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Look What Just Arrived! (#4)

I went shopping last Saturday and not only discovered that the bookstore owner knows my first name, but also seems to know my reading tastes.  This would be normal if it was in my small town, but the bookstore I shop at is in a city an hour away.  Okay, obviously I buy a lot of books.  So what did I buy this time? (For those of you concerned about my spending, don’t worry.  These were all in the ‘Almost New’ section.)

  • Kushiel’s Chosen by Jacqueline Carey
  • Kushiel’s Avatar by Jacqueline Carey
  • Kushiel’s Scion by Jacqueline Carey
  • The Mummy or Ramses the Damned by Anne Rice
  • The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory
  • The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir
  • The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir

Yes, I’m sticking with the Kushiel’s Legacy series by Jacqueline Carey.  I love her writing style and her world-building.  I am also very curious as to where the series will go right now.  The Mummy is one I’ve had my sights on for years, but alas, it is mostly out of print.  When I saw it in the used section I nearly caused an avalanche (the books are stacked up on the shelves so there’s more room) to get it.  The last three books about the Tudors are evidence of the bookstore owner’s knowledge of my reading tastes.  Of course Philippa Gregory is excellent, but after Lisa Jennings reviewed Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir, I discovered a new take on the Tudors.

So what are you reading this weekend?

What do you think makes a good book?

I’ve written a lot about what I think makes a good book and maybe some time this month I’ll compile it into an article.  But first I want to know: What do you think makes a good book?  Is it characters you can connect with?  An exciting plot?  Fantastic world-building?  I don’t think there’s one single thing that makes a book good every time, but what thing(s) make a good book for you?

Blog Tour: Omar by Craig Thompson


OMAR

By Craig Thompson


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OMAR: A Novel (A Cary Parker Thriller)

Synopsis: In 1995, CIA/FBI jointly discover plans to recover a trove of priceless treasure from deep below the North Atlantic Ice Barrier, aboard RMS Titanic. Ultra-zealous terrorist divers compete against others, and set off a complex web of international intrigue and suspense. CIA’s Colonel Bramson recruits Dr. Cary Parker, Woods Hole oceanographer / archaeologist, to beat both teams to Titanic’s grave. And a wave of worldwide terrorism is set into motion at 2077 fathoms, as a rare, priceless book and lost treasure becomes the primary focus of a triadic search. Parker, challenges the terrorists on his own turf, and what follows is an epic adventure of legendary proportions.

Q & A with Craig

Who inspired you to become a writer?

My mother set an example for me. In 1970, she published a series of small books that documented the history of the now beatified monk—Father Junipero Serra—and his journey throughout the state of California, to establish Catholic missions.

Written in sonnet form, her books were used as the basis for producing spectacular pageants, throughout the State of California, in celebration of its Bicentennial. Copies of “Sonnets to Serra” now reside at the Vatican library in Rome.

During nearly thirty-five of my earlier years, I had been writing pretty much for myself or, as owner of my own advertising and marketing firm, under client contracts. Years of writing copy for regional and national advertising markets—and for public relations campaigns—rounded out my ability to express my ideas.

Privately, I started with poetry and lyrical works—eventually encouraged and inspired by Illinois’ Poet Laureate and Pulitzer prize-winning poet, the late Gwendolyn Brooks. Ms. Brooks volunteered to personally review my poetry over dinner and lunch, one weekend, to discuss her favorites. During our time together, she also offered suggestions to improve several others.

Further encouragement came from an old friend, who recently passed away… renowned composer-pianist, Roger Williams—the first pianist ever to receive a gold record. On two occasions, Roger attempted to get my more lyrical pieces published within the recording industry. But times had changed, by then, and he reported my work was considered “too romantic”, for that moment in time.

Additional inspiration came from studio executive and comedienne, Lucille Ball. While working in post-production, at Desilu Studios, I wrote a script for “The Lucy Show” (not the original “I Love Lucy”). She personally read the script, rejected it, but told me not to give up writing. While I was artistic-producing director for the Lucille Ball Studio Theater, she continued to encourage my creative abilities.

As a member of the National Speaker’s Association and International Platform Association, I was first published in an anthology titled “Star Spangled Speakers”. In the book, officially dedicated and presented to President Reagan, was a copy of my speech on decision-making.

Following on these experiences, I decided it was time to move on to larger literary pursuits. My first novel is actually my second. The original, a science-fiction fantasy thriller, was put on hold when the idea developed for my suspense-thriller—OMAR.

You can help Craig

OMAR had a blast of sales in the spring and summer, earning it bestseller status on Amazon. You can help get the book back to its former glory by spreading word of this wonderful thriller.

This can best be done if you have a blog, especially a blog about books. If you are a blog tour host with The Masquerade Crew, your invitation to help Craig will be sent to you soon (if you don’t already have it). If you aren’t a tour host for The Masquerade Crew yet, go to THIS PAGE to sign up.

If you don’t have a blog, you can still help. Spread the word via Twitter and Facebook and anywhere else you hang out online.

The Library of a Book Reviewer

I’ve mentioned my library a few times in the past, but I figure I might as well show you what I’m talking about.  So here is a picture of my family library:

It doesn’t look like all that much, but the room is at such a weird angle that I couldn’t fit everything in the picture.  There’s about four generations of books going back around 100 years in that little library, which also doubles as a guest room.  Apparently someone in my family loved both Dickens and Reader’s Digest Condensed Books because they seem to take up a lot of space.  And if you’re wondering, no, my books aren’t down here.  My personal collection is much, much smaller.

It’s hard to tell from this angle, but that’s the only way I could get the whole shelf in.  As you can tell, there’s a lot of series and they’re all nicely arranged by alphabetical order.  I may be an extremely messy person normally, but I’m obsessed with order when it comes to my books.  However, if you zoom in you can tell this shelf only goes up to ‘M’ in the alphabet.  That’s because there’s another shelf:

Yes, I am obviously running out of room.  The next time I get any new books I’m either going to have to give some more books to my little sister to make room or start clearing myself a shelf in the family library.  No, I don’t know how many books I actually own, but they’re a tiny fraction of what I’ve actually read.

Enough about my library, though..  What does yours look like?