Author: jaymountney

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Happy New Year – and my December reviews!

This is the same tree that appears in my snowy post and in my social media icons. But, obviously, without snow. It’s the sycamore at the bottom of our garden. I watch it changing its seasonal attire all year round and also watch the magpies who live in it.

This is my last review post of 2021. I’m considering trying a new format for my reviews in 2022 but haven’t quite settled on anything yet. It might look something like ‘the very best of’ actually reviewed then the rest just listed with stars or no stars. Or I might do film reviews less often. Or…

Anyway, here are my December reviews – film, booksm short stories and fanfic.

TV and film.

Wheel of Time Season 1***** (Amazon Prime) Fabulous retelling of the long series by Robert Jordan, finished after Jordan’s death by Brad Sanderson who is consulting editor for the show. There are changes, yes, but I think they tighten and improve the narrative. The casting and acting is great, the locations, real and created. are superb and the filming is high quality. Now we have to wait for Season 2 but they’ve almost finished filming.

Terry Pratchett’s The Abominable Snow Baby ***** (Channel 4). Nicely done animated version of a Pterry short story. A slightly overdone Christmas message but saved by the actors voicing the characters. Granny (Julie Walters) is superb.

Hot Fuzz***** However often I watch it, I love every moment.

The Christmas Lectures**** BBC4. Jonathan Van Tam takes teenagers through various science and maths aspects of the pandemic. Very well presented and I liked the way he split the hour long lectures into shorter sections with different experts. That’s a good way to keep both his live and his viewing audience interested. Recommended viewing for anyone who wants the science/maths unpacked or for anyone who has teenagers.

Death in Paradise Christmas Special**** BBC1 I’m not sure this usually delightful series can stand the expansion to an hour and a half but the case had a great ending and there were some highly amusing moments in the tropical storm.

The Witcher (abandoned) Pales into insignificance beside Wheel of Time. Pretty actors but that’s about all I can say. I’ll be posting more about my tastes in fantasy, books and films, in 2022.

Books

The excellent. (No five stars this month but these were very good.)

Boy Banned by RJ Scott**** Great story about a song contest and a romance with one of the main characters on the autistic spectrum, beautifully depicted. (RJ knows exactly what she’s talking about from family experience.) I have now read novels based on various competitions: baking, property refurbishment, magician skills, and singing. I think it has become one of my favourite tropes!

Love’s Bequest by Blake Allwood**** A great finale to the Big Bend series. Ghosts, villains, angst, archaeology, and a lovely re-visit to much loved characters from previous volumes. One tiny niggle: the family trees were ‘pictures’ so wouldn’t enlarge on my Kindle and were too small to read.

Transposition by Gregory Ashe**** Hazard and Somerset Bk 2. Fascinating case where detectives are marooned with killer and victims. Brilliant descriptions of snow and storm. Some slightly confusing head-hopping but I love these guys anyway and must get the rest of the series.

Changing Worlds by Cari Z**** Great culture clash and alien planet sci fi. Lost a star because once Jason and Ferran were married I couldn’t see the point of the erotic interludes.

In this bed of snowflakes we lie by Sophia Soames.**** Touching romance between two rather awkward students. Rescued from college romance trope by the setting (Oslo in winter) and the age of the students (not teens). I loved the protagonists and the all-encompassing snow, exquisitely described.

Thicker than Water by Becca Seymour**** I think this was a re-read but I couldn’t find any evidence… It’s quite an exciting story with shifters, drug crime and mm romance all set in and around Sydney, but since I kept getting those ‘read this, knew that’ vibes, I wasn’t as engrossed as I probably was first time round. I nearly downgraded it to three stars but then thought that would be unfair and anyway, I could recommend it.

The readable (and some of you might rate them higher)

Charles: Learning to love by Con Riley*** A pleasant and well written romance but it lacked the ‘extra’ elements of mystery or outside drama that I’ve come to want in the genre.

Cinder and Ashes Bk 1 by X Aratare*** Ends on cliffhanger so presumably you have to read Bk 2***. I did and guess what? Another cliffhanger. I may continue because they’re on KU but I wouldn’t pay to own them. It’s an mm retelling of Cinderella that threatens to continue for an entire series. Still, it’s an interesting twist on the original.

Double Trouble by Barbara Elsborg*** First in the Lost and Found series. The ‘trouble’ was that I didn’t like the characters, either the ‘heroes’ or the villains. Exciting story with shifters, fae, vampires, etc. but not really for me. I won’t be reading the sequel.

Lacuna by NR Walker*** I normally adore this author’s writing but this was a fantasy (unusual for her) and I found the style slightly jarring. There were moments of almost archaic formality in the dialogue then we got things like marmalade (where previous descriptions had fruit pastes) and ‘dick’. Plus, I wasn’t really invested in any of the main characters. If you like high fantasy, this could work for you and if you’ll read anything by her, go ahead. I was vaguely disappointed.

The Key to his Heart for Christmas by Rebecca James*** A novella. Quite well written and a pleasant story (fire fighter picks up a homeless man on the way home) but the romance is a bit too sudden and there is too much explicit sex for my taste.

The poor This is the point at which I tell you not to bother.

Ghost Hunted by BL Maxwell** There was far too much ghost activity for the story to be creepy! And the writing was very repetitive.

Three Nights with the Manny by AJ Truman** OK, it was a sort of prequel novella to The Single Dads’ Club but I didn’t find it at all likely. Instant lust, yes; instant love – in this case, no. There was no character development to underpin the reactions, and most of this short story was explicit sex.

And the abandoned but this is my taste, not necessarily yours.

Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney. The reviewers who praised this ‘thriller’ said they were hooked from the start. At the 15% mark (on my Kindle) I was still bored rigid so I gave up. For all I know it might have brilliant twists, as mentioned in reviews, but as I didn’t care what happened to Amelia or Adam I wasn’t wading through the book to find out.

Scintilla by Elizabeth Noble. The story starts with BDSM in a club – I’ve discovered I can’t cope with too much erotica of any kind but especially BDSM without some initial character development.

Pity the Dead by Rylan Cavell. Ghosts plus humour but I didn’t get to grips with the characters living or dead, or the humour, so gave up.

Short stories

Recommended

Christmas Roses by Fiona Glass***** Gorgeous brief sequel to December Roses, free in Fiona’s newsletter and hopefully later available elsewhere. A really beautiful story that questions all kinds of aspects of time travel, ghosts, etc. but manages to be very sweet and both sad and happy.

Five Gold Blings by Clare London**** Sweet and gentle story of a delivery driver who ends up with a vlogger and a partnership – both personal and business.

By the pricking of my robotic thumbs by Mary Robinette Kowal**** Interesting sci fi story exclusive to New Scientist (Christmas Special Issue).

Readable

Stardust Wake by Si Clarke *** An introduction to the characters from The Left Hand of Dog (mentioned in November reviews). Interesting if you have read or intend to read that, but not really a stand-alone.

Christmas with the Lumberjack by Daniel de Lorne*** Competent short story about loggers in Australia.

I also read numerous really short stories and ficlets in newsletters and FB posts. Too many to mention individually but they have kept me well entertained.

Fanfiction

I was still mostly reading in the Stargate Atlantis fandom. My own contribution, among others, to the Secret Santa went ‘live’ with authors revealed, on Christmas Day. (See my dashboard – https://archiveofourown.org/users/moth2fic – if you’re interested.)

Nevertheless, he persisted by mific***** Written for me in the SGA Secret Santa gift exchange. John, Rodney, Ronon and Radek get stuck on a planetary outpost during a routine inspection. Really gripping. 11k, https://archiveofourown.org/works/35838310

Not What It Seems by blackchaps**** SGA – an AU where scientists are slaves. 88k https://archiveofourown.org/works/743701 (and no, I hadn’t read this before I wrote my Secret Santa)

No Rest at all in freedom by Telesilla*** SGA. John ends up with wings when aliens see him as some kind of saviour. Although I like wingfic, these wings weren’t particularly appealing. 27k. https://archiveofourown.org/works/430985

And there is other fanfic out there…

A Bright, GuiltyWorld by Brumeier**** Trixie Belden mysteries but here Trixie is grown up with a new boyfriend and the mysteries are paranormal. I don’t know the original canon but I enjoyed the story and would like more! https://archiveofourown.org/works/34267990

Noah and the amazing multi-coloured dreamboat by Small_Hobbit**** Amusing Christmas ‘musical’ mash-up in this writer’s Sherlock Holmes AU with talking animals. 2739 words. https://archiveofourown.org/works/35070046

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Trimmings: recipes in time for the holiday

Last year’s special meal. No idea why the sprouts look fuzzy. (They weren’t but I altered the photo to get the colours right, so…)

Happy Solstice and some holiday cooking.

Easy Trimmings

Whatever holiday you celebrate at this time of year you probably have a main dish (veggie or not) with lashings of extra veg and… all the trimmings. My daughter (who is veggie) agrees with me (I’m not veggie) that this is the best part of the celebratory meal. It is, of course, possible to buy all the trimmings or side dishes from your favoured supermarket or corner shop. However, some things are incredibly easy to make at home and (a) they taste better (b) you get much bigger quantities for a lower price (c) they make the kitchen and most of the house smell good.

Cranberry sauce.

Traditionally, this goes with turkey but so far as I’m concerned it goes with almost anything though I’ve never tried it with fish. (I don’t like turkey – find it a bit dry and bland – so we usually have chicken.)

Buy a punnet of cranberries well before the shops start to run out in December. Freeze it. Just throw it in the freezer.

You can start to thaw the berries but they’ll thaw as you cook so don’t worry. Put them in a pan with sugar, not too much but they can be tart – I use about two tablespoons of white granulated to a large punnet. Add a glass of orange juice plus shreds of orange rind if you happen to have been eating oranges or tangerines, a small glass of port (though sherry/madeira/etc would probably do) and make sure the liquid just covers the berries. If not, add a little water or more juice/alcohol. You can leave out the orange if you’re allergic to citrus or the alcohol if you’re teetotal. Though bear in mind that alcohol is burnt off during cooking so the sauce will not be alcoholic and is suitable for children. Put the pan on a medium to low heat and cook till most of the berries have burst. Then carry on till the liquid has reduced a bit but don’t go too mad as you are not making jam.

Store in the fridge – it will keep well into the new year if allowed. Ours isn’t and doesn’t.

Bread sauce

I think this is meant to go with turkey, too, and of course would not be suitable for kosher Jewish meals so just serve it with anything you like! Again, probably not fish.

Buy sliced white bread for this, even if you normally eat brown or whatever. Either buy a crustless loaf or cut off all the crusts which you can then turn into croutons if you feel inclined. I use about half a loaf for a dish of sauce that lasts through the holiday week for meals and sandwiches.

Peel a small onion and stud it with cloves. You might need to use a skewer to make little holes to help the cloves go in. Pour milk (any kind so maybe Jews or Vegans could use oatmilk) over the studded onion and bring to the boil then leave to cool. You can do this the night before you make the sauce and store the infused milk in the fridge but don’t take the onion out till you’re about to make the sauce.

Tear the bread roughly. Heat the infused milk and stir in the bread which should gradually turn into a mushy sauce mixture.

Stuffing

The kind you serve separately, either in a dish or in little balls, not the kind you put inside a roast.

Breadcrumbs. You need lots and the easiest way is to let half a loaf go a bit stale then whizz it in a food processor. (Tear it up first.) Add herbs – your choice. Sage is traditional with some meats, but other herbs work well. Thyme is popular. Also add things like sultanas and chopped dried apricots to make a more celebratory dish. You can create this mix well in advance.

Chop an onion very finely and cook by boiling in water then when the onion is translucent and glossy, add your mix, a little at a time, till you have the right consistency.

You can then make balls which are fiddly but give a crust that some people like, or just put the mix in a dish, dot with butter and bake on the bottom of the oven for about half an hour. (That’s what I do.) If you’re making the balls you’ll need a firmer initial consistency and you can use flour for rolling otherwise you’ll have ended up stuffing your hands and fingernails… I prefer the dish format, because I like the texture – more of the stuffing remains soft.

Dressing for e.g. shredded red cabbage, salad potatoes, etc.

I use half and half mayo and greek style yoghurt. You can also add a little mustard and/or lemon juice. This gives a good dressing that works better than either mayo or yoghurt alone. It clings nicely to the salad. My mother in law used soured cream instead of yoghurt but I think that was a question of what used to be available.

This actually goes well with fish e.g. salmon fillets

You might notice that I don’t mention seasoning i.e. salt and pepper. I use very little salt in cooking because nowadays a lot of people prefer to control the amount they add, at table. However, most dishes gain flavour if you add a pinch of salt when you start cooking. It’s up to you. Pepper, I prefer fresh ground and served at table though it can be a nice addition to dressing.

Don’t forget:

You can prepare all your veg in advance but make sure you put root veg like potatoes and parsnips in cold water to stop them discolouring. It really does make all the difference on the day of the big meal if half the work is already done.

Brandy butter

Intended to go with mince pies but I’m not wild about mince pies, or about custard or white sauce which traditionally go with plum pudding. So I have the pudding with brandy butter and very good it is too. (Indigestion tablets are recommended as a follow-up.) Leftover brandy butter tastes really good on toast, by the way. Just saying.

You can buy this and sometimes I do because I run out of cooking space and time, but really, all you need is butter, icing sugar, and brandy. Mix and then store in the fridge. The brandy might make it a bit sloppy but it should firm up in the fridge. Still, don’t use too much liquid!

As I’m posting this on the solstice I thought I’d share the card I made for my daughter’s birthday, which is on the solstice. I enjoy doing 3D decoupage (as well as cooking!) and this time made my own design using the inner sides of envelopes. It’s dead easy, and only needs sharp scissors, those little sticky fixers, and patience.

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Sale and a new free story

I’ve enrolled my books in the Smashwords End of Year sale which runs from 17th December till 31st December. They’re all at 50% off which means the novels are now $1.49, the novellas and story collections are $0.99 and Silver Chains is free. The coupon will automatically be applied at checkout.

If you’ve ever thought about reading any of them, take advantage of this. In the new year I am considering raising some of the prices because I strongly suspect the low price makes people think the novels are just novellas or short stories.

I’ve also written you a holiday gift story which is now under the free stuff tab here. It’s called King of the Wood and is about plant shifters and mm romance (nothing explicit). The cover is based on a photograph from our garden. I thought it was very good of the holly and ivy to grow together for me!

I’ll be posting some holiday recipes later this week – before most of us do the celebration cooking, anyway!

(Incidentally my free stuff page is a mess but one of my friends is going to help me sort it out after the holiday. Meanwhile, you can still download stuff – it just looks disorganised.)

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November Fanfiction

My current membership icon resized for WordPress

Just a reminder that all the fanfic I read is on AO3 which stands for Archive Of Our Own. This is a project of OTW which stands for Organisation for Transformative Works. I used to be a volunteer admin and their views and policies are still very dear to my heart. If anyone wants to read my own fanfic contributions you can find them on https://archiveofourown.org/users/moth2fic – a hotch potch of multi-fandom stuff, short and long!

I have read some long (think short novel length) and absorbing fics this month. All highly recommended and you don’t really need to know much about SGA other than that it is sci fi involving colonising an alien city on an alien planet and the central team are John, Rodney, Teyla and Ronon (who replaces Aiden Ford after Season 1).

Turn into something beautiful by blackchaps***** SGA – not only is John a were-cougar, all feline shifters have the gene and will go to Atlantis… https://archiveofourown.org/works/626440

Turn the Tide by Brumeier***** SGA John is a merman and Rodney is tasked with trying to communicate. This was a re-read from ages ago but just as good second time around. https://archiveofourown.org/works/13785420

Checkmate ‘Verse by Bead***** SGA. John is turned into a cat for a month by an ancient artefact. Rodney looks after him. The story is told in short chapters a bit like sections of episodes. Some are from a feline pov… The whole story gave me warm fuzzy feelings and I liked the HEA for John and Rodney in the final chapter. https://archiveofourown.org/works/221898

Where the Brave Dare Not Go by Telesilla***** SGA – an AU so far from canon you could read it as an original work. John is a were-cougar (as in the story by blackchaps). Rodney is a biochemist researching ways to make were cycles easier. http://archiveofourown.org/works/26467

I was supposed to be reading through the Pros big bang stories but had signed up for SGA Secret Santa so was immersing myself in SGA fic instead. My gift fic is now finished and will appear on my site, linked above, when it’s posted on 23rd December) so I will revert to my normal random reading and might even get to the Pros fics – I do have them all downloaded. I can’t give teasers about my fic because it’s meant to be a secret, but as it’s an SGA Secret Santa it will clearly be SGA… And I’ve just realised there will be all the other Secret Santa fics to read…

I also read Small_Hobbit’s ficlets as they appear in my inbox (yes, I subscribe). The human and animal inhabitants of her inimitable version of Sherlock Holmes are producing a pantomime this year based on Noah… Hilarious. https://archiveofourown.org/works/35070046 For those of you who don’t yet know her work, there are voles and mice and ferrets and so on who interact with the humans… No sex, no violence, just lots of fun.

To Brumeier and Small_Hobbit who are friends on Dreamwidth where I crosspost this, a huge thank you for the hours of pleasure you have given me over the year!

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What I read in November

Apples, possibly crabapples, spotted locally in November

The excellent.

I should perhaps point out that five stars usually go to things I would read again if I ever have time. That means crime stories and mysteries rarely figure at higher than four.

Unplanned Coda by Kaje Harper***** A lovely ending to the Hidden Wolves series. I’m sad to leave these guys and would happily read more adventures in the same ‘verse.

Dances Long Forgotten by Ruby Moone***** A gorgeous mm twist on a Heyer Regency trope with a 21st century romance framing the story with the hearing of the ghost music that pervades it.

The Lost Ship of the Tucker Rebellion by Marie Sexton***** Brilliant sci fi that ticked all my boxes. The focus is on identical twins Denver and Laramie who have a semi-telepathic connection. There is some romance (mm and mf), lots of world building, and a bit of space opera but not enough to overwhelm the story.

Wed to the Barbarian and The Barbarian’s Vow by Keira Andrews***** High fantasy romance in two volumes. Really gripping and I couldn’t stop reading. This has all the usual ‘tropes’ – huge rough strangers, pampered princes, arranged marriage, plots galore and some really exciting drama but it also manages to smile wryly at itself and ends up explaining that life is not a fairy tale and that people are complicated.

Fragile Magic by Sharon Ashwood***** A rare (for me) five star short story. Selena (half fey) rescues a gargoyle and then of course she needs a vet (enter werewolf Jake). Romance that sparkles and some terrific world building in a short piece. Will definitely look out for this author.

Unwrapping his heart by Vin George.**** At first I thought it was just a sweet and well written story of friends to lovers then the totally believable various family dramas lifted it into the four star class. Lovely.

Jack O’Lantern by Fiona Glass**** Suitably creepy Halloween story but I read it on Nov. 1st over coffee! Will bear re-reading next October!

The Left Hand of Dog by Si Clarke**** (also Dare vs the Doll) I wasn’t wild about the short but tried the novel and got hooked. Humour of the Pratchett/Adams kind and fascinating friendships with aliens. Plus, of course, the dog… I have since read the prequel, Stardust Wake, and that deserves four stars too. If you like quirky sci fi, these are for you.

Wolfy by Tia Fielding**** Delightful book about a shifter/human relationship. I wanted more. More about the other wolves and their partners, and how they met, etc. Meanwhile, it filled the gap left by Hidden Wolves.

Romantic Rescue by Blake Allwood**** Blake is an author who can always be trusted to provide three dimensional characters (including the minor ones) and locations. I thought at first that this was going to be merely a sweet romance but there was mystery and danger in plenty before the end. Exciting and satisfying.

Fox and Wolf by Julia Talbot**** (Apex Investigations 1) A group of varied shifters as a detective agency. A gorgeous quote that I have to share: What did you do when you shot a mean tiger and all the bears had crocodile goo on them? That about sums up the plot, too.

The very readable but not special.

The Dragon Next Door by Holly Day*** Sweet story about a guy who wants to get to know his new neighbour. Nicely written but I find I want more than romance from romance stories.

Every witch way by Dakota Chase*** Well written tale of a young witch forced into using her multiple powers. High school settings are not my thing, and even though Diva goes off to Salem to do research there is still a high school vibe. This is not a criticism of the book. It’s just my taste! I suspect older teens would really love it.

Innate Magic by Shannon Fay*** Well written and the magic was interesting, but there was a lot of gratuitous violence and the core romance between Paul and Tonya wasn’t particularly gripping.

Ship Whisperer by Valerie J Mikles*** Competent sci fi and recommended for anyone who likes space opera and lots of future tech. The main character was fascinating. You’ll note from my four and five star recommendations that I like sci fi but I prefer it to focus on people and places rather than battles.

Rewriting History by Alex Jane*** A pleasant story in the new Podlington Village Romance series in which various authors get to play in the Podlington sandpit. Well written but not terribly memorable though I will probably read others in the series. I was curious about the references to Ashington because I grew up just outside a town of that name but got the impression this was not it. Another example of romance that is just romance. Nothing wrong with that, but I want more.

Run for the roses by Elizabeth Noble*** Well written story set in the world of horse racing with a convoluted murder mystery at the centre of the plot. First in the Circles series and another couple look interesting.

Just like cats and dogs by BA Tortuga*** A lot of head hopping, sometimes mid-paragraph, had me confused. Nice concept (cat and dog shifters find romance) and an exciting story.

Elven Duty by Rhys Lawless*** Nice story – not sure whether to get sequel or not but as it’s on KU I probably will. (I also liked their Foxy Heart.)

And lastly, the definitely not recommended

Shift by Heather MacKinnon* I was furious because this was introduced as the first novel in a series but turned out to be just the first three chapters. Just as it was getting interesting (a young woman is mauled by a wolf on a hiking trail then rescued by a brother and sister who talk about their ‘pack’) it stopped and there was a suggestion about clicking to buy the next volume. Even if the volumes were free or in KU I would not be impressed and definitely won’t be following the series on principle. I don’t object to ‘tasters’ but the author/publisher should be upfront about what’s on offer.

Bump in the night by Meredith Spies * Book One of Medium at Large. Confusing and confused paranormal detective story. The characters are insufficiently differentiated so it’s hard to tell who’s narrating each chapter, and the crime that underpins the plot is not well explained. There is some poor writing, including overlong paragraphs with a spoken sentence at the end meaning the reader hasn’t a clue who’s talking or why. I won’t be reading any more and would suggest you don’t, either.

That’s enough for now and I’ll leave fanfic to a later post.

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My November viewing

Autumn colours arrived late this year, were glorious for a short time then disappeared rapidly.

Midway through December and I have failed to keep any blog promises so far… I meant to provide a playlist of last year’s December music – family emergencies and family celebrations have conspired to prevent anything from happening. I also intended to provide some Christmas cooking advice and that may yet happen. Meanwhile, I have, later in the month, a holiday story ready and waiting, and will also link to my Secret Santa fanfic once it is posted.

For now, have some reviews of what I watched in November.

Shetland***** (BBC1/iPlayer) Case satisfactorily resolved. Plenty of personal angst for next season.

Keith Jarrett: The Art of Improvisation*****. (BBC4/iPlayer) Repeat of a film I missed first time around. Nice long interviews with Keith and other musicians. I kept thinking how wonderful it would have been to have similar footage on composers like Mozart (Keith’s favourite).

Wheel of Time***** (Amazon Prime) I was excited to see this – I read all the books then gave them to a friend. She has now started a discussion comm (reading/viewing) on Dreamwidth. There are flaws (as there are in the books) but I shall continue. This is Amazon but is a weekly programme. I ended up writing a very angry letter to The New Statesman re a review of episode 1 by a journalist who clearly had no idea about the fantasy genre. I do not usually write to editors…

City Homicide.*** (Amazon Prime). An Australian cop show set in Melbourne. I was hoping for something like Mystery Road. I watched one ep and only carried on to the second because it was a two ep case. Adequate mystery and solution but the detective team was boring.

The Harder They Fall (Netflix) No stars. This is an alternative Western and sounded interesting. I stopped watching and read while husband got to the end. Brilliant acting and direction and fascinating to see black actors in all the leading roles, but the plot was very thin and there was almost non-stop violence so not a film for me. A friend recced it and I will be wary of her recs in future.

Joanna Lumley and the Human Swan (itv hub) Joanna followed the journey of a woman paragliding round Great Britain. No stars. I sat through this (doing other things) because husband is a keen paraglider. I am frequently irritated by Joanna Lumley and on top of her style of presentation we had some fairly stupid commentary about climate change. Yes, cliffs are collapsing but they must always have done so or why would they be there? Worthy but could benefit from some serious editing. I admit I was already a bit upset at the notion of a programme featuring a guy who died in an accident whilst they were filming; we knew from the outset that it was dedicated to him and again, worthy but not something I was happy to watch.

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The End of November

This comes to you from a very snowy UK. The picture is from our garden and was in fact taken a few years ago but the scene today is exactly the same.

I thought I’d better post again before December. You may remember that last year I did a daily post of winter music. I will try to get a playlist of the music I recommended ready for your use but it might be a day or two because real life is quite busy at the moment.

I found daily posts quite hard so this year I’ll do some sporadic posts of seasonal cooking. Then I’ll have a seasonal story for you round about the middle of the month.

Meanwhile, I did a couple of memes I ‘stole’ from a friend (the writer smallhobbit).

1. Did you grow up with your parents together as a unit?
Yes until I was sixteen, when my father died. From the age of nine I was at boarding school and only saw them in the holidays and when they visited, once a term.

2. Did you reach adulthood with four living grandparents?

No. My maternal grandfather died before I was born and my maternal grandmother died when I was five. My paternal grandmother died a few weeks after my father when I was sixteen and my paternal grandfather survived until I was twenty.


3. Is your extended family a close one or not?
No. Nor is it very extended. My only uncle died before my mother did, in 2005. I have no first cousins but am still in touch with a second cousin and through her hear other news.

4. Does your family have a ‘black sheep’?

Not in recent history. My father’s surname derived from a lowland Scots group of border raiders, so once upon a time, who knows?

5. What is your first memory of a family member that is not your mother(s) or father(s)?
We lived with my maternal grandmother until I was three and then when my father (a CoE vicar) got his own parish she moved to live with us. So she was part of my life all the time.

6. What was a skill you were proud to learn as a kid?
Not sure I remember, but I do recall being pleased at being a good reader and at learning to read music (my grandmother taught me) at the same time as learning to read.

2. What’s something you used to be good at, but can’t do any more?
PE – cartwheels etc… And singing. I used to be in a choir but I no longer have the same range.

3. What’s something you haven’t done in a long time, but you could pick it right back up again with some practice?
Piano playing. I haven’t done any since I retired because for various reasons my piano is inaccessible.

4. What can you teach others to do?
I was a teacher so all kinds of things including: understanding grammar; various maths skills; how to review or critique something; how poetry works; how to read music. In craft terms etc. tatting, reading music, various papercrafts.


5. What would you like to learn next?
I would like to learn more skills with graphics programs.

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Boring thrillers

Boring thrillers: a contradiction in terms? It’s something I’ve been promising to write about for a while now.

I like crime stories but I’m quite fussy about them. To begin with, I want to be in the position of the detective, amateur or professional, and I don’t appreciate being given the criminal’s pov, or some prologue that gives the solution away. I like being asked by the author to investigate alongside the detective and draw sensible conclusions then check them against the eventual ending. I like it when the author plays fair – no deus ex machina at the last minute and preferably no ‘well they were insane and nobody knew’. ( I read a couple like that recently.) I don’t like things that are too gruesome as we ‘watch’ though I don’t mind the investigation of gory crimes. Nor am I keen on really cosy mysteries, partly because I don’t often find them realistic; most investigation is done by professionals, either police or private detectives, not by amateurs.

Having said all that, I’m fairly careful about what I buy or borrow, and always read the blurb. I don’t read many reviews, in case of spoilers. I look at the first couple of pages and if an entire novel is clearly going to be in present tense I tend to turn away. Not a criticism because it’s clever and I know there are people who enjoy it – I’m just not one of them. It’s also a literary ‘trend’ and that’s something I don’t want in my genre reading.

However, recently I have read a number of thrillers that passed all those initial tests and then turned out to be totally uninspiring.

There are the police procedurals that are more about the procedure than the crime. I really think we can skip too much time explaining how a police station works. Even differences between different countries can be covered very briefly. Forensic science labs likewise. I want results and then the detective’s reactions to them.

Some stories have so many characters and so many threads introduced very early that my brain switches off. I have no objection to a cast of hundreds if they’re brought in gradually!

Then there are crime stories that are more about the detective than the crime. Yes, I want an interesting detective so that they come alive on the page and engage my sympathy, but I really don’t want chapter after chapter about their family or their problems till it detracts from the main plot.

That brings me to another kind of boring – boring detectives. I don’t necessarily want a superhero (in fact I don’t much like superheroes) or someone with so many quirks they aren’t real, but I do want them to stand out from the crowd. The same goes for their partner or sidekick. I’m happy with them finding romance – with each other or elsewhere – but again, it shouldn’t overwhelm the plot.

I love most Scandi-Noir on TV but have tried some Scandinavian novels and found them lacking. I think the actors and directors must bring extra life to the characters when books are used for series.

So when I give four or five stars to a crime story you’ll know it has passed all my tests. I’ll mention a few writers I love: Charlie Cochrane and RJ Scott both write mm romantic crime mysteries. KJ Charles does the same and includes magic. Phil Rickman’s Merrily Watkins series is wonderful, as is Ian Rankin’s Rebus. My comfort reading includes Lindsey Davis’ Roman detective Falco. There are others but this isn’t a critique or review post. It’s just to explain why sometimes in my reviews I talk about thrillers being boring.

And you know, when I invest time (and money) in a thriller, the last thing I want is for it to be boring!

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October’s Monsterfest ficlets – free to a good home.

Community icon courtesy of Brumeier

Every October a writing community I belong to on Dreamwidth runs a monsterfest. The mods give a number of prompts and the members can write to those, rec appropriate things they’ve read or watched or just discuss the monster/legend in question. All the prompts concern fantasy creatures of one kind or another.

I don’t always write but this year I did and my contributions – all short ficlets – are now on AO3. At least one will be expanded and turned into a novella (or even a novel) eventually.

I find writing drabbles and ficlets to prompts a very good writing exercise. Everything has to be finished quickly, must stand alone and should be accessible to readers with no prior in-depth knowledge of the topic. That’s harder to achieve than it sounds.

Some members write fanfic responses. All mine are inspired by various fandoms but are not specific. The pieces reference well known legends, and none contain any sex or violence. The last paragraph leads back here, to the short story I gave you for Halloween.

So here’s the link for anyone who’s interested.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/35085676

You can follow the link to my contribution but if you like monsters I suggest you also check out the collection because there are a lot of good stories there from this and previous years.

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Shoobie_Monster_Fest

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October reading

A very photoshopped version of a photo of the big window arch in Bolton Abbey.

The highly recommended:

The Scarlet Dress by Louise Douglas***** An elegant mystery set on the Severn Estuary. Beautifully told and beautifully resolved. Old bones are found under a funfair that is being demolished. Not a police procedural but as the evidence unfolds the reader feels like a detective.
 
Stalked by Shadows, Marked by Shadows, Conventional Shadows (newsletter novella) and Possessed by Shadows by Lissa Kasey***** An exciting paranormal mm romance series set in New Orleans. The characters (including the minor ones) are beautifully realised and the ghosts and/or demons are interesting and chilling. I bought the first volume then signed up to the newsletter and read the other two novels on KU. I’m so glad somebody (forgotten who) recommended the first! This was my pre-Halloween reading and it was truly memorable.

The recommended:

The I Hate To Housekeep Book by Peg Bracken**** A re-read. This time around (I’ve read it at about 10 yearly intervals) I was struck by the quaintness of some of the things – hat wearing, using canned soup in dinner party recipes, husbands who are not involved in housekeeping, etc. But there are still some good ideas!  

Love’s Heirloom by Blake Allwood**** A great sequel to Love’s Legacy – it was good to see more of the same characters. There was a spooky element too so it was perfect reading for Halloween. This author writes beautifully but like all of us has the occasional typo – I blame our word processor spell checks which don’t quite grasp homonyms. Anyway, I hope Blake won’t correct this one because it had me smiling all day: ‘Desolate planes interrupted by the occasional mountain.’ I’m delighted to see there’s a further volume in the Big Bend series.

Monster in the Maze by Fiona Glass**** is a delightful short story featuring a grand country mansion with extensive gardens (echoes of December Roses), a lord of the manor, a reliable gardener, and of course, a monster.  

A Spell for Master Vervain by Lee Welch**** Another good short story. I almost wanted it to turn into a novel or at least a novella. A student with a crush on his tutor uses a spell to summon an incubus. What could possibly go wrong?

Island Detective by Sue Brown**** Sixth in the Isle of Wight series. Nice sense of place and an interesting cast of characters who form a group of families and friends. An interesting first case for Olaf’s new venture as a PI.

Fathers of the Bride by Marshall Thornton**** Funny and romantic story about a divorced gay couple planning their daughter’s wedding. I’m not usually ‘into’ humour as the focus of romance novels but this had me both laughing and hooked.

https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/grumpygreenwitch/665812784231202816 ****A lovely short fantasy fic with no title! I understand the monster is based on one from D&D.  

The readable:

Torn by Louisa Mae*** Paranormal Halloween romance novella. Intriguing story but the constant tense switching made it hard for me to read. .  

The Flat Tyre by Stella Shaw (Tom’s Tricks #1)*** Quite a nice introduction to a new rent boy series – a short story which didn’t really go far enough in character development. I might read more to see what happens. Well written and constructed.

The Hidden Girl and Other Stories by Ken Liu*** The first couple of stories in this well written sci fi collection were impressive but gradually all the tales seemed to merge into a long rant about modern society, extrapolating from current trends. One, at least, was more of a political debate disguised as a story rather than a story with an underlying political point to make. I like my sci fi to have a message but it shouldn’t overwhelm the fiction aspect.  

Abandoned:
 
 Her Perfect Family by Teresa Driscoll. If I don’t care who, why, how, etc. by p 36 I’m not going to. I think it was going to be supposed to be a thriller.

Fanfic

I got three birthday gift fics in October – all of them delightful!

The Mouse that Soared by Small_Hobbit https://archiveofourown.org/works/34675825 1k words (Sherlock Holms AU)
Pull My Corners Gently Through by MistressKat https://archiveofourown.org/works/34692130 674 words (Harry Potter)
Cake!!! by pushkin666 https://archiveofourown.org/works/34692757 A drabble and a half. (The Hobbit)
 
Also read:

Doin’ Okay (But Not Very Well) by Brumeier**** https://archiveofourown.org/works/34142959  8720 words. SGA – Evan sees a murder. Probably sufficiently AU for the uninformed reader to enjoy though the cameo roles for other characters add to the interest.