Saturday, June 20, 2009

Happy Father's Day

To all you guys who are taking the job seriously. Special kudos to step-fathers who treat their lady's kids like their own. Also, adoptive dads, a big huzzah for not believing your genes are all that special. You've proven how special they really are.

My husband, Jack, is both a step- and adoptive dad. He went well beyond the call of duty when he not only took on an 8-year-old and 11-year-old as a stepfather but also adopted them when their own biological father (boo on you) signed them over to avoid paying child support (he never did pay any).

I wrote "Tales of a Texas Boy" in honor of my own father. I figured the best I could do for him is to immortalize his tall (and partly true) tales. I call it fiction since I can't know exactly what happened when Dad Boles brought his bear to town, when the little red hen took up residence in Ma's kitchen, or how he really met May West in a little diner in East Texas.

On the other hand, nobody else was there, so how I wrote the stories might be the honest truth. Who's to say?

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, HON!*

* In our family, my brothers and I called my father Honey just like Mom did. Okay, so we were a little whacky; we admit it freely.

Monday, June 01, 2009

First Duty Review

By T. Wilson "g33k" (San Diego, CA USA) - Review on Amazon.com

This book is a great example of why I like the Kindle. I grabbed the free iPhone app, and I've been enjoying the under $5 books here in the Kindle store. Overall, I liked this book. The story was good, if a little derivative (miner girl leaves poor home to join the military, eventually joining the rebellion to fight the evil empire), but it still had its own unique flair. I especially like her treatment of the "bad guy", giving us a hint right from the beginning that not all is as it seemed. Marva's prose doesn't really flow yet, but I'm sure that will improve with time. Also, the protagonist takes on more than she'd be allowed to in a real military setting, but suspending that particular point of disbelief, I really enjoyed the story. I'm hoping this book is the first part of a series. If it is, I'll definitely be getting the rest.