The Kari AnnAlysis

Another reason I love Twitter, it has introduced me to some really cool people. And without Twitter, I wouldn’t have stumbled upon Bart Harper and his books.

I had Bart send me both books, Adventures of a Fat Kid and The Gentleman in Room 205. I probably should have read the Fat Kid first, since it was his first book, but I grabbed the other one instead. I normally try to read a light book then a serious book and continue that pattern to switch it up.

Within the first page and a half of this book, I was wiping my eyes. I knew this book was based on the death of Bart’s father, which shows he is family man (it takes a lot to write about your family and a hard experience) but you don’t realize who someone is until you see how they feel about their family. Just in the prologue, I saw how much Bart’s dad meant to him and that set the stage for the rest of the book.

I am also automatically connected to this book because Bart’s dad had a stroke. Last Christmas, my Grandma had a stroke, so I definitely understand his pain from the beginning and I think that actually the connection intrigues me to keep reading.

And even though I knew this had a sci-fi twist, it wasn’t what I expected. It turned out to be much more. This is a great book. It’s a page turner, very creative and just the right length. Every chapter is a great addition to the book. There are many that by the time I’m done, I realize I could have cut the book in half. Not this one. Any longer and it may not have had the same effect on me.

I sent the author some questions. It’s nice to be able to chat with someone and get the answers to all of the burning questions that come up when you’re reading.

INTERVIEW WITH BART HARPER: **SPOILER ALERT**

1. How much of this book is based on real life events?

-my father fell ill from a second stroke in 2007, we were in a nursing home for a year before he passed. He did have 17 brothers/sisters, grew up poor, was a football star, …..dad would have these breathing fits and was ventilated several times til i finally let him go one night when he coded, held his hand as he went, still having problems with that…don’t think it will ever go away….. There was a Lena (not blonde and beautiful tho lol, but very helpful) … max was based on my son Trey who went with me to visit grandpa. Mrs. Kessler, Mr. Pyle, and Mr. Rent were made up characters. Dad did want me to play football, and i was good, but I preferred basketball. He was a very caring father and put me first. Of course, my grandmother did not have an affair with superman lol……..

2. Did the idea for this book just hit you, or was it a work in progress deal? It had some twists and turns all through out it. Were those things you know you wanted to do, or did they come as you were writing (I want to write a book, these are things I think about when reading).

-to tell you the truth, i just typed and things popped in my head. No outline really! I typed the book in a little over a couple weeks. It was lacking, so i added the characters Max and Mr. Pyle, the demon. I can’t remember when i decided to make Mr. Rent an aging superhero, but like i said…i just let it flow. Most authors do a detailed outline, I just go with what pops in my head.

3. What is your favorite part of the book?

-Gee, I really love the part where Mr. Rent rises from the chair to go into the burning building and picks the cop up lol ( i get choked up when reading that part)….. I also like the part where the young man tackles the demon and flashes back to when he used to hit the old tackling dummy “Unleash it, let it go!” got choked up there too. And I like the ending where the young man realizes he has the powers too (Mr. Pyle shoots him)

4. Is there anything you’d change?

-MMMM there is always room for improvement. I wish I could have made the book longer. It seemed a little rushed, perhaps added more about when the father and son were younger! I had several people proofread it, and some didn’t get that Mr. Rent was a superhero, so I added more hints to the epilogue. I have some good reviews. My mother didn’t really get it. lol

5. What are you working on now?

-My next book will be called Pet Peeves. This will be like the first book “Fat Kid” ….comedy…….. this will also be the first book that i know of that is being written completely on facebook. Should be out in October 2009.

Most importantly: Where can people get your book????

-amazon, barnes and noble, target.com.. but for a better price and signed copies www.authorbartharper.com

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick, easy read, but it was very creative and a great story. Plus, who doesn’t love a book by a local author? Drum roll please, I give The Gentleman in Room 205 4 bookmarks!

CLICK HERE TO WIN A SIGNED COPY OF THE BOOK!

As I’m watching Hot Dog Paradise on the Travel Channel and in honor of this weekends Hot Dog Fest in Huntington, I’m reminded of one of my favorite websites in West Virginia.

It’s WVhotdogs.comWe found this site last year when we were looking up information on the Hot Dog Fest.

The site gives reviews to hot dogs all over the state. The better your weenie, the more weenies you’ll get

It also has a super cool map letting you know where you can find slaw in the state. I’m not a slaw fan, but for those who like it, it’s nice to know where you can and can’t ask for it.

This site has everything you want to know about hot dogs. If you love “dawgs” like I do, you may want to check this out. Or, if you just want to see a cool site. I mean, when you travel around the state, you are primarily doing it to find hot dogs right?

While you’re at it, if you don’t know about the Hot Dog Fest, check out the site I linked above. It’s Saturday (July 25th) at Pullman Square. Everything from Weenie Races, to a Bun Run to 13 different vendors showing off their weenies!

[polldaddy poll=1802922]

A Job to Kill For is the second book in the Lacy Fields Mystery series. I got the first book by being cheap (it was in a buy 3 for $5 bin) and I’m very glad for my cheapness because these are good books.

Lacy Fields is an interior decorator in Cali, her husband, a plastic surgeon. But she keeps getting involved in murders, good thing she has an eye for detecting.

I like these books because they are smooth, easy reads, but they also keep me turning the pages.

I like a mystery that I can figure out, but what’s the point of reading on? In the first Lacy Fields book, Looks to Die For, I had a hunch and was right, but in A Job to Kill For, no clue until the end. Kaplan does a good job of throwing out curve balls to keep you on your toes.

And much like Janet Evanovich with her Stephanie Plum series, what woman doesn’t want to read about a woman who straight up kicks butt and cracks the case? Its empowering, although I wouldn’t last a minute.

I mentioned these are easy reads, I started this book Sunday evening, immediately after I finished Son of a Witch (yes I know I am a chain reader). I read it Sunday night, Monday and Tuesday morning before work and both of those days before bed. Didn’t take me much time to get through it, but that doesn’t mean it was a good book.

I’m kind of torn about how to rate this book. If I gave half book marks, it’d be easy, a 3.5. But since I don’t, I think I’m going to go with a 3. If it would have made me laugh out loud, I’d give it a 4. Also, its not necessarily a book I think I’d read again, I don’t think there was much I missed, so, 3 it is.

Son of a Witch is Volume 2 in the Wicked Years series by Gregory Maguire. If you don’t know anything about the series, it shows you the other side of the Wizard of Oz. The first one, Wicked, lets you see the life of Elphaeba, the Wicked Witch of the West.

The series is a little more difficult to read compared to the girly murder mysteries I normally read. In both books, I’ve had to re-read parts and even look up words.

Speaking of words, I took note of a few words I had to look up: Quions, Unguents and Grousing. Those were all on the same page

One thing I like about this series, much like Harry Potter, is that the world you read about is completely made up. I don’t think it’s as well written as the Harry Potter books, because JK Rowling was very good at being descriptive. These books are very detailed, but I didn’t feel like the explanations were great. I like to be able to close my eyes and see what I’m reading and in these books, I can do that at times, but not all of the time.

One thing I suggest is that you read these books back to back. I haven’t read Wickedin over a year and forgot most of it. So when it referenced some things, I had a hard time remembering. It came back eventually, but I wish I would had read them closer together.

One thing I really liked about this book was in the beginning, it bounced back and forth from the past to the present until finally they caught up with each other and went forward. I thought that was written very well.

The thing I liked the most about the first book was Elphaeba, and since she was killed, there wasn’t as much about her in this one. It took me a while to read because there were parts that really just lagged.

It was good, then it got slow, then it got good, then it was slow for a long time until the very last line. Then it ended. Crap! Now I’ll have to make sure I read A Lion Among Men which I guess is looking at the Lion’s life.

I only give this book 2 bookmarks. It wasn’t bad enough to be trashed, but it wasn’t good enough for me to read again.

I downloaded this app about a week ago, and I’m in love.

I’ve only used it a couple of times, but it’s very easy to use and very helpful when I’m not at my computer.

The thing I think I’ll use it for most is my book reviews. Before I got this app, I would write notes in my note pad on my phone when I was reading. It’s easier to have notes then try to remember everything when you’re done with the book. Right now I’m reading “Son of a Witch” and I copied and pasted all of my notes to my app and they’re waiting for me in my drafts when I’m ready.  It’ll be nice to take out a step. I won’t have to retype everything from my notes.

It did take me a while to figure out how to get a draft sent to Wordpress on my computer so I can just edit it from there, but turned out being easy. Just save your post as a draft and then submit it and voila, it’s on your computer too.

I have mine set up to show me my 10 latest posts when I sign on. It also gives me the option to choose my KariAnnAlysis blog or my Wedding Blog.

One thing I don’t think I’ll be using on the app is the photo adder. Most of the posts on my blog are ones that I work on at home when I have been thinking about something for a few days. I don’t think I’ll ever be on the run and need to post pictures. But, you never know. At least I have that option.

As of right now, I am planning on just using this as a note holder until I have time to sit down with it, but I like the fact that if I want to post a blog on the go, I can.

If you use Wordpress for a blog, I HIGHLY suggest this app.  You never know when you’ll get inspired to write something. And if you don’t do it at the time, if you’re like me, you’ll most likely forget it.