Day 12 & 13

Day 12. Something random.

3 random facts about me;

1. I am really good at mirror writing. No clue why.
2. I used to do karate as a kid. My dad was told I had real talent and should be encouraged to compete in matches. I totally screwed up my first ever match and thereafter lost all confidence. I was also terribly bullied so gave up.
3. I once “owned” a teenage crow for a day. He couldn’t fly very well, had probably fallen out of its parents’ nest and I had found him stuck on my father’s balcony. I proudly paraded him around my home town, perched on my shoulder for the day. When, at the end of the day, he’d clumsily flown off and I couldn’t found him, I was distraught. I had really fallen in love with the creature and had fantasised about a bright future for us together. I had named him Karel, or Carl in English. I still think about that bird once in a while.

Day 13 — A fictional book.

There are many fictional books that spring to mind when thinking of just one, but "The Witching Hour" by Anne Rice is still one of the main ones 'shouting out' at me. I absolutely loved it when I first read it. It completely absorbed me. The intricate, rich family history, the witching stories, the paranormal aspect. All very wonderful. :)

Info from Rice's site:
The Mayfair Witches
The Witching Hour

The first in the Mayfair Witches series, The Witching Hour introduces the fictional Mayfair family of New Orleans, generations of male and female witches. This tight-knit and deeply connected family, where a death of one strengthens the others with his/her knowledge. One Mayfair witch per generation is also designated to receive the powers of "the man," known as Lasher. Lasher gives the witches gifts, excites them, and protects them. Unsure as to exactly what this spirit is, the Mayfair clan knows him variously as a protector, a god-like figure, a sexual being, and the image of death. Lasher's current witch is Deirdre, who lies catatonic from psycological shock treatments.

Deirdre's daughter, Rowan, has been spirited away from this "evil" and has happily become a neurosurgeon and has an uncanny gift to see the intent behind the facade. Rowan also has a gift few doctors possess--she can heal cells. Yet, though she uses it to save lives, she also fears that she hs caused several deaths. She rescues Michael from drowning. Michael then develops some extraordinary powers that compel him to seek New Orleans and to seek Rowan. He finds both, and pulls the tale closer together by meeting people connected to the Mayfair family who now fear Rowan because she is the first Mayfair who can kill without Lasher's help.

Michael dives into learning the history of the Mayfair witches: Deborah, Charlotte, Mary Beth, Stella, Antha, and many others across hundreds of years and three continents. When Michael looks up from his reading, he learns that Rowan has come to New Orleans to attend her mother's funeral. Rowan learns of her family history, her ancestral home in shambles, and Lasher waiting for the next one. Rowan dedicates herself to stopping Lasher's reign. Michael too has his own mission, but it is foggy and unclear to him. But Lasher is seductively powerful and Rowan's gifts offer him the opportunity to achieve his ultimate goal.