Câmaras de Transformação

  Apesar das origens selvagens, os licantropos fenrisnianos e infectados aprenderam que nas cidades têm melhores hipóteses de se camuflarem na sociedade humana, assim como, acesso a mais recursos financeiros. Cruciais para esta camuflagem sãos as Câmaras de Transformação.

 
  Estas celas fortes e bem isoladas servem para conter os licantropos infectados durante as Luas Cheias, quando, inevitavelmente, se transformam em feras irracionais, evitando, deste modo, risco de exposição desnecessários.

  Construídas normalmente em caves, todos os clãs as têm e embora não exista uma fórmula oficial para a sua edificação tendem a possuir as seguintes características: 6 por 6 metros; 4 metros de altura; paredes  com 3 metros de espessura e porta, com metro e meio de grossura, cuja abertura só é possível pelo exterior através de uma espécie de escotilha, com trancas de 20 centímetros de diâmetro, posicionadas em redor.

  Embora a sua função principal seja conter os infectados durante as Luas Cheias, a robustez torna-as extremamente eficazes como prisões.

Obviamente a entrada da maioria delas não tem um  aspecto tão elaborado, mas dá para ficarem com uma ideia 

Into The Darkness by Barbara Michaels

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

When Daniel Mignot, the roguish and mysterious founder of a majestic jewelry empire, dies after a sudden illness, his granddaughter, Meg Venturi, is drawn back to Seldon-the small New England town she ran from so many years ago.  Expecting only to pay her respects and to act as a pillar of strength to her fragile Gran, Meg receives the shock of her life when she learns her beloved grandfather has left her the local antique jewelry store that was his greatest joy.  With this inheritance comes another, even more startling, legacy as Meg is forced into a business partnership with the man Daniel Mignot selected-the man half the town whispers was responsible for the old millionaire's death.

Amidst rich blood-red Burmese rubies, shimmering baroque pearls of a deathlike pallor, and a delicate gold ring whose foreboding message reads "Here I lie and wait for you," Meg is haunted by a mysterious and increasinly dangerous chain of events.  And when she discovers a legacy of dark revelations older and more intriguing than the glittering jewels they surround, Meg must wage a battle of wits to protect something even more precious-her very life....

This was my third Barbara Michaels book and I keep falling in love with them harder the more I read.  For me this book was all about secrets that families keep and the lengths people go to make sure they are never found out.  The suspense is build up slowly with a few hints of danger and malicious gossip floating around in the air.  The tension slowly builds until it boils over in a chaotic finale that gives you the pay off you are wanting the entire time you are reading this.

Like the other two heroines I've read in Michaels' books, Meg is a strong, feisty indiviudal who doesn't have any problems giving her opinions or holding her own against the rest of the characters.  She has her own distinct personality that is shaped by her and her own experiences, she isn't overly influenced by her family, eventhough she has a strong sense of loyalty to them. 

I'm really looking forward to reading even more of her books, though I haven't got one lined up yet.  So if any of you have a favorite book of hers to recomend, please do so.

This will qualify for the Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge 2010 hosted by Carolyn of Book Chick City.

Squander Time

Hospital waiting room. Blocks of time and nowhere to go. Killing time. Should be writing, but can't

concentrate. Everyone stacked and racked in chairs is a story, has a story, and is awaiting a happy ending. I took notes on expectant faces - ultimately grinning from relief, or crumpled in grief.

Family members leafed

lackadais-

ically

through magazines, or read book pages

without

comprehen-

sion.

I kept my journal open and remembering fields of colors - gorgeous flowers from the aboretum -attempted to turn a phrase or create a happier place.

Surely a poem would erupt from my brain onto the page inspired by the plant name Poet's Laurel.

Alas, I sqandered time. It was there ... the clock ticking on the wall, the butt in the chair, the paper, and the pen.

But, at least, I got to smile at good news and now the fingers fly across the keyboard -free from worry, and eager to capture a few memorable characters.

Favorite Fictional Character --- Brin Ohmsford

Ever since I started this feature I've had a myriad of character from Terry Brooks' Shannara series running through my head vying for consideration.  Would I pick Shea for the way he is able to grow in confidence and work his way through all the doubts to win the day?  Would I go with Allanon, who has to be one of the most stoic but in the end lovealbe characters in all fantasy?  Maybe one of the Leahs for their loyalty and friendship would have been a good choice.  In the end I've decided on Brin Ohmsford from The Wishsong of Shannara.

Brin starts off as a young lady who plays with magic in the way that a toddler will play with a rubber duck in the bathtub.  It's something fun, it's not to be taken seriously, it doesn't have any serious ramifications, it's childsplay.  That's what she thinks anyway.  Little does she know that her power of the Wishsong will save the world once again from the evils that threaten the races.  The Wishsong alone is enough to qualify her for a FFC post.  With her magic, she is able to control nature, through song.  Through wishing for it, she can sing a tree through it's life cycles within minutes.  Leaves changing from green to brown, then falling off all within a few seconds, over and over again.  There is almost no limit to what her magic can accomplish.

When the Duid Allanon shows up to take her with him on a quest to destroy a book that is evil as it is sentient, she isn't sure she should go.  She doesn't see how she would be able to help or even if she wants to help.  Throughout the journey her power and her sense of self are tested to the harshest limits, and she comes out on top.  She rejects all the self doubts and insecurities, she fights off the growing corruption that using her magic allows into her.  Watching her grow from a naive young woman into an intelligent and strong woman is a wonderful pleasure to read.

For those of you unfamiliar with The Shannara books, I would strongly urge you to pick them up and discover for yourself some of the best written characters in fantasy.

Happy Birthday Bart!

Bart is nine years old today! He is the sweetest little guy you will ever meet! And he loved the birthday cookies he got this morning. I'm so glad he's part of our family.

Lobisomens: combate pela liderança

  Segundo as regras, qualquer lobisomem fenrisniano nascido no clã tem o direito de desafiar o regente pela liderança num combate oficial, porém, este pode negá-lo, sendo preciso o desafiante ter o apoio de fenrisnianos em número suficiente, para que o líder seja obrigado a entrar na arena.

  A existência do combate oficial significa que o candidato tem hipóteses de ascender, uma vez que se trata de uma luta de um para um, sem interferência externa. Contudo, se alguém tentar eliminar o líder e usurpar o posto fora do processo legal ou fizer batota durante a luta, qualquer licantropo tem o direito e dever de o impedir, eliminando-o.

You've gotta see this!

hee hee hee!

Vanish With The Rose by Barbara Michaels

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

Who knows what long-forgotten family secrets lie hidden in the eighteenth-century mansion which is being restored by a pair of wealthy eccentrics?  Not Diana Reed, who arrives at the house with a false name and a false identity and who lives in constant fear of betraying herself.  For Diana, posing as a landscape architect trained in the esoteric specialty of "old roses," is determined to uncover a darker and more personal secret-one that may have begun and may well end in murder.

But the dead past intrudes on the present as Diana is haunted by eerie visions, strange music coming from nowhere, and the scent of roses wafting through empty rooms, and she is forced to confront forces more deadly than any she could have imagined. 

After my dissapointing time with Neverland I had to read something that I knew would be a great read and since I had a few Barbara Michaels' books waiting to be read, I picked one up and I was dissapointed.  Michaels is a new author for me, as I've only read one other book of hers but I enjoyed it so much that I figured I would at least enjoy another.  So when I picked up Vanish With The Rose and started reading, I wasn't dissapointed.

Diana is a wonderfully headstrong woman who sets out to discover what happened to her brother, who has been missing for almost a year.  Now her method of putting herself into a situation that allows her to do this is a little shady, but you forgive her for it, even after she discovers the family she is duping are kind, welcoming and overly likeable.  The guilt she ends up feeling is very real and her desire to make it right with them but also to find out the truth start to war within her, which creates an intersting dynamic.

The mystery itself has a solution that I did not see coming and I'm still thinking of the interpersonal issues that such a solution finale would create.  It was such a anguishing outcome that you could feel the sorrow and horror the Diana feels when she discovers not only what happened to her brother but who was responsible.

As in the previous book I've read by the author, and the third who's review will be coming up shortly, this is a masterful blending of mystery, suspense, romance, and just the right amount of the supernatural to concot an engrossing novel that is almost impossible to put down.  I think I've found a new favorite author to keep Agatha Christie and Mercedes Lackey company.

This book will qualify for the Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge 2010 hosted by Carolyn at Book Chick City.

Mailbox Monday for 4/26/2010

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page

Black Water Rising by Attica Locke was sent for a TLC Book Tour.

The Secret Keeper by Dorien Grey was sent by the author for review.

When Dreams Bleed by Robin Cain was sent by the author for review.

I bought Midnight Graffiti edited by Jessica Horstings and James Van Hise in hardcover for $1 from the Friends of the Library Book Store.

New (to me) Toy: eBird

Hey, gang; I just filed my first-ever birding report on eBird! I had looked at it a long time back and thought it was a little slow and not so user-friendly; I don't know if I was just impatient back then or if I'm just that much smarter now, because I was able to get in, check off the birds I saw with my BFF Gretchen this morning, and be done. I emailed the report to myself with the checking of a box, and here's my copied-and-pasted report:

Location: Bald Eagle SP
Observation date: 4/25/10
Number of species: 27

Mallard X
Common Loon 1
Turkey Vulture X
Osprey 1
Ring-billed Gull 2
Mourning Dove X
Eastern Phoebe 1
American Crow X
Common Raven X
Tree Swallow X
Bank Swallow X
Eastern Bluebird 2
American Robin X
Northern Mockingbird 1
Brown Thrasher 3
European Starling X
Cedar Waxwing 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 6
Eastern Towhee 4
Field Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 10
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X
American Goldfinch X
House Sparrow X

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

The Xs indicate that I saw the species but either didn't or couldn't count (or remember) the number I saw. It was a very dreary morning with a constant drizzle/sprinkle, but we had a good time.

I'm going to get into this whole eBird thing; it looks cool! Wish I'd gotten pics (we saw a lot of these birds at very close range!) but I still don't have my camera back. Had to use Gretchen's binocs, even. But it's coming soon.

But I Want To

I read this sign and instantly wanted to scramble along the rocks and dangle my feet in the babbling brook. Normally I'm a rule follower, but there are times when contrariness kicks in, and I want to break the barriers.

Rules are often meant to be broken. Why not have pretty flowers growing out of a rock wall, precariously clinging to life and eager for sunshine or raindrops? I guess that's why as writers, we read books about general rules on plots, character, dialogue, and the hero's journey. We hear "you'll never sell a book about (fill in the blank) in this market." Then a writer breaks the rules and is declared genius. It can boggle the mind.

So, if you love azaleas and want to write about azaleas, then go for it. Maybe azaleas are "out" this year, but like fashion, sooner or later they'll be back "in". (Just pick the winning color.) Or vampires are old hat, wizards have been done, and zombies roamed Pride and Prejudice.

Blare your horn, reach to the skies with your words, and trust your instinct. Then again, I've found that to have poetry published in journals or on-line, you have to follow many rules - nothing trite and no rhyming. I recently had two pocket poems published in River Poets Journal. My father emailed me that he enjoyed it. "However, don't tell anyone, but I prefer rhyming." Gasp! My own father.

So I responded:

Stay shushed

I'm crushed

All other poems

I flushed

Gotta break the rules and have fun.

Sunday Funnies

Neverland by Douglas Clegg

Synopsis From Book Jacket:

For years, the Jackson family has vacationed at Rowena Wandigaux Lee's old Victorian house on Gull Island, a place of superstition and legend off the southern coast of the U.S. One particular summer, young Beau follows his cousin Sumter into a hidden shack in the woods—and christens this new clubhouse "Neverland."

Neverland has a secret history, unknown to the children...

The rundown shack in the woods is the key to an age-old mystery, a place forbidden to all. But Sumter and his cousins gather in its dusty shadows to escape the tensions at their grandmother's house. Neverland becomes the place where children begin to worship a creature of shadows, which Sumter calls "Lucy."

All gods demand sacrifice...

It begins with small sacrifices, little games, strange imaginings. While Sumter's games spiral out of control, twisting from the mysterious to the macabre, a nightmarish presence rises among the straggly trees beyond the bluffs overlooking the sea.

And when Neverland itself is threatened with destruction, the children's games take on a horrifying reality—and Gull Island becomes a place of unrelenting terror.
 
I was given the chance to read this by the publicist and I have to tell you I was really excited to get it in the mail.  I was giddy the rest of the week, antsy with anticipation, wanting to dive into this as soon as time allowed.  The synopsis sucked me in, the cover gave me the chills, and the illustrations throughout the book were brilliantly done.  So when the day came for me to finally get started on it, I was on cloud nine.
 
Then reality set in and I was left feeling a little gray, a little down in the dumps.  I don't want anyone to think that this book wasn't good or didn't have a storyline that wouldn't horrify you, because it does.  The character of Sumter belongs in the pantheon of "demonic" children, right alonside Damian and the gang from "Children of the Corn." 
 
My problem with the book and in writing this review, is that the book left me feeling nothing once I was done with it.  There was no lasting memory or image from the book that was burned into my brain for all time.  Which is what I want from a horror novel, I want to be so horrified that I can't wait to read the book again in order to feel those goosebumps raising on my arms and find my breath catching as I get to a really scary scence. 
 
This one just left me a little underwhelmed and a little disappinted by the "surprise" explanation given to explain Lucy.  Anyone who is paying attention to the story should be able to figure it out way before the big reveal.  There is no shock or awe to it and the way it's explained feels hurried, almost as if it was an afterthought.
 
I wish I could say I either loved or hated this book, but I can't.  All I can say is that it's ok, nothing to horrible but nothing that screams at me to read it again.  I do think it's worth reading if you are a big fan of the genre and enjoy being scared, even if the thrills don't last long after the last page.

Balanço

Após uma longa e produtiva Semana do Livro dou por mim a reflectir sobre a experiência.

Aqueles que me conhecem melhor sabem perfeitamente que a oratória não é o meu ponto forte, por isso, julgariam que, de entre todas as fases que compõe o lançamento de um livro, as sessões de apresentação seriam o que eu mais temeria. Até recentemente eu concordaria com eles sem hesitar, porém, após 6 sessões em 5 dias, alegra-me dizer que correu melhor do que estava à espera.

Antes de mais, as pessoas com as quais colaborei, tanto nas escolas quanto nas livrarias, foram extremamente prestáveis e acolhedoras, mostrando-se mesmo capazes de navegar por entre alguns pequenos problemas logísticos.

Quanto ao público, tive todo o tipo de reacção, desde indiferença a genuíno interesse, desde salas praticamente vazias a bibliotecas apinhadas. Por entre altos e baixos, todos os elementos contribuíram para uma experiência francamente positiva e sessões polvilhadas de perguntas, às quais espero ter conseguido responder, por entre a minha habitual tendência para divagar.   

Em suma, posso dizer que gostei destas sessões e acreditem ninguém fica mais surpreendido que eu com esta conclusão. Nunca serei aquele género de pessoas que parecem apaixonados pelo som da própria voz ou que vivem para estarem sobre as luzes da ribalta, mas a oportunidade de divulgar o meu livro, de partilhar as minhas ideias sobre a colecção Crónicas Obscuras, deu-me uma satisfação que não antecipei, de todo.

Favorite Fictional Character --- The Green Hornet

What is it about the characters we fell in love with as children, were we can't let them go?  Why, even after decades, do they hold a place in our hearts and imaginations?  It seems that most of my FFC posts have been about characters that I either identified with, or looked up to as a child.  This week will be no different.

The Green Hornet first started as a radio program, then became a film series, and later a TV show in the 60s.  It is this version of the character that I was familiar with growing up.  It only aired for one season but has been on TV almost every year since in syndication and for one year as a kid, I ate up every episode I could watch.

The Green Hornet was the masked alter ego of Britt Reid, the grand nephew of John Reid aka The Lone Ranger.  As Britt Reid, he was a respected newspaper publisher who's good lucks got him attention from the ladies.  As The Green Hornet, he was a masked vigilante who fought crime along with his assistant Kato (who was played by Bruce Lee).

Looking back on it, I'm sure some of the appeal this show held for me was the striking good lucks of it's star, Van Williams.  However, the vast amount of pleasure I took from this show, and it's character, was the idea that a normal guy can take on the criminal element and come up on top.  He doesn't need to have super powers or millions of gadgets to get the job done.  He just needs a strong sense of justice and a clearly defined path to accomplish his objectives.  The action was always fun and never over the top and the acting was actually great compared to alto of the other shows in this genre.

I've read that they are making a movie with Seth Rogen playing Britt Reid, I'm not sure what I think of the idea yet, but I can't wait to see the results.  Hopefully it will stay true to the character and feel of the original show.

Baby bird pics

Sleepy little me, about 8 years old, at one of my Tia Chelo's big parties.

Dorky me in fourth grade. I could fly to Cleveland on those collars, baby!

I'm probably 4 years old here, wearing my favorite green cordoroy dress and struttin' my stuff.

Well, baby ME pics, anyway!

I have been in Harrisburg all week at a sales training class, so I still don't have my binocs and camera back yet, nor have I had time to bird. I'm going birding this weekend with Baby G, though, so I'm excited! Hoping to see some good birds--my friend Hillel emailed and said he'd seen his FOY Yellow-rumped Warbler, so I'm hoping that the rest of the migrants aren't too far behind. We've had such mild weather that the trees are already starting to leaf a little bit, which means we won't be able to see the birds if they don't hurry up and get here.

I'm also planning to do the migration could on May 8 with my birding pal Roana, with whom I used to go atlassing all the time. I can't wait, because she can pick out birds I would never see on my own. So birding updates and pics are coming; I just have to be patient.

In Memoriam – Dr. Dorothy Height

We have lost a legendary figure in the civil rights movement with the passing of Dr. Dorothy Height. For more than six decades Dr. Height was at the center of the struggles for school desegregation, voting rights, employment opportunities and public accommodations. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to meet Dr. Height, and to hear her speak.

Dorothy I. Height, 98, a founding matriarch of the American civil rights movement whose crusade for racial justice and gender equality spanned more than six decades, died early Tuesday morning of natural causes, a spokesperson for the National Council of Negro Women said.

Ms. Height was among the coalition of African American leaders who pushed civil rights to the center of the American political stage after World War II, and she was a key figure in the struggles for school desegregation, voting rights, employment opportunities and public accommodations in the 1950s and 1960s. [...]

Ms. Height was president of the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years, relinquishing the title in 1997. The 4 million-member advocacy group consists of 34 national and 250 community-based organizations. It was founded in 1935 by educator Mary McLeod Bethune, who was one of Ms. Height's mentors.

As a civil rights activist, Ms. Height participated in protests in Harlem during the 1930s. In the 1940s, she lobbied first lady Eleanor Roosevelt on behalf of civil rights causes. And in the 1950s, she prodded President Dwight D. Eisenhower to move more aggressively on school desegregation issues. In 1994, Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

In a statement issued by the White House, President Obama called Height "the godmother of the Civil Rights Movement and a hero to so many Americans."

"Dr. Height devoted her life to those struggling for equality . . . witnessing every march and milestone along the way," Obama said. "And even in the final weeks of her life -- a time when anyone else would have enjoyed their well-earned rest -- Dr. Height continued her fight to make our nation a more open and inclusive place for people of every race, gender, background and faith."

In the turmoil of the civil rights struggles in the 1960s, Ms. Height helped orchestrate strategy with movement leaders including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Roy Wilkins, A. Philip Randolph, Whitney Young, James Farmer, Bayard Rustin and John Lewis, who later served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia.

Ms. Height was arguably the most influential woman at the top levels of civil rights leadership, but she never drew the major media attention that conferred celebrity and instant recognition on some of the other civil rights leaders of her time.

In August 1963, Ms. Height was on the platform with King when he delivered his "I have a dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial. But she would say later that she was disappointed that no one advocating women's rights spoke that day at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Less than a month later, at King's request, she went to Birmingham, Ala., to minister to the families of four black girls who had died in a church bombing linked to the racial strife that had engulfed the city.

"At every major effort for social progressive change, Dorothy Height has been there," Lewis said in 1997 when Ms. Height announced her retirement as president of the National Council of Negro Women.

Dr. Height was a champion for women's rights before the second wave of the women's rights movement began in the U.S.

She was . . . energetic in her efforts to overcome gender bias, and much of that work predated the women's rights movement. When President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963, Ms. Height was among those invited to the White House to witness the ceremony. She returned to the White House in 1998 for a ceremony marking the 35th anniversary of that legislation to hear Clinton urge passage of additional laws aimed at equalizing pay for men and women.

"Dorothy Height deserves credit for helping black women understand that you had to be feminist at the same time you were African . . . that you had to play more than one role in the empowerment of black people," Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) once said.

Thank you Dr. Height for the inspirational leadership you provided us.

Ephemeral Art - More Balloon Fun

More pics from the World Festival of Balloons. I attended on Sunday 4/18/10 at the Dallas Sheraton.

Balloon sculptures - Is it art?

Had a discussion with a co-worker who enjoyed the pictures, thought they were cool, but said, "Stuff like this and sand sculptures, etc - I don't think that's really art. I mean, it doesn't last."

I disagreed with him, but it is interesting to ponder if something so fleeting that could be pricked into oblivion falls into the category of art. What do you think?

To me, the creative energy and effort that went into these balloon sculptures is artistic. Not everyone can do it - there's a skill, talent, finesse, and vision. Plus there was a palpable energy and joy in the room as folks roamed about to view the displays.

Indeed, balloon pieces are ephemeral. Now dismantled, they exist in my mind and in my computer as digital images. But, balloon sculpture design is art, in my opinion, however fleeting and it inspires me to pursue creative outlets. Don't let anyone pop those dreams.

Mailbox Monday for 4/19/2010

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page

I stopped in at the Friends of the Library book store to drop off a few books and I ended up walking out with 3 hardcovers for a total of $2.  I bought 206 Bones by Kathy Reichs, Death of Riley by Rhys Bowen (thanks to Deb of Bookmagic for the recomendation), and a hardcover that combines The Case of the Daring Divorcee by Erle Standley Gardner and Try Anything Once by A.A. Fair.  The picture I found for the book looks just like the one I bought except for the first story.

I bought Ghosts of the White Nights by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. in paperback for $1 from the Dollar Tree.  It's the third in a trilogy so now I have to get the first two books.

Sunday Funnies