Happy Birthday Patricia A, McKillip!

Actually, Patricia McKillip is a leap year baby, born on Febraury 29, but let us celebrate her today! And also let us celebrate the publication of her newest book, The Kingfisher, which came out earlier this month.

I devoured her books when I was younger--loved the Riddle Master trilogy--but got distracted by work and life and other writers and sort of forgot about her. But recently I saw an add for the omnibus edition of Riddle Master of Hed and wondered how many books of hers I missed out on. Turns out...quite a few. So early Christmas present to me.

The Bill of Rights

Right now, the popular vote loser who occupies the White House (when he isn't in Florida at his golf club), seems bent on destroying the bedrock foundation of rights that this country was built on. If you're wondering exactly what's laid out in the Bill of Rights, the Bill of Rights Institute has the text and tons of educational resources. Here's a brief history of the Bill of Rights provided by the ACLU, the organization that is on the front lines of protecting these rights. And just in case you want a pocket-sized Constitution to keep handy, you can buy a 10-pack for $12 here.  That's enough that you can mail the extra to anyone who might need a refresher course. The mailing list for the White House is: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 2050.

Friday Free Books

PublicDomainPictures.net

Insta-freebie, a great source for free ebooks, is doing a blow-out giveaway this weekend. Sign up (it takes about three seconds) and start downloading books in half a dozen categories (nearly 1000 in all).

Andrew Jackson

I was born for a storm and calm does not suit me --Andrew Jackson

We're hearing a lot about Andrew Jackson these days as the "populist" presidency of Donald Trump rampages through Washington, sending shockwaves across America and the world. If you're curious about who Jackson really was, this is the biography to read. 

Jon Meacham's American Lion presents a dimensional look at the seventh president of the United States as he  deals with multiple adversaries and issues—Indian removal, states’ rights, financial corruption, and his own unruly household.  

Jackson was a two-term president and one of his main goals was keeping the young democracy he inherited from falling apart. It's worth reading American Lion for the backdrop of issues that continue to plague America, especially the dark heritage of slave-holding and Native American genocide.

In It to End It!

Today is "Shine a Light on Slavery" Day. the day is meant to raise awareness about modern-day slavery and human trafficking. You can find more information at Shine a Light's site.

A Meme for Monday

Happy Valentine's Day

Last year, as a Valentine's Day present to myself, I bought a month's worth of stock photograph downloads to use for book covers and blog posts and the like. One of the photographers whose work I fell in love with is Andrejs Pidjass, who calls himself Nejron. You can find his Shutterstock portfolio here. He stages a lot of shots and provides his models with costumes and his work is just great. He works with these two models a lot and I like the pictures so much they've inspired a new series for me. You should check out his work. Or like him on Facebook. Check out his website. Or browse his portfolio on Dreamstime. Or on Stockfresh.  He's really versatile and I guarantee you've seen some of his work on covers. That's his photograph on the cover of my book Bride of the Midnight King,