A friend and fellow writer, Amy Gail Hansen, has recently signed with Weed Literary Agency to represent her first novel. When I had the pleasure of critiquing the first draft of her novel some time ago, I found it difficult to put down and had no trouble picturing it on bookstore shelves. Amy Hansen is also the author of two nonfiction books about the singer Taylor Swift. I will post again with more details once her book is published, as I have no doubt it will soon be. Congratulations Amy!
Warm Bodies Being Made into a Movie
Isaac Marion’s zombie romance novel, Warm Bodies, is being made into a movie. That’s right, a ”zombie romance” and also a philosophical existential exploration about what it means to be human. Click here to read my review of the book.
As you can tell from my review, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and I can’t wait to see the movie when it comes out. Click here to read the USA Today article about the upcoming film.
Choosing Baby Names
Today, my daughters speculated about what they’d like to name their own children if they ever have any one day. My eight-year-old opened the conversation by saying, “If I ever have a baby boy or a baby girl, I’m going to name it Ladel.” (I asked her how she’d spell it, just so I’d get it right.)
My five-year-old added, “If I have a girl, I’ll name her Allie. If it’s a boy, I’ll name him Infancy.”
Filed under Kids, Things My Kids Say
2011 Blogging Year in Review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 26,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 10 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Filed under Writing
Book Review: Archon: The Books of Raziel by Sabrina Benulis
Sabrina Benulis’ debut novel, Archon: The Books of Raziel, has a an intriguing premise based on angels, prophecies, and the ultimate ruin of the world. When I was sent this book for review, I found it tempting enough to move it towards the top of my review pile. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to my high hopes.
While the concepts were original and some of the dark characters enticing on the surface, the plot was erratic and the multitude of characters didn’t seem fully developed. There was plenty of potential with which to work, including an intricate hierarchy of angels, demons, jinn, a coven sorority, and a Vatican that had a hand in nurturing or controlling much of this fictional world. However, when it came right down to it, there didn’t seem to be enough depth to the characters to make me feel invested in them. There were so many characters (several of whom went by more than one name), that it never clearly focused on any of them quite enough.
The central character, Angela, was released from a mental institution and then entered a university campus run by the Vatican. She was admitted because she was a “bloodhead,” possessing both fiery red hair and a potential for supernatural abilities. She dreamed of angels when she slept, and then painted them, as their memories haunted her every waking moment.
“While most of her paintings remained hidden away in their portfolio cases, two of them hung on the walls, portals to either a dream or a nightmare, whichever happened to suit her fancy at the moment. She felt a kinship to both of them, one day aching for perfect beauty, and the next, for a grayness that wiped away her soul.”
Though I had a few criticisms, I still found that I couldn’t put this book down. It held promise, and I kept holding out hope that it would surprise me in the end. Sadly enough, it did not, and I still felt slightly let down when I finally read the last page and closed the book. I’m always fascinated with stories about angels, and Benulis’ interpretation of angels was certainly one I hadn’t yet read. I expect that the series will improve as it moves on and will keep an open mind when the next installment is published.
Letter to Santa
My eight-year-old wrote a letter to Santa today. It read:
“Dear Santa Claus,
I hope to find under my Christmas tree an Elf-on-the-Shelf sitting on the biggest present there. I’ve been very good this year. I would be very disappointed to find coal in my stocking. I will set out a big plate with cookies and carrots! Give all the reindeer a big squeeze from me please. That’s pretty much all I want for Christmas.
P.S. Have a holly jolly Christmas!”
Filed under Kids, Things My Kids Say
Elf on a Shelf
My daughters have been talking about an Elf on a Shelf character that a few of their friends own. My five-year-old decided to christen one of her little teddy bears as her personal elf. She named him Stocking. Her eight-year-old sister thought it’d be fun to join in the game, and started moving him to new spots now and then when her sister wasn’t looking. Her little sister is now convinced that the elves gave her teddy bear “some of their elf magic and made him a real elf.”
Big sister went so far as to leave a note from Stocking the elf-bear. It read:
“This is Stocking. I do really have magic. Your sister is very nice, and so are you. I’ve made your Christmas present already. Hopefully you won’t get in any more fights with your sister, so I can give you the present. I was waiting a long time to tell you because you were at school. From, Stocking. P.S. I love the name you’ve given me!”
Filed under Kids, Things My Kids Say
Crazy Life
I didn’t mean to tune out this past month, but let’s just say that life has been even crazier than usual lately. I won’t bore you with the personal details, but suffice it to say, I have every intention of getting back to blogging… SOON!
New TV Show: The Hollows
I’m so excited about the CW’s upcoming new show, The Hollows, based on Kim Harrison’s bestselling series of urban fantasy novels featuring Rachel Morgan, a smart and sassy private investigator who also just happens to be a very powerful witch. The show will be written and produced by Jordan Hawley, whose projects also include Smallville, Moonlight, and Wildfire.
I recently received an advance review copy of Harrison’s latest book, The Hollows Insider, which provides an overview of the world of the Hollows. Check back soon to read my review. If you’re thinking of purchasing your own copy of this book, I highly recommend doing it soon. It was just released this week, and first editions have a really cool glow-in-the-dark cover.
Filed under Books, Television, Things I Like
