Reading by Season by Eileen O'Finlan

                                                                                                                                                                   

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Over the years, I have noticed an interesting phenomenon. At certain times of the year, usually at the change of seasons, I get the overwhelming urge to read specific types of books. Often, just as we are sliding into summer, I get the hankering for historical fiction set during either the American Revolution or the American Civil War. I've no idea why the warmer weather induces such a fancy. After all, those are hardly what most people would call beach reads, but there we are. 

I've never been into the typical "beach read" anyway. The last time I read a book on the beach (many, many years ago), it was The Shining by Stephen King. I was so into it that I completely lost track of time - a common occurrence when I'm reading a good book - and didn't realize that four hours had gone by. I'd been laying on my stomach, propped up on my elbows. I got a massive sunburn and wore the outline of it on my back from my low, scoop-back, one-piece bathing suit for the next two years! Yes, Stephen King books can be dangerous!

Now that we are heading into fall, the temperatures here in New England are beginning to dip, the days are getting shorter, and autumn is definitely on its way, my book cravings are turning to the supernatural. I'm beginning to amass a "to be read" pile of such books, having just finished two of the genre's classics - Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House and Henry James's The Turn of the Screw.

I'm sure I'm not alone in turning to these types of books at this time of year. It makes sense. (Certainly more than yearning for Revolution and Civil War books just because it's summer.) Come the holidays and the long, cold winter, I'll probably start looking for something more cozy. But from now through Halloween, bring on the vampires, ghosts, and haunted houses. 

While it took a year to write The Folklorist, (after at least six months of research), I really got into it the most during the fall. It was exciting to craft a novel that could have been on my own autumn TBR list at the same time I was craving that type of book. I think it helped me write the kind of book I most wanted to read at that moment.

Included in this fall's reading will be books from BWL's Paranormal Canadiana Collection. If Nancy M. Bell's Night at the Legislature is any indication, they are sure to induce plenty of spine tingles!

Of course, I might throw a book or two by Stephen King into the mix. At least at this time of year, I won't be risking a sunburn.

The beginning of my fall TBR

Changing More Than The Clocks by Helen Henderson

 

Fire and Amulet by Helen Henderson
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One of the autumn/winter events that I have come to hate is Daylight Savings Time. Now I am not going to debate the benefits of shifting clocks ahead or back an hour. The fact is, the older I get the harder I find it is to adjust to the changing of the clock. And it doesn't make a difference whether the hour is springing forward or falling back, both are now wrecking havoc to my life. But I am not the only one.

A social media meme of a dog with a sign hanging around its neck notifying its owner that changing the clock does not change its feeding time made me laugh. 

One dog owner I know slowly shifts the feeding time five minutes a day to help her animals adjust. That never worked with the tuxedo cat who used to rule my household. He made it very clear. Bird song and brightening skies meant it was time for his humans to rise and give him his milk. Door slams made sure that we woke. And the evening feeding time? Whenever he wanted to be fed. Delays resulted in loud meows and leg pats (with extended claws).

Another type of seasonal change can be just as impactful as changing the clock. There comes a time in an  author's writing life when a series ends. The Windmaster Novels eventually came to an end with Windmaster Golem. The series covered two generations of mages and a legend pulled from the mists of time. Adjusting to saying good-bye to characters I had lived with for years was harder than that of a time shift.

Two of my favorite things are hanging out with mages and flying with dragons. A coin flip decided it was time to take to the skies. A documentary of the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, a volcano on the island of Luzon in the Phillipines became the initial inspiration for the world of Fire and Amulet. The images of the volcano and the lands around it took me back to the time of my childhood when I lived there.

Since the topic focuses on change and time, in recognition of the changing temperatures outside, a snippit from Fire and Amulet of the change of seasons.

Helen Henderson lives in western Tennessee with her husband. While she doesn’t have any pets in residence at the moment, she often visits a husky who have adopted her as one the pack. Find out more about her and her novels on her BWL author page.

Nighttime breezes accentuated the crisper air of harvest season that had accompanied the last few days of her travel. The cooler temperatures came with daytime storms that kept her huddled beneath her cloak for what little shelter it provided. Although the rain and lightning restricted her movement, it did little to stop her mind from roaming down untenable paths.

Worries about her future, whether Geren and his new bride were happy in Nawddmir, and if Drakus, Hiryur, and their herd had found safe pasture, mingled with memories.

The cool air recalled all the times she hid in Trelleir’s cave to escape the desert heat that scorched Darceth in the summer months. Not even the dark hours provided respite from the heat that burned your lungs and stole what little energy one could summon. In the few steps from the communal well to the garden, even without a single splash or spill, the full bucket emptied by half.

A low chuckle escaped. Caldar could never object to days spent at the cave because it was the head slayer’s orders to go there and assist Trelleir. What was supposed to be a punishment was a reward in disguise.

To purchase Fire and Amulet: BWL

 ~Until next month, stay safe and read.  Helen

Helen Henderson lives in western Tennessee with her husband. While she doesn’t have any pets in residence at the moment, she often visits a husky who have adopted her as one the pack. Find out more about her and her novels on her BWL author page.