tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65371373752826941302024-03-14T03:21:14.490-07:00The LiteraryGrrrlShana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-49233621225038275742016-04-14T10:21:00.002-07:002016-04-14T10:21:50.032-07:00Right Hear, Right Now! Review of Boyfriend by Tegan and SaraHoly shit, have you heard Boyfriend yet?<br />
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You know, Boyfriend, the first single released off Tegan and Sara's forthcoming eighth album, Love You to Death (#LY2D). No?<br />
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Well do yourself a favor and click play on the video below, have yourself a listen, then come back and we can talk about how amazing it is.<br />
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<i style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">WOW, right?</i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
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First reaction: Boyfriend is catchy as ALL HELL. It's a clap-along, sing-along, stadium-shaking pop anthem. It's fun, fun, FUN.<br />
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But Boyfriend is more than just a fun pop song, and it's so not the first amazingly awesome Tegan and Sara single. Remember Hell, the first single released from Sainthood? And who could forget Closer from Heartthrob?<br />
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[Time for a quick aside that will place Boyfriend within the larger context of Tegan and Sara's catalogue and also prove my credentials as a mega-fan.<br />
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Frozen was released as a single ahead of the release of their first album, Under Feet Like Ours. It's a damn good song, but it's not my favorite song from the album. That would be This is Everything.<br />
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The First was, appropriately, the first single for This Business of Art, and although it tends to stay in my favorite three songs of Tegan and Sara's second album, it has never been my ABSOLUTE favorite. That would be My Number.<br />
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Tegan and Sara's third album was If It Was You. Time Running was the album's first single. GREAT song, but not my favorite from the record. Living Room is, and I had the absolutely great fortune to see them perform it live in concert during the Sainthood tour. (*Fans self* Is it hot in here? That was something else, let me tell you!)<br />
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After If It Was You came So Jealous, and the single Walking With a Ghost. I'm no different than anyone else. I LOVE that song, but it's not my favorite from the album. My favorite song from So Jealous is the much poppier Speak Slow.<br />
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And then there came the album that first introduced me to Tegan and Sara: The Con. Back in Your Head and The Con were both released as singles for the album, and for the first time a single is my favorite song! That would be The Con. Not Back in Your Head, sorry.<br />
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Buuut! That didn't last long. Hell was Sainthood's single, but The Ocean is my favorite song from THAT album.<br />
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And then there was Heartthrob. Closer was the single. And OH. MY. GOD. That song. Everyone loved that song. Even Taylor Swift. She invited Tegan and Sara to perform Closer with her on her tour. (!!!) And, Closer is tied with Drove me Wild for favorite song of the album.]<br />
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Boyfriend is, like I said, <i>really really </i>fun. But it's more than that. It is beautifully and unabashedly true. Tegan and Sara have never shied away from telling the truth in their songs, but Boyfriend feels like a new level off honesty.<br />
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From the very beginning of their careers, Tegan and Sara have been openly gay. Their fans have always known it, the industry has always known it. Everyone's known. And they have recorded a lot of love songs over the span of seven albums, but the love interests of their songs have always been "you."<br />
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From Closer: All you dream lately/ is getting underneath me. All I dream lately/ is how to get you underneath me.<br />
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From And Darling: Creep up and tell me that you/ you love me more each time you look into my eyes<br />
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From Call it Off: Maybe I would have been something you'd be good at/ maybe you would have been something I'd be good at/ but now we'll never know.<br />
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Of course, the focus of Boyfriend is still "you." And like I said before, Tegan and Sara have never been shy about the fact that they're gay. But Boyfriend is their fist single that sounds so undeniably and unapologetically gay. Pitchfork called it <a href="http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/18168-tegan-and-sara-boyfriend/" target="_blank">unmistakably queer</a> (in a review that also labeled it the best new track of the week). The brilliance of Boyfriend, though, is that it has heaps of queer cred wrapped in an obsessively catchy mainstream pop anthem.<br />
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And Tegan and Sara have released this gem at probably the perfect moment in history. Read the Buzzfeed article that called Boyfriend <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/laurasnapes/how-the-rest-of-the-world-caught-up-to-tegan-and-sara#.shmW4GEbz" target="_blank">a right-to-reply</a> from "the silent partners of 'I Kissed a Girl' or Demi Lovato's 'Cool for the Summer.'"<br />
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From Boyfriend: You call me up, like you want your best friend/ you turn me on, like you want your boyfriend/ but I don't wanna be your secret anymore.<br />
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Sara has said in interviews that Boyfriend is about the beginning of her current relationship, when her girlfriend was still in a relationship with a man and was keeping Sara a secret. Sara didn't want to be a secret anymore, and now she doesn't have to be--not in that relationship, and not in any sense.<br />
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And why should anyone? Gay marriage is now the law of the land in the United States. Like the title of that buzzfeed article asserts, the rest of the world has FINALLY caught up to Tegan and Sara. No more secrets, just awesome music.<br />
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And if there are going to be fun, catchy pop anthems about queer love triangles, let them be sung by proud, out lesbians. Not Demi Lovato or Katy Perry.<br />
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<br />Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-13222358456168980912016-02-21T12:41:00.000-08:002016-02-21T12:41:21.065-08:00My Top Ten Reads of 2015<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Whew!</b></span><div>
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Call this the blog that almost didn't happen.</div>
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I kept track of all the books I read last year like a dutiful book blogger (I read 36 by-the-by), noting which could be candidates for my Top Ten list along the way. Then in late December I actually compiled the Top Ten list, intending to write and publish this post either just before or just after the New Year.</div>
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Best intentions, right?</div>
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Oh well. Let's get down to it, shall we? I have the same rules as I had <a href="http://literarygrrrl.blogspot.com/2014/12/my-top-ten-reads-of-2014.html" target="_blank">in previous years</a>: all styles of books are fair game because I'm not a pretentious bitch, and only one book by any given author can make the list, because I like to make equal opportunity Top Ten lists. I already reviewed some of the books that made the cut this year, and when relevant I will link to those reviews. In years past I linked to each book's kindle page but I think I will cut that part out with this end-of-year literary list. I read both electronic and dead tree books (aka paperback) and I feel like linking to ebooks only might come across as preferential. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>I don't want to tell you how or what or why to read. That's not my business, so long as you actually fucking read. This is a literary world, after all. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>And now the Top Ten list:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>(10) Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler</u></b></span></div>
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Raymond Chandler was one of the founding fathers of noir fiction. Phillip Marlowe, the fictional PI he created is the literary godfather to all who followed him. If you've never given noir a try, give THIS one a try. If you love modern hardboiled fiction but have never explored its predecessors, fucking do so now.</div>
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(Also, if you have an hour or so to kill and are possessed of a sense of humor and a love of a well-turned line, go look at @chandlerisms on twitter. The account tweets only lines from the master's books. Lots of fun.)</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>(9) Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan</u></b></span></div>
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This book was so, so, so much fun. It managed to somehow be both in love with technology and Luddite-ish at the same time. I don't want to say much else, except: read this fun, fun, fun book! And check out @penumbra on twitter.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>(8) The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen</u></b></span></div>
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I didn't want to like this book, but I did. And I wrote about it <a href="http://literarygrrrl.blogspot.com/2015/11/reading-jonathan-franzen-sort-of-review.html" target="_blank">here.</a> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>(7) Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn</u></b></span></div>
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My boyfriend Brandon and I both read this book early last year. It was phenomenal! Then we watched the movie. It was ok. Not phenomenal, but not horrible.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>(6) The 8 by Katherine Neville</u></b></span></div>
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This was one of a short stack of paperbacks that Brandon pulled off one of his shelves and handed to me because he thought I might like them. And my fucking god was he right!! Holy intrigue! Reading this felt like reading one of Agatha Christie's political intrigue novels.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>(5) Warning Signs by Stephen White</u></b></span></div>
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This was another book from Brandon's short stack. It was the last book I read in 2015 and I loved it so much that so far this year I've read three more books from the same series, and I am currently reading a fourth. Yep. Love me Stephen White.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>(4) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green</u></b></span></div>
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Please believe me when I say that I am done fangirling all over John Green. But I couldn't honestly leave this book off my list. I didn't so much READ this book as I INHALED it, in a few short hours (spread over 2 days) after which I sobbed like a little bitch. </div>
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Reading John Green novels turns me into an emo 17-year-old. Check out an old post I wrote about <a href="http://literarygrrrl.blogspot.com/2014/06/my-love-letter-to-troubled-heroines-of.html" target="_blank">how John Green writes about young girls.</a> </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><u>(3) The Last Call by George Wier</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">George Wier is an author I discovered in 2015. I started with this book, The Last Call, which is the first in a series of noir mysteries set in my town: Austin Texas! I loved it so much that I went on to read three more books in the series, and I plan to read them all!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>(2) To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Okay, so maybe I'm cheating a little by bundling both of Lee's books into one slot on my Top Ten list. Maybe, but I don't think so. If you buy the argument (and I do) that Watchman was the rediscovered first draft of Mockingbird, they can really be taken as different versions of the same story. Even if you don't buy that argument, Watchman is best appreciated in connection with Mockingbird.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I blogged about the pairing last summer. Take a look <a href="http://literarygrrrl.blogspot.com/2015/07/book-review-go-set-watchm-man-and-to.html" target="_blank">here.</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>(1) The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Full disclosure: my reading of The Great Gatsby in 2015 was my second read-through of this novel. Like most Americans it was required reading for me in high school. But high school me HATED this book. I found it by turns boring and pretentious. I walked away from Gatsby with the impression that in it Fitzgerald celebrated the excesses of the leisured elite. That really pissed me off.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Boy was high school me thick. I completely missed the point of Gatsby. This time around, with a number of years and a TON of life experience under my belt, I found I could not merely appreciate, but actually LOVE this book. I'm so glad I gave it a second try.</span></div>
Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-30308573057049616212016-02-21T09:40:00.000-08:002016-02-21T09:40:41.912-08:00Broke & Hungry in Austin Part 2: The Hideout Pub<b><i>Well, ladies and gentlemen! We're fresh off the start of the second month of the year, and that can only mean one thing:</i></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">It's time for another edition of #BrokeAndHungryATX!!</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Last month Brandon and I ventured to a Mexican restaurant for their happy hour with mediocre results. So this month we decided to go with the more traditional happy hour at a local pub. The difference between the two experiences was stark: night and day, even. I wanna get to the report card, but first, a brief description of The Hideout Pub. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Check out <a href="http://thehideoutpub.com/" target="_blank">their website</a>. I love how they just declare: <b><i>We're cheap so you don't have to be. </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Their website asks: "why pay a lot?" And I respond, "Why, indeed?" But cost is only one of the factors that #BrokeAndHungryATX looks at. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>So let's take a look at all of them!</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The Hideout Pub doesn't lie when they say their happy hour prices are cheap. With well drinks at $2.50 each and $1.75 Lone Stars there's no reason you can't catch an inexpensve buzz in their cozy bunker. I certainly did. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Food's another issue, though. They do have food specials for happy hour, but it seems like their big food special day is Wednesday, which didn't apply to us. I think the only special offered on the Tuesday we visited was $2 tacos. We didn't get those, though. We got their trio plate (tortilla chips with queso, salsa, and ranch dip and I added guacamole) and Brandon ordered a Hideout burger.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">All told, between the two of us we had 2 well bourbons and 1 Lone Star, a $10 appetizer and a $12.50 burger. Our tab was $31.11, to which we added the $5 tip, bringing our total cost for the excursion to $36.11.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Hideout Pub's grade for COST: B</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EBntfqCjMjk/VsnyJsnt2AI/AAAAAAAAAo8/OKdO9k9FFp8/s1600/20160202_171008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EBntfqCjMjk/VsnyJsnt2AI/AAAAAAAAAo8/OKdO9k9FFp8/s320/20160202_171008.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Taste</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">The Hideout Pub truly delivered on taste. The well bourbons were really good--not great, but for $2.50 I don't need great. The queso and guacamole were both good, and Brandon enjoyed his burger. All in all, more than adequate pub fare. Great quality for the cost.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Hideout Pub's grade for TASTE: A</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Atmosphere</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span>
The Hideout Pub has a seriously cute bunker-theme going on. The lighting is dim and there's wood and metal everywhere. Thematically, it's just exactly what you would think a grown-up secret hideaway should be. And it wasn't short on entertainment: there were multiple screens playing a diverse assortment of television and movies along with a well-stocked jukebox and dart boards and arcade games.<br />
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All that was missing was a stack of coloring books and a few boxes of crayons.<br />
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The clientele, at least on the day we visited, appeared to be mostly regulars and mostly folks around our age (30s-40s). The bartenders and wait staff seemed comfortable with everyone. It felt like a clubhouse: comfortable.<br />
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<b><i>Hideout Pub's grade for ATMOSPHERE: A</i></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Returnability</b></span><br />
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If you've been following along so far, I think you should be able to guess the grade I've assigned to Hideout Pub for returnability. Come on, don't be thick. Good prices, yummy food and cozy atmosphere can only mean one thing.<br />
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<b><i>Hideout Pub's grade for RETURNABILITY: A</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7n7UFEsHUrc/VsnxtZHtG-I/AAAAAAAAAo4/5Jt_lZ0i2pA/s1600/20160202_155628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7n7UFEsHUrc/VsnxtZHtG-I/AAAAAAAAAo4/5Jt_lZ0i2pA/s400/20160202_155628.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me & Brandon at the Hideout Pub</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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You can read Brandon's review of the pub <a href="http://funcoolstuff2.blogspot.com/2016/02/brokeandhungryatx-hideout-pub.html" target="_blank">here!</a><br />
As always, please follow me and Brandon on twitter! I'm @LiteraryGrrrl and he's @HMMADNESS. We love to connect on social media and are always on the lookout for new happy hours to try, so if you have any suggestions tweet us!<br />
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Otherwise, see ya next month!</div>
Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-73008162210277691902016-01-11T18:11:00.000-08:002016-02-05T05:45:49.214-08:00Broke & Hungry in Austin Part 1: Fonda San Miguel<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Welcome to the inaugural post in this year-long blog series I'm affectionately calling "Broke and Hungry in Austin TX!"</b></span><br />
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This is a joint venture between me and my boyfriend Brandon <a href="http://funcoolstuff2.blogspot.com/2016/01/brokeandhungryatx-fonda-san-miguel.html?m=1" target="_blank">(Read his take on #BrokeAndHungryATX here)</a>. Through this monthly blog series we get a regular date and a damn good excuse to explore more of the taverns, pubs, and restaurants that are all over our fair city! And YOU, dear Reader, get the pleasure of reading about our low-budget adventures!</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">How's THAT, huh? </span>You're welcome.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
So here's how it works: every month this year, on the first Tuesday, Brandon and I will hit up a different happy hour. Our goal? To see if we can eat and drink and be merry within our budget, which is $45. NOTE! At least $5 of that forty-five is earmarked for the tip, so for all intents and purposes our budget is <i>really </i>$40.<br />
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Doesn't sound that hard, huh? Have you had a date in Austin lately? I LOVE Austin, and one of my favorite things about this city is the truly remarkable variety of awesome bars and eateries, but they can be pricey. On the other hand, I know, I JUST KNOW, that there are low-cost gems to be found here. And our goal is to unearth some of these through this blog series.<br />
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Without further ado, let us get to Part 1 of this blog series, in which we explore FONDA SAN MIGUEL.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UiE-_cI5YXI/VpRfmMdGUDI/AAAAAAAAAoc/e-ukdUDnnv0/s1600/Fonda%2BSan%2BMiguel%2BHDR%2B1%2B%2B-%2BVersion%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UiE-_cI5YXI/VpRfmMdGUDI/AAAAAAAAAoc/e-ukdUDnnv0/s320/Fonda%2BSan%2BMiguel%2BHDR%2B1%2B%2B-%2BVersion%2B2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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You will Fonda San Miguel at <a href="http://www.fondasanmiguel.com/" target="_blank">2330 W. North Loop</a>. It is renowned locally for its interior Mexican cuisine and all-night happy hour on Tuesday, which is what we sampled. During their happy hour, Fonda San Miguel offers wines and house margaritas for $5, and has a menu of appetizers sold at half price.<br />
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Me and Brandon each ordered a frozen house margarita, and got two appetizers to share: queso and chicken quesadillas.<br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Here's where I start grading.</b> I will grade each happy hour that Brandon and I try on four criteria: <b>cost, taste, atmosphere, </b>and <b>returnability.</b> The meaning of cost, taste, and atmosphere should be obvious, but returnability may not be. What I mean by returnability is simply how I feel about our likelihood to return to the establishment, for another happy hour or whatever. This may have everything to do with one or another of the other criteria, or nothing at all. It's just a feeling.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>COST</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
Fonda San Miguel's happy hour fully lived up to its reputation as far as affordability. With 2 drinks and 2 appetizers, our bill totaled $23.50, to which we added the $5 tip, so we ultimately spent $28.50. Guys, that's not bad at all. Everyone who lives in Texas knows that it can be hard for two hungry people to even eat at Whataburger for less than that.<br />
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<b><i>Fonda San Miguel's grade for Cost: A</i></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>TASTE</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
I'm gonna be real with you. The margarita was just meh. Frankly, I was disappointed. Sure, I've had worse margaritas, and these weren't BAD, but c'mon! This is Texas. Bland margaritas shouldn't even be allowed. Leave the boring margaritas to the states without Latinos.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m1P8eivnQZ4/VpRdMAjlPhI/AAAAAAAAAoA/X9BQ7KVcwJE/s1600/IMG_20160105_1751488_rewind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m1P8eivnQZ4/VpRdMAjlPhI/AAAAAAAAAoA/X9BQ7KVcwJE/s320/IMG_20160105_1751488_rewind.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boring margarita is boring.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
The food was better than the margaritas, but still it was nothing exciting. Worse, the queso was the kind that's thick and stringy--think molten string cheese. I understand that that is a legit style of queso, but man is it hard to operate. You've gotta cut it up, and then scoop it onto the tortillas and it just wants to slide around. And then if you're me you wind up using your fingers like some low-class gringa.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-faw2N98cSQQ/VpRdlG6RdvI/AAAAAAAAAoI/qJAXrN2vA6g/s1600/IMG_20160105_1756416_rewind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-faw2N98cSQQ/VpRdlG6RdvI/AAAAAAAAAoI/qJAXrN2vA6g/s320/IMG_20160105_1756416_rewind.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crazy-ass queso</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><i>Fonda San Miguel's grade for Taste: C</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">ATMOSPHERE</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
Where Fonda San Miguel's truly excels is in its atmosphere. Simply put, this was one of the absolute cutest restaurants I have ever set foot in. Quirky art adorns the walls; a giant statue of a dragon greets you as you walk in; subdued, colorful lights create a playfully intimate tone. What's better: the place is spotless. Even the bathroom is spotless.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BrUr7rYL23A/VpRd-IzUXUI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/UD0WOCpoRTs/s1600/IMG_20160105_1854592_rewind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BrUr7rYL23A/VpRd-IzUXUI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/UD0WOCpoRTs/s320/IMG_20160105_1854592_rewind.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shana vs The Dragon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><i>Fonda San Miguel's grade for Atmosphere: A</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>RETURNABILITY</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">So far Fonda San Miguel has earned 2 As and a C. So what are its chances for a high grade in returnability? Not fucking likely. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">I realize that sounds bitchy, but I'm just being honest. The folks at Fonda San Miguel are doing their absolute best, and they're delivering on all their promises. The happy hour menu is very, very attractively priced. I just think this was a mismatch for Brandon and I. I don't think we're Fonda San Miguel people. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">But that's okay, because we have the rest of the year to experiment with different happy hours around town! We'll figure out where we fit in!!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i>Fonda San Miguel's grade for Returnability: D</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">You're welcome to follow me on twitter: @LiteraryGrrrl Brandon is @HMMADNESS. We love to connect and make new friends! If you have suggestions for happy hours for us to try in future installments of #BrokeAndHungryATX leave a comment below or chat us up on Twitter!</span></div>
Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-71762456022871012602015-12-05T10:34:00.000-08:002015-12-05T10:34:22.758-08:00Jessica Jones is my Spirit Animal<div dir="ltr">
I'm giving this post a subtitle:</div>
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AKA Why it's so Important that Jeri Hogarth is an Evil Dyke.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Hang on! I can explain.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6N3sUFlfIUI/VmMrIrXljJI/AAAAAAAAAnM/aaGR7Jaum3w/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6N3sUFlfIUI/VmMrIrXljJI/AAAAAAAAAnM/aaGR7Jaum3w/s400/images.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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First, some business. This article will be discussing the new Netflix original series Jessica Jones, featuring the Marvel superhero of that name. On November 20 Netflix premiered the entire first season of the series, to widespread critical acclaim and endless fangirl slobbering (half of that mine.) </div>
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There have been many, many, many good reviews and articles written about the series so far. <a href="http://filmschoolrejects.com/features/jessica-jones-and-the-avengers.php?utm_source=atxhipsters&utm_medium=atxhipsters&utm_campaign=jessica-jones-and-the-avengers" target="_blank">This one does a good job</a> discussing the show in relation to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, including the movies. <a href="http://unaffiliatedcritic.com/2015/11/jessica-jones-1x02/" target="_blank">This one is a beautifully done</a> critical look at just the second episode of the season (I recommend keeping an eye on that blog and reading the articles on every episode). <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2015/11/30/jessica-jones-and-the-pathetic-side-of-misogyny/" target="_blank">This is a powerful article</a> all about how the show represents misogyny. I've read articles about how Jessica Jones discusses PTSD, <a href="http://www.tor.com/2015/12/01/jessica-jones-kilgrave-consent-rape-culture/" target="_blank">why rape apologists need to</a> watch the show (and what they can learn from it), and on and on and on.</div>
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<b><i>Clearly, Jessica Jones is onto something.</i></b></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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This show means a lot of things to a lot of people. It means so very much to me. It's just so very brave in the way that it takes an unflinching look at a lot of very dark realities. But when I decided to write about the show, I thought I would focus on something Jessica Jones does quietly. Because in this particular instance, it's what <i>isn't </i>said that is so important.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I'm talking about Jeri Hogarth, of course.</b></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_4RZO89AQxI/VmMtwPaAnbI/AAAAAAAAAng/1ovmwXOBgcs/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_4RZO89AQxI/VmMtwPaAnbI/AAAAAAAAAng/1ovmwXOBgcs/s400/download.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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The Jessica Jones character (and associated story) wasn't created for the Netflix series. She started as a comic book character, and, of course, the comic is where all the secondary characters first breathed life as well. Only some of the characters were a bit...tweaked...for the television show. <b>When Jeri Hogarth was first conceived, his name was Jeryn Hogarth and he was a straight white male.</b></div>
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Why was Jeryn changed to Jeri for the netflix show? I don't know, and I don't care. What impresses me so much about the character, is the ways in which her different character traits are and aren't played up.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>So let's take a moment and address Jeri Hogarth's character traits.</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Aspects of Jeri Hogarth's character that are played up in the show:</b></span></div>
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</div>
<ol>
<li>Cunning</li>
<li>Narcissism</li>
<li>Wealth & power</li>
<li>Cutthroat lawyer-y-ness</li>
<li>Intelligence</li>
<li>Confidence</li>
<li>Reluctant respect of Jessica Jones</li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Aspects of Jeri Hogarth's character that are NOT played up in the show:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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</div>
<ol>
<li>The fact that she's a lesbian</li>
</ol>
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Seriously. Jeri Hogarth is a lesbian. Not only that, but during the season we see her having an affair with her secretary and dealing with the subsequent messy divorce from her wife. And despite all of that, the fact that she's a lesbian <i>is not a topic of discussion. </i>Her sexuality is not a plot in the storyline. How Jeri handles her business and her relationships is a plotline, but not the fact that she sleeps with women. Because why the fuck should it be?</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><i>It's 2015. Jeri Hogarth is not the first openly lesbian character in a TV show. But the writers of Jessica Jones managed to do something with this character that is so breathtaking and rare: they portrayed a powerful lesbian woman struggling with her personal life in a way that doesn't focus solely on the gender of her spouse.</i></b></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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<b><i> </i><span style="font-size: large;">This is so important and so unusual that I want to make that point again, a different way:</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Viewers of Jessica Jones watched Jeri Hogarth cheat on her wife, file for divorce, get attacked by her wife, and ultimately watch in horror as her mistress killed her wife, <i>but the discussion was never about the fact that Wendy is a woman and has a vagina.</i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Ladies and gentleman, this is the way to write gay characters. As characters. Because when we see Jessica and Luke get it on, the discussion is about Jessica and Luke not about their genitals. That's fucking parity. And that's fucking beautiful.</span></b></div>
Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-81852044976792577752015-11-26T11:23:00.001-08:002015-11-26T14:04:14.391-08:00Reading Jonathan Franzen, a Sort-Of Review of The Corrections <p dir="ltr">I'm always incredibly late to the party.</p>
<p dir="ltr">This year (2015) I finally read The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, a book that came out in 2001 and immediately took the Literary world by storm.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I didn't wait 14 years to read the book because I hadn't heard of it. I was aware of it. Books that are as successful and highly praised as The Corrections are difficult to ignore. </p>
<p dir="ltr">In fact, I thought about The Corrections a little too much for a book I intended never to read. I picked it up countless times at book stores and libraries, fingering the pages, eyes roaming the cover, thinking "Maybe? No." Before putting it back down.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I just couldn't bring myself to read it. Why? Because of 2 things I had read about the book and its author: (1) The Corrections is a literary masterpiece, and (2) Jonathan Franzen is a pompous windbag.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I have no idea if Mr. Franzen is as much of a douchebag as twitter asserts. Just for fun, I suggest<i> </i>you google "<i>why</i> <i>the</i> <i>internet</i><i> hates </i><i>Jonathan</i><i> </i><i>Franzen</i>" and read some of the articles that come up.</p>
<p dir="ltr">What follows is a review of sorts. It's not so much a review of The Corrections itself as it is a review of my experience of reading a Jonathan Franzen novel. (Oh yes, I'm <i>that</i> self-involved.) In list form, because lists.</p>
<p dir="ltr">(1) <b>The</b> <b>cover</b> <b>of</b> <b>The</b> <b>Corrections</b> <b>is</b> <b>a</b> <b>case</b> <b>study</b> <b>in</b> <b>the</b> <b>culture</b> <b>war</b> <b>between</b> <b>literary</b> <b>fiction</b> <b>and</b> <b>genre</b> <b>fiction</b>. </p>
<p dir="ltr">You might think that the book's cover art is fairly simple and innocuous, but you would be wrong. The picture is of an American family sitting down to what is presumably a holiday meal. The family is white and probably at least middle class, as evidenced by the Sunday best that the two young boys you can see are reluctantly wearing. </p>
<p dir="ltr">(I'm comfortable assuming that this is a holiday meal because of the gorgeous turkey that is proudly presented by the matriarch of the depicted family. Turkeys are understood as the cultural centerpiece of American holiday meals, despite the fact that not every family chooses to have one.)</p>
<p dir="ltr">Book covers are designed to entice readers to buy the book. In order to do so, they attempt to create a feeling of kinship between the readers and the book, as well as the book's author. The symbolism used in the cover art, therefore, is not accidental.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>JONATHAN</b><b> </b><b>FRANZEN </b>is emblazoned across the top third of the cover, in larger typeface than The Corrections. The picture of the family-at-holiday-mealtime takes up less than 25% of the cover space, and is pushed down to the bottom of the cover.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Between the title of the novel and the picture is a blurb from the New York Review of Books:</p>
<p dir="ltr">"You will laugh, wince, groan, weep, leave the table and maybe the country, promise to never go home again, and be reminded of why you read serious fiction in the first place."</p>
<p dir="ltr"><b>Where to begin?</b><br>
Setting the author's name in larger typeface than the book title suggests that the author is a larger draw than the book itself, and thus more important. So, from the outset the reader is being told that Jonathan Franzen is a Super Important Dude.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Mr. Franzen's name is so large on the cover that it dwarfs the picture beneath it. But that's not all. The position of his name in relation to the picture, as well as the size of his name in relation to the picture, are both meaningful and problematic: unless you're white, middle class, and exclusively read literary fiction, in which case this cover just reinforces your pre-existing world views. </p>
<p dir="ltr">But I'm not talking to those people.</p>
<p dir="ltr">This cover associates Jonathan Franzen, as an author and public figure, with the middle class, middle class culture, and middle class ideals. But, since his name lords it over the rest of the cover art, it also elevates him <i>above</i> those very people and ideals. He is both <i>of </i>the privileged class and <i>better than </i>the privileged class, and from his vaunted position, he is qualified to judge the rest of the people in it.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The blurb from the New York Review of Books serves to assure the reader that he/she has a place at the holiday table. He/she is being told explicitly that "yes. You are one of us." The reader is acknowledged to have a background similar to those in the picture (and, presumably, to that of Jonathan Franzen himself). The holiday meal depicted on the cover is referred to as Home. This book, therefore, is being presented as a shared experience.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But it's not just The Corrections that is being shared. Also implied as shared between the readers of the novel and the book's author is the middle class American experience, and all that that includes: material comfort, stability, an above-average education that includes college, parents that probably don't love each other but probably also don't beat you, and boredom.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Oh, and Serious Fiction. Mr. Franzen writes Serious Fiction and his readers and cohorts exclusively read it.</p>
<p dir="ltr">There are others, of course, who aren't invited to Mr. Franzen's shared literary experience. Those who are too poor, maybe, or too uneducated, to read Serious Fiction. Who are they? Readers of genre fiction, of course. And I am one of those people.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Hence my long-time reluctance to pick up and actually <i>read </i>The Corrections. </p>
<p dir="ltr">(2) <b>I</b> <b>absolutely</b> <b>fucking</b> <b>loved</b> <b>The</b> <b>Corrections</b> </p>
<p dir="ltr">I so hate to admit this, after having so thoroughly dissected the book's disgustingly elitist cover art. But it's true. It will likely end up on my end-of-year top ten list.</p>
<p dir="ltr">(3) <b>I</b> <b>will</b> <b>likely</b> <b>read</b> <b>Mr</b>. <b>Franzen's</b> <b>newest</b> <b>and</b> <b>even</b> <b>more</b> <b>controversial novel Purity. </b></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wIvPnXABhwo/VleApgq_ogI/AAAAAAAAAmw/X1oVy5tkBU0/s1600/20151126_135546.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wIvPnXABhwo/VleApgq_ogI/AAAAAAAAAmw/X1oVy5tkBU0/s640/20151126_135546.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k2gYLXRv1lo/VleAxmw4rNI/AAAAAAAAAm4/Fvb24kHGv28/s1600/tumblr_lys0ikpbT11qzs5cqo1_540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k2gYLXRv1lo/VleAxmw4rNI/AAAAAAAAAm4/Fvb24kHGv28/s640/tumblr_lys0ikpbT11qzs5cqo1_540.jpg"> </a> </div>Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-21350698541968016052015-10-12T15:00:00.000-07:002015-10-12T15:00:01.787-07:0031 Days of Halloween: Hellraiser<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Well, I finally fucking did it. I watched Hellraiser.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
In my first blog post of this month-long series <a href="http://literarygrrrl.blogspot.com/2015/10/31-days-of-halloween-nightmare-on-elm.html" target="_blank">in which I reviewed A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge</a>, I told you all about how my boyfriend <a href="http://hmmadnessmovies.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Brandon (aka Horror Movie Madness)</a> and I spend the month of October. For us, October is full horror movie immersion month. <b>You see, I'm horror movie deficient, and Brandon has decided he will cure me of that. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
It's fun, and I super enjoy it, but long ago I told Brandon I only had one rule: no Hellraiser.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>"I will not watch Hellraiser," I told him all those years ago. "Not in a box, not with a fox. Not on a train, and not in the rain."</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
Brandon, being a kind and loving boyfriend, agreed to my terms. But he was curious, so he asked why. I explained to him that many years ago, in circumstances I can't remember, I stumbled into a room in which someone was watching the movie. I caught ten to fifteen seconds of it, and it scarred me for life.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>It was that fucking chattering Cenobite. I saw him grab a woman by the head and shove his fingers in her mouth. It looked to me like he was attempting to rip her jaw off, or perhaps he was miming forced oral sex. I couldn't really say for sure which, but it turned my stomach.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
Anyhow, fast-forward to today. This is our third year of October horror-movie lessons. I've already conquered the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and House of 1000 Corpses. I've seen most of the eighties slasher flicks and the classic seventies religious-cult movies. I thought it was time that I climb Mount Hellraiser and get it out of my system.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Besides, I always thought it was a little weird that I've read (and enjoyed) many of Clive Barker's novels and couldn't bring myself to watch the movie adaptation of his story that he, himself, directed.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">So I watched Hellraiser today. And this is my assessment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>It was good.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
Ha! I have more to say than that, of course. But just right off the bat: Hellraiser was exactly as scary as I expected, but not to the point where I couldn't enjoy Clive Barker's story. The man is just as much a genius of the genre as Stephen King, and I wouldn't say that lightly.<br />
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There are only a handful of characters in Hellraiser: Larry, a remarried widow of considerable financial means that derive from an unspecified origin; Larry's new wife Julia, his brother Frank; and his daughter Kirsty.<br />
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It's revealed early in the movie that Frank is a philandering cad who may or may not live off his brother's money, and who slept with Julia on the eve of her marriage to Larry. Frank is also, not surprisingly, the person who hunts down the demon-raising puzzle box and summons the Cenobites. They variously torture and pleasure him, as is their wont, and banish him to Hell-with-a-capitol-H.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>When Larry cuts his hand and bleeds on the floor of their family home, the blood somehow nourishes Frank, who begins to rematerialize in his earthly form. Frank then reaches out to Julia, telling her that if she feeds him the blood of more innocents he would come back to life all they way. Julia, recalling their one wild rendezvous, agrees to help.</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Time out.</b></span><br />
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This entire movie is predicated on the fact that Larry is apparently so boring in bed that his wife would literally kill random innocent people in order to once again fuck her brother-in-law. Good God. How sad. Poor Larry is surrounded by horrible people. Except for Kirsty. She is eventually the one to re-banish Uncle Douchebag Frank to Hell and drive away the Cenobites. Of course, she didn't do any of that soon enough to save her father's life, but, oh well.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>This is a Clive Barker story, remember. There may be a simple plot line but that leaves plenty of room for art, however terrifying it may be, and for psychology. </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
A common theme throughout most of Barker's stories is the conflation of pleasure and pain, disgust and desire. Those themes are found throughout the movie. There are images of sexually-titillating fingers-in-mouths in the clips of Julia and Frank's One Wild Night early in the movie, images that are twisted and recreated later when Kirsty accidentally summons the Cenobites and Chatterer grabs her head and shoves his fingers down her throat.<br />
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As much as that scene disturbed me years ago (and again today), I was impressed by how it sort of bookended the earlier scene. It's like it put a ghoulish period on the end of that sentence.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>I'm glad I watched Hellraiser. But, like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I don't think I'll be watching it again.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>I will leave you with this image, because it is cute, and cute conquers scary.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
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<b>For another take on Hellraiser, <a href="http://hmmadnessmovies.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">read what Brandon thought of it!</a></b>Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-38843204355052433752015-10-04T13:52:00.000-07:002015-10-04T13:52:22.072-07:0031 Days of Halloween! A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>October is a special month for my boyfriend and I. Every year that we've lived together (3 so far) we have spent the month of October watching a slew of horror films. Because that's what you do when you're dating a man whose screen name is "HMMADNESS." (That stands for Horror Movie Madness in case you didn't figure it out. </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
Right before our first October as a cohabitating couple, Brandon presented me with a truly ambitious list of some 60-odd flicks.<br />
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"We won't necessarily get through all off these," he said to me. "But I'd like to try to get to as many as we can."<br />
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See, I haven't seen a whole lot of horror movies in my life, and Brandon felt pretty strongly about educating me in this arena. My eyes wide, more than a little daunted, I said:<br />
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"Sure. Of course."<br />
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That first October, I watched the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the original Halloween. I saw many if not most of the Friday the 13th series. And I made it through House of 1000 Corpses and Devil's Rejects, somehow. We watched some old, black-and-white horror and some cheesy independent horror. No, we didn't get through the whole list. But we did make a mighty dent in it. And Brandon succeeded in laying the foundation for my horror movie education.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>At the end of our first October together, I was a sincere Jason fan, and I had a better idea of the kind of horror that gives me nightmares. </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
Now, a couple years later, we're approaching October a little differently. Brandon is having me take a more active role in choosing which movies to watch. This year, we thought it would be fun to focus only on what is available through Netflix. That will make it more random, and open up more independent film possibilities.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>First up, I chose A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge.</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
I have already seen some of the NOES flicks. I had taken my daughter Meredith to see the remake of the first movie in the theater when it came out. And, since Freddy is Brandon's favorite movie monster, he had already shown me the original NOES as well as the third film in the series and Freddy vs Jason. But he had avoided watching the second of the series with me, because he himself is NOT a fan of it. Like many people, he considers this film to be too much of a departure from the original story to really fit in well with the rest of the series.<br />
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So we approached this viewing as something of a lark. I looked forward to what I had heard would be a lot of unintended homosexual innuendo, and we prepared to drink whenever one of the characters made fun of Jessie and whenever someone died or we got a glimpse of Freddy's claw.<br />
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And you know what? We did laugh at what turned out to be a TON of unintentionally silly dialogue ("Are you mounting her nightly?" For real? What high school guy talks like that??). And there were moments when I was honestly confused about what the movie was trying to convey (I'm looking at you, spontaneously combusting parakeets), but all in all I really liked Freddy's Revenge.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i>I liked Freddy's Revenge for a very specific reason: it managed to be a fun slasher flick even while it broke every convention of slasher flicks. That's not a small feat.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
Freddy's Revenge came out in 1985. At the time, Friday the 13th and Halloween dominated the horror market. They were--and still are--beloved slasher flicks that not only follow slasher flick conventions, they helped to create them.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>You can say these with me because we all know them:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>(1) The final girl is always the good girl (defined generally as the one who doesn't get laid on screen)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>(2) Teenage debauchery is mandatory, and</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>(3) Teenage debauchery leads to murder and mayhem</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>(4) Parents? Whoever heard of parents?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
I'm sure there are more. And I'm sure there are more nuanced versions of the ones I presented, But I'm not HMMADNESS.<br />
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What Freddy's Revenge does is say "FUCK YOU!" to these conventions. And it doesn't suffer cinematically for doing so.<br />
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For starters, the "Final Girl" in Freddy's Revenge is a guy, Jessie, who is possessed by Freddy Krueger and made to kill his friends and coach (and very nearly his sister). That, alone, is a bold gesture and is largely responsible for the movie's reputation for homosexual innuendo.<br />
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Jessie has a girlfriend, of course: Lisa, who is both smarter and stronger-willed than he. And since she manages to stop Freddy-working-through-Jessie from killing her it can be argue that she is ALSO the final girl. But even that would be a break from convention. What other slasher flick had two final girls?<br />
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Also, there is next to no teenage debauchery in Freddy's Revenge. Lisa throws a party in the movie, and that sets the scene for most, but not all, of the slashing. But the joke is, her parents are home, and are actually PRESENT at the party for most of it. No one gets laid, although Jessie and Lisa do some heavy petting. That, though, is interrupted when Jessie feels Freddy start to come out. The viewer knows Freddy is starting to come out because Jessie's tongue turns black and grows about six inches.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Elongated, disgusting tongues seem to be a recurring theme in NOES movies. What the hell is up with that??</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
Anyway, the movie ends with Freddy banished, Jessie alive but with a notable case of PTSD, and Lisa seemingly none the worse for her close encounter of the nightmare kind.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>I give Freddy's Revenge a 7 out of 10.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span>
I really did like it. It's not the work of cinematic genius that the first and third movies are, but it's a lot of fun. And I cannot overstate how brave I think it was for the writers and director to make the decision to NOT follow the genre's conventions. At the time, Jason was it. He was everything. And it would have been a lot easier for them to make Freddy a Jason copycat. Why not? Wes Craven was not a part of the team anymore, and they certainly weren't scared to make creative decisions that did NOT follow his vision (attempting to bring Freddy out of the dream world and into reality).<br />
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But they didn't. They followed their own rules and made a slasher film that was its own unique product, and, I felt, a lot of fun.<br />
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Now go read Brandon's take <a href="http://hmmadnessmovies.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Or watch this 30-minute fan-made film featuring Freddy taking on the Ghostbusters. (Please forgive the Jared cameo. This was made before we all knew the awful truth about him.)<br />
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<br />Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-47788706211164370862015-09-20T14:21:00.003-07:002016-08-03T18:17:48.335-07:00Athena, the Wrestling Goddess takes the NeXT Step<i><span style="color: red;">(Scroll to the bottom of the post to read about Athena's NXT debut!)</span></i><br />
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<i>(I wrote this in September of 2015 as an homage to Athena when she announced she was making the move up from the indy wrestling scene to NXT.)</i><br />
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<i>Sound of knuckles rapping on a door.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
"Good evening, sir." I flash the bewildered stranger a winning smile. "Can you spare a moment? I'd like to tell you about The Goddess?"<br />
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He scowls, then:<br />
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<i>Sound of door slamming in my face.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
"I'm not a pagan!" I shout. "I'm talking about the Wrestling Goddess."<br />
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<i>The door opens. Half of a man's face is visible through the opening. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
I smile. "Let me tell you about how the Wrestling Goddess has changed my life."<br />
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Athena, aka The Wrestling Goddess, wrestled at the very first wrestling show I ever attended: The Show Goes on in February of 2012, a presentation of Anarchy Championship Wrestling in Live Oak, Texas. That was also the very first wrestling show I ever saw, as I had previously never watched professional wrestling in any form or through any media. It hadn't been long since I (finally) finished my master's degree. I fancied myself an academic. I fancied myself a lot of things, actually, but a pro-wrestling fan was not one of them.<br />
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In a very real sense Athena, The Wrestling Goddess, changed all of that.<br />
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I was introduced to a lot of talented wrestlers at that first show, and I witnessed a lot of very good matches, but it was Athena who made a lasting impression on me. Here was a beautiful, <i>powerful, </i>and eminently talented young woman who commanded respect both from the fans and the other athletes. I was hugely impressed, and, three years later, I continue to be.<br />
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I have recently learned that Athena is moving on. She won't be The Wrestling Goddess anymore. <strike>What she will be called I don't yet know.</strike> <span style="color: red;"><span style="background-color: white;">(Update: Athena is now known as Ember Moon!)</span></span> What I do know is that she will still be making an impact in the wrestling world, she will still have the respect and admiration of wrestling fans, and she will always be The Wrestling Goddess in my heart.<br />
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That's all I really wanted to say. Pretty soon the whole world will be talking about Athena. Except, of course, they will be calling her by whatever name she's been given. I guess I just wanted to have my say about the Athena I've known before her transformation is complete.<br />
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Now I'm going to turn this retrospective over to my boyfriend Brandon, the man who turned me on to professional wrestling in general and The Wrestling Goddess in particular. He has a lot more to say about Athena than me, mostly because he has had the good fortune to watch her in action for several more years than I have. He's also very historically minded. He is going to tell you a whole bunch about Athena's rise to the top of the indy wrestling scene here in Texas, with a special focus on her work in Anarchy Championship Wrestling. ACW is the company that reignited Brandon's childhood love of professional wrestling, and it also played a huge role in shaping the wrestler that The Wrestling Goddess has become.<br />
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Without any further ado, please visit <a href="http://pinneddownplus.blogspot.com/2015/09/athena-wrestling-goddess-next-step.html" target="_blank">Brandon's blog Pinned Down Plus</a> and read all about Athena's colorful and extraordinary career as an indy wrestler in Texas. I'm sure you will enjoy it! While you're there read some of his interviews with other wrestlers on the scene. <a href="http://pinneddownplus.blogspot.com/2015/09/athena-wrestling-goddess-next-step.html" target="_blank">(Go! Click! Read!)</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Update: It has been reported that Athena has made her official NXT debut! She wrestled October 10 2015 at an untelevised live event in Winter Haven, Florida apparently under her actual name, Adrienne Reese. <a href="http://411mania.com/wrestling/athena-makes-nxt-debut-at-live-event/" target="_blank">Read more here.</a> </i></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b><i>Update to the update! Ember Moon is set to make her televised, official NXT debut at #NXTTakeoverBrooklyn on August 20, 2016!!</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>You can follow the wrestler formerly known as Athena on twitter @WWEEmberMoon</i></b></span>Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-6695779898534210522015-07-26T13:06:00.001-07:002015-07-26T13:08:02.888-07:00BOOK REVIEW: Go Set a Watchman AND To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee<span style="font-size: large;"><b>All right, my literary-minded friends, it's time. Not only am I about to throw down my thoughts on one of the most beloved American novels <i>of all time, </i>I'm also going to weigh in on what was probably the most anticipated literary release since the seventh installment of the <i>Harry Potter </i>series.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I'm about to review BOTH <i>To Kill a Mockingbird </i>AND <i>Go Set a Watchman </i>by Harper Lee.</b></span><br />
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I'm going to start with the book that I and most others read first, <i>To Kill a Mockingbird. </i>But before I dive in I'd like to say a few words about what my review will and will NOT do:<br />
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(1) My review <i style="font-weight: bold;">will </i>discuss the singular and comparative literary merits of both of Lee's novels,<br />
(2) My review <i style="font-weight: bold;">will </i>discuss the positions of both novels within the cultural and socio-political landscape of the U.S. in general and the South in particular,<br />
(3) My review <i style="font-weight: bold;">will not </i>speculate about the sudden emergence of Harper Lee's first novel, <i>Go Set a Watchman</i>, and what that might mean. In my opinion, far too much has already been written about how and why this book has suddenly come to light. <a href="http://mashable.com/2015/07/20/go-set-a-watchman-its-either-punk-genius-or-literary-crime-of-the-century/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=dlvr.it" target="_blank">(This is the most recent article I've read on the subject.</a> It's also the one I find the most interesting.) Many of the 1000+ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product?ASIN=B00T3DNKIE&force-full-site=1&redirect=true&ref_=kin_tos_soho_appm_bk_sf_dp" target="_blank">reviews on the novel's Amazon page</a> touch on the controversy.<br />
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I'm not here to talk about the controversy. I don't have anything meaningful to add to that argument, and, more importantly, I feel it is irrelevant. <i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i> is more than just a literary masterpiece: it is an important American cultural artifact. And <i>Go Set a Watchman</i>, in addition to its own merits, adds to <i>Mockingbird's </i>legacy.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Here we go!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I didn't read <i>Mockingbird--ever, </i>in my life--until earlier this month. According to my running list of Books I Read in 2015 I finished the novel on July 7, and if my memory serves it took me about three days to read it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Before you ask, yes I read it in advance of the July 14 release of <i>Go Set a Watchman.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I feel I was probably one of the last--if not THE last--Americans over the age of 30 who had not read </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">Mockingbird. </i><span style="font-size: large;">Unlike many I wasn't required to read the book in high school, and though I have always been an avid reader it just never occurred to me to read Harper Lee's book.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> I grew up in Silicon Valley in California in the 80s and 90s completely unaware that racism continued (and continues) to be a reality. As a child I was surrounded by people of every hue and ethnicity, and every linguistic and religious background imaginable. To me, people were people and that was that. If there were divisions to be drawn (and I felt that was mostly unnecessary) than I would have put those dividing lines between the Haves and the Have Nots. I grew up poor and the older I got the more keenly I felt the differences between me and the children of means. Other than that, though, why categorize people at all?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For those (and other) reasons, I simply wasn't interested in a book I knew to be about Southern racism set in the 50s. Southern racism wasn't my or California's problem, especially since I believed it to be, like slavery, a thing of the past.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KMofDltCYAY/VbPVPm9KOeI/AAAAAAAAAi4/G40VxaKArr0/s1600/gregory-peck-atticus-finch-to-kill-a-mockingbird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KMofDltCYAY/VbPVPm9KOeI/AAAAAAAAAi4/G40VxaKArr0/s400/gregory-peck-atticus-finch-to-kill-a-mockingbird.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gregory Peck depicts Atticus Finch in the film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Boy was I wrong! I moved to Pennsylvania in 1994 at the age of 18. I settled in State College, which is the home of Penn State's Nittany Lions and was also the site, the week before I arrived, of a cross burning at the home of a local black family. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A cross burning. In 1994. At first, I was too shocked to be horrified or angry. I said to my friends: <i>"That still happens? That's so old school!"</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And then came the anonymous death threats to the president of Penn State's Black Student's Union, which said something to the effect of: <b>"This is a white school in a white state in a white nation and by God it will stay that way."</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My naive world view was shattered. Many years later I moved to Tennessee, and it was there I realized that although the institutions of slavery and Jim Crow are over, when it comes to race relations in America, <b>the more things change, the more they stay the same.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I lived in Middle Tennessee for about twelve year, first in Nashville and later in Murfreesboro, which is about an hour's drive from Pulaski, the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan. The football team of Middle Tennessee State University, where I received a BS in sociology and an MS in mass communication, is called the Blue Raiders and many buildings on campus are named after <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Bedford_Forrest" target="_blank">Nathan Bedford Forrest, celebrated confederate general and founding KKK member.</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In fact, there is an infamous statue of Forrest off I-65 outside Nashville that is surrounded by U.S., Tennessee, and confederate flags. </span><br />
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I could go on and on. The fact of the matter is, though much of the nation views slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow as issues of our distant past, they remain right at the forefront of Southern memory. (By way of example, <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jul/24/memphis-protesters-take-shovel-to-nathan-bedford-f/" target="_blank">read this news article from Memphis </a>about contentions surrounding his gravesite and a different commemorative statue.) And for the first time in my life, I was learning that there are very real divisions between people in our country. And there are still a whole lot of otherwise normal, well-mannered people who don't view all people the same.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>So I'm glad that I waited until now to read <i>To Kill a Mockingbird. </i>Because a lot of it would have been lost on me if I read it before living in the South.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As a piece of literature, <i>Mockingbird </i>is genius. Told from the point of view of a young girl (Scout is poised to start school at the beginning of the novel), the tone manages to capture the innocence of childhood and yet remain mature enough to be accessible to readers. Jean Louise "Scout" Finch, the narrator of the book, thinks like a kid and speaks like a kid (as the excerpt below will show) but somehow Lee manages to impart the grander points of the book anyway.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Enjoying a summer twilight with their neighbor Miss Maudie, Scout asked her about the reclusive Boo Radley:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"'Miss Maudie,' I said one evening, 'do you think Boo Radley's still alive?'</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"'His name's Arthur and he's alive,' she said. She was rocking slowly in her big oak chair. 'Do you smell my mimosa?' It's like angels' breath in the evening.'</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"'Yessum. How do you know?'</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"'Know what, child?'</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"'That B--Mr. Arthur's still alive?'</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"'What a morbid question. But I suppose it's a morbid subject. I know he's alive, Jean Louise, because I haven't seen him carried out yet.'</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"'Maybe he died and they stuffed him up the chimney.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"'Where did you get such a notion?'</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"'That's what Jem said he thought they did.'</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"'S-ss-ss. He gets more like Jack Finch every day.'"</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Can't you picture that scene? Can't you feel the sultry summer heat and smell Miss Maudie's mimosas? It's simply elegant prose.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scout, Atticus, and Jem Finch from the film adaptation</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">But I chose to recount this scene for another reason: Scout Finch, as I have said, is the narrator of <i>Mockingbird, </i>and her central preoccupation throughout the story is Boo Radley. It's not racism. But ask anyone who has read the book what it's about, and they'll say "Racism." They might say Tom Robinson or the trial or Atticus Finch. The name Boo Radley may even be mentioned, but no one would claim that the story is about HIM. <b>That is the genius of this book: the grand points, the themes that your English teachers yammer on and on about, are woven throughout an innocent and seemingly unrelated narrative. So what you end up with is a complete novel that manages to be BOTH a slice of Americana AND a politically charged tale. Nothing is lost, nothing is sacrificed, and nothing is rammed down the reader's throat.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>And that, friends and book lovers, is why <i>To Kill a Mockingbird </i>will forever be known as a far greater work than <i>Go Set a Watchman.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Assuming this "new" novel's provenance is true (though not everyone does. <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/27/sweet-home-alabama" target="_blank">the July 27 2015 issue of the New Yorker </a>makes an interesting argument for why it may not be) <i>Watchman </i>is the first draft of the first novel young Harper Lee ever wrote. It's the rough material out of which <i>Mockingbird </i>was forged. Given that, her writing is DAMN GOOD. Anyone who has ever written anything knows how bad first drafts typically are. First drafts are GARBAGE. In one of my own first drafts I killed the same character TWICE. I've read some pretty mean things said about the literary quality of <i>Watchman</i>, but it's not typical-first-draft bad. It's not kill-the-same-character-twice bad. It's simply not as good as <i>Mockingbird. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>But you know what? Nothing but <i>Mockingbird </i>is as good as <i>Mockingbird. </i>So calm down, angry literary critics.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Even so, much of Harper Lee's famously artful prose is evident in <i>Watchman, </i>particularly in the first half. The novel opens with Scout (now the adult Jean Louise) on the train back to Maycomb County from her new home in New York:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"She had told the conductor not to forget to let her off, and because the conductor was an elderly man, she anticipated his joke: he would rush at Maycomb Junction like a bat out off hell and stop the train a quarter of a mile past the little station, then when he bade her goodbye he would say he was sorry, he almost forgot. Trains changed; conductors never did. Being funny at flag stops with young ladies was a mark of the profession, and Atticus, who predict the actions of every conductor from New Orleans to Cincinnati, would be waiting accordingly not six steps away from her point of debarkation."</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Except, this time, Atticus was not there to meet her. Instead Hank, her childhood friend and sometime suitor, was waiting a quarter mile back, on the platform</span><span style="font-size: large;"> at the train station, and had to run to meet her. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>And there's your foreshadowing.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">While <i>Mockingbird </i>was a Great American Novel that had a lot to say about Southern Racism, <i>Watchman </i>is a "novel" that seeks to make a point about racism. I put the word "novel" in quotes not to deride <i>Watchman</i>, because I enjoyed it and find it a worthy read, but because it simply cannot stand on its own.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In a very real sense, in order to understand and care about the events and characters in <i>Go Set a Watchman</i>, you must have first read <i>To Kill a Mockingbird. </i>I will link again here to the <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/27/sweet-home-alabama" target="_blank">New Yorker article</a> because they explain this better than I ever could. Suffice it to say, with the exception of Hank, who didn't appear in <i>Mockingbird</i>, the main players in <i>Watchman </i>aren't actually introduced to the reader. Rather, the text reads and feels like a return to Maycomb, which serves to place the reader firmly in Scout's shoes.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">That is the strength of <i>Watchman. </i>The reader experiences the same shock and betrayal that Scout does. As her Uncle Jack says, Scout had deified her father, and so had we. She needed to see him as a man, and so did we. Atticus Finch IS a man: good, but flawed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In the decades since <i>Mockingbird </i>was published, Atticus Finch has grown to eclipse superstar literary status. As a character, he has always been more than a man, but as a cultural artifact, he has become more than a character. He is a symbol for equality, for justice, and for a sort of quiet, respectable fairness held in the face of defiant opposition. Recall the way in which Atticus quietly held his ground when confronted by the mob that sought to kill Tom Robinson before his trial. He didn't shout at the mob, and he didn't threaten them, though they threatened HIM. All he did was hold his ground and the mob eventually thought better of its plan.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Cultural memory would have readers believe that it was the force of Atticus Finch's egalitarian personality that stopped the mob from killing Tom Robinson that night. But a re-read of <i>Mockingbird </i>will remind Atticus's apologists that the following morning he had this to say of an individual in the mob:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"'Mr. Cunningham's basically a good man,' he said, 'he just has his blind spots along with the rest of us.'</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"Jem spoke. 'Don't call that a blind spot. He'da killed you last night when he first went there.'</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"'He might have hurt me a little,' Atticus conceded, 'but son, you'll understand folks a little better when you're older. A mob's always made up of people, no matter what.'"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">That scene curiously foreshadows an event in <i>Watchman</i>, when Scout discovers that he father and Hank have joined the Maycomb County Citizens' Council, a group composed of nearly every white man in Maycomb, and which existed entirely to oppose desegregation. Scout reeled when she discovered this, as did the rest of America upon the release of <i>Watchman. </i>(Read <a href="http://www.people.com/article/parents-change-son-atticus-name-go-set-watchman?xid=socialflow_twitter_peoplemag" target="_blank">this People magazine article</a> about the family who changed their infant son's name from Atticus to Luke after reading the book.)</span><br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;"><i>Go Set a Watchman, </i>in my opinion, makes an even bigger and more nuanced point than <i>To Kill a Mockingbird </i>did. </b><span style="font-size: large;">Where </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">Mockingbird </i><span style="font-size: large;">told Americans that racism exists and it's bad, </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">Watchman </i><span style="font-size: large;">asserts that racism not only exists--it's woven into the fabric of all of our lives. In </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">Mockingbird, </i><span style="font-size: large;">racism was something that existed outside of people who didn't agree with it. It could be fought against in court. In </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">Watchman</i><span style="font-size: large;">, racism is an integral part of the structure of our society. As Uncle Jack explains to an exasperated Scout, it has historical precedent in feudal England. It is foundational and cannot be changed without upsetting everything. </span></div>
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When Scout argues that the time had come to do what's right by Negroes, Atticus counters that she doesn't know or mean what she says:<br />
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"'I mean every word of it.'<br />
"'Then let's put this on a practical basis right now. Do you want Negroes by the carload in our schools and churches and theaters? Do you want them in our world?'<br />
"'They're people aren't they? We were quite willing to import them when they made money for us.'"<br />
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I think that exchange is as good example as any to demonstrate that <i>Watchman </i>is a novel that exists to make a point. Harper Lee had something to say about Southern Racism, and she sort of wrapped a story around the thing. That's why <i>Mockingbird </i>is a better story.<br />
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But I'm glad that I read <i>Watchman </i>and I'm glad that it came out when it did. Within the literary universe of <i>To Kill a Mockingbird </i>and <i>Go Set a Watchman, </i>Jean Louise Finch had to grow up and realize that racism tainted every part of her life, her family, and her beloved Maycomb County. And within American culture, we all have had to grow up and realize that racism taints ALL of our history and ALL of our present. Whether or not individuals, like me, grew up naively assuming it was a thing of the past and Not Our Problems.<br />
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Atticus says something in <i>Mockingbird </i>that is curiously prescient. I read it in the breakroom of my workplace and cried out loud when I did. Decades after the book's publication, it could not be more relevant:<br />
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<b>"Atticus was speaking so quietly his last word crashed on our ears. I looked up, and his face was vehement. 'There's nothing more sickening to me than a low-grade white man who'll take advantage of a Negro's ignorance. Don't fool yourselves--it's all adding up and one of these days we're going to pay the bill for it.'"</b></div>
Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-69919420018590093192015-07-25T09:21:00.003-07:002015-07-25T09:21:49.094-07:00The Dog Days of Summer<span style="font-size: large;"><b>"Calpurnia listened. 'I know it's February, Miss Eula May, but I know a mad dog when I see one. Please ma'am hurry!'"</b></span><div>
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-- To Kill a Mockingbird</div>
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A lot has been said, surmised, and written about the scene in Harper Lee's classic novel in which old Tim Johnson, beloved neighborhood dog, is found to have gone "mad" (rabid) and is shot dead by Atticus Finch in front of his shocked children. Atticus, once hailed as the best shot in the entire county, is not a gun owner and has never handled a firearm in front of his family. Atticus Finch is a gentleman.</div>
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<i>Ahem. Well. </i>That is a discussion for another time and place. Here we will focus on the interesting and unexplained insistence in the novel that dogs do not, as a rule, "go mad" in the winter time.</div>
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Having grown up in cities with generally well-funded animal control departments, I have been fortunate enough to have never seen a rabid dog. I do know that rabies is passed from one infected dog, bat, or human to another through contact with bodily fluids, usually via bites. So when I read this scene in <i>Mockingbird </i>my first thought was: "What the hell does the season have to do with the presence of a rabid dog?"</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>My second thought was: "Oh my God! Is the notion that dogs only go mad in the heat of the summer the meaning behind the phrase <i>dog days of summer? </i>If so, is <i>To Kill a Mockingbird </i>the origin of that phrase?"</b></span></div>
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Short answers: sort of, and no. <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_days" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">According to Wikipedia</a>, the phrase originated way before Harper Lee was even born and had more to do with astronomy than anything else. But the sentiment behind the saying remains the same, generations later. From an 1813 poem:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5qzXBEv4o70/VbO201UygDI/AAAAAAAAAh4/xCFqJyguRlU/s1600/rabid-dogs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="219" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5qzXBEv4o70/VbO201UygDI/AAAAAAAAAh4/xCFqJyguRlU/s320/rabid-dogs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mad dogs just need to be loved.</td></tr>
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Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-2911745000691558152015-01-03T14:29:00.001-08:002015-01-03T14:29:08.087-08:00SEW THERE! Lesson One: Threading<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Before I embarked on this journey of sewing and self-discovery, I had never touched a sewing machine. Like, ever. </b><div>
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I could recognize a spool of thread, most of the time. At least, I could differentiate one from, say, a lava lamp.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qCeb2ViNRF0/VKhjagnRqCI/AAAAAAAAAgo/O4YUm9ZtYzA/s1600/spool%2Bof%2Bthread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qCeb2ViNRF0/VKhjagnRqCI/AAAAAAAAAgo/O4YUm9ZtYzA/s1600/spool%2Bof%2Bthread.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NOT a lava lamp.<br /><br /><br /></td></tr>
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So before I could begin any really cool projects <b>I had to figure out how to actually use my machine.</b></div>
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I have a Singer One machine. I've named her Dolores. She's pretty and responds well to gentle touches. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meet Dolores</td></tr>
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Dolores came with an instructional CD that probably would have been helpful, had it not been for the horrible sound quality of the recording. When I watched it, all I could hear was the background music. The person demonstrating the machine sounded like she was at least ten miles away and whispering into a wind.</div>
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So I searched YouTube and found a WEALTH of helpful instructional videos. One hour and two videos later, I had wound my first bobbin!!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eNiIOYiln8w/VKhmvl9CjBI/AAAAAAAAAg8/SUHvbyYARP8/s1600/bobbins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eNiIOYiln8w/VKhmvl9CjBI/AAAAAAAAAg8/SUHvbyYARP8/s1600/bobbins.jpg" height="287" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bobbins!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Check out the helpful videos:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/kmqJJ7H7M8I?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/eaEjvpwXrYA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<b>I watched the top video first, several times, while going through the motions on Dolores. </b>It's a good video, and the woman demonstrating the process is clear and patient, but there was something I just wasn't getting because I could never make the bobbin wind properly. Every time I tried, the thread wound around the metal shaft <i>beneath </i>the bobbin instead of on the bobbin itself.<br />
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<b>Then I watched the second video, and it all became clear. </b>The woman in the second video did everything the woman in the first video did, with <b><i>one imperative addition: </i>she made sure to state several times that you must thread the thread through the hole in the bobbin from the inside out NOT the outside in. </b>That's what I had been doing wrong!!<br />
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Maybe this is obvious to everyone else in the world, but it wasn't obvious to me. I watched the second video a couple of times before I successfully wound my first bobbin, and then I looked over the "Quick Start" guide that had come packed in with Dolores. The guide offered step-by-step, illustrated instructions on how to wind the bobbin and thread the needle. Now, armed with the knowledge that you must thread the thread through the hole in the bobbin from the inside out, it was clear that that was indeed what the guide's illustration indicated. When I looked at the same drawing <i>before </i>I knew that, however, I couldn't tell.<br />
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<b>This is why, <a href="http://literarygrrrl.blogspot.com/p/sew-there.html" target="_blank">in the preface to this blog series I've named Sew There!,</a> I mentioned that I'm not very good at following directions. </b>I'm just not.<br />
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I quit that night with one bobbin wound. I didn't want to push my luck. Threading the needle would have to wait until my second sit-down with Dolores.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0pPJIAXIFKs/VKhjdCdbHMI/AAAAAAAAAgw/N_jks3hVlcg/s1600/lava%2Blamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0pPJIAXIFKs/VKhjdCdbHMI/AAAAAAAAAgw/N_jks3hVlcg/s1600/lava%2Blamp.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NOT a spool of thread</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Stay tuned for Lesson Two and EVEN MORE sewing adventures! SEW THERE! will continue!!</i></b></span></div>
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Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-73181393271186108132014-12-27T15:00:00.000-08:002014-12-27T15:00:03.215-08:00My Top Ten Reads of 2014<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Welcome to my Second Annual Top Ten Reading List!</b></span><br />
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This just might be the least important Top Ten Reading List you'll come across this holiday season. Unlike others, my list isn't comprised only of books that came out in 2014, nor is it a Top Ten List of books by HOT NEW AUTHORS. Theses aren't books of Earth-shattering importance, and they're not books written by self-published authors who are on the rise.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>These are just books that I stumbled across this year, read, and fell in love with.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>That's all that I want out of my books. I won't tell you <i>how </i>to read or <i>who </i>to read, but I want to highlight these books because I think that you may enjoy them. Okay?</b></span><br />
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First things first: I read 29 total books this year. More than some of you may have read, and definitely less than a lot of you read. I read self-published books and traditionally published books, fiction and non-fiction. When it comes to my Top Ten List I only have one rule: any given author may only have <i style="font-weight: bold;">one </i>book on the list. To do otherwise just seems to me unfair. That limited how I could shape my list, however, as I discovered and fell WAY in love with three authors this year: Donald Westlake (I read three of his books), John Green (I read three of his books as well), and Nelson DeMille (I read a whopping SEVEN of his books this year).<br />
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So you can probably understand my rule now, huh?<br />
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<b>Here's your alert:</b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">SPOILERS AHEAD!!</span></b></div>
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<b><i>And away we go!!</i></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Number Ten: The Ghost of Blackwood Hall by Carolyn Keene</u></b></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K4kBLEqw7Ng/VJteMdTSPCI/AAAAAAAAAdk/GaFREIacfFo/s1600/ghost%2Bof%2Bblackwood%2Bhall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K4kBLEqw7Ng/VJteMdTSPCI/AAAAAAAAAdk/GaFREIacfFo/s1600/ghost%2Bof%2Bblackwood%2Bhall.jpg" /></a></div>
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If you've spent any time at all on this blog, then you already know of my affinity for the Nancy Drew Mystery stories. <a href="http://literarygrrrl.blogspot.com/2013/06/book-review-nancy-drew-mystery-stories.html" target="_blank">I've reviewed a few of them before.</a> The character of Nancy Drew was an early feminist icon for young girls and her stories are chock full of adventure and spine-tingling moments. I love them. Has it been a decade (or more) since you spent an afternoon with Nancy? Pick one of her books up again. I guarantee you won't regret it.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Number Nine: Beyond Hades by Luke Romyn</u></b></span></div>
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<b>Beyond Hades </b>is an action-packed thrill ride based on one crazy notion: Greek mythology is real and someone has opened the gates to Hades, unleashing monsters of unspeakable ferocity. Pardon my pun, but what in the HADES would we do in that situation?</div>
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Call in the military, an academic, and a time-traveling Aussie to save the planet. </div>
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Seriously. This book is just that crazy and just that fun. It also ends on kind of a cliffhanger, but don't worry: there's a part two.</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Hades-Prometheus-Wars-Book-ebook/dp/B007TS4JQW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1419468911&sr=1-1&keywords=beyond+hades" target="_blank">Beyond Hades is available for the Kindle. Buy here!</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Number Eight: 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup</u></b></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WDx5rZ1yTIg/VJthB_jew5I/AAAAAAAAAd8/lSmiqaei6CQ/s1600/12%2Byears%2Ba%2Bslave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WDx5rZ1yTIg/VJthB_jew5I/AAAAAAAAAd8/lSmiqaei6CQ/s1600/12%2Byears%2Ba%2Bslave.jpg" /></a></div>
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In the late 1800s an African American man named Solomon Northup wrote a harrowing memoir that raised a few Victorian eyebrows before it slowly faded from the limelight until it was made into a movie of the same name earlier this year. I heard of the movie and decided I would rather read the book.</div>
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If you are an American I urge you to read this memoir. It will change the way you think of our history. Yes, we all know our nation was built on the backs of slaves. Yes, we all know that a war was fought that ultimately resulted in the freeing of those slaves and the simultaneous creation of a category of second-class citizenship, the echoes of which are still felt today. We all know this. </div>
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<b>But the real, lived experience of an American slave is something most of us have the good fortune to know nothing about. And shame on us for that. If we as a nation are ever to be able to move on from the continuing impact of our bloody heritage, we all must be made to face the truth of it.</b></div>
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Solomon Northup was a Northerner who was born free. His father, a lifelong slave to a man with--at the time--progressive views on the subject, was freed in his master's will. Solomon was taught to read and write, to farm, some basic carpentry, and also learned to play several musical instruments. When he became a man he married his sweetheart and started a family. And then he was kidnapped and sold into slavery. And because of all of the laws that governed slaves and their movements, he couldn't just go to the police and explain that he was a free man. So he spent twelve long years toiling under the yoke before he finally managed to prove his status and return to his family.</div>
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This is a gut-wrenching tale. I challenge you to make it all the way through without shedding a tear.</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Twelve-Years-Slave-Solomon-Northup-ebook/dp/B00HO12CS6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1419469706&sr=1-1&keywords=12+years+a+slave" target="_blank">12 Years a Slave is available for the Kindle. Buy here!</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Number Seven: Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh</u></b></span></div>
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Hyperbole and a Half is a book that grew out of a blog of the same name. <a href="http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Check it out!</a> But even though I have a blog of my own I tend of walk around woefully unaware of what's happening on the interwebs, so I bought the book without knowing anything of its predecessor. <b>AND I FUCKING LOVED IT. </b>If you know the blog, you know what to expect from the book: lots of super colorful illustrations and soulful venting. Buy it. Read it. And laugh until you cry or piss your pants or both.</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hyperbole-Half-Unfortunate-Situations-Mechanisms-ebook/dp/B00BSB2AE4/ref=sr_1_1_ha?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1419470049&sr=1-1&keywords=hyperbole+and+a+half" target="_blank">Hyperbole and a Half is available for the Kindle. Buy here!</a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Number
Six: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky</b></u></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I
loved, loved, loved this book.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But
I have an embarrassing confession to make: I watched the movie first.
I know. That's completely backwards. You're always supposed to read
the book first. That way, while you're watching the movie, you can
fit together the pieces that don't make sense, and you'll know what
was left out. <a href="http://hmmadnessmovies.blogspot.com/2014/07/literarygrrrl-transcribes-perks-of.html?spref=bl" target="_blank">You
can read my review of the movie HERE.</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
Perks of Being a Wallflower has everything I love about YA books.
There's a protagonist who agonizes about not being "normal,"
fierce friendships that start in uncomfortable ways, and the roller
coaster ride of adolescent self-discovery. There's so much <i>Why
am I this way? Why are we this way? How can we make the world
better/happier/more peaceful/ more exciting?? </i>But it's never
too much. None of it is shoved down the reader's throat. In fact, the
manner in which Mr. Chbosky wrote the novel allows for the reader to
be made to feel uncomfortable in a <b>natural</b>,
almost <b>inevitable </b>way. Sort of like reliving
adolescence. It is a MASTERPIECE of storytelling.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Also,
the story is set in State College, Pennsylvania. I once lived there.
If you ever lived there, you will enjoy all the State College
references. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Perks-Being-Wallflower-Stephen-Chbosky-ebook/dp/B003TSEEDY/ref=sr_1_1_ha?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1419634198&sr=1-1&keywords=perks+of+being+a+wallflower" target="_blank">The
Perks of Being a Wallflower is available for the Kindle. Buy here!</a> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Number
Five: The Basic Eight by Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket</b></u></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fjk6EaatjOo/VJ3ldQbTZ9I/AAAAAAAAAeo/mjcgQFTOkKg/s1600/basic%2Beight.jpg"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="320" name="graphics6" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fjk6EaatjOo/VJ3ldQbTZ9I/AAAAAAAAAeo/mjcgQFTOkKg/s1600/basic%2Beight.jpg" width="208" /></a></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>For
the record, I didn't know Daniel Handler was Lemony Snicket when I
read this book. </b>Nothing against Lemony Snicket or his Series
of Unfortunate Events, but I picked up The Basic Eight because
it--and it alone--enticed me. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There's
not much I can say about this book without giving away crucial plot
points. I don't mind a spoiler or two in a review but these are Fight
Club level twists and I want you to have the same level of enjoyment
as I did when I read it. So I'll leave you with the Amazon blurb:</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">Flannery
Culp wants you to know the whole story of her spectacularly awful
senior year. Tyrants, perverts, tragic crushes, gossip, cruel jokes,
and the hallucinatory effects of absinthe -- Flannery and the seven
other friends in the Basic Eight have suffered through it all. But
now, on tabloid television, they're calling Flannery a murderer,
which is a total lie. It's true that high school can be so stressful
sometimes. And it's true that sometimes a girl just has</span></span></span><span style="background: #ffffff;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">to
kill someone. But Flannery wants you to know that she's not a
murderer at all -- she's a murderess.</span></span></span></b></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Basic-Eight-Daniel-Handler-ebook/dp/B000YMDQQE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1419634312&sr=1-1&keywords=the+basic+eight" target="_blank">The
Basic Eight is available for the Kindle. Buy here!</a> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Number
Four, Truth in Advertising by John Kenney</b></u></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zqa3XiEuIdU/VJ3oI5FkYkI/AAAAAAAAAe0/GG8i5uXSClo/s1600/truth%2Bin%2Badvertising.jpg"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="276" name="graphics7" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zqa3XiEuIdU/VJ3oI5FkYkI/AAAAAAAAAe0/GG8i5uXSClo/s1600/truth%2Bin%2Badvertising.jpg" width="183" /></a></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I
picked up Truth in Advertising at Half Price books. It was a pure
impulse buy. I knew nothing of John Kenney and the cover art didn't
tell me much about the story, but I had a feeling I would like it,
and I was right. Buying Truth in Advertising was a damned good rash
decision. Smart, funny, fresh, and almost unnervingly wise. I had so
many "A-ha!" moments while reading. I highly suggest this
read!</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Truth-Advertising-Novel-John-Kenney-ebook/dp/B007EE4NNK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1419634538&sr=1-1&keywords=truth+in+advertising" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Truth
in Advertising is available for the Kindle. Buy here! You could be
reading in minutes!</span></span></span></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Number
Three: Plum Island by Nelson DeMille</b></u></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jlCr7xLYAEc/VJ3uVUYXsEI/AAAAAAAAAfE/8YRFxGaxcME/s1600/plum%2Bisland.jpg"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="320" name="graphics8" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jlCr7xLYAEc/VJ3uVUYXsEI/AAAAAAAAAfE/8YRFxGaxcME/s1600/plum%2Bisland.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I
said in the introduction that I read seven books by Mr. Nelson
DeMille this year. When it came time to compile this Top Ten list I
knew that one of his books had to be included, but I wasn't entirely
sure which one it would be.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>I
did know one thing, though: whatever book I chose was going to be a
John Corey book. </b></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">John
Corey is a recurring character in Mr. DeMille's books. He's also my
favorite literary alpha male. <a href="http://literarygrrrl.blogspot.com/2014_11_01_archive.html" target="_blank">I
dedicated a whole blog post just to him. Check it out!</a> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Plum
Island is the very first in the series of books that feature Mr.
Corey. And it's awesome. Unlike other books on this list, Plum Island
isn't deep. There's no brooding, no angst, and no characters who
agonize about who they are <i>really. </i>You know <i>in
their souls. </i>Don't get me wrong. I love angsty characters.
But every so often, a strong, gruff, no-nonsense alpha male is what a
story (and I) need. You know, <i>deep down. </i>*wink*
*wink*. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ha
ha. Just kidding But seriously. This book is awesome.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Action.
Adventure. Sarcasm. Laughs. This is what you're in for when you read
Plum Island. So read it.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Plum-Island-John-Corey-Book-ebook/dp/B000FA5SMK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1419636934&sr=1-1&keywords=plum+island+by+nelson+demille" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Plum
Island is available for the Kindle. Buy here!</span></span></span></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Number
Two: The Cutie by Donald Westlake</b></u></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4tMlngagfiM/VJ4Gg6h-wTI/AAAAAAAAAgE/UgpNg2T4Id8/s1600/cutie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4tMlngagfiM/VJ4Gg6h-wTI/AAAAAAAAAgE/UgpNg2T4Id8/s1600/cutie.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
Cutie was the first book I ever bought solely because of its cover.
Also, with the 50 cent price tag it had at <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/recycled-reads-austin" target="_blank">Recycled
Reads Austin</a>, I knew there was no harm in trying it. The way I
figured it, I'd peruse a few pages to get a feel for the story, and
if it was no good, what had I lost? Fifty cents and a couple minutes
of my time. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>No
harm, no foul.</b></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I've
heard the name Donald Westlake before. And whenever I've heard it, it
was spoken with reverence. Donald Westlake is one of the Big-big
names in pulp fiction. However, The Cutie was my first foray into the
pulpy arts. I've long been intrigued by the <i>idea </i>of
pulp fiction, but never really prepared to take the plunge. I mean,
yes, I read genre fiction, but <i>pulp? </i>Come on, I have
a Master's degree.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nevertheless,
that cover intrigued me. And guess what? <b>IT WAS A FUCKING
LIE!! </b>That woman appears NOWHERE in the novel. And
she <b>isn't </b>the cutie referred to in the title!
Who <i>is </i>the aforementioned cutie? Well, you think you
know from the first chapter but the real identity of the cutie is one
of the many twisty twists of this book! </span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The
Cutie was so much fun to read. Donald Westlake has a really
hysterical way with words. Here's how chapter two starts, by way of
example:</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Outside
was the city, and it had halitosis. The air was hot and damp, and
breathing was a conscious matter.</b></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That
is just pure literary gold, pulp fiction style. Love it!</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cutie-Hard-Case-Crime-Book-ebook/dp/B005O0ZSDU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1419638847&sr=1-1&keywords=the+cutie" target="_blank">The
Cutie is available for the Kindle. Buy here!</a> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>And
now, without further ado, we have...</b></i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Number
One: Looking for Alaska by John Green</b></u></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-febsZmwQbzE/VJ4GsN0GDOI/AAAAAAAAAgM/JL5yxH2EGkA/s1600/looking%2Bfor%2Balaska.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-febsZmwQbzE/VJ4GsN0GDOI/AAAAAAAAAgM/JL5yxH2EGkA/s1600/looking%2Bfor%2Balaska.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u><b><br /></b></u></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">WARNING!
Throughout the year, I have become something of a fangirl for John
Green, and it all started with this book, Looking for Alaska, and the
titular character, Alaska Young. Here's what Shmoop <a href="http://www.shmoop.com/looking-for-alaska/alaska-young.html" target="_blank">said
about Alaska,</a> and here's what <a href="http://literarygrrrl.blogspot.com/2014/06/my-love-letter-to-troubled-heroines-of.html" target="_blank">I
said about Alaska, and about the other heroines of John Green
novels.</a> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Because,
for me, the real treasures in John Green novels are the heroines he
depicts. I discovered this when I read Looking for Alaska the first
time, and rediscovered it when I read it again a few months later.
(Yes I read this book twice this year. That is why it HAD to be
number one.) I found myself falling in love with Alaska right
alongside Miles, the main character. I could totally envision myself
falling just as hard for a similar girl had I met one when I was
Miles' age. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Looking
for Alaska is amazing. It's accessible for both teens and adults
without being either overly simple or obtuse or preachy. It's wise
and loving, and yes, angsty. But life is angsty, and sometimes we
want our art to mirror the struggle of life. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O3yqAyEfmqg/VJ4DoEbewmI/AAAAAAAAAfw/qYD91KxHBA8/s1600/smoke%2Balaska.jpg"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="165" name="graphics11" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O3yqAyEfmqg/VJ4DoEbewmI/AAAAAAAAAfw/qYD91KxHBA8/s1600/smoke%2Balaska.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YrN3_0WVSJ4/VJ4DwdfGffI/AAAAAAAAAf4/Oobywf2YlZU/s1600/rain%2Bhurricane.jpg"><img align="BOTTOM" border="0" height="640" name="graphics12" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YrN3_0WVSJ4/VJ4DwdfGffI/AAAAAAAAAf4/Oobywf2YlZU/s1600/rain%2Bhurricane.jpg" width="451" /></a></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Looking-Alaska-John-Green-ebook/dp/B000YI1K0C/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Looking
for Alaska is available for the Kindle. For the love of god, drop
everything and buy it!</span></span></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Sometimes you have to let a story die.)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>GASP!!!</i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
This is NOT the same as giving up. And it's NOT the same as expecting perfection with the first draft. I'm not telling you to stop writing. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T_hKeLm7EI4/VHlH-SuiVfI/AAAAAAAAAdU/QKw5FWCQFNA/s1600/trouble%2Bwriting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T_hKeLm7EI4/VHlH-SuiVfI/AAAAAAAAAdU/QKw5FWCQFNA/s1600/trouble%2Bwriting.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>The truth is, though, sometimes we as writers get in the way of our own stories. </b>Sometimes all we can see is our own expectations of what we think the story SHOULD BE rather than what it NEEDS TO BE. And sometimes the story we WANT to write isn't the story we NEED to write.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
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<b><i>FUCK what you want to write. Throw that shit away. Delete it. Burn it. Get quiet, banish your demons (or learn to dance with them), and MAKE ROOM FOR THE STORY YOU NEED TO WRITE.</i></b></div>
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And tell me about it! Does this sound familiar to you? Have you ever wrestled with the stories in your head? Leave me a comment here and tell me about it! <a href="https://twitter.com/Literarygrrrl" target="_blank">Or follow me on twitter and talk to me there. That's where I live anyway.</a></div>
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Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-21683256227443722322014-11-29T15:00:00.000-08:002014-11-29T15:00:03.400-08:00John Corey: Two-Thirds Cop, One-Third HeartthrobJohn Corey is a book character created by best-selling author Nelson DeMille. He stars in a series of books that begin with Plum Island and end with I'm not sure what, because I haven't gotten there yet. Hopefully they'll never end. Hopefully Nelson DeMille will write John Corey novels until he dies.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7_DS7p9qBw0/VHk8GAuN6TI/AAAAAAAAAcY/f3if4-hJbH4/s1600/plum%2Bisland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7_DS7p9qBw0/VHk8GAuN6TI/AAAAAAAAAcY/f3if4-hJbH4/s1600/plum%2Bisland.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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John Corey is a retired NYC cop. He retired only reluctantly, after being gunned down in the street by a couple of toughs. He receives three-quarters disability pay but isn't ready to roll over yet, so is working a second career with the Anti-Terrorist Task Force. The ATTF is comprised of agents from both the FBI and CIA as well as contract agents from the NYPD, some retired, some not. The idea of the ATTF is cooperation and information sharing, although Corey will be the first to tell you that that doesn't always work in practice. Even his wife, FBI agent Kate Mayfield, has a higher security clearance and a broader "need-to-know" than he does.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fyhi_EZKz0M/VHk83ekyiuI/AAAAAAAAAcg/Jln0UMLtusg/s1600/lion's%2Bgame.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fyhi_EZKz0M/VHk83ekyiuI/AAAAAAAAAcg/Jln0UMLtusg/s1600/lion's%2Bgame.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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John Corey isn't a hot young stud. He's middle-aged and cynical and sarcastic and more than a little misogynistic. When he meets a woman, he's more likely to notice her cup size than her intellect. But he's not interested in bombshell airheads. The women who turn him on are the ones who can match his quick wit.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OwZMPRFu3M0/VHk-VC1QnFI/AAAAAAAAAcs/YP6s9P435kI/s1600/night_fall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OwZMPRFu3M0/VHk-VC1QnFI/AAAAAAAAAcs/YP6s9P435kI/s1600/night_fall.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Here's a sampling of John Corey-isms:</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">“Sometimes shit happens even if you have a shit shield” </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">“…made me promise to cut down on the drinking and swearing, which I have. Unfortunately, this has left me dim-witted and nearly speechless.” </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">― </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1238.Nelson_DeMille" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">Nelson DeMille</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">, </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/7521142" style="color: #666600; text-decoration: none;">The Lion</a></i></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">“Women need a reason to have sex; men need only a place.” </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">― </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1238.Nelson_DeMille" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">Nelson DeMille</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">, </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2834249" style="color: #666600; text-decoration: none;">Wild Fire</a></i></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">“Kate had never been married, so she had no way of knowing if I was a normal husband. This has been good for our marriage.” </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">― </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1238.Nelson_DeMille" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">Nelson DeMille</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">, </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/7521142" style="color: #666600; text-decoration: none;">The Lion</a></i><div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">“The air was so thick with testosterone that the wallpaper was getting soggy.” </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">― </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1238.Nelson_DeMille" style="background-color: white; color: #666600; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">Nelson DeMille</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">, </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2309" style="color: #666600; text-decoration: none;">Plum Island</a></i></div>
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I love how Nelson DeMille doesn't give the reader too much information about John Corey's appearance. He tells us that he's middle-aged and physically fit, but that's really about it. We get far more of a feel for how John Corey thinks and speaks, which in the long run tells us more about what sort of person he is. I like to think of Corey as sort of a John McClane character: tough and foul-mouthed and world-weary. In the end, though, I think John Corey has more hope for the future. But maybe that's because he has a smart, take-no-shit wife beside him.</div>
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All that matters to me is that John Corey is the literary alpha male that has made me realize I can love literary alpha males. What sort of male characters do YOU like to read? Have you read any of DeMille's John Corey books? Let me know! Leave a comment here or <a href="https://twitter.com/Literarygrrrl" target="_blank">catch me on twitter. It's where I spend most of my time anyway.</a> </div>
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Check out <a href="http://www.nelsondemille.net/content/index.asp" target="_blank">Nelson DeMille's official website.</a> </div>
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Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-81545357021037968532014-09-28T13:00:00.000-07:002014-09-28T13:00:01.577-07:00THE ROAD TO NOWHERE: The Story Begins Here...<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">PRE-ORDER BEGINS TODAY, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN AND READERS OF ALL AGES!!</span><br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">The Road to Nowhere launches October 15 <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NY5WE16" target="_blank">for the Amazon Kindle</a> </b><span style="font-size: large;">but if you're smart and click my link before then you can pre-order this groundbreaking Young Adult novel for just $2.99!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NY5WE16" target="_blank">Click my link! Pre-order today!</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: red;">But what if you don't have a Kindle?? NO WORRIES. Anyone can read a Kindle book, on ANY device, with the FREE Kindle app. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NY5WE16" target="_blank">This link will explain how.</a></b></span></div>
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<b style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"> </b><span style="font-size: large;">(Hint: look at the right side of the page, just under the pre-order button.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Road to Nowhere is about hope, and I DO sincerely hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.</b></span></div>
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Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-35080017533064015452014-09-26T10:48:00.001-07:002014-09-26T10:48:40.897-07:00Adventures in Self-Publishing! <span style="font-size: large;"><b>That giddy feeling you get when click "publish" on the Kindle Direct Publishing page...</b></span><br />
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<b>...Followed by hours of impatient checking and rechecking to see if your book is live yet. </b><br />
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Goddammit Amazon! You make it so easy and yet! And yet!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Available VERY SOON to pre-order for your kindle:</b></span></div>
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Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-36782716605415371972014-09-06T17:38:00.001-07:002014-09-06T17:38:05.617-07:00Adventures in Self-Marketing, Planning a Book Launch, and Keeping the Whiskey at Hand<span style="font-size: large;"><b>So you know that I've decided to continue with my Adventure in Self-Publishing, which I dove into way back in January of 2011 with an ambitious short thriller <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Twelve-Terrifying-Tales-2011-ebook/dp/B004J8HVWE/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1410049612&sr=1-3&keywords=shana+hammaker" target="_blank">called Charlie, the first in a year-long series.</a> </b></span><br />
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I'm pleased with my decision. Self-publishing is NOT what it used to be. It's mostly lost it's stigma. Once upon a time it was an expensive exercise in vanity. Today it's about creative control and expedience. And, increasingly, self-publishing is the way to make the most money.<br />
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But self-publishing also means that I'm COMPLETELY in control of my own fate. Completely. <b>It's all about me and my own efforts. </b>No one else is gonna toot my book's horn. And man, can it be exhausting! But I believe in my book, <a href="http://theroadtonowherebook.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Road to Nowhere</a>. I'm not shy. I'll tell ya all about it, in my continuing blog series Adventures in Self Publishing!<br />
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<b>But sometimes it drives me to drink. So I keep the Whiskey handy. </b><br />
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Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-18004934644283986932014-08-15T07:22:00.001-07:002014-08-15T07:22:48.179-07:00Adventures in Self Publishing!<b>I don't like to follow the rules.</b><div>
<b>I don't like to do something just because it's convention, or because someone older and wiser than me says I should.</b></div>
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<b>I'm kinda stupid that way.</b></div>
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All my life--well, at least since I figured out that books are things that people write--I've wanted to write books. And all my life I've been waiting for permission to do so. </div>
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<b>But I don't need anybody's fucking permission. I've just rediscovered that. So I'm going to stick with self-publishing. </b></div>
Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-29558697142747347672014-07-28T18:30:00.000-07:002014-07-28T18:30:00.855-07:00Adventures in Fiction Writing! Part Ten: Querying Your Frickin' Heart Out<b><span style="font-size: large;">You read my pathetic attempt at a first draft for my Query. </span>And you didn't laugh TOO hard, which I totally appreciate. </b>I wish that was all I had to do, but unfortunately it's not. That was just the beginning. Now I have to trim it down and tighten it up. And I'm going to share that process with you! (Feeling lucky?)<br />
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<b>Edits in red. Text that is strike-through indicates I'm considering removing it.</b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Here goes: </b></span><br />
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<b><u>Second Draft</u></b></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">All hope is never lost. Not even in Nowhere. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><span style="color: red;">Good line. That stays. </span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">Cerulean and Amarillo Saffron are sisters separated by guilt, regret, and a secret the Ardor Laboratory Corporation will go to any lengths to protect. Only hope can reunite them and save the Lost Children of Nowhere. Amarillo hasn't seen her baby sister since the day she disappeared from their family home nine years ago. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><span style="color: red;"><strike>The older sister is plagued by guilt: if she hadn't left home, if she hadn't sought an exciting life in Somewhere, maybe she could have saved Cerulean.</strike></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"> A chance assignment given to her by her boss, Mayor Naples Orange of Somewhere, proves to Amarillo that there was nothing she could have done all those years ago to protect Cerulean. It also gives the spunky young woman something else she sorely needs--hope that it is still possible to save her sister, and all the other Lost Children who are trapped in the neighboring city of Nowhere.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><span style="color: red;"><strike>All Amarillo has to do is find a way to get inside Nowhere </strike>Rewrite! </span>To save the Lost Children, Amarillo has to get inside Nowhere.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"> That is no small feat. No one in Somewhere can remember anyone ever being able to get in or out of their sister city, except maybe Nowhere's mayor, the boogeyman Mayor Blue. But Amarillo knows she can do it, even if she has to do it alone. Mayor Orange is busy with his pet road project, the Roy G. Biv highway that will connect Somewhere and Nowhere and hopefully spur economic growth. Also there is the issue of the continued hope theft from the emotion recycling plant. At first Amarillo thinks she may be able to turn to Deputy Mayor Scarlet for help, but when she spots him inside Nowhere--on the other side of the seemingly impenetrable force field that seals that city off from the rest of the world--with an armload of stolen emotion actuators, she knows he is up to no good.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">What is Somewhere's deputy mayor doing? Maybe it has something to do with The Outlawz, the elusive gang of saboteurs who have been attacking the road construction from the very beginning. Both Mayor Orange and the </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">Somewhere Times </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">have surmised that The Outlawz are probably a youth gang comprised of Lost Children. No one has any suggestions about what the saboteurs' motives might be, but when Amarillo sees Deputy Scarlet inside Nowhere with the pilfered hope, she gets an idea.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">The more Amarillo digs into the problem of the Lost Children, the more she realizes it's not just a Nowhere issue. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><span style="color: red;"><strike>It's a Somewhere issue</strike></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">. The histories of Nowhere and Somewhere are inextricably connected, and they are tied to the secret that the Ardor Labs Corporation--the largest employer in Somewhere and the biggest supporter of the Roy G. Biv highway--will do anything to keep buried. Amarillo finds an ally in </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">Somewhere Times </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">reporter Fern Viridian, and together, they--along with Mayor Orange--fight to unravel that secret and free the Lost Children.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">What Amarillo doesn't know is that the Lost Children have not been sitting passively by, waiting to be rescued. Led by her intrepid little sister Cerulean and former Outlawz members Azure and Denim, they have been fighting: against the other Outlawz, against Deputy Mayor Scarlet, and even against the evil Mayor Blue. When the battle finally unites the forces from Somewhere and the forces from Nowhere, they are ready to stand together and vanquish their foes with their strength and their hope restored.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">ROAD TO NOWHERE, a young adult urban fantasy novel, is complete at just over 77,000 words.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><b>Well...it's a start? I'm submitting this slightly-revised second draft to <a href="http://writerwriterpantsonfire.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Saturday Slash query critique</a> because I really super-duper need help in knowing how to trim this sucker down.</b></span><br />
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Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-80280613113488714732014-07-26T11:21:00.000-07:002014-07-26T11:22:53.555-07:00Don't Diss the DREW! What Nancy Drew Did Right<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">What this post IS: </span>A countdown of the Top Five things that the original Nancy Drew series did WELL in relation to presenting a woman-centered book series aimed at a young female audience.</b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">What this post ISN'T: </span>A space to air our (well-founded) grievances about the numerous ways in which the series fell short of its goal. Because we all know it did. We all know that the Nancy Drew mysteries were, in many ways, cheesy and paternalistic and sometimes surprisingly racist. But I don't want to get caught up in that, because to do so would be to ignore the HUGELY positive impact this book series and this feminist icon has had on generations of women. Besides, I intend to write up that post another day.</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">This summer </span>I've made it a point to dive back into my large and growing collection of Nancy Drew mysteries. I have now acquired nearly ALL of the Yellow Cover hardbacks. Alas I've only found a couple of the original-original editions. I've also started to slowly gather some of the later, revamped Nancy Drew mysteries.<br />
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<b><u>Titles I've Read This Summer</u></b></div>
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<u>Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys Super Mystery: Terror on Tour*</u></div>
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<u>The Ghost of Blackwood Hall</u></div>
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<u>False Notes*</u></div>
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I'm nearly finished reading <u>The Moonstone Castle Mystery</u></div>
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Next I'll read <u>The Hidden Window Mystery</u></div>
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*Denotes a book from the later, revamped and modernized series of books.<br />
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I love Nancy Drew. Here are five reasons why.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>What Nancy Drew Did Right</b></span></div>
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<b>(5) Nancy knew how to prioritize. </b>When Nancy worked a mystery she always stayed on top of it, and she never let her guard down. Yes, she was an amateur sleuth but she didn't behave like an amateur. On the other hand, she also didn't let the case completely overtake her life. Unlike many of her modern-day mystery-solving counterparts--I'm looking at you, Adrian Monk--Nancy Drew knew when it was time to take the afternoon or the evening off for a bit of relaxation. If Ned and his friends threw a soiree at their frat house, Nancy, Bess and George would never turn down their invitation. And frequently the change in scenery helped clear Nancy's head enough to allow her to see the mystery from a new angle.</div>
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<b>(4) Nancy was always prepared. </b>The Boy Scouts ain't got shit on Nancy Drew. Wherever her mysteries took the sleuth, Nancy always correctly predicted what tools she would need, and she never failed to bring them. In <u>The Moonstone Castle Mystery, </u>Ned joked that it was because of his girlfriend Nancy that he always carried a flashlight on him. Because you just never know when you'll need it.</div>
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<b>(3) Nancy worked WITH the authorities, not AGAINST them. </b>Again, I realize that Nancy Drew was just an <i>amateur </i>detective, but unlike many of her contemporaries in fiction and on TV, she never squared off against the local police or engaged in any type of one-ups-manship. Nancy's aim was always to get to the bottom of the mystery and bring whatever baddie she was chasing to justice, and whenever it seemed the best course of action was to either enlist the aid of the authorities or to turn a portion of the case over to them, she did just that. Nancy didn't have a fragile ego. It didn't hurt her to ask for help.<br />
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<b>(2) Nancy was a consummate professional. </b>Nancy was the picture of poise. She could handle herself in nearly any setting, and with nearly any adversary. She was polished, articulate, and tactful--but she was also firm and resolute. Nancy knew how to ask questions to get answers. BUT! She also knew when to shut up, and when to walk away. She was equally at home querying elderly spinsters, road-hardened thugs, and bank presidents.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>AND! The NUMBER ONE thing Nancy Drew did right...</b></span><br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">(1) Nancy Drew never sent a man to do a woman's job. </b>Probably the thing that kept (and keeps) generations of young girls reading Nancy Drew is that, while she was grateful to have a well-connected father and a strong, understanding boyfriend, Nancy Drew was no wilting daisy. She recruited Carson Drew and Ned to help when she needed it, because she wasn't stupid, but she never ever ever felt the need to turn the dangerous jobs over to the men, even when her cousin Bess asked her to. Nancy was strong, fearless, and responsible. When she took on a mystery SHE meant to solve it. Herself. Whatever her detractors might say, <b>Nancy Drew was a feminist.</b><br />
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I've reviewed a couple of Nancy Drew titles in more depth. You can read about them <a href="http://literarygrrrl.blogspot.com/2013/08/book-review-nancy-drew-mystery-stories.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://literarygrrrl.blogspot.com/2013/06/book-review-nancy-drew-mystery-stories.html" target="_blank">here.</a> </div>
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Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-80807334728362889032014-07-13T11:26:00.001-07:002014-07-13T11:26:28.911-07:00Adventures in Fiction Writing! Part Nine: Query Writing the Hard Way<b style="font-size: x-large;">I was going to subtitle this post Query Writing for Dummies, </b>because I'm a dummy and I'm embarking on the first draft of the query letter for my MS (that's manuscript for you non-writing types), but I was afraid that y'all would assume that I'm calling YOU dummies. Then I got all flustered and turned around and was all: <i>what am I going to call this post, then? </i>And I chased those anxieties down the rabbit hole for a bit. Eventually I made it out and remembered what I'm supposed to be doing here:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Writing the goddamned first draft of my goddamned query letter.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>So let's get the fuck on with it!</b></span><br />
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The very best piece of advice I ever received concerning query writing comes from a query-writing help book my amazing and super supportive boyfriend Brandon bought me. It's called Make it Catchy: The Quintessential Guide to Writing Query Letters by Marta Acosta. It's available as an ebook and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Make-Catchy-Quintessential-Writing-Letters-ebook/dp/B00DJIFEFG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1405267696&sr=1-1&keywords=make+it+catchy" target="_blank">you can buy it here.</a><br />
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Acosta says:<br />
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<b><i>I suggest that you write a first draft without worrying about the word count. Then revise your letter to make it as tight and as intriguing as possible.</i></b></div>
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If you're like me, you read that line and breathed a sigh of relief. Because I've been pretty much paralyzed by the thought of having to summarize my book in a catchy, unique way--while following all the rules of convention and without getting TOO unique--all in 750 words or less. But I think I can give it a pretty good go without being shackled by the word count.<br />
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<b>Here it is, in all its lengthy glory:</b></div>
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<b><u>Query Letter: First Draft</u></b></div>
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All hope is never lost. Not even in Nowhere.<br />
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Cerulean and Amarillo Saffron are sisters separated by guilt, regret, and a secret the Ardor Laboratory Corporation will go to any lengths to protect. Only hope can reunite them and save the Lost Children of Nowhere. Amarillo hasn't seen her baby sister since the day she disappeared from their family home nine years ago. The older sister is plagued by guilt: if she hadn't left home, if she hadn't sought an exciting life in Somewhere, maybe she could have saved Cerulean. A chance assignment given to her by her boss, Mayor Naples Orange of Somewhere, proves to Amarillo that there was nothing she could have done all those years ago to protect Cerulean. It also gives the spunky young woman something else she sorely needs--hope that it is still possible to save her sister, and all the other Lost Children who are trapped in the neighboring city of Nowhere.<br />
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All Amarillo has to do is find a way to get inside Nowhere, which is no small feat as no one in Somewhere can remember anyone ever being able to get in or out of their sister city, except maybe Nowhere's mayor, the boogeyman Mayor Blue. But Amarillo knows she can do it, even if she has to do it alone. Mayor Orange is busy with his pet road project, the Roy G. Biv highway that will connect Somewhere and Nowhere and hopefully spur economic growth. Also there is the issue of the continued hope theft from the emotion recycling plant. At first Amarillo thinks she may be able to turn to Deputy Mayor Scarlet for help, but when she spots him inside Nowhere--on the other side of the seemingly impenetrable force field that seals that city off from the rest of the world--with an armload of stolen emotion actuators, she knows he is up to no good.<br />
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But what, exactly, is Somewhere's deputy mayor doing? Maybe it has something to do with The Outlawz, the elusive gang of saboteurs who have been attacking the road construction from the very beginning. Both Mayor Orange and the <i>Somewhere Times </i>have surmised that The Outlawz are probably a youth gang comprised of Lost Children. No one has any suggestions about what the saboteurs' motives might be, but when Amarillo sees Deputy Scarlet inside Nowhere with the pilfered hope, she gets an idea.<br />
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The more Amarillo digs into the problem of the Lost Children, the more she realizes it's not just a Nowhere issue. It's a Somewhere issue. The histories of Nowhere and Somewhere are inextricably connected, and they are tied to the secret that the Ardor Labs Corporation--the largest employer in Somewhere and the biggest supporter of the Roy G. Biv highway--will do anything to keep buried. Amarillo finds an ally in <i>Somewhere Times </i>reporter Fern Viridian, and together, they--along with Mayor Orange--fight to unravel that secret and free the Lost Children.<br />
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What Amarillo doesn't know is that the Lost Children have not been sitting passively by, waiting to be rescued. Led by her intrepid little sister Cerulean and former Outlawz members Azure and Denim, they have been fighting: against the other Outlawz, against Deputy Mayor Scarlet, and even against the evil Mayor Blue. When the battle finally unites the forces from Somewhere and the forces from Nowhere, they are ready to stand together and vanquish their foes with their strength and their hope restored.<br />
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ROAD TO NOWHERE, a young adult urban fantasy novel, is complete at just over 77,000 words.<br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">This is obviously waaaaaay too long. </b>Also, it's very rough. But it's a start. <b>Now I NEED your help. </b>I am completely out of my element with this query writing business. I've read helpful books and helpful blogs on the subject, but what I really need is feedback. PLEASE LEAVE ME COMMENTS. Tell me, if anything, in this first draft works, and what doesn't. What should I cut? Should I add anything?<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>HELP ME!!</b></span></div>
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<br />Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-29414010556347050832014-07-10T14:06:00.000-07:002014-07-10T14:06:21.934-07:00Once Upon Another Lifetime...<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Let me tell you a story...</b></span><br />
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This story begins eighteen years ago. It was 1996, 2 years after I graduated from the streets. I was a new mom. My daughter Meredith was just three or four months old. Her dad and I were young--I was 20 and he was 22--and we were poor and had no idea what we were doing. And we'd just moved back in with his parents. I had half an inkling that maybe I should get my GED, because high-school drop-outs accomplish nothing. Of course I had no idea what I might want to accomplish. Just...something. Anything more than nothing.<br />
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1996: the year Alanis Morissette showed the world that she doesn't know the meaning of the word "ironic."<br />
1996: the year all of America was doing the Macarena.<br />
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<b>1996: the year my dreams started.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>I had my first dream on a week night. Back then me and Meredith's dad didn't sleep in a bed. I mean, we <i>had </i>a bed but we didn't use it. One of us had read something somewhere about how sleeping on a hard surface is better for you or something so every night we laid blankets and sheets down on the carpet in front of the couch and slept there. Merely thinking about this makes my 38-year-old bones ache, but we were young and it really did seem to help my sore post-childbirth muscles.<br />
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(My ex's parent's bedroom was right beneath ours. His mom used to complain that she could hear me snoring through the floor.)<br />
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I was exhausted when I went to bed that night because I was exhausted twenty-four-hours-a-day back then because I was the mom of an infant who seemed to be incapable of sleeping more than two hours in a row. So, as was normal for me at the time, I fell into REM sleep almost immediately after I closed my eyes. Then: <b style="font-size: x-large;">BOOM! </b>The dream started.<br />
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<b><u>The Dream</u></b></div>
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I'm going to spend some time describing THE DREAM to you now, because I'm going to be referring to it for the entirety of this story, and I want you to have a clear picture of it in your head. </div>
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I was in a large old-fashioned house. It was a four-story rectangular building. In the middle of the structure there was a large open space filled with ornate Victorian furniture and so many trees, flowers, and potted plants that it gave you the illusion of being outside. The open space stretched up all the way to the roof. Each of the floors wrapped around it, so that if you were standing in the middle of the first floor and looking up, you would see three nearly identical floors above you bordered by an intricate railing that looked to be wrought iron. I couldn't see the ceiling in my dream, but I imagined there to be a skylight or something like it up there because of the large amount of sunlight that shone down. </div>
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There were many, many bedrooms in this old house. They lined the walls that wrapped around the open space on each of the four floors. I had a sense that there was more--perhaps a lot more--to the house than that, even, but I didn't stray far from the middle of the house in that first dream, and rarely did in the years that followed. </div>
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I need to stress that in all my dreams before this one--before THE DREAM--I almost never dreamed in full color. It's not that I dreamed in black and white, but colors in my dreams tend to be muted and the images are sort of fuzzy. In my dreams it's as if I'm looking at the world with my glasses off while half-asleep and also hungover. </div>
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THE DREAM, however, was in full-on technicolor. Dreaming THE DREAM was like being Dorothy and making the transition from black-and-white Kansas to beautiful, gorgeous, colorful, acid-induced Oz. I saw every pink and red and yellow flower. I made out the gold accents in the wallpaper. I could practically see my reflection in the polished wood desks and tables that seemed to be everywhere. The sheer beauty of the place was overwhelming. </div>
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My ex was with me in the house. I seemed to be showing him around, sort of like a tour guide. I took him to a bedroom that was on (I think) the first floor. There was a canopy bed inside. I did something to the wall and it opened up, revealing a darkened passage. </div>
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"This is the secret passage," I said.</div>
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Then I was filled with the purest terror and the strongest sense of deja vu that I had ever felt in my entire life. I woke drenched in sweat. My heart was racing and I was out of breath. It took me hours to get back to sleep, but I never fully got over the emotion of that dream.</div>
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Over the next few days I told everyone about THE DREAM. I told my ex and my coworkers, my sisters and even my mom (she and I were on speaking terms then). And when I told everyone about THE DREAM, I prefaced the story by asking them if I had ever said anything to them before about having lived in a house with a secret passage. </div>
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Now let me say something before you get all judgemental and call me nuts and ask how could anyone ever have lived in a large old-fashioned house <i>with a secret passage </i>and then forget about it? Because that's not normal, right? But you have to know something about me: I'm not normal. </div>
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I've lived in a ridiculous number of places with a ridiculous number of people. When I had THE DREAM for the first time, me and my ex and our daughter were living in Ohio. Before then, he and I briefly lived in Pennsylvania, and before then I lived in California. Thats where I was born and raised. I was born in Azusa (that's in LA County), but moved twice before I started kindergarten. I went to 9 schools before I started high school, and then I attended upwards of 20 more before I finally dropped out in my senior year. I've had more foster parents and siblings than I can name. I've lived in apartments, group homes, foster homes, institutions, and under bridges. So if there's anybody on this planet who is capable of having lived in a four-story victorian mansion with a secret passage and then forgotten about it, it's me. </div>
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Part of me didn't really believe I could have lived in that house in real life, but another part of me insisted on thinking it was entirely possible. Why? <i>Because that sense of deja vu was just so strong. </i>I had been there! I had to have been. But no one I talked to had ever heard of any place like it, and all of them said that I had never mentioned it before. So if I hadn't been there in this life, did that mean I'd been there in a different life?</div>
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But that's just stupid. Right?</div>
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<b><u>After The Dream</u></b></div>
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Here's the kicker: it didn't end there. I kept having THE DREAM, and dreams like it, for the next several years. At first they came frequently, like, 2 to 3 times per week. Then, over a period of six to eight months, they slowed. I had THE DREAM a few times per month. Then they slowed even more, to just a handful of times per year. Then, inexplicably, they stopped. The dreams were never identical, but there was definitely a pattern. I woke in the middle of either the first or second floor. If I was on the first floor I was in the middle of the open space. If I was on the second floor, I was on the balcony overlooking it. And I was never alone. There was always one other person with me that I knew in my waking life and I was always showing him/her around. And we always wound up at one or the other opening to the secret passage. Then came the terror, and then I woke up. </div>
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At first, when the dreams were still happening with astonishing frequency, I became sort of obsessed with them and with the house itself. Where was that house? Why did I keep dreaming about it? Why did I feel like I knew it--I mean <i>knew it</i>, the way a drunk knows his favorite beer or a new mom knows her baby's giggles? What was the secret passage about? And why did I get so scared whenever I was near it? Was THE DREAM a memory of a past life? Had I lived there? Had I died there?</div>
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Eventually, however, THE DREAM stopped dominating my waking thoughts. If I had had something to go on, some tiny piece of evidence or some fact that I could build on, then undoubtedly I would have kept it up. But all I had was THE DREAM, and the terror that accompanied it. There was no research to be done. And then the dreams just stopped coming, and life went on. I did get my GED. Me, my ex and our daughter moved to Tennessee. I earned an associates degree, then a bachelor's degree, then a master's. I left my ex. I met Brandon. Meredith and I moved to Austin.</div>
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Then, this summer, Brandon and I decided to take a little weekend getaway. We didn't want to do anything major because we didn't have a lot of time or money. Basically, we wanted to be alone and away from work and life stress for a few days. We decided on San Antonio. It's close and although I've lived in Austin for nearly 2 years now, I had never seen the Alamo or the river walk. I even found a haunted hotel to stay in that was in our budget and located right in the middle of everything we wanted to see: the famous Menger Hotel! We were so excited. Especially me. I told everyone I work with that if we didn't see any ghosts I'd just make up some stories to tell them. </div>
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<b><u>Weekend Getaway in Haunted San Antonio</u></b></div>
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Brandon and I planned our weekend getaway for the Fourth of July weekend. Who doesn't want hot, crowded, drunken fun? We arrived at the Menger Hotel, put our stuff away, then set out for a little look-see. We were staying in room 2085, on the second--and, as it turns out, most haunted--floor, right down the hallway from the infamous King Ranch Suite. Richard King, the famous Texas cattle baron, died in the bed they still keep in that suite. They say he haunts it to this day.<br />
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The King Ranch Suite is also right off the mezzanine: the balcony area on the second floor that overlooks the hotel's old Victorian lobby. The Menger Hotel has two lobbies, or really just one large lobby. The area that is referred to as the old Victorian lobby no longer functions as a lobby. It's just a beautiful open area that feeds into the part of the hotel that now serves as the hotel lobby. The ceiling of the Victorian lobby is a gorgeous skylight. Here are a couple of my pictures:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A7oQVNL9ShQ/U77om5SO5PI/AAAAAAAAAUc/vbZcrFDGeF0/s1600/balcony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A7oQVNL9ShQ/U77om5SO5PI/AAAAAAAAAUc/vbZcrFDGeF0/s1600/balcony.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F7nLK8Gi2PA/U77ouaRjGSI/AAAAAAAAAUk/n14INWt8uJk/s1600/second+floor+balcony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F7nLK8Gi2PA/U77ouaRjGSI/AAAAAAAAAUk/n14INWt8uJk/s1600/second+floor+balcony.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3suvGgiePRM/U77ozv58y8I/AAAAAAAAAUs/FZu1LkaNBFI/s1600/skylight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3suvGgiePRM/U77ozv58y8I/AAAAAAAAAUs/FZu1LkaNBFI/s1600/skylight.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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As you can see from these pictures, the Menger Hotel still retains much of its Victorian splendor. Most of the furniture in the common areas is original or refurbished. Everything: from the wallpaper, to the paintings and photographs on the walls to the carpeting and the drapes and the columns is traditional. You feel like you stepped back in time. </div>
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The second we came upon the old Victorian lobby I felt dizzy. I didn't think anything of it, except that I was excited and looking for a dangerous thrill. Then we saw a framed photo on the wall taken from the mezzanine before a series of large structural improvements were made to the hotel around the turn of the century.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hPqvXNjeaVg/U77p9nG93UI/AAAAAAAAAU4/-Ck0kqQzKZs/s1600/old+school+balcony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hPqvXNjeaVg/U77p9nG93UI/AAAAAAAAAU4/-Ck0kqQzKZs/s1600/old+school+balcony.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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I saw that and my knees buckled. I said "Oh, my God," and stumbled over to a love seat. Brandon asked "Are you all right?" And I nodded but I just kept mumbling "Oh, my God," over and over again. Because suddenly I <i>knew. </i>It has been a good seven years since the last time that I had THE DREAM, and at least half that time since I last thought about it, but standing on that mezzanine, looking at that photograph, <i>I knew. </i></div>
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THE DREAM had never been about a house. It had been about The Menger Hotel. The Menger Hotel was the setting of my dream. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J0uREf4kV48/U77yBSsNhQI/AAAAAAAAAVY/pAIG4W9n2GM/s1600/menger+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J0uREf4kV48/U77yBSsNhQI/AAAAAAAAAVY/pAIG4W9n2GM/s1600/menger+front.jpg" height="288" width="320" /></a></div>
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(Here's another old-time photograph of the balcony. I found this one online.)</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E-B_K3vBh0E/U77rTKbmwAI/AAAAAAAAAVI/pwBDAqIpCv4/s1600/Menger-Hotel-Balcony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E-B_K3vBh0E/U77rTKbmwAI/AAAAAAAAAVI/pwBDAqIpCv4/s1600/Menger-Hotel-Balcony.jpg" height="320" width="251" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Get your laughs out of the way now.</b></span></div>
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I know this sounds crazy. If I were in your shoes, dear reader, I would likely be laughing too. Why in the hell should you believe me? It makes way more sense to take the perspective that my daughter Meredith has taken. At nearly 18, and a self-professed cynic, she believes that what really happened is I checked into the Menger Hotel expecting to have some sort of paranormal experience, and that this is the experience that I got. </div>
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I love Meredith, but that's just a bunch of skeptical nonsense. I checked into the Menger Hotel hoping to see some ghosts, but not expecting to see or experience anything other than a cool weekend getaway. I <i>expected </i>to toast Teddy Roosevelt in the Menger Bar, where he recruited his famous Rough Riders (and I did).</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ea9LySw6kP8/U77zhS_L89I/AAAAAAAAAVk/TujIbCYp7sc/s1600/MengerBarInterior-600x340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ea9LySw6kP8/U77zhS_L89I/AAAAAAAAAVk/TujIbCYp7sc/s1600/MengerBarInterior-600x340.jpg" height="181" width="320" /></a></div>
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I <i>expected </i>to feel a delightful fluttering in my chest during our ghost tour (and I did).</div>
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I <i>hoped </i>to hear unaccounted-for footsteps or to feel a sudden chill in a darkened hallway. I <i>hoped </i>to see the ghost of Sallie White carrying clean bedsheets in the hall in the middle of the night. But I didn't hope or expect to find a connection between this historic hotel and a recurring dream that I'd stopped having years ago. No way.</div>
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But I could not and can not escape the Truth that I discovered. And I spell the Truth with a capital T on purpose. I've always known that I had had THE DREAM for a reason. Even years after they stopped coming, I knew they weren't random. I had just stopped looking for an explanation. Then, all of a sudden and years after the fact, an explanation--the Truth--landed in my lap on July Fourth weekend. </div>
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So now I'm back to my original obsession and my original questions: what does this mean? How am I connected with the Menger Hotel? Is THE DREAM a memory of a past life? Did I work there? Stay there? Die there? And how weird is it that I picked that hotel to stay at for our weekend getaway! Was that a coincidence? Or fate?</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I'm super uncomfortable with the idea of fate.</b></span></div>
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But there it is: the Menger Hotel is, in every sense that I have seen and felt, the setting of my DREAM. The only potential divergence between the two is, interestingly, potentially the most important: the secret passage. I didn't find any evidence of a secret passage while we were there, but then how could I? Such things are supposed to be secret, right? Since Brandon and I have returned home I've begun to research the hotel. I bought The History and Mystery of the Menger Hotel by Docia Schultz Williams and read it cover to cover. I've Googled until my fingers were numb. The only mention anywhere that I have found about the possibility of a secret passage in the Menger Hotel was a comment made on the Facebook page of an Austin country radio station.</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/KOKEFMAUSTIN/posts/747810415249072?stream_ref=5" target="_blank">See comment here! </a></div>
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But I'm not done with this. I'm going to keep researching the Menger Hotel. I'm going to uncover the answers to my questions. I'm going to find out why I had THE DREAM and what it means. Was I there in a past life? Or was the DREAM a message sent to me from someone else? Some restless spirit who had a message?</div>
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Brandon and I came across a book at Half Price Books in San Marcos on our way home: Haunted Texas Vacations: The Complete Ghostly Guide by Lisa Farwell. I didn't buy it but I did glance through it and I made a few notes. The author mentions some things that were told to her by Ernesto Malacra, director of public relations for the Menger Hotel. One of the things Mr. Malacra told her is that there had been increased spiritual/psychic activity in the hotel in 1996. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>1996? The year I began to have THE DREAM??</b></span></div>
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I read that and nearly fell off my chair. </div>
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(By the way, Mr. Malacra, if you read this before I have a chance to contact you PLEASE get in touch with me. I need to pick your brain!)</div>
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">So, what now? </b>I'm uncomfortable with fate but I can not deny that something or someone else has been trying to tell me something for quite some time. How did I wind up at the Menger Hotel over July Fourth weekend? Maybe it was coincidence. Maybe it was design. In the end it doesn't matter, because either way I'm taking the reigns now. I'm going to solve this mystery. </div>
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<b>Call me Nancy Drew.</b></div>
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<br />Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-8062059817381892832014-06-28T14:23:00.001-07:002014-06-28T14:23:15.712-07:00Reads of 2014...So Far...<b>I've read a lot of good books so far this year, and I'd like to share them with you.</b><br />
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(1) <b>Dr. Sleep, </b>Stephen King<br />
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(2) <b>The Plot Against Hip Hop, </b>Nelson George*</div>
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(3) <b>The Basic Eight, </b>Daniel Handler*</div>
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(4) <b>The Silver Linings Playbook</b>, Matthew Quick</div>
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(5) <b>Twittering from the Circus of the Dead, </b>Joe Hill</div>
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It probably needs to be said that this title is actually a short story. It also needs to be said that it's written entirely as a series of tweets. It MOST DEFINITELY needs to be said that the author, Joe Hill, does twitter better than probably everyone else on twitter. <a href="https://twitter.com/joe_hill" target="_blank">You should follow him.</a> Even if you don't read horror. Even if you don't read. Even if you don't have eyes or opposable thumbs. </div>
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(6) <b>Hyperbole and a Half, </b>Allie Brosh* </div>
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(7) <b>Truth in Advertising, </b>John Kenney*</div>
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(8) <b>Looking for Alaska, </b>John Green* </div>
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(9) <b>The Cutie, </b>Donald Westlake*</div>
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Yes, I chose this last book purely based on its cover. And it was a damned good book.</div>
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(10) <b>12 Years a Slave, </b>Solomon Northup* </div>
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(11) <b>Somebody Owes Me Money, </b>Donald Westlake</div>
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(12) <b>An Abundance of Katherines, </b>John Green</div>
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(13) <b>Beyond Hades, </b>Luke Romyn</div>
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(14) <b>The Charm School, </b>Nelson Demille*</div>
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(15) <b>Paper Towns, </b>John Green*</div>
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(16) <b>The Bank Shot, </b>Donald Westlake </div>
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<b>Currently I'm reading Word of Honor </b>by Nelson Demille:</div>
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<b>What does this list say about me? </b>I read a lot of books by men. This year I've sort of been having literary love affairs with Donald Westlake and John Green. I like books in which murders take place. I love political intrigue. </div>
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All books denoted with * are contenders for my end-of-the-year top ten list</div>
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But this is subject to change! </div>
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I love books!!</div>
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Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6537137375282694130.post-37643911994541339602014-06-22T13:16:00.000-07:002014-06-22T13:16:33.809-07:00Adventures in Fiction Writing! Part Eight: GRADE MY HOOKS!!When you're attempting to have your novel traditionally published, <b>your query letter is the most important part of your submission package. And your HOOK is the most important part of your query letter.</b><div>
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I know not everyone agrees with me <strike>but everyone else is full of shit</strike> and that's fine. My journey is my own, and your journey is yours. I don't have all the answers <strike>just most of them. </strike> But I DO know this: <b>the HOOK is the opening of your query letter, and it's how you suck potential agents and publishers into your story. </b></div>
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In other words, the HOOK is how you reel 'em in. And remember, the agent or publisher you're courting will likely read 67 other query letters the day he/she reads yours, <b>so you wanna make sure your HOOK is damn good.</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">And now I'm asking for your help. </span>Before I throw my query letters out to the universe, I want to make sure I've dotted all my T's and crossed all my I's and written the hook-iest hooks possible. So I'm posting them here. Read them, love them, hate them, laugh at them, be intrigued by them. <b>AND THEN TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF THEM. </b>Leave me a comment or 2 or three. Which hook is the best? The worst? WHY? </div>
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Then find me on twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/Literarygrrrl" target="_blank">(right here!)</a> <b>and tell me there, too!</b></div>
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Remember when I wrote that it takes an army to publish a book? <a href="http://literarygrrrl.blogspot.com/2014/05/adventures-in-fiction-writing-part.html" target="_blank">(Adventures in Fiction Writing! Part 7)</a> <b>Well now I'm asking you to enlist. Will you be my literary soldier?</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Okay! Here we go....</span><span style="font-size: x-large;">HOOKS:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(1) All hope is never lost. Not even in Nowhere.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(2) No one in Nowhere can exist without hope, even if that hope is stolen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(3) When children go missing, it's assumed they're Somewhere. But what if they were Nowhere?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(4) The road to Nowhere cost several lives, but saves many more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(5) More than the contested Roy G. Biv highway separates the free citizens of Somewhere from the Lost Children of Nowhere.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(6) To save an army of Lost Children, Amarillo Saffron uncovers hidden secrets and battles real and figurative demons, armed with nothing but her unwavering hope.*</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(7) The road to Nowhere means freedom for the Lost Children, death for the evil Mayor Blue, and an unceremonious end to the nefarious goings-on at the Ardor Labs corporation.*</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(8) Cerulean and Amarillo Saffron are sisters separated by guilt, regret, and a nine-year-old secret. Only hope can reunite them and save the Lost Children of Nowhere.*</span></div>
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<b>Got wordy there at the end, didn't I? Hmmm... Wonder what that means. Now! GRADE MY HOOKS!!!</b></div>
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<b>*</b>This hook was shortened for twitter.</div>
Shana Lynn Hammakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00379600983635890329noreply@blogger.com0