Tara Chevrestt's Blog, page 151

Ten Questions from Tara: Interview with Cynthia Ellingsen

Today, I have the author of The Whole Package answering some questions. The Whole Package is a fiction novel that revolves around three friends who because of, or in spite of, the drama in their personal lives, start a "Hooters" for women, the Whole Package. I previously reviewed this book in mid August and I will provide the link at the bottom of the page for those who may have missed it and wish to know more.

1.  How and when did this idea really strike you?


I was walking on Hollywood Blvd. - I lived in LA for eight years - and watched as a family waltzed into Hooters. There was a mom, a dad and like, three little boys and I thought, "Geez. What are we teaching these kids?" I started wondering what the father would say if there was a restaurant like The Whole Package and the wife wanted to go there with her three little girls in tow. The idea was born.
2. Cheryl is very tomboyish and career oriented. Jackie is in love with finer things and money. Doris is a stay at home mom. Which character do you relate to the most and why?
I'm a little bit of all of them, really. I've always admired the Jackie's of the world and certainly empathize with Doris. Ultimately, though, I'd have to say I'm a Cheryl. Like her, I'm something of a tomboy. I grew up in the country, so I was always running around with the neighbor boy, climbing trees and catching frogs. Plus, I'm an Aries. That should say it all.
3. Cheryl freaks out when her boss gets a hold of her Blackberry because there are files in it she doesn't want him to see. Do you have things in your cell phone you don't want anyone to see? Care to dish as to what it is? :)
Ha! Great question. YES. I have some just horrific pics of me taking self photos, trying to look hot. Come on, you know we've all done it. I try to erase after every modeling session but I'm sure there's one or two super embarrassing ones on there.
4. Hooters is mentioned often throughout the novel. Cheryl tolerates it when her male coworkers want to go there on business trips. How do YOU feel about Hooters?
I think Hooters is comical, in some respects. But when you stop to think about it, it's a little weird that it's a socially acceptable restaurant. I mean, come on. It's called Hooters.
5. Have you been to a male strip club? Tell us a little about the experience.
Hmmm... I can't remember. Let me reread the scene at the strip club and see if it sparks something. ;)
6.  Speedy Dicks, Early Risers, Welcome to Eat Outs are just some of the restaurant names suggested in the book. Tell me of others that you didn't mention.
Ballers, Balls Out, Long John's and of course, my personal favorite, Schlong's. Although Schlong's did get a cameo.
7.  Who would you rather be served by, Anthony or Gabe? Wearing what?
Ooh, Gabe! No, Anthony... No, Gabe... Geez. That's the best question yet. I mean, Gabe is goooooorgeous and he would be delighted to give me a makeover. As for attire, is it weird that I'd bring back that light blue scarf he's flipping around in the fight with Anthony? It really brings out his eyes.
8. What male love interest in the novel is, in your opinion, the "whole package" – Andy, George, or Doug?
Andy. He's H.O.T. I mean, when he says, "You got a little crush?" I just get all weak-kneed. I am madly in love with Andy.
9. Mandy, Doris's teenage daughter plays a big role in the book. What do you see her being or doing when she grows up?
Mandy idolizes Jackie, so I imagine her doing something that involves international travel. Or perhaps she could carry on The Whole Package legacy across the globe?
10.  I always ask this. As a dog mom, it's a must question for me. Do you have any pets? Tell me about them.
I do! I love cats and dogs but have wicked allergies, so I've been forced to go furless. In lieu of owning that creepy hairless cat, I've carefully selected a life partner in an African Sulcatta tortoise named Hank. He has a face like a little old man. Such a cutie. 
Thanks for joining us, Cynthia. :) 
And here is my review of The Whole Package: http://wwwbookbabe.blogspot.com/2011/08/whole-package-by-cynthia-ellingsen.html

Culloden Spirit by Anita Davison

This is another author I consider myself a fan of... Davison is very talented, draws me right into the story, and has the perfect balance of telling/showing/fiction/history/ and descriptive details. I read her Trencarrow Secret earlier this year and really enjoyed it. I liked the story of Trencarrow more, but I love the heroine in this one even more than in that one. Again, perfect balance. Carrie Gordon is both feminine and proper, but also brave and strong. She loves her gowns and she behaves with manners and propriety, but when push comes to shove, she's not above eavesdropping, fighting off assailants, or running towards burning fires to save her friends.

In the beginning, she comes across as a bit snotty. She doesn't seem to think of much but herself and her immediate comforts. Gradually, with the help of her sister and just plain ole Scottish hospitality, Carrie begins to change. She sees the servants as people with feelings, people who miss their families, have interests. She friends some gypsies that are permitted to stay on her Scottish uncle's land. She also learns about what love really is. It's not being on the arm of the most eligible or richest bachelor... but something else entirely.


But who is she in love with? Is she in love in with the castle ghost who died in the battle of Culloden? Does her heart belong to Duncan, the Culloden heir? OR is the neighboring laird the object of her affection? Is she even seeing a ghost or is it a prank?


All these thoughts are running through Carrie's mind as she unwittingly becomes involved in intrigue. The laird's employees don't like the gypsies residing on the land for some reason.. Accusations of thievery and poaching begin to fly. Hostile words are exchanged between landowners.. and some major action occurs as a result that could very well determine where Carrie's heart lies.


I've neglected, however, to tell what this story is really about. It's about an American girl accompanying her family to Scotland in 1900 in order to rebuild a very old estate. It's on this estate that Carrie may lose her heart or her life. Cause there's some evil at work....


Favorite quotes:


"Ye could store a month's supplies in those sleeves and how do ye move with yer skirt so straight and tight? Ye must waddle like a duck."


"Some men believe a wild woman lurks in every female subconscious."


Five stars and I received a pdf file from the author in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

The Hench Woman's Handbook by Tara O'Donnell

I don't read comics... so this was something very new for me. It's not a comic, but it's about a Super Villain's sidekick/woman.. a hench woman. By super villain, I mean like Lex Luthor or the Joker or the Penguin... 

There are 5 rules to being a proper hench woman and Marge tells a young girl in black all about each rule. Each rule is accompanied by a story, an experience in the hench woman's life with Master Class, a villain. There's alien bugs, kidnappings, and an irritating woman named Bonnie aka Bon Bon... and in the end, a story of revenge. 


Marge is a strong woman, no doubt of that!! My favorite part was the tale about Master Class wooing her back to his side not with a diamond, but with a bomb!


I have one major quibble, however: I thought the bar scene and Marge telling the girl in black her story was a great idea.. but the stories Marge told, I would have preferred to experience like a novel rather than a bar narrative. Maybe Marge could've got a faraway look in her eye and suddenly the reader could be TRANSPORTED back so they could experience the tale for themselves. Something like that.. less telling, more experiencing. 


The good stuff outweighs the bad and here are my favorite quotes:


-I rose up and looked him right in the eye. "If you ever want me, just take me. Throw me over your shoulder or have your driver do it, then lock me in the trunk and hold me prisoner until I give in to your demands."


"I've got a big mouth and I'm not afraid to use it. Plus, I have no problem with getting into someone's face if the situation calls for it in in my opinion."


"My Grandma Mavis may have been a bitch on wheels but thanks to her, I know how to make my own clothes and clean blood stains out of anything."


Wow! Three stars and this was a free ebook on smashwords. And I gotta add, is this not a cooler than all get out cover?

The Whip by Karen Kondazian

Charley Parkhurst was a stagecoach driver for 30 years. Charley Parkhust was really Charlotte. She started out as an abandoned baby in on an orphanage step and became a drinking, shooting, tobacco spitting, revenge getting stagecoach driver. This is her story.

The orphanage: A cruel headmistress goes too far with her punishments. On one hand, she accidentally introduces Charley to her lifelong love: horses. On the other hand, she turns a kind and caring boy into the makings of a monster. This boy was Charley's protector and will soon become her enemy.


Rhode Island: Charley falls in love, but the rest of society, and namely, her "brother" don't agree with her choice of love interest. The loss of her man and her baby lead to the loss of her femininity as she dons male attire and becomes a stagecoach driver in order to travel to California to hunt down and kill her husband's killer. But will she get her revenge before the man can do her, her life, and her loved ones more damage? Will she be able to do what needs to be done? Life hasn't been good to her as a woman that's for sure. Will it treat her better as a man?


California: Charley becomes one of the best damn stagecoach drivers around, starts a family of sorts, has weekend trysts in San Francisco where for just a few days every now and then she can wear a dress again and lie with a man and just feel like a woman. But all good things must come to an end.


Conclusion: Awesome read, excellent narrative, perfect blend of fact and fiction, and though Charley faces an  incredibly sad amount of misery and misfortune, the book managed to make me laugh at times as well as shake my head in sympathy. Her flirtations with Edmund, Anna's Cleopatra scene, the Wells Fargo Stagecoach rules, numerous things throughout the novel made me chuckle and overall, the book has made a huge impact on me. It's also about a very strong woman, probably one of the strongest women I have ever read about. Life kept beating her down and she kept getting back up, minus one eye or minus a man and a baby, but never without her determination.


Five stars. I received this from the publisher. The book is due out November 1st, 2011. Be sure to mark it as to read.

Tarnished Beauty by Cecilia Samartin

Once again, I am left amazed and reeling by the writing of Cecilia Samartin. When I read her work (and this is my 2nd one) I find myself pulling on my hair and muttering to myself, "Now this is a real writer, the kind of writer I only dream of being. My work sucks compared to this."


In Tarnished Beauty, there are two stories, the first one being about Jamilet. The time is... 1950s? (I assumed this because of the reference to Elvis music.) The setting is Mexico. Jamilet has a huge birthmark that covers her back, butt, and the backs of her thighs and upper arms. As a result, the suspicious and unkind people in her Mexican village shun her, throw rocks at her, and set her to dreaming of a better life north, in America where she can get her mark removed. Thus, when her mother dies, she dons male attire and crosses the border illegally.


Here now enters Senor Peregrino, a mental patient? (I'm not saying.) Jamilet tends him in the hospital in which she gets a job. Whereas most people cannot stand the Senor, Jamilet must tolerate him when he holds something over her head. And she listens to his story and she comes to like him. His story involves a love triangle, a jealousy, a pilgrimage in Spain.. He had originally thought he was to lead a religious life, but instead discovered himself drawn to a woman.


Meanwhile, Jamilet is having a love triangle of her own. She has a thing for Eddie, but Eddie is with Pearly... and besides, Jamilet is so determined to hide her mark from him and the world that she may be hiding a huge piece of herself and her heart. 


Extremely well written, just a bit too descriptive and drawn out in Senor Peregrino's parts. (That's how he chose to tell it, however, and it suited his personality.) Aunt Carmen is hilarious!!! I related to Jamilet very well as in a way, her birthmark is a handicap to her (as long as she chooses to let it be.) The ending...I had to force myself to slow down and read it word for word as I was so anxious to find out how it unfolded..


There was a laugh out loud moment: 


"I feel like a piece of sh*t," she said, tears running into her mouth. "No, sh*t is too good for me, too real...you can still see it and touch it. I'm more like a fart, a big silent killer of a fart, a smelly ghost." (This was the aunt.)


Favorite quote: "People who don't drink coffee are weak and feeble-minded; they usually don't have opinions about anything, but if they do, they're afraid to formulate them into words and speak out."


Four stars and I received this from the author. 

A Black Girl's Poetry for the World by Kimberly LaRocca

I don't normally read poetry and I am probably not the best judge of it, but when I saw this gorgeous cover, I was willing to give it a go and I enjoyed it very much. This book of poems is a variety of emotions. There's the poem What I Need. It's a woman telling a man she doesn't want to be his girl, just wants what she needs, but then there's the poem My Last Day, a woman telling her lover that being with him is how she wants to spend her last day and Love's Surprise... 

Sometimes love throws you a curve,
It flows outside the lines.
Sometimes love takes broader shape, 
Refuses to be confined.
It takes you up, then drops you down, 
It smiles at you and then frowns...


Each poem is another emotion that women have. Sometimes we embrace love, sometimes we are befuddled by love, and sometimes we go to Hell and back for love. Some of the poems talk about heartbreak and some I can't even explain..


I wear you on my sleeve
Take you when I leave
Whether night or day
You're with me 
On my way


I inhale you on my shirt
You line the pleats of my skirt
Whether at work or at play
You follow me
Through the day


It's not cologne or soap, you know
That fragrance I know so well,
Not Ivory or Irish Spring
That essence that I smell.


An aroma only you possess,
Separating you from the rest
So distinct, your scent,
And you wear it well.


Really enjoyable book of poetry for not only black girls, but all girls. And a huge point in its favor: they rhyme. I'm one of those people who thinks it's got to rhyme! 


Five stars. I received a pdf of this from the author. 

The Whole Package by Cynthia Ellingsen

What a great idea... and one that many of us women would whole heartily endorse: a "Hooters" for women, a restaurant where women can go and be served delectable dishes by scantily dressed men and see a strip show every 15 minutes.

And that is what Jackie, Cheryl, and Doris set out to do. The BFFs start a restaurant together, The Whole Package. Whether their business survives or fails is up to them. And while interviewing sexy models, shopping with gay men, and dealing with picketers, each woman is dealing with turmoil and betrayal in her personal life. Cheryl is dealing with job loss, a potential new love affair that betrays her all in the name of advancing his own career, and possibly a more personal surprise. Jackie has lived like a pampered princess for so long that she doesn't know how to really work for anything and besides coming to terms with that, she must also deal with her guilt over her growing friendship with her dead husband's best bud. Doris is dealing with a teenage daughter, her weight and self esteem, and well, her husband has decided he wants to be like the guy's in the movie, Wild Hogs.


I love this. I was thoroughly entertained and laughed out loud A LOT. The women aren't perfect and they are easy to relate to. They face everyday problems that we all face (except Jackie.. Not many of us can say we were married to a very wealthy man and spent all his money in Paris..) My only quibble: I didn't like the ending for Doris. I don't wish to reveal too much of the story so I'm just going to say, "I would so not have taken him back." 


Nevertheless, five stars. Really enjoyed this one, breezed through it despite the fact that I was traveling, visiting family, and it is 400 pages. 


I received this as part of a blog tour and I will be interviewing the author on my blog September 7th so be sure to come back that day for Ten Questions From Tara! 

Kidnapping the Lorax by Patricia K. Lichen

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Though I am not a tree hugger, per se, I do take a slight interest in animal and wildlife rights and I love books with strong heroines. This book definitely has a strong heroine.. she doesn't even like to be called feisty. Here's why:
"Feisty is a diminutive term. one virtually never hears it applied to men, and that alone should be enough to make one suspicious of it. It is a term that lessens the power and strength of a woman and as you will discover should this excursion continue beyond this point, i am not a woman to be lessened. You may refer to me as 'self assured,' 'strong willed,' 'brash' or even 'cocky,' but you will not refer to me as feisty."Whoa. Food for though and the excursion, Lacey (the Lorax) is referring to is her own kidnapping at the hands of some extreme environmentalists to hope to gain her aid in changing an upcoming law that should it pass, will cause the ruination of their beloved Pacific Northwest forest.
The kidnappers consist of Walden, a know it all, a lady's man, an argumentative fellow, Fern aka Maggie (not sure why she didn't abide by her fake name throughout the book as the other ones did. Maybe I missed something somewhere), a timid girl torn between the two men, and Tracker, a big quiet buy. Obviously, Walden is the leader and he and Lacey butt heads OFTEN as they hold her in captivity in the woods. She must complete a list of outdoorsy tasks before they let her free.
I really enjoyed this, especially the beginning. There are burst of humor and laugh out loud moments throughout the book. Anytime the red shovel was mentioned, I laughed. Especially enjoyed Walden's explanation of its usage. Unfortunately, that's all I liked about Walden. His character tended to pontificate and give too many lectures and start too many religious arguments. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, but at times when Walden started one of his lectures, I spaced out a bit. 
However, this was a great read. I learned a lot of things though I can't say I am going to take up camping myself. LOL There was more to the story, such as tensions between the kidnappers, friendships formed and broken, and so on and readers get an educational experience along with Lacey.
Four stars and I received this from the author in exchange for an honest review. And I don't know what's up with those underlined words... It's a blogger thing that I can't fix right now.

The Dragon and the Pearl by Jeannie Lin

I read both Butterfly Swords and The Taming of Mei Lin and consider myself a fan of this author. Both historical romances took place during the Tang dynasty and those and this one are all very well written, a perfect blend of story and sex, of description and action. All three of them make me feel as though I have stepped back into the Tang dynasty into a world of warriors, swords, emperors, courtesans, paper lantern festivals, and danger.

This one is a bit different from the previous two, however. In Butterfly and Taming, the heroines were strong fighters, their weapons were their swords. In this one, the heroine, Suyin, is a former courtesan with a secret she could die over. Her weapon is her body. I must confess, though I loved how this was written and the above praise still stands, I preferred the first two books for that reason. I'm more into the warrior woman than courtesan thing. 


Suyin is Li Tao's captive. (He is from Butterfly. Readers will recognize him and get to know him better in this one... much better.) She feels an intense desire for him despite the circumstances, or maybe because of. There's something about a threatening war load.... Anyway, she agrees to surrender her body in exchange for his protection as someone wants her dead. But she ends up surrendering her heart as well and soon she is struggling to protect him more than herself and make him see the error of his war lord/anti emperor ways. 


The book is filled with hot sex (wish there had been some with that tattoo scene...) and thought these two don't fight with swords like the heroes and heroines in the previous novels, they fight with words. 


A good book bringing to life the Tang Dynasty. I liked it, just not as much as Butterfly and Taming. I love those fightin' females. :) 


Three stars and I got this from netgalley.


P.S. How about that cover??? Wow!

Broken Paradise by Cecilia Samartin

This is one of those books that I don't even feel worthy enough to write a review for.. It's just too beautiful and too well written.

The setting is Cuba, pre Castro.. two cousins and best friends are growing up together. Nora looks at Alicia and thinks she has it all, the looks, the boys... but things change after the revolution and Castro. Nora goes to the states and she has the "charmed" life. Alicia chooses to stay and her life is not what anyone thought it would be.

And Alicia.. does all that she does for love. Kinda stupid, but kinda beautiful too. Imagine selling your body just to make sure your husband gets oranges and soap while he is in prison for speaking his mind, for revolting against a dictator.. Imagine wasting away to nothing in hopes that you can buy his passage to freedom. That's some strong love.

And there's a beautiful blind girl too. There's the rise and fall of communism. When does it become a dictatorship? There's interracial relations and the heated arguments it raises. There's hunger, thirst, and drifting at sea while sharks thump against the boat.There's two women who realize they can't wait for hope to find them, but must seek it themselves.

The descriptions: Superbly done. Not over done. The characters: wonderfully developed. The history: very thought evoking. The book overall: Terrific. 


Five stars and I bought this on Amazon.