After a fairly intense bridge long weekend in Texas (6 sessions in 4 days), I'm now back home in California. I gave my protagonist in my current WIP a sex change (from Michael to Michelle) which is going to allow me to less grossly have her use sex to sneak into a rival House, and have been doing cleanup on what's been written so far, also cleaning up some non-sex-related items. I'm near where I left off, which means tomorrow I should get started on new words. I got exactly zero writing done while in Texas.

I did get some reading done while there, however...and more done while flying. I actually read five books but decided not to review one of them. In general, if I don't have at least some good things to say, I don't bother with a review. The one I didn't review was Doubled in Spades. I was excited because it was a bridge mystery but there wasn't enough bridge...or enough mystery. So, here's what I did review: THE SHARING KNIFE: HORIZON by Lois McMaster Bujold. Pretty good fantasy even if occasionally slow moving. http://www.booksforabuck.com/sfpages/sf_09/sharing_knife_horizon.html. THE MAP OF MOMENTS by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon. A compelling story of New Orleans after Katrina, with magic. Here: http://www.booksforabuck.com/sfpages/sf_09/map_of_moments.html. STALKING THE VAMPIRE by Mike Resnick. Some very funny moments although it sometimes tried too hard. Here: http://www.booksforabuck.com/sfpages/sf_09/stalking_vampire.html. DEATH TAKES A HAND by Susan Moody. A bridge mystery, sort of. Not horrible. Here: http://www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_09/death_takes_a_hand.html. Next up, DRAGONBORN by Jade Lee.

I posted THE AREA 51 OPTION by Michael A. Kechula on our various distribution outlets so it should be showing up soon.

Did you see that Barnes and Noble has released a new eBook Reader--the Nook? Like the Kindle,it allows purchases without having to access a computer. There's a sharing option that comes as part of the service. I'm not sure I'm big on readers sharing although Barnes and Noble is using this to differentiate its service and puts limits on how lending works (limited time, you can't access your book while it's lent out). Still, I can imagine a NetFlix-like program where nobody buys books any more, they just rent them for a couple of weeks though lending. What do you think?

I'm going to make EYE OF THE STORM by Amy Eastlake the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. When her friend is run down in a supposed accident, Aila Jallay knows the police are covering things up... and that Detective Jerry Miller is involved. But when Miller realizes he's being used, he throws in with Aila and the two of them find themselves framed and on the run. Exciting, sexy and adventurous. Only $3.99. An RWA Golden Heart Finalist for best romantic suspense. (Available in HTML, Adobe PDF, eReader, Mobipocket/Kindle, Microsoft Reader, Sony Reader and ePub formats). Here's the link: http://www.booksforabuck.com/rompages/rom_2006/eye_storm.html. Here's the cover (cover design by Jane Graves):

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