Serials and Scenarios - Embrace Me

Click on the cover to find out more about Embrace Me, and here to visit Lisa Samson. She answered the Dregs questions on a previous visit, here. (scroll down)

If you'd like to read the first chapter....here you go.

My Review:

Lisa Samson has crafted a novel that will likely thrill her fans. Not only because Samson shows her immense talent with words in Embrace Me. But because Samson revisits some characters from previous novels. I was pleasantly surprised to find out some characters that I grew to love are doing well -- thriving even. But those folks aren't the focus of the story.

A character study unlike any I've ever read, Embrace Me, showcases wounded characters over the span of a decade or so. Drew emotionally drowns in his selfishness and then attempts to purge the selfishness out of his system one cigarette at a time. Eventually his outside scars will mirror his inner ones. Valentine, has become a cynical and wounded heart encased in a reptilian mask. In an attempt to survive she sells peeks of her damaged face at a carnival side-show. Billed as Lizard Woman, she flaunts her pain, but becomes a prisoner as she will only go out in the darkest moments of the night. A smattering of additional characters like Lella, the sweet, selfless "human cocoon" who gives Valentine a reason to go on living, Gus, a modern day monk, Blaize, the woman who takes Valentine and Lella in, add richness and even more depth to the novel.

The story span begins with Drew's meltdown in 2002 and Valentine's arrival in the late fall of 2008 and the unfolding of details regarding a very, very small world and a very involved, very big God.

I will say that some readers might struggle with the subject matter. Samson doesn't paint false pictures. Her characters are very real, and often not pretty. They resemble real life churches and families, those who don't hide their dysfunction under glossy "church face" glitz and glitter anyway. Rough subjects and rough behavior fill Embrace Me. One of the reviewers I work with struggled with writing a review and with finding the point, so unless you like digging into characters and are unconcerned about plots that leave breathing room, you might want to look over several reviews before buying Embrace Me. But if you like Christian fiction that pushes the envelope and makes you think and get lost in the lives of broken people...I recommend it.

Super Cinema Saturday ~ Atonement

My Review:

Atonement is a difficult movie on several levels. Emotionally, it's a tale of twisting logic and the power of simple words unleashed. It's a story of what ifs and if onlys. An epic full of longing and sorrow, passion and pain,

Atonement is not a movie to watch to unwind after a taxing day full of drama, unless intense drama onscreen helps you unwind. Though the writing is tight and intriguing and the acting spot-on, the transitions from some scenes to others left me scratching my head.

Several scenes are revisited with different points of view. I also struggled with following a couple of time line events for the same reason. One character ages from ten or eleven to eighteen but the stated time frame is only five years unless I missed a heading telling the viewers of a time change.

I will have to watch Atonement again because I'm not sure I fully appreciated the message of the film. Though Atonement is the title, I'm not sure how this played out throughout the storyline. When it's all said and done, I don't see it. I can't say anymore without a spoiler, so I won't.

Atonement is not going to appeal to the majority of movie lovers. Historical fans may not find enough historical richness though there are plenty of shadows and hints of the times. War epic fans may not find enough though there are strong and poignant war moments. Those who want cookie cutter endings definitely are going to want to avoid it unless in a mood to cry. Fans of tragedy or human character and the study of why people do what they do may really find the most satisfaction.

Sensitivity warning...the war scenes are peppered with the F-word, and a young man pens a note sharing what he'd like to do sexually with the woman he loves and one crude anatomical word is shown several times. Child endangerment and adult-child inappropriateness are an issue early in the movie. A couple are shown in a sexual embrace though much is hidden by clothes and lighting, an assault with a glimpse of nudity as well as a young woman in a white, wet dress add to the need for the R rating. Some war injuries are moderately intense as are the death of some horses.

The acting is the major reason I'd suggest the film. Cinematography and writing would be the secondary reasons. Otherwise, if you are ambivalent, rent before you buy or skip altogether unless you like your stories to go really deep into the reality of cause and effect.

Serials and Scenarios - Amy Wallace's Healing Promises

Amy Wallace visited the Dregs last spring. Read her entertaining interview here (scroll down). If you want a sneak peek at Healing Promises, click here to read the first chapter.

And without further ado...my review:

Amy Wallace once again tackles tough subject matter with skill and grace.

I'd heard mixed feedback before opening the cover of Healing Promises and I was concerned that I might not love it. One friend mentioned feeling a little like an emotional punching bag during her time with Clint and Sara.

I see where she was coming from -- the themes of cancer and child predators are grueling at best. Wallace fills her novel with clinical details and law enforcement procedure and the effects of the truth in those details applied to the lives of her characters. At times I needed to take a break from the emotion. Anyone dealing with close instances of child abuse or critical health issues might want to read the first chapter to get a feel for where Wallace takes the reader.

But the reader's emotional involvement in the lives of the characters and the angst over the drama shows Wallace's skill with storytelling. Her characters feel like real people and compassion comes into play. With several points of view the reader is able to get a sense of the major players as the story progresses -- a front row seat to the struggles and triumphs and the failings and sorrows.

Healing Promises continues the tale of Steven and Gracie so readers of Ransomed Dreams should feel at home, but Healing Promises can stand alone. Fans of Karen Kingsbury might want to check into Amy Wallace. I need to add a sensitivity warning. Some scenes are brutal. The novel is full of suffering and details that might make a reader squirm.

Serials and Scenarios - Kelly on the Hot Seat... Part Two?

Xta has my phone number. She also has my NUMBER and she has re-challenged me to get a move on with answering my own darn questions. And since I'm not finished with the CFBA book of the week so I can actually review it today, I'm going to take Xta up on her challenge. And then I'm going to do some reading.

Below are the answers to two dregs questions...one of which requires creativity. Oy.

Comment away, friends. Guess what I described. Two possible answers. Go for it.

What crayon in the box describes you on a good day? Bad day? Which one do you aspire to be?

On a good day red. I consider it snappy and spicy, and I have tendency to want to spark things up. The second choice would be purple. I'm not sure why, I just like it and I think it's a solid listener type of crayon.

On a bad day pewter, if there is such a thing as a pewter crayon. If not I'll make it up or call it blue-gray. I don't often tumble into full-blown melancholy, but when I do I manage to eventually miss laughter enough that I crawl out. But melancholy and I are stormy at best. At worst, we produce golf ball sized hail if not swirling 50 mph winds.

What I aspire to be...Yellow = sunshine and light. One of my favorite T-shirt slogan sreads. "Be the moon. Reflect the Son." I want to be a full yellow moon.


Creative moments with Kelly -- Describe something without naming it.

Essence of coconut rides the salty air from half a beach away. Not my favorite scent, but wafting on the breeze, I'm all for it, especially since there is no sand along for the trip.

I reposition on my towel and sigh as the sand shifts and embraces me. Warmth radiates from below and the air currents caress from above and soon my eyelids become so heavy that they refuse to open.

If I could only remember the annoying question that seems to keep me half-conscious--oh well, can it be that important?

Scribble and Scrambles - Facebook Nation

Three laptops, three females, a couch and a loveseat in a space of 49 sq ft or so.

And what are we doing? Blogging and facebooking. What time is it?

Eleven p.m.

Time to go act like a mother.

I think I'll send a "Go to bed." instant message to my daughters.

If you are reading this after eleven p.m. you should go to bed, too.

You're welcome.

Serials and Scenarios - Sincerely Mayla - Virginia Smith

My review of Sincerely, Mayla.

Sincerely, Mayla is a sweet novel about inevitable collisions when comfortable, rutted paths intersect with God's roads.

Mayla, a wild child from a previous novel (Just as I am) which I haven't read, has hit her spiritual stride as a spruced-up, redeemed version of herself. But God isn't done with her yet.

Newly relieved of her job, Mayla sets out to fix controllable issues like her love life, and she finds herself detouring to mend some fences that keep her apart from her grandmother in Florida, and then veering into potholes left by friends in crisis. Mayla has the time for an extended trip, but her emotions are a different story and her mini-vacation proves to be quite a trip when all the dust finally settles.

Mayla is a cute escapist read that ends up convicting those readers who have gotten a little too comfortable, or who think they've figured God out and don't really need His hand to be involved in life's microscopic details. Smith tells a fun tale with an engaging voice and equally engaging characters. She manages to cover a whole lot of heavy issues like homosexuality and abortion in this easily navigated novel. A great summer fluff with substance read. You won't need to read Just as I am to appreciate the story, but it may be fun to see just how far Mayla's come.

Click for Virginia Smith 's Dregs interview, click here to visit her website, and on the book cover to visit Amazon.

Scribble and Scrambles - Reality of the Value of a Dollar

This will possibly border on crass. It will definitely be a strange post. Oh wait, I guess most of them are.

When shopping at Target today I discovered something.

A majority of our hard-earned money goes toward things that make waste more aesthetically pleasing. Don't get me wrong, chances are really good that I won't make any major changes in my spending habits, but, well, it's something to ponder at nearly 10 p.m. on a Monday evening.

I spent $30ish at Target. A pair a clearance Capri's cost under $7.00. A bag of cat litter $2.40, chips $4.00, and a large industrial sized package of toilet paper cost $13.00.

What's wrong with this picture? How about $15.00+ for waste management, that's what.

Like I said, there won't be a lot of big changes on the horizon, but life is just like that, eh?