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Kid Conversation

1/24/2017

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Thursday after Christmas, after all of the grandparents had left, my eldest watched The Santa Clause movie with me. It's a long time favorite of mine and I was hoping she would enjoy it. As is so often the case with young kids, you never know what, exactly, they are going to focus on.
Kid: Dad, your hair is turning really white, really fast.
Dad: Your college fund is losing $$ pretty quick too.
Kid, patting Dad's arm: It's ok, Dad. I'm only teasing.
Then she came over to me and whispered that she didn't think her dad was going to turn into Santa Claus. I agreed with her. Turns out she really only wanted to meet a reindeer and maybe go for a ride in the sleigh.
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Bletchley Circle Review

1/17/2017

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I do not get to watch a lot of TV. I would like to watch more, but far too much of the time I could use for watching TV is spent writing. The limited time that is left is frequenty spent with the kids or watching kid shows. But sometimes I get to see something great.

I stumbled upon The Bletchley Circle at my local library. I think I was looking for something in the B section and the cover image appealed. Probably the "Cracking a Killer's Code" part more than the title. Then I read the synopsis and, wow, I knew I would like it.
The backstory:
Susan and her 3 friends are code breakers during WWII in Britian's famed Bletchley Park. Nine years after the war ends, each woman has moved on with their lives. 
Susan is a stay-at-home mother of 2 with a stable husband and all the traditional comforts and responsibilties afforded a woman in the 1950's. The only real problem for Susan is boredom. 
Then a string of murders occurs. Susan takes an interest because she knew one of the girls slightly. Given her past work, it's no surprise that Susan finds a pattern in the killer's activities. When she takes her information to the police, they don't find the evidence and discount her theory.
Humiliated but not detered, Susan gets her friends together and they take on the challenge of finding a killer before another girl dies.
Initially I felt a real kinship with Susan. As a former project engineer turned stay-at-home mom, I have suffered from my own sense of boredom and lack of true purpose. Yes, I know raising kids is a worthwhile thing. It's also a very repeative thing and I eventually grew to miss the feeling of accomplishment that came with a job. Unlike Susan, I decided to write.

But, even the stories of the other women resonated. The look at what 1950's were like for a female, especially extremely capable ones who were forced by convention to be less than they could be, has been illuminating. It has also made me grateful that I live in these times.
Still, the interaction amongst the women as the hunt for a killer, is the part that truly captured me. The methods they use to find their man are awesome. Even when used against them.

The Bletchley Circle has two seasons totaling seven episodes. All in all, I highly recommend it for the history, for the thrills and nailbiting (yes, there was nailbiting), for the twists, and for the shear girl-power subltely on display. Season 2 is equally good despite losing the character of Susan when her husband takes a new job.
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Book Review: Not Quite the Fairy Tale series by May Sage

1/10/2017

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May Sage takes your classic fairy tales and completely revamps them. Elements of the original are still there but these new stories are meant for today's reader. 

Special note: these fairy tales are NOT meant for young readers. The stories can be quite explicit.
Second note: all images are affiliate links to Amazon.

You can follow May directly at www.AuthorMaySage.com

Not Quite the Fairy Tale: First Bundle

This bundle contains the following stories: Cinderella, A Little Siren, Beauty and the Beast, and The Snow Queen.

Characters from the stories do cross over and make appearances in other stories. But each story is written as a stand alone novel. You can read them in any order, though I strongly suggest starting with Cinderella.
Cinderella
The prince needs to find a wife from amongst his population of females. He decides to have a contest, rather along the lines of Kiera Cass's The Selection, but with some startling conditions.
Ella, who has plans for her life that do not include a kingdom, enters the contest intending to be eliminated. She isn't. Instead she is forced to appear at the castle and meet the prince.
Fireworks, learning about class differences, and several issues occur on the way to love. Then Rumplestiltskin steps in and Ella disappears.
Finding her is a job for only the worthiest.
A Little Siren
Sister to the prince in Cinderella, she's spent her entire life carrying a secret. Unfortunately keeping that secret has a way of causing distrust and the only man she's ever loved.
Until the day her reappears in her life. Now she's got something to fight for and there is a fight coming her way.
With the help of mermaids and her half-siblings, the siren intends to over come and rid the world of some perverted evils.
Beauty and the Beast
This story was a little difficult to follow at times. I'm still trying to figure out who, or more accurately what, Belle is and the answer is not in this book.
There is some explicit sex since the Beast operates a gambling and sex den--which is all perfectly legal since the king stopped talking years ago.
​Into this world comes Belle to settle her brother's debt to the Beast. And she manages to reawaken his heart to the people of his country.
The Snow Queen
The goddess who imprisoned the gods themselves woke from her centuries long sleep to help Belle. On her way to sleep again, she meets an elf trying to save his people from slavery. Her vow to remain uninvolved is soon broken as she falls for him.

It's in this story that you begin to understand how interlinked the series is despite each story being a stand alone.
There are additional books in the series. I have not read these... Yet. One day I hope to have time to finish the entire series.

​If you read May Sage's stories, which one is your favorite? Let me know in the comments.
Can you recommend any other contemporary fairy tales? Tell me in the comments!
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