Serials and Scenarios - One Step Over the Border

Western lovers - check out Stephen Bly's new book. Click on the cover and then mosey on over and visit Stephen's website.

Have an excellent weekend everyone.

Hopefully, I won't have any young men attempting to drown me. I hope the same for you.

Coming soon...my embarrassing housekeeping moments as appearing in a newly released book.

Serials and Scenarios - Robin Parrish - Borrowed Time

Robin Parrish has dropped by to leave us with thoughts to ponder and a really good glimpse into the inner workings of his mind. If you love what he's saying - I think you'll really enjoy Fearless. (Click on the title to head over to Amazon to see other reviews and more book info.)

Thanks, Robin. It was great to "chat" with you.

Fiction character you would most like to be or most identify with and why?

I always find myself identifying with the underdog hero who's just trying to survive all of the insane circumstances life throws his way. Peter Parker. Frodo Baggins. And of course my own character, Grant Borrows.There's just something about that character who isn't really all that extraordinary at heart, who keeps getting beaten down by life over and over... but no matter what, they get back up every time and press on. I find that incredibly inspiring.



If you could ask any person, living or dead, a random question -- what question would you ask of whom?

I'd love to ask Tolkien what his response was if he was ever told that his work wasn't "Christian enough."



What crayon in the box describes you on a good day? Bad day?

On a good day I'm Sky Blue. On a bad day, I'm Burnt Umber.



Favorite turn of phrase or word picture, in literature or movie.

"All you have to decide is what to do with the time that's given to you." - Gandalf the Grey, in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. This is pretty much my whole worldview summed up in one phrase.



What period of history intrigues you the most?

Medieval times. I'm a sucker for a good Robin Hood or King Arthur story. You've got castles and knights and swords and bows & arrows... C'mon, what's not to love?



What makes you feel alive?

The act of creation. Making something -- anything.



Where would you most like to travel ----- moon, north pole, deep seas, deserted island, the holy land or back to a place from your childhood, somewhere else? – and why.

The moon, definitely. I'm fascinated by outer space. I mean for starters, why is there so much of it? Is it the battleground for the war between Heaven and Hell? Could there be other life out there somewhere, somehow? Or is God simply so big that he just requires that much space to stretch out in?God doesn't do anything without a reason, so if the universe is as big as it is, then he must have a doggone good purpose for it, and I'd love to know what it is.



Favorite book setting and why?

I can't think of any fictional, nonexistent setting that is more detailed or more fully realized than Middle Earth. I'd love to contribute something of that scale and importance to literature someday. (Some day far in the future, that is.)I'd also love to roam around the Marvel Comics universe, chat up Spider-Man, Daredevil, the Avengers, or the X-Men.



Which compliment related to your writing has meant the most and why?

Whenever I get a comment about how something I wrote changed someone's perspective on something, really opened their eyes to looking at the world in a different way... I don't think it gets much better than that.



What criticism has cut the deepest and why?

The only people who could ever cut me that deeply are the people I take that seriously, and that would be my family. And except on those really bad stressful days that we all have now and then, support and love are all I ever get from them.



What would you do today if you knew you had only a week to live?

Make sure that my wife was taken care of, and record some messages for our unborn child, so he or she would know who I was.After that I'd probably travel somewhere I've never been but always wanted to go.



What is your favorite word?

"Why."



What word annoys you more than any other?

"Can't."



Super power you'd love to borrow for awhile?

I wouldn't mind having Wolverine's healing ability. I seem to stumble over some kind of health issue or another rather often, and Logan can't even catch a common cold.



Favorite chore

I don't mind vacuuming so much.



Anything you'd do but don't because of fear of pain? What is it? Ex. Bungee jumping, sky diving, running with scissors.


I'm a chronic pain sufferer, so fear of pain doesn't really hold me back from anything. If it did, I'd never make it out of bed in the morning.



Grammatical pet peeve…sound off.

Oh man, there are so many...Biggest would probably be improper use of an apostrophe. As in the difference between "it's" and "its." That drives me bananas. Getting quotation marks in the wrong place bugs me too. I was taught that quotation marks always go after the period or the comma, even if the quote is just a phrase or just a single word. So many people quote stuff "like this". That quotation-mark-period thing totally grates.



Societal pet peeve…sound off.

Anyone who knows me at all already knows what I'm about to say, because I harp on it all the time:Traffic!For the life of me I cannot understand what it is about getting behind the wheel of a car that makes so many people's IQs drop about 70%. People get in their cars and they just turn stupid. It's an epidemic, and I can't explain it.

Scribbles and Scrambles - Maybe....Nah! Part 2

Yesterday, I left you with the burning question -- will she or won't she?

She did.

My little wanna be dunker enlisted the help of my daughter-in-law (this is a fluke I am NOT old enough to have a married son).

She took over the booth while my assailant led the way to the gallows. Actually, the dunking "machine" kind of looked gallowish -- fairly primitive arm that dropped (gulp) a hinged (oh my!) shelf.

The bucket tipped while the victim stayed -- but there was a rope involved.

And the sounds. Wow. The clang as the baseball hit dead center, followed by the clank of the door opening, the splash of the refreshing water cascading over the victim's head, the inevitable scream.

I'll have you know that I did my gender proud. No squealing like a prissy girly-girl. No whimpering, sidling or whining. When it was my turn, my little "friend" motioned me to the seat. Regally, I think, I crossed to the wet chair, sat, folded my hands in my lap, crossed my legs at the ankle and closed my eyes, awaiting my destiny.

Of course I knew the kid was a dead arm. Wham. Clang. Clunk. Splash. No scream. (It felt really good - 90+ degrees, standing in the sun for hours, yeah, it felt real good.) But I didn't tell him that.

I returned to my booth with dignity. My opponent in the game of wits begun forty-five minutes earlier returned to say good-bye. Clutched in his fist was the bag holding his booty purchased with my easy tickets. With a wicked grin he said. "That was the best part of the day."

I can't say I've often heard I'm the best part of someone's day.

An hour later another young man returned to repeatedly to fulfill his junk needs. "Can I go again?"

"I gotta make you work for your tickets. It's too easy for you."

He sighed and shot the ball backward over his shoulder as instructed, giving me the eye the whole time. I handed him his latest hard won tickets.

"Hey. I want to dunk you!"

Yep! I've always had a way with men.

Scribble and Scrambles - Maybe I Should Be More Cautious

I think this might be a bad thing.

Our church held a summer fun day event for the community on Saturday.

The coordinator placed me at a children's activity.

Alone.

Maybe not so good because boredom set in. Heat exhaustion, dehydration and boredom -- not a good mix.

Apparently I gained a reputation as "easy." I gave out two tickets (which could be turned in for amazing and exciting plastic trinkets that parents could later step upon, slice open a toe with, curse at and then toss said trinket into the trash) for each "basket" made by the child.

The rules had to be changed often because some of those children had great throwing arms and serious junk-lust. I ended up with a queue of kids most of the time. Repeats who'd try their luck at each readjustment of the rules and then whip around to the end of the line for another go at it.

Banter ensued. Sometimes a bit of a heckle from Carnie-Barker Kelly.

After about seven visits from one young man, and many humorous comments by the now totally punchy booth manager, he looked at me and said. "I want to dunk you."

Several booths down loomed the splash chair. One could toss a baseball at a target and a bucket of water dumped on the poor victim in the chair.

So, this kid wanted to dunk me.

Ha, ha.

Didn't sound so awful as I glanced out and watched the heat waves undulate off the pavement.

But I wouldn't make it too easy on him. I said. "I'm running the booth. You go find me a replacement then you can dunk me."

An evil grin spread across his face. "Who should I ask?"

I described one of the "floaters" and he sped off.

A few minutes later he returned. Disappointment rounded his shoulders. "He's running the Bingo game right now."

Just then another floater walked near.

to be continued....

Scribble and Scrambles - Just Use it Already!

This is how neurotic I am.

Ready?

I have carried a special writer's notebook around in my purse for nearly two years.

A lot of writers do this.

However, my special journal has been sealed in it's original plastic wrap rendering it useless whenever I felt the need to jot something down. So while I dug through my purse for crinkled paper, old receipts, bank deposit slips, whatever upon which to write, I'd scrape my knuckles across my leather bound writer's notebook and feel guilty for not using it and terrified to use it.

The fact that this writing implement was a gift seemed to add to my fear of using it incorrectly. How could I scribble stupid ideas in a sweet, professional writer tool -- what if someone read (or attempted) to read my scratchings and decided I wasn't worthy of something only a real writer uses? What if I read what I'd written on a low and melancholy day and came to that same conclusion?

As we drove to the lake last week I birthed an idea so I dug through my purse for scraps.

It hit me. Maybe I'd take myself a little more seriously if I'd use my tools.

I ripped the plastic off. Opened the book and breathed in the scent of leather. I almost felt like a real writer. With a shaking hand I wrote my idea. Then another, and a third.

Not that tough. The world didn't stop spinning. A pig didn't fly overhead. Music didn't swell in the background.

Next, I'm going to begin writing in the prayer journal that sits waiting for me to fill it and be blessed by the words that are fed to my heart. Who knows what I'll do next, maybe I'll buy new dishtowels...and use them!

Anyone else struggle with this craziness? Please don't tell me I'm alone....

Serials and Scenarios - Chuck Holton Drops In

Chuck Holton dropped by to answer some Dreg questions.

His book, Island Inferno, toured over the 4th of July. If you missed it, click on the title or Chuck's name for more info.

Keep reading. You don't want to miss his interview. Chuck is a touch sarcastic. I SO love that in my visitors.


Fiction character you would most like to be or most identify with and why?

Indiana Jones - because I wanted to BE him since I first saw "Raiders of the Lost Ark" at about age twelve.



Some out there in writing land have strange rituals. Share yours.

I'm genetically incapable of sitting down for long periods of time, so I write about ten lines, then get up and pace around the house, then come back and write ten more.



Pick one…..Pink iguana, purple cow, periwinkle giraffe. Which one and why? Can be negative or positive.

The pink iguana would probably be worth something. The cow probably got spray painted by vandals. And periwinkle isn't a color. It's a plant or something. Whatever it is, it isn't manly, and I don't want anything to do with it.



Favorite turn of phrase or word picture, in literature or movie.

Horticulture: You can lead a whore to culture but you can't make her think. - dorothy parker.



If you were assured of writing a best-seller, what genre would it be? Give us a sliver of information, a characteristic or glimpse of a scene.

Adventure travel tome. Me on some great adventure in a place you've never heard of. It would be a series. Maybe a TV show.



What period of history intrigues you the most?

World War II. It was such a strange period of time when the whole world was turned upside down.



What makes you feel alive?


Crisis. And beginning a difficult expedition, project or trip.



Book, music, person, food you would take with you on a very long trip.

My wife. She's my best friend, and I hate to do any trip without her. And my best friend Graham Davis. He makes the most miserable situation fun, and sees God everywhere. And my wife gets along with him.



Where would you most like to travel ----- moon, north pole, deep seas, deserted island, the holy land or back to a place from your childhood, somewhere else? – and why.

I like to travel to places nobody's ever heard of. If there's a crisis going on there, so much the better. I hate touristy places.



Favorite season and why?

Spring. I like everything new. Reminds me of heaven.



Which compliment related to your writing has meant the most and why?

"I got saved because of your book." The way I see it, things don't get any better than that. And if my writing isn't changing people's lives, it's not worth doing.



What word annoys you more than any other?

Behooves. What do little tiny bee feet have to do with anything?



Super power you'd love to borrow for awhile?

Time travel.



Favorite chore

Splitting firewood. I love to split firewood.



Anything you'd do but don't because of fear of pain? What is it? Ex. Bungee jumping, sky diving, running with scissors.

Um...attend political functions.



Grammatical pet peeve…sound off.

Intentionally misspelled words - like Kountrys Krispy Kreations. Aaaagghhh!!



Societal pet peeve…sound off.

People who claim there is no objective morality telling me I'm wrong. :)


Thanks, Chuck.

Serials and Scenarios - Fearless

Click on book cover at left to visit the Fearless Amazon page.

Robin's Website.










My Review:





This amazing story reads like a blend of Dekker's Black, Red, White trilogy, the X-Men movies, a dash of Lord of the Rings tossed in for spice, all mixed and baked with historical information along the lines of the DaVinci Code, National Treasure and The Librarian.

If you loved any or all of the above, you should find much to like in Parrish's Fearless.

Fast moving storytelling whips this mixture into an edge of the seat read.

Two warnings. Parrish's characters have great vocabularies, if you often read with a dictionary you may get frustrated. And the final book in the Dominion Trilogy comes out in the summer of '08...if you have cliffhanger angst you may want to wait until spring to read Fearless.

I haven't read book one, Relentless, but didn't feel lost and while I wait for book three, I'll go back and pick it up.

Robin has promised an interview. Date unknown, but coming.