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“Things Every Southern Woman Should Know How to Make”

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Alice clicked on the headline, mildly curious about what yet another stranger thought should be in her kitchen repertoire. Pictures of China plates mounded with crispy fried chicken, greens, cobbler, and a pile of biscuits a mile high flooded the screen, all set off with a pitcher of sweet tea beaded with condensation. The table was set; an apron draped off to the side next to a box labeled “Gramma’s Recipes” in fine calligraphy. She closed the browser and put away her tablet. She was born a Georgia peach, but she couldn’t make a cobbler to save her life. Did that mean she wasn’t southern? Or maybe just not “Southern.” For Alice, there was no recipe box full of family traditions. Her younger years were filled with rental homes in different states and her father’s voice coaxing her toward a text book rather than a cookbook. Metalworking and fabrication held more interest than learning to flambé or sauté. Did it make her less of a woman that her cooking skills consisted of fresh salads...
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Music Rambles: The Departure of Adam Gontier from Three Days Grace

Recently, Three Days Grace announced that lead singer Adam Gontier resigned from the band due to health issues. My first thought was, “That sucks.” It does suck. I love the sound of Mr. Gontier’s voice, the distinctive quality it gives to the wonderful songs 3DG puts out. It’s not something that can be picked up by someone else and it still be the same. That said, I applaud the band for marching forward. Their tour was already planned out, tickets sold, and though I know it won’t be the same, I’m sure Matt Walst of My Darkest Days will do an excellent job. (MDD puts out some sweet music, too.) Sometimes, things change. It happens. Thank you, Adam Gontier, for the music you’ve fill our lives with, and I hope you feel better soon. And thank you, 3DG, for that same music, and for passion to keep going. I hope you continue to give us awesome tunes and wish you all the best. I want to thank Matt Walst as well, for stepping up to fill the vacancy. It’s not an easy thing he d...
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The Difference Between YA and NA to Me

New Adult is emerging. Agents and publishers are acknowledging that the 18-24 crowd is a bit different than the 14-18 crowd, and not quite the same as the adult crowd. Unfortunately, some articles are simplifying the difference into YA issues plus steamy sex scenes. And that’s a gross understatement. As a reader, to me YA generally deals with issues like finding a place in the world, who you want to be, and gaining a sense of independence. It’s about personal identity and friendships and the evolution of a person from a child to a young adult. Sometimes it is about first love. Does it sometimes cover sex and sexuality? Why, yes, yes it does. Now, while some of these issues continue—some of us never know exactly who we want to be—there are new issues and experiences when someone becomes a new adult. A new adult is free from the relative uniformity of spending the last 13 years or better of their life in a regimen of classes and homework. There are new options. Lots of opti...
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Anime Rambles: Trinity Blood

I love Trinity Blood. Enough said. Well, no it’s not all I have to say about it, but that sums it up. Nine hundred years after Armageddon, tensions remain high between the two great world powers: the human (Terran) world, led by the Vatican, and the Methuselah—vampires—who are ruled over by their Empress in Byzantium. While some on both sides strive to achieve peace among the peoples, there are other factions undermining their efforts. Some humans want the vampires to vanish for good, some Methuselah hope to gain the upper-hand in this age-old power struggle. And the Rosenkreuz want a whole new world order which puts them on top. First off, I love the layers of this series. On top, you have the political battle between the Empire and the Vatican. But under that are other scrabbles for power. The Vatican, whose figurehead is young Pope Alessandro, is really directed by his siblings, Cardinals Caterina and Francesco, who have very different ways of handling things.   An...
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Into the Future We Go!

The end of the year is coming up, and things are kinda crazy. In some ways, crazy-good, in others, not so much. Blogging hasn't been my top priority, and I've been slacking on my bloggable topics: no video games to rant about, and the things I can rant about, I don't want to blog. So I'll just say to each and every one of you, I wish you Love, Peace, and Happiness. Have a good time and show some love.  I'll see you around the bend!
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The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

Sooo…I’m it. I was tagged by Alexander Pierce , aka @redantisocial , and since we share a love of the wonderful Nanaki, I’ll play along. The last time I was, um, carefully chosen to talk about my WIP, I gushed about INSATIABLE, but today, I have a shiny new WIP to talk about. What is the working title of your book? LEAD ME BACK HOME. Normally, the last thing I think of is a title, and they’re usually about as tormenting to come up with as writing *ahem* a query letter. This one though, I was listening to a lot of Halestorm while I wrote it, and there was a particular song that just really made me feel the whole thing. Where did the idea come from for your book? I had a ragey redhead running around in my head, and I decided to let him out. Also, I was playing Dragon Age II at the time, and I was fascinated with how magic, blood magic in particular, was viewed in the world of the game. Overlaying that was this dark, broody feeling, and it all sort of meshed together. ...
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Time and Place: Debating with (Self) Respect

The election is over. President Obama is still president. Some people are overjoyed while others are far from it. But that’s no reason to be uncivil. I’ve seen a lot of hate in comments on articles and social media, a lot of partisan nonsense that disintegrates into ill-informed gossip, racist/religious digs, and basically shameful, childish remarks. These comments are often posted on nonpolitical issues. Like a natural disaster. Or a child’s death. No, people. Just no. We live in a country where we have the right to voice our opinions. To make choices. To disagree with each other. This is a great thing. Until we abuse it. Yes, it can be abused, and we can make ourselves look like total asses. When you make the choice to enter an argument, please, PLEASE, for the love of all that’s holy, be reasonable, be respectful, and if you feel the need to say something ill-mannered, rude, and probably stupid, then step away from the keyboard. Sometimes we can’t stop our mouths fro...
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Vacation Thoughts

I took a few days of vacation this week, and I discovered I needed the break more than I thought I did. I had ALL THE PLANS to do ALL THE THINGS. I managed to do about half of all the things, hehe. But that's okay because I did things I didn't know I needed to do. Such as listen to hours of music with the volume turned up. Or sit down and read with no distractions. And that is where a lot of my five free days went. I finished Lia Habel's Dearly, Beloved, which was absolutely amazing, and I also finished A Storm of Swords in the Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin. Good stuff. Then I listened to all of my My Chemical Romance albums, A Perfect Circle, Evanescence, We Are the Fallen, Within Temptation, and so much more music. I missed doing these things. I hadn't left myself time to just read or listen to music in such a long time, that I really, truly had come to miss them. I also hung some Halloween decorations up, and I worked on my costume. Of co...
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