A Memoir, A Mutant, and a Manuscript Maven!

My friend and fellow blogger, Samantha Verant had an amazing October. Her debut memoir, SEVEN LETTERS FROM PARIS, was released as well as her debut middle grade novel, KING OF THE MUTANTS. (Yes, that is a photo of us taken six years ago in Chicago!)

Let me tell you about the two books!

SEVEN REASONS I LOVE SEVEN LETTERS FROM PARIS
1. Sam is one witty author.
2. The story made me laugh, sigh, and even tear up.
3. So yes, there is heartbreak, but there is much laughter and love, too.
4. Amazing story about second chances.
5. It embraces the lost art of letter writing.
6. There's a place in France where Sam likes to dance. (Maybe or maybe not)
7. I'm mentioned in the acknowledgements!


KING OF THE MUTANTS
I haven't read all of Sam's King of the Mutants yet (I've read the first few chapters long ago!), but I will because my son is getting it for Christmas! Here's the scoop:

Maverick Mercury is the sideshow attraction known as “Gator Boy” at Grumbling’s Traveling Circus and Sideshow. Despite being routinely kicked around by the other performers, Maverick has always been comfortable in his skin. That is, until he overhears Burt Grumbling talking about him behind his reptilian-like back. It seems Maverick’s freakish mutations are the result of some billionaire geneticist’s experiments gone awry. Apparently, this guy kidnaps kids, turns them into supermutants, and sells their powers to the highest bidder. Now, Maverick is on a mission to find the mad scientist who may have created him. All he has to do is steal some wheels from Burt, escape the clutches of one-eyed Yorgi and his gang of killer clowns, and make his way from some Podunk town in Florida to the Big Apple.

So happy for Sam on her double book whammy in October!


BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

I have big news about my blogger friend, Sharon!

The wonderful Sharon Mayhew has started an editing business called THE MANUSCRIPT MAVEN! Don't you love the name?! She has critiqued many of my manuscripts, and I highly recommend her. Check out her new website HERE!

UnBelieberable!

What's a Bieber?
What was your favorite commercial of the Super Bowl? I only watched a little bit of the Super Bowl, and my fave commercial was the Best Buy one with Justin Bieber and Ozzy & Sharon Osbourne. Our home was fortunate enough to be Bieber fever free for a long time (except for a short lapse due to Murphblog's Bieber's Hair Attacked Me story last April - my then 5 year old was seriously scared that JB's hair was going to attack him in the night), but Bieber fever has officially hit this rock 'n' roll household. Even my 11 year old rocker son bought the song "Baby" on Itunes last week. I have heard that song so much that I was forced to institute a One Bieber Song Per Hour law in my home. My former house of rock...
"Like baby, baby, baby, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Of course, my children were familiar with Ozzy Osbourne way before Bieber fever. C'mon, I am their mother. So naturally we all enjoyed this ad (and watched it 10+ times). Can you believe that is JB with the mustache and crazy hair at the end? I like how Ozzy and Justin can make fun of themselves in this.


Bieber also made a cameo on SNL this weekend that made me laugh. Click here if you want to see him with the Church Lady and in a hilarious parody of The Roommate!
So, please stop here often for all of your Bieber needs! Just kidding, this blog will revert back to its rock 'n' roll format after this paragraph.
Speaking of SNL, I also loved seeing Wayne's World after all of these years! Click here to see the newest Wayne and Garth skit. I love silly, juvenile humor. Party on!

For my tune for Tuesday, here's a classic video of Ozzy Osbourne singing my fave Ozzy song, "I Don't Know." Even though Ozzy gets a bit confused at times, he is seriously talented. He exhibits an amazing, distinctive singing voice and some huge rock hits that span decades.


Do you have a favorite Bieber or Ozzy song?