Ninja Naked with Hart Johnson, Movie Review, and Ninja News!

Special Guest, Hart Johnson, Gets Ninja Naked!

Ninja Fail

First of all, I want to throw out a HUGE thanks to Alex. Alex is probably the most generous blogger I know for spreading the love and helping us feel like a big blogging family. (So we're clear... I am one of the black sheep—erm... maybe rainbow sheep (I only WANT to be a black sheep)—and he loves me anyway). So I really appreciate the chance to share a little love with the Ninja Team today.

I thought, in honor of Alex, I would do a little Ninja assessment of my MC and her posse... though it's not really a posse, you understand... Cam being neither cowboy, nor rapper... But she has a best friend, a boyfriend, a dad, a sister, a brother-in-law... are there any ninja's in The Azalea Assault?

Cam: My MC is darned efficient when it comes to damage control. She spots a problem and can either hide it or spin it so her client, the Roanoke Garden Society comes out smelling like jasmine (which is better than roses, by the way, unless there is a dead body contaminating the experience *shifty*). As the book begins, Cam and Rob (the boyfriend) have a nearly ninja coup! (other than the near groping experience, but never mind), but honestly... Cam gets caught more often than not... her heart is in the right place, but she is NO NINJA!

Her sister Petunia doesn't even TRY to be a ninja. She is so non-ninja she can't deliver a cocktail without being goosed! Poor woman. Her husband, likewise, fails to blend... but for him it is a shady past... a ninja should NEVER have a shady past or EVERYBODY will think he is UP TO SOMETHING!

Cam's dad, Nelson is in his 60s, but that has NOTHING to do with his non-ninja status... you see, HIS problem is he is a BABE magnet. I kid you not. Eligible women of a certain age just are drawn to his charm... hard to be a ninja with a harem... [want to know a secret? Revealed HERE first—the inspiration for this character is the dad on the TV series Frazier—talk about a charmer!--if you were a 50+ woman, wouldn't YOU want to hang out with him?]

So we are left with Annie. Oh, Annie shows PROMISE. She LOVES to sneak around and get away with stuff. But she has a contagious sense of fun and a bit too strong of a channeling of a certain Tart some of you might now... Do you remember the scene in My Cousin Vinny where Marissa Tomei says, “Oh, you blend,”? Unfortunately, THAT is Annie. Very hard to ignore the woman daring people to streak or paint each other with frosting. (And in a blueblood crowd? Not so much...)

On the PLUS side... while Ninjas ROCK, they are better as friends than mystery characters... no suspense in anybody who always succeeds...Much more amusing to watch them SQUIRM! *cue evil laughter*

And we are ALL Ninjas in spirit, eh?

The Azalea Assault

Cam Harris loves her job as public relations manager for the Roanoke Garden Society. It allows her to combine her three loves, spinning the press, showing off her favorite town, and promoting her favorite activity. She's just achieved a huge coup by enlisting Garden Delights, the country's premiere gardening magazine, to feature the exquisite garden of RGS founder, Neil Patrick. She's even managed to enlist world-famous photographer Jean-Jacques Georges. Unfortunately, Jean-Jacques is a first-rate cad—insulting the RGS members and gardening, goosing every woman in the room, and drinking like a lush. It is hardly a surprise when he turns up dead. But when Cam's brother-in-law is accused and her sister begs her to solve the crime, that is when things really get prickly.

Alyse Carlson is the pen name for the author some of you may know as Hart Johnson. She writes books from her bathtub and when she isn't writing, does research for a large, midwest University or leads the Naked World Domination Movement (your choice).

Links
Barnes & Noble Paperback or Nook Amazon Paperback or Kindle
Visit Hart at Confessions of a Watery Tart

Movie Review

We Bought a Zoo
Yes, the stupid zoo movie, (Not to be confused with the stupid owl movie or either stupid horse movies.)
Directed by Cameron Crowe and staring Matt Damon, it’s the true story of a widowed man who takes his two kids to the country to run a dilapidated zoo. (The movie is set in America, but the real zoo is the Dartmoor Zoo, located in the UK.)
This was a sweet story about a family finding themselves again and I was surprised how much I enjoyed the film. A lot deals with handling death, including a situation at the zoo with an aging tiger. Be warned, it is a tearjerker. Overall, a good story with solid performances.
(All right, bring on the next stupid animal movie – I’m ready!)

Ninja News!

Stephanie at Scribbler to Scribe noted that Nightmare Magazine is now open for submissions!

Time-sensitive news from a Challenge co-host buddy - Stephen Tremp’s book, Breakthrough, is free June 18 and 19 on AMAZON Get your copy today!

A.J. Walker’s latest book, a fantasy entitled Hard Winter, was just released. Congratulations, AJ! Check it out on Amazon

It’s cool when someone posts a review of your book – twice as cool as when someone posts two at once! Big thanks to DG Hudson for the reviews of CassaStar and CassaFire.

Do you consider yourself a Ninja? Have you picked up Hart’s new book? Seen We Bought a Zoo? Catch another movie this weekend? Ready for more books? Or do you just want to get naked?