Review of Curses, by Calvin Dean

Lovable retiree seeks girlfriend with a pulse. Fun ensues.

What a funny little story. Gets total props for originality in my book. It's like Inspector Cluseau or Barney Fife meets the Ghost Whisperer. Martin is a retiree with a haunting problem, and he is bound and determined to deal with it...as long as his girlfriend - the living and breathing one, anyway - doesn't have him committed first.

I found the story to be more of a comedy, although there were a couple eerie scenes, and even some touching scenes. Martin's bumbling efforts to conceal his "it's complicated" status from his neighbor (who he just so happens to believe is the love of his life) are enjoyably comical. I got the greatest visual of the man going about his days, dealing with some truly trying ghosts.

Not sure how you would categorize Curses. Maybe a cozy horror mystery? It was a definite fun break, for Halloween or any time. 

Review of Heavy Weather by Normandie Fischer

Wow, this was a great book. I wouldn't classify it as a romance, per se, because we don't really get to see the romance building between Annie Mac and Clay. They do fall in love, but that is not the focus of the book. It is so much more than a romance. The core group of friends rally behind Annie Mac and help her and her children recover from an abusive father/ex-husband's brutal attack, and we get to spy in on the affects one family's drama has on a small town community.

So much happens and I don't want to let any spoilers slip, so I won't do a recap. But I loved reading as Hannah and Matt's story unfolded. I loved catching up with Tadie and Will, Rita and Martin, and meeting Clay. What a standup guy! I loved watching his transformation from a man content with his solo life to his becoming a family man. (I totally got him as a 'leave me alone with my solo existence' person, since I am very much that way. He was very well drawn.)

Annie Mac gets her own paragraph. She felt very real to me. How does a woman end up in an abusive relationship? And once there, how does she have the courage to leave? Annie Mac has made more than one mistake in her life, and my how she has paid for it. Yet she worked to pull herself up out of a horrible situation, and continued to fight against all odds to improve her life and the lives of her children. She is the picture of a strong woman who doesn't let life beat her down, even when a key person in her life has. Her story is a tough one, and may trigger survivors of abuse, but she is inspiring to watch as she grows and learns to heal and live again. 

And as with other Normandie Fischer books I've read, she does a fantastic job bringing the children to life. I fell in love with Katie, and the little man, Ty, melted my heart with his determination to help his mama. I'm a grouchy old woman when it comes to kids - I can take 'em or leave 'em, generally. (Excepting my own grandkids - and I married into them, I have none of my own.) That these youngsters found their way into my heart says a lot for how masterfully they were portrayed. And revisiting Jilly from Becalmed was an added bonus, as she was another young character I very much loved.

I will say that this story is brutally honest. It pulls no punches and for me, personally, I felt deeply and profoundly as the characters moved through tragedy and triumph, and everything in between. In life, I'm not much of a crier. I will confess good fiction has the ability to make me cry faster than real life - and this certainly qualifies as good fiction. I cried more than once, both happy tears and tears of sadness and outrage. 

Oh, and let me not forget how much I appreciated getting in the head of the bad guy. Roy was a real piece of work, and had we not been privy to the workings of his mind, I think the story would have been more bewildering and not nearly as tense. Getting in his head was not pretty, but I think it was necessary to build tension and really understand the depth of danger Annie Mac and those who were helping her were in.

Very well done story. If you haven't yet read it, you won't be sorry.
Content Rating: PG-13 for scenes of abuse and dramatic (though not overtly graphic) violence - but language and romantic content are "clean" and flinch free.

On Walking Someone Else's Dog

I mentioned earlier that my mom was going to have knee replacement surgery, and I was going to be her caregiver. The surgery was two weeks ago today, and Mom is doing great. Not up and running marathons, like she seems to think she ought to be able to do by now, but for a 78-year-old, she is a rock star.

One of my easiest duties as caregiver is to take Mom’s dog for a walk, twice a day. We’re not sure what breed she is—she looks like a Golden Retriever, but in miniature—but she has a sweet disposition and has been a great companion for Mom. She is peculiar in one respect: she won’t do her business in the yard, and so she must be walked. This has been great for making sure Mom gets her exercise, and giving her reasons to socialize with the neighbors. The downside is that Ada (the dog) must go twice a day, every day, rain or shine. At ungodly hours for a night owl like me.

I tend to stay up well past midnight writing or proofreading, and left to my own devices, I get up around 8:30 or so. But Ada wants to be fed at 7 and walked by 8 at the latest. Mom has been able to feed her, but I’ve barely been able to drag my butt out of bed to get out the door by 8. I walk her as late as possible in the evenings, but this time of year it has still been over 12 hours since she’s been out, so I do feel for her, and I try.

One interesting thing about walking someone else’s dog is the people I meet.

Now, Ada is not always friendly with every dog she meets, so I never assume the pug or yorkie or hound coming up on us is a friend. Most times they pass without incident. But whether or not the dogs are friendly, almost everyone we come across knows my mom. And they ask me how she is, where she is, and how the surgery went. It is gratifying that so many people know and care about Mom, and tell me to tell her that “Winsow’s mom says hello,” or “Dakota and I are praying for her.” (We all seem to remember the dog’s name before the people’s names.)

Since I am not a morning person, I also look for the blessings in getting up so early, and I find it very peaceful to walk in the quiet of the morning. Mom lives near a sweet little park that features lovely magnolia trees, which are in bloom right now. Everything changes so much this time of year. I can walk by a bare tree in the morning and by the afternoon the leaf buds will be pushing, and the next morning it will be leafed out. A magnolia will be full of fuzzy pods one trip, then 11 hours later they will be open and displaying beautiful blooms. Dewdrops and birdsong in the morning, sunset colors in the evening. Clouds as a backdrop, blue sky, green green grass. It is all splendid, all glorious, and seemingly all mine. It is a blessed escape from the cares of the world, a timeless bubble impervious to the tragedy, anger, politics, and madness that seem to be crashing against the rocks of reality, driving me to distraction when I let it.

We anticipate the doctor will tell us tomorrow that Mom doesn’t need live-in care any longer, and I will be able to go home, just stopping in every couple days to help her do the things she can’t do herself. The dog walks will pass on to helpful neighbors, and I will get to sleep in again. At least until I get back on the truck next month.

I have to confess, part of me will miss the daily walks with Ada. But I do miss my own bed, and my lazy mornings.