Beloved
Where The Heart Lives
By Robin Lee Hatcher
Publisher: Zondervan
Pub. Date: September 24, 2013
ISBN: 978-0310257776
Pages: 304
Buy Link: http://ow.ly/qb0G2
Book Tour: http://litfusegroup.com/author/rhatcher

Review:

I'm well aware of author Robin Lee Hatcher, but I missed out in reading the previous books in the Where The Heart Lives series, Belonging and Betrayal, but the Beloved seems to more of a standalone novel.

The Beloved centers on Diana Brennan, who at young age was separated from her siblings and was put on an orphan train heading west, where she was adopted by a loving couple. At age seventeen, she fell in love with the handsome Tyson Applegate, the son of a wealthy mine owner. What started out as friendship, lead to courting and then marriage.

Settling down at a young age wasn't what Tyson really wanted and he eventually leaves Diana to seek out adventures in far off lands, which involved fighting alongside the Rough Riders in Cuba. During this time, he makes no attempt to send letters to his wife.

Years past by and Diane is ready to get on with her life and plans on having Tyson declared legally dead by the courts, so, hopefully,  she will get another chance at finding love and maybe get married again.

What's So Funny? My Hilarious Life
By Tim Conway with Jan eCovell
Publisher: Howard Books
Pub. Date: October 29, 2013
ISBN: 978-1476726502
Pages: 272

Review:

Television has definitely changed over the past decades, while the networks crank out ridiculous reality shows, overly hyped police procedures and raunchy sitcoms, the cable channels are producing high quality, well-scripted dramas. This is all great, but I'm sure many people would rather watch a decent comedy with their entire family, instead of sending the kids out of the room every time a Charlie Sheen sitcom starts. Recently, Time Life started releasing the classic variety show, The Carol Burnett Show, which featured funnyman, Tim Conway. Tim is releasing his memoir, What's So Funny? My Hilarious Life, with a foreword by Carol Burnett.

Tim came into the world with the name Toma Conway written on his birth certificate, but it was later correctly changed to Thomas Daniel Conway. His father was an Irishman named Daniel Conway and his mother was from Romanian ancestry named Sophia Murgoi. Growing up an only child in Ohio, Tim picked up sewing from his mother. Despite his family being poor, he had loving parents and had a normal childhood.

After high school, Tim majored in speech and radio at Bowling Green State University. After college he had a two-year stint in the Army. Unsure about his future, he stumbled into the radio world by taking a job in the promotional department at a Cleveland radio station, which was his first break into the world of entertainment. He moved his way up into the radio business and eventually took his talents on television with sketches on The Steve Allen Show, which lead to him being cast as Ensign Charles Parker on McHale's Navy.

Bates Motel: Season One
Starring: Freddie Highmore, Vera Farmiga, Max Thieriot, Olivia Cooke, 
Studio: Universal Home Entertainment
Release Date: September 17, 2013
ASIN: B00DNUSFZQ
Running Time: 7 hrs. 14 mins.
Rating: Not Rated

Review:

Anthony Perkins passed away shortly after filming Psycho IV: The Beginning. The franchise seemed to be dead until the 2008 remake, which was a critical and financial flop, putting the final nail in the franchise's coffin; that is until A&E aired Bates Motel (no, not the 1987 TV movie) last spring, breaking ratings for an original drama series on the cable channel.

Bates Motel is a modern day prequel to the original Psycho book and movie. After the death of his father, 17-year-old Norman Bates and his overly-protective mother, Norma, move to White Pine Bay, Oregon, where they buy a rundown hotel and house. Within hours of moving in, Norman meets a teenager, Bradley Martin, and he instantly has a crush on her.

Unknowingly, the previous owner, Keith Summers, wants his family's land back. He makes an unannounced visit late one night, leading to a deadly situation in which Norma kills him. With no other choice, Norma and Norman cleanup the murder scene and dump the body in the bay harbor. They seemed to have gotten away with murder, which is until Sheriff Alex Romero and Deputy Zack Shelby begin investigating Summers' disappearance.

Norman's half-brother, Dylan Masset, arrives looking for a place to stay as he has nowhere else to go. Norma doesn't have the best opinion of her oldest son and Dylan feelings are vice versa.

While I was busy raking the leaves in my front yard on Saturday afternoon, the mail man delivered a box with the Kicking Horse Coffee logo on it. There is nothing better than a hot cup of coffee on a cool fall afternoon. Therefore, I dropped the rake and brought the box inside the house with the intention of brewing some java.

Let me give you a little brief history on the Kicking Horse Coffee brand. Kicking Horse Coffee started out as a kick-starter company, selling coffee from a garage. They roast small amounts of selective coffee beans and package them on the same to ensure the coffee freshness, which freshness is the company's highest priority.

What makes Kicking Horse Coffee different from other brands? Well, all their roasted coffee is made from organic coffee beans. Since 2007, Kicking Horse Coffee has become the number one specialty coffee being sold in the Canadian grocery stores! The brand offers many different flavors of whole coffee beans, such as Hoodoo Jo, Grizzly Claw, Decaf Cliff Hanger Espresso, Jumbo Wild, Pacific Pipeline and many others.

What kind of coffee did I get?

Ever since the new library was built in my town, there has been an annual book sale on the weekend (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) before Halloween. Though in the past there are usually older books there, I still love to go and I do buy a few books, but I forgot about the sale last year, only thinking about it the weekend after. This year I remembered to go to the sale on Saturday when all the books (paperback & hardback) were 25 cents each.

I know! I know! Like the last thing I need is more books when I already have gobs of books at home on my bookshelves and piled up in closets, but I can't pass a good bargain. Plus, the library book sale had newer books this year.

I bought two Jane Kirkpatrick hardbacks (which I don't remember the titles) for my grandmother. Then I bought eight books for myself.

The books are:

Halloween has been my favorite movie ever since I was laying in the floor of my grandparents' living room watching the edited version on a VHS. It’s the scariest movie ever made. Though I do like the majority of the sequels/reboots (even Halloween III), I still love the original best. 


This 1985 TV-movie seems to be completely forgotten by horror fans, but I have fond memories of watching it as a child (I was four when it first aired). It was briefly released to DVD several years ago, but it is out-of-print. I dubbed my parent's recorded VHS copy (from the original airing) onto a DVD a few years ago, and I watch the movie every year. I do wish it would get a proper DVD/Blu-Ray release. Read my post on the movie from last Halloween.