Throwback Thursday: owning my oddness

Everyonce in a while I own up to my inner oddness. Usually  I try to keep it inside my head (or at least, my home. My family is understanding). Usually I try to appear like a generally normal wife, mom, professional mapmaker and writer (if any writer can be called normal). I might get a little too excited about maps once in a while, and I might let it slip that I'm a Trekkie and a Tolkien addict, but mostly the oddness stays safely contained.

Even here on the blog I keep up tidy appearances. Gushing about books is socially acceptable, after all. Confessing fascination with mythical creatures... no biggie, right? But something I don't often share is my love of lizards. My daughters buy me mugs with lizards on them for Christmas. And lizards pins that hang out on my purses. They know what charms me.

I used to bring my pet lizard to high school with me. Really. He was a little anole named Loki (I kid you not. Btw, this was way before the Avengers Loki) and I'd carry him around in my pocket and when I was bored in class I'd let him hang out on my desk. Amazingly, all my teachers were quite tolerant of this behavior and my economics teacher once borrowed Loki and taught a class with the lizard peering out of his front pocket.

Throwback Thursday: a picture of Loki from high school (I'm on the left. The year I died my hair black)

Here's where I use my oddness to also promote a very worthy book. I bought a copy of the newly released young adult fantasy Gates of Thread and Stone because
1) "gargoyles" was mentioned in a review, as in "Gargoyles had been native reptiles once" and gargoyles have definitely been underutilized in fantasy literature, in my opinion, and 2) reptiles - sweeeeeetttt!!! and 3) manipulating time never fails to make me prick my ears and 4) this cover. Look at the shimmery threads weaving around the title. MUST KNOW MORE ABOUT THE THREADS. 

oh, and 5) I read the sample chapters first and was so hooked, so very much hooked I must have gills. I fell in love with Kai on the first page when she says this:

A shoulder smacked against mine on the sidewalk. I didn't bother checking my pockets. They were already empty. But sometimes I left little notes in them I thought might amuse a pickpocket: "Try me again tomorrow. I forgot my diamonds at home" or "Might have better luck with that guy", alongside a scribbled arrow. Well, they amused me, anyway.

and oh, oh! 6) I kind of missed this part of the blurb at first, but by chapter 2, I was deeply impressed by the genuine brother-sister love between Kai and her older adopted brother, Reev.

When Kai was eight, she was found by Reev on the riverbank, and her “brother” has taken care of her ever since. Kai doesn’t know where her ability [to maniplate threads of time] comes from—or where she came from. All that matters is that she and Reev stay together, and maybe one day move out of the freight container they call home.

The ties between Kai and Reev run deep and strong through out the story, and explode at the ending into something breath taking and heart breaking. The ending! Whoa. Such a good ending. And all I can give is just this obscure hint:  if you've happened to have read Thief of Time, by Terry Pratchett, there are a few similar mythical characters that appear. To say which mythology would give too much away). 

But in addition to the stellar beginning and ending, the middle parts of the book keep up a good pace, too.  I caught a fun steampunk feel from the walled city Kai and Reev live in, especially the mechanical beasts that people ride: 

On the cobblestone road, riders steered enormous Grays in the shape of long-extinct animas: creatures with three foot horns, lumbering feet, spiny backs, or long slender necks that bobbed as they moved. Their massive chests glowed in two spots, indicating they needed two energy stones.

And then there are the gargoyles. Loved the creepy/beautiful scenes at the top of the spiral staircase:

The gargoyle touched its nose to G-10's knuckles, and then bobbed its head, its tongue flicking out to lick his fingers. It was almost... cute. 

(Really, lizard head-bobs are adorable. Trust me). I hope the gargoyles play a larger role in the sequel... they have so much potential. They reminded me of the flying lizards in the movie Avatar (without the wings, and a little creepier in this story). 

One last thing: the love interest, Avan. I loved the slow, quiet development between Avan and Kai, and just have to share this little tidbit about him and his tattoo: 

Avan’s tattoo of a tree: “I got the trunk and the branches done when I moved out of the shop. The tree had one leaf. Kind of like… the start of something new.” He rubbed his neck and shifted so that he was turned away from me. He actually seemed embarrassed. “Something good, I mean. I figured I would add more leaves as… well, as things changed.”

Okay, anybody else out there with pet lizards? Or what's the oddest pet you've read about in a book?