The Beals live in a upper middle class neighborhood in the mid 1960's. Frank is a jingle writer who is having more than a little trouble coming up with a shoe polish jingle. Trying to keep up with the neighbor's expensive tastes is a full time job in itself. But when Frank butts heads with a Voodoo practicing Brazilian gardener, he gets much more than he bargains for, especially when he is distracted by all the spells flying back and forth, with a force strong enough to turn his wife into a love-starved siren and his children into well-behaved angels.
Frank felt an apologetic grin tug the corner of his mouth. “You know what I mean,” he whispered as he closed the space between them and continued to plant hot kisses down her throat. “Frank, do you think I’m old?” He kissed his way up to her ear knowing when he arrived he had to be very careful with his words. But he didn’t want to use words. He wanted to show her that she excited him just as much now as she did eighteen years ago when they were making out at the drive in movies. He smiled, cupped her face in his hands and put his mouth on hers. Embers that had merely glowed in his gut jumped into flames. His kisses went from sweet to searing, and he gathered her close hoping to evoke the same feelings in her.
Professional Reviews
Mixed Nuts
I found Mixed Nuts to be a unique reading experience. The characters are colorful and quirky, and full of life. The story is a pleasure to read, sometimes a bit off the wall, sometimes melancholy, and always a bit humorous. I had read nothing about this book prior to picking it to review, and as often turns out to be the case, feel like I managed to unearth a hidden gem. Set in the 60's this one has a flavor of the unrest of the times. I found this especially true of the wife in this story. Joan longs for more than the happy housewife's existence expected of her and throws herself wholeheartedly into exploring her sexuality when given the opportunity. Far and above, the star of this one is the husband, Frank. He longs for something in his ordinary life and seems to not even know what it is himself. Watching him and his goofy brother stumble their way through voodoo spells and deal with the consequences had me in tears of laughter.
If you are looking for something different, a bit offbeat filled with a lot of zany situations... pick this one up.
Reviewed by: Johnna
Fallen Angels
Mixed Nuts
Venita Louise has created a hysterically funny comedy in Mixed Nuts. I don't know how she does it. Each character is so intriguing, so unique, like Frank Beal's little daughter who wears a hard hat or his savvy son. His son so reminded me of my own son at that age. And that's the other thing. With as quirky and unusual as the characters are, solving their neighbor problem using voodoo, hitting snails over the fence for revenge, wearing a kilt and no teeth, somehow, I could find myself in that plot very easily. Maybe this means that we all have weird kids and quirky relatives and neighbors we are jealous of? I don't know, I just know that I haven't had this satisfying a laugh in a LONG time. Thanks Ms. Louise, you are a pearl. Please write more! I can't wait for the next book!
Farctured Frazzled Folk Fables and Fairy Farces, Part II satirizes popular children's stories into adult-oriented renditions. FFFF &FF, Part II is also available in Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble e-book formats.
