Wow!  Two years already. Time flies, does it not? I have 220 posts, so that’s about 110 posts a year. Some other random facts:

• My post about These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer is still the most view book review post.
• “Mr & Mrs Darcy” is still the most common search phrase used to bring people here.
• With the third Kate Daniels book due in stores, there has been an increase in the number of search terms relating to the series popping up in my stats.   There has also been an increase in the number of views for each Kate Daniels related post.

I’ve been on such a reading roll lately that I’ve fallen way behind in writing/posting my thoughts.  I ought to be scribbling away, right now, before LOST comes on…

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Actually…I loved the expression on the cat’s face.

And the Norse theme fits in with the book I am currently reading (Dark Crusade by Lori Devoti). No cats, though.

So…taking a little break from reading and scribbling.  Here are a few books I have on order, coming soon..or sometime this year.

This should surprise no one:

Magic Strikes

Nor this one. Oooo. Another purple cover…

Dark Crusade

Another book by the same author as above:

Amazon Ink

The next two are by the same author (Pamela Palmer). Anxiously waiting to hear when Book 3 in The Esri will be released:

Desire Untamed

Sapphire Dream

Nalini Singh’s new series:

Angels' Blood

These I’ll order directly from Harlequin:

The Whispering Room

Silent on the Moor

Midnight Cravings

I don’t normally look at my stats. WordPress makes it easy for me to do so — and occasionally I glance at what search terms my blog popped up for, or which site most of my visitors were referred from — but for the most part I ignore them. Just for giggles though, I’ve been looking  at them a little more closely lately and had noticed a few trends, especially in regards to the searches. Out of curiosity, I dug a little deeper.

The all-time top search term my blog popped up in is not “babbling” as one would think.  It’s “Mr. & Mrs. Darcy”.  I suppose I should stop procrastinating and finish the rest of the series, considering how often some variation of the search term pops up in my stats.

You’d think, based on the above stats, that the review for “Pride and Prescience” would be the most viewed post or page on my blog.   It’s not.  It’s the 6th most viewed book review post (this excludes  “About Me” and the various challenge pages/posts that had higher view counts).

The top most view book review?

“These Old Shades”.  Georgette Heyer, and search terms referring to her books or characters, appear more frequently than almost any other subject. The other most frequent topic is Star Wars. There are three book in the top 10 most viewed reviews:

01. These Old Shades (G. Heyer)
02. Star Wars: Labyrinth of Evil (J. Luceno)
03. Nicola and the Viscount (M. Cabot)
04. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (M. Stover)
05. Lady in Waiting (A. Herries)
06. Pride and Prescience (C. Bebris)
07. Darth Bane: Path of Destruction (D. Karpyshyn)
08. Maid of Honor (P. Marshall)
09. Magic Burns (I. Andrews)
10. Murder in the North End (P. Ryan)

This wealth of data tells me I should ditch the reading challenges that can’t accommodate Heyer, Star Wars, and the Darcy’s mystery series. Regency England and A Galaxy Far, Far Away. Wow.

Those were the all-time stats. Lately, I’ve been noticing that my blog pops up in searches for anything related to the Kate Daniels series or its author. Inquiring minds want to know if the main character hooks up with a certain Beast Lord in book three. Me, I think she’s in denial.

And people seemed to be anxious to learn the title of the third book in the White House Chef mystery series.  No idea.  Sorry.

And where do most of my visitors come from?

Brie’s blog, Musing of a Bibliophile.  I bet she voted for “Slave to Sensation” in my poll and will be stopping by to see what I think of it.  And I’m sure she’ll be by to see what I think of “Silent on the Moor“. So, I owe Brie and her readers a big “THANK YOU” for their many visits.

That’s all the fun I could handle for one day.

Update!!! Corrected the post title.  Shesh.  That’s what happens when you stay up to all hours.  “Addition” changed to “Edition”. Plus…

I’ve been sick all week, so I haven’t been in the mood to read.  However, I’ve been contemplating my “best of” for 2008.  That got me thinking about Magic Burns (by Ilona Andrews), which got me thinking about Magic Strikes, book 3 in the series.  I amused myself by imagining Kate and Curran talking about their book covers.  I thought it would make a clever post.

Of course, the characters don’t belong to me.    Without further ado:

Kate: So. Here we are again. Book 3. Imagine that.
Curran: Yes. We haven’t killed each other yet.

Book 3

Kate: Interesting cover.
Curran: If you say so.
Kate: You know, I have a theory about our covers. Would you like to hear it?
Curran: No.
Kate: You see. . . with the first book, we were the new kids. The unknowns. No one really knew us. Just another butt-kicking girl with a sword, who hangs out with a shape-shifter –
Curran: “Hangs out with”?

Kate Who???

Kate: So hair, make-up, and wardrobe was do-it-yourself, you know? Just show up and pose. You did notice that it was a muted cover, right?
Curran: Yes. Go on.
Kate: But by the second book, we’ve gained a modest following. People are taking notice. So we get a little star treatment.
Curran: Sparkly Atlanta and some lip gloss?
Kate: And my hair’s pretty, too. But it’s still not accurate. Hmm. You look like you’re frowning on that cover.

Sparkly!!!

Curran: It’s the company I keep. I’m almost afraid to ask this. What about the third book?
Kate: Oh, they asked if I’d show a little skin.
Curran: Your idea of “a little skin” is to shed the jacket and go sleeveless?!
Kate: Yeah. So?
Curran:  I think they were looking for bare midriff and cleavage, Kate.
Kate: Goes to show you what you know. Notice the first two covers? Yeah. Cleavage.
Curran: Never mind. What’s with your arm?
Kate: It does look bruised, doesn’t it. I imagine I take a beating. The title does say “Strike”.
Curran: Oh, I know where that came from. She had a poll. Kate, Don’t you have a tattoo?
Kate: Yeah. It must be on the other arm.
Curran: Hmm. Isn’t it the norm around here for Urban Fantasy heroines to show off their body art?
Kate: You’re right. You’d think they’d take advantage of my sleeveless shirt.
Curran: Probably momentarily stunned by you’re misinterpretation of “a little skin”. I think you’re not the typical UF heroine, Kate.
Kate: Because I usually wear sensible clothing?
Curran: That, and the fact your tattoo isn’t someplace . . .interesting.
Kate: And I don’t have lovers. Or a lover, for that matter.
Curran: Yet.
Kate: Why rush? We — that is to say, me and the other party — might not be right for each other.
Curran: You’re right.
Kate: Thank you.
Curran: Cat and mouse is soo much more fun. Right, mouse?
Kate: Hey!
Curran: So. Do you think I’ll ever be depicted as a human on a cover?
Kate: No! It’s the “Kate Daniels” series, buster! I’m not gonna be upstaged by a hunk in a t-shirt! Besides, some confused soul might mistake you for a Navy SEAL and shelves us in the with contemporary romances!
Curran: You know, you make an excellent point. . .
Kate: Thanks!
Curran: Mouse.
Kate: Ugh! Stop calling me “mouse”!
Curran: As you wish.

more animals

To say I was surprised would be an understatement.  Many thanks to Brie at Cupid’s Chokehold Musings of a Bibliophile (I’ll fix my link, I promise) for thinking of me.

The Rules:

1) Add the logo of the award to your blog
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs!

Katiebabs at Babbling About Books (“babbling” and sheep!)
KMont at Lurv à la Mode
Stacy at Scooper Speaks
Urban Fantasy Land
Wendy at Musings of a Bookish Kitty
Book Binge
Naida at The Bookworm (she was the first to comment on my blog — non-spam, anyway)

This sounds like fun. Hosted by My Friend Amy.

Book Bloggers: You work hard. You read books, you write reviews, you maintain relationships with your readers, publicists, and authors. You are constantly running to the post office to mail your giveaways and participating in carnivals to help boost traffic. You sometimes want to faint when you see the size of your TBR pile, but faithfully you read. And you do it because you love it. Book blogging is for most a hobby. But it’s a hobby that takes a lot of work and time. It’s a labor of love.

I’ve been blogging for three years but only really got into book blogging in the last year. I have found, without a doubt, that book bloggers are the kindest, most open minded, and supportive group of bloggers on the internet. With book blogging, it’s about community and a love for the written word.

The Readers: We love you! You don’t have a blog, but you read our reviews and share your thoughts with us. You enter our giveaways and click on our Amazon associates link. We do this for you and appreciate your readership. We hope you’ll join in the fun and festivities of BBAW! (we’ll have a special contest just for you!)

Book Blogger Appreciation Week: Acknowledging the hard work of book bloggers and their growing impact on book marketing and their essential contribution to book buzz in general, I am excited to announce the first Book Blogger Appreciation Week. Think of it as a retreat for book bloggers and a chance for us to totally nerd out over books together. And of course, shower each other with love and appreciation.

Register: In order to experience the maximum impact of the week, I invite you to register your participation (just like a retreat)!

To register, just send an email to bookbloggerappreciationweekATgmailDOTcom with your blog url and what you consider your niche…i.e, general book blog, classics blog, personal blog with a healthy dose of books, YA books blog, etc. Then, add one of the two buttons at the bottom of this post to your sidebar. If you are a reader (no blog) just send an email announcing your plans to follow along.

Why bother? If you register, you will be added to a book blog directory which will exist long after this week is over. Additionally, you will receive one raffle entry into the daily giveaways during BBAW here at My Friend Amy.

Awards: Oh yes, there will be awards. The Oscars of Book Blogging. Nominations start next week.

Spread the Word: If you are excited about this idea like I am and the other book bloggers who are helping, please consider writing a post on your blog announcing this event and inviting other book bloggers and readers to join.

Help Wanted: If you have a talent for designing buttons (like those below) and would like to donate some of your time and skill to me, please email me personally at mypalamyATgmailDOTcom

My Friend Amy

After posting my review of Magic Burns, I saw this picture. I could not resist…

“When a cat loves you, he’ll leave dead mice on your porch, because you’re a lousy hunter and he wants to take care of you.”
- Aunt B to Kate, Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews

see more crazy cat pics