madame tussaud releases today

It is a special thing when a book releases. With the advent of facebook and other internet tools, avid readers can experience a bit of the joy an author has when their latest 'baby' is unpacked and put on store shelves for purchase. Publication is a unique joy. I've only been published nationally once, but the joy I felt when I got the phone call that my essay was going to appear in a Mary Englebreit mini magazine about blew my mind. I still have the coat I purchased with my $75 pay check and I had the essay framed.

One author, actually it was Karen Marie Moning, the author I blogged about yesterday, told me in an email she licked her first published book, just to make sure it was real! I loved it!! And when my essay was published, I understood.

Today Michelle Moran's latest historical fiction novel is released. "Madame Tussaud" is about the very famous French lady who survived the Revolution. I love the cover of the book, and I often ignore the old adage that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Yes, I do judge books by their covers and this cover rocks. Finally, a heroine facing the reader head on (no pun intended).

Cheers to Michelle Moran on her latest novel. I can't wait to read it.

brrrrr

When I woke this morning our temp was at a whopping 9 degrees. Brrrrr. Well, I have a good coat and all the appropriate cold weather gear, so I will be heading out to the store this morning to do some pantry restocking and then home to snuggle up with a good book, a cup of tea and one of my mom's quilts.

Perfection, or at least as close at it gets to that state.

My brother will be arriving back in the states today from his most recent deployment to "the Stan" as he calls it. My parents along with his lovely wife will be there to greet him at the airport. I wonder if the kids know he is getting home today or if they will have a wonderful surprise waiting from them when they get home from school.

Got an email newsletter from Michelle Moran yesterday. I've blogged about her novels and she has even commented on a few of my posts. Pleased as punch that Target has picked her debut novel, "Nefertiti," as one of their book club selections. Spiffy new cover for the book along with lots of other neat things inside. She has a spruced up website, a facebook page and other fun things going on. Congrats to her for starting of 2010 in such a fantabulous way. She so deserves it. Michelle travels a lot and has interesting posts on her site about her excursions. Can't wait for her next book!

Looks to be a good weekend! Enjoy.

Cleopatra's Daughter

I remember exchanging emails with Michelle Moran after her first book came out. In it she mentioned that this book, "Cleopatra's Daughter" was in the works. I was so excited as I too wondered what happened to the famed Cleopatra's two surviving children, her twins Alexander and Kleopatra Selene.

I knew they had been taken back to Rome, but that was about it. Moran does an amazing job of fleshing out their stories and grounding her tale in the often very harsh realities of ancient Rome. She has such a knack for making the past come to life....things and people today aren't really all that different than they were then.

Selene and her brother wind up living in the household of Octavia, Marc Antony's last Roman wife. They are raised and educated alongside her other children as well as several extended family members. Far from their beloved Alexandria and Egypt, they both long to return home, but realize that their fates depend on the whims and political maneuverings of Rome's ruling family and Egypt's conqueror, Octavian.

Moran tells a great story and manages to weave in historical facts, events and people in a seamless manner. Although this book is categorized as adult fiction, I think YA readers would also enjoy the novel as the main characters are in their early teens for most of the book. Nothing better than being educated while you are being entertained.

Moran's next tale is going to be about Madame Tussaud....and I can't wait!

jackpot

Sooooo excited! While I was at the library yesterday, I found several books to borrow and when I went to the counter to check them out, the gal let me know that a book I had requested arrived and was on hold for me. It was Michelle Moran's latest, "Cleopatra's Daughter." Whoo Hoo! I'm only about 140 pages into it, but am enjoying every page. Michelle has a great gift for bringing history and the people who made it to life. It is almost like she sat down and interviewed all of them over a coffee at Starbucks, they jump from the pages....quite a gift.

I will post a complete review when I finish the novel. I also found an very interesting looking book called "The Magicians" that I can't wait to read.

Jackpot day in the stacks. Nothing better.

Today is all about getting things in place so I can spend the rest of the week working the book sale at the library. Middle kid's soccer tournament is off for the weekend, but the oldest and hubby will still head east to take on some tough teams from the middle of our state.

Happy Tuesday.

Ancient Eygpt and Vikings

I finished Michelle Moran's "The Heretic Queen" yesterday. Good thing as it is due back to the library today! I really enjoyed Moran's first book, "Nefertiti" and her new novel was just as entertaining. Moran has a gift for taking the ancient and making it feel so contemporary. The political struggles, the relationships, the tough decisions ancient people experienced are really no different than modern society encounters. I enjoyed reading about the relationship between Ramesses and Nefertari. By all accounts, they truly were a love match. I also found it interesting how Moran wove the Moses character into the storyline and the author end notes on Moses and his story were fascinating.

My only disappointment, and this is probably just a 'Liz' issue, I didn't feel the connection with Nefertari like I did with her mother, Mutnodjmet, the heroine of the first book. I liked "N" and felt sympathy for her, but "M" just spoke to me. This isn't a criticism of the novel, again, it could just be a circumstance where certain characters really find a way into your head and others don't quite talk to you in that way.

From ancient Eygpt, I am now moving forward in time to begin reading a Viking story. Judson Roberts has put out a YA trilogy about a young Viking set in 845. I devoured the first book in the Strongbow Saga, and the second one is starting out just as good.

the week that wasn't

Nothing like a vicious virus to trash plans. I didn't do anything I wanted to do this week and settled for accomplishing what I had to do. Not much to recap as a result.

I feel much better today. The cold is a lingering annoyance at this point. The oldest has a soccer game at 3:00 and she and the middle kid referee tomorrow one game a piece. So, our soccer activities will be lighter than normal.

I intend on hitting B&N today and getting the Sookie book I'm missing. I also need to keep an eye peeled for the latest from Michelle Moran, "The Heretic Queen." Her first book, "Nefertiti" was an excellent read and I have confidence this new one will be just as good. You know me and historical fiction...after the Tudor dynasty, give me some ancient Egyptians or Romans and I'm a happy girl.

Speaking of reading, my favorite hardcore urban fantasy author, Lilith Saintcrow has put up a serial book on her website. It is all about Selene and Nikolai, the nichtvren from her Dante Valentine series. Scrumpdillyicious reading indeed.

No post here on Monday. Instead check out Murderby4blogspot.com and my debut there....all about how libraries order books.

Good weekend ya'll