myhappywonderlandblog

[myhappywonderlandblog]

‘Forever’ Teaser: First Look At Netflix Drama Series Based On Judy Blume Novel

A reimagining of Judy Blume’s influential — and controversial — 1975 novel Forever… for a new generation, the series adaptation tells the epic love story of two Black teens, Keisha Clark (Simone) and Justin Edwards (Cooper Jr.) exploring romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other’s firsts, set in Los Angeles, 2018.

[myhappywonderlandblog]

Trump administration offers roughly 2 million federal workers a buyout to resign

An email went out to the federal workforce Tuesday evening, with a subject line that had ties to Elon Musk.

President Donald Trump's administration is offering federal workers the chance to take a "deferred resignation," which would mean they agree now to resign but get paid through September.

A senior administration official told NBC News that they expect 5%-10% of the federal workforce to quit, which, they estimate, could lead to around $100 billion in savings.

All full-time federal employees are eligible, except for members of the military, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, positions related to immigration enforcement and national security and other jobs excluded by agencies.

[myhappywonderlandblog]

Most-Anticipated Queer Books of 2025

Cemetery Boys: Espíritu by Aiden Thomas

2. A/S/L by Jeanne Thornton

3. Hot Girls With Balls by Benedict Nguyễn

4. A Gentleman’s Gentleman by TJ Alexander

What are you currently reading?

[myhappywonderlandblog]

#FlashFictionFriday – Forget Me Not by Stacy Benedict

Cecil was still irresistible. Gray streaked his beard, and his laugh lines were deeper, but he was as handsome now as he was twenty-five years ago. Cheryl smiled seeing his reaction to the tub filled with bubbles. Candlelight flickered shadows on the walls and filled the air with Eucalyptus. Moet & Chandon chilled in the ice-filled sink.

“Now I know I messed up.” Cecil turned, and then gathered Cheryl in his arms. “It’s not my birthday.”

She kissed him.

“And, it’s not your birthday.” He cocked an eyebrow. “Right?”

She kissed him harder and sucked on his bottom lip. The knot in her stomach tightened. How could he not remember? She needed him to.

“I have another surprise.” Cheryl pulled away reluctantly, already missing the warmth of his skin. “Get in the tub.”

“Ho, boy.” Cecil grinned. “I come home to steak diane and my favorite chocolate fudge cake, now this. Damn, I’m lucky.” He unbuttoned his shirt and dropped it to the bathroom floor. Pants were next. The belt buckle clinked on the tiles.

Cheryl strolled out of the master bathroom and into the walk-in-closet where a frilly pink teddy set she had dieted for five months to fit into waited. Her hands shook as she unfastened her blouse. “Do you remember the first time I made you steak diane?” she yelled from the bedroom.

...

To read more, please click on the link below.

#FlashFictionFriday – Forget Me Not by Stacy Benedict – stacy benedict

[myhappywonderlandblog]

Flash Fiction

Judging a Pack by Its Cover by Stacy Benedict

I can’t just start off with “People = Shit,” Brik thought. He scanned his carefully crafted playlist. You build up to that, ending the set with something badass. Glass smashing and a burst of laughter tore his gaze from his computer screen to the overly tattooed and gratingly loud pack slamming back whiskeys at the bar. They laughed at the elderly bartender, who cowered as he poured them another round. Brik swallowed the ball of fear that had crawled up from his belly and went over his song list again. Begin with “Duality” maybe? This was definitely a Slipknot kind of crowd. Black leather Harley-Davidson jackets, steel-toed boots, and ripped blue jeans—it was the official attire at Dixon’s coming-out party. The grizzled beast with a thick scar running from forehead to chin had been released from a Tallahassee federal prison after serving fifteen years, so his gang celebrated the occasion by renting out Thrice Bitten in his honor. Cigarette smoke and the tang of stale alcohol infested every molecule in the bar. The smell seeped into pores and left a bitter aftertaste in the back of throats. Brik hadn’t wanted to accept the gig, but his Mastercard had been declined to front the cost of a Quarter Pounder with cheese at McDonald’s last night and rent was due in two weeks. The universe was telling him something, and that something was to take a job, any damn job, even if it was a far cry from the champagne soaked weddings and glittery parties crammed with pixie ingenues he was used to DJing. A shot glass came flying at his head. Brik ducked. It smashed into the wood paneling behind him. He yelped at the sound, and the gang howled with laughter.

“C’mon already,” Dixon bellowed, disgust filling his tone. “Play something.” Brik peeked from behind his turntables. Twenty pairs of eyes glared in his direction. Their glassy stares glowed in the bar’s dim yellowish light. Hurry, the bartender mouthed to Brik, his expression pleading. He shoved bottles of Heineken at the group as a distraction. Brik exhaled a shaky breath. Get it together, he warned himself. He’d been livening up parties in one form or another for decades. I’ll have these mangy mutts jumping to my beats in no time. There was no telling how old they were for sure. Most of the crowd looked between late twenties to early forties, so he started with a classic. Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising” started playing. The fun song was a cheeky oldie but goodie. Low growls slowly drowned out the chorus. Dixon spat on the floor and snarled. Damn, too old. Brik couldn’t segue fast enough into “Of Wolf and Man” by Metallica. Brik bobbed his head to the heavy guitar. Metallica was a staple. Tried and true. Every metalhead worth their studded belt and tribal armband tattoo loved them. “What the actual fuck?” Red brightened the tips of Dixon’s ears. It spread down his cheeks to his neck. His buddies circled around him, as if waiting for his command to pounce. Brik’s stomach clenched. Shit, shit. Was the song still too old? He flipped to “Crawling” by Linkin Park. The rock song had an addictive hook. That had to get the party going, right? Red-veined eyes bulged from Dixon’s sockets. If glares could punch, Brik would have two black eyes and possibly a broken jaw. Shitty shit, shit. Panicked, he switched to Three Days Grace’s “Animal I Have Become.” It was one of his favorites from the 2000s. Who didn’t love that song? Dixon’s roar boomed over the music like a primal battle cry. He surged toward the DJ booth, hands curled into claws. Bones popping. Lips blackening. His chief lieutenant picked up a chair and hurled it. Heart thumping against his rib cage, Brik dropped to his knees. The chair crashed into the wall where he had once stood. He belted out a high-pitched scream. Splintered wood rained down. He covered his head as the DJ booth shook around him. The sound of his whimpering echoed in his head. “Play something good, you fucking fairy,” Dixon barked. Fairy? Fairy! What a jerk. Brik had been dishing out great music. He’d walked into this last-minute gig blind and brought his A list. There was no pleasing these nasty animals. Despite his fight-or-flight response shouting at him to run, Brik surged to his feet and faced the gang. Enough was enough.

Thick gray-and-brown fur covered Dixon’s face. He snarled, exposing finger-length teeth. His breath huffed on Brik in warm blasts. “Who’re you calling a fairy?” Brik’s voice quivered. “Who do you fucking think?” Sweat beaded on Brik’s upper lip. “I’m an elf, not a fairy, asshole.” Snarling, Dixon ripped his shirt to shreds, exposing a wall of muscle that wasn’t the unnatural byproduct of steroids. They were steel cables under fur-covered flesh. “Oh mercy.” The bartender ran to the back room and slammed the door shut. Bottles rattled on the shelves. The pack howled, claws extended, ready for the hunt. They stalked closer to the booth. Eyes locked on their prey. Brik gulped his dry throat. Dixon towered over the DJ booth, having grown to his true height as an alpha werewolf. A pink tongue licked his canines. He leaned down and growled in Brik’s face, “You have one chance to play a decent song before I turn your rib cage into a fucking back scratcher, elf.” Tension coiled around Brik’s throat, making it hard to breathe. The only thing stopping the pack from slicing his head clean off was Dixon’s command. And his next music selection. Shit, he’s going to kill me. Shit! I’m going to die. Thousands of song titles zipped through his mind in a kaleidoscope of lyrics and guitar riffs. Judas Priest? … Or, or, Black Label Society? No, maybe still too dated. Pearl Jam? Too grunge. Korn? Too heavy. Tool? Way too cerebral for these snout breathers. Screw it, just go with Slipknot. Fingers shaking, Brik cued up “Wait and Bleed.” He said a silent prayer to Freyr and was about to hit play when he noticed the words Britney Army 4 Life in swirling pink lettering, hidden among the skull tattoos on Dixon’s left pectoral. He hesitated. Either I’m going to live to DJ another day or be torn apart in the back alley of a dive bar. Slipknot seemed to be the obvious choice, but that tattoo had to mean something, right? Had he misjudged his audience that badly? Dixon’s deep growl rattled his bones and nearly loosened his bladder. Closing his eyes, Brik hit play on “My Prerogative” by Britney Spears. Seconds passed, but each one felt like hours. Dixon snorted and then turned away from the booth. “Finally, something good.” He grinned at his lieutenant. “Bring on the fucking whiskey.” His crew cheered and hollered for the bartender. Dixon didn’t wait. He hopped over the bar in a single leap and grabbed the half-empty bottle of Jack Daniel’s the old bartender had abandoned. Brik scanned his carefully organized music files, searching through the Rs for Rihanna’s “S&M Remix,” featuring Britney Spears. This was definitely a pop music kind of crowd.

NOTE: copyrighted

[myhappywonderlandblog]

My TBR pile, Books I'm going to read this year.

What is on your TBR list?

[myhappywonderlandblog]

The co-opting of MLK Jr. by...everybody

Martin Luther King Jr. was relatively unpopular when he was assassinated. But the way Americans of all political stripes invoke his memory today, you'd think he was held up as a hero. In this episode, we talk about the cooptation of King's legacy with Hajar Yazdiha, author of The Struggle for the People's King: How Politics Transforms the Memory of the Civil Rights Movement.

[myhappywonderlandblog]

My Urban Fantasy Books are on Kindle.

Cerberus Confidential (Primordial Realms Book 1) by Stacy Benedict

[myhappywonderlandblog]

Fans rush for hotly anticipated 'romantasy' sequel.

Fans have queued up for Onyx Storm, the hotly-anticipated new book by best-selling US fantasy author Rebecca Yarros, in one of the publishing events of the year.

Onyx Storm is the third novel in Yarros's Empyrean series, set in a world of dragons, magic, warfare and steamy romance.

[myhappywonderlandblog]

Movie Review: ‘Wolf Man’ is a toothless reboot that’ll make you bark at the moon

[myhappywonderlandblog]

ALT BLK ERA - Run Rabbit (Official Music Video)

Highlighting these amazing women.

[myhappywonderlandblog]

[myhappywonderlandblog]

EEEEKKK! this came in the mail, and I love it. The book is stunning. Love Sleep Token.

[myhappywonderlandblog]

Books I Loved in 2024

Here are the books I read in 2024.

Happy New Year everyone. Are you looking forward to 2025? Last year was a mixed bag for me, some good & some bad things, but overall, I’m just happy to begin a fresh new year. One of the highlights of 2024 were the books I read.  This was the first year in many years where I didn’t DNF and or hate more books than I liked. Shocking, I know. Here are the reviews for the books I read in 2024. One…

[myhappywonderlandblog]

Net Neutrality Update: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Web Exclusive)

[myhappywonderlandblog]

Net Neutrality II: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

[myhappywonderlandblog]

Net Neutrality: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)