Catherine Spangler gave
a presentation at the North
Texas RWA chapter meeting this past weekend. I’d seen her book covers, but
I’d never actually picked up one of her novels. When I heard she was presenting,
I read up on her books. Her TOUCHED BY DARKNESS, TOUCHED BY FIRE and TOUCHED BY LIGHT intrigued
me. Fortunately, a friend had all three and loaned them to me.
Typically, I don’t read anything while in the midst of writing, but I made an
exception to scan the first couple of chapters. I really liked what I had to
read. Her writing is intense and fresh with characters that leap off the page. I
am already wondering what happened to the characters in the book, so they are
sitting on my shelf as a reward for meeting my personal page count. Something of
a carrot and a stick:
New Authors, New Worlds, New Words
Good times are to be had in any new discovery -- so check out this fabulous trio
of books that has me so intrigued.
TOUCHED BY
DARKNESS Dr. Kara Cantrell settled in the sleepy town of Zorro, Texas,
convinced she and her child had escaped the sinister reach of a supernatural
underworld. But now dark forces may jeopardize her new life. Her only hope is
Damien Morgan, a dangerous, alluring man with superhuman abilities. He and Kara
share a mystical link that triggers desires they must ignore. But as they work
together to protect her son, and begin tracking the evil stalking them,
something threatens to push them toward the edge...of darkness.
TOUCHED BY FIRE
Since a brutal attack on her sister eleven years ago, Marla Reynolds has been
emotionally frozen. But the passion of one man-a member of an ancient superhuman
race-could melt her defenses.
TOUCHED BY LIGHT
Dr. Julia Reynolds lives a solitary existence. But Adam Masters is determined to
draw her into a dark and dangerous otherworld-and make her give in to the
stunning sexual attraction between them.
Read the excerpt that hooked me: Exercpt. Frankly, that last line sold me beyond anything
else. This is so my kind of book!
Discovering New Authors
I can’t possibly read every book in the world – I used to want to try, but now I
am satisfied with the fact that no matter my tastes or desires, books and
authors are out there waiting to fulfill my entertainment needs. Catherine Spangler is
hardly a new author on the block, but she’s definitely a new one on my book
shelf and that makes her fresh and new to me.
When you discover an author, you do more than just discover the book they’ve
published. You’ve discovered their backlist and their future titles as well.
It’s an all access pass to entertainment and marvelous things.
Amusingly enough, when I went by my mother’s this morning to drop off my
daughter I saw the book she was reading. Would you believe it: TOUCHED BY DARKNESS by Catherine Spangler? I
cracked up and told her I was reading the same book. What my mother didn’t
realize is that there were two more set in that world. Now she and my daughter
will be trekking to a bookstore today. Apparently she’s read TOUCHED BY DARKNESS three
times and is currently on her fourth pass through the book.
What new authors and series have you become enchanted by recently?
A lifelong writer turned author, Heather Long's first book
REMEMBERING ASHBY is
available for purchase at Sapphire Blue Publishing. Coming soon is the urban
fantasy: PRIME EVIL. The Daily
Dose explores books, television, writing and more -- all topics that Heather
enjoys.
3 comments posted.
I've recently discovered Tasha Alexander's Lady Emily Ashton books through a blog on this site. I've also rediscovered Sue-Ellen Welfonder, whose second-last book I've just finished reading. I very much enjoyed both of them.
(Sigrun Schulz 12:51pm January 19, 2010)
I check out all books by a newly discovered author. If the book I have is in a series and I really like the book I VERY activelly search for the rest of the series.
(Karin Tillotson 12:06pm January 19, 2010)