Thursday, January 31, 2019

Where have you been?

Well today is my birthday, and I am sitting here at my desk a bit lonely.  Chicago is currently under a polar vortex, so leaving the house is not an option.  I am a bit down, I don't like my birthdays, but today is especially bad.  So I am sitting here with my cup of coffee (in my husbands Star Trek mug), watching a movie (Julie & Julia), and watching Olli sleep on the couch.

So what have I been up to? 

Not as much as I would like.  I am working with Nick my editor on Pandora's Last Breath.  I will be excited to get this next book out.  Of course Nick, keeps telling me to slow down on my production.  He can't keep up.  I am excited to say though, I have a few short stories coming out to fill the gaps between books.

Well back to work.  Talk to you all soon.

DJ Cappella!

Monday, March 12, 2018

THE MONDAYS!

Around the House
So I am pleasantly surprised that married life is not much different for us than living together.  I am greatly enjoying being married.  I was wondering if I was ever going to get to this point in my life and surprise I did.  While nothing is life is ever perfect, I am very happy.

So we are looking to redo the kitchen this year.  I personally would like to move soon since Townhouse living is not as ideal as I had originally thought.  I actually want a yard, so that I can garden.  Well anyway, you should see the two of us in the cabinet store, we are either the most frustrating or easiest customers to deal with.  We walk in and tell them very specifically what we want every time and sit back waiting on the quote.  The most annoying part of the process is that the variations in price and service are huge.  Its making comparing apples to apples really hard.  I recommend visiting a lot of store including the big boxes before making a choice.  Oh, and measure precisely everything in the kitchen.

My Thoughts
So the Monday after a time change is not easy on anyone, especially those of us that work with different time zones.  Around the office I am feeling the drag of everyone.  As you know I have a real job as my books don't pay the bills yet.  This has been a rough year, so I haven't been meeting all the deadlines I have set for myself.  First, expecting to have Hunted and Pandora out for everyone.  That hasn't happened as you can see.  My blogging has fallen by the way side.  So I just wanted all of you to know that I am still poking around working on giving you the next adventure in my world. 

Thursday, February 2, 2017

TV Review - The Shannara Chronicles

Around the House
For those of you lucky enough to be enjoying warmth this time of year, I want to tell you that I am freezing in Chicago.  I am looking forward to the Spring getting here sooner rather than letter.  Since it is so cold outside, I have been writing non-stop and working on editing Hunted still.  I am excited for a fantastic second edition to come out by the Spring for everyone.  I am lucky enough to have my kitties and fiance to keep me warm on these cold Winter Nights.

My Thoughts


So this recommendation came up while I was looking for shows that were like the Magicians.  Which I have to say is an absolutely amazing show.  Mind you I was a bit concerned seeing that this was coming from MTV.  They are not know for quality programming, but I figured why not.  It couldn't be all bad could it.  I have to say I was wrong;  it was amazing.  The visuals were stunning, the story line was compelling, and the characters where definitely 3 dimensional.  I now have the original book series on my reading list, but I have to get caught up in the pile of books I have first.

The series premise is that about a 1000 years after the fall of mankind, Elves have returned to the world.  Magic lays around every corner hidden in secret and the world has fallen back to a time of mystery and nature.  A princess steps out of her bonds to fight against the death of the tree that protects all the people in the former US from the demon horde.  As the demons make their way back into our world, magic is reawakened and the quest to save all beings.  It really shows how a common focus can bring together all types of people whether they are Elf, Human, or Gnome.  I am greatly looking forward to seeing what season two has in store of us.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.  They just missed the 5th star because the while we get thrust into the world it takes an episode to truly understand everything that is going on.

Friday, November 11, 2016

The Outlook is Bleak My Friends - Yet there is always Hope!

I sit at my desk reading the news and wondering where everyone has placed their minds.  I look at friends turning on each other over differing points of view that just yesterday would have been ignored.  I find myself scared by the unknown for the first time in history.  I look at social media, and I see the waves of decent flowing freely.  Families are tearing at the seems and friends are turning their backs on each other by just click a button.  People that normally are strong law abiding individuals are rallying together to cause destruction and conflict.

It makes me think back to a class I paid attention to because of the teacher who taught it.  A woman teaching me World History at Buffalo Grove High School in the 1990's, Ms. Wilson.  She was a love black woman who wanted to bring everyone together by teaching how being separated allow the darkness to get into our lives.  If she was to read this today she would probably not realize what she was saying.  She treated everyone like a star in the class room, and her lessons did not fall on deaf ears, at least we me.

I look at the radically changing world today.  I am scared that I don't know what is going to happen tomorrow or the next day.  Will violence I am reading about in Europe, the Southern US, or Middle East find its way to my door step because I am different from those around me.  What most people don't realize is that we are all different.  We all have different races, cultures, and beliefs.  These differences are not something we chose but were breed into us by genetics or the culture that we love.

Tonight, I got involved in an online dispute to support my cousin who is scared for her son.  He looks different that she is because his father was not born in the U.S.  I felt bad for her as she argued with her aunt about her beliefs in need to protect her family.  So I stood up and shared how I was scared of ending up in a concentration camp being forced to go through a therapy that someone thought I needed because I am gay.  Yes, I am gay, and I am proud.  I look across the table and see my fiance and wonder if we will still be allowed to get married.  If one of us gets sick will we be allowed to stand at each other's bed side and make the hard choices, or will they be left to someone else because we are thought of as less.  I wonder about this a lot since the election as been about more than the good of the government, it has been about the good of the people in the nation.

From reading this you may think I stand as a Hilary Supporter.  I want you to understand I felt that while standing in the voting booth I was choosing between two devils.  The question I had was who was going to hurt the ones I love more.   I chose to vote for the first time in my life to protect those around me.  My vote did not make a difference since I am just once person in a state I knew would go to Hillary.  As long as Electoral College votes stand that is how it will be in the U.S. while the old guard holds on to power.  Someday a change will come and sweep the nation.  I just wonder if I will be hear to see it.

A close friend of mine lost family in the Holocaust.  I wonder if the U.S. will be the next grounds of a World War where we lose so many good people.  No, I do not think Trump will cause this.  I think he is just the right figure head to move it to the front of the stage.  Hate has always been in this country.  From the destruction of the Native Americans, to the slavery and repression of the African American, the Asian Interment Camps, to now the the discrimination of the Homosexuals and Muslims that live within the boarders of our nation..  The sad part is not one of these groups has rebounded to being completely equal in every respect.  What will cause the sweeping change the breaks this cycle in this country.  What will be the reason that we lose millions of people only to be left broke and forced to rebuild?

The amazing thing is, we don't have to be in that situation.  We can unite and put a stop to it all.  We can stand arm in arm and tell those that believe they have the power that it is wrong.  How do we tell them?  Well we start at the very thing that puts all people in power, we stop listening.  Then we take away the method they use to fuel them, the money.  Finally, we band together and find those that will listen to us and make them stop.  If they will not listen we make them by sharing our thoughts and screaming into the void until someone hears us.

So I challenge all of you.  If you hear hate, discrimination, or violence you take the power away.  You stop watching that channel.  You stop buying that product, You stop giving them what they need to fuel what they want.  You take your power back and let them through your actions that it is not acceptable.  And most important of all you vote every chance you get.  Vote for what you believe in.  Do not vote for the party because you like its ideas, you vote for the person and how they will represent you.  If they are not voting the way you like, give you vote to someone else.  If they are getting sponsored by corporations, people, or groups that do not support your beliefs, give you vote to the person that will. About 45% (depending on the new source) of people that are able to vote choice to be silent.  If each of those people stood up and voted for the person they believe in - even if it was by write in - then we would have a different turn out in the world.  The power would shift to those who remained silent.  Never be silent.  Never let someone take your voice.  Even if you have to cross an ocean to be heard, to find your safe place, always be heard by checking the box you believe in the most.

Monday, November 7, 2016

TV Review: Marvels Luke Cage

Around the House
I hate when the time changes.  I messes with my internal clock and sends the cats into crazy town.  I could use another day off to adjust, but the office calls and I must submit myself to a day of turmoil.  I am kidding I really do love my job, but I could still use more sleep after Bella screaming her head off yesterday morning.  It was nice that I was created with Calli, Henny, and Ez all snuggled up this morning.  Calli was holding Ez's tail while he flomped for love.

Not much to say on the book front.  I am still writing and editing as always.  Cursed goes live next week so get your copy ordered from your favorite vendor.  Hunted is still being edited, my editor is tearing it apart.  We are about 1/2 way through.  So I am hoping that it will all be closed up by the holidays.

My Thoughts
Well I have to say that if you didn't watch Jessica Jones before jumping into Luke Cage you might feel better about the start of the series than I did.  I was rather confused at first because I had forgotten some of small details that happened in Jessica Jones, so I was very confused on what was happening until I went back and read more.

Image result for luke cage

Now by the third episode my reservations on the show were gone.  I was drowning in the story and did not want to go to sleep.  I keep turning it going until I was half way through in a day.  Which is a lot since I did sleep in, and I went out for an hour to get groceries.

Rating: 4 out of 5 - Only for the slow opening.

Friday, October 14, 2016

J.K. Rowling and Setting a New Table for Authors

Around the House
Now that my Ebook Dark Deals is out and the Cursed Ebook is up for Pre-Order things are really starting to kick into high gear in my home.  I am also excited to say that having Paperback and Hardcovers of Cursed available has really changed the way my series, The Chronicles or Illumination, can be reach and embraced by everyone out there.  I am sitting going through the first round of notes on the second draft of Hunted, and I have seen the final cover of Hunted too.  It is very close to what I posted on my Facebook, but you never know what fun changes will happen in the months to come.

My Thoughts
So today, I am working on a variety of things in my office when I ran across an article online.  I have to say that I have a very bad habit of reading all those upcoming movie notifications and articles that they post, or those views on characters in movies and books I love.  Well today I ended up reading about Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.  This made me think of how J.K. Rowling has set a new table for authors to sit at.  Her success with adapting her her works and notes into a play and now a movie has made authors wonder if there is room at the table for them as well.

Is it possible for every author to continue to control how their works are adapting by actually sitting down and writing Movies, TV, and Plays?  Why not get paid for the rights and get paid to do the work so that the final product is representative of the brand you have worked so hard to create.  The only thing I worry about, is the disconnection from the readers that J.K. Rowling is getting dangerously close too.  I look at that fact that the play and next movies are based on her notes and that the readers that brought her to fame to not have books to delve into.  We will have scripts, but the do not have the wonder and magic of a novel where the scene unfolds before our eyes in a wondrous way.  I have to wonder if her not writing novels first is a mistake, or at least after to show us what she saw in her head.  The directors and set designers views of her work have always been wonderful, but what does she see when she put that pen to paper and created these new stories.

I still wonder, would I have been disappointed with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child if I had read the novel and not the script?  Would the way she crafted the story and world sung to me in a way that made me absolutely ravenous for something new to read?  Or would I have been disappointed by the loss of magic the world of Harry Potter had always had for me.

Monday, September 12, 2016

Movie Review: Suicide Squad

Around the House
Okay, so around the house right now is quiet.  We have welcomed a new kitten to the family which has meant for a lot of sleepless nights as we are focusing on getting her acclimated to the boys.  EZ seems to be warming up to Calli faster than Henry but overall it is good.  I can't wait for my vacation this weekend.  We are going to be hitting the Epcot Wine and Food Festival.  Lets hope I fit into my clothes after this weekend!

My Thoughts
So as most of the kids of the 80's we grew up knowing more about DC Coming than Marvel thanks to the Super Friends show.  Now that the DC Extended Universe is growing, I am one of the first in line to bash them since I love Marvel Comics so much (especially the movies).  Well I have to eat my words after seeing Suicide Squad this weekend.  The modernized portrayal of the characters was fantastic.  I especially found myself thinking of the scene where an Eminem song is playing and Harley Quinn is getting dressed in her slutty gear out in the open.  It wasn't dirty, it was kind of empowering to see the way the character behaved.


The movie did a fantastic job tying it back to Batman v. Superman (which I havent seen yet) as well as introducing characters that could be long time villains into the mix in a fun and festive way.  It makes me want to yell over at Marvel and ask them where the Thunderbolts are.  DC may actually have a fighting chance now.

Rating: 4/5