Like the rest of this series, Saint Odd blew me away. There's not a lot I can say without spoilers but I'm also not sure what to say that could express how I really feel here. From the beginning, Odd captured my heart with his fight to keep good conquering evil. Even though I own most of the novels Dean Koontz has published, and many more from other favorite authors, I've never stumbled across a character that resonated as deeply as Odd. Which is at least part of why I hate to see the series end.
I actually finished this book several days ago, but I just haven't come to grips with the series being over. I write this review now because I'm realizing, I may never come to grips with it. This will probably forever be one of my favorite fictional characters, my favorite series.
26 December 2016
17 November 2016
Song Review: Thy Will by Hillary Scott
Song reviews are something I've been waffling about on for a few
months now. I want to do them because songs give me a lot of random
epiphanies and even more frequently, funny moments. I chose this first
one out of hilarity factor.
Go ahead and listen to this song; I love it, despite my usual disdain for female singers. At first, this song started playing on Radio Station #3, that's preset number 3 in my car, i.e. one of 3 stations I flip through when the others are playing something I don't like.
Anyway, this song is a pretty deep discussion on God's Will and how we know it's best even when our situation feels pretty awful. I think that's why it's such a powerful song; it's so easy to relate to.
As for the hilarity: the chorus goes something like this.
"Thy will be done. Thy will be done. Thy will be done." Pretty simple right? Well, of course it is. For the first several times I heard this song, I swore the artist was singing, "I will be dead, I will be dead." I thought: that's a really dumb song. Oh yea, everything sucks and the world's going crazy but who cares, I'll be dead? Then, finally, the real lyrics hit me. Like face smash hit me. OOHHH, that's what she's saying. So, I'm in the backseat of the car, hubby and mom in the front seat. I go, "I know she's saying 'Thy will be done,' but I keep hearing 'I will be dead.' That's real inspirational." Cue peanut gallery laughter from the front seat.
Well, now I know all the lyrics and actually like the song now that I know what it's saying but every time my husband hears the song he sings along, "I will be dead, I will be dead!"
Go ahead and listen to this song; I love it, despite my usual disdain for female singers. At first, this song started playing on Radio Station #3, that's preset number 3 in my car, i.e. one of 3 stations I flip through when the others are playing something I don't like.
Anyway, this song is a pretty deep discussion on God's Will and how we know it's best even when our situation feels pretty awful. I think that's why it's such a powerful song; it's so easy to relate to.
As for the hilarity: the chorus goes something like this.
"Thy will be done. Thy will be done. Thy will be done." Pretty simple right? Well, of course it is. For the first several times I heard this song, I swore the artist was singing, "I will be dead, I will be dead." I thought: that's a really dumb song. Oh yea, everything sucks and the world's going crazy but who cares, I'll be dead? Then, finally, the real lyrics hit me. Like face smash hit me. OOHHH, that's what she's saying. So, I'm in the backseat of the car, hubby and mom in the front seat. I go, "I know she's saying 'Thy will be done,' but I keep hearing 'I will be dead.' That's real inspirational." Cue peanut gallery laughter from the front seat.
Well, now I know all the lyrics and actually like the song now that I know what it's saying but every time my husband hears the song he sings along, "I will be dead, I will be dead!"
Going Home
Hi all,
It's been awhile since I've posted any new writings. Mostly because it's the time of year when I barely have time to shower let alone write and post. But also because I'm still trying to determine how to word what I want to say.
Well, last month the hubby and I took a brief vacation from the world of St. Louis (it was perfect timing, I slipped out of MO the day before the big debate) and went home for awhile. It had been 3 years since I'd been home (to northern NYS). We rented a car, drove all around the state visiting friends and family. We dropped in on a few of our old haunts including our home church and the college we graduated from. It was really great to get to see a lot of people. But it was also kind of disturbing.
After all, here I am 3 years since my last visit and it feels like I've been gone a lifetime. I can navigate the roads with my eyes closed. I know how to get to the Walmart; I remember the best place to buy a Michigan. But it doesn't feel like home anymore. It feels like I'm visiting some nostalgic land of foggy dreams. Like I had forgotten my hometown actually existed. It doesn't make sense because St. Louis doesn't feel like my permanent home either. It's just the place where I live, the place I lay my head at night. Maybe it's just a part of growing up. Maybe it's my writer-ly imagination messing with my head.
Anybody else ever ran into this kind of thing? -breakthisleap
It's been awhile since I've posted any new writings. Mostly because it's the time of year when I barely have time to shower let alone write and post. But also because I'm still trying to determine how to word what I want to say.
Well, last month the hubby and I took a brief vacation from the world of St. Louis (it was perfect timing, I slipped out of MO the day before the big debate) and went home for awhile. It had been 3 years since I'd been home (to northern NYS). We rented a car, drove all around the state visiting friends and family. We dropped in on a few of our old haunts including our home church and the college we graduated from. It was really great to get to see a lot of people. But it was also kind of disturbing.
After all, here I am 3 years since my last visit and it feels like I've been gone a lifetime. I can navigate the roads with my eyes closed. I know how to get to the Walmart; I remember the best place to buy a Michigan. But it doesn't feel like home anymore. It feels like I'm visiting some nostalgic land of foggy dreams. Like I had forgotten my hometown actually existed. It doesn't make sense because St. Louis doesn't feel like my permanent home either. It's just the place where I live, the place I lay my head at night. Maybe it's just a part of growing up. Maybe it's my writer-ly imagination messing with my head.
Anybody else ever ran into this kind of thing? -breakthisleap
19 October 2016
Book Review: Killing Floor by Lee Child
Which is why this book is kind of hard for me to review. I really loved the writing; the main character had good voice and I was easily drawn in by the story.
Unfortunately for me, some of the content was vulgar. I mean, most of us know what goes on between inmates in prisons. However, I read to escape the real world a bit and am not at all interested in reading about some of the gross stuff. Another example, one of the murders in this novel includes forcing one victim's severed body part down another victim's throat. Ick.
I'm also a little torn about the main character. He's interesting to read because he's so much different than the standard mc in a lot of thrillers. But I also felt like some of his behaviors were reflective of emotional immaturity that isn't resolved in this novel (perhaps later in the series). Overall, I'm not really sure how I felt about this book. I like the writing; I can easily tell this author is good. But some of the content is just not my cup of tea.
18 August 2016
The Internship Lie - A Short Story
Great. The phone buzzed obnoxiously as she stepped out of the tub.
"Yeah?" she shouted over the sound of water spiraling down the drain.
"I'm outside; you coming or what?" Her boyfriend's tin-can voice asked.
Patience, geez. "Almost. Just getting out of the bath."
"Well, hurry up! We're gonna be late," he huffed.
Bet he's bouncing his knee and drumming his fingers. "I gotta dry off first; give me ten minutes."
"Just throw on some jeans and a tee and get out here," he argued.
We won't be late anyway. "It's easier to get jeans on a dead body than wet legs," she spouted.
"How would you know?" He laughed.
You'll see. "I interned at a mortuary one summer."
"Yeah?" she shouted over the sound of water spiraling down the drain.
"I'm outside; you coming or what?" Her boyfriend's tin-can voice asked.
Patience, geez. "Almost. Just getting out of the bath."
"Well, hurry up! We're gonna be late," he huffed.
Bet he's bouncing his knee and drumming his fingers. "I gotta dry off first; give me ten minutes."
"Just throw on some jeans and a tee and get out here," he argued.
We won't be late anyway. "It's easier to get jeans on a dead body than wet legs," she spouted.
"How would you know?" He laughed.
You'll see. "I interned at a mortuary one summer."
26 July 2016
To Be Graceful - A 100 Word Story
It's a great day when I get to watch Graceful at work. The cowlick in his hair gets tossed around by the salty breeze. The sun glints across the words printed on the broad back of his wetsuit.
World Surf League.
The best triple whammy is headed our way.
I know if I can just grab onto the back of Graceful's board, he can teach me to be like him.
I let out a groaning "Whoops!" as I pry shards of Graceful out of my teeth.
07 July 2016
Obsession - A 100 Word Story
Hi all,
Today's post is short story I wrote for another flash fiction contest (http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-alot-of-books-writing-contest.html). It wound up significantly less than 100 words, but I got a mention for "great start for a novel." I hadn't thought of it that way. Honestly, I'm a little afraid if I was to try to write in that genre, my villians would be a bit one-dimensional (evil for the sake of evil).
Enough lolly-gagging; here's the story:
Some people say that I’m obsessed. I prefer the word focused. Or fixated. Do it 100 times, then 100 more.
I flash a devilish grin as I kick off my slippers. A girly, ribboned pair that I special order in bulk. Sometimes pink; sometimes purple. But basically the same pair.
So far, none of the crime scene techs has noticed.
27 June 2016
Book Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass
But for some reason, the cover caught my eye when I was walking through a bookstore. I'll admit, I set it back down. I thought it looked interesting but was worried the author wouldn't deliver. After all, I had never heard of her; honestly, that says much less about her than it does about me. Anyway, I told myself I'd look it up later to make sure it was clean (minimal swearing/sexual content etc). I forgot. Only when I was stalking a blog and found a raving review did I remember that I had thought it might be a good book.
Bought it the next time I was in the bookstore. Got razed by both husband and mother..."I can read a girly book if I want to! And besides, I bought this one too." *points to a somewhat boyish spy thriller akin to Tom Clancy*
Well, I read it and loved it. While there was some minor sexual references, the book was mostly clean and the story was engaging. This tomboy is going to pick up the rest of the series...
21 June 2016
Your Experience is Not My Experience
Today I’d like to discuss my experience on some matters relating to my time in graduate school. I’d like to say first and foremost that I am not ranting or complaining but genuinely curious about other people’s experiences and opinions.
Ever since I started grad school, I’ve heard various people joke about the workload. A common joke I hear is that about graduate students in big research schools are slave labor. That’s obviously not true; we choose to be here and we get paid to be here. But I’ve laughed along to this joke because yeah, sometimes it feels like I spend more time here than I do at home.
Take last month for example. I took 3 Sundays off. That’s it, 3 days out the entire month. I was trying to meet a deadline; crap happens. My house got a bit messy and my husband got a bit cranky. We dealt with it.
But what really confuses me, is when people get all huffy and upset about that joke. Trust me, with the demographics in physics, it has nothing to do with your race, gender, age, religion etc. It’s just a self-deprecating joke about being a workaholic. One time, another student scolded me saying it’s not true because we get paid. I amended myself and said “Fine, I’m an indentured servant.” I think he changed the subject or walked away.
The thing is: his experiences might not be like mine. I know of graduate students who work 9am-5pm weekdays only. They don’t come in on holidays and they don’t work weekends. I also know of the polar opposite: students that I’m not entirely convinced even rent an apartment. To the kids who work 40 hours a week and can graduate with your PhD in 6 years: awesome. But we’re not all in that boat. Some advisors expect more, some require more. Some students require more of themselves than the absolute minimum. That doesn’t make anyone better than someone else. It just makes us different.
Alright. What do you think? Is this an inappropriate joke? Are some people just too sensitive?
Ever since I started grad school, I’ve heard various people joke about the workload. A common joke I hear is that about graduate students in big research schools are slave labor. That’s obviously not true; we choose to be here and we get paid to be here. But I’ve laughed along to this joke because yeah, sometimes it feels like I spend more time here than I do at home.
Take last month for example. I took 3 Sundays off. That’s it, 3 days out the entire month. I was trying to meet a deadline; crap happens. My house got a bit messy and my husband got a bit cranky. We dealt with it.
But what really confuses me, is when people get all huffy and upset about that joke. Trust me, with the demographics in physics, it has nothing to do with your race, gender, age, religion etc. It’s just a self-deprecating joke about being a workaholic. One time, another student scolded me saying it’s not true because we get paid. I amended myself and said “Fine, I’m an indentured servant.” I think he changed the subject or walked away.
The thing is: his experiences might not be like mine. I know of graduate students who work 9am-5pm weekdays only. They don’t come in on holidays and they don’t work weekends. I also know of the polar opposite: students that I’m not entirely convinced even rent an apartment. To the kids who work 40 hours a week and can graduate with your PhD in 6 years: awesome. But we’re not all in that boat. Some advisors expect more, some require more. Some students require more of themselves than the absolute minimum. That doesn’t make anyone better than someone else. It just makes us different.
Alright. What do you think? Is this an inappropriate joke? Are some people just too sensitive?
20 June 2016
Book Review: The Calling by Rachelle Dekker
I've described the premise before but here's a quick recap: in a pseudo-post-apocalyptic America, the Authority rules with a heavy hand. Women who are not chosen by a young man during their selection ceremony are destined to become indentured servants; men who are imperfect for some reason (think birth defect or chronic stutter) become members of the militaristic police force. It's the only way of life, until a mysterious man named Aaron begins planting seeds in the hearts of the citizens.
The first novel was written entirely from Carrington's perspective. She fails to get chosen and tries her hardest to accept the fate that the Authority tells her is God's Will for her life. The second novel is in Remko's point of view. As he tries to lead a group of rebels outside the Authority city, he finds every step he takes leads them closer to capture and death. Wow, I thought my heart really empathized with Carrington; Remko, on the other hand, totally resonated with me. His struggle through regret and self-blame really hit me hard.
Even more, his journey to true freedom. I'm waiting expectantly for the last book in this series.
14 June 2016
Short Story - To Be Like Daddy
This week's 100-word story was something I thought about and scribbled out last month. I tweaked it a little for another contest but also thought it might be relevant with Father's day coming up. To me, it stands as a reminder that even good parents and people who don't have kids (think aunts, uncles, tutors, babysitters, etc) can have unexpected impacts on children.
----------------------------
Golden-red flames lick ever closer but I have to find Jerry. The heavy smoke overwhelms the yard and the smell of burnt logs sweeps through the house like an ashy tidal wave. I stumble through the pitch colored yard until I'm nearly garroted by the laundry line.
Finally, I find him hunkered under the porch with Yowl, the pillow-pet. He swipes away tears as I scoop him up. When I load him into his booster-seat, he whispers.
“Sorry, Mama.” He hands me a pack of matches and some crumpled cigarettes. “I just wanted to be like Daddy.”
----------------------------
Golden-red flames lick ever closer but I have to find Jerry. The heavy smoke overwhelms the yard and the smell of burnt logs sweeps through the house like an ashy tidal wave. I stumble through the pitch colored yard until I'm nearly garroted by the laundry line.
Finally, I find him hunkered under the porch with Yowl, the pillow-pet. He swipes away tears as I scoop him up. When I load him into his booster-seat, he whispers.
“Sorry, Mama.” He hands me a pack of matches and some crumpled cigarettes. “I just wanted to be like Daddy.”
03 June 2016
Book Review: The Girl In Between by Laekan Zea Kemp
Ok, so here's another eBook I picked up for free from Kindle. The premise: a girl, Bryn, with the rare disease KLS (where the sufferer falls into something like a deep sleep for long periods of time) finds herself strolling through her memories instead of being catatonic during her episodes. Everything is safe and familiar until a boy with amnesia washes up on the beach in her dreamland.
I think my interest in this was somewhat superficial. How does someone with a disease like that function on a day to day basis? How does it affect their relationships, schooling, and mental state?
I found the details really interesting, so I have to give the author props for hooking me on that. Also, somewhere kind of late in the game, the book explicitly mentions that Bryn is American but has Colombian heritage. Also, you later find out that the boy is Italian. So, props for having diverse main characters. But, I will mention that from the first pages of the book, I occasionally forgot and thought Bryn was British. I thought maybe that was just some of the author's voice slipping in: an unknown author with a unique name could have any number of origin stories and "accents" that might bleed into their writing. Fine by me but maybe something the author should be aware of.
My main complaint with this novel was not the story itself. That was totally fascinating and I loved it. My problem was the large quantity of mature content. As a YA novel, it felt realistic in that there was a ton of vulgar language, conversations that were drug related or had sexual references. Yea, it's the real world. Coworkers tell unsavory jokes, the guy at the supermarket swears profusely when his debit card malfunctions, TV ads...OK no more ranting...
When I'm reading, that's the world I'm trying to escape. I don't really want to escape into a world where it's just as adult. Another good reason why I read a lot of Christian fiction. Regardless, I powered through the first novel only to reach the end at a totally unexpected part.
This is a strategy I've seen in a lot of eBook freebies. You get the reader hooked then end the novel in with just enough concluded that you can say "Finito!" but other parts of the narrative require the purchase of the sequel to keep you from throwing a tantrum. Well, I'm getting mighty sick of this strategy. Perhaps, I'm a bit sensitive because I recently read this blog post on authors leaving things "unresolved." http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2016/05/i-intend-to-multiply-when-do-i-break.html
Or maybe I'm a bit naive and the author totally thought the narrative arc of the novel was complete but in my opinion there was too many loose ends. Will Bryn die because of the changes to her dreamland? Why did Roman get stuck there in the first place? What's the deal with the shadows? What's the deal with Bryn's grandmother? These all seemed highly important right until the last page when none of them were resolved.
I was so mad (and annoyed by the mature content) I actually resolved NOT to buy the sequel. Unfortunately, Kindle recently updated and when I tried to scroll through to the page where it used to tell you the price of the next book in the series, I accidentally clicked on BuyNow for the next book. *rolls eyes in annoyance at technology*
I think my interest in this was somewhat superficial. How does someone with a disease like that function on a day to day basis? How does it affect their relationships, schooling, and mental state?
I found the details really interesting, so I have to give the author props for hooking me on that. Also, somewhere kind of late in the game, the book explicitly mentions that Bryn is American but has Colombian heritage. Also, you later find out that the boy is Italian. So, props for having diverse main characters. But, I will mention that from the first pages of the book, I occasionally forgot and thought Bryn was British. I thought maybe that was just some of the author's voice slipping in: an unknown author with a unique name could have any number of origin stories and "accents" that might bleed into their writing. Fine by me but maybe something the author should be aware of.
My main complaint with this novel was not the story itself. That was totally fascinating and I loved it. My problem was the large quantity of mature content. As a YA novel, it felt realistic in that there was a ton of vulgar language, conversations that were drug related or had sexual references. Yea, it's the real world. Coworkers tell unsavory jokes, the guy at the supermarket swears profusely when his debit card malfunctions, TV ads...OK no more ranting...
When I'm reading, that's the world I'm trying to escape. I don't really want to escape into a world where it's just as adult. Another good reason why I read a lot of Christian fiction. Regardless, I powered through the first novel only to reach the end at a totally unexpected part.
This is a strategy I've seen in a lot of eBook freebies. You get the reader hooked then end the novel in with just enough concluded that you can say "Finito!" but other parts of the narrative require the purchase of the sequel to keep you from throwing a tantrum. Well, I'm getting mighty sick of this strategy. Perhaps, I'm a bit sensitive because I recently read this blog post on authors leaving things "unresolved." http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2016/05/i-intend-to-multiply-when-do-i-break.html
Or maybe I'm a bit naive and the author totally thought the narrative arc of the novel was complete but in my opinion there was too many loose ends. Will Bryn die because of the changes to her dreamland? Why did Roman get stuck there in the first place? What's the deal with the shadows? What's the deal with Bryn's grandmother? These all seemed highly important right until the last page when none of them were resolved.
I was so mad (and annoyed by the mature content) I actually resolved NOT to buy the sequel. Unfortunately, Kindle recently updated and when I tried to scroll through to the page where it used to tell you the price of the next book in the series, I accidentally clicked on BuyNow for the next book. *rolls eyes in annoyance at technology*
16 May 2016
The Relationship Kerfuffle
**I wrote this 100-word "story" as an entry into Saturday's Flash Fiction contest: http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-duchess-of-yowl-writing-contest-ii.html
This week I got a mention for a "delicious" twist.**
-------------------------
“Oh, what’s she so miffed about anyway? It’s not like he’s the first of her boys to get in a scuffle,” Tiffany wondered aloud.
“Young’uns, I tell ya. They’re always sulking about looking for trouble,” Doris replied as she shuffled into the porch rocker.
“Well, we can’t blame him, really. That other boy did steal his lady,” Tiffany mused.
Doris wanted to remind Tiffany that no boy is settled on a particular lady at that age but saw an interruption headed their way.
“Move over, Fluffy-Butt,” Food-Giving-Poop-Scooper said, “I want to sit with you.”
This week I got a mention for a "delicious" twist.**
-------------------------
“Oh, what’s she so miffed about anyway? It’s not like he’s the first of her boys to get in a scuffle,” Tiffany wondered aloud.
“Young’uns, I tell ya. They’re always sulking about looking for trouble,” Doris replied as she shuffled into the porch rocker.
“Well, we can’t blame him, really. That other boy did steal his lady,” Tiffany mused.
Doris wanted to remind Tiffany that no boy is settled on a particular lady at that age but saw an interruption headed their way.
“Move over, Fluffy-Butt,” Food-Giving-Poop-Scooper said, “I want to sit with you.”
14 May 2016
Book Review: The Choosing by Rachelle Dekker
Recently, at VStock, I parsed the Ted Dekker section..."Got it, got it, got in on Kindle, got it." Since this bookstore carries new and used books, there's always a chance I could find one of his lesser known novels. (For example, I only have one of the Martyr's Song series.)
Ok, so in lots of stores, I've seen authors with similar names (i.e. various Decker's) but never another Dekker. Jokingly, I picked up The Choosing, "Hey look someone else has Ted Dekker's name," I said to the hubby. "This does NOT look like a Ted Dekker novel," I point at the cover with a picture of a funnily dressed woman staring down at her feet. Again joking, because I had the impression his spelling of the name was unique, "I wonder if they're related?"
And then I actually looked at the cover and description more closely; it was written by his daughter. Mystery solved. And though the cover made me think it was some sort of historical romance, once I read the description, "Hey, this sounds good. Can I get it?"
I'm happy to report that Rachelle Dekker is a good storyteller. The world she builds is a future city where the Authority takes control after a semi-apocalyptic event. At first, that's a good thing; the Authority is like a council with a police force but it follows Judeo-Christian teachings. As the story unfolds though, you realize it follows them to ritual extreme.
The main character, Carrington, becomes a Lint (basically a servant) after failing to get chosen at her once-in-a-lifetime Choosing Ceremony - where all the young men of a certain age get to choose their spouse. The Authority tells the Lints it's their own fault and it must be God's will for them.
But a strange circumstance leads the Authority to allow one of their own to be choose a bride, only from the Lints. Carrington thinks Authority Knight's choosing her is a blessed second chance at a normal life. Boy, was she wrong.
I can't tell you much more but I can say this was an excellent and engaging novel. I love how the main character finds out the difference between ritual religion and a relationship with God. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel. I don't think I have a negative thing to say about this novel.
Ok, so in lots of stores, I've seen authors with similar names (i.e. various Decker's) but never another Dekker. Jokingly, I picked up The Choosing, "Hey look someone else has Ted Dekker's name," I said to the hubby. "This does NOT look like a Ted Dekker novel," I point at the cover with a picture of a funnily dressed woman staring down at her feet. Again joking, because I had the impression his spelling of the name was unique, "I wonder if they're related?"
And then I actually looked at the cover and description more closely; it was written by his daughter. Mystery solved. And though the cover made me think it was some sort of historical romance, once I read the description, "Hey, this sounds good. Can I get it?"
I'm happy to report that Rachelle Dekker is a good storyteller. The world she builds is a future city where the Authority takes control after a semi-apocalyptic event. At first, that's a good thing; the Authority is like a council with a police force but it follows Judeo-Christian teachings. As the story unfolds though, you realize it follows them to ritual extreme.
The main character, Carrington, becomes a Lint (basically a servant) after failing to get chosen at her once-in-a-lifetime Choosing Ceremony - where all the young men of a certain age get to choose their spouse. The Authority tells the Lints it's their own fault and it must be God's will for them.
But a strange circumstance leads the Authority to allow one of their own to be choose a bride, only from the Lints. Carrington thinks Authority Knight's choosing her is a blessed second chance at a normal life. Boy, was she wrong.
I can't tell you much more but I can say this was an excellent and engaging novel. I love how the main character finds out the difference between ritual religion and a relationship with God. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel. I don't think I have a negative thing to say about this novel.
10 May 2016
The Wheelbarrow of Snotty Tissues
Today's post is another 100 word story I wrote for Janet Reid's flash fiction contest this past weekend. (http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2016/05/may-we-have-writing-contest.html) I didn't like this post as much as last week's but I did get an honorable mention for best first line(s)!
-----------------
-----------------
My best friend shot me today. I guess maybe I can’t
blame him. Thankfully, he was quick about it. None of that emotional
nonsense he usually carts along with his wheelbarrow of tears and snotty
tissues.
I replay our brief conversation:
“Go ahead, if you’re so tough then,” I taunted.
“I should,” he bellowed. “You ratted me out to the cops!”
“Oh, boo-hoo. Now, you have to do some community ---“
He’s too ignorant to know I did it to keep him out of the
cemetery. That gang he was flirting with don’t much care for cry-babies.
03 May 2016
The Bloodstained Dress
And then she saw the world. A cold place, full of despair. A place where children were desensitized to the splatter of their teacher’s blood across the chalkboard. A place dominated by hate.
“Maddy, where are you going?” the teacher’s aide asked.
“To close her eyes, Miss.”
It was more complicated kneeling in front of the classroom. She worried about the blood staining the new dress Daddy bought at the Disney store. But Maddy had to do what was right, what was respectful. She couldn’t let the world stay broken; she would do something about it. And that stunned her.
**I wrote this 100-word story as a part of a flash fiction contest on Janet Reid's blog. (Highly recommended, in fact, here's a link: http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/) I didn't win the contest, so I'm assuming that's permission to post my entry on my own sites. Words in bold italics were part of the contest requirements.**
01 May 2016
You Were Told (circa 2008)
You were told by family
That you sang beautifully
You were told by your superiors
That you were never inferior
But were you ever told
"It's not a lie, you deserve to die?"
Friends forever, always and never.
27 April 2016
Book Review: Insignia by S. J. Kincaid
Insignia is a Young Adult novel. I’m not sure I’m qualified
to chunk it into a genre but it is set in futuristic America (more or less)
where various world governments have formed political alliances based on
economic monopolies supporting them. The different alliances are at war with
each other but in a new way. Battling starships in space remotely. Seems pretty
cool. Control of the ships is based on a neural implant that allows the
combatants to sort of mind-meld with the computers.
Due to biological reasons, teenagers are the best candidates
for these neural processors. Only the best and brightest are chosen. They are
scooped up by the military, sent off to training, and download their homework
directly into their brains. Yea, I wish.
The main character, Tom, is the homeless son of a gambling
deadbeat dad. Tom illegally makes enough money to put himself and his father in
a hotel room by making bets on various virtual reality games. He’s very good at
the games and catches the military’s attention. They recruit him and he starts
training.
In his tactics class, Tom he notices that the enemy has a particular
combatant that just can’t be beat. Her call sign is Medusa and Tom becomes
obsessed. He watches footage of all her battles over and over again. When Tom
starts meeting Medusa in virtual reality games, he hardly thinks about it being
treason. After all, he’s just trying to beat her; he’s not sharing confidential
secrets. But when an information leak occurs, Tom must prove to himself and his
superiors that his meetings with Medusa were not to blame.
Here’s my opinion: for a good portion of this novel, I had
an entirely Ender’s Game feel for the book. It could be because I read that
recently and it just blew me away. Ender’s Game was one of those books that when
I closed it after the last page, I knew. I knew it would be hanging over my
head, affecting my opinion of every book I ever read after it. Very few books
have done that to me. (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The Hunger Games, The
Book Thief, Ender’s Game)
While Insignia was not one of them, I did really like it.
And it did share some things with Ender’s Game. They both have a kids-fight-space-wars
premise. Both characters are abnormally good at what they do and have been
deemed “vicious.”
By around the middle of the book, I found this comparison
less weighty. I really enjoyed the book and will probably buy the next in the
series. The author knows how to pull you in; the dialogue seems both realistic
and appropriate for the ages of the characters.
As far as moral appropriateness, there is some minor toilet
humor. I don’t recall any foul language. A few innuendos that are probably
acceptable for most teens and preteens. The one example of this I can think of:
when Tom first gets put into a simulation as a female character, his friend
Wyatt (female) has to tell him not to explore his new boobs in front of her.
Otherwise, a pretty clean read.
09 April 2016
Book Review: The Eye of Midnight by Andrew Brumbach
Hi all,
I recently received an ARC of The Eye of Midnight by Andrew Brumbach as a contest winner for the incredibly useful blog Literary Rambles (http://www.literaryrambles.com/). Of course, I'm always willing to read more books so here's my opinion on this one.
Recently, I read somewhere that the young main character going off to a grandparent's / other elderly relative's home for summer vacation is a tired trope. That premise inspires no disdain or otherwise negative feelings for me; so I'm fine with the premise of this book.
Which is: young cousins William and Maxine are sent to their grandfather's manor for the summer. Maxine arrives at the manor first, and upon exploration finds no one present. She holes up in the library for awhile until William arrives. The cousins get the chance to explore more thoroughly before Colonel Battersea (their grandpa) finally shows up. After receiving a weird telegram though, he rounds the children up and starts traveling for NYC. He tells the kids that he'll put them to bed in a hotel and then head off to collect a package from a courier.
When the group gets off the train though, Colonel Battersea disappears. The kids try to get help from law enforcement but eventually decide their best bet is to meet the courier. This decision starts a grand adventure to rescue the courier's package from gangsters, their grandpa from secretive assassins, and themselves from all the danger in between.
In my opinion, this was a fun story. The characters are engaging, the plot appropriately paced. The language was a bit flowery, almost in a poetic way. I'm not sure if that's a product of the author's voice or the historical setting. Regardless, it was done well and not overdone so I like it. Also, I'm glad to say that this book is totally kid appropriate (good thing since it's aimed for a younger audience). And Colonel Battersea's adventurous ways are built up with some good wisdom and hopefulness that shows up near the end.
Accolades to the author; I would be intrigued enough to buy into this if he intends to make it into a series. (It seems like that's where this is headed since the kids' summer isn't over and now they're on to a new adventure.) Particularly, I want to know about Nura's (the courier) journey to bring the package to Colonel Battersea.
I recently received an ARC of The Eye of Midnight by Andrew Brumbach as a contest winner for the incredibly useful blog Literary Rambles (http://www.literaryrambles.com/). Of course, I'm always willing to read more books so here's my opinion on this one.
Recently, I read somewhere that the young main character going off to a grandparent's / other elderly relative's home for summer vacation is a tired trope. That premise inspires no disdain or otherwise negative feelings for me; so I'm fine with the premise of this book.
Which is: young cousins William and Maxine are sent to their grandfather's manor for the summer. Maxine arrives at the manor first, and upon exploration finds no one present. She holes up in the library for awhile until William arrives. The cousins get the chance to explore more thoroughly before Colonel Battersea (their grandpa) finally shows up. After receiving a weird telegram though, he rounds the children up and starts traveling for NYC. He tells the kids that he'll put them to bed in a hotel and then head off to collect a package from a courier.
When the group gets off the train though, Colonel Battersea disappears. The kids try to get help from law enforcement but eventually decide their best bet is to meet the courier. This decision starts a grand adventure to rescue the courier's package from gangsters, their grandpa from secretive assassins, and themselves from all the danger in between.
In my opinion, this was a fun story. The characters are engaging, the plot appropriately paced. The language was a bit flowery, almost in a poetic way. I'm not sure if that's a product of the author's voice or the historical setting. Regardless, it was done well and not overdone so I like it. Also, I'm glad to say that this book is totally kid appropriate (good thing since it's aimed for a younger audience). And Colonel Battersea's adventurous ways are built up with some good wisdom and hopefulness that shows up near the end.
Accolades to the author; I would be intrigued enough to buy into this if he intends to make it into a series. (It seems like that's where this is headed since the kids' summer isn't over and now they're on to a new adventure.) Particularly, I want to know about Nura's (the courier) journey to bring the package to Colonel Battersea.
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