Review: Nocturne by Syrie James

Nocturne
by Syrie James

Genre: Paranormal Women's Fiction
Publisher: Vanguard Press
Cost: $12.78
Release Date: January 4, 2011

What I Liked:
Some people might be tempted to categorize this as a romance novel. That, my friends, it is not. It might be a story about a man and a woman falling in love (think Nights in Rodanthe with snow instead of hurricaine and Edward Cullen instead of Richard Gere--or maybe Richard Gere without who sleeps all day and has no tan), but like those fabled books by the one we call The Spork, this is a love story, not a romance novel.

Why the distinction? Well, to tell you that, I have to give away something very important about the novel. So if you are worried about SPOILERS, please stop reading now. I'm going to spoil something very important.

Seriously, stop reading.

Okay, now that we've weeded out all the spoiler-weenies, let's get down to the nitty gritty. The H/H do not end up together in the end. It was the most realistic vampire love story I've ever read, for that reason precisely. Why do I say this?

Because, and I really hate to admit this, but Edward Cullen was right. It's an act of supreme selfishness to turn someone you love into an undead monster. (Never, ever tell anyone that I said anything good about Edward Cullen.) That's not true love. That's obsession, desire, lust: self-centered. When you're truly in love with someone, you want the absolute best for them, even if that means you never get to see them again.

Spoilers aside, it was interesting to read the book just to get to that place. But that alone was good enough that I had to highlight it, because this is how every true vampire romance should end, at least if the characters are really in love with anyone else besides themselves. So, kudos to the author for that. The book is worth checking out just for that alone.

Book Blurb:
When Nicole Whitcomb’s car runs off a Colorado mountain road during a blinding snowstorm, she is saved from death by a handsome, fascinating, and enigmatic stranger.

Snowbound with him for days in his beautiful home high in the Rockies, she finds herself powerfully attracted to him and soon comes to realize that the feeling is mutual. But there are things about him that mystify her, filling her with apprehension—and Nicole can’t shake the feeling that he doesn’t want her there.

Who is Michael Tyler? Why does he live alone in such a secluded spot and guard his private life so carefully? What secret—or secrets—is he hiding?

Nicole has secrets of her own and a past she is running from—but Michael understands her better than anyone she has ever known. Soon, she is falling as deeply in love with him as he is with her.

But as the sexual tension between them builds, the clues mount up. When Nicole learns the terrifying truth—that her host is an ages-old vampire who is torn between his love for her and his desire for her blood—there’s nowhere for her to run but into the blizzard raging outside, and he’s the only one who can save her life.

- Rebecca Lynn

Interview and Review: Whiter Than Snow by Sandra Dallas

Whiter Than Snow

by Sandra Dallas

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Release Date: April 2010

Price: $12.49 (hardcover)

What I Liked:

First of all, I will say that Sandra Dallas is a superb writer. Whenever I read other reviews that say that about someone, I'm skeptical. But this time, my skepticism was unfounded. I found myself immediately drawn into the story, and could barely put it down when I needed to take a break. I love that feeling. As heartbreaking as it was to read in places, it was completely engaging.

Of course, since I also write about the 1920s in the West (well, at least the main setting was in the West), I was immediately drawn to the storyline, and she did not disappoint me. I found the setting and the details of the plot to be realistic and engaging, consistent with what I know of the West at this time, and consistent with the research I have done about the early 20th century (and earlier, although I know less about that). As a history buff, there is nothing that takes me out of a novel quicker than misinformation, but Sandra Dallas was impeccable on that front. There was absolutely nothing to pull me out of this story. I was in it until the end.

If I have any criticism at all, it was the breadth of the plot. I could easily have spent much more time inside this book even than I had, because the characters were so rich. I just so appreciated Ms. Dallas' writing style and development of her characters. The cast was rather large, and it's difficult to make a reader invest in many characters, but the nature of the plot and the great writing made that easy to do. All in all, I would highly recommend this book as a good historical women's fiction read.

Book Blurb:

WHITER THAN SNOW opens in 1920 on a spring afternoon in Swandyke, a small town near Colorado’s Tenmile Range. Just moments after four o’clock, a large split of snow separates from Jubilee Mountain high above the tiny hamlet and hurtles down the rocky slope, sweeping up everything in its path – including nine young children who are walking home from school. But only four children survive. 

WHITER THAN SNOW takes readers into the lives of each of these families. Ultimately, each story serves as an allegory to the greater theme of the novel by echoing that fate, chance and perhaps even divine providence, are all woven into the fabric of everyday life. And it’s through each character’s defining moment in his or her past that the reader understands how each child has become its parent’s purpose for living.
 

  

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

I would like to welcome New York Times bestselling novelist Sandra Dallas to our monthly Author Interview here at Enduring Romance. Sandra's latest release, Whiter Than Snow, came out in April and is now available for purchase at your nearest bookseller.

Rebecca: Whiter Than Snow, your latest release, takes place in the West in the 1920s. This is such an unusual time for a historical novel. Can you tell us what inspired you to write this time period?

 

That’s a tough one, Rebecca, because I don’t really know.  I think when I got the idea, it came complete with the time period.  I do love writing about the 1920s and 1930s, however.  1920 seems to me to be the ideal time period to include characters who range from a Civil War veteran to a Jewish girl on New York’s Lower East Side. 
R: What made you choose a small town as the location for this story?

 

Most mining towns are small.  But I wanted a cohesive group of people, characters who all related to a disaster, and that seemed to work best in a small town.

R: What's the one thing you'd like your readers to take away from this book?

 

The randomness of tragedy.  God does not punish us for our sins by bringing disaster; nor does He reward us with happy endings because we’re good.  Things happen for no reason.  You can explain them.  You can only react.

R: Our audience at Enduring Romance is comprised of both readers and writers. So, I'm sure the writers here would love to know: what draws you to the craft of writing?

 

I’ve never wanted to do anything else, except perhaps be a movie star, and that didn’t work out. I was a journalist for 35 years, and I can’t imagine not writing.  I love sitting at my computer and letting my imagination and my characters take over.  The most exciting things happen.  They surprise me, and sometimes, they disappoint me, too. When writing Whiter Than Snow, for instance, I kept asking why one or two more children couldn’t have survived. But that wasn’t to be.
R: As a reader, also, I would love to know: do you think about your audience as you're writing?

 

No, I write for myself and then my agent and editor.  If I fooled around trying to write what I thought readers wanted, I’d screw it up. Still, I am aware of what my readers want and don’t want.  They don’t want explicit love scenes or foul language, for instance, but then, I wouldn’t write that anyway.
R: Who are the fellow authors (past or present) whose writing you admire the most?

 

Truman Capote for the beauty of his language, and Anne Lamott for the wonderful insight and humor in her nonfiction books.
R: If you could, give us a sneak peek into the current Sandra Dallas project.

 

I’m writing something set in Colorado.  But not everything I write works.  So I don’t want to give specifics.
R: And a just-for-fun question. If you could go anywhere in the world right now, no strings and no rules, where would you go and why?

 

Turkey.  And I’m going there in the fall with my daughter Dana.  I love the beauty, the history, the friendliness of the people.  And, oh heck, I love shopping in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar.

R: One more just-for-fun question, because I'm a foodie and a nosy one, at that. What's the best restaurant you've ever eaten at, and what you order when you go there?

 

This week, my husband and I celebrated our 47^th anniversary at Barolo Grill in Denver—tenderloin and chocolate truffles.  I also love the Ship Tavern in the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, always prime rib.  I used to eat there all the time when I worked for Business Week.  (I was the magazine’s first female bureau chief.)  I integrated the bar, once reserved for men only. Funny, now that I write this, I realize I eat red meat when I go out.  I almost never eat it at home.
R: Any parting thoughts?

 

They will come later. Dorothy Parker once said her repartee was going home in a cab.  That’s where my parting thoughts are.

R: Thank you so much, Sandra, for taking the time to sit down with our readers at Enduring Romance. We're very happy that you took the time out to speak with us, and thanks for the opportunity to review your book.

Review: The Journey Home by Michael Baron

The Journey Home
by Michael Baron

Publisher: The Story Plant
Release: May 2010
Price: $5.99 (Kindle: $4.79)

What I Liked:
Any book that has cooking as a major part of the relational story is such a huge hit with me, so I loved that. I enjoyed the fact that the food was part of reconciliation and also that it could be non-sexual and still engage all the senses. I really appreciated this. He writes about food like someone who knows it well, like an old friend.

The storyline of this book is very engaging, and had me hooked from the beginning (which is good, because I felt like the beginning of the book was weak... in fact, if I hadn't read the back and decided I was going to love it, I may not have stuck through the entire book). Very Nicholas Sparks-esque in the best sense of that comparison. The characters were engaging and the story poignant. Michael Baron, writing under a pseudonym, has now finished three (soon to be four) books that are being compared to Sparks' works, and I must admit, at first, I was skeptical. But I can definitely see the basis for the comparison. Equal parts of sadness and hope. I think this is an interesting book that a multitude of people could enjoy.

Overall, Baron is not quite the same caliber writer as Sparks. (Not to mention the fact that there are typos on the back cover of the book... not his fault, but still, fail.) But... and this is a big But, I was definitely engaged in the story, and I thought the story arc and the ending were both well-done. Plus, I'm just a sucker for a foodie story. :-) I'm interested to read some of Baron's other books. He has another coming out in the fall that looks very interesting. I think I'll read more before making a sound judgment. This book was a good read.

Book Blurb:
Joseph, a man in his late thirties, awakens disoriented and uneasy in a place he doesn't recognize. He sets out on a journey to find his home with no sense of where he's going and only the precious, indelible vision of the woman he loves to guide him.

Antoinette is an elderly woman in an assisted living facility who has retreated inside her head. There, her body and mind haven't betrayed her. There, she's a young newlywed with a husband who dotes on her and an entire life of dreams to live. There, she is truly home.

Warren, Antoinette's son, is a man in his early forties going through the toughest year of his life. With far too much time on his hands, he decides to try to recreate his memories of home by attempting to cook his mother's greatest dishes and eating them with her.

Joseph, Antoinette, and Warren are three people on different searches for home. How they connect with each other at this critical stage in their lives, is the foundation for the kind of profound and deeply moving story we'e come to expect from Michael Baron. (from the back of the book)

Review: Guest House by Barbara K. Richardson

Guest House: A Novel  
by Barbara K. Richardson (website)

Genre: Women's Fiction
Released: March 16, 2010

Publisher: Bay Tree Publishing

What you liked:

Guest House is Barbara K. Richardson's debut novel. An MFA graduate from a program I know and love (at Eastern Washington University), Richardson sets her novel in the places I know and love with characters that I could have met on the streets of Portland (or, as it would seem, the transit). She has a very unique voice, which I thoroughly appreciated through the whole book. The storyline is one I did not expect, and the whole experience of reading the book was refreshing. It's the first true women's fiction (that wasn't sort of a disguised category romance) that I've read in quite awhile, and it was an enjoyable read. The book is worth picking up just to get a chance to experience the unique narrative that Richardson creates. Her writing reminds me of my own days in the classrooms of my MFA program, and there's just enough cryptic beauty to keep you turning the pages based on the strength and interest of her prose alone. Apart from the writing style, she creates a highly engaging character in Melba (and in JoLee, the other main character), whom I found myself becoming closer and closer to throughout the novel. 

I also highly appreciated the message of the book, which is one of the things I always expect from literary fiction. When I finish reading the book, I want to feel like there was a reason for telling the story, and I felt like Guest House had a message. Apart from the fact that life is difficult, but ultimately redemptive, Richardson's obvious love for all things that live comes across in the dedication of her characters to the preservation of their natural environment. People call it gardening, or landscaping, but it's really all about preservation. Making things grow, cultivating living plants... it keeps us all alive. And the theme of life in all its faces was a major part of the flow of this narrative.

This is not one of those books you pick up and thumb through. It's a book you take your time with. This is a book written for cups of tea on front porches in the cool spring morning air, or snuggling up in front of a fireplace, savoring every literary mouthful. If you liked Elin Hildebrand, Gail Godwin, and Elizabeth Gilbert, you should definitely pick up Barbara K. Richardson's debut novel. I have a feeling she's going to be part of our literary landscape for quite awhile.

Book Blurb:

One summer afternoon, Melba Burns witnesses a nightmare collision. The unknown bicyclist dies in her arms, ending Melba's desire for success at any cost. She settles into her boxy old farmhouse trying to find a simpler peace. But Melba's stunning new roommate JoLee Garry only magnetizes messes and trouble-she brings a series of unexpected guests who transform Melba's fruitful solo life into something different, darker, and better.

Reviewed by Rebecca Lynn

MAN OF THE HOUSE by Ad Hudler

http://www.authorsontheweb.com/ sends me ARCs sometimes. That's where I get most of my books which start out as hardbacks in the stores. Many months ago after passing on several they offered me, I emailed them and said I was ready for a new Women's Fiction novel. However, it couldn't be about a Bitter Divorcee or Never-Married Baby-Hater. Women's Fiction seemed to be in that Trend Hell at the time, but that was my point of view and it could have been skewed. Then, in November, I think it was, they emailed me about MAN OF THE HOUSE. It's Commercial Fiction, officially, I think, but I consider it Women's Fiction because it takes issues which are traditionally assigned to women and turns it on its head. Well, you know I love it when things get turned on their heads. I bore easily. I'm a buffet kind of girl.

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Linc's mother was a dedicated feminist and he grew up to marry a dedicated feminist, a hospital administrator. When they had a child, he gave up being a landscape architect to become a Stay-At-Home Dad. Now, if he'd had other stay-at-home parents as friends, they could have given him great advice which would have enabled him to avoid all the difficulties he goes through in this book.

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Linc's daughter, Violet, is 13 years old and attends school full-time. If he was my friend, I would have gently told him he'd outlived his usefulness as a stay-at-home parent and needed to either have another child, become a homeschool parent, or *go back to work!* For those of you who have no experience as a stay-at-home parent, I should tell you it's scary to stay home for several years and then face the prospect of returning to the work force. Staying home is a radical lifestyle change and going back to work is another radical lifestyle change. It can be terrifying. However, it is essential or you'll end up like Linc, obsessing over the proper names of decorator fabric colors because you need a way to still feel useful in the home. Thank God I'm not to that point yet because I'm working on Baby #5 and I educate our children at home. The only time I worry about my carpet color is when someone barfs on it and I hope the stain blends in. I don't have time for anything else.

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So, if only Linc realized and accepted that he needed to get his flabby butt back into a paying job outside the home, he would have had it made. But, he doesn't and his wife, Jo, is too preoccupied with her own work to notice. And Violent hasn't known life any other way.

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Linc has been an excellent stay-at-home parent. Violet is confident, healthy, and has a wide range of interests not typical of 13 year olds who are left to their own devices by parents who are too self-absorbed to spend any time with them. In some ways, he may have been too excellent, because he left little mothering for his wife to do and she emotionally disconnected from the job. I did that as a Certified Professional Nanny without realizing it too, so I knew not to do it as a parent. Sharing the care and building the other parent's confidence is so important.

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Anyway, the story starts with Linc dropping Violet off at her new school. They've just moved to Florida and the new school is one of the best private schools there. Kudos for making Violet's education a financial priority over sending her to a public school and buying a sailboat instead! Unfortunately, finances are not the only sacrifice Linc must make for Violet's education. There are no other stay-at-home dads among the students' parents. He only sees the mothers and they're all too self-important to befriend him. Like I said, if only he'd had some fellow stay-at-home parent friends...

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Linc and his family moved into a house in need of remodeling. They could have stayed in a condo while the work was done, but he insisted they live in the construction zone. No doubt, he needed to do it in order to feel useful. Having to live with sawdust and no working kitchen and such for long periods of time soon takes its toll on the family. Worse yet, seeing all those macho men working on his house reminds Linc that he hasn't done anything manly in a really long time. Pretty soon, he's following the guys around and learning how to pee standing up again.

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Once again, Jo is too distracted to realize where all this is going. Violet realizes something weird is going on with her great dad, but she's never known him any different and is, therefore, hardly in a position to help. Linc starts going to a manly gym and lifting weights. Pretty soon, one of Violet's teachers gets the hots for him. Between hurricane season and the construction zone, Linc starts muddling his way back to manhood. But, when that teacher's interest starts to get more than a little creepy, the poo really starts to fly. By then I was thinking, "Hang in there, Linc! Don't be an idiot! You've almost found your way!" But, remember, this is NOT a Romance novel. You are not promised a happy ending. If you want to find out how it ends, you'll just have to read it yourself. I found the ending believable and satisfying, so it's definitely worth your money unless you only read Romance novels.

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I always enjoy Commercial and Women's Fiction for one reason besides how engaging the story is. It seems to me authors have a lot more freedom with it than genre fiction, like Science Fiction or Romance. Violet, 13 years old, gets her own point of view in this story. I double-dog dare you to find a Kick-Butt Heroine in the Romance genre who ever even gets knocked up from all her graphic nookie. It's so...bizarre and unbelievable. Reading a story without a child in it is like drinking decaffeinated coffee, even if it tastes fine there's no kick. But, I've whined about that before. A lot. MAN OF THE HOUSE was a very welcome change.

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The violence level in this story bearly registers and the sex happens behind closed doors.

SHE SAID, SHE SAID by Celeste Norfleet & Jennifer Norfleet

This novel is marketed as Young Adult, but I really don't think of it that way. To me, it's Women's Fiction, which happens to include a teenager as one of the two protagonists. I applaud the mother and daughter team who wrote this novel, as well as Kimani Tru for publishing it. A novel with a teenager and her mother as equal protagonists is hard, if not impossible to find. Unfortunately, most people assume all teenagers hate their parents and don't want to read novels in which they're featured. Likewise, it's assumed all parents can't stand teenagers and don't want to read novels in which they're included as equals. I know this is a load of crap because I live in the real world where teenagers and their parents come in every size, shape, color, and personality. Some teens and their parents do hate each other, some tolerate each other, and, yes, some actually like and respect each other. Don't fall over laughing. It's true. Remember, assumptions are an excuse for not listening and stereotypes are an excuse for not thinking.

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I didn't have a normal teenage-hood, so I came at this like a nanny from Nanny 911. While a nanny is there to support the mother, she always takes the child's side. Always. This is because parents often become so busy and stressed out that they fail to hear the child's true voice. A nanny is trained to amplify and interpret that voice.

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Each member of the Fraser Family is almost totally selfish. For Tamika Fraser to be selfish, it doesn't bother me. She's only sixteen years old and doesn't have the parents to role model selflessness for her. She's just figuring herself out on the brink of adulthood. Her parents, Malcolm and Laura, have no excuse. They're both fortysomethings who really ought to know better.

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Malcolm gave up on growing into a mature relationship with his wife a long time ago. It's a lot of work and some men are so terrified of taking on something they might fail at that they won't take it on at all. Instead, he's become a workaholic and, oh, yes, he had an affair.

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Laura is a perfectionist. If there's one thing about perfectionists, it's their utter lack of flexiblity and adaptation. I know. One of my daughters is one. When the power of perfectionism is channeled for good instead of evil, it's a wonderful thing. But, it's running Laura, her marriage, and her daughter into the ground.

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Tamika is what most people consider to be an average teenager and it's all her parents fault, of course. Deep inside, she's far from average. Unfortunately, her parents' selfishness and inability to connect with each other as marriage partners and parenting team mates has stunted her growth.

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The story flips back and forth between Laura and Tamika. School's out and Tamikia was excited to be going to a photographer's camp. Photography is her passion and she's been looking forward to the camp for a long time. Unfortunately, Dad all of sudden decides he has a business trip to Tokyo and unemployed Mom decides she has to go clean out her parents' house down in Georgia to sell it. Tamika's passion and future take a backseat. Oh, sure, her parents are apologetic, but they're so caught up in their issues they can hardly see straight.

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So, it's prime family time and this family is going its separate ways again. Dad's off to Tokyo and possibly an unknown tart. And Laura and Tamika leave for Georgia. Needless to say, no one's happy. Tamika is the least happy and with good reason. The grown-ups have the power to fix this and she doesn't.

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No sooner do they get to Georgia than Laura runs into an old friend. While she starts waking up to old memories of who she used to be (and her true self,) Tamika is left on her own, for the most part, and starts finding journals and old photographs and such in the house they're both supposed to be cleaning up to sell and aren't. Luckily, great-aunt Sylvia is there to, basically, tell Tamika to take hold of her own destiny. So, while Laura goes spinning off, supposedly into the deep end trying to be a teenager again, Tamika takes charge of her life and starts really growing up. Meanwhile, Dad calls and realizes something's going on with his wife and the reader will realize he's really worried.

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I really felt for Tamika. She has to be the emotional parent for a while and that's a lot to put on a teen. I know because I was the emotional parent my entire childhood, which is probably why I became a nanny. An average teen might be crushed by what Tamika takes on, but, like I said, she's no average teen. Not really. Like all the real life teens I know, she has some strength in her.

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Likewise, Laura forgot what it meant to be herself because she was trying so hard to be the perfect wife and mother and worker. As is often the case, trying to be perfect only lands her on her nose.

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And Dad, well, he's got a lot to learn if he's going to keep up with these two women!

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I better end here. I hope I haven't said too much already. This story will twist your brain cells around, make you shout with fist raised, and cheer for the Frasers as they find their way home. It's been said that fathers know best and I know a lot of mothers like for their children to think they know best. Having been a nanny, however, I can tell you it's often the child who is the only member of the family who can really see through all the crap. Unfortunately, too often no one really listens.

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SHE SAID, SHE SAID is an awesome read for all ages, providing the adult ones can humble themselves enough to accept that a teenager can be smarter than them at least some of the time. Age may bring wisdom, but it can also bring on cynicism which stifles all perception. Children are born clear-thinkers - until we mess them up.

;)

Pop over to http://www.celesteonorfleet.com/contact.htm for more awesome reads from one or both of these authors.

ASK AGAIN LATER by Jill A. Davis

Well, the heroine in this in novel really has her nose wedged in her belly button pretty tight. Don’t let that put you off though. Personally, I feel if the hero or heroine is all perfect or powerful starting out, there’s no point in reading the novel. I’d be bored out of my mind, regardless.
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It’s no wonder Emily has her nose stuck in her bellybutton. Her parents do, as well. As a trained nanny and mommy, I know it’s essential for a couple to have a support system in place when they have their first child. This is how they make the transition from couple to family. Without making that vital transition, the family’s emotional and psychological growth is stunted. Emily’s father never made the transition from abused son to grown man to husband to father. Instead, he relied on Sex-as-a-Drug to substitute for Real Love. Needless to say, that destroyed his marriage early on. Emily’s mother substituted making beds and shopping for connecting with Real Love. Emily’s sister is following her mother’s example and is now pregnant, and in danger of repeating the same emotional tragedy. Of all of them, only Emily is really trying to fix herself. She has a wonderful therapist.
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And so Emily is still struggling to grow up at the age of thirty and I applaud her for that. Few have the same courage and determination. Most go along ignoring how messed up they are while continuing to use or abuse whatever they’re using and abusing to numb the pain. It’s scary to change, which is why only children are brave enough to do it without reservation.
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The catalyst which flings Emily forward in her quest to complete her own soul is her mother being diagnosed with breast cancer. At this point, Emily has already sabotaged her current romantic relationship, which is fairly typical for someone who’s grown up in her kind of dysfunctional family. Emily’s mother’s mother isn’t even talking to her. Emily’s sister is too busy shopping to compensate for her sheer terror of becoming a mother. Interestingly, Emily’s father is freaking out in his own way too, even though he’s been divorced for a couple of decades. Like a lot of couples who divorce, Emily’s parents do love each other. They’re just clueless about how to connect and live together. Anyway, Emily’s the only one with the presence of mind to do something. She quits her job and runs to Mom’s side. Of course, Mom just wants her there. Mom doesn’t actually want to ‘connect’ on a deep level. That’s even scarier than cancer. Oh, and Dad ropes Emily into going to work for him as a receptionist, even though she’s a law school graduate. And she goes because, well, she’s still a little girl who needs her daddy and daddy is still trying to be a daddy and is still just as clueless about how.
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Ah, what a family. But, when you think about it, most families are at least a little screwed up. Families are made up of human beings and there are no perfect human beings.
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This is not a Romance novel, so you’re not promised a happy ending. Therefore, you’ll just have to read it in order to find out if Emily succeeds in her personal quest. Will she ‘save’ her family? We’ll she learn to give and receive love? In Real Life, ‘living happily ever after’ is a lot of hard work, but so worth it.
;)
Here’s a quote to give you a taste of this novel: “Psychologists say our ‘love maps’ are established by the time we’re seven years old. At seven, I loved trolls. I loved diaries. My father had become a stranger. My love map is really more like a set of sketchy directions scribbled on a cocktail napkin.”
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The Heat Level for this novel is Mildly Sensual. ASK AGAIN LATER ranks at Tame on the Gore O’ Meter.
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To learn more about ASK AGAIN LATER, pop over to http://www.jilldavis.com/