As usual, I read a lot of urban and supernatural fantasy, and most of the series I read as new releases fell into that category, so this is going to be the biggest post (as usual). There are a couple older books here that I didn’t know about or didn’t read when they first came out, but most of these books are from authors I pre-order when I see they have a book coming out.

The Rook (2012) Daniel O’Malley (9/10)

Stiletto (2016) Daniel O’Malley (9.5/10)

I had Rook on my wish-list forever, picked it up on sale, then it sat on my TBR pile forever. Once I started it, however, I wanted more and immediately read Stiletto.

This is an urban-fantasy-secret-agent thriller with amnesia and the British government and foreign spies.

You should really check it out.

The Ghoul Vendetta (2017) Lisa Shearin (9/10) – SPI Files book 4

Lisa Shearin’s SPI Files are an auto-buy for me. It’s secret agents and urban fantasy, which are my catnip, but it also has an intelligent and sensible main character who is NOT having a relationship with her handsome partner.

This series starts with The Grendel Affair.

Battle Hill Bolero (2017) Daniel José Older (8.5/10) – Bone Street Rumba book 3

Daniel José Older is fast-becoming one of my favorite authors. He writes of people and places I have no knowledge of, and creates amazing female characters (second only to Charles de Lint in my opinion).

This is the third book of the Bone Street Rumba, and the closing of that specific story arc.

This series starts with Half-Resurrection Blues but you could also begin with Salsa Nocturna.

Cold Reign (2017) Faith Hunter (8.5/10) – Jane Yellowrock book 11

Flame in the Dark (2017) Faith Hunter (8.5/10) – Soulwood book 3

Faith Hunter has been an auto-buy for me for quite awhile now. She has two series set in the same world: Jane Yellowrock (the Cherokee vampire hunter) and Soulwood (Nell, who left the religious sect/cult where she was raised).

Jane’s series has boinking, Nell’s series does not.

In both series the women are strong but also do not fit into society at all: Jane because she was found as an older child with no memory of her past; Nell because she was raised in an extremely strict and paranoid religious sect. Nell’s main story arc ended with this book. Jane’s is still going strong.

Additionally, if you like audio books I very much enjoy Kristine Hvam’s narration. I’ve been slowly listening to Jane’s series and am just about caught up. I also discovered that this has allowed me to retain the story elements without having to re-read the series to each new publication. (Not that I mind doing so–it’s just that we’re on book 11 now.)

The Jane Yellowrock series begins with Skinwalker. Nell’s series begins with Blood of the Earth.

New Watch (2012/2013) Sergei Lukyanenko translated by Andrew Bromfield (8/10) – Night Watch book 5

I still haven’t read the sixth and final book of the Night Watch series, but did finally get around to reading the fifth.

That’s the problem I have with series I adore–I don’t want them to end, so if I know a book is the final book I’ll keep putting off reading it. Luckily, that’s easy enough to do with the Night Watch series because each book has three intertwining but self-contained stories.

If you’ve missed my previous million recommendations, it’s a Russian urban fantasy series, and I utterly love it. Go get Night Watch and read forward from there.

Who Killed Sherlock Holmes (2016) Paul Cornell (8/10) – Shadow Police book 3

Paul Cornell is quickly becoming an auto-buy. It took me forever to read the first Shadow Police book, but once I got into it, I loved it. But for some reason I put off reading the second book, which was also excellent, and after finishing it, I immediately started the third book. Although this series is clearly not over, a couple of important arcs were tied up in this book (as much as new arcs began).

A word of warning: this series is very dark, and a lot of bad things happen to the characters. But it isn’t gratuitous horribleness–in this book most of what happens to Quill is a direct result of his NOT dealing with the events in the previous book. And that, of course, is what makes me like the series so much.

You definitely want to start with the first book, London Falling, and read forward from there. Each book has a self-contained story arc, but a LOT happens in each book that has tremendous bearing on the following books.

The Furthest Station (2017) Ben Aaronovitch (8/10) – Rivers of London book 6

The Hanging Tree (2017) Ben Aaronovitch (8.5/10) – Rivers of London novella

I love the Rivers of London series: I enjoy the comics, I love Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s narration, and I adore all the story lines.

My theory is that Ben Aaronovitch keeps writing side-stories that he can’t put into the novels, so those have become the comics, a novella, and a single stand-alone audio short story.

It means there is a lot to keep up on, but is also means that there is generally something coming out to further the story along. Even more importantly, it also means we get to learn more about secondary characters, such as Guleed, who is utterly marvelous.

This series begins with Midnight Riot.

White Hot (2017) Ilona Andrews (8/10) – Hidden Legacy book 2

This is the middle book of Ilona Andrews’ Hidden Legacy series. One reason I don’t adore this series is that there is a lot of boinging and complicated romantic entanglements. I’d have prefered more about the secondary characters and way less boinking. But it’s still a good series.

The Books of 2017

I have a list of mystery authors I tend to auto-buy, however, only two of those authors made this list. The others were books I found on sale or had on my wish-list and received as gifts.

Publisher Tally
Berkley: 3/4

A Study In Scarlet Women (2016) Sherry Thomas (Berkley)

This is a gorgeous cover, letting you know that this is an historical mystery and the main character is a woman who goes out and does things. I think the light streaming from the opening door is a particularly nice touch.

This is the first book in this series.

Where the Dead Lie (2017) C.S. Harris (Berkley)

I’ll be honest, I don’t much like this model as Sebastian. However, they did a fantastic job despite the model not matching the description of Sebastian, so although this isn’t my favorite of her covers, it’s still beautiful.

This series begins with What Angels Fear

Earthly Remains (2017) Donna Leon (Atlantic Monthly Press)

All of her covers are scenes from Venice, and even if they don’t necessarily grab your attention the way other covers do, they are pretty, and they let you know that you are getting a Brunetti mystery.

It may be at this point I just have a Pavlovian response to this covers, knowing that within is not just a mystery, but the atmosphere and food of Venice.

This series begins with Death at La Fenice

A Perilous Undertaking (2017) Deanna Raybourn (Berkley)

This is a gorgeous cover. It’s really a piece of art.

It makes me wish I loved the story as much as the cover.

This is the second book in the series, which starts with A Curious Beginning

The Books of 2017

If you can’t figure out why I like these covers, then there is no hope for you.

Mockingbird Vol. 1: I Can Explain (2016) Chelsea Cain, Kate Niemczyk, Ibrahim Moustafa, Joelle Jones (Marvel)

Mockingbird Vol. 2: My Feminist Agenda (2017) Chelsea Cain, Kate Niemczyk, Sean Parsons, Rachelle Rosenberg (Marvel)

Rivers of London Volume 3: Black Mould (2017) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan (Titan)

Rat Queens Vol. 1: Sass & Sorcery  (2013) Kurtis Wiebe and Roc Upchurch (Image)

Princeless: Vol. One: Save Yourself (2012) Jeremy Whitley and Mia Goodwin (Action Lab Entertainment)

The Books of 2017

There are a lot of reasons for me to like a book cover. I (despite what always being told) have always judged books by their covers when searching for new authors, mostly because I’d usually only have a limited time in the book store whomever I was with got bored, so I tended to gravitate towards covers I liked, and covers similar to books I already liked.

And now, with so many eBooks coming at me from sale emails and book blogs, I still simply bypass a cover that is unappealing, unless that book was specifically recommended.

Publisher Tally
Ace: 4/12
DAW: 2/12

Street Magicks (2016) edited by Paula Guran (Prime Books)

I like a lot of things about this cover, from the woman in an active pose (she is obviously doing something) to the colors and swirls making things look mysterious.

Stiletto (2016) Daniel O’Malley (Little, Brown and Company)

This book is similar to the previous book, letting you know the two are tied. But the simplicity is what I particularly like. It’s not busy and although it tells you very little about the book, it definitely made me take a second glance, as it stands out.

Who Killed Sherlock Holmes (2016) Paul Cornell (Pan)

All three covers in this series so far have foggy and mono-chromatic views of the London skyline, but there is much more that is hidden than shown, which is perfect for the stories.

A Long Day in Lychford (2017) Paul Cornell (Tor.com)

Like his Shadow Police series, these covers are also foggy and mono-chromatic, yet they have a different feel, because the backdrop is a forest road rather than a city skyline. And like the previous books in this series (note: these are novellas) the covers all have a similar look, with a single color pallet for each book. And like the other series, the colors and fog give you a sense of mysteriousness, but in this series feeling less threatening.

One negative: that is not a modern-looking woman which gives the book a slightly historical feel, which it does not have. But it’s still a beautiful cover.

Shadowhouse Fall (2017) Daniel José Older (Arthur A. Levine Books)

This cover is so beautiful.

The model is obviously a teen, obviously a minority, and gorgeous but NOT sexualized. She’s not in an active position, and looks like she thinks someone might be following her, yet she doesn’t appear week. She might perhaps be scared, but she is not going to just let things happen to her.

Battle Hill Bolero (2017) Daniel José Older (Ace)

Sasha is clearly going to kick someone’s ass, and she’s going to kick ass while wearing reasonable clothing–she can totally run in those clothes (as well as kick and slash and stab).

I adore all the covers in this series, although I admit that the Kia cover is my favorite.

The Furthest Station (2017) Ben Aaronovitch

The Hanging Tree (2017) Ben Aaronovitch (DAW)

These continue the pattern of the previous books in the series (if you ignore the first American cover) showing a hand drawn map of the various areas in which the stories take place, with line drawings of various items related to the story. I really like how the drawings are both super simple and extremely complex. I try not to get high res images of the covers, lest I fall down the hole of looking at all the details of all the maps.

You know immediately that this is a new Rivers of London book.

The Ghoul Vendetta (2017) Lisa Shearin (Ace)

This is a series that I started because of its cover–Mac is in an active pose and on an equal footing with her (male) partner. She is not simpering or subservient or clinging. She is going to take care of herself, and she and her partner will take care of each other.

Firebug (2014) Lish McBride (Henry Holt and Co)

This cover immediately drew my attention, because those are the hands of a girl who works with her hands.

And sets things on fire.

Cold Reign (2017) Faith Hunter (Ace)

I adore this series, and the covers for this series. Even when they were not able to get a Native American model, they did their best to play up the way the model looked like Jane–and when they did get a model, the covers became even better.

Additional, from the get-go, Jane is on control and acting. This cover is a perfect example: she’s dressed in her fighting leathers, she’s got her gorget on, and she is definitely going to stab someone.

Even when the outfits were obviously low budget, they did the best they could with what they had, making Jane look as dangerous as they could with what they had. Even in the earlier covers where they have Jane in a sleeveless leather outfit, they make a point of showing how strong her arms are. Which is something you don’t usually see on female covers.

But I have to admit I especially love this one because she is in full fighting leathers here, no skin to be easily broken by fangs and claws

Flame in the Dark (2017) Faith Hunter (Ace)

Same author, but a very different cover here. While Jane is a brawler, Nell is an ex-church woman who has joined PsyLED and generally follows the rules. The swirling around her does a lovely job of portraying all the chaos and change in her life, and even hits at some of the events in this book (while not depicting anything specific).

The one negative is that Nell doesn’t wear sleeveless dresses. But given the rest of the cover, I’ll give that a pass.

The Books of 2017

Let me remind you again that I know that authors have little-to-no say in their book covers. I don’t blame the authors in the slightest for these covers. But I do blame the publishers, and so will point out covers that are so terrible that I would have refused to buy the book if it wasn’t already an author I love.

Tally
Avon: 3/3

White Hot (2017) Ilona Andrews – Hidden Legacy book 3 (Avon)

I hate all the covers in this series. HATE them. They just look cheap and tawdry and just awful. Which is unfortunate, because this books are SO MUCH MORE than boinking.

This specific book has a passage that I utterly adore them for putting in, not just because of what it says, but because it makes sense.

The man bent his head slightly toward me. His voice was deep and quiet. “Do you need help?”

I had no idea what he was talking about.

“Do you need help?” he repeated quietly. “One word, and I’ll take you out of here and none of them can stop me. I’ll make sure you have access to a doctor, a safe place to stay, and a therapist to talk to. Someone who understands what it’s like and will help. ”

The pieces clicked in my head. The bruise. Of course. “Thank you, but I’m okay.”

“You don’t know me. It’s difficult to trust me because I’m a man and a stranger. The woman speaking with Augustine is my aunt. The woman across the floor in the white-and-purple gown is my sister. Either of them will vouch for me. Let me help you.”

“Thank you,” I told him. “On behalf of every woman here. But I’m a private investigator. I’m not a victim of domestic abuse. This is a work-related injury and the man who put his hands on me is dead.”

The man studied me for a long moment and slid a card into my hand. “If you decide that the injury isn’t work related, call me.”

That passages tells so WAY more about the book than the cover does.

Wildfire (2017) Ilona Andrews – Hidden Legacy book 3 (Avon)

I do appreciate that he is wearing a shirt in this cover, but I don’t feel a white undershirt really qualifies as being dressed. So still: ICK.

And once again, there is so much more to this story that the cover would suggest.

“I told you twenty-six years ago that if you married him, you would pay the price. I told you to let him go. You didn’t listen. You raised them to fight. They’re not going to cut and run now.”

“They will do what I say,” Mom ground out. “I’m their mother.”

Grandma Frida squinted at her. “Aha. And how did that work out for me?” Mom opened her mouth and clicked it shut.

You’d never guess the book had awesome passages like that if all you knew was the cover.

Into the Fire (2017) Jeaniene Frost – Night Prince book 4 (Avon)

This is not an overtly horrific book cover, except that the main character is repeatedly described as always being impeccably dressed.

(A)s usual, only his face, neck, and hands were bare. The rest of him was covered, the elegant cut of his clothes simultaneously flaunting and concealing that lean, muscled body.

–Once Burned (2012)

As usual, only his hands and face were bare. The rest of him was covered by boots, black pants, and a smoky gray shirt buttoned up to the neck. Unlike most well-built men, Vlad didn’t flash a lot of skin, but those custom-tailored clothes flaunted his taut body as effectively as running shorts and a sleeveless muscle shirt.

–Twice Tempted (2013)

He wore sand-colored pants and a white silk shirt, an open button at the neck showing only the cleft at the base of his throat. The rest of his body was concealed by the rich material, which stretched to highlight his muscles as he moved with his usual stalking grace. The effect was sexier than all the bare-chested men I’d glimpsed around the pool earlier. Vlad didn’t show off his seething masculinity by wearing fewer clothes. Instead, he wore more to taunt people with what he didn’t allow them to feast their eyes on.

–Bound by Flames (2015)

That is why I hate all the covers in this series so very much.

So those are the worst three covers this year. They weren’t bad books, they just had terrible covers that would have–back when I read paper books–walk past without a second glance.

The Books of 2017

CHRISTMAS BAKING ROUNDUP! WOOT!

First, a whine. Who decided that slice-and-bake cookie are easy?

I mean, they act like it’s easy to create a perfectly round log of the desired thickness, refrigerate it, and then cut off perfectly circular rounds.

I’ve tried refrigerating the dough in empty paper towel tubes, rotating the dough with every slice–doesn’t matter. They always turn out misshapen and I have to neaten them up before baking.

If I’m going to go to that much work, it’s much easier to just roll the dough out and use cookie cutters. Or even cut the cookies with a knife.

This? Bah humbug.

Now, onto the good (and the yummy)!

The Essential Baker by Carol Bloom:

Lemon Shortbread Coins

Fine Cooking Cookies:

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

The Good Cookie by Tish Boyle:

Rum-Raisin Sandwich Cookies

Brandied Eggnog Cookies

Simply Sensational Cookies by Nancy Baggett:

Praline-Pecan Coconut Bars

Chocolate Brandy Balls

The All-American Cookie Book by Nancy Baggett:

Iced Lemon Shortbread Cookies

Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich:

Shortbread

Chocolate Wafers

Vanilla Sugar Cookies

Pure Vanilla by Shauna Sever:

Vanilla Frosting

The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion:

Poticza

Bread Illustrated:

Cranberry Walnut Bread

Coconut Rum Balls

Bourbon Balls

Pumpkin Bread

Eggnog

Apple Cider

As I’ve mentioned before, this is one of my favorite hikes. It’s very short, so it’s good for small kids, but you walk through different habitats and it’s just gorgeous.

This is the first time the Blackwater river has been frozen when we’ve hiked here.

This is the point at which someone went through the ice–and that someone was NOT me.

Picture taking had been curtailed after someone (NOT ME) got their lower leg wet. But I still got a couple shots I really liked.

Friday was overcast and snowing, which was beautiful in its own way, but not very photogenic.

By Saturday afternoon, skies were clear and the sun was out. It was beautiful.

It was a beautiful hike on a beautiful day with lovely company.

We went hiking on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Black Friday, that Sunday, and Sunday the 3rd. I forgot my camera for the first two hikes, and only pulled it out once when I did remember it.

The thing about the woods in fall is that it’s beautiful, but I can’t say it’s especially photogenic.

At Coopers Rock, unless you’re hiking Ravens Rock, pretty much every trail is down hill on your way out, and then uphill on your way out.

Here you’re at the bottom of the Rhododendron trail. Mont Chateau is off to your right. Henry Clay Iron Furnace, Clay Furnace Trail, Clay Run Trail, and Advanced Ski Trail are all behind you. Several of those trails have trails branching off of them, so you can make a variety of loops.

But it’s all going to be uphill from here, unless you go down to the lake. Then it’s even more uphill upon your return, unless you have someone to drive you back from the lake up the mountain to where you left your car.

Here is one of the two bridges by Henry Clay Iron furnace. This is the area where multiple streams meet to then run down to the lake. Going up most of the trails you can see the streams turn from running water to run off areas that are flowing only after a rain or when the snow melts.

But down here, there is always water.

And then leaves piled up in the stream.

I can spend, literally, hours wandering around these streams, building rock towers, knocking down leaf dams and moving sticks that are blocking the stream.

My excuse is that I want to keep the streams and run-off areas from backing up onto the trails, which makes them a muddy mess that is exacerbated by all the mountain bikes, but truly, I just like playing in the water.

Holy Cats! How is it December already? We did a fair amount of hiking in November, since the leaves were at least two weeks late changing color across the state.

Mostly re-reads this month. But that means most of what I read was stuff I loved, so that’s a good thing, right?

Some particular favorites are: Patricia C. Wrede‘s Thirteenth Child and the rest of that series. It’s an alternate history of the frontier US, only there is magic. It’s YA and it is NOT cowboys (the magic kept North America from ever being settled by humans).

Diana Gabaldon‘s Lord John series. Although characters from Outlander appear here, there is NO time travel. At their core, these books are historical mysteries set in the 1700s. The main character is both a military man, and gay at a time when that was a hanging crime.

I’m also reaching some of my favorite books in Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series. This month it was Walking Shadow. However, I had to switch to reading because the narrator after Michael Prichard is just plain awful.

Fantasy, Historical

Thirteenth Child (2009) Patricia C. Wrede (9/10)
Across the Great Barrier (2011) Patricia C. Wrede (8.5/10)
The Far West (2012) Patricia C. Wrede (9/10)

Fantasy, Supernatural

Once Burned (2012) Jeaniene Frost (8/10)
Twice Tempted (2013) Jeaniene Frost (8/10)
Bound by Flames (2015) Jeaniene Frost
Into the Fire (2017) Jeaniene Frost (7.5/10)

Mystery

Spenser
Double Deuce (1992) Robert B Parker (8.5/10)
Paper Doll (1993) Robert B Parker
Walking Shadow (1994) Robert B. Parker (9/10)

Mystery, Historical
Barker & Llewelyn
The Limehouse Text (2006) Will Thomas (7.5/10)
Lord John
Lord John and the Private Matter (2003) Diana Gabaldon (8.5/10)
Lord John and the Hand of Devils (2007) Diana Gabaldon (9/10)
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (2007) Diana Gabaldon (8/10)

Graphic Novel

Rivers of London: Detective Stories Vol. 4 (2017) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Luis Guerrero, Lee Sullivan (8/10)

Audio Book

Spenser
Stardust, Audio Version (1990/1991) Robert B Parker narrated by Michael Prichard (8.5/10)
Pastime, Audio Version (1991/1992) Robert B. Parker narrated by David Dukes
Sonchai Jitpleecheep
Bangkok 8, Audio Version (2003) John Burdett narrated by Paul Boehmer (8.5/10)

So here’s how things turned out this month.

Mostly ebooks this month, almost all re-reads:

Trade Paperback: 1
eBook: 14
Audio: 3
Re-Read: 16

More than one genre this month, though I think half those were historical of some sort

Fantasy: 8
Mystery: 10
Romance: 4
YA: 3
Comic: 1

Gender-wise, pretty evenly split between male and female authors, with women holding a slight lead over men for the year 41% : 44%. Mostly because I’m re-reading the Spenser series, and those are quick reads (it’ll go slower once I can get back to listening).

Male: 8
Female: 10

And those are the books of November.

The Internet is “the greatest free-market success story in history”
–Ajit Pai

Unless, of course, you live in a rural area or an area suffering from poverty and urban blight.

Consider these numbers for WV, for percent of the population with access to mobile broadband service +25mbps. (Broadband Now)

Jefferson = 95.4%
Hancock = 94.9%
Berkeley = 93.5%
Wyoming = 93.8%
Wood = 90.9%
Kanawha = 90.4%
Monongalia =89.2%

Mon county (where I live) has the flagship state university, WVU, and yet only 89.2% of the county has access to broadband. Two of those in the top three are the easternmost panhandle counties–essentially bedroom counties for the DC area. The third is the northernmost county, which is just west of Pittsburgh.

But still, that’s not too bad, right? What about the rural counties?

Pocahontas = 0%
Calhoun = 0%
Ritchie = 14.0%
Clay – 16.7%
Monroe = 17.9%
Barbour 21.4%

Two counties with zero access to broadband. None. And one of those counties (Pocohontas) is in the Radio Quiet Zone where there is also ZERO cell signal.

And even without the Radio Quiet Zone, there are a LOT of areas in WV without any cell services. (1)

And here are the 2015 poverty rates for those bottom counties.

Pocahontas County = 16.5%
Calhoun County = 17.7%
Ritchie County = 20.7%
Clay County = 28.2%
Monroe County = 16.8%
Barbour County = 21.5%

The only positive here is that those don’t happen to also be the counties with the greatest percent of the population in poverty. (3)

Remember last spring when I was talking about food deserts?

Monroe and Barbour counties are also a food deserts.(4)

Transportation is harder to quantify. For the sake of simplicity (and lack of data) I’m going to look at areas without access to a major divided highway as having transportation issues. A lot of this is subjective unfortunately, since Rt 50 west of I79 is a well-maintained divided highway, but east of I79 it’s almost all single lane with a lot of switchbacks and 7-9% grades.

So what kind of roads do these counties that lack broadband have?

Pocahontas – Route 219
Calhoun – Rt 119/33
Ritchie – Rt 50 west
Clay – I70 across northern corner
Monroe – 219
Barbour – 119/250

You can look these up yourself, but if you’re willing to take my word for it, out of that list only Ritchie county has anything approaching a decent road running through it.

So what is my point in all this?

My point is that A good deal of WV lacks broadband coverage, and there is zero financial incentive for companies to bring it in. And once they come in, they’re going to want ways to boost their revenue, and the only way to do that would be to charge the big sites for premium access.

So no, I think repealing net neutrality is NOT a good idea.

Here is all the above data in a single table, if that makes it easier to parse.

—

(1) This is one of the reasons we bought a GPS for the car years ago, because google maps doesn’t work if you don’t have cell service. (2)

(2) It’s also why I’m pretty proficient in reading paper maps. Because our GPS hates us and often recommends roads that are not recommended for cars without 4-wheel drive.

(3) The bottom five would be:
Webster County = 26.1%
Gilmer County 27%
Lincoln County 27.3%
Clay County 28.2%
McDowell County 35.5%

(4) I am designating food deserts here as areas where you have to drive 20 or more to purchase food (ie groceries). This doesn’t mean a grocery story necessarily, just a store (like a Quicky Mart, Drug Store, or Dollar Store that also sells food.)

I’ve been going back through Robert B. Parker‘s Spenser series, and as much as I keep coming across things that are utterly ridiculous (he likes to describe outfits in detail. Oi.) I keep coming across bits that relate to current events disconcertingly well.

The last book I finished was Paper Doll, that was published in 1993.

I found the theme of the book and many passages disconcertingly timely.

“Why are you interested in Stratton?”

“Some people working for him tried to chase me off the Olivia Nelson case.”

“Probably fucking her, and afraid it’ll get out.”

“Doesn’t sound like the Olivia Nelson I’ve been sold, but say it was, and he was,” I said. “Is it that big a secret?”

“He’s probably going to be in the presidential primaries,” Cosgrove said. “Remember Gary Hart?”

“Okay,” he said. “Here’s the deal. I was, ah . . .” He looked back at his knuckles. “I was . . .” He grinned at me, still sincere, but now a little roguish too. “I was fucking Olivia Nelson.”

“How nice for her,” I said.

“This is off the record, of course,” Stratton said.

“Of course,” I said.

“I got to know her at a few fund-raisers. Her husband’s one of those Beacon Hill old money liberals, and one thing led to another, and we were in the sack.” Stratton winked at me. “You know how those things go,” he said.

“No,” I said. “How?”

Men never laughed quite that way about anything but women in a sexual context. And it was sycophantic laughter, tinged with gratitude that a man of the Senator’s prominence had shared with them not only a salacious remark but a salacious view of life.

“Old enough to bleed,” the Senator said, “old enough to butcher.”

I really wish I knew how those passages were taken at the time. (I didn’t find the series until later, and breezed through the earlier books.)

I do know, however, that those passages did not surprise me.

We’d hoped to catch the last of the state’s color at Harpers Ferry, but it was past peak, and the weather never cleared, so it was a grey day.

Despite that, I enjoyed walking around Harpers Ferry, especially the old buildings and fieldstone walls.

“May be uneven” is a bit of an understatement.

Just a little uneven.

I took a lot of pictures of the stairs, because I find them beautiful and fascinating. You can click through any picture to get to Flickr.

The tunnels and such from when the town was water powered.

I wish the clouds had cleared for a little bit, because I wanted some better pictures of the old church.

Not that it stopped me from taking a million pictures.

As I said, plenty more pictures if you click through to Flickr.

It’s been 100 years since Grandmom was born.

Grandmom & Aunt Doris in daisy field behind house on Oak Grove.

Grandmom, Aunt Doris, and neighbor kids.

Aunt Sophie, Uncle John, Grandmom, Great-Grandfather Laukaitis.

Grandmom & Aunt Sophie

Albert(?) Grandmom, Popbo, Aunt Sophie.
Also: SPATS!

Aunt Sophie, Grandmom, Aunt Doris

Aunt Sophie, Grandmom, Aunt Doris

Aunt Sophie, Grandmom, Aunt Doris

Grandmom & Aunt Doris

Cousin Pat, Cousin Jimmie, Aunt Chris, Grandmom

Grandmom & Popbo

Grandmom & Popbo

I had to put in one with curlers. :)

I still miss you Grandmom.