Dawn Melody Count-Down: 3 Days

On December 1, 2020 By cherylmahoneyIn Novel NewsLeave a comment

It’s almost here! Dawn Melody, the final book in my Guardian of the Opera trilogy, will be out this Friday, December 4th! I’m counting down this week with a new quote each day.

One of the major themes of the trilogy is being seen by others – “seen” in the mostly metaphorical sense of being recognized, known and accepted for who you really are. Although with a hero with a facial deformity, literally being seen is a complicated thing for him too! Erik asks Meg about this at one point in the third book, quoted below – but you’ll have to read the book for more context and how she responds! I think it’s a nice moment between them.

Catch up on the story by reading Book One, Nocturne, Book Two, Accompaniment, and the special prequel short story collection, Overture. And get your copy of Dawn Melody on December 4th!

Dawn Melody Count-Down: 4 Days

On November 30, 2020 By cherylmahoneyIn Novel News1 Comment

It’s almost here! Dawn Melody, the final book in my Guardian of the Opera trilogy, will be out this Friday, December 4th! I’m counting down this week with a new quote each day.

This is the third book in the series and my personal favorite, as the tension rises and character arcs reach conclusions. Meg has been on a path towards claiming her own identity all throughout the series, and to feel less like a supporting character in her own life…but there’s perhaps still a few doubts to overcome before the story is over.

Catch up on the story by reading Book One, Nocturne, Book Two, Accompaniment, and the special prequel short story collection, Overture. And get your copy of Dawn Melody on December 4th!

Friday Face-Off: In the Jungle

On October 30, 2020 By cherylmahoneyIn Ruminations1 Comment

It’s time again for the Friday Face-Off meme, created by Books by Proxy, with weekly topics hosted by Lynn’s Book Blog. The idea is to put up different covers for one book, and select a favorite.

This week’s theme is: None of the Jungle People like being disturbed.

With this theme, I immediately thought of a recent biography I read of Henry Stanley, African explorer of “Dr. Livingstone, I presume” fame – although, alas for disillusion, he probably didn’t really say his most famous quote. That was part of the fascination of the biography though, exploring how and why Stanley fictionalized parts of his very extraordinary life. Much of the excitement took place in the jungles, and while some were friendly, many were not. There are only a few different covers for the book.

As a cover study I find this rather interesting, in that all three covers did variations on design using the same image. It’s interesting to see how different things can be done with the same base. My favorite is the first one. It’s the easiest title to read, and I like how it focuses in on Stanley – which represents the focus of the book well!

2020 Reading Challenges – Three-Quarters Update

On October 26, 2020October 23, 2020 By cherylmahoneyIn Phantom Challenge, Ruminations1 Comment

Welcome to another reading update from the very weird 2020! I hope you are staying safe and well, and enjoying many great books. I’m still staying home and reading a lot. That’s good for my overarching goal of the year, to read more, aiming for 125 books. I’m at 104 books so far, putting me well on target.

Here’s my monthly totals:

January: 14 books
February: 11 books
March: 7 books
April: 12 books
May: 9 books
June: 9 books
July: 11 books
August: 14 books
September: 10 books
October: 7 books (so far)

Now onto the specific challenges…

The Phantom of the Opera Reading & Viewing Challenge
Host: Tales of the Marvelous
Goal: Lon Chaney Level

I posted the update for this challenge last week (share your updates if you have them!) and I’m on track for my goal. Just to need to watch a Phantom movie still…

Continue reading “2020 Reading Challenges – Three-Quarters Update” →

Blog Hop: Trick-or-Treating Partners

On October 23, 2020October 23, 2020 By cherylmahoneyIn Blog Hop1 Comment

Today’s Book Blogger Hop question is: If you went trick-or-treating with your favorite book characters, who would it be?

Well, since I haven’t been trick-or-treating in about twenty years, I’m going to assume that this question also includes an appropriate age adjustment in the imaginary scenario, and go from there! With that, I would definitely have to say that pretty much any of L. M. Montgomery’s characters would be brilliant to trick-or-treat with.

I can’t think that any of them ever did in any of her books (maybe it wasn’t so much a Canadian thing? A time period thing? Or it just didn’t make much sense in a rural community with widely-spread farmhouses?) but if we also assume a world where that’s happening and the geography makes sense…I feel pretty sure that her heroines, particularly Anne and Emily, would spend weeks before Halloween coming up with and creating elaborate home-made costumes, probably based on literary or historical characters, and then get very into the role-playing on Halloween night. And that sounds like quite a lot of fun!

Who would you choose to trick-or-treat with? Does it make a lot of sense, or do you have to make some assumptions? 😉