Packing my Kindle

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss

One of the things I love about cruising is the luxury of being able to read uninterrupted for as long as I want. So I've loaded up my Kindle with a number of novels to choose from on this trip.

Firstly,  C.S. Lewis's "Cosmic Trilogy." Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, & That Hideous Strength.  I know what you're thinking. It seems an odd choice for a  romance writer, but I'm a serious Lewis fan--both of his fiction and his non-fiction as well. I've finished the first book and am a quarter of the way through the second. I have to say that this series fails utterly as science fiction, and it has very little of the whimsy that makes The Narnia Chronicles such a delight. But I'm fascinated by Lewis's beauty of language. He makes me think.

Plus the DH and I have been taking an online course together about C.S. Lewis, so we're both reading these stories and enjoy talking about them. The only thing better than reading a book is sharing one.

I really am a science fiction geek. My newest obsession is the Expanse series by James S.A. Corey. The pen name actually represents two writers--Daniel Abraham & Ty Franck. In their richly imagined future, humans have colonized not only Mars, but numerous larger asteroids in the Belt. The "science" part of this series is completely believable, even down to the physiological changes in humans who grow up without Earth's gravity.

The political tensions between the three groups are a thinly veiled metaphor for the Old World, the New World and the Third World of today. But people are people no matter when or where we are. We still have souls and they need nourishment. As a Methodist, I love that even a couple hundred years in the future, one of their characters is a Methodist minister and the Mormons are planning a generational journey to another star. I just downloaded book 7 & 8.

And lastly, I made sure my debut  novel, Maidensong (written as Mia Marlowe) was on my Kindle. It came out in 2006, so it's been a while since I read it. But the story is set among the Vikings and I researched the heck out of it. Since we're visiting Norway, it seems appropriate for me to check out the customs, legends and lore of that fascinating culture again. And if it comes wrapped in a love story, well, that's even better.

A quick word about why, in a romance world where the Regency Era is queen, I chose to start my career in the 10th century instead of the 19th.

It's the DH's fault.

You see, he has Viking blood. His great-grandfather immigrated to the US from Norway, and his dad spoke only Norwegian until he went to school. (Sadly, he never taught the language to any of his kids.) Anyway, long story short, I've always borrowed from my DH to give to my heroes, so it was only natural that my first hero should be a Viking.

Fun Fact: This trip will actually be a homecoming for the DH. His family came from Sognefjord, the long arm of water we'll cruise up to visit Flaam!

So, what book is on your bedside table? Or your Kindle? Or your phone?