Reading Addiction Issues

Reading Addiction tote from Society6
Reading Addiction Tote

Sometimes I am guilty of paying too much attention to my book and not enough to the real world.

 In the interests of public service I have compiled the following useful list:

The top 10 reasons to suspect you might have a reading 'problem'.

1 - Your husband (wife/ housemate/ child) 'accidentally' sits on your Kindle three times in one day.

2 - Your husband (wife/ housemate/ child) seems visibly frustrated when your device is still functional after 'accident' number three.

3 - You find yourself reaching for a jumper in the middle of summer because 'Winter is coming'.

4 - You don't sleep for nights at a time because you happen to be reading a trilogy and you NEED to know what happens.

5 -  You take the day off work to finish some DIY at home only to find by dusk you have nothing to show for it but a finished book.

6 - You ask someone to hide your book from you so you can cook dinner.

7 - You search the house, find your book and read it while stirring the pasta sauce. (The bottom of the pan is supposed to be black, right?)

8 - You pretend to go to the toilet to read 'just a few more pages'. Your family suspects irritable bowel.

9 - If you find yourself 'bookless' for more than a day, you begin to exhibit symptoms similar to those of a panic attack.

and

10 - You lie awake at night worrying that you are addicted to reading before downloading a book on the subject of addiction.... just to be sure.

The Zombie Apocalypse... sponsored by the NRA?

It is not my usual style to be controversial, but it has occurred to me recently that every Zombie book I have read (and I have read and LOVED a lot of them) could have been written by a gun toting NRA promoter.

Here are the top signs that the Zombie Apocalypse (in fiction at least!) is sponsored by the NRA:

- Ammunition caches are the centre of every surviving colony.
- No one shoots a gun, without first a description of its caliber and specs.
- The hero's all pack heat, a hockey stick, apparently, is a poor substitute for a rifle.
- True preppers may prefer sling shots, but not in Zombie fiction! There is always a handy stack of weapons and ammo at hand.

I often wonder, living as I do in a country with strict gun controls, how exactly am I expected to survive the coming of the Zombie?

According to popular Zombie reads, the answer is simple.

I'm not.

Vampires; It's ok! We CAN still love them!

I know that Vampires have lost their shine recently; in fact it seems that in terms of popular fiction, Vamps have gone from hero to zero remarkably quickly.
I would go so far as to say that even Zombies, with their gaping, toothy smiles are currently more marketable than their pointy toothed paranormal friends.....

I can't however, throw my love for Vampire fiction over that quickly, there are still some non cliched blood suckers out there to love, and I have the list to prove it!

Vampires we can still love:

1. Samantha Moon: The wonderful creation of author J R Rain, Samantha Moon is a Vampire 'second' and believe it or not, a mother and Private Investigator first. I love the gutsy and driven Sam, who actively battles the evil inside (as in this case Vampirism is a form of possession by a demon) while embracing the benefits, such as super strength and the ability to fly in the form of a massive and terrifying bat like monster. Can she hold out against the Demon inside or will she gradually be overtaken by blood lust? I for one am going to keep reading the 'Vampire for Hire' series until I find out! 
2. Kiera Hudson: Hmmm, I am seeing a pattern here, another kick ass crime fighting 'lady' Vampire. Though if I am going to be honest Keira is not exactly a Vampire, she is a vampire human hybrid fighting in a complicated war to save life as we know it from being completely 'reset'. Completely compelling stuff. 
3. Doran: This charming fellow is know as a 'Day Walker' and is a recurrent character in the Rylee Adamson 'Tracker' series by Shannon Mayer . He is absolutely incorrigible, sexy and cheeky. Better still, he doesn't actually get the girl, so he has to keep his mojo dialled to 11 every time we encounter him. Frankly, he is lots of fun without all the macho superiority complex common among fictional Vampire blokes!
4. James Asher: In all fairness, James is not a Vampire. He is a human; he is an ex British secret service human. He is an ex British secret service human hired by Vampires to find the person behind the seemingly calculated 'murder' of Vampires in post WWI London. He is also solid Gold fantastic at his job, all the while looking for ways to outwit his Vampire employers and find safe haven for himself and his beloved wife. This series is proof positive that Vampires can participate in actual 'plot driven' literature.

So throw off your Vampire love shame and get back with the programme! I have high hopes that Vampires will be back at number one (or at very least three) within the next decade (or so....)

All books in these series are available from Amazon.com via the following links; download or order for your Vampy fix ;-)...

Samantha Moon series; By J R Rain

The Kiera Hudson series; By Tim O'Rourke

The Rylee Adamson novels; By Shannon Mayer

The James Asher Novels; By Barbara Hambly