Book Blather- Black Daggar Brotherhood

Let's talk about Black Dagger Brotherhood.

Oh, yes. Let's.

I was pointed in the direction of this series about 9, 10 months ago and life has never been the same. Well, ok, perhaps that's hyperbole. But really, honestly, truly. If you like vampires that don't F*cking Sparkle, and hold on to the mythos well, you need to check out the Warden's work.

Ah. Yeah. The Warden. That's what her fangirls call her. *blush* Her name is actually JR Ward. She has another series, The Fallen Angels (which I'm getting into. They're good, but different from BDB) and her work as Jessica Bird. Haven't touched it those yet.

There are now 11 books in the series, and just yesterday, the Warden did a cover reveal for the next installment.

In quick succession, I did this: 

and then this:

The bitch of it is? 

IT'S NOT OUT UNTIL MARCH 24, 2014

Movie Blather: The Man of Steel

It is absolutely no secret that I am a Superman fan. None at all. I have loved the story since I first saw him fly across the screen when I was 4 years old (in the backseat of my mother's Audi at the Route 3 Drive-In).

I have always followed different incarnations of the Blue Boy, in whatever manner they were offered. I even watch the fabled and lost "Superboy", a pathetic and homely offering in the list of not-so-great stories.

No offence, Gerard Christopher, but it was pretty awful.

I am the proud owner of the entire series of the "Life and Death of Superman" -- The Death of Superman, the Reign of the Superman, The Return of Superman, and even the book "The Life and Death of Superman". I thought that there was nothing cooler than Superman. I know a lot of the mythos that escapes other people, though I do kind of choose to ignore "Crisis on Infinite Earths" because really? REALLY!?

I have my own superhero, whom you will meet, who is my interpretation of the Superman myth.

Hearing that there was another movie coming out, after the painfully cerebral "Superman Returns", I was delighted-- then fearful when I heard it was going to be a reboot. Great. Because I have heard that story 1 million times or more.

Still. I'm sucker. And when I saw Henry Cavill in The Suit (oh my yes), I knew I was going.

Hey. I'm a female. I can see a movie for the hotness, too.

You say no to this:

Look, he's even daring you to say no. 

Anyway, I wasn't sure what to expect walking in. The pedigree on the movie was impressive: Christopher Nolan, of the most recent Batman reboot. Zach Snyder, of Watchmen and 300. The cast included Russel Crowe, Kevin Coster, Diane Lane, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburn, Harry Lennix (you'll know him when you see him) and of all people, Christopher Meloni. I love him.

I walked in, trying not to have any expectations at all. If this was going to reboot the series, it was going to have to be impressive. After all, we were dealing with Christopher Reeves.

And that's where the critics come in and piss me off.

Now, I don't know if you've been paying attention, but there was something going on the comic book world called the New 52. It was a reboot of all the DC comics, mean that all that Crisis on Infinite Earths thing was history. It all updated the characters for more present day tastes in superheroes. They're not all flag waving boyscouts. And while he's in the Marvel universe, Captain America has serious doubts about his government now. Superman can't go around touting Truth, Justice and the American Way. What does that even mean anymore, as we as a country are rediscovering and reinventing ourselves?

Taking that into account Nolan and Goyer wrote the script for more modern tastes, basing our new Supes on the New 52 ideas. They even changed his tights.

And here is what the critics are saying, in various forms:

Rest easy, Christopher Reeve fans. He's still the best Superman ever, and Margot Kidder is still the number one Lois Lane. -David Kaplan

Dude, you MISSED THE WHOLE POINT.

These are new, rebooted characters. They aren't supposed to be Christopher Reeve or Margot Kidder. These are re-imaginings of characters who haven't changed or adapted since 1939. The world changed around them. Superman can't wave the flag anymore. Chris Reeve's Superman lived in a different world.

... and I've read a few reviews of the new Lois that set me on edge. Doesn't it bother anyone that this supposed Pulitzer Prize winning reporter was a blithering idiot?! Honestly people, the smooth way they actually integrate her into the whole story makes me believe her and like her. Margot Kidder's Lois was just... a blithering idiot. Someone help me come up with something else for her, because I'm going to keep using that phrase.

The movie is violent, and realistically so. Superman destroys things. Oh, and thank you, Nolan and Goyer, for that one line you crossed. I was inordinately pleased by it.

My husband is not a Superman fan. He's always believe that Superman was too strong, didn't have enough flaws or weaknesses. Even he had to concede that he was finally starting to see what it was that made me like Superman as much as I do; the flaws were coming out. He had weaknesses. Things aren't as black and white as they were in the earlier movies.

Just as I was unbelievable 'meh' about the new Spider-Man and wound up falling in love with it (it's on the dvd player right now), is the way I'm going to probably fall in love with the new Superman. Because it's different and it's better and I like what they have done with it. So, critics be damned. If you like Superman, give The Man of Steel a chance.

If not, go see it for the hotness anyway.

Summer Reading

Once in a while your brain needs a break from all the heavy literature I'm sure you're reading. So, while you're frying brains in the sun or at the grill, why not pick up something light, fun and adventurous?

Check it out, they're only $.99 a peice!

Apathetic Avengers: The Faction Stories, Vol 1-3

WIP lines -Art of Dying 6-8

I felt myself flying backwards through the air away from the ship. I hit cavern wall behind hard, jolting everything in my entire body, and winding me up on the ground. I felt like I had bricks for limbs and someone stabbing me with a ice pick in my brain. I lolled my head to the side as Alex screamed my name and ran over with Tomas. 

I looked up. “Ouch.”

“What the hell were you thinking?!” Alex demanded, kicking me in the thigh.

“I told me to touch it,” I said.

“Do you always listen to spaceships when they tell you to do things?”

“No, just when it sounds like my grandmother.”

Atrocities and Abuses of Language

So, after finding yet another disagreeable use of a common word, I've decided that this less-than-stellar grammarian has to start documenting some of these screw-ups and misuses. I'm not perfect, not by a long shot, but if I can use the dictionary--

So. Can. You. 

http://jrosealexander.blogspot.com/p/atrocities.html
(The link is on the right.)

I'll be updating as the need arises. Feel free to email me anything you see that might be abusing the language; I will figure out if it's correct or I should publicly correct it.

And for the love of little green apples-- CORRECT ME if you know I'm wrong!

Penumbra: Equinox - Teaser

Please remember this is unedited; thank you for your understanding. :)  

Element: Vincent 

He chose to sit outside in the chilly Adirondack air, behind a hedgerow just out of sight of the kitchen. The moon was passing gently in and out behind the light puffy late spring clouds, and the stars were hard to see. He sat quietly, just looking and listening.

After 5 years, the forced Moon Change didn’t seem to hurt as much as it used to. Perhaps, though, he was getting used it. His father barely seemed phased by it anymore. Ellen on the other hand had not been ready for it. At nearly fourteen, she had thought she had escaped the curse, only to have it burst forth full blown.

It was near ten when Ellen plunked down next to him behind the hedgerow. She was shaking still and looked like she had seen her death. She pulled up her knees and wrapped her arms around them. They sat quietly next to one another for a long few minutes, just looking at the sky and listening to the forest around them.

“Well, the hearing is cool,” Ellen said, quietly. “So’s the seeing-in-the-dark thing. But the hair I can do without. And the paws and tail and fangs.”

“It’s all part and parcel of it, El,” Vincent said. “Trust me, being here helps.”

“Well, I know it does,” she said. “But why couldn’t it just skip me?”

“I don’t know,” Vincent said. “But this is only once a month.”

“You do realize this means I get two times of the month,” Ellen grumbled.

“I don’t need to know that, Ellen,” Vincent said.

Ellen smirked at him. “But you’re my brother. I can share anything with you.” Vincent shook his head quietly and stared up at the sky again. Ellen looked up and then looked at him. “Is this where you always sit?”

“Usually,” he answered.

“Why?” she asked.

He put a finger to his lips and pointed the house behind them. “If you want to really find out about how good your hearing is, stay quiet, and listen to what comes from the house.”

Ellen shrugged and put her head down. Vincent rolled his eyes, and tuned into the kitchen. He had been fairly sure he heard his mother in there a few moments before doing something. He heard another set of feet pad into the kitchen covered in slippers, and he knew from that alone it was probably Becca.

“How are you doing, Becca?” Sharon asked, putting something on the table.

“Well, it’s been an interesting evening,” she said.

“Sit down, please,” Sharon said. “Would you like a drink?”

“Something stiff,” Becca said, sitting down.

“Hot cocoa ala Smirnoff?”

“That sounds perfect,” she said.

“Are you alright?” Sharon said.

“I… am. I didn’t know what to think when he started to try to tell me all of this,” Becca said. “I’m an only child of divorced parents who care more about themselves than what was ever good for me. I’m better off without their bickering. When Nathan started to drop hints about his father, step-mother and a whole family out there, I was thrilled. He had never really said anything about his family at the office.

“He brought me to dinner with Richard, and I knew what he and I were building was a good thing,” Becca’s smile could be heard in her words.

“How long have you been dating?” Sharon asked.

“Eight months,” she answered. “But we’ve been working together for nearly three years, and have hung out quite a few times. We just sort of realized we liked each other eight months ago.”
“You must really like each other if he’s brought you here already,” Sharon said.

“What makes you say that?”

Sharon sighed. “Nathan has never brought anyone to visit us. Ever. For as long as I’ve known him. He’s gotten as far as meeting Richard, which freaked that woman out. He got to the point where he had to explain the moon change to another, and she called the men in the white coats on him. It took everything Richard had to get him released from the hospital that time. And while he was locked up in the hospital that little whore started spending all his money and partying at his apartment.”

“Oh,” Becca said. “That must be the infamous Regina.”

“He’s told you about her,” Sharon said.

“He’s cursed about her, but he never told me the whole story,” Becca said.

“Well, I leave that up to him because that got really ugly and I was nearly arrested,” Sharon couldn’t hide the laugh in her voice. She sobered a moment later. “I will warn you, here and now, Beccalynn. There are people out there who know, and who hate them, and will try to do anything to destroy Nathan and you and any children or friends you might have. Physically, mentally, financially. I don’t know where their hate comes from, but it is strong and terrible. You must be stronger than that.”

“I am,” Becca said, with no hint of mocking.

“What did you think of all this when he told you of it?”

“I thought about calling the men in the white coats,” Becca said, and laughed. “I really did, though. Instead, I didn’t talk to him. For about five days. I was furious that after all this, meeting his dad, talk about meeting his family, he would try to jerk me around. I just refused to talk to him. By the fourth day, I realized I felt lonely and missed him terribly. I gave in, called him, and I told him I was willing to believe him if he showed me.”

“And here you are,” Sharon said.

“Here I am,” Becca said. “And with the obvious exception of this… lunar infliction, I find myself liking this whole situation very much.”

Vincent could hear the smile in his mother’s voice, “Good. Because despite the fact that Nathan is twenty years my senior, I have always thought of him as my stepson and been very protective of him. I have been waiting for him to find someone like you, Becca, and I want you to take good care of him.”

“I will,” Becca said.

“Well, the sentiment is lovely,” came Nathan’s gruff, transformed voice, “but I am quite capable of taking care of myself, thank you.”

“Normally, I wouldn’t argue this, but until I organized your sock drawer, you probably wore mismatched socks your whole life.”

Vincent and Ellen started laughing.

Penumbra: Equinox- coming in April 2014 

The Myriad of Worlds in Words

I've mentioned a few times that I'm a writer and I've been writing a long, long time. Thirty-one years by my count.

So that means there're a LOT of stories in my background that I'm going to be sharing with you as time goes on. Some are just about ready to go with a good solid edit (Shadow in Glass) and some need to be more than just a few paragraphs in a file.

To that end, I've created a link on the right called Myriad of Worlds to give you an idea of what I write and what I'm working on currently. I'll keep them updated to the best of my ability. I also have a link to the Faction Stories over there which will direct you to the other project I'm working on.

Hopefully, someday, these will all be published and you can join me in my worlds...