Author: Allie P.

An Update From Waterworld

by Allie P., posted in Life as I know it

After posting the image of Hurricane Florence’s projected path, the storm shifted, veering south where it then pivoted north once more. Fortunately, I can say that the worst damage at my house was the destruction the kids left behind due to being stuck inside with no school for five days. (On the plus side, the poor weather gave me the excuse to stay in and finish work on An Uncertain Confidence which will be going on sale later next month).

However, much of the rest of the state, particularly the south and eastern portions, can’t say the same. Hurricane Florence was downgraded as far as wind speed goes to a shadow of her former self before the eye of the storm made landfall. Unfortunately, once here, she decided to stick around and stay for a while. I don’t entirely blame her. I’ve done the same.

She brought more than three feet of rain in some areas. That’s as deep as some of the local neighborhood swimming pools. Under a normal summer, this might have been welcome as we’re usually under drought conditions, but we’ve seen a lot of rain this summer. What am saying? Three feet of water dumping down on your head over a matter of days is never a good thing.

In any event, the rivers started rising. And rising. And rising, causing a few of our highways to become temporary rivers in their own right.

Thankfully, the rivers have finally crested, meaning the water should soon start to recede, however, there is still another threat to my state. Pig waste. Yup – the downside of living in an area where agribusiness makes up a significant portion of the economy is the sheer amount of animal manure that can escape its containment area which allows fun stuff like E.coli, salmonella, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria to enter into the waterways.

So, its good times here in the Old North State, but I’m confident that life will return to normal at some point. Until then, surf’s up.

Reading Round Up – End of Summer Edition – Part Two

by Allie P., posted in Life as I know it

When I started compiling the books that I have enjoyed reading this summer, it quickly became apparent that one post would not do these books justice. Well, it might, but it would be really long. Therefore, I decided to emulate the majority of books I’ve been reading this summer by breaking up my narrative into more than one part. (This post includes affiliate links)

Maybe it the fact that this summer has been relatively cooler and rainier this year than most (with the exception of this past week which was brutally hot), or maybe it is the fact that I am already seeing ads for the return of pumpkin spice lattes. In any case, I found myself on a rather supernatural/paranormal mash-up kick in the final weeks of August.

Ella, the Slayer (Serenity House) (Volume 1)

by A. W. Exley

The flu pandemic of 1918 took millions of souls within a few short weeks. Except it wasn’t flu, and death gave them back.

What happens when you mix a retelling of a fairy-tale classic, historical fiction centered around the Spanish Flu, and throw in Zombies? Ella, the Slayer – that’s what. The term ‘mash-up’ hardly seems adequate to describe all the genres this story blends together.

Though Ella is the legitimate daughter of the lord of the manor, she serves as a chambermaid to her vain and calculating stepmother and step-sisters. If the name wasn’t enough of a giveaway, it quickly becomes apparent that this is a story of Cinderella. Except in this story, leaving a party by midnight is the least of Ella’s problems. There’s also the dead to contend with too.

I found myself stopping at odd points in the book to explain to my friends what new mash-up I’d discovered next as I turned the pages. Normally, I would consider anything that forces me out of a story as a negative, but this was one of those exceptions that prove the rule. I flew through this book.

I will say, however, that the ending was frustrating. When given the chance to tie the story off nicely as a stand-alone novel, the author chose instead to leave it open for a sequel. I don’t normally mind cliff-hangers, as I can appreciate the sales strategy behind them, but in this case, it left me questioning a character’s competence.

Even so, I still would recommend this book to people who enjoy both Jane Austen and the Walking Dead. Compared to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I found Ella to be the better story.

Dearly, Departed: A Zombie Novel (Gone with the Respiration)

By Lia Habel

Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie?

If mash-ups were stew, Dearly Departed’s would be Steampunk meat with bits of Zombies potatoes simmering in a YA broth. It would also include a pinch of Post-apocalyptic spice and a hint of Government Conspiracy thrown in for added flavor.

Daughter of a national hero, Nora Dearly has always found holographs of historical battles and news reports of more recent fighting at the border far more interesting than learning how to conform to her high-mannered society’s social complexities. Unfortunately for Nora, the war she’s been so fascinated by is about to come much closer to home.

Nora has barely returned from a year away at school when her home is attacked. Not being the proper New Victorian lady prone to cowering in fear, she races to defend herself, only to learn that the invaders are the undead. But not all Zombies are re-born (as it were) equal. Some still have managed to cling to their former humanity and are, in fact, a special convert unit sent to specifically to escort her back to Base-Z where Nora learns that the existence of Zombies is only one of many secrets.

I found it slightly harder to suspend disbelief with this one, though it was still entertaining enough to keep the pages turning. I enjoyed the small details scattered throughout that made it easy to imagine this future world featuring modern technology alongside parasols and petticoats. I also liked the supporting characters, particularly Nora’s best friend Pamela, who in mind opinion, actually had the more impressive character arc.

Murder Any Witch Way: A Brimstone Bay Mystery (Brimstone Bay Mysteries Book 1)

By N.M. Howell

Being a witch is hard. It’s even harder when you live in a town that doesn’t believe in witches.

Murder Any Witch Way was a different sort of mash-up. It is part Supernatural Fantasy and part Cozy Mystery. Set in the fictional New England town of Brimstone Bay and only a short drive from Boston, Murder Any Witch way features River, a journalist working at the local paper.

River likes her town, but at times finds it dull compared to New York City where she used to live. Therefore, she is overjoyed to cover an upcoming Paranormal Festival thinking it might provide a little more exciting news than the day’s birthdays or anniversaries.

She was hoping to get a feature. Instead, she finds a murder victim.

Being a journalist is what River does to pay the bills, but what River is, is a witch. Having the ability to see and interact with ghosts as well as perform magic, River has talents at her disposal that the sheriff’s office lacks. When additional bodies are discovered, River knows that it is up to her (and those like her) to solve the mystery before the killer strikes again.

This was definitely a nice book to ease myself into the Halloween spirit, even if October is still weeks again and now I can’t wait for the leaves to start changing and the air to take on the crispness of Fall. It’s somewhat predictable, but then again so are the movies Hocus Pocus and Practical Magic, and I still like those too.

 

Reading Round Up – End of Summer Edition

by Allie P., posted in Life as I know it, Product, Service, and Software Reviews

One of the best parts about going on vacation is it gives me the ability to attack my ever unruly to-read list. Unfortunately, my list is rather like a hydra, as I usually wind up adding three more books to its roster with every completed novel – but I like to pretend I’m making some headway. Therefore, I thought I would share a few books I’ve been reading this summer with you. (This post includes affiliate links)

Victor (Eden East Novels)

by Sacha Black

When Eden East kills someone, she expects them to stay dead. It’s only polite, after all.

This is the second installment in the Eden East novels and takes place shortly after the events of Sacha Black’s bestselling, Keepers.

Eden hasn’t been home since her parent’s funeral, a fact that is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore considering she is the heir to the Elemental throne. Unfortunately, both duty and her grief for her parents will have to wait as an enemy she thought was vanquished, returns from the dead, triggering a prophecy that could spell the end for Truitinor.

The book itself is written for a Young Adult audience, and while it was well-written overall, the story at times was a little too angsty for me. There is a romance element throughout that features very prominently in the story (especially in the first half), which does occasionally take away from the action. However, the dialogue and characters themselves remain just as relatable as they were in the first installment. If anything, I found myself sympathizing more with the supporting characters than I had before.

While I do recommend you start this series with the first book, there is enough background context for a person to follow the story even if you haven’t. Though – seriously why would you when the first book is also a fun quick read?

Dualed

by Elsie Chapman

Two of you exist. Only one will survive.

Set in the not too distant future, mankind has finally found the elusive cure for the common cold. That cure resulted in the nasty side effect of universal and irreversible infertility. Life has continued, but it too comes at a price.

Every child born has an identical clone and both are the result of a blend of genetic material from two sets of parents. West knows her Alt is out there. She also knows that before she reaches the age of twenty, she’ll have to kill her. In a city of limited resources and citizen soldiers, there is only room for the fittest. May the best one win.

Dualed is much like Hunger Games in that it involves teenagers battling to the death in a dystopian future. As a result, violence and death are prominent themes. However, while both are described in explicit terms, I did not find the description of either to be gratuitous. That being said, this is not a book for everyone and those who might be triggered by scenes involving guns or knives should definitely pick up something else to read.

Awesome pun of a title aside, Dualed is a story about survival, self-worth, and family. I also found it to be one of those stories that linger with you well after you reach the end. It left me wondering about the group of people in charge known as the Board.  For example, what possessed them to start the kill-or-be-killed requirement in the first place? Lucky for me, there is a sequel (and so my to-read list remains alive and well) so I may yet find my answers.

Flicker: Ember in Space Book One

by Rebecca Rode

Getting sold to the empire was never part of the plan.

Set in the distant future, Ember is a poor Roma girl struggling to save enough to care for her ailing father by telling fortunes for space-tourists visiting Earth. Her talent, however, goes beyond simple card reading. Ember is able not only to see the future but capable of touching a person’s aura or internal spark with only her mind. While some might view her ability as a gift, others view her as a weapon.

Betrayed by her tribe, Ember is taken off-world to be tested for inclusion into the Empire’s Flicker program. The fact that Ember has no desire to be part of this elite fighting force, or be involved in the Empire’s war is irrelevant. Failure to do as the Empire bids will result in the destruction of everything and everyone Ember has ever loved. However, compliance might well cost Ember her soul.

This book had moments of Enders Game mixed with Divergent. Ember is a flawed but fantastic character who can drink the other guys under the table while still maintaining her sensitive side. There is also romance, though it is not central to the plot, and enjoyable three-dimensional supporting characters with problems of their own.

This is also yet another book that promises the action will continue in the form of a sequel (which has also been added to my to-read list).

 

Greetings from the edge

by Allie P., posted in Life as I know it

My manuscript for Uncertain Confidence is back from the editor and filled with red ink. I’m just shy of the half-way mark on the first draft of the next book in my Project Gene Assist series, school (complete with homework and scouting) resumes next week, and because apparently, I’ve lost my mind somewhere along the way, I’ve accepted new responsibilities at work.

So with all that going on, what do I do?

I get the heck out of Dodge, that’s what.

So greetings from the edge and the area where the land meets the sea. I’m not getting much of anything done, but that is exactly what a vacation is meant to be.

The wine is excellent, but the food even better. It’s difficult to write a post when there’s little reason to be inside – especially considering the beauty that is the weather.

Morning rises up from the ocean depths
Moon floating high above the waves
Her Royal Highness – exhausted after a day of swimming

Tag, You’re It or It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt

by Allie P., posted in Life as I know it

It started out as a simple notification. I’d been tagged on Twitter. Tagged for what, I didn’t know, but tagged all the same.

I opened the app. A lovely photograph filled my screen taken by another blogger who has frequently entertained me with her travel stories and photographs of parts known, as well as less discovered. But what was it doing on my Twitter feed?

The only information I could find was the hashtag, #7dayphotochallenge. No pictures. No explanations.

Being the sucker for friendly hashtag games, I clicked to learn more.

Following the tag, I saw a number of other posts featuring images of nature or various things around the house. The game seemed easy enough. I found a decent enough picture to share and tagged a couple other nice people I follow.

The following day, another photograph appeared in my feed posted by the same person who’d tagged me in the first place. However, this time other twitter handles were mentioned. It began to dawn on me then that this was one of the more run-of-the-mill twitter games.

I suppose the whole “#7day” part of the hashtag thing should have probably clued me in, but in my defense, I was somewhat distracted at the time by the pretty landscape. So I looked around the room, snapped a photo, and tagged another nice person.

It dawned on me then, that I may have made a tactical mistake. Before, I might have been able to pass off the first photo as a fluke or humoring a friend. But now, now I was invested.

I posted a third then started preparing my whole strategy for pictures 4,5,6, and 7.

Suddenly, this whole game thing was beginning to seem like work. Fun work, mind you. But work.

And I still didn’t have a clue what in the world purpose of the game was or the rules were – other than no people, no explanations.

I found myself thinking of a special I’d seen on Netflix a while ago called The Push. The film documented a social experiment designed to answer the following: could a regular person be manipulated into pushing another person off the top of a building based on nothing more than the power of suggestion and the perception of authority. It was a modern take on the Milgram experiment.

The experiment started by first identifying people who are more susceptible to suggestion than others. Potential subjects were sent into a room where a pair of people in on the experiment stood or sat whenever a bell rang. Those who joined in the exercise without ever once asking why the first few people were standing one moment and sitting the next were invited to the next round.

Once the subject was selected, he or she would be gradually conditioned to accept increasingly risky commands leading up to one final choice – would they continue to allow social pressures to influence their behavior, or would they stand up to something that they, being good people, knew to be morally repugnant?

Watching the experiment play out on the screen, I’d like to think I wouldn’t – that I’d draw a line in the sand before the situation progressed that far – but now, given how readily I jumped into a game that everyone else seemed to be playing no questions asked, it makes me start to wonder.

I like to think that people are good and well-intentioned overall. However, we can get carried away by an idea. Then, suddenly we find ourselves backed into a corner, blocked by the rigidness of our beliefs as much as by those who oppose them. At this point, it is only natural to forget about the larger implications and instead try to seek the protection of the closest group at hand. We then do or say whatever we can that either requires the least amount of thought or provides the most immediate relief. And this is when the bad stuff tends to happen.

People, for the most part, aren’t naturally bad in my opinion, but people sure can be lazy.

I’ve included a clip from a recent episode of Last Week Tonight on the topic of astroturfing, which was not a term I was familiar with, but now makes complete sense. The clip is NSFW, so wait until sensitive ears are not around before you watch it, but its worth the watch all the same. It’s a great reminder of the risk of getting so caught up in the group-think, emotional side of things, we forget to ask if what we are doing or saying is truly best, or based on any fact from the start.

If you aren’t able to view the clip, let me repeat with his key point: “It is now even more incumbent on us to use our judgment diligently.” So never forget to use yours. I’ll do the same.

Because while it’s easier than ever to get swept up in a trend, it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt.