The Paris Review - A Literary Wonderland
From one of the most classic literary journals of all time, famous for its author interviews (among other things), comes the PR feed. Grab your coffee and conjure your most literary mindset cause you're going to need it. Academics and shut-ins will wet their pants over this. Ya gotta love it!
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Samuel David Colkett, Landscape with Cottage, 1842, oil on canvas, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. The path to the Oracle was best before dawn, past the pond sleepily switching from frogsong to birdsong, through the dark woods fringed with ferns, up the hill so steep that no matter how slowly I went, I was always out of breath when I reached the top. Three years ago, my parents contracted with a logging company to do what they thought was routine cutting of their two hundred and fifty thickly forested acres in New Hampshire. Perhaps they were thinking of men in picturesque plaid shirts with axes and the careful removal of a few choice maples; instead, a machine of …
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Linus Borgo, Bed of Stars: Self-Portrait with Elsina and Zip, 2021, oil on canvas, 46 x 68″ (detail). Linus Borgo makes consistently uncanny and gorgeous work, some of which will be featured at Steve Turner Gallery in Los Angeles this January. My favorite of their self-portraits—deadlocked with Fuzzy FTM Transsexual Amputee Plays with Magic Wand and Poppers (Self Portrait)—is Bed of Stars: Self Portrait with Elsina and Zip, in which Linus lies in a pool of deep blue, star-stamped sheets, an oblique banner of sunlight across his torso and thighs, his body filling the frame, toes nearly poking through the border. It’s a work that questions what it is to reproduce an image,…
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The first thing that needs to be noted about the collected works of MacKenzie Bezos, novelist, currently consisting of two titles, is how impressive they are. Will either survive the great winnowing that gives us our standard literary histories? Surely not. Precious few novels do. Neither even managed, in its initial moment of publication, to achieve the more transitory status of buzzy must-read. But this was not for want of an obvious success in achieving the aims of works of their kind—that kind being literary fiction, so called to distinguish it from more generic varieties. In Bezos’s hands it is a fiction of close observation, deliberate pacing, credible plotting, bel…
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Photo: Tereza Červeňová/Morgenbladet When Amia Srinivasan published her essay “Does Anyone Have the Right to Sex?” in the London Review of Books in early 2018, several months into the public discussions surrounding #MeToo, it provoked many strong feelings—not to mention gave the world the sentence: “Sex is not a sandwich.” Opening with a reading of the incel manifesto written by the perpetrator of the Isla Vista killings, it became a far-reaching meditation on the ideological, political, and public dimensions of sexual desire and how we might begin to think more critically about them. Srinivasan trained as a philosopher at Yale and then Oxford, where she has since estab…
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Every week, the editors of The Paris Review lift the paywall on a selection of interviews, stories, poems, and more from the magazine’s archive. You can have these unlocked pieces delivered straight to your inbox every Sunday by signing up for the Redux newsletter. Ali Smith, with Leo, in Cambridge, 2003. This week at The Paris Review, the leaves are changing, the air is cooling, and the autumn equinox approaches. Read on for Ali Smith’s Art of Fiction interview, Robert Walser’s work of fiction “From the Essays of Fritz Kocher,” and Reginald Shepherd’s poem “A Muse.” If you enjoy these free interviews, stories, and poems, why not subscribe to The Paris Review? You’ll a…
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In her monthly column The Moon in Full, Nina MacLaughlin illuminates humanity’s long-standing lunar fascination. Each installment is published in advance of the full moon. Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, ca. 1558, oil on canvas mounted on wood, 29 x 44″. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. In 1957, the first satellite was launched into orbit around the earth. A gleaming metallic sphere about two feet in diameter with four long antennae, it had the look of a robot daddy longlegs. It weighed a hundred and eighty-four pounds and sped through space at about eighteen thousand miles per hour. After three months and more than fourteen hundred sp…
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Illustration: Liby Hays. Courtesy of Hays. Liby Hays’s Geniacs!, a graphic novel out this summer from the art book publisher Landfill Editions, takes place at a hackathon—truly inspired material for slapstick comedy, body horror, and philosophical reflection alike. This tech competition’s goal? Invent a new life-form. “People always think my ideas are dumb … but they’re purposefully so! Their failure is coded within them! It’s like when scientists artificially reanimate the cells of a dead pig’s brain. The brain becomes trapped in an infinite loop reliving the terror of its final moments. But within that narrow terror loop… We might find potential for new forms of though…
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Gustave Caillebotte, Woman at a Dressing Table, 1873. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons My grandmother collected perfume bottles, a seeming whimsy for a woman of such plainness and ferocity. I have three of them, given to me when she was still alive. They lived in a drawer and then later, in a decorative moment, on the bookshelf, where I have since placed them higher and higher out of reach, as my daughter has attempted to climb up to play with them, a slow-moving game between us, until now they are so high up as to be out of view. I tend not to be sentimental about objects, but I at least don’t want them to break, this being all I possess from my grandmother, anythin…
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Graham Crumb, 2011, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. People were drinking wine out of plastic cups. The chairs were pushed close together. Bags were tucked under feet. I sat on the bookshop stage with two other writers, ready to read our ghost stories. Before we began, the moderator asked, “Do you believe in ghosts?” After a pause, we spoke of doubt. Creepy incidents were related. I found myself saying that perhaps the dead might be watching us. I’ve never seen a soul move through the air. I am not sure that we are anything more than a skin-bag of electrical impulses. But ghosts are different from the other uncanny citizens. They are only one step away from the know…
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On April 12, The Paris Review announced N. Scott Momaday as the recipient of the 2021 Hadada Award, presented each year to a “distinguished member of the writing community who has made a strong and unique contribution to literature.” Over the past few months, the Daily has published a series of short essays devoted to his work. Today, in the final piece of the series, Terry Tempest Williams writes about her decades-long friendship with Momaday, the power of his work, and what can be done to atone for ecological destruction. N. Scott Momaday, Dance Group, 2015. Courtesy of Momaday. The events of one’s life take place, take place. How often have I used this expression, an…
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Every week, the editors of The Paris Review lift the paywall on a selection of interviews, stories, poems, and more from the magazine’s archive. You can have these unlocked pieces delivered straight to your inbox every Sunday by signing up for the Redux newsletter. Ishmael Reed, 2015. This week at The Paris Review, we’re marking the seven hundredth anniversary of Dante’s death on September 14. Read on for Ishmael Reed’s Art of Poetry interview, Hans Magnus Enzensberger’s “Identity Check,” Evie Shockley’s “ex patria,” and a translation of Dante Alighieri himself by Robert Pinsky. If you enjoy these free interviews, stories, and poems, why not subscribe to The Paris Revi…
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On April 12, The Paris Review announced N. Scott Momaday as the recipient of the 2021 Hadada Award, presented each year to a “distinguished member of the writing community who has made a strong and unique contribution to literature.” To honor the multifariousness of Momaday’s achievements, the Daily is publishing a series of short essays devoted to his work. Today, Chelsea T. Hicks considers Momaday’s revolutionary novels, House Made of Dawn and The Ancient Child, which blend the conventions of American literary realism with the oral tradition of Kiowa storytelling. N. Scott Momaday, 1968. From the Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript L…
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Dev Patel in David Lowery’s The Green Knight, 2021. Photo: Eric Zachanowich. Courtesy of A24 Films. The Green Knight offers all the thrilling props a Camelot geek could want: deep-hooded cloaks and pointy headdresses, thatch-roofed hovels and dim stone halls, blue rune tattoos and prayers to the Virgin Mary that seem awfully close to goddess worship. There is wattle, there is daub, and there is an enviable tunic bedazzled in silver votives. Together, all of it forms a dreamlike reflection of a fraught relationship between Christian and Celtic moralities, human beings and the rest of nature. Fans of Loreena McKennitt, Thomas Hardy, and William Cronon, this one’s for you. …
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David Corby, The Tribune Building. Oakland California. Taken from the City Center complex, 2006, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. When I talk to people in the city about whether they come to Oakland, be it 2007 or 2019, the answer is a resounding “never,” followed by redundant stories of car break-ins and not wanting to take BART at night. No matter how many East Bay, Marin and Contra Costa County, or Central Valley residents head through the Transbay tunnel or across the Golden Gate or Bay Bridge every day to San Francisco, going to Oakland is a seemingly annual trip for city dwellers, who usually make the pilgrimage for city-sponsored art crawls or like-minded Fox …
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Aleksey Kivshenko, watercolor illustration of Alexander I and Napoleon meeting in Tilsit in Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, 1893. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Once upon a time, five people with strong opinions were invited to view an old tree and offer their thoughts. The first one said: “I’m a big-picture person. At first glance, I can say this tree is too big for its own good. We need to lop some limbs off.” The second one said: “It’s not the architecture of the tree that bothers me but the parts that make up the whole. Anywhere I direct my attention, I can see ten or twenty imperfect leaves.” The third one said: “This tree is much too old to be relevant. Its …
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From Some Collages, by Jim Jarmusch, published by Anthology Editions. Jim Jarmusch’s small, eerie collages are all about faces. And about the bodies attached to those faces. And about what happens when faces get switched off onto other bodies. You could say that Jarmusch, ever the director, is engaging in exploratory casting. He wants to see Stanley Kubrick in the role of a golfer, and Nico as a Vegas crooner, and Jane Austen winding up on the mound, and Albert Einstein as a rock star, and Bernie Sanders as a dog. Andy Warhol, meanwhile, just goes ahead and casts himself in every role, turning all of them into “Andy Warhol.” Personalities can transfer their qualities to…
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Atticus Lish in Lexington, Ky., on Sunday, May 30, 2021. Credit: Ryan Hermens I have recommended Atticus Lish’s first novel to more people than any other book. Beautiful without being sentimental, brutal without being cruel, Preparation for the Next Life (2014) is a love story between Zou Lei, an undocumented half-Uighur, half–Han Chinese woman, and Brad Skinner, an Iraq War veteran suffering from PTSD. “He gets it,” I told fellow New Yorkers: the Jackson Heights bars; the Flushing food stalls; the long walks through outer Queens, past housing projects and storefront mosques and cash-and-carries, all the way to the gas stations and football fields of Long Island. Everyon…
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Every week, the editors of The Paris Review lift the paywall on a selection of interviews, stories, poems, and more from the magazine’s archive. You can have these unlocked pieces delivered straight to your inbox every Sunday by signing up for the Redux newsletter. John McPhee, ca. 2009. Photograph courtesy of the Princeton University Office of Communications. This week at The Paris Review, it’s back to school. Read on for John McPhee’s Art of Nonfiction interview, Shanteka Sigers’s short story “A Way with Bea,” and Melanie Rehak’s poem “Self-Portrait as the Liberal Arts.” If you enjoy these free interviews, stories, and poems, why not subscribe to The Paris Review? Yo…
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Still from Season 3 of Caveh Zahedi’s The Show about the Show. Courtesy of Zahedi. Many artists are in some sense cannibals, but the filmmaker Caveh Zahedi takes it further than most. The initial premise of his brilliantly deranged series The Show about the Show was that each episode would be about the making of the one before it (so Episode 1 follows Zahedi’s travails in selling the show’s pilot, Episode 2 reveals what went wrong behind the scenes of Episode 1, and so on). When a moment hadn’t been caught on camera, he’d ask everyone to re-create it; if someone refused to repeat the embarrassing thing they’d said, he’d cast an actor to play them instead. The recursive f…
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In Valerie Stivers’s Eat Your Words series, she cooks up recipes drawn from the works of various writers. Photo: Erica MacLean. Geek Love, Katherine Dunn’s 1989 novel about a family of circus performers, was one of my favorite books in college. I’d memorized the opening lines, in which Al Binewski extols his wife’s grace in biting off chicken heads, and used to get drunk and murmur them to boys at parties: “When your mama was the geek, my dreamlets,” Papa would say, “she made the nipping off of noggins such a crystal mystery that the hens themselves yearned toward her, waltzing around her, hypnotized with longing. ‘Spread your lips, sweet Lil,’ they’d cluck, ‘and show …
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Simone de Beauvoir, via Wikimedia Commons. Such an odd thing, packing a rucksack. It’s an act of austerity that liberates even as it frustrates. For every item to earn its place on my puny shoulders, it must be life-preserving in some way. I limit myself to 26.5 pounds, casting out the frivolous, the inessential. I check weather forecasts, tear spines from books, put things in—paints, camera lenses, walnuts—then throw them out. Every time I toss away an item, I feel a swift stab of anxiety followed by a ripple of lightness. So that even as I shunt the pack onto my back, I experience a sense of weightlessness. I have become disencumbered. Free. My life whittled down to th…
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In Off Menu, Edward White serves up lesser-told stories of chefs cooking in interesting times. Albina Becevello. During a life of astonishing incident and variety, Gabriele D’Annunzio inhabited many guises. In the twenty years before World War I he established himself as a giant of Italian culture: an epochal writer often known simply as “the Poet” in Italy, a nationalist proselytizer, a storied lothario, and a daring aviator of spellbinding charisma. When the war came, D’Annunzio transformed himself into a soldier and a statesman who presaged the rise of Mussolini and the aesthetics of Fascism. A “poet, seducer and prophet of war” is how his biographer Lucy Hughes-Hall…
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Ray Hennessy, Mother Bird Protecting Her Young, 2016, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. In the run-up to Thanksgiving last year, you learned a whitewashed story at school about how the first peoples of this land were happy to give their sacred spaces to the consumptive force of European men in the name of civilization and progress. You came home from school and unzipped your backpack, revealing with artistic pride a picture book you had colored and stapled yourself. Your kindergarten teacher had asked you to color in a little Native American girl, then a Native American boy, followed by a pilgrim girl and boy, each one garbed in their traditional attire. I admired the craft of…
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Every week, the editors of The Paris Review lift the paywall on a selection of interviews, stories, poems, and more from the magazine’s archive. You can have these unlocked pieces delivered straight to your inbox every Sunday by signing up for the Redux newsletter. Toni Morrison, ca. 2008. Photo: Angela Radulescu. This week at The Paris Review, as summer winds down, we’re thinking about endings. Read on for Toni Morrison’s Art of Fiction interview, Steven Millhauser’s short story “Flying Carpets,” and Alex Dimitrov’s poem “Impermanence.” If you enjoy these free interviews, stories, and poems, why not subscribe to The Paris Review? You’ll also get four new issues of t…
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In Re-Covered, Lucy Scholes exhumes the out-of-print and forgotten books that shouldn’t be. Photo: Lucy Scholes. In the final months of 1922, people all across the United Kingdom were gripped by a cause célèbre. In the early hours of October 4, Percy Thompson, a shipping clerk, and his wife, Edith, a twenty-eight-year-old bookkeeper and buyer for a millinery business, were making their way home after a trip to the theater in the West End. About a hundred yards from their house in Ilford, a lower-middle-class suburb in North-East London, a man suddenly appeared, stabbed Percy multiple times in the face, neck, and body, and then raced off into the night. Percy died almost…
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The SBTB Daily: Don’t Miss a Sale or a Date with Dr. Nips, M.D.
Here at SB HQ, we’re posting sales every day, featuring holiday gift guides once a week, and keeping up with cover snark, recommendations, new releases, and more. If you don’t want to miss a single episode of Dr. Nips, Cover Snark MD, creepily gazing at you with a stethoscope over one winky nipple, here’s what you can do: You can sign up for the SBTB Daily Digest – our once-a-day (hence: daily) newsletter that emails the newest content every day (see? daily!) around 12pm ET. So if you’re in need of a bit of Cover Snark to get you through the afternoon, you won’t miss a stethoscope-bedazzled nip, or a book on sale (stethoscope optional). I set up the SBTB Daily so that you receive the newest content, and you get the entire post – no excerpts. This is contrary to a LOT of advice about RSS newsletters, but do I care? Nope, sure don’t. Every day you’ll get the latest Books on Sale, plus everything new from the past 24 hours. If you’d like to make sure you don’t miss a review, a cover snark, a Help a Bitch Out, Rec League, giveaways or any of the other silliness and critical discussion around here, you can sign up for the SBTB Daily Digest right here. View the full article -
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Podcast 486, Your Transcript Has Arrived!
http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/WP/wp-content/themes/smartbitches/images/podcast/header_05c.jpg The transcript for Podcast 486. Sweet Dreams Recap: Princess Amy by Melinda Pollowitz has been posted! This podcast transcript was handcrafted with meticulous skill by Garlic Knitter. Many thanks. ❤ Click here to subscribe to The Podcast → View the full article -
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Social Strategy: 100 Content Ideas for Every Stage of Your Writing Career
This month I had a lot to be thankful for. I am thankful for individuals who wanted to read my work and provided ideas that I am most grateful for as a writer. I am thankful for the extra sets of eyes that went over my manuscripts. Their feedback made all the difference. I appreciated all the positive comments from others. I even appreciate the criticism. The criticism allowed me to see a tale or poetry in an altogether different light than I would have without it. My readers have helped me view the world in a way that allows me to see beauty in everything, even the most mundane events of life. I am grateful for that ability. I am mostly thankful because I'm writing—that I'm still inspired and motivated despite all the difficulties of everyday adult life. I posted all of these simple gratitudes, plus one big hulking meal, on social media to share with family and friends. It was my personal strategy to reach out to others, share, and offer them a virtual seat at my table. I did so to engage with them since I couldn’t do it in person. It is not much different from utilizing social media strategies to encourage our readership and engagement with an audience. I hope you enjoy the article, Social Strategy: 100 Content Ideas for Every Stage of Your Writing Career, by Sarah Penner. https://algonkianconferences.com/authorconnect/index.php?/topic/17551-social-strategy-100-content-ideas-for-every-stage-of-your-writing-career/#comment-25807 -
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Today’s Kindle Daily Deals!
We know there’s a lot of digital shopping going on, so in addition to book sales (YAY BOOK SALES) we’re curious: what are you shopping for today? Spot any great deals you cannot pass up? Please share your finds in the comments! A Lot Like Adios A Lot Like Adios by Alexis Daria is $1.99! This is Daria’s latest release and has a second chance romance. I know illustrated covers can be divisive, but wowee these are gorgeous. Did you pick this one up on release? Have you read her previous ones? Hi Mich. It’s Gabe. After burning out in her corporate marketing career, Michelle Amato has built a thriving freelance business as a graphic designer. So what if her love life is nonexistent? She’s perfectly fine being the black sheep of her marriage-obsessed Puerto Rican-Italian family. Besides, the only guy who ever made her want happily-ever-after disappeared thirteen years ago. It’s been a long time. Gabriel Aguilar left the Bronx at eighteen to escape his parents’ demanding expectations, but it also meant saying goodbye to Michelle, his best friend and longtime crush. Now, he’s the successful co-owner of LA’s hottest celebrity gym, with an investor who insists on opening a New York City location. It’s the last place Gabe wants to go, but when Michelle is unexpectedly brought on board to spearhead the new marketing campaign, everything Gabe’s been running from catches up with him. I’ve missed you. Michelle is torn between holding Gabe at arm’s length or picking up right where they left off—in her bed. As they work on the campaign, old feelings resurface, and their reunion takes a sexy turn. Facing mounting pressure from their families—who think they’re dating—and growing uncertainty about their futures, can they resolve their past mistakes, or is it only a matter of time before Gabe says adiós again? Add to Goodreads To-Read List → You can find ordering info for this book here. Red, White & Royal Blue Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston is $3.99! This is a limited time deal and I know many of you loved this one. Aarya gave this one a C- because she found the political world building too much of a distraction. A big-hearted romantic comedy in which the First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales after an incident of international proportions forces them to pretend to be best friends… First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations. The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. Alex is busy enough handling his mother’s bloodthirsty opponents and his own political ambitions without an uptight royal slowing him down. But beneath Henry’s Prince Charming veneer, there’s a soft-hearted eccentric with a dry sense of humor and more than one ghost haunting him. As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. And Henry throws everything into question for Alex, an impulsive, charming guy who thought he knew everything: What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you? Add to Goodreads To-Read List → You can find ordering info for this book here. Wilde Child Wilde Child by Eloisa James is $2.99! This was mentioned in a previous Hide Your Wallet and is book six in The Wildes of Lindow Castle series. I don’t see any other books announced for this one, so I’m unsure if this was the final book in the series or if there’s more coming. loisa James returns to the Wildes of Lindow Castle series with the next Wilde child who runs and joins a theatre troupe—and the duke who tries to save her reputation. He wants a prim and proper duchess, not the Wildest of the Wildes! Already notorious for the golden hair that proves her mother’s infidelity, Lady Joan can’t seem to avoid scandals, but her latest escapade may finally ruin her: she’s determined to perform the title role of a prince—in breeches, naturally. She has the perfect model for an aristocratic male in mind: Thaddeus Erskine Shaw, Viscount Greywick, a man who scorned the very idea of marrying her. Not that Joan would want such a dubious honor, of course. For years, Thaddeus has avoided the one Wilde who shakes his composure, but he’s horrified when he grasps the danger Joan’s putting herself in. Staring into her defiant eyes, he makes the grim vow that he’ll keep her safe. He strikes a bargain: after one performance, the lady must return to her father’s castle and marry one of three gentlemen whom he deems acceptable. Not including him, of course. Add to Goodreads To-Read List → You can find ordering info for this book here. Bridgerton Collection Volume 2 Bridgerton Collection Volume 2 by Julia Quinn is $6.99! The first collection has been on sale before and if you’re looking to slowly accrue these books on your e-reader, this is good deal. Do you have a favorite Bridgerton novel? An enchanting collection containing books four, five, and six of #1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn’s beloved Regency-set Bridgerton novels—Romancing Mister Bridgerton; To Sir Phillip, with Love; and When He Was Wicked—now a series created by Shondaland for Netflix. Romancing Mister Bridgerton Penelope Featherington has secretly adored her best friend’s brother from afar for forever—until she stumbles across Colin Bridgerton’s deepest secret and fears she doesn’t know him at all. Meanwhile, Colin is tired of his reputation as an empty-headed charmer and of the notorious gossip columnist Lady Whistledown. Upon his return to London, he discovers everything has changed—especially Penelope Featherington! The girl who was always simply there suddenly haunts his dreams. When he discovers that Penelope has secrets of her own, this elusive bachelor must decide . . . is she his biggest threat or his promise of a happy ending? To Sir Phillip, With Love Sir Phillip knew that Eloise Bridgerton was a spinster, and so he’d proposed, figuring she’d be timid and desperate to marry. Except . . . she wasn’t. And all he wanted to do was kiss her . . . As for Eloise, she couldn’t marry a man she had never met! Yet, she found herself in a carriage on her way to meet her perfect match. Except . . . he wasn’t. Despite being handsome, Phillip was a large, ill-mannered brute. But when he kissed her, the world simply fell away… could this imperfect man be perfect for her? When He Was Wicked After a lifetime of smiling slyly as women chased him, Michael Stirling, London’s most infamous rake, took one look at Francesca Bridgerton and fell hopelessly in love. Unfortunately for Michael, Francesca’s surname was to remain Bridgerton for only a mere thirty-six hours longer—they met at a supper celebrating her imminent wedding to his cousin. But that was then . . . Now Michael is the earl and Francesca is free, but she still sees him as a dear friend. Michael dares not profess his love . . . until one dangerous night, passion proves stronger than even the most wicked of secrets . . . Add to Goodreads To-Read List → You can find ordering info for this book here. View the full article -
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Elyse Watches The Bachelorette–S18 E6: A Night at the Museum
http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ElyseBachelorette-150x125.pngThis week, we’re down to eight dudes. Whoever gets a rose this week goes on to Hometowns where Michelle meets the guy’s family. Before we get to that, Tayshia Adams and Zac Clark broke up because this show’s premise is bullshit and doesn’t work 2. Tayshia is now hosting The Bachelorette and probably doesn’t need Zac in her life for sponsorship opportunities. http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/unnamed-1-e1637869813320.jpgPudding is not impressed Four of Michelle’s fifth grade students are joining her this week to help her weed out the men by grilling them. Kelsey asks Rodney if he’s ever been grounded. Then she challenges the dudes to do a handstand. Both Jayleen and Kelsey feel like Olu is a good guy, but Kelsey doesn’t like Martin and thinks he talks too much and shows off. She also adds, “Also he wears too much cologne.” Luke observes that Clayton is good at building a pillow fort and that he has big muscles and “would probably be good at carrying the groceries.” http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/14ac7760-4cc8-11ec-a415-936b0eeebd87_450_250.jpegKelsey is not impressed with Martin The kids get to pick the first person to go on a one-on-one and will be planning the date. They pick Clayton. A limo pulls up and its got pizza and candy inside. Then they go to a museum where the kids have been on field trips. Getting to wander around a museum at night when no one is there sounds amazing. They go into the planetarium and the kids have recorded a show about the planets and honestly it’s adorable. One of them says that earth is the best planet because it has dogs. I'm just via GIPHY During the dinner they aren’t allowed to eat, Michelle reflects that it feels like there’s something missing in her relationship with Clayton. She tells him “You completely checked every single box of the qualities I’m looking forward in somebody, but I know that giving out this rose means I’m ready to meeting your family and I don’t feel like I’m able to get there with you in time.” Clayton says he’s thankful for the opportunity to meet her. She walks him to the limo of tears. Michelle’s students leave him a nice letter, and he tears up reading it. For the group date, they go to a farm. They have to milk cows and Rodney looks like he’s going to pass out. I have no idea why touching a cow teat freaks him out that much, but hey, we’ve all got our things. Rick is a natural. http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/160343_3355-e1637867890894.jpg Then they bottle feed calves and once again I’m all… Click for me RN via GIPHY The calves like Joe the best. Then they churn butter. Nayte is rolling the dowel between his hands like he’s trying to start a fire or something. Joe wins the butter competition. Finally the guys scoop poop because Michelle says she wants to have kids and poop is part of that equation. My husband is cleaning up cat vomit as I type this so I can attest to the fact that it’s important to find a partner who isn’t afraid to deal with bodily functions. During the cocktail party, Nayte tells her that his family dynamic is different and his dad doesn’t want to talk about girls or meet anyone he’s dating. After that little nugget he tells Michelle he’s falling for her. Michelle says she feels the same way and they make out noisily. So out on the drinking couches Martin talks about how his last conversation with Michelle (about women in Miami being “high maintenance”) didn’t go well and that he thinks Michelle is working through things in her past (she mentioned feeling like the token person of color growing up) and is immature. Huh? via GIPHY OIu tells Michelle what Martin said basically verbatim. Olu says that Martin hasn’t had to deal with the same issues Michelle has as a woman of color and that his comments were wrong. She pulls Martin aside and confronts him about saying one thing to her and another to the guys. Martin denies calling her immature even though WE HAVE IT ON CAMERA. Then he keeps talking over Michelle. “My personal opinion is that you’re letting someone else dictate the relationship we have. Because for me it’s a respect thing. Because I respect you,” he says. This whole conversation is so confusing. “This whole conversation has been about how you think I should feel about [my experiences] and you cut me off every time I start talking,” Michelle says. Martin scoffs. http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/88224dd0-4cd4-11ec-8026-138f25700ae9_800_420-e1637869056322.png Michelle says she can’t trust him and walks him out. She says she was vulnerable with Martin and he considered it a character flaw. Martin, in the limo of tears, is butthurt that she accused him of talking over her (which he was doing). I think if that’s what bothers him about the conversation then he can just throw himself right in the trash. He follows up with “I’m just sad for her” and “A woman like that doesn’t deserve my time.” click for Martin via GIPHY Michelle returns to the group and gives Nayte the date rose. The next one-on-one goes to Brandon. They go to her favorite ice cream spot in Stillwater, Minnesota. Then they go to her childhood home, but her parents aren’t there so he isn’t meeting them (yet). She gives him one of her dad’s swimsuits and they go for a soak in the family hot tub. So then, oh noes, Michelle’s parents arrive and she’s kissing a boy in the hot tub! But she’s also 28 so WHO FUCKING CARES. So they all sit on the patio and visit, and then Brandon asks to speak to her parents alone. He said he feels deeply in love with Michelle and asks if they would approve of him and Michelle getting married. They agree and say they really like him and Michelle seems really happy. During dinner Brandon says he wishes he could have introduced her to his late grandfather. They were very close and Brandon says he was his best friend. Then he gives her a bracelet that his mom gave him to give to “the one.” He tells her he’s falling in love with her. She gives him the date rose. Later Tayshia and Kailyn tell the guys that there won’t be a cocktail party, they are going straight to rose tonight. STRAIGHT TO ROSE PEOPLE! OMG STRAIGHT TO ROSE via GIPHY Michelle tells the guys she knows where her heart is at, which is why she canceled the cocktail party. I need to point out that Olu is wearing this red and black jacket, and I love it. http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/11265152_112321-wabc-michelle-rose-ceremony-img-e1637870449272.jpg Rick and Olu go home. That means Rodney, Joe, Nayte and Brandon are the final four. Are you watching? View the full article -
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ASK THE WIZARD – Pick a Card, Any Card
Hail to you peasants and pedants, tis I, Ulesorin, returned to you once more in all of my glory. Take a look at the verdant forest green of my accoutrements. Marvel at their richness. Neither the blandness of blue nor the putridity of yellow, but a far finer vestment than either, now that my rightful colours have been returned to me following the ultimate gruesome end of the dread dragon divorce dealings. They are the only thing that I still have from my old home in the free kingdoms. Them and the kobold lawyers on retainer, constantly chittering and whining at me that answering letters from pathetic reprobates on other planes of existence is a term of my public service for my contempt of court charge, not the actual divorce proceedings. To the letters! *** Dear Ulesorin, Will you write my mid-winter festivity cards please? Cheers. *** I am coming to suspect that the immortal wisdom of the greatest wizard of our times has been somewhat misunderstood by you people. That the incredible gift that I am offering up to you people on your little round world without the slightest hint of magic and wonder is being overlooked in its entirety. Particularly when I receive requests in this manner. Could I write all of your mid-winter cards? Of course I could. It would be a simple matter for a genius such as myself. My calligraphy is so beautiful it could make the very angels weep. I need not even lift a quill to perform such a feat, I could craft a spell that would seep into your mind as you are sleeping, pilfer the names and addresses of those who are deserving of a remembrance in the cold time of the year, and inscribe them upon plates of solid gold, hewn from the heart of a dwarf-king’s throne-egg. Were I feeling spiteful, I might also have the spell inscribe the precise number of times that you had pictured the person you expect me to write to on your behalf without their clothes on. But of course your question, so artfully phrased, did not ask if I were capable of such feats. Nay. It asked if I was willing to perform them, and to that I must give a most hearty no. Why, I do not even have the time to address and dispatch all of the many scrolls of festive greetings to the myriad kings, queens, dark lords and ladies, dragons of ill repute and miscellaneous heroes that are my own acquaintances. There simply is not enough time between now and the longest night! Furthermore, it would be a most grotesque waste of my precious time to do so. The greatest and most beloved people of my realm, and I cannot spare the time to send them a simple missive? Let me tell you first and foremost that with eternal life comes a great many introductions, and even were you to recall a fraction of them, it is supremely unlikely that you shall muster the energy to recall the respective lifespans of each person that you met. To whit, I cannot write for fear of addressing my card to the great grandfather of the currently reigning monarch. And even in the unlikely scenario that I could recall both who I am writing to, and whether they are alive, I still would not bother myself with such frivolities, for I am Ulesorin the Green, mightiest of wizards! You expect a man of my stature to write you little notes telling you I’m happy you survived another year? I could not give the faintest whiff of a damn. If you live it is only because you have not yet caught a stray fireball in the midst of one of my epic conflicts. Should I ever come upon your world, dear writer. Rest assured. You shall catch a stray fireball, even if I have to hand deliver a demon to your next door neighbour as an excuse. *** Email your problems to thefantasyhive@gmail.com with the subject: Ask the Wizard. Or leave a comment below. Having relationship issues? Need career advice? You name it, our ‘Agony Ant’ can help!* *Disclaimer: All answers are provided for entertainment purposes only. It may not be in your best interests to follow advice provided by a 1794-year-old man who firmly believes that arson is the best medicine. The post ASK THE WIZARD – Pick a Card, Any Card appeared first on The Fantasy Hive. View the full article -
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You Should Consider Quitting
Sorry about that title… I didn’t mean it to sound confrontational. It’s really just my internal monologue. Because I consider quitting. I consider quitting all the time. Every day. This applies both to my specific writing projects, and also to writing in general. And with all my other creative endeavors. But I don’t mean to say that I give up on everything. I just consider it. Because, for me, it really is worth pondering whether each crazy venture is worth it. I even considered quitting this video a few times… Do you think about quitting? Do those thoughts reflect a weakness, or an important part of your creative process? About Yuvi ZalkowYuvi Zalkow's first novel was reluctantly published in 2012 by MP Publishing. His forthcoming novel will be published by Red Hen Press. His stories and essays have been published in Glimmer Train, Narrative Magazine, Carve Magazine, The Daily Dot, Rosebud, The Poop Report, and others. He occasionally makes YouTube videos and apps for iPhones. Check out his website if you actually want to find out more. Web | More Posts http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/WriterUnboxed?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/WriterUnboxed?d=qj6IDK7rITs http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/WriterUnboxed?i=yttBGi9RX78:cqnGl2Ca-aA:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/WriterUnboxed?i=yttBGi9RX78:cqnGl2Ca-aA:D7DqB2pKExk [url={url}]View the full article[/url] -
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486. Sweet Dreams Recap: Princess Amy by Melinda Pollowitz
A This is a weird one, y’all. We’re taking a trip back to the early 80s where fiction for teens and pre-teens came with some awful, upsetting messaging, but also some fantastic clothing choices, some excellent descriptions of weird children’s birthday parties, a cute boy and a very good dog. It’s Princess Amy by Melinda Pollowitz! I figured I’d probably have to issue some warnings at some point, re-reading vintage YA, so here we are. TW/CW: assault, jerkward rich bros, disordered eating, and severe anti-fat bias. I want to know what you’d put in the epilogue to this book – please comment or email your ideas because I am desperate to fix this. … Music: purple-planet.com Listen to the podcast → Read the transcript → Here are the books we discuss in this podcast: Also mentioned in this episode: “Love Bombing” Triominoes from Cool Old Games If you like the podcast, you can subscribe to our feed, or find us at iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher, and Spotify, too. We also have a cool page for the podcast on iTunes. Thanks to our sponsors: Podcast → More ways to sponsor: Sponsor us through Patreon! (What is Patreon?) http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/WP/wp-content/themes/smartbitches/images/podcast/patreon.png What did you think of today's episode? Got ideas? Suggestions? You can talk to us on the blog entries for the podcast or talk to us on Facebook if that's where you hang out online. You can email us at sbjpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave us a message at our Google voice number: 201-371-3272. Please don't forget to give us a name and where you're calling from so we can work your message into an upcoming podcast. Thanks for listening! Podcast Sponsor This podcast episode is brought to you by The Last Goodnight by Kat Martin. When Kade Logan said goodbye to his estranged wife eight years ago, he never thought it would be the last time he saw her alive. Now her car has been hauled out of a nearby lake and Kade is determined to track down the man who murdered her. Enter Eleanor Bowman, a talented private investigator who’s about to stir up a hornet’s nest on his Colorado ranch. But as the case moves from corporate Denver high-rises to posh Vail mansions, Kade and Ellie sense the killer is closing in again, and this time Ellie is the target. This is the first in a brand new series, so don’t miss The Last Goodnight by Kat Martin, available now wherever books are sold. Find out more at Kensington Books.com Remember to subscribe to our podcast feed, find us on iTunes or on Stitcher. View the full article -
27
New York Pitch Assignments - December 2021
AFFLICTED by DG Lewis Pitch Conference Assignment Work First Assignment – Story Statement A year after a virus known as the Affliction has decimated humanity, a group of ordinary survivors must brave a dangerous post-apocalyptic United States to follow the clues left behind by its creators in hopes of finding a vaccine for Leah, who is the only human ever known to display resistance to the Affliction, before she succumbs to it and takes what could be humanity’s last chance to develop a vaccine with her. Second Assignment – The Antagonist / Antagonistic Force In the novel, the role of Antagonist is fluid. The group of survivors is made up of clashing personalities, and they are in often conflict with each other, pushing each other’s arcs forward and progressing each other as characters. The character of Jay is a good example of this. He is as much a brother figure as he is disparaging, foul mouthed unwilling mentor to Ben, and as much a protector as a figure of distrust towards Leah. The Afflicted are the constant Antagonistic Force. They are humans mutated and driven mad by the Affliction. As far as the characters know, the Afflicted only have two goals: spread the virus, and infect or kill every human they encounter. This makes them in constant conflict, with the Afflicted driving every aspect of the group’s adventure. In truth, the Afflicted are a far more complex force then they know, something that is hinted at throughout and brought to the forefront in the final act. Part of this force is a particularly dangerous type of Afflicted the group call a ‘Boomer’, who has been chasing the group since their first encounter in Philadelphia to their final conflict in Chicago, and who plays a large role in expanding their understanding of the Afflicted later on. Third Assignment – Breakout Title The title of this novel was one of the first ‘decided’ parts about it. Since the story revolves around one of the survivors getting the Affliction, to me it only made sense to call the novel an iconic title: ‘AFFLICTED’ Or ‘AFFLICTED PART ONE’ Assignment Four – Genre and Comparables Part of the initial concept for the novel was that I felt as though I’d identified an area of the market that could be oversaturated with low quality, but very much underrepresented in high quality. The novel is broadly a science fiction, action adventure-thriller, with its sub-genre determined by its setting: a Post-Apocalyptic United States of America. I wanted to incorporate certain story elements that were more familiar to readers and fans of the post-apocalyptic genre, but otherwise tried my best to have unique or not widespread concepts (such as Leah, a POV, being ‘resistant’ to the Affliction, and her arc consisting of a firsthand look for the reader into how the virus changes a person). If I had to, from my knowledge, describe Afflicted compared to other media, I would call it “The Last of Us meets I Am Legend with a sprinkle of Dune.” This isn’t a novel, but instead a video game franchise called The Last of Us by Neil Druckman and Naughty Dog is my favorite comparison to Afflicted. The franchise has won many awards and has sold over 50 million copies worldwide, and is being made into a TV series at HBO for 2022 starring Pedro Pascal. The ‘vibe’ of the world setting of The Last of Us has influenced how I see the Afflicted world; nature reclaiming the structures of humanity, a very open, sparse world where death can occur with one careless move, and one in which most of humanity is either dead, or ‘turned’, with very little left of our race. The fact that the antagonistic force in both titles isn’t ‘undead’, but mutated humans that can further mutate into more dangerous and powerful versions of themselves. The familiar trope of ‘the journey’ in this genre is also on display in both titles, but the comparable between these is that both journeys undertaken are forced by an external event impacting the characters so that they can’t ‘go home’ or ‘stay where they are’. I am Legend by Richard Matheson is also be comparable in the ghostly nature of the setting. The character of Jay bears some similarities to Robert Neville, and a theme of ‘infected’ people being much more than they seem, enough to be intelligent and capable of a society, is one that will become prevalent as my series goes on. In my novel it is merely hinted at until the final act. The deserted feel of the world is also similar to my novel. While certainly not a comparable for story, I’m including Dune by Frank Herbert for two reasons: structure similarities, and the hero’s journey. As Denis Villeneuve has done with the recent film adaptation, Dune can easily be structurally split into two halves that, while they make up a fantastic whole, are also two quite independent stories of their own right. My novel follows a similar structure, wherein the first two Acts could essentially be their own novel outright, and two large events occur at the end of Act 2 that fundamentally changes the direction of the story, and ‘forces the issue’, so to speak, making characters undergo a change in their arcs and driving the plot forward. The hero’s journey and development of Leah also bears resemblance to that of Paul Atreides in Dune. Both are forced to evolve by extreme circumstances, and both face the prospect of unknown powers and abilities not normally present in a human, and both grapple with the knowledge that in their future they face a terrible purpose that does not necessarily make them ‘the good guy’. While there may be other comparables I am not aware of, these are what I think of when I review the novel, and where I draw the most influence from. Assignment Five – Logline A year after a virus known as The Affliction has brought humanity to the edge of extinction, a young woman finds out she is resistant to the virus. Together with the remaining survivors of her group, they must find a way to work together to follow the trail of a long dead virologist and survive the trials of the post-apocalyptic United States in the hopes of finding a vaccine before she loses her mind and becomes one of the Afflicted monsters who haunt their every step, and takes the world’s last chance of salvation with her. Assignment Six – Sketching Inner Conflict & Secondary Social Conflicts The main protagonists and POV characters of the novel are Ben Colefield and Leah Hogan. Ben is haunted by survivors’ guilt, which motivates his more morality focused actions and views. He struggles with the hypocrisy of doing whatever it takes to survive, and staying true to his idolized values of humanity, which he clings to out of fear that he isn’t worthy to be alive in the Afflicted world, and that he’s only alive and wasn’t trapped in Philadelphia with his family by pure luck. A broad example of Ben’s survivor’s guilt and unwillingness to abandon his principles is displayed in Act 2. After the incident at the hospital, where they find the proof that Alex was telling the truth about who he is and what his quest it, he offers Jay and Ben the chance to join his journey. Jay accepts readily, but Ben is extremely conflicted and initially refuses to go. He believes the members of the group back at the farm will be helpless without Jay, and he sees leaving for a cause, albeit a ‘higher’ cause, as abandonment, and he believes that abandoning those who are weak just because it’s convenient is wrong. Leah’s abandonment issues and early childhood death of a parent has led to her becoming an independent young woman who is also quite selfish in terms of her actions and how she reacts to most other people. She is constantly determined to be seen, and that leads to her determination to prove that she ‘knows best’. On top of that, she constantly evolving both physically and mentally due to the Affliction, and she is struggling between what she is expected to do – fight it, remain human, verses what she knows she must do – accept the best of both worlds knowing it will drive her to insanity. An example of Leah’s selfish nature occurs in Act 1 of the novel when, despite orders to go home immediately after her Patrol is done, she disobeys and sneaks off the property to the nearby creek for a swim. As she is leaving the property, Hannah asks to go with her, but Leah refuses, not wanting an eleven-year-old to deal with, and doesn’t make sure she gets back to her Dad, instead only caring about her adventure and just leaving her. Thinking that she’ll hear or see any threats at the creek, she doesn’t take proper precautions, which leads directly to the confrontation with Afflicted that causes her to become infected with the virus. b) Secondary It is alluded that Leah is attracted to Jay in the story; however, it is very much not reciprocated. Jay views people as risk/reward, and even before Leah became Afflicted, he considered her too selfish to be reliable, only caring about herself and her need to be ‘right’ or ‘the independent lead’ in a given situation. This leads to an altercation where, separated from the group, Jay threatens to kill her, and tries to make her see that her selfish personality puts all of them at risk when she doesn’t consider anyone but herself. This is important for Leah’s development, when she begins changing and realizes how selfish she is. The tension between them remains constant throughout the novel, with both often exasperated with the other’s attitudes. For Ben, at a certain point in the novel, the group find a safe place to stay for the night with a pastor and his family and grandchildren. He sees a family in a safe environment and proposes that Hannah stay with them. He projects his own, “Old World” beliefs into the situation; Hannah is a child, they can’t keep her safe, she should have a childhood, etc. The group reacts poorly to the suggestion, especially Hannah, who runs away in tears. Ben is forced to deal with his hypocritical beliefs, old world verses new world: the Afflicted world doesn’t care how old you are, Hannah herself has at this stage already saved all of their lives, does age equal immaturity anymore, etcetera. He is forced by the social conflict to examine his own attitude and prejudices. There are more instances where Ben tries to revolve a conflict or view a situation as he would ‘Pre-Affliction’, but ends up realizing those views are no longer compatible with their new world. Assignment Seven – Setting The setting for Afflicted is a post-apocalyptic United States of America. The story is a product of its setting. I do mention some specific locations, and take some liberties with the interiors of those locations, but I try and keep city layouts and exteriors as faithful as possible (I have also at least walked past, if not been inside, many of my locations in real life. Using the comparables in Assignment 4, it does help that there is a popular, more visual medium that the audience for the novel can fall back on to aid their imagining of the setting. My goals with setting is more about the feeling of it, how does it change character’s actions and emotions, what feelings can I evoke? The Affliction was a viral wildfire that tore through the world and left billions of dead in its wake. The world is presented through the eyes and knowledge of the main characters. As far as they’re concerned, there is no governmental structure left, no militaries, no operational power grids; no society: just a small number of humans in hiding, living off the land and scavenging what they can find to survive. As the characters world expands and the story progresses, the world will naturally evolve and open up as they travel. The story begins at close to a year after the months where humanity collapsed. The Afflicted world is a haunted world, where death is a constant, and monsters stalk from every shadow. With no human caretakers, nature has already begun to reclaim the land, but that process is only in its infancy, so most of the destruction is man made from the initial short lived ‘war’ with the Afflicted. Many places appear deserted from the outside, but buildings often hide Afflicted within. Physically, roads are generally packed with abandoned vehicles, overgrown vegetation, trash, and decayed bodies. Mentally, for the characters, the world feels like an abandoned ghost town to which they are uninvited strangers. Indoor environments are meant to feel tense and menacing, and for a ‘we’re a day late for the party’ feel to their condition. Altogether it is meant to project a world that is harsh, bleak, and unforgiving. The characters are a contrast to the world, in that they fight against the negative emotions the world projects upon them. They choose to believe in the hope that they will succeed. SPECIFIC SETTINGS USED IN ACTS In Act 1 and 2, the story flips between Ben and Jay, who are in Philadelphia on route to Jefferson Hospital, and the West Chester farmstead the group resides on, and where Leah remains. The city is alien and dangerous in contrast to the safety and normality of the farmstead. Philadelphia is presented through Ben’s eyes. It is his hometown, and his first time back since the end of the world. It is hard for him to contrast the decaying city he sees to the vibrant home he knew before. They can just about navigate the streets in a vehicle, and there aren’t many roaming Afflicted. The Three main settings in Philly are: Jefferson Hospital – while I’m sure I’ve taken liberties with the interior layout; the hospital is the perfect ‘starter building’ for Ben to earn his stripes. It is presented as chaotic and crowded with gurneys, medical equipment and remains scattered within, though has windows so has natural light and easy to see. It also has limited power, so flickering lights illuminate the dark spaces. Chestnut Street – The main road between Jefferson and Penn hospitals, which Ben and Jay have to walk after Jay’s car is stolen. It is presented as a ‘valley in the shadow of death’, and allows Ben to get a closer look at the buildings and damage to the city street. Penn Hospital – Penn is presented as, at first, a military stronghold, known as ‘The Noah’s Arc of the Apocalypse, that was massacred in the early days of the Afflicted. As night approaches, the atmosphere becomes darker, more foreboding, and more claustrophobic. As Ben and Jay help Alex explore, they find a secret underground lab hidden within the hospital. This hidden lab jumps all of the above to the extreme, adding in the limited power that only powers the deep red emergency lights, bathing the tight corridors in an ominous glow, foreshadowing the violence to come. Even when outside in Philadelphia, the atmosphere is presented as close and claustrophobic. Every environment is designed to emit the tense and anxious feelings that come with that closeness, to produce the feeling like you are trapped with no way out, and the sense that it is only a matter of time before something goes awry. The Farm, in an undisclosed area of West Chester, Pennsylvania, is presented as a rural farmstead that is isolated enough to generally not be noticed. The house itself is a modest, aging home that can just about fit all 12 of the group inside of it. From the main barn that serves as a lookout post, one can see most of the main property. The group have tried to plant crops, but it is all done by hand without farm machinery. A forest surrounds the property on all sides. It is a recluse; a haven from the post-apocalyptic nightmare of the Afflicted world, a safe(ish) space for the characters. Part 3, set on ‘The Open Road’, encompasses a few different locations. A common theme of the novel is this: the further west you go, the worse the condition of the environment gets. As they travel west out of Pennsylvania, many of the roads prove difficult to drive on, with nature beginning to reclaim the rural areas. Many of the more rural they go turn out to be deserted, even without much Afflicted presence lending to the eerie, haunted sense of the world. Chicago is where Act 4 and Act 5, the climactic acts of the novel, take place. Chicago is presented as different from Philadelphia in that it is a ruined city that never had a real quarantine, but instead had many small factions of the armed forces and private citizens ‘holding’ different ‘zones’, and as a result the city is largely an impassable logistical nightmare clogged with wreckage. Specific locations in Chicago are Cornell Square Park, a small park in the South Side set up as a safe zone and CDC camp (long abandoned by the time the characters arrive), and the John Hancock building/360 Chicago, a well-known tourist destination in real life (I have been to it) which presents a unique ariel view of the city as well as having a cool restaurant on the 95th floor of the building. The setting here goes hand in hand with the notion that the characters, upon arriving, get to broaden their ‘view’ of the conflict they face, and Leah becomes further enthralled with the Affliction and is able to more broadly sense her new found abilities. AFFLICTED Assignment Anwers NYC Event Dec 2021.pdf -
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Tom Hanks, Pageants, & More
If the Shoe Fits If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy is $3.99! This came out in August and is a Cinderella-inspired retelling. It also has a reality show element. I’m very excited about this updated Disney princess series. The next one will be written by Jasmine Guillory and is a Beauty & the Beast retellng. After having just graduated with a degree in shoe design, and trying to get her feet on the ground, Cindy is working for her stepmother, who happens to be the executive producer of America’s favorite reality show, Before Midnight. When a spot on the show needs filling ASAP, Cindy volunteers, hoping it might help jump-start her fashion career, or at least give her something to do while her peers land jobs in the world of high fashion. Turns out being the only plus size woman on a reality dating competition makes a splash, and soon Cindy becomes a body positivity icon for women everywhere. What she doesn’t expect? That she may just find inspiration—and love—in the process. Ultimately, Cindy learns that if the shoe doesn’t fit, maybe it’s time to design your own. Add to Goodreads To-Read List → You can find ordering info for this book here. You Should See Me in a Crown RECOMMENDED: You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson is $1.99! Tara loved this book and gave it a perfect grade. I definitely recommend reading her review: For me, You Should See Me in a Crown is a perfect book, verging on a Squee. Liz Lighty has always believed she’s too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it’s okay — Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor. But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz’s plans come crashing down . . . until she’s reminded of her school’s scholarship for prom king and queen. There’s nothing Liz wants to do less than endure a gauntlet of social media trolls, catty competitors, and humiliating public events, but despite her devastating fear of the spotlight she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get to Pennington. The only thing that makes it halfway bearable is the new girl in school, Mack. She’s smart, funny, and just as much of an outsider as Liz. But Mack is also in the running for queen. Will falling for the competition keep Liz from her dreams . . . or make them come true? Add to Goodreads To-Read List → You can find ordering info for this book here. Waiting for Tom Hanks Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey is $1.99! Carrie gave this one a B-: I was mostly charmed by the book. It was sweet but not too gooey, and I loved Annie’s through knowledge of the rom-com genre and her observation about how we can appreciate happiness all the more if we’ve also known loss. A rom-com-obsessed romantic waiting for her perfect leading man learns that life doesn’t always go according to a script in this delightfully charming and funny novel. Annie Cassidy dreams of being the next Nora Ephron. She spends her days writing screenplays, rewatching Sleepless in Seattle, and waiting for her movie-perfect meet-cute. If she could just find her own Tom Hanks—a man who’s sweet, sensitive, and possibly owns a houseboat—her problems would disappear and her life would be perfect. But Tom Hanks is nowhere in sight. When a movie starts filming in her neighborhood and Annie gets a job on set, it seems like a sign. Then Annie meets the lead actor, Drew Danforth, a cocky prankster who couldn’t be less like Tom Hanks if he tried. Their meet-cute is more of a meet-fail, but soon Annie finds herself sharing some classic rom-com moments with Drew. Her Tom Hanks can’t be an actor who’s leaving town in a matter of days . . . can he? Add to Goodreads To-Read List → You can find ordering info for this book here. The Ex Talk The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon is $2.99! Catherine read this one and gave it a B-: There was some lovely writing, some fantastic banter, and I really did like Shay and Dominic together. They had terrific chemistry and the sort of teasing relationship that makes me very happy, because it means there is a firm foundation of friendship underneath the romance. Public radio co-hosts navigate mixed signals in Rachel Lynn Solomon’s sparkling romantic comedy debut. Shay Goldstein has been a producer at her Seattle public radio station for nearly a decade, and she can’t imagine working anywhere else. But lately it’s been a constant clash between her and her newest colleague, Dominic Yun, who’s fresh off a journalism master’s program and convinced he knows everything about public radio. When the struggling station needs a new concept, Shay proposes a show that her boss green-lights with excitement. On The Ex Talk, two exes will deliver relationship advice live, on air. Their boss decides Shay and Dominic are the perfect co-hosts, given how much they already despise each other. Neither loves the idea of lying to listeners, but it’s this or unemployment. Their audience gets invested fast, and it’s not long before The Ex Talk becomes a must-listen in Seattle and climbs podcast charts. As the show gets bigger, so does their deception, especially when Shay and Dominic start to fall for each other. In an industry that values truth, getting caught could mean the end of more than just their careers. Add to Goodreads To-Read List → You can find ordering info for this book here. View the full article -
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New York Pitch Assignments - December 2021
Eight Months 1. Story statement a. Eight Months covers one of the most interesting stretches in the life of Mitchell Watkins, his sophomore year of college. Mitchell is often disparaged by his football teammates and fraternity brothers due to his autism and androgyny, and feels like an outcast in his own home. He wants to enter into a new committed relationship this school year with someone who cares deeply for him, and meets a freshman named Molly who dotes on him. She is very fixated on him physically and emotionally, and both grow a quick aversion to birth control. 2. Antagonist sketch a. Mitchell encountered a very large, crass, autistic classmate freshman year, whom he keeps at hands length because "He is utterly terrifying." He refers to this classmate as "Vampire" due to "Vampire's" long hair, lack of hygiene, and constant, stumbling drunkenness, as he does not know his real name or origin, yet feels sympathetic due to this imposing character's lack of friends and willingness to blame their shared autism for his loneliness. Mitchell would tell "Vampire" of his prior history in relationships, including repeatedly cheating on his high school girlfriend, which makes "Vampire" both jealous of Mitchell's social success and enraged at his infidelity. "Vampire" often manipulates Mitchell out of spite, especially once he learns that Mitchell cheated on a pregnant Molly, and has started a new relationship. Vampire seeks to ruin Mitchell's life completely, by way of gossip, manipulation, and threats. 3. Breakout title These titles are remarkably tenuous a. Option 1 – Eight Months b. Option 2 – Did you Hear About that Kid? c. Option 3 – What a Waste 4. DECIDING YOUR GENRE AND APPROACHING COMPARABLES a. The Bride Test by Helen Hoang centers an autistic man named Khai Diep who feels he is incapable of reciprocating his lover's affection, much like Mitchell. Mitchell's actual level of care for his lovers is very questionable, as he prefers to provide women with what society tells him they generally want so they will pay him compliments and love him unconditionally. In other words, he is in love with the idea of being loved. Both Mitchell and Khai suffer from insecurities, and holding a very absolutist definition of an abstraction such as romance. b. Mitchell's profound androgyny and nonchalance towards social norms draws strongly on such works by DH Lawrence as "The Rainbow", as well as contemporaneous works such as Jeannette Winterson’s "Written On the Body", and LGBTQ+ works such as "None of the Above" by Gregorio, I. W. Others make their thoughts on Mitchell's feminine physical features and overtly sexual dress and mannerisms known. He must also beware of predatory advances made upon his person by by large, burly men such as "Vampire." "Vampire's" innate sexual attraction to Mitchell and uncertain sexuality are a frequent conversational point. c. Eight Months takes place at an insular university with a more traditional set of expectations in relationships. This relationship dynamic hearkens back to Victorian and Gothic Literature such as Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Here, an innocent Gothic heroine such as Molly dates a flamboyant and extravagant character such as Mitchell, in spite of how he hides his autism and history of infidelity, much as Mr. Rochester hid his former fiancée in the attic. 5. CORE WOUND AND THE PRIMARY CONFLICT a. In August, Mitchell Watkins had a scholarship, wealth, teammates, and a new lover. Eight months later he has debt, no home, no friends, and two pregnant ex lovers. Core wound Mitchell feels that he needs to form a new committed relationship to fill his need for approval and affection. He behaves like a recovering addict: living in self denial to overcome his history of infidelity, hard drug use, and escapism. 6. Sketch the inner conditions for the protagonist’s inner conflict a. The primary conflict in Eight Months is Mitchell struggling to keep his autism and history of cheating a secret from Molly. Mitchell's autism very much colors the way he views others and the world around him, such as struggling with self-awareness, or how he views the world in very concrete terms, and lacks empathy. But he wants to emphasize that he is not socially awkward, nor does he have obsessive, unproductive or age inappropriate fixations, as he is quite apt to deny himself any sort of escapism, and looks down on others who take to these unproductive hobbies. He believes stereotypes color the way others view autism, and that by revealing his autism, he will come across as a stereotypical social leper, or "Sperg." For instance, Mitchell gets defensive when Molly brings up his understated, blunted emotional state, and inconsistent eye contact. Mitchell is only occasionally aware he does not care much for Molly, and is using her devotion to supplicate his ego. Mitchell only grasps social norms on a "Letter of the Law" sort of level, and understands that he should try not to harm her or make her feel uncomfortable, but many of these are just half measures with little emotional investment. He also believes himself to be sterile, and that he will not get Molly pregnant, no matter how many times she asks him to come over to her room, or on dates. Three months in once Molly reveals her pregnancy with their daughter, Mitchell feels some emotional attachment to his unborn child, but only on the level that his daughter to be is his family, and he feels obligated to be a breadwinner husband for his new family. This is still a stated improvement, and shows that Mitchell is capable of being emotionally attached to his partners, such as in his relationship in which his new partner, Malee, or May is not forthcoming about her intentions with him beyond physicality and will dodge Mitchell's concerns about her wellbeing. This gets worse when she reveals she too is pregnant with Mitchell's daughter, and she suffers from bouts of emotional pain, and crying, with no explanation given. This culminates with her dropping out of school and repatriating to her home country, with no reason given. b. The secondary conflict comes between Mitchell and "Vampire", who makes no effort to hide who he is from others, and sees Mitchell as self hating and a hypocrite. He will coerce Mitchell into producing methamphetamine for his enterprise, and spread much worse rumors about Mitchell's person after Molly leaves him for his infidelity. Mitchell comes to realize how vindictive and and cruel "Vampire" is. But only after he remorselessly ruins the lives of many classmates and other local college students with disguised methamphetamine, as well as Mitchell's new relationship with May by intimidating her out of the school and country. Once he has bankrupted and socially isolated Mitchell, "Vampire" takes out his aggression by provoking Mitchell to fight, and beating him into a coma. 7. Setting a. The timeframe is 2006-2007, making this a period piece for the mid to late 2000s. There will be a very limited number of pop culture reference from the time, mostly to point and laugh at how tacky this era was. The setting is Connecticut Polytechnic Institute, or CPI, an elite, fictional private engineering University located in the desolate small city of Waterbury Connecticut. Waterbury suffers from having one of the highest poverty rates and lowest average amounts of sunshine within the otherwise very wealthy United States eastern seaboard. Unlike its older sibling engineering schools of the northeast such as MIT or Worcester Polytechnic, CPI was established in the 1980s, and formed by reclaiming abandoned warehouses and factories of the troubled city. This paints shades of drab, postindustrial grey for a depressing story where not only do many of these characters find themselves in self-imposed poverty by the end, the villain also wins, consequence free. The only moments spent outside of Waterbury or CPI are when Mitchell returns to his hometown of Darlington, SC, a small, dying tobacco town of the deep south for December break. Here, his parents are divorcing and moving, his childhood friends who did not leave are spiraling into drunkenness and criminality, and Mitchell sees he has no reason to maintain any connection to his roots. -
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A COUNTRY OF GHOSTS by Margaret Killjoy (BOOK REVIEW)
“Hron’s a country, I guess,” Sorros said, “in that we’re a collection of people with a somewhat-shared culture who commonly defend certain rough borders and principles. But we’re not a country like Vorronia or Borolia or even the Floating Isles. We don’t have a king of a parliament or a council or a royal priesthood or trade barons or capitalists or really any of the vestiges of power at all. We’re a country, but we’re an anarchist country.” “What does that mean?” I asked. “It means that everyone in Hron is the master of their own destiny,” Sorros said. “It means that there are no laws here, no prisons.” Dory chimed in. “The free Confederation of Hron is a voluntary association of autonomous groups and individuals who cooperate to provide on another mutual aid,” Dory said. “Yeah, that mouthful right there. That’s Hron. We’re people who have each other’s backs because having someone’s back means someone has yours, and that’s a good way to live.” Margaret Killjoy’s A Country Of Ghosts is a remarkable book, one that demonstrates the power of speculative fiction and Fantasy as a tool to imagine new ways of living outside of repressive regimes. It’s customary for lazy Fantasy reviewers to compare any vaguely political work of SF or Fantasy by a woman writer to Ursula K. Le Guin, but in this case, Killjoy’s novel is a genuine successor to Le Guin’s exploration of an anarchist, anticapitalist society in The Dispossessed (1974). A Country Of Ghosts imagines a character from an imperial colonising power coming into contact with an anarchist society in a secondary fantasy world in the 19th century, and from this Killjoy explores with eloquence, warmth and humanity how a utopian society might organise itself in a way radically different to ours. Originally published by Combustion Books in 2014, A Country Of Ghosts is republished this year by AK Press as the first book in their Black Dawn series, dedicated to imagining anticapitalist, anticolonialist and antiracist futures in honour of Octavia E. Butler’s works, where it makes an excellent mission statement for the line. A Country Of Ghosts tells the story of Dimos Horacki, a journalist from Borol who is sent to the frontlines of the war to report on the exploits of Borolian war hero Dolan Wilder. Travelling with the Imperial Army, Dimos soon experiences the brutality of Wilder and his men, and the violence which they mete out to the small settlements in the Cerrac mountains. When his honest eyewitness report is intercepted by Wilder, he is sent out on a suicide mission and captured by the Free Company of the Mountain Heather. Dimos finds out that the mountains are home to the anarchist country of Hron, and as he befriends the militia and learns about their ways and their culture, he is shown a way of living free from the tyrannical oppression of the Borolian Empire. Like many classical utopian texts, we are shown the anarchist utopia of Hron through the eyes of an outsider, which allows us to learn about the society’s culture and organisation as the protagonist learns about them. Dimos is an excellent character for this. As a political journalist, a gay man, and an orphan brought up by the state, Dimos has a nuanced understanding of the various layers of oppression that shape Borol. The Borolian Empire is loosely based on the British Empire, and its methods of colonialist expansion, its use of violence and its erasure of indigenous cultures, and its reduction of its own people to a privileged upper class and a starving, downtrodden working class are all too familiar. Dimos may have a healthy cynicism about the Borolian Empire which makes him willing to listen to his new friends he meets in Hron, especially after he has seen first-hand the atrocities committed by the Imperial Army, but he still has many questions about how society in Hron works. As he journeys across the Cerrac mountains, he learns some answers to these questions from the various characters he meets and interacts with: Sorros Ralm, the militia man who first befriends him, Nola, his partner and a woman with a brilliant military mind, Grem, Dory, Joslek and Desil, the younger members of Mountain Heather that he spends his time with. What makes A Country Of Ghosts so compelling is that Dimos’ lessons are not imparted simply through discussion with other characters, although there is plenty of that. Killjoy skilfully makes her arguments by letting her characters lead by example. The novel is excellent social science fiction, imagining various different ways people might approach living in an anarchist society. Through Dimos, we get to see first-hand how the Free Companies are able to organise themselves without having to resort to hierarchical chains of command. Each settlement in Hron, from the villages of Holl and Molikari to the great refugee city of Hronople, have their own particular way of self-organising, that is built around freedom, cooperation and mutual respect. In contrast to the poverty and violence in Borol, the people of Hron have found a way to live outside of the rigid restrictions of capitalism and empire. Killjoy explores how a society might operate that respects personal autonomy, yet is still able to functionally come together to defend itself and in which there are no laws but there are still consequences that prevent murder and violence. Additionally, these freedoms allow the people of Hron to exist free from the racist, colonialist attitudes of the Borolian Empire, with people interacting on a more personal level. Dimos finds that, as a queer person, he enjoys much more freedom with the Hron to explore his sexuality and to be with other people than he ever had at home in Borol, and the difference between how the various people he encounter treat foreigners compared to the brutal violence the people of the Cerrac mountains receive at the hands of the Imperial Army is striking. A Country Of Ghosts works both as an exploration of anarchy and as literature. Killjoy’s writing is thoughtful and elegant, and the story is structured around various armed conflicts between the Free Companies and the Imperial Army, creating plenty of action and tension to keep the reader invested. Killjoy’s characters are human and believable, and she does not resort to short cuts or easy answers to hammer home her political arguments. It is a novel that will stay with me for a long while, and I look forward to reading more of Killjoy’s work and seeing where AK Press take their Black Dawn series from here. The post A COUNTRY OF GHOSTS by Margaret Killjoy (BOOK REVIEW) appeared first on The Fantasy Hive. View the full article -
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Happy Thanksgiving!
Big thanks to author, illustrator, and former regular Writer Unboxed contributor Debbie Ohi for use of this comic. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! About Writer Unboxed began as a collaboration between Therese Walsh and Kathleen Bolton in 2006. Since then the site has grown to include ~50 regular contributors--including bestselling authors and industry leaders--and frequent guests. In 2014, the first Writer Unboxed UnConference (part UNtraditional conference, part intensive craft event, part networking affair) was held in Salem, MA. Learn more about our 2019 event, ESCAPE TO WuNDERLAND, on Eventbrite. In 2016, the Writer Unboxed team published a book with Writer's Digest. AUTHOR IN PROGRESS: A No-Holds-Barred Guide to What It Really Takes to Get Published has been well-received by readers who seek help in overcoming the hurdles faced at every step of the novel-writing process--from setting goals, researching, and drafting to giving and receiving critiques, polishing prose, and seeking publication. James Scott Bell has said of the guide, "Nourishment for the writer's soul and motivation for the writer's heart." You can follow Writer Unboxed on Twitter, and join our thriving Facebook community. Twitter | Facebook | More Posts http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/WriterUnboxed?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/WriterUnboxed?d=qj6IDK7rITs http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/WriterUnboxed?i=ksRSkiyMLec:fD-YNzrDJAY:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/WriterUnboxed?i=ksRSkiyMLec:fD-YNzrDJAY:D7DqB2pKExk [url={url}]View the full article[/url] -
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A Match Made For Thanksgiving by Jackie Lau
B+ A Match Made for Thanksgiving by Jackie Lau October 8, 2019 · Jackie Lau Books Contemporary RomanceNovellaRomance Thanksgiving is a bit shorted in the romance world. I suppose this is because some people think that fighting with your family, consuming your body weight in pie, and entering a food coma are not romantic activities. To them I say…what kind of pie are we talking about here? After all, one of the most romantic lines in all of literary history refers to Thanksgiving – I refer of course to Rose saying “He ate my turkey and he didn’t get sick!” In The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler. A Match Made For Thanksgiving offers a multi-cultural, funny and sexy Thanksgiving romance set in Canada. Canadian Thanksgiving is in October. The USA’s Thanksgiving is in November, and there are a few other differences, but eating an enormous dinner with family members is a practice common to both countries. Lily Tseng has always been “the responsible one” in her family, but when a boyfriend breaks up with her because he thinks that she is “boring,” she decides to step out of her comfort zone and have a one-night stand. Luckily she meets Nick Wong, a well-to-do playboy who specializes in one-night stands. The sex is so amazing that both Lily and Nick keep thinking about each other. Things become complicated when Nick shows up to his family’s house for Thanksgiving post-one-night-stand only to discover that his mother and grandparents have set Nick and his siblings up with dates – and Lily is Nick’s brother’s date. I’d like to begin this review with an apology to Canada. I had NO IDEA about Butter Tarts and Nanaimo Bars. Canada, I salute you. I had so much fun with this story. I enjoyed the multi-cultural elements that blended with the fun family traditions. A lot of families have some specialThanksgiving food and in this story we get “Ah Yeh’s noodles” (a childhood favorite of Nick’s that his grandfather makes), char siu (Nick’s contribution from Toronto) and, in Lily’s family, a beloved tradition of KFC and store-bought apple pie. These details made the families seem real and grounded and fun. I also loved that, while the Chinese relatives were excited about match-making, Nick’s mom, a White woman who loves romance novels, was equally invested and had the relatives trying to find dates based on romance novel tropes like “second-chance romance” and “runaway bride” and “opposites attract,” which leads to the Thanksgiving dates being hilarious mis-matches. I’m happy to say that the whole “she’s dating my brother” thing lasts for about an hour (of plot time, not reading time) with Greg being a good sport about the confusion. The story is quite short but gives us quite a bit of hot sexytimes, character development, food, and hilarity. It’s not especially deep and there is zero angst although there are fond memories of deceased relatives. The communication is decent and every one is reasonably mature. Overall, this is just a really fun book, one in a series of novellas about holiday romances. It stuck in my head because it respected culture without relying on stereotypes and because I felt at home with these families. I hope you all have a lovely holiday and that your favorite food is included, whether it be a loved one’s recipe or something from a store. I guess I have to try making those Nanaimo bars now! View the full article -
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Giving Thanks for Writing Support
Photo by wewe yang from Pexels With November almost over and no gifts purchased yet this year because, well, work and NaNoWriMo, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed. But when I was brainstorming what I should write about for this post, I decided to go with good old-fashioned gratitude since we are celebrating a day of thanks. Here are a just a few things I’m grateful for: Time to write. Yes, life is busy, but I’m learning to embrace being the mother of teens. You’d be surprised at how much time you get back in your life when they can drive themselves to and from school, to and from sports practices and games, and back and forth from work and friends’ houses. While I do try to attend all their cross country races and track meets, the months of mid-November through early February provide even more time at home to tackle projects because my kids take an off season. Next year my oldest will be away at college somewhere, but we aren’t talking about that right now! The gift of the muse. In the past several months, I’ve been blessed with a variety of ideas for both non-fiction and fiction projects, and have produced one new solid short story, a creative non-fiction essay, more than half of a thriller/suspense novel, and multiple podcast scripts and interviews. I’m not sure what has sparked this burst of creativity, but I’m choosing to roll with it as long as I can. Podcast listeners and follows. "Missing in the Carolinas" continues to grow organically each week and I have yet to do any real marketing for it. I'm thrilled to have at least 700 downloads within a week of each episode now. I’ve put the title of the show in my e-mail signature, no matter who I’m sending a message to and mention it in passing in as many conversations as I can. My focus has been producing quality work to gain the trust of listeners before exploring sponsorship opportunities, but I believe it’s almost time to put the second part of the plan in motion. Last week a friend suggested I call a mentor of hers in South Carolina to discuss how he crowdfunded one of his books. I mentioned the podcast to him and by the next day, he had sent me a message from him that read, “Hey! I started the podcast and it’s excellent.” Coming from a retired newspaper journalist, this compliment made my day. Supportive family, friends, and colleagues. I wouldn’t have it made it this far without the support of so many people. My family picks up the slack with cleaning the house and running errands for me so I can squeeze in time to write, my friends cheer me on from near and far, and my colleagues have been very kind in complimenting me with the work I do in magazine content creation and editing and my creative work. It’s so true that a little support goes a long way, especially to a shy and introverted writer who’s always been nervous about putting her work out into the world. I’m sure I’ve left something or someone out, but these are the main points that were on my heart. I’m thankful for so many blessings in my life, and I’m thankful to be blessed with the love of writing. I hope you all have a restful Thanksgiving, no matter how you celebrate! Renee Roberson is an award-winning freelance writer and editor who also hosts and produces the true crime podcast, Missing in the Carolinas. Learn more at FinishedPages.com. (C) Copyright wow-womenonwriting.com Visit WOW! Women On Writing for lively interviews and how-tos. Check out WOW!'s Classroom and learn something new. Enter the Quarterly Writing Contests. Open Now![url={url}]View the full article[/url] -
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Word of Honor
http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/9fFzt7LT6KAAuSH7bPNDEjQSzSE-200x300.jpegContent warning: Ableism, torture, toxic masculinity, poison, suicide, indentured servitude/slavery, abuse. Shout out to Aube for luring me up the mountain!!! Word of Honor (山河令) is a BL/Dānměi Chinese historical fantasy series that was based on the webnovel Faraway Wanderers (天涯客) by Priest, who has had other webnovels adapted into series, too. This one centers around Zhōu Zǐshū and Wēn Kèxīng. Zhōu Zǐshū led the martial arts sect and intelligence organization “Window of Heaven” until grief, disillusionment, and guilt drove him to quit super dramatically to wander about before fading into the good night. His method of choice is also a potential trigger-more on that later. Wēn Kèxīng leads the much reviled Ghost Valley and is out for epic revenge and for getting with his man. As all the legacies and self interests of the various sects and players churn about the two, they flirt, angst, eat, and child raise their way to greatness and each other’s arms. This series is one of those stories that isn’t perfect. It gets some things so right, and others so wrong that the phrase ‘mixed feelings’ doesn’t even begin to cover how I feel towards it. Word of Honor is: as flamingly gay as a TV/streaming series can be under government censorship is incredibly ableist shows the shades of grey a family can be is needlessly classist features sexy bisexuals being messy shows how love isn’t enough on its own makes very pointed remarks about collateral damage and breaking cycles of violence yet supports violent retribution as justice… The list just goes on!!! Me thinking about the show http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/kid-scream.gif But before we get into all that, let’s go back to that ‘fade into the good night’ bit. First and foremost, the gays are fine. This show absolutely deserves a tragedy tag, but not for burying its gays. While Zhōu Zǐshū’s lifespan is one of the central tensions, this show is a campy romp with beautiful men being badasses and raising their cinnamon roll of a son. Don’t get me wrong, they draw out the angst for sure, but the way they set up this angst cow of a plot point telegraphed that Zhōu Zǐshū is going to live. But like I said, there was a fair amount of knife-in-my-heart angst, too. If any of that would still be triggering for you, fair. And now I can talk about the very good things and the very bad things about the show!!! HURRAY!!!! When I said this show is flamingly gay, I mean it is truly, madly, deeply gay. Truly, Madly, Deeply Gay http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Wen-Kexing-and-Zhou-Zishu-spin-bai-plebians.gif While the source material is unambiguously a m/m romance, government censorship will not allow any TV series to show characters as canonically queer. In deference to this limitation, Word of Honor queer coded the ever loving shit out of everything they could. Everything. http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/hand-zhou-zishu-taking-bottle-from-wen-kexing.gif Like a lot of C-dramas, the character’s voices are dubbed in post. It’s basically an industry standard at this point, and it means they can change the lines of the characters…while leaving the camera riiiight up on their faces. For reasons. Reasons http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/wen-kexing-says-You-are-my-soulmate.gif Also for reasons, you can show the character cutting sleeves, which is a reference to an emperor who cut off his sleeve so his lovely lover can keep snoozing. You can show them getting jealous. You can show a straight-laced grouch vaguely agreeing to meet the sly, sunny, shameless man again, “If the fates allow it”…only to turn around and almost immediately see the same shameless man pulling up in his boat. And what about referencing romantic poetry all over the place and gifting hairpins the way married couples do? Or how about referencing a specific m/m webnovel trope from a particular decade? These are just the tip of the iceberg of how lushly romantic this series is, and there’s also other queer couples in the story! Avenue X’s videos on youtube were my main source for learning about all the ways cultural and literary references were used to layer romance in, so definitely check out her videos if you’re interested! Even if you’re not, there’s still sparring as foreplay, gazing starry eyed into each other’s eyes, domestic bliss, loving support, and aaaalll kinds of romantic tropes piled on besides. Here is a list of links to Avenue X's videos should you wish to deep dive with me (you do!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXK5voXh6fk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix77iJTjtjo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvOzbhiiMNA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhBqPOjt1H0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY6BC1_bQUs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXn-5oBcQ7g Combined with the chemistry between the leading actors, the show served up soooo much squee!!! Among my favourite squee moments are Zhōu Zǐshū and Wēn Kèxīng spending time with Zhāng Chénglǐng, who is effectively their adoptive son. Family is a big theme in the show, and I thought it was handled better in some places than others. First and foremost, it was mostly a positive representation of two dads and their son. There were really cute moments like Zhāng Chénglǐng going in for hugs when he’s a little nervous to be separated from them for a while or asking for bedtime stories then complaining to Wēn Kèxīng about how Zhōu Zǐshū’s stories are too boring. What I didn’t appreciate was moments like Zhōu Zǐshū embodying the Stern and Demanding Patriarch and Wēn Kèxīng taking the role of Peacekeeping Mother. There were times when Zhōu Zǐshū was unreasonably harsh to Zhāng Chénglǐng, and Wēn Kèxīng tells the boy Zhōu Zǐshū is only like that, “Because he cares.” It’s an incredibly toxic and dangerous narrative that perpetuates the idea people you love are allowed to, supposed to, disrespect and even abuse you. The scenes of Zhōu Zǐshū pushing Zhāng Chénglǐng to over-train slaps an unsolicited layer of toxic masculinity over it all. There were many other parts of the show that underscore the importance of emotional intelligence and how demanding that children adhere to certain norms or what the parental figure thinks is right can be disastrous. Being part of the East Asian diaspora, I understand the logic underpinning these different choices, but I’m still very frustrated with them. How the show handles class is even more haywire. There are indentured servants in the show, and first, why is there a Beggar sect? Just…WHY? Where the show didn’t use indentured servitude as a small, fiddly bit of window dressing, it used indentured servants to prop up the ‘benevolence’ and ‘good heart’ of other characters. In fact, indentured servants were compared with dogs at one point, because their masters must be able to take care of them and protect them… Yuuup. Yup, excuse me, there’s a pillow that needs screaming into. I never made it to the pillow http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/demonic-cat-screamthurston-waffles-meow.gif Similarly patchy was how the show explored redemption. Redemption and ableism There’s a throughline that there are ‘types’ of people who innately deserve redemption and people who don’t. It is possible to read it as there are people who are capable of redemption and work towards it, but that interpretation doesn’t work for me. There was no meaningful exploration of one of the most pivotal villainous character’s inner life, which might have allowed for that interpretation. This also ties in with how the show is mind bogglingly ableist. Two of the characters in the show are Little People, and both were positioned and coded as ‘evil’ and ‘other’ gratuitously. One of them was one of the main villains, and his entire motivation just made no sense. http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/princess-bride-you-keep-using-that-word.gif The conflict took an entire arc of the show, all ending with him choosing a horrible death because he’s not able to walk. Pass me that pillow again. http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/hulk-SCREAMING.gif Production wise, this show was nothing short of a miracle. Apparently, it didn’t even have a shoe string for a budget, and while that did affect the quality of the editing, set design, and costumes, somehow it managed to pull everything together. There were many beautiful shots, enjoyable fight choreography, and for all my annoyance at how unevenly the show handled some of its themes, it maintained internal consistency for most of its run. The highs in Word of Honor make the lows all the more aggravating, in no small part because the highs often demonstrate the show definitely could have taken a different turn. It’s also deeply moving to me that such a romantic, emotionally nuanced piece of queer media, showing more than one queer couple, was made in a place where successive crack downs against LGBTQ spaces and media have been happening barely a month after this show finished airing. At time of writing, a lot of dānměi webnovels are disappearing, and no more shows based on dānměi novels can be made. I adore the love, resilience, and bravery that made this adaptation possible. But while this series embraced queerness in so many ways, it also reproduced many harmful stereotypes and narratives. Good thing this isn’t a book, because I would have been at a loss how to grade this. I feel really weird for both recommending it and not recommending it. If you’re looking for a very romantic series with lots of flirting and several queer couples, and many instances of people, most of them queer, choosing who they love, then this series serves that up in spades. But count your spoons before you head in because, again, this series does come with a hefty tragedy tag, is very ableist, and has some other issues too. Word of Honor is 36 episodes plus epilogue, with each episode being ~45minutes long, and the worst of the ableism lasts an entire arc. And as I said, while it is very romantic and emotional, there are very valid reasons to invest your time in other stories. Word of Honor is on YouTube, Youku, Rakuten Viki and Netflix. On YouTube, Youku, and Viki, the final bit of the ending is behind a paywall, though I’m not sure about Netflix. View the full article
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