Loony Locals and Other Lopsided Lamebrains

(Number One in the "Tangled Minds" series) Westview, North Carolina, is a typical, sleepy southern town, full of charm, sweet-smelling peony-and crazy people. And, since there are only so many public offices to fill, most (but not all) of them end up in the notorious Loony Bin asylum, where it's often difficult to tell who's crazier-the inmates or the staff. Intrepid Westview Gazette editor Matt Andrews goes there looking for a readership-boosting human interest story for his small newspaper, but instead is taken hostage by an unhinged Loony Bin resident. Matt's graphic artist, Sterling Smullen, has meanwhile volunteered at the asylum to teach finger-painting. His noble effort, however, is hampered when he becomes the object of a delusional Swedish sex therapist's infatuation. Matt's TV-obsessed wife, Joanna, hires a Sherlock Holmes-worshipping detective to locate her missing husband. Throw in a couple of not-so-competent psychiatrists, their lovers, would-be lovers, and assorted off-balance patients, and you have a fast-paced melodramatic farce that will have you bouncing off your padded walls. Author's note: "Tangled Minds" is a series patterned after the daytime and nighttime soap operas of my formative years. The books are presented in a modified script format, with searing, "what-will-happen-next" questions at the conclusion of each chapter, and each book culminates in a nail-biting cliffhanger.