Current projects (more to come soon on this list!):
Druid's Moon (contemporary paranormal romance)
A one thousand year old Druids' curse enslaves a Man, but what happens when Beauty refuses to help the Beast?
When Lyne, fresh out of graduate school, accepts a position at an archaeological dig at a seaside cave site in England, she might have signed up for more than she expected. The beast who guards the caverns gets too close for comfort, but rescues her during a disaster at sea.
When she kisses him in gratitude, the beast turns into a man.
Now he wants her to be Beauty to his Beast, but the evil force at the heart of the caverns is bent on revenge for the loss of its servant. Can Lyne work with the beast long enough to defeat the ancient horror of the caves? And what happens when she finds herself falling in love?
The Face of A Lion (middle grade, set in current year and AD 43)
Book One of the Rising Sea series
When thirteen-year-old Austin's parents drag him along to a villa in Turkey they've rented for the summer, he hunkers down and counts the days until he can get back home to his friends in England. But that's before he rescues a talking cat, witnesses a bloody ritual that causes two people to disappear, and finds himself whisked back in time.
Nearly two thousand years in the past, he makes a new friend--and a new enemy. A powerful evil wants to prevent Claudius the Emperor's invasion of Britain. Austin has to act fast to ensure that the invasion does take place--or time and civilization as he knows it will never be the same.
Book Two begins with Austin and Kedi at the Colosseum.
Out of the Water (historical romance, set in 1492)
Book One of the Middle Sea series
After she becomes separated from her family as they flee their Spanish homeland - and the Inquisition - the last thing eighteen-year-old Rosa expects to find is love.
Her one hope of reaching Constantinople and finding her family lies with a stranger, Baha, a Muslim artist from the Ottoman Empire. Rosa's drive to find her loved ones is matched by a deepening desire for the man at her side. Yet despite all his help in reuniting them, her family rejects this man of a different faith, forcing her to choose between them.
Constantinople was meant to be her family's refuge, but when janissaries arrest her father and brother, Rosa and Baha risk their lives on a daring rescue. Together they will prove that their love can withstand their differences... if the Sultan's Grand Vizier doesn't throw them both in the dungeons first.
Rome, Rhymes and Risk (historical romance, set in 1493)
Book Two of the Middle Sea series, featuring Ayten and Devran from Out of the Water
Ayten, an Ottoman girl kidnapped as a slave, is rescued and embarks on a voyage across the Mediterranean with her new friends, on their way to join Columbus' second voyage. She finds herself falling for the man who owns the ship: Devran, the son of the Grand Vizier.
Exiled for a crime he did not commit, Devran's also got one secret: before Ayten was kidnapped, her father had arranged for her to marry Devran.
Devran's been in love with Ayten for months - but having met him only after his exile, Ayten believes him a penniless rake. Their ship docks for a week at Venice, where Ayten turns her attentions to the Sultan's brother, Cem.
Can Devran prove his worth to her before they set sail again?
Captive of the Sea (historical romance, set in the 1470s)
Book Three of the Middle Sea series, featuring Santiago (Rosa's father) from Out of the Water
Back when he was a young sailor, Santiago travelled to England and fell in love with a Welsh girl called Mawdlen (Magdelana).
Mawdlen's involved in some shady activities, however, that soon get him into trouble. How can Santiago win her heart? Will she be willing to give up her life of intrigue as a spy to return with him to Spain?
Books I'm Reading and Finished Books
- Sandman: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman
- The Return of the Shadow - Book 6 in the History of Middle Earth series by Christopher Tolkien and J R R Tolkien (reread)
- ***Reading At Intervals***
- Stories in Words by C S Lewis
- Poison by Bridget Zinn
- Medieval Comic Tales (Folio Society edition)
- Moby Dick by Herman Melville
- Lessons for a Sunday Father by Claire Calman
- Shadow Show (Anthology in Honour of Ray Bradbury, including Neil Gaiman!)
- Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy
- The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
- Warriors (anthology) edited by George R. R. Martin and G. Dozois (featuring a new Lord John story by Diana Gabaldon)
- The Jerusalem Bible
- ***Finished Books***
- Acquainted With the Night by Rober Frost (read by Amanda Palmer) (here: http://amandapalmer.net/blog/20120510/)
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (reread)
- Star Trek Book of Opposites (board book)
- Alligator Baby by Robert Munsch
- Causeries: l'Etat Civil du Comte de Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (essay)
- Le Comte de Monte-Cristo par Alexandre Dumas
- About the B'nai Bagels by E. L. Konigsburg
- Parragon's Encyclopedia of Animals a Family Reference Guide (skimmed)
- Throwing Shadows by E. L. Konigsburg
- The Devil on the Staircase by Joe Hill (short story)
- Horns by Joe Hill
- Altogether One at a Time by E. L. Konigsburg
- Orders From Berlin by Simon Tolkien
- The King of Diamonds by Simon Tolkien
- Quick Fix by Linda Grimes (arc!)
- Jack Absolute by C. C. Humphreys
- The Lost Road - Book 5 in the History of Middle Earth series by Christopher Tolkien and J R R Tolkien (reread)
- The Roots of Betrayal by James Forrester
- Leaf by Niggle by J. R. R. Tolkien (short story) (reread)
- The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (reread)
- Sandman: Doll's House by Neil Gaiman
- secret beta read!
- An Easter Walk by Zan Marie Steadham (reread)
- Celtic Myths and Legends by Mike Dixon-Kennedy (reread) (skimmed)
- Rainy Days with Bear by Maureen Hull
- Down to a Sunless Sea by Neil Gaiman (short story) (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/22/down-sunless-sea-neil-gaiman-short-story)
- Sandman: Prologues and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman
- Uncle John's Bathroom Reader, the Music edition
- The Circus by Emma Trevayne (short story) (http://the-cabinet-of-curiosities.blogspot.ca/2013/03/the-circus-by-emma-trevayne.html)
- Ghost Stories of Canada (compilation) (read a few)
- Red Shoes and Doll Parts by Claire Legrand (short story (available at: http://the-cabinet-of-curiosities.blogspot.ca/2013/02/red-shoes-and-doll-parts-by-claire.html)
- In A Fix by Linda Grimes
- A Calendar of Tales by Neil Gaiman
- It Came from the Far Side by Gary Larson
- Boy O'Boy by Brian Doyle
- Mary Ann Alice by Brian Doyle (so sweet! I wish there was a sequel)
- The Man Who Loved Flowers by Stephen King (short story) (reread)
- Celtic Myths and Legends by (forgot) (skimmed)
- Night Surf by Stephen King (short story) (reread)
- On This Day I Complete My Thirty-sixth Year by Lord Byron (poem)
- 11/22/63 by Stephen King (brilliant)
- When Summer Comes by Brenda Novak
- All My Life Before Me - the diary of C. S. Lewis (finally! after 15 years!)
- The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey
- The Cake Made Out of Teeth by Claire Legrand (short story) (READ IT! Here: http://the-cabinet-of-curiosities.blogspot.ca/2013/01/the-cake-made-out-of-teeth-by-claire.html)
- Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey (wonderful!)
- Real Mermaids Don't Need High Heels by Helene Boudreau (ARC)
- The Great Explorers (Folio Society edition) (skimmed)
- The Shaping of Middle-Earth - Book 4 in the History of Middle Earth series by Christopher Tolkien and J R R Tolkien (reread)
- Medieval Civilisation by Jacques le Goff (skimmed)
- A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson (sooo many questions!)
- Highland Moonlight by Teresa J. Reasor (skimmed very fast)
- Not So Funny When It Happened (a travel humour anthology; I read a few of the essays, specifically by Douglas Adams, Dave Barry, Bill Bryson, Anne Lamott, etc.)
- Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper (reread)
- Greenwitch by Susan Cooper (reread)
- The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis (reread)
- Emerson (bits and pieces of his essays on his travels through England and Scotland; read aloud to me)
- The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams
- Old Man's War by John Scalzi
- The Cove by Ron Rash
- see the 2012 list and statistics here http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.ca/2012/12/the-hobbit-review-and-year-end-books.html
- see the 2011 statistics on http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.ca/2012/01/books-read-in-2011-statistics-fourth.html
- see the 2011 list at http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.ca/2012/01/books-read-in-2011.html
- see the 2010 list at http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.com/2010/12/books-read-in-2010-listed-here.html
- see the 2009 list at http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.com/2009/12/books-read-in-2009-part-ii.html
- also in 2009 at http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.com/2009/12/books-read-in-2009-part-iv.html
- see the 2008 list at http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.com/2008/12/books-read-in-2008-part-ii.html
- also in 2008 at http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.com/2008/12/books-read-in-2008-part-vi.html
- also in 2008 at http://thegirdleofmelian.blogspot.com/2008/12/books-read-in-2008-part-iv.html