Dinosaurs and Cherry Stems Has Gone LIVE!!!!

There I was being a little bit lazy (which is nothing new) when one of my dear and personal friends let me know that she was launching her first novel in a few days (this is always new and first novels are a blast) and I got excited.



I'd been agonizing for DAYS about a new blog post that let out my personal feelings about life in general without putting too fine a point on what was going on with my life while in the back of my head I kept hearing this irksome sort of laughter that was really getting on my last nerve. That would be the voice of my subconscious indulging in a moment of stark hilarity because there's no way possible I'm going to keep myself under wraps about a few things once I get started. So, I avoided the whole problem and procrastinated. Be patient, I'm getting to it.



When Susan let me know that she was launching a new novel soon called "Dinosaurs and Cherry Stems", I saw my opportunity to let someone else do all the work for me. Sheer genius, that. So I did what any good friend would do, I demanded (nicely, of course) that she do a guest post on my blog in honor of the new launch. Then, I came up with an interview for her because it was only fair that since she was doing all the work for my blog that I help out a little bit.



Here's what she gave back to me...





RJ Palmer:

So, how long has it been since you switched from eating crayons and writing stories with them to using pens and word programs? I can’t help it; I thought that part was REALLY cute!



Susan Ricci:

Rachel, It’s been WAY too long since my Crayola days and rainbow ‘deposits’, (if you know what I mean...) After I finished with crayons, I ‘graduated’ to an old Underwood my grandmother gave me. At the tender age of 10, I became a reporter, editor, and publisher for a neighborhood newspaper, The Hill Weekly, which sold for a dime an issue. We used carbon paper in those days to make copies. My mother made me send a copy to President Kennedy and his secretary sent me authentic autographed photos of he and his family, which I believe would go for a good penny on eBay , but I’m holding onto them. In high school, I rewrote Hamlet in modern day slang for my Senior English project and received an A+ for the year. Fast-forward a few decades….



RJ Palmer:

Tell me a little bit about what prompted you to write “Dinosaurs and Cherry Stems”?



Susan Ricci:

Dinosaurs & Cherry Stems began as kind of a journal after my second divorce. I thought I’d perhaps write a nonfiction book about relationships and what NOT to do while dating, but the need to embellish and entertain people overruled the original idea. I do so love to make stuff up!



RJ Palmer:

Have I mentioned I love that title? Where did you come up with it?



Susan Ricci:

Gosh, the title was mentally debated for a long time and I finally came up with it due to little snippets/vignettes in various chapters. Guess you’ll have to read the book to get the answer to that one, Rachel! ;)



RJ Palmer:

Would you be willing to share the recipe with me that you contributed to “Dine with Us”? I’m only asking this because my family says I’m a good cook but I can’t seem to get a pork chop quite right so I’ve given up. They’re either tough and dry or under done. Any hints you can give me would be helpful.



Susan Ricci:

I offered my Chicken Divan recipe and it is really very simple. Pound and a quarter of chicken breasts cubed, broccoli florets, can of mushroom soup, half a cup of milk, half cup water, shredded Mexican cheese (half cup) shredded sharp cheddar (half cup), assiago cheese (quarter cup), mix, top with flavored panko breadcrumbs and another half cup of the 3 cheeses, bake at 350 covered for 45 minutes, uncovered for 10. Serve over noodles or rice. Season the casserole to taste. I used Adobo and garlic. Although it’s a bit on the heavy side, guess you could say it’s nutritious because of the broccoli…Now about those pork chops—SHAKE AND BAKE works for me…



RJ Palmer:

Now that I’ve gotten completely off subject, let’s back track a moment. Tell me about your brainchild. I’m referring to “Dinosaurs and Cherry Stems” here. You’ve told me it’s your first novel and I’d like to know if personal experience was a cornerstone in writing it.



Susan Ricci:

Yep, personal experience and a tendency to over exaggerate.



RJ Palmer:

I see you got your first review on “Heart Marks the Spot” and it’s a four star. Congratulations!! Tell me what advice or words of wisdom you might take from this review, if you would be so kind? I only ask this because I’ve had to do the same darned thing, throw out the bashing and take the truth to learn from it. Are you going to learn from it to try to better your craft?



Susan Ricci:

Although I never expected Heart Marks the Spot to hit number 6 in its genre for free downloads, I’m ass-kicking thrilled it did. The four star review could have been worse. The reviewer did say ‘the author has promise…”



RJ Palmer:

I see a thread of unstoppable, helpless humor in your author bio for Amazon. Is this element of ability to laugh at your self something I can look forward to when I read “Dinosaurs and Cherry Stems”? Sorry, but I really found that crayon bit funny and cute…Wish I’d thought of something like that. I ate paste as a child if it’s any comfort.



Susan Ricci:

Laughing at others and especially myself has always been a great comfort to me. It’s the way I look at life sometimes—don’t take it all too seriously and enjoy the riches you’ve been gifted with. I must say, I’ve had some major hurts and wrongs done to me, (as you may recall), but I try to not let them dampen my spirit. And, I ate paste, too…even after I found out it was made from dead horses!



RJ Palmer:

Tell me something about “Dinosaurs and Cherry Stems” that you haven’t ever told anyone else before. Was there a particular line that stuck in your head? Did you have to research something that took you completely by surprise? Gimme the dish, dear.



Susan Ricci:

A few of the chapters about Cindy’s ex husband, Glen, were written because of ‘things’ I wished in real life to possibly happen with one of mine…you’ll see!



RJ Palmer:

Give me a few pearls of wisdom that I can pass on to your present and future adoring fans. You can be as serious or as flippant as you want here. The first line that pops into my head is usually, “BUY MY BOOK!” But this is entirely subjective and I want to see what you would have to say.



Susan Ricci:

Never stop writing what you’re passionate about. And conquer those scenes you have difficulties with, just by paying attention to outside stimuli. It took me DAYS to figure out how to write a love scene. I even blogged about it months ago. I don’t write gratuitous sex, but I did need some love scenes in the book. Plus, I wrote around eight endings, but was never satisfied. The ending I decided upon came from an innocent conversation at my nail salon. Go figure… The Nail Salon Nailed It!



And, please buy my book, folks! You’ll be doing an ‘older’ lady a great service! (Pardon me for a moment while I harumph at the 'older' part.)



DINOSAURS AND CHERRY STEMS



Intense emotion, leading to prose or poetry, cannot be described in any other fashion.





Chapter One: Moral Ineptitude



I’ve been rendered a dinosaur, a relic.



I’m sitting in the theater where my grandson’s rehearsing his spring band concert and darling hubby just texted me, “We should separate.”



“Oh, Glen, that’s so you,” I whisper. In the twenty years I’ve known him, Glen always finds a way to sneak out the back door.



Bastard.



It’s not his motive that’s the shocker, because I knew how he operated. Marrying him was not my wisest move. Glen and I have been communicating via sarcasm since our first anniversary three years back. Arguments evolved--how we spend our down time, his and my adult kids’ snafus, even our new bedspread, for Christ’s sake.



He had his picture taken without me the last time we traveled, six months ago (using the word vacationed implies an enjoyable event). I later found his photo posted on a social network he joined. In the relationship section, he’d written it’s complicated.



Uh huh.



I’ve even kept my mouth shut about the way we’ve been stagnant as a couple, thinking it would be better for both of us to let the situation ride for a while.



Wrong.



Several weeks ago, Ella Stuart, a woman I know socially, phoned and inadvertently cleared up those rumors I’d been hearing about hubby’s slick trespassing.



“We thought you and Glen might like to join us for a house party we’re having next Friday night,” she’d said. “It’s been a long time since we’ve all gotten together.”



I was confused. Ella’s husband, Bill, and Glen are tight, childhood friends and they’d gone to an attorney seminar together just the week before. I thought for sure, since they’re so close, Glen must’ve told him our marriage was in the morgue.



“Didn’t Glen tell Bill at that seminar last week about our personal situation? That our marriage is not going so great?” I ask.



“Wow, I’m sorry to hear that. I didn’t know and I don’t think Bill knows either because he didn’t mention it. As a matter of fact, he hasn’t seen Glen since last winter. I had a hell of a time tracking your phone number and finally called information. The last number Glen gave Bill, well, something’s not right about it. I tried calling it several times, and some woman kept answering, but when I asked for you or Glen, she’d hang up.”



“What’s the number?”



Ella gave me the number, and as I copy it I’m thinking, you bet your ass something’s not right, because I don’t recognize this.



“Glen told me he went to a seminar last week with Bill, the one in New York when they stayed over,” I said again. “Are you saying Bill didn’t go?”



“Yes, that’s what I’m saying. Bill has been home after work every night the past month. He hasn’t gone to any over night seminars in a long time.”



Ding-ding-ding!



“What about that baseball game they went to last month?” I ask. “It’s hard for me to believe Glen didn’t say anything to Bill about us. I’ve never seen a man love to gossip more than he does.” I try to laugh, but the noise coming out of me sounds more like ARRGH.



Ella sighed. “I’m sorry, but Bill hasn’t been to any ball games this season, either, Cindy. Bill hasn’t seen Glen since the winter.”



“Are you absolutely sure?” The pleading in my voice makes me almost as sick as this conversation.



“Yes, I’m really sure. Again, I’m sorry.” Click.



I lean over my desk to put the phone back in the charger, but my hand trembles and it drops.



I bury my face in my hands. Yep, not only am I a dinosaur, I’m a throwaway and so humiliated I have those cramps people get when they’re in urgent need of the bathroom, but there’s no time. Glen will be home soon and I want to call the woman who kept hanging up on Ella.



When she hangs up on me, I’m not a bit surprised.



What transpired afterward is muzzy, but what remains with me is the sudden crash at the window during Glen’s lively denials after I confront him.



Diverted from our shouting match, we’d hurried over and saw a bird, lying in the garden below. Even as we watched, it soon gathered its wits and flew away.



As we withdrew to our separate regions in the house, my self-esteem questioned: How many slams into the window of surprises do I need before I fly this marital coop?



I once heard about some celebrity who sent his wife a fax saying he wanted to divorce, but texting such a message is un-fucking-believable, even for Glen. My hands flex with the urge to choke him as I recall how he kept checking his cell during my mother’s wake last spring.



Take deep breaths, I tell myself. Focus on the stage and Jesse’s drum solo.



The pounding drums mimic my heartbeat, but I know until this rehearsal is over and Jesse’s safely home, I must stay calm. There’s forty miles of driving on a freeway loaded with wild weekenders to cope with, and it’s a definite my grandson’s going to want to stop and eat since it’s past lunchtime, and we always do that anyway.



I pinch my fingers on the bridge of my nose to keep the angry tears at bay. I want to text him back, continue the battle, but the situation will only escalate if I do, because Glen never loses his wars.



Instead of retreating, I text him anyway, and ask if we can talk about this when I get home.



He responds he’s busy for the rest of the weekend, and won’t be there.



Christ, today’s only Saturday. What’s supposed to happen on Monday, when we have to go to work in the same office?



Where he’s my boss?





There you have it everybody. If you like what you see and want to see more and READ more (hint, hint) find "Dinosaurs and Cherry Stems" here on Amazon and while you're at it, take a gander at "Heart Marks the Spot" which is a collection of shorts by Susan Ricci here on, you guessed it, Amazon.



For those of you interested, you can find Susan Ricci here on her website, or follow her on twitter at @susanjeanricci.com. Now what are you waiting for? Go get yourself hooked up with "Dinosaurs and Cherry Stems" and "Heart Marks the Spot"...Enjoy!