Cry in the Night

Jesse brought home a Wii last week along with a few games, and that's where you can find my kids each night after school. If Molly isn't playing Dance Dance Revolution, Doogie's playing Super Mario Bros Brawl or Mia is playing tennis. He picked me up Cooking Mama too (I wonder if there's a hint in there). We've become very guilty over the last year of each person being in front of a different screen at night. Doogie and Jesse on their computers, Molly and I on our laptops, and Mia in front of the TV. The Wii is bringing us together, even just a little bit. One of these nights I'm going to make everyone take part in a bowling tournament, because that's the only game I'm actually good at. Good being relative at 135. We're also going to use the system to become a little more social with our friends again. My RA tends to isolate me and sometimes Jesse too, but we're having friends over next weekend to play some of the sports games and maybe DDR. The only family member not happy with the Wii is Charlie, the dog. He wants to be under everyone's feet which causes Molly all sorts of troubles on the DDR mat.

Cry in the Night by Colleen Coble is the author's return to her popular Rock Harbor series that takes place in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Bree Matthews' life is starting to take on some normalcy with her marriage to game warden Kade and his pending adoption of her son Davy. The one thing that could make her life complete is a baby, and that wish seems to come true when Bree's search dog Samson discovers a baby girl hidden in the woods. But the city of Rock Harbor is quickly shaken by two murders and several missing Native American babies. Bree's search to find some answers about this baby girl may resurrect ghosts she's thought were long gone from her past. This suspense novel is chock full of thrills and chills. While the writing is sometimes a bit shaky, I barely had time to notice. The plot rockets along page after page with one shocking revelation after another. The disconnected plots come together explosively. Coble does a wonderful job of capturing the real UP with the fierce weather, Scandinavian influences, and dialect, eh. It's a terrific read perfect that will keep you up late at night and jumping at every night time sound.

The winners of copies of Intimate Issues were Belinda Lane and Donna Christman. Congratulations Donna and Belinda! And don't give up hope if you didn't win today, because I'm starting another contest! This is one you won't want to pass up. I'm giving away a lot of four
books: I Do Again by Cheryl & Jeff Scruggs is a couple's look at how they traveled from a happy marriage to infidelity, divorce, and remarriage. It's a really beautiful story. Love As a Way of Life by Gary Chapman is a 90 day workbook about how to improve the quality of love in all of your relationships. For Women Only and For Men Only by Shaunti Feldhahn are amazingly insightful looks at the opposite sex. Together the books are worth about $50. To enter, just drop me an email. The contest ends at 10 pm Thursday night, and I'll announce the winners and post my reviews of the books on my blog on Friday. Good luck!

Today's pic is from the Australian wildfires. It's a moment of hope and compassion in the midst of their tragedy.