Why I've been so quiet & my kitten on the news

My husband and I have encountered a very eventful holiday month, as I said yesterday. We were driving to my parents' in Ohio when we hit a patch of ice on I-80 in Wyoming and spun our van off the road. We rolled (twice) and at some point our kitten Wavey, who you can see in the Kittling: Books feature Scene of the Blog from last week, was flung from the vehicle.

I suffered a badly sprained ankle and come scalp lacerations. Miraculously enough, my husband seems only to be suffering a major bruise from his shoulder strap.

And when we got back to the scene 40 hours later, Wavey was waiting for us at the skid marks we'd left on the road. (This can probably be credited to the tow truck/recovery team who came to pick up the scene--they found our bag of cat food and spread it around to try to keep her in the area.)

Everyone has been so in love with this story! Since we were able to assure everyone (family, friends and acquaintances) that we were okay, they all became concerned about the kitten, and I was even interviewed by a local newspaper and a local news station.

Scene of the Blog at Kittling: Books

So, life has been rather eventful in the week (in ways I'd rather not go into right now, except to say that I would've been fine if certain things hadn't happened) but part of the good news is that Muse Book Reviews has been featured on the Kittling: Books feature Scene of the Blog! Thanks, Cathy!

Firethorn by Sarah Micklem

Firethorn is a drudge. After her mistress dies, she flees the new master of the household and survives on her own for a year in the Kingswood--god-forged. She would have died, if not for the interception of the god Ardor.

When she returns to her town, she meets a young nobleman on his way to the king's war and he convinces her to come with him as his sheath--which means exactly what you think it does.

Firethorn (also called Luck) is a frustrating character. As a foundling, she is never sure of her parentage or where she comes from. She remembers almost nothing of her life before her time as the Mistress's drudge, but she never quite fits in the hierarchy--even though she is very aware of the hierarchy and how it works. As a female drudge, she is less valuable than any man on the road to war, in spite of her knowledge as a greenwoman. The only people who value her are the other women she encounters and the nobleman she follows--although his respect is earned on hard terms.

I liked Firethorn, especially in the beginning. Micklem's style reminded me of Robin McKinley's, except that it's not quite as developed (but this is her first book). One of the main elements and plot-movers of this book is sex. It's not particularly descriptive--there are no heaving bosoms or bodices torn asunder--but there's no avoiding it. Firethorn's character is considerably formed by her sexuality and a lot of the plot is dependent on the men in the camp wanting her. Underneath it all, though, it's about Firethorn's journey to a sense of self--which will be continued in the next book, Wildfire.

Days after reading the last page, I still wake up wanting to continue the story. I liked the world Micklem created--the complicated polytheism, the equally complicated caste hierarchy. At no point did I feel like Micklem let the characters do something uncharacteristic just to make the plot easier or to move it along, which would have been easy to do I think. I am looking forward to Wildfire.

Micklem's Firethorn & Wildfire site

Thanks to my library and their participation in interlibrary loans. Now if only there weren't that policy about books released within the year... I can't request Wildfire for another 7 months.

Jackson Pearce giveaway

So I saw on Bookworming in the 21st Century that Jackson Pearce is hosting a cool giveaway for her forthcoming Sisters Red. (For details, watch the video.) In order to kick this whole giveaway thing off, Jackson Pearce's YouTube channel needs to have 1600 subscribers by December 31. At the time of this posting, she has 1348. Making it to 1600 by the end of the month should be no problem.



Thanks for the heads up, Kristen!

Hunger Games #3 news

I read in Shelf Awareness that the third book in the Hunger Games trilogy is scheduled for release August 24, 2010!

It doesn't have a title yet, but I'm just happy finally being able to put HG #3 on my calendar.