A Review of Out of Time by Shane Malcolm Billings
Normally, I don’t post pieces on Tuesday. (My schedule is—for the most part—Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.) But last night, Shane Malcolm Billings, our town library’s former Adult Services Librarian, posted such a wonderful, thoughtful review of my new YA fantasy Out of Time that I thought I would share it.
Here are a couple of excerpts of the review taken from Shane’s blog, In His Own Words:
Laurie Graves is back with Out of Time, the third entry in her Great Library Series. More straightforward in its progression than its two predecessors, with their skillful time jumps and multiple narrative threads, Out of Time is also Graves’s most well-written book yet.
Out of Time is faster and flashier than Maya and the Book of Everything and Library Lost, but somehow deeper as well. Graves expands her cast of characters, continues to develop her lead, and experiments with ever more elements of magic and fantasy. Her writing continues to shine, and she has become even more adept at balancing the action sequences with the philosophizing, the adventure with the quiet reflection. These are special books, which will appeal to a wide range of readers. In these trying times, escapism is more welcome than ever. You will find great escape as well as much food for thought in Out of Time, the strongest entry yet in the Great Library Series.
Click here to read the entire review.
Many, many thanks, Shane!
Winter Comes in with a Bang
On Saturday we had our first real snowstorm of the season, an actual nor’easter. Here is what weather.gov has to say about nor’easters: “A Nor’easter is a storm along the East Coast of North America, so called because the winds over the coastal area are typically from the northeast. These storms may occur at any time of year but are most frequent and most violent between September and April. ”
That, in a nutshell, is a nor’easter. Really, never something you look forward to.
In our area, this storm did not bring much snow, at least by Maine standards—five inches, tops. However, what this nor’easter lacked in snow, it more than made up for in damage. The snow was heavy, and there was high wind. A perfect combination for branches to fall on power lines and knock out power. By Saturday night, around 200,000 households were without power, no small thing in a state with just over a million people.
Fortunately Clif and I did not lose our power, and we were both very, very grateful.
The storm came late in the afternoon, and here are some snow pictures taken just before dusk, when we went out to shovel and scoop for the first time.
The snow frosted the arrangement on the front porch.
The snow coated the hedges, and underneath our Christmas lights glowed.
The snow clung to our trusty winter companions—a bucket of salt for melting icy patches and a shovel.
The snow fell in the front yard, making everything look like Christmas to those of us who live in the north.
The next day, the snow stopped, and the sky cleared. In anticipation of the storm, we had taken in the patio chairs and the little tables. I have a feeling that there won’t be many socially-distanced visits until spring. To me, the patio looks lonesome.
Finally, here is Clif, looking like a man of the north. He had to use the Great Blue Scoop because what little snow we had was too heavy and packed for Little Green, our valiant electric snow thrower.
In Maine, we must be prepared with all sorts of devices that move snow.
Friday Favorites: And the Winners Are…
The 2020 Hinterlands Press Giveaway is over, and the names have been drawn.
Readers near and far—from all around the world—entered the contest, and what a treat to note the different places. A wonderful example of how blogging really expands the horizon, especially during a time when we must stay so close to home.
Here are the winners:
A copy of Out of Time:
Going Batty in Wales
Calendars:
Shane Malcolm Billings, Maine
Ju-Lyn Tan, Singapore
JoAnne LaFear, Maine
Congratulations to the winners!
I wish everyone who entered had won, but alas that is not how giveaways work. However, as we Mainers would say, I can give you a wicked good deal just in time for the holidays. From now until December 19, for orders shipped in the United States, we are offering a 20% discount for Out of Time on our Hinterlands Press website.
Free shipping is still included. And you get a signed copy. (Unfortunately, shipping is too expensive to extend this discount to my out-of-country friends. So sorry!)
Again, congratulations to the winners! I will be getting in touch with you soon for your mailing addresses.
Will You Please Open the Door, Please?
A Splash of Red in an Odd, Gray November
There are no two ways about it—November has been an odd month. In the midst of the pandemic, which sticks its ugly spoke in everyone’s wheel, November in Maine has been the warmest I have ever seen.
Recently, my cousin posted a picture on Facebook of a snow turkey that she, her sister, and a cousin had made in honor of Thanksgiving. When I commented on all the snow, my cousin responded, “Back then, we had snow by Thanksgiving every year.”
Back then was the 1960s, and my cousin lived about fifty miles north of where we live now. Not that far away, really.
This year, in central Maine, we’ve had only a dusting of snow that was soon gone. In deference to the pandemic, we have left four chairs and two little tables out on the patio. We have never had patio furniture out this late, but needs must as the saying goes.
And by gum, my friend Judy came over yesterday for a socially-distanced patio visit. She brought me this beautiful poinsettia. (Or poinsettah, as we would say in Maine.) What a lovely red splash on a gray day or any other day.
Another friend is coming over mid-week to pick up a copy of my YA fantasy Out of Time for her grandson. She told me he has read the previous two books and is keen to read Out of Time. I always like to hear this, of course, but it especially pleases me when a young boy likes a series that, let’s face it, is girl-centric. Unfortunately, this is not always the case with boys, who often prefer stories where boys are the main characters. From grandparents and parents, I have heard this sentiment repeated many times at the fairs where we sell our books. Even a brave, spunky character like Maya will not entice some boys to read my novels. Sigh.
But yay for my friend’s grandson!
Friday Favorites: Out of Time Compliment; Thanksgiving Meal; Melancholy Christmas Song
Just in time for Thanksgiving, I received this comment from my blogging friend Susan, who very kindly put my new YA fantasy Out of Time at the top of her TBR list and quick as a wink read the book: “I really enjoyed it – yet another page-turner from you and I was grateful for some precious escapism. I just need to complain that you kept me up very late finishing it.”
What a nice compliment! Music to a writer’s ears, actually. Many thanks, Susan.
As was planned, Clif and I had a very quiet Thanksgiving. Nevertheless, it was a nice one, with the food being quite a treat. We have been eating low-carb and low-cal for so long that we both thought it was bliss to have stuffing and share a baked potato. All a matter of perspective, isn’t it?
Finally, a melancholy Christmas song—“The River”—from the great Joni Mitchell. Somehow, this song really captures the mood of 2020.
For more favorites and small pleasures read Thistles and Kiwis and All Things Bright and Beautiful.
Just Clif and Me
For the first time ever, Clif and I will be spending Thanksgiving alone. No children, no friends, just Clif and me. It hardly needs to be said that there will be no going to the cinema to see the beginning of the season’s blockbuster movies, a family tradition that stretches way back.
For the most part, Clif and I have accepted our situation with what might be called equanimity. Or acceptance. Or whatever. We’re not angry, and we’re not depressed. However, I would be lying if I stated that we aren’t a little wistful as we remember past Thanksgivings. That’s allowed, I think.
More than anything else, this holiday feels flat. There hasn’t been a flurry of cooking and cleaning, the way there usually is before Thanksgiving. No planning. No anticipation. In some ways, this week seems like any other week during the time of Covid-19 and not like Thanksgiving at all.
However, I will be preparing a meal that’s a little special for the two of us: a green bean casserole made with with cheese and a sour-cream sauce, stuffing, potatoes, and carrots. For dessert we have a chocolate satin pie, commercially made but good nonetheless. No turkey, as Clif and I are vegetarians, but we will enjoy our veggie feast.
We have also put out our holiday lights, to brighten the long nights of November and December.
The wee camera has made the lights more purple and glaring than they actually are, but this gives an idea of how the lights look, a glowing spot on a dark country road.
We will be Zooming with the kids, which perks up any day, Thanksgiving or not. Thank goodness for technology!
We also plan to watch Babette’s Feast tomorrow, an oldie but goodie. The story, set in the 1800s, revolves around a French refuge—Babette—who is taken in by two Danish women, the daughters of a strict (and selfish) father who was a pastor. I don’t want to say too much about the plot in case you haven’t seen this delightful movie that deals with coming to terms with a difficult and disappointing past. And food. Lots of food. Hence its appropriateness for Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my American blogging friends. I hope you find a way to make the day special even if there isn’t the usual gang of loved ones and friends around your table.
The day might be lonely and quiet, but truly there are things to be grateful for. A very effective vaccine is on the horizon, and in January, we will have a new president.
Onward to the longest night of the year. Onward to 2021.
Almost Like Haiku
In Maine, late fall is a time of subtraction. The golden glow of October has been replaced by the more austere pleasures of November. Gone are the brilliant autumn leaves, and instead we have a landscape that is marked by the dark bones of leafless trees.
However, I find trees beautiful during any season, and to me a tree with bare branches is spare and poetic, almost like haiku.
This picture of our friends’ home—a classic New England farmhouse—illustrates the beauty and sweep of the bare trees.
If you click on the picture, it will enlarge the photo, and you will be able to better see those bare trees and the red roof, which I absolutely adore.
Until spring comes, I will be admiring the bare trees whenever I go for walks.
Less is not necessarily more, but seeing the essence of the trees somehow brings me closer to them.
Friday Favorites: Builder’s Tea, Dash & Lily
As I mentioned in a recent post, I have recently finished proofing my YA fantasy, Out of Time, and it is now officially published. And what a lot of work that was! Lucky for me that as I was proofing, I had something to give me a little pep, a recommendation from my blogging friend at Tangly Cottage Gardening Journal. That something was Builder’s tea, which bills itself as a full-flavored “cuppa.”
Yes, it is. I can only let a bag steep for two-and-a-half minutes rather than the customary five. But after all, Britain wasn’t built on chamomile, and I suspect few writers are fueled by chamomile as they labor and toil on their books. (A fun coincidence: Chamomile tea plays a major role in my new book, Out of Time.)
By the time I was coming down the homestretch with proofing, I was gulping down Builder’s the way a lost traveler in the desert would gulp water at an oasis.
Recently I confessed that I have begun putting up my Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving, a sort of no-no in the United States. Well, I have another confession: I have started watching Christmas movies and specials, too. I know, I know:Talk about jumping the season. But I can’t seem to help myself. For the most part, Clif is a pretty good sport about my holiday-movie obsession, but my kids are starting to wonder if some kind of intervention is necessary.
However, because of my early viewing, I am able to make recommendations to those who need a little holiday cheer. And this Friday that honor goes to the Netflix limited series Dash & Lily, a sweet, charming Christmas Rom-com that will became an annual tradition in our house.
Now, it must be said that the premise of most, if not all, holiday shows requires a willing suspension of disbelief, not a problem for someone like me who reads and writes fantasy novels. In short, these are not plots that will stand up to nitpicking. And so it is with Dash & Lily, the tale of two lonely teenagers in New York City who start a romance via a red notebook—left by Lily—that Dash finds at the fabulous, wonderful Strand bookstore that calls to me like a beacon whenever I visit the city. (Eighteen miles of books? Holy cats!)
Dash is a cynical teenager who has been hurt by his parents’ divorce and by a former girlfriend who has left the city. Lily is a creative book nerd who feels out of step with kids her own age. (Did I identify with Lily? You bet I did.) For different reasons, both Lily and Dash are adrift at Christmas.
Most of the episodes involve Lily and Dash, without ever meeting, leaving clues and tasks for each other via the red notebook. But through the course of the series we see that Lily and Dash are kindred spirits, and gosh darn it, we sure do root for them.
As an added bonus, New York City is gorgeous during the holidays, and in Dash & Lily, Christmas time in the city has never looked so beautiful.
So if you want a little holiday cheer during these gloomy times, do watch Dash & Lily. I guarantee you will be smiling by the end.
For more joy and small pleasures, check out the blog Thistles and Kiwis.
Notes From the Hinterland 