Day: November 8, 2015

Telephone Woes

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I know I’ve written about my loathing for telephone solicitation before. In case you missed that rant, you can find it here.

I have a new strategy for live callers.

“Thank you so much for calling. You can find my books on Amazon dot com. . . No, no you called me. I’m an author and this is my place of business . . . I pay the phone bill. . . check out my author page on Amazon, or go to my website. I have books available on Barnes & Noble and Kobo and . . . no, no, you called my place of business. Do you call your supermarket and pitch them whatever it is you’re selling? Then what right do you have to call my place of business and not buy one of my books?”

The caller usually hangs up before I can finish the spiel.

I still need to deal with robocall. I’ve heard NoMorRoBo works really well. I just need to hunt down an account number and a password to register the house phones.

Summer Reading List

People always seem to have a summer reading list. Then I realized I do, too, although it’s not as formalized as some I’ve seen. So here’s what I plan to read this summer, in no particular order:

The Last Time I Saw Her by Karen Robards

If you haven’t read Robards’ Dr. Charlotte Stone series, and you’re a fan of romantic suspense with a touch of paranormal, you don’t know what you’re missing. The fourth installment of the series is due out  August 25.  Okay, maybe there’s more of a touch of paranormal here. The hero? Well, he’s a ghost.

After the Storm: A Kate Burkholder Novel by Linda Castillo

July 14th is the release date on the latest in Castillo’s Amish mystery series. Lifetime made a movie of the first book in the series. If you like a good mystery and an exploration of a different culture, I highly recommend this series.

Devoted in Death by JD Robb (okay, this isn’t out until September, but it’s still on my list)

The continuing saga of Eve Dallas and Rourke. Futuristic police procedural. I’ve been reading the “In Death” series for years.

A Family Come True by Kris Fletcher

I love Kris Fletcher’s stories. They are crafted with such care. The characters are people you know. Always a great read.

A Year in Provence and Toujours Provence by Peter Mayle

Annual summer re-reads for me. Wine, food, hot summer days & nights. What more can I say?

Superstition by Karen Robards

Another annual summer re-read. Summer on Pawley’s Island. An old murder, ghosts, and a TV reporter with more ambition than common sense. Great twist at the end. One of Robards’ best.

Omega Moon Rising by MJ Compton (hey! that’s me!)

I plan to have the final draft of the book in the Toke Lobo & the Pack werewolf series done and revised this summer. This is Luke’s story. Have to read it to revise it.

What are your reading plans for the summer?

 

 

50 Shades of . . . Wine

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The much ballyhooed movie version of the notorious Fifty Shades of Grey is being released on Friday, which is Valentine’s Day. I’ve read the trilogy. I have no interest in seeing the movie.

However, E.L. James came up with a wonderful bit of marketing: she “created” a Fifty Shades of Grey brand of wine. There are two blends: Red Satin and White Silk.

fifty shades of wine

The slogan is “Connect with your Inner Goddess.”

I thought I’d try the wine any way.

I actually tasted both wines this summer. As a general rule, I drink red wines. This red was okay. Nothing spectacular. A few weeks later, I tried the white.

50 shades of white

It may have been the company and the setting (a group of authors, lakeside, on a gorgeous summer day) or maybe it really was the wine, but I thought the White Silk was fabulous. Light, fruity, smooth. Silky. Really. (Remember, I make fun of wine tasting notes on Twitter every Tuesday.)

Being the open-minded kind of woman I am, I’m perfectly will to try the red again. Maybe on Valentine’s Day. But only the wine. That’s the only E.J. James “creation” that appeals to me.