It's a beautiful day here, in Western North Carolina. The sun is out and the temperature is in the upper 70's. Much better than the rain and 50 degree weather we've had for the last week or so.
How is your weather? I would love to hear.
Winter was a bear and I for one am glad it's over, or is it? We had nice weather a couple of weeks ago, and the next thing I knew, they were calling for freeze warnings and snow in the higher elevations, which usually means my house. The latest missed us, although, sometimes I think we live on some kind of invisible line, because if you go a mile or so toward civilization it's like a whole different world. We live in a valley that I lovingly call a "soup bowl" and the snow is slow to melt but easy to come. The Blue Ridge Parkway is above and surrounds our area. Sometimes in the winter, if the weather isn't too bad, we can go up and look down on part of our property. Well, enough of weather talk for now.
What have you been up to? Have you read any good books lately?
I was really lazy this winter. No writing to mention, and I even took the spring semester off from college. Why do they call it the spring semester? It starts in January and ends in May. They should at least call it winter/spring semester. I have caught up on some desperately needed sleep, but I feel so guilty about not doing much, especially writing. I really don't know what to do with myself these days. The only thing I've read lately is the newest release of The House of Night, series, AWAKENED, by PC Cast and Kristin Cast. These books have a different spin on vampires. The series centers around a special school for those who have been "MARKED" (the first book in the series). Some vampires and fledglings (marked but not yet vampires) are also gifted with special powers.
What else have I been up to since my last post?
I saw the latest HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HOLLOWS Part 1 and can't wait to get the DVD and watch part 2. One thing I can say is that I believe the producers, directors, screenwriters, etc., have done a great job with their rendition of the HARRY POTTER movies. On the same note, I saw the latest TWILIGHT movie, ECLIPSE. I loved it and can't wait until the next one. One thing I would like to say to the author, Stephenie Meyer is that I wish she would complete and publish MIDNIGHT SUN, TWILIGHT written in Eward's point of view. I actually liked the partial of this book better than TWILIGHT. For those of you who don't know (as if there should be such a person), TWILIGHT is written in Bella's point of view.
I read MOCKINGJAY, the third and last book in THE HUNGER GAMES series by Suzanne Collins. This is an excellent series. The first book is in the process of being made into a movie. I hope they do it justice.
***Warning -- Potential Spoiler Alert ***THE HUNGER GAMES starts in the future where the country (now called Paneum is where the US once was) as we know it has been destroyed, and divided into 13 districts with the Capitol being the ruler--not a democracy. Due to the disobedience of some of the districts, district 13 is destroyed (before the book begins), and each year, from the ages of 12 to 18, the youth are required to put their name into a drawing for the Hunger Games. Each year a male and a female from each district is chosen and put into an arena to fight until there is only one left alive. They not only have to fight each other, but other types of disasters thrown at them by the Capitol. If you haven't read this series, you really must or you're missing out on some great books.
I also read the latest Mary Higgins Clark book, THE SHADOW OF YOUR SMILE. Very good, but I don't think it's as good as some of her earlier books. I still look forward to her next book. I would have to say my favorite book of Ms. Clark's is still WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN? and this is also the book that caused me to purchase all her books.
I'm hooked on vampire books, tv shows, and movies these days. It must be the craze. I watch THE VAMPIRE DIARIES weekly too. Anybody else? Thanks to my youngest son, I'm now hooked on these.
On the family front, I have a new grandson since my last post, Bryson Lee Taylor
born to Brandon and Rebecca on September 18, 2010. He is now six months old. Time flies. It seems like he was just born a few weeks ago. I hope to see them all soon. Bryson, like his brother, Patrick, takes after his dad--see Bryson sitting on his dad's new pool table. Looks like he will be taught to love the sport like his dad real soon.
We also have a new puppy, Scooter Cox. I call him Scooter Bug, but I'm the only one and he's not so small now, so the name doesn't fit as well. He was born
July 21, 2010 in Missouri and he was 12 weeks old when we got him October 2010. He was only 3 pounds then, a month later 7 pounds, and now about 15 pounds at eight months. In the photo to the right, he is about 5 or 6 months old. I need to get a new one soon. There are some newer ones on my phone that I haven't loaded to the computer yet. Scooter was an anniversary present from my sweet husband, Lee.
Recent news: I finally gave in and joined Twitter, and I also added an Author Page to my FaceBook Account. Check it out and let me know what you think. I also plan to go back to college and take one class this summer. Of course, that's my finances agree. And I plan to get back to writing real soon. I have one book that has been three quarters completed for years and I really need to complete it. It's calling me, as well as, I want to write more Lana Malloy series books. I have a third one started. My dream is to have a book of these stories one day.
So, let me know what you've been up to, what you want to do, and what you will do. I love hearing from YOU.
Best to you and yours,
Kim Cox, author
Make sure to pick up your copy of the Enchanted Holidays anthology for two phenomenal Valentine's Day stories, Haunted Hearts and Valentine's Inn, plus four other wonderful holiday stories. To read the sequel to Haunted Hearts, you will also want to pick up a copy of One Touch Beyond for the newest Lana Malloy paranormal mystery, Get Out or Die!.
