Category: Sunday Salon

Sunday Post and Sunday Salon: Changing Seasons and Riding Trains

BonnieReadsAndWrites23 Comments

It’s November 9th, and fall colors are finally out in full force. They were quite late this year, and not as vibrant as years past. Our peak leaf season was supposed to be the third week of October, and it was still very green then. I took a ride on the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad with my friend Lyric, who was visiting, and her Mom, Dale. Although I live in a small tourist town, I don’t usually participate in the “touristy” things, but it’s nice to do that once in a while. We had a great time. We took the first class ride and were served lunch. We stopped in Dillsboro for some shopping and took in great scenes along the way.

**Picture of the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad in Bryson City, NC is from Shutterstock and was taken in 2023.

Below is a shot of a pretty fall evening at our house. The sun was setting, and the moon was out. I was standing on our porch at the time. I wanted a picture of the full moon, but my phone is just not up to it. It was so much more magnificent than that.

I was told there would be a cold snap starting tomorrow, but so far I see no sign of it. My weather app tells me we will be just above freezing for one day–not cold enough for snow–and then back to 50s and 60s, so we will see. Are you getting snow in your area? EDIT: I just got a Winter Storm Alert, but it seems to be for higher elevations.

LAST WEEK ON THE BLOG

It was all Indie last week. I love that because my heart is with Indie books and authors. I posted reviews of The Weight of Snow and Regret, Amanda in Ireland, and The Washashore. I get a lot of requests from Indie authors, and my list is long, but I try to read as many as I can. I am just one woman, so it can take a long time, but I will continue to do my best to support Indie books.

NEXT WEEK ON THE BLOG

Look for reviews of Books 2 and 3 of Beth Kanell’s Winds of Freedom series, and a review of Patricia Furstenberg’s When Secrets Bloom. I will also participate in Top Ten Tuesday if time permits.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK.

**Thank you to the host of Sunday Salon, Deb at ReaderBuzz, and the host of Sunday Post, Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Sunday Post and Sunday Salon: Hello Fall!

BonnieReadsAndWrites18 Comments

The changing of the leaves has been late this year, but it’s really feeling like Fall now in the first week of November. I love this time of year–shopping for Christmas presents, baking, and eating. I’m planning to make mini pumpkin pies for myself. Doug doesn’t really like pumpkin pie but he’s currently enjoying a cherry pie I got from Sam’s. I’m also trying to get better at decorating cookies for Christmas, so I’m going to make some Pumpkin shaped and decorated cookies for Thanksgiving. I want to give them a flavor besides vanilla, so either pumpkin spice or orange, I think. I’ll post pictures when I’m done IF they look halfway decent. I had my first cup of cold weather cocoa this week too. I didn’t have marshmallows, so I used whipped cream on top.

Yesterday I was busy sending out emails for The Historical Novel Society. The November reviews were live on the website yesterday, and as a Reviews Editor, I sent links of the reviews I’m responsible for to all of the publishers or authors. Tomorrow I plan to find some end of season apples and get started on some apple butter.

Most of this past week was busy! I traveled on Monday and Tuesday to Winston-Salem to see an audiologist about possibly getting a cochlear implant because my hearing is just getting worse and worse. The result was that I tested as “borderline,” just little bit above the line for a cochlear implant. So I will go back in a year and get tested again. Right now, though, I’m thankful for my new hearing aids, which are not perfect but help more than the old ones.

LAST WEEK ON THE BLOG

I participated in Top Ten Tuesday, and today I posted a review of The Weight of Snow and Regret by Elizabeth Gauffreau. Check out Liz’s wonderful book at the link above. It was a 5-star read for me.

NEXT WEEK ON THE BLOG

I reviewed this one for The Historical Novel Society and I can post the review now that it’s been published on their website.

This is the latest in Darlene Foster’s Amanda Travels series. Although this is a Middle Grade series, people of all ages love following Amanda as she travels around the world.

These are the latest two books in The Winds of Freedom series by Beth Kanell, set in the 19th Century on the frontier between Vermont and Canada. My review of Book One, The Long Shadow, is here.

BOOK HAUL

Lynn Austin is my favorite author of Inspirational Historical Fiction, and I jumped on the chance to read this for The Historical Novel Society. I don’t need to have this read until March, but I can’t wait, so I’m starting it this week.

I don’t usually read hardboiled fiction, but I’m broadening my horizons a bit for this one, which will be in the February issue of Historical Novels Review.

A thriller set in Aspen. A step away from historical fiction for this read. I picked this one up on Netgalley today.

I’m also going to look for some lighthearted Christmas books, so if anyone has a recommendation, let me know. It must be really Christmassy! If it’s an Indie Christmas book–even better!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

*Thank you to The Caffeinated Book Reviewer for hosting Sunday Post and to Deb at ReaderBuzz for hosting Sunday Salon.

Sunday Post and Sunday Salon: Ouch!

BonnieReadsAndWrites21 Comments

Well I had my oral surgery on Tuesday, and it still hurts pretty badly. I had a cyst removed from my jaw and a molar that the cyst had compromised taken out. I have slowly been transitioning to eating again but my jaw just aches most of the time. I’m hoping this pain goes away soon. I have a hard time sleeping because of it, and I’ve been sleeping in the reclining love seat so I don’t accidentally roll over on my left side, which hurts my “newly operated on” jaw.

The leaves are slowly starting to turn here in Western North Carolina, so I hope to be able to post some great photos soon, and maybe even some Fall inspired poetry. For now, here’s a picture of an interesting sky Doug took outside our home the other day. It was getting ready to storm.

BLOG ACTIVITY

We have had some great new Indie releases in the last couple of weeks. I did a Release Day announcement for The Weight of Snow and Regret by Elizabeth Gauffreau on October 1st. I also did a Release Day post and Review of A Bloody Banquet by Gail Meath on October 10th. Amanda in Ireland by Darlene Foster was also released on October 1st and I’m reviewing that this coming week. I’ll participate in Top Ten Tuesday if time permits. I also hope to get even more Indie reviews in.

NETGALLEY HAUL

The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts: (I hope this one isn’t too close to horror, but it looked interesting and more “paranormal” than horror. Horror can affect my dreams so I avoid it if it’s too dark and/or bloody) In the aftermath of her mother’s death, Eleanor is unmoored. For years, her mother orchestrated every detail of her life—from meals, to laundry, to finances—so that Eleanor could focus on her career as a therapist. Left to navigate the world on her own, Eleanor clings to her mother’s final directive: use her inheritance to buy a house.

Desperate to obey her mother one last time, but finding few options she can afford, Eleanor impulsively buys a model home in a valley-turned-construction site, a picturesque development steeped in a shadowy history. It feels like a fresh start, until the rain comes—an endless, torrential downpour. As water seeps in through the house’s cracks, the line between what is real and what is not begins to blur. Haunted by the stories of her clients, a stream of workmen and bureaucrats she can’t trust, and visions of ghosts from her past and present, Eleanor’s reality unravels, and she is forced to reckon with the secrets she’s buried and the desperate choices she’s made.

The Lumber Baron’s Wife: (Jumped on the chance for the forthcoming book by my favorite Christian author, Lynn Austin).

1873. After a devastating loss, Hannah Wagner never imagined she’d leave her comfortable home for the harsh, unfamiliar wilderness near Lake Michigan. But when Henry Abernathy—a friend of her husband, John—offers them a fresh start in a booming lumber town, where John’s skills as a doctor are sorely needed, Hannah reluctantly agrees. There, she meets Kate, Henry’s spirited, much younger wife. Kate’s sharp tongue and outsider status have made her unwelcome among the town’s elite, and when she begins confiding in Hannah, it’s clear her marriage is not what it seems . . . and that a secret from her past could destroy everything.

Present day. Ashley Gilbert never planned to settle in Michigan, but when her husband lands his dream job as a conservationist, she agrees to follow. While restoring their historic home—built in the 19th century for a doctor and his wife—Ashley becomes captivated by its past and its connection to the nearby Abernathy mansion, now being transformed into a museum. While volunteering with the restoration, she stumbles upon the unsolved mystery of Kate Abernathy’s disappearance. What begins as curiosity soon becomes a quest for the truth—one that will connect her to two women whose stories and struggles echo and inspire her own.

HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?

*Sunday Post is hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at ReaderBuzz.