Robyn Jones's Blog, page 24

Think Out Loud [13] Summer

I spent my summers in Iowa with my grandma. Since I was a little girl June through August meant Soft serve ice creamPerfect old lady hugsFried Chicken and potatoes An ancient green rotary telephoneMy Aunt Dodie's sweetheart dog Meandering rock roads and broken down barnsEmpty pop cans in ditches we had to run out and grabHeated games of Pitch and CribbageBad TV reception and only one channel...Days of Our Lives, the Waltons, Wimbledon Pool hoursSunburnsBlack clouds and awesome thunder stormsNo off switch to a beloved police scannerPorch swingsMy first kissMy first heartbreakRolling hills and deer signsGlossy corn and soy bean fields John Deer tractorsMatted down hat hairCute farm boys who heard I was a "good girl"The best hugs. My grandma as hard as she was because she deserved to be hard with her dad dying of the Spanish Flu when she was just a girl, then her husband walking down the basement stairs and ending it all with those mint green walls surrounding him, my grandma wasn't a sweet lady. But she always had mini-marshmallows and potato chips in her cupboards. She smelled like Halls cough drops. She was small and soft and never seemed to sleep. She refused to tell me stories about my grandpa, but she taught me to cook and sass and give the perfect stink eye. She survived my asshole phase called Fourteen Year Old Girl. I miss her like crazy. I'm going back there without her open arms to greet me. Without her small footsteps I always followed no matter how "grown up" I got. My first trip back there without her. I'll visit her stone, my grandpa's and Aunt Dodie's too. I'll listen to the wind. Tell my boys to knock it off. Gracefully take the tissue my mom knowingly hands me. I'll cry. Maybe drive by the pool and ice cream shop. I think the peonies will be blooming. She always had a thing to say about pretty flowers.
Think Out Loud is one cool meme. Share whatever you like. There are no rules, no theme, just you and what's on your mind. I'll be taking a break from posting until the end of June. I'll still stop by for a visit and comment here and there and you can always reach me by leaving a comment or emailing me. Happy June for all of us!!

Sidekick Saturday [20] My Way or the Highway!!!

Sidekick Saturday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted here by Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn't have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fits in this week's type
• Share a picture (if possible) and information about the character
• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in
• Please don't include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick
• Put your link in the Linky thing and comment

June 15th - Unlucky
June 22nd - Villain among Villains
June 29th - Cocky

This week's sidekick challenge is "My Way or the Highway!!"  I immediately thought of Oliver from the Morganville series, but it's more like my way or my fangs when it comes to that old vampire. Then I thought of Gale from The Hunger Games trilogy. I always felt he had one stance and would never consider any other way of thinking/living/fighting. But I settled on a character that might have actually said those words...(The Host minor spoiler alert!) Jeb Stryder from The Host. Jeb is a craggy old man. Whatever he did in his life before Mel/Wanderer met him established the old man as the boss. If you disagree you can leave. If you disagree badly, you can leave existence. William Hurt plays Jeb in the movie version, but to me, the actor is too pretty, even as a bearded old man.

Now for my own sidekicks. My mom's first thought was Kinsey Milhone from Sue Grafton's alphabet mystery series...A is for Alibi....Granted Kinsey is a main character, but my mom is so right about her. She loves her independence. She's accepting in a nonjudgmental way, but she's discerning in a total "my way or the highway" kind of way. Then my mom thought of Lisbeth Salander from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, again another main character, but mysteries and thrillers don't often have as many sidekicks as paranormal reads have. If anyone is trigger happy about walking away or pushing you away it's Lisbeth, our favorite damaged Goth, hacker, tattoo chick.

Shannon jumped right in with Jerome from Richelle Mead's Succubus Blues. Imagine a demon who looks exactly like the 80's version of John Cusack. He's the head boss of all the supernaturals in the Seattle area (he might cover more area, I just can't remember). Jerome reports directly to hell. Guess how willing he is to negotiate.

The conversation with my sidekicks (namely my sister) was light on arguments, but I did cut them off when they started naming characters from my upcoming books. We'll see if that was an effective deterrent.

Feature and Follow [13] I'm a series quitter!

This is a weekly blog meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read.

Here are the general rules to Follow Friday:
1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts and any one else you want to follow on the list
2. Follow our Featured Bloggers - This week's feature is: Rainy Day Reads and Read.Sleep.Repeat
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can
6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
7. If you want to show the link list, just follow the link below the entries and copy and paste it within your post!
8. If your new to the follow Friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!
This week's question is: Have you broken up with a series? If so, which one and why?I'm not proud at all, but I'm a quitter. And only when it comes to books and TV shows. You can win me over again, but if you piss me off like when Booth told Bones (in the Fox show, Bones) he loves her and she acted like a complete wuss and broke our hearts I quit that show so fast. I do the same thing with books. (Don't be sad if I bad-talked a beloved series of yours...please?)

I loved the first three books in the Drake Chronicles by Alexandra Harvey. Then the tone and direction completely changed. The first one remains in my reread stack because it's that fun.



Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick was exciting and Patch had me smitten. I couldn't wait for the next one. Sadly, the characters lost their zeal and I started saying mean things to Nora.




Evermore by Allyson Noel hit the angsty forbidden love in a big way. Oh, I loved this book. I made it through the first three and the love was still forbidden and angsty! We had a painful triangle and a best friend I hated. I couldn't pick up the next book, but the first one remains a favorite.


House of Night lost me with Chosen, book 3. I was so upset about a particular scene with a faculty member that I packed them up and gave them back to my sister. I still want to hit the book a couple more times. Grrh, I did not like that storyline at all and it wasn't needed. And it wasn't handled well. Nope.


Evernight by Claudia Grey is awesome. I loved the surprises and the developing romance between opposing sides. I thought the storytelling was fantastic. Then the second took a few detours that veered the story offtrack for my liking. 



Sookie! Oh goodness, I stopped at the hot pink book, 11 maybe? This one I might go back to despite the very mixed reviews on the final installment. So I thought I could pretend the series ended with the person I chose for our mind-reading barmaid, but delusions are tricky when you're trying to create them on purpose. I know the freaking truth!

Think Out Loud [12] Butterflies and Earthquakes

Everyday, twice a day, I wait at the same light. I almost never catch it, and I'm usually looking in my rear view mirror trying to figure out a way to keep siblings from tearing each other apart in the car. I'm usually not looking around, but today I looked around and caught sight of a butterfly. A solitary beautiful butterfly. I followed its path as the bickering in the backseat disappeared, until my eyes met with the woman's in the car next to mine. She was doing the same thing. We stared at each other in recognition. We both realized we shared this moment of silent joy. I celebrated that of course by laughing out loud. My mind instantly shifted to the last time I connected with a stranger with just one look. August 8th, 1993, Guam, weeks before leaving home for college.

My mom and I went to Safeway to buy Baileys and garlic bread. I know, weird combo. On the islands you often have to hit several different stores to complete your grocery list. I was standing in front of the wine coolers when a rumbling sound made the bottles rattle. I thought it was insane for Safeway to be moving equipment big enough to shake the concrete floors. The groaning and rumbling continued. I looked around and found a man ten feet way. Then the bottles exploded. I caught his eyes again. "We're having an earthquake," I said stupidly. A huge one. We stared at each other for another long second. The floor yanked sideways so hard the lights above were breaking. My brain took over and insisted I find my mom. So I wandered the isles of booze looking for her. I have no idea how I remained on my feet other than the explanation why drunks rarely are hurt in accidents. I was in such a shocked state I was completely relaxed.

Then I found her. She slipped right in front of me surrounded by broken liquor bottles and wearing the same thing I was wearing, a sundress and flipflops (we call them zories on Guam). "You have to get up, Mom." "I can't!" She was sliding around in the booze. Then I saw her toe bleeding. "You can't be in that glass, Mom." "Robyn!" She was trying to snap me out of it. "No, mom." I bent down, and with my hands secured under her arms, I picked her up like she weighed nothing until her eyes looked down on me and her feet dangled above the shards. I couldn't let her be hurt again. "Put me down! We have to take cover. The windows are going to break!" I looked at the wall of windows. "No, I can't let you get cut again." "ROBYN!" That did it. I set her down. She grabbed my arm and we used a grocery cart to guide us to a checker stand where we folded ourselves in the small space the checker person stands when she rings up your order. The ceiling was coming down. Glass was exploding left and right and I had unknowingly strained all my muscles fitting myself into that tiny space with my mom, and maybe lifting a grown woman above my head.

The earthquake registered at 8.2 for over a minute. I shook for hours after. I still remember that moment with the man when the bottles exploded in front of us. A stranger experiencing the biggest shock of his life at the same time I was. I had no idea Guam sat on an insane fault line. Eighteen years of small and medium earthquakes that were just kind of cool, then this. And I shared that moment of awe and terror with this guy.

Think Out Loud is a meme like no other. Whatever is on your mind, big or small or in picture form, join us, share.

Ghosts of War, Demons of Right Now: robgirlbooks' Review of Another Man's Moccasins by Craig Johnson

Another Man's Moccasins (Walt Longmire # 4)
by Craig Johnson
Published by Penguin Press (5/26/09)
336 pages
Borrowed from the Library
5 STARS!!!

Walt Longmire is sheriff of Wyoming's Absaroka County. It's an election year, but it's always an election year for a sheriff. Demons come back to haunt Walt when a Vietnamese woman is found dead, a body drop, which means he's got himself a cold case from the start. With flashbacks from his days in the Vietnam War and a confounding mystery on his hands, the only thing left to knock him flat on his butt is a befuddling and fumbling romance.

This is my favorite Walt Longmire book yet. I've never read a story with war flashbacks before and I loved the way Johnson wrote those scenes. I've seen so many Vietnam War movies, I don't know why. And I felt like I was sweating right there along side Walt. The best aspect of the flashbacks is that they were a surprising glint into Walt's inner workings. We've seen glimpses of his temper. We've seen moments of a cold heart when the crime called for it. But we've never seen a dumb, hardheaded, short tempered Walt. I loved it! And they really didn't add to the mystery by way of answering any questions. The mystery itself pissed me off. I couldn't guess. Oh, I was suspicious, but I was just as dazed as Walt. Johnson is that good! I will say that there wasn't as much humor in this one as the previous books. I think because the self-reflections took him straight to a war time memory. One of my favorite things about Walt is his take on the world. We didn't get that as much because his take was turned upside down with the dead girl uprooting too many memories. And still I loved this book so much. I'll read it again. I wish I owned it.

Sidekick Saturday [19] Comedic Relief!!

Sidekick Saturday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted here by Jaclyn at JC's Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn't have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fits in this week's type
• Share a picture (if possible) and information about the character
• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in
• Please don't include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick
• Put your link in the Linky thing and comment

June 8th - My way or the highway
June 15th - Unlucky
June 22nd - Villain among Villains
June 29th - Cocky
This week's challenge is COMEDIC RELIEF!!!I had Shane Collins from Rachel Caine's Morganville series all picked out, but then I went through my sidekick posts. Yikes! I have given this series a whole lot of love. There is a sidekick I just discovered...Jenks from Kim Harrison's The Hollows. I have a feeling he's going to be chosen over and over for whatever I can make work. He's a four inch hostile pixie. He's awesome. He's mean. He's the most loyal guy/creature/friend you could have. And boy does he have an attitude. I recently finished book 1, which means my quotes are limited. There was this scene with honey that was so funny. Jenks went nuts over it. Then he got drunk after flittering in and out, stealing pixie handfuls of the stuff. A drunk pissy pixie. Ha! He's also total eye-candy (mini-eye candy) and has a trough full of kids. Oh, if I were to cast an actor for this, I think it would be hilarious to see Ryan Gosling in flamboyant clothes with a fiery attitude. (I confess to casting Ryan often.)

“You think my kids just popped out of the ground?”
― Kim Harrison, Dead Witch Walking

Sadly, I did not get to go to lunch with my own sidekicks so we could chat about our picks. My youngest came down with the stomach flu. My sister did call and quickly tell me she chooses Cookie form First Grave on the Right. She said Cookie is even funnier in book 2. I guess Cookie is the opposite of cool under pressure. When the chips are down, expect Cookie to knock over a plant, reveal whatever big secret she's supposed to keep, and I'm not sure what else since I haven't read the series...yet. It's on the TBR list. My mom is still chewing on this one, or she forgot because the sun is finally out in Tacoma, Washington and she's in the garden. I'm sneaking computer time while the little one naps.

Small amendment: My mom chose Betsy from my Touched Girl series. Then my sister piped in with her suggestion from my books and I said back through the phone to my mom, "Too late!" See, Shan keeps adding to her picks. Then my mom started suggesting characters from future release books that I haven't published yet! So my sidekicks have lost their way a bit.

Feature and Follow [12]: Live and In Person!

This is a weekly blog meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read.
Here are the general rules to Follow Friday:
1. Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts and any one else you want to follow on the list
2. Follow our Featured Bloggers - This week's feature blogs are: Mad Hatter Reads and The Fiction Conniption
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can
6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
7. If you want to show the link list, just follow the link below the entries and copy and paste it within your post!
This week's question is: What blogger would you most like to meet in real life? Tell us about him or her.There's no "most" about it. I have so many new friends from venturing into this wonderful world of blogging, I tell you what, if I ran into a person in the grocery line and she mentioned she blogged, I'd be her best friend. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but bloggers are awesome people. We click, click, click away to share our passion for stories and characters, to connect with other book people, to get away from the puzzled looks on our family's faces when we're outraged over the crap ending of a book we've been waiting a year to read. We're chatty, opinionated, crafty people. Basically we rock and I'd love to hang out with any book blogger. I will say that I was so lucky to stumble onto JC's Book Haven's blog to ask Jaclyn if she'd like to review my book, Soul Walker. We've become great friends. And from there, I met other bloggers I call friends.

Jaclyn @ JC's Book Haven (now co-starring Melody whose reviews I look forward to stalking)
Rivie @ Bookshelf
Brandee @ Bookworm Brandee
Jodie @ Aussie Bookworm
Lexxie @ [un]conventional Book Views
Kaykay @ The Creative Forum
Jennifer @ Donnie Darko Girl
GoFlashGo @ Read, Rinse, Repeat
Snuggles @ Rainbows and Books

If I didn't mention you, I'm a jerk and never forgive me....Or take pity on a girl with spacing out issues.
I'd also like to note that I'm dying to add more to this post. I don't want anyone feeling left out. (can you tell I had dodgeball teams issues as a kid?)

Think Out Loud [11] Favorite Summer Recipes

Rain, rain, go away!  Riddles aren't working, so I thought some positive thinking might do the trick. I'm going to share a couple of my favorite summer recipes in hopes the universe will freaking pay it forward...to the soggy Pacific Northwest! (totally self-serving, I know)
rob's salsa (AKA Madre's salsa and Ted's salsa from Soul Bender)Ingredients:2 tomatoes1 red or white onion2 bell peppers1 Jalapeno (optional)3-6 lemons depending on sizefresh cilantrogarlic salt
1. Peeling the tomatoes: Boil a pot of water and place the two tomatoes in it for a couple minutes. You'll see the peel unraveling. Take them out and let them cool.2. Onion time: I like using red onions because they're sweeter and offer great color to the salsa. I use at least half the onion. Reds also tend to make the salsa a bit spicy. Peel, run under cold water for a quick second, then cut in chunks for the food processor. Have a big bowl handy, this turns into a big batch. I like to blend separately, but if you want to go nuts and combine everything, have at it.3. Here we go with the color: Cut and core the bell peppers and toss them in the processor next. This is also when you add the jalapeno if you want some heat.4. Peel (and chop if you have to) the cool tomatoes. Add them to the thoroughly rinsed cilantro into the processor. (a little cilantro goes a long way)5. Time for the zing. I like this salsa extra tangy. I use 3 or 4 big lemons or 5 or 6 small ones. Pour the juice  (watch for seeds) into the bowl with everything else and stir. 6. Add about a tsp of garlic salt to start with. Stir, taste. Add more garlic salt or lemon depending on your preference. 
This salsa is amazing with nacho cheese Doritos. It's also great with fajitas, or plain old corn chips. There is a little dish that's kind of silly, but I love it so much. You crush a bowl of corn chips, add shredded cheddar cheese, and several spoonfuls of the salsa and stir. Oh my goodness!!!
Island style marinade and sticky riceLow Sodium Soy Sauce (also comes wheat free)2-3 lemons1 onionblack or ground peppersugartiny hot peppers (optional)
medium grain rice + rice cooker
1. This recipe is made by the finger smacking approach, meaning you have to dip your finger in the marinade to test whether you have the right flavor. Start with a cup of soy sauce in a container. Consider making enough you can pour half into a bowl to spoon over the meet while you're cooking and then over your meat and sticky rice once the food hits the plate. 2. Add the freshly squeezed lemon juice. Start with 1-2 lemons. 3. Chop (don't mince) 1/4 of the onion to start. I prefer yellow onion for this version of island style marinade. It has more tang.4. Add a tsp of sugar and a dash of pepper. 5. If you're brave and have gloves, break out the tiny hot peppers. Good luck with that.TASTE...tweak here and there, more soy sauce, more lemon, more sugar. You want tang with a hint of sweetness. 
Separate the marinade so you have enough in a container for your meat, tastes amazing with beef or chicken. Let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour. Longer is better. You can either BBQ, broil in the oven, or saute in a pan. Sauteing is the only way you can use the marinade the meat soaked in, otherwise, you have to dump it and use the uncontaminated portion during the cooking process and after when preparing your plate.
Almost forgot the sticky rice. Rice cookers are so cheap and easy, I'm only a pro at making sticky rice with one. So here it is (it's so easy, I feel silly telling you). Pour however much rice you want into the cooker pot. Rinse it (not sure if this is a must, but my mom taught me this way). Level the rice by gently shaking it out, then add water. You use your finger to measure a single finger notch above the leveled rice. That's it, a single finger notch is the trick. Told you it was silly.
No rules, just what's on your mind. Join Think's awesome Think Out Loud meme!

robgirlbooks' Flash Review Marathon (part 3) Oregon Zoo

My reviews tend to go on and on with fangirl love. I thought I'd try something different. This week I plan to share speedy blogger love that spans books, movies, and even a zoo.

Oregon Zoo is 64 acres of awesomeness. We drove down from Washington to Portland, Oregon. My 4 yr old couldn't wait to see the hippos. I really wanted to catch the flamingos. My eleven year old couldn't wait to get the special car toy that accompanies road trips. We expected 72 degree weather. It was 89. Yikes! We started off with easy directions from the website and then excellent road signs directing us to the alternate lot since the main one was full. The prices are great since it's such a big zoo. Then we walked for four hours, moving from one exhibit and habitat to the next. Eagles so close I couldn't believe how big they are. Polar Bears swimming and lazying around. Turtles and sea otters. Two mountain lions (wow, those guys are HUGE). Lions, tigers, leopards. Oh, bears. We saw bears and of course hippos. Giraffes (my mom's favorite). Flamingos, much smaller than they look on TV. My favorite by far has to be the bats. Oh man, they were huge and all wrapped up and hanging there. I could have stayed there for hours. Oh, oh, we saw an anaconda. Sheesh. There was a room so hot and humid I have no idea what was in it. I walked right through without stopping. After hours of walking (and at a brisk pace) we still didn't see everything. If you can fit Oregon Zoo into a trip to the Pacific Northwest, do it.

As a little side note, I'd like to thank my friend and fellow author/blogger, Cat McHahon, for posting her video of Oregon Zoo because I caught it on Google+ and planned our trip that very weekend.

robgirlbooks' Flash Review Marathon (part 2): Epic, Iron Man 3, Blood and Chrome, The Host, and How to Train Your Dragon

My reviews tend to go on and on with fangirl love. I thought I'd try something different. This week I plan to share speedy blogger love that spans books, movies, and even a zoo.

MOVIES!!
How to Train Your Dragon (animated movie): 4.5 STARS. My 4 yr old and my 11 yr old both love the whole dragon, underdog kid, snarky sidekicks bit. I loved the wonderful blend of drama and humor. After I put the kids to bed part way through the DVD, I finished the movie alone. I had shows waiting for me, but I couldn't wait to finish this one. That's how good it is. The reason for the missing .5 star has to do with how awesome they wrote the girl in the story only to have her kiss the boy just because she's a girl and he's a boy. The movie didn't need the kissing scenes even as short as they were. The TV series Dragons: Riders of Berk is based off the movie and it's even better.


The Host (movie): 4 STARS. It's very difficult to have a character in a movie have regular back and forth conversations in her head. It took time acclimating to that part of the story. Some of the casting was off for me. Ian was spot on. The special effects were excellent, especially the way the souls looked. I found the Seekers' silver cars and clothes distracting. And a few of my favorite parts of the book that gave Wanda depth were stripped from the movie. But I'd see it again and I love the effort and I love the main characters.


Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome: 4 STARS. I am a huge fan of the modern version of Battlestar Glactica. Luckily my public library has the entire series including the BSG NBC miniseries that started it all and Razor, which was just plain hardcore. I wish Blood and Chrome took after Razor, because it needed more of an edge (oh, ho, ho, get it, edge). Still, young Adama was spot on. I loved his arrogance and dead set belief in what is right and wrong. I loved that people didn't drop at his feet like he's some prodigy god. I thought some parts were predictable, then my guesses would be wrong, not predictable at all. There was a horror movie scene involving a cave I thought was silly instead of scary. We want a battle with the toasters, not Saturday horror TV night. It's very possible I'll watch anything BSG and company come up with, but I hope for the next venture they shoot for more...something, magic maybe because to me the series was plain magical.

Iron Man 3: 5 STARS. AWESOME!!! Tony Stark is my favorite arrogant, genius, billionaire superhero. His snark is always spot on. The mystery part of the story isn't such a mystery, but how Tony overcomes certain challenges is a treat to experience. The best aspect of the story comes in the form of sidekicks. Tony can't do it alone this time and he's not very graceful about it. Oh, the other best aspect is the seamless blend of special effects and acting. Sometimes you get these huge comic turned movie blockbusters that spend all their focus on mind-bending battles, car chases, and explosions. We get all that, but we get the fantastic script too!

Epic: 4 STARS. I went with my 4 yr old, my 11 yr old, my mom, and my sister. The previews were excellent (weird to mention, but they helped turn bouncing restless boys into eager moviegoers). The movie starts off with an oddball looking man running through the forest like a crazy person. The boys loved it. The animation was brilliant, especially in terms of nature and animals. The creators put a lot of attention into the three legged dog, maybe thinking the little beast would be a comedic anchor. Same with the snail and slug, and those two were great. They made me laugh the most. Sadly, the best scenes are in the previews I caught on Youtube. The storyline had heavy moments and scary moments. At one point my oldest was on the verge of tears and another time my youngest curled into my arm because it was too scary for him...but normally the 4 yr old loves scary. I thought it was fun, sometimes scary, and thoroughly captivating. Okay, and I really wish Pitbull's character Bufo broke out in song because I love him!