Sorry!

I had no idea that transferring this blog to another blogging platform would screw up the old Mcvane blog. I'm trying not to cry because my sidebar of links is gone. Bloody fool, moi.

The new home to my blog can be found at http://mcvane.com

I decided to go with Wordpress because I'm still trying to wrap my head around the concept of content management system, so i figured that WP would be a good start before I'd move onto what I really want: Durpal. :D

That's not going to happen for a few months, though, because I want to save a few patches of hair I have left.

Anyway, see you at mcvane.com!

Rough Sex

I find this Ireland Online article quite interesting:

Keanu Reeves has landed in hot water with an American domestic violence group after carelessly joking about how "some women" like rough sex in a magazine interview. The Matrix star tells men's magazine Playboy how difficult it was to perform a rape scene with Hilary Swank in The Gift, but, when asked if his roughness may have helped the actress get into character for boxing film Million Dollar Baby, he quips: "Yeah. And, by the way, I also learned a bit of... well, that some of the ladies don't mind it... Hah, that's awful to say." The remark has upset officials at top American group Women Against Domestic Violence, who claim Reeves' flippant comment made them "literally ill." Melissa Rimmel who runs the confidential online support group for survivors and current victims of domestic violence, fumes: "I cannot believe he would even think it was OK to say that. "Why doesn't someone educate that man? I can see him saying that in passing and thinking it means nothing but, the thing is, so many women are sexually abused every day by their partners and, no, those women do not want that, nor do they like it."

I think there are some women who like having it rough, but preferably done with their consent. I think Rimmel needs to clarify that - IMO - crucial line of definition between what's acceptable and what isn't. She has to be crazy to think people will perceive Keanu's comment as a stamp of approval on rough sex that Rimmel seems to interpret as 'sexual abuse'. Which makes me wonder how she will react if she learnt that there are quite a few romance readers who adore having superAlpha heroes and near-violent sex scenes in some romance novels, especially in historical, futuristic, and paranormal romance novels. Link of the Day: I Work With Fools Be good, be bad & be safe.

Ready for the Big Move

I have decided to use mcvane.com as a new home to my blog, so I think it's going to be an interesting - and probably, hair-pulling - experience. I'll have to decide which blog software I'll use and how, which is a bit of nervous experience for me. I have been looking at this Blog Software Breakdown and I'm still not sure which to go for. Quite a few bloggers are huge fans of WordPress, but I'm not so sure. Mostly because it's a big target for spammers. Of course, one way to deal with spammers is to install spam-prevention plugins, but frankly, I can't be arsed. I think what I really want is content management system which allows me to host a blog and some kind of webzine. It seems that Textpattern may be best suited to my needs. Either way, I think the Big Move will occur this Wednesday, so if you have a link to this blog at your blog, please update the URL to mcvane.com :D Thanks. Reader Network Bev (BB) mentioned in comments section that she's held on a domain readernetwork.com for years with an idea of setting up a site for romance readers or such, but she feels that it's not an one-person operation. She's probably right, so if you're interested to take part in setting it up or help out running the site, please make yourselves known here. Perhaps we can discuss what we would like to see in a reader site. Almost Sneezed My Way to Heaven This morning I was driving on a relevantly busy roundabout when I had a violent sneezing fit. It's every driver's worst nightmare. While I sneezed, I was desperately aware that my car was bumping off the island. Thankfully it was a slow day because I had a Sunday driver in front of me and there was no one behind me, so I was able to steer away the island's edge. God, I hate colds. At least it wasn't as bad as last time when I had that kind of a sneezing fit during an important work meeting. I sneezed so hard that I somehow banged my forehead against the boss's desk. While my forehead throbbed like a mad f'ker, I apologised and then tried to focus on what he was saying, but he stared at me with horror. I touched my nose, thinking that maybe I have snot coming out of my nose, but he shook his head and pointed at my forehead. I touched my forehead and then looked at my fingers. Normally I'm not that squeamish, but for some reason, when I saw so much blood on my fingers, I said, "Holy fuck!" and the next thing, I found myself lying flat on my back with my boss running around in panic, shouting for first aid. Actually, let's stop here because that is an incident I'd like to shove in back of my mental wardrobe and keep it there for the rest of my life. Link of the Day: Vampire watermelons Be good, be bad & be safe.

McVane

I had a shock the other day. I was helping a friend finding a domain name for her web site by typing all sorts in 1and1.com's domain search engine. You really do have to be creative because the good ones are already taken. So I resorted to using a dictionary to find a word that has a meaning she wanted to use as her domain. While I was ready to tear my hair out, she said, "You know mcvane.com is available?" I almost fell out of chair. McVane is a pretty popular surname. How could it be available? Needless to say, it's been snapped up. :D Central Point for Romance Readers? I'm not quite sure what to do with mcvane.com, though. Half of me is thinking that I ought to transfer this blog to some web space under that domain name because blogger.com is driving me nuts with its slowness and hic-cups, but another half of me thinks it ought to be a central point for romance readers. I'm not exactly sure what I mean by this, but I am thinking it would have:

• Links: a regularly-updated list of links to romance reader blogs; links to review sites; any other places readers would enjoy, and such such.
• Resources: list of free photo hosts, blog hosts, web space, etc.; free templates; blog tools.
• Basic glossaries: basic HTML codes, acronyms, emoticons, romance slang terms, and such.
• Help: step-by-step guides to setting up a blog, inserting a photo, setting up a basic web page, installing an instant messenging progam, how to set up or join a yahoogroup, write a post to a message board at any site, etc. Just about anything that can help readers to understand how such and such works.
• Message board: bloggers can go for help setting up a blog, inserting a new template or blog tool, setting up a basic web page, and such such.
• a community blog for readers who don't want blogs of their own, but might want to make an occasional contribution
• Lists of online bookshops, actual bookshops, traders' groups, and such for readers around the world who are looking for books to buy or trade.
• Recommendations: this is where readers can list books they enjoyed for the others who are looking for something to read

I don't know. It'd be nice to have a purely reader-driven site where a typical romance reader go for information or a link. What do you think? Link of the Day: Victorian "Google Earth" London v.1.0 Be good, be bad & be safe.

Mish Mash

I'm quite shocked it's already Wednesday. Last few days have been a blur, but I think I am an internet addict because I'm so conditioned that even during the darkest hour of my illness, I managed to check emails. What makes it worse is I don't always remember doing this. It was as if I sleptwalk. Quite scary. I don't know whether to confess to this or not ... yeah, why not? I had an online chat with a fellow reader for a couple of hours, and I don't remember this at all. I discovered this when browsed through Gmail's Chat archives.

Dreaming Away

I rarely remember dreaming of anything, but yesterday I dreamt of swimming underwater, like a mermaid, but I needed some air. Apparently I was too stupid to realise that to get some air, I can just swim up to the surface, but noo, I swam round and round, looking for an air pocket. Not panicked, just baffled. So, I told a friend - who fancies herself an expert on interpreting dreams - about this this morning and she said it must be because I had a bad cold, hence the underwater swimming dream. Makes sense.

Square Eyes

Between bouts of sleep blackness and internet walks in zombie mode, I watched TV. Usually I watched TV about twice per week, but since this weekend, I watched it every day for hours, mostly for game shows and QVC. QVC is a weird little programme. Their presenters fascinated me so much that all I could was to stare at their long fake fingernails during close up shots. They talked a lot of crap, too, trying to convince us that their products are the best things since the invention of sliced bread. Yet a couple of times I was seriously tempted to reach for the phone to place an order. This is one of rare times that I silently thanked my parents for passing a gene that renders my ability to read numbers useless because I swear if it wasn't for this, I'd become a QVC addict.

Into the Mirror

This is for Jordan Summers who's asked about a DVD I bought a while ago. Into the Mirror is not a horror film. It's a solid murder mystery with a touch of the supernatural. Actually, I think it's a genre-defying film. Not quite a mystery, not quite a character-driven drama, not quite a thriller, not quite a horror film, not quite anything. If one needs to categorise it, I'd go for 'supernatural thriller'. It's, basically, a story about one man's journey to self-forgiveness and redemption while dealing with a number of mysterious deaths, a police investigation, a sense that there is something wrong with a department store where he works as a chief of security, and his guilt over a life-altering incident that took place a year before. But it's largely revolved around an old saying: what you see isn't always what you see. I think it works very well. The best thing about Into the Mirror is its wonderful cinematic expression, which lends a sense of weirdness to the story. I mean, in every scene, there is a reflective surface, which impresses me because not at all did I spot a reflection of the camera crew. As for sound effects? Will lowered the volume during tense moments because he couldn't bear having his nerves scretched that far out. :D While I did have a couple of problems with the script, I thought the multi-plot story was developed quite nicely. I wasn't keen on the ending, but Will loved it. I think that's because I didn't get it, but he immediately understood and found it very chilling. It's worth seeing. Not surprisingly, there is a U.S. remake of Into the Mirror in the pipeline. Earlier I re-watched another Korean film Memories of Murder, based on true events involving a serial killer, two detectives and years of frustration and terror. It's still gripping and highly enjoyable. It's interesting to see that aftering seeing this film two years ago, posters at IMDB.com still talk about the ending. It haunts me, too.

Squaring my eyes some more

Next title on my DVD menu is ... hm, horror film Wolf Creek or Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous? Actually, I'm in mood for a romantic comedy. Yeah, something like a Doris Day film. :D Here is a list of Doris Day films I have here: Young At Heart / It Happened to Jane / Pillow Talk / Lover Come Back / Send Me No Flowers / The Thrill of it All / That Touch of Mink / The Pyjama Game / Move Over Darling Hm, which to go for? Any suggestions? You know, it still surprises me that Doris Day's last feature film was made during 1960s. Link of the Day: Janee's Photoshop Tutorials Be good, be bad & be safe.

Simon, Simon ... !

I wish there were two of me. One to do all tasks and one to die in bed. I spent last few days looking after Will who was sick with a virus that he's passed on to me [thank you, Will(!)]; swimming through a sea of php, html, css and xhtml; writing numerous Thank You letters to those who attended my mother's memorial service, and glueing to TV. I came online to check emails, but then I thought I should blog. :> American Idol I've heard a lot about American Idol, but never had a chance to watch it. Until yesterday, that is. I'm still shocked. I had seen the original series, Pop Idol, which was what American Idol based on, but I didn't see any further Pop Idol or its spin-off series since. So, yesterday, I was in bed, coughing my lungs out, when Will decided to entertain me by bringing a TV into our bedroom. American Idol happened to be on at the time, so I watched it. My God, it was a train wreck in slow motion. I mean, WTF? The big guy [Randy Jackson?] and Paula Abdul - how saccharine can they be? I was quite appalled when they actually praised one contestant's awful performance. I'm just shocked that they don't - or won't - comment on dodgy aspects of contestants' performances. I mean, that Kevin kid? My God. He's terrible! Yet they praised his "unique" dance moves and "interesting" voice? And he's not voted out? He's definitely the underdog. Every series has to have one. Simon Cowell shocked me, though. What did they do to him? It seems that they removed his balls. He's the shadow of his usual self. If viewers considered him a mean bastard for his comments on American Idol, God knows what they will say when they see him on Pop Idol. I'm sorry, but from what I saw yesterday, Simon is a shark without fangs here. Of all performances, I liked the one who did Higher Ground best. Anyhow, I'll try to find out when the next episode is on because I really want to see if Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson are indeed that saccharine. OK, I'd better get off because I have a pounding headache from having to cough so much. A neighbour suggested I should drink a cup of hot water mixed with honey. I detest honey, but if drinking a cup of pure honey will stop me from coughing my brain out, by God I'm going to do it. Unless you have a better idea? If so, bring it on, please. :D Link of the Day: Crazy Thoughts Be good, be bad & be safe.

Yet Another Meme: Four

4 jobs you have had in your life:

1. Chambermaid - my first ever job
2. P.A. to Sue, a neurotic TV producer
3. Library assistant
4. Researcher
5. Development Executive

4 movies you would watch over and over:

1. Strictly Ballroom
2. The Fifth Element
3. Shaun of the Dead
4. Starship Troopers

4 places you have lived:

1. Scotland - for family
2. England - for marriage :D
3. Hong Kong - for work
4. Prague - for work

4 TV shows you love to watch: I don't watch TV much nowadays as I usually watch TV series on DVD.

1. Battlestar Galactica
2. Veronica Mars
3. Football Wives
4. CSI: Las Vegas
5. Cold Feet

4 places you have been on vacation:

1. U.S. [Las Vegas]
2. Republic of Ireland
3. Austria
4. Chile/Argentina/Cape Horn/Tierra Del Fuego - a month-long sailing trip.

4 websites you visit daily:

1. Oh No They Didn't!
2. The Scotsman
3. Bloglines
4. The Book Ladder

4 of your favorite foods:

1. Jacket potato
2. Kedgeree
3. Bread
4. Rock cakes

4 places you would rather be right now:

1. Bed
2. Bed
3. Bed
4. Bed

4 friends you are tagging that you think will respond:

1. Ziggy
2. Cranky Reader
3. Dana
4. Rosario

Link of the Day: The Encyclopedia of Lesbian Movie Scenes Be good, be bad & be safe.

Holy Smoke!

I'd just discovered that long-time reader blogger Alyssa has some good news, involving Cobblestone Press! A fast mover, isn't she, eh? :D Another discovery: Sybil's latest victim guest author blogger of the day is Pamela Clare who welcomes comments, responses and questions. Please feel free to kick her for using Scots language at her blog. Er, Sybil, I meant. Not Pamela Clare. Be good, be bad & be safe.

Mid-listers / Pet Author

Mid-Listers

I was at Keishon's when I read her blog entry:

It's hard to get published you say? How hard is it to get noticed among the gazillion books published? Yeah. That's right. It's damn hard. As readers with blogs - let's help the mid-listers get noticed.

Then I thought, who are mid-listers? How does one define a mid-lister? Is Adele Ashworth a mid-lister? Kayla Perrin? Lydia Joyce? Diana Norman? Michele Albert? Elizabeth Chadwick? Jo Beverley? Do we go by publishers' definition? Or is it a matter of familiarity with authors' names? I mentioned Johanna Lindsey to a reader friend recently and she didn't recognise the name. Never read her books. I quickly discovered that she is not the only one as I found four more readers who didn't recognise the name either. Does that make Johanna Lindsey a mid-lister now? Anyhow, I completely agree with Keishon on giving mid-listers some bit of help, so I plan to create a weekly blog post about a mid-lister. Of course, that is once I figured out what defines a mid-lister. :D

Pet Author

Every book reader has at least one pet author they are willing to campaign to death. Mine is, no doubt, Theresa Weir. Heck, I once recommended her books to a traffic warden who ticketed me for parking my car illegally. The traffic warden was nice, actually. As she ticketed me, she noticed Weir's book on my passenger seat and asked if it was any good. I gushed like crazy while she handed me the ticket and then after listening to my sales pitch, she jotted down Weir's name on back of her ticket pad. Surreal, I admit, but I went off feeling good, even though the fine was hefty enough to piss me off for the rest of the year. Since WEir no longer writes romances as she's now a mystery author, I thought it was time to find myself a new 'pet author'. Pet authors I used to campaign were, as far as I can remember, Anne Stuart [before The Widow and later], Adele Ashworth, Tiffany White, Connie Brockway [before her Bridal books], and Laura Kinsale. Do you have a pet author? If so, name your pet author. And, if you are up for it, explain why. Be good, be bad & be safe.

Out of Print Books

Are there any out-of-print romance novels you'd love to get your mitts on? My current list:

• The Light Fantastic - Peggy Nicholson About three years ago, at RT's Book Sleuth, I described a book as I couldn't remember the title nor its author and to my shock, someone managed to recognise and identify it as Nicholson's The Light Fantastic. I searched for a copy since because this book sparked my interest in 'quest'-type stories, which have characters using clues to track down an object. The The Da Vinci Code sort, but The Light Fantastic is a Harlequin romance that was released during the '80s. It basically introduced me to the like of Katherine Neville's The Eight.

Oh, hey. The gas man is finally here!

The Icewoman Cometh

Gad! It's freezing here. Last night Will came home and immediately noticed the cold in our place, so he checked on the boiler thingy and then asked what did I do to make the primary gas light go out? I explained that when it got a bit too warm here, I turned it off. Will looked at me as if he didn't know whether to slap me one or cry. He patiently explained that I "accidentally" turned off the boiler in a way that it needs to be turned back on by an engineer. What I should have done is down turn this little grey dial, not the "damn red button". Oops. Throughout the night it was so cold that my fingers and toes became blocks of ice. When I huddled up to Will for some warmth, he screamed like a girl. Wuss. This morning I phoned to arrange for a gas man to come and save me from being frozen to death. The gas man said he'd be here between eight a.m. and five p.m., and now it's almost five p.m. I couldn't relax all day, worrying that I missed hearing our door bell, so I flitted back and forth, checking the front window for his van. I don't think he's been, so I'm feeling rather vexed that I spent an entire day waiting for nothing. I am "lucky" that I don't have an office job. Or worse, have kids at school. It must be awful for parents who have to juggle between their jobs and children while waiting for tardy utility engineers on off days that they ill-afford. Link of the Day: Write Backwards Be good, be bad & be safe.

More on Series

Bev left a truly interesting response in comments section for Bitch Kitty Rant: Seried Out, so I'm moving it up to here:

For the most part I tend to like connected books in romance but I also say that knowing full well that the romance genre (and therefore its authors) seems to having problems nowadays deciding what types of connected books they're doing. Or they attempt to do something that really doesn't work for the story or stories they're telling then wonder why readers start rebelling. Logically, there are basically three ways to connect books: 1) story arcs - these can but not always involve the same characters, HAVE to be sequential and are mainstays of science fiction & fantasy 2) episodic series - these almost always use the same primary character or character, don't have to be sequential and are the mainstay of mystery and suspense 3) universe spin-offs - these involve creating or using an existing "world" wherein multiple stories can happen that aren't necessarily sequential but can be in certain circumstances If there's another way, I haven't figured it out yet but it is important to remember these three approaches and not lump all connected groups into the same basket. Thing is that romance used to do universe spin-offs almost exclusively, whether we're talking about single titles or category books. And it worked because spin-offs within the same universe and different couples featured in each book go hand-in-hand. I still have absolutely no problem reading an infinite number of these because the stories don't have to be read in any order. Besides that, the author, and therefore the reader, can leave and come back to the universe created, whether it's historical, contemporary, futuristic or even alternate reality, any time they want. The problem nowadays seems to be that authors want to connect a lot of their books in one or both of the other ways, too, and yet expect readers to buy that the individual books can still stand completely alone. That's just ridiculous. The only time multiple book story arcs have worked for me in romances is when the "series" is limited to a specific number of books AND the overall arc is IMPORTANT to the stories being told rather than just there to tie things together. Marginalizing the overall arc only emphasizes how much the readers are being strung along when we're talking about a lot of books. Trilogies work exceptionally well, but I can stretch my patience to five or six IF the universe is also an interesting place to be. Same thing with episodics, more or less. I love mysteries so using the same characters can also work for me but, again the problem is that romance authors seem to want to layer in an overall story arc instead of sticking to a true episodic type story. So, keeping things to a limited number of installments applies even more. After about three books about the same romantic couple trying to reach their happily ever after, I really lose patience. The point is to ask yourself what it really is that you got tired of in any particular connected romance series. I'd be willing to bet it isn't the universe or even the individual stories but waiting and waiting AND waiting for that blasted overall story arc to play out one way or another. Okay, I think I'll shut up now and go curl up with a book. (G)

I hadn't realised, until I read Bev's response, exactly why I'm tired of series in romance genre. I think she pointpointed one issue for me: lack of a long arc in a series. I always feel that a book series has to have a purpose, so I'd buy each book in a series to read them in order and when I find that there isn't a real purpose, I get pissed off. That's just one issue among many. Anyhow, thanks, Bev, for making time to write your response. Be good, be bad & be safe.

Quickie: Who's Right?

I'm having an e-mail war with an online friend. When you see this word, what does it mean to you?

Hawkshaw I always understood the meaning as 'detective' or 'investigator', but my friend disagrees as she believes it doesn't mean anything. We tried googling, but no luck. You might know, so who's right? Be good, be bad & be safe.

Bitch Kitty Rant: Seried Out

I think I have finally figured out why new romance books don't interest me much at the moment. Earlier I thought my 'Books to Buy' journal looks a bit skimpy and that I should beef it up to leave it for Will to use when buying me books. So I spent an hour, browsing Amazon.com and some sites, looking for books to buy, and an hour later, I'm depressed because almost all that I could find are part of their book series. Take these as an example:

• Master of Wolves - Angela Knight / third book in Mageverse universe.
• A Bite to Remember - Lynsay Sands / sixth [?] book in Argeneau family series
• Three Little Secrets - Liz Carlyle / third of Secrets series
• Even Vampires Get the Blues - Katie MacAlister / third in Beloved series
• The Temptation of the Duke - Eloisa James / third in Four Sisters series
• Simply Magic - Mary Balogh / second [?] in Simply series
• The Book of True Desires - Betina Krahn / second book in The Book of series
• His Wicked Kiss - Gaelen Foley / another of Knight family series

I could go on and on and on and bleeding on. There are too many series going around in romance genre at the moment. I don't mind trilogies, but come on, why is it so hard to find a standalone romance? There MUST be some romances out there that aren't part of a damn series! I'm getting tired of clicking on a book title, only to find that it's part of a series. I don't want to buy a romance that has The End, But Before You Go! I want to Tell You that Dash's Best Friend Devis's Story is Due Out This Summer!! And Not Long After That, There Will Be Devis's Brother Tevin's Book!! I want the one that has The End. Full stop. Fin. Finished. Over. No Maybe about it. I'm voting with my money by not buying any more 'series' book. I'm going to stick with standalone romances only. I'll probably lose out on some good ones, but I don't care. I'm just tired of it. Yes, I'm cranky. It's because I'd spent an hour trying to find something to buy. It's like being stuck in a shoe shop and being told that if I want to buy that shoe, I'll have to wait next to get the other shoe. *sigh* I haven't whined so much for a while. It feels weird. :D Anyhow, I'm all seried out, so I'm going to branch out to see what else is there. Link of the Day: Romance Novel Cover Generator [taken from Michele Albert's blog] Be good, be bad & be safe.

On Being an Oddity

Every time there is an online buzz around a new romance release, I just know I'd not enjoy it. After many expensive mistakes, I learnt a painful lesson not to pay any attention to a buzz. Even so, I have given some a try and almost all left me indifferent, which includes:

• Outlander - Diana Gabaldon
• the Dark series - Christine Feehan
• the Dark-Hunter series - Sherrilyn Kenyon
• If Angels Burn - Lynn Viehl [it's a great title, though]
• What to Do About Mia - Millie Criswell
• Into the Fire - Anne Stuart [the heroine is so spineless that I wanted to strap a broomstick to her back]
• Passion - Liza Valdez
• Miss Wonderful - Loretta Chase
• The Switch - Lynsay Sands [I find it interesting that she's no longer a flavour of the month with the online romance community; each of her new medieval-era romantic comedy used to generate a fever]
• Phantom Waltz - Catherine Andersen [I'd rather re-read Outlander than to read this again]
• Beyond Innocence - Emma Holly
• Not So Innocent - Laura Lee Guhrke [my first LLG wallbanger]
• Cry No More - Linda Howard [to be fair, I'm heavily biased where the subject of this story is concerned, so I should count this one out]
• My False Heart - Liz Carlysle [I think that's the title, anyway]
• Shadowheart - Laura Kinsale
• the Undead & Unwhatever series - MaryJanice Davidson
• the Sookie in Dallas series - Charlaine Harris
• The Real Deal - Lucy Monroe
• Tell Me Lies - Claudia Dain [I avoided her books since, until To Die For, which is pretty good]
• Lord of the Wolves - Heather Graham
• the Anita Blake series - L. K. Hamilton [Mary Sue at her finest]
• the Stephanie Plum series - Janet Evanovich [can you say repetitive?]
• that 'Rothgar is coming' book that had a huge buzz for a year or so - Jo Beverly
• All Through the Night - Connie Brockway
• The Windflower - Sharon & Tom Curtis [since this is supposed to be about the h/h, it's not memorable because all I could remember about this book is Cat who, IMO, richly deserves his own story.]
• debut - Cheryl Holt [I can't remember the title but it was her debut]
• The Bronze Horseman - Paullina Simmons [I didn't realise until later that 'romantic sagas' aren't common in the US, which is probably why TBH is so popular]
• Judith Ivory - full stop.
• Julie Garwood - full stop.
• Mary Jo Putney - full stop.
• Carla Kelly - full stop.

Am I an oddity? Who cares? :> If there is a huge buzz about a new release, there is a good chance that I wouldn't enjoy it. I had wondered for a while if it was to do with having high expectations, but then I realised that I'm like this with films as well. I see what I see, regardless of people's opinions around me. Also, it makes me realise that I have a definitive set of likes and dislikes, so no matter how many times people tell me how wonderful [or bad] something is, it always falls back on whether I like it or not. I do envy those who are able to enjoy sharing a love for a film or book. It's indeed a nice feeling, but it's a tad too expensive to support. I'm still trying to work out what it is that I look for in a novel and what attracts me. Book cover is the easiest way to catch my eye, no problem, but what actually makes me buy it? I haven't really thought about it before, so I'm curious. Be good, be bad & be safe.

Dejunking / Wet Dream

Slowly She Bangs Her Head Against a Wall Aargh! Will and I have been trying to dejunk our home and it's been crazy. It's really sad to realise that a conversation below is almost exactly like other conversations we've had every day last two weeks: Me: You want this? *waves an old schoolbook* Will: Yeah. Me: OK. *throws it into a childhood box* Will: Keep or toss? *holds up a novel* Me: Keep! Will: How many books you have so far? Do you need them all? Me: *stony stare* Will: OK. *puts the novel in M's box* Me: This? *holds up Will's box of receipts, train tickets, plane tickets, etc.* Will: Ah, where was that? Me: Uh, it was here in the drawer. Will: Jo [his accountant] wants that. Put it in my car. Me: I'll do it later. Will: *distracted* OK. Me: Oh, look! *holds up a photo of teenaged Will* Your hair! *laughing* Will: What? Me: *holds up the photo higher* Will: *winces* Bin it. Me: No. I like it. *tosses it into a box of photos* Will: What the ... ? Is it yours? *holds up a certain sex aid* Me: Oh, my. That's Louise's! She's been looking for that. Will: What is it doing here? Me: It's probably from that party we had a while ago. I can't remember when. Will: Christ. *tosses it into a dustbin* Me: But -- Will: What's that? Me: It's my school tie. Will: Do you need it? Me: No, but if you are keeping your school book, I'm keeping this. Will: Bin both. Me: Yeah, but -- Will: This place is full of junk. We have to be tough. Me: Oh, right? So does that mean you're willing to bin your vinyl collection? Will: It's not junk! Me: If you say so ... Will: You looking for a fight? Me: No! I just don't think it's fair that I have to get rid of a lot of my stuff when you get to keep almost all yours. Will: ... I think I have a headache. It's been like almost every day last two weeks, squabbling over what we can keep or should bin. But on the bright side, the place does look a bit better. I think the progress is going extremely well. By that, I mean we haven't throttled each other nor demanded a divorce. A Reader's Wet Dream I almost keeled over with ecstasy when I stumbled across a new author group blog: Well Behaved At All Times, which features three authors: Anne Stuart, Jennifer Crusie, and Eileen Dreyer [aka Kathleen Korbel]. It seems that the blog was set up to chart their progress of writing The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes, an anthology featuring three sisters with paranormal powers and more than normal problems. Pardon me for being shallow, but those three authors in one book? I'm there already. Favourite Link: Tube Gossip

New Books / Bitter & Twisted

Last Saturday I received a Amazon.co.uk package, which contains:

• Sex, Lies, and Online Dating - Rachel Gibson
• In the Groove - Pamela Britton [I honestly don't remember why I ordered a copy when I have zero interest in car racing. I had to ask Will what NASCAR stands for]
• The Manolo Matrix - Julie Kenner
• The Switch - Diane Whiteside
• Natural City - DVD / a Korean futuristic-set film
• Into the Mirror - DVD / a Hong Kong supernatural film, I think
• Lady Vengeance - DVD / the third and final of Chan-wook Park's 'Vengeance' trilogy [other two are Sympathy for Mr Vengeance and Oldboy]

Hm, it's not a very inspiring list. To be honest, those DVDs excite me more than those books, which is somewhat a bit worrying. Yesterday I tried to read Julianne MacLean's Victorian-era historical romance Love According to Lily for the March TBR Challenge and almost ripped my eyeballs out. I'd not read a historical for a while, but I don't think I'd read anything as awful as this one in a while. I don't know whether I should do a 'review' on this one because it'd be like shooting at fish in a tea cup, for God's sake. Love According to Lily is the first novel that makes me think that I could write a historical romance and do it better. I feel such a bitch for saying that, but that's how awful it is. Until this, I've never read a Julianne MacLean book, so I don't know if this is up to her standards, but if it is, I'd not touch another JMcL book with a barge pole. I think I'm being bitter and twisted because I know I'll never get those hours spent on the book back. I should have known better, really. It's a Avon book. I've stopped buying Avon books after a successive row of disappointing reads. I decided to give it another chance by buying Love According to Lily, Rachel Gibson's Sex, Lies and Online Dating, Stephanie Laurens's What Price Love? and, I think, Julia Quinn's When He Was Wicked because I was accused of being unfair to judge authors by their publishing house. I'm going to give these a try before I can say "Sod you, it is their publishing house". I am training myself to stop buying any more from TOR romance because those I read so far are generally badly edited, which makes me feel somewhat sorry for those authors. Anyway, back to my point: should I submit Love According to Lily as a TBR Challenge book? I feel it'd be a little too cruel, but ... I don't know. Is it a fair game? BTW, Sybil has bullied talked romance author J.R. Ward into becoming her guest blogger to talk about her latest Brotherhood book Lover Eternal and book series as well as to answer questions today. Link of the Day: Nursery Rhymes: lyrics, origins and history

Worst Film Sequels Ever

According to the Entertainment Weekly, the top 25 worst film sequels ever are: 25. The Matrix Reloaded 24. The Next Karate Kid 23. Porky's 2 - The Next Day 22. Teen Wolf Too 21. Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde 20. The Godfather III 19. Revenge of the Nerds 2: Nerds in Paradise 18. Battle for the Planet of the Apes 17. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier 16. Oceans Twelve 15. Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd 14. Conan the Destroyer 13. The Sting II 12. Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace 11. Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights 10. Jaws: The Revenge 9. Speed 2: Cruise Control 8. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan 7. The Fly II 6. Weekend At Bernie's II 5. Batman and Robin 4. Blues Brothers 2000 3. Leprechan: Back 2 Da Hood 2. Caddyshack II 1. Stayin' Alive I'm quite shocked that I haven't seen the majority of this list. I don't know if I should be grateful for not having those to clutter up my brain or be mortified that I missed out on those. There's an art to being a sad film geek, don't you know? Anyhow, I'd throw in Grease 2 [but I do have some friends who absolutely adore this film, just enough to sing 'Cool Rider' whenever they are blitzed on booze], The Ring 2 [US], Highlander 2 [the original Highlander is hilarious, but its sequel is just plain bad], Resident Evil: Apocalypse, and Starship Troopers II [I loved Starship Troopers, dammit! Watching the sequel is an experience I'd not want to repeat]. Oh, thought of a few more: Look Who’s Talking Too [granted, I disliked the original, but I didn't think I'd hate it even more with this sequel], The Hills Have Eyes 2 [it's so awful that it's funny as it's just a series of flashbacks to the original; even a family dog has a flashback], Infernal Affairs II, and - this hurts - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Link of the Day: Lady Tess's Research Blog Be good, be bad & be safe.

Sweet Seven

Got this off Jordan Summers's blog as I thought it's been a while since I did a proper meme [read: I'm too brain dead to string two words together]. Seven things to do before I die:

1. memorise everyone's birthday and do it well.
2. be more organised - this means knowing exactly where my keys are.
3. learn how to operate a sewing machine [and do it without thinking it'd rip my fingers into crimson ribbons]
4. forgive cousin Sarah for misplacing my beloved Miffy pencil set [granted, we were kids, but ...].
5. be serene next time Will's mum inspects our home
6. have a fortnightly appointment at a hairdresser's. I probably will need to dope myself silly to pull this one off, though.

Seven things I cannot do:

1. keep my mouth shut.
2. forgive cousin Sarah for misplacing my beloved Miffy pencil set.
3. sleep for eight hours straight.
4. zip my mouth during a funeral.
5. clean up my cat's vomit without gagging.
6. have the patience to do gardening.
7. suffer fools gladly.

Seven things that attract me to my mate:

1. his sense of humour.
2. his eyes.
3. the way he smiles.
4. his forearms.
5. the way he thinks.
6. his willingness to go along with whatever I want to do, no matter how silly it might seem.
7. the way he holds a conversation and how he does it well.

Seven things I say:

1. What day is it?
2. You okay?
3. Have you seen my phone/keys/bag/coat/hairband/etc.?
4. Off! [to my dog Berlin whose sole mission is to snooze on our sofa]
5. Does anyone want a drink/cuppa/coffee/anything?
6. Why?
7. How so?

Seven books I love: This is tough because I'm feeling quite uninspired. Off my head:

1. Going La La - Alexandra Potter [Romantic comedy]
2. Loving Jenny - Theresa Weir [Contemporary romance]
3. Midnight Rainbow - Linda Howard [Romantic adventure]
4. Courting Miss Hattie - Pamela Morsi [Americana]
5. Suspicion - Marilyn Pappano [Romantic suspense]
6. *thinking* Sorry, my mind's blank.
7. *thinking* Sorry, my mind's still blank.

Seven movies that I've loved: I really dislike that question. As a film geek, making picks is an agony. It's evil, ffs. OK, off my head:

1. Shutter
2. Pillow Talk
3. Streets of Fire
4. Love Me If You Dare
5. City of God
6. The Draughtsman's Contract
7. Cabinet of Doctor Caligari

Seven people to tag: I had a slap in the face when I avoided tagging during my last meme, so I'll do it this time because, damn, that slap still hurts. [It's unfortunate that I can't remember who administered that face slap. My instincts say Nicole, but I'm not so sure.]

1. Zippy
2. Suisan
3. Erika
4. Bev (BB)
5. Giselle
6. Anne E.
7. Misty G.
8. Bam

Be good, be bad & be safe.

February TBR Challenge

Title: Too Close to the Sun Author: Robin T. Popp Year published: 2003 / LoveSpell

Why did you get this book? It's a futuristic romance and I wanted to read a futuristic romance. I'd say the main reason for picking this out of other futuristic romances available is Too Close to the Sun is Popp's debut, even though I am not keen on the cover, the title [I've never liked the story of Icarus] and - shame on me - the author's name. Do you like the cover? No. It has almost everything I dislike seeing in a book cover. Did you enjoy the book? 'Enjoy' isn't quite a word I'd use to describe my reading experience with Too Close to the Sun. It certainly has an interesting story idea; when comparing to other futuristic romances, the world-building is decent [but not enough], and it has its moments. The pace is suitably frenetic and there is a lot of Smack! Pow! Bang! moments, which thrilled the action-adventure geek in me. I however do have issues with Too Close to the Sun: a) the hero is a chauvinist pig. It's part of his culture, apparently. Due to his eventual involvement with the heroine, he does "change" for better, but I just can't get over the fact that this "fiercely independent" heroine let him get away with a lot of crap that I wouldn't let him get away with. b) I'd plant my fist in his mouth next time he utters that dreadful "endearment". What kind of a man would consider 'Baby Girl' an endearment, for f.'s sake? I disliked him for it and could never shake that off since. Irrational, I know, but ... c) the whole thing with Harvestors ... it's not quite clear what they wanted nor why. Which is strange, considering the fact that they are, supposedly, the core of this storyline. It's as if they are there for the h/h to get, erm, married. I sometimes had this sense that those Harvestors were in the stage wing having a pint of stout and a fag, waiting for the call because I didn't feel that their presence had quite lent this sense of urgency to the h/h's mission to save the world from those Harvestors. They are just an effect, not a cause, if that makes sense, which lends this feel that it's a skim across water. I think this is one of dilemmas futuristic [or, indeed, other sub-genre] romance authors constantly have to face: romance or sub-genre? Finding the right balance in a futuristic romance is quite difficult, I'd imagine. Popp obviously chose romance and as the result, the storyline around Harvestors suffers because it's just too ambitious to be shoved into background in order for the romance to develop. Even though Harvestors were in presence almost at all times. It's quite queer, really. I'd reread it to get my head around it. :> d) comparing with other futuristic romances, it does have decent worldbuilding. Yet it's still not quite enough because there is quite a few reminders that it's a contemporary romance that happens to take place in a few hundred years' time and have flying spaceships and exotic-sounding place names as part of its everyday life. Then again, anyone who doesn't like to wade through that kind of geeky details in a futuristic or SF romance would enjoy this, which is what I think the author originally intended, anyway. Too Close to the Sun doesn't take place in pseudo-Medieval setting nor is it the retro version of American SF 1950s. Yay. e) Some traditional romance elements in the story piss me off. A few centuries later, we still have those? *headdesk* I won't list them here in case it'd spoil the story for those who want to give this book a try. I think if the author had kept those out of her story, it'd be a fantastic read. For me, that is. In fairness, the heroine is a lot more likeable than some heroines from other futuristic romances, which is a real bonus in my books. Did I enjoy it, though? *thinking* Yes and no. I think it's - if I ignore those issues as listed above - a fun, fast-paced space adventure romance. Yet I just can't help but feel that it could be better, which puts a damper on this read. My grade for this would be ... hm, C plus. Mind you, if Too Close to the Sun is treated as a pure beach read, it's B plus. If you want a piece of mind candy with a bit of a thrill next time you go on holiday, take this. Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? Yes and since this is her debut, yes. Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping it because I'm maintaining a collection of futuristic romances and SF novels [with strong romantic streak], good and bad. I do think Too Close to the Sun makes a nice addition to the collection, though. Anything else? I'd just discovered that since Too Close to the Sun, she's written two vampire romance novels: Out of the Night and Seduced by the Night [due out this June]. Be good, be bad & be safe.

Cool Opening Lines

I'm trying to finish writing up two reviews for the February TBR Challenge, so I hope this will do for time being. Here's a selection of my favourite opening lines: My mother was the village whore and I loved her very much.

Pigs Don't Fly - Mary Brown

On the twelfth of June in the year seventeen sixty seven, I awoke in ditch in Derbyshire and thought I was dying.

Playing the Jack - Mary Brown

He had a pair of queens, but she had cleavage.

The Gambler - Lois Geiman

Daisy Devereaux had forgotten her bridegroom's name.

Kiss an Angel - Susan Elizabeth Phillips

It was well known around Russellville, Alabama, that Tommy Lee Gentry drove like a rebellious seventeen-year-old, drank like a parolee fresh out, and whored like a lumberjack at the first spring thaw.

The Hellion - LaVyrle Spencer

"What a beautiful cock!" she murmured under her breath.

The Pirate and the Pagan - Virginia Henley

Two book reviews coming up in a couple of hours. Wish me luck! Be good, be bad & be safe.

By Allah!

This excerpt - taken from a certain romance novel, pub. in 1982 - has me in absolute tears with laughter:

Juliette's lips trembled. "You can't ... you can't treat me like this. I won't let you." "No?" His gaze was steady. "By Allah, all that English upbringing has made you stubborn. And what a shame when there could be so much pleasure ... for both of us. Haven't I already shown you?" Juliette backed away, stumbling over a cushion and recovering herself. "I don't care. I hate you," she said hearing the desperation in her own voice. "And if you were a gentleman, instead of a barbarian, you would have some ... some sensitivity!" Her words made him pause before throwing back his head to laugh loudly. "Gentleman?" he repeated. "And I suppose you would like me better if I were more like one of those simpering dandies who so gratefully jumped at your every call and whim. To them you weren't a woman, but an untouchable virginal temple."

Yeah, that's what I'm doing, too -- throwing back my head to laugh loudly. Seriously, how can he throw back his head and laugh, and make that response about her being an untouchable virginal temple? Link of the Day: Die Screaming... Be good, be bad & be safe.