My Favorite Reads of 2024 by Lynn Lovegreen

 I love to read, as most writers do. I have eclectic tastes in reading; I read mostly fiction, but some nonfiction too. My favorite genres are YA (young adult) romance, contemporary, and historical fiction. I throw in some middle grade, adult romance, mystery, and history to mix it up a bit. Here are my favorite reads of this year—some were published this year, but others have been around a while. Look through and see if there’s a book that strikes your fancy! I’ve included author website links so you can check them out.

 

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams (Adult fiction)

https://linktr.ee/snabooks?fbclid=IwY2xjawG8ejhleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHVyWwJ7QQMoUR__AqI9NK_DN4irOggrpL_bjrJg-NKxWnH1yObGerYDVfA_aem_4xw5JPG64LRUhtM5hHV04w

Anxious teen Aleisha works at the local library when she comes across a list of books that broaden her horizons. Lonely widower Mukesh comes in to see what his late wife saw in books. When Aleisha shares the list, that leads to a transformation of their lives, and the community's. (content warning: mental illness and suicide)

 

The Next Great Jane by K.L Going (Middle Grade fiction)

https://klgoing.com

Jane is a precocious sixth grader determined to become a writer. When a famous author visits her small Maine town, and a hurricane, an obstinate boy, and Jane's Hollywood mother combine, not even Jane can guess the ending. 

 

Eagle Drums by Nasugraq Rainey Hopson (Middle Grade Fiction)

https://www.nasugraqhopson.com

An Iñupiaq (Alaska Native) boy collects obsidian when he sees a magic eagle who tells him he must go with him or die like his older brothers. He learns about drumming, singing, and dancing from the Eagle Mother, then teaches other people at a great feast, bringing a sense of community to their culture. Hopson tells the origin story of the Messenger Feast of her Iñupiaq people brilliantly, with heartfelt words and lovely illustrations. This middle grade book won a Newbery Medal nomination for good reason, and will enchant readers of all ages.

 

Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee (YA Historical Mystery)

https://www.staceyhlee.com

Lulu Wong was Gemma and May Chow’s friend and neighbor before she became a movie star. When the sisters find her body in Chinatown, the police are slow to act, and business leaders use the killing as an excuse to tear down Chinatown to make way for a train station. Gemma and May must find the killer before it’s too late for their neighborhood, and before the killer catches on to their investigation. Historical fiction queen Stacey Lee brings 1930s Los Angeles to life in this great page turner.

 

Sway with Me by Syed M. Massod (YA Romance)

https://www.syed-masood.com

Arsalan’s 100-year-old great-grandfather taught him everything he knows. Not wanting to be totally alone one day, he asks feisty Beenish, stepdaughter of a prominent matchmaker, for help. She agrees if he’ll help her ruin her sister’s wedding by performing a forbidden dance. They end up growing closer than either would imagine.
This hilarious and heartwarming coming-of-age story is a gem! Love the romance, found family, and multi-generational love! (content warning: physical abuse)

 

Murder on the Last Frontier by Cathy Pegau (Adult Mystery)

https://cathypegau.com

Romance, mystery, and Alaska history--this hit so many of my interests! Cathy Pegau's Murder on the Last Frontier is a great feminist historical mystery set in Cordova, Alaska during the suffragist days. I will look for more from this Alaskan author.⁠

 

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert (YA Romance)

https://www.taliahibbert.com

Bradley manages his OCD, his classes, and his friendship with the popular guys pretty well, but trading insults and barbs with Celine isn’t as fun as it looks. Celine has one goal: to become the next Golden Explorer and protégé of the famous lawyer Katharine Breakspeare, but when Brad decides to compete for the title, she’ll need to beat him to get there. A survival course in the woods might lead to a winner, or an emotional adventure neither of them expects. This second-chance, enemies-to-lovers romance kept me up late turning pages--funny, witty, and heartfelt in all the right ways. (content warning: mental illness)

 

If you’d like to look at other books I’ve read, you can follow me on The StoryGraph at https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/lynnlovegreen.

 

 

 

Lynn Lovegreen has lived in Alaska for most of her life. After twenty years in the classroom, she retired to make more time for writing. She enjoys her friends and family, reading, and volunteering for her local library. Her young adult historical romance is set in Alaska, a great place for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com. 

THINGS THAT GO BUMP…AND THUMP…IN THE NIGHT ... by Delsora Lowe

What me worry? All the time!

But what do I do with that worry that “bumps” me in the middle of the night? I usually read a ton of books at that wicked worry hour.

My books in good company at Sherman's Books

Obviously, scary stories are out - even in October. As an author, I have many author friends and I try to support them by reading their books. But scary books will keep me up at night, even if it’s a romance. Romance has many genre types from sweet to spicey, and includes the scarier ones, such as romantic mystery, suspense, paranormal, and thriller. The one requirement for a book to be classified as a romance is that it has a HAPPILY-EVER-AFTER ending. How the author reaches that magical ending is an open path.

Still, I do want to read some of those scarier books, only because I know the words the author writes will inspire me, even if the topic may alarm me. I still learn. So those books I read during daylight.

The other thing that keeps me awake is what a good writer friend calls her monkey mind—the one that chatters all night long about every worry that we try to slough off during the day. And when my worries are buried all day, so I can actually get other things done—well, you know what happens. I am usually wide awake with thoughts whirring through my mind. Getting back to sleep might not happen for hours. Instead, I stare out the window. Or step to the deck and take photos under the full moon. Or with the streetlight making its own magical reflections in the rain.

Rain Drops That Look Like Diamonds Under the Street Light

Hide and Seek with the Moon

So, when my mind spins in various directions, and refuses to quiet, no matter how many Belted Galway cows I count, I tend to get up, boot up the computer, and write. For many of my books, I have added extra chapters during those post, midnight magical hours.

Not only worries keep me awake, but once in a while a nightmare might intrude. And then the imagination spins in a totally wrong and scary direction. Since I am a writer of romance with no scary stuff involved, thinking about story does help. And getting up, brewing a relaxing herbal tea, and getting lost in my latest work in progress, settles me.

I can choose to be productive, when my mind is on overload…or I can turn on the reruns of the Golden Girls, seen at least a million times. Directing worry and thumps in the night into a creative endeavor is both soothing and fruitful. But…a good laugh from a sitcom works too.

Dan Zadra Quote

What do you do to ward off those things that go BUMP/THUMP/BANG in the night?

The Inn on Gooseneck Lane

Amazon

The Inn on Gooseneck Lane - Kindle edition by Lowe, Delsora. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Barnes & Noble

The Inn on Gooseneck Lane by Delsora Lowe | NOOK Book (eBook) | Barnes & Noble® (barnesandnoble.com)

Apple Books

                 The Inn on Gooseneck Lane on Apple Books

 

~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~

Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet and spicy romances and contemporary westerns from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.

Author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine. Her newest novella is The Love Left Behind. Look for both a Christmas novel (The Inn at Gooseneck Lane) and novella (Holiday Hitchhiker) later this fall.

 

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
Author website: www.delsoralowe.com
Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/delsoraloweauthor/community/
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Books2Read Author page: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe
Instagram: #delsoralowe / https://www.instagram.com/delsoralowe/

PHOTO CREDITS:

Author Photos and CANVA design

DanZadraQuote_Goodreads

Look What I Found? It Was in the Package… by Delsora Lowe

As writers, we write a ton of stories that are now “stored” under our beds. Each figuratively wrapped lovingly in tissue paper and placed gently in a beautiful wooden box under our beds. A present to ourselves, when we dare look back.

Okay - in reality, they are languishing in 3-ringed binders, if they were printed. If not, they are buried on long-lost flash drives, in computer files on computers that have been retired long ago, or on floppy disks (yikes, yes many are on floppies covered in dust, buried in a package of some sort – if any of us can even remember what floppies are and how they were used.)

But for me, those stories still resonate. I think about them and wonder how I can resurrect them. Unwrap them from an antiquated lace scarf buried deep in an old trunk in the recesses of my brain. Deep down, I know that since I started seriously writing romance in the early 2000s, that I have learned so much. And I will be disappointed to read what I once thought was…drum roll…brilliant.

So, the question is, will my time be well spent if I go back, dig them out of the long-forgotten package, and try to fix those stories. The basics, the elements of the story, the setting, the characters…they are all part of me. It’s the grammar, point of view fixes, and redundancy that needs to be fixed. Is it worth it? Or will it take so much energy and time to pick the manuscript apart and resurrect it, that I will grow to hate my old manuscripts and want to bury them again in an old box or trunk or abandoned file cabinet? Or will I actually want to burn them and watch the remnants of my dreams drift skyward?

But I do love the idea of a treasure hunt. And resurrecting the excitement I experienced when writing those early manuscripts. Why do you think those nuggets are still languishing “under my bed?” Who can bear to throw away what might be a treasure to someone? My gift to the world. And certainly, a gift to myself, if only for the pleasure I felt as I wrote the story that tumbled from my brain straight to my fingers and on to the page—no matter the massive writing mistakes.

Alas, there are so many more stories waiting to get out. And time is running out. So maybe I’ll leave those first stories buried in a neat package for my children, grandchildren, and friends to discover. And…I am sure I’ll hear them singing their praises about how utterly brilliant I was.

One can only dream…

 Here’s to: 

Celebrating romance!

Reading romance on vacation!

Running to your nearest Indie Book Store and scouring  
the shelves for a good romance.

THE LOVE LEFT BEHIND
Fall weddings

Amazon
Books2Read

Get a head start on holiday Reading
Release Date: October 17, 2022, PREORDER NOW

AMAZON 

cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~

Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet and spicy romances and contemporary westerns from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.

Author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine. Her newest novella is The Love Left Behind. Look for both a Christmas novel (The Inn at Gooseneck Lane) and novella (Holiday Hitchhiker) later this fall.

Social Media Links:

Author website

Facebook Author page

Amazon Author page

Books2Read Author page

BookBub Author Page

Goodreads Author Page

Instagram

Photo Credits: 
Present 
Floppy Disk  
Trunk  
Clock 
Editing

My favorite books as a child by Paty Jager

I love this month's subject at Romancing the Genres. I have been a reader since the age of 5. I have always loved that letters make words and words make sentences that make paragraphs that fill pages and make stories that can transport you or teach you something.

The first book I read that made a huge impression on me was Lois Lenski's Strawberry Girl. I remember the cover, the pictures, not so much the story at this time, but back when I found this book in the school library and read it, it was a book I could relate to. My family weren't migrant workers, but we lived on a farm and the whole family- my paternal grandparents who lived with us, my parents, my 2 brothers, and I all worked in the garden. It was large to grow all the vegetables we needed for canning to keep us fed all year. We had 8-10 rows 30 feet long of strawberries. We all had to pick them. And I had to help take the stems off and cut them to either eat or freeze to use later.  Strawberry Girl was a book about someone who worked in a garden and lived rural. Most of the stories I read before that one were about cartoon characters or people who lived in towns and cities. It sparked a chord with me because I knew a little about the life the book talked about.

The other books, big surprise, that I loved were Walter Farley's Stallion books and Marguerite Henry's books about horses and Brighty of the Grand Canyon. We never had a burro when I was growing up but as an adult I've had 2. They are just as fun and personable as I remember Brighty being. 

Walter Farley's books took me to Arabia. A country I knew little about. But I went there because of my love of horses.

I read all of Marguerite Henry's books. They too taught me things I didn't know. Like the island of Chincoteague off the Carolinas. Her Medicine Hat stallion book had me falling in love with paint horses.

And we can't forget Nancy Drew! One summer my mom bought the whole set of Nancy Drew books for me to read and a set of Hardy Boys for my older brother. I read both sets and I think my brother might have read one of the Hardy Boys books. LOL 

In Jr. High and High School I read the fattest books I could find at the library because they would last me longer. I read Gone With the Wind, anything by Phyllis Whitney and  Mary Stewart.

Remembering the books that brought me such joy is one of the reason I love writing books. I hope that my books bring joy to those who read them. And if not joy at least an new understanding of something they hadn't knows before.

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 44 novels, 8 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.
blog / website /  Facebook / Paty's Posse / Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest   / Bookbub

Fun Firsts - a book tour

by M. L. Buchman

I wasn't a reader as a kid. Okay, I wasn't exactly a reader...I was a re-reader. Somewhere along the way I got stuck on The Little Engine That Could and Winnie-the-Pooh. And I stayed stuck there until I hit third grade.

I've often wondered about that over the years. I came from a huge reading family. We sat around most of every Sunday, each in our spot in the living room and read. Mom in her deep wing-back armchair with a murder mystery. Dad in his simple padded chair with a Henry James novel and the dog lying across his feet. My sister reading literary novels, art, philosophy of the 60s (as it was happening), and me with "The Bear."

I've always enjoyed rereading and rewatching movies. For me there's an emotional comfort. A safe place of knowing what's coming, yes. But much more I think it's about reliving an emotion I enjoy (to this day I still get desperate fits of giggles when Roo gets the hiccups in the middle of Pooh's party).

Third Grade
There was a problem with my third grade teacher, Mrs. Kaye was already a friend of the family and knew just how smart I was (I sure didn't). I spent almost the entire year at the table in the corner. Not because I was being bad, but because she was giving me a different curriculum than the other kids. Dad was an IBM engineer, who for some reason had bought a house thirty miles from the plant in a tiny farming community. So, while my classmates were destined for their parents' farms, Mrs. Kaye decided I was destined for more than that.

One thing she did was she just kept handing me books. I'm sure there were dozens upon dozens, but the first one that struck was one I pulled off our own shelf at home. Jack London's Call of the Wild. You want to see an eight-year-old kid weep, it was me at the end of that book. It is not the death of Buck's human friends that got me, nor the sense of belonging that he found with the pack. It was that immense loyalty, when he returns each year to mourn his lost friends. Writing this I now see where my adult loyalty comes from. It's very black and white, just like Buck's. I'm intensely loyal, unless you cross me and then I'm done with you. (No, I don't rip out people's throats like Buck, I just move on. Just sayin'.)

I still own three books from my childhood: 2 Winnie-the-Poohs, and that volume of Call of the Wild. I've carried it with me for over 50 years, but I've never reread it. It's one of those memories that's just too right the way it is and I don't want reality messing anything up. (Curious side note: my peculiar reading habits meant that the first time I read any other children's books was when I got a stepkid of my own. I discovered Goodnight Moon right alongside The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, and Harry Potter.) 

From Call I ripped through London, plunged into Melville, and discovered non-fiction in the form of biographies about Arctic exploration. Tenzing took me to the top of Mt. Everest and I followed Captain Bligh across the seas (both the Nordhoff and Hall full trilogy, and Bligh's own account).

A First of a New World
Then one day, I believe I'd just finished Moby Dick (and sorry, it's not some symbolic journey about the madness of revenge, it's a story about a whale, yawn [and yes, I reread it as an adult, I still don't "get" it])--which would make it 5th grade--and as I set it down, Dad finished a slim novel by Arthur C Clarke called The City and the Stars. Mrs. Kaye's indoctrination that what you did with a book was "pick it up and start reading" launched me into another world.

Is it a great book? Not really. But it's about a boy who billions of years in the future is...different. As he discovers why, he also saves the future of humanity against all odds. Unlike Call, I would reread this book many, many times over the years. I wanted to be Alvin, I felt like I was Alvin and just needed a world to save.

I was hooked. It would be years before I read in any other genre. Ninth grade English A Tree Grows in Brooklyn? "Would it be okay if I did a book report on Stranger in a Strange Land instead?" Grapes of Wrath? "How about the Foundation Trilogy?" I always got away with that, until Senior English.

An Old World
This was the second great teacher of my life who changed my reading. Mrs. Kane taught "Adventures in English Literature." The poets never hooked me. But Frankenstein, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Les Miserables, and the complete works of Shakespeare (the last would take me a while). That she was trying to introduce me to the poetry of Shelly and Byron just never quite seemed to work, but I'd discovered the classics. However, none of these stood out for me as a "First" the way The Call of the Wild or The City and the Stars did.

An Older World
The third great teacher, for a college student in geophysics, was Professor Cole. He brought ancient Greek history to life and suddenly I was in the world of Plato, Aeschylus, and all the others. But while I loved it, it didn't affect me at that "first" level.

At about the same time though, I stumbled on James Clavell and Ayn Rand. Tai-pan taught me more about action-adventure and other cultures, but Atlas Shrugged is probably my favorite book of all time. I'm always, out of sheer loyalty, fighting the good fight past any reason. Am I happy with the false leaders or the ending choice of going on strike against the world? Not really. But the battle? The fight for justice against all comers? OMG! I've read ever piece of fiction she ever wrote and some of her essays.

A More Exciting World
Shortly after college I stumbled on another first, The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum. The next five years were completely about thrillers for me (well, thrillers and science fiction). Sure I read The Hobbit and the other essential fantasy novels, loved them, but they weren't world changing the way Bourne was. A man who didn't know himself, surviving against impossible odds. He lead me to Three Days of the Condor and The Eye of the Needle, but it was Bourne who still reigns clear in my mind decades later.

A Loving World
I had one more real "first" waiting for me. The small publisher of my first fantasy novel wanted to prove that men wrote romance, I didn't. Still, she took me and three other guys to Romance Writers of America National Conference. We were four of the 7 men among 1,800 women passionate about their genre and their craft. I read a half dozen romances at the conference (mostly at night, I don't sleep much at conferences).

But my "first" romance was handed to me over a year later by a woman I was dating (who I've now been married to for over 20 years. No correlation there, I was totally nuts about her before she handed me the book.) But it was a book that ultimately launched the first 50 novels of my writing career.

Laura Kinsale's The Prince of Midnight (with a close second of Susan Wiggs' The Charm School). A flawed hero, a headstrong heroine who finds bravery despite all the reasons not to... I was a goner!

A Career
I peer back through a glass darkly:

• The Prince of Midnight - romance
• The Bourne Identity - thriller
• Atlas Shrugged - action-adventure thriller philosophy(?)
• The City and the Stars - science fiction 
• The Call of the Wild - action-adventure
• and even the old Bear himself - fun

I've written 50 romances about "Strong Women and the Men They Deserve." And I've had such a great time doing it.

Now with action-adventure thrillers, I've just hit the USA Today Bestseller list with a story in an anthology and Amazon #1 bestselling novel, both in my Miranda Chase series. Am I moving back through my "firsts" as a reader? Am I eventually going to be back into science fiction? Or perhaps an action-adventure-SF-romance-philosophy? 

I don't know. But I do know that we are deeply shaped by what we read, by what our "firsts" are and that emotional journey that books make us take inside ourselves.

I've changed my writer's motto to include my thrillers, "Strong Women and the World They Deserve." But it all actually traces back to my most core beliefs, "To Champion the Human Spirit." It's something I try to place at the core of every action and choice I make. I like to think that Kinsale, Ludlum, Rand, Clarke, London, and even the old Bear himself would all approve.

I'd love to hear which books were your "firsts" and maybe even how they changed you.

USA Today and Amazon #1 Bestseller M. L. "Matt" Buchman has 60+ action-adventure thriller and military romance novels, 100 short stories, and lotsa audiobooks. PW says: “Tom Clancy fans open to a strong female lead clamor for more.” Booklist declared: “3X Top 10 of the Year.” A project manager with a geophysics degree, he’s designed and built houses, flown and jumped out of planes, solo-sailed a 50’ sailboat, and bicycled solo around the world…and he quilts. More at: www.mlbuchman.com.

Which Witch Novel is Your Favorite?

By Diana McCollum

Happy fall and Halloween! When spooks or ghosts or spirits (not sure which one is correct) walk the earth, and witches fly by in the night.

I had never read any kind of witch 
paranormal books. And then one day, I was on my lunch hour from work and walking in Safeway. Near the checkout stand was a rack of books. One cover in particular caught my eye, “Breath of Magic”, by Teresa Medeiros, and I bought it.

This book is what I would call a light paranormal. Not a lot of blood and gore, in fact hardly any. Puritan witch, Arian Whitewood gets more than she bargains for during a witch hunt and she and the broom she is riding on, crash land into the 20^th century and the arms of the hero. A love story mixed with time-travel and magic! I fell in love!

After reading “Breath of Magic”, I bought the second book, “Touch of Enchantment”, and followed the journey of Arian’s daughter, Tabitha Lennox, from the 20^th century back seven centuries into the past, and straight into the path of a horse ridden by a chain-mailed warrior.

Now I was totally hooked on paranormal romance. Witches are the best!! Who doesn’t love magic?

I’ve read many books since those first two containing a witch heroine or hero, magic and sometimes time-travel. I’ve loved them all.

This summer I read Nora Roberts trilogy starting with the first in the series “Dark Witch”. You just can’t go wrong with a book written by Nora, excellent series.

My very favorite book I’ve read would have to be “The Witch’s Daughter”, by Paula Brackston. I read this book last year. I will always keep this book. Not only is “The Witch’s Daughter “a well written story, it’s written in first person, which I normally don’t care for. I was drawn right into the story from page one.

And yet, the story drew me in, kept me captivated and I forgot all about first person.

The magic of these books led me to write about... you guessed it, Witches!

My book  "The Witch with the Trident Tattoo", is available at all venues. If you haven't checked out  Windtree Press , my publisher, you should do it for a wide variety of books for sale..

Another book is "Love & Magick", an anthology by Sarah Raplee, Judith Ashley and me. And you guessed it, filled with intriguing stories of magic!

These are some of my favorite witch stories. Do you have a favorite?

Best Books I Read in 2018 by Lynn Lovegreen

According to my Goodreads list, I read a dozen books in 2018. (I think there are actually more, if I include books I read for historical research or read but forgot to add to my book review list.) Some of the dozen were published last year, and some I just got around to reading in 2018—when your to-be-read list is as long as mine, it takes a while to get through it! 

I enjoyed all of these, so rather than choose one book as the best, I’m taking the liberty to come up with a few winners. Although I read some great books meant for adults, I chose books for younger audiences here to encourage our Romancing the Genres followers to try books and authors they may not know. 

Best Middle Grade Book: Hunger: A Tale of Courage by Donna Jo Napoli

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35297481-hunger

Another great historical novel from Donna Jo Napoli! Engaging and well written as well as historically accurate--I couldn't wait to see how Lorraine would help her family survive the Irish potato famine.

I would classify it as MG because of the main character's age and issues, but teen and adult readers who are into history or Ireland would also enjoy it. Napoli also has a glossary, bibliography, and historical notes in the back.

Best Contemporary Young Adult: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32497607-the-hate-u-give

You may have already heard about the novel or the recent movie. This book won lots of awards, and deserved them all. Starr is an African-American teen who lives in a poor black neighborhood and goes to a mostly white prep school. Her worlds collide when a friend is shot by a police officer.  

Brilliant, thoughtful, heart-breaking, and heart-warming! I recommend it for both teens and adults.


Best Historical Young Adult: Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26192915-outrun-the-moon

Mercy challenges people's expectations of Chinese-Americans while finding her place in an elite boarding school. Then the San Francisco earthquake provides challenges and opportunities of its own. Great historical details, and I loved the strong heroine! Highly recommended for teens and adults.

Best Heart-Warming Book: The Last True Love Story by Brendan Kiely

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20745354-the-last-true-love-story

Loved this book! Brendan Kiely weaves teens, love, music, poetry, family, and more into this road trip homage to the Odyssey. 

Teddy's dad is dead and his mom is married to her job, so his grandpa has basically raised him. As Gpa is losing his memories to Alzheimer's, Teddy tries to recover them by taking him to where he met his wife. Teddy's friend (and crush) Corrina goes along to escape her stifling adoptive parents and get a chance to pursue the musical life she's always wanted. With parents and the police looking for them, they take the back roads across the country, and discover more than they expected. 

Lots of heart in this book--you will be rewarded on many different levels. Although this is an awesome book for teens, adult readers will also enjoy it.

Happy New Year! May you find lots of great books to read in 2019!

Are you on Goodreads, too? You can find me there at 

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7429330.Lynn_Lovegreen.

Lynn Lovegreen has lived in Alaska for fifty years. She taught for twenty years before retiring to make more time for writing. She enjoys her friends and family, reading, and volunteering at her local library. Her young adult/new adult historical romances are set in Alaska, a great place for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Goodreads, and Pinterest.

Tracking in 2018 by Paty Jager

The favorite book I read in 2018 is Tom Brown, Jr's The Science and Art of Tracking. It entertained me even when I wasn't reading it! 

I purchased the book to help me understanding tracking because the main character in my new mystery series is a Master Tracker. I enjoyed reading about how the author of the book was fascinated by tracking as a child and was lucky enough to grow up next to a boy whose grandfather was an Apache elder. He augmented the author's knowledge in the forest. 

The book tells how as a small child he was interested in the marks made by animals, and continued to learn with books borrowed from the library until he met "Grandfather". The author and his friend spent hours in the forest with Grandfather learning what to look for and what wasn't there that told you how to find a trail. 

The lessons he learned from Grandfather and his own one track focus gave me insight into how a person needed to be tuned into their surroundings more than the average person. This helped me conjure up my character Gabriel Hawke, a Nez Perce/ Cayuse descendant whose grandfather taught him tracking. 

The book explains how to tell if an animal or person is looking one way or the other just by their tracks. Living in a rural area, my walks started taking longer as I tried my hand at tracking. One thing I learned, while I had good intentions, I don't have the attention to detail that a good tracker needs. 

There is a section in the book that shows how to read tracks by using sand. Well, I just so happened to have

making footprints

been to the beach on a retreat right after reading the book. I would stand and look one way and then the other and study the imprints. And I could see there was a difference in depth and marks. I also walked in circles, noting the change or shift of weight that deepened the tracks in different places. 

I didn't however get down on my hands and knees to figure out which direction an ant went. It was a lesson Grandfather taught the author. He finally figured it out by the small particles of sand on a rock. Whew! That is an eye for detail!

Reading this book and experiencing my own little efforts of tracking helped me to develop Gabriel Hawke, a Fish and Wildlife State Trooper. 

His first book is on pre-order and releasing Jan. 20th. 

MURDER OF RAVENS

Book 1

The ancient Indian art of tracking is his greatest strength...

And also his biggest weakness. 

Fish and Wildlife State Trooper Gabriel Hawke believes he’s chasing poachers.

However, he comes upon a wildlife biologist standing over a body that is wearing a wolf tracking collar.

He uses master tracker skills taught to him by his Nez Perce grandfather to follow clues on the mountain. Paper trails and the whisper of rumors in the rural community where he works, draws Hawke to a conclusion that he finds bitter.

Arresting his brother-in-law ended his marriage, could solving this murder ruin a friendship? 

Universal Buy Link: https://www.books2read.com/u/bxZwMP