Here's what the story is about: Gracie, still suffering after her mom's death, is living with her aunt and her cousin. When her "best friend" Emily disappears, Gracie feels as though it is her job to seek her. Why does Gracie feel this way? Well, Gracie has something that even the police don't have: psychic powers. Gracie can see the future and the past, and she knows what people are thinking or feeling. So Gracie goes off on the strangest adventure you have ever read about. It's haunting, it's spooky, and it pulls you in like a bear to honey.

I am telling you quite honestly- if you are a mystery lover, then this book will soon become one of your favorite. Jude Watson weaves an exciting mystery, perfect for a moonlight night in bed.

Because I'm watching "Ghost Hunters" on the Sci Fi Network".

I know what you're thinking; how can I, a brilliant woman with such viral writing skills be fascinated by such utter bullshit????

Because I can.

And I am.

This bit of freshly revealed personal info might come as a surprise to some of you (even to those of you who "know" me) but I am fascinated by unexplained phenomenon. Always have been.

I love magic and not the kind exhibited by Samantha's twitching nose or Endora's arm waving histrionics on "Bewitched". By the way, what was William Asher and ABC thinking with those lame ass effects???

No, I'm talking the magic of power. Of intellect. Of confidence. Of wit.

And the crap that scares the shit out of us.

Some people drink; others shop, I research unexplained phenomenon; those things that go bump in the night...and that's NOT a reference to my friends on a Friday night coke bender, either.

It's ghosts and eerie stuff and all kinds of things that science can't explain and even if it could, we wouldn't want to believe it.

So, I've decided that this week coming week, beginning Monday May 19th and continuing on through Friday May 22nd, I'm going to post articles featuring subjects that fascinate me.

Included will be (and in no particular order):

• The Bell Witch
• The Moving Rocks of Death Valley
• Magic as it relates to religious mysticism (Voodoo and golums)
• Doppelgangers
• Ghosts (personal experience)

Of course, every story will come with it's own patented Kendrick flourishes, so while informative and intriguing, I'll HAVE to make fun of it, too.

I mean I am, after all....ME.

So, gather the kids, lock the doors, don some garlic, polish your silver bullets, then pop some butter-flavored Orville R. and join me Monday and every day this week for tales of intrigue, suspense mixed with a little vile, ribald comedy.

Thanks awfully,

LK

In standard me fashion, my response to all of this is to plan a book around it--not over the tearing grief of losing her, but putting her in her own story.  I always have dogs in my books, so it was natural enough to immortalize her on the page.  But of course I can't just swap her out with any of the other canine characters in my current WIPs, so naturally I'm creating a new story.  The heroine is in the Witness Protection Program and is totally and completely alone in her new life (she gets relocated to Mississippi from Seattle--no one would come here to look for anybody!), so she gets a puppy.  Angel was always an incredible lot of company, so she's perfect.  I've been doing research and working out a plot.  The working title is Without A Past.  That's the sum total of my creative efforts over the last 6 weeks or so.  I'm not beating myself up about it.  I'll come back to writing.  I always do.

Aside from that I've been reading like crazy.  Nora Robert's The Hollow, Katie MacAlister's Playing With Fire, Karen Marie Moning's Darkfever (and how much does my local library suck for not having Bloodfever?).  I've dipped into a few others, including James Lee Burke's Jolie Blon's Bounce, Marcia Talley's Sing It To Her Bones, and Lee Child's Running Blind. Sadly, due to time restrictions, when I'm writing, I'm usually not reading, and vice versa.  That will probably change some over the summer as we hit rerun season and the networks cancel my favorite shows (the networks also suck for canceling Women's Murder Club.  I LOVED that show.  At least they finished out this season's plotline.).

Sorry for the boring update.  I do actually have several hopefully interesting posts planned to start next week--how romance as a genre brings people together, the difference between boy books and girl books, and whether writers are more likely to dramatize their own lives more than "normal" folks.  Stuff's been kicking around, I've just been in the midst of a crazy hell week at work (and I even have to work today), so I haven't had time.  Tune in next week!

Book 1 - Among the Living

In Among the Living, Victor is a Psy Cop, also known as a member of the Paranormal Investigation team. He's not popular with the living, as most people consider him a little odd, but the ghosts of violent crimes can't wait to tell him all about their deaths. 

His new case pairs him with Jacob, a non-psychic who works in sex crimes. Victor and Jacob have a history, and as they and work together to solve a set of serial crimes, they begin to explore the possibilities of a future. 
The case is like nothing they've ever experienced, and soon Victor finds that he's the only one who can solve the crime, and save Jacob's life. If he's not too late. 

Book 2 - Criss Cross

In Criss Cross, Vic figures life is pretty good. He's got his lover, Jacob. He's got some time off to go fishing, and his new partner in the Paranormal Investigation Team buys the coffee. Naturally, nothing that good can last.When Vic starts to see ghosts everywhere, things go very wrong, resulting in a trip to his doctor, who says he's got problems. Vic's friends tell Jacob he has to leave for Vic to get better, sex is starting to get dangerous, and Vic's abilities are getting out of hand. Can he and Jacob figure out what's happening in time to save Vic from becoming a pawn in a dangerous game?

Book 3  - Body and Soul.

The PsyCop boys are back! Policeman Vic has yet another new partner at work, but the really scary thing in his life is spending Thanksgiving with Jacob's family. The domesticity of the holiday is followed by a little light house-hunting, and it's a relief to get the call to go back to work.The urgent case means that Vic and company have a serial kidnapper on their hands, and it will take every resource they have, and every bit of their talent, to solve the mystery. Grab the third PsyCop book today!

Whilst trawling this library thing yet again, I noticed the PsyCop books were rated by a few readers. So, read the 1st two and got the 3rd a week or so later. I throughly enjoyed them and they totally fed the m/m cop glom I have at present, with a shmear of paranormal activity on the side.

Victor pops pills to dull his "gift" and make his life more bearable and to be able to function semi normally. I kinda liked this, he was so not what I felt a hero should be. He even sneaks into the cough medicine when the pills aren't working up to snuff.

In the 1st book Vic's partner of so many years is retiring and we meet Vic at his soon to be ex partner Maurice's retirement do. What struck me very quickly is his very loneliness and lack of connection with anyone. He is a gay cop and in this house of people he was not a part of it. You also meet Vic's smexy love interest the confident and successful Jacob, also a cop. What is it with this name. All these gorgeous Jacob/Jakes???!!! They are polar opposites. Vic is a scruff, that has issues finding a clean jacket and Jacob looks like he has stepped out of a fashion magazine. The connection between the two is luscious and hot. Bathroom sex, merow!

All 3 books have that cop and mystery kinda thing going on but it is also about letting someone into his life, trust and making a connection. I really enjoyed all of them. Occasionally I felt the mystery wrapped up a little too smartly and quickly and had a few issues with pacing, but to be honest it was not really a huge deal as I enjoyed the read so much. It looks like the 4th book is coming out soon and I am looking forward to reading it muchly! You can check out JCP here and here.  

No rain on the roof tonight, it is cold and the fire is hot. A perfect night for reading some of lovely Mr Lanyons short stories I got this week and trying to think of my last DIK bloke. 

What you can do so you don't feel like this is just basically tell them that you are better, or you don't even have to do that, just walk away from the problem, because the best way to prevent a heart break is to avoid it or even when you have a close friend that hurts you its just better to move on, because you yourself are special and need to help yourself, I am not saying that in a weird way I really mean that, so keep your light up and your heart healthy, :)

Iris’s life couldn’t get much more complicated. She runs a vintage clothing shop which is barely supporting her, she is having an affair with a married man who frightens her by wanting to get serious, and she lusts for the forbidden: her step-brother. Unfortunately, her life can and does get more complicated. She receives a phone call that her great aunt, of whom she has never heard, is a patient in a mental hospital and about to be released after more than 60 years of incarceration, can Iris come and get her and care for her?

O’Farrell’s telling of the story is dreamy and intense at the same time. Sometimes pain filled, some times frightening, it is part gothic novel and part modern suspense. There have been many stories written of the British colonies, the servants, the children brought up by the native ayahs while there parents drank tea under the mimosa trees. In 1911 Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote The Secret Garden about Mary Lennox, a difficult child, whose family was wiped out by cholera in their home in the Indian colony. Mary was found alone in the deserted house, near the body of her ayah. In O'Farrell's book Esme Lennox, also an unusual and difficult child, is found during a cholera epidemic alone with her dead ayah and rocking the corpse of the baby brother she adored.

When returning to Edinburgh with her parents and sister, Esme becomes even more strange than she was in India. She reads, she is not interested in a husband, and then her perfect (and jealous) sister Kitty mentions that 16 year old Esme is having hallucinations. That is all it takes for a doctor to commit her to a lunatic asylum.

Stories have revealed this was a common occurrence for women who were “different” in the 1930’s and earlier. One could be put away for “going on long walks alone,” for “reading too many books,” or being “too interested in boys.” These women were then subjected to various forms of torture including cold baths, comas induced by insulin injection, and horrifying cliterodectomies and frontal lobotomies. If you weren’t insane to begin with, you certainly were when they were done with you.

Sixty-one years later, Iris picks up her great aunt, and ultimately brings her into the family home, which has been divided into flats. Esme remembers every room, every doorknob, and it all brings back the past she has been shifting in and out of her whole life. The story changes from Esme’s view, and her memories of the family secrets, to Iris’s frazzled voice, interspersed with Kitty’s recollections. Younger sister Kitty is now in a nursing home with Alzeheimers.

The novel weaves the reader into the weft of family lies, betrayal, and the selfish destruction of another’s life. There is revelation inside of surprise inside of surprise by the end. It is a very sad story you should read.

In an interview of Lennox in The Guardian:

The novel, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, is set in the 1930s and it is a book I have wanted to write for a long time. I tried to start it more than a decade ago but I ended up abandoning it to write what became my first novel, After You'd Gone. This was in the mid-90s, when the aftershocks of Thatcher's care in the community scheme were still being felt. The large Victorian-built asylums had been closed down and as many as 20,000 people were sent out into the "community".

Around this time, there were stories circulating about some of these women - they tended to be female, more often than not - who had been put away in their youth for reasons of immorality. They had shown too much interest in boys, or not enough; they had had an affair or even got themselves pregnant.

Sometimes they had been put away for almost no reason at all. A friend told me about his grandmother's cousin who had just died, a month away from being discharged from an institution in the Midlands. She had been committed in the 1920s, at the age of 19, for planning to elope with a legal clerk. I spoke to someone whose aunt had been incarcerated in Colney Hatch, north London, for "taking long walks".

I could not forget this cousin, or the girl of the long walks. That there had been an era when a woman could be considered insane for such things was a horrifying thought. And so I began to delve deeper, to read books about the subject, to track down records, to talk to former patients and employees.

It is a shameful and shadowed chapter in our society's history. And despite having spent years researching the subject, despite having read every book I could find about women and psychiatric institutions, I really had no idea just how widespread this issue was until people started approaching me after every single reading to say: this happened to me, to my mother, to my grandmother.

From Barnes and Noble:

Born in Northern Ireland in 1972, and raised in Wales and Scotland, Maggie O'Farrell worked as a journalist in Hong Kong and as an editor at The Independent on Sunday before bursting on the literary scene in 2000 with her acclaimed first novel, After You'd Gone.

Since her extraordinary debut, O'Farrell's fiction has earned more accolades. Her third novel, The Distance Between Us received the 2005 Somerset Maugham Award; and in 2007, O'Farrell achieved international bestsellerdom with The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox.

More information on Lennox can be found on her website.

India is such a vibrant country. I just had to close with some photos:

Ellora Kailasa Temple

Flower Shop

Hampi Hindu Temple

Hyderabad Mosque

Theatre Kathakali

Small Traffic Jam

Water Buffalo

This is one of the so-called “doctrine feasts” on the church’s liturgical calendar. This particular Sunday is also one on which many preachers and homilists like to punt. They’ll often say that the Trinity is a mystery we can’t possibly hope to understand. So after a few pious platitudes about “three-in-one” and “one-who-is-three” and a few high sounding comments about Trinitarian heresies of the ancient past (adoptionism or modalism anyone?), many often leave people with the impression of the many paintings from centuries past that the Trinity is “two men and a bird” floating in the clouds somewhere, completely disconnected from our reality.

Not exactly the insights we get from this Sunday’s Liturgy of the Word, which reveals a whole lot more beauty, mystery, humility, compassion, and overflowing love in the life of our God than we could ever imagine on our own.

If there is anything that can be said about God from these readings, it is that God desires relationship with us – a relationship of communion. The Exodus reading reminds us of that, talking about God and the Divine Name. The readings from the New American Bible, like all the English translations of the Bible, use the word “Lord” (usually in special capital letters) as a substitute for what was (in the original Hebrew text) the Divine Name (Y_HW_H) spoken by God to Moses in the story of the burning bush. Using "Lord" in public proclamation was the way the ancient Israelites could speak of God without speaking "The Name," as a sign of reverence for the transcendence of God. Christian biblical scholars often debate how best to render Y_HW_H in grammatical English. Many follow the translation “I am who am,” “I am who I am,” or simply, “I AM.” Many Jewish scholars, though, offer a much more intriguing and theologically powerful translation, which I prefer: “I will be there howsoever I will be there.”

What an image of God for us who seek the transformation of the church and the world! God WILL BE THERE, always, in many different ways, in unimagined ways, and in places where we think God is absent. Yet always “merciful, gracious, slow to anger, rich in kindness.” Even among a “stiff-necked people!”

The well-worn phrasing of John 3:16 tells us the same story, but with a new intensity. The evangelist in the tradition of John tells Jesus’ story as the Word made flesh, the promises of God made manifest in our human history – in an unimaginable way. Sadly, this verse is often used, out of context, to verbally bludgeon those who do not confess faith in Christ or to proselytize. Many who do use this verse neglect the one after it -- that Christ comes not to condemn the world, but to save it.

The words about condemnation for unbelief can be seen in the same negative way. But remember that for this gospel writer, as well as those who wrote Matthew, Mark, and Luke-Acts, belief in Jesus is not about knowing doctrines about essence, nature, and Person, but about allowing a relationship with the Christ who lives and is present in the whole church to effect all that we do and say and are. It is this invitation that stands open to us as we gather for Eucharist each Sunday, or as we struggle in the hard slog of justice-seeking and peacemaking, or as we seek to break open the minds and hearts of those who lead our churches by our witness to this relational God, who even in the very divine essence is communion of persons.

The ancient Cappadocian theologians said that the Persons of the Trinity are the same except in regard to their relations: “One is not the other, is not the other.” Pretty abstract stuff! Until you make it relational. Father, and Son, and Spirit (Creator and Word and Spirit) are who they are because each One is “other.” Each one is unique in their relationships within God and to creation. It is in the full embrace of the otherness of each that true communion lives, in God's life and our own (I am indebted to John Zizioulas, an Eastern Orthodox theologian, who, in his latest book, Communion and Otherness beautifully draws out the implications of this truth for all Christians).

What might our church and our world look like if we were persons who could, as St. Paul invites us in the second reading, “mend our ways, encourage one another,” and find ways to live in peace – a peace, of course, that is not the passive acceptance of injustice, but a dynamic righting of relationships in "The Name" of the Triune God we celebrate every day of our lives, and especially on this Sunday?

***

(As an additional thought, I am interested in how people relate to the imagery of Father, Son, and Spirit. Patriarchal though it is, I find that a relational understanding of God through a biblical lens can re-claim these “male” images in a more holistic way. At the same time, I am sensitive to those who find difficulty in the images, precisely because they are male and have a history of patriarchalism attached to them. I am interested in thoughts / reflections on this issue, or, of course, anything else that struck you in the readings for this week or in what I have reflected on.)

Finally, others have shared a bit about themselves in other posts, and I neglected to do so in my first, so here's a little something about me!

Marc DelMonico is a Catholic lay ecclesial minister and theologian. Originally from upstate New York, Marc has been involved in various parish-based ministries, especially liturgy, adult faith formation, and music ministry. He holds a B.A. in Philosophy and Theology from St. Bonaventure University, an M.Div. and M.A. in Theology from Washington Theological Union and is presently a Ph.D. student in Systematic Theology at the Catholic University of America, with a focus in his on the theology of church. Deeply committed to the rich tradition of Catholic social teaching and the transforming power of God’s Spirit in the church and the world, he also works part time for the Franciscan Action Network (www.franciscanaction.org), a nonprofit legislative advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., while occasionally presenting adult faith formation workshops and serving as a liturgical consultant and cantor.

Read about about the old ways and new ways coming together for some good cursing fun.

Click Here To Read More... ]]> http://matthewintheforestclearing.wordpress.com/?p=14 Fri, 16 May 2008 22:25:45 +0000 matthewintheforestclearing http://matthewintheforestclearing.wordpress.com/?p=14

While driving to the University of Virginia two mornings ago I listened to Richie Havens sing "Freedom" live from the famous 1969 aquarian exposition at Yasgur's farm in upstate New York. It is the song which first interested me in the festival, mostly because I think it is performed with such passion--(See video below). I found myself singing along with the windows down and probably tapping on the dashboard of my car. I started thinking about what I was singing and I questioned what it really was. This led me to an understanding that is probably incorrect, or at least a liberal interpretation, based on Havens' prefacing statement which leads me to believe that it is a socio-political song. But, we're postmodern, right? So, if I want to look at it theologically, I can. I'm sure Richie would say it's groovy.

This isn't to say that the lyrics are well-written --because they aren't particularly. He repeats the word 'freedom' several times which leads Havens to say, "Sometimes, I feel like a motherless child . . . a long, way, from my home" and I think this is something all people feel at some point or another and perhaps this is a recognition of some form that we are humans and we experience a significant separation from the being who created us. I probably tend towards a more narrative-based, mythological understanding of my own Christianity and I understand why many would reject such notions, but even a fundamentalist/Southern Baptist/conservative/whoever would agree that we are in fact "a long way from ... home". Now, the nature of the home we might disagree upon, but we Christians anyway are looking toward Heaven. I'm not sure about the pearly gates or streets of gold --we'll see about those; I do feel a long way from home though and while this earth and many things remind me that "I need my brother" and community with others on this good, lush earth --things that fill my life with pure, un-refracted joy which are undoubtedly representations of Christ (I am truly blessed)-- I can't help but take part in the collective desire to "get ourselves back to the garden."

Oddly enough, I chose this book because it was written by an author who spent a great deal of time in Moscow and a guide book advised me that now was the best time to visit Russia. There was no other reason to read this at this particular time. But, having said that, I'm glad that I did. It was fun.
Murder on the Leviathan starts out violently, a record of an examination of a crime scene set in 1878. I think the murders of ten people ranging from ages 6 to 54 in one Parisian house would cause a stir even in the 21st century. Oddly enough, this is not the murder the title of the book refers to. Commissioner Gauche discovers a clue that leads him to the Leviathan, a giant steamship headed for Calcutta. As he sets sail with a host of interesting passengers (in first class) he soons discovers each and every one of them is a potential suspect. It gets interesting when people start dying on the ship. A Russian detective soon joins Gauche on the hunt for the killer.

I didn't find any quotes to include, but I did have to look up "gutta-percha" shoes. Depending on who you ask, gutta percha is described as tree gum, rubber, or plastic.

BookLust Twist: In More Book Lust in the chapter "Crime is a Globetrotter", subsection, "Russia" (p 59).

At the urging of Mr. Greenleaf, Tom Ripley travels to Italy to attempt to convince his son Dickie to come back home. Once there Tom is determined to make a new life for himself in Europe and goes about doing so in an extraordinary manner. He kills Dickie and assumes his identity.

Patricia Highsmith's novel is a mystery, not for the reader but for Dickie's family and friends. For the reader it is an interesting look into the mind of a murderer who must manage the difficulties of being two individuals. It's a character study, and Tom is unlike any character I have ever read about. He has a strange ability to create a fiction for himself which alters his entire personality.  He is not happy unless he's playing out some invented drama.

The novel's key weakness is its sometimes dry focus on detail. While it is fascinating to see how Tom Ripley plays out his deception, there are sections in the novel where nothing much happens. However, The Talented Mr. Ripley was certainly a worthy read, simply for Mr. Ripley alone.

Rating: 7.5

A hit and run takes place on a Maryland highway, and a very cold murder case heats up. The police pick up the woman driver, who has a minor head injury, and the story she begins to tell is stunning. She knows so much about the disappearance of a pair of sisters more than 15 years ago, so she must know what she's talking about. The trouble is, she refuses to identify herself.

Laura Lippman teases her readers with one electifying discovery after another, not releasing us from suspense until the final surprising chapter. This is a literate, thinking person's mystery, with layers of nuance, characters so genuine you wish you knew them, and an intricate, credible plot that never lets up for a minute. She skillfully presents the unsolved crime from the point of view of those most fully involved, from the victims to the perpetrators to the police. This is top notch crime writing, and I'll be checking out Lippman's other titles.

Worship the Lord and lift your eyes unto heaven where your help comes from. Cursed is he who trusts and bows before men (see Isaiah 2:11; Jeremiah 17:5).

Paul F Davis author of God vs. Religion

http://www.paulfdavis.com/booksvideos.htm

Basically there was a man who was killed here in Iowa and his body was found by some hunters. He was wearing something VERY similar to this ring, which investigators referred to as having unusual engravings on it that may mean something to someone and possibly lead to the i.d. of the victim. The funny thing is that the unusual engravings that couldn't be read by any of the investigators or maybe the news crew that reported the story is ELVISH. Elvish, yes. Had the head detective taken it home to his fifteen-year-old son, perhaps they would have broken the case without having taken it to the media. My thought is that a cameraman at the newsroom HAD to have seen it and kept his mouth shut because it amused him. Not that I'm saying all photojournalists are LOTR geeks, but come ON.

They further described the guy, stating he was around 20 and either white or Hispanic. They described his clothing as well, but identification is apparently difficult and they couldn't even give an actual height of the individual, listing him as approximately 5'3" to 5'6".

My reaction to the height is: It's approximate? Don't they have the body? Can't they measure it?

Libby's reaction to the height is far better. Last night at dinner we were talking about it.

Libby: I was like, "Five-three...Elvish ring...Is it...Frodo? Maybe he didn't make it to Mordor after all."

Me: *snort*

And the LOTR references flowed for a bit before we stopped ourselves. Because really, we could have gone on all night.

Auckland is an interesting city, vibrant and always plenty going on. There was a good crowd eager to hear about their city and literature. The city was a common link between the authors… chair Paula Green waxed lyrical about the melange of cities, landscapes, remembered and invented Auckland.

Stephanie Johnson has published several novels, and been a Katherine Mansfield scholar and is also one of the main people behind the festival. She joked that most of her books were set in Auckland “because I haven’t been anywhere else”.

Derek Hansen used to worked in Advertising. That’s very Auckland, where lots of people used to work in advertising.

Paula Morriss likes to look at maps and some of her work is inspired by how things appear when laid out on paper. Shanghai is a nostril in the beak of an eagle, Auckland like a seahorse.

The whole world is in Auckland Johnson said – so huge and tumultuous; a frontier town where people seek fortunes, take opportunities, tough and fair-minded, unique in NZ…

Derek Hansen says Auckland goes beyond geography – a mature cosmopolitan city, a city of the world, unique. Wellington pretty but very small…

There was no talk of BMW’s or traffic or prices, which is what I associate with the stereotype of Auckland. Poet Karlo Mila said to me in an interview immediately prior to this session – that Auckland was an octopus – long-tentacled arms wrapping her and wounding her body.

I liked that analogy – Auckland reaching out to the south and north and pulling people and resources towards it, ever-hungry. She also said it was a ‘trickster’ of a city. I put it to the panel. Is Auckland an octopus, a trickster?

Derek Hansen said it would be a strange looking octopus; Johnson agreed, saying it would be more of a giant squid. Everyone has a different experience, she added.
Paula Morriss preferred her seahorse image.

And with that the session ended. I left pondering the presenters’ sidesteps to the question, but got a different sort of answer in Aotea Square. The market day was in full swing and the Auckland Art Gallery were doing a promotion.

I took the opportunity and sat in the chair. Welcome to Auckland, pal.

I realize that any novel has to stand on its own strengths and story line, and I think I've written them to do so, but I have plot ideas for a half dozen more Finnegan novels, and I've found that I've been slipping little set ups for the other stories into the ones I have already written. I don't suppose that is bad at all. It gives the characters some long-term integrity. I won't merely introduce some interest or behavior in a character that I'll pretend is long standing. I'll have already established it in another story or two.

For example, Greg Finnegan haunts used bookstores. In an event that pre-dates the chronology of my novels, he came upon a novel written by someone he'd never heard of but who wrote a proto-feminist story set in an actual Missouri River town. One of the reasons he visits used bookstores is with the hope that he will find another novel by this author. His quest comes up in some casual way in each of the three novels that I've written, but it will be the core of the plot for a novel I am yet to write (probably the next one, which I plan to title Finnegans Deciphered).

One wouldn't have to read the earlier novels to appreciate the plot of Finnegans Deciphered, but if one had, one would have a better sense of Greg's character in this aspect. (We really need an epicene pronoun in this language!)

In the novel I just finished, Finnegans Afoot, Ann resolves a long-standing personal relationship problem. I started establishing this problem in the other two novels, but I had no intent at the time to set up the resolution. I was just doing it to give her character some depth. But then Afoot came along and the resolution, which is a subplot that doesn't drive the central narrative, found a nice fit. Once again, one wouldn't have to read the other novels to appreciate it, but the set up is there. (Oddly, though, if one read Afoot first and then went to the other novels, the unresolved issue would be there though the reader would know it was addressed.)

Mystery novelist Susan Wittig Albert has used continuous character development in her China Bayles stories. I seem to remember her saying that this hadn't been her intent originally but that her characters more or less called out for the continuity. I understand that she introduces a pregnant character in one of her novels, but in the next novel the character is no longer pregnant and there is no discussion of the new baby. I haven't read that far into her series yet, but I'm told it's true.

Update: I received an email from Susan Wittig Albert correcting my misunderstanding about her series of novels. Although I could swear that I heard her say that she had never intended to write a continuous story across her novels, she says that she had from the beginning. Also, she says she had not forgotten that one of her characters had a baby. Rather, she says, she forgot that the baby's mother had chosen one name in an earlier novel and gave it a different name in the subsequent novel.

In my defense, I do say above that "I seem to remember," so I wasn't really asserting anything. Nonetheless, I'm pleased to know that she had intended continuity from the start.

Like Memento, the movie plays with our conception of time and ends with a twist. You'll probably want to watch it twice!

The movie stars Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, and everyone's favorite, David Bowie.

There are a lot of things going on in this movie, but the main questions end up being:

What happened to who? How did this actually happen? and of course.... What really happened?

Youtube trailer is below:

As I was driving to the school to pick up my gurlz, I was in back of a red van.

The van had about 4 bumper stickers, but only one popped out to me.

It said:

"Pro-Choice AND Christian!"

"Whaaaaa....."?????

According to Wikipedia,

Pro-choice describes the political and ethical view that a woman should have complete control over her fertility and pregnancy. This entails the guarantee of reproductive rights, which includes access to sexual education; access to safe and legal abortion, contraception, and fertility treatments; and legal protection from forced abortion. Individuals and organizations who support these positions make up the pro-choice movement.

A Christian Is....

The first known usage of the term Χριστιανός (khristianos) can be found in the New Testament, in Acts 11:26: "the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." The term was thus first used to denote those known or perceived to be disciples of Jesus Christ. In the two other New Testament uses of the word (Acts 26:28 and 1 Peter 4:16), it refers to the public identity of those who follow Jesus.

"Christian" also means a member or adherent of a church or other organized group within Christianity. As an adjective, the term may also describe anything associated with Christianity, or even remotely thought to be consistent with Christianity, as in "the Christian thing to do."

So, in the bible, Christ tells us that we must not kill

Romans 13:9

9For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

To say that you are a Pro Choice Christian is like saying yoiu are a CAT and a DOG at the same time!!

The color of the day is wisteria, the number is thirty-one, the holidays are Police Officer’s Memorial Day and National Chocolate Chip Day, and Pomona Sprout’s birthday, the words of the day are ersatz (an artificial or inferior substitute or imitation) and finagle (achieve something by means of trickery or devious methods), and today I walked/jogged/ran the last required mile of my life.

It was in Gym. At my high school, you are required to take one Gym class before being allowed to graduate. We had to do the mile thrice, and today was the last time. Ever. This is thrilling.

Next Wednesday is going to be spectacular- not only is it the weekly Wednesday club, but I volunteered to help out with the Preschool graduation practice and therefore get to miss the whole school day watching and playing with little kids. How awesome is that?

Speaking of the preschool, we are putting on a puppet show in class tomorrow. I am going to be playing a chicken and finished making the puppet a little while ago.

Also a little while ago (more like two or three minutes ago) I started and finished the short story I had to write for English. It is due Thursday, but I like to be ahead. It is only the rough draft, anyway. It is titled "Nobody in Particular" and I am going to paste it below. You know, because I have nothing much else to say. Laura, if you read this, do you think you could edit when/if you have the time? I am pretty sure there are some mistakes, but, as you know, staring at your own work for awhile kind of makes it tough to find mistakes.

[ "What am I?" I ask aloud, to nobody in particular.

"What are you not?" nobody in particular responds.

He has always been a wise fellow, this nobody creature. I am not entirely sure whether he exists, then again, as I have been known to imagine things. That is what they said when they kicked me out, you know. "REASON FOR EXPULSION" the slip was titled, the big, bold letters giving way to the infamous fine print. "Prone to excessive bouts of overactive imagination often leading to impulsive actions," the report continued in the same minuscule size, ending with the signature of whomever was unduly placed in charge. They even had the nerve to slap a period on the end of it, as if turning the claim into a sentence fragment would change its significance, somehow. Quite the opposite, though- it only served to further infuriate me.

Now, that is all behind me- I still say as I did when I left in the first place: good riddance.

To be honest, I am dead grateful that I was ousted. After all, if I had not been, I would never have met nobody in particular- and that, my friend, would be unfortunate indeed. Had I not met nobody in particular, I never would have been granted the many drops of wisdom he has bestowed upon me since our meeting. Though, I guess calling it a ‘meeting’ would not be fully appropriate. We did not meet, per say. To this day, we have not formally done so. Rather, we have a mutual agreement: I ask a question, any time of day, and he answers. The scale is tipped more generously towards me, and I should think he would care, but he has yet to complain about my having the better half of the bargain. Now that I think about it, he has yet to complain about anything.

Occasionally I attempt to persuade the man to show himself, but it never turns out to my benefit. Surely he (and I assume that the creature is a ‘he’ based on the tone of his voice) wishes to come out of wherever he is hiding, at least sometimes. If he does, however, he does not show it. Always speaking in the monotonous, deadpan voice of a robot, one would think he would wish for a little excitement in his life. Evidently not yet, but I am sure he will crack someday. I have a strong feeling about it, and secure ones such as this are nearly always correct.

I shudder to think of what would happen if he were discovered. As long as the human race exists, the intense longing for knowledge and wisdom is inevitable, and nobody in particular has an abundance of it.

More so, in fact, than anybody I have met before. This never ceases to amaze me- if somebody this intelligent were to suddenly disappear from society, someone would certainly realize it.

He is an enemy spy, I once thought, yet there is no trace of an accent about him. I then considered that he is merely a hermit, choosing to be cut off from the rest of the world for some mysterious reason. That musing, however, was quickly shot down- to the best of my knowledge, nobody in particular has not left wherever he lurks. And, even if he were a hermit, he would still need to eat in order to survive. His voice comes from somewhere a bit off, but not enough that he could possibly be near a door or garden where he would be able to gather nutrients- or water, for that matter. If he is not human, though, then what is he? Without food or water, he could not even be living. A zombie, maybe? I doubt it- he does not seem like the type. What, then?

I have tried not to dwell on it too much, but I must admit that dwelling on things takes up much of my time. There is not much else to do, in this monster of a house with echoing rooms and the eternal scent of mothballs.

So, yes, it is free of most insects. It is also free of humans, other than myself of course. I have no family, never have and doubtlessly never will, and no friends to speak of either. In the end, it is just me here. And, obviously, nobody in particular as well.

I do not care, though. Who cares if I have nobody to talk to, nothing to do? What does it matter to be lonely when you have the answers to every question in the world? ]

So yup, there it is. I hope somebody liked/likes it.

Gosh, today feels like a Friday.

Oh yeah, my brother is home from college.

Pixie dust to all.

Try and fly.

'Blair Mallory' series Book #2

Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages Publisher: Ballantine Books (November 28, 2006) Language: English ISBN-10: 0345486587 ISBN-13: 978-0345486585

Blair Mallory has already survived one murder attempt. Now, while planning her wedding and dealing with holiday-season madness, Blair once again dodges a bullet. Or, more precisely, a Buick. And though the driver's identity remains a mystery, his or her murderous intentions are all too clear.

Or are they? After all, Blair's homicidal ex-husband and his partner-in-crime/wife are safely behind bars. And even Wyatt Bloodsworth, Blair's police detective groom-to-be, isn't inclined to believe she's being targeted again. All of which makes Blair wonder if her close call was simply a mishap. But the wondering stops when she narrowly cheats death again in another seemingly innocent accident. Two strikes is all it takes to convince Blair that she's back in someone's crosshairs. And the only thing more frightening is that Wyatt still doubts her. That means this time no one will be watching Blair's back when she sets out to get the drop on her would-be killer - before whoever it is finally drops her.

Drop Dead Gorgeous at Amazon.com

Drop Dead Gorgeous at Chapters.ca

Drop Dead Gorgeous at Amazon.ca

13-May-08 to 14-May-08

Review: Hmm... was this what I was expecting?

Short answer: Yes. Now here's the long answer.

Blair is as she is in the first book. I still find her 'fluffy' and vain. She makes big deals out of things that aren't big deals, makes little out of something that should be a big deal. Knowing what she knew from before, I was really surprised by how Wyatt felt, denying that she was being targetted yet again, and the ensuing fight was a bad one. He said things that would have made me even more made than Blair was, but this whole 'compartmentalizing' thing she does annoys me to know end. And so does her 'list of transgressions'. I'm sorry, but if I did that to my husband, our marriage would have been over long ago. Who likes having their faults or the things they did wrong thrown into their face daily/weekly? Give me a break!

I'm also wondering who writes the synopsis' for both Blair Mallory books. This one makes note of a 'seemingly innocent accident. Sorry, but what happened wasn't deemed an accident right from the get-go. Yet the synopsis leads to you believe something else.

I also found this predictable. If you've read the first novel, you may agree with me. They seem to keep asking Blair who she angered or made an enemy of - same as the first book. However, she kept throwing it back at Wyatt, wondering if it had to do with him. It happened so many times in the first book that this one became predictable. And again, the entire plot and climax was summed up in Chapter Twenty-Nine. The book ended with Chapter Thirty, the wedding. Why, again, was the ending summed up in one chapter? Is there something wrong with spacing it out? I mean, the book is entertaining; some great laughs, good groans and head-shakes, but summing up the ending in one chapter, for me, screws up the entire book. It feels like being sucker-punched. I really wish authors wouldn't do that. And some things are repeated enough that it gives you that 'okay, can we get past that already?' feeling.

The book is a great read. Some laughs, pretty good action scenes, and although you don't get erotic descriptions, you quickly get the point. However, the one chapter ending steals one star from my rating.

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