Hula Time - Saturday Snapshots

Did anyone else have one of these? My brother had the moves!

 -- Late 1950s
     Oak Cliff (Dallas), Texas

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads.

To enjoy a variety of beautiful pictures from around the world, 

click HERE or on the box below. 

To participate in Saturday Snapshots: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) 

have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky on the host blogsite. 

Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate 

for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. 

Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

Widow's Tears - Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56

     Do you like haunted houses? How about historical fiction? Or mysteries? Then Widow's Tears is a book you'll enjoy. The historical part of the book takes place during the Galveston, Texas, hurricane of 1900. From her vivid description, it's obvious that Susan Wittig Albert did her research about that devastating storm. The author skillfully switches between the past and present and weaves the two stories together to a satisfying conclusion. 
     This book is #21 in the China Bayles series and it stands alone. I enjoyed getting to know the friends in this story and wish I'd known about this series sooner! I'm sure I'll be reading the earlier books soon. 

Book Beginning:
Prologue
Galveston, Texas: The Oleander City
Saturday, September 8, 1900

     The coast of Texas is according to the general laws of the motion of the atmosphere exempt from West India hurricanes and the two which have reached it followed an abnormal path which can only be attributed to causes known in meteorology as accidental.... It would be impossible for any cyclone to create a storm wave which could materially injure the city [of Galveston].

"West Indian Hurricanes"

By Isaac M. Cline, Chief Meteorologist

Texas Section, U.S. Weather Bureau

The Friday 56 (from 56% on my Kindle):
     At one time, the little cemetery must have been well kept and even beautiful, for there were oleanders and gnarled hollies all along the fence, as well as a couple of stone benches and flower urns placed along the walk. But from the looks of the rampant undergrowth, it hadn't been touched in years.

Genre: Historical Fiction / Mystery

Length:  305 Pages

Amazon Link:  Widow's Tears

Author Website: Susan Wittig Albert

Synopsis:

     Herbalist and ex-lawyer China Bayles is “in a class with lady sleuths V. I. Warshawski and Stephanie Plum” (Publishers Weekly).  In Widow’s Tears, a haunted house may hold the key to solving the murder of one of China’s friends… 
     After losing her family and home in the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, Rachel Blackwood rebuilt her house a hundred miles inland and later died there, still wrapped in her grief.
     In present-day Texas, Claire, the grandniece of Rachel’s caretaker, has inherited the house and wants to turn it into a bed-and-breakfast. But she is concerned that it’s haunted, so she calls in her friend Ruby—who has the gift of extrasensory perception—to check it out.
     While Ruby is ghost hunting, China Bayles walks into a storm of trouble in nearby Pecan Springs. A half hour before she is to make her nightly deposit, the Pecan Springs bank is robbed and a teller is shot and killed.
     Before she can discover the identity of the killers, China follows Ruby to the Blackwood house to discuss urgent business. As she is drawn into the mystery of the haunted house, China opens the door on some very real danger…

                 

Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56.
Click HERE to connect to other Book Beginnings posts (sponsored by Rose City Reads) 
Click HERE to join other Friday 56 bloggers (sponsored by Freda's Voice)

Twitter: @SandyNachlinger

Facebook: sandy.nachlinger

The Chair - First Paragraph / First Chapter and Teaser Tuesday

     In a departure from her usual sexy murder mysteries, Kelly Marshall (with Larry Flanders) has created a love story in The Chair. The main character, Linda Bauman, has an unusual passion--highchairs! This fascination is tied to her parents' deaths when she was an infant. But now a man has surfaced who claims to be her father. Linda also must choose between the quiet relationship with widower Paul Bixby and an affair with her volatile boss.
     Kelly Marshall shows her writing versatility in this book, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

First Paragraph:
     When someone asks me how Linda and I got to know each other, I usually answer, "Highchairs." Ours was not what you would call a torrid romance. To the contrary, the relationship was almost platonic. Linda and I were comfortable together, relaxed, under no stress, neither of us inclined to go along with what everyone else might have considered a good relationship for two middle-aged people. Sexual intimacy was never a big issue, which is not to say that I didn't find Linda incredibly stunning. And, though some would have said I was past my prime, I wasn't ready to be cremated and have my ashes scattered over the Trout River. Those were the instructions I used to give my wife Gretchen.

Teaser (from 21% on my Kindle) (Linda searches through newspaper archives to find out more about her parents):
My stomach roiled as I read the account of my mother's death. The article detailed how a close friend, Sandra Hardesty, had found my mother's bludgeoned body on the bedroom floor; her head haloed in blood. The friend testified how she had been drawn inside the house by a child's unrelenting terrified screams.

Genre: Women's Fiction / Romance
Length: 133 Pages
Amazon Link: The Chair
Author Website: Kelly Marshall Books

Interview with Kelly about The Chair:

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B of A Daily Rhythm. Post two sentences from somewhere in a book you're reading. No spoilers, please!
Link at ADailyRhythm.com

First Chapter/First Paragraph/Tuesday Intros is hosted by Bibliophile By The Sea. To participate, share the first paragraph (or a few) from a book you're reading or thinking about reading soon.
Link at Bibliophile By The Sea

Twitter: @SandyNachlinger

Facebook: sandy.nachlinger

Saturday Snapshots - Kent International Festival

My husband's sister and her granddaughter visited recently, so we've been acting like tourists. Luckily, we were able to find activities in our area that both ages enjoyed, including the Kent International Festival at the Showare Center in Kent, Washington. 

We had a great time "visiting" all the countries represented at the festival. Here are a few of the pictures I took of that event.

Have you ever tried to pick up Skittles
using chopsticks?

Crafts from Istanbul

Colorful costumes everywhere we looked

Carvings from Kenya

Musical entertainment from Mexico

According to the festival website:
Kent is the most culturally diverse city in Washington and south King County is the most diverse area of our state. Our community is made up of people from around the globe of all races, creeds and customs. About half our population has a long history in America including many minorities. The other half of our population has more recently located in our area coming from all parts of the world. All our residents live in communities that reflect this great diversity of heritage and culture. Much of this demographic mixture has happened very rapidly over the last twenty years. Our schools have students where around 140 languages and dialects other then English are spoken at their homes. Local employers have employees where often dozens of different languages are spoken by their workers.

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads.

To enjoy a variety of beautiful pictures from around the world, 

click HERE or on the box below. 

To participate in Saturday Snapshots: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) 

have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky on the host blogsite. 

Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate 

for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. 

Please don’t post random photos that you find online.