Little Black Dress Books (Informal) Challenge

Little Black Dress was an imprint of Headline Publishing and specialized in chick lit(ish) books. Little, cute one's. 

Some years ago I challenged myself to read all of their back catalog. Problem was, they released new books in the series faster than I could read them so I got sidetracked.

I recently came across another one of their books and went to their website to see how many hundreds of books they had by now, but they seem to have stopped publishing them :(

They used to have a website at http://www.littleblackdressbooks.com/little-black-dress-books.html but that's gone now too, sadly. There is a FB group but I don't think that's maintained either.

They were such cute books, I'm a bit sad that they are no more. I'm going to challenge myself to read them all and this time I'll do it! It's hard to find a complete list, even the website didn't keep up to date with a list of all titles but I've managed to track down 124 of them and add the missing ones to the database over there and that will be the goal at the start. If I find any more I'll add them to the total but for now....124 LBD books it is!!

I just like having them all in one place with a goal to work towards. Plus, the cover gallery for them all is a thing of beauty :)

Feel free to join the challenge and keep me company!! No start and finish date, just an informal dip in and out type challenge but I'd love to hear from you if decide to join in.

2012 reading challenge's

2011 isn't even over yet but I already know how my 2011 reading challenges will end....MADE OF FAIL!

I know I won't complete any of them as I'm too far behind and it's too late in the day to catch up but it doesn't matter. Well, not to me anyway. It's not the winning that's important, it's the taking part. Right? Right. At the end of the year I can say I read some books. Can't say fairer than that.

Sooo, that being said I've got my eye on 2012 already. I chose a few new challenges yesterday that I liked the look of and only picked ones where I'd already decided to do that particular thing anyway, even before knowing there was a challenge for it.

There are 5 altogether (so far). Two challenges are similar to each other, another two are things I try to do every year anyway, with varying levels of success so maybe the official challenges will be that nudge I need to succeed, and the last one is an idea that I was toying with to try and achieve in 2012 so I've taken the challenge as 'a sign' that I'm supposed to do this :D. All of the challenges can be overlapped with other challenges so I'm all set.

The first challenge is being run by The Lit Bitch and involves the series of books I use to judge all others...

Rules: Read all SEVEN (7) books in The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon

Books in Series Order:

1. Cross Stitch
2. Dragonfly in Amber
3. Voyager
4. Drums of Autumn
5. The Fiery Cross
6. A Breath of Snow and Ashes
7. An Echo in the Bone

Easy. (famous last words?) Read all the books in the series. I had planned on doing this anyway as Diana has her new book 'The Scottish Prisoner' published next week (here in the UK) and I want to get up to speed and have a total series re-read before I get to it. I re-read them all in order roughly every two years (usually to co-incide with the release of the newest book) so I'm looking forward to this challenge as it's been a while. Do-able I'd say, on the 'how-likely-o-meter'

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This next challenge is being hosted by Literary Escapism and is an extension really of the above challenge. It too involves re-reading the whole Outlander series BUT also includes the additonal Lord John series which I also plan on reading as the aforementined 'The Scottish Prisoner' is the next title in that series and has links to the Outlander series.

Again, do-able on the 'how-likely-o-meter'

Books in series order:

Lord John and the Private Matter
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade
Lord John and the Hand of Devils
The Scottish Prisoner

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This next challenge is definitely Do-able... but just how do-able will depend on how I get on with the final challenge below. At the moment this challenge all hinges on my success rate with challenge number 4.

Here's what the hosts have to say about the TBR challenge:
"We all have those books. We buy them, win them, they're gifted to us.. Then we put them up on a bookshelf and there they stay, collecting dust, waiting for the time when we'll finally decide to pick them up..

Join us on a quest to dust off your TBR Pile and read all the books you've been telling yourself you'll read next time you'll get a chance.. This is your chance! And we've got PRIZES!!! :D"

Levels:

1-10 - A Firm Handshake
11-20 - A Friendly Hug
21-30 - A Sweet Kiss
31-40 - Love At First Sight
41-50 - Married With Children

I'm signing up for the 'Freindly Hug' as I can move up a lvl but not down one and thought that even if I only manage one a month that would fall into the 11-20 category.

Sign up at any of the host's blog's below -

Evie from Bookis
Nicole from All I Ever Read
Bonnie from Hands and Home
Donna from Book Passion For Life
Caitlin from WatchYA Reading
Rie from Mission To Read
Vicky from Books, Biscuits & Tea
Christa from Hooked On Books
Jenna from Fans Of Fiction
Angel from Mermaids Vision

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I might need all 12 months to get this one in the bag. The Sookie Stackhouse (True Blood) books are a bit of an enigma to me. I like them, I enjoy them and I have them pre-bought and sitting on the shelf but I just can't seem to conjure up any kind of love for them. Doesn't really make any sense. I like them enough to have read the first six books but not enough to WANT to read the ones that follow. Any other series by the time I've made it though a half dozen books I'm desperate to see where it all leads. These one's...not so much. BUT, I do like them. Can't explain. Anyhoo, the challenge...

The 2012 Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge is being hosted by Darlene's Book Nook.

There are four levels for this challenge:

a. Level 1: Read 1-4 books in the series.
b. Level 2: Read 5-8 books in the series.
c. Level 3: Read 9-11 books in the series.
d. Level 4: Read all 12 books in the series!

Since I've already read the first 6 books I'm signing up for Level 1: Read 1-4 books in the series. As the year goes on I'll know better if I'm able to up that estimate and read all the remaining 6 books but for now I'll stick with Level 1.

That means I'll be reading from books 7 to 12. Or hoping to...

Maybe this challenge is the push I need to get the series finished.

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And finally... This challenge, hosted by Butterflyometer Books is going to be my toughest challenge ever, I think. EVAAARR!

My resoloution is to challenge myself to not spend a penny on buying books for the 12 months from 1st Jan 2012 to 31st Dec 2012! Do-able? Who knows, but I'll give it a whirl.

Sounds scary!! I hope I'm up to the challenge. I can recieve books as gifts (which is not so bad..I've got a birthday during the year), I can WIN books (so entering a gazillion comps for me then), I can swap my books with friends etc for other books and I can even borrow books from people and/or the library BUT I'm not allowed to buy a single book. Doesn't matter if it's brand new or used I MUST NOT BUY!!

That's going to be easier said than done and I think it might impede on my other joy (other than books and reading) which is rumaging in charity shops for things to tart up for my house, either by recyling or upcycling or just general things to give a makeover to. Those sorts of shops invariably have a book section so I'll either have to go in wearing blinkers or not go in at all :(

MUST STAY STRONG!

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I'll particularly need all the help I can get with that last one, so please wish me luck! :D

**All linked Challenge Buttons also appear in my blog footer**

Review - INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE by Anne Rice

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Futura Publications; New edition edition
ISBN-13: 978-0708860731
Publication Date: 31/12/1981

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

In a darkened room a young man sits telling the macabre and eerie story of his life - the story of a vampire, gifted with eternal life, cursed with an exquisite craving for human blood. Anne Rice's compulsively readable novel is arguably the most celebrated work of vampire fiction since Bram Stoker's Dracula was published in 1897. As the Washington Post said on its first publication, it is a 'thrilling, strikingly original work of the imagination ...sometimes horrible, sometimes beautiful, always unforgettable'.

My Review:
I first read this about 20 years ago and tore through it. I loved it! It has remained on my 'fave read' list ever since. Recently though, I have started a re-read of those early 'fave reads' and The Vampire Chronicles is the latest to come under renewed scrutiny.

When I first discovered these books, there wasn't the glut of vampire fiction abailable that there is today. From the handful on the shelf at the time, this was in my opinion the best. Since those days I've read countless supernatural/paranormal books and dozens of vampire novels and was curious if Interview with a vampire had stood the test of time and was still as good as I remembered it to be.

In short, yes, it's still a good story. I didn't rattle through it as quickly as I did the first time around but that's got more to do with reading time constraints than it has to do with content. Anne Rice's writing style is flowery and evocative and searching and those are not really things I would rate highly in my usual reading choices, but maybe nostalgia is making me sentimental and I'm prepared to put up with a lot more from an old friend than I would be from a new aquaintance.

The book was slower than I remember it being but perhaps the notion of sexy, sensual, flawed vampires was new and exciting back then and caused me to get so wrapped up in the moment that time just flew. Now, there are any number of vampires who share those qualaties and the idea doesn't seem so fresh and exciting any more. However, for all that, Rice's vampires still seem to have an 'edge' to them. Something compelling that makes them stand out from the crowd.

It's hard going into this without expectations, because I've already read the others in the series, but even knowing what is to come I loved Louis all over again in this first book and hated Lestat. I know that after a few more books I'll regard Louis as a whiny bitch and I'll adore Lestat with a passion but for now Louis is a tortured soul and Lestat is a selfish brat.

The story itself is really a setting up of what's to come. It's a vehicle to introduce us to the main characters and to world build but the core story is a solid one and although I suppose these could be read out of sequence I don't think it would be quite such an enjoyable saga that way.

I'm counting this read on a few of my challenges:-

Read all TEN (10) books in the Vampire Chronicles series (books titles below).

Completed 1/10
Books in Series Order:

1) Interview with the Vampire ( Finished - 5/2/11)
2) The Vampire Lestat ( Finished - 24/2/11)
3) The Queen of the Damned ( Finished - 16/3/11)
4) The Tale of the Body Thief ( Finished - 10/4/11)
5) Memnoch the Devil
6) The Vampire Armand
7) Merrick
8) Blood and Gold
9) Blackwood Farm
10) Blood Canticle


I'm going for Reliving the Past (4-8 books) and so far the books I have in mind are:

Completed 1/8

1.Interview with the vampire by Anne Rice (Finished - 5/2/11)
2.On Raven's wing by Morgan Llywelyn
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.



Any books published BEFORE 2009 . All Genres included
Completed 2/20

1. Darkfever - Karen Marie Moning - 2006

2. If Angels Burn - Lynn Viehl - 2005

3. Pleasure Unbound - Larissa Ione - 2008

4. Kiss Of Fire - Deborah Cooke - 2008

5. Magic To The Bone - Devon Monk - 2008

6. Secret Vampire - L J Smith - 2008

7. Magic Bites - Ilona Andrews - 2007

8. Poison Study - Maria V Snyder - 2007

9. Nightlife - Rob Thurman - 2006

10. Blood Price - Tanya Huff - 2004

11. Way Of The Wolf - E E Knight - 2003

12. The Smoke Thief - Shana Abe - 2006

13. Midnight's Daughter - Karen Chance - 2008

14. Beyond The Highland Mist - Karen Marie Moning - 2004 (FINISHED 12th Jan 2011)

15. Interview With A Vampire - Anne Rice - 1991 (FINISHED 5th Feb 2011)

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

Is there such a thing as 'Challenge Addiction'?...

Challenge addiction? I haz it!

Can't help myself. I think it's an illness. Send help, please. Thank you.

Two more challenges added to my list, and I'm 99.9% sure they're my last for 2011 (but don't quote me on that).

I have been looking over my goodreads 'read' list and there are a few on the list that I would dearly love to read again because it's been many, many years since I first enjoyed them. With all the great new reads I've got planned for this year I couldn't really justify going back over old ground though...

And then it struck me. If I were 'challenged' to read them then that would be, like, different. It'd be rude not to accept a challenge. Right? Yeah, challenges are the way forward. Trust me.

And that's why there HAS to be 2 new challenges. See, some of the re-reads I want to do are from the Anne Rice Vampire Chronicles and since the challenge has a cute graphic for the sidebar I HAD to sign up. I think it's actually against the law to NOT sign up for challenges when you come across them. Or did I dream that?

Anyhoo, Job done.

I'm joining in with -

Read me baby one more time, hosted by Midnight Book Girl

Read Me Baby, 1 More Time is for those of us who love to re-read our favorite books or those of us who want to re-visit a book from our past. The rules are simple, for a book to qualify we simply have to have read it at least once before, and the re-read has to be complete.

Timeline: 1st Jan 2011 ~ 31st Dec 2011

Here's the tiers for you to choose from:

Trip Down Memory Lane: 1-3 re-reads
Reliving the Past: 4-8 re-reads
Back To The Future: 9-12 re-reads
Groundhog Day Reader: 13-20 re-reads

I'm going for Reliving the Past and so far the books I have in mind are:

1.Interview with the vampire by Anne Rice (Finished - 5/2/11)
2.On Raven's wing by Morgan Llywelyn
3.
4.

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As mentioned, my next challenge involves The Vampire Chronicles and is hosted by Book Chick City


Challenge Details

• Timeline: 01 Jan 2011 - 31 Dec 2011

• Rules - Read all TEN (10) books in the Vampire Chronicles series (books titles below).

• The reading challenge can crossover into other challenges you have on the go



Books in Series Order:

1) Interview with the Vampire ( Finished - 5/2/11)
2) The Vampire Lestat
3) The Queen of the Damned
4) The Tale of the Body Thief
5) Memnoch the Devil
6) The Vampire Armand
7) Merrick
8) Blood and Gold
9) Blackwood Farm
10) Blood Canticle

Will have to find a copy of Blood Cantlicle as I don't have that one, but the rest I have and will slot into my reading year.

S.O.S I Spy Title Reading Challenge

Goodreads S.O.S (Serious Overload of Series) group - I SPY TITLE CHALLENGE

1/24

In the TITLE of a book, find a word that fits the categories:
Duration: One year from the date started.
A scavenger hunt through our TBR to find books that fit. This one is a TITLE search challenge.
Anthologies & rereads are ok. Most should be along the paranormal/fantasy theme. May use the series name if it is printed on the cover of the book.

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Duration- Jan 1st 2011 to Dec 31st 2011.

1. Colour - White Cat (Curse Workers #1) - Holly Black

2. Number - The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella - Stephenie Meyer

3. Things That Grow - Kiss of the Rose (Tudor Vampre Chronicles #1) - Kate Pearce (FINISHED 8th Jan 2011)

4. 4 Seasons - The Autumn Castle (Europa Suite #1) - Kim Wilkins

5. First Name TBC

6. Places - Kitty Goes to Washington (Kitty Norville #2) - Carrie Vaughn

7. Body Part - Magic to the Bone (Allie Beckstrom #1) - Devon Monk

8. Weapon - Poison Study (Study #1) - Maria V Snyder

9. Body of Water TBC

10. Form of Water - Beyond the Highland Mist (Highlander #1) - Karen Marie Moning (FINISHED 12th Jan 2011)


11. Product of Fire - If Angels Burn (Darkyn, #1) - Lynn Viehl

12. Heavenly Body- -Fool Moon (Harry Dresden #2) - Jim Butcher

13. Architecture TBC

14. 5 Senses TBC

15. Royal Title - Thorn Queen (Dark Swan #2) - Richelle Mead

16. Family Member - Midnight's Daughter (Dorina Basarab #1) - Karen Chance

17. 4 Elements - Kiss of Fire (Dragonfire #1)) - Deborah Cooke

18. Time of Day - Nightlife (Cal Leandros #1) - Rob Thurman

19. Metal TBC

20. Emotion - Pleasure Unbound (Demonica #1) - Larissa Ione

21. Animal - Way of the Wolf (Vampire Earth #1) - E E Knight

22. Something to Read TBC

23. Gender Identifier - Some Girls Bite (Chicagoland Vampires #1) - Chloe Neill

24. Paranormal Being TBC

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I'm struggling a bit with some of the categories but I'll get there...

Dystopia Reading CHallenge 2011

I've got my paranormal and time travel challenges for 2011 sorted, but wanted to find an apocalyptic challenge somewhere too... The closest I could find was the Dystopian challenge hosted by bareadingchallenges and it's close enough. I might have to just challenge myself to get some of the 'end of the world/last man standing' stuff off my TBR pile and into the 'finished' heap.

Meanwhile, the dystopian challenge is as follows:

Starts one minute past midnight, 1st of January 2011 and end the 31st of December 2011.

Challenge Levels

1. Asocial– Choose 5 books to read
2. Contagion – Choose 15 books to read
3. Soldier – Choose 30 books to read
4. Drone – Choose 50 books to read
5. Conditioned – Choose 75 books to read

For extra hard challenges

1. Brainwashed – Choose 76-125 books to read
2. Totalitarian – Choose 126-200 books to read
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Since I've got my work cut out with my other challenge commitments, I'm going for ASOCIAL = 5

1. Gone - Michael Grant

2. Wither - Lauren DeStefano

3. Awaken - Katie Kacvinsky

4. The Traveler - John Twelve Hawks

5. Inside Out - Maria V Snyder

As reference, this is the dystopian list given on goodreads...

Time Travel Reading Challenge 2011

I'm a huge Time Travel fan when it comes to books. LOVE them. One of my all time favourites is Cross Stitch (AKA Outlander) by Diana Gabaldon. I first read it 20 years ago and have read countless books since but it still holds the number one spot on my 'Best ever Book' list.

I have a few TT's on my TBR shelf that I need to take care of but with sooooo many other books also clamouring to be picked up I thought I could use some help to get to them so I've joined in with Alyce's challenge at her blog At Home With Books.
It's a very informal and flexible challenge and as long as it's completed within the timescale of Jan 1st 2011 to Dec 31st 2011 it's all good. I'm tentatively signing up for 5 books but this may increase as the year goes on. We shall see. Five is a good starting place.

Completed 1/5

1. Who's That Girl? - Alexandra Potter

2. The Mirror - Marlys Millhiser

3. The Accidental Time Machine - Joe Haldeman

4. The Summerhouse - Jude Deveraux

5. Beyond The Highland Mist - Karen Marie Moning (FINISHED 12th Jan 2011)


These are all books I already own so no excuse for me not to get to them.

Into the old World reading challenge 2011

About the challenge:
Hosts : Splash of Our Worlds and My Love Affair With Books
Starts: 1st January 2011
Ends: 31st December 2011
Eligible Books: Any books published BEFORE 2009 . All Genres included

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Totally do-able because the majority of the books I read are pre-2009. I like a new release as well as the next person but my TBR has been growing for years so there's a lot of 'oldies' languishing there and patiently awaiting their turn.

So. My provisional list (Which will be amended as I go and may grow or shrink as the mood takes me):

Completed 1/20

1. Darkfever - Karen Marie Moning - 2006

2. If Angels Burn - Lynn Viehl - 2005

3. Pleasure Unbound - Larissa Ione - 2008

4. Kiss Of Fire - Deborah Cooke - 2008

5. Magic To The Bone - Devon Monk - 2008

6. Secret Vampire - L J Smith - 2008

7. Magic Bites - Ilona Andrews - 2007

8. Poison Study - Maria V Snyder - 2007

9. Nightlife - Rob Thurman - 2006

10. Blood Price - Tanya Huff - 2004

11. Way Of The Wolf - E E Knight - 2003

12. The Smoke Thief - Shana Abe - 2006

13. Midnight's Daughter - Karen Chance - 2008

14.Beyond The Highland Mist - Karen Marie Moning - 2004 (FINISHED 12th Jan 2011)

15. Interview With A Vampire - Anne Rice - 1991 (FINISHED 5th Feb 2011)

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

Paranormal/Fantasy Romance Challenge 2011

Paranormal/Fantasy Romance Challenge:
This challenge is hosted by Nitty Gritty - Romance and Erotica reviews. To read 12 Paranormal/Fantasy Romances between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011.
Cross-overs from other challenges are okay. *Whew*

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Completed 1/20

1. Darkfever - Karen Marie Moning

2. Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater

3. Evermore - Alyson Noel

4. Beyond The Highland Mist - Karen Marie Moning (FINISHED 12th Jan 2011)

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

Paranormal Addicts & Newbie 2011 New Author Challenge

New to You Authors

Duration 1st January 2011 to 31st December 2011

How many new authors are you going to read this year? Challenge yourself! Take your pick from three levels of challenge:

Beginner: 5 new authors
Dedicated: 10 new authors
Obsessed: 25 new author
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New to You Authors
Level: Obsessed
Completed : 1/25

1. If Angels Burn - Lynn Viehl
2. Mind Games - Carolyn Crane
3. Pleasure Unbound - Larissa Ione
4. Kiss Of Fire - Deborah Cooke
5. Infinite Days - Rebecca Maizel
6. Queen Of Shadows - Dianne Sylvan
7. Darkfever - Karen Marie Moning
8. Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater
9. Daughters Of Dracula - Kailin Gow
10. Some Girls Bite - Chloe Neill
11. Magic To The Bone - Devon Monk
12. Evermore - Alyson Noel
13. Secret Vampire - L J Smith
14. Magic Bites - Ilona Andrews
15. Poison Study - Maria V Snyder
16. The Native star - M K Hobson
17. Nightlife - Rob Thurman
18. Blood Price - Tanya Huff
19. Secret Lives - Gabriella Poole
20. Grave Witch - Kalayna Price
21. Way Of The Wolf - E E Knight
22. The Smoke Thief - Shana Abe
23. Kiss Of The Rose - Kate Pearce - (FINISHED 8th Jan 2011)
24.
25.

Paranormal Addicts & Newbie 2011 New Series Challenge

New to You Series

Duration 1st January 2011 to 31st December 2011

How many new series are you going to read this year? Challenge yourself! Take your pick from three levels of challenge:

Beginner: 5 new series
Dedicated: 10 new series
Obsessed: 25 new series
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2011 "New to You Series" Challenge
REQUIRED: Minimum 1 book of each series
Level: Obsessed

2/25

1. If Angels Burn - Darkyn - Lynn Viehl - 0/7
2. Mind Games - The Disillusionists - Carolyn Crane - 0/2
3. Pleasure Unbound - Demonica - Larissa Ione - 0/5
4. Kiss Of Fire - Dragonfire - Deborah Cooke - 0/5
5. Infinite Days - Vampire Queen - Rebecca Maizel - 0/2
6. Queen Of Shadows - Shadow World - Dianne Sylvan - 0/2
7. Darkfever - Fever - Karen Marie Moning - 0/5
8. Shiver - Wolves Of Mercy Falls - Maggie Stiefvater - 0/3
9. Daughters Of Dracula - The Stoker Sisters - Kailin Gow - 0/3
10. Some Girls Bite - Chicagoland Vampires - Chloe Neill - 0/5
11. Magic To The Bone - Allie beckstrom - Devon Monk - 0/6
12. Evermore - The Immortals - Alyson Noel - 0/5
13. Secret Vampire - Night World - L J Smith - 0/10
14. Magic Bites - Kate daniels - Ilona Andrews - 0/4
15. Heart Of The Dragon - Atlantis - Gena Showalter - 0/5
16. Midnight's Daughter - Donna Basarab - Karen Chance - 0/2
17. Nightlife - Cal Leandros - Rob Thurman - 0/6
18. Blood Price - Victoria Nelson - Tanya Huff - 0/6
19. Secret Lives - Darke Academy - Gabriella Poole - 0/3
20. Grave Witch - Alex Craft - Kalayna Price - 0/2
21. Way Of The Wolf - Vampire Earth - E E Knight - 0/8
22. The Smoke Thief - Drakon - Shana Abe - 0/5
23. Poison Study - Study - Maria V Snyder - - 0/3
24.Kiss Of The Rose - Tudor Vampire Chronicles - Kate Pearce - - 1/3 (FINISHED 8th Jan 2011)
25. Beyond The Highland Mist - Highlander - Karen Marie Moning - 1/8 (FINISHED 12th Jan 2011)