November 19, 2006

Books of the week: FOR A FEW DEMONS MORE by Kim Harrison, and FANGED AND FABULOUS by Michelle Rowen

One of the huge perks of being a writer, and one I’ve only attained after twenty-five years in the business, is that editors send me stuff. No, not chocolates or cds, or gift certificates to Coldwater Creek; they send me ARCs (advance readers’ copies) of books months before those books hit the shelves. Sometimes editors send the copies since they hope I’ll blurb the book . . . that is, give a favorable quote for the cover. Sometimes, they’re just being nice, in a business-like way. “You helped me with a blurb, I’ll do a favor back by sending you this book I know you’ll enjoy.” Either way, I’m the beneficiary.

This past week, I’ve had the great pleasure of reading Kim Harrison’s next book FOR A FEW DEMONS MORE, and Michelle Rowen’s FANGED AND FABULOUS, so it’s been a super reading week for me. Both are very good books. As always, it’s fascinating how two writers can take roughly the same elements and mold them into such diverse and pleasurable entertainment. Knowing both these writers adds another dimension to the fun of reading them.

FOR A FEW DEMONS MORE, of course, is the much-anticipated next installment in the adventures of Rachel Morgan, extraordinary witch who needs a few sessions on the therapist’s couch in terms of her willingness to take unnecessary risks. Impulse control is a real issue with Rachel, but her power and her determination –and her genuine desire to Do the Right Thing – give her charm and keep us rooting for her. Of course, this is a great book, and I guarantee there are enough shockers to keep ardent readers as hooked on this series as ever.

Canadian Michelle Rowen writes a series that’s lighter in heart and intent. In the first installment of the series, BITTEN AND SMITTEN, nice girl Sarah Dearly was turned into a vampire during the blind date from hell. Sarah is such a good scout that her fate is doubly shocking. By chance, she hooks up with ancient vampire Thierry, and they strike up a relationship. In Rowen’s world, there are two kinds of vampires; some are limited to nighttime, some not. Some can eat solid food, some not. (Poor Sarah is in the “not” category, much to her dismay.) At the end of BITTEN AND SMITTEN, Sarah seems set up for good times. But no! From the opening of FANGED AND FABULOUS, Thierry is distant, Hunters are after her, and Sarah’s brand-new world is going to hell in a handcart.

You’ll have to wait till March for the Harrison, and July for the Rowen, but I guarantee, the wait’ll be worth it.

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The hills are alive with the sound of gunfire, to paraphrase “The Sound of Music.” In other words, it’s hunting season in southern Arkansas. Our local paper has pictures nearly every day of proud kids, ages roughly seven through twelve, who’ve shot their first deer. In all the pictures, the kid (and this is true for both boys and girls) is kneeling next to the deceased deer, beaming proudly.

I didn’t grow up in a hunting family, so this is like watching an alien ritual to me. My two sons hunted a bit, my older one much more enthusiastically than my second. Older brought home his share of deer meat, and we ate it. It’s good, no doubt about it. But Older never elevated his yearly hunt to the status of religion, which is the case with some hunters I have known.

Our house has a good stand of woods behind it and to the west. Sometimes we get hunters fairly close to the house. At least once a hunting season, our dogs drag deer remains into the yard, having visited a spot where someone field-dressed their kill. (Thanks, hunters. We love having a front lawn decorated with deer vertebra, or a nice skull.)

This is the time of year when it’s wise to wear orange if you want to walk through a field. It’s also so common to hear gunfire that I don’t think twice about it. And in view of the annual toll of hunting accidents, I guess it’s just about the perfect season to shoot someone and get away with it.

I’m not coming down pro or con on the general subject of hunting. There are plenty of deer -- in fact, more deer than the dwindling habitat can support, so the herd can miss a few. And if the people who kill them, eat them, I am glad the deer didn’t die in vain. But there’s always the niggling fear that I’ll be mistaken for a short, round deer, or one of our dogs will be that flash of brown that attracts the hunter’s rifle. So, if any hunters actually read this, please, please making this hunting season a safe one, for you and for those around you.