To be honest, I almost forgot about this today. It has been A DAY.
So, thanks to the coronavirus I won’t be going to Paris this year. The Salon du Livre has been cancelled and with as fast as things are developing in regard to the virus… Between my asthma and the worry that I might not be able to travel back, it seemed too much of a risk.
So today has been spent cancelling bookings, working out what money I can get back, and being sad that I won’t get to see everyone like I had planned. This was the last event planned until….September? Yep, nothing else pinned down until the UK Meet. There might be a get away over Easter, but we’ll see.
Me, Bru, and Anna Martin with my fingerguns last year. And hopefully next!
So that’s the major news of THIS week. Let’s hope next week is a bit more positive, eh?
Deal of the Week
Get the ebook of Unstable Stud by Ariel Tachna for 99-Cents from all retailers. Sale ends March 31, 2020 at 11:59 PM ET.
Horses were his passion, until he laid eyes on his boss.
Eighteen months ago, tragedy struck Bywater Farm when a riding accident killed Clay Hunter’s lover and traumatized his prize horse, King of Hearts. Clay and King lingered in limbo, surviving but not really living, until a breath of fresh air in the form of Luke Davis, a new groom in the stud barn, revives them both.
When a fall from King’s back sends Luke to the emergency room, Clay watches the shaky foundation of their budding relationship tumble down. Can Clay really love a jockey again, or will his fear of losing another man he loves keep them apart for good?
‘I’d be the Man’ by Taylor Swift isn’t nearly as catchy as ‘You Need to Calm Down’, but I admire Taylor’s commitment to the bit.
Book Recommendation of the Week
Well, it’s more of a Book Collection. Still. I loved this series by Kim Fielding, and since I won’t get to see her in Paris…:( So here you go. Check out these clever, dark novellas that explore trans-species federal law enforcement in the Bureau world.
For many years the United States government has been aware that Homo sapiens is not the only sentient species inhabiting the country. Some other species were native to the continent, while others immigrated along with humans. Early on, these nonhuman species (NHS) were largely ignored when they lived peacefully within human communities. At other times they were deemed a threat and local efforts were made to eradicate them. The federal government was not involved in these early efforts.
During the Civil War, both the Union and Confederate armies recruited members of the NHS, with varying degrees of success.
By the early 20th century, some local law enforcement agencies expressed frustration with their inability to deal effectively with the special needs of NHS. Localized incidents of mass violence occurred in several locations, most notably the Omaha Zombie Epidemic of 1908, the Manchester (New Hampshire) Melusine Drownings of 1911, and the Eugene (Oregon) Sasquatch Riots of 1915.
In response to these incidents, as well as a heightened desire for increased federal control, President Wilson created a new federal agency in 1919 called the Bureau of Trans-Species Affairs. The mission of this agency was to communicate with NHS, to control them, to investigate reported dangerous actions committed by them, and to bring them to justice or eliminate them when necessary. Since then, the Bureau has been quietly active throughout the United States. Its jurisdiction has expanded to include humans who engage in magical or paranormal activities.
Over the decades, a great many dramas have unfolded among the people who work for the Bureau. The Bureau stories are a collection of these tales. Each involves different protagonists and is set in a different era, yet all focus on the adventures and struggles of the Bureau’s agents. These novellas can be read in any order.
***The Bureau of Trans-Species Affairs: Strength, Intelligence, Honor***
These are so cool
Must Read of the Week
I love this. I mean, you know that there are rich people in the world obviously. I have met some of them! Not in the sense that they would remember me, but in awkward passing. The idea that there are people who are rich because of a monopoly on curling on Wisconsin soy is just amazing though.
My favorite is the Maltas and the Handbell Wars.
10 Quirky Families That Still Rule the World
You’d never confuse them for the Rockefellers. But you also wouldn’t have curling without ’em.
Katie Carey
By Jeff Wilser
You’d never confuse them for the Rockefellers. But you also wouldn’t have curling without ’em.
8. THE MALTAS
Power: Ringing Praise for Church and High School Music Programs
Biggie vs. Tupac. Jobs vs. Gates. Hooli vs. Pied Piper. They have nothing on the Handbell Wars. In 1973, Jake Malta, a star engineer for the handbell company Schulmerich, quit to start his own business, Malmark, just 10 miles down the road. After traveling Europe to study the science of bells, he designed a new handbell that he insisted was purer than all the bells before it—perfection, really. Lawsuits followed. A legal war raged for 30 years, one case almost reaching the Supreme Court in 1992. As NPR reported, though, the titans finally reached peace. “The enemy is the 300 million people out there who don’t ring handbells,” Schulmerich’s Jonathan Goldstein said.
I have a few more Digging up Bones in my head, but once they’re over I have considered a spin-off series with a newbie K9 officer and his VERY VERY GOOD, but slightly over-enthusiastic, pupper.
This weirdly makes me feel better. I always mean to do these cooking life hacks and then never get around to them. Turns out it was because they don’t work, not because I am ridiculously lazy and mostly cook the same stuff until shamed into new ideas.