Category: News

OUT AND ABOUT:
Not much to report in the way of going places. We’ve been working hard to finish all the window and floor trims they gave us in this house (they used sealant everywhere) and it’s a tedious job. Well worth the hardship, boredom and monotony, but tedious all the same.

TELEVISION:
Love, Adult and Robots on Netflix is definitely animation for adults. Sexual, violent, at time humourous… the one thing I can say is the various animation used is superb, and some stories from a storytelling perspective excellent.

We’ve also been catching up with series 3 and 4 of Gotham (being behind). If you don’t share an interest in these universes, the programme wouldn’t be for you, but I enjoy taking the Batman realm and giving it a factual setting even though it keeps some supernatural flavour. The portrayal of Penguin and The Riddler are my favourite characters, though I’m always happy to see Sean Pertwee.

Films have been lacking though we watched another award-winning animation of the Isle of Dogs, though I won’t be able to see Liev Schreiber again without wanting to call him Spots.

READING:
The Key to Midnight, Dean Koontz
A re-read for me after many years. The opening mystery drew me in as much this time around as it did before. Though I want to love this book, the sexual violence seems to be a product of its time — I couldn’t help feeling the book could have been as threatening without it. Still, the reveal is big enough and logical and there are enough twists to make this an excellent thriller. A pleasure to discover an early kick-arse heroine, although she has flaws, and, in places, a naivete that’s questionable (can’t say more without spoilers).

Mister Teacher, Jack Sheffield
A pleasant read of charming anecdotes. There’s little new to say after the first book, but it’s an enjoyable series when in need of some light, comfortable reading, no bad thing. I will read more in the series.

Mozart’s Blood, Louise Marley
An interesting story told in a non-sequential order, hopping back and forth between the present and the past. I found Ugo more interesting than Octavia but the book didn’t dissolve into overplayed romantic cliches as one might expect from the cover. It’s not a romance at all, though it has a romantic tone but one more to do with the close bond of circumstances and friendship. A well plotted book, blended with the operatic and historical setting with a different spin on the vampire mythos. It’s very much a plot driven novel. I so want to adore this book but can only like it…a lot, the one improvement might have been a little more emotional investment. I can’t say why I’m not drawn to care as much as I want to but I’m still glad I read this and may well keep it and check out more of this author’s work.

Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
Hard to believe I’ve never read this classic before. The book opens to make the reader question what he or she is reading. It has a crazed, abstract poetry to it. It dawns the story is about much more than is on the page, questioning the meaning of books, the attention span of society, of works shortened, condensed into snippets, even of politics, censorship and, ultimately, war. The book feels timeless yet never more timely than now, speaking of people turning from books to technology. This story is visionary. Clarisse McClellan: ‘She didn’t want to know how a thing was done, but why.’ Fantastic line. Even better ones: ‘If you don’t want a man unhappy politically, don’t give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none.’ This is on a page well worth reading alone. A subliminal work perhaps, certainly supreme. Some say works of fiction aren’t real, but no fictional work can get more real than this.

Icebound, Dean Koontz
Another re-read for me that proved to be fun. This is the only actual attempt Koontz says he made at a traditional thriller and he did a wonderful job. The factual details are enough to be engaging without boring and there’s a genuine sense of a ticking bomb. While there may be better thrillers on the market at the time Koontz wrote this, he did a job good enough to translate to film, although the ability to put this on screen likely didn’t exist to do the story justice. One particular mention, I love it when I’m reading and come across a sentence that expresses a perfect sentiment and in Icebound there is one: Politics was an illusion of service that cloaked the corruption of power.

Dear Teacher, Jack Sheffield
Another good instalment, although the back-and-forth romance element annoyed me a little, which the cliffhanger helped to make up for. I’ll keep reading.

The Black Mariah, Jay R.Bonansinga
Someone gave me this book as a freebie many years ago, which I kept thinking I’d get around to reading it ‘one day’. That day came, and yet, doing only glancing at the cover, the author’s name still didn’t click. Little was I to know the day I received this book, its author would become involved with the successful ‘The Walking Dead’. The book was a better read than expected, with a sense of movement and time running out at the heart of the story. I couldn’t help viewing it as a film and there’s a mention on the cover it was in development, though whether anything came of that, I can’t find any evidence. The story takes a few leaps of suspended belief, but it’s an eventful read.

The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
The cover of this book says you’re in for a treat. I’m not sure I’d go that far, but there’s something that oddly lingers. I can’t imagine I would have enjoyed this at all if I were a younger reader and I admit I went into it not at all trying to figure out who did what or to whom, so perhaps that would be half the fun. Still, the quirky characters and the distribution of clues are hard to shake off. A classic book that’s bound to draw mixed reviews and muddled feelings. I’m most impressed that the writer wrote this straight off with no planning, but though I’m glad to have read it, I’m not sure it’s a keeper for me.

WRITING:
I’m editing Cosmic for the romance market and have to say some of my writing is a little cringe worthy. Still, it was all a learning experience. Mostly, I would use 20 words when 10 would do, and these days I can see where to add more romantic elements and character development.

I still cannot announce the piece of writing I’m dying to talk about, but Barbara Custer, who edits Night to Dawn Magazine, also snapped a quirky short story of mine. Not sure when it’ll come out, but I’ll let you know as soon as I do. I’ve featured before in Issues 15 and 26.

A blanket of snow covered much of the UK last week. I love/hate snow, though I dare say the same applies to many of us and the fun is over when it turns to ice. When I was in Canada, they talked about the temperatures and conditions. I felt embarrassed by how we struggle in the UK.

A mere four or six inches can snow a friend of mine in. She lives at the top of a huge hill and no way can cars get in and out of those streets when they’re iced; she and many of her neighbours park at the base of the hill and walk up during winter. Poor planning by the property developer. She’s walked out of her estate to take a bus… if buses are running. She’s been so cut off she’s trudged into town, hoping there are enough supplies, and carted food home on a sled. Every winter there’s often a shortage of bread or milk because of people stocking up. In some years, this has left not enough for everyone. Some years shops have considered rationing, and I’ve never forgotten the year friends close to London tried to visit one of the large supermarkets only to discover it was closing the doors. They tried another and got told the same: closing early owing to staff shortages.

Fortunately, this year we’ve not had it so badly. Last year was worse. There’s a reason people and services often get caught out in the UK. We’ve gone from winters where many of us recall walking to school and disappearing into snow drifts up to our thighs (my husband used to tramp across deep fields of snow only to be told to turn around and go home; a health and safety nightmare nowadays), to winters which have for many years been mild. We’ve had several years without snow, so local authorities got rid of the snow ploughs. Everyone has had to reinvest, including ourselves. We’ve bought good snow boots — the kind we can walk across a skating rink on and not slip. I make sure my husband has his in the car when he’s going to work, as well as thermal gloves, hat, and scarf. I‘ve even made him wear a pair of my earmuffs when the weather’s terrible (though I gave him the plain ones, not the fluffy animal print ones I have).

Of course, it used to be we cleared our own drives, paths, and pavement out front. We didn’t just expect local authorities to do it. I can definitely remember my grandfather, shovel in hand, so why is it that street upon street these days there’s so much snow left untouched? There’s a good reason for it in the UK. Apparently, people are afraid to touch the snow on the pavement because if you clear it and someone slips, they can sue you — a state of madness heavily discussed. The rules here aren’t entirely clear as this old article on the BBC clarifies: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8443745.stm

Apparently, if someone slips on pavement which you’ve cleared, there’s as much of a slim chance they might sue you as there is if you don‘t clear your personal land — so drives and paths are the homeowner’s responsibility, but not the pavement. It’s difficult to decide the best answer — if the law stated we must clear the snow, this would cause hardship for those who cannot do so. And let’s be truthful — the days when people offer to do the ‘neighbourly’ thing for those who need help can be rarer than the snow.