The Power of Reading
The other day I was thinking about one day when I was in college. I lived an hour away from campus so running home on my two hour gap between classes wasn’t feasible. That day I wandered through the bookstore and picked up Bridget Jones’ Diary. I sat in my truck and started reading. As the time approached for my class, I looked between the clock and the book in my hand and made the decision to keep reading. Now, I could have gone home and read, but that would have meant putting the book down for an hour while I drove home. Nope. So I sat there, finished the book and drove home. Sorry Professor.
There is nothing I love more than absolutely being sucked into a book and the world the author has built. That feeling you get when you pick up a book and barely put it down again until you’ve reached the last page. As an author my favorite emails are the ones where readers email me to tell me that they were exhausted because they had to stay up all night reading. Awesome.
I have always loved books. What’s that saying about readers living many lives? I 100% agree with this. To me there is no greater fuel for the imagination than a good book. One where your brain paints full color pictures in your head of what the characters look like, what the world they live in is like. Avid readers understand that while you might not be able to go to all the fictional, fantastical worlds we read about, we can visit them whenever we like. And the really good worlds are worth visiting again and again.
So what were some of your favorite worlds to read about? What ones do you want to revisit again and again? Let me know so I can check them out. My list is below.
- The gothic world of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
- The country setting in Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
- Kate Daniels’ Atlanta in the Magic series by Ilona Andrews
- The fantasy kingdom in the Study series by Maria V Snyder
- Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
There are so many others but these were the first to come to mind. And these are all series or books that I have more than once. Happy Reading!
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The rare instances that she actually finds some spare time, she spends it playing with her two boys. Three if you count her husband.
She is currently hard at work on her next book.
Find Kathleen and her books
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Realm WalkerRealm Walker #1
Amazon BN Harlequin Print
An estranged mate, a mangled body and a powerful demon who calls her by name…
As a Realm Walker for the Agency, Juliana Norris tracks deadly paranormal quarry using her unique ability to see magical signatures. She excels at her job, but her friends worry about her mysterious habit of dying in the line of duty without staying dead. That’s only the first of her secrets.
Most people don’t know Juliana became the mate of master vampire Thomas Kendrick before he abandoned her seven years ago. Most people don’t know the horrors she endured at the hands of the vampire he left in command. Most people don’t know her true parentage, or why a demon on a world-threatening rampage has taken a personal interest in her…
Even as Juliana pursues the demon, it goes after all she holds dear—including Thomas, who is back to claim her for his own. But if she can’t reconcile her past and learn to trust herself again, she will lose him forever.
Death's DaughterRealm Walker #2
Amazon BN Harlequin Print
Juliana Norris, Realm Walker with the Agency, is an Altered. A fact that she runs up against every time she's forced to work with human police officers, and their species-ist commissioner, on cases they can't solve themselves. Which happens more than they would like to admit.
Her gift--the quality that makes her the best Realm Walker in the business, without boast--is the ability to read magical signatures. Whether the gift came from her father, the dark fae god of death, or the mage mother she can't remember, is anyone's guess. And when Altered children start going missing with only wild magical signatures as clues, her heritage is the last thing on her mind.
She can't afford such distractions, and she definitely can't afford to worry about the fact that her mate, master vampire Thomas Kendrick, hasn't spoken to her since she saved him from a demon--maybe it's because she had to stab him to do so. Because whoever is kidnapping these children must be very powerful to wield wild magic. Very powerful, and very dangerous indeed.
Blood SlaveRealm Walker #3
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Can she find a killer in a town where the basest desires are allowed to run free?__________________________________
There are zombies in the Dead Zone and Juliana Norris is sent to take care of the problem. And for there to be zombies, there had to be bodies. When vampires are found to be the culprits, Juliana is sent undercover in the red light district of Kansas City. Lying to her mate, Thomas Kendrick, isn’t something she wants to do, but she’s in another vampire’s territory and Thomas would not be pleased. Besides, she’s more than capable of doing the job herself, and she needs to prove it to everyone. Most of all herself.
Charles Morgan is in control of the Kansas City area, making a rich living off his various enterprises. Juliana goes undercover at the strip club Lust and gets sucked into his dark, decadent world. More victims turn up and the Agency is positive they’ve got their man, but Juliana is not so sure. When the Agency refuses to listen, she reluctantly turns to Thomas for help. He intervenes but finds Juliana unaware of the danger she is in and discovers she may just be too deep for him to save.