Friday, April 25, 2008

Lurking




Do you ever feel like you spend way too much time lurking? I'm at that stage for some reason. I get this way whenever things in my life aren't going well (or MY way) or if I don't feel as if I'm fitting in or I'm just plain bored.

So, I lurk. I wait. I think. I sigh. I don't post on the blog. I don't work on anything that thrills me. Today I did put up an interview with the amazing Annie Jones. She writes the kind of fiction I like to read.

What's one more word written in the blog world? Who's going to miss it? In the meantime I've read quite a few manuscripts in my job, and I evaluated them. I got through a couple of books I've been wanting to read,as well.

The Lost Sheep: A Colton Parker Mystery by Brandt Dodson Loved it--a police procedural that is written in first person POV. This is my first Brandt Dodson book and he's a member of the Indiana Chapter of ACFW.
and
A Suspicion of Strawberries by Lynette Sowell
(Blurb)
The heartbreaker diva of Greenburg, Tennesee is dead. Andromeda Clark knows that her cherry facial scrub didn't accidentally kill Charla Rae Thacker from anaphylactic shock. But Andi's soap business is in trouble and tongues are a-waggin'. To save her business, she searches for the one who tampered with her product. And now Andi's long-time, long-haul trucker boyfriend Ben decides it's time to settle down and stay in Greenburg for good. How can a woman breathe?

What's fun about this book for me is that she has set it in the area of Tennessee that my family is from (though it is based on a real town, this isn't the real town.) She mentions the Tennessee River, where I spent many a summer as a child, and love of all loves, she mentions chocolate gravy! I hadn't thought about that taste treat for breakfast in some time. My Aunt Nell used to make it for us. My dad who was from this area of Tennessee was a long haul trucker. I'm well familiar with that life. It was a fun read and I look forward to the rest of my stack of Heartsong Presents Mysteries I have stacked here.

And I'm really glad I'm not allergic to strawberries. I love Ivanhoe's (a famous local restaurant) strawberry shortcake with soft vanilla ice cream and indulge in that once a year. Right now I indulge in carrots, lettuces and other assorted veggies. Ah, well. Such is the time of my life.

But for now, I am not feeling useful, nor with purpose. And my menu is getting boring.

What kinds of things light your fire within? What is it that you wanting to do at this point in your life? And more importantly, what are you eating these days that I'm not??

7 comments:

Lynette Sowell said...

Crystal, I'm so glad you enjoyed the book and that it brought back some good memories. I haven't made chocolate gravy in a few months. Maybe one morning for breakfast! :) Thanks!

Susan Page Davis said...

Crystal, I'm a true Yankee and have never tasted chocolate gravy. But I'm going to be in Tennessee in a few weeks. Maybe I'll have the privilege. I read this book, and it was lots of fun!
Susan

Eileen said...

You'll have to check out my cozy mystery set outside Jackson, TN when it comes out by fall. What fun! And I can't wait for my books to get here so I can read Lynette's. Ummm, do I need to worry about my favorite strawberry pie?

Crystal Laine said...

Ok, Lynette, spill the chocolate gravy recipe you have. Needs to be on your web site! Better throw in your biscuit recipe (I have one, too) because no choc is quite the same unless served on an authentic Southern biscuit!

And as to being suspicious of your favorite strawberry pie? Well, hmm, nothing is safe when placed in a mystery....muhahahahaha.

Will definitely look forward to your book, Eileen.

You all have to get these fun mysteries put out by Heartsong, folks. Fun, short enough for any busy lifestyle, with real people, realistic settings and God's truth woven in. Love them.

Grateful Gramma said...

Got me curious. What part of Tennessee are you from? (I know.....bad grammar....)

I grew up in Johnson City.

Lynette Sowell said...

Okay, I was out of town but I'm back now. Crystal, you'll have to make the biscuits. But here's the gravy: :)
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa
2 tablespoons flour

Mix all the above in a sauce pan. Add about a cup of milk and heat, Just keep stirring and stirring until it's thick. Pour over biscuits and enjoy. YUM-O, as Rachael Ray would say. :)

Anonymous said...

Crystal,

I was so very pleased to find that you enjoyed "The Lost Sheep". And I appreciate your kind comments.

I'm not up to speed on chocolate gravy, but since I like both chocolate AND gravy, you've opened new doors for me.
(I have a friend who likes to mix her chocolate Slim Fast with Pepsi. Now THAT, IS a problem.:)

Brandt Dodson