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Success in August and September!

In July, I posted which books I intended to read in August and September of this year. The books, listed in no significant order, were:

1.     The Record Keeper by Charles Martin

2.     Edge of Dusk by Colleen Coble

3.     Ultraprocessed People by Chris Van Tulleken

4.     Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels by Gwen Hayes

5.     Out of Nowhere by Sandra Brown

6.     Your First 1000 Copies by Tim Grahl

Except for the fourth book on the list, I completed my reading. I’m still working on Gwen Hayes’s book. The Record Keeper by Charles Martin was by far the favorite of the books I read this summer. It was a fitting completion to the Murphy Shepherd trilogy and touched my heart in more ways than I can possibly describe here in a few lines. If you haven’t read Mr. Martin’s trilogy, do yourself a favor and do it immediately, starting with the first in the series, The Water Keeper. My least favorite read among those listed was Ultraprocessed People. I found it tough to get through, and what I learned scared me about what I’ve been putting into my body and challenged me to change my diet from mainly eating ultra-processed foods to mostly natural, minimally processed foods. It’s a change that will take time and won’t be easy because ultra-processed food (if you can call it food) is everywhere.

I enjoyed Edge of Dusk, though I admit not as much as anticipated after reading others’ reviews about the book. It was the first book I’ve read by Colleen Coble, and her writing style does not overly enamor me. There is nothing wrong with the book. If rating it out of five starts, I’d give it four. She’s not my favorite, but that’s simply a matter of taste. I found her female protagonist, Annie Pederson, a little abrasive and difficult to empathize with. I’m not sure why. Then again, I could fully relate to the male protagonist, Jon Dunstan, so Ms. Coble is extremely capable of character development. As mentioned, it’s just a matter of taste. Still, if asked whether I would recommend the book to someone else who enjoys romantic suspense, I would say yes. The plot is solid, and the ending is unpredictable, two things I look for in this genre. I intend to read the sequels in this series, Dark of Night and Break of Day, because I’m curious to see how the overarching plot and theme are developed.

I must admit I’m a fan of author Sandra Brown. The first novel of hers that I read was Overkill (2022), followed soon after by Smash Cut (2010) and now Out of Nowhere (2023). I haven’t read nearly all of her works. I’ve only just started. But I am a fan. Her most recent book, Out of Nowhere, deals with a mass shooting event and is a sensitive topic, especially today, but she handles it with empathy, insight, and class. I loved the protagonists Elle Portman and Calder Hudson and mistakenly thought I had solved the mystery of who the antagonist was until I reached the end and realized that, as usual, with a clever twist, Brown tricked me with who the real baddie was. I’m enjoying the audiobook version of her novel Outfox. But I still enjoy reading over listening, I think. I’m looking forward to her next bestseller.

I also read Your First 1000 Copies by Tim Grahl, a book about book marketing using his “Connections System” to grow one’s author’s platform by increasing the number of subscribers to one’s email newsletter, which translates to fans willing to explore and even buy you books when they come off the press. I found it informative and am implementing his system to build my author’s platform.

My Reading List for October and November 2023

I intend to finish Romancing the Beat this fall as well as read, at minimum, the following books:

1.     Send Down the Rain by Charles Martin

2.     The Last Exchange by Charles Martin (Coming this October)

3.     Dark of Night by Colleen Coble

4.     None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

5.     Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C. Gibson, PsyD

6.     Shadows at Dusk by Elizabeth Goddard (Coming this October)

I hope this will be the minimum number of books I read this fall, but it’s a good starting point. You’ll notice that I didn’t include any books from the horror genre in honor of the Halloween season. The only horror novel I’ve ever completed is The Stand by Stephen King. While I found it an enthralling read, I’m just not into horror. However, if anyone has a suggestion for a horror book I must read during the spooky season, let me know in the comments section below this post, and I might consider adding it to my list. I found Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn quite horrific; that one person could do such evil, manipulative things to another… that’s hair-raising.

What books are you planning on reading this fall? Are any of the books I mentioned on your list? If so, let me know what you think of these books when you’re done by commenting on them in the comment section of this blog post. I’d love to hear your thoughts. If you have suggestions for books you think are absolute must-reads, please list them in the comments section. I’m always looking for suggestions. Are there any good trilogies or anthologies out there that I’ve missed? Let me know! I love a good romantic suspense/thriller/mystery.

Is there a book on any of my reading lists that you’d like me to write a review on? I considered writing book reviews on the second and third books in Charles Martin’s Keeper trilogy (Murphy Shepherd novels). Let me know if you want to read my thoughts and insights considering those books.

This fall, I will continue to post new chapters of my novel Filling the Cracks, which I’ve been publishing one chapter at a time each Wednesday here on my blog. If you haven’t read Filling the Cracks yet, you can start now with Chapter One at this link. Also, for those who subscribe to my email newsletter, I’m providing exclusive access to the Prologue of Filling the Cracks, along with news, updates, and future gifts available only to subscribers. If you haven't signed up yet, you can do so in the section below this post.

Thank you again for reading. Please share this post with your friends and family and return on Wednesday for the next installment of Filling the Cracks and next Sunday for another informative post. May God bless you richly!

Pauline J. Grabia

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