Wildfire, summer reads deal
Stuff is on fire up here in Ontario and even though we’re the equivalent of a couple of US states away, we’re still getting some smoke in the Ottawa area. Toronto is getting a lot, which means parts of the US are probably getting some smoke too. Sorry if that’s happening to you. It’s happening to lots of folks right now.
Really liking farmers markets at the moment because small farmers aren’t growing food with diarrhea parasites on them. We also have access to salad greens and other goodies grown indoors, which eliminates the risk factors that lead to cyclospora contamination. Fieldless, for example, is a favorite; year-round growing season, no pesticides, packaging that uses way less plastic. I’m sure something equivalent must exist in the States—and both the US and Canada could use a lot more of this.
Went for a bike ride the other day (when it wasn’t smoky) and we ran across a local market thing going on. There was a dude with local honey made from real bees (which is kind of harder to get than you might think in a grocery store, lots of it is fake) so we grabbed a jar of that; I got to pet FOUR DOGS and they were all very sweet pups; and I scored a new mug fired in a kiln by a local artist. It has SKULLS and ROSES on it, and welcome to my thesis wherein I shall prove that skulls represent the undeath of sleep and the roses represent renewal and growth so this mug is obviously perfect for my morning coffee.
This month’s letter from Oberon (in Oberon’s Post Club) is all about simple joys—which are many, but Oberon really likes startling cats, as he did at the widow MacDonagh’s house, and watching them jump. The sticker is in French, a riff on the Le Chat Noir thing, but making it The Scared Black Cat instead. Join in if you’d like to get that letter, postcard, and sticker from Oberon!
Wanted to run a summer reading special till the end of the month: Any four paperbacks from Horned Lark Press for $40. If any of the paperbacks you choose happen to be written by me, they’ll be signed. You’ll get a Horned Lark sticker and bookmark, PLUS a bonus sticker or two that’ll be a surprise. Here’s what’s available:
The Purloined Poodle • The Squirrel on the Train • Death & Honey • Canines & Cocktails • Oberon’s Bathtime Stories • The Great Big Bear • Coyote Run
And here is a link to that particular sale, which runs until July 31.
Here’s what I’m reading now:
The Dragon Has Some Complaints
In this heartfelt and humorous fantasy from the Nebula-winning author of Someone You Can Build a Nest In, a dragon whose three heads bear rather…different...personalities finds family in the most unexpected of places.
Garrodigh was once a four-headed dragon, among the most powerful in Kardoša. After an unfortunate incident, he now has three heads, one stump, and a daily whirlwind of internal bickering. Centerhead wants to rain death upon all humanity, Bottomhead is like a feral cat, and Upperhead is under the delicate delusion that he is, in fact, human.
When a nearby battle goes awry, Garrodigh sneaks into an elite dragon rider academy, pretending to be tame to get free food and a warm bed. Lucky for him, rider Rania Charvátová is desperate enough for a dragon of her own that she overlooks his eccentricities.
As Garrodigh recovers under Rania’s care, all three heads start to turn, for the first time, in the same direction. Each wants to protect her from the invaders who killed their fourth head—the same invaders who seek to conquer Kardoša. When the academy comes under attack, can this wild dragon and his wilder rider save their homeland together?
This cozy fantasy intertwines epic battles with loving friendships, sharing an utterly unique perspective on what it means to be a “monster.”
Throw Away the Key
New York Times bestselling author Jason M. Hough pens a fast-paced thriller packed full of action, perfect for fans of Alma Katsu and David McCloskey.
Lars Bergman is no ordinary janitor. He’s the CIA’s locksmith.
Formerly part of the CIA’s infamous Surreptitious Entry Team, Lars is now responsible for every padlock, safe, and secure door across the CIA headquarters. He’s never met a lock he couldn’t pick…except one, which he tried and failed to open during a botched mission in Warsaw at the end of the Cold War.
Cruising toward retirement, Lars’s life is upended when a senior CIA official dies and he’s called upon to open the safe in her office. Inside the safe is a clue only Lars would notice, left by someone he’d worked with in his heyday. As he investigates, Lars soon realizes that his failed Warsaw operation has come back to haunt him and perhaps give him another chance at picking the one lock that’s ever eluded him.
What Lars doesn’t realize is that what the lock is protecting could have dire ramifications for the organization he has spent his whole adult life safekeeping.
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