Tarot cards in a sci-fi novel? It seems kind of a weird mix at first glance, and probably second glance, too. Even in today’s society, tarot cards are met with a wide variety of responses. Some people swear by them… and just as many people swear that they’re nonsense. Then there is the group I fall into – the one who can’t really say one way or another. If you’ve ever had your cards read by someone who does it often, you know what I mean. It’s downright eerie. So how did the cards work their way into a universe so different from our own? It started, as most of my books do, with a “What if?” question. I read Ann Aguirre’s GRIMSPACE (which I highly, HIGHLY recommend if you haven’t picked it up yet). In her future, life after death has been proven not to exist. It’s done really well. But I started wondering what would happen if exactly the opposite were true. What if religion was king? It’s not a revolutionary thought, but the one thing that hit me and stuck was the idea that if there were gods, what if the various ways of fortune telling were…
There are few figures in recent American history that are as well loved and recognized as Dr. Maya Angelou. Even though she has departed this world today at the age of 86, Angelou’s vibrant spirit echoes on through her art. Angelou dedicated her life to spreading hope, combating prejudice, and fostering the belief that regardless of race, class, or gender, every person holds the right to live, and live fully. Through her writing, Angelou became a voice for the oppressed, and through her presence, she inspired everyone who knew her. Her poetry and memoirs express her profound resilience and passion for life, encouraging anyone who read them to persevere, cling to truth, and refuse to be broken by adversity. Angelou wrote in her famous poem “Still I Rise”: You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I’ll rise. Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up among heavy segregation in Arkansas. Before she became recognized as a poet and writer, Angelou was known as a performer, traveling America and Europe as a dancer and singer in the 1950’s….
Fresh Pick for Thursday, May 29th, 2014 is SLIGHTLY SPELLBOUND by Kimberly Frost #SupernaturalThursday Southern Witch #4 Berkley May 2014 On Sale: May 6, 2014 ISBN: 0425267547 EAN: 9780425267547 Kindle: B00GY9SK0S Paperback / e-Book Add to Wish List Romance Paranormal Buy A Copy Amazon.com Kindle BN.com Powell’s Books Indiebound Slightly Spellbound by Kimberly Frost With two kinds of magick at odds inside her and two gorgeous men vying for her attention, Tammy Jo Trask is used to being pulled in opposite directions. But in the latest Southern Witch novel she’ll have to make some serious decisions—like how she intends to stay alive. Tammy Jo’s romance with the wizard Bryn Lyons is on hold while her ex-husband is in town trying to remind her of the good old days. Choosing between them isn’t easy, and it doesn’t help that a skeletal creature is spying on her, a faery knight is hunting her, and she just made friends with Evangeline Rhodes—a rich witch who thinks her own family is trying to kill her. When Evangeline disappears under suspicious circumstances, Tammy Jo is determined to find out what happened. As she uncovers a secret more dangerous—and personal—than she could have imagined, she also…