Serials and Scenarios - Try Dying

Looking for more twisty fiction? Click on the book cover and check out James Scott Bell's latest. Visit him here. And keep reading for my review. He gave me great answers to the question dregs...come back Friday for those.

My Review:




James Scott Bell is a best-selling and sought after teaching author because he writes great stories.

Case in point -- Try Dying.

Grieving lawyer, Ty Buchanan, is hit with information about the recent death of his fiancee which twists the tragic, freak accident into something sinister.

Ty obsessively grabs hold of what may or may not be true and then systematically unravels his life with his desire to find out what really happened.

Not only is Try Dying suspenseful, twisted and well-written, Ty is a sarcastic character who is believable, compelling, and likable.

Love Bell? You know you want it. Love suspenseful page-turners or legal thrillers? You might want to look into James Scott Bell. If you are a Grisham fan and haven't discovered Bell yet, Try Dying would be a good starting point.

Serials and Scenarios ~ Try Darkness -- James Scott Bell

James Scott Bell visited the Dregs in November. Click here to read his entertaining interview and read my review of book one in the Tyler Buchanan series. (You'll need to scroll down after clicking.)

Visit Jim's website, and read the first two chapters of Try Darkness here.


My Review:

Try Darkness is one of the best legal thrillers I've read. Better, than Try Dying because Dying was melancholy and Ty's sarcastic bent was darker. In Try Darkness, Ty is more inclined to hope. He's still cynical but he's beyond the rough grief.

I love Ty and his quirky band of people. Sarcasm, bad guys, legal maneuvering and a hint of romance make this an entertaining read. The influence of those who love God and Ty's struggles with what he believes or doesn't believe make Try Darkness an honest and compelling yet inspirational read.

Murder, violence and evil are very present in the novel. Those who are very sensitive may struggle a bit. Legal thriller lovers, mystery lovers, folks who devour multi-dimensional characters and those looking for a great story will find much to like. Bell is a master. I am looking forward to what happens next in Ty's life. Based on where we left off in Try Darkness, it's going to be good.

Serials and Scenarios - James Scott Bell - Tolls...Uhhh Tells

If you love a dry sense of humor, and references to current culture, you are in for a treat. Keep reading and enjoy the fun answers to the Dreg questions. James Scott Bell -- loads of fun. Thanks, Jim!


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

Phillip Marlowe, Raymond Chandler's private detective. Yes, he got beat up and abused from time to time, but he always had the right thing to say at the right time.

That's why I wrote the lead in Try Dying the way I did. I sort of get to be him through the writing.


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

I'd ask William Shakespeare if he ever used an eraser. It was said that what he wrote didn't get changed, by him or anyone else. I suspect he had a lot of crumpled paper around, with lines like, "What light through yonder window shines, peeps, gets in my eyes…breaks."


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

Starbucks. Sip. Sit. Type. Repeat.

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

I'd change the dog in The Call of the Wild and make it a lawyer who gets kidnapped and sent to the Yukon to pull a sled.


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

What's periwinkle?

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

From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away. – Raymond Chandler, The High Window


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.

Poetry. Remember Rod McKuen? I could write that in about ten minutes and sell a million copies. Now that's what I call a good return on an investment!


What period of history intrigues you the most?

1920's America. I wrote a novel called Glimpses of Paradise that takes place in Hollywood at the height of the silent movie era. It's a fascinating period when the country was trying to figure out who we were.


What makes you feel alive?

Morning.


How does something worm its way into your heart? Through tears, truth, humor or other?

I'm a truth guy. I love the idea that some things are actually true and others are not and that our God given noodles can help us figure out which is which.

But then I like humor, too. Like Steven Wright, who once said he went into a restaurant that said it served breakfast, any time. So he ordered French Toast during the Renaissance.


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

I'd bring a Dickens, cool jazz, my wife and several cans of Trader Joe's Rosencrunch & Guildenpop clusters.


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.

Scotland, where my ancestors are from. I'd like to dress in a kilt and eat haggis and fight some English king.

Favorite book setting and why?

Los Angeles. My writer friends who are smarter set their books in Hawaii or Europe. They get nice tax write-offs for research. Me, I stick around the city I was born and raised in. I actually love my town.


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

I admit it, I do like it when people say "I couldn't put it down!" It means I'm doing job #1 as a novelist, which is to keep the readers flipping pages. If I don't do that, nothing else gets done, does it?


What criticism has cut the deepest and why?

I've always believed what one writer said, that criticism of your work is not personal, unless it's accompanied by a punch in the nose. I've only had one unfair review in my career, and it reflected much worse on the reviewer and publication. Also, the book was a bestseller.

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

Type faster.

(A line I lift, unapologetically, from Isaac Asimov)

What is your favorite word?

Justice.

What phrase annoys you more than any other?

"I could care less," which of course means the precise opposite of what the speaker intends.


Superhero you most admire and why?


Hercules. I used to love the Steve Reeves Hercules movies. The guy was so cool and ripped. I always wanted to be able to lift a boulder and throw it on a ship.

Favorite chore

Making my wife coffee in the morning.


Anything you’d do but don’t because of fear of pain?

Fighting Chuck Norris.

Societal pet peeve…sound off.

Phone ear pieces. It gives people the illusion they are the sun and everything and everyone else orbits around them.


CREATIVE CORNER:


Pick a Genre - Describe a kiss….

Suspense

He bent down. His lips got close to hers. Closer. A shot rang out. She didn't hear it. Closer, closer…

Thriller

She pulled a gun and pointed it at him. "Kiss me or die."

Romance

It was a soft torrent, a Tsunami of lips and moonbeams, of oceans and desire, of Fabio dreams and pirate fantasies. In other words, a pretty good kiss.

Chick-Lit

He kissed me. I guess. If you could call that flapping yapper of his a kisser. He actually talked while he kissed! I decided then and there never to date a ventriloquist again. I was the dummy!

Literary

She stood there, amazed, rooted, seeing the grain of the wood of the barn clapboards, paint jawed away by sleet and driven sand, the unconcerned swallows darting and reappearing with insects clasped in their beaks looking like mustaches, the wind-ripped sky, the blank windows of the house, the old glass casting blue swirled reflections at her, his lips edging, even, in the first moment, feeling the wet press of his mouth against hers and hearing the bright sound of blood spurting.

(With apologies to Annie Proulx)


Sci-Fi/Fantasy

In his onyx-walled room in the occupation tower, Hulann -- a naoili -- disassociated his overmind from his organic regulating brain and allowed Paoo to contact his oral regulators.

(With apologies to early Dean Koontz)


Happy weekend one and all!

Scribble and Scrambles - Is Time Flying or is it Just Me?

November 11th.

Wasn't it just August?

Before I begin blabbing and blathering about time, let me throw out a "Thank You!" to all of America's armed service members past and present.

I am not ignorant of the "gift" of time won by you and your sacrifices.

Thank you.


Now, back to my blather.

Thanksgiving is breathing down our necks, and when that happens Christmas is just around the corner. Part of me delights in the family and togetherness of these holidays. But part of me never "feels" ready.

Now that the stores cleaned out Halloween on the first of November and replaced it with Christmas I feel rushed.

We even saw a Salvation Army bell ringer the other day. Wow.

I can hear the tick-tick-tick of the stopwatch (or the ring, ring, ring of the bell).

So much to do and times a wasting.

Help me out here. Share a memory of your most laid back and relaxing holiday ever.

I'll see what I can come up with.

This week is full of book reviews and interviews. So fiction lovers, make sure you check in every day. James Scott Bell gave me some superb responses. If you are a fan, you must come back on Friday for his interview. Lisa Samson and Tamera Leigh were loads of fun to "talk" to also.

And I'll share a holiday memory sometime this week.

Scribbles and Scrambles - More Pet Poetry

Why oh why is your tongue in my ear?

At two a.m.?

Why do you need me

When I'm walking down the stairs?

If I call you, you stare

As if I am mute.

Then you turn your back.

But while I sleep, or read

or eat. Or work or try to walk through a room

you bat or purr or meow or pose.

A better name for a cat -- a not? Or a won't?

Feral gave me some three a.m inspiration. I've changed times in the poem -- poetic license and all that.

Is Kim the only one with good holiday memories? I expect a few more. I'm working on mine. It will involve music perchance.

And tomorrow...James Scott Bell - you really won't want to miss his answers...

My Best of 2008 List.....

The list author says:

"I scaled back on reading this year and still managed to read and review 94 books. I also watched 42 movies (six were so bad I couldn't write a positive review).

Several categories of books, two for films:

None-Fiction that Enriched My Life or Greatly Entertained Me.
Movies that Twisted my Brain.
Movies I Loved.
New Authors (to Me) I'm Going to Stalk.
New Authors I Recommend.
Books That Made Me Think.
Not Your Mama's Christian Fiction
Downright Fun
Tried and Still True Authors"

1. Hancock (Single-Disc Rated Edition) DVD ~ Will Smith The list author says: "Charming story. Lots of fun. One of my top guilty, just-for-fun '08 movie favorites."

2. Iron Man (Single-Disc Edition) DVD ~ Robert Downey Jr. The list author says: "Gotta love a sarcastic anti-hero. One of my top '08 movie picks."

3. Fireproof DVD ~ Kirk Cameron The list author says: "A touch of cheesy, but overall impressive. There are way worse movies to invest your time in. This one could really make you stop and think. A favorite 2008 brain-twist movie."

4. Lars and the Real Girl DVD ~ Patricia Clarkson The list author says: "This may be the sweetest movie I've ever seen. Bizarre and touching. Loved it. Top movie of '08 pick."

5. Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed DVD ~ Ben Stein The list author says: "Want your undies in a bunch? Look no further. Possibly the most controversial movie I've ever seen. One of my favorite Mind-Twister films of 2008."

6. Sicko (Special Edition) DVD ~ Michael Moore The list author says: "Not a new release, but it was a fascinating watch none-the-less. One of my favorite Mind-Twister films of 2008."

7. The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals by Missy Chase Lapine The list author says: "Great ideas when you want to make some positive changes. One of my best Non-Fiction that Enriched My Life picks."

8. Only Nuns Change Habits Overnight: Fifty-Two Amazing Ways to Master the Art of Personal Change by Karen Scalf Linamen The list author says: "Funny advice that covers all sorts of life changes you might want to make. One of my best Non-Fiction that Enriched My Life picks."

9. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Handwriting Analysis, 2nd Edition by Sheila Lowe The list author says: "Not a new release, but fascinating. One of my best Non-Fiction that Enriched My Life picks."

10. Eat This, Not That! Thousands of Simple Food Swaps that Can Save You 10, 20, 30 Pounds--or More! by David Zinczenko The list author says: "This will mess with you. Really eye-opening. One of my best Non-Fiction that Enriched My Life picks."

11. Try Darkness (Ty Buchanan Series, Book 2) by James Scott Bell The list author says: "Bell just keeps getting better. Loved this. Better than book one. Fun, sweet, twisty. Solidly in Tried and Still True Authors category."

12. Wind River by Tom, Morrisey The list author says: "Nobody writes an outdoor adventure like Tom Morrisey. Tight and beautiful with tension that makes a story twang. Tried and Still True Author of '08. Looking forward to any '09 release."

13. Par for the Course: A Novel (Faith Words) by Ray Blackston The list author says: "Ray cracks me up. Quirky. I don't even like golf. But I loved Par. He's a Tried and Still True Author and Par lands in the Downright Fun category as well."

14. Havah: The Story of Eve by Tosca Lee The list author says: "Tried and True Author. It takes tremendous talent to write tales told by a demon and the mother of all humanity. Powerful books by a very gifted author. Havah also landed in the Books That Made Me Think long after I put it down and Not Your Mama's Christian Fiction categories."

15. The Shape of Mercy: A Novel by Susan Meissner The list author says: "Susan Meissner writes tales that transport. I recommend everything she's written. A Tried and Still True Author."

16. Symphony of Secrets: A Novel by Sharon, Hinck The list author says: "Sharon Hinck has a very distinctive and pleasant voice. She is solidly Tried and Still True."

17. Gallimore by Michelle Griep The list author says: "A solid, engaging and fabulous debut novel. Minnesota has given us some great writers, Griep is not an exception. I can't wait to see where she goes from here. A New Author I Recommend."

18. Fallen: A Novel by Matthew Raley The list author says: "Not only is Raley a New Author I Recommend, he's written a Book That Made Me Think...long after I finished. A very twisted story about church politics and humanity within the sacred realm."

19. Road to Nowhere by Paul, Robertson The list author says: "I can't believe I love a book about a road. But I do. The story still hovers months after I finished it. A Twelve Angry Men kind of story that is haunted with prejudice, selfishness and greed."

20. My Visit to Hell by Paul Thigpen The list author says: "Not amazing writing but the story is spooky and haunting. A Book That Made Me Think -- and still does."

21. My Name Is Russell Fink by Michael Snyder The list author says: "A book that charmed me from page one. And one that not only is Downright Fun...it also Made Me Think."

22. He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not: A Memoir of Finding Faith, Hope, and Happily Ever After by Trish Ryan The list author says: "A Memoir that entertained and challenged me. A Book That Made Me Think and was Downright Fun in the process."

23. Wounded: A Love Story by Claudia Mair Burney The list author says: "Claudia Mair Burney is an author who is Tried and Still True, writes books That Make Me Think and writes Not Your Mama's Christian Fiction. If you haven't read Christian Fiction in awhile and you always thought it was pablum. Pick up a Ms. Burney title. Dare ya."

24. Zora and Nicky: A Novel in Black and White by Claudia Mair Burney The list author says: "Another Claudia Mair Burney turn you upside-down and shake-you novel. Everything I said about Wounded...ditto."

25. Embrace Me by Lisa Samson The list author says: "Lisa Samson has proven once again to be Tried and True. She's authored a Book That Made Me Think, and she writes Not Your Mama's Christian Fiction. Powerful book. Not pretty, but beautiful."

26. An August Adams Adventure: House of Wolves by Matt Bronleewe The list author says: "Crazy story. So much fun. Downright Fun."

27. Less than Dead (Bug Man Series #4) by Tim Downs The list author says: "I am going to Stalk Tim Downs. Not in a creepy way, but as in "How have I missed this guy?" I loved the Bug Man. Downright Fun in a creepy, fascinating forensic snark-fest. Sarcasm, humor, yuck. My kind of book."

28. It's Not About Me (Second Glances Series #1) by Michelle Sutton The list author says: "Michelle Sutton has written a gritty, real, "oh my" book that is full of hope and honesty."

29. The Death and Life of Gabriel Phillips: A Novel (Faithwords) by Stephen Baldwin The list author says: "Not Your Mama's Christian Fiction for sure."

30. The Rook (The Patrick Bowers Files, Book 2) by Steven, James The list author says: "Another New to Me Author I'm Going to Stalk. Great suspense, great story, great characters. Glad I stumbled across him."

31. Crazy Fool Kills Five: A Fifi Cutter Mystery by Gwen Freeman The list author says: "New Author (to Me) I'm Going to Stalk. Or at least watch for new reads by Gwen Freeman. Chick-lit with a baseball bat upside the head."