The Crimson Cipher

The Crimson Cipher by Susan Page Davis is absolutely the best book I have read by Susan. I could not put it down! I have always liked Susan's books about the west, but this one is so much better. The research she did makes you feel you are part of this book. I rank this one with Frazier's Island. They are both good military books, but not stuffy military.

Set before World Wat I, it is about the encryptors or ciphers that were used during that time. It is fictional, but some things are mentioned that are real, like the bombing of the Lusitania and the shooting of J. P. Morgan. That made the book more real to me.

Emma Shuster's father is killed and she is left alone. She has helped him with a code to be used by banks and one of his students is building a code machine. Lieutenant John Patterson is with her when she finds her father's body.

Emma moves to Virginia and works for the government de-coding messages from the German's. I did not realize there were so many ways to write a message in code and that was interesting. I also did not realize the German's came so close to the US before the war by sabotaging factories an ships.

The German's continue to try to find Emma and the machine. There is so much suspense and yes, another murder. I'll leave it at that because I don't want to tell the ending of the story and I did not read the last pages first. It is a wonderful book. I give Susan five stars.

Doctor in Petticoats

First, I will bring everyone up to date on my daughter. Her surgery went well and she had a good night, except for pain. She has a pump in her leg that administers a numbing medicine to block the pain, and it ran out of meds in the night. She is taking oral meds and is doing well with them. She has about ten pins in her ankle and leg and then plates on top of that. The inside of her leg and ankle look like a Gladiator Sandal. She is right in style, but the only way you can see it is with the xray.

While I was at my daughter's house, I finished reading Doctor in Petticoats by Mary Connealy. If you are a fan of Mary's books, you know this one is as funny as the rest of them. In fact, I think this is as funny as Petticoat Ranch and The Husband Tree. It may be a wee bit funnier. The story is so good.

Mary draws you into the book with the first sentence and then it's hard to put it down. This book includes the McClellan family we met in Petticoat Ranch and the Tanner/Hardin family in The Husband Tree. With both of these being my favorite, it had to be a winner.

The story opens with Beth McClellan trying to get home for her sister's wedding. There is a stage coach accident and Mandy McClellan gets married without her. From there the story splits and it is about Mandy and her husband Sidney and Beth and a doctor/army deserter Alex. If I say much more, I will divulge the whole story.

My husband started reading it at the hospital yesterday and had to leave the book for my daughter to finish. I couldn't tell him anything coming home. When one of us reads a book the other hasn't read, we won't tell anything that will take away the interest of the story.

If you read Petticoat Ranch and remember the antics of the McClellan girls, you will not be surprised of anything in this book. Mary writes the best hysterical historicals. That should be a whole new genre.

Update on Sick and Hurting

I'm in Nashville right now. I came Thursday and I will go back after my daughter's surgery tomorrow. I may have to come back later, but I will do whatever I am needed to do.

She is not having so good a day today. I think she will be glad when the surgery is over. I know Mama will be glad. We are splitting up duty tomorrow. We, my husband and I, will take her to the hospital at seven to register, etc. Her hubby will take daughter to school and then join us. Then we will be together until she is stable after surgery.

Saturday morning I got up to let the dog out of her pen and put her outside. She waited on me to get up the steps and then stood to wait on me until I got to the back door. I missed the top step and fell on my face and knees. I have a pump-knot on my head and nose, but the dog licked me and patted my hand with her foot. Can it get any sweeter than that? I am sore today and my knees are swollen, but I do not look like a member of the Munster family anymore.

I have plenty to do this week to keep my busy at home. I need to finish my proposal and do a few housecleaning jobs. My main thoughts will be with my daughter. I pray this surgery is successful and her leg heals wonderfully.

Things Don't Happen Like We Want

Yesterday, my plans were to finish reading my novel, but instead I spent the morning on the phone talking to an insurance company.

When my husband worked, he had Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Alabama. When he went on Medicare, he dropped it. That was four years ago. We had BC/BS of Tennessee when we lived in Tennessee. Now, Blue Cross of Tennessee says he was not a member and the doctors have to send all the money back that they paid them. I have proof that he was a member of Tennessee and not Alabama. What is going on? I think someone is a little "tetched in the head" or so my characters in my book would say. When you haven't paid for anything for four years, how can they say you had that insurance? Hopefully, they will get it all straightened out.

Yesterday was also my appointment with the doctor. I will have my left knee replaced on September 20. The doctor gave me a super-dooper pain prescription to help me until then. The pharmacy didn't have it, so I will get it this afternoon.

I was very impressed when the doctor said he would not cut any muscles or ligaments. I will also be able to rotate my knee. One woman showed me her scar and you could barely see it. I'm not vain, so that didn't matter, but it showed me he cared about his patients. He is a very caring doctor and I have been very impressed with him.

I will now have time to get my book all finished and sent to an agent. I hope I don't get anymore calls about insurance today. I need to get this finished.

Surrender the Heart and A Cousin's Prayer

During the last two weeks I have read two very good books. The first one was Surrender the Heart by MaryLu Tyndall.

Most of you know I am a big fan or MaryLu's. Her pirate books are so good and you are in the scenes doing what everyone else is doing. I see myself on the sidelines looking on. That's what a good book should do. Make you part of it.

When I started reading this one, I realized it was not a pirate book, but a book about the War of 1812. I was sucked into the book with the first page and it was hard to put it down. Here is a little about it. Marianne Denton must marry to unlock her inheritance. Noah Brenin needs money for his merchant ships. Their parents decide they must marry each other for the money. They hate each other.

Noah runs out of their engagement party and Marianne follows him. She ends up on the merchant ship when it sails. What a good beginning. It gets better. They come in contact with a British man-of-war and they are impressed. She is left behind when Noah and three other captives escape. That's all I'll tell. You have to read the book to find out the ending.

I have been reading Wanda Brunstetter's books for years. She tells very good Amish stories and her writing is interesting. A Cousin's Prayer was no exception. It is so good and the suspense is always there. I usually read the last page about half way through the book, but I didn't do it this time and I am so glad I didn't.

This is the second book in the series Indiana Cousins. The first one was also good about what happened when several young Amish couples were involved in a car crash. Katie Miller's boyfriend, Timothy, was killed in the crash and her parents took her to Florida to recuperate. Now she is back for her cousin's wedding.

Katie has panic attacks and one of the Amish young men help her and encourage her. Freeman Bontrager has also had the attacks and he understands, A girl that is interested in him, Eunice Byler does not understand and starts a lot of rumors about Katie. Isn't Jealousy a mean person. Freeman is spending more time with Katie and she stops thinking about Timothy so much.

One point in the book, that stood out to me, was knowing it is all right to have counseling. You can work through depression. This is a very good book and I enjoyed it so much. Wanda is a good writer and a sweet person. I hope you will enjoy her books.

I'm on my way to the doctor this afternoon. My daughter has to have a second opinion on her leg and hopefully the swelling will go down soon and she can get some relief. The break is not good. I saw the x-ray and it looks to be broken several times. Please pray for her.

One other thing, I am reading my book straight through and it is going well. I want to finish it today if I can. I was afraid it would be choppy, but it is not. I'm pleased with what I have read so far.

Reading Callie's Mountain

I know I've said this before, but I am so excited to be reading Callie's Mountain one more time. It's amazing what you forget when you have lost all your notes in moving.

My notes were priceless, but somehow they were packed in a box and misplaced. I have all the names of the characters in the book and descriptions and I've lost them. I have to read the book to make any corrections that I didn't see the first time around, so I will pick up the character info as I go. It is discouraging to have to concentrate on the names and what they look like.

I finished the corrections from Sandi yesterday. I am now ready to read through it, send to a friend to read and then send to another editor. Then the fun begins and I might add, the waiting. I do not wait well.

There are other things to do while I wait, so that will be okay. I need to update my website and do a little research on the next book. Then I am trying to write a quick rough draft of Susannah's Hope. Don't you love that name? Susannah is a character and a half. Very opinionated and a little snob to start with. I love writing about her.

Did I say I was excited about writing? Well, I am and I love to come to the computer each day. I get in my own world, about two hundred years ago and I have so much fun. When you think about how they did their housework then and compare it to now, you appreciate a range instead of a fireplace. We are so blessed and don't know it.

I have a lot to do today, so I must get busy. Have a blessed day.

Yesterday Was A Hot Day

Yesterday was a very hot day here in Kentucky. My thermometer showed 103 degrees. That is hot! The wind blew hot. I don't think I went out at all, but my husband said it felt like his throat was burning. Today we may get some much needed rain. It is very cloudy and not so hot.

I started the corrections and revisions on my novel, Callie's Mountain. I suspect the title will be changed, but I love the name Callie. I hope when it is published, they'll let me keep the name. I have more to do today and I hope I can get it finished, put together and read by the end of the week. I feel like I have accomplished something by finishing the book. So many people get discouraged and never finish their first novel.

I'm going back to the doctor Tuesday and I'm hoping we can set a date for surgery. I'm ready for it and still in a lot of pain.

There's a picture of me on the blog page. I had some made the other evening and I'm very pleased with this one. Let me know what you think. Would any of you like to win a book? Is that something you would be interested in? I have several and I would love to give them away. Some are not new, but they are good reading.