Darlene's Digest

I'm not spending the entire time at year's end uploading pictures of cats and dachshunds to my Facebook page , I'm also writing, though slowly. I'm making progress on [working title] The Hot Pirate's Secret Baby aka The Pirate's Governess. I'm about about 73,000 words along, with a goal of 100,000 words. It helps that I have a "nanny program" on my computer that throws me off the internet for an hour or two. I was much more productive when I didn't have constant access to email, Twitter , Facebook and Goodreads. It's too easy to get stymied while writing, tell myself I'll check my email and get back to it, and then another hour goes by while I look at stupid internet memes. So there will be a book in 2013, and it'll have a hot pirate, and if you want a clue as to who the pirate is, read Castaway Dreams . Even if you don't want a clue, read Castaway Dreams , and thanks for your support.

The Emperor's Conspiracy by Michelle Diener My rating: 4 of 5 stars Interesting Regency story with engaging characters. I can see where the author might be planning sequels, and there's room for more mysteries in the future featuring secondary characters and the return of the primary characters. The only reason I didn't shelve this on the "Romance" shelf is because the ending doesn't ensure a HEA, but there's certainly that possibility. View all my reviews

Dark Currents by Jacqueline Carey My rating: 4 of 5 stars I thought I was over any love for urban fantasy, but this novel brought me back. Carey's story set in a small town on Lake Michigan is reminiscent of the Sookie Stackhouse books, but incorporates a new pantheon of mythological beings, a nice change from the usual suspects. A few of the lines made me laugh out loud, and I love that the vampires' hangout is nicknamed "Twilight Manor". I'm looking forward to more of Daisy's adventures as agent of the Norse goddess Hel, and there were enough good-looking guys introduced in this book to ensure her future will be interesting for her and for paranormal romance readers. View all my reviews

He popped it into his mouth and swallowed. “You sure do have a way with squirrels, darlin’. That was mighty tasty." -- Smuggler's Bride See those lovely flowers up top? They're from my patio garden in January a few years back. As usual this year, I couldn't wait until the weather cooled off so I could fill my North Florida patio with colorful dianthus, pansies, violas and snapdragons. I spent a Sunday afternoon lovingly filling my containers, making sure they all had enough sunshine and water, and I spent a few days admiring them from my porch as I'd eat lunch. Then one afternoon I took my lunch outside, as usual, and noticed something was off. My garden looked bare. Oh sure, the rose bushes were still there, and the gardenia bushes were nice and full, but there wasn't any color anymore. When I went out to investigate, all my flowers had been chewed down to the soil. I know it's not deer--our yard is fenced. I know it's not birds, the flower pla...

The Duchess War by Courtney Milan My rating: 4 of 5 stars *Sigh* I couldn't put it down. My laundry's piling up, the dishwasher's not filled, the dog's hopping up and down with her little legs crossed--everything came to a screeching halt once I started reading The Duchess War. The characters are so well fleshed out, the story is so rich, the dialogue so spectacular, it's going to be hard to wait for the next "Brothers Sinister" novel. Well played (again), Ms. Milan. View all my reviews

A question for readers: Do you like it when characters from previous novels have cameos in the next book? I was deep into writing [working title] The Hot Pirate's Secret Baby when all of a sudden Daphne and Alexander were across the street. Here's the very raw output from this morning's session, uncorrected. You'll see it's somewhat disjointed and has notes in it--that's how it looks before I get to the third or fourth re-write. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't yet read Castaway Dreams , you may wish to avert your eyes. [working title] THE HOT PIRATE'S SECRET BABY aka THE PIRATE'S GOVERNESS             They were nearly to their lodgings when a light voice rang out, “Look, it’s Captain St. Armand! Yoo-hoo, Captain!”             Lydia looked up and spied a lady across the street from them with a scowling gentleman tugging at her arm. She ignored him and continued waving.    ...

Still Life with Shapeshifter by Sharon Shinn My rating: 4 of 5 stars A lovely, bittersweet story about ordinary people with ordinary lives--they work at middle class jobs, they worry about paying their bills, they love their families. The difference in their lives is, some of them are shape-shifters. There aren't any villains in this novel. No vampire councils, no wolf packs, just people like Melanie and Brody. Melanie's spent her life protecting her half-sister Ann, a shape-shifter who turns into a white husky. Brody's a free-lance writer (introduced in The Shape of Desire ) working on a book about shifters, and he wants information from Melanie about Ann. Melanie and Brody's relationship grows in a slow, thoughtful fashion that seems quite real, and as Melanie realizes Ann is changing in a way where Melanie won't be able to protect her anymore, Brody and her friends are there for her. I thought I was burned out by paranormal books, but Shinn gives us so...

Hidden Paradise by Janet Mullany My rating: 3 of 5 stars A fun mash-up of erotica, contemporary romance and a classic Regency house party with much goings-on upstairs, downstairs, behind the hedges, in the servants' stairs, just about anywhere that won't frighten the horses. Lou is a recently widowed college instructor and Jane Austen expert. When friends in England invite her to spend a break at their renovated Georgian mansion, she takes them up on the offer. Chris and Peter have turned the property into a completely restored resort where guests will dress, eat, dance and entertain themselves in Regency style. There's a lot of good detail in here for Regency romance fans, and a budding love affair between Lou and the American journalist quickly nicknamed "Mr. Darcy". There's also one of the best three-ways ever, so sweetly and humorously handled that you wish you were there. Hidden Paradise is a fun read and should appeal to Regency fans who don't m...