Book Review (XLVI) A Skeleton at Her Door

                A Skeleton at Her Door
                           by E Ayers
Blurb

Trick or Treat? Angie Robertson discovers a whole new meaning to jumping bones when she meets Tom Meyers dressed for a Halloween charity event. A skeleton, a nurse, a pumpkin, three kids, a cabin in the woods, and…a handful of fortune cookies? She's about to discover treats are sweet.Angie Robertson discovers a whole new meaning to jumping bones when she meets Tom Meyers dressed for a Halloween charity event. A skeleton, a nurse, a pumpkin, three kids, a cabin in the woods, and…a handful of fortune cookies? She's about to discover treats are sweet.

My Review

A Skeleton at Her Door is a story  I really enjoyed and didn't want to put down until the very end.

Characters – Angie who works at  a a level-one trauma center; a hard job with long hours.  She’s a woman who had a bad experience in her previous  marriage and "the facial scars on the right side" are  proof of it and good reasons to mistrust a new relationship. Should she believe the fortune cookie that says:. Open the door and open your heart. Love will find it.    

And indeed, it finds her.  Angie can’t believe it’s happening to her,  "if Tom Meyers was real or had she imagined him. Thirty-seven, single, two kids, and under those clothes, he's a hunk. This isn't happening to me. "     

Tom – a man who also has a troubled past. He considers that  "Lonesome was better than being greeted by a wife who nagged about everything."   His life was his children. They weren't perfect, but for growing up without a mother, they were doing well. Was he ready to allow someone into his heart?

Both Angie and Tom have to fight the ”demons”of their past and find the power to help each other move forward toward mutual trust and love.

Zach, Emily and Lissy are the children. They are lovely characters who complement the main ones.

E. Ayers has crafted a sweet, heartwarming story.  So if you want a nice "feel good" read A Skeleton at Her Door is it. Romantic novel lovers would enjoy this quick read.

Mysterious Romania (XXI) The Ones That Weren't on the TLC Show - Christmas Carols

The Romanian word "colinda”( Carol) has, it seems, the origin in the Latin Calendae a name given to the old pagan New Year holiday.  It was the custom to wish the other people prosperity and happiness for the coming year. It was also customary to give gifts to the carolers. This custom is present up to this day in Romanian lore. Carolers receive small dough pretzels, apples and nuts.

The Romans celebrated at this time of the year The Sun’s Birth. It was the moment when the sun was at its lowest in the south hemisphere and then started towards the north like a rising movement.

The Roman Calende were festivities dedicated to the Sun, and the gifts given to carolers are all round, as symbols of he sun. Carolers, men and boys, visited, for six days, all the houses of the community. They sang standing in a circle. At the end of these six days, they had  accomplished a circling of the village, the main symbolism of this ritual being of protection. Later, to it was added the meaning of blessing and Christ’s birth.

                                       The carols above, some of the most known in Romanian  tradition, are sung by: a famous Romanian  professional choir, a folkloric group and a children choir. 

                                            Enjoy!

 

 I wish all the readers of my blog a Merry Christmas, full of health and wealth!

Wednesday Writing Wisdom (39) Mary Higgins Clark

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Writers must know their characters inside and out. Prior to beginning a story, consider writing biographies of the characters that detail their histories, appearances and personalities.

“Think of someone you know or knew as a child who reminds you of the character you’re trying to create,” Clark says. Then use that person’s mannerisms and expressions as a basis for fiction.

Mary Higgins Clark

(born December 24, 1927)

 

Curious facts about: 

 

 Her first book was a biographical novel about George Washington, Aspire to the Heavens, based on a radio series, vignettes about presidents.

She went to college after her children were grown and she was already an established writer. In 1979, she graduated from Fordham University at Lincoln Center summa cum laude with a B.A. in philosophy. To celebrate, she gave herself a graduation party. The card read: "this invitation is 25 years overdue -- help prove it's not too late."

Two of her novels were made into feature films, Where Are the Children? and A Stranger Is Watching. Many of her other works, novels and short stories, were made into television films.