Saturday, March 22, 2025

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

I've been on a Taylor Swift kick while on the first leg of my Carolina Tour.

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Late Monday Movie Mania - The Last Breath

The Last Breath
is based on the true story of Chris Lemons, a saturated diver working in the North Sea when his umbilical was accidentally snapped during a dive.

This is one of those movies that should have gotten a lot more press. It's tense and riveting even when you know how it ends. DH and I left the theater wasted on our own adrenaline.


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SPOILERS


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PROS
1) I usually don't give kudos to the setting, but let's face it. The North Sea is not a place you want to be in the best of times, much less when things go wrong. It's a cold, harsh, unforgiving environent.

2) The action focuses on the three saturation divers who have just descended to work on a North Sea pipeline. Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, and Finn Cole give wonderful, understated performances as three men who know they're in deep sh*t and try to focus on their jobs.

3) Cliff Curtis also does fabulous work in his supporting role as the captain of the ship, who's juggling the lives of three of his men against his duty to the world at large.


CONS
1) I don't know if this is really a CON. It's not a short movie, but tension permeated me to the point where I was shocked it was over.


Overall, this was a superb tale about a real-life event. There's no fakeness, no overwhelming CGI. The only special effects necessary were the simulations of a dive-sea dive. Don't look up the actual incident before you see this movie. Afterwards, judge for yourself how close the film makers came to recreating the events.

The Last Breath gets a strong 10 out of 10 stars for being a good solid thriller.

Monday, March 17, 2025

Upgrade Woes

The inevitable necessary hard drive replacement has happened. However, everything from the operating system to my folders have so many extra protections on them it's been a royal bitch to restore all the programs and files.

Not to mention the innate fear that I'll accidentally erase something I need.

Hell, even the free tools to correct PDFs and EPUBs have given me headaches while I try to reinstall them.

It doesn't help that the temperatures have plunged after a storm system rolled through Saturday night. Even with bright sunshine today, my space heater can't keep up in my office. The only way you can tell it's three days from Spring are from the buds on the trees and the squirrels chasing each other across the back yard.

While I wait for items to copy to this computer from my external backup drive (yeah, I have a ton of books, partial books, ideas, my music for inspiration, and various pictures for covers), I'm going to try to write up all the random thoughts about the publishing industry and work/life balance that have been rumbling through my head over the last few months.

Also, if you want some tidbits to read, I've started posting chapters for Sapphire (War of the Witches #1). This series won't be out until next year. I've got to finish Justice and The Books of Apep first. But I've been dabbling on Sapphire for a few minutes most nights before bedtime. When readers are expecting something in particular, I sometimes let the pressure to mess with my head. Writing on a private project of the heart makes a nice relief valve.

Or in the case of Justice, I don't want the adventure to end. I've had that problem with past books. I unconsciously slowed my writing because I love the characters so much, and I don't want to let go.

It's time to get more coffee and warm up my hands as I wait for files to finish copying.

Have a great Monday!

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

The Ecomonic Slowdown

I don't normally talk politics on my blog. Unfortunately, many of my writing colleagues are starting to see the ramifications of the current administration's policies in regards to the economy. Book sales are down. Period.

It's not just us. Everyone's losing business because of the current round of inflation. One of my fantasy cover artists had a full 2025 schedule on January 1st. Now, she's got authors canceling their slots left and right. My romance cover artist closed her website because it had become too expensive and rarely takes new clients for custom covers. My other fantasy cover artist and I had a long e-mail discussion about the change in the industry.

DH's employer had a round of layoffs. If Medicare is trashed, neither of us will be able to retire any time soon.

My friends who've already retired fear losing their Social Security on top of watching their 401Ks in free fall.

And to top things off, the entire world economy is still recovering from the chaos caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Governments are killing sick chickens in mass in an effort to keep the mutating avian flu from turning into another health disaster.

Which is why a carton of 18 eggs is now more expensive than a pound of ground beef in our town.

How the hell can we expect people to buy our books when they can't afford nutritious food? I say that as someone who has health issues and is making that very same cost/benefit analysis.

And then there are the tariffs against our allies, which is prompting boycotts and other retaliatory measures.

So here's what I'm thinking--

To my fellow Americans, if you like my stories, but can't afford my books or feel in good conscience you can't buy them from a mega corporation, I get it. I'm looking into opening my own store so I can give you discounts, and I'm not getting overcharged by certain companies. Also, contact your local libraries about carrying my books so you can read them for free. If it's a question of your library's budget, I'm more than happy to donate both e-books and print books to your library. Have your librarian contact me.

To my readers outside of the United States, I understand why you might be boycotting any U.S. vendors, including me. I didn't vote for the current administration, but everyone's suffering under his idiotic policies. Frankly, you've got to look out for yourselves. Hopefully, both I and my books will still be around once the current chaos is done.

 Until then, remember this quote from The Last of the Mohicans (1992):

You're strong! You survive! You stay alive, no matter what occurs! I will find you! No matter how long it takes, no matter how far. I will find you!

Monday, March 10, 2025

Monday Movie Mania - Love Hurts

Both DH and I were super busy with work, so we took the weekend to relax. Which, of course, meant going to the local theater and catching a couple of movies. That includes Love Hurts before it leaves general release.

The reviews may not be great, but as I told a friend, the movies the critics hate are usually the ones I love. And this one is no exception.


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SPOILERS


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PROS
1) It's nice to see Ke Huy Quan get a leading man role as Marv Gable, a top realator who's a former mob enforcer for his broth. It feels like his image is being crafted for him to be the next Jackie Chan. But Ke showed awesome comedic talent as a child, and he still does as an adult.

2) Marshawn Lynch displayed a nice twist on the Magic Negro trope by helping his fellow mob enforcer rekindle his marriage on Valentine's Day.

3) Ke's fellow child actor Sean Astin did an incredible job with his few on-screen minutes as Cliff, Marv's boss and mentor. Cliff's not stupid. He knows he's about to die for not giving up Marv. He accepts his fate calmly, defending a man he calls his brother, instead of crying and begging for his life.

4) Lio Tipton was freaking awesome as Marv's clinically depressed assistant Ashley who falls for the poetry-spouting Raven (Mustafa Shakir), another hitman after Marv.

5) And the reason everyone is after Marv? The marvelous Ariana DeBose is Rose, a mob lawyer framed for stealing from Marv's brother. Marv was ordered to kill her. Instead, he let her go because he secretly is in love with her. However, she returns to exact revenge on the men who framed her, which triggers Marv's brother to believe Marv was in on the original theft.

CONS
1) Please, Ke, PLEASE! No moustaches! You have a handsome face. Don't hide it!


Overall, I loved this movie! I love how it twists so many movie tropes into something warm and hilarious. I give Love Hurts 10 out of 10 stars!

Friday, March 7, 2025

Snow and Danger in March

Yep, it's Friday afternoon and it's snowing as I type this post. I can't really blame this on climate change. It's not unusual for the Midwest to get snow into March and April. However, these aren't flakes, but clumps, which usually means the falling snow won't last long.

The danger part is unusual. I'll be heading down to West Virginia to check on my cousin at the end of the month. From there, I'll drive down to DC to see my sister, then spend a week in North Carolina visiting friends.

That's where it gets weird. Nearly every friend has extolled me to be super careful driving through NC. They worry about me driving through the state as a woman alone.

I've done countless roadtrips by my lonesome. I've been to NC by myself before, and never worried.

But this time? Yeah, I'm taking their warnings seriously.

It's nothing personally against NC.  It's because of my last trip back in October to see my cousin.

Depending on the route I take, I drive through small sections of Pennsylvania and Maryland in addition to Ohio and WV. In October, I had just passed through Delaware, Ohio, on my way home. But that time I was driving GK's Challenger because my car was in the shop for repairs (I had been sideswiped by a teenager in town).

Anyway, a couple of guys in a pickup swerved into my lane. No biggie, right? Except they tried to run me off the road two more times. I looked over, and the men were laughing. At me. And the sun was setting.

There's a long stretch of fairly straight road before we reached the U.S. 30 interchange. No one else was around us except for some traffic a mile behind us. The pickup started to swerve again. So, I punched the accelerator.

Now, I'm usually very careful about my speed between Delaware and home because Ohio state troopers patrol pretty heavily along this highway.

I could hear the pickup's engine above the growl of the Challenger. These guys were actually trying to chase me. Any ticket would be worth getting away from these jerks.

Except the chase lasted less than 30 seconds. A horrendous noise came from the pickup. If you've ever heard an engine throw a rod, you know what I'm talking about.

I kept going, glancing in my rearview mirror until they were out of sight. Only then did I feel safe enough to slow down. I look at the speedometer. I was going well over a hundred. I took my foot off the accelerator until I reached the speed limit.

I'm thankful I was okay. I'm thankful no one else was on that stretch of highway who might have been hurt. And I believe karma stepped in that night.

So, yeah, it's not just the people in NC I need to watch out for. I honestly don't get why people get their kicks from terrorizing, or attempting to terrorize total strangers.

However, DH installed a dashcam on my car in case I run into more careless or crazy drivers. The video is automatically sent to DH's phone, so no matter what happens, he'll know about it.

Cameras are everywhere these days, kids. You can't get away with stuff anymore unless you're a billionaire asshole.

Monday, March 3, 2025

Smashwords' Read an Ebook Week Sale!

Smashwords' Read an Ebook Week Sale is happening now until Saturday, March 9th. All of my novels and novellas are half-price, along with sales on lots of other books. Check it out!

Suzan Harden's books on Smashwords!

Saturday, March 1, 2025

An Oldie But Goodie

I first posted this video nearly fifteen years ago. (Goddess! How time flies!) But it still tickles my fancy.

Thursday, February 27, 2025

A Late Monday Movie Mania - Captain America: Brave New World

DH and I went to see Captain America: Brave New World over President's Day Weekend. I wanted to go see it when it came out on Valentine's Day, but we had a series of ice storms. As much as I love the MCU, I'm not risking my life because other people won't treat ice with respect.

Now here's my lecture:

Okay, kids. You can't tell me the latest Captain America isn't being sunk by the current fascists in our country because he's Black, one of his sidekicks is Jewish, and the other is Mexican-American. I've been a comics reader for nearly sixty years. Sam Wilson has been Captain America off and on for a few decades, mainly on for the last ten years. Just like at various times Storm and Rogue, along with Jane Porter, have been the official Asgardian God of Thunder. The douchebros telling you otherwise are lying.

I was hoping Sam would take over as Cap in the MCU, too. When Anthony Mackie first appeared on screen in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, I knew he'd make an awesome Falcon, and an even more awesome Captain America. It was even more special when Steve handed over the mantle, ur, rather the shield, to Sam at the end of Avengers:Endgame because he lived by the same values espoused by the Greatest Generation.

So here's the rest of my thoughts on Captain America: Brave New World:


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SPOILERS!!

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PROS
1) I'll say this again, Anthony Mackie is the perfect guy to play Sam Wilson/Captain America. He conveys that Sam has the same resolute sense of right and wrong as Steve, but he's got communication skills that Steve didn't quite master, which is why I loved this movie. He used his non-superhero counseling skills on two fellow service members in bad situations which makes Sam even more of a hero in my book.

2) My first point segues into this: There's more than one way to "win". Sometimes, saving the "bad guy" from himself is more important than beating the crap out of him.

3) Harrison Ford did a nice job of replacing General, now President, Thaddeus Ross. While I miss William Hurt in the role, Ford's version actually showed regret for what Ross did to his daughter in The Incredible Hulk. Even more tragic, Ross doesn't turn into the Red Hulk by his own volition as in the comics. He's slowly being poisoned by The Leader in revenge for keeping him enslaved for nearly two decades.

4) Point 3 leads to the delightful return of Tim Blake Nelson. Marvel teased that Nelson's character Samuel Sterns would become The Leader shortly before the climatic battle in The Incredible Hulk. Although he's never addressed as The Leader here, Sterns' revenge plot to turn Ross into exactly what he hates the most makes an appropriate twist on the original stories.

5) The first appearance of Sabra! Instead of being a former Mossad agent, the movie execs made the character a former Widow. I understand the change considering the current Gaza War, but that didn't stop anti-semites from blasting her appearance. Personally, I would have rather seen a story where she and Cap are working together against a global threat with her actual comic power set. However, that would have been difficult under the current storylines since Ruth Bat-Seraph (Sabra) is a mutant (and the MCU just introduced adamantium). I still think Shira Haas did a wonderful job, and I hope we see her again!

6) This flick also introduces the new Falcon. (Sorry, folks! We ain't going backward!) Joaquin Torres is simply adorable as the gung-ho Air Force Lt. Danny Ramirez who is dying to become the new Falcon. He reminds me of the new recruits my own son taught at one of the bases where he was posted.

7) My favorite part was  Liv Taylor back as Betty Ross. I wish they hadn't cut so many of her scenes. I think it would have added to poignancy to Ford's performance. However it was nice they've tied up the ends to The Incredible Hulk original storyline.


CONS
1) My only gripe is that a superb actor like Giancarlo Esposito was wasted in this movie. Giancarlo has excelled as a baddie in so many different projects. His Sidewinder and the Serpent Society would have been better as a solo antagonist(s) to Captain America.


Overall, this is my favorite Captain America movie. I give it 10 stars out of 10.

Saturday, February 22, 2025