Serials and Scenarios - Scoop - Rene Gutteridge - Part 1

Rene Gutteridge is adorable. I had the opportunity to sit in two of her classes at the conference I attended in Dallas in September. Not only does she share tons of helpful information, she's a giggle a minute.

I do have the distinction of being one of the only people ever kicked out of her comedy class...but that's another story. Okay. I didn't get kicked out. Michelle and I left BECAUSE Michelle got such a horrid case of the giggles we became a distraction. You know how you just can't take some people out in public. Michelle is NOT one of those, but I think I wore off on her as the weekend progressed. She was punchy when we entered the classroom, and she progressed to one heartbeat away from scream laughing over a flying mint. Go figure. Anyhow, I
missed Rene's great comedy workshop - I'll have to see if I can't tape Michelle to a wall next time Rene offers it.

Come back tomorrow for some great answers to questions I asked Rene.
For those of you keeping track...I have now penned/typed 25,000 words for NaNoWriMo. (the crowds go wild) Thanks.

Go check out Scoop: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400071577

And Rene: http://www.renegutteridge.com/splash.html

My Review:

Scoop is the first novel I've read by multi-published author Rene Gutteridge.

I will be reading more.

For starters, how can I not like a book containing a woman with a clown phobia? This is not a main plot point, but it's a hint at the quirkiness that weaves through the story of Hayden Hazard.

Told from several viewpoints, one of them a charming, hunky news reporter, this story gets behind the scenes of a news station.

The plot moves rapidly, and the characters are charming. A hint of chick-lit flair with moderate romance, it also contains a bit of suspenseful mystery, and is sprinkled throughout with humor.

I love Rene's series idea -- the Occupational Hazards. A family of clowns scrambling for different lives after the untimely and mysterious death of Mom and Dad Hazard leaves the bunch of near adults orphaned, and a big entertainment company requesting to purchase the famous Hazard clown empire.

Faith plays a huge part within the story. Hayden believes in public prayer even when her frazzled boss demands otherwise.

This is a fun read. However, if you are a homeschooler or have been homeschooled, and you don't find this a subject to take lightly and with humor, you could get offended.

Serials and Scenarios - Cubicle Next Door - Siri Mitchell - Day 3

Hey guys,

My e-mail and Blogger don't communicate very well. Hmmm. Don't know what that means. But I've been given a different link for The Cubicle Next Door, the one I gave you on Wednesday is not the correct one. Apparently the cyber monkies messed it up enroute. And well, with my limited knowledge of all things technical, those monkies don't have to work too hard to confuse me. Do cyber-monkies resemble flying monkies from the Wizard of Oz? Shudder. Do they eat cookies?

Anyway, this should take you there....

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0736917586


If you haven't been snooping around and checking out Cubicle I really need to wonder why.
Now get over there and check it out.

Oh, Happy Friday, and have a great weekend.

Serials and Scenarios - Oops - The Cubicle Next Door - Siri Mitchell

I gave you a wrong link to Amazon's link to The Cubicle Next Door. I'm sorry. Let's chalk it up to flakiness.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0736917586">The Cubicle Next Door

If you haven't been there yet, what are you waiting for? Go.

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.