Books in the House - 27 Sep 2011

From Recorded Books (www.recordedbooks.com) using my Buy It For $12 coupon:
KINDNESS GOES UNPUNISHED: Walt Longmire Mystery - Craig Johnson, suspense, narr George Guidall, BOCD

From author via Dru's Book Musings (http://notesfromme.wordpress.com/):
A DEAD RED CADILLAC - R P Dahlke, cozy, TPB, signed

From John Connolly book signing thanks to High Crimes Mystery Bookshop(http://www.highcrimesbooks.com/) and Oriental and Navajo Rug Gallery(http://www.orientalandnavajorugs.com)
EVERY DEAD THING: Charlie Parker #1
THE GATES
BAD MEN
THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS
Prezzies from John Connolly:
~CD of Love and Whispers: A Soundtrack to the Novels of John Connolly Vol 3
~signed bumper stickers
~buttons for Lady K

B&N bender:
~CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER - Tom Franklin, suspense, TPB
~BLOOD PROPHECY - Stefan Petrucha, supernatural, MPB
~TO BE QUEEN: A Novel of the Early Life of Eleanor of Acquitaine - Christy English, historical fiction, TPB (thanks to a review by Mary http://bookfanmary.wordpress.com/)
~MAMA GETS HITCHED: Mace Bauer #3 - Deborah Sharp, funny Southern mystery, TPB
~FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT - Darynda Jones, UF, TPB
~ENTHRALLED: Anthology of Paranormal Diversions - anthology, TPB

Lady K-ism of the Day

Lady K-ism of the day: Running into the house, hollering, "Where's Daddy's manly Band-Aids? Daniel's got himself a scrape and a Tinkerbell Band-Aid isn't gonna get it."

Blooms on Sunday - 25 Sep 2011

First rogue pumpkin from the garden on display...it's officially fall

A bug more than a bloom....
First rogue canteloupe from the garden...smelled like strawberries

Darn tasty, too Fixin's for next year's rogue crop....

Guilty Pleasure Flick Saturday - Men In Black

It's Saturday and it's time for another of my Guilty Pleasure Flicks. This week it's Men In Black with the tagline: "Men in Black - Protecting the Earth from the scum of the Universe". We are getting free Cinemax this weekend and this was on. It kept me happily occupied until 'Haven' came on.
Will Smith is street wise/smartass Agent Jay, Tommy Lee Jones is crusty Agent Kay, Rip Torn is Zed, Linda Fiorentino is Dr Laurel Weaver the morgue doc, and the inimitable Vincent D'Onofrio is Edgar/bug alien....I love watching D'Onofrio work. There's also the almost unrecognizable Tony Shalhoub as Jeebs the pawn shop owner/ alien.

Some of my favorite quotes:

Edgar: I go out, I work my butt off to make a living, all I want is to come home to a nice clean house with a nice fat steak on the table, but instead I get this. It looks like poison. Don't you take that away, I'm eating that, damn it! It IS poison, isn't it? I swear to God I would not be surprised if it was, the way you skulk around here like a dog that's been hit too much or ain't been hit enough, I can't make up my mind. You're useless, Beatrice. The only thing that pulls its weight around here is my goddamn truck!
[Just then, a flying saucer smashes his truck, and Edgar comes out of the house to look at the damage]
Edgar: Figures.
************************
Zed: We're not hosting an intergalactic kegger down here.
***********************
[to candidates rejected as MIB agents]
Zed: Gentlemen, congratulations. You're everything we've come to expect from years of government training. Now please step this way, as we provide you with our final test: an eye exam...
[a series of flashes occur]
*************************
Kay: All right, Beatrice, there was no alien. The flash of light you saw in the sky was not a UFO. Swamp gas from a weather balloon was trapped in a thermal pocket and reflected the light from Venus.
Jay: Wait a minute. You just flash that thing, it erases her memory, and you just make up a new one?
Kay: A standard issue neuralyzer.
Jay: And that weak-ass story's the best you can come up with?
Kay: On a more personal note Beatrice, Edgar ran off with an old girlfriend. You're gonna go stay with your mom a couple nights. You're gonna get over it and decide you're better off. Jay: Well, yeah, you know, 'cause 'cause he never appreciated you anyway. In fact, you know what - you kicked HIM out! And now that he's gone you're gonna go into town, you go to Bloomingdale's and find some nice dresses, get yourself some shoes, you know, find somewhere, maybe you can get a facial. And, uh, oh - hire a decorator to come in here quick, 'cause... DAMN.
****************************
Zed: You'll dress only in attire specially sanctioned by MiB special services. You'll conform to the identity we give you, eat where we tell you, live where we tell you. From now on you'll have no identifying marks of any kind. You'll not stand out in any way. Your entire image is crafted to leave no lasting memory with anyone you encounter. You're a rumor, recognizable only as deja vu and dismissed just as quickly. You don't exist; you were never even born. Anonymity is your name. Silence your native tongue. You're no longer part of the System. You're above the System. Over it. Beyond it. We're "them." We're "they." We are the Men in Black.
****************************
Jay: Zed, don't you guys ever get any sleep around here?
Zed: The twins keep us on Centaurian time, standard thirty-seven hour day. Give it a few months. You'll get used to it... or you'll have a psychotic episode.
*********************
Jay: Did you ever flashy-thing me?
Kay: No.
Jay: I ain't playing with you, K. Did you ever flashy-thing me?
Kay: No.
***************************
Jay: [suited up] You know the difference between you and me? I make this look GOOD.
**********************
Beatrice: You here to make fun of me too?
Kay: No, ma'am. We at the FBI do not have a sense of humor we're aware of. May we come in?
Beatrice: Sure.
*********************
Kay: Not bad for your second day of work, is it?
Jay: This definitely rates about a 9.0 on my weird-shit-o-meter.
Kay: You should've been here for the Zeronian migration in 1968.
*********************
Kay: You sold a reverberating carbonizer with mutate capacity to an unlicensed cephalopoid, Jeebs, you piece of shit...
Jeebs: He looked all right to me.
***************************
Kay: [looking skywards] They're beautiful, aren't they?
Jay: What?
Kay: The stars.
Jay: K, you're frightening your partner...
Kay: I haven't been looking for a partner. I've been looking for a replacement.
Jay: K, I can NOT do this by myself, all right?
Dr. Weaver: Hey, guys, can you drop me off home? My apartment isn't in this area...
Kay: I've just been down the gullet of an interstellar cockroach. That's one of a hundred memories I don't want.
**************************
Jay: Unlimited technology from the whole universe, and we cruise 'round in a Ford P.O.S.
******************
Jay: All right, I'm in. 'Cause there's some next level shit going on and I'm OK with that. But before y'all go beaming me up there's one thing you gotta remember: You chose me... so you recognized the skills, so I don't want nobody calling me son or kid or sport or nothing like that, cool?
Kay: Cool, whatever you say, slick, but I need to tell you something about all your skills. As of right now, they mean precisely... dick.
***********************
[Jay and Kay meet a strange-looking man holding a dog on a leash]
Jay: Now that's the worst disguise ever. That guy's gotta be an alien.
Frank the Pug: You don't like it, you can kiss my furry little butt!
***********************
Kay: I don't suppose you know what kind of alien life form leaves a green spectral trail and craves sugar water, do you?
Jay: Uh, wait, that was on "Final Jeopardy!" last night. Damn, Alex said...
Kay: [opening his cell phone] Zed, we have a bug.
************************
[In a shooting range, confronted with numerous menacing-looking targets, Edwards shoots a cardboard little girl]
Zed: May I ask why you felt little Tiffany deserved to die?
James Edwards/
Agent Jay: Well, she was the only one that actually seemed dangerous at the time, sir. Zed: How'd you come to that conclusion?
James Edwards/Agent Jay: Well, first I was gonna pop this guy hanging from the street light, and I realized, y'know, he's just working out. I mean, how would I feel if somebody come runnin' in the gym and bust me in my ass while I'm on the treadmill? Then I saw this snarling beast guy, and I noticed he had a tissue in his hand, and I'm realizing, y'know, he's not snarling, he's sneezing. Y'know, ain't no real threat there. Then I saw little Tiffany. I'm thinking, y'know, eight-year-old white girl, middle of the ghetto, bunch of monsters, this time of night with quantum physics books? She about to start some shit, Zed. She's about eight years old, those books are WAY too advanced for her. If you ask me, I'd say she's up to something. And to be honest, I'd appreciate it if you eased up off my back about it. [pause] Or do I owe her an apology? [pause] That's a good shot though...

BLOOD PRICE - Tanya Huff

From the back of the book: Night Stalker....It began with blood and death amid the streets of late-night Toronto. Vicki Nelson, formerly of Toronto's homicide detail, now a private investigator, witnessed the first attack by the force of dark magic that would soon werak its reign of terror on the unsuspecting city. And as death followed unspeakable death, Vicki became more and more deeply enmeshed in an investigation which would see her renewing her stormy relationship with her former police partner, Mike Celucci, even as she teamed up with writer Henry Fitzroy in a desperate attempt to track down the source of the seemingly unstoppable attacks. For Fitzroy, the illegitimate son of Henry VIII, had knowledge of realms beyond the mortal acquired over the centuries during which he'd mastered his own insatiable need---the life-from-death cravings of a vampire.

Henry Fitzroy had long since learned to survive without killing, learned the skills needed to blend in with the human race. But unless he, Vicki, and Mike cold find the key to conquering the magic-raised menace stalking the streets of Toronto, Fitzroy's true identity might soon be exposed and his life might prove forfeit to the uncontrollable fears of humankind. And without Henry Fitzroy, mere mortals like Vicki and Mike would not long survive against the ancient force of chaos that had been loosed on their world.....

*************************************

Another of those books that sat in the closet section of Mt Git'r'Read for some time and not sure why it took me so long to exhume it. It was excellent and a fast read.

Vicki Nelson is off of the police force due to health issues, but still can and will investigate where she can. And after seeing the remains of an attack victim, she knows she has to find out who would do this. She finds out it's more a 'what' instead of 'who' and delves into the world of supernatural.

I always like seeing how an author is going to work with the vampire legend. Henry Fitzroy has been around for a long while since he's the illegitimate son of Henry VIII and was turned as a young man. He's seen enough in his unlife and keeps to himself, writing historic romance bodice rippers for a living. The life of a writer lets him sleep all day and write all night.

Then Vicki Nelson and the murders enter his life.

I look forward to finding the rest of this series and anything else Tanya Huffhttp://andpuff.livejournal.com/ writes http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/tanya-huff/

Five blood and vampires in Toronto beans....

AFTER HOURS: Tales from the Ur-Bar - Anthology

From the back of the book: Benjamin Tate, S C Butler, Jennifer Dunne, Barbara Ashford, Maria V Snyder, Kari Sperring, D B Jackson, Patricia Bray, Seanan McGuire, Juliet E McKenna, Laura Anne Gilman, Ian Tregillis, Avery Shade, Jackie Kessler, Anton Strout

The first bar, created by the Sumerians after they were given the gift of beer by the gods, was known as the Ur-Bar. Although it has since been destroyed, its spirit lives on. In each age there is one bar that captures the essence of the original Ur-Bar, where drinks are mixed with magic and served with a side of destiny and intrigue.

Science fiction and fantasy readers have long shown an affinity for a good "bar story". From TALES FROM GAVAGAN'S BAR and TALES FROM THE WHITE HART to the CALLAHAN'S CROSSTIME SALOON stories, bars and imaginative accounts just seem to go together.

Now some of today's most inventive scriveners have decided to belly up to the Ur-Bar and tell their own tall tales---from an alewife's attempt to transfer the gods' curse to Gilgamesh, to Odin's decision to introduce Vikings to the Ur-Bar...from the Holy Roman Emperor's barroom bargain, to a demon hunter who may just have met his match in the ultimate magic bar, to a bouncer who discovers you should never let anyone in after hurs in a world terrorized by zombies.....

**************************

I rarely have luck with anthologies. I think that's the norm for a lot of people based on reviews I've read here and there.

That said, I saw a review for this particular anthology. Can't remember who was so in favor of it, but it was a 'trusted agent' and I put it on the WWBL. Then B&N must have been having a heckuva sale and it was put in the shopping cart and on Mt Git'r'Read.

I think it only languished for a bit before I was in the mood for this type of read.

And what a swell decision! Every single story is amazing and well-written, completely different premise from the rest with only the Ur-Bar as the single theme tying everything together.

The book seems to move in a forward pattern from the past to the future and the sort of nil.

Anything more is a rehash of the 'Back of the Book', so will stop here. I really liked this book, glad that not all anthologies are pewp and happy to 'meet' some new authors to add to the WWBL.

Five belly up to the Ur-Bar beans....

Last Night's John Connolly Book Signing Event

Lady K and I had a lot of fun last night at the book signing for John Connolly http://www.johnconnollybooks.com/, author of the Charlie Parker series as well as several other excellent thrillers http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/c/john-connolly/. I came loaded with two books from Mt Git'r'Read and bought more (of course) from Cynthia's stacks that she brought from her shop, High Crimes Mystery Bookshop http://www.highcrimesbooks.com/ . John was a sweetie and didn't have any kind of limit on how many books he'd sign or how long he'd visit. Good thing, too, since Lady K was pitching story ideas and enjoying chatting with the nice "He really doesn't sound Irish" guy.

We were treated to an hour of John chatting about his writing, his new book, he read from notes for his new book, stories from real life that are stranger than fiction. All in that lovely Irish accent...like I said, he could have read from the phone book and I'd have been fine. But the evening was so much better.

John Connolly is Visiting High Crimes Mystery Bookshop Tonight

Going to see John Connolly (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/c/john-connolly/) this evening at Oriental and Navajo Rug Gallery in Longmont CO tonight at 7pm. This is where Cynthia, owner of High Crimes Mystery Bookshop (http://www.highcrimesbooks.com/ ) has her author visits since she's no longer a brick and mortar shop, but still as available as can be for your book buying needs.

Hope to see you there!

Books in the House Monday - 19 Sep 2011

From High Crimes Mystery Bookshop (http://www.highcrimesbooks.com/)
Author Book signing event:
DEATH ALONG THE SPIRIT ROAD - C M Wendleboe, suspense, TPB, signed

High Crimes Mystery Bookshop book order:
THE RESTORER: The Graveyard Queen Book One - Amanda Stevens, Southern Gothic suspense, TPB

MURDER ON THE ROCKS: A Gray Whale Inn Mystery #1 - Karen MacInerney, amateur sleuth, TPB

HOWLING AT THE MOON: Tales of an Urban Werewolf #1 - Karen MacInerney, UF, MPB

PULSE: A Chess Team Adventure - Jeremy Robinson, thriller, MPB

HEXES AND HEMLINES: A Witchcraft Mystery #3 - Juliet Blackwell, paranormal mystery, MPB

BUTTON HOLED: Button Box Mystery #1 - Kylie Logan, cozy, MPB

B&N (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/)
THE HOUR OF DUST AND ASHES: Charlie Madigan #3 - Kelly Gay, UF, MPB

THE DEMON TRAPPER'S DAUGHTER - Jana Oliver, YA UF, TPB

From author Devon Monk (http://www.devonmonk.com/):

DEAD IRON magnet

Sampler from ROC & Ace featuring Devon Monk, Jean Johnson, Rachel Caine, Mark Lawrence, Christine Cody, M J Scott, Linda Poitevin, Stefan Petrucha

Library Thing (http://www.librarything.com) (and apparently it's Talk Like a Pirate Day over there, check it out...arrrrr)

THOSE ACROSS THE RIVER - Christopher Buehlman, thriller, ARC win for August

Blooms on Sunday - 18 Sep 2011

DH figured a way to get this gorgeous blue salvia to stand up proud and now it can show how it's blooming like crazy. It's so pretty against the ornamental variegated grass

This container is near the front porch and is perfectly in autumn color, though it was planted in spring

My to-be-planted corner of the front garden. These two coneflowers are from a local grocery and $1.99 each on the rescue rack

Produce from the veggie garden...tomato varietals and two rogue cucumbers to go with the rogue pumpkins and canteloupes.

Rogue canteloupe
Rogue pumpkin vines are encroaching on the back lawn...and that's okay

Plump, juicy grapes that have the squirrels in rapture

And a very friendly wee visitor to the front berm...this little guy came up and checked both Lady K and I out, buzzing in really close, then went back to it's dinner of agastache, Russian sage and lavender. Click on the image to get a close up.

Guilty Pleasure Flick Saturday - Blazing Saddles

Here it is, Saturday again. That means Guilty Pleasure Flick! Today's choice is an absolute favorite, has been a favorite (it seems) forever. Blazing Saddles is just so much FUN! Some of my favorite 'go-to' lines are from this classic movie:

Lili Von Shtupp: Hello, handsome, is that a ten-gallon hat or are you just enjoying the show?
*******************
Lili Von Shtupp: A wed wose. How womantic.
**************
Lili Von Shtupp: [singing] Here I stand, the goddess of desire / Set men on fire / I have this power. / Morning, noon, and night, it's dwink and dancing / Some quick womancing / And then a shower. / Stage door Johnnies constantly suwwound me / They always hound me, with one wequest. / Who can satisfy their lustful habits? / I'm not a wabbit. / I need some we... [Takes a breath]
Lili Von Shtupp: ... est.
****************
Mexican Bandit: Badges? We don't need no stinking badges.
**************
Mongo: Mongo only pawn... in game of life.
**************
Lili Von Shtupp: Tell me, schatze, is it twue what they say about the way you people are... gifted? [sound of zipper opening]
Lili Von Shtupp: Oh, it's twue. It's twue. It's twue, it's twue!
***********************
Taggart: [shouting] We'll head them off at the pass!
Hedley Lamarr: Head them off at the pass? I hate that cliché!
*******************
Hedley Lamarr: [gives her a bunch of flowers] For you, my dear.
Lili Von Shtupp: Oh... how ordinawy.
**********************
Lili Von Shtupp: Willkommen. Bienvenue. Welcome. C'mon in.
******************
Bart: Well, raise my rent. You *are* The Kid.
*******************
Jim: I'd better sit up. [struggles to straighten himself]
Bart: Need any help?
Jim: Oh... all I can get.
******************
Jim: [Bart comes in after spending the night with Lili Von Stupp] Oh deary dear. Look what the cat dragged in.
**********************
Jim: [to Bart] What's a dazzling urbanite like you doing in a rustic setting like this?
*************************
[Lamarr's posse rides up on Bart's diversion: a single tollbooth in the middle of the desert] Taggart: *LePetomaine Thruway*? Now what'll that asshole think of next? [turns to the posse] Taggart: Has anybody got a dime?
[henchmen grumble, search their pockets]
Taggart: Somebody's gotta go back and get a shit-load of dimes!
**********************
Hedley Lamarr: Repeat after me: I...
Men: I...
Hedley Lamarr: ...your name...
Men: ...your name...
Hedley Lamarr: [to himself] Shmucks. [continues aloud]
Hedley Lamarr: ...pledge allegiance...
Men: ...pledge allegiance...
Hedley Lamarr: ...to Hedley Lamarr...
Men: ...to Hedy Lamarr...
Hedley Lamarr: THAT'S *HEDLEY*!
Men: That's Hedley!
Hedley Lamarr: ...and to the evil...
Men: ...and to the evil...
Hedley Lamarr: ...for which he stands.
Men: ...for which he stands.
Hedley Lamarr: Now go do... that voodoo... that YOU do... SO WELL...!
[Men shoot at the sky in joy and ride off

SMALL FAVOR: Dresden Files #10 - Jim Butcher

From the back of the book: Wizard Harry Dresden's life finally seems to be calming down. The White Council's war with the vampiric Red Court is easing up, no one's tried to kill him lately, and his eager apprentice is starting to learn real magic. For once, the future looks fairly bright.

But the past casts one hell of a long shadow.

Mab, monarch of the Winter Court of the Sidhe, calls in an old favor from Harry. Just one small favor he can't refuse----one that will trap Harry Dresden between a nightmarish foe and an equally deadly ally and strain his skills and loyalties to their very limits.

And everything was going so well for once......

********************************

Lately I've been listening to the series as BOCDs from Recorded Books. The narrator is James Marsters (Spike from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and 'Angel') and that only enhances the enjoyment don'tcha know.

I had SMALL FAVOR on the shelf and it's not available on Recorded Books yet and I was in the mood for some Dresden, so off the shelf and onto the nightstand it went.

I always wonder how Dresden does it. He always seems in the thick of things, very focused, even while getting the crap beat out of him.

Mab, Queen of the Winter Court, is one of those who likes Dresden to take care of her business and one of the reasons Dresden is in the middle of getting the crap beat out of him. She needs him to find out what's the what and it seems easy enough to solve....yeah...not so much....

My absolute favorite series or at least in the top three. It is the perfect mixture of paranormal, mystery and humor. It's also a plus that this is one of the series I share a love for with my dad and my sister. It's also the only UF series my dad completely digs.

And hopefully it's okay that I have a crush on Harry. He makes me grin, the best aphrodisiac...oh...maybe TMI...

Five sparkly gumshoe wizard diamonds....

Lady K - Newest Student Council Member

Meet the Student Council Representative for Mrs G's third grade class, newly voted in today. Here's Lady K's campaign speech:

"I am running for student council. If you vote for me, I promise to make the school a better place and to be the best of the best and do what I am told and take care of you.

I will represent your classroom and voice your concerns to the school authorities.

One of the things I would do is request that all food that is to be served in the cafeteria be reflected on the weekly cafeteria menu. One of the other things I would like to change is the min of all recesses. I would like to see 5 min added to all recess periods.

I would also like more classroom time devoted to story writing. So if I am elected to the student council please bring me your ideas along with any issues or concerns, so that I may represent you.

I would like to thank you for considering me as your student council representative. Please vote for me."

Blooms (and Balloons!) On Sunday - 11 Sep 2011

Pumpkin update.....new one on the way....

And one ready to pick....

One of the things I love about living near and working in Boulder, Colorado are mornings like today when I got off of my mid shift and heard the familiar *hiss* of hot air balloons being readied for flight. Above pic, you can see the top of one and sort of another balloon.

Then I watched one.....

Two....

Three.....

Four...four hot air balloons in the bright blue Colorado sky.....ah-ah-ah-ah-aaaaah..(once again, channelling my inner Sesame Street Count)

Guilty Pleasure Flick Saturday - TWISTER

'Twister' released in 1996, starring Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Jami Gertz, Cary Elwes, Philip Seymour Johnson, is movie about storm chasers.
Here's what B&N had to say:
Trading in the bus for a tornado, Speed director Jan De Bont brews up one of the most spectacular natural disaster films to ever hit the screen. When a record-breaking number of tornadoes attack the Midwest, Jo (Helen Hunt) and Bill (Bill Paxton) lead their team of "storm chasers" through Oklahoma in hopes of recording scientific evidence and devising an earlier warning system. Thought the nominal story takes a backseat to the truly amazing special effects, there is an appealing chemistry between Hunt and Paxton, and the supporting cast (led by Cary Elwes and Phillip Seymour Hoffman) supplies laughs. And if character development sometimes gets lost in the storm, De Bont creates a memorable villain in the devastatingly believable -- and beautiful -- spectacle of a computer-animated tornado. The skies are threatening, the landscape sweeping, and cows and tractors flying through the air will remind you of that other famous Hollywood cyclone. No one ends up in Oz here, but Twister has a magic all its own. -- J. D. Merrill Barnes & Noble

Favorite lines (thanks imdb.com)

Dusty: "The Suck Zone". It's the point basically when the twister... sucks you up. That's not the technical term for it, obviously.
*****************
Jo: Can I drive?
Bill: No!
Jo: Then would you?
Bill: [noticing truck has drifted off the road and is about to run into a parked vehicle] Whoa!
**************************
[Bill needs Jo's signature on divorce papers]
Jo: So you want the papers?
Bill: I did drive all the way out here for 'em.
Jo: They're signed and ready.
Bill: Good, good. Let's see 'em.
Jo: Do you need them right this second?
Bill: Well, it'd be nice.
Jo: What's the urgent urgency? You act like you're getting married.
Bill: I am.
Jo: [after a shocked pause] Wow.
Bill: Yeah.
Jo: Is it Melinda?
Bill: Melissa.
Jo: Wasn't there a Melinda in there somewhere?
Bill: No, there's only been Melissa since you.
Jo: Boy, not much for browsing are you?
********************
[Crying with fright after a pair of tornadoes spun their truck around a few times]
Melissa: When you used to tell me that you chase tornadoes, deep down I thought it was just a metaphor.
**********************
Jo: Where's my truck...? [the truck crashes back to earth, right in the middle of the road, in front of the truck Melissa is driving]
Jo: There it is.
****************
Jo: [cow flies by in the storm] Cow. [cow flies by in the storm]
Jo: 'Nother cow.
Bill: Actually I think that was the same one.
******************
Rabbit: God, Meg, you've got a lot of beef. Where did you get all this beef?
Meg Greene: Did you see my cows out front?
Rabbit: No.
Meg Greene: Oh!
Dusty: You slaughter your own cows, Meg, nice.
********************
Dusty: Jo! Bill! Did you see that explosion?
Jo: [having just driven through the exploding petroleum truck with Bill] Yeah, we saw it.
*******************
Melissa: Why do you call him the extreme.
Dusty: Because Bill *is* the extreme. There was one time, he has a bottle of Jack Daniels, he was butt naked.
Bill: I was not naked, I was "not naked".
Dusty: He walks up to the twister, he throws the bottle, he says here have some. The bottle never hits the ground.
Bill: [to Melissa] Honey, these are a list of lies. There was another Bill, I killed him.


**************
So, there you have this week's Guilty Pleasure Flick. A movie I will watch at the drop of the hat or scroll through the guide and come to a screeching halt with the remote.

MAMA DOES TIME - Deborah Sharp freebie!

I received an email via Goodreads from one of my favorite authors in the whole wide world, Deborah Sharp. She is offering her first book in the MAMA series, MAMA DOES TIME: A Mace Bauer Mystery, as a free download:

************************************************

My first ''MAMA'' is free as download ...
message:
Heya, Vickie .... I know what an active 'Goodreader' you are ... thought you'd like to know the first title in the Mace Bauer Mysteries (MAMA DOES TIME) is being offered for a short time as a FREE (yep, FREE!) download for both Amazon's Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook. If you know any Goodreads (or other) friends who you think might like it, please spread the word! Links are here:

NOOK: http://tinyurl.com/3v52g8z

KINDLE: http://tinyurl.com/3ub4fh3

Take care, girl ... and keep reading!!!

Deborah Sharp

REALLY UNUSUAL BAD BOYS - MaryJanice Davidson

From the back of the book: From the wildly talented MaryJanice Davidson comes a trio of outrageously passionate stories that take bliss to new, unusual heights....

Bridefight

One minute, Detective Lois Commoner is popping pain pills for her bum knee; the next, she's in a strange land with a magically delicious naked man named Prince Damon. Questions? Maybe one or two.

Mating Season

When Lt Anne Sanger joined the WACs to see the world and meet someone, she meant Europe and a nice Boise farm boy---not a feral, well-built, rakish man in a bathtub claiming he has wished her to be his mate.

Groomfight

Rica Callanbra is used to odd things happening, but sweet, godlike hunky men falling from the sky? She'll take him! Talk about heaven on earth.

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Alrighty...I don't typically read paranormal romance or any romance books really. I like grit, humor, suspense, thrill, horror....romance just doesn't do it for me reading wise. It did back-in-the-day when it was a wonder-what-it-would-be-like or a salve after a breakup of my uber-casual relationships. Now the romance gets sort of in the way of the story, so I avoid them.

Except I felt like it would be fun to see what MaryJanice had to say since I knew it would be funny at least. And I was right. I like MJ's way with a title, her way with men and women falling over each other. Her women are sassy and I get along well with sassy.

Of the three women in the story, I liked Lois best, I think. She wasn't taking any McCrappe from anyone or anything.

This was a lightweight, easy-peasy read, so no coffee beans or diamonds, rather...

Three lightweight easy-peasy chocolate bunnies....

MARK OF THE LION: Jade del Cameron Mystery - Suzanne Arruda

From the back of the book: In 1919, when most women only dream of adventure, Jade del Cameron lives it. After growing up tough on a New Mexico ranch and driving an ambulance on the front lines of World War I, she can fire a rifle with deadly precision and stare down men maddened by shell shock. Still suffering trauma from the Great War, she sets off for Africa determined to fulfill a man's dying wish....

With his last breath, Jade's beloved David asked her to find the brother he only recently learned he had. All clues point Jade to the East African city of Nairobi, where she soon has reason to believe that David's father was murdered. She hears the natives whisper about a laibon---a witch doctor---terrorizing the land. They speak of being attacked by wild beasts that bear strange shaved patterns and bone beads in their fur---signs of animals being mystically guided by an avenging human.

In a land where tribal traditions clash with the so-called civilization of unruly British expatriates, Jade must draw upon all her ingenuity and courage to unmask the truth, expose the killer...and stay alive to fight another day.

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One could start a review by comparing this series to Jacqueline Winspear's 'Maisie Dobbs' series. It is similar in being set during WWI timeframe and with a strong female lead character. It would also be a good comparison in that both are a favorite series for me with a must get all for the keeper shelf proviso.

I can't remember where I first heard of Jade del Cameron, but the series has been on the WWBL for some time with MARK OF THE LION on Mt Git'r'Read for a while for whatever reason. I am a mood reader and books tend to get lost on the bookshelves in my house. I was both in the mood and MARK OF THE LION almost fell on my cranium at a propitious time last month.

After I metaphorically kicked myself for having waited so long, I got down to reading and loving the book.

It moves quickly, is full of history as much as it is a wonderfully written mystery.

Jade del Cameron is a strong woman who knows her own mind. She lucks into both a job as a photographer and writer for a travel magazine as well as being hired to find the brother of the man she loves and misses after his death during the Great War. She travels to Africa, proceeds to not put up with any crap from anyone and raises the ire of the local witchdoctor and some of the locals while she searches.

This is as much an adventure series as much as it is suspense, a wonderful mixture.

I admire Jade and cannot wait to read more of the series. http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/suzanne-arruda/

Five sparkly strong woman in Africa diamonds.....

DEAD SECRET: Diane Fallon Forensic Investigation - Beverly Connor

From the back of the book: In the depths of an unmapped cave, forensic anthropologist Diane Fallon makes an astonishing discovery: a decades-old skeleton. Soon, the remains of two more bodies are found----one in an old car submerged in the waters of an abandoned quarry, another buried in the Georgia woods. With nothing to link the dissimilar victims except desiccated bones, Diane can't fathom the connection. But someone in the shadows does. It's the key to a mystery that reaches back seventy years in a heritage of love, greed, and murder---to an unearthed family secret that still holds the power to kill.

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There's that fine line that forensic mystery writers walk and tend to stomp the reader to just about tears of boredom with the in-the-weeds forensic medical speak.

Beverly Connor has mastered the tightwire and not a bored tear to be found while reading this pretty exciting quick-turn-the-page-see-what's-going-to-happen-next kind of suspense.

I liked the mixture of getting to see Diane Fallon's life outside the labs and museum while she went caving with friends. Granted going caving and finding a body must just go with the territory.

I don't know how Diane Fallon keeps everything separate and straight in her cranium. Her forensic crime lab is in the museum and she is lead in both arenas. She garners a lot of my respect (yeah, I know she's a fictional character).

There are plenty of bones, bodies and stories to go around, lots to keep the interest going and reasonable red herrings to toss about.

Five go caving and find bodies and bones beans.......

BUTTERCREAM BUMP OFF: A Cupcake Bakery Mystery - Jenn McKinlay

From the back of the book: A heartless murder for Valentine's Day...

Melanie Cooper and Angie DeLaura must be doing something right with their Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery. Their business rival, Olivia Puckett, is parading up and down the sidewalk dressed as a giant cupcake to steal customers. With Valentine's Day just around the corner, she's clearly feeling desperate.

Unfortunately, she's not the only desperate one in Scottsdale, Arizona. Someone has iced Baxter Malloy on his first date with Mel's mother. Her mom had been hoping for someone dropdead gorgeous---but not literally. Now she's a suspect, and Mel and Angie need to find time between frosting Kiss Me Cupcakes to dig into Malloy's shady past and discover who served him his just desserts.

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Second in the Cupcake Bakery Mystery series and just as fab as the first, SPRINKLE WITH MURDER (http://iyamvixenbooks.blogspot.com/2010/07/sprinkle-with-murder-cupcake-bakery.html ) that I read last summer. What's not to love about a well-written mystery, with interesting characters, and cupcake recipes?

There are plenty of characters to look into for possible suspects. The victim was a cad and I could see why someone would want him dead.

I really don't like Olivia Puckett, the owner of the cupcake competition. I am torn between wanting to see more conflict between Mel, Angie and Olivia and kicking Olivia to the curb. She's that irritating and I love watching Mel and Angie and Tate getting the one-up over her.

DEATH BY THE DOZEN, third in this yummy series, is on pre-order for its release on 4 October. I can't wait!

Five yummy cupcake beans.....

Blooms on Sunday - 4 Sep 2011

The miscanthus in the back garden is supremely tall this year

The birds are going to be happy this year with these seeds

Lots and lots of seeds....

Chance to Win BANISHED - Sophie Littlefield

Sophie Littlefield http://sophielittlefield.blogspot.com/2011/09/win-banished.html has a chance, FIVE chances, to win a signed copy of her upcoming paperback release of her first YA book, BANISHED.

Meander over to her site at the above link and follow her on facebook or twitter or leave a comment for a chance.