Recommendation -

 If you're familiar with author Jeffrey Siger, it's probably because you read his Andreas Kaldis series set in Greece.  And if you haven't discovered this series yet, you should!  After all, The Greek government named Jeff as the only American author writing novels serving as a Guide to Greece.  

Aside from that - it's a terrific series that gets better with each book.

BUT.

Now we have a new Jeff Siger book.  The first in a new series.

I received it yesterday and read it in one sitting, and already tapping my foot impatiently waiting for the next one.  

Description from Jeff's webpage -

A Study in Secrets

Book 1 of the Redacted Man Mysteries

Now available in the UK and US

A retired gentleman with a complicated past. A missing priceless treasure. A young woman in trouble. The first in the brand-new Redacted Man mystery series set in NYC featuring Michael A, a Sherlock Holmes-worthy sleuth with a George Smiley secret-agent past.

Michael is a true gentleman who since retiring from the intelligence services lives a quiet, comfortable life. Practically a recluse and partially handicapped, he spends his days imagining the lives of the anonymous people he watches in the park beneath the windows of his elegant New York City townhouse–number 221–his every need tended to by his housekeeper, Mrs. Baker. He takes great care never to get involved in the lives of those he observes…until one day everything changes.

Each morning for weeks he watches a girl sit in the park at dawn. Always alone. Always watchful. And when the sun rises, she vanishes, as if she were never there. One day her routine changes–and Michael realizes she faces terrible danger. For reasons unclear even to himself he makes an uncharacteristic decision to abandon his solitude and help her.

Soon, Michael finds himself confronting the New York City underworld in an unexpected search for a priceless missing treasure. He’ll have to rely upon all the tricks of his former trade and resurrect long neglected relationships if he’s to keep not just himself, but his new friend, alive.

* * *

Now, in the spirit of transparency, I may have met the guy a time or two.

Let me just say - he's a doll.  Married to one of the most sainted of women.

And he can make you laugh till you think you might die.

These photos were taken in New Orleans at Bouchercon 2016 with some of my partners in crime

David Chaudoir and Lesa Holstine

David, Lesa and Jeff

Me with the Mrs. and the Mr.
Barbara and Jeff

Lesa, me and Jeff chatting about . . . shoes???

Jeff and Barbara

Maddee James (webmaster extraordinaire), David Chaudoir, Lesa Holstine, Jeff and Barbara, David Magayna




Now go buy Jeff's newest book!

You will thank me

😘

Happy President's Day!

 

Small Kindnesses

 Some days we need to be reminded -

Small Kindnesses

I’ve been thinking about the way, when you walk
down a crowded aisle, people pull in their legs
to let you by. Or how strangers still say “bless you”
when someone sneezes, a leftover
from the bubonic plague. “Don’t die,” we are saying…
Mostly, we don’t want to harm each other.
We want to be handed our cup of coffee hot,
and to say thank you to the person handing it. To smile
at them and for them to smile back…
We have so little of each other, now. So far
from tribe and fire. Only these brief moments of exchange.
What if they are the true dwelling of the holy, these
fleeting temples we make together when we say, “Here,
have my seat,” “Go ahead—you first,” “I like your hat.”

              - - -  Danusha Laméris

Paris Bound. Soon!! (edited)

A few weeks from now I will be in Paris.

Those of you who know me know I'm a lover of Paris.  I cannot get enough of Paris.

Paris and Meat Camp, NC are the places I love best in the world.  The places I get homesick for.  And, of course, they could not be any more different.  

But both are beautiful.

This trip to Paris is a girl's trip.  No husbands allowed.

No Donald and Annabelle.  No Brent and Roxie.

 

With long time gal pal, sister of my heart, partner in crime, Vickie.  

Vickie and I will be spending 10 days doing what we've decided will be a different sort of Paris trip.

We've decided to stay in a part of Paris neither of us have stayed previously.

The Latin Quarter.  

In a hotel with our very own balcony overlooking the Pantheon.

Squeeeeeee!

My first trip to Paris was also a girl's trip.  With Vickie and Lesa and Lisa.

It was wonderful, of course.  We did "all the things."

All the things you should do - The Eiffel Tower, a Seine River Cruise, museums, famous gardens, etc.

I loved it so much I went back a year later with Donald.  And, of course, we did "all the things."

And then Donald and I went back the following year to do a little more than "all the things,"  which included searching out carousels, which had to include visiting the Musée des Arts Forains, which just might be THE MOST fun museum you'll find in Paris (or maybe anywhere).

 

All of which resulted in our book, CAROUSELS OF PARIS.  

One of my heroes, Dorie Greenspan, had this to say:  "Carousels are an unexpected pleasure in Paris, a sight you come upon on a random stroll, see in a small park you hadn’t visited before or find in a plaza strung with holiday lights. Some are permanent, some ephemeral, all magical. Merci to Kaye Barley for creating this book and giving us all the chance to be charmed by these Parisian delights daily.”

—Dorie Greenspan, James Beard Award-Winning Author

Donald and I have been back often enough that we've broadened our exploring to include much more than " all the things, " including French villages well beyond Paris.

Honfleur

So.

This trip we will do some of the things simply depending on what feels right on that particular day.

There are, of course, a few things that we have on our "must do" list.  

Some of these are - 

A Saturday at a large flea market, probably Puces de Vanves which is not as large as Puces de Saint-Ouen, but every bit as fun and rewarding without being confusing and exhausting.  But.  We'll see.  We may decide that morning that we really need to go to Puces de Saint-Ouen.  Who knows.

A day exploring the covered passages.

Bookstores, galleries, art supply shops and needlework shops.

Shopping at nearby outdoor street markets for goodies to have for apéro on our hotel balcony overlooking the Pantheon.  

Vintage clothing shopping.

And so much more . . . 

Me and Vic

Paris

2017

Horizon (to Tristan Tzara) by Philippe Soupault

The whole town has come into my room
the trees have disappeared
and evening clings to my fingers
The houses are turning into ocean liners
the sound of the sea has just reached me up here
In two days we’ll arrive in the Congo
I’ve passed the Equator and the Tropic of Capricorn
I know there are innumerable hills
Notre-Dame hides the Gaurisankar and the northern lights
night falls drop by drop
I await the hours

Give me that lemonade and the last cigarette
I’m going back to Paris

(translated by Rosmarie Waldrop)

Latest book recommendation

 

As a person trying to stay sane in a world gone crazy, i escape into books.

Not every book works.

And just because I start reading a particular book does not mean I'm going to finish it.

Life's just too short to waste time reading a book that does not speak to me.

RED CLAY by Charles B. Fancher hit all the right notes.

There’s nothing I love more than a saga. There just aren’t that many being written these days.

RED CLAY by Charles B. Fancher Description from Amazon

An astounding multigenerational saga, Red Clay chronicles the interwoven lives of an enslaved Black family and their white owners as the Civil War ends and Reconstruction begins.

In 1943, when a frail old white woman shows up in Red Clay, Alabama, at the home of a Black former slave—on the morning following his funeral—his family hardly knows what to expect after she utters the words “… a lifetime ago, my family owned yours.” Adelaide Parker has a story to tell—one of ambition, betrayal, violence, and redemption—that shaped both the fate of her family and that of the late Felix H. Parker.

But there are gaps in her knowledge, and she’s come to Red Clay seeking answers from a family with whom she shares a name and a history that neither knows in full. In an epic saga that takes us from Red Clay to Paris, to the Côte d’Azur and New Orleans, human frailties are pushed to their limits as secrets are exposed and the line between good and evil becomes ever more difficult to discern. Red Clay is a tale that deftly lays bare the ugliness of slavery, the uncertainty of the final months of the Civil War, the optimism of Reconstruction, and the pain and frustration of Jim Crow.

With a vivid sense of place and a cast of memorable characters, Charles B. Fancher draws upon his own family history to weave a riveting tale of triumph over adversity, set against a backdrop of societal change and racial animus that reverberates in contemporary America. Through seasons of joy and unspeakable pain, Fancher delivers rich moments as allies become enemies, and enemies—to their great surprise—find new respect for each other.

Aloka and The Monks vs. The Monster (edited)

The past several weeks have brought emotions that have kept us on a roller coaster like none we've endured in the past.

On one hand, we have this ridiculously demented corrupt evil man living in our White House, wreaking everything he touches or breathes on.  And, for all intents and purposes - nothing much getting done by a spineless and/or compromised congress to remove him.  

On the other hand, we've been privileged to follow a group of Buddhist monks led by the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara accompanied by their rescue dog, Aloka. 

Their walk from Fort Worth, Texas to D.C. has been to promote peace, compassion, and mindfulness across the United States.

I have cried because of both.

For one - The Monster - because he angers me, and he frightens me.  

For the other - The Peaceful Ones - because they fill my heart with their goodness.  And maybe some hope.

Aloka, The Peace Dog, has stolen hearts and brought joy to thousands of us.

Amazing, isn't it, how easily we trust and are made to feel safe by one of these, and so terrified and terrorized by the other?

A day for poetry

 

Winter is the best time

to find out who you are.

Quiet, contemplation time,

away from the rushing world,

cold time, dark time, holed-up

pulled-in time and space

to see that inner landscape,

that place hidden and within.

- - - by David Budbill

Photo by Parisian Moments 

Loving Hugo Marston

In case you think I've stopped reading in order to rant and rave against fat ugly hateful evil men in corrupt government positions, you'd be wrong.

In between rants, raves, letter writing and phone calls to members of congress, there's always time for a good book.  

A girl makes time to do what needs to be done AND what she wants to do.  Otherwise, its just making excuses.

So.

Here's my latest - 

I have had a huge crush on Hugo Marston since Mark Pryor introduced him in THE BOOKSELLER in 2012.

I'm a fan of Mr. Pryor's work and have enjoyed everything he's written, but as far as fictional boyfriends go, Hugo owns my heart.  And he's back!  Yay!  

Thanks to NetGalley, I was able to enjoy the first in this new series and it was worth the wait.

Description from NetGalley.com

Hugo Marston, former head of security at the U.S. embassy in Paris, has retired and is ready to realize his lifelong dream of owning a mystery and antiquarian bookshop. But when a blackmail scheme targeting a chocolatier leads to murder, Hugo is again called to investigate in the first Paris Bookshop Mystery for readers of Charles Finch, Tasha Alexander, and Lev AC Rosen.

Hugo has led an exciting life as an FBI profiler and the US embassy’s head of security, but now he’s ready to embrace a quieter existence as a bookseller in the Marais district of Paris. His former employer, however, has other plans for him. A prominent American citizen is the COO of a boutique chocolate emporium in Paris, where they’ve received a mysterious and threatening note. A blackmailer who goes by the name The Shadow wants half a million euros or else their “darkest secret will be revealed.”

Eclat de Chocolat is housed in a chateau dating back to the 1700s. The building, which served as a convent in the first half of the twentieth century, where the angelic Sister Evangeline and her order of nuns helped countless orphans during World War II, has been beautifully converted into a chocolate factory. So what dark secrets could a chocolatier be hiding? The COO has no idea.

Involving his friend, Lieutenant Camille Lerens, Hugo begins to investigate. But soon a second note appears on the premises, canceling the blackmail threat. The same day, the body of an employee is found in an old graveyard behind the chocolatier. Now Hugo and Lerens have a murder on their hands, but is it connected to the blackmail attempt? As they dig for secrets and motives, it becomes clear The Shadow’s grave work has just begun . . .

Snow Day

Use the good china," she said,

 "Use the good china,"

she said,

as I set out the

teapot,

the cups and saucers,

the sugar bowl

(with those wonderful cubes

of Demerara piled high),

the milk, and the lemon

off to one side,

with a plate to pinwheel cookies,

their sides glinting

with that extra crunch.

It was just

the two of us,

sitting on this gloomy

day,

the fog hiding

the next-door neighbour's

porch light

and the ball of

the afternoon sun.

"Use the good china,"

she repeated,

"this is the perfect occasion!"

"Occasion," I repeated,

the question in my tone,

and my slightly furrowed

eyebrows.

"The world continues to spin.

The sun rose,

and the night sky will

come again...

and, in between,

we will have a million chances

to change the world

for the better.

Isn't that an occasion

to be celebrated,

today

and every day?

Use the good china, lad."

And we picked up our cups,

(the ones you can see the light through),

and marveled at the beauty

we held in our hands,

as we sipped and supped.

And, refreshed,

we made our way into the gloom,

the murk and the haze,

to see what we could do,

if we shone just a bit of light,

and a whole lot of love,

a moment of joy

on our lips,

and in our hearts.

Use the good china, friends.

           - - - Richard Bott