Airports, Art, Aprons – OKC Visit Part 1 of 5

Mid May Frank and I were flying out to Oklahoma City for a week visit with Robin, Jeremy, Autumn and Isaiah. OKC is one of those places that "you can't really get there from here" and so we found ourselves being routed through the Denver Airport on Tuesday May 15th.

If I have to spend time at an airport, I try to make the best of it and look around to take in the oddities or curiosities. Airports are a common place to see artwork. On the ceiling of Terminal C near a grouping of eateries we saw these abstract sculptures and I later learned they were by an artist named Anibel Catalan. I thought they were planes, some sort of morphed version of the old biplanes from the barn stormer era. But I was wrong.

Poking around on the internet, doing an image search of the sculptures, I came across a site called hyperallergic.com which is a "forum for serious, playful and radical thinking about art in the world today". I have absolutely no idea why that is the title. The site was the winner of Best Art Blog at the 2011 Art & Reality Conference in St. Petersburg, Russia. Per Hyperallergic

The cluster of sculptures by Catalan, “Vorticity” (2016), is beautifully out of place among the C concourse’s fast food chains. The suspended swarm of yellow, black, and silver geometric mobiles might be abstracted bees, but more likely they’re spaceships or intergalactic settlements forming the spiral of a new galaxy. The artist’s background in architecture is evident in the installation’s industrial forms and its integration with the hectic airport environment.

I guess my ignorance in interpretation about those metal sculptures as morphed biplanes is evident.  But bouncing back from my faux pas, I spied these benches, the shape of which intrigued me. I found no internet information on them so happily I can continue in my musing that I liked them just for their sinusoidal serpentine waviness and not feel I was missing out on the "real" meaning. The bench was pretty comfortable too. Hmmm. Perhaps, form does follow function!

Emerging from the world of artsy culture I found an almost polar opposite offbeat curiosity. Have you ever wondered what is behind those pet relief stations signs? We came across an open door and found out.

Frank went inside to investigate further. He – er – pseudo tried it out for himself. It was quite roomy he commented, but smelled rather bad. I took his word for it while continuing to play the role of photo journalist from afar to avoid the aroma.

After killing some time with this series of quirky diversions, we moved on to the gate for our flight to Oklahoma City. As my previous post reviewing The Woman in Cabin 10 will attest, the book I was reading was pretty bad, so these side detours had looked far more entertaining.

Our flight to OKC was on time and only mildly turbulent as we left Denver. While waiting for luggage at OKC, I perused the artwork along the wall in the baggage area. It was of a Native American theme.

Two pieces particularly caught my eye. This one was titled His Hair Flows Like A River, a woodcut by T.C. Cannon. I wondered whose hair? The man's or the wolf's? Knowing my penchant for polka dots, I attributed their presence in the background as playing a key role in the artwork's appeal to me. Perhaps those dots had a message from the artist that I missed? I could still enjoy them without needing to ferret out a deeper meaning.

The second work of art I liked was called Some Kind of Buckaroo, a serigraph by Jean LaMarr. I was drawn to the color of the sky and to the pattern of the damask fabric "earth" but even more so to the odd textural combination of barbed wire and wire mesh overlaid on the Native American cowboy. Also, seeing the jets juxtaposed with the fluffy chaps seemed like an amusing anachronism.

But I think what really clinched it was that it reminded me of that image of a drive in movie theatre where three modes of transportation are present, a car, a train, and a plane. The 1956 photo is titled Hotshot Eastbound  and the photographer was O. Winston Link. Because of Frank's train enthusiasm I learned that Link was known for his black and white rail photography.

For my own education I looked up woodcut, and the difference between a lithograph and a serigraph. Since a serigraph is a silkscreen process the paint can be felt on the paper surface. In a lithograph the paper is pressed onto a painted flat surface and the ink soaks in flush, not to be felt. Wow. Metal sculpture, wood sculpture, woodcut, serigraph, photograph – I sure do feel artfully enlightened; and all before even picking up our rental car and driving to Robin and Jeremy's to conclude a long day of travel.

Wednesday May 16th, and Thursday May 17th we rested and nested from our travel. I did some food shopping and cooking and we distributed gifts I'd packed. I learned Isaiah loves raspberries.

Autumn pranced and danced around in the child-sized ruffled apron I'd made for her.

Father and son were a handsome duo in the coordinating fireman themed aprons I'd made for them.

The next activity up on our visiting agenda would be a tour of the University of Oklahoma on Friday May 18th led by Jeremy.

Ponder Post: The Woman in Cabin 10

The Woman in Cabin 10 is written by Ruth Ware who also wrote The Lying Game. I enjoyed The Lying Game immensely and rated it 5 stars. (See my post for 5/3/18.) My expectations for the Woman in Cabin 10 were similarly high and I was dreadfully disappointed. The main character has a panic disorder which subjects her to anxiety attacks. She winds up in situations that would freak out a psychologically normal person so she consumes alcohol as well as medications to cope. In describing Laura’s physical state, I feel the author must have used up all the plausible phrases for a headache – throbbing head, pulsing skull, pounding temples, etc. –  and worn out the pages of her thesaurus to find even more alternatives. I would have liked a reprieve on some pages where the heroine’s headache was abated, at least for a few paragraphs.

The heroine Laura Blackwell is a travel journalist and is trying to climb the corporate ladder in her career; at least she thinks she wants to advance. She is in an intimate relationship with her boyfriend Judah; at least she thinks she want to be. She is assigned to be on the maiden voyage of a yacht-sized luxury liner and views it as a big opportunity for herself; at least she thinks this could be a breakthrough for her. This heroine is so full of self doubt and ill-defined goals that I developed a strong dislike for her. A book is very, very long when you find yourself not rooting for the heroine. The cover is appealing; it is realistic enough that I needed to repeatedly touch it to assure myself it was not wet with condensation or water rivulets. But the well-designed cover was insufficient to sway my low opinion of the 384 droning pages within. The droning was indeed the book – not the confines of the airplane I was on while reading. As a captured audience, I was obliged to plod onward with The Woman in Cabin 10 for lack of a better option.

The plot is that Laura thinks she witnessed a murder of the woman in cabin 10, but because of her inherent psychological frailties, she is not believed. Description of the other passengers and staff, all potential suspects in the unconfirmed murder, drags on ad nauseam. The mystery kept me plugging along, but if the heroine croaked in the process, I would have been perfectly OK with that, possibly even relieved that she would finally be out of her misery. In case it is not obvious, I rate this book low, probably 2 stars. Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express it was not.

Ponder Post: Appliance Woes

Last night Frank and I returned from an eight day trip to Oklahoma City. A couple days before we left our washing machine broke. I walked into the laundry room to an acrid burning smell and a machine that had stopped dead, mid-cycle, full of water, of course. I tried to manually put it on other cycles to get it to limp along to a finish, at least a water drain, but to no avail. Then about an hour later the machine started up of its own accord and finished the cycle! Yay. No way was I going to chance adding another load. I called a repair service. This machine may be old but I do not want one of those new fangled low water usage machines. I know I sound like an old fuddy-duddy but when I wash the fabrics for my quilts I want the excess dye to be diluted and transferred out of the cloth, not filtered through it repeatedly.

A repairman from Aries Appliance was able to come out the day before we were to leave but a part had to be ordered and the machine could not be fixed until after our return. Good thing our trip was a visit to our daughter Robin and her family. Frank and I packed dirty clothes in our suitcases and washed them when we got to Oklahoma – a reverse from the norm, but hey, whatever works. An appliance repair visit was scheduled for the day after we returned – today! The disassembly was quite extensive.

Apparently the main gear housing was leaking oil, overheated, and triggered a shutdown.

Here is a closeup of the leaking culprit.

It is all together and, for a mere $587.37 service invoice, is working fine. Now, for joy, I get to catch up on all that laundry.

While we were visiting Oklahoma – and doing laundry –  Robin and Jeremy's refrigerator broke. Ironic, huh! We took a planned day trip to Wichita, Kansas and when we returned, Robin was home with a refrigerator repairman.

After the repairman left Robin began to discard untrusted food items and previously overlooked expired food items. She send me this photo and text.

I did not reply with images of the laundry piled on the bed or our overflowing laundry baskets. But I did have a reflective thought. Today, while I am doing laundry catchup, Robin is doing refrigerator purging. Like mother, like daughter – sort of...

Ponder Post: New Words

A vocabulary lesson that is just for fun:

detornadoize (verb)
undo the results of a tornado-like chaos not necessarily caused by nature

exhaustipated (adjective)

a more genteel way of expressing the feeling of being too tired to give a s**t

aboobinate (verb)

breast feed an infant in a language understood (and often used) by an older toddler-aged sibling

Use the words in a sentence:

She was up several times during the night to aboobinate her infant and so she was exhaustipated and needed to recover before she could detornadoize the kitchen and family room.

Another vocabulary puzzle can be found at the Wander or Ponder post for October 7, 2014.

Sacramento

Yesterday we picked up Alex from his home and drove north, about a 90 minute drive, to visit the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento. Old Sacramento is a 28-acre National Historic Landmark District and State Historic Park, located along the beautiful Sacramento River. As we passed beneath on overpass, having exited the freeway, the first indicator we see of having reached our destination is the museum sign dead ahead.

After parking in a lot with shade and ample spaces – both rarities I know –  we strolled to the train museum, pausing to take a few snapshots of the pony express commemorative statue. Alex appears to be staring off into the distance, perhaps to see from whence this galloping steed may have come.

From the plaque we learn that the Pony Express began on April 4, 1860. With 121 riders and 500 ponies the Pony Express delivered 35,000 pieces of mail during its 18 month existence.

The streets of Old Sacramento are quite quaint. The sidewalks are actually boardwalks like you would see in the movies for an old western town. The streets are cobble stones. Both of these features are killers on the knees but do contribute to an authentic air. Several of these horse drawn carriages traverse the main street regularly. Alex watches on, interested in the horses.

Once we were in the museum we watched a 20 minute introductory video. Afterward, the film screen raises up and the visitors are treated to this panoramic view of a locomotive. They exit to this life size display to self-guide themselves through the museum or join a 30 minute tour. Frank is listening to the tour guide talk for a brief while, but when Alex (and I) grew antsy we soon moved on to see things at our own pace.

It had been about 1:30 pm when we had arrived in Old Sacramento and parked, so by now we needed a bite to eat. We stopped at a corner shop just outside the museum that sold freshly made mini-donuts. They cooked your order once you placed it, that is how fresh they were!  In case that was not decadent enough they also served ice cream. It was a gorgeous day and as we perched outdoors at on barrel stools surrounding a round wooden table  I noticed a sign on the shop window that seems to belie the web site for Old Sacramento that boasts

Bustling with activity, the district is alive with shopping, dining, entertainment, historical attractions and world-renowned museums...

I think that "Dementia Friendly Sacramento" sign might compete – just a bit –  with the image being touted on the website. Maybe you keep coming back because you forget you have been there?

In lieu of going back into the museum, we bought tickets for the 4:00 pm museum excursion steam train ride that parallels the Sacramento River on a six-mile roundtrip journey.

Here we are waiting for the train. "Look at the camera, Alex."  No way. He'd rather watch for our train to arrive.

And arrive it does. The black engine you see at the front will uncouple and scoot around on another track to the rear of the train to pull in the opposite direction.

Once we are aboard we chose to sit in an outdoor car. It had a covered roof for sun protection and we had a lovely breeze while waiting. Sacramento can be quite hot but our day was mellow and pleasant. Off on the left of the photo, at mid height, is the black smoking locomotive making its way to the front of our cars to pull us. The train will reach a maximum speed of about 25 mph so we are not blasted by the wind even when under full steam ahead.  Boarding time and travel time takes about 45 minutes.

While we are waiting for the locomotive to relocate, I attempt a new kind of selfie. We can be seen but it seems like we are inside the car on the adjacent track, barely visible, in the two left most windows under the big "A". 

How about if I zoom in? Can you see us now? Alex is behind the riveted window frame but I am on the left and Frank is on the right. This image reminds me of the ending of the Haunted Mansion attraction at Disneyland where we are advised to beware of hitch-hiking ghosts.

Our route takes us along side the Sacramento River, between it and Interstate Route 5, three miles south and three miles back north. 

The Delta King does river excursions. Maybe we will investigate that further for our next trip.

We pass riverside restaurants such as Joe's Crab Shack.

There are speed boats and skee-doos on the river and the occasional bicyclist on the bike path.

Once we have reached our southernmost point. The locomotive uncouples and makes it short trip to the other end of our train.

Frank waves to the engineer as he passes. The engineer waves back.

The Granite Rock Co. No. 10 steams past us on a parallel track...

and then continues on to couple at the other end.

On the route back the engine stop to blow out it's excess steam since we are the last run of the day. A white spout shoots out of the left side of the engine with a loud blasting noise. It was very impressive and although we were warned I was unprepared to get a photo. Oh, well. That is what imaginations are for. A few blocks shy of the museum stop where we will get off, we glimpse a view of the state capitol building in the distance. I captured its location on the previous map.

After our train excursion we were ready to return home. Before we got into our car we stopped off for hot dogs and chicken strips at a small shop. I snapped a picture of the sign because it bears the name of my dad and a nickname for my new grandson William. I doubt he will ever be a Willie but you never know... I still liked the coincidence.

  

It was a fun day and we will do it again for sure. We listened to three hours total of Disney music on the ride up and back. I think Frank might have liked to change that part of our outing, but Alex was very much on board with that audio situation.

Ponder Post: Whiskey Creek Series

Soap Operas
I have never been a fan of soap operas, never watched any of the daytime classics such as Day of Our Lives or All My Children to name two familiar show titles that come to mind. I will admit to being hooked on the 1978-1991 primetime weekly soap opera Dallas, with Larry Hagman as J.R. Ewing and Patrick Duffy as Bobby, living on the expansive Southfork Ranch in the oil country of Texas. After all, who in America did not wonder, "Who Shot J.R."? But other than Dallas, the drama of soap operas held no appeal. A soap opera is defined as a television or radio drama series dealing typically with daily events in the lives of the same group of characters. Per Wikipedia, "The term soap opera originated from radio dramas being sponsored by soap manufacturers."

Why do I mention the soap opera genre of TV shows? Because a series of romance novels is like a soap opera where the viewer/reader gets attached to a group of characters and wonders what is going to happen to each of them. In spite of my ambivalence toward soap operas, I have been reading a lot of romance novels of late, ten of them to be exact, all from the same series. I got hooked on reading the Whiskey Creek series of romances by Brenda Novak.

Whisky Creek Series Appeal

This series takes place in the gold country of California in a small town called Whiskey Creek not far from Sacramento. I have been to many of the gold country towns mentioned in the books as being near the fictitious Whiskey Creek, so there is a bit of comfort in the familiarity of the region. The series features a cast of characters, all friends from high school who have not moved far from Whiskey Creek and who meet on Fridays at a local coffee shop. Each has a different occupation and skill set that they use not only to make a living but to help and aid each other with services and emotional support. They each meet a mate in a different manner and the courtship story of each is related. Spouses are eclectic and their diversity is welcomed as the group expands.

Each character has his minor faults and possible skeletons in his closet, but is primarily good at heart and wrestles with his actions to be kind and fair. I like how the author portrays the characters' thought processes and motivation for their actions or reluctance to act. There are few "bad" characters in the books, enough to provide interest but not so evil that they are through and through rotten. Only one that I can think of, the self-important sheriff who enjoys throwing his weight around, is a continuous thread throughout the series. Otherwise each book has its own villainous "bad guy" that stands alone.

I feel slightly apologetic and sheepish for enjoying these books so much as my "guilty pleasure". That is one reason why there is only one post for ten books. They are not the rocket science of the literary world. How deep can they be when Brenda Novak is able to churn out two to three books for publication each year?

     2012     Books 1, 2

     2013     Books 3, 4, 5

     2014     Books 6, 7

     2015     Books 8, 9

     2016     Book 10

Nevertheless, they were a pleasant, enjoyable, and delightful diversion, and I had fun reading each. I remember the characters' names - pretty much all of them! In an earlier post (4/18/18) about The Wife Between Us, I had to go back and look up the names of the three main characters to write the blog entry. That bit of tell-tale information shows how memorable the characters were to me and how little intimate involvement I developed with them as the reader. Contrast that with the bonding between the Whiskey Creek residents and me; I can recall the names and varied personas from a ten book series. Just think of how many irrelevant wrinkles I have imprinted in my brain.

Reading Order Guidance

I referenced a handy checklist  to help me decide my reading order for the Whiskey Creek  series #11 below. The guide is a free kindle download on Amazon.

Here is what the page for the Whiskey Creek Series looks like with Amazon links to purchase the books. (See why the guide is free?) It is much more convenient than trying to read the entry for each book on Amazon and attempting to locate and order the copyright dates, especially since more than one book is published within a year.

Novel Synopses

Finally, to the specifics! Following is a brief glimpse into the storyline of each the ten novels and my comments about how well I liked it. The underlined name represents a member of the Whiskey Creek community.

When Lightning Strikes (Book 1 ©2012) Gail and Simon

Although she has her roots in Whiskey Creek, Gail runs a successful public relations firm in Los Angles. Simon, a famous, highly talented actor is one of her clients. He is a nightmare of a client, periodically indulging in wild, reckless behavior that presents a real problem for his image that Gail has to repeatedly remedy. Convincing him to spend a few months in the quiet town of Whiskey Creek out of the Los Angels limelight, Gail addresses the cause behind his erratic behavior. This book follows the theme of the 1996 movie Jerry Maguire, where a manager/agent shows a deep personal concern and empathy toward his client beyond that of a profitable business relationship. The Whiskey Creek characters are introduced in this book and I think it was my favorite.

When Snow Falls (Book 2 ©2012) Cheyenne and Dylan

Cheyenne is a coffee club regular, when she can, and Dylan is an outsider with a bad boy reputation.

Cheyenne has led a rough itinerant life, being dragged from town to town by a homeless crack-whore mother, living day to day with no reliable source of food or shelter. Now the "mother" is on her death bed and they have settled in Whiskey Creek where Cheyenne selflessly spends her days caring for the dying woman. Dylan is the oldest of the five Amos brothers, a wild reckless crew whose mother died when Dylan was 15 and whose father was sent to jail two years later. Dylan drops out of high school to hang on to the family business and raise his four younger brothers. The story reveals how two people who were dealt a poor hand of cards remain self-sacrificing. Both from "the wrong side of the tracks" Cheyenne and Dylan meet and, against the odds, realize how deeply they care for each other. I liked that this world was quite a contrast from the upscale life of Gail and Simon in Book 1 showing that loves thrives in all settings. The theme reminded me to keep an open mind about people.

When Summer Comes (Book 3 - ©2013) Callie and Levi

The villain in this book is the liver disease contracted by Callie, a coffee club member and author of children's books. Unwilling to disclose her terminal diagnosis to her friends and change the dynamic between them, she moves off to the peace of a cabin on her grandparents' farm. A blood-soaked stranger comes knocking on her door in the middle of one night seeking help. The drama which unfolds about the people who are persecuting Levi and about Callie's struggles to cope with and yet conceal her sickness make for a page turning story with several ups and downs. I liked the tenderness and mutual respect and trust that developed between Callie and Levi.

Home to Whiskey Creek (Book 4 - ©2013) Noah and Adelaide

Noah owns a bike shop in town. Adelaide had a slight crush on him from high school days when he was two grades ahead of her, but he never really noticed her.  She left Whiskey Creek after an episode at graduation made her uncomfortable to stay but she returns to help her aging grandmother run the popular local restaurant Just Like Mom's.  Noah definitely notices her now, but she avoids him. Could it have anything to do with the death of his twin brother? Or perhaps her seeking justice for a crime of the past can be an issue. Noah's mingling parents complicated the situation. Book 4 had an air of mystery about it that urged me on, but it was not one of my favorites.

Take Me Home for Christmas (Book 5 - ©2013) Ted and Sophia

Ted is a very well established bachelor who writes successful thriller novels for a living. Sophia is married to a very rich man and lives in wealth under the thumb of her abusive husband. Her husband gained his wealth by committing fraud and then disappears leaving her penniless, destitute, and abandoned by friends who can not believe she was not complicit in the deception. Ted comes to her aid. This book presented the case of those who are not guilty of a crime but are scorned and treated as if they have, merely from association with the perpetrator. They are victims, too, and deserve appropriate consideration, not harsh judgment. I found the interference of Ted's mother in the Ted/Sophia relationship to be quite entertaining.

Come Home to Me (Book 6 - ©2014) Aaron and Presley

Aaron is the second oldest of the five Amos who ran pretty wild in their late teen years. He is pretty settled now and works in the family auto body business. Aaron holds a deep affection for his older brother Dylan, though he would never display it, even grudgingly. The two boys had been constantly at odds with each other during Aaron's teen years since Dylan needed to act as the father figure toward a resentful and rebellious Aaron who was only two years younger. I liked this slant on relationships in this book because it reached beyond a typical male/female romance. Presley was Aaron's cohort in reckless behavior in her late adolescence. She left Whiskey Creek for a couple years and returns with her two year old son to be with her sister Cheyenne, now married to Dylan. She too has turned over a new leaf  and is opening a yoga studio and massage business. Will Aaron and Presley resume their wild ways if they associate with each other and allow their former attraction for each other to resume?  Come Home to Me had a secondary portion of the plot line that was a bit too far fetched to make it a favorite of mine but redeemed itself in some part with the brother-to-brother interactions.

The Heart of Christmas (Book 7 - 2014) Eve and a dark stranger

Eve is suddenly attracted to a dark stranger who is a guest at the bed and breakfast she runs. He seems mysterious and evasive in nature but she is drawn to him for some inexplicable reason. Eve's friends want to accept this man into their social circle, giving him the benefit of the doubt, but still are cautiously leery of his character. They surreptitiously conduct a search to discern the stranger's true identity. Most of the book was more of a mystery and action novel than a romance genre, but a romance novel by definition contains some sensuality. The timing and location of Eve's sexual encounters with this man seemed very improbable and contrived to me. To me, they were merely a distraction from The Heart of Christmas's overall mystery, action, and fast moving plot. The exquisite overarching Christmas season and Victorian type celebrations were delightful features of this book, too. A bed and breakfast in a renovated Victorian decked out with all the traditional wreaths, greenery, bows, and baubles makes for a very festive and enjoyable backdrop.

This Heart of Mine (Book 8 - 2015) Riley, son Jacob, and Phoenix

Riley and Phoenix used to be boyfriend and girlfriend back in their high school days. They conceived a child together, Jacob their son. But when Riley was pressured by parents and others to move on to a different girl under the premise that Phoenix was not good enough for him, he did. Phoenix tried hard to win him back. She was convicted of running down and killing his new love interest at the side of the road and was sent to jail despite her protestations of innocence. The motive of jealousy was too strong and she was behind the wheel of the car. In addition to the circumstantial evidence from the car death, Phoenix comes from a impoverished background and has a crass, trailer park type mother who is a hoarder. No one rushes to her defense. Immediately after his birth in prison, Jacob was taken from her and sent to live with his father. Riley allowed no contact between Phoenix and Jacob while she was incarcerated, again on advice from others as to what was best for Jacob. The action of the novel focuses on what transpires when Phoenix is released from jail. She desperately wants to establish a relationship with her now teen age son. How will Riley handle the situation? Phoenix now has a prison record as a additional obstacle. The odds are stacked against her to resume a position in society. Riley loved her once. Can that love rekindle and can Phoenix gain joy from relationships she has been denied for the term of her imprisonment? Was she even guilty of the crime for which she was jailed? The unfairness of people toward those who are trying to make a fresh start in life is very irritating in This Heart of Mine. Phoenix's struggles were painful enough that this book had diminished enjoyment for me.

Winter Wedding (Book 9 - 2015) Kyle and a country singer
Kyle and his best friend Riley are the only remaining souls of the group of coffee house friends who are unmatched with a mate. The love of Kyle's life married his stepbrother and he never quite recovered. After a divorce from a marriage of obligation to an ex-wife who badgers him and will not let go, he is resigned to a single life, only hoping it will become more peaceful. Although unlucky in love, Kyle is exceedingly successful at running a thriving and growing solar panel business as well as owning and managing several rental properties. A famous country singer comes to stay at one of his rentals and takes it upon herself to help him find a mate on the computer dating sites. There is little doubt where this is going to lead for the two unsuspecting parties. The path there is bemusing and there is some criminal action along the way to energize the novel. Winter Wedding was fun. Don't jump to conclusions and be fooled, though. The wedding in the title is not Kyle's. It is the wedding of his best friend Riley.

Discovering You (Book 10) Rod and India , Mack and Natasha

The tenth book of the Whiskey Creek Series focuses on the romantic interests of the third and fifth of the Amos brothers. India is a regular attendee of the coffee club, but to me Rod, Mack, and Natasha are satellite characters in whose life story I was not as invested. India's husband was murdered in front of her in their bedroom and his parents (her in-laws) blame her since she knew the invader. The murderer escaped conviction and India fears for him seeking her out again and relocates to Whisky Creek to "hide". Her neighbor, Rod does some sleuthing to find evidence that will prove the guilt of the criminal. The sleuthing he does seems improbable and his methods of ingratiating himself with the man to gain information is distasteful. In the process he is attracted to India. In parallel there is a one-sided romance developing between Mack and Natasha. This was my least favorite of the ten romances. Perhaps I was tired of them by now but I do not think that is the reason. Trying to cram two relationship pairs about people I have little interest in does not make for absorbing fiction. But I was bound and determined to complete the set of ten and I did!

Cover Stories

When I review a book in one of my posts I always include an image of the book cover to draw in my reader visually. Who is enticed to read a post that is all text? Yet the adage "you can't judge a book by its cover" is certainly true in this series. When I scroll up and look at the ten covers of these books, none of them is relevant to the storyline of the book, other than kissing and romantic poses. Hair color and skin tones do not match the text description. In some cases even the season on the cover is wrong. Also, when I searched Google images of appropriate cover pictures to include in this post I found several choices for the same book.  Why is this?

I read all ten of these novels in the digital version from an Amazon download via a Kindle app. I researched and learned that a Kindle book has different requirements for a cover than does a hard copy of the same book. The Kindle cover needs to be attractive and recognizable as a thumbnail. It has to read well in black and white as well as in color. The cover of a hardcover version of a book may be entirely different. There is also no need for a spine or a back cover on a Kindle book. So if a book is available in only a Kindle version, there very well may not be any back cover. I found interesting information on cover art in the article https://blog.liberwriter.com/2013/02/26/kindle-book-covers-what-you-should-know/. These tidbits of fact that I have just shared prove that I can indeed gain some intellectual value from reading romance novels!