This and that and a review

Two years or so ago I already mentioned the computer games up on Orisinal: Morning Sunshine. But as they are so very sweet, it's worth mentioning them again. In fact, these are the sweetest computer games I know of and each is accompanied by uplifting little melodies, so the whole package never fails to bring a smile to my face.

I love the Ladybug game, where you let a little girl jump up and down and make dozens of colorful ladybugs fly away.

And the game where you let a little bunny jump from silver bell to silver bell is just wonderfully Christmasy (and indeed, it was added some time around Christmas).

And that keek-sound the little star-gatherer makes when she jumps always, always make me smile. Not to forget the eeeek the piggies emit when they land on top of each other! That's always worth a giggle! *g*

Now there's a new game called Sunny Day Sky, in which you make some sort of little animal open an umbrella and fly across cars. Have I mentioned the music? Totally love the music! :-)

~*~~*~~*~~*~

Today a new review of BEWITCHED went online on ParaNormalRomance and the reviewer, Chere Gruver had lovely things to say about my novel:

BEWITCHED is a funny, adventurous paranormal romance. Sandra Schwab has definitely done her research before she ever started on this story, and it shows. With her descriptions of the balls and clothes and events during the "season" in London to the foggy Fenlands, Sandra Schwab vividly transported me to each and every place. The secondary characters are all as wonderful as the hero and heroine as well. I really loved Fox's niece and his valet. We watch as Amy grows from a young woman playing with her magic to an adult doing what she must to keep the people she loves safe. And our hero isn't left alone either, he must learn to deal with his step-father's abuse, the fact he's a bastard and come to terms with realizing there is magic in his world. All in all, this is a very entertaining and delightful story and well worth the time spent reading it.

It's always nice to end your day with a "Wheeee!" :)

Midnight Addendum

Re: the punishing kiss of the vengeful tarmac

Thanks to a good dose of folk medicine the bloody, scraped elbow is now covered by somewhat tender and pink, but whole skin. Tarmac, you have to do better to impress me. Hehe.

Successful Dissing

Spent the better part of the afternoon on the trail of "I smell the blood of an Irishman." I know it's first and foremost a reference to "Jack and the Beanstalk," but I was wondering whether there's actually an Irish fairy tale which uses these words (Yeats doesn't count; the CELTIC TWILIGHT was published several years after my source).

And I can only say once again: thank heavens for google.books and amazon's search-inside feature! :-)

All in all, these past two days the dissing was absolutely terrific: I wrote about seven pages in all, which is some kind of record for this particular chapter! And what's even better: I'm about to finish the dratted monster chapter (not a chapter on monsters, but the chapter turned out to be the monster!)!!! Wheee!!! Only three to five more pages and then it's all done! (The chapter, that is, not the diss.)

The Thirtheenth Tale

Every once in a while you stumble across a book that will touch you deeply. Not in the "oh my gosh, this is such a fantastic book" kind of way, but on a much deeper emotional level. It doesn't happen all that often - yet in the past few months it happened to me. And the book was Diane Setterfield's THE THIRTEENTH TALE. For those of you who haven't heard of the novel, here's the backcover blurb:

All children mythologize their birth ... So begins the prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter's beloved collection of stories, long famous for the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale. The enigmatic Winter has always kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, she summons a biographer to tell the truth about her extraordinary life: Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth remains an ever-present pain.

Disinterring the life she meant to bury for good, Vida mesmerizes Margaret with the power of her storytelling. Hers is a tale of gothic strangeness, featuring the Angelfield family - including the beautiful and willful Isabelle, and the feral twins Adeline and Emmaline - a ghost, a governess, and a devastating fire. Struck by a curious parallel between their stories, Margaret demands the truth from Vida, and together they confront the ghosts that have haunted them.

I listened to the truly wonderful audio book version read by Ruthie Henshall as Margaret and Lynn Redgrave as Vida Winter. THE THIRTEENTH TALE is a fascinating novel, but it was not the story itself that touched me so much.

It were the twins.

I've always been fascinated by twins, and there are twins in almost all of my earlier, unpublished fiction. Yet what gave THE THIRTEENTH TALE such an emotional punch for me was the fact that this is also a story about lost twins and lone twins. There were times when I had to stop the CD because I was crying so much and just couldn't take it anymore.

For you see, I'm a lone twin, too.

My sister died at our birth. I thought I had dealt with this, but while listening to THE THIRTEENTH TALE all my sorrow, all those feelings of loss and utter, utter loneliness burst forth again.

I read several interviews with Setterfield and eventually I stumbled across a reference to the Lone Twin Network and to Joan Woodward's book THE LONE TWIN, a study in twin bereavement with first-person accounts by people who lost their twins at birth, during childhood, or in adult life. I ordered the book, read parts of it, and cried several evenings as a result of it. But oh my gosh, it was such a revelation on so many levels. It felt so liberating to allow myself to experience those feelings of sorrow and loss and to acknowledge that they will always be part of me. To acknowledge that on some subconscious level I do indeed remember my sister and miss her so very much.

And so on some days I allow myself again to look into the mirror and to wonder what she would have been like.

New Review

AtzecLady posted a lovely review of BEWITCHED on Karen Scott's blog. And here are my favourite bits:

Like Castle of the Wolf, Bewitched is very much a romance. Like Castle of the Wolf, it is also something more, something else, something different.

And:

Amy is such a wonderful character. She is strong even when she fears her own weakness, and lets her generous heart guide her during moments of darkness and uncertainty. For his part, Sebastian’s reactions and feelings are so well drawn, so deeply felt, that my heart ached for both of them.

And of course:

This is a total winner and gets 9 out of 10

Quick Midnight Addendum: WHEEEE!!!!!!!

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!!!!!! Guess what I've just found out: the first series of Blood Ties is available on DVD in the region 2 format. Woohooooo!

Lynne Graham's Smouldering Heroes and the Kiss of Asphalt

Nobody writes tall, dark, and dangerous heroes bent on revenge as well as Lynne Graham! THE CONTAXIS BABY perhaps isn't her best novel (I didn't particularly like the heroine, who when we first meet her is a socialite living on Daddy's money, and worse, a socialite with a bad taste not only in men but also in whom she befriends), but the hero, Sebasten, smoulders in a most enjoyable fashion throughout the novel. Here's the blurb from Fictionwise:

In the gossip rags, socialite Lizzie Denton's situation looks pretty ugly--Lizzie meets boy, Lizzie dumps boy, brokenhearted boy dies in horrific car crash. Suddenly he's public enemy number one. And a disinherited heiress, to boot. No job, no home and only a designer wardrobe to keep her company. But the worst part is that the papers got it wrong, and Lizzie promised not to tell anyone the truth. Devastated by the death of his half brother, Greek tycoon Sebasten Contaxis decides to punish the woman responsible: Lizzie Denton. But when he discovers that the stunning woman he can't keep his hands off--an inexplicable case of lust at first sight--is the same woman he's been seeking, Sebasten alters his scheme. After all, one broken heart deserves another, right? And revenge is so much sweeter when it's served in bed--that is, until Lizzie has some surprising news for him....

I love, love, love M&B revenge stories! :) Or at least most revenge stories. I've recently read one in which the hero called the heroine a slut all through the novel -- and then the author expected me to believe in their happily ever after. Um .... not likely!

Speaking of happily ever afters, my bike decided to let me kiss the asphalt today. Now I've got one bloody knee, one bloody elbow, and my whole right side is probably going to be one big bruise by tomorrow morning. Ah well ... I think I totally deserve another bedtime story! Or perhaps a proper Gisborne smoulder? "I always think there's a chance for you and me." *happy, happy sigh*

Dissing with St. George

Spent the afternoon scribbling away and added two more pages to the dissertation (have I already mentioned that academic writing is sooooooooooooooooooooooooo slow?). At one point I got the 13th-century GOLDEN LEGEND, the late 16th-century SEVEN CHAMPIONS and 19th-century versions of THE SEVEN CHAMPIONS all mixed up and spent ten minutes blinking stupidly at the monitor.

Spent ten more minutes trying to figure out a 19th-century reference to clump-soled shoes. Were such shoes worn by soldiers? Probably. Google Books proved maddingly unhelpful in this as the relevant books have all only the stupid snippet preview. Argh!

Used terms that refer back to my theory chapter: "specific parody" and "hostile parody". Very good.

Which means I've really earned a nice bedtime story, haven't I? ;)

Favourite Reads of the Past Few Weeks

One of the reasons why I got so hooked on ebooks is the instant gratification factor: buying, downloading, and starting to read a book is a matter of a few minutes. I no longer have to wait several days or weeks for an amazon package. Oh nos, not I! Furthermore, ebooks are cheaper for me thanks to the whole dollar to Euro conversion thing, and they don't take up any room on my bookshelves. Which all makes me so much more willing to try out new-to-me authors. And with Fictionwise's Buywise Club and 100% micropay rebates and special discounts and what not, I'm even more willing to try out new-to-me authors. And this is exactly why I'm glomming Suzanne Brockmann these days, as the following list of my favourite reads of the past few weeks shows beyond the shadow of a doubt:

A lot of my friends kept telling me how enjoyable Crusie's books are, so it was a bit of a disappointment that I didn't like the two or three books I read at all. However, when I spotted ANYONE BUT YOU on Fictionwise (isn't that cover cuuuuute?), I decided to give her stories another try. And guess what? I loved ANYONE BUT YOU!!!

My first Brockmann novel, which started the major glom fest that followed. :)

UH Blogging Day: The Synod of Whitby

Today is my blogging day on Unusual Historicals. As this month's topic is "Religious Beliefs", I've written about the Christianisation of the British Isles and the Synod of Whitby. Enjoy!

Whitby Abbey (from Wikipedia)

Further Things Sandy Did When She Wasn't Abducted by Slimy Green Aliens

1. Watched the second series of LEWIS. Loved it!
2. Joined the Armitage Army. 'Cause a girl needs a hobby that for once hasn't anything to do with university or romance.
3. Glommed Sue Brockmann's Tall, Dark, and Dangerous novels. (And it's all the fault of those bad, bad LoveLetter people who kept telling me that so many people love Brockmann's novels.) I have to admit I was skeptic at first: the term "military romance" evokes rather unpleasant memories of the TV series J.A.G., which in the end was so full of ideology it made my stomach turn. The Tall, Dark, and Dangerous books, however, turned out to be blessedly different and very enjoyable indeed. Woohoo!
4. Watched THE GOLDEN HOUR. Dr. Alec Track is très yummy, but looking at somebody's open chest is so not. Especially when you're having breakfast.
5. Cleaned my bike and started a routine of daily rides. Lots of fun!
6. Was outbid at Brenda Novak's auction. For every single item I bid for. Duh! So somebody else is now wearing that lovely bracelet made of vintage typewriter keys. Double duh!
7. Cleaned the windows. (And now the world is so much clearer! *g*)
8. Revised the many-times mentioned diss chapter. Still not quite finished, though.
9. Bought too many books on Fictionwise. (Fictionwise is evil!)
10. Bought too many books on abebooks. (abebooks is evil, too!)

Still not abducted by slimy green aliens ....

Contrary to certain rumours, no UFO has landed in our backyard (scaring the poor kois witless), and no horrid slimy, green aliens have dragged me away screaming and kicking (scaring the poor kois witless all over again). No, the kois were busy sunning themselves and making koi babies.

And moi? I've been busy with my uni job. Things are a bit tense at the moment thanks to the whole university reform that's going on in Germany. This winter we'll switch from our old system to the BA / MA system, and let me tell you, as always when politicians come up with brilliant ideas, it's a real headache for the people actually involved in the whole mess. Duh.

On to more cheerful matters: a recent search on abebooks rendered some great finds for my PhD project: I've bought yet another edition of THE SEVEN CHAMPIONS OF CHRISTENDOM as well as another edition of WHERE THE RAINBOW ENDS. The latter was a children's play written by Clifford Mills and John Ramsay, with music by Roger Quilter. It was first performed in the Christmas season 1911 and became an instant it. Indeed, it even rivalled PETER PAN in popularity. Both plays were regularly shown at Christmas, and generations of English children grew up with the story of Rosamund and Crispian Carey and their friends Jim and Betty Blunders, who travel to the land where the rainbow ends and defy the horrible Dragon King.

Ever since the plane with Rosamund and Crispian's parents was lost, the two children have lived with their horrid aunt and uncle. But one day, Rosamund discovers a mysterious book, called "Where the Rainbow Ends", in the library and reads:

Now whosoever shall read this book whose faith is strong and heart pure, will find ere they close its pages the way to the land where the rainbow ends. There blooms the flower of happiness which grows in no other clime, and here all lost loved ones found. [...] Now all who would reach this fair land must first pass through the dread country of the Dragon, which bars the way - and herein many perils and dangers are encountered. Happy are they who early find Faith's Magic Carpet to bear then [sic] safely on their way [...]

With the help of a magic carpet and the genie that's hidden in the carpet the Carey children enlist St. George as their champion before they fly away. In order to reach the land where the rainbow ends, they have to cross Dragon Wood, resist the lure of the boy Slacker, and fight their evil aunt and uncle. They are eventually taken prisoner by the Dragon King and his minions. But thanks to Rosamund's quick thinking, they're able to put together a somewhat crude flag of St. George which they fly over the ramparts of the Dragon King's castle. With a bang and a clash and a blinding light, St George appears, fights against the Dragon King and finishes the villain off. While the stage is flooded with light, St. George shows the children the way to the land where the rainbow ends, where they are reunited with their parents.

Much to my delight I've recently not only found a CD with the music of WHERE THE RAINBOW ENDS but also the issue of the old theater magazine PLAY PICTORIAL in which the play is discussed. Whee! And YouTube, too, turns out to be a real treasure trove: here's an interview with Valerie Langfield, the author of Quilter's biography. If I'm not mistaken, the intro music is from WHERE THE RAINBOW ENDS: