tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64289488632920935522024-03-19T00:02:44.353-04:00Dark and Stormy romanceThe place for page-turning, pulse-pounding fictionLydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-44205767489058326012014-08-22T09:42:00.000-04:002014-08-22T09:43:33.710-04:00USA TODAY CALLS CLEOPATRA'S SECRET A "SENSUAL DELIGHT"<span style="font-size: large;"><i>USA Today</i> was kind enough to give <i>Cleopatra's Secret: Keepers Of The Light</i> a great review. You can check it out <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyeverafter/2013/04/11/throwback-thursday-tbt-ancient-egypt/2072017/" target="_blank">here.</a></span>Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-52264113652159256732014-06-21T10:17:00.000-04:002014-06-21T10:21:33.379-04:00Over 1000 people add Cleopatra's Secret to their Goodreads "To Read" list<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4v8_4bC19C0UnuQZ83uGbjtKLtV47d9ouu3RDeI9r6m44BsRnU_kxj4Jglb9hIbNuoVKZ399cCfr7Y3br2RNQvz6IXG9V_fS5rXRb2SU7JkQfqOEYDXjti_aAVEbx3prKbrXWUuPDUirw/s1600/cleopatras_secret_V4_6x9_96dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4v8_4bC19C0UnuQZ83uGbjtKLtV47d9ouu3RDeI9r6m44BsRnU_kxj4Jglb9hIbNuoVKZ399cCfr7Y3br2RNQvz6IXG9V_fS5rXRb2SU7JkQfqOEYDXjti_aAVEbx3prKbrXWUuPDUirw/s1600/cleopatras_secret_V4_6x9_96dpi.jpg" height="320" width="245" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thank you to all the kind souls on Goodreads who added <i>Cleopatra's Secret: Keepers of the Light</i> to their "To Read" list and helped push the book to over 1000 people who want to read <i>Cleo</i>.</span>Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-11655408311491814952013-10-20T20:13:00.002-04:002013-10-20T20:13:32.246-04:00Clockwork Countess Free For One Day Only Monday October 21stIn keeping with the Halloween spirit (no pun intended), <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Clockwork-Countess-Delphine-ebook/dp/B00AZ0IL6U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382314378&sr=8-1&keywords=clockwork+countess">Clockwork Countess</a> will be absolutely free to download to you Kindle on Amazon all day tomorrow. Here's the teaser:<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-no-proof: no;">Clockwork Countess</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-no-proof: no;"> is a
sexy steampunk twist on the <i>Frankenstein</i>
tale. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-no-proof: no;">A
scandalous secret....<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-no-proof: no;">A
forbidden tower....<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-no-proof: no;">A
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-no-proof: no;">When Rowan returns to her mother's ancestral home, Heartwycke
Park, the unnerving tick of clocks is her first clue in unraveling the dark
secret hidden in the forbidden tower. If
she can only uncover the mystery which shrouds the gothic manor, perhaps she
can also unlock the heart of the brooding Roderick Heartwycke, a man who
fascinates her, even as he struggles to keep her at bay––he claims for her own
safety. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-2332366151354024382013-10-18T12:34:00.002-04:002013-10-20T12:21:23.007-04:00Dragonwyck: Gothic Novel Extraordinaire <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0PARj3_RH_kugqZOt77QYiHGL0h0zEX69oPDqrKrROBE1rZdZt5umdUavuow3jY8i-46f0qyQdhZT7YUAPpz1StQMMmIP_tDKl0X3EgGUIDjDaqCwSYxi65eJMIAWAyiCJVIeSDtKDAZ0/s1600/122856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0PARj3_RH_kugqZOt77QYiHGL0h0zEX69oPDqrKrROBE1rZdZt5umdUavuow3jY8i-46f0qyQdhZT7YUAPpz1StQMMmIP_tDKl0X3EgGUIDjDaqCwSYxi65eJMIAWAyiCJVIeSDtKDAZ0/s320/122856.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What is it about the gothic novel
that so excites us? That draws us in past
the mist-shrouded moors, through imposing iron gates into candlelit corridors
where unwitting young maidens and magnetic, tortured lords cast their
spell? From the halls of <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12873.Rebecca">Rebecca’s</a> </i>Manderley to the cemetery
crypts of <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Shadows">Dark Shadows</a></i>, for those of
us gripped by the mystery and romance of these stories, we just can't get
enough. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Hence, this Halloween season, yes,
it's an entire season for me, I'm giving into the voluptuous enjoyment of Anya
Seton's <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dragonwyck-ebook/dp/B0074T9VW8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1382113717&sr=8-3&keywords=dragonwyck">Dragonwyck</a></i>. Vague murmurings of this book reached my
ears in the past. I knew it fell somehow
under the gothic heading, but had never paid it much mind until my interest
turned to the Gilded Age and the fabulous estates of the Hudson River Valley,
an area that has always been rich in the lore of Washington Irving's <i><a href="http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/LegSle.shtml">Sleepy H</a>ollow </i>and the poems penned by
<a href="http://www.poemuseum.org/index.php">Edgar Allen Poe </a>during his stay at the Yaddo, Saratoga's famously haunted
artist colony. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Yes, this book has a naive golden-haired
heroine who is greatly abused by the haughty inhabitants of Dragonwyck. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Yes, it has a dark and brooding
hero, or is he the villain? So excited
to find out! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Yes, there is a big imposing
mansion replete with ghosts, ancient curses and unnerving servants. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I have only just begun to immerse
myself in Seton's wonderfully atmospheric novel, but I anticipate curling up by
the fire this evening with my Kindle and forgetting all about the mundane
issues of the day in the twists and turns of Dragonwyck's shadowy halls....</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-27789082197222010792013-01-15T17:36:00.000-05:002013-01-15T17:40:15.544-05:00Clockwork Countess Now On Sale!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My erotic steampunk novella, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Clockwork-Countess-ebook/dp/B00AZ0IL6U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358289159&sr=8-1&keywords=clockwork+countess">Clockwork Countess</a>,</i> is now on sale at Amazon for only 99 cents. Because the writing style is so different from <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cleopatras-Secret-Keepers-LIght-ebook/dp/B005FY6N1Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358288968&sr=8-1&keywords=cleopatra%27s+secret+keepers+of+the+light">Cleopatra's Secret</a></i> and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Moonlight-On-Diamonds-ebook/dp/B002DYIFVW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1358289046&sr=1-1&keywords=moonlight+on+diamonds">Moonlight on Diamonds</a></i>, I've penned this one under the name Delphine. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Clockwork Countess</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> is a
sexy steampunk twist on the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Frankenstein</i>
tale.</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;">A
scandalous secret....<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: large;">A
forbidden tower....</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">A
passion unleashed.... </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-no-proof: no;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When Rowan returns to her mother's ancestral home, Heartwycke
Park, the unnerving tick of clocks is her first clue in unraveling the dark
secret hidden in the forbidden tower.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
she can only uncover the mystery which shrouds the gothic manor, perhaps she
can also unlock the heart of the brooding Roderick Heartwycke, a man who
fascinates her, even as he struggles to keep her at bay––he claims for her own
safety. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I hope you enjoy it!</span>Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-59441009634529455082012-10-23T22:44:00.000-04:002012-10-23T22:46:06.798-04:00Final cover for Clockwork Countess is in<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I'm very excited to report that I have the final cover for my upcoming gothic steampunk novella Clockwork Countess. Thanks Tom Padovan of Saratoga Digital for another beauty!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgrk_BRnLUgBpNwLdI4MZwAqH7eW5XHxESUqV8tPmfp9uFozGBmOuxBF3f2Cg7YayCh1zZz_JosAU89bEoWff_1inQxIFWlfqCf2fcPQaINrGOHyC-llg4h4tOYeqrgCMbLK72Synt4gVV/s1600/clockwork_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgrk_BRnLUgBpNwLdI4MZwAqH7eW5XHxESUqV8tPmfp9uFozGBmOuxBF3f2Cg7YayCh1zZz_JosAU89bEoWff_1inQxIFWlfqCf2fcPQaINrGOHyC-llg4h4tOYeqrgCMbLK72Synt4gVV/s320/clockwork_cover.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-24928452393380631112012-10-03T18:36:00.001-04:002012-10-03T18:36:32.263-04:00Cleopatra's moment<br />
Cleopatra is experiencing a moment. With the new NBC show <i>Cleopatra</i> in the works and an Angelina Jolie film project with the tempestous star slated to play Cleo and a major museum tour of archeologcal finds related to my favorite pharaoh under way, it seems like she's everywhere you look! <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgep1oA5twoU0l1PNOChlJfrKDUtgdS8slzIWKUicaQjD5p0ViM50AKdTcP0NgHkIpgpoU9rf18RLKf9JoNIG8HHy7HVuqQPlRczkQEkzpYbNi8bNSfsWcsxeFEaqKnkbpSzboxQ7z_0cuT/s1600/DownloadedFile.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgep1oA5twoU0l1PNOChlJfrKDUtgdS8slzIWKUicaQjD5p0ViM50AKdTcP0NgHkIpgpoU9rf18RLKf9JoNIG8HHy7HVuqQPlRczkQEkzpYbNi8bNSfsWcsxeFEaqKnkbpSzboxQ7z_0cuT/s1600/DownloadedFile.jpeg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Check out the links below to read more.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/11/cleopatra-nbc-pilot_n_1768660.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/11/cleopatra-nbc-pilot_n_1768660.html</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.accesshollywood.com/david-fincher-bows-out-of-angelina-jolies-cleopatra-report_article_68930">http://www.accesshollywood.com/david-fincher-bows-out-of-angelina-jolies-cleopatra-report_article_68930</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://events.nationalgeographic.com/events/cleopatra/tour/">http://events.nationalgeographic.com/events/cleopatra/tour/</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-76110645417117841922012-02-23T12:57:00.001-05:002012-02-23T12:57:28.145-05:00Thank you to all my Kindle readers! <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cleopatras-Secret-Keepers-LIght-ebook/dp/B005FY6N1Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1330019705&sr=1-1"><i>Cleopatra's Secret: Keepers of the Light</i> </a>is currently ranked at number 15 in the Amazon Romance Fantasy Best Seller's list and 35 for all Historical Romance.<br />
<br />Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-74754202521646526162011-12-14T13:01:00.002-05:002011-12-14T13:01:36.991-05:00Happy Holidays! Cleopatra's Secret on sale for .99 cents.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpfickwI5eJmrAE7nf5Hs-UbqTftspeCVSYOavRYuX7ttzzsfmh5CF55rgvVYVpAu8aUAVq0N2Htzoe2jJNDy7nZMxBjxYLfnWcL_tqsiALxr5FjXK_QugJtN03L60r6vEzQ0Xu-s9d_C_/s1600/cleopatras_secret_V4_6x9_96dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpfickwI5eJmrAE7nf5Hs-UbqTftspeCVSYOavRYuX7ttzzsfmh5CF55rgvVYVpAu8aUAVq0N2Htzoe2jJNDy7nZMxBjxYLfnWcL_tqsiALxr5FjXK_QugJtN03L60r6vEzQ0Xu-s9d_C_/s200/cleopatras_secret_V4_6x9_96dpi.jpg" width="153" /></a></div>
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Happy Holidays! For all you lucky people who receive an ereader as a gift, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005FY6N1Q/ref=s9_simh_gw_p351_d0_g351_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0VGP30EZQP8RXCF9NWZ4&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846">Cleopatra's Secret: Keepers of the Light</a></i> will be on sale from now through January 1st for just .99 cents.<br />
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Health, Wealth and Happiness to you all this holiday season!<br />
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<br />Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-84864422107493373572011-11-05T16:32:00.001-04:002011-11-11T12:45:21.769-05:0011:11 and November 11th 2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDMTGOqgkP5w_GJJlYybz9FnbR0dzXVvFBiagW5NplIc50sy4sz8fW3aDS7hJpv4IeEUREzCvP67A1cSwvd0Zgm9uAgHuGfCZ6GXxPJ78STZcklrLYr646ulRi1PZgOo_LpHWSe_475BYp/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDMTGOqgkP5w_GJJlYybz9FnbR0dzXVvFBiagW5NplIc50sy4sz8fW3aDS7hJpv4IeEUREzCvP67A1cSwvd0Zgm9uAgHuGfCZ6GXxPJ78STZcklrLYr646ulRi1PZgOo_LpHWSe_475BYp/s1600/images.jpeg" /></a></div>
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I have been haunted by the digits 11:11 for over ten years now. Where ever I went they seemed to follow me around, showing up on dinner checks and clock faces. Not to get too personal, by my nurse even announced in a loud voice just as my water broke while giving birth to my beautiful child that the time was exactly 11:11. <br />
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I thought it was just my own personal thing between myself and the universe or my good angels. But low and behold, I eventually discovered that this is a world wide phenomena. There are many websites, books, films and even political movements associated with 11:11. Go ahead and Google it and you'll be amazed! <br />
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For my own part, I just try to pause and say a prayer when ever I see the familiar numbers popping up and I find they creep into my writing quite a bit too. <i>Cleopatra's Secret: Keepers of the Light</i> does <i>not</i> have 11:11 coded into it, and yet, I feel the very nature of the esoteric teachings of the ancient pharaohs and their priests do have a link to sacred math and geometry. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEWGbXJVBeWrbCWYZw2CXnIbiYnWi57932g-g_shyphenhyphenZr7Ev2HKGAiBhyphenhyphenG0fh4g8VKSZfxbeATn_3bu-05hUUMtOQFXQE7HDz6ERU486Zl3eWCMjdlONolnZdI0lmYfZqkg5mZoH4LKDzi4H/s1600/cleopatras_secret_V4_6x9_96dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEWGbXJVBeWrbCWYZw2CXnIbiYnWi57932g-g_shyphenhyphenZr7Ev2HKGAiBhyphenhyphenG0fh4g8VKSZfxbeATn_3bu-05hUUMtOQFXQE7HDz6ERU486Zl3eWCMjdlONolnZdI0lmYfZqkg5mZoH4LKDzi4H/s320/cleopatras_secret_V4_6x9_96dpi.jpg" width="245" /></a></div>
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So in honor of the upcoming day 11/11/11, <i>Cleopatra's Secret: Keepers of the Light</i> will be absolutely free to download on Amazon for that one day only. I hope you enjoy it!<br />
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And next time you see 11:11, I pray you will pause and turn your thoughts to the Light. Maybe I'll be sharing the moment with you in my own little corner of the world.<br />
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UPDATE: Amazon will not allow me to give away <i>Cleo</i> for free. My sincerest apologies and hopes that my dear readers will have a great 11/11/11 anyway!Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-56476121555923625002011-08-31T21:18:00.002-04:002011-08-31T21:19:01.276-04:00Final Days of 99 cents sale for Cleopatra's Secret<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLmRXfOfIBz02EDkkjvg3oZ6DZ4vkHhPiQUMev6Bl2glGkkQn91OJ0a8zH8qap6hUIV_SlBsqXSYZrV-2-it-R8Rwba3OOEAD2riGspfsrE-e3YiC5SZfOhCtgSi6nfYnsR1dLbkYCyu0T/s1600/cleopatras_secret_V4_6x9_96dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLmRXfOfIBz02EDkkjvg3oZ6DZ4vkHhPiQUMev6Bl2glGkkQn91OJ0a8zH8qap6hUIV_SlBsqXSYZrV-2-it-R8Rwba3OOEAD2riGspfsrE-e3YiC5SZfOhCtgSi6nfYnsR1dLbkYCyu0T/s320/cleopatras_secret_V4_6x9_96dpi.jpg" width="245" /></a></div>
The 99 cents sale for <i>Cleopatra's Secret: Keepers of the Light</i> ends after Labor Day. So if you were thinking of downloading a copy, now's the time to get it while it's cheap! The ebook can be purchased at: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cleopatras-Secret-Keepers-LIght-ebook/dp/B005FY6N1Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1314839564&sr=1-1">Amazon</a><br />
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cleopatras-secret-lydia-storm/1104689177?ean=2940013648357&itm=1&usri=cleopatra%2bs%2bsecret%2bkeepers%2bof%2bthe%2blight">Barnes & Noble</a><br />
<a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/78539">Smashwords</a><br />
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Enjoy the last days of summer!<br />
<br />Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-87371653493982485642011-08-13T19:14:00.003-04:002011-08-13T19:20:33.897-04:00Cleopatra's Secret: Keepers of the Light on sale for .99 cents until Labor Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb0_YNtfkLkFmsLgzcASv15dQEJSXpsgWRNitgmStHdpv0mRLoH0Vh9KOPhjNRjYNRFfLqVPE0EOxBDlhDZSvyz51DCKzcWLegUt1aJpYodmhGYfgRu77cQBfJVVzYaYfHddBXO6tJr73A/s1600/cleopatras_secret_V4_6x9_96dpi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb0_YNtfkLkFmsLgzcASv15dQEJSXpsgWRNitgmStHdpv0mRLoH0Vh9KOPhjNRjYNRFfLqVPE0EOxBDlhDZSvyz51DCKzcWLegUt1aJpYodmhGYfgRu77cQBfJVVzYaYfHddBXO6tJr73A/s320/cleopatras_secret_V4_6x9_96dpi.jpg" width="245" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Just in time for summer's last lazy days, <i>Cleopatra's Secret: Keepers of the Light</i> is on sale for just .99 cents until Labor Day.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: large;">Hidden beneath a
veil of incense inside Egypt’s most sacred temple lies the door to a secret
chamber Cleopatra must guard with her life.
Within resides an ancient mystery the pharaohs and their high priests,
The Keepers of the Light, have protected for thousands of years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: large;">But with the
rise of Rome’s first Emperor, Augustus Caesar, Cleopatra is forced to fight to
save her sacred order from the Roman invaders.
If she fails, the brutal Emperor will twist the light The Keepers guard
into a fierce darkness, laying waste to the world and destroying the harmony of
the universe forever. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: large;">Can she trust
another Roman, Marc Antony, the lover who has blinded her with desire, even as
Augustus and his legions stand poised at the gates of Alexandria? And will her soul-stirring passion for Antony
endure when Cleopatra is forced to sacrifice her life for the secret she is
sworn to protect?</span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Read an excerpt, or buy now, at:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_39?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=cleopatra%27s+secret+keepers+of+the+light&sprefix=cleopatra%27s+secret+keepers+of+the+light"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Amazon</span></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/cleopatra-s-secret-keepers-of-the-light?store=ebook"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Barnes & Noble</span></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/78539"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Smashwords</span></a><br />
<br />Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-472810149741020502011-07-16T15:25:00.004-04:002011-07-16T16:00:22.276-04:00Self Publishing - Cleopatra's Secret: Keepers of the Light<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsow1-shF07nB7Q9WpqQedHlKIt_b5zicgS2pmUlPw9UdakolvAT4bU4DDrrXPAE8jZl7HVOWoLOio4yg_jKoneCkkyqd-fWpveTcJVWzzVoVF7Q3W-7KAY4Vcdd8U5ekoXXXTRxqm3wXK/s1600/cleopatras_secret_V4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsow1-shF07nB7Q9WpqQedHlKIt_b5zicgS2pmUlPw9UdakolvAT4bU4DDrrXPAE8jZl7HVOWoLOio4yg_jKoneCkkyqd-fWpveTcJVWzzVoVF7Q3W-7KAY4Vcdd8U5ekoXXXTRxqm3wXK/s320/cleopatras_secret_V4.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When my first
novel, </span><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Moonlight-Diamonds-Lydia-Storm/dp/1601544960/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310844460&sr=8-1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Moonlight On Diamonds</span></a></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">,</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">
received an offer for publication from The Wild Rose Press, I was thrilled and went
on to have a great experience with my publisher. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> But the curiosity is killing
me. So I'm taking the leap into self
publishing with my new historical fantasy romance, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Cleopatra's Secret: Keepers of the Light.</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> The allure of total control over my
product was the first enticement. As a
natural-born control freak, I love knowing I have final say over my cover,
distribution and release schedule. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> I also like the idea that I can
price my book at $1.99 and make it accessible to lots and lots of readers, because,
let's face it, we're still in a recession.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> I agonized over the whole, Kindle
vs. Smashwords vs. Nook thing. To DRM or
not to DRM? At the end of the day, I
decided to go with Kindle, Smashwords </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">and</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">
Nook and just let go of the whole DRM debate.
If people are going to pirate your book, they're going to pirate your
book. C'est la guerre! At $1.99, I hope most people will choose to
buy it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Cleopatra's
Secret: Keepers of the Light</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> comes out in August. So stay tuned for more on the upcoming
release!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-69610749461516344872011-03-31T15:27:00.004-04:002011-03-31T15:34:53.568-04:00Empire State Book Festival April 2nd at the Egg<div style="font: 17.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Th</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">is Saturday, April 2nd, I'll have the pl</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">easure of speaking on a romance writer's panel at the Empire State Book Festival. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Come join me!</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br />
</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"> </span></span></div><div style="font: 17.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 15px;"></span></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><strong style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Writing Under the Covers: Breaking into Romance: </span></span></span></strong><br />
<strong style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"></span></span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Learn what you need to know to break into the 21</span></span></span><sup style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">st</span></span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"> century world of romance publishing. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">B</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">onnie Hazard</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"> will moderate this panel from the Albany chapter of Romance Writers of America. Ebooks are the fastest growing segment of the romance market, and several of these authors have had bestselling titles for the Amazon Kindle. Hear from </span></span></span><a href="http://www.lydiastorm.com/" style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Lydia Storm</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">, </span></span></span><a href="http://www.jeancgordon.com/" style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Jean C. Gordon</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">, </span></span></span><a href="http://www.kamitchell.com/" style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">K.A. Mitchell</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">, and </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.lisalewisbooks.com/" style="line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Lisa Lewis</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #9fc5e8;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">second</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">annual</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Empire</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">State</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Book</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Festival, </span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">an</span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">initiative</span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">of</span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">the</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Empire</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">State</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Center</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">for</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">the</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Book,</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">takes</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">place</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">April</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1-2,</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">2011</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">in</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Albany,</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">New</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">York.</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Presented</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">by</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">the</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">New</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">York</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Library</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Association</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(NYLA),</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">this</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">free,</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">family-friendly</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">educational</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">event</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">celebrates</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">New</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">York</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">State</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">writers,</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">literature</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">literacy.</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It takes place at the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Empire</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">State</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Convention</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Center</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Meeting</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Rooms</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Base</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">of</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> the </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Egg</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Events Include: </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Author</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">talks</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Zapf Dingbats';">*</span></span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Writing</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Panels *</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Books</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">available</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">for</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">sale</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">autographing</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 15px/normal 'Zapf Dingbats';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">*</span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Antiquarian</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Booksellers</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Zapf Dingbats';"> *</span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Meet</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">your</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">favorite</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">children’s</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">author</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">or</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">illustrator</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Zapf Dingbats';">*</span></span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Children’s</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">book</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">characters</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 15.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">ADMISSION</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">IS</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">FREE</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">AND</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">THE</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">PUBLIC</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">IS</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">WELCOME</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">For</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">more</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">information</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">visit</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">online</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">at</span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1697119043">www.empirestatebookfestival.org</a></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.empirestatebookfestival.org/"> </a></span></span></div><div style="font: 10.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-18041599041197770772011-03-23T19:51:00.007-04:002011-03-31T15:07:01.249-04:00Elizabeth Taylor in her Jewels<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjau5SDa0vmab-jcLpvylLMiWFWsGvVUem0m54anzMX1fTtV_Rr7rn3_z3Xrt2fCY5mTUYBRhyphenhyphenZY_imCDUnRvTQCJj8SwPJcoZvJ18bJ066UqsW69gk3xDgVTO39m_ULgOOMTV-Dpu8IH7r/s1600/DownloadedFile.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjau5SDa0vmab-jcLpvylLMiWFWsGvVUem0m54anzMX1fTtV_Rr7rn3_z3Xrt2fCY5mTUYBRhyphenhyphenZY_imCDUnRvTQCJj8SwPJcoZvJ18bJ066UqsW69gk3xDgVTO39m_ULgOOMTV-Dpu8IH7r/s1600/DownloadedFile.jpeg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRaOloTPIQDmvpHSK11OYQBjjLq0U3lDWaSJsL5esUhH8jq-xrk35MGonHds2MS2Ul9B_vGha4-BNYvdwVbWMbHOrGlw5WEYmuhoYRnUOD12zeGlLdQdpLkVppIf4RM7oscGsqZVsZsYqS/s1600/images-4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRaOloTPIQDmvpHSK11OYQBjjLq0U3lDWaSJsL5esUhH8jq-xrk35MGonHds2MS2Ul9B_vGha4-BNYvdwVbWMbHOrGlw5WEYmuhoYRnUOD12zeGlLdQdpLkVppIf4RM7oscGsqZVsZsYqS/s1600/images-4.jpeg" /></a></div>While researching my jewel thief novel, Moonlight on Diamonds, I had the pleasure of spending hours reading about famous gems and their glamorous owners. I had the most fun researching Elizabeth Taylor and her treasures. She had a rare, almost spiritual, appreciation for the power of diamonds, sapphires and emeralds. The extraordinary Burton-Taylor diamond even bears her name linked with that of the great love of her life. With her passing, an era of old Hollywood beauty and glamour fades more distinctly into the past.<br />
Rest in peace Liz!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV414a9Oem-kFPX0EOHijJoODE-DtiTGLwpdftA9m_47mB7DG7cfVBx2hw5DDJYTHB4XtUP_vCrrRxfk94m44NPVU-x-DOT3nsXz2ZY7G7tZujpy-zfnR1HDpmLMizw9pt4BwE3UhkzYGl/s1600/images-3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV414a9Oem-kFPX0EOHijJoODE-DtiTGLwpdftA9m_47mB7DG7cfVBx2hw5DDJYTHB4XtUP_vCrrRxfk94m44NPVU-x-DOT3nsXz2ZY7G7tZujpy-zfnR1HDpmLMizw9pt4BwE3UhkzYGl/s1600/images-3.jpeg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-4578571695127083592011-02-14T15:13:00.002-05:002011-02-14T15:37:36.164-05:00Happy Dark and Stormy Valentine's DayIn keeping with the spirit of Valentine's, Dark and Stormy has assembled a few favorite tortured lovers. Here are some of the most deliciously brooding heros and passionate heroines, all caught up in a love which (for some reason or other) they can never have. Yet they cannot resist the siren call of the beloved, and despite the consequences, abandoned themselves to Love - though some of our couples <i>do</i> have to wait for the afterlife to find eternal bliss. <br />
<br />
In no particular order: My Favorite Tortured Lovers.<br />
<br />
Maxim de Winter and his poor little bride fight the ghost of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rebecca-Daphne-Du-Maurier/dp/0380730405/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297714058&sr=8-1">Rebecca</a>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidKljo5cvjnNPOYD-Xwvyo4sojTrNPxBcyyAwkZhIL6JBcNTIpZCfJ8Hz1yFPf2oMlkDLBID51H2IGJYlzFgRWuMJcfdYhoz0STc34piNiWwmWJlWQIcXGIQqHL8MtpVHpPVYNMhNnKVQS/s1600/images-3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidKljo5cvjnNPOYD-Xwvyo4sojTrNPxBcyyAwkZhIL6JBcNTIpZCfJ8Hz1yFPf2oMlkDLBID51H2IGJYlzFgRWuMJcfdYhoz0STc34piNiWwmWJlWQIcXGIQqHL8MtpVHpPVYNMhNnKVQS/s200/images-3.jpeg" width="181" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Antony and Cleopatra - perhaps the most famous tortured lovers of all time, played by real life tortured lovers, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnaRU6o1er82_GwFyqmDXw-ZzmZ1DGN_bdqn6QW_E1PsIKhdB1Hj5mUK9Z2NfRMlZcq5R7JgKWF-r8lUm5uA9RhI9PgM6xOPBHX_5o1c1I4WRewbwBZyjrTsU6MOLu3JvGZZHEvgr3hJkc/s1600/images-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnaRU6o1er82_GwFyqmDXw-ZzmZ1DGN_bdqn6QW_E1PsIKhdB1Hj5mUK9Z2NfRMlZcq5R7JgKWF-r8lUm5uA9RhI9PgM6xOPBHX_5o1c1I4WRewbwBZyjrTsU6MOLu3JvGZZHEvgr3hJkc/s200/images-2.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRdWic-CFMJcfSvHyz-SwsyXQbE_vAjwsYLOMPNLQ58b3QaD6D8Aa_bO_MEuXwsO8ZoNPbUfV7ldfpoExYLx_cSl3VeWBy_eGJJc4jAtaOytJxKwYxWCnfzGntCJT01-ul_Vk9NLhK8lYh/s1600/images-4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRdWic-CFMJcfSvHyz-SwsyXQbE_vAjwsYLOMPNLQ58b3QaD6D8Aa_bO_MEuXwsO8ZoNPbUfV7ldfpoExYLx_cSl3VeWBy_eGJJc4jAtaOytJxKwYxWCnfzGntCJT01-ul_Vk9NLhK8lYh/s200/images-4.jpeg" width="160" /></a></div><br />
Bram Stoker's Count <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dracula-Original-Unabridged-Version-ebook/dp/B003VYBQQO/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1297714141&sr=1-5">Dracula</a> and his soulmate, Mina, take ill-starred love to paranormal extremes.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje87sIOeNIS73miuQUrYaIIQHlCsdA4ZncFvCLDGF_xE4C0SeXApbCtp-FDkJH_lSg_surNYbat_7Bc4iwVjOJ7BzdUS_1KulfRbshBwBXIHnWN79ljVbqU3vJf_WrVMTwBLxZiuWKuJOn/s1600/images-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje87sIOeNIS73miuQUrYaIIQHlCsdA4ZncFvCLDGF_xE4C0SeXApbCtp-FDkJH_lSg_surNYbat_7Bc4iwVjOJ7BzdUS_1KulfRbshBwBXIHnWN79ljVbqU3vJf_WrVMTwBLxZiuWKuJOn/s200/images-1.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>Saving my favorite for last, Cathy and Heathcliff give us all the tear-jerking drama a true romantic could crave in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wuthering-Heights-Authoritative-Backgrounds-Criticism/dp/0393957608/ref=sr_1_14?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1297714247&sr=1-14">Wuthering Heights</a>. And nobody broods like Olivier!Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-45704686397448638722010-12-23T23:24:00.001-05:002010-12-23T23:26:37.942-05:00Great Christmas Reads<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYjIVOGSLicPABs1L0f6R6VRM1H16jURDLzSmzgWX9sPudaKPEQ_dLeqDX47uLpDInSqUSF7iRESKgZL-1a8-IEpGNG4FupvUgzpt9TTfyBJ1tDCYxSjXtnxgmW02FtwVwikfg2yj0EDW/s1600/images-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYjIVOGSLicPABs1L0f6R6VRM1H16jURDLzSmzgWX9sPudaKPEQ_dLeqDX47uLpDInSqUSF7iRESKgZL-1a8-IEpGNG4FupvUgzpt9TTfyBJ1tDCYxSjXtnxgmW02FtwVwikfg2yj0EDW/s1600/images-1.jpeg" /></a></div>If you're looking for a few last minute stocking-stuffers, or just a great Yuletide tome to curl up by the fire with this Christmas, here are a few suggestions.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho5qYMBBxC8OQTE9T85YU1IzVdylFhnzFYUvVc_R-jan-UbgOJH8l-7PqHrLaLqd64moZSLi1fhGO8twPW0F3ExV87fexqb5qT7uwcPa_e5YcKVheqQBoiEdoAaGd2HRogrI863AkgnYZh/s1600/images-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho5qYMBBxC8OQTE9T85YU1IzVdylFhnzFYUvVc_R-jan-UbgOJH8l-7PqHrLaLqd64moZSLi1fhGO8twPW0F3ExV87fexqb5qT7uwcPa_e5YcKVheqQBoiEdoAaGd2HRogrI863AkgnYZh/s200/images-2.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>Of course the first, and most obvious choice for this Dark and Stormy blog, has to be the perennial classic, <a href="http://www.stormfax.com/dickens.htm">A Christmas Carol</a> by Charles Dickens. With fantastic passages like the one below, this story manages to capture the spirit of Christmas (no pun intended), while also maintaining a suitably brooding and gothic atmosphere for those of us inclined towards moody gaslight romanticism. <br />
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<b><i>Once upon a time -- of all the good days in the year, on Christmas Eve -- old Scrooge sat busy in his counting-house. It was cold, bleak, biting weather: foggy withal: and he could hear the people in the court outside go wheezing up and down, beating their hands upon their breasts, and stamping their feet upon the pavement stones to warm them. The city clocks had only just gone three, but it was quite dark already -- it had not been light all day: and candles were flaring in the windows of the neighbouring offices, like ruddy smears upon the palpable brown air. The fog came pouring in at every chink and keyhole, and was so dense without, that although the court was of the narrowest, the houses opposite were mere phantoms. To see the dingy cloud come drooping down, obscuring everything, one might have thought that Nature lived hard by, and was brewing on a large scale.</i><br />
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<b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjLuVtM01PrWScMCKar5UjiRDmMpoIiZS6fILiHNA1Rok6q6sn-WsvsKiwjxbKOcUQYmwDoaRpmmNmq75jH-6IGEmv7mzubCIgxFWkOglKV-0eGLItZzw28zZhds-K6Q4jJ82objznavz4/s1600/7682972.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjLuVtM01PrWScMCKar5UjiRDmMpoIiZS6fILiHNA1Rok6q6sn-WsvsKiwjxbKOcUQYmwDoaRpmmNmq75jH-6IGEmv7mzubCIgxFWkOglKV-0eGLItZzw28zZhds-K6Q4jJ82objznavz4/s1600/7682972.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b></b></span></div><b><div style="display: inline !important;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">My second recommendation, Mary Balogh's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0451173600?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0451173600&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2">A Christmas Promise</a>, is quite possibly the best Christmas regency romance of all time. Full of angsty passion, jolly times at a snow-covered country estate and an ending so heartwarming it brings tears to your eyes, this book has become a holiday classic. </span></div></b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhisAgUcbm-hTGFQALVHdI-Pe-mxBamezmhGJGBqmQ8vbxuNP3mWJ2m62LTrgAThjxF84ogigVboVnNFhDLCa8kDXa5SN6iiQhWyupNz_KqY1thsyd6aOUpqnWx2vtYi52wHQkhSb4brVzV/s1600/SweetInspiration_W4128_680.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhisAgUcbm-hTGFQALVHdI-Pe-mxBamezmhGJGBqmQ8vbxuNP3mWJ2m62LTrgAThjxF84ogigVboVnNFhDLCa8kDXa5SN6iiQhWyupNz_KqY1thsyd6aOUpqnWx2vtYi52wHQkhSb4brVzV/s200/SweetInspiration_W4128_680.jpg" width="129" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">If you're in the mood to download a more whimsical holiday treat, try out <a href="http://www.thewildrosepress.com/sweet-inspiration-p-3789.html">Sweet Inspiration</a> by Penny Watson. Christmas elves, Santa and one fabulous romance! </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Merry Christmas!</span></b>Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-12960219330850191502010-11-23T21:12:00.002-05:002010-11-23T21:40:17.185-05:005 great books to be thankful forAs Thanksgiving approaches, I wanted to give thanks for the hours of pleasure I derived from 5 books I read this year. Listed here, in no particular order, are my favorite reads of 2010. <br />
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1) Gail Carriger's debut novel <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316056634?ie=UTF8&tag=authgailcarr-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0316056634">Soulless</a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGFdOzkEHSItZKU4HSHTrHs504vvZ5tNiSCrPL2SieK9dEPlLM5Ibi1BEvmRnAuqDkOx8vONn79xLvc14YVpExoZ0eRbYW8EOJmzx3nvTCD1dDM07ksBtZdPd4f703bO4gbItoGL-N0n5A/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGFdOzkEHSItZKU4HSHTrHs504vvZ5tNiSCrPL2SieK9dEPlLM5Ibi1BEvmRnAuqDkOx8vONn79xLvc14YVpExoZ0eRbYW8EOJmzx3nvTCD1dDM07ksBtZdPd4f703bO4gbItoGL-N0n5A/s200/images.jpeg" width="122" /></a></div><br />
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Witty and fun streampunk at its best!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_9?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=sepulchre&sprefix=sepulchre">Sepulchre</a> by Kate Mosse</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ0RxsMOZqoUFC40mgB_S3uuXywQc0CfbovNx-g345Y_1dqAMNqIQzgyWcLawB8OXl67PA1TxidKvod5nkAi1m4eiYW-dcmiH3eZsRHajfk-tZtXBZZo3-14Sh0Zu22gRTuvHOqkhm61ve/s1600/sepulchre_pb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ0RxsMOZqoUFC40mgB_S3uuXywQc0CfbovNx-g345Y_1dqAMNqIQzgyWcLawB8OXl67PA1TxidKvod5nkAi1m4eiYW-dcmiH3eZsRHajfk-tZtXBZZo3-14Sh0Zu22gRTuvHOqkhm61ve/s200/sepulchre_pb.jpg" width="132" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Gothic supernatural suspense set in a remote estate in Provence. Wonderful! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=percy+parker&x=0&y=0">The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker</a> by Leanna Renee Hieber</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtX64ByyRvdux9AVqEXs3HY3OYJIeks6LkLvzhENcG95A3YAwMMzarS-Hftn33h5N1SFUuta6ts834_ChV5D8izX6pobVqlwg0BtpHK6Pytl-2z8sJeOkHRToJIUar0O3-VNOrN5MRTIW1/s1600/images-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtX64ByyRvdux9AVqEXs3HY3OYJIeks6LkLvzhENcG95A3YAwMMzarS-Hftn33h5N1SFUuta6ts834_ChV5D8izX6pobVqlwg0BtpHK6Pytl-2z8sJeOkHRToJIUar0O3-VNOrN5MRTIW1/s200/images-2.jpeg" width="124" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A lovely sweeping gaslight romance set in Victorian London. No wonder they're making a Broadway musical out of it!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">4) <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7779042-magic-under-glass">Magic Under Glass</a> by Jaclyn Dolamore</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDgW3Mp5dOQGUkMzAJc-xanB_ZrppB1scuNtkmRb1akq8rdI_DCTCJY1uUM7Biq-pp1OsSrhb265e7zfRBZdmtiCJ4cnJGX7OxtPJd2JPPDwgXchrWTX3-HygdooR8m-f5gsB42CiaFk0O/s1600/7779042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDgW3Mp5dOQGUkMzAJc-xanB_ZrppB1scuNtkmRb1akq8rdI_DCTCJY1uUM7Biq-pp1OsSrhb265e7zfRBZdmtiCJ4cnJGX7OxtPJd2JPPDwgXchrWTX3-HygdooR8m-f5gsB42CiaFk0O/s200/7779042.jpg" width="134" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">YA steampunk with echos of Jane Eyre. I was up till 4 a.m. reading this book. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">5) <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6341655-tears-of-pearl">Tears of Pearl</a> by Tasha Alexander</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwT2ylrEzhjZA1OSx1eA-uPDUYUTG9EvD_VKZjPa7bqLjBLKFnZpE20VfVnTro2Q77W2oQ98iv_7hkdNShdw5s0ZcRjHuVUCKg4i1EDe0wgcZdSQCUAGpVJgVmg45UxEPS8VdIX5duk6Ca/s1600/6341655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwT2ylrEzhjZA1OSx1eA-uPDUYUTG9EvD_VKZjPa7bqLjBLKFnZpE20VfVnTro2Q77W2oQ98iv_7hkdNShdw5s0ZcRjHuVUCKg4i1EDe0wgcZdSQCUAGpVJgVmg45UxEPS8VdIX5duk6Ca/s200/6341655.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Victorian suspense set in a Sultan's harem. Book 4 in the amazing Lady Emily series. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What are some of the books you're grateful for this year? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-4735240918643275312010-10-29T19:59:00.000-04:002010-10-29T19:59:13.952-04:00Dark Shadows Fabulousness<!--StartFragment--> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzHRh0vKwrJLnvF2juZCnywSzqwkABrPsCLtnUzM93f9b6ePTQo2C35sAhjL86O4ui1ddi8xdFj-Gz_u1RHNKQ0yOzUKsDETCfiACFL41fStsiXUK6u02M4S4ggLmQywyCvLy6tq2LUEku/s1600/images-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzHRh0vKwrJLnvF2juZCnywSzqwkABrPsCLtnUzM93f9b6ePTQo2C35sAhjL86O4ui1ddi8xdFj-Gz_u1RHNKQ0yOzUKsDETCfiACFL41fStsiXUK6u02M4S4ggLmQywyCvLy6tq2LUEku/s200/images-2.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;">What better way to wish the Dark and Stormy Blog readers a Happy Halloween then to feature the world’s best vampire series ever.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;">Yes, better than Twilight. Better than True Blood.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;">The series is Dark Shadows.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;">You can now watch every single one of the 1,225 episodes on Netlflix.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The 1960s gothic soap opera came into being when creator, Dan Curtis, had a dream about a young woman taking a long train ride to a spooky mansion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The series features old school vampires, ghosts and witches with all the 19<sup>th</sup> century romanticism and restraint so painfully lacking in today’s, show-it-all-leave-absolutely-no-mystery-what-so-ever, vampire media.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQWXIJd51ACqfXVRPL-rVCzx4a03BZADqnBw_Bwa8tGHpM_Z3JWswz6Z9-2bonJD94KKQxxXyPYwnRrnlzGAYX6sNwJVI4fM4jaLC-TivbAfBLCBjqAahUToBMbKOxJSpBsOui6qHDpvn/s1600/images-3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQWXIJd51ACqfXVRPL-rVCzx4a03BZADqnBw_Bwa8tGHpM_Z3JWswz6Z9-2bonJD94KKQxxXyPYwnRrnlzGAYX6sNwJVI4fM4jaLC-TivbAfBLCBjqAahUToBMbKOxJSpBsOui6qHDpvn/s200/images-3.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The cobweb decked chandeliers, the deep mists, hidden family crypts and unfulfilled longings that create such an amazing atmosphere set the backdrop for one cliff-hanging episode after another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found myself hitting the Netflix Next Episode button like a little crack monkey after each installment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The earlier episodes are shot in black and white, which works wonderfully with the dramatic lighting and haunted vibe of the gothic sets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fact that the boom is often in the shot and the actors regularly flub their lines only adds to the entertainment value. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimGhc0EUmFRjVOO4AlFy09z_O_65kZ0Z9vaF2U40oVVCcDz5Oj240HQWFwhCJuIX4obKyK-phew-npL4k3DPz9jl0qv3dNm9PWDrn3AgwZBxV2KX_2Mv3MkWIYc8si9t1v9Iv91rWWXYOI/s1600/images-4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimGhc0EUmFRjVOO4AlFy09z_O_65kZ0Z9vaF2U40oVVCcDz5Oj240HQWFwhCJuIX4obKyK-phew-npL4k3DPz9jl0qv3dNm9PWDrn3AgwZBxV2KX_2Mv3MkWIYc8si9t1v9Iv91rWWXYOI/s200/images-4.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Tim Burton and Johnny Dep are clearly fans too, since they’re scheduled to begin shooting their own feature adaptation of the cult soap in February 2011.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll be first on line to buy tickets when the film comes out!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">For more information visit the official Dark Shadows site: <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">http://www.collinwood.net/</span></div><!--EndFragment-->Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-6815101555894883612010-09-14T20:59:00.001-04:002010-09-14T21:02:40.573-04:00Happy Birthday Agatha Christie!<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #131313; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe-MhTv594suHiknOomrSgGkIDf0dTAcfQHE4bhorkpnE08ydaRt6-t5OcnisFsfELOBgcK1urqEr-l_6YnS7Woa5avKQHSBomDJJRaSrkDuqEPeA0mkkZnEr0GyZUE69YK3BgH9DlBkjp/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe-MhTv594suHiknOomrSgGkIDf0dTAcfQHE4bhorkpnE08ydaRt6-t5OcnisFsfELOBgcK1urqEr-l_6YnS7Woa5avKQHSBomDJJRaSrkDuqEPeA0mkkZnEr0GyZUE69YK3BgH9DlBkjp/s200/images.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;">Agatha Christie's works are still as fresh and page-turning as they were when she first started writing almost one hundred years ago. I recently re-read The Mirror Cracked and try as I would, I could not figure out who dunnit until the big reveal. She was, quite simply, a genius. Happy Birthday Agatha! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"></span>AMAZING FACTS ABOUT AGATHA CHRISTIE:</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Born September 15</span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">th</span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">, 1890 <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Wrote 80 crime novels and short story collections, 2 autobiographies and 8 novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">UK’s best loved crime author according to Costa Coffee national book survey 2008<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">8th most borrowed author in UK libraries<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Has sold more than 2 billion books worldwide<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Best selling female author in the world – second only to Shakespeare and The Bible<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Most translated author<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjahoW-phLrB1wo43K2S3j3ufV4nCXGmpG5oAhm-7ePZLth0I1qHWkgCvt88rweQRaCTExZy0lMfl0FBei8w3dxmMMd6D0PZjLCZepLKXxXiJpGKh3hcfHgrsnsRnWwCPadH25KJHAQITTq/s1600/images-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjahoW-phLrB1wo43K2S3j3ufV4nCXGmpG5oAhm-7ePZLth0I1qHWkgCvt88rweQRaCTExZy0lMfl0FBei8w3dxmMMd6D0PZjLCZepLKXxXiJpGKh3hcfHgrsnsRnWwCPadH25KJHAQITTq/s200/images-2.jpeg" width="129" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Official Bio from www.Agathachristie.com<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born on 15 September 1890 in Torquay, Devon, South West England. Agatha loved to read English poetry and began writing poems when she was a child. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">In 1912 Agatha met Archie Christie, a qualified aviator who had applied to join the Royal Flying Corps, they soon married. It was war time and Agatha became a nurse at the Red Cross Hospital in Torquay. When the Hospital opened a dispensary, she accepted an offer to work there and completed the examination of the Society of Apothecaries. Thus began her life long interest in the use of poisons. From this came her first novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles. The method of death in this novel is poison and was so well described that Agatha received an unprecedented honour for a writer of fiction - a review in the Pharmaceutical Journal. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">During the First World War there were Belgian refugees in most parts of the English countryside, Torquay being no exception. Although he was not based on any particular person, Agatha thought that a Belgian refugee, a former great Belgian policeman, would make an excellent detective for The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Hercule Poirot was born.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">1919 was a momentous year for Agatha. With the end of the war, Archie had found a job in the City and they had just enough to rent a flat in London and later that year on the 5th August, Agatha gave birth to their daughter, Rosalind. Also that year the publisher, John Lane, who had liked The Mysterious Affair at Styles contracted Agatha to produce five more books. She went on to be one of the first authors Penguin ever published, with fantastic results. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Following the war Agatha continued to write and to travel with Archie, though sadly they were later to divorce and Agatha would remarry, Max Mallowan, the world famous archaeologist - a marriage that would last forty-six years. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">By 1930, having written several novels and short stories, Agatha created a new character to act as sleuth. Miss Jane Marple was an amalgam of several old ladies Agatha used to meet in villages she visited as a kid. When she created Miss Marple, Agatha did not expect her to become Poirot's rival, but with The Murder at the Vicarage, Miss Marple’s first outing, it appeared she had produced another popular and enduring character.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 16.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">One of Agatha’s lifelong ambitions had been to travel on the Orient Express; her first journey took place in 1928. The atmosphere of the Middle East was not lost on Agatha, as can be recognised in books such as Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, Murder in Mesopotamia, Appointment With Death and They Came to Baghdad as well as many short stories.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">After a hugely successful career and a very happy life Agatha died peacefully on 12 January 1976.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #131313; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #131313; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjahoW-phLrB1wo43K2S3j3ufV4nCXGmpG5oAhm-7ePZLth0I1qHWkgCvt88rweQRaCTExZy0lMfl0FBei8w3dxmMMd6D0PZjLCZepLKXxXiJpGKh3hcfHgrsnsRnWwCPadH25KJHAQITTq/s1600/images-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjahoW-phLrB1wo43K2S3j3ufV4nCXGmpG5oAhm-7ePZLth0I1qHWkgCvt88rweQRaCTExZy0lMfl0FBei8w3dxmMMd6D0PZjLCZepLKXxXiJpGKh3hcfHgrsnsRnWwCPadH25KJHAQITTq/s200/images-2.jpeg" width="129" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;"><u>Great Agatha Christie Quotes:<o:p></o:p></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;">“Very few of us are what we seem.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;">“Every murderer is probably someone’s old friend.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;">“An archaeologist is the best husband a woman can have. The older she gets the more interested he is in her.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 14pt;">“Crime is terribly revealing. Try and vary your methods as you will, your tastes, your habits, your attitude of mind, and your soul is revealed by your actions.”</span>Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-13480706985616974752010-09-01T21:47:00.008-04:002010-09-01T22:00:11.969-04:00Which retelling of Dracula from Mina's perspective should I read next?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKsySRhJHL0eItRZC5L6kXU2vxJfeJXK-j7AB2xZWHAeq8bndhveSfbJQGY1JEXitmNUic4ebW0XSsFsIAn3w3g5_YdsyQ8Fnx5iEDMtak91zA5GHPXwWFtrSNgU0issjfGaACbimM_H88/s1600/7202372.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKsySRhJHL0eItRZC5L6kXU2vxJfeJXK-j7AB2xZWHAeq8bndhveSfbJQGY1JEXitmNUic4ebW0XSsFsIAn3w3g5_YdsyQ8Fnx5iEDMtak91zA5GHPXwWFtrSNgU0issjfGaACbimM_H88/s200/7202372.jpg" width="132" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Zp2u16kZqQsqk33fsMypv7AyXmJQkXwafnQa9sxyNFk4tUC6KmtTwLxs2iIXSouDGwWe_XpQZIXttO7fux4MuPBZDaYVHKGCZv0hZIfcaCzj9ScXZPyvfMvojcYwbXeXXhI2__0Xc9Va/s1600/dracula450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Zp2u16kZqQsqk33fsMypv7AyXmJQkXwafnQa9sxyNFk4tUC6KmtTwLxs2iIXSouDGwWe_XpQZIXttO7fux4MuPBZDaYVHKGCZv0hZIfcaCzj9ScXZPyvfMvojcYwbXeXXhI2__0Xc9Va/s200/dracula450.jpg" width="131" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">What’s a gothic romance lover, like myself, to do when there are not one, but two recent novels out featuring Bram Stoker’s Dracula story retold from Mina’s perspective? <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">The first is </span></span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7763145-dracula-in-love"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Dracula In Love</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"> by Karen Essex and the second is </span></span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7202372-dracula-my-love"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Dracula My Love: The Secret Journals of Mina Harker</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"> by Syrie James. </span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Dracula In Love sports a perfectly atmospheric cover with lots of lovely swirly mists and a Victorian heroine running through a graveyard. It’s also supposedly on the literary side with lots of steamy sex so…what’s not to like about that? <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Here’s the back cover blurb:<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19px; line-height: 25px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">From the shadowy banks of the River Thames to the wild and windswept coast of Yorkshire, the quintessential Victorian virgin Mina Murray vividly recounts in the pages of her private diary the intimate details of what transpired between her and Count Dracula—the joys and terrors of a passionate affair and her rebellion against a force of evil that has pursued her through time.</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Mina’s version of this timeless gothic vampire tale is a visceral journey into the dimly lit bedrooms, mist-filled cemeteries, and locked asylum chambers where she led a secret life, far from the chaste and polite lifestyle the defenders of her purity, and even her fiancé, Jonathan Harker, expected of her. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Bram Stoker’s classic novel was only one side of the story. Now, for the first time, Dracula’s eternal muse reveals all. What she has to say is more sensual, more devious, and more enthralling than ever imagined. The result is a scintillating gothic novel that reinvents the tragic heroine Mina as a modern woman tortured by desire.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Sounds fabulous! But I’m liking Dracula My Love too. For one thing, this book promises secret journals and I’m all about secret journals. The front cover is dark and elegant and, to judge a book by its cover, I prefer it to the one for Dracula In Love. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><br />
</span></span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Here’s the blurb:<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">In Dracula, My Love: The Secret Journals of Mina Harker, Syrie James explores these questions and more. A vibrant dramatization, told from Mina’s point of view, brings to life the crucial parts of Stoker’s story while showcasing Mina’s sexual awakening and evolution as a woman, and revealing a secret that could destroy her life. Torn between two men—a loving husband and a dangerous lover—Mina struggles to hang on to the deep love she’s found within her marriage, even as she is inexorably drawn to Dracula himself—the vampire that everyone she knows is determined to destroy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><br />
</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">So which one to choose? </span></span></span>Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-84387251790737389372010-08-20T19:54:00.000-04:002010-08-20T19:54:26.055-04:00Free book give-away contest<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><br />
</span></span> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal"> Summer’s lolling luxurious days may be coming to an end, but you don’t have to give up a relaxing escape – even if it is between the covers of a book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From now until Labor Day answer the question below to be entered to win a free copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Moonlight-Diamonds-Lydia-Storm/dp/1601544960/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282348328&sr=8-2">Moonlight On Diamonds</a>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">CONTEST QUESTION:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What rare jewel is catching John and Nicholas’s attention in the excerpt below?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leave your answer as a blog comment to be entered to win. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><h1><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Moonlight-Diamonds-Lydia-Storm/dp/1601544960/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282348328&sr=8-2">Moonlight on Diamonds</a> Excerpt<o:p></o:p></h1><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">John met Veronica in the hotel lobby at a </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">quarter to eight. He was there first, nervously </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">drumming his fingers against a fluted column, </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">craving a cigarette, craving a shot of Maker’s </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">Mark, but just drumming his fingers instead and </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">watching the posh crowd mill around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The elevator doors opened and there was </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">Veronica. She wore a dark red strapless dress </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">that clung to her curves. Her lips and nails were </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">red, too, and her dark hair fell loose around her </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">shoulders. A massive diamond-and-ruby necklace </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">lay propped against the tops of her breasts, which </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">swelled out of her dress provocatively. The </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">necklace was the only jewelry she wore, but it </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">was enough.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px;"> Strands of glittering icy diamonds</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">laced around her throat like a sparkling spider’s </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">web, and the eye-popping, pear-cut ruby glittered </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">devilishly, a perfect pigeon’s blood red. If Veronica </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">had attached a roaring police siren around her </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">neck she couldn’t have attracted more attention. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">She smiled when she caught John staring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But he wasn’t the only one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Veronica’s eyes flickered over to a tall, thin </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">man in a tuxedo; his dark hair was greased back </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">and he wore a white flower in his lapel and a </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">blonde DC debutante on his arm. John narrowed </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">his eyes as he realized who the man was. There </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">was no mistaking Nicholas Bezuhov, also known </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">on the jewel thief circuit as the White Russian.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Nicholas must have seen him, too, and he </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">would certainly know John after all the years of </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">cat-and-mouse they had played together. Of </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">course, it was also possible Nicholas was just </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">getting an eyeful of Veronica and her big ruby </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">necklace. Either way, John didn’t like it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Neither did the blond debutant. “Come on, </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">Nicky,” she said in her cool, boarding-school </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">voice. “We’ll be late for dinner.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>With a polite nod, Nicholas moved on. The </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">debutante gave Veronica an icy stare as they </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">passed her on the way into the elegant dining </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">room, which was already full of senators, foreign </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">diplomats, and the occasional well-heeled tourist </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">who came to see where the Washington power </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">brokers broke their bread. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Veronica sized up the blonde and dismissed </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">her in the blink of an eye. Then she walked to </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">John who was still staring after Nicholas </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">Bezuhov.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Do you know that man?” she asked, </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">following his gaze. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“He calls himself Prince Bezuhov,” said John, </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">disgust seeping into his voice. “Fancies himself </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">some kind of Russian aristocrat, but according to </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">our records, he’s pure peasant masquerading as </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">the great-grandson of the Grand Duchess </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">Anastasia like all the rest of the Euro-trash he </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">runs with.” </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She raised a manicured brow. “I get the </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">impression you don’t like him.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I don’t like phonies and he’s one of the </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">worst. I didn’t like the way he was eyeing your </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">rocks either.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She patted his arm. “Well, that’s what I have </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">you for—to protect me and my rocks.” She was </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">making fun of him, but he didn’t care. She looked </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">so beautiful, she could make all the fun she<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">wanted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Still, he was concerned about her diamond </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">stash upstairs. “You sure you don’t want me to </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">put your jewels in the hotel safe? You have to </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">understand, with this guy on the premises, you’re </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">very likely to come home tonight and find it all </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">missing.” </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Don’t worry,” she said confidently. “They’re </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;">in a very safe place.” </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Leave your answer as a comment and good luck!</span><!--EndFragment--> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Moonlight-Diamonds-Lydia-Storm/dp/1601544960/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282348328&sr=8-2" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-syeJPPF3v4Je0b4n_vdT9InEto_Z1Re_e3X9HWgfBr1UoBhDUk4taHhz4kxtTjWp3RIEaCce_78Yp7KZiR8eVPKHCaIZca-s4zfuQhEmMW-zi99a8HQ3P4yuWBehQSQzPkHVOPJ36pn9/s200/MoonlightOnDiamonds_w1528_680.jpg" width="129" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br />
</span>Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-19059791497598187772010-07-21T22:29:00.001-04:002010-07-22T14:04:34.966-04:00The Mist on a Dark and Stormy night!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxLMP38ytZkd65Uu5KNcWbVwIMVyElGBYiWnljfNaIjvvQEtO7oaCIlgTN1HW_4d-DUGC8ipwmNRFb19hD-Bfsh4FNEDYAopJ2EZX-JKgO63COmM0vCrxb2cEceUVAZrkthzUDWyWu-52T/s1600/DownloadedFile.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxLMP38ytZkd65Uu5KNcWbVwIMVyElGBYiWnljfNaIjvvQEtO7oaCIlgTN1HW_4d-DUGC8ipwmNRFb19hD-Bfsh4FNEDYAopJ2EZX-JKgO63COmM0vCrxb2cEceUVAZrkthzUDWyWu-52T/s200/DownloadedFile.jpeg" width="122" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">Living in the shadow of the Adirondacks, as I do, I am privileged to enjoy many wild and wonderful thunderstorms each summer. Recently, during a particularly dark and stormy night, with the lights flickering and threatening to go out altogether, the inspiration struck me to download <a href="http://www.stephenking.com/index.html">Stephen King’s</a> 1980’s novella <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Mist-ebook/dp/B000WJS9UC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1279765394&sr=8-3">The Mist</a>. I read the first sample chapter and was hooked. I’ve had my nose stuck to my iphone ever since – even if the power goes out I can still read on! <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12pt;">In short: Love <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Mist-ebook/dp/B000WJS9UC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1279765394&sr=8-3">The Mist </a>and love reading it as an ebook on my phone!</span>Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-61838205641764289362010-06-20T22:54:00.002-04:002010-06-20T22:57:57.772-04:00Nancy Drew turns 80!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBrHncQgOSlVLBw47svUPljhDeMUpKt6HuPcqQhjF0QJf-BGeYeGl3WnZTOFb-PH273UMlxcQhknSYHCFthuVvhSKwaTERg5ZOp0Dzt_01zErHvxRWNfSYExju6ZD-Jvn4lpB1YQUj0O4/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBrHncQgOSlVLBw47svUPljhDeMUpKt6HuPcqQhjF0QJf-BGeYeGl3WnZTOFb-PH273UMlxcQhknSYHCFthuVvhSKwaTERg5ZOp0Dzt_01zErHvxRWNfSYExju6ZD-Jvn4lpB1YQUj0O4/s200/images.jpeg" width="137" /></a></div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">I think the first real mystery novel I ever read was Nancy Drew's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Clock-Nancy-Drew-Book/dp/1557091552/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277088452&sr=8-1">Secret of the Old Clock</a>. I devoured the rest of the series and have been hooked on suspense ever since. In honor of Nancy's 80th birthday, h</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px;">ere's a fun little post I found on: <a href="http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/">www.nancydrewsleuth.com</a></span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Enjoy!</span></span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">T</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">OP </span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">10</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">C</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">LUES </span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">BOUT </span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="font: 14.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">N</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ANCY </span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">D</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">REW</span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">’</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">S </span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">M</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">YSTERIOUS </span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">H</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ISTORY</span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">…</span></span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">1. Edward Stratemeyer, of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, created </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Nancy Drew in 1929. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">2. The first three books in the series: </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Secret of the Old </span></span></i></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Clock, The Hidden Staircase</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, and </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Bungalow Mystery</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> all </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">debuted on April 28, 1930. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">3. Carolyn Keene is a pen name for various ghostwriters who </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">have written the books over the years. The first Carolyn Keene </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">was Mildred Wirt Benson who wrote 23 of the first 30 Nancy </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Drew books. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">4. When Stratemeyer died 2 weeks after his Nancy Drew series </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">debuted in 1930, his daughters Harriet Stratemeyer Adams and Edna Stratemeyer took </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">over the series. Harriet ran the Syndicate for 52 more years. She also penned volumes 31 </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">and 33-56 in the classic series. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">5. Nancy Drew first came to the big screen in 1938 with </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Nancy Drew…Detective</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, the first </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">of what would be 4 movies released from 1938-1939 and produced by Warner Brothers. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">6. Beginning in 1959 through 1978, the first 34 volumes in the series were revised and </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">cut down from 25 chapters to just 20. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">7. Nancy Drew made her television debut along with The Hardy Boys in 1978 with </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">alternating Sunday night mysteries on ABC. Actress Pamela Sue Martin played Nancy </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Drew. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">8. The Stratemeyer Syndicate switched publishers in 1979 from Grosset & Dunlap to </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Simon & Schuster resulting in a lawsuit between the parties. Both publishers continue to </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">publish Nancy Drew books today. The Stratemeyer Syndicate was sold to Simon & </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Schuster in 1984. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">9. Over 500 Nancy Drew books have been published since 1930. From the classic series </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">to spin-offs like the Nancy Drew Files, there isn’t a case that Nancy Drew hasn’t solved! </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span> </span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">10. In 1993, the first ever Nancy Drew Conference was held at the University of Iowa </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">with over 500 in attendance and original Carolyn Keene Mildred Wirt Benson made the </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">news as ABC’s Person of the Week. Today, the tradition of annual conventions continues </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">with the Nancy Drew Sleuths fan group hosting yearly conventions for fans and would-be </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">gumshoes. Visit their website: www.ndsleuths.com.</span></span><span style="font: normal normal normal 9px/normal Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="font: 9.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 11.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></i></div><div style="font: 9.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Nancy Drew © & ™, Simon & Schuster, Inc. </span></span></i></div><div style="font: 9.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Compiled by Nancy Drew consultant, Jennifer Fisher, www.nancydrewsleuth.com</span></span></i><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></i></span></div><br />
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</div>Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428948863292093552.post-22298730600906342892010-05-13T19:07:00.000-04:002010-05-13T19:07:22.036-04:00Happy Birthday Daphne du Maurier<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2BtDoKZn8Gnrs357MVg_Srlq5zCUc5LL5NOAIaXHonvlOh-c0ItcDTABSRtjGALXfozh5jka-71ZEz8u81mDZ3ViekuhPTZjwLphgM3hgayOWpWYxoBWC5-SCfaa4-9Jm6_pKtGh9kwJ/s1600/arts-graphics-2008_1128627a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2BtDoKZn8Gnrs357MVg_Srlq5zCUc5LL5NOAIaXHonvlOh-c0ItcDTABSRtjGALXfozh5jka-71ZEz8u81mDZ3ViekuhPTZjwLphgM3hgayOWpWYxoBWC5-SCfaa4-9Jm6_pKtGh9kwJ/s200/arts-graphics-2008_1128627a.jpg" width="172" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;">"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again..." </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;">Daphne du Maurier was born on this day in 1907. She gave us <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rebecca-Daphne-Du-Maurier/dp/0380730405/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273791656&sr=1-1">Rebecca</a>, arguably the best romantic suspense novel ever written. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;">Happy Birthday Daphne!</span>Lydia Stormhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00641771359479497308noreply@blogger.com2