Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Books and Miss Pettigrew

I said on Tuesday that I couldn't get to my bag of books to give you titles for the give-away. Well, I still can't, so I'm going to have to just tell you what the top two books in the bag are, and they can be the next two books, though I can't give you much of a rundown on them because it's been a while since I've read either one of them.

Suffice to say, they're good books or I wouldn't have bothered to hang onto them.

First, Nora Roberts's Midnight Bayou which I've had for a long time, but I'm weeding out hardcovers and it's a hardcover. It's set in New Orleans. There's some spooky stuff going on, I do remember that much. And it's one of those Nora books that I often went back and dipped in when I was wanting a little deep south atmosphere without having to get on a plane and go there.

The other I do that with is Tami Hoag's Lucky's Lady, but I can't give you that because I've lent it to someone. Maybe later.

And the second give-away today is one of two Anna Campbell's RITA finalist books, Untouched. It's the story of Grace Paget, who is kidnapped and taken to a remote country manor surrounded by a high unscalable wall, and told she must give herself to a madman -- satisfy his every desire -- or lose her life.

Talk about high stakes. The story of Grace and her 'madman' is intense indeed. Read it and you'll see why Australian Anna Campbell has taken the world of historical romance by storm.

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Seb and Neely and I have been having long days and nights and I'm happy to report that we're getting somewhere. Can't exactly tell you where without giving away the book, but rest assured it's moving. And keep your fingers crossed that we don't hit any doldrums between now and the end of the month.

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I went to a movie today -- because Seb and Neely had cooperated so well I thought I'd do them a favor and leave them to their own devices for a while (no, it's not that time of the book yet, but they had a good time anyway).

So I went to see Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day -- and loved it. I went because of Lee Pace, who I first discovered in Wonderfalls and have now seen in a lot of stuff. And I make it a point to watch what he does because he makes interesting choices in the roles he picks, and he's grown up to be quite a hunk. And even if he is a month or so younger than my youngest son (argh!), he's very appealing!

And then I discovered Ciaran Hinds was in it, too. And if I've got to get old, the fact that Ciaran Hinds is around for 'older women' certainly takes the sting out of it!

Not only that, there were Frances McDormand and Amy Adams and Shirley Henderson to delight in, and a wonderful late 1930s period piece that was beautifully shot and brought to life.

It was a pure delight all the way around. Couldn't have found a better way to spend the afternoon. Thank you to everyone involved in Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day. It would be worth paying evening prices for. And I don't say that often.

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8 Comments:

Blogger Annie West said...

Hi Anne,

Glad to hear Neely and Seb were behaving themselves and that you managed an outing to the movies. Always a nice break!

How exciting that you're giving away a copy of Anna's book! I loved 'Untouched' - so intense and Matthew is such a lovely, honourable hero.

Annie

17 April, 2008  
Blogger CrystalGB said...

Great books you are giving away. Who doesn't love Nora? :) I have heard great things about Ann Campbell's books.

17 April, 2008  
Blogger Anne McAllister said...

Annie, you always get first reads of Anna's books, don't you? Lucky you! Hope your book is going well, too.

Crystalgb, you're right -- Nora's books are always worth reading. And yes, Anna Campbell is a powerful and creative author who isn't afraid of emotion or difficult characters.

17 April, 2008  
Blogger Unknown said...

Ooo! I've been wanting to watch that movie! :)

17 April, 2008  
Blogger priley65 said...

Good luck on the grand finale of your book. I know it will be wonderful. Yes, it's me over at eharlequin blogging with the ladies for advice and the hopefuls for encouragement. I'm still writing amazingly enough and babysitting for a neighbor and my two grandchildren. I'm not to good at multi taking it's beginning to show. Take care.

17 April, 2008  
Blogger Dina said...

Both bopoks sound so intriging, but Anna's got my attention fast.

The movie sounds like a good time, wasn't sure if I'd like it, but I might have to check it out.

17 April, 2008  
Blogger priley65 said...

See, I can't even spell - multi tasking.:-)

17 April, 2008  
Blogger Anne McAllister said...

Bunny and Dina, I can't say for sure that you'd like the movie because I don't know your taste in films, but I enjoyed it a lot. If you go see it, let me know what you think.

Patricia, multi-tasking is fine for a while, but it gets old and then all I want is to streamline my life. Right before this last month of work on the book I wrote ALL the various 'guest blog' pieces I have to write this month, and wrote the articles required and got EVERYTHING of a writing nature OFF my plate so I could focus on the book. And a good thing, too. I would not be able to get it done if I had all those other things to worry about. I hope your life simplifies a bit for you so you can focus on your writing or whatever you want to do.

17 April, 2008  

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