Usually my Saturdays are jammed packed with activities that need to be done before the week starts up again. They aren’t the usual relaxing thing they are for most people. My husband is a social butterfly while I am a bit of a recluse. So, weekends are usually reserved for making social calls or visits, dinners, parties, whatever. I cherish the free weekends I get so I can catch up on life. Clean my house, add some wordage to my WIP, catch an old movie on the television or speak to old friends online. Whatever the case may be, this Saturday proved to be strange.
I woke up at about 4pm. My throat was itchy and it was hard to swallow. Of course I immediately panicked. Seems I haven’t quite gotten over the little flu bug that visited me almost two weeks ago. It’s taken permanent residence close by. So now, I’m constantly on the brink of getting ill again. It’s a terrible game the little bugger plays. Makes me all nervous.
Either way, I was pretty bummed I’d slept the day away when I really should have been doing my Saturday chores. (ha ha, that just sounded really strange. I had the sudden vision of me in Annie’s orphanage). So, I’m working on it now. Folding laundry, unpacking some clothes that are STILL in our suitcases from the weekend and from spending the first two days of the week at my in-laws as they drove us around town. I’m also trying to cook simultaneously. Plus, I really should write. *lifts eyebrows* I’m tired just thinking of all of this.
But, the little silver lining to this madness is my little brother came to visit me and spend the night. He doesn’t do that often so it has kind of made my night. He’s only sixteen, but he’s a sweetie pie (when he’s not being an obnoxious teenage boy), and I love him terribly. We have fun together. We share the same sense of humor so hours go laughing and eating and watching television. Occasionally we have Need for Speed video game matches, because I’m rather good and pose a decent challenge. He always beats me though, because ultimately, he’s better. And by tomorrow morning I’ll be feeling renewed. 
I took a neat little typing speedtest suggested by Cora Zane. My score isn’t too bad.
I got two words wrong, but overall, I did ok.
Onto my book recommendation: Book 3 for 50 Books a Year
The Red Queen’s Daughter by Jacqueline Kolosov
I admit, what first drew me to this book was the full head of red hair. I have a very strange obsession with redheads. I took the book, enthralled by the premise, partly based in history, partly in fiction. Here’s the blurb:
Orphaned as a baby because of her mother, Queen Katherine Parr’s, imprudent marriage, Mary Seymour believes that romantic love clouds even the strongest woman’s ability to reason. Therefore, she vows never to fall in love, and under no circumstances will she marry. Lady Strange, her mysterious new guardian, offers the young woman an extraordinary alternative to marriage: Mary is to become a white magician who will join Queen Elizabeth’s court and ensure the success of the Virgin Queen’s reign.
Accompanied by her magical hound, Perseus, Mary sets out to learn the properties of different stones and the art and precision of natural spells. Soon after her sixteenth birthday, she is invited to join Elizabeth’s court as a lady-in-waiting. Upon her arrival, Mary realizes that Elizabeth’s court is rife with the men and women who are vying for power. The most dangerous of all is Edmund Seymour, Mary’s disturbingly handsome cousin. From the moment she meets Edmund, Mary has to fight her growing attraction, especially once she discovers that he is a black magician, the dark mirror of her own self. But, despite the threat Edmund poses to Mary, he seems to be the only one who truly understands her. When Edmund becomes involved in a plot against the queen, Mary finds her beliefs tested in ways she never could have imagined.
I’ll admit, the book was slow going at first. To the point that I actually put it down and picked up other things to read in the meantime. I’ve had this book for MONTHS and couldn’t get past the first 1/3 of it! That for me, is quite a feat, since I usually devour things in one or two sittings. However, drawn by the dynamic cover girl, I thought, there has to be something here. I buckled down to sit and try again. This time, I was NOT disappointed.
The story really took off for me when she got to court. Taking place during the Virgin Queen’s rule, her interactions with Elizabeth are both fascinating and insightful. But it’s the intrigues of ‘lady-in-waiting’ life that really make this story sparkle. Lies, betrayal, magic, forbidden love, and devious (yet terribly charming) cousins who may just be the antithesis of good, yet you can’t help but love them! By the time this book was done, I can honestly say I was hoping there’d be a sequel, though there doesn’t seem to be one in the works as far as I can tell.
If you’re a history buff like myself, and appreciate some tidbits in your fiction, blended with some wonderful fantasy, this book is going to really knock your socks off. I give it a solid A- (for the slow beginning).
