Author Archives:

Review: Dead Until Dark.

“Poor lumpy Maudette, with her bitten thighs, was more interesting in death than she’d ever been in life.”


“Dead Until Dark: Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Mysteries Book One” by Charlaine Harris

The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris have been on my To-Be-Read list ever since the HBO show based on the books, True Blood, came out in 2008. Not having HBO, I never really got into the show, but I’ve heard good things about both media versions of these Sookie Stackhouse stories. And then it just sort of fell to the back of my mind as something to get to eventually, but not exactly a priority.

Fast forward several years later, and there’s the first book of the series sitting on the train station book cart. Exchanging it for the first book of another series (Resident Evil, anyone?), I claimed it for my own, took it home, and had it finished within the same week. Yeah. I was a little astonished at how quickly I devoured this book, especially considering how I’m always reading about eight books at a time. But the story kept me interested, I enjoyed Sookie as a narrator, and definitely intrigued to see how it gets interpreted for television. I have a feeling I’ll prefer the style of the books from what I’ve heard, but there’s only one way to find out.

There were times when the story, especially the love story between Sookie and Bill, made me groan and roll my eyes, bordering slightly on Twilight territory, but, overall, I enjoyed the setting Harris is working from and the characters she’s developed. Sometimes, the characters seemed a little too watery for my tastes, though you definitely feel quickly mired into Sookie’s world. The South and Vampires are always a classic combination; it’s nice to move out of New Orleans for a little bit and examine a different aspect of that culture. Due to having some friends who are fans of both the books and the show, I know a little bit about what’s in store for the series, but not everything, so I’m going to eagerly be keeping my eye out for the next book to show up.

Books read: 010/100.

Vegan Schmegan.

I’m going to take a moment away from writing in this post. Kind of. Technically speaking, this topic ties into an idea for a book that I have, but I mostly want to focus on how unexpected life can be and how you never know where you’ll be a year, month, let alone a week from now.

Let’s go back to the beginning of this year. A good friend and coworker mentioned that, with the start of 2013, they were going to do a cleansing fast, which called for two weeks of going completely vegan in their diet. I remember goggling, shaking my head, and commenting on how I don’t think I could ever do vegan.

Fast forward five months later, and guess who has three browser tabs up for vegan recipes? This girl.

Yup, that’s right. The same girl who grew up on a farm, who paid for a chunk of her college education by auctioning beef cattle, whose family Sunday drives involved taking cows to the slaughterhouse, who subscribed to every Paleo blog she could find and considered eventually making “meat-za” (wherein the evil carby crust is replaced with meat, meat, and more meat)….is looking at vegan recipes. And eating vegan food. And has stopped drinking regular milk altogether and is stock piling boxes of Almond Dream. What the hell happened?

Well, when I skeptically eyed my friend and thought of mourning a lack of bacon in one’s life, I had no idea that I would soon be embarking on a relationship with someone who hadn’t had bacon in his life for years. He’s made it very clear to me that he doesn’t expect me to be vegan, too, unless I absolutely want to, but the thing is, I definitely want to try. I’m a far cry away from pulling it off, but I’ve been managing to work into my diet a lot more vegan options, usually pulling off at least one completely vegan meal a day.

I was reminded of that moment in January because that same friend to whom I stated I could never do vegan is now handing me recipes recently, and that’s what inspired this post, because I attempted one of them for my weekly Tuesday Vegan Dinner Night. Yup, weekly Vegan Dinner Night. No meat-za here.

It just really shows how much we can change and evolve in a short time. They always say that you shouldn’t do things for other people, and, while I can’t say I’m doing the vegan thing for myself, I know I’m doing it for us. And I’m loving it. I love having something to focus on; I love feeling accomplished when I’m able to really pull out a good vegan day. I love being so incredibly conscious of everything I eat now, too. That’s reflected in the way I write, too, always wanting to focus on something and pushing for it…even if there are some feta-related hiccups on the way.

There also might be a memoir in the making, tentatively titled “The Half-Way Vegan.” It’s what you get when you switch to almond milk in your coffee, but still brew it with CoCo Caramel Sea Salt…

I’m working on it, babe!

Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

“And I wonder if anyone is really happy. I hope they are. I really hope they are.”


“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky

It has been a very, very long time (too long?) since a book has affected me in the way that The Perks of Being a Wallflower has. I’m talking spending the whole day being teary-eyed and openly crying on the train home affected. Granted, I was menstruating that day and juggling with some work stress and new relationship stress, too, but even if my emotions hadn’t already been in a messy bundle, I know Stephen Chbosky’s tale of a distant, passive youth in the ’90s would have hit hard. I wish I had discovered this book a little over a decade ago in my own high school years. It’s absolutely incredible.

Charlie is about to enter high school after losing his best (and possibly only) friend to suicide last year, and he tells his story via letters to a stranger he is writing to be “she said you listen and understand and didn’t try to sleep with that person at that party even though you could have.” He doesn’t want this person to try to figure out who he is or to write back or anything; he just wants someone to write to and tell his story, a story that involves a blossoming friendship with siblings Patrick and Sam, which leads him down a fascinating road of sex, drugs, and Rocky Horror Picture Show. It leads him to discover who he is, what he has been, and who he will be. It’s the story of a wallflower, someone who observes and lets life pass them by, and how to discover when to start to participate.

Written in a voice that is clear and concise, innocent and deep and naive and observant all at once, Perks is a truly beautiful book, a beautiful story with a beautiful main character. There were some parts that I wish there would have been a little bit more of (the disappointment I felt at the discovery that I was not being handed, finally, a very incredibly impressive male bisexual character in literature still makes me sigh), but there were so many things right about it that those little details don’t sting too much. Because, even if I would have done things a little differently, there’s no denying that this is Chbosky’s character through and through and I can’t begrudge him for staying incredibly true to Charlie.

If you haven’t read this book, it comes to me highly recommended as an excellent slice of young adult fiction that I expect I’ll be revisiting annually.

Books read: 009/100.

Rejection!

I received a rejection letter today. It wasn’t of a literary variety, though, more of a monetary one, but it did get my brain thinking about rejection letters in general. It’s been a while since I’ve received one in regard to my work, not because I’ve been churning out some brilliant stuff, but because I haven’t been churning out much of anything. Short stories have always been difficult for me and I intend to self-publish most of my novels; eventually I might find one I’ll want to send out to be more traditionally published, though. Still, most of the rejection letters I’ve received have been fairly cut and dry. “Thank you for your submission, but we feel this piece is not a good fit for our publication. Best of luck with you endeavors/submitting it elsewhere.” Pretty standard, not very helpful or critical, but gets the point across. Generally, they give the impression that it wasn’t really a bad story, but it wasn’t a great story. They give the impression that almost anyone who didn’t get accepted got pretty much the exact same letter.

Apparently, though, not all rejection letters are created equal. My experience is fairly small; I haven’t sent out much, I’m ashamed to admit. But sometimes, especially in the good old days, rejection letters can get kind of personal. Check out this post from Cristian Mihai that’s collected a bunch of “famous” rejection letters from well-known authors. It’s pretty interesting stuff, and it almost makes me wish I did get rejection letters a little more scathing, because it almost feels like then they actually kind of care a little bit, you know?

Any good rejection letter stories out there?

“What else was there in any life–human or artifact, mortal or immortal–besides a useful existence?”


“Magic: The Gathering – Bloodlines – Artifacts Cycle Book VI” by Loren L. Coleman

With the completion of Bloodlines, I have officially read through an entire Magic: the Gathering book cycle. Now, I’m not much of a player of the card game; I’m too much of a D&D girl and found it difficult to really get enthusiastic about M:tG, but I do have a good amount of the books from when my fiance passed away, and they’re pretty entertaining reads. Not exactly classic canon material, or anything, but still, they tend to be pretty intriguing in storyline and sometimes even surprisingly well-written.

Bloodlines is, alas, not among those M:tG books. It’s a solid, decent tome, to be sure, but it seemed like a poor end to a pretty strong cycle. I get the feeling that Artifacts was originally intended to be a trilogy, and that Bloodlines was added into the group as an afterthought. Which is a strange feeling considering that this book eventually leads to the culmination of the battle between Dominaria and Phyrexia that’s been building up the past two books…but there you have it.

Bloodlines is basically the tale of the program started by Urza Planeswalker to try to create the perfect species to help defeat the terrible machine demons of Phyrexia. Among the brilliant minds to help him there are those who are uncertain, those who fully support his ideas, and those who wish to branch off on their own to create yet another kind of superrace. Some wish the process to be natural; some wish to exacerbate it; some wish it to end. Either way, the tale spans several generations, and never quite really gets a good hold on any of them (unlike the preceding book, Timestreams, which handled the time pockets excellently). By the time you feel familiar with a generation, they completely disappear, and it’s several decades later into the next one. It creates a big disconnect with the story and the pacing. Each of the Artifacts books were written by a different author, and Coleman was, for me, the least impressive. He uses more epithets than a Homeric epic, and, while he does a better job of bringing the world of Dominaria to life through his descriptions than any of the previous authors, his attention seems to be on the wrong things. I do like to connect with a setting, but not at the sacrifice of connecting with the characters.

Either way, it’s a neat little book series with some really great ideas of blending fantasy with machinery (steampunk before it was cool!!). Worth a look, though the last book did seem a poor end to finish out the series.

Books read: 008/100.

Dreams of C2E2.

This last weekend marked one of my favorite weekends of the entire year: the weekend that the Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo (commonly referred to as C2E2) rolls into town! I’ve gone every year since I moved down to this area, and this year was definitely not an exception, though we did make the grave mistake of getting only a one-day pass. It is nearly impossible to get the full experience on just Saturday; this year turned me into a three-day passer for life.


(Image from David Ngo)

This year, I even delved into the cosplay a little bit. Here’s my roommate and I doing an attempt at humanized version of My Little Ponies Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Granted, some of the costumes at C2E2 are incredible, and ours only scratches the surface of the wonder of what people can put together to bring their favorite characters to life. I’m constantly astounded by the costumes at this thing; they’re one of my favorite parts of the convention!

My other favorite part? Artist Alley. There’s always a big section of the convention floor devoted to artists, mostly of the comic book persuasion but I’ve seen others, like authors, in the past, to sell and display and promote their work. And I’ve finally decided that I’m going to try to snag myself a table for 2014. By then, I should have at least two books to promote, and I’m brushing up my art skills as well, since art is a much bigger draw than just books themselves. Since the convention just finished last weekend, it’s a long wait until probably winter before I can even figure out how possible this is, but I’m absolutely itching to get it ready right now. It’ll be a different perspective on the convention for sure, and, while I don’t expect the monetary pay-out to be anything at all, I know for a fact the publicity and exposure, little as it might be, would be completely worth it.

I’m always a big fan of the panels, too, especially the professional ones, but I admit, they tend to take a back seat to the spectacle that is the show floor…

Any of my fellow readers frequent C2E2 goers as well? Or do you have a local entertainment expo/ComiCon you like to partake in? What do you enjoy most? Also, I’m on the look-out for anyone who might want to share table space if I manage to get the spot in 2014. The more, the merrier! Of course, I’d also be happy with anyone just wanting to swig by and say hello, but we’ve got a while to go until then.

You know something is awesome when it’s only just finished, but you already can’t wait for the next one!

Review: Renaissance in Japan.

“…it is, indeed, the art of ellipsis, or of suggestion,–the incredible technique of impressing the inexpressible by non-expression of an impression.”

“Renaissance in Japan: A Cultural Survey of the Seventeenth Century, Japan’s Literary Giants: Basho, Saikaku, Chikamatsu” by Kenneth P. Kirkwood

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a bibliophile. I can’t borrow books, because I only want to keep them and never give them back. And I’m a huge fan of finding random old books in thrift stores or book carts and taking them home with me. Renaissance in Japan is one of those books, a “cultural survey” did back in 1970 that I found in some random old shop for just two bucks. More than likely, I was probably in my big Nipponophile phase, which never has completely gone away, but has easily been trumped by Chinese history and adoration of all things late Nineteenth Century. Either way, I definitely wanted this book, and I finally got around to reading about it.

It was great to read about art movements in the world that, really, I knew very little about. What I found to be the most fascinating aspect of Kirkwood’s look at Japanese literature in the 17th century were the parallels he drew between what was going on in Europe at the same time. It’s something I’ve never given much thought, especially since, while Europe was exploring and creating empires, Japan was closing in on itself and wanting nothing to do with all of that business. Yet, trends in poetry and novels and the theater seemed to surface in both places at relatively the same time. Very interesting, something I’d love to try to dissect if I should ever have enough time. I was also really interested in the fact that, this is an older book, and it’s always interesting to get a perspective from a different time, as well. I found Kirkwood’s approach to be pleasantly unbiased and professional.

Either way, Renaissance in Japan is a great look at three very powerful and influential writers who influenced a great deal of Japan’s culture as they moved toward modernity. Definitely check it out if you’re feeling particularly scholarly.

Books read: 007/100.

Victor Hugo is Naked.

Since it’s World Book Night, the fascinating interesting literature posted a list of 23 different literary facts of interest. Now, most of them, I knew already, and I would hope that I did considering my college years were spent studying this sort of thing, but one really struck me enough to want to repeat it:

“Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables, liked to write naked. It was said to help with writer’s block.“

Well, I’m not quite to the point of writing in my birthday suit, but this particular tidbit did make me feel better about the fact that I do a significant amount of work in my jammies, well before a shower makes me presentable for human contact. In fact, it’s usually only in this state that I seem to be able to focus on my writing, with the exception of if I’m on the train or at the Art Institute. If I’m all showered and spruced up, I can’t seem to focus on sitting down and writing, but in the morning and when I get my tea for bed, some of the best writing happens, all in my PJs.

I also seem to have very specific writing places. My “desk” is my bed (maybe that’s why bedtime attire is required?), and on the train or in the Member’s Lounge tends to be the other places I can compose, but no where else.

Isn’t it interesting how we can be such creatures of habit sometimes that only specific conditions will allow us to be efficient and productive? It’s like one must create the perfect storm of this, that, and the other thing to get any work done. Do you feel this way, too? Or are you one of those lucky ones that seem to be able to write no matter what?

Also, I know I haven’t posted in ages. I figured Naked Victor Hugo was a good way to try to inch my way back. And, because I can’t refuse a good visual, here’s a picture of good old Hugo, too, because who wouldn’t want to paint a mental picture of this handsome dude in the buff?


(Image lovingly ganked from Wikipedia)

You’re welcome.

Review: A Novena for Murder.

” ‘Eileen,’ Mary Helen said bluntly, ‘every murderer is someone somebody knows.’”


“A Novena for Murder: A Sister Mary Helen Mystery” by Sister Carol Anne O’Marie”

In my train station here in the Chicago suburbs is one of the greatest things ever: the Book Cart. Passengers on the BNSF line can leave books, borrow books, take books, whatever they may please, and I’ve been taking advantage of it by leaving endless copies of Bowlful of Bunnies there for some soft guerrilla marketing (I am pleased to note that they are always gone the next week!). An interesting choice of books come through. Some of them are your typical bodice-ripping romance, and some of the same sci-fi books have been on the cart for months, but, every so often, something else really interesting shows up. I remember being delighted when I saw a copy of one of my personal favorites, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie show up and disappear. But nothing delighted me as much as when I came across my first Sister Mary Helen Mystery on that book cart.

Nuns solving murder mysteries. How could I say no?

Of course, I didn’t expect A Novena for Murder to be great literature, and it wasn’t, but it was a lot of fun and a really quick, cool read. The characters are handled fairly deftly and with a bit more depth and worldliness than I expected, and I greatly enjoyed these old nuns and their quiet university shaken up by a series of deaths centered around a Portuguese professor. The plot was a little predictable and easy to figure out, but I found myself so charmed by Sister Mary Helen and the other characters that I didn’t much mind. There are a few more books of the series (one of which I’ve also managed to snag from the book cart), so I’m excited to read more about them.

One thing I also liked about the book is that it’s a little dated; I believe this one was published in 1984, the same year I was born, making it as old as I am, and the historian in me loves reading older books to see how they stand the test of time. A Novena for Murder does fairly well, though a few things seem delightfully a part of a certain time and age, which I also like. It’s a really cute book, which I assume is part of a really cute series, so it was definitely a nifty little gem to uncover.

Books read: 6/100.

The Pacing of Plot.

As I plow forward in my desperate attempt to get this latest draft of Serpent in a Cage finished in time for a decent publication date, I find myself obsessing a little too much over certain details. I’ve been a trooper when it comes to pushing aside the doubts and striving forward, if only to finish the first draft and then worry about the details, but one of the issues has been weighing more prominently on my mind, and that is the topic of pace.

For me, especially with fantasy novels, the pacing of a book can make or break it. If a story moves too slow, I lose interest in it. Sometimes, though, a story throws so much at you so quickly that you never really feel a connection. It’s definitely the latter that I’m worried about in SiaC. I’m about four chapters into it, and, in the first three chapters, there’s an awful lot of encounters. Some of those encounters are about to swing back around and turn into bigger plot points, but I’m worried that it’s almost too much at once. Will readers find it irritating to have my characters encounter someone, move on, encounter something else, move on again for another encounter before some it starts to tie together? I hope not, and I’m thinking if it does feel like too much, I can always go back and slow the pace down in the revision, with some other perspectives or whatever else might seem fitting.

That’s just the thing, though, these encounters and how I have them set up all seem fitting. It’s hard to tell from my own perspective. I know a great deal of my inspiration and my wanting to write in the first place is based heavily in video games, mostly role-playing ones such as Final Fantasy and Baldur’s Gate, where encounters are basically imperative to moving the plot forward. But I know a common mistake a lot of authors make is to introduce too many players too quickly, and the wealth of personalities in SiaC has been a common criticism in previous drafts.

Do you find yourself distracted when an author has a fairly quick succession of events to throw at you? Do you wish they’d sometimes slow down? How often do you feel they slow down too much? Just some questions rolling around in my brain. I’m throwing in a chapter from a different perspective, happening in the other part of the book, before returning to the busier point-of-views, so maybe that will help. Although that could also just completely interrupt a perfectly good, steady pace with the others! It’s all such a balancing act and I hope I can just manage to get it right…