I Survived NaNo...plus doggie pics

Well, I made it for another year of National Novel Writing Month madness!  In case you don't know what that is, it's when novelists around the world attempt to write 50,000 words in only thirty days each November.  

Of course, I was nuts enough to adopt puppies the same month!  This definitely reduced my writing time.  But puppy cuddles are so therapeutic!  And just look at those faces.  Forgive me while I show off my dog family.  :)

This is Chester.  He loves to play with leaves and is going to be a big pup when he is grown!  The breeder says 60-75 pounds.  He's a standard size golden doodle, a "breed" I have been wanting for awhile now.  Don't you love those golden eyebrows?

This is Bernie.  It's hard to snap a picture of his face, since he prefers to eat the phone!  He has the cutest little white chin as though he dipped it in milk.  I didn't plan to pick another pup, but when I went to meet Chester and saw some of the other pups, he stole my heart.  He is a medium size Bernedoodle (Bernese mountain dog and poodle) and is very intelligent.  Yes, he is sitting in his toy box; he loves to knock the toys out and crawl in!

Mia is my senior rescue dog and the biggest cuddler you could imagine.  This is her pose of choice when I sit on my sofa to read or write!  She does hate to be away from people, so when I am home she is right there by my side.  She's been great with the puppies.

So, there is my November recap!  Stay tuned for some snippets of my writing progress, which will post tomorrow.

Book review: A Dangerous Legacy

Along with having one of the prettiest covers of the year, this one is one of my favorite Camden has ever written.  I gave it a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.  Here is what I said in my review on Goodreads:

I definitely enjoyed this tale of New York, reporters, Morse Code, and danger.  It came in the mail today, and I was glad to dive right in.  I intended to read a single chapter and get back to the other book I'm reading, but the story grabbed me from the beginning.  

Lucy is likable from the start, and it's easy to identify with her longing to find justice and to shake off her uncle's stalkers, who are content to spy on her life and keep her and her brother from realizing their full potential in life.  From there the story moves swiftly, as she encounters Sir Colin Beckwith and as he stumbles across her family's nasty history.  With Colin's eyes fresh on the family secrets, Lucy and Colin quickly realize that much more is going on in the family than she first imagined.  In other words, the Saratoga Drakes aren't scrupulous about crushing more than family, if others get in the way of their plans.

Before long, Colin is mixed into the issue, despite his being an unlikely ally.  After all, he's a reporter at heart, and the draw of a good story is hard to resist.

It fell just shy of five stars for me, but makes four (very good) easily.  It's Camden's best in years (since Beyond All Dreams, in my opinion)—well-researched, detailed history, and two lead characters with clear chemistry.  (Their banter is excellent.  Brings to mind classic movies like Desk Set and His Girl Friday...)

Things that helped shy away from an "excellent" rating: 

-An "oh my heavens" exclamation

-"Hear, hear" misspelled as "here, here" (pet peeve)

-Woman referred to as "hero"...in 1903, she'd be offended.  She's a heroine.

-Content.  Lucy entered a situation that requires a forced bathing (not something she was expecting ahead of time).  For me, it got a bit too far into her feelings as the two women scrubbed her down.  It's only a paragraph, but I'm intensely visual and didn't want to have that image.

It's also MUCH better edited than the last two releases, and the words flow with a lot more authenticity.  Definitely worth a read!

Thanks to the publisher for a free review copy.  A positive review is not required.

...This is the first book I got through Bethany House Publishing's blogger reviewer program.  I was so excited to have this copy come in the mail!  Be watching for more Bethany House new release reviews here in the near future.  

Has anyone else read Elizabeth Camden's work?  Do you have a favorite of her books?