To Tame A Highland Warrior

To Tame a Highland Warrior by Karen Marie Moning

My review
rating: 5 of 5 stars

Pub. Date: December 1999

Series: Higlander Book 2

Synopsis: He was born to a clan of warriors of supernatural strength, but Gavrael McIllioch abandoned his name and his Highland castle, determined to escape the dark fate of his ancestors. Hiding his identity from the relentless rival clan that hunted him, he called himself Grimm to protect the people he cared for, vowing never to acknowledge his love for ravishing Jillian St. Clair. Yet even from afar he watched over her, and when her father sent an urgent summons, "Come for Jillian," he raced to her side - into a competition to win her hand in marriage.

Why had he run from her so many years before? And why return now to see her offered as a prize in her father's manipulative game? Furious, Jillian vowed never to wed. But Grimm was the man she loved, the one who urged her to marry another. He tried to pretend indifference as she tempted him, but he could not deny the fierce desires that compelled him to abduct her from the altar. She was the only woman who could tame the beast that raged within him - even as deadly enemies plotted to destroy them both....

Recommended Reading:
Beyond the Highland Mist (Highlander Series #1) by Karen Marie Moning
The Highlander's Touch (Highlander Series #3) by Karen Marie Moning
Kiss of the Highlander (Highlander Series #4) by Karen Marie Moning
A Hunger like No Other (Immortals after Dark Series #1) by Kresley Cole
No Rest for the Wicked (Immortals after Dark Series #2) by Kresley Cole

A Dance Through Time

Dance Through Time by Lynn Kurland

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bird by Bird

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A practical guide to writing. Enjoyed this book very much.

Synopsis: Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said, 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'

Lamott's ( Operating Instructions ) miscellany of guidance and reflection should appeal to writers struggling with demons large and slight. Among the pearls she offers is to start small, as their father once advised her 10-year-old brother, who was agonizing over a book report on birds: ``Just take it bird by bird.'' Lamott's suggestion on the craft of fiction is down-to-earth: worry about the characters, not the plot. But she's even better on psychological questions. She has learned that writing is more rewarding than publication, but that even writing's rewards may not lead to contentment. As a former ``Leona Helmsley of jealousy,'' she's come to will herself past pettiness and to fight writer's block by living ``as if I am dying.'' She counsels writers to form support groups and wisely observes that, even if your audience is small, ``to have written your version is an honorable thing.''

Recommended Reading:
Writing down the Bones : Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg
On Writing Well : The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser
On Writing : A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
Plan B : Further Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott