G is for Grandma Mazur

If you are familiar with Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, you need no intro to her Grandma Mazur. If not, here’s a little background. Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter. She locates people who have skipped out on their bail. But she’s not the star of the show here.

It’s all about Grandma. To date the series has 26 books, with a few extras here and there. Stephanie’s grandma, who lives with her parents, is like no other grandma I’ve ever known.

Here are a few Grandma Mazur highlights-

• Her favorite pastime is attending wakes. She’s likes to arrive early to get a front row seat, especially if the deceased has been shot. She dresses in her finest with her gun carrying handbag on her lap. And if it’s a closed casket, beware, because she will probably try to sneak a peak.
• Speaking of her gun, she carries it with her everywhere and fancies herself to be another Clint Eastwood.
• She loves to try out the latest fashion, whether it’s bike shorts or leggings. She’s been known to get herself dolled up and even teeter around on stilettos.
• She’s not afraid to try new hairstyles….. or colors.
• Her love life is more active than people half her age.
• She’s always up for an adventure.
• She has no filter. Literally no filter. No one ever knows what she’s going to say. All one does know is that it’s probably going to be either shocking, funny, or both.

I can only wish to have a fraction of Grandma’s energy and gumption when I reach that age!

If you like a good laugh, I recommend the Stephanie books. Grandma Mazur is only a small part of a diverse cast of characters.

#AtoZChallenge

Have a good day!

-Kat

F is for Frances

Frances is the star of my F female fictional character. Things we know about Frances- she is a feisty, headstrong, and funny badger. She has a little sister and she loves to make up songs to express her feelings.

Russell Hoban wrote a total of seven Frances books from 1964-1972. Although I remember being aware of the books, I have no memory of ever having read them or else I would have definitely shared them with my own children. When it became evident that little Beej craved new books regularly, I had to branch out and try books I wasn’t familiar with.

Frances was an immediate hit. What I really like about the books is how timeless they are. Written 50 years ago, they address issues that kids (or should I say parents and grandparents) still face today. Bedtime, friendship, new siblings, food, sharing……

Here is a excerpt from our very first Frances book- Bread and Jam for Frances.  In this story, Frances does not want to eat what she is served and prefers only bread and jam.

Frances did not eat her egg.
She sang a little song to it.
She sang the song very softly:

“I do not like the way you slide,
I do not like your soft inside,
I do not like you lots of ways,
And I could do for many days
Without eggs.”

-Bread and Jam for Frances, Russell Hoban

Frances might be the youngest fictional character I feature but she can hold her own among the rest.

#AtoZChallenge

Peace,

-Kat