Following in the footsteps of Terry Border‘s art, animate an inanimate object and have it share its secret desires and ambitions with us.
Author: Rebecca Demarest
Books as Actors
The artist Terry Border created an intriguing series of pieces wherein the pulp fiction versions of famous books were acting out bits of their own plot.
Flash Gordon was probably my favorite, but there is a whole set of them, and they raised an interesting string of thoughts. Here, the books finally got to be what they were written as, their potential being brought to actual fruition. Are our books happy sitting on shelves unending for those few brief moments that they are taken down, read, abused, enjoyed and then tossed haphazardly back onto the shelf? How do we treat these wonderful portals to new worlds? Not well, in most cases. And will that ever come back to haunt us?
Anyway, shaking off the maudlin thoughts, enjoy a few more of the book art pieces, and check out the rest of his site for entertaining and unique pieces.
Writing Prompt!
Evanovich’s problem is that her characters never learn from their mistakes. Go back to your writing and make sure that your characters actually move forward and develop in a realistic fashion–for the better OR the worse.
Anyone like a Plum?
Janet Evanovich has done it again. Takedown Twenty is a thoroughly entertaining and brilliantly funny slap-dash adventure featuring Stephanie Plum. In this installment of this comedy of errors, Stephanie is tasked with bringing down a popular figure in Trenton, even though everyone knows he’s a wet work guy. They all still view him as the lovable old man.
Evanovich had a bit of a slump a few books ago where they felt rushed and tired, but she’s back to full form with this book and if you’re looking for a slapstick comedy with an engaging plot, this is definitely your kind of read. My only complaint with her novels, as I stated in my last post, is that her characters never grow or change. Stephanie is in her same poorly decorated apartment, she still can’t decide between two gorgeous men, and she is still making a hash out of both her work and social life. This book is only for those who would like a bit of fun without anything heavy getting in the way.
Undeliverable Update
Most if not all of my supporters should have received their copies of Undeliverable by now, as evidenced by this wonderful picture one of said supporters posted of them reading my book.
See, see, that’s my book she is reading! How exciting…
If you haven’t gotten your book yet or are having trouble downloading your digital copy, please let me know! I will be getting the digital copy of Thea of Oz ready for distribution early next month, so watch out for that as well.
Speaking of Thea, I have a lot of copies left if anyone wants to snag one! $10 will get you a signed copy shipped right to your front door.
Undeliverable will be going on sale the first week of March, so if you like it, spread the word! I’ll let you guys know when its profile is active on Amazon and Goodreads so you guys can all go post reviews! You’re the best.
If You’re in the Mood for Some Urban Fantasy
So I thought I was being all clever before the break in setting up my posts to auto-update. Then I come back to find this had failed to load. And then in the process of trying to get it to post, it got lost, then got posted somehow, but lost all of its content. Don’t ask me how, I have no idea. Needless to say, I’ve been trying to fix things, then there were bike accidents and a nasty knock-you-down cold, but I’m back now, promise! And here’s what this review SHOULD have looked like a month ago:
First I found the TV show, then I was introduced to the LARPs, and finally, I found the novels. Totally the bass-ackwards way to go about discovering the Dresden Files, but I am finally all caught up! I have read the entirety of the published works related to Harry Dresden and I am very happy to recommend them to anybody who has a hankering for some decent Urban Fantasy. Jim Butcher has created a phenomenal world and excellent characters.
The basics: our world has a hidden sublayer of magic users, with only one official Wizard listed in the yellow pages. Harry Dresden. No love potions, serious inquiries only, please. He deals with monsters and demons and vampires and werewolves, and, more than anything else, idiot, evil humans. Oh, and don’t forget the Fae, they’re a doozy and a half.
The best thing about this series is it isn’t stagnant. Some series, like Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels, you know exactly what you’re going to get when you go in and the characters don’t really develop much over the entire series. Its still fun, and quirky, but there isn’t a whole lot of human growth happening. But Butcher is a master at making sure all of his characters are constantly challenged and growing, in very realistic fashions. They’re very much like Kim Harrison’s novels in that respect.
So, if you’re looking for a new urban fantasy, give Dresden a shot.
Writing Prompt!
In the vein of Dresden, disguise something magical in the everyday. Brownies with a cleaning service? Unicorns at the zoo? Go as big as you can.
Writing Prompt!
Give us a story about a Chekovian Gun. What, once it enters the story, must go off for the story to be complete?
Chekov’s Gun
I’m not normally one to post videos and the like, but this is the most hilarious exploitation of Chekov’s Gun that I have ever seen. Wondering what that trope is about? Well, for those of you who don’t know, its the rule that once a gun is introduced to a story, it must go off.
To see Boat Comedy turn this on its head, check out this video. You won’t be disappointed…
Writing Prompt!
In American Gods, Gaiman creates some new gods for our new culture. What new god would you introduce to our society?
Rebecca A. Demarest 