Author Liesel K. Hill's Musings on Fantasia...
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Movie Review: Fury
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Fury is the story of the crew of a tank named Fury that wound it's way through Nazi-occupied Germany, just months prior to the end of World War II. The men of the crew, lead by Brad Pitt's Don "Wardaddy" Collier, are bleak and war-hardened. They all have haunted eyes who have obviously seen atrocities most of us can't conceive of. When a very young new driver, Norman Ellison (Logan Lerman) joins the team, his journey with them begins. When it ends, so will the film, but probably not in the way you'd think.
History: Fury is not based on one true story, but rather a collection of true accounts from veterans who spent their time during the war in tanks. I read that the director did everything he could to keep things as real as possible. Watching the film, you definitely get a feel for how things would have been behind enemy lines during this period of the war. We see the American soldiers doing what they can to help the innocent German people, but we also see them invading the homes of those same people and making use of their supplies, which wasn't particularly comfortable for either the people or the soldiers. Everyone kind of accepts it and makes due, though, and the sadness of a desolate countryside wracked by war is extant. In short, the history is real and well-shown.
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Theme in a line: "Ideals are peaceful. History is violent." Spoken by Collier (Pitt) to Ellison (Lerman).
Comparisons: My brother's first question when we reached the end was whether I liked it better than other modern war films like Saving Private Ryan or We Were Soldiers. I had to answer no. While this was very powerful and I'm glad I watched it, I still don't think it topped any of my current favorites. That said, I think everyone should see it once, just to appreciate the message it's trying to get across. Be warned, though, they don't skimp on the gore or the tragedy, and parts of it are very hard to watch, in the way of WWII films.
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Has anyone else seen Fury? What did you think of it?
Monday, February 2, 2015
Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Can't Believe I Haven't Read Yet + Teasers
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Yet as I gazed into Queen Lenore's dark, penetrating eyes, I felt enveloped by her grace. This woman, so kind and yet so mournful, trusted me. And I would do anything to make her happy.
"I am yours," I said.
Had I known the sacrifices my service to Queen Lenore would ultimately entail, would my answer have been the same? (pg. 80)
What are you reading this week?
Top Ten Tuesday
Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.
Top 10 Books I Can't Believe I Haven't Read Yet (All covers courtesy of Goodreads.com unless otherwise linked)
Most of these are classics and/or dystopians I've always meant to read but never gotten around to.
Historical Tidbit: The Bizarre Case of the Sisters Shelton
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| Sisters Debbie and Vicki with their parents Marcia and James, years prior to Debbie's disappearance. Source |
It's true. In January of 1969, Marcia Shelton lived in Aptos, California with her three young daughters, Debbie, Vicki, and Melissa. Their father had been killed in a tragic car accident three years before.
Debbie, a seventh grader, wanted to go out with some friends that morning. Her mother relented, telling Debbie to be back by noon because she had a dentist appointment. Debbie never returned. After taking one of the other girls to their appointment, Marcia returned home, expecting Debbie to be there. While waiting for her, the phone rang. A young voice on the other end said, "We have your daughter. We want $500. Drive out to Trout Gulch Road." Assuming it was a prank, Marcia hung up. The caller never called back. It was only hours later, when Debbie failed to appear, that her mother realized perhaps it had not been a joke.
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| Undated pic of Debbie Shelton (Source) |
A week prior to her disappearance, Debbie told a church friend that she was interested in an older boy named Sherman, and played to see him that day with her friends. Unfortunately, neither the friend nor Debbie's mother had ever met this boy. No one seemed to know who he was, what he looked like, or even if that was his real name.
For sixty-nine days, Marcia waited and hoped. On March 8, 1969, the search came to an end when a boy out shooting his BB gun stumbled on the badly decomposed remains of Debbie Shelton. Her body had been there for at least a month. Because of the advanced decomposition, dental records were needed to ID the girl, and it was impossible to tell if she'd been sexually assaulted. Even the cause of death was hard to pin down, but it appeared she'd been strangled.
With few suspects and fewer leads, the case stalled. Over the years, Marcia would get periodic calls from law enforcement about a new person of interest, or would call herself to ask if anything new had surfaced, but the years failed to produce an case-closing results.
Marcia learned to deal with her grief, not letting it make her angry or bitter. She'd accepted that Debbie's murder would probably never be solved.
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| Undated pic of Victoria Lee Specials Source |
When Marcia didn't hear from her daughter for a long time, she went to see the ex. He told Marcia that Vicki had decided to go to San Francisco for New Years. A visit to her daughter's house, however, revealed a purse, I.D., and money left behind.
Marcia called the police for the second time in her life to report her daughter missing.
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| Young Debbie and Vicki together. (Source) |
Marci has opted to turn her daughters and their cases over to God.
"This is never very far from my mind, but I can't solve it," she said. "I have turned it over to the Lord. My grandmother used to say, 'God does not pay off on Saturday nights,' so I figure it is in his hands. He knows all things and it's not hidden from him."
For more details, see this Source.
Be sure to check out my crime fiction series, Street Games.
Book 1: Dark Remants, currently available from Amazon and other major retailers.
Kyra has come to Abstreuse city to find someone she’s lost, but walking the underbelly—a dark alley system residents call the Slip Mire—even in disguise, is rife with dangers. Kyra must stay on her toes if she intends to live. After crossing paths several times with the same detective, she wonders if his work and hers might be connected.
Gabe Nichols has worked homicide in Abstreuse for three years. Dead prostitutes and gang violence are part of the night shift. When a woman who looks like a street junkie but acts like an intellectual saves his life, he’s intrigued. Another woman shows up at his crime scene, and Gabe’s instincts kick into high gear when she clams up. Two cases involving strange women who won’t tell what they know are too coincidental.
If Gabe and Kyra can’t find a way to collaborate, they may not live to see the sunrise. Doomed, like so many others, to become gray, unmarked graves in a forgotten fracture of the Slip Mire.
Book 2: Desolate Mantle, coming in February.
Walking the Slip Mire nightly, dressed in her disguise and trying to infiltrate a homicidal gang, Kyra sees plenty of things she can’t explain. When she begins to suspect a serial killer might be at work, she decides to approach Gabe again.
Gabe has plenty to keep him busy: a bizarre missing persons case, a new development in his brother’s cold case, a new neighbor, and the grisly murders that are a nightly ritual in the Slip Mire. When Kyra shows up unexpectedly, he jumps at the chance keep her around, but it’s harder than he bargained for. She’s not an average source any more than she’s an average Mireling. Gabe wishes she would be sensible about her own safety.
Their partnership crumbles, but when things become even darker than usual in the Slip Mire, they’ll need one another get survive a hellish situation. If they can’t work together to shoulder their burdens, they’ll find themselves utterly alone. In Abstreuse, it’s not a matter of not coming out of the darkness, but of being absorbed by the darkness itself…
What do you think of the cases of these two sisters? Does anything (physical, non-physical or metaphysical) connect them?
Sunday, February 1, 2015
A Memory of Light Read-Along, Week 3
Welcome to week 3 of our A Memory of Light Read-Along! This week we read Chapters 8-14. Remember that everything in this section as well as everything that's come before is fair game for spoilers, so read at your own risk. Eivind Fonn is hosting and will probably post over at Dab of Darkness. Hop on over to check out his answers as well.
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Fatalistic? Definitely. We know he believes he won't survive the Last Battle. Whether it's unnecessary or not remains to be seen. I think he's giving these gifts for many reasons, though. Partly they're tokens of thanks for those who've always stood by him. Since having his epiphany and gaining all the wisdom and insight at the end of ToM, he's more sentimental than he used to be. But yes it's also a way of saying goodbye. Just in case. I think the idea of a final will is interesting as well.
I really liked that he gave one to Lan. The obvious recipients will be his three ladies, but I was glad he remembered his old, loyal friend. He's known Lan longer than the others, and I thought it was sweet that he included a crown for Nynaeve. That shows a glimmer of hope from him, despite his fatalism concerning his own fate.
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| Egwene holding Vora's sa'angreal. (Source) |
Chances are the current plan will only last so long. From the history we have of what happened before, prior to Lews Therin going into Shayol Ghul to seal the Bore, we are seeing a pretty decent parallel so far. Back then, the shadow gained ground and gained ground and gained ground, until Lews Therin felt he had no choice but to do something drastic or the shadow would win. We're seeing that again so far, so let's hope Rand and the forces of the light can do something transcendent on the battle field. :D
Then again, they may be willing to sacrifice everything on the battlefield just to give Rand the time to face the DO. It's kind of a scary prospect because everyone and everything else will be in jeopardy while Rand conducts his epic duel.
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Well, Mat's done just about everything the prophecies foretold he would...except deal with the Seanchan. I can't imagine he's got much else left to do. Given that Tuon still plans to dominate the White Tower, though, he has quite a task on his hands. Let's hope his luck is with him.
4. Rand takes his turn on the battlefield, but is turned back. Do you expect him to try again, or is this the last we see of him on the field before the invasion of Shayol Ghul?
5.
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| Perrin + Hammer (Source) |
I think it might be a bit like the Tower of Genji--not evil as the Shadow is evil, but so different from the way humans experience the world that it seems evil to us. That said, the Tower of Genji seemed pretty evil there at the end. I think the Wise Ones think it's evil because the dangers are just not worth the risk. The risk to one's life and soul are just too great. Think of it like hard drugs in our world. Is every junkie out there evil to their core? Of course not. But why risk something with so much potential to endanger you on every level. This is how I think of entering T'A'R in the flesh. Plus Slayer does it regularly, which doesn't much recommend it either.
On the flip side, Perrin said it wasn't evil, and I trust him. He made a good point about how he could smell evil, and it wasn't that. So obviously, it's very dangerous, but not evil. Perrin feels he has little choice at this point. It's the final installment and Slayer STILL hasn't been taken care of.
"The good options are gone, Rand. Better to do something desperate than to do nothing at all." (pg. 281)Word, Perrin. Word.
I LOVED his speech. This final installment is so full of amazing speeches and deeds. I'll be just reading along, ho-hum, and then one of them will pop up and I'll be in tears. I loved the whole part where he and Rand said goodbye. I can totally see a film version of it, intercut with 1-second flashbacks to them as lads in the Two Rivers. You can't help but think of how far they've come, both together and as individuals.
Best line EVER:
"We'll remember those who fell, and we'll tell our children how we stood when the clouds turned turned black and the world started to die. We'll tell them we stood shoulder to shoulder, and there was just no space for the shadow to squeeze through." (pg. 278)*wipes tears* Geez, Perrin! When did you become a poet!
I'm loving Gaul more and more too. He's such a loyal guy! He went with Perrin, even knowing the dangers of entering T'A'R in the flesh; even after hearing Perrin ask the Wise One about it. He still went. And he's awesome. Love Gaul!
6.
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Yeah it was pretty cool that Rand could open his mind to her without fear. He could show her that he didn't love her--never had--and that she couldn't use him. Obviously when the truth of that became undeniable to her, she had to find someone else to latch onto. And who better than ta'veren #2, who also can and currently IS navigating the World of Dreams, a domain she has often made great use of?
So what's her game? I think whatever she wanted from Rand when she first started the damsel-in-distress routine, she's now trying to get from Perrin. Good luck, honey. Perrin's got bigger fish to fry. I mean, uh, wolves to avenge.
7. We find out how people are turned to the Shadow. What do you think of this mechanism? Are the turned really turned, or just taken over, as Androl seems to think?
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8.
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| Asha'man in battle (Source) |
I'm super-excited for this story line. I remember reading this first bit about Androl the first time and being a bit annoyed. I couldn't understand why they'd introduced this eleventh-hour character and then were giving him so much POV time. As it goes on, though, it just gets better and better. Now it's one of my favorite story lines in this book, not least because of the unlikely pairing of mad Asha'man and Red Sister. We'll see Androl and Pevarra work together more and their relationship progress, in often hilarious ways.
As for the rest, I won't spoil. Can't wait, though! :D
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Poor Lan! Having to the leave the Gap to the Shadow was so hard for him. Despite knowing that it was the right and only thing to do, talk about having to abandon his homeland for the second time was super-sad. The grief and guilt of that, especially for someone as honor-heavy as Lan, must really suck.
Is anyone else super-depressed at the cities they're losing? First it was Caemlyn--Caemlyn!!!--and now the Borderlands are going under. There's so much history there. Not just in terms of ancient Randland history, but also of the series. In book 1, our super heroes visited Fal Dara, where they first learned of Lan's origins and the truth of Padan Fain's depravity. Faile's homeland is, of course, Saldea. And the Borderlands at large have always been very admirable. Now their very cities are falling to the shadow. It always strikes me as supremely sad.
What other bloggers thought: Dab of Darkness Coffee, Cookies & Chili Peppers
What did everyone else think of this section?
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Follow Friday/Funny Friday
The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!
How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!
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Before you leave, check out Friday Funnies, below!
Welcome to Friday Funnies! Because everyone needs a good laugh on Friday.
Just some funny stuff I found on Pinterest this week. Enjoy!
Just some funny stuff I found on Pinterest this week. Enjoy!
Book Promotion: Advice for Authors #1
This year, I've decided to do more paid promos. Not being independently wealthy myself, I don't have tons of money to put into this, but there are myriad sites that promote on-sale books for chunk change. I figure if I just do whatever I can, whenever I can, it might just add up over time.
So, how do YOU benefit from this? I'm going to keep track of my promotions; a record of what works and how well, and I'll do a post each month about them. Of course many factors go into this. Not just how many copies I sell on any particular site, but what genre it's in, what day of the week, and how it affects my Amazon ranking.
Okay, so here's the report for January. As I'm still recovering from Christmas, and might be moving soon, I couldn't do many promos this month. (And, I'll admit, I wasn't the most organized at it, which means I didn't think about it enough ahead of time. :D)
I only did one (kind of two) promos. I discounted the ebook copy of Citadels of Fire down to $1.99 and paid to feature it on Bargain Ebook Hunter. It was a Guaranteed Promo. For a small additional fee, I could also feature it on Pixelscroll, their sister website. I set it up so that the sale and promo would be on Friday, January 23rd. (I've heard that Fridays and Saturdays work best, as people tend to spend/shop more on weekends, and the majority of people get paid in the Thurs-Fri time frame. I'll probably play with this more as the year progresses.)
In short, I paid roughly $30.00 to promote my on sale, $1.99 historical fiction novel for one day. Here are the results:
Before the promo, Citadels of Fire had a ranking of #1,421, 889 in the paid Kindle store.
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I'll be back next week with actual numbers (I don't have them yet. Waiting on my publisher. :/) But I'll do an update when I do. :D I just wanted to share my initial findings. More details to come!
Has anyone else used either of their sites? Was your promo a success?
Thoughts for Thursday: Sense of Humor
Just have fun, collect awesome sayings by awesome people, and try to be inspired!
This week's theme is a Sense of Humor!
Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is.--Francis Bacon
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One of the things that binds us as a family is a shared sense of humor.--Ralph Fiennes
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A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life.--William Arthur Ward
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“I don't trust anyone who doesn't laugh.”--Maya Angelou
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What quote about sense of humor is your favorite? Do you have one to add?
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