Guest Post: Richard Blunt, author of Lucas Trent: Guardian in Magic

by Carol4 Comments
I'd like to welcome Richard Blunt to my notebook today. The other day I was talking about sequels I'm looking forward to. Today, Richard discusses the challenge in writing sequels. The Challenge with Sequels By Richard Blunt Do you like reading sequels as much as I do? Well, OK, that might depend on how much I like reading sequels I suppose. *grin* But you might have guessed it, I love sequels. Or to phrase it more specific: I love it when a good story doesn’t just end, but continues. The problem is: Can you make a good story better by continuing it? Or can you at least hold the quality? In my opinion this is one of two things that set apart nice stories from really great stories. If you look at authors like Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle or J.K. Rowling, they all managed to pull that off and write book after book without getting lame, overly repeating or just boring. The second...
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Look Past the Ugly

by Carol8 Comments
I was watching the Property Brothers last night on HGTV. I find them a little creepy even if the renovations they do are nice. There's just something off about them, but that's beside the point. I don't know if it was during the actual show or a clip from another one, but someone stated, "You just have to look past the ugly," referring to the run down houses they transform into dream homes. I said to myself what a good motto, thinking about the mess my house usually is. (Yes, I have talk to myself, don't most people really?) But then I thought, that really is a good motto. "Just look past the ugly." It can apply in so many instances beside a house. People, for example. We're not all beautiful and some of us are downright ugly, but if you can look past that you might meet the kindest, funniest person you'll ever know. Or maybe the ugliness is on...
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Thursday’s Tale: Hoodwinked Too! (2011)

by Carol5 Comments
Last week, I looked at Nekane, a Red Riding Hood like character. Sticking with that theme, this week we watched Hoodwinked Too! starring none other than Red, this time a wise-cracking kung fu fighting smart girl. Now I liked the first one, how the same story was told through several points of view, but this sequel was just okay. Red's training with the Sisters of the Hood when she is called back to the HEA (Happily Ever After Agency). Granny's been kidnapped along with two children, so Red and Wolf are paired to save her. The plot line's goofy, it revolves around a magical truffle that can make a person unstoppable. But I do like the villains, a pair we usually consider helpless victims who barely survive their fairy tale. Here they are not innocent helpless children lured into a mistake. They are the masterminds, luring Granny into their grasp. It wasn't an outstanding movie, but it was fun enough. Thank goodness we...
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Top Ten Sequels I’m Dying to Read

by Carol9 Comments
Actually, this was a hard top ten list to make. Lately I've started several series, but just haven't kept caught up with them. Most of the books on my list have been out for several years, I just haven't gotten around to reading them. I'm waiting for a few to be published though. Here they are, in no particular order. A Rule Against Murder (Chief Inspector Gamache 4) by Louise Penny India Black and the Widow of Windsor (India Black 2) by Carol K. Carr Hell and Gone (Charlie Hardie 2) by Duane Swierczynski Ashes of a Black Frost (Iron Elves 3) by Chris Evans Black Butterfly (Lucifer Box 3) by Mark Gatiss Desire Me (Legend Hunters 2) by Robyn DeHart The Likeness (Dublin Murder Squad 2) by Tana French For the Defense (Barbara Holloway 3) by Kate Wilhelm The Power of Six (Lorien Legacies 2) by Pittacus Lore Weight of Stone (Vineart War 2) by Laura Gilman I just started using FictFact to keep track of the series I'm reading- really...
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Review: “A Bridge Under Water” by Tom Bissell

by Carol3 Comments
I don't know how I feel about "A Bridge Under Water" by Tom Bissell. The writing is descriptive and just captures the newlywed couple in the story perfectly. The man loved games of all kinds. Obscure board games, video games manufactured prior to 1990, any and all word games, but he also enjoyed purely biophysical games such as rock, paper, scissors—the "essential fairness" of which he claimed to particularly admire. He was , however, miserably bad at rock, paper, scissors, the reason being that he almost always took paper. Neither the man or the woman is particularly likeable, however. I admire that they are trying, but both seem selfish at heart, and I can't really identify with either. They are on their honeymoon, married after only knowing each other for about four months. They got married because she is pregnant, although that won't admit that's the reason. Bissell portrays the tension in the relationship well. The argument is oer religion, even though neither is...
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