kate rothwell

The first review for Unnatural Calamities is out . It's a fairly positive review, but it might be true that Summer Devon is losing the smut. Hey I still like the tension, it's just I don't write the pages and pages of sex as often.*** Maybe she should get back in the habit because, damn, one of the comments shows that the review seems to have chased off a potential reader. The review does have some good quotes. Here's one:   The secondary characters are funny, delightful and interesting.  I would like to see more of them. Unnatural Calamities is a great light read, perfect for an afternoon escape when you want to laugh.  I should put up one of those quizzes no one ever answers. Should Summer Devon get back in the saddle and remember she writes fun smut? Should she at least put the same number of words of sex in each book so people know what to expect? Are you annoyed when an author's focus changes from book to book?  ________ ***Except I forgo...

The leftovers are almost gone, thank you god. One last slightly soggy piece of pumpkin pie for breakfast and we're done. The turkey soup doesn't count because it's a whole new food.

It's only a vague opinion, not a strong one -- but I didn't entirely trust the author. When it came to descriptions of battle and training, I had no issue because 1. I have no idea what he's talking about 2. Those parts are straightforward and technical. Some anecdotes are harrowing, and others--like about the guys who're sleep deprived--are pretty funny and harrowing. And I loved the description of training as a sniper, but not so much about his personal experience of it because..... well, see that first sentence. I think my disbelief comes from his family's strong response to his portrayal of his stepfather.   Maybe I'm naive, but I tend to believe the family is correct and Howard might have exaggerated or worse. The monster he described would have had to face some consequences to his actions. I mean nightly beatings with a belt? And no one else in his family apparently even talked about this harsh treatment? Doesn't ring true. So that semi-belief ...

A week? What have you been doing all week? Me? Not much. I'm reading Chuck Palahnuik's book, Damned . About four chapters in, I'm enjoying it. Four words to describe the book: obscene, funny, silly and gross. I'm waiting for Thanksgiving stuff to start up, for all my boys to come home. Ho, ho, ho! It's seasonal blah time. Hey, it's a real relief to understand that disliking a time of year that warms the heart of many people --> is not a sin. I do not need to watch and love Christmas movies. I don't need to worry that I'm missing some essential portion of human experience. Okay, maybe I am, but that's fine. I think because my kids are older I don't need to put on a show of a time of year that strikes a funereal chord for me. Christmas = loss, death, shredded hopes....unless I ignore it and then it's about routine, which is great. I wrote an article for Samhain about my Christmas decorations. Yes, it was all true and for a time it ma...

Every now and then I think it would be a good idea to get more heavily involved in various online communities. I'd learn what readers are hungry for and attract new readers to my books. Then things like this pop up. The only way Aleksandr could get that bent is if he spent time reading what other people said, then answering them, then reading their answers. I bet that if I tried to interact with fans and readers, I'd end up in a huff too. Or mocked or something. Maybe even (oh, God) ignored. I kind of want to dig around, figure out who said what when and who's right and who's full of shit. Why is this person so offended? What kind of dreadful, hurtful things have people said? Why? What? Who are these people. I probably will just scratch my head and wander off to do something else instead of getting caught up. After a few years of internet life, I've finally figured out that the whole trainwreck thing can be interesting but leaves a layer of something like ...

You get the story too! Goodreads Book Giveaway Irrational Arousal by Summer Devon Giveaway ends November 23, 2011. See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win

I've been to enough funerals lately that I feel I can begin to critique them. I don't like the ones with lots and lots of God. It starts to feel like an infomercial for the church and Jesus rather than anything to do with the dead person. The Catholic service doesn't bother me because that feels like ritual that is part of the process. It can go on a bit though, that's for sure. Lots of time to flip through the prayer book, look at the stations of the cross, count the flower arrangements.  The one yesterday was a Christian denomination I don't know at all and the pastor? reverend?  really seemed to know the dead guy. He told funny stories as if he'd been there. Turned out he'd never met him. So the pastor/whatever was a good actor. Smarmy though. And he kept stopping to drink from a green container. Okay, that startled me at first because I'd sort of thought it was the thing that held Phil's ashes. When I was a kid, the lady who took care of ...