I laughed out loud so many times! I forgot how utterly delightful and funny Tessa Dare was. This was exactly what I needed right now.

These were 4 fun novellas that I will now read every Christmas. Cute shortbread joke runs throughout the stories and each story is inspired from a favorite Christmas movie.

I liked this one even more than The Witch of Willow Hall, which is saying something. Hester Fox will bow be an auto-buy for me. I love her old school gothic tropes told with a slightly more modern voice...even though it is all 19th century.

I loved this throwback to gothic literature. Witches, ghosts, scandal, a small New England village in the 19th century...Yes, please!

I interview author Katherine Catmull in my She Wore Black podcast, where we talk about the sense it wonder in the book as well as the haunting yet beautiful imagery. Please follow the She Wore Black podcast on Instagram and Facebook for updates on more author interviews!

Funny, smart and with a heroine that is shaped like a real woman! Carriger has created a fun steam punk world and I can't wait to read more in the series!

I have done it again! My third essay with Chicken Soup for the Soul is now available in their new book, Running for Good. I don't run! Lol! My essay is about emotional healing through hiking. I hope you love it!

First purchase from the new bookstore in my town!

Only 200 pages in but loving this part of the journey so far!

Pop Culture Happy Hour said the essays in this Shirley Jackson collection were delightfully fiendish. Sold! Also haven't read this Christie yet, so why not?

I have an essay in the new Bella Grace Magazine! They did a lovely 6 page spread with my piece. It is called "A Journey of a Mother and Son." #feelinghappy

Such a great audio! I am sure reading the book is rewarding but Trevor Noah is an outstanding storyteller and his voices, accents and inflections make this a great audio book experience!

Research...

No joke. I had NO IDEA I had this book (a signed copy!) and a cd full of interviews with the author until my husband noticed it today on a book shelf for the first time in the 5 years I've had it. I got it when it came out at a library conference and met the author, but I forgot about it because he was an unknown on a horror panel with a bunch of writers that I did know. What a fun surprise for me today! Lol!

I finshed one Kelly Barnhill and am about to start another. Both won big literary awards (The novella in Dreadful Young Ladies won the World Fantasy Award. The children's novel won the Newberry) The story collection was not written for kids, but the novel was. Can't wait to dive in! She is smart and dark and so creative.

A book haul for the kiddo that was so good it tore the bag.
#bookhaul
#shoplocal
#bookpeople
#kidsbooks

Many, many moons ago, I skipped a class in graduate school to go see Anthony Bourdain on this book tour. I have never once regretted it.
#rip
#booksigning
#autograph

I love the book but I have actually listened to the audio book when I am #audiocleaning several times. These are all short stories with fairies, but never in the way you expect. These are like a Jane Austen and Neil Gaiman collaboration.

I love getting lost in this dark and magical book. I love the aesthetic as well as the story. A perfect read. This is an older photo from my Jamberry days, so yes...I was showing of the mani! Lol!

Kelly Barnhill gets lots of comparisons to Neil Gaiman and it is easy to see why, but she has her own power and gift as a writer. I found this book just poking around Book People, here in Austin, one day and I struck gold!

I have listened to the audio book version of this so many times since it came out and yet every time I listen I retain something different. This is solid gold for an aspiring writer. Part memoir, part writing book, it can be enjoyed for it's information on the craft or for those that want to know how Stephen King became a writer.

I bought this after reading and falling in love with Gaiman's Sandman in the early 1990s. "Chivalry," "Baby Cakes," and "Murder Mysteries" are stories I still read time and again.

I read all three of these before I realized Netflix had a series. We Have Always Lived in the Castle was my favorite but I love them all! Creepiest when real people rather than a ghost are the source of the fear.

I really enjoyed the Christina Rosetti influence combined with Jewish history from Eastern Europe. It felt like its own fairy tale.