Serials and Scenarios - Siri Speaks! The Cubicle Next Door - Part 2

Because I want to get to know the authors I read I ask them sometimes bizarre and sometimes deep questions.

Siri Mitchell played along and below are the things I needed to know and the stuff you probably never realized you needed to know, too.

If you missed the review of Cubicle and her website/Amazon links scroll down to yesterday's post.

Thanks, Siri.


A man and woman sit at a table in an upscale restaurant. They each have a cell phone to their ear. What are you overhearing? Tell me about this couple…..
Well, they’ve got to be Americans, because the French have better sense. If they’re in a restaurant, they’re there to eat. And the Japanese have better manners. These people are totally annoying! I don’t care what I hear. Be in the moment, people! If it’s that important, go back to work. Or break up and find another boyfriend/girlfriend because they’re just not that into you.

What makes you feel most alive?
Fall. I love the colors of autumn leaves and the crisp air. One of my favorite poems is James Whitcomb Riley’s When the Frost is on the Punkin: http://www.bartleby.com/104/10.html
It pretty much says it all. I used to be able to recite it, but it’s been awhile…


Book, music, person, food you would take with you on a very long trip.
I’d take Claudia Mair Burney in the process of writing another book so that I could read over her shoulder as she typed. It’s fall, so I’m into Harmonia Mundi’s popular French dances of the 16th century. Those medieval/renaissance flutes, pipes, and drums are the soundtrack of the season for me. As for food? As many pints of Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food as I could fit into a climate-controlled suitcase.


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.
Paris. I can hear my thoughts in Paris and I’ve been inspired to more than one book when I’ve been there…three and counting…


Which compliment related to your writing has meant the most and why?
I’ve had several readers comment that my words have made them think about their faith. If my words can inspire someone to think about their faith, then I feel like I’ve done my work. As Christians, most of the time we’re not taught to think, we’re taught to listen and then regurgitate. The problem with knowing ‘what’ without knowing ‘why’ is that faith grows no roots. The person who thinks about their faith and why they believe what they do is the person who owns their faith.


What criticism has cut the deepest and why?
I actually like criticism because it helps me build better books. I have several readers that write me each time they’ve read one of my books and tell me what they didn’t like. I look forward to receiving their e-mails because they don’t attack me personally and they’ve spent a lot of time thinking not only about what they didn’t like but why they didn’t like it. I’ve learned valuable things from them about writing. I try to make every book better than the last and I learn with every book I write.

Serials and Scenarios - The Cubicle Next Door - Part 1

Siri Mitchell is our focus today and tomorrow. I've added her to my list of favorites after reading:

http://www.amazon.com/Cubicle-Next-Door-Siri-Mitchell/dp/0736917586/sr=8-1/qid=1163005935/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-0410431-8174351?ie=UTF8&s=books

My Review: The Cubicle Next Door

Strong-shelled activist -- jello-jiggler filled heroine meets her worst nightmare.

An office mate opens a door on the deepest dream Jackie owns, one she didn't even know she had.

Possibly the sweetest book I've read all year. A Cinderella scene involving little old ladies is laugh out loud til a tear comes to your eyes funny. A visit to the theatre is heart thumpingly tender.

If you like sweet, fun, flirty coupled with deep characterization and creative writing - you couldn't ask for anything more.

Those who prefer solid, structured genre formulas, or strict adherence to grammar and punctuation rules may feel frustrated. If you detest chick-lit style you may not be able to appreciate the charm of this great read.

I will grab a copy of "Kissing Adrian" because if it's anything like "Cubicle" I don't want to miss it.

Come back tomorrow for a peek into the inner workings of her mind. If you can't wait, here's her website:
http://www.sirimitchell.com/

Scribbles and Scrambles - Random Celebrations

I’m going to be random this month. Remember NaNoWriMo?

Number of words update…(drum roll, please) I have 11, 064 words out of 50,000 done.
This is a cause for celebration for me, myself and I. You can join me if you’d like. Okay. One, two, three… “Whoo-hoo!”

Another cause for celebration…baby tree-frog turns one today. Yay – Baby Jack. Happy Birthday. I went to his shindig on Saturday. He is technically walking, but the sticky pads on his tree-frog toes are giving him trouble.

So, clever little boy that he is, he’s taken to using toys as makeshift walkers. Jet-propelled walkers. The little bugger flies.

He had Nanny and company running away just to save toes and any other appendages that might be in the road. The cat and dog population scatters when they hear the pitter-patter rumble of an upcoming Jack attack.

Tomorrow and Thursday come back for a fun interview and book review.

Now, I need to get back to writing.

Scribbles and Scrambles - Ironed Out

I wrote this a few days ago. I felt it wouldn't be appropriate to post today because
a) I didn't actually iron today.
b) The dryer has been replaced with a lovely used model that works.

But after last night - when the switch on the "new" dryer failed to fire... well, what do they say? "All's fair in laundry and war."

There's a blog post in the dryer failure. I'm sure I overtaxed it, but there seems to be a theme. A couple weeks ago my starter on my car died, last night, and (spooky music) the first deceased dryer had an ignition issue, too. I'll have to think this over.

My first day NaNoWriMo-ing netted 2,065 words. Yay. I'm a blip on the map.


I ironed today.

This is because the dryer has decided to take a little time off.

I’m not an ironer. I hate to admit this to the entire world, but I’m so opposed to ironing that I practice creative drying.

When the drier works this is easy. I half dry items and then drape them just so. I’ve even been known to rewet something and smooth it out by hand.

When the dryer is on hiatus, this doesn’t work so well, and I get to break out the iron.

The shirt I wanted to wear this morning reclined at the bottom of a pile of “can be worn one more time before washing” garments. A spritz of perfume freshened it, but the wrinkles had become one with the fabric.

As I ironed, I realized I don’t quite hate it as much as I thought. Strange. But in light of the piles of dirty clothes waiting for a miracle dryer fix, the pile of “one more time” garments, and the ones that have been draped to air dry, it was freeing to actually iron something and have it look so nice.

Kind of like I smoothed some of the wrinkles out of my life.

But then I pinched my finger while putting away the board and tripped over the pile of dirties and lost all those nice thoughts.

Scribbles and Scrambles - Music to My Ears.

In honor of the upcoming fall holidays my van has developed a new style of vocalization.

Nothing serious I hope. I believe there is a piece of paper or fabric caught in my blower fan.

At random times, a shriek that could wake the dead sounds from the passenger side of the vehicle. Creepy by day and hair-raisingly eerie by night.

I’m glad I don’t believe in the possibility of zombies.

If there was such a thing, it would sound just like my van.

Other random trips around town find the fan clucking and gobbling like a turkey.

Both scintillating stylings add another element of fun while on the road.

Heavy metal music, for me, births homicidal thoughts. Trust me when I say that screaming zombies or turkey crescendos do the same when I encounter an illegal left hand turner or tailgater.

I suppose I should offer my van to Hollywood in case they need some really great turkey and/or zombie noises.

So here goes. If any of you are looking for some realistic, yet fresh and new, zombie or turkey voices, let me know. For a small fee, you too could enjoy authentic sounds for the fall holidays.

Suppose I could get the van to backfire “Ho,Ho,Ho?”

Scribbles and Scrambles - The Visitor

Thanks for all your excellent name ideas. I will percolate these over and over in my brain until I just randomly choose one. Though a couple of you suggested Kelly as a great character name…I agree…though I’m afraid in my caffeine induced catatonic moments while producing word after word to meet a self-imposed deadline – the use of the name Kelly in my manuscript could cause severe confusion resulting in brain damage. (don’t say it) Can you believe that the previous sentence did not receive a grammar tag from Word? Wow.

When I begin to post snippets of my story…you’ll see what name I decide to choose. Or I may ramble in a moment of angst…and beg for more ideas. Who knows. Maybe I’ll even change my quirky coffee loving character into a man. Fortunately NaNoWriMo doesn’t require good writing, just words.

Because Halloween is tomorrow…I have a gruesome, little snippet to share…I can’t resist.

This disgusting and revolting gift idea is brought to you by my cat. Her given name is Blackie, but I’m going to have it legally changed to Hannibal.

Don’t read this if you are eating.

Trust me.

Hannibal delivered a gift bright and early Saturday morning. This particular cat burns the candle at both ends (once, actually, she did singe her tail on a candle but that’s not what I mean). I mean she lives two active lives, one indoors, and one out.

One day last year, my husband, Rob opened the front door and let her in. She meowed. The meow, unusual in it’s muffled and passion concerned us. I said “sounds like she’s got something in her mouth.” At which point she opened said mouth and a live mouse scurried under the cabinet.

Yes. Our cat is a wonderful huntress. Apparently she wanted to add a little excitement to her normal boring inside life. A little exercise perchance? A comment on the food we serve? Who knows.

Back to Saturday. I open the door, extend my toe to step onto the porch and recoil.

Staring at me is a mouse face. Not a mouse, just its face. Silence of the Lambs style. This is a movie I cannot ever see. A friend told me all about it and I had nightmares. So imagine how I felt when a part of it landed on my porch. (Pun intended of course)

Off to the lower left of the face lay the mouse behind, complete with tail and one foot.

Twelve inches away is another foot and some truly unmentionable items.

I’ve been sharing this story since Saturday. Rob corrects me each time I do. “It’s not the mouse face, it’s the whole mouse head.” I suppose that’s the hunter in him.

When spying the mouse staring at me with its sightless eyes I didn’t even have the urge to bend closer to see if its face was still attached to the head. My bad.

Here’s hoping your cat doesn’t love you enough to bring you gifts, doggie bags, or new toys.

Scribbles and Scrambles - Beware the Ides of November

Insanity is my middle name. Okay, it’s actually Sue, but for the purpose of illustration today, it’s Insanity.

It has a nice ring, I think. But we’ve already established I’m insane.

Not only have I taken on two classes to teach on top of the other November happenings, I have decided to do NaNoWriMo again.

Last year I finished well, won a certificate of completion which I framed in a nice, red 8x10.

NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. In the month of November many foolish and/or driven people set out to conquer a novel.

My posts on Scrambled Dregs will no doubt take an interesting slant as I reel from the sheer number of words and hours spent typing them.

I’d like to ask you, my dear readers, to throw out a name worthy of my heroine.

She’s in her twenties, quirky, loves kids and coffee. Give it a shot. If I choose your suggestion I will award you with an autographed copy should any ever see the light of day.

If anything good flows from my fingers onto the screen, I may share a few scenes with you. Why not, it seems like something an insane person might do.