Why I Need to Write Right Now

By now, I'm fairly certain most people have heard about the U.S. bombing of Iran.

My feelings right now are fairly complex. My son is stationed on a U.S. base in the Middle East. He was supposed to be rotated stateside later this summer. We don't know if that will happen as scheduled.

To make matters worse, Tribblehead (no, I will not be respectful to a convicted felon who has no remorse) cut quite a bit of funding to the Army for fun stuff like sports equipment. Our soldiers believe in themselves, their jobs, and their country, not necessarily in that order. They were already under a lot of stress. They need a healthy way to deal with that stress, and Tribblehead and the DOGE bros took that away from them.

I fear for these kids' health, both mentally and physically. All of them, not just Genius Kid. I've seen the toll on them first-hand, and that's not even including death and maiming if a full-scale war breaks out.

Which it's likely to do with Tribblehead at the helm.

So, that's why I've been burying my head in writing over the weekend. Going to Starbucks because DH and I are feeding each other's anxiety, and the Grandpuppy and Princess Pup are picking up on our emotions which sends them in a tailspin.

Yes, I'm channeling my fears into Anthea, who's trying to keep a civil war from breaking out in Jing without interfering with their autonomy. It's a delicate tightrope. One she's determined to cross successfully or die trying.

That's what I need right now. A leader who actually gives a shit about the people around her.

I wish the kids in the military had a leader who gave a shit about them.

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

Never Stop Fighting!

Now, Magazines Are Adopting Egregious Contract Terms

In February of 2025, several popular genre magazines were purchased by a company called 1Paragraph, Inc., which in tun is owned by an investment group called Assemble Media. They bought five magazines from the former owner Penny Press: Analog, Asimov's Science Fiction, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Ellery Queen, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

The stories I've been hearing from writers that have dealt with 1 Paragraph over the last four months is nothing short of appalling. The rights' grabs includes merchandising, performance rights, and moral rights.

If you don't know what any of these are and you're a writer, please PLEASE get a copy of The Copyright Handbook by Stephen Fishman, J.D. You don't need a legal degree to understand it. It's written is plain English and easily understandable.

For me, the biggest problem in the contract is the moral rights. Moral rights last for the term of copyright, but what does "moral rights" mean? It means the writer has the right to have their work attributed to them, the right to object to derogatory treatment of the work, the right not to be identified as the author of someone else's work, and the right to privacy.

Moral rights can be confusing, so let's break them down with examples:

1) The right to have the work attributed - It means if a third-party publishes A Question of Balance, my name (or pseudonym) needs to be listed as the author. The third-party publisher cannot say Stephen King wrote A Question of Balance.

2) The right to object to derogatory treatment of the work - A third-party publisher cannot alter, remove, add, or adapt the work. For example, suppose the third-party publisher objects to any mention of the LGBT+ community. They cannot go through A Question of Balance and remove any references to berda or change Sister Dragonfly of Love to anything but a trans woman character.

Or perhaps, the publisher doesn't like the fact that Anthea and Luc's sex scenes fade to black, and they decide to add sex scenes that put Debbie Does Dallas to shame. Nope, nope, nopity-nope. They cannot do that.

3)  The right not to be identified as the author of someone else's work - This is basically the opposite of the first term. Say that third-party publisher tries to publish A Question of Balance under Stephen King's name because they think it will sell more copies. (It won't because Stephen King fans aren't that fucking stupid, but that's a story for another day.) Stephen King has every right to, and probably will. sue the crap out of the publisher.

4) The right to privacy -  No, that doesn't mean you can hide who you are as a writer. (Well, you can, but that's a whole 'nuther blog post.) What this means is if I write a Justice story just for my friend Angie, it doesn't mean I HAVE to publish for the rest of the world to read.

(Not that I'd ever do something like that to my readers. However, I have written private erotic for my husband that will never see the light of day because it was just for the two of us.)

The EU covers moral rights more thoroughly in their legislation, but moral rights exist in the U.S. as well. They cannot be transferred or assigned, but they can be waived. The problem is you have no idea of how someone will use your work.

 Say it with me, kids! MAKE SURE YOU READ YOUR CONTRACT!! If you don't understand it, hire someone who does to explain it to you!

Did I plan to submit to one of these magazines? Yes. Will I now? Not until they get a new owner because I don't trust these idiots.

 Which brings me to another point, all five magazines are still up for sale. In other words, the new owners don't have a vested interest in making these magazines work. So what's the point in submitting anyway?

Napping and Tornadoes after Hot Yoga

Heat does queer things to me. Infrared heat makes me very, very tired. Guess what my yoga instructor likes to use in class? Yep, infrared emitters.

It doesn't help when I get up at seven a.m. for class. Wednesday's class used to be at ten a.m., then nine, and now eight.

The endorphins from the class only stretch so far. I stopped for breakfast and a writing session at Starbucks after class. After getting home around eleven a.m., I started into e-mail. . .

 . . . and promptly fell asleep in my recliner.

DH had to wake me up a quarter after three because we'd already bought tickets to see The Phoenician Scheme. (That will be reviewed here next Monday.) It was sunny and beautiful when we left the cinema. As soon as we got home, I started supper.

And it immediately got very dark outside. A fast-moving storm system blasted through our area along with thunder, lightning, and the county tornado sirens howling. Because heat also does queer things to the weather.

The county's system is directly linked with the National Weather Service ("NWS"). It gives residents a chance to get to shelter. Yet, the NWS is another service the current leader of our country wants to defund.

Such an action infuriates  me because I remember the Xenia Tornado of 1974. It was what would now be described as an F5 storm. The folks in Xenia had no warning unless they saw the broadcast from a Dayton television station. No sirens existed at the time in town.

This Super Outbreak affected twelve other states besides Ohio and dropped over 100 tornadoes across several hundred miles. Data gathered from this outbreak was used to push funding through Congress for both the NWS and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ("NOAA"). Both organizations do their best to get warn people to get out of Mother Nature's way.

We're still in peak tornado season here in Ohio. Hurricane season has started in the state surrounding the Gulf of Mexico. Without advanced warnings from NWS and NOAA because of budget cutting, much less the departments being eliminated, how many lives will be lost over the next few years? 

It's No Longer Just Politics

This last weekend was. . .interesting, as Spock would say.

Normally, I avoid any political commentary on my blogs. But as the title says, it's no longer just politics.

Not when unidentified men break into homes, seize people and belongings, and disappear. Not when illegal gases are used to subdue peaceful protesters. Not when a single burning car is used over and over as propaganda to justify sending the U.S. military into Los Angeles.

You see, I'm old enough to remember Kent State. Ohio's Governor James Rhodes sent armed National Guardsmen to quell a protest at Kent State University. The soldiers claimed the students threw a rock. One rock.

They retaliated by opening fire on the students. Four unarmed kids died that day. And even though I wasn't even in kindergarten yet, I understood the slogan "Don't trust anyone over 30."

And now, I'm way over 30. I was brought up by people who served the public. People who were local government leaders. People who served at polls. People who fought in foreign countries.

I swore to uphold the U.S. Constitution three times in my life. My son took the same oath when he joined the military.

And now. . .

I see a group of idiots attempting to destroy the country.

And it royally pisses me off. I'll admit the idea that everyone is created equal still needs some work in this country. But to blatantly ignore someone's citizenship or green card and send them to a prison on a different continent?

What the fuck!

To have a military parade to please our leader?

We mocked the U.S.S.R. for doing that shit!

To arrest a member of Congress for attempting to speak with a director of an executive office?

To assassinate a member of a state legislature?

To claim the right to publicly assemble is illegal?

When I traveled down to the Carolinas to visit friends and family in March, someone I've known since the 80s asked me if I thought the U.S. was becoming fascist. I said, "We already are. People just haven't realized it yet."

Now, people are starting to realize it.

But is it too late to change course?

Only you can answer that question. 

Music I've Been Listening To

This little gem from the 80s popped in my head two weeks ago while I was paying bills. It took me a while to find it because at first, I could only remember the line, "It's Friday night." I was sad to learn Johnny Kemp passed away ten years ago.

Monday Movie Mania a Day Late - Ballerina

After the insanity of the last few weeks, DH and I went to two movies this weekend. The first was the 25th Anniversary remastered Dogma, which I contend is one of the funniest movies ever made. It's amusing how the re-release didn't attract the Christians to protest outside of the theater this time.

The second movie was the brand-new Ballerina, which is part of the John Wick universe. And frankly, I'll take that universe over this one any day. Why? Because there are rules!


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SPOILERS


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PROS
1) Ana de Armas delighted me as the innocent nurse in Knives Out, but here, she seriously kicks as Eve Macarro, a member of the Ruska Roma. (For those new to the series, the Ruska Roma are a criminal organization of assassins to which John Wick formerly belonged to.) However, Eve is a member of a side group of bodyguards known as the Kikimora, who are just as deadly when protecting their charges.

2) It was lovely to see Lance Riddick one last time in the Ruska Roma universe. Charon was always my favorite character, yes, even beyond John, because he cared for John's second dog.

3) Sharon Duncan-Brewster was criminally underused as the Director's second-in-command and Eve's mentor Nogi. Sharon has kicked ass in some of my favoite franchises (Doctor Who, Dune (2021), and Star Wars), and I'd love to see a Nogi-centered film!

4) In addition to Lance Riddick, Kenu Reeves, Ian McShane, and Anjelica Houston were back as their in-universe personas, John Wick, Winston Scott, and the Director.

5) The soundtrack was awesome, especially Evanescence front woman Amy Lee's "Fight Like a Girl"

CONS
1) My only gripe is Norman Reedus has a minor cameo as Cultist Daniel Pine, basically in a similar position as Eve's parents who tried to save their daughter from an assassin's life. However, I am thankful the writer Shay Hatten didn't try to force a romance between Daniel and Eve! (Goddess, I hate that trope! And it sure wouldn't fit in the Ruska Roma universe!)


Overall, Ballerina was a fabulous addition to the Ruska Roma universe and an awesome movie in it's own right. I give it 10 out of 10 stars!

Another Christopher Titus Special

Christopher Titus is one of my favorite comedians. I was fixing some links on posts from twelve years ago, and I started watching his older specials. Here one I haven't posted yet.

The Crazy, Insane, Long Weekend

Going through the drowned belongings in our basement took much long than DH and I originally estimated.

Why?

Because DH's dad slipped important documents in between his children's memorabilia.

Very important documents.

Like driver's licenses, tax returns, birth certificates, and social security cards. Some needed to be kept since they were DH's or his sisters'. Others should have been destroyed decades ago such Grandma T's personal info. One of our neighbors teased me about selling the info on the dark web, but after DH and I had our identities stolen once, I didn't find the joke quite as funny.

Anyway, we had to go through things carefully on two fronts. One was the important personal documentation. The other was the mold and mildew growing on things despite the colder than normal temps since the flooding.

(N95 masks are worth their weight in gold, people! Thankfully, I still had some leftover from the pandemic!)

Then we had to document all the losses. Part of what made me sick was losing a good chuck of the in-laws' movie collection. DH and I are both avid movie buffs. His parents were as well, and they had VHS tapes of a lot of classics.

(Don't laugh. I still have all the Star Trek:TOS and NextGen movies on VHS. And yes, we still have a couple of VHS players.)

The also had a bunch of Disney animated movies for when the grandkids visited. Some that are no longer available. I know in the age of streaming people don't like physical copies, but my Gen X heart loves them because I never know when some wet-behind-the-ears exec is going to take one of my favorites of their streaming service.

E.g. I can't find Dharma & Greg, one of my all-time favorite shows, on any streaming service at the moment. I'd barely gotten through the first season when Hulu yanked it last year.

In between the sorting and washing, I managed to get a few thousand words done. Now that the adjuster came to check out everything (no, it wasn't Jake, it was Zach from State Farm), we can move on with life.

That mean getting the damn HVAC motherboard replaced before we hit the 90s in Ohio! 

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

We need to remember our roots, and that EVERYONE should have basic human rights.

It's Friday Night

It's been a crazy week. We still need to sort through the last few boxes in the basement. We've got some help in dealing with the flooding issue, so we'll see if it pans out. I've got some words done, but I haven't met my weekly goal.

And it's ten 'til midnight. There's so, SO much to do.

Honestly, I'm just tired of my house being a total mess. Every time I get one thing accomplished, one room cleaned, hell, even one surface cleaned off, I turn around and everything's back to the mess it was. Living in a mess does things to my mind, and I simply cannot concentrate.

Tomorrow. I'm going to hide at Starbucks for a couple of hours until we go back to tackling the basement. I need to locate my N-95 masks (at least I know what room they are located in, if not the actually spot) before I head downstairs. Hopefully, those will lessen the fungi-caused headaches.

Keep your fingers crossed for me. 

Monday Movie Mania - Thunderbolts

DH and I went to see this flick a couple of weeks ago. Between the basement flooding and some other personal odds and ends, this is the first chance I've had to write up my review.


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SPOILERS


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PROS
1) Thunderbolts isn't your typical Marvel smash-'em-up. It's a rather thoughtful piece on the costs of mental health where to ultimately win the battle, the team can't fight, but help the so-called villain regain some sense of hope.

2) The writers did a lovely job of entertwining Yelena's (White Widow) battle with depression into Bob's (Sentry/Void) bipolar issues.

3) Julie Louis-Dreyfus was excellent as the evil head of the CIA DeFontaine, someone without morals looking for power and not caring how she gets it.

4) David Harbour was just as delightful here as Red Guardian as he was in Black Widow. The play of Red Guardian and Yelena odd familial relationship and ultimately forgiveness was awsome!

CONS
1) I didn't like that the screenplay focused on Bob's drug addictions. Oftentimes, someone suffering from bipolar disorders will attempt to self-medicate to alleviate their symptoms.

2) What was the point of bringing in Taskmaster is they were just going to waste the character? It made no sense.


Overall, Thunderbolts was one of the better, if not the best, MCU movies released since Avengers: Endgame. I give it 9 stars out of 10.

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

Everyone's in the same boat whether we want to admit it or not.

Into the Flow

There's a certain magic that happens when I get deep into writing a story. DH calls it getting into the flow. I'm so involved in the the action and drama while I'm writing that nothing else matters. I can only get out if there's a violent bodily need, like eating or using the bathroom.

When I sprint with a friend in the evening, I often don't hear the ding of the timer. The Princess Pup can get on or off my lap without me realizing it. DH can be talking to me, and it doesn't register.

There's an episode of Mike & Molly where the family toys with Molly as she's in the zone while writing her book. While the scene is played for laughs, it perfectly captures the sensation.

I've been in the flow this week with A Cup of Conflict. It's a good thing, too, because I need to finish it. As a writer, I know I've been captured by it.

The problem is I'm going to resent having to sort and inventory everything in the basement from the flood this weekend. I also need to collect information for our insurance company to pursue subrogation rights pursuant to the damage.

With that, I realize I'm on the right track by writing, not practicing law.

Funny what convinces you that you are pursuing your life's path.

A Hell of a Monday

I was out of bed at 10:30 AM. I planned to head to Starbucks to write. The Great God Murphy must have heard my plan because it's now after 3:00 PM, and I haven't even repacked my travel laptop that was recharging overnight. The only work-related thing I've done so far is approve the eproof for Blood Sacrifice.

As I said in last Wednesday's post, I have to raise the price of print books because of the current tariff war. I'm also double-checking for typos I missed, updating the company name and copyright information, and updating the back matter. In one case, I even changed the back cover copy.

After a disastrous Thursday, we spent Friday and Saturday going through some stuff that was only partially submerged. DH has camera equipment sitting in plastic bins and on lids to dry out. I washed up most of the soaked towels we used to protect the hardwood floor in the family room.

Saturday night, DH went to the Flag City Phantoms game. I elected to stay home and try to catch up on some Angry Sheep work. I ended up talking to a writer friend, who's dealing with her own health issues, for an hour.

Saturday was also the birthday of our youngest niece. But between her and DH both working Saturday night, we celebrated her birthday at dinner in Applebee's on Sunday. (It's her new favorite place.)

My friend's mother passed away Saturday. The funeral has been pushed to next week because it's a holiday week here in the U.S.

"But, Suzan, all that happened over the weekend!" I hear you say. "What does that have to do with Monday?"

The reclaimation peeps from Service Master came to collect their fans bright and early this morning. They'll be back when we know what has to be trashed in the basement and what can be salvaged.

GK managed to lock himself out of both his email account and his Amazon account while trying to retrieve invoices required by the insurance company for his bed and mattress, which we know will have to be tossed. It took a little while to sort that out because his calls kept dropping.

By the time we got that handled, DH had the insurance company on the line after playing telephone tag with them on Friday.

I totally forgot to give the dogs their heartworm, flea, and tick preventives on Thursday. I remembered this morning, only to discover I forgot to pick up Simparica for the Princess Pup when I ran out in April. So I needed to run over to the vet's before they close.

And the kicker in all this mess? Our bank was bought and the conversion to the new bank took place over the weekend. So we had no idea where our back account stood. I had to put the damn groceries on the VISA. GK panicked about his paycheck getting deposited since we have a new routing number. I got him talked down, but I need to go through my business accounts and get all of those switched over to the new bank.

It doesn't look like I'll get a damn word written until after dinner tonight. Thank goodness, I've got plenty of leftovers in the fridge!

I really hope your Monday is less dramatic than mine!

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

Down with tyranny!

Not Another Flood!

Darling Husband (AKA DH) woke up before dawn yesterday because he had to go to the bathroom. (The joys of being middle-aged, right?) He heard the sump pump alarm going off and went to the basement.

Despite all three sump pumps chugging away, one well was full, and the second one was filling rapidly. He ran upstairs and woke me. That was at 5:44 AM.

I threw on a t-shirt, sweats, and my slip-on Skechers. By the time I got down to the basement, the full wells were spilling across the basement floor. We started taking stuff upstairs, but we couldn't outrun the water.

DH was running back and forth in his bare feet. I ordered him to stay out of the water because Goddess only knew what was floating round  in that crap. He stayed above the middle of the stairs and I handed stuff to him.

By 6:04 AM, I gave up. The water was at my ankles. My shoes were full. My feet were itching terribly from whatever was in the flood water. I took off my shoes, left them on the top step, and went to wash the gunk off my feet.

Poor DH had a bunch of his deceased parents' memorabilia and his old toys he wanted to keep in the basement. Stuff that we didn't have room for anywhere else in the house. Plus, all of Genius Kid's (AKA GK) furniture and home stuff were stored down there while he's stationed overseas.

Luckily, it was a weekday, so we had companies there almost as soon as they opened. A HUGE shout-out to the peeps from  EverDry Waterproofing, Bowers Heating and Cooling, and Service Master for responding as fast as they did. We're still waiting for the insurance adjuster from State Farm to come by, which will probably be Monday or Tuesday.

Thankfully, the water didn't go past the second from bottom step this time. But a 1400 sq, ft, open space filled at the rate of one inch every three minutes before the sump pumps could catch up. That's a hell of a lot of water to remove.

Despite all the precautions and upgrades we did after the 2021 basement flood, the pond in the subdivision behind us overflowed. Again. Yes, we're looking into our legal remedies. That's all I can say at this point.

This was not how I wanted my week to end. I was on a good frickin' role with A Cup of Conflict before all the shit happened. Losing two days dealing with the mess was not on my to-do list for this week.

But that's life, right?

It didn't help to learn a good friend's mother is in hospice. It's a matter of days. Which mean another funeral soon. This one I won't resent because this friend has always been there for me.

And life goes on...

Warning!! Price Changes!!

GAH! The tariffs are starting to hit publishers and printing.

Despite the cost of paper going up two years ago, I managed to keep my paperback prices the same. But now, I'm not having a choice. I received a notice from Ingram that several of my books will require price increases because the price of paper is rising dramatically.

It sucks. I don't want to do it, but I don't have a choice. Either I raise the prices, or I cannot offer paperbacks for sale. *sigh*

I get it. A lot of you prefer the tactility of having a book in your hand.

So, if you want a paperback, order it now before the prices go up. My formatter is currently updating the front matter (Angry Sheep Publishing transforming from a sole proprietorship to an LLC) and back matter (i.e. list of books I have available). So, I'll be uploading those as she sends them to me.

In other words, I'll be starting on the price changes next week. This is the first time I've needed to raise all prices since I started publishing in 2011.

If you've been planning to buy a paperback, I suggest ordering now from your favorite bookseller.

Monday Movie Mania - A Minecraft Movie

If this movie had been released when Genius Kid was eight, he would have loved it. Most kids' movies have elements that entertainment the adults. And normally, I'd be excited to watch Jason Momoa and Jack Black in anything.

However, this movie commits the ultimate sin. It's boring.


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SPOILERS


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PROS
1) I think the actors did the best they could.


CONS
1)  I don't know if my expectations were too high. Or if the writing was simply that bad. The story wasn't interesting. It was very generic, the total antithesis of the creativity of the game, the cooperative intent.


I know this was much shorter than my usual reviews. But even the bad movies I love have something I found entertaining and redeeming. I wish I could have in this one, too. The children sitting in front of DH and me absolutely loved it, but I didn't. Overall, I give A Minecraft Movie 0 stars out of 10.

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

Down with fascist dictators!

It's Friday, But My Week or Work Is Not Over

I swear some characters can't shut up in my head. (Yeah, I'm talking to you, Samantha Marie Ridgeway!)

Others, it's worse than pulling teeth or fingernails.

Sister Darys of the Skoloti tribes is one of those that refused to tell me her secrets for the longest time. Maybe it's because she's a Thief priestess. They don't just play things close to the vest. They have cards inside a hidden pocket.

Anyway, she finally admitted an really important secret Monday night when I was having issues with insomnia and was finally starting to drift off to sleep. Suddenly, I was wide awake again and cursing her seven ways to Rest Day!

The revelation meant I needed to do some reworking of the first half of A Cup of Conflict. *sigh* So that's where most of my week has gone. It's been a bitch, but I think it'll be a better story for the changes.

Anyway, that's how my week has gone, and how my weekend will continue.

I hope everyone has a glorious spring weekend yourselves!

Wednesday Movie Mania - The Accountant 2

I didn't see The Accountant (2016) when it originally came out. Like John Carter (2012), it suffered from a confusing and ineffective marketing. Unlike John Carter, I had no knowledge of the story, so I was "Meh".

Then I had the TV on for background noise one night when The Accountant aired, and I was hooked.

When the announcement came out of a sequel, I made DH watch the original before I dragged him to see the movie on Cinco de Mayo.


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SPOILERS


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PROS
1) The sequel leans into the chemistry Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal exhibited in the original as brothers Chris and Braxton. And then, amps it up into buddy comedy proportions.

2) Affleck expands on Chris's emotional awakening with Dana (Anna Kendrick) in the original. Chris's opening scene is him attending a dating event, where the women are initially attracted to him by his looks, but quickly reject him over his mannerisms.

3) Cynthia Addai-Robinson and JK Simmons are also back. As insinuated at the end of the original movie, Addai-Robinson's Medina has replaced Simmons's King as the director of the Treasury Department's FinCEN. King is now retired, but he's picked up a second gig as a private investigator. It's his investigation into the disappearance of a Salvadoran family that kicks off the plot.

4) The subplot about Braxton wanting a dog and Chris telling his brother that he should get a cat because of his unusual schedule is one of the best scenes due to the men's chemistry.
5) Allison Robertson has replaced Alison Wright as Justine, Chris's business partner. I don't agree with this decision because Robertson had a better grip on Justine's non-verbal autism.

6) I hope they do a third movie! Representation is important, and regardless of the violence, The Accountant does a fine job showing some of the difficulties autistic people face.

CONS
1) I really can't think of one. The movie is essentially two bad guys that live by their own moral code. If you can accept that, you'll love this flick!


Overall, The Accountant is a fun popcorn/nachos movie. I give it 9 stars out of 10.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

After a full, very busy, day of work, DH and I went to see The Accountant 2 before celebrating with homemade nachos and margaritas. We needed the break because he's got high school lacrosse games to attend for the rest of the week. And yes, I do know the reason for this holiday in the Mexicans kicking French's ass!

Hope everyone found equally pleasant ways to deal with the chaos!

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

Yep, still pissed.

The Enchanted Bakery Is Here!

It's official! The first two stories of The Enchanted Bakery are here!

Chefs, Shrooms, and Sherry

Tabitha Abbot and her adopted sister Everleigh are thrilled to start culinary school. But with three summer internships at the professor’s famed restaurant Finito on the line, a group of bullies in their class led by Sherry Kincaid aim to drive the Abbot girls out of the culinary program.

Tabitha promised their mom no magic at college, but Everleigh didn’t. Tabitha finds herself torn between protecting her rivals from her irate sister and wanting a little witchy revenge herself. Because in real life, there’s no such thing as a fairy godmother to save you from your enemies.

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Cakes, Cookies, and Conjuring

When mega-corporation Apollo Coffee & Tea open a store across the street from The Enchanted Bakery, Tabitha Abbot fears it will be the end of her family’s business. Especially when the slimeball co-owner tries to buy her out.

But Tabitha’s adopted sister Everleigh is determined to fight back. While Tabitha nixes any hexes, Everleigh recruits some unconventional help to show that money can’t buy everything, but excellent desserts can sway anyone.

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Apple
Barnes and Noble
Google Play
Kobo
Smashwords

Life Transplanting

Both stories from The Enchanted Bakery series have been loaded and are ready to drop tomorrow. I just need to update the series pages with the retail links.

I also need to edit Death Goddess Walking and finish writing A Cup of Conflict. I'm at roughly the halfway point of ACoC. It'll be a downhill crazy rush to the finish as nobles and citizens collect in Chengzhou for Emperor Bao Quan Po's coronation with various opponents looking to assassinate whoever they can to destabilize Jing.

Except I need to fit in some work on the flower beds. This time, it's not just weeds.

The crazy squirrels and chipmunks have decided they don't like the current floral arrangements, and they've taken it upon themselves to change things.

A hyancinth bulb was moved the the succulents bed. Roses have been transplanted to all four sides of the house. (Which actually make sense, since they like sunshine, and the north side wasn't a good place to begin with.)

Strawberries were eaten from their planter, and their seeds scattered along the eastern beds for additional early summer treats. Dandelions were planted in the box on the northeast side of my office, replacing the inedible pink flowers that grew there.

So far, the rodentia haven't touched the daffodils and tulips, probably because the bulbs are too big for them to dig up and move. Instead, the critters are planting oaks in those beds, which will eventually wipe out my flowers if I don't dig up the saplings.

While I can appreciate the squirrels and chipmunks needs and wants, they don't mesh with the previous owners, or my, artistic visions.

So, the battle for the beds and boxes has begin!

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

I'm pissed, and I'm not going to take it anymore!

When a Company Does Too Much For You

Some of you might remember my joyous experiences of installing a new hard drive in my work computer last month.

In the process of reinstalling Windows 11 and MS Office, Microsoft decided to update with the latest versions instead of the ones I purchased.

Okay. Fine. Wasn't expecting it, but hey, I didn't have to purchase new copies, right?

OH MY FUCKING GODDESS!!

In their efforts to help me, they tried to shove everything through OneDrive and forced through the IMAP email protocol.

It's taken a lot of extra time to root out the OneDrive by hard links. I'm still working on it.

But even worse was IMAP. It wants to download all of my email folders and files back to the original email servers so I have copies available to all my devices. Sounds like a good idea.

In theory.

In reality, IMAP copied THOUSANDS of emails I need to keep for business reasons. The worst was my main author email address. When I got the domain email address years ago, I didn't need too much space. I still don't. And it's really not worth upgrading to the next largest package offered because I clean out that address's server on a regular basis.

But when fourteen years of business communications get copied back the email server, it maxed out my allocated space in very quick order.

I think I've finally got everything fixed. *fingers crossed*

However this is the same email address where your contacts from my websites' contact page sends your notes. So if you've tried to send me any communication through the websites' contact page, your message is in the ether and unretrievable.

Please contact me again, unless your question is about A Cup of Conflict. I swear I'm working on it!

A Late Monday Movie Mania - The Amateur

This review is late because The Amateur wasn't as simplistic a story as the big-time reviewers believe it to be. DH and I went to see it Sunday afternoon, ironically as a break from our Vin Diesel marathon. However, I like a good puzzle, and this certainly provided one!


----------


SPOILERS!


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PROS
1) I swear Rami Malek can do anything and do it well! His CIA nerd was a guy you could root for because the odds are so stacked against him. This is the American remake of Canada's The Amateur from 1981, so you know the good guy was going to win. But the question is how.

2) I loved the MacGyver-esque quality of Malek's character Charlie Heller. He quickly learns he can't shoot anyone in cold blood, but he jury-rigs traps for his opponents that they could get out of if they stop and think instead of panicking.

3) Laurence Fishbourne is also someone who can perform any role he puts his mind to. As Henderson, Charlie's CIA trainer, his brutal assessment as to Charlie's lack of fighting skills spurs Charlie to use his brains for vengence.

4) The secondary plot is the battle of wits between CIA Director O'Brien and her Deputy Director Moore with both of them using Charlie as a pawn in their headgames. This one was much more intense and personal than the political battles in the Jason Bourne series.

5) Personally, I think the dissing of this movie is based on Charlie breaking down and sobbing at home over his wife Sarah's death. Again, I loved that Charlie wasn't a typical strong, silent, unemotional hero.

CONS
1) Jon Bernthal was criminally underused as Charlie's CIA oreative friend codenamed Bear. It would have made more sense for him to be the one Moore sends to stop Charlie rather than Henderson.

2) The fridging of chicks in movies to spur the hero into action is really pissing me off. The same vengence motivation could have been used if Sarah had been kidnapped instead. And I would have accepted Sarah's death a little better is the writers hadn't whacked Charlie's Russian contact Inquiline for being a woman.


Overall I loved The Amateur! I give 10 out of 10 stars for clever traps and not wallowing in the typical spy-movie crap.

Another Monday

The weekend was spent editing and making bookmarks while DH watched Vin Diesel movies which bled into the XXX series. There was a brief interlude where we went to see The Amateur. (The review for this flick will be Wednesday's post because I'm still thinking about it. Rami Malek is an excellent actor, and I'm reflecting on his performance.)

Anyway, I'm back to writing. It's sad that I have to go to Starbucks and turn off my phone to get any peace and quiet. Do you want to hear something funny? I'm finally not getting hit on by men. It took until the year I turn the big 6-0, but it's a relief.

Of course, it helps that most of the people also going to the neighborhood Starbucks are also women. Plus, the few men I've seen are either with females or keep to themselves. It's one of the few good things in this world today.

Anyway, I'm trying to wrap up an Enchanted Bakery story if you're reading this before 3PM. *fingers crossed* If I do, I start back on A Cup of Conflict later tonight. It's Anthea so I know where the tale is headed. It's a matter of writing it all down.

It's not all work. I've been rewatching Supernatural while I work on the beaded bookmarks. I need to rewake my urban fantasy chops in order to finish The Books of Apep series this summer. The next thing will be to set up the Kickstarter.

I'm getting things accomplished, just slower than I would like.

Health, Loss, and Fascism

It's been a rough week. Watching the disintegration of the American legal system while fighting a severe bacterial infection has not been fun.

I swore oaths to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America three times in my life: when I was sworn in as an attorney in Texas, when I was sworn in as an attorney in Ohio, and when I was sworn as an attorney in to the Eastern District of Texas Federal Court.

To watch the total disregard of our rule of law by the clown circus in D.C. is heartbreaking and rage-inducing at the same time.

Maybe the chaos is why I started writing more stories in The Enchanted Bakery series.  I needed something humorous in my soul to get through this week.

But what happens after Easter?

There are already men on the streets snatching people in broad daylight for saying the things we are all thinking. Unmarked planes are carrying people to other countries.

"But those are illegals!" I hear some of you cry.

Are you absolutely sure about this? There's rarely any evidence. Even fewer court records. So the talking heads are spinning these people's stories any way they see fit. This is exactly why the current adminstration is denying independent reporters access to government briefings. Heaven forbid anyone question the god-king!

The American legal system isn't perfect by any means. But it stood as a beacon of the possibilities of a fair system. There was a time I truly believed total fairness could be achieved.

Not any more.

While I was on my road trip at the end of March, a friend asked if I thought the U.S. was becoming fascist. My answer was "We already are."

I'm just not sure how we can stop it without a tons of blood shed in the process. But I do know hate isn't the answer. That's how we ended up here in the first place.

Monday Movie Mania - A Working Man

Hey, if a movie stars Jason Statham, I'll drag DH kicking and screaming to see it. Not that I have to drag DH. Nor does he kick and scream. Jason always delivers on everybody's fantasies.


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SPOILERS!

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PROS
1) Actually, there's not a lot to spoil here. This is a standard Statham action flick. Violence, mayhem, and the bad guys getting what they deserve.

2) The stand out is Arianna Rivas as Jenny. She's the victim Statham's character is trying to rescue. However, Jenny is no damsel in distress. She delivers her own abuse to her captors and nearly escapes on her own except for a bit of bad luck.


CONS
1) Michael Pena as Statham's boss and David Harbour as Statham's blind friend were horribly under-used in this film. They could have provided some needed humor in this film.

2) The editing was a little weird in the action scenes. Jason is two years younger than me, and I think the editors were trying to disguise that Jason, like me, no longer has the sharpness and range of motion he used to.


Overall, A Working Man is a fun weekend B-flick. I give it 8 stars out of 10.

Wednesday Got Away from Me

I hate upgrading to a new computer, but upgrading my solid state drive has been been a royal pain in my butt.

For the record, I get the idea of the IMAP protocol. It's nice to have all your devices seeing the same e-mails. However, I rely on having an e-mail on a second device if I accidentally delete something important.

Even if I didn't have that option, having my devices syncing by copying my thousands of old e-mails that I HAVE TO KEEP FOR THE IRS back to my e-mail service providers is NOT A GOOD THING!

Seriously, one of my business e-mail accounts has less space on that provider's servers than other business and personal accounts. So, IMAP kept copying everything back to that particular server and maxing out my allocated space.

To the point, I couldn't send or receive any e-mails. ARGH!

This is the account I use to keep in touch with my cover artists and formatter. It was a very necessary account to keep up and running.

Unfortunately, I wasted the last two days figuring out how to stop IMAP from doing this. Unfortunately, I can't turn off the copying function of IMAP. Nor would Outlook recognize my old PST file as a valid e-mail data file. The issue meant creating a brand-new POP account on Outlook and copying everything from the old PST file to the new PST file.

But after the hair-pulling and chocolate-eating, everything's sorted. I can now send my files for April releases to my formatter. And I was able to retrieve the e-mails with cover art attached from my cover artists.

I still need to go through and unlock the rest of my files because apparently my backup software couldn't handle copying subfolders. When I did a manual copy, both my backup hard drive and Microsoft thought I was stealing from myself so there's a ton of files and folders with permissions stripped from them.

 ARGH!

But that's a bitch session for another day.

It's Definitely a Monday!

Things are getting back into their normal groove at Casa Harden. My body's recovering from the two-week road trip. The pups and husband aren't quite so needy, though they all come check to make sure I'm still here every couple of hours or so. And I'm slowly catching up on work related things.

However, everyone but the Grandpuppy has medical appointments this week. Today was Princess Bella's annual check-up. Everything's fine, just typical middle-age crap. We both have arthritis in our knees.

Over night, the dang robins built a dang nest in my Ostara/Easter wreath on the front door. This year, DH didn't trim down the freakin' bush you prefer, you mini-dinosaurs. Stay out of my wreaths! Thankfully, no eggs had been layed yet, so I didn't feel bad about removing the next.

Saws have been humming or growling through the area as homeowners and cleaning crews are dealing with the fallen branches and downed trees from last Wednesday's extreme storms. However, the neighbors directly behind us are not one of those dealing with the wreckage. I'm thankful none of the debris landed on our side of the fence, but I miss privacy provided by the downed or damaged trees.

And now, I'll head over to Starbucks to get some actual drafting done. Tonight, I'll be editing the stories that are scheduled for release next week, plus March's release that wasn't finished in time.

I may be a turtle, but I'm still running this race!

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

A little more Ms. Swift for you!

Home Again

The last two days have not been the best for my mental and physical health despite the Beckster and some lovely South Carolinian medical personnel taking care of me.

Tuesday morning, I woke up at 3AM with a UTI. I get them when I'm super-stressed. It doesn't matter if the stress is bad or good. Yeah, I know those are relative terms. But the last time I had a UTI was the day after my father-in-law's funeral. And I was having fun on my Tour of the Carolinas until everything caught up with me on the last full day in the South.

As I said above, the ladies at the urgent care clinic I went to were absolute dolls. I got in and taken care of. The PA assigned to me checked in regularly, especially when they discovered the testing machine had malfunctioned. They got a machine from another facility lickity-split because they couldn't prescribe antibiotics without confirmation.

While I waited for the prescriptions to be filled, I grabbed breakfast and gassed up the car. By the time I headed back to Becky's, less than two hours had passed.

Despite my plans to write and the antibiotics kicking in, I still felt like crap, so I took a good three-hour nap and a shower before she got home from her spin class. I had to skip the evening's martinis, but we got take-out from a delightful little family own restaurant.

On Wednesday morning, I woke feeling reasonable better. The drive from from Columbia, SC, to Northwest Ohio would only take nine hours, depending on the number of pit stops I made. Most of it is a straight shot up I-77.

Or it should have been.

A tractor-trailer crash brought down power lines across the interstate near Exit 124. I-77 was backed up for miles in both directions. The alternate routes were also backed up. You can't take three lanes of interstate traffic down to a couple of two-lane roads and not have delays.

Or in this case, a four-hour delay.

I didn't get home until after 11PM.

Just ahead of a major thunderstorm system that peeled shingles off the roof of our shed, overturned the decorative cistern next to our patio, and knocked over several neighbors trees. The official weather report says we had a 70 mph straight-line gust, but a neighbor and I speculated we may have had an F0 pass through from the sounds and the amount of damage.

But I'm home now. Two puppies are very pleased to have extra pets and cuddles again. And DH is happy that he no longer has to eat his own cooking!

Last Stop of My Carolina Tour

I'm currently in Columbia, South Carolina, the last stop of my two week trip. My friend Becky is currently running errands, and I'm ensconced at her dining room table. Yes! I'm actually working!

But then the Beckster doesn't feel the need to drag me around her latest landing place. She had frozen pizza in the oven and a martini waiting for me when I arrived. We're getting Greek take-out tonight for dinner. There's just some friends who get you, and they are a royal treasure beyond measure.

Wednesday, I head home, but I think the break to visit family and friends has done me a world of good.

A New Experience

With music, I'm not addicted to a particular genre. I threw people off in the old days when one could look at a person's vinyl/cassette/CD collection and get a feel for someone's tastes. Mine was literally all over the place.

Dolly Parton, Madonna, Barry Manilow, Mozart, Prince, The Statler Brothers, Genesis, Elvis Presley, Metallica, ABC.

I've realized the commonality is the honest emotions in the song writing and the performance.

Last night, my friends took me all over Wilmington, NC, to see the sights. However, the highlight was a concert at UNCW by the Chatham Rabbits.And those qualities of honest emotion in their lyrics and performance makes me love their work.

The Chatham Rabbits are currently on tour if you want to check them out..

Here's a taste. . .

Travel Week One Completed

Week 1 of the Great East Coast Tour is done and I'm exhausted. Actually, I'm peopled out.

If you're an introvert, you understand what I'm talking about. If you're an extrovert, you probably won't. All I ask is you give us introverts some grace and kindness.

It's not that we don't like socializing. But the more people involved, the more strength we use to keep up. It's. . .exhausting.

At two of the four stops so far, the people I saw wanted me to meet their friends. The other two wanted to got out to eat at fancy restaurants in major cities. I just wanted to see the people I love. And I would have been perfectly happy to catch up over a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Right now, I'm ensconced in my room at a Charlotte Holiday Inn. Thankfully, check-out isn't until noon. It's only a three-hour drive to my next stop. So, I have roughly 18 hours of me time.

I need it. I mean I REALLY need it because my next friend is taking me out to dinner with her friends and then to a concert.

And the friend at my last stop just texted me about making reservations for dinner when I get to her house. I texted back, "Please don't make me go out! We order in or I'll cook." And she replied that was no problem

I'm glad I bookended my entire trip with people I've lived with at one time or another. They understand me.

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

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

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.

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!

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 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!

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.

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!

An Oldie But Goodie

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

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.