Self-Destructing/Southern Charm - Book Reviews

My reading list this month is long. In addition to the book I started 3 years ago and still have yet to finish, I had a twist on Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde as well as a Slavery perspective based on relatives in the author's life. Where to start? Well the quick read of book 1 in the Mr. Self-Destruct series, of course.

If you haven't gotten your hands on this book yet, it's for sale through the humorous writer himself, Mr. Joshua Peck. Basically a few years ago after joining an online writer's group I found myself laughing everyday when I'd spy a comment by this young man. In addition he was a self-publishing author and prolific with his work. I couldn't compete so I've sat back and just enjoyed his antics and body of work when I can afford it. Finally a week or two ago he asked little ol' me to give a book review on his work. I've read other stories, but to actually help out such an accomplished gentleman? Challenge accepted!

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde is a story by Robert Louis Stevenson. If you remember from an earlier post I have a special tie to Mr. Stevenson's work. My step-father had the same name and at such a young age as five years old I thought I was about to move in with one of my favorite authors. I bragged at school about how cool my mother was to be marrying Treasure Island guy. The school librarian corrected me, but that didn't stop me from being a long time fan.

Jekyll and Hyde is twist on Beauty & the Beast and now you know how ingrained this tale is and near and dear to my heart. Mr. Self-Destruct starts off by deconstructing the mind of a socialpath with enough open flaws to be thrown away in mental health system for life. It took me on a roller coaster ride through the mindset that is often scary and deals with some dark and tortured subject matter for a single character. It's an original take and successful tackle of this fave story of mine so please stop by and enjoy today.

I'm also finally getting into Seeds of Magnolia by Bill Miller. This subject matter although very important history of people of color, specifically the black community, I find it hard to tackle not only for myself but in general. It spans an ugly time in American history. One that America is unwilling to apologize for today. It seems that especially the government would rather forget that slavery built America and that a lot of people got caught up in this practice without a way out and without knowing what true freedom means. Does slavery still exist today? Yes and that's a bigger problem than just ignoring and playing ignorant to what was happening in this country 200 to 150 years ago.

So how do I move on from slavery? I vote and I practice a religion that speaks to me on a spiritual level. I discuss my own issues from being a victim of sexual assault by writing characters who deal with the same thing. I hope that my writing speaks to other people and helps them with their day. Bill Miller's story is a good one but that mental minefield was already cracked wide open with me and this just adds another layer to consider, how my ancestors were treated back in their day. I'm a third of the way through and it's promise to be an enticing story that hooks a reader is there. I'm just weird about the subject matter so please don't let my progress stop you from grabbing up this amazing story.

New To Me Author: Anne Bishop/The Black Jewels Trilogy

Okay, I was on a mission of new reading material. I’d been depressed about my own writing and unable to finish the rewrites to Forced To Change to my satisfaction since some time last year. Something was missing and I had no idea what. Turns out my Muse was starving for a new way of addressing personal issues in my own writing... Then along came Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels Trilogy...

My CB shared his diverse library via kindle, a few paperbacks, etc. I read Kelly Armstrong and Patricia Briggs because another friend said they really enjoyed those authors, and I agreed, the stories and writing are strong with these ladies if fantasy is your genre. Then I pulled up the paperback copy of Daughter of the Blood the first book in the series, though not the first story available.

My Muse perked up. The theme throughout these fantasy novels dealt directly with sexual abuse experienced by a child? Well, I’d always been leery of attacking my issues directly, my own experiences were too explict for Literotica, so I changed the crime to rape and the victim to an over the age of 18 when her abuse started. The Black Jewel novels not only went straight at the abuse inflicted at the age I personally dealt with it, but also the story world was so full and vibrantly painted, the other themes perfectly set out, that I enjoyed the reading of all three books within a week.

Every part of the stories resonated with not only me, but my Muse planned a course of attack for my own writing and presented a full picture I was able to outline and work with to start finishing the rewrites on Forced to Change. Plus, I was able to outline mentally the second book, working title, Changed by Time. Also I even have a specific for Lit short story in the works to flush out when I need time to process on my other projects.

Anne Bishop’s writing works for me, even though the themes are a bit taboo, the wealth of possibilities in how to be vulnerable and open enough with my pen, is a door unlocked by discovering these novels. So, if you’re looking for a rich story world, filled with amazing well developed characters, interesting takes on Living, Death, Abuse, with gripping emotional story Telling, then Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels Trilogy might be a story worth reading to you...

I Finally Read Them; The Books I Shall Not Name

As a writer, I'm treating these books like Voldermort, I'm going to talk about them, but not use their name. Plus, Hollis, made me promise to never say their name again. The color of this font is the only hint you get. 

I read all three books over five days a few weeks ago. It took me 30 to 40 pages to get over the present tense and British author writing American characters and failing miserably at keeping that believable. Also, I had the forehand knowledge that they started as fanfic for Twilight, so I saw each character for their counterpart. All that being said, overall, bad, like really bad. Okay, so some of the sex was steamy, but I know I write better BDSM interactions and sex scenes. 

I got through them though, and it was very much like reading Twilight, save the ending. I hated the ending to these most of all. At least with Twilight, although she had to become a vampire to find her spine, Bella finally saved the day. I felt the last of the unmentionable books could have been cutoff two plot turns prior to where it ended. This story apart from being stolen was so not shocking, especially if you already read BDSM/erotica related material, but the character development was good, probably because they're based on other well developed characters. 

There's no great mystery as to why these books are doing so well. Many artist have said, if you can't be original, steal. Even though most people won't admit to reading and enjoying the books now, Twilight was very successful for a lot of different reasons. As much as I hate the non-heroic heroine, I totally get how it turned into a world wide phenomenon. But even with Twilight, each book was stolen. But what Twilight did, was steal from the best romances of all time. Romeo & Juliet, Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice, are all over the plots, turns, characters, and twists of the Twilight books. She even let the readers know which literary masterpiece she was borrowing from by assigning it as homework to Ms. Bella Swan. 

Thus proving the only reason the-series-who-shall-not-be-named is a best seller is because readers pay for cookie cutter story lines. Demand more from your authors, and you'll get better writing. . .In the meantime, who should I steal from to write my best selling book? I'm seriously taking suggestions...