Thursday, April 14, 2011

The Friday 56 - Courting Miss Amsel


Hosted by Freda's Voice


Courting Miss Amsel


Hank was one of the men who had told Joel he was
addlepated for digging irrigation ditches and letting some
of his soil rest each year rather than planting every acre.
page 56, Courting Miss Amsel by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Thursday Ramblings - April 14, 2011





Wow! This week has gone by fast. It is currently storming, and the KC Royals have just one their 8th game of the season. I have fallen a little behind in my writing, but I am hoping to catch up in the next few days. I will write a review for Sweet Valley Confidential and post it next week; I will also write/post a review for The Adventures of Joe-Joe Nut & Biscuit Bill: Case #2: Mineral Mischief, the review will be posted on April 19!

Sweet Valley High: Three NovelsIn the mail this week, The Judgment by Beverly Lewis, and Sweet Valley High: Three Novels. I need to read the first book in the Beverly Lewis series and I still need to read her previous series. The Sweet Valley High books are Double Love, Secrets, and Playing with Fire. The cover is somewhat misleading; Francine Pascal is credited as the author instead of the creator. If I am correct, Kate William, who is not even mention in the book’s contents, ghostwrote these books. I do like the new enhanced cover.

You may not know this, but I am somewhat of a horror movie fan. I grew up on Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween movies. Surprisingly I never saw Hellrasier 1 & 2 until I was an adult, when I watched the cut version on AMC, in which the movie was very confusing. Hellraiser is based on the novel Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker. I stumbled upon Hellraiser on DVD around Halloween a few years ago, and finally understood the movie. There were several missing and out-of-order scenes in the AMC version. I bought the second movie a few months later, and liked it more than the TV version. Last year, I bought Hellraiser: Hellworld, one of four (soon to be five) made-to-DVD low-budget sequels. The movie was just okay. Pinhead had a small part, and it just felt like the producers were forced to throw Pinhead into a bad, random script.

Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth / Hellraiser IV: Bloodline
I have always been curious as to why Pinhead and his minions were molded into the statue at the end of Hellraiser 2. Today I was at Walmart; I glanced into $5.00 DVD bin and came to a stop. Guess what was in the bin? Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth! I grabbed the DVD eagerly and I noticed that it was not just one movie; it was a double feature. Hellraiser: Bloodline was also with it. I watched Hellraiser 3 earlier tonight, and I enjoyed it.

Review - I Love You, Be Careful




I Love You, Be CarefulI Love You, Be Careful
BY: Judy Snider and Joan Dickow
ILLUSTRATIONS BY: Cady B. Driver
PUBLISHED BY: Xlibris
PUBLISHED IN: 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4535-6115-7
Pages: 36
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

Not counting the introduction, “I Love You, Be Careful” are the only words repeated throughout the picture book written by real-life sisters, Judy Snider and Joan Dickow, with beautiful illustrations by Cady Driver. The theme of the book is that from the moment we enter into the world there is someone there who loves you and wants you to be safe.

The picture book takes you through the life of one girl. From birth, her first time walking, playing on a slide, holding her baby brother, riding her first bike, her first day of school, graduating high school, getting married, and so on.

I enjoyed reading and rereading I Love You, Be Careful. If you are having a bad day, reading the picture book will put a smile on your face. I recommend this book to both children and adults. And with Easter and Mother’s day just around the corner, this would make the perfect gift.


Author Website: http://iloveyoubecareful.com/

Author Bio:




Joan Dickow, Judy’s sister, lives in Berkley, Michigan wither husband, Fred and their cat, Coffee. This is her first book and she is currently working on her second picture book, The Porch Fairy.




Judy Snider, Joan’s sister lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia with her husband, Gil, and two silly cats. She is the author of the CWA award-winning children’s picture book, Goldy’s Baby Socks, and on a team of authors of The Scared Purse.



Cady Driver paints portraits and murals, teaches art and donates her work to charitable organizations. She has also illustrated Icky, Sticky Pancake World by Patrick Wynn. You can view more of her work online at http://www.artbycady.com/ or contract her at Cady@ArtByCady.com. She currently resides in Raleigh, NC wither husband and homeschools her three children.

Friday, April 8, 2011

The Friday 56 - Sweet Valley Confidential


Hosted by Freda's Voice

Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later
The moment passes, and I feel like it would be awkward
and unimportant to correct them.
page 56, Sweet Valley Confidential by Francine Pascal

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Thursday Ramblings - April 7, 2011


I hate the weather here in Missouri, one day it is warm and next day it is in the 40s, and when the weather goes cuckoo, so does my sinuses. I've been taking things easy over the last few days, but I have planned out a steampunk plot that I hope to get started on this weekend. I hope to have my time-traveling story finished in a few days, and I plan on editing the Trick-or-Spells story.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Review - Beside Still Waters


Beside Still Waters: A Big Sky NovelBeside Still Waters
BY: Tricia Goyer
PUBLISHED BY: B&H Publishing Group
PUBLISHED IN: 2011
ISBN: 978-14336-6868-5
Pages: 258
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

A horrible accident occurred the night Marianna Sommer was born. Eighteen years later, her parents are still grieving over that night. Marianna is looking forward to being baptized into the Amish church. She hopes to marry Aaron Zook, who promised her they will date the following year.

Her older brother, Levi, refuses to join the church, and he decides to leave the Amish community. Their parents decide that it would be best off if they move away from Indiana. Marianna doesn’t want to leave her friends, her future beau and her brother. Her mother is expecting another child and Marianna has no other choice, but to travel with her family to Montana.

With letters, she keeps in touch with her friends and Levi. She soon learns that the move will bring her closer to God.

I have read dozens of books about the Amish, but Marianna Sommer is probably my favorite character. She is a sweet, innocent girl who wants to honor her family, but she is a constant reminder to her parents of that horrible night she was born. My first thought was Levi was your typical Amish fiction character who loses his faith and leaves the community, but there is more depth to him. Throughout the story are neat journal entries and letters written by Marianna that help the book standout from other Amish fiction out there today. Overall, I enjoyed reading Beside Still Waters, and look forward to reading more from Tricia Goyer.


Blog Tour Schedule: http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/text/13199255


About Tricia:


Tricia Goyer is the author of twenty-six books including Songbird Under a German Moon, The Swiss Courier, and the mommy memoir, Blue Like Play Dough. She won Historical Novel of the Year in 2005 and 2006 from ACFW, and was honored with the Writer of the Year award from Mt. Hermon Writer's Conference in 2003. Tricia's book Life Interrupted was a finalist for the Gold Medallion in 2005. In addition to her novels, Tricia writes non-fiction books and magazine articles for publications like MomSense and Thriving Family. Tricia is a regular speaker at conventions and conferences, and has been a workshop presenter at the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International Conventions. She and her family make their home in Little Rock, Arkansas where they are part of the ministry of FamilyLife. Visit http://www.triciagoyer.com/ for more info.

Review - Trickster's Girl

Trickster's Girl (The Raven Duet)Trickster’s Girl 
BY: Hilari Bell
PUBLISHED BY: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
PUBLISHED IN: 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-19620-6
Pages: 288
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

Set in the year 2098, where there are border guards at every state border. A teenager, Kelsa, is mourning the lost of her father, an environmentalist. She had a close relationship with him. Every Sunday, they would take a hike. To honor him, Kelsa wants to continue the tradition, and that is where she meets Raven, a shape-shifting trickster. Kelsa soon learns that magic is real and that Earth will be destroyed if she doesn’t assist Raven on his quest.

Trickster’s Girl is a combination of supernatural and environmental genre, and it doesn’t mix well. I respect the authors concept of the Native American mythology, but the global-warming theme has been to death in novels, television and movies; and at times I felt the author was pushing the subject too much. I liked the idea that a person can’t cross a state line without a passport in the future, and overall the book was well written, but I had to push myself through it because I couldn’t get pass the boring plot.

*I would like to thank Houghton Mifflin and NetGalley for sending me a copy to review.