wonderful job with the book, displaying the blacked out page on the left, so you can see the source, and the printed poem on the right, for easy reading. In this particular book, the idea was to create your poem from a source that would fall into the noir category, such as the writings of Raymond Chandler. The cover, by artist Guy Budziak, depicts actor William Conrad from the 1946 movie, The Killers. Check out his work at Film Noir Woodcuts.

The 122-page anthology features the work of 46 writers from around the world:  Jeffrey C. Alfier / Beth Ayer / Jenni B. Baker / David Barker / Kathy Burkett / Candace Butler / Freda Butler / Kim Cooper / Subhankar Das / Andrea Dickens / Barbara Eknoian / Chris Forhan / Laura Hartenberger / Paul Hawkins / Deborah Herman / Sandra Herman / Mathias Jansson / Jax NTP / Rosemarie Keenan / Wm. Todd King/ Joseph Lisowski / Renee Mallett / Adrian Manning/ Karen Margolis / Catfish McDaris / Marcia Meara / james w. moore / Sarah Nichols / Winston Plowes / David S. Pointer / D.A. Pratt / David Rachels / Jonne Rhodes / Van Roberts / Daniel Romo / Tere Sievers / Gerald So / Sherry Steiner / Caitlin Stern / Scott Stoller / Thomas R. Thomas / Mary Umans / Melanie Villines / Mercedes Webb-Pullman / Richard Wink / Joanie Hieger Fritz Zosike

Being such a lover of urban fantasy, I chose Simon R. Green’s book, Hell To Pay,  as my source material. The hero of his Nightside books is a trench coat-wearing private eye, and the writing has a definite gritty noir feeling to it–noir from the Twilight Zone. 

Hope some of you will check Noir Erasure Poetry Anthology out. I think you’ll be surprised at how much fun it is.

Noir Erasure Poetry Anthology

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Four Summoner’s Tales by Kelley Armstrong, et al

My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

This four-novella anthology appealed to me from the first moment I saw it on Amazon. The cover caught my eye, and the premise behind each tale jumped out at me: A strange visitor comes to town, offering to raise the townsfolk’s dearly departed from the dead–for a price . . .   And therein lies

Free Books From Silver Birch Press!

Silver Birch Press is offering two of their novels, and their Summer anthology as free Kindle downloads, through July 31. This is a great deal for you Kindle readers! Check ’em out!

Debt: A Novel

Phoenix: A Memoir

Summer: An Eclectic Anthology of Poetry & Prose (Silver Birch Press Anthologies)

To Summer by William Blake

Another excerpt from Silver Birch Press’s Summer Anthology. Enjoy!

To Summer

O thou who passest thro’ our valleys in
Thy strength, curb thy fierce steeds, allay the heat
That flames from their large nostrils! thou, O Summer,
Oft pitched’st here thy golden tent, and oft
Beneath our oaks hast slept, while we beheld
With joy thy ruddy limbs and flourishing hair.

 
Beneath our thickest shades we oft have heard
Thy voice, when noon upon his fervid car
Rode o’er the deep of heaven; beside our springs
Sit down, and in our mossy valleys, on

 
Some bank beside a river clear, throw thy
Silk draperies off, and rush into the stream:
Our valleys love the Summer in his pride.

 
Our bards are fam’d who strike the silver wire:
Our youth are bolder than the southern swains:
Our maidens fairer in the sprightly dance:
We lack not songs, nor instruments of joy,
Nor echoes sweet, nor waters clear as heaven,
Nor laurel wreaths against the sultry heat

 

Summer: An Eclectic Anthology of Poetry & Prose (Silver Birch Press Anthologies) (Volume 3)

Heat Sink by Caitlin Stern

Heat Sink

 
As a child
I splashed and shouted in a pool with crowds
of other children
free during summer vacation
Every half-hour or so
I’d emerge
blue-skinned and trembling
and climb the playground’s concrete vertical tube
yellow
and holed like Swiss-cheese
scrambling to the top
to plaster my damp skin against sun-warmed concrete
and bask in absorbed heat
before the sun
chased me
to cool chlorinated blue waters

NOTE: To read more of Caitlin’s work, check out:

Summer: An Eclectic Anthology of  Poetry & Prose

Summer: An Eclectic Anthology of Poetry & Prose

New Release!

Finally! The third book in the Silver Birch Press Anthology series is out! I’ve been eagerly awaiting this book, and not just because I’m lucky enough to have three poems included in the collection. There’s so much more to it than that, believe me! 

Summer is filled to bursting with a collection of summer-themed poetry, short stories, novel excerpts, memoirs, essays, and prose poems from 74 authors around the world! There are examples of classics by William Blake, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Edith Wharton, side by side with work from dozens of contemporary writers, and all with a hint of summer sunshine to illuminate them. 

The 220-page, 7″ x 10″ paperback is now available on amazon.com, and it will soon be out in Kindle format, as well. I simply can’t wait to get my copy! Hope you’ll check it out, too.

Summer: An Eclectic Anthology of Poetry & Prose (Silver Birch Press Anthologies) (Volume 3)

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The Firefly Dance Anthology

My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

Finally managed to get a book read this past week, in between everything else that’s going on in my life right now. The Firefly Dance is an anthology, featuring four character-driven, coming-of-age novellas that I thoroughly enjoyed. I have seen some lackluster reviews of the book, and I think this could be a result of readers who are much more attuned to high-concept novels, filled with lots of action, and very little introspection. Nothing wrong with that, but I happen to be lucky enough to enjoy both. These poignant stories each had a vintage feel to them, both in style, and in some cases, the eras in which they were set. I loved that, where others might not find it their cup of tea.

Sarah Addison Allen is one of my favorite writers, so I was drawn to the book due to her story. However, I thought all of the entries were pretty strong, and I’m looking forward to reading  more written by the three other authors: Kathryn Magendie, Augusta Trobaugh, and Phyllis Schieber.  I was particularly drawn to Magendie’s story, “Petey,” because it was set in the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are near and dear to my heart. The feeling this one evoked was perfect for the era, and for the beautifully described connection to the mountains.

If you like anthologies, especially with a gentle, old-fashioned feel to them, check this little book out. It’s worth it!

The Firefly Dance

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Early Release of The Green Anthology!

It’s OUT!

Wooohooo!  The Green Anthology has been released early, just in time for your favorite GREEN holidays and things…like St. Patrick’s Day, for one.  That’s my personal favorite green-themed day, and I’m sure the fact that it’s also my birthday has nothing to do with it. Much.  *wink-wink, nudge-nudge*

Seriously, this anthology is just

Is This A Great Birthday Present, Or What?

COMING SOON!

As if a March 16th trip to a Book Festival in Ft. Myers, with my best friend, and featuring many cool authors available for autographs and Q & A sessions, isn’t a cool enough way to spend the day before my birthday, I just found out the most exciting news! 

Some Really Exciting News!

A Wonderful Collection of Poems, Short Stories,  Essays, Novel Excerpts, and Stage Play Scenes

(Fresh From Silver Birch Press)

One of the most exciting things in my whole life happened to me just before the end of 2012–I was invited to submit a poem to Silver Birch Press to be included in their new anthology, appropriately entitled Silver!  It was close to the submission deadline, and all I had pertaining to the overall silver theme was

Into The Woods by Kim Harrison

My Rating 4 of 5 Stars

I waited all summer for Into The Woods to come out, since in addition to several short stories set in Rachel Morgan’s Cincinnati “Hollows” neighborhood, it also featured a short novella about

An Apple For The Creature edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni P. Kelner

My Rating:  4 of 5 Stars

I’m sure it’s well-known by anyone following my blog that I love good anthologies, and An Apple for the Creature definitely qualifies for that designation.  I really enjoyed this collection of short stories featuring tales of “Unnatural Education.”  There were quite a few

Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron edited by Jonathan Strahan

My Rating: 3-1/2 of 5 Stars

Anyone who’s visited this blog more than a few times probably knows that I’m very fond of good anthologies.  A well-written short story (which is rarer than you might think) is a treat to me, especially when I can enjoy one between reading bigger books.   In fact,  I enjoy collections of short stories enough to have devoted an entire

Musing on Anthologies

As I was glancing briefly at some reviews of “An Apple for the Creature,” a new anthology I just received yesterday, I was really surprised…maybe even a bit shocked…at how many people said they bought the book for

Woohooo! New Books A-Comin’!!!

Nothing feels better than ordering new books, except actually receiving them, of course.  But the anticipation of  knowing I have a box coming from amazon.com is one of the best feelings, ever!  And I’ve been looking forward to the release dates of these books for a long time, too.  All five of them!  What has me so excited, you may ask?  I’ll tell you.  In fact, I’ll tell you, even if you don’t ask!  I have to share my excitement with someone!

I have pre-ordered the following,

Those Who Fight Monsters by Justin Gustainis

MY RATING:  3 of 5 Stars

Another fun anthology, my favorite type of book for “cleansing my palate” between novels of any sort. As is usually the case, some of these short stories were much better than others, but only a couple were truly bad to my mind, so overall, I enjoyed the book.

There is a real trick to

Hex Appeal Edited By P. N. Elrod

MY RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

I love anthologies. They make the perfect break between “bigger” books. After I finish a good book, and before I start another one, I like to read a few short stories…a mental cleansing of the palate, more or less. Anthologies also let me visit with favorite authors between new releases from them. And even better, they often introduce me to writers I’ve never checked out before. For these reasons,