A Little Rant

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Not a lot going on here. Just stupid government crap regarding my benefits. I can’t entirely blame the government for all my stress this time, because everything up until today was something else entirely and the people involved already know I’m not happy about how everything went down. Let’s just say stuff hasn’t been getting done in a timely manner. But today (Tuesday), I’ve spent far too much time trying to justify needing another hour of care every day. And I get it. The government doesn’t want to give just anyone benefits. They’re like giant companies that way. “You want healthcare and to be able to afford rent and food??? Damn commies.” But also, look at me. It’s pretty freaking obvious that I need care. I promise I’m not just a mooch. If they’d let me earn more than $1900 and change a month without screeching about taking my Medicaid away, I’d even try to be a productive member of society. But no. They don’t allow you to get to a stable place before they rip away the benefits that keep you alive. Just stay poor. Ugh. But that’s a different rant. Let’s get back on track.

I’m on a program called CLASS. They offer various services, but I only use the healthcare assistance service where they pay (actually Medicaid pays) for someone to take care of me. When I first got on the program at 18 after a ten year waitlist (yeah, no one even remembered signing up when we got the letter saying I was cripple enough for them), they only paid for outside help to come in. Eventually, they started paying family members, so Dad gets paid to take care of me. With all the prices on the rise and the fact that home healthcare works hadn’t gotten a raise in a ridiculous amount of time (because, you know, the Texas government), Dad requested an extra hour a day (no, he doesn’t get paid 24-hours a day because apparently the government thinks cripples are robots who just power down and require no assistance for far too many hours a day/night… as if normal human beings don’t have to pee or worse during sleep time, so cripples certainly don’t). But he’s up to 14 hours a day and the government is balking at a 15th hour. They’re forcing us to justify the request instead of just looking at my file and seeing my diagnosis (an incurable disorder that gets worse over time) and the fact that I have never asked for anything I don’t need and realizing that yeah, she needs help. It doesn’t help that they don’t reach out to me directly. There’s a middleperson. Things get lost in translation.

Anyway, it’s almost 8:00 and I’m getting hungry, so I’m going to stop ranting. But anyone who says cripples don’t work for their benefits and just get handouts have never had to deal with the government (state or federal). Fighting for shit I need is an entire job in itself. They should be paying me, but then they’d probably kick me off everything anyway. Blargh.

One Last Reminder

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? I don’t have anything to blog about. I’m putting together a grocery order, playing mindless games, and Dad’s spring cleaning the spare room. The doggos are being doggos. That’s life. But! I wanted to take a second to remind you that the Kickstarter for Phantoms from the Sky ends on Friday (the 10th)! The support thus far has been fabulous. Thank you if you’ve donated or helped promote the project with shares and mentions. If you’ve been putting it off, now’s the time to spread the word! Thank you!

Thoughts on THE STATES

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Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? It’s already May. How? I have no idea where the rest of this year went, but whatever. I’m starting off this month with an extra book review! I was contacted by Simone Jung from Books Forward again and she suggested I check out The States by Norah Woodsey on NetGalley. A little slice of life with a dash of speculative/sci-fi sounded fun, so I went ahead and read it. It’s self-published and was released yesterday (April 30th). I must thank Simone and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s get to it.

The States follows Tildy as she struggles to free herself from an overbearing and demanding family. The problem? She doesn’t know if she wants to keep up with her current life or revisit a past she has already run away from once. An old friend approaches her about a new study in lucid dreaming aimed at helping people make difficult choices. Tildy signs right up, but can she keep the dreams and reality separate?

This book is supposedly a reimagining of Austen’s Persuasion. I’ve never read that one, so I can’t tell you how well this book does on that front, but I can tell you how it is as just a book. Short version: not good. And that’s sad, because I really liked the premise and wanted to like the book. I tried to enjoy it. I read the whole thing. And while it has potential, it falls on the amateurish side of everything (plotting, pacing, character development, the writing in general, etc.). That’s not to say it’s bad and couldn’t be made better. With some rewriting, it could be a solid book. It’s just not there yet.

Plot and pacing. There’s a super slow build for the first half to two-thirds of the book and we get a lot of information, but what we get is filler while the actual story gets glanced over. Her past in Ireland plays a big part of Tildy’s dilemma, but instead of showing us what happened, we get blurry little snippets that never really come together to give us the information the reader needs. The present storyline is the same way. Lots of information, but the story itself is only viewed in the periphery. The last third of the book is beyond rushed. The stuff with Jude and the lawyer’s daughter comes out of left field like it was tacked on as an afterthought. The whole relationship with Aidan is just barebones plot points that haven’t been fleshed out and connected yet. It needs a ton of work.

Characters. First off, there are way too many to keep track of and most of them can be cut or meshed into other characters without losing anything. Secondly, none of the important characters are remotely likeable. I have zero sympathy for Tildy. She’s an heiress (granted, her family is hemorrhaging all their money away) who was smart enough to get her own job and be able to support herself, but she lets her father and sisters treat her like shit? Go no contact and get on with your life. She’s whiny and weak and just a super annoying protagonist. Jude’s a douche and not even a charming one. Aidan is supposed to be the main dude, but he isn’t even a character at this point. He’s just a placeholder for a character. I think the characters could be much better if the plot and pacing were ironed out and they were given room to grow in the actual story, but it’s not there yet.

It’s Aidan.

The writing. It’s not great either. In my earlier writing classes, I was told that my writing was stepping on itself and I needed to stop that. Basically, I would write a scene depicting a certain emotion and at the end, I would have a sentence or two telling what the emotion I just showed was. It was me not trusting myself to convey things clearly. I learned quickly to recognize it. This book is full of stuff like that. There’s also a ton of repetitive and mundane description that could be trimmed, especially early on. And a lot of the dialogue is stilted and/or used to give the reader information the characters would already know. People don’t talk like that.

Ultimately, The States felt unpolished and disappointing. It sounds like a great premise, but the execution was poor.

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Overall, I gave it 2 out of 5 stars. One and a half, actually. One for writing it and half of one for self-publishing it. But I don’t really recommend it. There have to be better reimaginings of Persuasion out there.

Thoughts on OCEAN’S GODORI

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things are about the same as always here. Just reading a lot and avoiding writing. Speaking of reading, it’s the last Wednesday of the month, so you know what that means. Book review time! This month, I decided to go with something sci-fi. I just wanted something a little outside my comfort zone. Comfort zone adjacent, if you will. So, I went for Ocean’s Godori by Elaine U. Cho. It was released yesterday (the 23rd) from Hillman Grad Books (a brand new imprint of Zando). As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing!

Ocean’s Godori follows a number of characters including Ocean, Haven, and Teo as they try to figure out where and how they fit into the Solar. Ocean, a disgraced pilot, does what needs to be done only to be constantly punished for it. Teo is the second son of a rich family, a screw up, and ends up being framed for murder. Haven, a Mortemian far away from home, is out to see what the rest of the Solar has to offer. They all get dragged into the murder mystery which leads them on a chase they aren’t exactly prepared for.

Pacing. There’s a prologue that drops us right into the action and let’s us see a trial run for the climax. Cool. It means this story’s going to be action packed and fun, right? Wrong. Nothing else happens for about two thirds of the book. Sure, we see how some characters come together and we get some background, but nothing important or exciting happens that couldn’t happen in a much more condensed section. And then, the adventure stuff happens way too fast and the ending basically cuts off right in the middle of the climax and leaves all the plot threads just dangling there. I don’t know if there’s supposed to be a book two, but if not, the ending is beyond unsatisfying. It’s like the writer didn’t know how to end it, so they’re foisting that responsibility onto the reader. No thank you. I will not do your job for you. Hopefully, there will be a book two. So yeah… the pacing is bad.

Plot. The story is interesting. It can’t seem to decide if it wants to be a romance with a thriller subplot or a thriller with a romance subplot, but I think that’s more of a pacing problem than anything. I’d be fine either way. If you’re into hard sci-fi, this is not the book for you. Even I know the science part of this is iffy at best, but it’s for fun, so even though I frequently asked myself “whaaaat?,” I ignored it and moved on. Anyway, there’s corruption and drama and insurmountable odds. And space pirates. It has everything a space novel needs.

Characters. I actually really liked most of the characters. Haven is my favorite, but I really don’t understand why Mortemians are so reviled. They’re funeral directors who train in various rites from childhood basically. I don’t get why that disgusts everyone and it’s not explained well in the book. Ocean and Teo are great. Love Phoenix and his crew. The only character I didn’t like was the captain. She’s all fun and games until someone points out that she’s putting everyone at risk and suddenly she becomes a whiny little bitch and demands everyone do the stupid stuff anyway. She’s annoying, then she just disappears after Phoenix shows up. It’s weird. She’s a throwaway character, I guess. Other than her, the characters are really the main reason I finished this book.

To the captain.

Setting and writing. I really enjoyed a futuristic South Korean dominated space program. It’s a fun setting that allowed the author to blend Korean language with English. I learned stuff. The writing itself flowed well too.

Ultimately, I kind of enjoyed Ocean’s Godori. Despite everything I didn’t like, if a second book comes out, I’ll probably pick it up.

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Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. Actually, two and a half is probably closer. If there’s no sequel, I don’t recommend it. If the sequel appears and is good, then I’ll recommend it.

Poetry Month

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? I have nothing new to report and it’s a little late and I need to go finish making the grocery order, so I’m cheating this week and leaving you with a poem. It’s national poetry month, so let’s pretend that’s why. Don’t worry. Next week is book review time, plus I ended up with another book to review for the 1st. So, there are at least two weeks of actual posts ahead!

A VALEDICTION OF WEEPING.
by John Donne

                LET me pour forth
My tears before thy face, whilst I stay here,
For thy face coins them, and thy stamp they bear,
And by this mintage they are something worth.
                For thus they be
                Pregnant of thee ;
Fruits of much grief they are, emblems of more ;
When a tear falls, that thou fall’st which it bore ;
So thou and I are nothing then, when on a divers shore.

                On a round ball
A workman, that hath copies by, can lay
An Europe, Afric, and an Asia,
And quickly make that, which was nothing, all.
                So doth each tear,
                Which thee doth wear,
A globe, yea world, by that impression grow,
Till thy tears mix’d with mine do overflow
This world, by waters sent from thee, my heaven dissolvèd so.

                O ! more than moon,
Draw not up seas to drown me in thy sphere ;
Weep me not dead, in thine arms, but forbear
To teach the sea, what it may do too soon ;
                Let not the wind
                Example find
To do me more harm than it purposeth :
Since thou and I sigh one another’s breath,
Whoe’er sighs most is cruellest, and hastes the other’s death.

Phantoms from the Sky: Kickstarter Update

~ shawnaborman ~ 2 Comments

Howdy, howdy! This is just a quick post to let you know that the Kickstarter for Phantoms from the Sky goes live today! Just click the link above to check it out. Every mention, share, and (of course) donation helps. Here’s a pretty picture and blurb to make your time looking at this post worth it.

The truth is closer than you think. Brace yourself for a collection of short fiction that will challenge your perceptions and leave you questioning the boundaries of our reality. In these fourteen tales from acclaimed and emerging authors, the veil between Earth and the cosmos is lifted through awe-inspiring visitations by enigmatic beings from beyond. 

From the heart-pounding excitement of close encounters with unidentified flying objects to contemplative reflections on humanity’s place in the universe, these stories will transport you to uncharted realms where the ordinary communes with the extraordinary. Phantoms from the Sky showcases a diverse array of voices, each contributing a unique and riveting account of extraterrestrial contact. Journey along as characters grapple with the unknown, witness the wonder of cosmic exploration, and confront profound questions about humanity’s past and future. 

Whether you’re a seasoned science fiction enthusiast or a newcomer to the genre, this collection promises an unforgettable literary odyssey. With each turn of the page, you’ll feel the inexorable pull of the stars, experience the thrill of discovery, and face the terror of the unexplained.

Mindless Games

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are usual. I have nothing writerly or readerly to ramble about. I know it’s national poetry month, but I’m just not into that this year. Anyway, I feel like I’ve mentioned dozens of times that I play mindless games to avoid productivity, but I never told you what they are, so I’ll ramble about those today. I’m up to five of them because I started two new-to-me ones about a month ago. I play them all through Facebook, so if I ever get locked out or the book of faces dies, I’ll lose all my progress and never play them again. All of them have options to spend real money for in game stuff, but I’ve never spent a dime on them and never will. If you’re a miser like me, you can definitely play these without paying. Here they are!

1. June’s Journey. It’s a hidden objects game. I’ve been playing it since it first came out. It’s still being updated and new events happen just about weekly. I go through phases where I play it a lot then for a few weeks I’ll just log in to collect the daily freebies. As long as you budget your in-game coins/diamonds/whatever, there aren’t really any places where you have to stop and wait to build those things up in order to move forward. So, I enjoy it.

2. Gardenscapes – New Acres. I actually played the Gardenscape games that existed before Facebook Games was a thing. So, when this came out, I started playing it. This one is a match 3 game. It’s still being updated a couple of times a month. I mostly play for the side quests now and log in to collect the daily stuff when nothing interests me. But I do enjoy the whole renovation aspect.

3. Homescapes. This is basically the same as Gardenscapes, but instead of renovating gardens, you get to renovate houses. I’m easily entertained.

4. Cooking City. I’ve only been playing this one about a month. It’s just a restaurant sim. You cook food and serve customers. I enjoy that type of game, but I don’t recommend this particular one. I’ve already hit a couple of spots where I couldn’t move forward for about a week because I didn’t have the right boosters. I don’t particularly mind the waiting, but it seems like it’s going to be a regular occurrence since I’m not going to pay for it. It also has the option to watch a ton of ads to get freebies, but no one has time for that. I’ll probably drop this one if it doesn’t get better.

5. Hero Wars. This is the other new-to-me game and I’m kind of obsessed. I don’t even know why. I just keep leveling up my characters. I’ve hit the point in the actual game where I can’t move forward until I get stronger, but there’s so much other stuff to keep me occupied that it doesn’t actually feel like I’m waiting for anything. I will burn myself out on this one, but I’ll enjoy it until then.

What stupid games do you play either to avoid productivity or as a reward for getting things done? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts or questions or whatever here or on my social media pages!

Thoughts on A DEADLY WALK IN DEVON

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? I’m sure it’s lovely somewhere or to someone, anyway. It’s only Tuesday as I’m writing this, but the forecast says thunderstorms, so it may or may not be lovely here. And I’ve used the word lovely too much, so now it sounds awkward. Let’s get to what this post is about… a book review! That’s right. It’s the last Wednesday of the month. This time, I decided to nestle back into my comfort zone with a cozy mystery. A Deadly Walk in Devon by Nicholas George was released on the 26th from Kensington Books. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. So, let’s do the thing!

A Deadly Walk in Devon follows Rick “Chase” Chasen, a retired San Diego detective who is grieving the death of his significant other. He’s struggling with life in general, so he decides to go on a walking tour of Devon where he meets up with Billie, a woman he knows from previous trips, and a handful of other guests who booked the same trip. On particularly annoying guest confides in Chase that he’s been receiving death threats and enlists Chase’s help in staying safe. Chase is hesitant, but also tempted by the puzzle of it all. When the man falls to his death, Chase feels the need to figure out what really happened.

The plot. An old, rich jerk falls to his death in a strange place surrounded by strangers. Or are they strangers? Cue the suspenseful “dun dun dun.” Of course, everyone except Chase suspects the trophy wife. Even the British inspector. Throw in a second, seemingly unconnected, death to stir things up. There are plenty of red herrings and a disturbing number of “jokes” that are technically attempted murder. A bestie who encourages all of the shenanigans is included as well. And there’s a potential love interest. Also, if you’re at all familiar with cozies, it isn’t difficult to figure out whodunit. It’s standard cozy mystery fare, which is what I was hoping for.

My only complaint is that a lot of the characters were pretty flat. Chase and Billie were great. The inspector was an amalgamation of a number of great detectives (Holmes, Columbo, etc.), but only if they were completely inept. Which is fine. But there were at least eight suspects and not much room in the book for them to be fleshed out, so a lot of them felt like stereotypes. It’s not that big of a deal, but I do enjoy more meat on characters, especially when they all stick around for the whole book.

The writing is nice and the description of the scenery is great. The pacing is a little on the slow side, but they’re on a walking holiday, so it kind of fits the story.

Ultimately, A Deadly Walk in Devon is a perfectly adequate cozy mystery. I enjoyed it. The whole walking trip angle makes for a fun series set up with plenty of settings to explore. I will definitely check out the next book in the series when/if it comes out.

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Overall, I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. It wasn’t perfect. The characters need work. But if you enjoy cozies, I think it’s worth picking up.

Women Authors Part 2

~ shawnaborman ~ 3 Comments

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are fine. Mardi got groomed yesterday, so she’s a new pupper. That’s about all the interesting stuff going on right now. Anyway, I thought I would continue in the same vein as last week by sharing 5 more women authors. The only difference is that I am acquainted with these people. So, shameless friend/mentor promotion!

1. Nancy Holder. She doesn’t really need an introduction. Aside from being an amazing human being and writer, she’s an awesome mentor.

2. J.R. Dawson. Another wonderful human being and fabulous writer. She also encourages my love of demons with a twist. And my love of villains in general. And there’s the fact that we torture each other with FMA memes. I think I’ll keep her.

3. Renee S. DeCamillis. A fellow Capricorn and lover of sharp pointy things. She writes horror as well! This is a picture of her upcoming book. You should follow her for more information about it.

4. Theodora Goss. Another mentor and awesome writer. Along with some of my favorite novels, she also writes beautiful poetry.

5. R.M. Romero. A lovely person and wonderful writer. On top of gorgeous stories, her book covers are always entrancing.

Feel free to share your lovely lady authors here or on my social media pages! I’ll be back next week with the monthly book review.

Women Authors

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here are normal. I’m procrastinating on everything. Dogs are settling into a rhythm. Dad’s got a project going (he’s fixing the ceiling in the spare room). Life is usual. Anyway, it seems that March is both Women’s History month and National Reading month, so I thought I would share a list of women authors that I enjoy reading. It was difficult to narrow it down, because I apparently read mostly women authors. I don’t know how that happened. Oh well. Here are five women authors I read in no particular order. I didn’t include people I know on this list. Maybe I’ll do a list of friends next week.

1. Rainbow Rowell. I honestly don’t know why I keep reading her stuff. She tells the same basic story over and over again, just in different settings, but somehow I enjoy it every time. I really only noticed it when I read a collection of short stories by her. As long as I space out her work, I always enjoy it, though.

2. Vivien Chien. I love her noodle shop mystery series. It’s fun and there’s food and the characters are interesting. I always look forward to a new one being released.

3. Shea Ernshaw. I enjoy her writing so much that I keep buying her books even though the stories themselves are always disappointing. Her first book was actually pretty rape-y if you thought about it too much. The rest of her books that I’ve read are just predictable. But her writing is wonderful.

4. Sherry Harris. I haven’t read her garage sale mysteries yet, but I love her sea glass saloon mysteries. The setting and characters are fun. It’s a great little escape if you like cozy mysteries. And her writing makes for smooth, quick reads.

5. Holly Black. The whole enemies to lovers thing is one of my favorite tropes. Some of hers are a little problematic for some people. Especially since her “enemies” tend to be bullies. I don’t mind that. The stories are fun and I enjoy her writing. And I like the characters even though a lot of them are jerks.

Who are some of your favorite women authors? As always, feel free to share your thoughts and comments here or on my social media pages!