Scribble and Scrambles ~ Oops....

You may bristle at this video females. But it hits a little to close to home. Let me tell the truth about one particular female driver...moi.

I crimpled the side of my van while turning around a large cement slab wall in a parking garage.

I scraped a yellow racing stripe down the side of my green pick-up truck when I stopped to get gas and forgot about the yellow poles keeping the gas tanks safe from drivers like me.

My brother still laughs at another gas station stupid human trick, which I have blocked from my memory, so I can't share it. Apparently it was hilarious.

Because my driving scared my Mom, I pulled over to hand the wheel over to her. Unfortunately, I pulled directly into the ditch.

I blew past a state trooper's car going thirty over the speed limit. I don't know who was more surprised...the state troopers who shined their flashlights over every inch of my pick-up bed, likely looking for beer cans, before discovering a teen girl and two little boys, or me that I actually got a ticket. Sobbing does help. Or maybe it's the eruptions of slick wetness that flew during the sobs. Who knows.

Super Cinema Saturday ~ Ghost Town

Ghost Town is one of the more charming/clever movies I've seen in awhile. Due to an unfortunate glitch during a routine colonoscopy a crotchety, nasty dentist (Gervais) suffers from ghost harassment. One slick ghost (Kinnear) makes a deal with the dentist. If said dentist will mess up the Kinnear's widow's romance with a new man, Kinnear will keep the other ghosts at bay.

In the process lives are changed, non-lives are changed and the laughs come often. There are definitely moments that are not child appropriate. A few F-bombs, an affair, an oft mentioned male body part joke, and some double entendres/outright sexual comments make it mature viewing only.

Despite the few negatives as mentioned above, Ghost Town has a deep message and is charming and almost old-fashioned in the romance department. The colonoscopy prep and hospital check-in alone are almost worth the price of a rental. Then you have the quirk of Tea Leoni's laugh and two pretty hilarious prat falls. If you are into sarcasm, quirky romance where making a woman laugh is high on the list of romantic qualities, physical humor, ghosts or the idea of ghosts, or just fun character pieces, I recommend Ghost Town. It's on my to buy list. I will watch this one again.

Scribble and Scrambles ~ Report Card Time

Lily and Lola Report Card/Update.

Bouncing. Yep. Check. Satisfactory.

Walking on leashes. Well. Needs work.

Unsupervised in-house behavior. Oh, not good at all. Unsatisfactory.

Unsupervised outside behavior. Ha. Ask the UPS guy. And the neighborhood squirrels.

Digestion and food habits.
Rug -- chewed, swallowed, deposited in back yard.
Peanut Butter. Good. Will do anything for peanut butter -- humans best friend (and they say dog is).
Dog food. Science Diet and Iams weren't expensive enough. We have now moved on to organic allergy free. Lily developed an allergy to her food (interesting since she has eaten things that would kill a lesser being). How do we know? The ears swelled and turned red and her sister licked them until she developed little scabs. Surely she had ear mites. Nope, the vet said it was a food allergy. The new food has been an adventure. The lamb and potato or maybe the venison and barley blend leaves an after odor. Like some folks have garlic scent that oozes from sweat glands and pores... Lily and Lola smell a little like a down-and-out drunk man in an alley. So, in an attempt to deal with this unpleasant side effect, Doggy Mama purchased the vegetarian flavor. Guess what that does? Think fiber and bubbles...very, very bad bubbles.

Cuteness. Life saving A+
Tardies. Never late for dinner.
Enthusiasm. Over the top.

Scribble and Scrambles ~ Hoping

Hope and courage...words that resonate with me.

When I'm struggling spiritually, my hope, my Pollyannaish rosy outlook tends to shrink and dwindle into hopelessness. My courage during spiritual testing becomes anemic and wobbly-kneed in my darkest moments of faithshaking.

Even when I realized that discouragement is a lie. It has to be. How can it be anything else? If, as a believer in Christ, I am to be an encourager and an encouragee in the body of Christ, then I am far, far away from encouragement if I am discouraged. If God talks about taking courage, standing strong, and being all the strength I need, then discouragement steals from courage.

How can I, a vessel of the Holy Spirit -- the very heart of Jesus, Himself, how can I be hopeless when I possess all I need to hope?

Today. I choose to hope. Even in the impossible.

Serials and Scenarios ~ Gingham Mountain

Mary Connealy is back with a new tangled-Texas-tale.






All aboard for a delightful, suspense-filled romance, where a Texan is torn between his attraction to a meddlesome schoolmarm and the charms of a designing dressmaker. When Hannah Cartwright meets Grant, she's determined to keep him from committing her orphans to hard labor on his ranch. How far will she go to ensure their welfare?

Grant Cooper is determined to provide a home for the two kids brought in by the orphan train as runs head-on into the new school marm, who believes he's made slave labor out of eight orphaned children. He crowds too many orphans into his rickety house, just like Hannah Cartwright's cruel father. Grant's family of orphans have been mistreated too many times by judgmental school teachers. Now the new schoolmarm is the same except she's so pretty and she isn't really bad to his children, it's Grant she can't stand.

But he is inexplicably drawn to Hannah. Can he keep his ragtag family together while steering clear of love and marriage? Will he win her love or be caught in the clutches of a scheming seamstress?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Gingham Mountain, click HERE

My Review:

Mary Conneally has a charming voice. She manages to give petticoats and prairie dust a hint of breezy chick-lit. Her western series has been an entertaining and a quick and satisfying read. Gingham Mountain follows previous characters and creates new situations in which she tortures her characters. Hannah and Grant and a whole passel of orphans burst out of the Gingham Mountain pages and into my affections.

If you are looking for authentic western historical details and language, you may want to look further into this series before plunking down your money. But if you are looking for entertainment, creative storytelling, charming characters and downright as much fun as a barn raising, get yerself to yer favorite book store.

More from Mary via a previous visit to the dregs, click here.

Serials and Scenarios ~ My Book Therapy

So, you all know I need lots of therapy. Maybe I'll start here.


Writers/novelists pay attention. Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck have collaborated on a how-to book. (I've read most of Rachel's stuff and I want to pick up whatever she's laying down.) They are also writing a novel with input from readers. Go here to chime in.

You have a chance to do the same:

Want to win a copy of From the Inside…Out: Discover, Create and Publish the Novel in You for your very own? Leave a comment here and tell us what kind of novel you have in YOU.

AND

Do you already have your novel down on the page? Does it need a little THERAPY? Enter to win 10% off a Book Therapy Session (that’s a savings of $30+) by leaving a comment here telling us a brief synopsis of your story!

Click on the video about their My Book Therapy for more info. And here for even more info.

Serials and Scenarios ~ Colleen Coble

Wednesday we got a peek at Colleen Coble's new release, Cry in the Night. Make sure you scroll down and click to read the first chapter if you haven't yet. And visit Colleen's website and the Amazon page for more info. Now. Colleen was kind enough to come and play at the Dregs.

Thanks, Colleen, I love your crayon answer. : )



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

Bree from the Rock Harbor books has a lot of me in her. Okay, I don’t have a search dog (but I love dogs) and I’m not short with red hair, but I love pistachios and the wilderness. I’ve got a lot of Native American blood and I’m drawn to places that are still just a little untamed.


If you could change something in any novel, what would you change about it and why?

I would change the title of Anathema. People don’t know how to say it or what it means and it caused more confusion instead of illuminating what the book is really about.


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

Yellow. I’m an optimist and nearly always look on the bright side. Even on a bad day I’m likely only to tinge a bit to gold. LOL It drives some people crazy but I can’t help it. I’m always aware that God is in control.



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.

I write my favorite genre—romantic mysteries with a strong dollop of romance. I’m blessed to be living my dream of writing what I love to read. I love everything about the writing life—from the promotion to the actual writing.



What period of history intrigues you the most?

Funny you should ask that because the next book I’m going to be working on is a historical novel. I asked my publisher a couple of years ago if I could write my typical novel in a historical setting and my editor recently gave me the go-ahead. I’m still tossing ideas around but I’m particularly drawn to turn of the century novels.


What makes you feel alive?


I am energized by being around other people.


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


Book: The Stand by Stephen King. I’ve read it at least 30 times.

Person: My husband Dave. I hate to go anywhere without him!

Food: DeBrand mocha truffles


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.

Australia! I’ve dreamed of going there since I was a kid. I’ve always wanted to see its vast spaces and the Great Barrier Reef.



Favorite book setting and why?

Hawaii is magical place where I feel totally one with God. Maybe because it’s so gorgeous and serene.


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

I’d spend it making sure my family and friends know how much I love them. And I’d hold my baby granddaughter every minute!



Super power you'd love to borrow for awhile?

The ability to fly so I could zip out to see my daughter in Arizona once a week!



Societal pet peeve…sound off.

I can’t stand the whole political correctness thing. I live in a small town in the Midwest where we don’t hold to such nonsense. LOL I just recently learned the gal who brings my food isn’t a waitress but a food server, according to the politically correct. Hey, SHE calls herself a waitress in my small town. I mean, it’s just getting ridiculous!