#A.Z. Louise

[lgbtqreads]

Happy Black History Month 2024!

Happy Black History Month! Like the other eleven months, it’s an excellent time to buy queer books by Black authors! For even more recs, check out previous years’ posts! Books to Read Now Alex Wise vs. the End of the World by Terry J. Benton-Walker Alex Wise feels like his world is ending. His best friend, Loren, is leaving town for the summer, his former friend and maybe sort of crush Sky hasn’t…

[the-bi-library]

Here are bisexual books of July!

Books listed:

Exes & Foes by Amanda Woody

Abbott: 1979 by Saladin Ahmed

Rise by Freya Finch

The Loudest Silence by Sydney Langford

The Seduction of James Gray (Moonlight Falls, #1) by Colette Rivera

Long Live Evil (Time of Iron, #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan

Heads Will Roll by Josh Winning

The Princess and the Thief by Mary Lynne Gibbs

Bitterbound by A.Z. Louise

These Deathless Shores by P.H. Low

Loser of the Year by Carrie Byrd

Between Dragons and Their Wrath (The Shattered Kingdom, #1) by Devin Madson

Anyone's Ghost by August Thompson

The Viscount's Forbidden Love by M.M. Wakeford

Home Ice Advantage (Penalty Box #3) by Ari Baran

The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons

A Rose by Any Other Name by Mary McMyne

Misrecognition by Madison Newbound

Rare Birds by L.B. Hazelthorn

The Ghostkeeper by Johanna Taylor

Portrait of a Shadow by Meriam Metoui

Chaos Station by Jenn Burke, Kelly Jensen

Lonely Shore by Jenn Burke, Kelly Jensen

Skip Trace by Jenn Burke, Kelly Jensen

Cursed Under London by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch

The End Crowns All by Bea Fitzgerald

Young Gothic by M.A. Bennett

What Blooms in the Dark by Audrey T. Carroll

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

💙💜💖 Bi Books Coming Out July 2024

💖💜💙 Do you know what we could always use a little more of? Bi books! Here are a few bisexual books coming out in July that would make fabulous additions to your never-ending TBR! Happy reading!

💖 What Blooms in the Dark - Audrey T. Carroll 💜 Rare Birds - L.B. Hazelthorn 💙 These Deathless Shores - P.H. Low

💖 Young Gothic - M.A. Bennett 💜 The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons 💙 A Rose by Any Other Name by Mary McMyne

💖 Rise by Freya Finch 💜 The Ghostkeeper by Johanna Taylor 💙 Exes & Foes by Amanda Woody

💖 Abbott: 1979 by Saladin Ahmed 💜 The Loudest Silence by Sydney Langford 💙 Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan

💖 Between Dragons and Their Wrath by Devin Madson 💜 Heads Will Roll by Josh Winning 💙 Cursed Under London by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch

💖 The Seduction of James Gray by Colette Rivera 💜 Anyone's Ghost by August Thompson 💙 Portrait of a Shadow by Meriam Metoui

💖 Bitterbound by A.Z. Louise 💜 The Princess and the Thief by Mary Lynne Gibbs 💙 The End Crowns All by Bea Fitzgerald

💖 Loser of the Year by Carrie Byrd 💜 The Viscount's Forbidden Love by M.M. Wakeford 💙 Misrecognition by Madison Newbound

[jacensolodjo]

Pride 2024 Storybundle

For $5 or more you get the following in DRM format

The Lever by Mark Salzwedel

The Deep And Shining Dark by Juliet Kemp

Champion of the Scarlet Wolf - Books 1-2 by Ginn Hale

Off-Time Jive by A.Z. Louise

If you pay at least the bonus price of just $20, you get all four of the regular books, plus 9 more books, for a total of 13!

Black from the Future edited by Stephanie Andrea Allen & Lauren Cherelle

Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker

Through the Doors of Oblivion by Michael G. Williams

A Feast for Flies by Leigh Harlen

We're Here - The Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2022 by Naomi Kanakia and series editor Charles Payseur

Little Nothing by Dee Holloway

A Death at the Dionysus Club by Melissa Scott and Amy Griswold

Rabbits of the Apocalypse by Benny Lawrence

Pluralities by Avi Silver

Your money can also go towards charity which for this bundle is the Rainbow Railroad, which helps persecuted LGBTQ folks get the hell out of Dodge worldwide.

@dduane @neil-gaiman

[meret118]

File Under: Alternate Histories

This autumn sees the release of Karla Yvette’s debut novella, which is set in the Old West—just not the one you might be familiar with. That the protagonist of The Black Tree Atop the Hill is the staff witch on a ranch might be your first indication that this is not the history you’re familiar with, but it’s far from the last. Plus, there’s an uncanny forest, which is always welcome. (CLASH Books; September 26, 2023)

The Future, a novel by Catherine Leroux (and translated by Susan Ouriou), is set in Detroit—but again, not quite the Detroit that gave us Drexciya and the White Stripes. Leroux’s novel is set in a timeline where France retained control over the city and its history took a very different turn—and that’s before you factor in the paranormal elements, of which there are plenty. (Biblioasis; September 5, 2023)

In the world of A.Z. Louise’s forthcoming Off-Time Jive, the Harlem Renaissance has given rise to a transformation in the way magic exists in the world. Unfortunately, that hasn’t brought an end to all conflict, and this book’s protagonist must investigate a series of murders of prominent figures in the magical community. (Neon Hemlock; October 24, 2023)

File Under: Travels Geographic and Otherwise

Travel can take many forms, whether it be through space or in time. In the case of Eugen Bacon and Andrew Hook’s collaborative novel Secondhand Daylight, we’re in the realm of the latter. In the novel, Bacon and Hook focus on two intersecting lives—one person who finds himself jumping into the future, and another who must venture into the past to understand the reasons behind it. (Cosmic Egg Books; October 27, 2023)

File Under: Arts Mundane and Magical

What happens when two men, each on opposite sides of a magical war, are assigned to surveil one another? In Brent Lambert’s A Necessary Chaos, that conflict is further complicated when these rivals begin falling for one another, adding another dimension to the larger conflict and their own place within it. (Neon Hemlock; October 10, 2023)

More at the link.

[gher-bear]

Seemed appropriate for today.

[arojenniferwalters]

Canon Aros 174/?: Elitt from Draconmot Council of Human Study Report, Compiled by Usander Greystart by A.Z. Louise in Common Bonds: A Speculative Aromantic Anthology (2020)

[yeonchi]

Kisekae Insights #17: Angelina Ballerina

It’s about time I started the second run of Kisekae Insights after taking a break for the past few months. My objective is to hopefully cover Gokaiger, Decade and Soulbound this year, but there are some things that I need to cover before that because they are needed in order to understand certain aspects.

Like Fifi and Roary, Angelina Ballerina was implemented early on in my personal project and the characters continue to play big roles to this day. At the time, I was playing Warriors Orochi 2 on the PSP, which introduced me to the characters of the Samurai Warriors series. As a result, some of these guys got Japanese warrior names whereas the rest got Chinese warrior names.

In case you haven’t noticed, yes, I have (predominately) used the CGI-animated sequel, The Next Steps, in this project. Watching the sequel was how I got into this series a decade ago; while I have heard about the original 2D-animated series, it never really appealed to me, which is why I prefer this version over that. And look, I know there are people who don’t like the sequel for various reasons, but you are free to have your opinion as long as you respect the opinions of others. Don’t worry, characters from the original series have been implemented as well.

Setting the record straight (voice actors)

I’m putting this list before the break because this is really important. Here are the characters’ voice actors for the UK and US versions of The Next Steps:

Angelina Mouseling: Charlotte Spencer (UK/US)

Alice Nimbletoes: Rachael Louise Miller (UK)/Naomi McDonald (US)

Marco Quesillo: Louis Williams (UK)/Jules de Jongh (US)

Gracie: Charlie Cameron (UK)/Jo Wyatt (US)

Viki/Vici: Emily Dormer (UK)/Jules de Jongh (US)

AJ/AZ: Lizzie Waterworth (UK)/Larissa Murray (US)

Ms Mimi: Larissa Murray (US)

Maurice Mouseling: Simon Mattacks (UK/US)

Matilda Mouseling: Emma Tate (UK/US)

Polly Mouseling: Leah Zabari (UK/US)

Mrs Thimble: Beverly Klein (UK/US)

Alright, time to rant about the English dubs of this series. See, because the characters of this series are not credited under their voice actors, it can be hard to exactly determine who voiced who (a pain I know all too well in regards to Sea Princesses). On top of that, because there are different English voices for the US and the UK (because they don’t want American kids to end up speaking with British accents or vice versa), it can be easy to miss things or mess them up. Some US voice actors are based in the UK, which can throw things off as well.

Just as there are UK-produced children’s shows that get redubbed for the US, there are US-produced children’s shows that get redubbed for the UK (particularly on Nick Jr). In Australia, we tend to get the “original” version of the dub depending on where the show (or its source materials) originated – if it originally came from the UK, then we get the UK dub, but if it originally came from the US, we get the US dub. In the case of Angelina Ballerina, we get the UK dub and as such, I implemented the series with the assumption that the characters would speak as they did in the UK dub. As such, Marco and Gracie don’t speak in Hispanic or French accents.

Due to my initial ignorance and lack of information, I ended up crediting the characters’ US voice actors for Marco, Gracie and Ms Mimi instead of their UK voice actors. Even worse, I thought Naomi Wilkinson voiced Angelina until a friend of mine tweeted her years ago and confirmed that she didn’t voice Angelina. Also, the really funny thing is that there are people who unironically believed that Hilary Duff and Justin Bieber voiced Viki and AZ in the series. If only we all knew this one simple rule: If an actor isn’t credited in the series/episode, then they didn’t have a role in the series/episode. I did manage to work out the UK voice actors for the other characters, but why Alice’s voice actor was different in both versions despite her voice sounding similar I’ll never understand.

For some reason, I have been unable to find out who Ms Mimi’s UK voice actor is because nobody in the credits has owned up to voicing her. However, if I really had to guess, I would say that Emma Tate voiced her because even though the Scottish accent threw me off, she sounds a bit like Matilda (Angelina’s mum). As for Marco and Gracie’s UK voice actors, Louis Williams and Charlie Cameron, trying to find resumes or records of their past work has been impossible so I wasn’t able to find any proof, but I eventually did. Louis William’s LinkedIn profile mentions that he voiced Marco (he’s an English teacher in Japan now, shock of all shocks) and while Charlie Cameron doesn’t have a site or official profile of her own (why), I managed to link her roles for Dark Souls and Poppy Cat on IMDb to BTVA.

In the Moushouden Series, I ended up “recasting” Marco and Ms Mimi while keeping Gracie’s voice actor the same. Marco and Ms Mimi played major roles in my stories and I needed credits for them. “Getting” Louis Williams to “reprise” his role would have been impossible because he’s not an actor anymore, though it wouldn’t have been a big problem if I had found out earlier that he voiced Marco. Likewise, if I had managed to guess Ms Mimi’s UK voice actor earlier, then maybe I wouldn’t have needed to keep scratching my head all these years.

What’s in a name?

There has been quite a bit of speculation regarding the characters’ middle and last names, and I say “speculation” because there don’t seem to be any official sources that confirm it or the only official sources available can’t be accessed from the Wayback Archive because Adobe Flash is dead. Though the names were on the Wikipedia page at some stage, the only place where they exist now is on a poorly-maintained wiki of the series on Fandom. It is possible that Angelina and Alice’s middle and last names can be backed up because they were in the original series, but even then, I’m unable to do that due to lack of information (seriously, even the official website redirects to Mattel’s website, the absolute sellouts). So please take these names with a grain of salt:

Angelina Jeanette Mouseling

Alice Bridgette Nimbletoes

Marco Fernando Quesillo

Grace Madeleine “Gracie” le Chateau

Viktoria Andrea “Viki” Whiskerson

Adrian Zander James “A.Z.” Smithers (even though an official PDF from PBS WNET13 states that A.Z. stands for “Adam Zachariah”)

Mimi Jane Squigglytail

Maurice Rupert Mouseling

Matilda Felicity Mouseling

Polly Anne Mouseling

Harriet Cecily Thimble

Other stuff before I begin

In late 2015, there was talk of Angelina Ballerina getting relaunched in 2017 by Mattel and 9 Story Media Group. By 2017, however, nothing really came of it, or at least nothing significant that we could see. 9 Story currently have the distribution rights to both the 2D and CGI series, clips and episodes have been uploaded on the official Angelina Ballerina YouTube channel (a mix of UK and US versions, with Brazilian Portuguese and Latin American Spanish dubs on other channels) and the original books created by Katharine Holabird have been republished in the past two years.

Not seeing anything in 2017 has allowed Angelina Ballerina’s involvement in my personal project to flourish, but only time will tell whether anything else will come of this so-called relaunch. This series would probably have gone down the path of Fabio Yabu and Sea Princesses if it wasn’t so well-known all around the world.

The 9 Story pages show that there are some specials for the series. While the 2D series does have three specials, I could only find two movies in the CGI series that are fully original stories and not just episode compilations, namely The Shining Star Trophy and Dreams Do Come True. They don’t seem to be available on YouTube and the only online versions I could find use the US voices, meaning that a UK dub of these movies is unknown.

If you follow Gail Chord Schuler/Gabrielle Chana/The Church of Gail online, you might know that there is a Satanic Jesuit villain named Angelina Ballerina, depicted as a woman modelling a ballerina costume with wings. Rest assured that she is NOT the Angelina we all know and love, as Gail confirms in the comments of one of her videos (though there is a chance that trolls could have fed her that information).

All About Angelina

As I stated in #12, Maurice and the Takeda Army of Mouseland were in conflict with the Salacians before the Dimensional Merge. Because the time in their world, AB-561, was running faster compared to other worlds, they ended up on our Earth in 2009. In both timelines, Angelina and her family and friends became Hiroki and Parker’s comrades. In the first timeline, Angelina had an adventure with the Third Doctor. The second timeline is where things get detailed.

Before the Archangel Tunnel System was activated, there was no other way to get to Chipping Cheddar from Hong Kong, so when the Takeda Army were brought to this world, they had to do what they could to survive. Eventually, they ended up being controlled by another local army and used as their mascots. When Parker went to them to seek an alliance, he discovered this and helped the Takeda Army escape, which led them to pledge their allegiance to Parker.

Over the next two years, Parker and Hiroki became great friends with the Takeda Army’s officers. In 2010, Ms Mimi became disillusioned with Parker when she realised that he only seemed to care about fighting and enjoying himself on the battlefield. When the JIMPS were formed, Ms Mimi began to side with them as she saw Minnie and the others as the better strategists, but she had a newfound respect for Parker when he made peace with Minnie following their battle against each other.

When Squid Girl turns Minnie against Parker, however, Ms Mimi sides with the former again and a split occurs within the Takeda. Ms Mimi became one of the Sanada Army’s commanders while Gracie, AJ and Viki surrendered to the Sanada. Angelina was the first officer Parker found after being separated from Hiroki. Her family was being guarded by Alice and Marco before Parker arrives with reinforcements from the Date Army.

Months after Parker’s death and resurrection, the Sanada Army finally fell. Ms Mimi and the Takeda defectors rejoin their former comrades; Ms Mimi finally admits that she was a fool who never really understood Parker because she believed in loyalty and discipline.

With Parker’s army disbanded and the Flowertots returning home, the Takeda became the only close friends Hiroki had left. They supported him in his fight against Girl Power and the Teiro Army, so much so that they were willing to accept him in their ranks if he decided to leave his secondary school army. Ultimately, Hiroki declined their offer and became a ronin.

The Next Step

The Takeda Army eventually managed to resettle in Mouseland which was transported to Shizuoka Prefecture between the Archangel Tunnels to the Shikoku region and Cardiff. The Takeda Army had no significant relevance in 2013, but Angelina and her family attended Hiroki and Akari’s wedding, which was held in Chipping Cheddar (Kikugawa).

In 2014, the Takeda Army rose back to significance again as a result of events in real life (see #16). Following the Battle of Mikatagahara and Akari’s betrayal of Hiroki, Angelina joined the Doctor (again) as his companion. Later that year, Maurice would attempt another expedition to Kyōto when Girl Power forces stationed around Nagashino Castle in Nagoya would block his army’s path. When the Doctor arrives with Hiroki and Angelina, Hiroki gathers up some reinforcements before the Takeda Army splits up into three groups; one group defending the main camp, one group laying siege to the castle and one group attacking Girl Power forces stationed in nearby Shitaragahara. Despite the Takeda suffering severe casualties at the hands of the superior Girl Power army, Hiroki charges into Nagashino Castle alone and fights the enemy commanders before leaving his drones to crash into the castle keep.

Soon after, Angelina would participate in prototype testing for the Superhero Project, becoming the Pink Samurai Ranger alongside the Doctor and his other companions as they fought Girl Power in a parallel world. Following that adventure, Angelina would be summoned back by her father upon hearing word that Girl Power were preparing for an all-out siege on Yokohama. The Takeda Army allied with their old enemies, the Salacian (Uesugi) Army as they fought at Sekigahara and Ōsaka Castle. After the world was destroyed and restored, the Takeda were one of the armies that helped UNIT defend Yokohama from Girl Power.

Though Angelina stopped being the Doctor’s companion after 2014, she would regain that role again in 2017 when she and Alice officially joined the Superhero Project. Angelina and Marco make a cameo appearance in the Series 10 premiere as a couple and that’s the only time their relationship is brought up (I think that ship was hinted at in the series but not explicitly shown).

Having been selected, Angelina and Alice joined the Gokaigers as GokaiPink and GokaiGreen respectively. Their fighting styles were adapted to fit with their characters and the original Gokaiger footage; on top of predominately wielding guns, GokaiPink incorporates ballet into her fighting while GokaiGreen clumsily incorporates gymnastics which she makes up for with stealth and trickery.

As for the rest of the mouselings, they were hired by BOARD to become Kamen Riders as follows:

Kamen Rider Blade – Marco

Kamen Rider Garren – AJ

Kamen Rider Leangle – Viki

Kamen Rider Glaive – Ms Mimi

Kamen Rider Larc – Gracie

Kamen Rider Lance – Polly

Although not as significant compared to Fifi and Roary, the mouselings do play a significant role in the project. As with many obscure series I’ve encountered, finding accurate information is a daunting task. Though I have managed to find information that I haven’t been able to find in the past, there are times where I am still unable to do so, which results in me having to speculate missing information (usually by observation) that may or may not be correct. This is not so much a problem in Angelina Ballerina compared to Sea Princesses, but regardless, it’s better to have every piece of information confirmed than have even one piece of speculated information.

[courtneynewmanfmp]

Muren was born in Glendale, California, the son of Charline Louise and Elmer Ernest Muren. He developed an interest in film-making and special effects from an early age. While studying business at Pasadena City College, Muren spent $6500 to make Equinox, a short science fiction film. Tonylyn Productions, a small film company, liked the film enough to distribute it. Tonylyn hired film editor Jack Woods to direct additional footage in order to make Equinox into a feature-length movie. When the feature-length Equinox was released in October 1970, Muren was credited as a producer in spite of having directed much of the film and creating the special effects himself. Despite mixed to poor reviews the movie made enough money for Muren to recoup his $8000 investment, and in the years since it has become a minor cult classic.

After earning his associate's degree, Muren began working as a visual effects artist full-time. Muren was hired at Industrial Light & Magic, then an upstart visual effects studio founded by George Lucas. Lucas' and ILM's first film, Star Wars, was released in 1977 to wide critical and public acclaim and was the highest-grossing film of all time up until that point. In 1985 he worked on the visual effects of the Disney theme park’s Captain EO the American 3D/4D science fiction film starring Michael Jackson, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and the executive producer was George Lucas.

Muren has been an important voice for pioneering new technologies in special effects. Muren spearheaded ILM's move from models and miniatures to CGI for the film Terminator 2 and Judgment Day.

Muren, along with Steve Williams and Mark A.Z. Dippé, helped to usher in a new age of computer generated imagery with the CG dinosaurs of Jurassic Park. Steven Spielberg had intended to use go-motion for the dinosaurs, but quickly changed his mind when shown a test of a CG T- rex. Jurassic Park was the breakthrough that convinced George Lucas that technology had advanced enough to make the Star Wars prequels. Director Peter Jackson was similarly inspired by Jurassic Park's technical breakthrough to begin planning and pre-production on the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Muren also contributed effects work on three Jurassic Park sequels.

Muren was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the first visual effects artist to ever be so recognized. He has also been a recipient of nine Academy Awards for Best Achievement in Visual Effects and a Technical Achievement Academy Award, the most of any living movie-maker. Muren continues to work as Senior Visual Effects Supervisor and Creative Director of Industrial Light & Magic. He also consults for Pixar.

He has a small, non-speaking role in Raiders of the Lost Ark; he appeared as a Nazi spy who peers over a magazine as Indiana Jones boards a passenger plane. Due to their similarity in facial appearance , this character is often mistaken for Major Toht, the film's primary antagonist, but it has been confirmed that they are not the same. Muren also has a cameo in the theme park attraction, Star Tours.

[lgbtqreads]

Exclusive Cover Reveal: Bitterbound by A.Z. Louise

Today on the site I’m delighted to reveal the cover for Bitterbound by A.Z. Louise, a bi4bi Adult m/f Fantasy Romance releasing July 16, 2024! Here’s the story:  A PROMISE SEALED IN FLESH AND BLOOD Kin Jole is an indentured assassin, forced to serve those who ripped her soul from her body and stripped her of her conscience. When Kin is ordered to kill Verias Hartwell, a beaten-down sorcerer…

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

💙💜💖 Bi Books Coming Out July 2024

💖💜💙 Do you know what we could always use a little more of? Bi books! Here are a few bisexual books coming out in July that would make fabulous additions to your never-ending TBR! Happy reading!

💖 What Blooms in the Dark - Audrey T. Carroll 💜 Rare Birds - L.B. Hazelthorn 💙 These Deathless Shores - P.H. Low

💖 Young Gothic - M.A. Bennett 💜 The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons 💙 A Rose by Any Other Name by Mary McMyne

💖 Rise by Freya Finch 💜 The Ghostkeeper by Johanna Taylor 💙 Exes & Foes by Amanda Woody

💖 Abbott: 1979 by Saladin Ahmed 💜 The Loudest Silence by Sydney Langford 💙 Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan

💖 Between Dragons and Their Wrath by Devin Madson 💜 Heads Will Roll by Josh Winning 💙 Cursed Under London by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch

💖 The Seduction of James Gray by Colette Rivera 💜 Anyone's Ghost by August Thompson 💙 Portrait of a Shadow by Meriam Metoui

💖 Bitterbound by A.Z. Louise 💜 The Princess and the Thief by Mary Lynne Gibbs 💙 The End Crowns All by Bea Fitzgerald

💖 Loser of the Year by Carrie Byrd 💜 The Viscount's Forbidden Love by M.M. Wakeford 💙 Misrecognition by Madison Newbound

[lgbtqreads]

Exclusive Cover Reveal: Glitter + Ashes: Queer Tales of a World That Wouldn't Die

Exclusive Cover Reveal: Glitter + Ashes: Queer Tales of a World That Wouldn’t Die

It’s always a good day when it’s a Neon Hemlock cover reveal day! Today’s is for Glitter + Ashes: Queer Tales of a World That Wouldn’t Die, an anthology of post-apocalyptic fiction featuring some major faves from the world of SFF and releasing in September! Here are the details:

Glitter + Ashes: Queer Tales of a World That Wouldn’t Dieis an anthology of post-apocalyptic fiction centering queer…