Driving Over Lemons, by Chris Stewart

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Turns out I was reading the perfect consoling, optimistic, best book ever that a person would want to be reading during the stressful Presidential Election week.  And I'm grateful.   

I wasn't biting my fingernails.  I was in Spain with Cristobal (Chris in England;Cristobal in Spain), his wife Ana, and their precious daughter Chloe.  Engrossed in their new life, on their newly purchased farm, El Valero, an isolated sheep farm in the Alpujarra Mountains in Southern Spain.

I enjoyed the cadence and tone of Chris Stewart's writing.  I love that it is a journal, not fiction, chronicling this families impromptu throw at life in a foreign land.  Healthy, wholesome adventure.

 I loved this book so much that there is no questions what I will be reading next. And that will be:  

A Parrot in the Pepper Tree: A Sort of Sequel to Driving over Lemons

Beethoven Classical Music for Studying, Concentration, Relaxation | Stud...

CARNIVOROUS NIGHTS, by Margaret Mittelbach & Michael Crewdson

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Amazon

I just finished the last few pages of this funtastical book. The artist/illustrator, Alexis Rockman, is the most entertaining and center stage character. I admire how the authors so skillfully keep the narrative picture pointed out and away from themselves. Not once are their names on the printed page. They appear only as pronouns that synchronized so beautifully into a one voice narrative, and superb storytelling.

This book is every bit as good as the blurbs on the book says it is, and that the raving reviews claim it is. What a read!

HIGH ANXIETY, by Charlotte Hughes

AMAZON

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This story is a series of hysterical happenstances that Kate Holly finds herself in during her career as a clinical Psychologist. She reassures her friends and family that her patients are not dangerous or crazy, they just have trouble dealing with their problems. A hard argument to make after nearly being shot when wrestling a gun from Bea, a mother-in-law trying to shoot her daughter-in-law during an anger management session.

And, I see no line drawn between the patients and the friends and family, including Kate Holly, as she herself said, and I quote, "My patients don't know that I can be as neurotic as they are." Kate, besides having OCD, carries an unresolved emotional problem resulting from her father dying when she was ten years old. The unresolved mental anguish from her father, a firefighter, dying in a fire is jeopardizing her marriage to Jay, a firefighter, and the love of her life.  In fact it resulted in their getting a divorce, but not ending their love and commitment to work things out. True love never dies. In fact, the trials and tribulation bring them closer together.

When her best friend and receptionist, Mona, is afflicted with a case of the hives Kate is forced to hire a temporary replacement. This is when Kate is confronted with a truly dangerous psychopath. The humor remains, but the tension mounts, culminating into a great reading experience. The title says it all.

Charlotte Hughes has created such lovable characters in this story. My favorite characters include her house (yes her house) which she named Mad Ethel because she experienced her, Mad Ethel's, mood swings; if in a good mood there would be hot water...       Also, her Mother Dixie, and he Aunt Trixie. Yep, Trixie and Dixie, the Junk Sisters. Dumpster divers. Her mother, Dixie, just couldn't understand why Kate didn't want to follow in her footsteps and take over the family business. And, one last favorite, is Mona's Mother, Willie-Mae, a midwife, homeopathy, baby birthing healer from backwoods Tennessee. Mona lives in a mansion, wears only designer clothes, is rolling in dough, and her mother refuses her daughter's desire to help her out.

You should visit Charlotte Hughes website. 

SALAMANDER SIX, by Michael A. DiBaggio

I am so glad I was lead to read this short story SALAMANDER SIX, by Michael A. DiBaggio. It gives me a whole other universe to explore. A universe that comes from the creative minds of Micheal and Shell “Presto” DiBaggio, a husband and wife writing team. I love the clean cut writing, and that they provide full explanations of this new universe in the Appendix.

The protagonist, Florian Archambeault, is a fire fighter, owner of a fire fighting company called Marin-Pyronef. His method of airborne fighting enables him to get to the scene faster than land locked methods such as trucks and boats. The Salamander Six is a jumpcraft, command central so to speak, used in concert with raw vacuum drones called LV20 pyronefs that can swarm in close and dowse the fire to make way for the larger airborne fighting vessel. (Way cool!)

The story begins with chaos and mayhem on the island of St. Martin. The island Florian Archambeault was exiled to a decade ago by his nemesis, Commissioner Beaulieu, and that by a lucky turn of events, his nemesis is now evacuating the island because The French Colonial Authority, under Commissioner Beaulieu’s command, had been “abruptly and unceremoniously thrown off” the island. Florian pours himself a glass of Chambord to celebrate but is abruptly interrupted when notified that there is a fire on the 28th floor of the Tour de l’Uniteˋ building, and Commissioner Beaulieu is trapped inside. During all the intense firefighting action, with all the strapping on the “ceramic-and-steel struts of his exo-frame”, and “the hopper banking hard left”, and the “LV20 pyronefs remotely piloted firefighting ‘digs “delivering their flame-suffocating payload with maximum effect”, right in the middle of all that action there is a backstory that fully develops the characters and their relationships, all knit together producing an action packed, wham-bam, huge short story! Whew!!!!!!

After finishing this short story the question is posed “Looking for More?”, and my answer is yes.

SKELETON PICNIC, by Michael Norman

BUY ON AMAZON

Chapter One of “SKELETON PICNIC” sets the scene, graphically depicting the evening Rolly and Abby Rogers, respected and established members of the small community of Kanab, Utah, are confronted right after setting up camp and proceeding to the nearby Indian ruins in search of ancient antiquities, illegal booty, a common and accepted practice in their small Mormon community. They are third generation pot hunters who collected anything they could wherever they could find it, and that included human bones, which is why his grandfather referred to these family outings as “skeleton picnics.” What had descended on them? Angry Indian ghost spirits, or evil greedy mortals? Were they killed, or do they live?

Enters J.D. Books, a BLM Law Enforcement Ranger, called upon by the Kane County Sheriff, Charley Sutter, when the Roger’s daughter files a missing person's report on her parents who went camping Friday afternoon, then missed church Sunday morning. Then the plot thickens when Officer Books goes to the Roger’s home to find it burglarized, and their unequaled personal collection of antiquities were gone; stolen. The potential pool of suspects are many since Rolly Roger’s was a history teacher in the small town of Kanab, and had been for years, and gave tours of his collection in his home on school field trips. Officer Books remembers one such field trip he had when he was a young boy and student of Mr. Rogers history class. As Officer Books begins to unravel the mystery he finds suspects spanning from the poorest most unfortunate of Kanab residents to the highest most privileged of the community, and unfortunately, one within his own family.

I love how this mystery was set up nice and neat in the first chapter, and the answers, at least to Rolly and Abby Roger’s mortality, aren’t answered until the last chapter. And, as in all good mystery’s, the twists and turns in between kept me on the edge of my seat. I also like that this is the second book in the J.D. Books Mysteries, and it didn’t matter a hill-of-beans that I hadn’t read the first book titled “ON DEADLY GROUND”.

As is the custom now-w days I checked out his author website at http://michaelnormanauthor.com/. He is not a has been. “SKELETON PICNIC” was published in 2012. He acquired a Master’s degree from Northern Illinois University in 1969. I attribute his ability to so competently describe my part of the country, the southwest United States, to his being a retired journalism professor. If you’re a lover of mysteries you’ll love Michael Norman’s books.