Recent Media Enjoyed, Tribute Info, & Countdown

I haven't done one of these posts in a while, so there's quite a bit I've enjoyed since then. I'm going to be more selective than usual for this one, though it's still a long list.

Really quick before I jump in, the paperback of The Business of Short Stories is now available for pre-order from Barnes & Noble!

TV Shows

The Real O'Neals

This show is hysterical on its own, but it's also great to experience with a child on the rainbow. I introduced my daughter to it, and she absolutely loved it. She is always actively seeking positive representation, and this hit the right spot. 

It's about a young man in an Irish Catholic family who comes out, not only to them, but to everybody, including the other students at his Catholic school. While it's a light, humorous look at many aspects of an individual who has come out, particularly in a family where that could be extra problematic, there are many incredibly touching moments and some heavier topics are touched upon. 

The mom is played by Martha Plimpton, who I've been a fan of since Goonies. She's still fantastic in this. (Hulu, I think)

Reservation Dogs

I may have recommended this one before (?). Not sure. But I love it, so I'm recommending it again. If the name Taika Waititi means anything to you, you'll know that his being attached to this show means comedy gold. This is a TV show by indigenous people for everyone. Reservation life isn't easy, but with an eclectic group of folks moving around the rez, it's also never boring. With a fabulous cast of older familiar faces in addition to the young actors the show primarily follows, there are phenomenal moments of humor. All the while, people get a backstage glance at rez life and the challenges therein.

There are mild fantastical elements, basically in the form of a spirit guide who haunts one of the main kids. He never got to fight Custer, because his horse stepped in a gopher hole and rolled over on top of him as he rode down to the battle. Every time he's on the screen, I'm laughing. But maybe there's some wisdom under his comedy, after all. (Hulu)

Samantha, Who?

I know, this is an old one. I've only just discovered it, surprised that there was a Christina Applegate show I'd never watched. It was also fun to discover a younger Melissa McCarthy in this one.

A woman wakes up in the hospital with complete amnesia. As she tries to get back to her life, she discovers she was a horrible person before her accident. The situations she finds herself in, often because of who she used to be, are hilarious, and her parents are ridiculous. Light and entertaining. (Hulu)

Peacemaker

I had no idea until last night that this show existed. Suicide Squad 2 wasn't the best (though I actually liked it), but John Cena's character Peacemaker was one of the better elements. Well, he's got his own spinoff, and it's hilarious. It popped up after we'd finished a movie, and we clicked on it out of curiosity. The opening sequence will make you laugh, which is always a good sign. 

Peacemaker is loyal to the U.S. to a fault. He follows orders and takes things very literally. This shows follows his miraculous recovery after a building fell on him in Suicide Squad 2. He's been hired to kill very bad people. However, he's a bit of an idiot. Fun and mayhem ensues.

Also, he has a pet/sidekick American bald eagle named...Eagly. Seriously. (HBO)

Pivoting

I hadn't heard anything about this, but saw it streaming. Seeing who the actresses were, I figured I'd give it a gander. So glad I did! While the storyline isn't necessarily terribly original, the actresses and writing make it worth it.

Three women face life after one of their friends dies suddenly, just in time for their midlife crises. Maggie Q plays a doctor who decides she needs a change, so applies to work at a grocery store. Eliza Coupe is a mom with questionable momming abilities and an addiction to artificial sweeteners. Ginnifer Goodwin starts considering an affair with her younger personal trainer. Their foibles are unforgettable, and the actresses smash their roles. (Hulu)

Below Deck

It's a reality show, but I had to add it, because my husband and I got hooked on this mindless entertainment for a while. The cameras follow the crew of luxury yachts as they scramble to work the interior and exterior for eccentric, rich clients. Drama, humor, sex, romance, tensions, and fights riddle the ship's crew, but they have to be professional when interacting with the clientele. The staff are global, so if you like accents, you'll be in Heaven. Never worked with a chef? Well, you'll learn they're all crazy. The chief stew is basically mom to the rest of the crew, and they aptly resent her for it. The bosun or First Officer runs the deck crew with varying degrees of success. And, hey, if you've ever doubted sexism is alive and well, you'll see it on a few seasons, especially if you get to the one with the Smashton Bru Crew. (That's not a typo--bru is bro in South Africa). Happily, it's not a constant issue in other seasons, and the captain of one of the fellow shows, set in the Mediterranean, has a female captain.

There are several variations, including Below Deck Sailing Yacht and Below Deck Mediterranean, plus a new show starting in February, Below Deck Down Under. My favorite captain is the one on Sailing Yacht, a laid back, but firm, guy from Canada. (Peacock, Bravo)

Books

We Sold Our Souls, Grady Hendrix

If you like dark, but humorous, Grady Hendrix is your guy. Especially if you also like a clever new view on tropes. While this one isn't my favorite by him, I enjoyed it. The MC gets a blast from the past when the guy who used to be in her band, but tricked his bandmates into selling everything to him shows up on a comeback tour. Her need for revenge quickly becomes a desperate rush to save not only herself and her ex-bandmates, but the world. It turns out those contracts he had them sign involved more than their playlist.

The Winter People, Jennifer McMahon

I'll admit that I wasn't sure I'd like this one at first. It felt too meandering and it was hard to who anyone was or why they had anything to do with the others. However, the writing was beautiful, and I was certain it would tie together eventually, so I persevered until it wasn't about persevering but about not being able to put the book down.

An isolated farmhouse holds more than its share of secrets. From that farmhouse, a single mother goes missing, leaving her teenager daughter suddenly responsible for her little sister while trying to find out what happened to her mom. Hidden caches in the floorboards and a sealed closet door in the master bedroom lead her on a mission that introduces her to crazy and dangerous people and a secret she never saw coming.

Yours Cruelly, Elvira, Cassandra Peterson

It will surprise absolutely no one that I'm an Elvira fan, so when I happened across a signed copy of this at Barnes & Nobles (does that mean I missed the signing?? Sob), I had to get it. Here's the thing, though, her time as Elvira is a relatively small portion of a fascinating life. I found myself enthralled with her adventurous personality and pure bravery in throwing herself into new situations and opportunities. From her days as a groupie and go-go dancer, to being a showgirl in Vegas, to traveling Italy with a band then getting stranded there, penniless, she finds a way out and eventually makes it to Hollywood, making it big, but not in the classic way.

I had a lot of fun reading about the band and club scene in Colorado Springs (yes, she was a local) while it was still coming into its own. In addition, she dishes on some celebrities, some of which you'll appreciate and some of which you'll see for the snakes they are.

Die Trying, Lee Reacher

It's been some time since I read a Reacher novel, though I used to enjoy them. It took me a bit to get past the rampant use of sentence fragments, but once I did, I was sucked in. 

Jack Reacher finds himself held hostage with a female FBI agent, no explanation, and no concrete knowledge on whether they were after him or her. They're dragged across the country to deal with a dangerous group with a fraught ideology and a violent plan.

I felt like Reacher was allowed to be more flawed and human in this one than what I remember from earlier books. He even faces a seriously phobic moment that had me tense, too.

Movies

Matrix: Resurrections

Okay, so this one was more for fans to get a meta revisit than anything else, but it was floofy entertainment for a while. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. The actors who took over as Morpheus and Agent Smith didn't have the charisma of the original actors (close, but just not there), but it was good to see Reeves and Moss back again, as well as Jada Pinkett Smith. I liked Neil Patrick Harris's role, and it felt fitting. I'm glad I didn't actually pay to go see it, though, so I'd recommend waiting until it's back on HBO or renting it when the time comes.

Clearcut

It's not often I get to see angry, militant Graham Greene vs. calm, philosophical, friend-of-the-white-man Graham Greene. You'll also probably recognize Floyd Red Crow, even if you don't know the name. In this film, a white man is fighting to cease deforestation, working with local tribes. But when his efforts in court are a loss, Greene's character overhears him saying he wants to make the men who did this pay, to suffer. Greene takes the MC hostage, along with the head of the logging company, whisks them away to the middle of nowhere, and proceeds to makes things very rough for the logging exec.

There are some problematic areas, including, of course, the Great White Savior trope, but I felt like that was subverted a bit. When I looked up the director, it was, of course, not an indigenous director. However, the director had fled dangerous politics in Poland, and this was his first English-language film. I found it fascinating watching the take of someone who was very much an outsider in all ways. The fact that he'd cottoned to this issue upon fleeing his own country meant it touched him in some way, but also that it was a visible issue at the time.

I'm a Greene fan, so I'll watch anything he's in. I liked seeing him angry for once. I liked seeing him fight back. I'm not going to lie, there was some satisfaction in that. (Shudder)

February 2 will not just be the usual IWSG day, though that will be happening, too, but it will also be an opportunity to pay tribute to a friend the blogging community has lost. Jeremy Hawkins died earlier this month, and Alex J. Cavanaugh is organizing a tribute to him. Click on Alex's name for more information.

T-6 days and counting! I've closed signups for help with the launch, because I've been absolutely overwhelmed by the positive response from you guys. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped and will be helping by spreading the word in the next month, and to those of you who have visited and commented at other blogs. Here's the ongoing schedule:

January 12 - Beth Camp - Beth and Writing - Part I of Q&A

January 12 - Jean Davis - Discarded Darlings 

January 13 - diedre Knight - Stream Pebbles - Part I

January 14 - Michael Di Gesu - In Time 

January 17 - Jemi Frasier - Jemi Frasier - Q&A

January 18 - diedre Knight - Pensive Pens - Part II

January 18 - Toi Thomas - The ToiBox of Words

January 18 - Victoria Marie Lees - Victoria Marie Lees

January 19 - J.Q. Rose - Focused on Story by J.Q. Rose - Her Favorite Short Story (I already know which one it is, and it's one of my favorites, too!)

January 19 - Rebecca M. Douglass - Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

January 24 - Alex J. Cavanaugh - Alex J. Cavanaugh - Top Five Movies About Writing

January 26 - DeAnna Knippling - Wonderland Press & Writing Craft - Q&A

January 27 - Diane Burton - Diane Burton - Her Favorite Short Story

January 27 - Elizabeth Seckman - Elizabeth Seckman - Her Favorite Short Story

January 31 - Annalisa Crawford - Blogging with My Fountain Pen - Her Favorite Short Story

January 31 - Jemima Pett - Jemima Pett 

February 1 - Beth Camp - Beth and Writing - Part II of Q&A

February 2 - Michelle Wallace - Writer-in-Transit - Q&A

February 9 - C. Lee McKenzie - C. Lee McKenzie, Author - Her Favorite Short Story

February 11 - Sandra Cox - Sandra's Place - 3 Quirky Food Facts

And a thank you to Natalie Aguirre, The Faerie Review, and my brother Alex Kenoyer for individual shoutouts! And to anyone who has shared or helped in any way!

There will also be reviews coming out soon, so I'll share those when I see them. Pre-order available at Amazon in e-book and paperback. Coming to Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and other e-formats after release day.

What have you watched or read lately? Any good podcasts? Did you know Jeremy? Will you be taking part in his tribute? 

May you find your Muse.

A Tribute, A Deal, & Two Charities

Tomorrow is the anniversary of my dad's death. One year ago, ALS finally took him. Right at the end of ALS Awareness Month. Adjacent to Memorial Day. The Thunderbirds rocketed over us as I arrived at the house to wait until his death could be called. Neighbors who'd come out to watch for the Thunderbirds and their annual flyover saw emergency vehicles outside our house. I imagine they knew what had happened. After all, they'd come out just a few years earlier to celebrate dad's birthday in the form of the ice bucket challenge.

I've been down during the lock down, but as it turned to May and the trees blossomed, birds swarming back into the neighborhood (along with the miller moths), I started to dread this anniversary and how everyone in my family will handle it, especially with the isolation. I'm not sure I'll ever look at another Memorial Day without thinking about my dad. Interestingly, it was most likely his stint in the Air Force that led to ALS in the first place, meaning he's earned his rightful place among the veterans honored. It's just that the long term damage occurred on U.S. soil, likely at the bloodied hand of the U.S. government.

I sat down the other day and wondered what I could do to honor him in some way, and to change my thoughts from the negative to the positive. That led to the following:

I'll be doing a Kindle Countdown deal for one week with Bruised Souls & Other Torments. The e-book will be priced at $.99 from 8 AM (MT) tomorrow morning to the afternoon of May 31, when it will change to $1.99 until Wednesday, June 3, at 11 PM. It only let me do this in one region, so it's only applicable in the U.S. as far as I know. I'm not positive, though, as this is my first time doing this.

I can also ship a signed paperback copy to anyone who'd like one. Book + Shipping will be $15.00 (U.S. only).

All profits from e-book and paperback sales this week will be donated to the ALS Association and Team Gleason. I will personally match those profits, so both charities will receive the full profit amount. Both organizations helped my dad during his 6 1/2 years battling ALS. Many of his friends in the ALS community are still fighting to this day, and they need all the help they can get. #nowhiteflags

Links:

E-book

Secure Paperback Checkout via Square (it only asks for email--I will email those who purchase to get shipping/inscription information)

Team Gleason (for more information on what they do)

ALS Association (for more information on what they do)

All donations will be made in memory of my dad, Greg Kenoyer. If anyone is interested in donating directly to either of the charities, it would be wonderful if you did so in his name. However, I also know that times are hard right now, so hopefully none of this feels like pressure. 

If no sales are made, I will still donate something to each charity in his name.

I'll also be doing a couple readings online. I'll post on my Facebook page, and if I'm able, I'll repost to here.

Also, I'm doing some research. For readings and/or author interviews, what software/online program would you most recommend? Right now, I'm most familiar with Zoom, so would likely use that, but I'm open to other ideas.

Stuff I've Been Enjoying:

I haven't finished a book this week, but will finish it tonight or tomorrow, so should have at least one to pass along next week! All I have for today is a movie.

Once Upon a Time in...Hollywood

I didn't expect to like this. In fact, I'd avoided it like the plague, because I kept hearing it was boring and had no point. But once I watched it, I enjoyed it. It meanders a bit, but I kept watching, wondering what was going to happen. When they showed the year and the location, I was sucked in, because it implied a certain historical event was going to happen in the course of the film, and I wanted to see if it would actually go up to that point. There ends up being quite a twist, but the end of the movie had me laughing. It's preposterous, silly, and violent. The rest of the film? Laid back, watching two friends and their neighbor...Sharon Tate.

Link Time!

Bear in mind I'm merely passing these along, not endorsing them. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

And Lately, The Sun is seeking short fiction about our future in a changing climate. 2000 to 8000 words. Pays $80. Deadline June 30.

Fabled is seeking eerie gothic tales about women who dwell in the forest. 2000 to 8000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline June 30.

Writer Shed Press is seeking stories with the theme Love and Sacrifice. Up to 2500 words. Pays $20. (Must have Venmo to get paid). Deadline July 1.

Any of these links sound interesting? Anything to share? If you've lost a parent, what did you do to commemorate the one year anniversary, if anything? Have you seen Once Upon a Time in...Hollywood? What did you think? What recording software do you prefer for video?

May you find your Muse.

First Time at COSine

There's a local fantasy and science fiction convention called COSine. Last year, there were rumbles about it shutting down and not coming back, but some dedicated folks took it over and made it happen this year. This was my first time attending, despite it being right here in Colorado Springs. I'm not sure why, other than that the time of year made it easy to overlook.

I was on three panels.

Slasher vs. Creature Feature: What Scares Us Now?

Our moderator kept us pretty specific to the two types of films in the title. Everyone had different opinions, of course. One was very into classic monsters, such as vampires and werewolves. Another was most affected by Lovecraftian style monsters. For me, people are scariest, because they're the most realistic, which means slashers win. Sort of.

It was discussed how slashers are innately misogynist, with women being the main victims, and with their deaths/attacks often being far more severe and often sexual. I threw out that I'm seeing a change in that, such as with the new Black Christmas. We discussed the self awareness of movies like Scream and Cabin in the Woods.

All in all, it was an interesting panel to be on. Too bad there was only one attendee! (We were up against Connie Willis, it's not a horror con (the other panelists weren't horror authors), and it was 10 AM. Who goes to panels at 10 AM? I don't. Unless I have to.

Mind Exercises to Release the Creativity Genie

This may be the first all female panel I've been on at a convention. Not at a writer's conference, though. They had us set up in a room with sofas instead of a panel table, which worked well for the topic. We talked about using aromatherapy (scent as a trigger to get into the writing mood), music, walks, images on Pinterest, routines, writing in public, etc.

Short Story Writing

We covered reasons to write short (explore new worlds, instant gratification, explore novel characters further), how to find markets (Duotrope, Submission Grinder, Ralan.com). It was recommended people read short, submit to their dream markets first then trickle down, follow the submission guidelines, put their stories into collections once they get the rights back, and more.

The mass autographing was well done in that they had food and drinks, plus a cash bar, and they did a raffle and badge number giveaway of donated books, jewelry, and art. So rather than just relying on the autographing to draw people in, they drew people in to the authors by feeding them and doing the prize drawings in the same room. I don't think we sold anymore than we usually would have, but I have to give them credit for trying to find a clever solution to that issue.

BOOKS

This week, I read Dave Barry's Greatest Hits and started The Elephant in the Room. My favorite Barry story was in this collection: Adventure Dog. It's ridiculous and funny.

MOVIES

I watched Dolemite is my Name, starring a cast made up of people who could draw me to watch a movie individually, such as Eddie Murphy, Keegan-Michael Key, and Wesley Snipes. They all did a great job, but Murphy stood out.

Trivia from IMDB: This is Murphy's first R rated film since 1990. Kind of surprising if you've seen his original stand up.

Joker was excellent, as well. It's a look into the Joker we've never had in the movies, and one that makes him sympathetic without excusing him being a villain. It's very much a scathing look into society and mental health care. Heath Ledger will always be my Joker, but Phoenix did an amazing job on a nuanced character.

Trivia from IMDB: Arthur Fleck (Joker) performs stand up at Pogo's Comedy Club. Real life serial killer John Wayne Gacy went by Pogo the Clown during professional clown stints.

For pure comedy fare (the other two were dramas), Jexi was funnier than I thought it would be. Honestly, I thought it would be so stupid I'd roll my eyes through the whole thing and feel like I wasted my night, but I enjoyed it. Of course, I was really exhausted following not sleeping all weekend at the conference (early mornings and a noisy hotel room), so maybe I just needed sleep.

Trivia from IMDB: Adam Devine has scars on his legs from a childhood accident that he keeps covered with socks, even when not wearing pants in the movie.

Finally, I watched an old Dario Argento horror film starring Jennifer Connelly (Labyrinth) and Donald Pleasance (Halloween) entitled Phenomena. I was surprised to see that costume design was by Giorgio Armani. I didn't know he ever did that. It was an interesting flick (available on Shudder) that I'd never heard of before, where Connelly can communicate with insects and uses this power to track down a serial killer. There's also a chimpanzee. If nothing else, it was a novelty. Apparently, it split Argento's fans, as it was considered science fiction horror, and many didn't like him going in that direction.

Trivia from IMBD: Jennifer Connelly had to be rushed to the hospital after the chimp bit her finger.

TV SHOWS

We're in a comedy show hole, so we returned to two series we enjoyed, but had drifted away from for a while: My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Netflix) and Detour (Hulu). My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has random, hysterical musical numbers in it and Detour is about a goofy family on the run. We tried to watch Lodge 49 to fill the need, but it didn't really draw us in, though it had some good elements.

LINK TIME

Time for some links. Bear in mind I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

Zombie Pirate Publishing is seeking science fiction short stories for Raygun Retro. 2000 to 6000 words. Pays $10. Deadline February 1.

Cantina Publishing is seeking short adventure stories featuring queer women for Silk & Steel. 3000 to 7000 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline February 22.

Chicken Soup for the Soul is seeking pieces with the theme Listen to Your Dreams. Up to 1200 words. Pays $200. Deadline February 28. 

The Cincinnati Review is seeking fiction, literary nonfiction, poetry, and artwork. Fiction is limited to 40 double spaced pages. Pays $25/page. Deadline March 1.

Great Escape Publishing is seeking stories about getting paid to travel. 300 to 600 words. Pays $150. 

What have you read or watched this week? Have you ever been to COSine? Do you have a local con? What's scarier, slashers or monsters? What tricks do you use to stir your creative mind? Any of these links of interest? Anything to share?

May you find your Muse.