Book: Dog Days by John Levitt

Dog Days is the story of a boy and his dog... well, not really, because Mason isn't a boy, and Louie isn't really a dog. Mason is a practitioner, one of those with magical ability. Louie is an Ifrit, which we'd probably equate to the term familiar. No one really knows for sure where the Ifrits come from or why, or to who when, they just appear and stick around. Sometimes they disappear, and that too has no real explanation. Mason is making his living as a jazz musician, picking up gigs here and there, not really staying with any one group, and is well known for his ability to improvise. That seems to be the case in his magic as well, the ability to take elements from the things around him to create the effect he needs on the spot.

Life is going okay, he gets by, he has Louie, and while things aren't as great as they could be, Mason is fairly content. Until weird unexplainable and dangerous things start happening to him. He has to turn to past friends (and not such friends) for help on this one, as the events are getting beyond his ability to deal with. Someone wants to be rid of him, but why? The mystery seems to revolve around a type of gem that Mason discovers while trapped in one of these situations. It's unlike anything he's ever seen before. Add to that the sudden increase in power of a previously unimpressive practitioner, Christoph, and there seems to be a full on emergency going on that Mason, Eli his mentor, and Victor (the not such a friend, but definitely someone to have on your side in this case) must get to the bottom of, and quickly. Then one on top of it all, Louie disappears... but that's just the way it goes sometimes... or is it?

This was an interesting beginning to a series, and I'm looking forward to more. I like the way he describes Mason's abilities when he needs to use power for something, and he draws energy from sometimes every day objects around him to get the effect he needs. Mason is a likeable character, basically a live and let live type of guy, sometimes hotheaded, sometimes not the most observant, and has a self-deprecating humor. Poor Louie got the lion's share of the trouble in this one! Poor little guy was getting it every time he turned around! I think I would recommend it to those who are into the urban fantasy/detective/mysteries with just a smidgen of horror. I'm liking this type a lot and am always on the lookout for more.

The next book in the series, New Tricks is due out in November, and on his website Mr. Levitt says that Ace has signed him to do two more after that, so it looks like we have a few more adventures of Mason and Lou to check out!

See John Levitt's Website for more information.

Location, Location, Location!

Last weekend we placed our first cache. As usual when doing something for the first time, your expections and the reality don't quite meet. I thought, hey, we'll place it on Monday afternoon, and go post it on the site, and that way someone can still discover it today on this holiday weekend. Yeah... no... So it takes 36-72 hours to be reviewed and posted. It finally got posted on Thursday I believe it was. So once again I'm all excited waiting for our first finder. Except we'd goofed, and the poor first person (luckily very experienced so he knew better than to stick his hand in there) got sent to the wrong coordinates. As soon as he posted this, I quickly disabled the listing so I could fix it. I was mortified. You see, we had a couple spots in mind. The first one we ruled out because there was poison ivy there. Only we forgot to tell our GPS that, and being still newbies at using it, what coordinates do you think we mistakenly put down? Yep, that's right, the bad ones. *sigh* And did we think to check it against the satellite map which would have clearly shown me it was in the wrong place? NOPE! So, when placing a cache, it is VERY important to check your location again and again and again! Luckily our very experienced first attempter is good natured (as is the second one, also very experienced) and went back out that very night to find it after I had posted that I had fixed the coordinates! We also quickly got several more entries, all successful, so now we're on our way! But hey, now I know how to use all those different types of updating posts that are available! LOL!

Here's another no-no I've discovered... I'm not sure what the real term for it is, but it happens when someone mistakenly (or intentionally, in my case it was mistakenly) posts pictures of travel bugs with the tracking number clearly visible. This allows someone who has never seen the item to discover/grab/place it wherever they want. I think I may have had this happen to me, and it was very puzzling. I posted pictures awhile back from the picnic we attended of our first travel bug, unfortunately I didn't think about the number being visible in the picture. We took it to the picnic, all the attendees "discovered it" (meaning logged it without taking it, just to show they'd seen it) and then someone from the picnic had taken it with them to eventually place in a cache, perfectly acceptable, and what we had intended. Several days later, I get a few weird log entries, culminating in a placement in Iraq! Excuse me? I suppose it was possible, but it seemed unlikely. The logs said it had been placed in a cache. The next logs for that cache, very soon after, said it was not there, and I believed it had been lost. Oh well, that's why you don't want to use anything near and dear or expensive as a travel bug, there's always that chance it will go missing. Then, I get another log for it, a local area cacher has found it again. Still in town... hmmmm... Obviously whoever logged it placed in Iraq, was full of you know what. So, all I can think it that someone took the number from the picture, and posted these false logs. I don't know why they would do this, but then I don't know why people do a lot of things! ;) I was able to delete the bad logs, bring the bug's mileage back to a correct couple of miles rather than over 6,000, and I've learned a valuable lesson, don't post pictures of trackables with their numbers visible! The reason? You didn't see it, you don't deserve to count it in your numbers, and it's not fair to disappoint people expecting to find it when it was never there!

In spite of these newbie goofs, we're still very enthusiastic, and managed to find several caches this weekend that we had tried and missed on the first time, so we feel quite successful this weekend at having hit 50 finds. :)

The adventure continues!

Our second travel bug is a keychain of my college mascot, placed in a nearby park, so far lying undiscovered...

Book: Stardoc by S. L. Viehl

Cherijo Grey Veil is a surgeon on Terra, who has discovered a secret kept by her father so dark that she feels she must flee for her life. The story opens with Cherijo trying to find passage off planet in the seedy taverns frequented by non-Terran regulated pilots. It's the only hope she has of getting enough of a headstart to get away before her father gets wind of her plans. She finally picks out a pilot, Dhreen, a non-human, and makes the flight with him to Kevarzangia Two, where she's signed on to work as a Free Clinic doctor.

Cherijo has never been off planet before, and now she's surrounded by aliens of all different types, and Terrans like herself are few and far between. She has many challenges ahead of her, fitting in with the staff of the Free Clinic as the new kid, learning how to treat many alien races that are structured completely differently than the human bodies she's used to, and retaining her independence once her father finds out what she's done.

This is actually an action packed and emotional story, with many twists and turns, colorful secondary characters that you come to love or despise, and conflicts that though taking place on an alien world, are very easy to understand and relate to.

Stardoc was brought to my attention through a group read and I'm glad it was! I had briefly glanced at this one before on the shelves of the store, but never gone so far as to pick it up until Wendy chose it for our group. If you look back a few posts on her blog, she's already finished the 3rd book of the series! How's that for a recommendation? ;) Thanks for bringing this one to my attention Wendy!

S. L. Viehl has a few aliases as well, one of which is Lynn Viehl, of the Darkyn series fame that's making quite a splash in the Paranormal Romance genre. I haven't read them yet, but I do have them all, and plan to get to them! Must read faster! :D

Hide and Seek

*insert Mission Impossible theme music here*

We've done it, we've just placed our very first geocache. I'm so excited and can't wait for someone to log it! Oh yeah, I guess we have to log it on the site in order for anyone to know it's there huh? *blush*

Off to do that RIGHT NOW!

*zoom*

Winner of A Babe in Ghostland by Lisa Cach

And the winner is....

A Real Librarian!

I'll be contacting you shortly for your snail mail addy. Congratulations, and thanks to everyone who signed up!

Check back mid-September to see what my next giveaway will be!

He can be My Angel of Music Anytime!

A few weeks ago, Terra57 over at Yankee Romance Reviews asked, what to do with Antonio?

Well here's an idea that I found on YouTube... He's no Michael Crawford, but when you're Antonio Banderas, you don't need to be! ;)



Evil, evil YouTube! You can lose HOURS over there!

Book: Grimspace by Ann Aguirre

Sirantha Jax is a jumper, one of the very few with a genetic constitution that allows her to navigate grimspace. Highly in demand, the Jumpers are rock stars in this world, at least until something goes wrong. Jax is the only survivor of a terrible accident, one which claimed many lives, including that of her lover and pilot Kai. The details surrounding the crash are vague, Jax cannot remember what happened exactly, even through repeated "treatment" at the Corp facility where she's being held. Subjected to brutal mind games, Jax is near the breaking point, and at times is uncertain of whether or not she did cause the crash, though she can't believe that she ever would have.

The Corp controls all the jumpers, and with them most of interstellar travel, but a small faction of rogue fighters has other ideas, and securing Jax is a central part their plan. Breaking her out of the interrogation facility she's in, they spirit her away, back to the small headquarters they have to begin their mission. Jax isn't so sure that her rescue is all it's cracked up to be, and at times even wonders if she might have been better off staying in the Corp holding cells. It seems that she destroys the lives of everyone she touches, but somehow through it all she becomes attached to the motley crew that rescued (kidnapped) her, especially their captain, as hard as they try to fight it.

I actually picked Grimspace up with no previous knowledge of the author while looking for some new Science Fiction, which I claim to like, but then never seem to read any of! Not long after that, I saw my friend Susan over at West of Mars promoting Ann Aguirre and thought, hmmm, I just bought that! I'm glad I did, it was fast paced and full of action, definitely keeping my attention, which I'm afraid at times that Sci-Fi won't. The feel I got from this one was something of a cross between the show Firefly by Joss Whedon and the Crystal Singer series of books by Anne McCaffrey, both highly worth the watch and read if you haven't! I also wasn't the only person to make the Firefly statement, as I saw at least one review on goodreads that said the same thing, after I had already thought that to myself. lol!

This is a debut I will definitely recommend, and I'm looking forward to the next episode of the Sirantha Jax story, Wanderlust, which is out now! If you check on the title link, you'll see that Ann is running a contest this week, so go out and buy them, right now! Borders and Barnes and Noble are open late, and Amazon is always online, so there are no excuses! ;)

Check out Ann's website HERE

HQ/Sil Challenge #2: Wicked Ways by Kate Hoffmann

Title: Wicked Ways
Author: Kate Hoffmann
Date: August 1996
Imprint: Harlequin Temptation #599

Hallie runs the Widow's Walk Inn, her ancestral home in the small town of Egg Harbor in Maine. She's happy with her life for the most part, maintaining the inn with the help of her two great aunts.

Tristan Montgomery is a horror novelist, looking for a quiet place to get away to work on his latest book. He thought that the Widow's Walk would be just the place, quiet and out of the way, so he's surprised when he isn't able to get a room due to a sudden influx of tourists.

The reason? Hallie's great aunts have talked about the family vampire legend to the newspaper and now people are flocking to the town in the hopes of spotting Uncle Nicholas, rumored to be rising from the dead.

Tristan convinces Hallie to put him up anyway, so she lets him take over the partially renovated coach house, separate from the main inn, where he can work in private. Although well known, he doesn't divulge his true identity or profession to Hallie, hoping to remain anonymous long enough to get some work done. He finds the surroundings inspiring, but his odd habits raise some suspicions, and only feed into the vampire frenzy that seems to have taken over the town.

Hallie stubbornly refuses to believe in vampires, but even she has to admit that Tristan's ways are a bit weird, and when the special delivery from his editor arrives, she doesn't know what to think! All she knows is that she's strangely attracted to him, no matter how hard she tries to fight it!

Wicked Ways was cute and fun, Tristan starts out as not so likeable, but you're soon rooting for him to at least escape the attention of Hallie's great aunts, who are determined to produce a vampire come hell or high water! They are a hoot!

I'm ready to pass this loved copy along, as with all my books there is a Bookcrossing label in the front, and while I would LOVE to get a journal entry from the next reader (which you can do anonymously and free if you decide that bookcrossing is not for you) the book will then be yours to do with what you like! If you are interested in reading this one, please comment on this post by September 13th to enter!

Historical Meme

I saw this Meme on Dark Wolf's Fantasy Reviews and thought it sounded like fun, since I love Wikipedia anyway!

The Meme is to put your birthday into Wikipedia, then list 4 events, 3 births, 2 deaths, and 1 holiday/festival that is observed on that day.

Here was what came up for mine:

Events:
*1098 - First Crusade: Antioch falls to the crusaders after an eight-month siege.
*1850 - The traditional founding date of Kansas City, Missouri. This was the date on which it was first incorporated by Jackson County, Missouri as the "City of Kansas".
*1888 - The poem "Casey at the Bat", by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, is published in the San Francisco Examiner.
*1965 - Launch of Gemini 4, the first multi-day space mission by a NASA crew. Crew-member Ed White performs the first American spacewalk (EVA).

Births:
*1808 - Jefferson Davis, American politician and President of the Confederate States of America (d. 1889)
*1930 - Marion Zimmer Bradley, American author (d. 1999) (she’s a favorite of mine, miss her)
*1936 - Larry McMurtry, American author

Deaths:
*1899 - Johann Strauss II, Austrian composer (b. 1825)
*1975 - Ozzie Nelson, American band leader, producer, director, and actor (b. 1906)

Holiday/Festival:
Roman Empire - Festival to Bellona. (Bellona was an ancient Roman War Goddess. She accompanied Mars into battle and is taken variously as his sister, wife or daughter.)

If you're a history buff/fan you'll enjoy this one. There were many more interesting things than I had room to list. :)

Geocaching Picnic and Our First Travel Bug!

We just got home tonight from the 8th Annual Kansas City Geocaching Picnic! I had no idea what to expect, but when I saw it would be at a park so close to home, I decided we needed to go, so I dragged jezebelsk and her hubby along with us! (That's her version, she really wasn't so hard to convince!) There were in theory 200 some people there, none of whom I'd ever met before, and only a couple that we had corresponded with a tiny bit through e-mails, so being an introvert, I was a little nervous about the whole thing, though excited (hello, geocaching, prizes, coin auction, food, need I say more?). Everyone was super nice, and super into geocaching, we were definitely some newbies with only 32 some caches logged to date. But that didn't matter, they were excited for us to keep going!

There were door prizes (didn't win), a travel bug trade/exchange table (left our very first travel bug ever and picked up a geocoin in trade to help on it's way), t-shirts (yep, we ordered a couple), a coin auction (yep, we won a couple) and lots of other coins and items for sale (didn't get back to here because I'd used my last two checks for the t-shirts and the auction, probably a good thing, could have been a lot more expensive!)

All in all a very fun time, nice people, a beautiful park, and yet another obssessive hobby, as if we needed one! ;)

Here is our first travel bug, we're so proud! It's already on it's way somewhere, I'm excited to get updates on it's travel! We've named it Kill-a-bug Byte #1:



Here is the coin we picked up in trade, it shows Old Faithful on the front and a cowboy riding a bronco on the back:



And here are the two coins we won at the auction, proceeds to go for funding next year's picnic:


This one is a compass rose and says around the outside edge "They say the Earth is flat, but I know it is round for I have seen the shadow on the moon" -- Ferdinand Magellan. I think it's beautiful!



This one is of grey whales, since I love ocean animal pictures, and when the sun hit it on the auction table, I was in love, very sparkly and pretty!

I don't know that either of these auction winnings will make it into a cache, they're just too pretty to let go of, but I did see someone with an album book of coins that were there for participants to "discover" though not take, and people were writing down numbers in a frenzy! It was funny, a little scary, and all together a total feed of the OCD-esque part of this hobby! There were people with travel bug numbered t-shirts, name tags and car stickers! I loved it! I have a whole page of numbers to log in for discovery! And Mr. Shaunie and I have decided we really do need those car stickers, they're great!

It was a great time, and we'll definitely go again next year if at all possible! Thanks to everyone that made the picnic possible!

Thursday Thirteen #14 - What do I need?

This is a meme that I think has been going on FOREVER, in which you type "your name" and "needs" into Google to see what comes up. Recently another friend did it and was interested to see how it came out for me. So here goes. I've replaced my real name (which I used to google) with my alias Shaunie, and rearranged them a bit for maximum comedic value. ;)

Shaunie needs the internet (well duh!)

Shaunie needs to take a break (from the internet obviously!)

Shaunie needs to look for a job (instead of being on the internet, oh wait, you can do that on the internet can't you? Score!)

Shaunie needs to find a new agent (I bet I can do that on the internet too!)

Shaunie needs a bed in Mexico City for about a week in August. (that's news to me, can we visit some ruins?)

Shaunie Needs a Home (I might, if I went to Mexico City without the husband!)

Shaunie needs lots of guidance (oh no! Lost in the ruins! Help!)

Shaunie needs hydration after the walk (well, if I'd just stayed on the internet instead of walking to Mexico City I wouldn't be in this fix, would I?)

Shaunie needs to board the blob ship that is hovering overhead. (oh my, now I'm being abducted by aliens? Once again, proving if I'd just stayed on the internet this wouldn't have happened!) This one showed up a lot so I wanted to see where it came from: http://www.mazeguy.net/blobs2.html

Shaunie needs a very strong, patient adoptive family (I certainly will after all this jaunting around I've been doing. I don't know that my current family will take me back!)

Shaunie needs money (that's a definite after this Mexico City trip!)

Shaunie needs to go to school, and she needs her coffee to do so (oh no, you are NOT getting me back in school, but I will take the coffee!)

Shaunie needs a man (well, I have one, and he really wasn't too keen on me getting another one! However, the first one that came up for him was that he needed nude models! Well, if he gets nude models, that I think I can certainly have another man, don't you think?)

Thanks for the visit!

Giveaway #6: A Babe in Ghostland

Case Lambert has a problem. He's just bought himself an old Victorian house to restore, and it's haunted big time, only he doesn't believe in ghosts. Surely everything he's experienced can be explained away somehow... or can it? That's what sends him to Megan Barrows, owner of Antique Fancies, a small antiques store in town. He's hired Eric Ramsey, a supposed supernatural expert, to help explain the activity in the house, and in turn Eric recommended Megan, believing her to be one of the few genuine mediums he knows. He believes Megan will be able to determine if there are any ghosts residing at the house or not.

Case gives Megan a bit of a test with an old watch that belonged to his grandmother before explaining his situation to her. He eventually convinces her to visit the house, no small feat, as a bad past experience while working with Eric and his paranormal investigation group SPIRIT has convinced her she would be perfectly happy only using her ability to fill her store with antiques that harbor happy memories. The temptation of the challenge finally gets to her though, the chance to prove to the skeptical Case that her abilities are real, though she ends up getting into something much deeper than she expected. Case's new home has a few inhabitants with a dark history and their own agenda.

This was my first read by Lisa Cach, and I really enjoyed it. In spite of knowing it was not a "real" ghost story recounting, I still found myself with goosebumps on occasion and reading more quickly to see what happened next! From the cover and the description I expected fast, light and fluffy, and while it was some of that, there was suspense and danger thrown in as well. I will definitely me reading more of Lisa Cach! I especially can't wait to check out George and the Virgin, the title and the description are just too funny!

Check out Lisa Cach's website HERE

And now for the giveaway! My gently loved, Bookcrossing labeled copy is ready to make new friends! I would love it if the winner would make a journal entry for this when they receive it (you can do so anonymously if you decide that you don't want to be a full-fledged member, and it is free), but it will be yours to do with what you like. To enter, please comment on this post, telling me if you do or do not believe in ghosts. I'd be thrilled to hear of experiences you've had! I will choose a winner on September 1st 2008. Remember to leave me a valid e-mail to reach you!

As for my own answer to the question, several people around me have recounted experiences of sightings or activity they couldn't easily explain, but I myself cannot say that I've had such an experience. I also can't say that I'm unhappy about that! I think it would scare me to death to have something happen, though I love to read about it and watch it on TV! Ghost Hunters just cracks me up!

If you like the haunted house idea, I've also got a movie to recommend. The Changeling, starring George C. Scott. My friend DragonGoddess turned me on to this movie one Halloween night and I could not sleep afterwards! It was very scary, but not in a bloody/gory way at all! It was definitely a mind trip, and now I can't help but get goosebumps every time I hear the racquetball my cats like to play with rolling or bouncing across the floor! *shiver* This movie is apparently based on a true story, give it a try!

All in the Game - Winner!

Okay, so the 15th has come and gone by a couple days, oops!

But I'm back on track, and have chosen my winner!

Tetewa!

Congratulations, you've won this little romantic reality show jaunt from Silhouette Desire!

Please contact me with your snail mail address at shaunesay@gmail.com so I can send it out to you!

Butterflies, Flowers and African Statues

The husband and I made it out to Powell Gardens this past weekend for their Butterfly festival.

The star of their butterfly show is the Blue Morpho, of which there are a couple different kinds, but I think what we saw were the Morpho Peleides, and I'm afraid my pictures don't do them justice. They are quite large, typically from the tip of my thumb to the tip of my little finger if I spread out my hand. Our speciman was a bit washed out, partially because of how humid and slightly foggy it was in the room.



Here is the underside of the Blue Morpho's wings, can you believe that's the same animal?!



Here are some of my other favorites:

A Luna Moth, which I think are just the neatest looking, with big fat fuzzy white bodies, they almost look like they have fur. I was a little creeped out by the fact that once they emerge, they don't have mouths, since they don't eat and only live about a week for the sole purpose of mating. I feel kind of sorry for them!



This next one is some kind of swallowtail butterfly, there are many different kinds of them.



The White Peacock Butterfly



And I have no idea what this one was, but just thought the picture came out REALLY well! I think I have a future as a photographer, don't you? (carefully avoids mention of how many out of focus pictures were deleted! Ah, the wonders of digital cameras!) Okay, having just read the next section of my own post and my link to wiki, I've realized this one is a male Monarch butterfly! I just didn't think he was that big and dark enough to be one, but I guess what we typically think of as very black edgings around orange sections is the female! Look at the wiki pictures and you'll see what I mean. ;)



There was also a Monarch Butterfly tent where there were many displays all about that most famous of butterflies. Monarch tagging is quite the event! I had heard of bird tagging, and other larger animals, but butterflies?! I took this short video of the main butterful conservatory room they had, so you can sort of get an idea of how many were in one room, it's not too good, but I think you can get the idea!



Oh yes, and of course there were flowers, it is a garden after all! ;)







And some other critters that were luckily off the path!



And also some stone statues from Zimbabwe. The exhibit was called Chapungu and apparently each piece represents a story of the Shona people. Here are a few that I liked:





Whew! It was quite a trip, but well worth it! Every year we visit out there it's just getting bigger and better!

Check out Yankee Romance Reviewers!

I wanted to give a little link love to my friends over at Yankee Romance Reviewers. If you've not ever visited them you definitely should, they've worked super hard to get an awesome August lineup in the works, authors galore guest blogging for the whole month! Go on over for a look see, it's worth it!

Also check out the August giveaway on Terra's Book Blog for #8 in the Sookie Stackhouse Series: From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris! You have until August 26th to get entered!

Then head on over to Amberkatze's Book Blog where she will be giving away a copy of 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover by Linda Wisdom, but you've only got until August 10th for this one! I JUST this past weekend purchased myself a copy of this one, the bunny slippers made me do it! ;)

Check 'em all out!

Movie: Iron Man

I saw this movie a few weeks ago, so it may not be out in the theaters any more, but if it isn't, this is definitely one to keep in mind for renting!

Tony Stark is the head of Stark Industries, which makes devastating weapons. During a display of the newest weapon the company has made, the caravan that Tony is riding in is attacked, leaving him fatally injured. He is kidnapped by a terrorist group, whose ringleader wants him to make the group the weapon he was just demonstrating. Upon waking, Tony finds that he has suffered a dangerous heart wound, and that his life is being sustained by a car battery, that his partner in captivity has rigged up. Working together, as they are supposed to be making another Jericho weapon, they are instead making Tony an iron suit in the hopes that he will be able to escape, giving birth to the Iron Man idea.

He does escape, but returns home a much changed man, his views on the world and his place in it challenged to his very core. Meeting opposition from his business partner and long time family friend Obadiah Stane, he continues his new experiments in secret in his own basement, where he develops the Iron Man idea and powers.

Now, I'm not really a huge comic book fan, so I really had never been exposed to the Iron Man story, and probably wouldn't have been able to tell you which super hero he was if shown a picture, but I REALLY enjoyed this movie. I thought Robert Downey Jr. did an excellent job in this role, really making Tony Stark a likable and alive character for me, especially in his interactions with his own robotic creations, and his assistant Pepper.

I highly recommend this one if you're in the mood for a fun action packed super hero movie!

Book: The Autumn Castle by Kim Wilkins

Christine Starlight is living with her lover Jude in Berlin, where he is the guest of a wealthy arts patron, along with other artists Gerda, Pete and Fabyian. They are all housed in the same building, dubbed Hotel Mandy-Z after their patron Immanuel Zweigler who inhabits the top floors and is himself a sculptor. While grateful for his patronage, the artists and Christine all find Immanuel, Mandy for short, to be very strange and disconcerting. They spend much of their time trying to avoid him, he makes them so uncomfortable. The story is seasoned with excerpts of Mandy's memoirs, cluing us in to his true nature, though the artists believe he is harmless, if weird. He is anything but as they come to find out.

Christine lost her parents in a car wreck when she was a teenager. She survived the wreck but has lived with constant pain since. Heiress to a vast fortune, the Starlights were well known musicians, she decided not to access her fortune until she gets married. She seems plain next to the handsomeness of Jude, and Gerda at least suspects he is with her for her impending money, but Jude is much more complex.

Christine finds her way to the Autumn Castle accidentally one night when she bumps into a table in the dark, causing herself enough pain that she blacks out. She finds herself in a forest, where strangely she experiences no pain at all for the first time in years. She comes to learn that this land is far from a hallucination, and that presiding over it is Mayfridh, coincidentally the girl from next door, who had been kidnapped as a child when Christine and her parents lived in Berlin.

Intrigued at being reunited with her lost friend from the past, Mayfridh finally gets up enough courage to make a trip to the real world, encouraged by her counselor and friend, the shapeshifter Eisengrimm. Mayfridh is surprised to find that she LOVES the real world, all the colors and action, compared to the peaceful everyday sameness of her own world Ewigkreis, the faeryland.

Mayfridh's appearance in the real world causes much upheaval, and brings many dark secrets to light.

This story was not at all what I expected, and at first I wasn't sure that I liked it. At one point I even had to skip to the end to see if I could tell something that would make me want to keep going. I don't say this because it was bad, quite the contrary, I had to keep reading to find out! More it is because it was skillfully done that I felt so uncomfortable during it and, okay, I'll say it, creeped out in parts! LOL! I would label it as a fantasy suspense thriller, if there is such a thing.

Check out Kim Wilkin's websitehere where I see that she labels her own novels as supernatural thrillers, so there ya go! ;) Really, great book, because it kept me reading, even though I wasn't sure I wanted to, and I think that takes talent!

Giveaway #5: Real Vampires Have Curves - winner announced!

It's after midnight here and that makes it August 2nd! So here we go!

This was my biggest turn out for a giveaway yet, I had 16 people entered! Congratulations go out to.... *drumroll*

Booksforever

The winner of my copy of Real Vampires Have Curves by Gerry Bartlett!

Thanks for entering everyone! Check back mid-late August for my next giveaway, and in the mean time, if you're a fan of the show Survivor, I also have this little Silhouette Desire up for grabs that is in that type of setting (reality contest show), where the chief cameraman and a contestant of the show get a little thing going on! It's called All in the Game. Check out the sidebar to the right if you're interested.

Is it Getting Hot In Here?

Wow is it hot! *fans self* I'm not sure if it's the heat outside, or jezebelsk's newest contest over at Walking on Sunshine! She is holding a giveaway for a $25 gift certificate to Original Juan, provider of all kinds of tasty hot sauces from salsa to bbq sauce, dips, mixes, spices, all kinds of awesome, tasty goodies! To enter her contest, check out the post I Have A Secret!! Or, don't, cause that means my chances of winning are better! Just kidding! ;) She has a couple of other books up for grabs as well, so take a few minutes and browse around there!

Don't forget my own contest for Real Vampires Have Curves ends on August 2nd, when I'll be choosing my winner! To enter, check out the side bar to the right for a link!

Let's see, what else we can find going on...

Amberkatze is holding a contest for The Devil You Know by Jenna Black, and has a great interview with the author over on her blog. Hurry on over there, the contest ends on Aug. 3, so you don't have much time left!

And don't forget to check out Win-a-Book over at West of Mars where there's always a ton of giveaways posted!

May Lady Luck be with you, and bring on the hot sauce!

HQ/Sil Challenge #1: All in the Game by Barbara Boswell

Title: All in the Game
Author: Barbara Boswell
Imprint: Silhouette Desire #1471
Date: November 2002

This is my first read for the Harlequin/Silhouette Challenge that I joined, see my original post Here.

Tynan Howe is the Chief Cameraman for the show "Victorius", a Survivor copycat show. Unknown to him when he joined the show, one of the contestants is Shannen Cullen, a girl he'd broken up with 9 years before, but whom he never forgot. Ty is tortured as he must endure filming Shannen, her twin sister and the rest of the contestants without giving himself away. At first he believes she doesn't remember him, because true to the directives of the game, Shannen acts as if she doesn't know him, as if he and the rest of the crew are not there. Her resolve begins to wear thin though, and she eventually sneaks a meeting with him, to confront him on their past, and their current situation. Things don't work out the way she plans though, as their attraction to each other is still intact, even after so long of being apart.

Can she hold out against her attraction to Ty? Can she still focus on the game, taking herself and her sister to the end? Is there any future for the two of them? Ty has secrets of his own to share or withhold, can he earn her trust again after breaking it off with her so long ago?

I picked this one up because of the "Survivor" reality show theme, I admit to watching my share of episodes of the show and getting sucked in in spite of myself! While it's an obvious spoof of the show, it's a cute story, and I enjoyed it. I thought it was a little amusing that this one was done back in November of 2002, and predicted that reality tv had long since died off and that resurrecting this type of show was kind of a long shot. As far as I can tell, the real Survivor is still going strong, as well as reality tv in general! lol!

Giveaway: My copy is up for grabs if anyone is interested! Just post here if so, and if several people are interested, I'll choose a winner on August 15th. Otherwise, it's out into the wild world it goes, as a wild Bookcrossing release!

Book: Blood Engines by T. A. Pratt

Marla Mason has a problem. Her closest rival for control of the city of Felport wants to edit her out, and there's not a thing she can do to stop it unless she can get close to a certain magical artifact. That's why she's in San Francisco, trying to track it down. What she hoped would be a quick in and out, turns into a much more difficult trip, as she comes across another sorcerer with his own agenda, and one that will affect much more than Marla's own existence. With her sidekick Rondeau, and a few other interesting allies, can she save the world in time, starting with San Francisco? And can she do it in time to save herself?

Marla is a bit of an abrasive character, but at her core she's in the right place. She's not interested in all the luxuries that power can bring, but she does enjoy being top dog. She's earned it, and she's not about to give it up to her rival without a fight. Myself I really liked Rondeau, and Bradley Bowman, B for short, is another sweet character the two come across that gets dragged along in their wake, through his own visions and sense of duty.

This is the first of the Marla Mason series and there's a little bit of everything in here, some Urban fantasy, some sci-fi, some Aztec Mythology and more. I enjoyed it a lot and am looking forward to Marla's next adventures in Poison Sleep.

Check out T A Pratt's website here

Giveaway #5: Real Vampires Have Curves by Gerry Bartlett

Gloriana St. Clair is not your usual thin, pale and brooding vamp, she's all woman, with a great sense of style! Present day finds her leaving Las Vegas and moving to Austin, Texas, to make a new start with her own store, where she wants to sell vintage clothing and whatnot, and who would have more of that, or a better knowledge of it than a vampire? Glory was made back in the day of Billy Shakespeare by her on again off again lover Angus Jeremiah Campbell III, or Blade for short. Once in Austin she has more to contend with than she ever expected, with a technologically advanced vampire hunter on the trail of her and her friends. Glory refuses to run however, she's determined to make a new and successful start for herself. Go Female Vamp Power!

Real Vampires Have Curves was a lot of fun, with Blade and new hot vamp acquaintance Damian constantly vying to be first in Glory's affections, and many humorous secondary characters playing supporting roles as the group tries to combat the vampire hunter that is threatening them.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the series:

Real Vampires Live Large (2007)
Real Vampires Get Lucky (2008)
Real Vampires Don't Diet (2009)

Check out Gerry Bartlett's Website for more info!

And now for the giveaway! As always, my copies are gently used, and registered at Bookcrossing.com. I would certainly appreciate the winner taking the time to journal the book there when you receive it, you can be completely anonymous if you decide joining is not for you. This copy is yours to do with as you will and you do not need to be a member of Bookcrossing to win.

To enter, post on this entry, and tell me what your favorite humorous paranormal title, series, or character has been, or another one that you'd like to try if you haven't read any yet. I will announce the winner on August 2nd! Be sure to leave me a way to contact you!

Thursday Thirteen #13 - Mystery Series

I have so many books I'll never get around to them! Here are a few of the mystery series that I would really like to start, but haven't gotten around to yet!

1. The Bubbles Yablonsky Series by Sarah Strohmeyer - She may be a hairdresser with the body of a Barbie doll and a fatal weakness for hot pants, but Bubbles Yablonsky is not just another dumb blonde. She's determined to turn her taste for gossip into a talent for journalism, and she knows a secret about the death of Laura Buchman that could be her Big Break. Plus, she gets to work with photographer Steve Stiletto - a dead ringer for Mel Gibson, and exactly the kind of mysterious, dangerous man her mother warned her against. But Bubbles soon discovers that while brazen bravado gets results, some people will do anything to keep her quiet...

2. The Archaeological Mystery Series by Lyn Hamilton - The murder of a renowned expert in Mayan history lures Lara into the jungles surrounding Merida, Mexico. For in this lush paradise are the temples of the Mayan gods--and the camps of modern-day rebels fighting to save their Mayan heritage. As the body count escalates, Lara must uncover the secrets of the Mayan underworld known as Xibalba--and the journey into the very heart of darkness.


3. The Joe Grey Series by Shirley Rousseau Murphy - "It's me, your cat. I had to split. I witnessed a crime and someone is following me. Trust me. When I get this sorted out, I'll be home. I am still your cat, and I guess I miss you .." Joe Grey jumped down to the floor without hanging up the phone. He was trapped in an unfolding nightmare. First he found he could understand human speech (who would have guessed they had so little to say?). Then he found he could talk (useful for scaring dogs) and even read. He got worried when he found himself feeling human emotions like guilt and sympathy. He even caught himself planning his day! All that, Joe Grey could have handled. If only he hadn't found himself in the alley behind Jolly's Deli the night Beckwhite was murdered...

4. The Mrs. Murphy Series by Rita Mae Brown - Crediting her cat Sneaky Pie as coauthor, Brown ( Rubyfruit Jungle ) sets the thoroughly likable heroine of this mystery, Mary Minor Haristeen, in an admirable position to figure out who is murdering, in ghastly fashion, various pillars of her community. Harry, with constant companions Mrs. Murphy, a cat, and Welsh corgi Tucker, is postmistress of Crozet, Va. Postcards are sent to a wealthy contractor shortly before parts of his body are found in a cement mixer and then to a storeowner whose corpse, tied to a railroad track, is cut in three parts by the express. The cards alert Harry and friends to a plot that will take more lives before they discover the treasure that inspires the violence. Brown's lively characterization brings merchants and first-family Virginians alive with affection and verve. Even the snippets of conversation contributed by Crozet's four-legged inhabitants are credible rather than cloying. Harry's in-process divorce of the town vet gives Brown opportunity to wax wise on issues of human relationships, feminism and the pitfalls of greed. A charming adventure, with teeth.

5. The Mrs. Jeffries Series by Emily Brightwell - While Inspector Witherspoon receives accolades for his Scotland Yard successes, his housekeeper, Mrs. Jeffries, does the lion's share of the detective work.







6. The Psychic Eye Mysteries by Victoria Laurie - Abby Cooper is a P.I., psychic intuitive. But her insight failed her when she didn't foresee the death of one of her clients-or that the lead investigator for the case is the gorgeous blind date she just met. Now, with the police suspicious of her abilities and a killer on the loose, Abby's future looks more uncertain than ever.




7. The Ghost Hunter Mysteries by Victoria Laurie - M.J., her partner Gilley, and their client, the wealthy, de-lish Dr. Steven Sable, are at his family's lodge, where his grandfather allegedly jumped to his death from the roof-although Sable says it was foul play. But the patriarch's isn't the only ghost around. The place is lousy with souls, all with something to get off their ghoulish chests. Now M.J. will have to to quell the clamor-and listen for a voice with the answers...


8. The Pepper Martin Mystery Series by Casey Daniels - She sees dead people. Beautiful, smart, and chic, Pepper Martin never had to work a day in her life -- until her surgeon daddy was convicted of fraud, her wealthy fiancé took a powder, and the family fortune ran bone dry. Suddenly desperate, the inexperienced ex-rich girl was forced to take the only job she could get: as a tour guide in a cemetery. But a grave situation took a turn for the worse when a head-on collision with a headstone left her with an unwanted ability to communicate with the disgruntled deceased . . . and now Pepper has a whacked Mafia don demanding that she hunt down his killers -- and threatening to haunt her until she does.

9. The Medieval West Country Series by Michael Jecks - When a spate of burnings occur in a quiet Devon village, Bailiff Simon Puttock is grateful for the help of the astute yet strangely reticent Sir Baldwin, who has recently come to live nearby. Are the deaths linked, and will the murderer strike again?





10. The Amerotke Series by Paul Doherty (wow he's written a lot more than I realized and they ALL look good! *drool*)- When Pharaoh Tuthmosis II falls dead before the sun god, Amun-Ra, his widow and the Chief Judge must find a killer covering his tracks with the hot desert sands of ancient Egypt.





11. The Sir Charles Sheridan Series by Robin Paige - Kate Adrleigh is everything the Victorian English gentlewoman is not--outspoken, free-thinking, American...and a writer of the frowned upon "penny-dreadfuls." Soon after her arrival in Essex, England, a body is unearthed in a nearby archeological dig--and Kate has the chance to not only research her latest story...but to begin her first case with amateur detective Sir Charles Sheridan.



12. The Chintz 'n China Series by Yasmine Galenorn - Emerald O'Brien is the owner of the Chintz 'n China Tea Room where guests are served the perfect blend of tea and tarot reading. She never set out to be a detective, but once word gets out that she can communicate with the dead, there's no turning back... When the ghost of Susan Mitchell asks for Emerald's help in convicting her own murderer, Emerald can't refuse. Along with her friends-an ex-supermodel and a cop-and her new love interest, Emerald must search for clues to put the killer behind bars-and this tortured soul to rest.

13. The Bewitching Mystery Series by Madelyn Alt - Antiques-shop clerk Maggie O'Neill was a little weirded out when she discovered her new boss Felicity was a witch. But when Felicity becomes the suspect in a local murder, Maggie must enlist Felicity's wiccan friends for help--and discover her own spellbinding talent.



I actually have a lot more than 13 series that I haven't gotten to yet, but I figured I'd stop here and save those for a future post! So many books, so little time! If you've already read some of these, let me know what you thought, or give me some more suggestions if they're in a similar vein! I might have heard of it, or I might not have. I'm pretty sure that I'll like them all, they sound right up my alley, paranormal, cats, history, archaeology, humor, I just need more reading time! If only I could figure out how to get paid to read whatever I wanted! But then I'd probably feel pressured and wouldn't enjoy it as much! ;)

Happy Thursday Thirteen!

Sources:
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/
http://www.amazon.com/

Word Clouds

I love word clouds, I think they're a lot of fun! While looking at Ilona Andrews Website (see previous post) I discovered this site where you can make your own: Wordle

This one I did using the titles of what I've read in 2008 so far.



I did have to play with the spacing in the code to get it to appear correctly here, just a warning, but I just took out the unnecessary spaces in the code.

Have fun, and if you make one, post me a link in the comments here so I can come see!

Book: Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

Kate is a Merc of the Guild, who gets called in to help clean up magical messes in a future time where magic and technology are both unreliable at best, switching back and forth between which is in effect from moment to moment. In this first of the series she is caught between the People (vampires) and the Pack (shapechangers) while investigating the violent murder of her guardian, the Knight-Diviner of the Order.

Andrews representation of vampires was a different take, making them more expendable creatures controlled by the People, vs. being central characters that are able to think and act for themselves. The shapechangers are of many different breeds, all united under one Lord of the Beasts.

The story is full of magic, and what you have to do to compensate when the magic suddenly fizzles. This is a common occurrence as waves magic roll through, disrupting all things technological, cars, lights, everything, only to inconveniently disappear and let technology take back over. Kate and crew are often forced to resort to means that have to work in either situation.

Kate herself is a mystery, constantly referring to an elusive heritage that never gets explained. I hope that there is more on this in the future (I already have book two, Magic Burns here to read), and maybe also more on the Order, as we only saw a few characters from them this time.

I definitely recommend this one to anyone who is into the urban fantasy style that has become so popular lately.

Check out Ilona Land the website of Gordon and Ilona Andrews!

Geocaching - yes, again!

We managed 7 caches today, all of them very fast and easy, until we got to the last one, note to self: Geocaching in a dog park makes people look at you funny if you do not have a dog along! This one was another bit of a wilderness adventure, though not so crazy as the last one, once again we seemed to go the hard and long way around, only to find the cache neatly hidden in the pocket of a tree very near the trail! Probably doing this one at the end of a rainy day wasn't the smartest idea either! LOL!

Our area seems to have some very active geocachers, which is very cool! They are soon having their 8th annual picnic, which we're going to try and attend with jezebelsk and hubby next month. It should be fun to meet some of these people that we've only seen as log entries on other caches. Several of them have logged thousands of found caches!!! Yes, plural thousands! Wow! We're only at 21 after today, we have a ways to go before we're "contenders" I think! ;)

Movie: The Game Plan

Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) plays star NFL quarterback Joe Kingman, who seems to have it all, wealth, women and fame. In the beginning he's very self centered, and indulged by everyone around him. EVERYTHING in his life centers around himself, until Peyton appears on his doorstep, and then EVERYTHING suddenly changes. Joe begins to realize how empty his life really was, and Peyton comes to mean everything to him, even as she's turning his life upside down. This is a heartwarming movie, very funny and sweet. I love Dwayne Johnson, and am so glad that he's turned to acting after wrestling, as I never would have seen him otherwise. He is a great comedic talent in my opinion, but can also pull at your heart as you'll see in this movie. Madison Pettis (Peyton) would have stolen the show completely with any other actor I think, but together the two are a great pair and made this cute movie great!

Movie: Nanny McPhee

I love Emma Thompson, but have to admit her initial appearance in this movie is pretty off putting! But that's part of the magic of this story. Nanny McPhee appears on the scene when Mr. Brown has run out of nannies to watch after his brood of children, and they are awful children! Nanny McPhee soon brings order to the household through a bit of magic and where the children at first dislike her as much as any other nanny they've had, they come to love her very much. She strikes me as a little bit darker of a cross between Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and Mary Poppins, but these children definitely need a firmer hand than those of the other stories! Cute movie, I recommend it!

I really like this script sequence from it:

Nanny McPhee: There is something you should understand about the way I work. When you need me but do not want me, then I must stay. When you want me but no longer need me, then I have to go. It's rather sad, really, but there it is.
[Nanny McPhee turns around to walk out of the room, but stops once she hears Simon]
Simon Brown: We will never want you!
Nanny McPhee: Then I will never go.

Winnings and More Giveaways!

I’ve had a streak of luck lately and won some book giveaways, whee!

From Walking on Sunshine I won The Witches of Chiswick by Robert Rankin. Right now she’s running a contest for a Wendy’s Hamburgers Giftcard, check it out!

Then from Amberkatze’s Book Blog I won Weddings from Hell, where one of the authors, Terri Garey also generously sent to me some signed bookmarks, promo cover of her newest book A Match Made in Hell, and a fun pin “What’s up Ghoulfriend?” (love it! Hee!) Right now Amberkatze has a contest running for The Accidental Werewolf or Accidentally Dead, see the right hand margin of her blog for links to the contests.

And last but not least, I won Blood Noir by Laurell K Hamilton from SQT at the Fantasy and Sci-Fi Loving Book Reviews Blog!

The giveaway love seems boundless, and is a lot of fun, to give and receive!

Please also check out Terra57’s Christmas in July Contest! I’m sure going too, and see if my luck holds!

Plus I will be announcing my own next giveaway Mid-July, so check back to see what I’ve decided on!

Another Weekend of Geocaching

It was a full three day weekend! The husband and I found 3 out of 4 caches on Friday the 4th, then 1 out of 3 on the 5th, and he found 2 out of 2 on the 6th!

We were feeling pretty confident on the 4th, after finding 3 out of 4, one of them a difficult one to spot, I didn’t know they made magnetic containers that small! None of the ones we tried for that day were too difficult, easy terrain, right where they were supposed to be (the one we didn’t find was probably still there and we just didn’t see it, so we’ll have to go try again!), and we even picked up a geocoin to help on it’s journey to another state, since we already had the bunny to place as well. We had a couple nice walks through a couple parks, one I’d never been to, and one I hadn’t been to in a long time.

Then the 5th rolls around, and I picked out some more caches that sounded pretty doable, given our newbie status. We’d been to the first park before, and were a bit familiar with it’s trails… or so we thought… Let’s just say that the placement of the cache itself was great, and as advertised as good for beginners on the terrain and difficulty level. However… I think we took the coordinates a little too literally, and so we were stumbling through the woods, completely off the beaten path, misdirected a few times where we saw a small snake napping on the side of this creek where the cache wasn’t!



Lesson learned LOL! We did find it, after deciding to give up and sit for a second on the BIG OBVIOUS ROCK, where lo and behold, was the cache nicely hidden by some bark on the back side, not anywhere in the waist high foliage we’d been wading through up to that point. The next two we had no luck on, even though we think we were right in the area where they should be. But it again got us out to a couple parks, one I hadn’t ever stopped at before though I’d driven past many times, and another one I hadn’t been to in years.

The 6th was more successful, though no less difficult from the sounds of it! I sat this one out, staying at home to catch up on some housework (and computer games heehee) while the husband went and picked up his son to bring him back for a summer visit. He took the two travel bugs with him for placement



and had success! The first cache was near the originator’s home, so the boys got to meet and chat with him, and the second cache sounded like a very similar experience to our wilderness adventure of the day before. Only this time the grass and weeds were about chest high on son’s 6’ 5” tallness! Eep! Gee, sorry I missed out on that one! NOT! *giggle*

We’re still very enthused despite some DNF’s (Did not find’s), and ready to start thinking about sending out some travel bugs of our own to see how they do, just have to find something good! We got some hints from a more experienced geocacher, so we’ll have to give those elusive ones another try in the future!

Atlantis Rising - Winner Announced!

And the winner of my copy of Atlantis Rising is.... *drum roll*


Jezebelsk!


Congratulations!


I'll post my next giveaway sometime mid-July, so check back!

Thursday Thirteen #12 - Geocaching

The husband and I tried this out for the first time with jezebelsk and her husband this past weekend, so I thought I’d do a 13 about it!

1. Geo-caching - an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called "geocaches" or "caches") anywhere in the world.

2. geocaching was imagined shortly after the removal of Selective Availability from GPS on May 1, 2000 because the improved accuracy of the system allowed for a small container to be specifically placed and located.

3. The first documented placement of a GPS-located cache took place on May 3, 2000, by Dave Ulmer of Beavercreek, Oregon.

4. Geocache container sizes range from film canisters often called "microcaches," too small to hold anything more than a tiny paper log, to five-gallon buckets or even larger containers.

5. A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook and "treasure," usually toys or trinkets of little value. Today, well over 800,000 geocaches are registered on various websites devoted to the pastime. Geocaches are currently placed in over 100 countries around the world and on all seven continents, including Antarctica.

6. Geocaches vary in size, difficulty, and location. Simple caches are often called "drive-bys," "park 'n' grabs" ("PNGs"), or "cache and dash." Geocaches may also be complex, involving lengthy searches or significant travel. One style called a Multi-cache takes the searcher to several different places (I think one such ended Jezebelsk’s husband ankle deep in water in a cave! But he found it!)

7. Travel Bugs and Geocoins are items that are placed in caches and are themselves trackable. They may have been given a mission by their orginators. They have their own tracking number and are moved from cache to cache. While many things can be traded out and kept, travel bugs and geocoins are specifically to keep traveling and should not be kept.

8. Here is a travel bug that jezebelsk and hubby placed on our outing last weekend: Mosquito Trap, it’s already been found and is on it’s way!

9. We took this travel bug that we found in another cache: Billy Bunny to help him on his mission of visiting every state. Husband will place him this coming weekend hopefully on an out of state trip! Bye bye Billy!

10. Some caches are called Travel Bug Hotels and are specifically for travel bugs only in an attempt to get them on their way! We found this cute travel bug on our first solo excursion after buying our GPS on Sunday: Meg’s Mud Bug Twins

11. If a geocache has been vandalized or stolen, it is said to have been "muggled" or "plundered." The former term plays off the fact that those not familiar with geocaching are called "geo-muggles" or just muggles, a term popularised by the Harry Potter series of books.

12. There have been 131 caches placed inside a 5-mile radius of my house!

13. check out Geocaching.com for more information

We visited 6 caches on our first outing, ranging from a park, to a parking lot, to a cemetary. Caches seem to be everywhere! Check out this post from jezebelsk to see some nice photos she took on our outing.

sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocaching
http://www.geocaching.com

Thanks for stopping by! I ran out of time to visit last week, so I will be visiting those people first this time and you may get two comments from me! ;)