Mortaine’s Blog

What is your favorite red thing? I have a neat red shirt that I like because it’s flattering to wear. Also, strawberries.
Your name spelled backwards. einahpets.
Where were your parents born? Evanston, Illinois and (probably) Norwood, Massachusetts.
What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer? This computer? Some Word document, I think. Or a PDF.
What’s your favorite restaurant? Mmm…. I don’t know. I like to eat.
Last time you swam in a pool? Memorial Day, Mom’s pool.
Have you ever been in a school play? Yes. I usually got small speaking roles, like “Dead Woman #3″ in Our Town.
How many kids do you want? 0.
Type of music you dislike most? Um, Indian music. Sorry, screeching cats?
Are you registered to vote? Yes, of course.
Do you have cable? Yes.
Have you ever ridden on a moped? No.
Ever prank call anybody? Uh, not since I was 11.
Ever get a parking ticket? Of course.
Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving? It’s never been an option, but I would probably do it.
Furthest place you ever traveled? Um, Germany, I think.
Do you have a garden? I have a yard of tanlged weeds and dog poop.
What’s your favorite comic strip? User Friendly, with Get Fuzzy being a VERY close second.
Do you really know all the words to your national anthem? Yes, of course. We had to learn the words, written out, in 6th grade music class (you’d be surprised at how many 6th graders don’t actually know the words to the anthem).
Bath or Shower, morning or night? Usually: Shower in the morning. Prefer: Shower or bath at night.
Best movie you’ve seen in the past month? Eh. Um, Super Size Me was good, but so was What Dreams May Come, but in different ways.
Favorite pizza topping? Pineapple!
Chips or popcorn? Popcorn.
What color lipstick do you usually wear? I don’t. I sometimes wear cinnamon-bun-flavored lip gloss, though it’s mostly just to curb my snack cravings.
Have you ever smoked peanut shells? Smoked? Uh, no. I have no idea if that means to smoke them prior to eating, or to roll ‘em and smoke ‘em. Either way, not. I do eat peanut shells, though.
Have you ever been in a beauty pageant? No. My sister has.
Is your bed made? Yes.
Are you Happy today? More or less. Mostly, I’m indifferent with many shades of tired.

My real-life friends are nigh-sick of me talking about this book, but it really is That Good.

The Shivered Sky by Matt Dinniman. I don’t usually like military fiction, but this had me hooked. It’s fantasy– the premise is that Heaven and Hell have had the last big war and the angels have lost. Heaven is a very dangerous place to be, but there’s a prophecy that brings some hope for Heaven’s survival. Enter the heroes– 5 humans who wake up after their deaths on Earth and find themselves in the very middle of the end.

I raced through the first 250 pages, then slowed way down for the last 50 pages because I didn’t want it to end. It’s been a long time since I read a book that made me want to savor the last few pages. This one was excellent– I can’t recommend it enough to fantasy and even science fiction fans (Dinniman makes the daring assumption that angels engineer stuff, too– weapons technology has not halted at the bronze age).

It’s a little pricey at $19.99, but you can usually find it for $15, and it packs as much in as a paperback trilogy. What’s more, the publisher is a smaller, independent press, so you can feel good that the author’s royalty is actually fair. Dinniman (: never updates)is also a NaNoWriMo participant, though I don’t think he wrote this in a month (though if he did, he must have spent more than that editing and polishing it, because it’s very polished!)
[x-posted to .]