Personal Recommendation from Idgie - The Outlander by Gil Adamson

This is a book I recently came across and am currently reading.  I am engrossed.  Really good novel. Sparse, stark yet meaningful writing. Enjoying it immensely.  Not every find has to be new - there are always gems in the stacks you missed the first time. 


Book Description:

Published 2008

In 1903 a mysterious young woman flees alone across the West, one heart-pounding step ahead of the law. At nineteen, Mary Boulton has just become a widow—and her husband's killer. As bloodhounds track her frantic race toward the mountains, she is tormented by mad visions and by the knowledge that her two ruthless brothers-in-law are in pursuit, determined to avenge their younger brother's death. Responding to little more than the primitive fight for life, the widow retreats ever deeper into the wilderness—and into the wilds of her own mind—encountering an unforgettable cast of eccentrics along the way.

With the stunning prose and captivating mood of great works like Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain or early Cormac McCarthy, Gil Adamson's intoxicating debut novel weds a brilliant literary style to the gripping tale of one woman's desperate escape.

Dead Man's Time

Dead Man's Time
Author: Peter James
Series: Detective Superintendent Roy Grace (Book 9)
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books (October 15, 2013)

Book Description:
In Dead Man's Time, the latest from international bestselling author Peter James, Roy Grace finds himself up against that most dangerous of all adversaries—a man with fury in his heart who has nothing to lose.

New York, 1922.  Five-year-old Gavin Daly and his seven-year-old sister, Aileen, are boarding the SS Mauretania to Dublin—and safety. Their mother has been shot and their Irish mobster father abducted. Suddenly, a messenger hands Gavin a piece of paper on which are written four names and eleven numbers, a cryptic message that will haunt him all his life, and his father's pocket watch.  As the ship sails, Gavin watches Manhattan fade into the dusk and makes a promise, that one day he will return and find his father.

Brighton, 2012.  Detective Superintendent Roy Grace investigates a savage burglary in Brighton, in which an old lady is murdered and £10m of antiques have been taken, including a rare vintage watch.  To Grace’s surprise, the antiques are unimportant to her family—it is the watch they want back.  As his investigation probes deeper, he realizes he has kicked over a hornets nest of new and ancient hatreds.  At its heart is one man, Gavin Daly, the dead woman’s ninety-five-year-old brother.  He has a score to settle and a promise to keep—both of which lead to a murderous trail linking the antiques world of Brighton, the crime fraternity of Spain’s Marbella, and New York.
 
Roy Grace, in a race against the clock to stop another killing, has met his most dangerous adversary yet.

Idgie Says:
I have not read any of the books in this series before, but it's a well done novel that can stand alone - which is very rare these days.  Refreshing.  I loved how very British the novel is.  Probably if I were British I wouldn't notice, but it's distinctly an international book which somehow gave it that extra flair.  

It's somewhat graphic in it's descriptions of violence - but it is a violent story so that goes along with the rest.  I was a bit horrified at how the violence was aimed toward a 98 year old woman, but again, sadly, real life also has this so it was not out of place in the story. 

A story that reaches almost 100 years into the past with revenge and murder at the heart of it - it keeps you interested the entire time.   A nice hearty sized book that you can really spend some quality time with.

The Thicket

The Thicket
Joe R. Lansdale
Mulholland Books (September 10, 2013)

Idgie Says:
A WINNER! Saying it again, I loved this book. A darkly humorous western with hogs, midgets, hookers and attitude. I am so glad this one made it my way.

The dark humor and wordplay wrapped around a western setting - perfection. I have never read Joe Lansdale before, but apparently he has quite a few more books out there in the world and I intend to grab several for my reading pleasure.

A great example of the wordplay is this piece, "...found it hard to cry but once we started you best be prepared for highwater and loading of animals two by two."    Also, I must find a way to use  "Therein is the grit in the lard" in some sentence soon. There were so many other great lines but I would spend the next day finding and copying them all so I'll leave them to you to discover.

One thing I really enjoyed in this novel is that even though the gang trying to save the boy's sister contains a circus midget (with a very harsh backstory), a grave digger and a whore, none are ignorant stupid people who you might end up ridiculing.  They are people with strong morals, stronger convictions to do what needs to be done, and of a normal to high level of intelligence.

You really need to read the excerpt below to get the full flavor of the writing. The phrasing is best experienced instead of described.

Go HERE for Excerpt

Book Description:
Jack Parker thought he'd already seen his fair share of tragedy. His grandmother was killed in a farm accident when he was barely five years old. His parents have just succumbed to the smallpox epidemic sweeping turn-of-the-century East Texas--orphaning him and his younger sister, Lula.

Then catastrophe strikes on the way to their uncle's farm, when a traveling group of bank-robbing bandits murder Jack's grandfather and kidnap his sister. With no elders left for miles, Jack must grow up fast and enlist a band of heroes the likes of which has never been seen if his sister stands any chance at survival. But the best he can come up with is a charismatic, bounty-hunting dwarf named Shorty, a grave-digging son of an ex-slave named Eustace, and a street-smart woman-for-hire named Jimmie Sue who's come into some very intimate knowledge about the bandits (and a few members of Jack's extended family to boot).

In the throes of being civilized, East Texas is still a wild, feral place. Oil wells spurt liquid money from the ground. But as Jack's about to find out, blood and redemption rule supreme. In The Thicket, award-winning novelist Joe R. Lansdale lets loose like never before, in a rip-roaring adventure equal parts True Gritand Stand by Me--the perfect introduction to an acclaimed writer whose work has been called "as funny and frightening as anything that could have been dreamed up by the Brothers Grimm--or Mark Twain" (New York Times Book Review).

Saving Paradise

Idgie Says:
This novel has a little bit of everything.  Beautiful descriptions of Hawaii, little interesting tidbits of history thrown in, ecology lessons - all intertwined with a murder mystery starring a hunky special agent/surfer/writer dude.

What's not to like?  

In all seriousness though, there is a strong ecological underlying theme running through the book, warning of the dangers of ruining our earth in ways that we won't easily come back from.

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Saving Paradise
Mike Bond
Mandevilla Press (November 20, 2012)

Book Description:

Mike Bond isn’t scared of much. He has hiked more than 50,000 miles—twice the circumference of the earth—through North and South America, New Zealand, Mongolia, Russia, Africa, and France. In the dying days of the Algerian revolution, Bond took off at age 19 across the Sahara, experiencing the euphoria and terror of wandering on foot across the blazing, uncharted desert mountains from Tamanrasset to Timbuktu.

As an international energy expert, war and human rights correspondent, Bond has lived and worked in many remote, dangerous parts of the world, including 30 countries on six continents.

The one thing that terrifies him, however, is the destruction of our most treasured paradises. Some of his characters might be fictitious but Bond’s work has real-world impact.

His Aloha State thriller, SAVING PARADISE (Mandevilla Press, 2012) played a role in stopping the Big Wind and the Inter-island Cable Project in Hawaii. This project would have destroyed major parts of Molokai, Lanai and Maui with more than 40 square miles of wind turbines 42 stories high, all connected by high voltage cables through the Hawaii National Humpback Whale Sanctuary. In addition to drastic environmental and social effects on all three islands, it would have had a catastrophic impact on whales, dolphins and other ocean species including endangered monk seals and turtles.

SAVING PARADISE begins with love at first sight when Pono Hawkins discovers Sylvia Gordon in the surf off Waikiki: she is beautiful, sensitive, athletic, intelligent and—dead. He vows to find out who could have taken the life of the popular journalist, a foolish undertaking for a twice-convicted surfer still on parole. But Pono isn’t one to shy away from trouble—and trouble certainly doesn’t shy away from him. His Special Forces training is going to come in handy when the trail of death leads to something totally unexpected—a scheme to bring Big Wind to the islands that could have disastrous consequences for the Hawaii he knows and loves.

Haunted by memories of Afghanistan and in danger of spending the rest of his life in prison, Pono dodges a cabal of power corporations, foreign killers and crooked politicians all intent on pinning the blame on him. He’s in for a wild ride through the roaring surf and seamy side of paradise. 

 

MIKE BOND was called the “master of the existential thriller” by the BBC and “one of the 21st century’s most exciting authors” by the Washington Times. His ancestors were among the first westerners in Hawaii, he is a bestselling novelist, international energy expert, war and human rights correspondent and award-winning poet who has lived and worked in many remote, dangerous parts of the world. His critically acclaimed novels depict the innate hunger of the human heart for what is good, the intense joys of love, the terror and fury of battle, the sinister vagaries of international politics and multinational corporations and the vanishing beauty of the natural world.

 

Resilience

Resilience
N. G. Osborne
Cranham & Keith Books
November, 2013

"The Second Book of Refuge"

Idgie Says:
Finally! The minute the first book ended in such a cliffhanger fashion I have been twiddling my fingers and waiting.  I have been in angst wondering what happens next with Charlie and Noor. 

Then I was lucky enough to receive an advance manuscript and  but couldn't say anything about it as it was not yet published. Torture! 

Speaking of torture - this book is not for the weak of stomach.   This is the Middle East and there is a war against - and with - the Taliban.  I've read the book now - and people, it's not pretty. As with the first book, there are moments you wince, squint, try to look away or just tear up as wonderful people are wounded, tortured - physically and emotionally - or killed in front of loved ones. 

But it's not over yet - there's obviously another book out there! Without giving too much away, Charlie and Noor are thousands of miles apart - on separate sides of the world and both have prices on their heads - but their love remain strong and you can only hope they stay alive long enough to find each other once more. 
 
A gripping story that I can't wait to continue.

Click HERE to read the Dew's review of Refuge

Book Description:

Noor has been flown to Saudi Arabia to begin her life as a Princess. Charlie has been deported from Pakistan and sent home bruised and battered to the United States. 

For each of them there is a temptation - however dire it may seem. For Noor, who believes Charlie's dead, it is accepting her new situation and assimilating into the Prince's family as best she can. For Charlie, it is coming to terms with the massive improbability of ever seeing Noor again and moving on. 

But neither can do that. Noor yearns to be free, while Charlie yearns to free her. And so despite incredible odds, each sets a plan in a motion to achieve their goal, and in turn, they will test their love's very resilience

In Pursuit

In Pursuit
Author: Sharman Burson Ramsey
Publisher: Mercer University Press
Publication Date: September 4, 2013

Book Description:
Creek half-breed and survivor of the Creek Indian War, Joie Kincaid and the nemesis she rescued from certain death after the Massacre at Fort Mims are kidnapped from a tea room in London. Joie awakens with amnesia--after having been struck on the head--to find herself in the hold of a ship sailing to the pirate Gasparilla's lair in Charlotte Harbour and bound to a man she finds strangely familiar.

To save himself and Joie, the preeminent scholar Godfrey Lewis Winkel is forced to take heroic action. As a story of passion unfolds between the two, Joie Kincaid must overcome a childhood of abuse and rejection to accept love she had never known. Together they weather the tempests of pirates, illness, the Seminole War, family vendetta, and a hurricane to find their way to each other and a love neither could have imagined.

IN PURSUIT continues the family saga begun in SWIMMING WITH SERPENTS, a story of love, war, and redemption set against the Creek Indian War.

Idgie Says:
This is a romance/historical fiction novel that has all you need to swoon over handsome men, beautiful women and to lose yourself for a few hours in pirates, Indian lore and a bit of British history.  I considered it a bit of a throwback "smart romance" in that the author use real historical facts mixed with exciting fiction, but that it's written in the more simplistic wording and style of a lot of romances from the 70's and 80's. It definitely seemed dated in it's styling to me.

Not a great read, but one you could still easily while away a rainy afternoon in front of the fire with.

Cross and Burn

Idgie Says:
This hearty sized book is the 8th in a line of Tony Hill crime mysteries and they aren't losing steam yet.  Serial killer books make me queasy and in all honesty I prefer not to read them  - and this one didn't change that fact.   The chapters involving the actual killer gave me the complete "heebes"..... but that's also the sign of good writing.  

On the other hand, the characters themselves were full and alive so even if you don't enjoy the frightening chapters, you stick with the book to find out what happens to them and their lives.

That's good writing. 
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Cross and Burn
Val McDermid
Atlantic Monthly Press (October 22, 2013)

Book Description:
Internationally best-selling crime writer Val McDermid’s work speaks for itself: her books have sold millions of copies worldwide, won numerous accolades, and attracted a devoted following of readers around the globe. Her latest, Cross and Burn, picks up where The Retribution left off: following the best crime-fighting team in the UK—clinical psychologist Tony Hill and police detective Carol Jordan—who when we last saw them were barely speaking, and whose relationship will now be challenged even further.

Guilt and grief have driven a wedge between long time crime-fighting partners psychologist Tony Hill and ex-DCI Carol Jordan. But just because they're not talking doesn't mean the killing stops.

Someone is killing women. Women who bear an unsettling resemblance to Carol Jordan. And when the evidence begins to point in a disturbing direction, thinking the unthinkable seems the only possible answer. Cornered by events, Tony and Carol are forced to fight for themselves and each other as never before.

An edge-of-your-seat page-turner from one of the best crime writers we have, Cross and Burn is a chilling, unforgettable read.

Moon Over Taylor's Ridge

Moon Over Taylor's Ridge
Author: Janie Dempsey Watts
Publisher: Little Creek Books
Publishing Date: August 2012

Book Description:
Avie, 42, has a mission: take a quick trip to Georgia to settle her father's estate. Too busy to go, her attorney husband, Michael, 50, sends her off with their asthmatic son, Joseph, 13, to keep her company. 

In tiny Taylor's Crossing, Avie settles in but is soon thrown off course by overbearing and meddling family members and her son's fascination with a legendary Cherokee Silver mine. Their search for the silver mine leads her up to Taylor's Ridge and to a new friend, Will. As her stay lengthens, her life begins to unravel even as she begins to blossom and make new friends. 

For the first time in her life, she must learn to stand on her own and find her way. Will she stay with her husband or choose a new love? And how can she hold on to the red land she cherishes?

Idgie Says: 
You can tell that Janie is writing true to her life and place.  The descriptions in the book are far too detailed, including the Avie's son's asthma, to not be something she's lived through.  

This story deals with life.  Life is messy and unclear and sometimes you flounder a bit, unsure of what your next step needs to be.   This is the current state of Avie's life.  There are moments of pain, unexpected hostility and a lot of hidden anger and frustration to be dealt with.  

To top this off a possible deep dark secret that could truly affect her moving forward in life comes to the surface. 

For a slim novel, it packs a lot in there.

Dollface

Dollface - a Novel of the Roaring Twenties
Renee Rosen
Publisher: NAL, November 5, 2013

Idgie Says:
Chapter One opens with 18 year old Vera out on her own at last, her first week's wages in her pocket, liquor in her hand, listening to music at a speak-easy.  By Chapter 2 she has been saved from a raid by a handsome gambler, found work modeling jewelry and again saved - this time from accused theft by another handsome scoundrel type.  

So starts Vera on a life she 'thinks' she might like to live in - one of booze and jewels, pretty clothes and handsome men.  But when reality hits, she soon discovers there's  pretty grimy underside to all that glamor.  

A fun book putting you in the heart of the 1920s.  Vera is an interesting character and you definitely find yourself invested in her life and what could become of it.

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Book Description:

America in the 1920s was a country alive with the wild fun of jazz, speakeasies and a new kind of woman—the flapper. 

Vera Abramowitz is determined to leave her gritty childhood behind, and live a more exciting life, one that her mother never dreamed of. Bobbing her hair and showing her knees, the lipsticked beauty dazzles, doing the Charleston in nightclubs and earning the nickname “Dollface.”

As the ultimate flapper, Vera captures the attention of two high rollers, a handsome nightclub owner and a sexy gambler. On their arms, she gains entree into a world filled with bootlegged bourbon, wailing jazz and money to burn.  She thinks her biggest problem is choosing between them, until the truth comes out. Her two lovers are really mobsters from rival gangs during Chicago’s infamous Beer Wars, a battle Al Capone refuses to lose.

The heady life she’s living is an illusion resting on a bedrock of crime and violence unlike anything the country has ever seen before. When the good times come to an end, Vera becomes entangled in everything from bootlegging to murder. And as men from both gangs fall around her, Vera must put together the pieces of her shattered life, as Chicago hurtles towards one of the most infamous days in its history, the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

Memory's Mist

Idgie Says:
This is the fourth book of Jackie's that the Dew has reviewed and each one has been enjoyed.  Jackie is a wonderfully sweet and warm human being and this comes across so well in his stories of life.  Gentle humor, wisely learned lessons and empathy pour from his pages.  

Stories range from cell phones, jeans that fit, celebrities being real, family, and being one upped by Patti Callahan Henry.  

I enjoy the stories as they are perfect for short breaks in your day - sit down for a bit of time, enjoy some of Jackie's humor or humanity, whichever direction the  chapter picked might be, and then continue on with your day.   

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Memory's Mist
Author: Jackie K. Cooper
Publisher: Mercer University Press
Publication Date: September 3, 2013

Overview

MEMORY'S MIST is a collection of personal essays about life in the South as seen through the eyes of author Jackie K. Cooper. The stories contained hold up a mirror upon which the shared traits and experiences of life can be seen. Some of the experiences shared are humorous, some are sad, some are dramatic, and some are life affirming. Through them all runs a ribbon of hope and optimism. As Cooper reflects back on his past, the vision has been somewhat dimmed by the mist of memory but—with the help of family and friends—he is able to part the mist and have a clear view of the past which in many ways signals the future. As with his other books Cooper finds life full of surprises and simple joys amid the tumultuous and uncertain lives we all live.

Lowcountry Bombshell

Lowcountry Bombshell

Author: Susan Boyer

Paperback: 266 pages
Publisher: Henery Press (September 3, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1938383567
ISBN-13: 978-1938383564

Book Description:

Liz Talbot thinks she’s seen another ghost when she meets Calista McQueen. She’s the spitting image of Marilyn Monroe. Born precisely fifty years after the ill-fated star, Calista’s life has eerily mirrored the late starlet’s—and she fears the looming anniversary of Marilyn’s death will also be hers.

Before Liz can open a case file, Calista’s life coach is executed. Suspicious characters swarm around Calista like mosquitoes on a sultry lowcountry evening: her certifiable mother, a fake aunt, her control-freak psychoanalyst, a private yoga instructor, her peculiar housekeeper, and an obsessed ex-husband. Liz digs in to find a motive for murder, but she’s besieged with distractions. Her ex has marriage and babies on his mind. Her too-sexy partner engages in a campaign of repeat seduction. Mamma needs help with Daddy’s devotion to bad habits. And a gang of wild hogs is running loose on Stella Maris.

With the heat index approaching triple digits, Liz races to uncover a diabolical murder plot in time to save not only Calista’s life, but also her own.

Idgie Says:
This is a cute story.  I don't say that in a sarcastic vein either - the world needs fun, light, escapist books.   It's refreshing to sink into an story and just ride along for a while. 

This novel has a ghost sidekick that makes snide remarks, a woman who's channeling Marilyn Monroe, a PI who barely thinks there's a case to be had and several hunky men.  Really, what more do you need?  

At a little over 200 pages, it's a perfect "getaway" book.

Christmas Bliss

Idgie Says:
A fun story  filled with blizzards, hot bosses, missing boats, babies, weddings,  and non-divorces. 

The two stubborn best friends, Weezie and BeBe, continue on their daily adventures to simply live the lives they want and feel that they deserve.  

A good story to lose yourself in for a while.

A very nice giveaway contest goes along with the review - also a great excerpt link below!
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Christmas Bliss
Mary Kay Andrews
St. Martin's Press (October 15, 2013)

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and Savannah was breezy.

But there's trouble afoot - and it's heading toward Weezie.

Seems BeBe’s been holding a big secret back
that would make Santa’s reindeer stop dead in their tracks.

Can these two best friends wriggle out of these twists?

Will they do it in time to ensure CHRISTMAS BLISS?
 
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Go Here for an EXCERPT!  

Look at all the goodies in the Giveaway Contest!  Simply leave me a comment on FB (follow the link below) and on Monday the 11th at noon I'll pull a name out of the book bag!
 

  Follow this link to enter contest:  Post by Idgie AttheDew.

The Hot Country and The Star of Istanbul

Idgie Says:
Kit Cobb - I describe him as bold, cagey, lusty, compassionate, witty, biting and full of verbal word play.  In other words, there is nothing not to like about him.  You not only like him, you really, really like him.  Take him home to dinner and Mama kind of like him.

These books are great adventures to read.  Full of twists, turns, lovely ladies, spies, danger and secrets.  Kit is a foreign war correspondent who travels the world, supposedly writing articles for the paper but somehow always managing to get embroiled in some sort of dangerous situation.  

As always, Robert's writing is worth reading for the word play alone - he could write about growing tomatoes and I'd still enjoy it.  His dialogue is not only spot on with the time and place his characters are in, but his words are like a verbal stream flowing pleasingly past your ears.  

Set in the early part of the last century, these books act as a time portal - you aren't reading about the time - you ARE there with Kit.  You feel the bullets whizzing by, you smell the perfume, you taste the booze.  

I can honestly say that I cannot wait until the third book comes out so that I can continue with Kit and his adventures.

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The Hot Country and The Star of Istanbul
Christopher Marlow Cobb Thrillers
The Hot Country, published 2012, Paperback October, 2013
The Star of Instanbul, Hardback, October 2013
Mysterious Press, Imprint of Grove/Atlantic

The Hot Country Book Description:
In The Hot Country, Christopher Marlowe Cobb (“Kit”), the swashbuck­ling early-twentieth-century American newspaper war correspondent travels to Mexico in 1914, during that country’s civil war, and the contro­versial presidency of Victoriano Huerta, El Chacal (The Jackal). Covering the war in enemy territory and in the sweltering heat, Cobb falls in love with Luisa, a young Mexican laundress, who is not as innocent as she seems.

One day the intrepid war reporter soon witnesses a priest being shot, but the bullet ricochets off the cross the holy man wears around his neck and leaves him unharmed. Cobb employs a young pickpocket to help him find out the identity of the sniper and, more importantly, why important German offi­cials are sneaking into the city in the middle of the night from ships docked in the port.

An exciting tale of intrigue and espionage, Butler’s powerful crime-fiction debut is a thriller not to be missed.

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The Star of Istanbul Book Description:
World War I is in full swing. Germany has allied itself with the Ottoman Empire, persuading the caliphs of Turkey to declare a jihad on the British Empire, as America’s president, Woodrow Wilson, hesitates to enter the fray. The war correspondent and American spy Christopher Marlowe Cobb has been asked to follow a man named Brauer, a German intellectual and a possible covert secret service agent, into danger aboard the ship Lusitania, as the man is believed to hold information vital to the war effort. Aboard the Lusitania on its fateful voyage, Cobb becomes smitten with the famed actress Selene Bourgani, who for some reason appears to be working with German intelligence.

Soon Cobb realizes that this simple actress is anything but, as she harbors secrets that could pour gasoline on the already raging conflict. After the infamous German U-Boat attack on the Lusitania, Cobb must follow Selene and Brauer into the darkest alleyways of London, then on to the powder keg that is Istanbul. He must use all the cunning he possesses to uncover Selene’s true motives, only to realize her hidden agenda could bring down some of the world’s most powerful leaders. On his own across the war-torn stages of Europe and the Middle East, Cobb must venture deep behind enemy lines, cut off from his only allies, knowing full well he may not return.

A classic tale of adventure, romance and war, The Star of Istanbul firmly cements Robert Olen Butler’s place as one of the great historical thriller writers today.
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A Selection from The Hot Country:
Bunky Millerman caught me from behind on the first day of Woody Wilson’s little escapade in Vera Cruz.  Bunky and his Kodak and I had gone down south of the border a couple of weeks earlier for the Post-Express and the whole syndicate.  I’d been promised an interview with the tin-pot General Huerta who was running the country.  He had his hands full with Zapata and Villa and Carranza, and by the time I got there, el Presidente was no longer in a mood to see the American press.  I was ready to beat it back north, but then the Muse of Reporters shucked off her diaphanous gown for me and made the local commandant in Tampico, on the Gulf coast, go a little mad.  He grabbed a squad of our Navy Bluejackets who were ashore for gasoline and showers and marched them through the street as Mexican prisoners.  That first madness passed quick and our boys were let go right away, but old Woodrow had worked himself up.  He demanded certain kinds of apologies and protocols, which the stiff-necked Huerta wouldn’t give.  Everybody started talking about war.  Then I got wind of a German munitions ship heading for Vera Cruz, and while the other papers were still picking at bones in the capital, I hopped a train over the mountains and into the tierra caliente.  I arrived in Vera Cruz, which was the hot country all right, a god-forsaken port town in a desolate sandy plain with a fierce, hot northern wind.  But I figured I’d be Johnny-on-the-spot.
 __________________________________

When I got back to Bunky at our table in the portales, he had a mezcal before him and I wondered how many times he’d tapped his saucer already.

But he seemed perfectly clear-headed. “Sniper?” he asked.

“Yeah. Plugged a priest.”

“Dead?”

“Nope. Knocked on his ass and stigmatized.”

Bunky nodded as if this were all clear to him, which it couldn’t be. He waited to see if I wanted to say more, and I knew he wouldn’t ask if I didn’t. He was a good man. Maybe he was picking up on my mood about this. I really just wanted to have a drink. I didn’t want to think about a female sniper in Vera Cruz, even if she wasn’t the girl who put a gun to my head a few nights ago.

But I said, “Bullet in the palm and one in the center of his crucifix that did nothing but topple him over.”

“Quaint little story.”

“Quaint little no-story.”

Bunky nodded again. “Surprising lot of folks down here got a beef with the church.”

“It’s about money.”

There was a commotion off to our left. We looked.

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An excerpt from The Star of Istanbul:
I made another step to the side and another and I could see her again, in profile now, her long, straight nose beautifully at odds with the usual standards of beauty of this age. I thought: I bet her feet are large too and her hands and she is all the more beautiful for defying this world’s conventions in these details. And I was still entranced by her nose, absorbing even the precise curve where its bridge met her brow, a perfect fit, I fancied, for my fingertip, when she said, “I am a film actress.”

She’d hardly finished the sentence when one reporter leaped in before another hubbub of questions could begin. “Miss Bourgani,” he said, “the world is at war.” She turned her face instantly to him—in my general direction as well—and her dark eyes riveted him and his voice snagged as if he were suddenly beginning to choke. He managed to stammer a couple of meaningless vowel sounds and then he fell silent. The other reporters all laughed. But it was a sympathetic laugh. Hers was a face that could stop a thousand ships.

“Yes?” she said, encouraging him to go on with his question, giving the impression that she’d spoken softly, though I could hear her clearly.“Miss Bourgani,” the reporter began again. “In light of the German threats and this being a British liner, are you afraid to be traveling on the Lusitania?”

"It's a Book!"

SIBA and frindies launch radical underground movement for the good of the printed book!

Columbia, SC - November 6, 2103 –In support of (print) books and indie bookstores, a group of authors gathered together in New Orleans earlier this fall to make a video where they all read aloud from Lane Smith’s It’s a Book. The project was devised by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) and once it was confirmed that Lane Smith and the book’s publisher Macmillan supported the project, the taping began.  Authors graciously (and often gleefully)  stepped into a makeshift studio to read their lines with little notion of what the final outcome would look like, but nevertheless believing in the good cause the project was designed to highlight: the benefit of print books and indie bookstores.   The result has been everything they and SIBA and her member booksellers could hope for: a wonderful read-aloud of Lane Smith’s It’s a Book! 

Each author reads, with the helpful inset illustrations of “monkey” and “jackass”, to cue viewers as to who is speaking. Viewers can see authors with their own print book as they read from Lane Smith’s.  Sandra Brown, Michael Buckley, Karen White, George Bishop, Susan Crandall, Walter Jury, Jenny Han, John Milliken Thompson and Gigi Amateau are just a few of the approximately  three dozen authors you will see in this two-minute video.  The closing line is read by Amy Tan (and her dog).  (There are more surprises in the credits.) 

In order to raise awareness and enthusiasm about the video, print books, and indie bookstores, SIBA reached out to its author “Frindies” (“Friends of Indies”) to help spread the word via social networking and embedding the video on their websites.  The response from authors was immediate and radically gratifying.

The following writers have agreed to participate in this radical movement: Tony Abbott, Kaye Barley, Betty Bolte, Kathryn Stripling Byer, Malcolm Campbell, Julie Cantrell, Cindi Carver-Futch, Walter Culpepper, Anna Dewdney, Nell Dickerson, Patti Digh, Stephen Doster, Elizabeth O. Dulemba, JT Ellison, Beth Finke, Dorothea Benton Frank, Mark Hainds, Tommy Hays, Jennie Helderman, Kaye Hinckley, Ann Hite, Amalie Howard, Joshilyn Jackson, Charles Jacobs, Jessica James, Deborah Johnson, Dianne Johnson, Cassandra King, Irene Latham, Christopher Loren, Kelly Lyons, Charles McNair, Laura McNeal, Adrian Miller, Jim Minick, Mary Alice Monroe, Robert Morgan, Bryan Powell, Sharman Ramsey, Aaron Reynolds, Bryan Robinson, Karen Spears Zacharias, Martha Stiles, John Thompson, Carol Wall, Robin Wasserman, Millie West, Laura Wharton, Deborah Wiles, Jessica Young.

SIBA is looking for more people -- authors, bloggers, booksellers, book lovers -- to join their “radical underground movement for good” by sharing and linking to the “It’s a book!” video, in the hopes that this “underground” print and indie partnership will erupt nationwide.
For more information and to get involved, contact Wanda Jewell at wanda@sibaweb.com.

Quick Start Homemade Meals by Southern Living

Idgie Says: 
I love these Southern Living cook books!  The recipes are clear cut, the pictures are gorgeous and the food is delightful looking.  It actually makes me want to cook things.  :)  

A winning point to this particular book is that it centers around things you normally already have stocked in your house, so when you're running around trying to make a meal, it may actually not require a run to the store! 

I have had the book a week and it's already filled with tabs hanging out the sides for recipes I plan to try.  If only I can make mine look like the pictures...................  

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Quick-Start Homemade: Time-saving ·
Budget-friendly · Easy & Delicious
Paperback – September 17, 2013
by The Editors of Southern Living Magazine
(Oxmoor House Publishing)

Description:
Organized by main ingredients that stretch the dollar, these recipes let you cook with what you have and with what's on sale, truly making it the smart way to shop for and make dinner. If rotisserie chicken is on sale, you can go directly to that chapter to find a variety of recipes that hinge on that ingredient. Plus, at the beginning of each of these chapters, you'll find tips on what to look for at the market, how to buy in bulk, and ideas for making dinner even easier and more special.

Featuring "go-to" ingredients like pasta, rotisserie chicken, and bagged greens, each chapter in Quick-Start Homemade brings readers a varied selection of recipes to use either their favorite ingredient or what they already have on hand. With added bonus features like simplified grocery lists, speed scratch secrets, and full-page cheat-sheets for each chapter with great tips and ideas, this cookbook is just what readers need; readers will want to have this book by their side when they plan their meals for the week, while they shop for the ingredients, and while they cook at home. Accompanied by full-page photos, each recipe is packed with new ways to make dinner easier, faster, and more flavorful, while clever icons throughout give Quick-Start Homemade a fun and playful feel!

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Below please find a sampling of the scrumptious looking meals you can make from the pages of this book - 2 recipes and photos - both from:  From Southern Living Quick-Start Homemade, Oxmoor House 2013

Pot Likker Soup

Makes 6 to 8 servings     

Hands-On Time 20 min. 

Total Time 12 hours, 53 min.

2 (1-lb.) smoked ham hocks

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, diced

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 garlic clove, chopped

1⁄2 cup dry white wine

1⁄2 tsp. table salt

1⁄4 tsp. dried crushed red pepper

1 (14.5-oz.) can vegetable broth

1⁄2 (16-oz.) package fresh collard greens, washed and trimmed

1. Bring ham hocks and 8 cups water to a boil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Boil 5 minutes; drain. Reserve hocks; wipe Dutch oven clean.

2. Sauté onion and carrot in hot oil in Dutch oven over medium heat 4 to 5 minutes or until tender; add garlic, and cook 1 minute. Add wine; cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes or until wine is reduced by half.

3. Add hocks, 8 cups water, salt, and red pepper to onion mixture, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 3 hours or until ham hocks are tender.

4. Remove hocks, and cool 30 minutes. Remove meat from bones; discard bones. Transfer meat to an airtight container; cover and chill. Cover Dutch oven with lid, and chill soup 8 hours.

5. Skim and discard fat from soup in Dutch oven. Stir in meat and vegetable broth.

6. Bring mixture to a boil. Gradually stir in collards. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 45 to 50 minutes or until collards are tender.

Quick Tip: Cooking the ham hocks the day before and chilling the soup  overnight will allow you to skim the fat easily.

Easy Side:

Cornbread Croutons: Preheat oven to 450°. Coat bottom and sides of an 8-inch square pan with 2 Tbsp. bacon  drippings; heat in oven 5 minutes. Whisk together 1 cup cornmeal mix, 1 cup buttermilk, 1 large egg, 1⁄4 tsp. table salt, and 1⁄4 tsp. black pepper; pour batter into hot pan. Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until lightly browned. Turn out onto a wire  rack; cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 325°. Cut cornbread into 1 1⁄2-inch squares. Place on a baking sheet; sprinkle with 1⁄4 tsp. table salt and 1⁄4 tsp. pepper. Bake at 325° for 30 to 35 minutes or until crisp and lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack; cool completely.

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Mexican Chicken Casserole

Makes 8 servings    

Hands-On Time 10 min.    

Total Time 4 hours, 10 min.

The corn tortillas cook into this dish and thicken it—you won’t see them after they’re cooked, but you will still taste their authentic Mexican flavor.        

2 (10-oz.) cans mild green chile enchilada sauce  

10 (6-inch) corn tortillas, torn into 3-inch pieces

4 cups shredded rotisserie chicken

1 1⁄2 cups sour cream

1 (12-oz.) package shredded colby-Jack cheese blend, divided

1 (103⁄4-oz.) can cream of mushroom soup

8 cups shredded iceberg lettuce

1 (15-oz.) can black beans

3 tomatoes, diced

1. Spoon 1⁄2 cup enchilada sauce over bottom of a greased 4-qt. slow cooker. Add enough tortilla pieces to cover sauce.

2. Stir together chicken, sour cream, 2 cups cheese, and soup. Spread 2 cups chicken mixture over tortilla pieces. Top with tortilla pieces to cover. Drizzle with 1⁄2 cup enchilada sauce. Repeat layers twice, ending with tortilla pieces and remaining enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese.

3. Cover and cook on LOW 4 hours. Place lettuce on 8 individual plates; top each evenly with chicken enchilada mixture, beans, and tomatoes. Serve immediately.

Quick Tip: Don’t throw away leftover tortillas; cut them into triangles or strips, and fry or bake them to top a salad  or soup.

Easy Side:

Dressed-up Refried Beans: Preheat oven to 450°. Combine 2 (20.5-oz.) cans refried black beans,  ½ (8-oz.) package whipped chive-flavored cream cheese, and ½ tsp. ground cumin  in a 2-qt. baking dish. Top with 2 Tbsp. finely chopped red onion and 1 cup crumbled queso fresco (fresh Mexican cheese). Bake for  20 to 30 minutes or until cheese melts.