I'm not sure this has been a wasted week but almost all of it has been spent getting computers, (desktop and netbook) and Android phone all seeing the same email, contacts and calendar.

Still have a couple of little glitches to fix but I wish I had done this a long time ago.

Now I only read an email once and replies all end up together no matter which device I use to respond. No more trying to remember to BCC myself.

The "cloud" I used was Google and I started by setting up a Gmail IMAP account. I use Thunderbird on the computers and K-9 on the EVO for email all of them accessing the same Gmail account.

I had to add a couple of extensions to Thunderbird to get the calendar and contacts to work the way I want and now it is pretty easy to keep everything synced with the phone. When I get done I’ll have all of my contacts synced with Facebook, Twitter and Blogspot Blogs in addition to my email.

It has taken a lot of time but in the end it will save me tons and allow me to visit my son in Texas without worrying about what might fall through the cracks.

Space Shuttle sale

In honor of the final flight of the Space Shuttle Endeavor we are having a 7 day sale. 10% off all books in the Space Shuttle category at Mostly Romance where you’ll find visitors to and from outer space, space colonies and travel among the stars.

Mixed Genre books of the week

Been down with a summer cold, thanks to my husband being kind enough to share, so have gotten some reading done this week.

This week I've read Quicksilver by Amanda Quick, another enjoyable read in the Looking Glass (Arcane) series. Quicksilver is in the historical genre and we learn more about the beginning of the Arcane Society and its connection with the Jones Agency in London. Quicksilver features Owen Sweetwater who accepts a job for the Jones Agency and Virginia Deam, a Glassreader.


Heart Journey by Robin D. Owens, somehow I missed this Celta title when it came out but the good part of that is that I don't have to wait very long for the next one - Heart Search is due in August. I really enjoy this series.

I really enjoy the world she has created and I like the psychic and HeartMate aspects. If you like Jayne Castle's Psynergy, / Curtain series you may also enjoy the Celta / Heart series by Owen.


Twilight Prophecy by Maggie Shayne. This is another in her Vampire / Wings in the Night series, starting a new trilogy, Children of Twilight.

I really liked the characters in this one. Some of the characters from previous books made appearances but it felt like part of the story, not the obligatory appearance of characters you get when are reading a long series.  The series has really taken an interesting twist and I'm glad it's not going to be too long until the next one, Twilight Fulfilled, in October.


Darkfire Kiss by Deborah Cooke. I've never been a big Dragon fan but I enjoy the Dragonfire series. Rafferty finally gets his firestorm but Melissa Smith appears to be just the opposite of who he thinks he wants.

What I really liked about this book is there was a misunderstanding at the start but they were both grown-ups. Neither went off pouting but communicated and continued to work together toward their common goal

The Dragonfire series continues with the teen Dragon Diaries series, about the children of the dragons, the next Zoe's story in Flying Blind.


Hush by Cherry Adair - I've always liked Cherry Adair's books and this one is no exception. Her books to me are Romantic Suspense with a touch of humor or maybe light-hearted suspense is a better term.

Hush starts the Lodestone series which is not technically a T-FLAC book, however Marc Savin from The Mercenary does make an appearance in the book. It looks like her next books are part of the Cutter Cay series and the next Lodestone book won't be available until next year.

Blackout and All Clear by Connie Willis

Connie Willis' Black and All Clear are closely tied together. From what I understand they started out as one book and had to be split into two. So you may want to read them fairly close together. They are sequels to The Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog.

Blackout and All Clear are set during WW II with three main characters. Mike who is "studying" heroes by visiting Dunkirk and the rescue there, Polly who is studying the shelters and the way people behaved in them during the Blitz (lucky her, she knows when and where the bombs will fall.) And Eileen who, on her 1st mission, is studying the evacuated children. Poor Eileen has the worst cover.  She is working as a house maid in the country with numerous evacuated kids.

Most of the books' story takes place during WW II and I found it very interesting. I learned a lot about how regular people lived and how they lived through the Blitz.

There was a lot I didn't know about the Blitz. For example, I knew about ration books and that people had to go to bomb shelters but I didn't know that they had "subways" and that's where a lot of people went before the sirens even went off, with their blankets and picnic baskets. I also didn't realize that there were different types of bombs dropped, including unmanned rockets toward the end.

The lengths the military went to to plant false information was astonishing to me. I knew about removing the street signs but blow-up tanks with fake tracks - that I didn't know.

The time travel aspect is an important part of the story. The preparations they had to make before traveling were really quite extensive, from learning to drive an ambulance to an implant to give Mike an American accent.

I've always been a fan of Time Travel books and these two certainly didn't disappoint me.

Enclave by Ann Aguirre

Enclave, 1st in the Razorland series, by Ann Aguirre, who also writes as Ava Gray, is her first entry in the Young Adult market, takes place in a post apocalypse future.

15-year-old Deuce has grown up in an underground community where you aren't even given a name until you are 15, it's not worth naming "brats" as most don't survive. Deuce becomes a Huntress, responsible for helping to supply food and to protect the community by patrolling the tunnels surrounding the College Enclave. Deuce is teamed with not-quite-shunned Fade who didn’t grow up within the community and was only accepted because he could fight.

I really enjoyed reading Deuce's story and seeing how, as time went on, she begins to realize that maybe the Enclave and its "oldest," aren't perfect and maybe there is another way to live.