omg. I’m so sorry i’m late with this, Keishon!

I’m hostessing a workshop over at romance divas about Steampunk, and forgot this post was due the same day. GAH!

However, I read my book. I LIKED my book.

It was Midnight Never Come by Marie Brennan, which is an alt-history account of Elizabeth’s reign.

Imagine, if you will, that Elizabeth made a deal with an evil Fae queen in order to gain her throne, and spent the next thirty years of her reign under the power of that pact.

The story follows Deven, a young man trying to find his place in the Queen’s Court, and Lune, a fairy recently ostracized from the Fae court of the Queen Invidiana.

I love this book. I’d give it a 4/5 stars/flowers/ribbons/hearts/whatevers, because I think the opening was a little slow, BUT! I’d reread it. A lot.

Mostly because the prose was omg-delicious. The flair and decadence of Elizabethan England was THERE, even for someone as unhistorically knowledgeable as myself. That sumptuousness, the political maneuvering…it was all so brilliantly laid out.

But even better than that, the parallels between Lune’s life and Devens (not to mention other characters throughout the story, who I will not name for the sake of spoilers). The villains are portrayed as truly villainous, even when they’re leant a little sympathy.

Elizabeth herself is painted as human, and I can’t help but think that was a conscious decision on the author, as it contrasted with the inhumanity of Invidiana.

Those compare-and-contrasts were joined by an ensemble cast of people and fae whose motives were often unclear to Lune and Deven, and plot twists I absolutely never saw coming just made the whole book an incredibleread.

The fact that Marie Brennan pulled in elements like the sword in the stone and made it part of her own mythology put me on board as her fangirl even more than the book Doppleganger by her, which I absolutely adored.

I do hope there is a lot more in the works from Ms. Brennan. I would love to see more historical fantasy from her. This was, seriously brilliant, and I was blown away, even while recognizing the elements that didn’t quite come off for me.

I know, you’re all in shock, cuz I’m back again, eh?

but LOOK what I’ve been working on!

Uh huh! All these faboo authors are going to be in one place, and I get to pick their brains!

I am ded of happy.

I know. It’s been ages. Just five things.

Unfortunately, the end of the year came with five shitty things. It was like 2009 knew I was glad to see the end of the year and so it got its digs in while it could.

Fortunately, some wonderful things happened for me in November, so I was in a frame of mind where – I think – I’ve dealt with all the rest pretty well. Like I was so high on life in November that even Decembers list o nastiness didn’t bring me down.

So. 2010. It’s going to be a good year because I’ve willed it to be so. I’m keeping my focus on my health, my kids & hub, and my writing, in that order, actually, and only because taking care of my health DOES take care of my kids. I’m already feeling a difference in my attitude. Although the hits keep hitting…I find my reaction to it is more proactive…finding a way to deal and adjust, rather than whining about it. Will it last? *laughing* well, I don’t know. But for now, although I feel a little tender…I feel a lot stronger than I have in a long time.

So. Now that the serious stuff is dealt with…I think I’m signing up for this:

Keishon’s TBR Pile Challenge

I definitely have the TBR Pile, and I’ve long wanted a way to track what I’ve read/been reading that doesn’t require me logging on somewhere and spending hours sorting.

So, this year the blog will contain at least one post a month (preferably one a week) where I list the book I’m reading. And probably a post a month on whichever craft project I’m tackling/have tackled.

And the rest of the time, I’m going to stick to my 5things.

Welcome to 2010, dears and darlings, and I hope it’s a positive, uplifting year for you and yours.