Author: shawnaborman

Phantoms from the Sky: Shameless Self-Promotion

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Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this first Wednesday of March? Things here are good. If you stalk me on social media and saw the cover release a few days ago, you were probably expecting this. Shameless self-promotion time! Remember that anthology from Rogue Owl Press that I mentioned back in February? It has a title and a cover and a pre-launch page for the Kickstarter! It’s called Phantoms from the Sky and the Kickstarter officially starts on March 27th, but if you go to the link above and sign up to be notified on launch, I’d really appreciate it. Following the project helps a lot.

I think that’s everything for this week. Please follow the pre-launch page if you can and expect more shameless self-promotion regarding this anthology in the near future!

Thoughts on FATHOMFOLK

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Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here are about the same as always. The weather is drunk, but that’s normal for February in Texas. Anyway, it’s the last Wednesday of the month. You know what that means. Book review time! I decided to go with some fantasy this time because I love mythological water creatures. The book is literally called Fathomfolk, so you can see why I went with it. It’s by Eliza Chan and was published yesterday (the 27th) by Orbit Books. 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.

Fathomfolk follows three main characters: Mira, Nami, and Cordelia. They each find themselves in Tiankawi (one by birth, one by exile, and the other by seeking sanctuary), a half submerged city where the tensions between humans and fathomfolk are reaching a boiling point. Two of them are trying to fix things using vastly different tactics, and the other just wants to manipulate things to best serve herself. Can there ever be peace between humans and folk? Can it be achieved through laws or must violence lead the way?

The plot and moral of the story. As you can probably guess, this is a super political book that tries to address racism and immigration issues and equal rights and all of that. There are a lot of big ideas here, but the execution is not great. The entire moral of the story ends up feeling like “if everyone is the same, things will be fine.” That’s kind of icky, but it’s not my book, so I have no control over it. I thought I was overthinking it, so I looked at some other reviews and… I’m not alone. To be fair, I don’t believe that’s supposed to be the message just based on stuff leading up to the end, but that’s definitely the way it comes off. There’s supposed to be a second book, so hopefully it clears things up. If that’s supposed to be the meaning or whatever, cool. Own it. But based on just this book, it doesn’t match with the events of the story, so it feels gross.

The characters are all either really flat or they don’t show any growth by the end. Mira is the stereotypical rule follower. If she works her way up the ranks, she can fix things from the inside! But she can’t. She’s the token folk in the human police force basically. And Nami is the easily swayed rebel that gets mixed up with terrorists. By the end, she knows the dude’s a mass murderer and she still turns a blind eye just so she can make out with him. It’s ridiculous. And Cordelia never changes. The extras are all exactly what they’re supposed to be. Kai is the flawless, self-sacrificing husband (to Mira) and brother (to Nami). Everyone kind of sucks, so there’s no one to root for here.

The writing is meh. I think a really big problem with this book is that the pacing is awful. Everything is much too slow. Even the stuff that’s supposed to be action packed is a slog. But the worldbuilding is nice. That’s something, I guess.

Ultimately, Fathomfolk wasn’t for me. Like I said, there’s supposed to be a second book, so maybe it gets better. I’ll probably forget it exists by that time, though, which means I won’t read the sequel.

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Overall, I gave it 2 out of 5 stars. I started at 3, but the more I think about it, I just don’t like the book. I think 2 stars because it tries to tackle big issues is fair. But there are definitely better books that do a better job out there.

Reading Has Been Unfulfilling

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Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this delightful Wednesday? Things here are a little busy this week. Just stupid things. Ran some paperwork over to our CPA on Tuesday and grabbed some Captain Ds on the way home. Have to take Bonnie in to get spayed later this week. Sophia did really well when she was spayed and is back to normal. Anyway, it’s Tuesday still and I kind of forgot about needing to write a blog post. Go me! Ugh. So, the only thing I can think of to ramble about is reading. I’ve read five books so far this year and it took me like three hours to remember four of them. I had to check my GoodReads page to remember the fifth. Needless to say, I haven’t really been satisfied with anything I’m reading. That’s usually a sign I’m burning myself out, but it could just be the books.

1. Clover Hendry’s Day Off by Beth Morrey. This was my review book for January, so you can find my thoughts here. Short version, it started out great and quickly devolved into a dumpster fire. Meh.

2. The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec. It’s a Norse mythology retelling. You would think it would be right up my alley. But I don’t remember much about it. I know I enjoyed it as I was reading it, but I can’t remember any particularly wonderful moments. It basically just exists on my list of “I read this and remember the basic premise, but not much else” books. It was good enough to me simply because I enjoy Norse mythology. That’s about it.

3. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. This is the one I didn’t remember at all. When I looked at my list of books, I knew what it was, but I totally forgot it existed. It’s one of those books that is super popular and people kept recommending it to me, so I read it. I really like the premise that we can spend that moment between life and death hopping around our “what if” lives and choose to stay in whichever one feels right to us. But the whole ‘suicidal person hopping lives only to realize their current one is the only one they want to live’ thing is kind of annoying and the message is super heavy handed. And frankly, it isn’t something I find believable. So maybe I just blocked out reading this book because it pisses me off when I think about it.

4. Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens. This one is probably the only book I’ve read this year that was even remotely satisfying. It’s adorable gay fluff AND it’s got the gloomy person falling for the sunshine boy! That’s one of my weaknesses. The story itself was entertaining, but kind of rushed. I was just there for the cute romance though, so I didn’t mind the actual plot being a bit wobbly.

5. Murder Off the Books by Tamara Berry. I really liked the first two books in this series, but this one was such a let down. The plot made no sense. The only character who actually behaved like they’ve been built up so far was Gertie. The FBI agents were beyond ridiculous. It honestly felt like someone input a premise with the instructions to write like Tamara Berry into some AI program and this is what came out. It starts out okay, but gradually becomes more outlandish and just idiotic by the end.

So, that’s been my year in reading so far. I’m currently reading the review book for next week’s post, another book to review the first Wednesday in May, and I just started another cozy mystery as my for fun book. We’ll see how those go. What have you been reading? As always, feel free to share your thoughts or questions here or on my social media pages!

Happy Flowers and Chocolates Day

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Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Did you do whatever you needed to do to prepare for Valentine’s Day? Or Single’s Awareness Day? Or conception day for many near the cusp of Scorpio and Sagittarius? Whatever you want to call it. Just Wednesday is fine for me. I’m ready. Because I’m doing nothing. I have chocolates that Dad bought me for Christmas. I thought about buying myself flowers, but they just wilt, so I don’t know why they’re so popular. Like… having nature’s corpses rotting on my desk isn’t as great as it sounds. But I’m rambling. I guess I should figure out something to ramble about for the rest of this post. I don’t think I could stretch flower corpses that far unless I write a story about them. So, I suppose I’ll make a list of gifts to give your writerly peoples on this weird day.

1. Skulls work. Bones in general. At least for horror writers. Or mystery/thriller/crime writers. Dark fantasy. Fantasy in general, actually. I’m not saying other types of writers wouldn’t appreciate bones, but it’s something you’d have to gauge for yourself. Know your writer.

2. Books, movies, etc. Picture it. You and your writer sitting in the same room, just reading. You don’t even have to read the same thing. You’ve given your writer a book with their favorite cliché and you’ve shared some food and now, you’re just existing together. This works with other activities as well as reading. Puzzles. Crafts. Video games. Endless possibilities.

3. Weird chocolates that fit their genre. I’m sure any kink writer would appreciate an edible anus. Writers with a penchant for body horror, maybe. I don’t know. I’m just throwing it out there that you can get chocolate shaped like anything on the Interwebz. It doesn’t have to be the standard heart shaped boxes to show you care.

4. If they’re into booze, Writers’ Tears is a thing that exists. There are different versions besides copper pot. Appropriate for any genre. If whiskey isn’t their thing, go Google writer themed drinks. And if your writer isn’t into alcohol, get them some nice coffee or tea or hot chocolate or whatever they drink. Everyone likes a nice beverage.

Just some ideas. Get your writer decaying corpses if that’s what they enjoy. Whatever floats their boat. Or your boat if you’re a writer pampering yourself. What kind of Valentine’s Day gifts do you prefer to receive and/or give? Feel free to leave your thoughts or questions or whatever here or on my social media pages!

Thoughts on CLOVER HENDRY’S DAY OFF

~ shawnaborman ~ 4 Comments

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here are usual. It’s the last Wednesday of the month, though. Where did January go? Anyway, that means it’s book review time! This month, I stepped back into that weird literary/women’s fiction genre. I just call it slice of life, but apparently that’s wrong. I don’t know why they have to make it complicated. Whatever. I went with Clover Hendry’s Day Off by Beth Morrey. It was released yesterday (the 30th) from G.P. Putnam’s Sons. 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!

Clover Hendry’s Day Off follows (you guessed it!) Clover Hendry as she finally says screw everything and takes a day to do as she pleases. Skipping work and pampering herself and causing trouble wherever she ends up. Why not? All she has done her entire life is say yes to people and take everything on herself. She’s never taken a break or stopped to breathe. But that all changes right now. Will the world implode around her if she’s just a little bit selfish? It’s time to find out.

Before we go into the review, there will be spoilers. I try to stay vague most of the time, but once in a while, specific things need to be mentioned. Feel free to skip ahead to the picture that says “the end.” If this is on your TBR list, you’ve been warned.

The plot is super cute until it isn’t. As someone who imagines the worst and people pleases and all that, I immediately liked Clover. I appreciated her breakdown. But what started out as fun and relatable, quickly devolved into a petty slog. Yes, slack off work for an art show and good meal. No, don’t dump a random kid in an art installation when his parent is there, but not paying attention. Yes, stick up for your gay friend when someone is being a bigot, but when your friend says stop, you stop. Definitely don’t steal a statue from a house your bestie is watching because you’ll just be getting her in trouble. Some of the stuff made no sense. And then there was the whole rape revenge thing that was supposedly the trigger for this whole breakdown. It felt trite and completely unnecessary. Clover had plenty of reasons to go off the rails. Tossing in the rapist dude just felt like overkill. And then when revenge is had, it’s brushed off like nothing happened in favor of more family drama. There’s just too much going on and not enough room for everything to feel natural. For such a short book, it’s like they tried to jam every possible plotline into it and it becomes a checklist instead of a story. Shitty boss, check. Distant children (bonus for twins), check. Narcissistic mother, check. Etc.

Honestly, the only character we really get to know is Clover. She starts out great, then becomes annoying, and finally mellows out a bit. But everyone else are just cardboard cutouts and that’s sad. It’s part of the reason I usually avoid literary type fiction. It’s not uncommon for books like that to focus on one character and just leave the others as stereotypes. It’s fine, but meh.

The writing is actually really enjoyable. Before the plot became a slog, I was seriously considering giving this 4 stars because it was fun and it was a smooth, quick read. It was a fitting style for the story.

Ultimately, Clover Hendry’s Day Off starts out great and then fizzles out. But I did enjoy the writing enough that if I run across other books by Beth Morrey, I’d give them a chance.

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Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. It’s fun enough, but there are better stories like this out there. If it sounds like your thing, try it. If it’s not your typical genre, try something else first.

A Look Inside King Noodle and Sushi

~ shawnaborman ~ 3 Comments

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely (or is it still dreary?) Wednesday? Things here are good. Talked to Dr. Lucifer (Lussier), my pulmonologist, and she said it was okay to venture out more as long as we use common sense (don’t let people hover right over me, use my mouthpiece most of the time since the vent filters are actually pretty good at their job, wear a mask when people are lingering within a couple of feet, and avoid crowded enclosed things like elevators where there’s no escape from people, etc.). Anyway, we had to drop one of the puppers off to get spayed. Sophia. Dropped her off Monday evening and she got spayed Tuesday. She’s home and loopy now. But I’m rambling. After we dropped her off, we decided to try King Noodle and Sushi over on Tripp Rd. Ate there instead of picking up and going home. That means you get a food review post! The pictures were borrowed from Facebook and Google because we forgot to take any.

First, a reminder of my rating system:

MMMMM = Everything is magnificent!
MMMM = Great, but something is off.
MMM = Pretty good, but a couple of things could be better.
MM = The bad’s starting to outweigh the good.
M = Definitely more cons than pros.
… = I couldn’t find anything nice to say.

Accessibility: It’s in a strip mall, but the handicap spaces and ramps are right next door to the restaurant and a couple of other restaurants, so it’s pretty convenient. There are two sets of doors and the inside doors don’t have windows, so all I could think was “Fuck, I hope no one tries to come out and smacks me with a door.” That was the only awkward bit. Plenty of room between the tables inside. They also have those half booth/half chairs tables which is nice. Tables were a little low. I could only get about halfway under.

Service: They get all the stars for service! I go through the door and the person at the counter actually greets me before Dad. The waitress is the same way. She talks to me and answers questions and just treats me like a person in general. It’s weird, but in the good way. Plus she stayed on top of things like refills and getting napkins and stuff. So yes, full stars for the service. It was wonderful.

Appetizers: The takoyaki was interesting. There was only one little lonely piece of tako (octopus) in each ball, but the flavor was good. The chili wontons were pretty good too.

Other food: We tried a lot of different things and the flavors were great, but anything with dough (the noodles, dumpling wrappers, etc.) were mushy. Definitely overcooked. And it was a little off putting. It wasn’t inedible by any means, just disappointing. The spicy beef noodle soup wasn’t spicy, but there’s chili oil on the table, so that was easily remedied. The xiao long buns and shrimp dumplings were nice. I had the chicken pan fried noodles which were the least mushy and overall pretty good. I think the best thing we had was actually the Denton roll. All the other sushi rolls were just California rolls with toppings. The Denton roll was a little different and fried. In other words, the food is okay and if we were closer, we’d probably go again, but if we have to get in the van to go get noodles, we’d rather drive into Dallas for pho. Or just order lo mein from Chan’s and have them bring it to us.

Dessert: The options were cheesecake or mochi ice cream, so I got a mango and a matcha mochi ice cream. It was the standard kind you find in Japanese and sometimes Chinese restaurants around here.

Price: Everything is a little expensive nowadays, so this wasn’t out of line. Plus, we ordered a lot. Decent portions. So, not too bad.

My rating:
MMM

Disney and Defrost Instead of Netflix and Chill

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Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Texas has been a tad nippy lately, so I’ve mostly been lazy and watching TV with Dad. We’ve watched a few movies. I have nothing to ramble about and no desire to make a long post, so here are some random thoughts about random movies.

1. Treasure Planet. I made Dad watch it with me on my birthday. I’ve seen it before, but it’s still one of my favorites.

2. Inside Out. It was okay. Cute. A little long. I don’t really understand why it was so popular, but it was a decent waste of time.

3. Avatar. We both saw it when it came out and remembered absolutely nothing about it. Again, an okay movie, but far too long and honestly had a lot of plot holes. It was pretty. But I could totally picture a group of people spit balling ideas and someone saying “FernGully, but in space!” and James Cameron just running with it. Anyway, now we can watch the second one.

Now, I’m off to finish the shepherd’s pie and watch more TV. It’s Tuesday and still below freezing. Hopefully it’s warmer when you read this.

I’m Old… 38 Things…

~ shawnaborman ~ 7 Comments

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? It’s that time of year again. That time where I get older and everyone seems to notice for a few days, then I just go back to quietly aging every second until next year when everyone notices again. Yay! Actually, my birthday isn’t until Friday, so I seriously considered skipping this post this year. I’m lazy and coming up with 38 random things about myself is… well… it’s a lot. But I’ll try. Let’s see how far I can get.

1. Let’s just jump right in with an unpopular opinion. I don’t like fudge. If I wanted to eat a cube of sugar, I’d eat a sugar cube.

2. I’m currently obsessed with the song Afraid of the Dark by Chef’Special and have no idea way. It’s not even a very good song.

3. I’m not a big tea drinker, but I like looking at fancy tea sets.

4. It’s currently January 9th and I’ve written four days this year, not including blog posts. I’m not writing a lot, but at least it’s something.

5. In those four days, I’ve almost completed a short story. One more day should do it, plus a day to read through and flesh it out. Should be done before my birthday. It might not be good, but at least it will exist.

6. I find myself actually wanting to write the past few days. It’s weird.

7. My favorite colors are purple (heavier on the blue than red), teal, and silver.

8. I’m reading The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec for fun.

9. I’m also reading Clover Hendry’s Day Off by Beth Morrey to review at the end of the month.

10. I’m getting shepherd’s pie for my birthday dinner. Be jealous.

11. I’d rather be watching TV than doing this. Actually, I’d rather be doing just about anything else.

12. Enza sent me some stuff from MarieBelle chocolates and the brownies came in a lovely blue tin. I think I was more excited about that than the goodies. I love tins and I don’t know why.

13. I still don’t like pumpkin spice. I try it every year thinking maybe I’ll magically love it, but it’s always just meh.

14. I bought a nice sweater in November and still haven’t worn it. No reason to. But I bought it anyway.

15. I cry when I’m angry, but not really when I’m sad. It’s annoying and that just makes me cry more.

16. It has taken me over an hour just to get this far on this list. Needless to say, finding things to say about myself is not my forte.

17. I’m craving hot chocolate. I have hot chocolate. I just keep forgetting to ask Dad to make it.

18. It’s weird when people ask for my opinion like I’m supposed to know what I’m doing. I assure you, I have no idea. I’m just faking it.

19. I randomly think of the drunk chick who belted out happy birthday at me in a club bathroom then promised to slit the throat of anyone who said I was anything less than beautiful.

20. So many random drunk people stories. I don’t miss going to clubs and being surrounded by them.

21. I do miss going to anime conventions though.

22. I love pupusas.

23. My minion made me a skull and she’s sitting on my desk and her name is Hel.

24. Candy Corn is just wax with sugar in it.

25. I’m tired. All the time. Until it’s time to sleep, then I’m wide awake for the next three hours reliving something stupid I said or did five years ago.

26. I never kept a journal for more than a few days and I don’t understand how people do it. Nothing interesting enough ever happens to me on a daily basis to keep a list.

27. Sometimes, I want to pull down the tequila and sip on a shot, but then I wonder why and decide it’s not worth the trouble.

28. I sit and listen to the dogs bark then tell them I don’t believe their stories when they’re done or ask them to tell me more.

29. I haven’t watched anime or read any manga in a long time.

30. My favorite non-food smell is that smell after you cut a piece of wood.

31. My favorite food smell is probably roasting garlic.

32. I like grape soda. There’s nothing quite like that fake grape taste. Certainly not real grapes.

33. I’m thinking about rereading The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings this year. The past few years, I’ve randomly reread series, so maybe it’s time for those books again.

34. In lieu of new TV, Dad and I have watched a bunch of the old Perry Mason (can’t find all of them), all of Columbo, and the original Star Trek. We’re currently working through Star Trek: TNG, Murder She Wrote, and Monk. Plus stuff on BritBox and Acorn TV.

35. I can’t decide if I want to read The Midnight Library or Mexican Gothic as my next fun book.

36. I’m making Dad watch the new Percy Jackson show. I like it so far.

37. I also like orange soda.

38. I randomly want some flan, but it will pass.

New Year, Old Me

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Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this first Wednesday of the year? Not much going on here. Vet trips and an upcoming doctor appointment. Things are pretty boring, which is good. I’ve failed miserably at goals the last few years, so I only have a couple this year. It’s late in the day and I’m tired, so I figured I’d share those and then go read or watch TV or whatever.

Reading Goals: read 35 books in 2024. I’ve had good luck with this number, so I’m sticking with it. Somehow, I made it through 45 books in 2023. I still don’t know how I did it. But it’s hard for me to even get through 3 books a month, so 35 it is.

Writing Goals: write something. I’m not even going to pretend to make a good goal for this. I don’t care what I write as long as I start writing again. Short stories. A book. Whatever. I don’t even care if I finish anything as long as I write more often than not this year.

It’s not much. They aren’t even good goals. But it’s all I can come up with that doesn’t feel useless or overwhelming. What are your goals for 2024?