The Fabulous Wanda B. Wonders Books

Today I’d like to share two fun books that I’ve read recently and I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed both of them. The two books are, Wanda B. Wonders Speaks Her Mind and Wanda B. Takes the Cake, both by Claudia Moss. Each book acquaints us with the wonderful character Wanda B. Wonders, who is a social commentator of sorts who speaks her mind on a variety of subjects and does it with humor and a zest for life.

The author shares her inspiration for creating the character of Wanda in the notes to Wanda B. Wonders Speaks Her Mind. She writes that she sees Wanda as a “contemporary twin to Jess B. Simple, the beloved Everyman of my literary mentor, Langston Hughes”. Hughes’ character, Jesse B. Simple's stories take place mostly with Mr. Simple sitting in a bar discussing his take on life. However, Wanda B. chats up Miss Lady, the owner of the establishment, as she sits in the nail salon. This makes for a very enjoyable read because it’s like you’re sitting there in the salon a few seats over as you take it all in. Wanda tells stories and gives her view on a variety of subjects as Miss Lady engages in conversations with her about a little bit of everything.

Wanda is a bold and loveable character who speaks out and doesn’t hold back on her views about anything and I like that about this character. Her authenticity is definitely to be admired! It’s hard to decide which book I like the most because the first continues so seamlessly into the other. It’s like having a long conversation with a friend as you sit on the porch on a summer’s evening with a cool drink nearby.

To give you an idea of some of the subject matter, I’ll share some of the story titles. In Wanda B. Wonders Speaks Her Mind, there are titles like: ‘Blue-Collar Husband’, ‘Face on the Cover’, ‘A Virtual Reality’, ‘No More Salad, Please’, and ‘The Deal Breaker’. And in Wanda B. Takes the Cake, there are engaging titles such as: ‘Bag of Blessings’, ‘Cuzin Bozwell’s Mean Mug Blues’, ‘Patriotism’, and ‘Pride Prunes’. The titles of each story are gems on their own that lead us to a vibrant world that the author shares with us on every page.

Claudia Moss is a masterful storyteller and her absolute skill shows through in each story. Even though the character Wanda B. Wonders is a woman that speaks her mind and doesn’t hold back, she is not a harsh character. She just tells it like it is. She gives off this vibe of love, humor and hope, as well as a love for life throughout both books. She is rightfully named, as Wanda does continually wonder about life and our world and the people we all meet each day. In a nutshell, Wanda tells us about the world as she sees it and it’s an enjoyable ride to take along with her.

So please check out these fantastic books by Claudia Moss! Each is available at Amazon in paperback here and here. They are in addition available on Kindle here and here!

Also, here’s a bit about the author Claudia Moss...

CLAUDIA MOSS is a novelist, short story writer, poet, blogger, motivational speaker and talk show host. She is a former English educator. Ms. Moss is independently published and is the author of the Amazon bestselling Kindle novel, If You Love Me, Come.

You can visit her at her blog www.thegolden-goddess.blogspot.com .

You can also follow her on Twitter : @TheLadySiren and you can follow the fabulous Wanda B. Wonders @WandaBWonders .

Disclaimer: I was sent both books free of charge. However, all opinions are mine and mine alone :-)

Grits and Memory

In my last post, I said that I would be doing a food post. Well this is a post about a craving and not about something I've cooked. Oh I wish that I could right now. I don't have any on hand, but I know that I will have them again ;-)

For the last few days, I've been thinking quite a bit about one of my favorite foods and it's something that I can't readily get here...grits! :) I never in my life thought that I would miss any food so much. And here's the thing, I'm not a person who just has to have certain foods on a regular basis. I'm not usually a craver, but I am truly craving grits these days. And just to clarify it all...I'm not pregnant so it's not those kind of cravings. LOL.

I get the worse cravings on weekend mornings because that is when I would have them mostly. I guess that they are a fully entrenched food memory. Grits make me think of home and my mother cooking them for our breakfast for decades. I know that there are people who hate grits and can't understand the fuss and that's cool...I respect that everyone's likes are theirs and this like is truly mine :) I was thinking about it the other day and yeah, my craving can be reduced down to simply having a taste for grits. But also I think that they were such a part of my experience as a southern girl and that connection with my culture is so strong that an ocean can't even keep me from it.

I am happy most days with my different life here in England. But sometimes I miss the simple things about back home so much. The list changes depending upon my mood that day. And it's not one of those grass is always greener situations. I'll tell you, I've learned one thing about having lived in two different countries now...there are bad, good, annoying, and uplifting things about both places. Neither one is better than the other...they each have things going for them for sure. I'm not trying to sell grits to anybody or even attempting to validate my love for grits. I don't need to :) I just thought that I would make my perspective clear. Love is love and I've got it bad and grits are it baby! LOL.

Food memories are great. I guess that's the good thing about food memories or regular memories...you always have them to call upon whenever you want to remember a person, time, or a place. I know that we can't go back in time and it's not good to always be looking back, but sometimes it doesn't hurt a thing...especially when you're trying to remember the taste of grits! :)