April's Affections and Intrigues: Love and Mystery Bloom

Michelle St. James

Freelance writer, reviewer, and editor.

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20 comments posted.

Re: Fezariu's Epiphany (2:22pm August 14, 2011):

I have loved history, mythology, and fantasy as long as I can remember (my dad read me the Greek myths when I was still in my crib), so Elenchera sounds like a world I could lose myself quite happily in!

Re: Murder in the Abstract (4:37pm July 14, 2010):

I love hearing that characters take on a life of their own, so to speak. It makes them that much more fascinating and it speaks volumes about your talent as a writer. :)

Re: On Shadow Beach (12:41pm April 6, 2010):

I have a love-hate relationship with covers because while some are intriguing and make me pick up a book ("The Spellman Files" springs to mind) when I had never heard of the book or author and I am then eternally grateful, or they are insipid or misleading. I am so glad the cartoony ones are fading and enough with the bad supernatural books. I like the genre, but there is such a demand that some truly bad stuff is being published and getting good covers.

Oh, and Mary Anne Landers, I could not agree more. What is up with the headless people?

Re: Take Me If You Dare (9:05am March 7, 2010):

I agree with pretty much all of your choices. Thanks for saying that "Precious" wasn't a very well made film because as much as I love the fact that it tackled the subject matter it did, I was disappointed in the film. It never quite came together for me. I loved "Up in the Air" and "An Education," but I really want to see "Hurt Locker" or "Inglorious Basterds" win. If I have to choose, I would pick "Hurt Locker." Not sure about the two host thing tonight, but hopefully it will make for a fun show.

Re: Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy (5:35pm January 11, 2010):

As crazy-busy as your life sounds, it also sounds like it somehow suits you. It certainly gave you the creative spark to write.

Re: The Cowboy From Christmas Past (3:21pm November 16, 2009):

Love reading other people's holiday traditions. My favorite is taking a walk in the woods with my dad and our dogs at midnight on Christmas Eve as we try, every year, because of the legend that says that is the time, if we listen with our hearts and not our ears, we can hear the animals speak.

Re: Over My Dead Body (3:07pm November 16, 2009):

My grandmother taught me to cook, too, and the memories I have of us in the kitchen are beyond precious. She had to go into assisted living this year when my grandfather passed away, so it will be a bittersweet Thanksgiving. I'll be cooking this year, in her honor.

Re: Mr. Darcy Vampyre (8:43am October 28, 2009):

I love that you use the idea that vampyres can feed off people psychically because that was always one of the creepier aspects of the lore and it tends to be forgotten. I also think that "Mr. Darcy, Vampyre" sounds incredibly creative and intriguing. Can't wait to read it.

Re: The Cowboy From Christmas Past (7:12pm August 9, 2009):

Your grandmother sounds like a remarkable woman. It is so difficult to watch people lose what they love when they age. My grandmother is 92, and as she says--she is ready to go. She has pain every day and has lost her husband, her son, and her independence. It breaks my heart, but I ceratinly understand her being ready.

Re: Face Time (3:03pm July 28, 2009):

I'm lucky to be very close to my mom now, especially since I was such a brat of a teenager. The harder part is that I find myself doing more and more to care for my parents as they get older, and while I would always to anything I can for them, it is so bittersweet. I can't imagine the day I don't have my parents.

Re: Bluegrass Blessings (2:50pm July 19, 2009):

I like both, but I like to cry first, then laugh. Life is filled with tears and laughter, so it makes sense that we want to read about both happiness and conflict/sadness. It makes the characters and stories more real and gives them more depth.

Re: Swimsuit (2:10pm July 17, 2009):

That is a terrific story that goes to show that you never know which people you meet in life will have the biggest effect. Life's funny like that. Anyway, I'm so glad you are working with Mr. Patterson because you are obviously a great team!

Re: Mr. Perfect (6:02am July 12, 2009):

I guess the biggest hyped book I read and loved was "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." As an adult, at the time I felt odd reading this (in my mind) overly hyped kid's book, but wow, I could not have been more wrong. Like much of the world, I fell in love with Ms. Rowling's magical world and got my parents involved in the fun, too. I am not a big fan of hype, but sometimes it is spot-on.

Re: The Texas Twins (11:42am June 19, 2009):

Great cover! I haven't read "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" in years. I'll definitely have to pull it out, and thanks for the tip on "Gran Torino." I'm not the biggest Eastwood fan, so I might have missed it.

Re: Beneath Bone Lake (5:13am May 28, 2009):

It's snakes for me. I was on a week-long hike with my family when I was in my teens and I woke up one morning to find a snake slithering on my chest. My scream could have set the standard for horror movies, sad to say.

Re: Storm Glass (1:43pm May 21, 2009):

This was lovely to read. Many times I have wanted to e-mail a writer when I love a book, but I always felt it would be intrusive. Nice to know I was wrong. :)

Re: Pretty in Plaid (6:53pm May 17, 2009):

I'm another early person. My dad was habitually late for everything--especially picking me up--when I was a kid and I learned how irritating it is. However, it also taught me to always have a book with me, so good lessons learned all around. :)

Re: Killer Cuts (12:16pm May 16, 2009):

I couldn't wait to buy Nancy Haddock's "Last Vampire Standing," and I'm glad because it was great. So many of the other books look fab, too, but I am especially interested in "Wicked Prey," "Final Finesse," and :Killer Cuts."

Re: Mistress (12:10pm May 16, 2009):

The only time a character's name bothers me is if a hero's name happens to be the same as an ex of mine. Then I will, when the hero does something particularly wonderful, snort and say "Yeah, right." :)

I never defile books outside of school books (I still have many of the novels I read for high school and college--such a hoot to read the notes). I must have 50 bookmarks so that no page ever has to be dog-eared. My mother, to whom I loan many books, is terrible with them, though. Spines come back broken, many pages are dog-eared, there are crumbs in the pages, covers may be ripped. Ugh, but what can you do?

Re: The Club (3:17pm March 10, 2009):

I'm so sorry to hear about your mother. My grandmother had Alzheimer's and there are no words for how difficult it was to watch her change.

As to reading, my family has always been all about books. My mother's favorite book is Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier (she even named one of our dogs Daphne) and when she gave it to me to read, it was wonderful sharing it with her. My sister, who is much older than I am, gave me the "Wrinkle in Time" trilogy when I was nine, again as a way to share what she had loved when she was my age. Those connections are so important. We still all swap books back and forth.

Oh, and I would call "The Club" a sensual romance.

I love seeing some of the authors mentioned: I have all of Agatha Christie's books. I graduated from Trixie Belden (I enjoyed Nancy Drew, but the Bobwhites were my favorite sleuths) to Agatha Christie and devoured her books. Victoria Holt! I haven't thought about her books in years, but I remember loving them.