From the Garden: Aaaah, The First Corn of the Season

I love the first corn of the season. For some reason it just tastes sweeter than the ears that come later.  The hubby yelled that if I wanted some he could find some and of course I yelled back a resounding YES!

He brought in 4 normal ears 

and one baby ear.

They were beautiful.
They were delicious.
They didn't even need butter and salt they were so tasty!


The husks went to the goats.
They were very happy goats.

The baby ear went to Pricilla
She was an ecstatic goat!

She gave everyone a big corn smile!


He tells me the big harvest might be coming over the weekend. He planted half as much as he did last year. Which is good since I still have corn in the freezer from the 347 ears we got then. I am hoping for a few less.....

#Review and #Giveaway: DesignerLiners

Sponsored by Tomoson.com

I am sure that like most people you have little trash cans around your house. I have one in my bathroom and one in my bedroom. As soon as if it gets done in my lifetime the craft room gets finished I will have one in there as well. I purchased simple, black cans to just go with the modernish decor of the yurt. I usually just dump the accumulated trash into the big bag from the kitchen.

Aaaah, but now I have a stylish new option! They are called DesignerLiners and they are biodegradable, colorful, trash bags. There are 10 patterns from which to choose and I was sent the red gingham shown above.


They are very cleverly designed inside out so that when you put them in your trash can the design shows on the outside when you fold it over. Am I making sense? Probably not but here is a photo of my bathroom can.

I think it looks quite spiffy against my raspberry pink paint. 

I put one in my bedroom as well...just as lovely against the sunny yellow paint.
Oooooh
Aaaaah


And I just LOVE that they are biodegradable! That makes my eco-friendly heart happy.
Get this: if you have a business you can even have custom DesignerLiners made:

Now you have a great way of associating your business or company name with the world's most economical and fashionable clean-up effort!

We'll be happy to create custom designerliners for you! This is a practical and desirable way to put your logo, your crest, your old brand name or your new brand name on a brand new concept. Perhaps, like so many others, you have oversaturated your market with buttons, pens, hats, visors, T-shirts, umbrellas, tote bags… just to promote a company, sporting event, new brands and other important campaign.

Our designerliner design team will be happy to sit down with you and create the custom design that sends the perfect message out there for you. We will, of course, have minimum order requirements for custom designs. Contact us today and we'll be happy to give you the particulars.

Then, give them away at retail, at trade shows and at corporate events or parties; give them to associates and vendors as environmentally-conscious "thank-you's"; or even "toss" a few to the Media to let them know where you stand on refuse!

It's time to think outside the trash basket… this is a promotional vehicle people will see every day, and this is your chance to put your name or campaign right out in front!

How cool is that?! Can you imagine a trash bag full of little Pricilla faces?

heh

I digress.

I am quite happy with my fancy trash bags. The hubby - he just gave me that look that hubbies give wives all over the world.


You can find DesignerLiners on Facebook
You can find DesignerLiners on Twitter

And one lucky reader of Broken Teepee will get to get that same look from their hubby! That's right! One of you will get to win your very own set of DesignerLiners!

How do you win? It's easy!
Just click on "read more" and jump on the Rafflecopter. If you are here by direct link the 'copter is waiting just for you!

Blog Tour and Book #Review: Fire Men by Gary R. Ryman

About the Book:


Having served over thirty years in fire departments across three states, Gary R. Ryman brings a unique perspective to the firefighting experience. The son and father of firefighters, Ryman ignites the fire, smoke, blood and fear spanning three generations of the "family business." He recounts his early days in upstate New York learning from his father, the department fire chief. He describes the blazes he battled with a career and volunteer crew in the crowded suburbs of Washington, D.C. He examines the mentoring relationship established with his son as they respond to the calls of a volunteer department in rural Pennsylvania. Overall, Ryman shares both the personal and professional turning points that define a firefighting career. 


About the Author:


Gary R. Ryman is the second of three generations of firefighters. He has a bachelor’s degree in Fire Science from the University of Maryland and has been employed as a fire protection engineer for over twenty-five years. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in American History. Ryman is married with two children. His oldest son makes up the third generation of firefighters in his family, which makes him feel both old and young at the same time. 



My Opinion:


My hubby has been a volunteer firefighter or volunteer EMT for over 40 years. He is currently fire chief in our town so I chose this book for both of us  - I figured he would enjoy it. My brother is also a volunteer firemen. In fact the hubby responded to a fire on the day of our wedding. Later in the day the whistle blew in the middle of our reception which was being held at the fire hall. Afterward we invited the returning firefighters back to the party. I'm a fireman's wife....


 The book is a memoir of the exploits of three generations of fire fighters. We should all be very grateful for the men and woman that volunteer their time for such dangerous but necessary jobs. The training they undertake to respond to a fire or emergency call is quite extensive.


That being said I was somewhat disappointed in the book. It's a series of stories just thrown together in no apparent order. Some of them are very interesting and heart pounding others not so much. My hubby said that for a firefighter there were many instances of a lack of proper safety procedures with no follow up explanation of what should have been done. The writing style is easy to read and very familiar but I found the curse words a detriment to the stories. I recognize that when a bunch of manly men get together much cursing occurs but it is necessary in the retelling or is it for shock value? 


It will certainly open the eyes of people not aware of what a firefighter or EMT encounters in the course of doing their jobs.


You can find Fire Men on Facebook
You can purchase Fire Men HERE


Disclosure:  I received an e-copy of Fire Men gratis from Tribute Books. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

#Giveaway: Chicken Soup for the Soul - Just for Teenagers

I have another great Chicken Soup book to giveaway! How cool is that? This one is Just for Teenagers so if you have a teenager in your house or know one this is the book for you! Here is all you need to know about the book:

101 Stories of Inspiration and Support for Teens

Teenage years are tough, but this book will help teens as they journey through the ups and downs of adolescence. Chicken Soup for the Soul: Just for Teenagers provides support and inspiration for teenagers as they grow up, reminding them they are not alone, as they read stories from teens just like themselves about the problems and issues they face every day. The stories in this book serve as a guide on topics from the daily pressures of life and school to love, friendships, parents, and much more. This collection will encourage, inspire, and amuse teens, showing that, as tough as things can get, they are not alone!

How do you win? It's easy!

Just click on "read more" and jump on the Rafflecopter. If you came on the direct link the 'copter is waiting!

Book #Review: Catriona by Jeanette Baker

Click to purchase at Sourcebooks

About the Book:

Kate Sutherland’s arrival in the misty moors of her ancestral home in the Shetland Islands was supposed to cure her visions of danger, intrigue…and a sexy powerful Scottish border lord. Instead, she discovers that she’s been living the tormented memories of Catriona Wells, a beautiful young woman of royal blood who lived five centuries before.

Shielding a dark secret from her past, Catriona was willing to do anything to save her young brother from the deadly politics of her royal family—even agree to an arranged marriage with the formidable Patrick MacKendrick. But would daring to love the hardened warrior who desired her so fiercely destroy her family… or finally allow her to heal?

Meanwhile, Kate is battling her own attraction to Niall MacCormack, an alluring Scottish historian. As the pull of history beckons, Kate has her own decision to make: choose the life and love of her present, or risk everything in Catriona’s world of passion and peril.

About the Author:


Jeanette Baker is the award-winning author of fifteen novels, published by Pocket, Kensington and Mira Books, many of them set in the lush countryside of historical and contemporary Ireland where she lives and writes during the summer months. Her ancestors, the O’Flahertys, hail from Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands located off the coast of Galway. She takes great pride in the prayer posted by the English over the ancient city gates, 'From the wrath of the O'Flahertys, may the good Lord deliver us.'

Jeanette graduated from the University of California at Irvine and holds a Masters Degree in Education.  For the remainder of the year, she teaches in Southern California, reads constantly, attempts to navigate the confusing world of Facebook and, more recently e-publishing, concocts creations from interesting cook books and enjoys the company of friends and her grown children. She is the RITA award-winning author of NELL

My Opinion:


Kate Sutherland has never quite felt right in her world.  She feels further disoriented when her mother dies and she finds out she was adopted. She goes back to her mother's place of birth to scatter her ashes and learn more about where she was born.  While there she starts having strange "dreams" about a woman - a cousin to James IV, Catriona Wells.


She also meets the very handsome Niall MacCormack, a Scottish historian who falls in love with her but something is holding her back. And that something is Catriona. Kate is shocked to learn that she is the spitting image of her. She is drawn more deeply into her life and wonders if she prefers it to her own.


I have often expressed my love of time travel novels and while this book is not exactly a time TRAVEL novel it was a delightful, engrossing read that I really had a hard time putting down. In fact I didn't! I read it in one sitting. The two love stories - Catriona/Patrick and Kate/Niall were both good but the Catriona one was my favorite. She was a strong woman, ahead of her time for the most part. This book is really two in one which is what made it so much fun.


Catriona is available at Sourcebooks


Catriona is available at Amazon.com


Disclosure:  I received a copy of Catriona from Sourcebooks gratis. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

#Giveaway: Midnight on Julia Street by Ciji Ware

I am very pleased to be offering a giveaway of Midnight on Julia Street by Ciji Ware. You can read my review of this fascinating book HERE.

About the Book:

Scandal transcends time in the Big Easy

Feisty reporter Corlis McCullough isn’t afraid to push boundaries in the name of journalistic integrity. When passion for the truth lands her in New Orleans in need of a job, an assignment at a TV station pits her against her old college nemesis, .

The sultry streets of the French Quarter, the glamorous Garden District, derelict riverfront cotton warehouses, and gritty back alleys come alive as the reporter’s story inexplicably slips between the nineteenth century and today. A long-forgotten drama of blackmail, swindles, and a love affair that is still changing lives leaves Corlis and King wondering if their burgeoning, unholy attraction will render them pawns in a matrix of mystery and deceit.

About the Author:


In addition to her career as a novelist, Ciji Ware was a reporter and commentator on radio and television in Los Angeles for more than twenty years. She majored in history and was the first woman graduate of Harvard College to serve as president of the University's worldwide Harvard Alumni Association. Her numerous awards include an Emmy, and a Dupont for her television work, a Silver Gavel for magazine journalism, and the Dorothy Parker Award of Excellence for her historical novel, Island of the Swans. Ciji is also a sought-after event speaker, print journalist, and the author of 6 historical novels, as well as the nonfiction work Rightsizing Your Life --selected by the Wall Street Journal as one of the "Top 5 Books on Retirement" for 2007. She lives with her husband, Internet Marketing executive Tony Cook, in the maritime village of Sausalito, seven minutes across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. She often commutes to New York to visit her grown son and daughter-in-law.


Midnight on Julia Street is available at Sourcebooks

Midnight on Julia Street is available at Amazon.com










Disclosure:  I received a copy of Midnight on Julia Street fromSourcebooks gratis. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Silly Sunday - The Zucchini are Taking Over

That's it!
I've had it!
The zucchini have won.


How can I tell?

They are just getting waaaaay too comfortable.....

Little Soaps and Hurricane Irene

I have had quite a few orders lately for favor soaps for showers. I am quite happy to fulfill these - seeing the little soaps in their bags all tied up with pretty ribbons makes me happy.

Just this week I sent out two orders; one for a baby shower one for a bridal shower.
Ironically both went to places in hurricane Irene's path. I hope I don't cause a swath of bubbles up the East coast!


But all joking aside I hope that Irene does not cause a lot of damage. My family is in New Jersey very close to the coast and I am worried about them. For the longest time we have been saying that the area is long overdue for a bad hurricane and I fear that this may be it. I am thinking of sending AbbyGoat to butt that sucker west....what do you think?


So I ask for all of your positive thoughts to keep Irene at bay - or in the far reaches of the Atlantic Ocean anyway.

Blog Tour, Book Review and #Giveaway: Eromenos by Melanie McDonald #EromenosVirtualBookTour

About the Book:


Eros and Thanatos converge in this story of a glorious youth, an untimely death, and an imperial love affair that gives rise to the last pagan god of antiquity, Antinous.

In this coming-of-age novel set in second century Rome, the Greek youth Antinous of Bithynia recounts his seven-year affair with Hadrian, the fourteenth Roman emperor. In a partnership more intimate than Hadrian's political marriage, Antinous captivates the most powerful ruler on the earth.

This version of the story of the emperor and his beloved ephebe envisions the life of the youth who after death achieved apotheosis as a pagan god whose cult of worship lasted for hundreds of years, and gives voice to Antinous, whose image still appears in museums around the world.


About the Author:


Melanie McDonald was awarded a 2008 Hawthornden Fellowship for Eromenos.
She has an MFA from the University of Arkansas. Her short stories have appeared in New York Stories, Fugue, Indigenous Fiction, and online. An Arkansas native whose Campbell ancestors were Highland Scots, she now lives in Virginia with her husband, Kevin McDonald, the author ofAbove the Clouds: Managing Risk in the World of Cloud Computing

My Opinion:


I love the history of ancient Rome. As I have mentioned in past reviews I have done most of my reading in the eras before, during and after Caesar so I was not that familiar with the Emporer Hadrian other than to remember Hadrian's Wall from history lessons past. This book explores a very short time period in Hadrian's life and a specific love in that time. Hadrian had a passion for young boys but one of them he loved above others - Antinous. Hadrian was so distraught after Antinous' death that he basically deified him.


Antinous died by drowning in the Nile. It is not known if he committed suicide, fell accidentally or was pushed intentionally. This book makes a choice and is written in Antinous' voice as a chronicle of his life; from his coming of age as a young country bred child to the cusp of manhood when he dies.


Ms. McDonald's writing is magical, it draws you into the story and you feel all of Antinous' emotions - from surprise, to embarrassment, to pride, to anger to loss. A good love story is a good love story no matter the sex of the proponents, but was this a love story? Hadrian held all the power, Antinous really was an adornment for him. As with any courtesan he was never sure of Hadrian's affections, especially as he got older. 



I fell into this story, the descriptions, the feelings. It's a far more literary work than I usually read but I truly enjoyed it. I found it did help that I had a decent grasp of the Greek and Roman gods and their tales.


If you are looking for an intelligent story about  love lost this book and it's lyrical writing would be a good choice.


You can see the rest of the Tour schedule HERE.


Eromenos is available at Amazon.com

















One lucky reader will win a copy of Eromenos - the giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY!
How do you win?
It's easy!
Just jump on the Rafflecopter!







You can find Eromenos by Melanie McDonald on Facebook
You can visit Melanie McDonald's website


Disclosure:  I received a copy of Eromenos from Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours gratis. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

Go Back to School with Tiny Prints

Being an aunt does not mean I don't get as excited about Back to School as any of you moms out there. In fact I remember the first day of school for my eldest "kids" very clearly. I was so very thrilled for them as they prepared for their first day of real school. My nephew and goddaughter were heading off to first grade and they were so excited to ride on the bus. I couldn't make both so I had to flip a coin; I met one in the morning to get on the bus and I met the other getting off the bus. They looked so grown up. Now they are both 16 and driving. I can hardly believe that so much time has flown by.


Tiny Prints has so many cool products that can make back to school special for your child. In fact I wish they had been around 16 years ago! I could just imagine including a cute lunch box note or making them personalized notebooks to take to class. There is just so much available now.


So why not check it all out. You might find the perfect back to school accessory for your child or a perfect little something extra for their teacher.  I have used Tiny Prints for stickers and cards and I have been very impressed with the quality and service I have received.


Disclosure:  I will be receiving a Tiny Prints Gift Card for this post. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and are not impacted by my receipt of that gift card. I received no other compensation for this post.

From the Garden: Watermelon

I love watermelon! Last year the hubby bought a watermelon plant on a lark and it died, came back and grew me a little watermelon. This year he planned. He plotted. He researched. He bought short season watermelon seeds. 


There is a veritable forest of watermelon vines out in the garden. I will have photos at another time. He brought me this last night.

Isn't it GORGEOUS?!
It passed all the "ripe" tests; it thunked, it had yellow on the bottom and the tendril near the stem had wilted. They are supposed to weigh between 2 and 4 pounds and this baby came in at 4.12 pounds.


I was so very excited!
We cut it open....

*sigh*
It was not quite ready.
It was slightly sweet but it was not quite watermelon sweet.
So I wait for the others growing out there and hope that frost doesn't come before they are ripe.


There is one that is about the same size as this one and 4 more that are about half the size.
Keep your fingers crossed!

TracFone Can Help You Save $$$

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of TracFone for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Have you noticed how cellphone service bills are rising? They never seem to go down, do they? If you are looking for a change why not see what these real TracFone customers have to say about TracFone:



Living out here in the mountains I know that calls drop ALL the time. It would be wonderful to finish a conversation that I start. The scenery is beautiful to view but it can wreak havoc on cell service!  But TracFone has so many features I am sure that YOU will find the ones that make it the service for you.
You can choose monthly plans or buy a yearly plan - whatever suits your needs. You can even purchase a separate, "Double Minutes for the Life of Your Phone" feature for only $19.99. If you like that idea some phones already include it! Cool, huh?
TracFone even gives you the ability to call international friends and family for the same price as any other call. You can call 60 international destinations! They even have an International Neighbors program for your calls to Canada and Mexico. You can give them a local number to reach your TracFone in the US.
So why not join so many other real TracFone customers and take advantage of the great phone selection that starts at $10? You can find a phone packed with all of the features you need - qwerty keyboard, mp3, video/camera - for $29.99.
So go ahead and check out TracFone. You might learn that they are the phone for you!

Baking for the Firemen: Zucchini Bread! What Else?!

It was time to bake for the hard working firemen and there I was with 4,256,789 zucchini. Well, not QUITE that many....but close! I turned to my favorite bread cookbook, Secrets of a Jewish Baker and zucchini bread was baked. I use this recipe when I have zucchini and then freeze the loaves for use later in the winter. They freeze beautifully and the flavor only gets better over time.


OK - you need zucchini. You don't have any?! I got 'em if you want 'em! He brought me 8 more last night. On top of the 15 that were just staring at me. It's getting to be that time - threats are imminent.


But on to this delicious bread.


Preheat your oven to 350°
Grease three 8 or 9" pans. I used 10 x 5" Chicago Metallic pro 1 lb bread pans so I only made two loaves. I love these pans; they make a beautiful loaf of bread. I wasn't paid to say that. I bought these babies on my own several years ago and they are the best bread pans I have ever owned.

Into the bowl of my KitchenAid (JJ to be exact) went:


2 cups of sugar
1 1/2 cups of vegetable oil
3 cups grated zucchini (12 to 16 oz)

After that was all mixed well I added in 4 eggs, one at a time until it was all combined.

You are supposed to mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl but I am lazy. For the sake of form....in a separate bowl mix:


3 cups unbleached all purpose flour (I used King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon zest (I didn't have any so I just didn't add it)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until blended. The recipe called for 1/3 cup chopped, toasted walnuts but I didn't have any so I added raisins. I would have added raisins even if I had added walnuts 'cause I like raisins in my zucchini bread.

The batter goes into the prepared pans. 

I sprinkle a bit of sugar in the raw on top for an added bit of crunch on the finished bread. It also adds a nice bit of sparkle.

The loaves bake for about an hour or until the center feels firm when you press it with your fingertips.


The firemen love this bread. I have made it several times; in fact it is one of the few recipes that I have repeated due to requests from the men. THAT tells you how good it is.


It's a great way to use up some of the prolific squash. In fact I freeze shredded zucchini in portions just to make this bread come winter.

#Review: Organization is Just a Click Away with AboutOne!

It's that time of year - all the kids are heading back to school and all the moms will have peace and quiet in the house. Aaaaaah.


A girl could dream. I don't have children but this is "garden season" for me and I get baskets and buckets of fruits and vegetables to freeze and can. Everything else goes by the wayside. But life would be so much easier if there were a simple digital filing system and more to help me with all the paperwork that clutters my life. How about you? I know I look around my kitchen and under the zucchini and on top of the apricots I find all manner of important documents that really need to be put somewhere. I have never been "Suzie Homemaker" and a good system for how to declutter would ensure that I don't freeze the AMEX bill with the aforementioned zucchini.


AboutOne can do that! I have been there and seen a peak of the light! Unfortunately the 40lbs of apricots on top of the regular vegetable harvest buried me and I couldn't explore as much as I wanted. But I do have a lovely supply of jam and dried apricots. Not to mention a whole bunch of shredded zucchini - erm, I still have some; anybody want a zucchini? 


Ah-hem, back on topic!!! Here is a little video so you can learn exactly WHAT AboutOne is.





If you would like to learn how to get organized with AboutOne you can take advantage of a truly spiffy offer AND sign up for a fantastic giveaway. Read on....


You can sign up for a free account at AboutOne!!


The 17 day Free Passport gives you 17 full days of usage with no expiration date (requires no credit card information). Use each of your 17 days whenever you like. Our Yearly Plan gives you a full year of access to AboutOne for the low price of $30 per year.


 Try it out, use the features - my favorite is the ability to store PDFs of all of your appliance manuals in one place. I am forever searching for a manual to figure something out! 


After you have done that you can enter the giveaway - check out this great prize!


JUST REMEMBER YOU MUST SIGN UP FOR THE FREE 17 DAY TRIAL HERE TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE CONTEST!!!!!


Rules: One winner will be chosen at random from all entries across all blogs to receive the following prize: $500 AMEX gift card and an upgrade to a free subscription to AboutOne.com to 1 grand prize winner + a $250 donation to the school of their choice.  All other entries will receive an email with a code for 25% off a one year subscription to AboutOne.com.  This giveaway ends September 9th at 11:59 p.m. ET and is open to U.S. residents age 18 or older.








How cool is THAT?! 
Very cool if you ask me. 
Now they just need a feature that will store zucchini....Work on that, will you AboutOne?


I am looking forward to the end of "Garden Season" so I can fully utilize my AboutOne account. I figure it will make my life much easier and I know my hubby will be happy to see all those goat photos go somewhere else....


You can find AboutOne on Facebook
You can find AboutOne on Twitter


Disclosure:  I received an account at AboutOne and a monetary payment for this post through my relationship with Global Influence. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free account and the payment.

Blog Tour and Book #Review: Soldier of Rome: The Legionary by James Mace

About the Book:

Rome’s Vengeance
In the year A.D. 9, three Roman Legions under Quintilius Varus were betrayed by the Germanic war chief, Arminius, and then destroyed in the forest known as Teutoburger Wald. Six years later, Rome is finally ready to unleash Her vengeance on the barbarians. The Emperor Tiberius has sent Germanicus Caesar, his adopted son, into Germania with an army of 40,000 legionaries. They come not on a mission of conquest, but one of annihilation. With them is a young Legionary named Artorius. For him, the war is a personal vendetta-a chance to avenge his brother, who was killed in Teutoburger Wald.

In Germania, Arminius knows the Romans are coming. He realizes that the only way to fight the Romans is through deceit, cunning, and plenty of well-placed brute force. In truth, he is leery of Germanicus, knowing that he was trained to be a master of war by the Emperor himself.

The entire Roman Empire held its breath as Germanicus and Arminius faced each other in what would become the most brutal and savage campaign the world had seen in a generation; a campaign that could only end in a holocaust of fire and blood.

About the Author:

Since I can remember I have always had a passion for history. My love of Roman history started when I first watched the series “I, Claudius”. I then proceeded to read every Roman book I could get my hands on.

I got my start writing bodybuilding and physical fitness articles for Bodybuilding.com, as well as a lesser-know magazine, HardCore Muscle. I turned to writing historical novels when I was in Iraq. My intent was to write the stories that I wanted to read, but could not find. While we may hear stories about the Emperors and Generals of antiquity, we almost never hear the stories of the men who did the actual fighting under them. Sadly, most historical data is lost, the individual soldiers being long since forgotten by history. My attempt with The Artorian Chronicles is to tell the story of a common legionary and what could have happened throughout his career.

More recently I have turned to other periods in history and have started work on a pair of historical novels about the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. The working title for the first book is “Brutal Valour”. I’m tentatively planning for it to be released sometime in 2012, along with the fifth book in The Artorian Chronicles, “Soldier of Rome: Judea”.

You can visit James at http://legionarybooks.net

My Opinion:


I have long been a fan of Roman history. In this book the devastating battle of the Teutoburger Wald is told but it is not the defeat of part of Rome's legendary fighting machine that drives this tale but rather the retaliation that took place 6 years later. I must admit that my Roman history reading tended to concentrate on Caesar so this was new territory for me. I was not disappointed.


Mr. Mace brings to life the trials of an ordinary Roman soldier, a Legionary. But this Legionary joins the army for one reason - revenge. His brother was killed in that battle at Teutoburger Wald. Artorious wants to turn himself into a killing machine so he can avenge the death of the brother he loved and the mother he also lost; she died of a broken heart after hearing of her son's death.


The descriptions of how a young man becomes a Legionary were very well written and quite interesting. The passages when Artorious is training or interacting with his army buddies are the crux of the book and the best part. The battle scenes are well written - gore and all. War, as they say is hell and there isn't much to be done. Mr. Mace doesn't linger over the human devastation nor does he ignore the consequences of a javelin's impact on a human body. I felt that when female characters were introduced and sex entered into erm, play that it was only added to spice up the story was not always necessary to the plot at the time chosen. I don't know if I can adequately explain what I mean - not being a writer I am not a good with words but the scenes seemed forced. It did not ruin the overall reading experience though.


I missed an author's note. Modern historical fiction novels usually include one and while the book has an excellent section describing the Roman terms and how the army broke down that note at the end explaining what was true and what was author's imagination would have been helpful. I spent a bit of time on "the google" as they say sorting it out for myself.


Overall I did very much enjoy the book and would love to read the other books in the series. You can find out about them on Mr. Mace's website, Legionary Books.


Soldier of Rome is available on Amazon.com















Disclosure:  I received a copy of Soldier of Rome from Pump Up Your Book Promotions gratis. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.