#macmillan follow the stars

[season-77]

Something’s already been said about this today, but why talk about it when you can watch it again, and then again, and again, and again… and again?

[jessieren]

I have a full day of Christmas dinners, events and thank yous so here’s some Christmas Carol Evans to keep us all going..

[fanficrocks]

It is almost time!

For those fortunate enough to be able to attend in person, here's hoping you enjoy every bit of the concert. And maybe catch a new Shaun fidget or two for Fidget Friday 😉

And the livestream is such a godsend (work permitting).

(image courtesy macmillan.org.uk)

[readngandweepng]

quick nsfw thoughts about bottom dbd survivors ft. jake and renato

contains amab sub and dom top reader. ftm dbd men. no pronouns for reader but male implied. mostly proofread

you look up from your gen to see jake. he signals you to follow him, leading you to a part of macmillan where the gens have already been completed. he doesn’t say anything as he kisses you deeply, flushing your bodies together as close as possible. feeling your hard-on he pulls you into him by your belt loops and grinds against it, eventually slipping his hand down your front to wrap it around your cock. you buck into his hand as he jerks you off, holding him even closer to sustain yourself. he twists his wrist up to your tip, using your precum to smoothly quicken his jerking hand. when you’re about to cum he pulls away, wipes his hand on your sleeve, gives you a peck on the cheek, and then walks away to finish your gen. 

normally renato doesn’t like to have sex during a trial, but today he’d been feeling adventurous, letting you grope and prod at him when he’d dragged you to an empty room on ormond. you tangle your hand in his curly hair as he sucks on the tip of your dick, looking up at you with a mischievous gaze. licking a stripe from the base, he takes your cock into his mouth, bobbing his head on the few inches he can manage and strokes the rest in sync with his movements. he moans onto your cock, his eyes rolling back into his head when you pull at his hair and shove yourself down his throat, cumming with a shake of your hips. he chokes, and for the very first time he swallows your cum, wiping away the little bit of it seeping from the sides of his mouth.

the match is on the relatively calmer side, giving ftm!jake an opportunity to pull you aside to a corner of the map and push you down on to the grass. before you know it he removes his shoes and pants and straddles you, unbuckling your belt and pulling your dick out. he jerks you until you’re hard against his palm before clutching the front of your shirt, using you as a means of leveraging himself as he settles on to your cock. he doesn’t give either of you a second to adjust before he starts riding you, rolling his hips with practiced ease. you can tell he’d been wanting to do this for a while by his fast paced humping, alongside the fact he’s keeping his eyes open so he can watch you beneath him. he’s being kind today, letting you roll his hips to take your cock even deeper and being sure to squeeze around you the way he knows you like. still holding on to your shirt he picks up speed, bouncing himself on your dick with mesmerizing swiftness. the sound of his pussy being practically pounded has you seeing stars, and by the time you hear the final gen pop jake has managed to rip two orgasms out of you as well as the collar of your shirt. 

ftm!renato is always bratty, insisting that you cum first so that you don’t accidentally overstimulate him or making sure that if you need release you go to him. you’ve managed to find some free time between trials, trapping renato between you and a dilapidated but cozy mattress. his hair is out of its bun and his shirt is hiked up. a soft moan falls from his lips every time you squeeze at his chest. he helps you in taking off his pants, allowing you to slip a finger inside of him. he gasps, his hands flying to his head as he grabs the mattress above him, already arching his back to ask for more. you put in another finger, slowly pumping them in and out of his pussy as he bucks into your hand, still needing more. renato bites his lip to stifle his moans, a shiver running through him as you simultaneously pull at one of his nipples, curling your fingers that are stuffed inside of his aching pussy. he mumbles out something in portuguese as you speed up, holding down his hand that swings down in attempt to stimulate his clit. he chokes back a scream as he cums on your fingers, his legs immediately closing shut with a look of frustration forming on his face. fishing yourself out from your jeans, you pray the entity is feeling generous as you spread renato’s legs open again.

[shaun-evans-fanblog]

Shaun will be back at the MacMillan Carol Concert again this year. Brilliant!

[denimbex1986]

'The National Theatre has confirmed a worldwide double-streaming premiere for the critically acclaimed productions of People, Places and Things and Vanya next month.

Both shows will be screened on the National Theatre at Home service on Thursday, 19 September.

From 7pm (BST) global audiences will be able to watch Vanya, starring Andrew Scott. Simon Stephens’ adaptation of the Chekhov classic, directed by Sam Yates, received the full five stars from WhatsOnStage’s lead critic Sarah Crompton, who described the WhatsOnStage Award-winning production as a “great achievement” and Scott’s performance as “tour-de-force”.

Following this, from 9pm (BST), the NT and Headlong co-production of Duncan Macmillan’s People, Places and Things, directed by Jeremy Herrin will have its digital debut...

After the premieres, the two productions will remain on the streaming platform for global subscribers. Both titles will also be available with captions, audio description and British Sign Language.'

[muzaktomyears]

Cake with Elton, coke with Marianne — my life as a rock biographer

As his latest book about George Harrison is published, Philip Norman reminisces on his run-ins with Yoko Ono, Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones

George Harrison: The Reluctant Beatle is my tenth and probably last biography of a big rock name. In the gaps between its predecessors I’ve written novels, short stories, feature films, plays, much journalism and three musicals, two of which were produced. Yet there’s been no escape from the typecasting that followed my Shout! The True Story of the Beatles in 1981.

Admittedly, if I’d pursued a career in fiction as I originally intended (after being among Granta’s first 20 Best of Young British Novelists in 1983), I could never have found a comparable readership. Shout! is estimated to have sold about a million copies; the other titles have appeared in America, most of the EU countries, Russia, China, India, Australasia, Japan, South Korea, Macedonia, Mexico and Brazil. Fantasising about this hugely diverse audience, I picture Himalayan yak-herders debating Ringo Starr and Charlie Watts’s rival merits as drummers, and remote Amazonian tribes gripped by the subtext of marital infidelity to John Lennon’s Norwegian Wood.

At parties I’ve come to dread being outed as the Beatles’ biographer. Such is the band’s eternal fascination that I’ll have people waiting in line to rehash the Hamburg strip club days or recall exactly what they were doing when they heard of Lennon’s assassination. I could never totally dislike our former chancellor, George Osborne, having once spent an hour discussing the Revolver album with him in that high Tory sanctum the Carlton Club, where even the portraits of Churchill and Macmillan seemed to be raptly eavesdropping.

Nonetheless, I’m aware of being thought not quite respectable by the literary establishment. When biographers congregate, it’s far more impressive to be able to say “I’m doing Augustus John” than “I’m doing Elton John”. I can hardly complain since no one could think less than I do of “rock writing”. Frank Zappa defined music journalists as “people who can’t write preparing articles about people who can’t think for people who can’t read”; indeed, the subject brings out a latent prattishness even in authors of the calibre of Salman Rushdie and Martin Amis.

Albert Goldman’s infamous biographies of Lennon and Elvis Presley, for me, remain exemplars of how not to do it, with their vestigial research and ludicrous fabrications but, above all, their snobbish contempt for their subjects. To write an 800-page book about somebody one despises is a sublimely pointless exercise. Yes, rock stars can be monsters on a par with the nastier Roman emperors. But, while taking all that into account (and blessing heaven for the high comedy it provides), you have to love your monster.

I’ve bent this rule somewhat with Harrison who, although capable of great generosity and even nobility (witness his historic charity concert for Bangladesh), was often far from loveable and had always seemed to me a miserable character who showed little gratitude for his stupendous good fortune. In 1965, when I interviewed the other three Beatles during their last British tour, Harrison’s gaunt, unhappy face floated in the background as he watched The Avengers on television. In 1969, when I went on the road with his best friend, Eric Clapton, that same gaunt, unhappy face joined Clapton on stage, decorated now by a hippy beard and a black Stetson.

Retracing his tragically foreshortened life showed me how much he had to look miserable about, the guitarist eclipsed by the creative dynamo of Lennon and McCartney for years before proving himself their songwriting equal with Here Comes the Sun, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, My Sweet Lord and Something, acknowledged to be one of the 20th century’s greatest love songs. His final chapters of illness and financial catastrophe — cruelly topped off by almost becoming the second Beatle to be murdered — moved me as much as anything I’ve written.

Few of my biographies have received any meaningful help from the various icons’ PR people. Until I found my brilliant research associate, Peter Trollope, I had to trace every potential source by myself. Having Shout! behind me was a useful calling card; when I did the Rolling Stones, it opened the door to Mick Jagger’s ex-partner, Marianne Faithfull, with whom politeness dictated that I took my first (and only) snort of cocaine.

My most bizarre pursuit was of Elton John’s former fiancée, Linda Woodrow, reputed heiress to the Epicure pickled onion fortune. Already suspecting he was gay, Elton had been so terrified of matrimony that he’d attempted suicide. As recounted in his song Someone Saved My Life Tonight, his lyricist Bernie Taupin came to his rescue, albeit was not entirely convinced the attempt had been for real.

I finally tracked Woodrow’s father, Al, to Davenports magic shop in the arcade under Charing Cross station, where he worked part-time. He wasn’t expecting me and, before introducing myself, I had to wait while he sold a magic trick. What I didn’t realise was that selling a magic trick can take for ever, first the salesperson demonstrating it, then the customer repeatedly trying it out. Which explains why I know so well how to make a ping-pong ball seem to vanish from under an inverted cup.

My longest pursuit was of Buddy Holly’s “widowed bride”, Maria Elena Holly, that poignant presence in Don McLean’s song American Pie, which was inspired by Holly’s death in a plane crash aged only 22. It took me a year just to get her on the phone in Dallas, and then her opening line was “all writers are scumbags”. Eventually she was persuaded that I might not be a scumbag and agreed to see me on condition that it was at her lawyer’s office and I paid for the lawyer’s time. American Pie had suggested a delicate Dresden figurine but she was dressed all in black with a floppy beret like a French fascist policeman in the Second World War. However, rather than an interview in front of her lawyer as the dollars racked up, she suggested the two of us just went off to lunch.

Of all my biographies only one came close to being authorised in the conventional way, when subject tells all to writer and vets the material before publication. But others have been endorsed retroactively or approved by the back door.

Five months after Lennon’s death, while I was in New York publicising Shout!, Yoko Ono saw me on breakfast television and phoned me at the ABC studios. “What you just said about John was very nice,” she said. “Maybe you’d like to come over and see where we were living.” That afternoon, I was inside the Dakota Building, looking around their vast white seventh-floor apartment which was just as Lennon had left it, his guitar still hanging on the wall above his bedhead. One small, twilit room contained every piece of clothing he’d ever worn back to his Beatle days, all on revolving racks like some ghostly boutique.

When I was researching my Elton John book, its subject was undergoing multiple detoxifications, so was inaccessible to any interviewer. But just after its publication, my telephone rang and a familiar voice said, “This is Elton.” I only wish I’d had the balls to ask, “Elton who?” He said the biography was “pretty accurate”, invited me to tea the next day and, over Earl Grey and chocolate cake, virtually dictated a postscript chapter about his rehab.

The most surprising case was that of Paul McCartney, whom I admit to having grossly misjudged in Shout! and who’d since referred to it as “shite”. When I let him know as a courtesy that I was embarking on a biography of Lennon, I expected no response. But one day my telephone rang and a voice said, “Ullo, it’s Paul here.” I wish I’d had the balls to ask, “Paul who?” We talked for about 40 minutes, I not like a writer — because I expected nothing from him — but simply as one bloke to another. The upshot was that he let me interview him for the Lennon book by email. Six years later when I proposed a companion volume about him, he came back personally with his “tacit approval” within two weeks.

On the Lennon biography I found myself de-authorised by rock’s other famous widow. For three years, I’d had Ono’s total co-operation: not only 14 hours of interviews with her — when she even told me what she and Lennon used to do in bed — but conversations with their son, Sean, and her daughter from a previous marriage, Kyoko. The sole proviso was that she’d read my manuscript and, if she liked it, would contribute a foreword (to which my publishers weren’t exactly looking forward).

The final bit of access I hoped for was to read Lennon’s diary, kept locked away in the vaults of the Dakota Building, which seemed guaranteed by Ono’s friendly invitation to drop by for “a cup of tea”. As I walked across Central Park to the Dakota, a thought suddenly popped into my head: “Suppose she’s waiting for me with a lawyer?” In fact, she was waiting with two lawyers. After reading my manuscript, she’d decided the book was “mean to John” and was withdrawing her quotes, as well as those of Sean and Kyoko. For two highly unpleasant hours, she and the lawyers tried to persuade me to hand over the interview tapes. Also present was an unidentified women whose role was unclear until Ono shouted, “How could you say that John masturbated?” (which she herself told me with a smile during our interviews). At this, the mystery woman went “Ugh!” and gave a theatrical shudder, and I realised she was Ono���s personal shudderer.

Our one-page agreement gave Ono no prerogative to withdraw her quotes and the tapes belonged to me, not her. Even so, during the long run-up to publication, I checked my email every day, braced for a legal onslaught from her. But it never came.

My books have received some good reviews, some justifiably critical ones and some verging on the psychotic. I’ve noticed that the lighter and sweeter the music, the more grimly obsessive are its hardcore fans. While promoting the Buddy Holly biography, I realised I was being stalked by a member of Holly’s British “appreciation society”, who’d somehow procured a list of my radio interviews and was appearing on each show ahead of me, warning its listeners not to believe a word I said.

Retribution of a less sinister nature came on the first occasion I used that earlier quip about Elton John being a less portentous biographical subject than Augustus John. It was when I spoke at the Porlock Literary Festival, one of whose supporters, the novelist Margaret Drabble, sat in the front row with her husband, Michael Holroyd.

That’s right, the biographer of Augustus John. Now what were the odds?

(source)

[serenescribe]

serenescribe's ao3 fics masterlist!

here's a collection of all my written works that i've posted to ao3 thus far! listed below the cut in alphabetical fandom order! (had to ditch my orange text for it due to formatting woes...)

total number of works: 28 last updated: 4/7/24

blaseball: ✤ — in the truly gruesome do we trust —> during the chaos of earlsiesta, parker macmillan iiiii takes a stand. [ao3]

cookie run: ✤ — we've got history —> espresseleine. espresso hates madeleine. madeleine is obsessed with espresso. somehow, everything comes together for better or worse. [ao3*]

danganronpa: ✤ — a beginner's guide to breaking your (apparently requited) crush out of a time loop —> saiouma + non-despair. shuichi gets stuck in a time loop. kokichi helps him out. [ao3]

danganronpa 54 series: ✤ — nobody wants to hear you sing about tragedy —> when shuichi saihara fails to connect rantaro's presence in drv3 to the survivors' sacrifice, maki harukawa is forced to join another killing game. [ao3] [ongoing + on hiatus] ✤ — cause for concern —> set during intermission 1 of the main fic. the morning before dr54's premiere, shuichi, tenko and himiko go grocery shopping. [ao3]

eastward: ✤ — for you, the world —> isabel/alva. a retelling of chapter 4's bar scene with an in-depth look at isabel's perspective. [ao3] ✤ — do not stand at my grave and weep —> post-canon. john copes with life and learns how to move on. [ao3]

fantasy high: ✤ — dear gravity (you held me down in this starless city) —> fig punches a mirror. somehow it's a metaphor for teenage rebellion. [ao3] ✤ — the pied piper (of a singular rat) —> in a determined bid to prove to himself that he is not, in fact, a coward, fabian tries adaine’s secret sylvan gift again. [ao3] ✤ — something borrowed, something blue —> after a plane shift spell gone wrong following the last stand, kristen finds herself in a dreamscape modelled after her goddess' wedding. [ao3] ✤ — glaciers melting in the dead of night —> in another universe a step to the left, adaine and oisin are paired together for a project in the first week of freshman year. this doesn’t change everything — but it changes just enough. [ao3] [ongoing]

fire emblem: engage: ✤ — "would you care for a cup of tea?" —> céline, princess of firene, seeks out three potential partners for tea time. [ao3]

fire emblem: three houses: ✤ — tower of withering hearts —> sylvix + fairytale au. felix has been stuck in a tower guarded by dragons for ten years. one day, sylvain finally finds him. [ao3] ✤ — dancing with a star —> doropetra. dorothea teaches petra how to dance fódlan-style. she gets more than she expected out of it. [ao3] ✤ — and no one saw and no one heard —> a short drabble studying felix's character. [ao3]

inside job: ✤ — i miss the thought of what we were —> post-season 1 part 2. reagan keeps a close eye on ron staedtler martin higgins. gigi and brett find out, one after the other. [ao3]

night in the woods: ✤ — longest night —> a retelling of the longest night supplement, with a heavier focus on mae's psyche and the unreality of her dreams. [ao3]

persona 5: ✤ — but they don't give a flying fuck about us —> a retelling of the first few days of persona 5. akira kurusu moves to tokyo, befriends a blond boy, and fights the urge to throttle a volleyball coach. [ao3]

twisted wonderland: ✤ — two for nero —> when silver falls to a sleeping curse, lilia resolves to do anything to wake him up. [ao3] ✤ — everything goes dark —> silver is a dream fairy in the realm of nightmares, suffering from sleep-spells and knowing he doesn't belong. [ao3] ✤ — hollow moon —> don't fall asleep in the light of the full moon. except one day, silver does. things go... very badly. [ao3] ✤ — true love feeds on absences (like pleasure feeds on pain) —> a departure, a reunion, and everything in-between. chapter 7 spoilers. [tumblr link] [ao3] ✤ — rhapsody in green —> a mirror, a comb, and the differences between a knight and a king. [ao3] [Collab with @olivebranch311] ✤ — garden in the ceiling —> malleus steals his family away into a dreamscape, content to take care of them for all of eternity. [ao3] ✤ — the snow prince —> a mysterious spell afflicts one lilia vanrouge, encasing his heart in frigid cold. [tumblr link] [ao3] ✤ — pénthos —> silver is dead, and everything is wrong. [tumblr link] [ao3] ✤ — the prince's physician —> malleus is the physician of an eternally reincarnating prince. he reflects on all that entails. [tumblr link] [ao3] [collab with @ohsleepie] ✤ — the once (and many) prince(s) —> silver is, has always been, and will always be, the crown prince of his kingdom. [tumblr link] [ao3] [collab with @ohsleepie]

(asterisk* —> archive-locked)

[jessebyron]

Thoughts on Murtagh by Christopher Paolini

Thoughts on Murtagh by Christopher Paolini

First read of the year! I will mostly keep this spoiler free, but do read on with caution if you are wanting to approach this story tabula rasa.

As you read my criticisms below please keep this in your mind: I never once put the book down for very long. I came in to this story already deeply invested in the characters, and I enjoyed seeing them again after all of these years. I had to force myself to wait until the new year rang in so I could have it as my first read of 2024.

Honestly, I never thought I'd visit Alagaësia again. With Inheritance wrapping up Eragon's main story back in 2011, I had more or less left the land and its peoples behind. Even after finding out about The Fork, The Witch, and The Worm (a few years after the fact), I just never quite got around to it. I had loved the series growing up. Without Eragon casually sitting on an endcap in the Covington, Louisiana Walmart, there is no telling how much longer it would have taken me to enjoy reading. Without JJP's gorgeous portrait of Sapphira, I don't know if I would have fallen in love with stories and imaginative worlds in quite the same way. Looking back on my life, a life that has almost exclusively revolved around stories and the various arts to make them, my mom agreeing to buy the book during our grocery trip (with the promise that I would read my AR book for school first) was one of the most critical moments in my life, echoing 20~ years into the future.

All of that to say, I approached this book with a little bit of history and baggage. In the summer of 2016, in a group job interview at Books-a-Million in Mobile, Alabama my pleasant memories were a little spoiled by the assistant manager pointing out the deep similarities in characters and story beats between The Inheritance Cycle and Star Wars. This feeling was then sharpened some with mixed (but ultimately favorable reaction to Paolini's foray in sci-fi, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars (2020, Tor/Macmillan Publishers).

I didn't know how I wanted to jump back in this world. Did I want to go back to the beginning? Maybe just gloss over a few key chapters or perhaps just revisiting Brisingr and Inheritance as a refresher? Following the advice of several Redditors (I know, I know, but what's a guy to do?) I decided to read the short story collection first. It reacquainted me with both the world and Paolini's writing style. A literary aperitif, if you will, as opposed to trying to digest the first four books again which would have worn me out, and, I think, ruined the experience of Murtagh for me.

Because: it wasn't all that great. It was good, make no mistake, but held up to the shining splendor of second grade nostalgia (something I could not avoid no matter how hard I tried), there were a few lackluster facets. It wasn't at all terrible, or bad in any way, but parts felt a little like an unpolished gem. Repetitive and long. I don't mind slow burns or even slower variations of a single theme, but this book could have been shorter by a few thousand words. The "will we or won't we stay" debate and the succeeding chapters of our heroes' torture and brain washing went on for quite a few hours of reading. And none of it could be skimmed through because there were occasional details of import to the plot or emotional arc. It's probably the more egregious violation of "show, don't tell" that Paolini has committed so far (at least in my distanced memory).

An that's part of the tragedy of returning to a favorite childhood world. In Murtagh, we have this great set up to explore a tale of personal trauma and the butterfly effects of the first four books' main character. We get to walk in the shoes (fly in the claws? wings?) of someone who had the worst ending. Hated or misunderstood or both by virtually everyone in the Empire and its enemies, Murtagh's poverty is a chance to see the original story in an outsider-looking-in context. We get see the shadows cast by the light of a heroic victor, the dark places under rocks and fallen logs that are uncomfortable to look at, while slowly building into what will be a fantasy tale with an eldritch horror bent. The climax of the tale gives us a beautiful inversion of the hero's tale with an almost literal descent into hell. It's enough fun that the reader can ignore the the derivative strain that runs through much of Paolini's work.

But. We are not quite pricked as sharply as we could be. What could be the full effect of the story is just out of reach beyond a glass wall of just a few too many descriptions and details.

As I said at the start, I still had a lot of fun. I wasn't looking for a life changing literary experience and was able to enjoy it as such. Will happily be buying the sequels other one off tales whenever they come out.

[theheelerbooklifereads]

Thank you, Macmillan audio, and NetGalley for the ALC/ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

The Forest Grimm is the first book set in a new young adult romantasy series. We follow our 17-year-old main character, Clara as she embarks on a quest into the deadly and dangerous Forest Grimm to find a magical book called the Sortes Fortunae (aka the Book of Fortunes). Typically, no one ever makes it out of the forest out alive, but she will go to great lengths to break the curse that is placed on her village and to rescue her mother. What Clara does not know as she ventures through the forest, she and her friends that tag along will encounter some well-known fairytales.

✨I discovered Kathryn Purdie's books back in 2020 when Bone Crier's Moon came out and ever since I have been reading some of her books which I end up enjoying. When I saw The Forest Grimm go up on NetGalley, I instantly went to request it since I know Kathryn is an author I enjoy.

✨When The Forest Grimm first opens up with the villagers having their names drawn to see who would go into the forest to break the curse my first thought was: "is our main character going to yell-I volunteer as tribute?!" That part just made me think of The Hunger Games and no there was no one who yelled that they volunteered as tribute with those exact words.

✨Kathryn Purdie does such an amazing job setting up this world and the atmosphere. She really draws you in and makes you feel like you are in this dark, bleak forest with odd run ins with fairytale characters. I should note that these fairytale characters are not the Disney ones that a lot of us know but the darker ones that we encounter with the Brother Grimm Fairytales. You can expect Cinderella, Hansel + Gretel, Rapunzel, and a few other characters to appear in this book. With that being said I really enjoyed seeing the different characters and how they are portrayed as well interact with the main characters and the world.

✨When it comes to the characters, I for the most part enjoyed them but did find Henni and Clara to be aggravating at times. But I did love the friendship and the even more than friends' dynamic between Clara and Axel.

✨The pacing for the most part was great and fast but there were areas that felt like it dragged out. I was very engaged in this story and curious about what was going on and what would happen.

✨I've been seeing a lot of mixed reviews on The Forest Grimm about it feeling too young as well as other things. To put in perspective: I will be 28 this fall, and I did not find it juvenile or targeted for a younger range. To me this felt like a good, clean (no smut) romantasy retelling that I would have encountered when I was a teenager. Everyone does perceive things differently, so it is all good if people find this too young, but I just wanted to say for me it felt fine and I think many people who want a clean YA romantasy, a dark fantasy retelling, or to feel reminiscent of YA a decade ago then you'll enjoy this.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CxLLeHrgvuM/?igshid=MWZjMTM2ODFkZg==

[glassprism]

This might require quite a lengthy response, but I've been having this long debate with a friend of mine whether being a fan of a musical is actually the correct term. Their argument is that a musical is essentially a finished story and not a franchise of sorts, while I stated that I'm following a musical as a whole (new casts, productions, etc) and not waiting for a sequel or smth. What say you?

I actually think it won't be that lengthy a response, because my only response is... since when was a "fan" confined only to liking franchises? I went and searched multiple dictionaries and sites, and here's what they said:

Wikipedia: "A fan or fanatic, sometimes also termed an aficionado or enthusiast, is a person who exhibits strong interest or admiration for something or somebody, such as a celebrity, a sport, a sports team, a genre, a politician, a book, a movie, a video game or an entertainer."

Britannica: "a person who likes and admires someone (such as a famous person) or something (such as a sport or a sports team) in a very enthusiastic way"

Dictionary.com: "an enthusiastic devotee, follower, or admirer of a sport, pastime, celebrity, etc"

Macmillan: "someone who likes watching or listening to something such as a sport, movies, or music very much, or who admires a famous or important person very much"

Merriam-Webster: "1: an enthusiastic devotee (as of a sport or a performing art) usually as a spectator. 2: an ardent admirer or enthusiast (as of a celebrity or a pursuit)"

Oxford: "A fanatic; in modern English (originally U.S.): a keen and regular spectator of a (professional) sport, originally of baseball; a regular supporter of a (professional) sports team; (hence) a keen follower of a specified hobby or amusement, and (gen.) an enthusiast for a particular person or thing."

Urban Dictionary: "A person who has interest or likes something, or somebody. Can refer to many things including sports, movie stars, food/drink and so on. Basically anybody that likes something."

Sum up all these, and what a "fan" is, is just someone who really likes something, whether it's a person, hobby, sport, some form of media, whatever. Your friend's definition is pretty new to me, and also rather odd: by their definition, then fans can only be people who like some form of media, and anybody who likes any media that is "finished" is actually not a fan? Does that mean I can't be a fan of drawing or art because that's not a media property, it's merely an activity? (*sobs* I think my art is worthy of being a media property!) Does that mean that fans of Jane Austen books aren't actually fans, because her books are finished and I'm pretty sure Austen is dead? (Or does your friend count that as a "franchise" since people keep making movies off of it?) I knew a lot of fans of Tom Hardy, but do they stop being fans because he's dead? Are all fans of all dead people actually not fans? They're dead, right? So technically they're "finished", right?

And speaking of franchises... what about the Halloween movies? Was I a fan when the movies are coming out, but now that it's finished (for now...) is my fan status gone? Will it return from the war when a new movie is announced? What happens if it was like the Dark Universe movies where it was going to be a franchise but it didn't work out? Am I fan if I liked those, or am I merely half a fan, a stillborn fan of a stillborn franchise? My sister is a great fan of the kpop band BTS, but they're doing military service right now, has her fan status been stripped from her because they're not making anything, and will it be restored when they return? I need answers from your friend, the great giver of fan status!

Finally... have you seen the stuff Phantom puts out? Forget the (many, many) adaptations, I'm talking just the musical - but even the musical (and it's literal dozens of productions) has produced books, a graphic novel, DVDs, clothes, tote bags, jewelry, some rather expensive teddy bears, and more. ALW, CamMack, and co. have made billions of dollars off this supposed not-a-franchise.

Well... I guess this turned out lengthy after all.

[smashpages]

Nominees announced for the 2023 Eisner Awards

Comic-Con International has announced the nominees for this year’s Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. This is the 35th year for the awards, which will be given out at this year’s Comic-Con International on July 21.

In terms of publishers, Image Comics received the most nominations, followed by DC, Fantagraphics, Marvel and Dark Horse. Creator-wise, Zoe Thorogood led the pack with five nominations. Hall of Fame nominees and inductees were announced earlier this month.

And the nominees are …

Best Short Story

“The Beekeeper’s Due,” by Jimmy Stamp and Débora Santos, in Scott Snyder Presents: Tales from the Cloakroom (Cloakroom Comics)

“Finding Batman” by Kevin Conroy and J. Bone in DC Pride 2022 (DC)

“Good Morning,” by Christopher Cantwell and Alex Lins, in Moon Knight: Black, White & Blood #4 (Marvel)

“Silent All These Years,” by Margaret Atwood and David Mack, in Tori Amos: Little Earthquakes (Z2)

“You Get It,” by Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto, in Amazing Fantasy #1000 (Marvel)

Best Single Issue/One-Shot

Batman: One Bad Day: The Riddler, by Tom King and Mitch Gerads (DC)

Mary Jane & Black Cat Beyond, by Jed Mackay and C. F. Villa (Marvel)

Moon Knight: Black, White, and Blood #3, edited by Tom Brevoort (Marvel)

Star Trek #400, edited by Heather Antos (IDW)

A Vicious Circle Book 1, by Mattson Tomlin and Lee Bermejo (BOOM! Studios)

Best Continuing Series

Daredevil, by Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto and Rafael de Latorre (Marvel)

The Department of Truth, by James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds (Image)

Killadelphia, by Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander (Image)

The Nice House on the Lake, by James Tynion IV and Alvaro Martinez Bueno (DC)

Nightwing, by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo (DC)

She-Hulk, by Rainbow Rowell, Rogê Antônio, Luca Maresca, and Takeshi Miyazawa (Marvel)

Best Limited Series

Animal Castle, by Xavier Dorison and Felix Delep (Ablaze)

Batman: One Bad Day, edited by Dave Wielgosz and Jessica Berbey (DC)

The Human Target, by Tom King and Greg Smallwood (DC)

Miracleman by Gaiman & Buckingham: The Silver Age, by Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham (Marvel)

Superman: Space Age, by Mark Russell, Michael Allred, and Laura Allred (DC)

Best New Series

The Atonement Bell, by Jim Ousley and Tyler B. Ruff (Red 5)

Love Everlasting, by Tom King and Elsa Charretier (Image)

Public Domain, by Chip Zdarsky (Image)

Star Trek, by Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, and Ramon Rosanas (IDW)

Traveling to Mars, by Mark Russell and Roberto Meli (Ablaze)

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8)

Beneath The Trees: A Fine Summer, by Dav (Magnetic Press)

Fox + Chick: Up and Down: and Other Stories, by Sergio Ruzzier (Chronicle Books)

Grumpy Monkey Who Threw That? by Suzanne Lang and Max Lang (Random House Studio)

Hey, Bruce!: An Interactive Book, by Ryan Higgins (Disney/Hyperion)

The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster! by Mo Willems (Union Square Kids)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 9-12)

Adventuregame Comics: Leviathan, by Jason Shiga (Amulet/Abrams)

Frizzy, by Claribel A. Ortega and Rose Bousamra (First Second/Macmillan)

Isla To Island, by Alexis Castellanos (Atheneum/Simon & Schuster)

Little Monarchs, by Jonathan Case (Margaret Ferguson Books/Holiday House)

Swim Team, by Johnnie Christmas (HarperAlley)

Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)

Chef’s Kiss, by Jarrett Melendez and Danica Brine (Oni)

Clementine Book One, by Tillie Walden (Image Skybound)

Do A Powerbomb! by Daniel Warren Johnson (Image)

Heartstopper Volume 4, by Alice Oseman (Scholastic Graphix)

Wash Day Diaries, by Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith (Chronicle Books)

Best Humor Publication

Cryptid Club, by Sarah Andersen (Andrews McMeel)

I Hate This Place, by Kyle Starks and Artyom Topilin (Image Skybound)

Killer Queens, by David Booher and Claudia Balboni (Dark Horse)

Mr. Lovenstein Presents: Failure, by J. L. Westover (Image Skybound)

Revenge of the Librarians, by Tom Gauld (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Anthology

Creepshow, edited by Alex Antone and Jon Moisan (Image Skybound)

The Illustrated Al: The Songs of “Weird Al” Yankovic, edited by Josh Bernstein (Z2)

The Nib Magazine, edited by Matt Bors (Nib)

Sensory: Life on the Spectrum, edited by Bex Ollerton (Andrews McMeel)

Tori Amos: Little Earthquakes, The Graphic Album, edited by Rantz Hoseley (Z2)

Best Reality-Based Work

Alfred Hitchcock: The Master of Suspense, by Noël Simsolo and Dominique Hé, translation by Montana Kane (NBM)

Alice Guy: First Lady of Film, by José-Louis Bocquet and Catel Muller, translation by Edward Gauvin (SelfMadeHero)

But I Live: Three Stories of Child Survivors of the Holocaust, edited by Charlotte Schallié (University of Toronto Press)

Flung Out of Space, by Grace Ellis and Hannah Templer (Abrams ComicArts)

Invisible Wounds: Graphic Journalism, by Jess Ruliffson (Fantagraphics)

Pinball: A Graphic History of the Silver Ball, by Jon Chad (First Second/Macmillan)

Best Graphic Memoir

Down to the Bone: A Leukemia Story, by Catherine Pioli, translated by J. T. Mahany (Graphic Mundi/Penn State University Press)

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands, by Kate Beaton (Drawn & Quarterly)

It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth: An Auto-Bio-Graphic-Novel, by Zoe Thorogood (Image)

So Much for Love: How I Survived a Toxic Relationship, by Sophie Lambda (First Second/Macmillan)

Welcome to St. Hell: My Trans Teen Misadventure, by Lewis Hancox (Scholastic Graphix)

Best Graphic Album—New

The Book of Niall, by Barry Jones (Ellie & Beatty)

Crushing, by Sophie Burrows (Algonquin Young Readers)

Francis Rothbart! The Tale of a Fastidious Feral, by Thomas Woodruff (Fantagraphics)

The Night Eaters, Book 1: She Eats the Night, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (Abrams ComicArts)

Ultrasound, by Conor Stechschulte (Fantagraphics)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint

Days of Sand, by Aimée de Jongh, translation by Christopher Bradley (SelfMadeHero)

Geneviève Castrée: Complete Works, by Geneviève Castrée, translation by Phil Elverum and Aleshia Jensen (Drawn & Quarterly)

Mazebook Dark Horse Direct Edition, by Jeff Lemire (Dark Horse)

One Beautiful Spring Day, by Jim Woodring (Fantagraphics)

Parker: The Martini Edition—Last Call, by Richard Stark, Darwyn Cooke, Ed Brubaker, and Sean Phillips (IDW)

Super Spy Deluxe Edition, by Matt Kindt (Dark Horse)

Best Adaptation from Another Medium

Chivalry by Neil Gaiman, adapted by Colleen Doran (Dark Horse)

Rain by Joe Hill, adapted by David M. Booher and Zoe Thorogood (Syzygy/Image)

Ten Days in a Madhouse, by Nellie Bly, adapted by Brad Ricca and Courtney Sieh (Gallery 13/Simon $ Schuster)

Tori Amos: Little Earthquakes, The Graphic Album, edited by Rantz Hoseley (Z2)

A Visit to Moscow by Rabbi Rafael Grossman, adapted by Anna Olswanger and Yevgenia Nayberg (Turner)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material

Always Never, by Jordi Lafebre, translation by Montana Kane (Dark Horse)

Blacksad: They All Fall Down Part 1, by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido, translation by Diana Schutz and Brandon Kander (Dark Horse)

Down to the Bone: A Leukemia Story, by Catherine Pioli, translation by J. T. Mahany (Graphic Mundi/Penn State University Press)

The Pass, by Espé, translation by J.T. Mahany (Graphic Mundi/Penn State University Press)

Tiki: A Very Ruff Year, by David Azencot and Fred Leclerc, translation by Nanette McGuinness (Life Drawn/Humanoids)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia

Black Paradox, by Junji Ito, translation by Jocelyne Allen (VIZ Media)

The Hellbound vols. 1-2, by Yeon Sang-ho and Choi Gyu-seok, translation by Danny Lim (Dark Horse)

Look Back, by Tatsuki Fujimoto, translation by Amanda Haley (VIZ Media)

PTSD Radio vol. 1, by Masaaki Nakayama, translation by Adam Hirsch (Kodansha)

Shuna’s Journey, by Hayao Miyazaki; translation by Alex Dudok de Wit (First Second/Macmillan)

Talk to My Back, by Yamada Murasaki, translation by Ryan Holmberg (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips (at least 20 years old)

Bungleton Green and the Mystic Commandos, by Jay Jackson (New York Review Comics)

Come Over Come Over, It’s So Magic, and My Perfect Life, by Lynda Barry (Drawn & Quarterly)

The George Herriman Library: Krazy & Ignatz 1922-1924, by George Herriman, edited by J. Michael Catron (Fantagraphics)

Macanudo: Welcome to Elsewhere, by Liniers, edited by Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)

Pogo The Complete Syndicated Comic Strips: Volume 8: Hijinks from the Horn of Plenty, by Walt Kelly, edited by Mark Evanier and Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books (at least 20 Years Old)

The Deluxe Gimenez: The Fourth Power & The Starr Conspiracy, by Juan Gimenez, edited by Alex Donoghue and Bruno Lesigne (Humanoids)

The Fantastic Worlds of Frank Frazetta, edited by Dian Hansen (TASCHEN)

Home to Stay! The Complete Ray Bradbury EC Stories, by Ray Bradbury and various; edited by J. Michael Catron (Fantagraphics)

The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Ominous Omnibus 1 (Abrams ComicArts)

Walt Disney’s Uncle Scrooge: The Diamond Jubilee Collection, by Carl Barks; edited by David Gerstein (Fantagraphics)

Best Writer

Grace Ellis, Flung Out of Space (Abrams ComicArts)

Tom King, Batman: Killing Time, Batman: One Bad Day, Gotham City: Year One, The Human Target, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (DC); Love Everlasting (Image)

Mark Russell, Traveling to Mars (Ablaze), One-Star Squadron, Superman: Space Age (DC); The Incal: Psychoverse (Humanoids)

James Tynion IV, House of Slaughter, Something Is Killing the Children, Wynd (BOOM! Studios); The Nice House on the Lake, The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country (DC), The Closet, The Department of Truth (Image)

Chip Zdarsky, Stillwater (Image Skybound); Daredevil (Marvel)

Best Writer/Artist

Sarah Andersen, Cryptid Club (Andrews McMeel)

Kate Beaton, Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands (Drawn & Quarterly)

Espé, The Pass (Graphic Mundi/Penn State University)

Junji Ito, Black Paradox, The Liminal Zone (VIZ Media)

Zoe Thorogood, It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth (Image)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team

Jason Shawn Alexander, Killadelphia, Nita Hawes’ Nightmare Blog (Image)

Alvaro Martínez Bueno, The Nice House on the Lake (DC)

Sean Phillips, Follow Me Down, The Ghost in You (Image)

Bruno Redondo, Nightwing (DC)

Greg Smallwood, The Human Target (DC)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)

Lee Bermejo, A Vicious Circle (BOOM! Studios)

Felix Delep, Animal Castle (Ablaze)

Daria Schmitt, The Monstrous Dreams of Mr. Providence (Europe Comics)

Sana Takeda, The Night Eaters: She Eats the Night (Abrams ComicArts); Monstress (Image)

Zoe Thorogood, Rain (Syzygy/Image)

Thomas Woodruff, Francis Rothbart! The Tale of a Fastidious Feral (Fantagraphics)

Best Cover Artist (for multiple covers)

Jen Bartel, She-Hulk (Marvel)

Bruno Redondo, Nightwing (DC)

Alex Ross, Astro City: That Was Then . . . (Image); Fantastic Four, Black Panther (Marvel)

Sana Takeda, Monstress (Image)

Zoe Thorogood, Joe Hill’s Rain (Syzygy/Image)

Best Coloring

Jordie Bellaire, The Nice House on the Lake, Suicide Squad: Blaze (DC); Antman, Miracleman by Gaiman & Buckingham: The Silver Age (Marvel)

Jean-Francois Beaulieu, I Hate Fairyland 2022, Twig (Image)

Dave McCaig, The Incal: Psychoverse (Humanoids)

Jacob Phillips, Follow Me Down, The Ghost in You, That Texas Blood (Image)

Alex Ross and Josh Johnson, The Fantastic Four: Full Circle (Abrams ComicArts)

Diana Sousa, Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins; The Mighty Nein Origins: Yasha Nydoorin; The Mighty Nein Origins: Fjord Stone; The Mighty Nein Origins: Caleb Widogast (Dark Horse)

Best Lettering

Pat Brosseau, Batman: The Knight, Wonder Woman: The Villainy of Our Fears (DC): Creepshow, Dark Ride, I Hate This Place, Skybound Presents: Afterschool (Image Skybound)

Chris Dickey, The Night Eaters: She Eats the Night (Abrams ComicArts)

Todd Klein, Chivalry (Dark Horse); Fables (DC); Miracleman by Gaiman & Buckingham: The Silver Age (Marvel)

Nate Piekos, Black Hammer Reborn, Minor Threats, Shaolin Cowboy, Stranger Things: Kamchatka (Dark Horse), I Hate Fairyland, Twig (Image)

Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo (IDW)

Thomas Woodruff, Francis Rothbart! The Tale of a Fastidious Feral (Fantagraphics)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism

Alter Ego, edited by Roy Thomas (TwoMorrows)

Comic Book Creator, edited by Jon B. Cooke (TwoMorrows)

The Comics Journal #308, edited by Gary Groth, Kristy Valenti, and Rachel Miller (Fantagraphics)

PanelXPanel magazine, edited by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou and Tiffany Babb (panelxpanel.com)

Rob Salkowitz, Forbes, ICv2, Publishers Weekly

Best Comics-Related Book

The Art of the News: Comics Journalism, edited by Katherine Kelp-Stebbins and Ben Saunders (Oregon State University Press)

Charles M. Schulz: The Art and Life of the Peanuts Creator in 100 Objects, by Benjamin L. Clark and Nat Gertler (Schulz Museum)

The Charlton Companion, by Jon B. Cooke (TwoMorrows)

Gladys Parker: A Life in Comics, A Passion for Fashion, by Trina Robbins (Hermes Press)

Resurrection: Comics in Post-Soviet Russia, by José Alaniz (Ohio State University Press)

Best Academic/Scholarly Work

Bandits, Misfits, and Superheroes: Whiteness and Its Borderlands in American Comics and Graphic Novels, by Josef Benson and Doug Singsen (University Press of Mississippi)

Graphic Medicine, edited by Erin La Cour and Anna Poletti (University of Hawai’i’ Press)

How Comics Travel: Publication, Translation, Radical Literacies, by Katherine Kelp-Stebbins (Ohio State University Press)

The LGBTQ+ Comics Studies Reader: Critical Openings, Future Directions, edited by Alison Halsall and Jonathan Warren (University Press of Mississippi)

Teaching with Comics and Graphic Novels. By Tim Smyth (Routledge)

Best Publication Design

Francis Rothbart! The Tale of a Fastidious Feral, designed by Thomas Woodruff, Jacob Covey, and Ryan Dinnick (Fantagraphics)

A Frog in the Fall (and later on), designed by Linnea Sterte, Olle Forsslöf, and Patrick Crotty (PEOW)

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts 40X40: Bad Reputation/I Love Rock-n-Roll, designed by Josh Bernstein and Jason Ullmeyer (Z2)

Mazebook Dark Horse Direct Edition, designed by Tom Muller (Dark Horse)

Parker: The Martini Edition—Last Call, designed by Sean Phillips (IDW)

Tori Amos: Little Earthquakes, The Graphic Album, designed by Lauryn Ipsum (Z2)

Best Webcomic

Deeply Dave, by Grover, http://www.deeplydave.com/

Delilah Dirk: Practical Defence Against Piracy, by Tony Cliff, https://www.delilahdirk.com/dd4/dd4-p46.html

Lore Olympus, by Rachel Smythe (WEBTOON), https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/lore-olympus/list?title_no=1320&page=5

The Mannamong, by Michael Adam Lengyel, https://mannamong.com/episode-1/

Spores, by Joshua Barkman, https://falseknees.com/22ink1.html

Best Digital Comic

All Princesses Die Before Dawn, by Quentin Zuttion, translation by M. B. Valente (Europe Comics)

Barnstormers, by Scott Snyder and Tula Lotay (Comixology Originals)

Behind the Curtain, by Sara del Giudice, translation by M. B. Valente (Europe Comics)

Ripple Effects, by Jordan Hart, Bruno Chiroleu, Justin Harder, and Shane Kadlecik (Fanbase Press)

Sixty Years in Winter, by Ingrid Chabbert and Aimée de Jongh, translation by Matt Madden (Europe Comics)

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

The Mimicking of Known Success by Malka Older

Moss & Pleiti #1

 Whew…took me a LONG time to get into this book and am still not sure what to think. Why did it take time? Well, the writing felt rather stilted and old fashioned and as if I was reading a book written over a century ago although I am sure the time must have been far distant in the future as it takes place several generations after humans left earth after making it inhabitable. Add in the rather highbrow terms that felt erudite but archaic, a setting devoid of much common on earth and a Gaslamp steampunk feel to it and people I had trouble understanding or warming up to…well…I am scratching my head trying to remember if reading an original Sherlock Holmes story would read like this or not.

I was intrigued by the book description since sci-fi sometimes grabs my interest and this plot sounded intriguing. The main characters were easily visualized but difficult to warm up to and I wondered if that was due to what had happened since humans left earth or if it was their basic characters. I also felt that I didn’t get to KNOW them. I wasn’t sure how long it had been since Mossa and Pleita had seen one another, what their relationship was like in college, or what they might have in common later that would draw them together again. Were the two in their late twenties, thirties or even older? My guess is late twenties but am not sure.

 The descriptions of Jupiter were well done, the characters easy to visualize if not warm to, and the mystery solving easy to follow. As this is the first in a series, there will be books to follow and perhaps through following them I will find out more about Mossa and Pleita in the past as they work together in the future.

 I am glad I did not give up at chapter eight as the story did begin to grow on me and I now feel that I would like to read more to find out what happens next. Will Mossa and Pleita work together and form more than a working relationship? Will progress be made concerning the future of humans living on Pluto? Will the humans ever be able to return to earth? How did they actually manage to get to Pluto and make it habitable? I think those and other questions that I have would be worth finding out…maybe.

 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Tor/Forge for the ARC – This is my honest review.

 3-4 Stars

       BLURB

 The Mimicking of Known Successes presents a cozy Holmesian murder mystery and sapphic romance, set on Jupiter, by Malka Older, author of the critically-acclaimed Centenal Cycle. On a remote, gas-wreathed outpost of a human colony on Jupiter, a man goes missing. The enigmatic Investigator Mossa follows his trail to Valdegeld, home to the colony’s erudite university—and Mossa’s former girlfriend, a scholar of Earth’s pre-collapse ecosystems. Pleiti has dedicated her research and her career to aiding the larger effort towards a possible return to Earth. When Mossa unexpectedly arrives and requests Pleiti’s assistance in her latest investigation, the two of them embark on a twisting path in which the future of life on Earth is at stake—and, perhaps, their futures, together.

[calturnerreviews]

#BlogTour – #SpotlightPost of #TheDarkWives by @AnnCleeves @panmacmillan @RandomTTours #RandomThingsTours #Vera

My second spotlight post for today is of The Dark Wives (Vera Stanhope 11) by Ann Cleeves. Thank you to Anne Cater for being so supportive and understanding following my recent bereavement and to Pan Macmillan for my copy of this book. About the book: A local myth. A deadly threat. Vera Stanhope, star of ITV’s Vera, returns for her most shocking case so far . . .  I can’t see anything. It’s as…

[out-and-aboot-eh]

Day 11 - Whistler to Tofino

Despite having a charger that in theory should use the power of the sun to re-charge, this didn’t seem to be the case, possibly because it was only through the window. I may not be a seasoned camper, but I can be pretty shrewd when needs be and the need was great as my phone is my clock, type writer, camera the list goes on. So we seized the opportunity to use the various spare plugs in the launderette to charge the chargers over night and thanks to Canadian kindness all of our stuff was still there the following day!

Today was a bit of a travelling day as we were heading to Vancouver Island, our ship was due to depart at 10:40, so we wanted to be at the port at least half an hour before, so we left with plenty of time to spare. So much time in fact we even went for a little stop off at Shannon Falls, which was an enchanting spot surrounded by forest, with a cobbled winding river up to a waterfall and various trails if you had the time… which we did not! But even with the road re-route we arrived at the port with plenty of time to spare before officially boarding. Once on the ship we dispersed into various places, as G’s sea legs aren’t the strongest, we headed to top deck to breathe in all that fresh salty air. Once the ship hit full knots it was very windy at the front, so windy in fact that G daren’t go all the way up there for fear of being blown away! One guy said that they’d seen orcas on the reverse crossing that day, so I kept an eye out whilst up top, but didn’t see diddly squat! As crossings go it was very smooth with plenty of space to move around and sit, which we did for a bit whilst G had a little nap. Around 2 hours or so in we got the call to return to our vehicles, which we all managed to do without too much stress apart from poor Little Fingers, who got lost, which is easy to do when you only come up to tyre level and all cars look the same! Thankfully we were able to stick on the hazard lights until she snuck in through a crack in the window and away we went with Georgie riding shot gun to a unique lunch spot - Goats on the Roof!

We’ve seen a variety of weird and wonderful establishments on this trip, but none with goats on the roof, although they weren’t the easiest to spot! Inside was just as whacky, with an assortment of colourful lanterns dangling from the ceiling and random items for purchase. But the perusing of eclectic souvenirs would have to wait as we were heading to the cafe/bakery which had a selection of Canadian classics and tempting baked goods. As a group we went for a range from burgers, to sausage rolls, poutine and BLTs. I can certainly get on board with the menus out here, but it speaks volume that I’m only a medium when back home I’m at least a Large! We were given 10 minutes at the end to have a look around the shop and even I have to admit they had lots of cool stuff, so I may have purchased some learner chopsticks as G is always showing me up when eating oriental dishes!

From here we went on to Cathedral Forest, which is part of the MacMillan Provincial Park. Now we’ve seen our fair share of woods, forests, trees, call ‘em what you will, but this one had a mystical feel and an extremely tall 800 year old redwood. We did a short trail around this magical spot before jumping back on the minibus and heading for our final destination, Long Beach Campsite. First impressions, looked alright, not the most amount of toilets and showers we’d seen and we later learned that there was no hot water from the taps, but there was plenty of spots to pitch our tents, before heading off for dinner; spag bowl and home made garlic bread with Caesar salad, followed by maple tea cakes!

The camp site is on the edge of a golf course and air strip, so other than one bright light at the end of the runway, we were surrounded by darkness. And as we’d had a day of fantastic weather, the sky was extremely clear and starry, which is how we rounded off the day, gazing up at the stars above, before returning to our tent to sleep on the gravel below.

Georgie’s highlight of the day: Star gazing!

[libertyreads]

Book Review #31 of 2024--

Icon and Inferno by Marie Lu. Rating: 3.75 stars.

Read from May 10th to 13th.

Before I get into the review, a quick thank you to NetGalley and the publishers over at Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for allowing me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I was so excited when I got the approval email for this one. Icon and Inferno is the second book in the Stars and Smoke series which follows a spy and an international pop star. Sydney Cossette and Winter Young were thrown together for a mission last year and a lot of stuff went sideways. Which is what made it so surprising for Winter when Sydney strolled back into his life with another mission that needs his fame to get her into the game. Can they team up again and prevent an all-out war from breaking out? Icon and Inferno is set to release on June 11th and is available for pre-order now.

There is something in this world that I would keep coming back for a thousand times over. I love getting to see the world of glitz and glamor of Winter Young but I also love seeing the things that hide in the shadows with Sydney Cossette. The juxtaposition of these two worlds and seeing them overlap is wonderful and so delightful to read again and again. I think the author manages to find a way to take this world and these characters that are so fantastical and ground them in reality. The action is fast paced and keeps the story moving. The characterization draws you in to the whole, well rounded people who have such full and interesting stories. This could be such a long series and the set up being what it is would draw me in time and again. I also really love the way the romance is played out in this one. We got a small glimpse of it last time and in this one it was so swoon worthy for me. Toward the end of the novel, there's a moment between Sydney and Winter that made my heart feel like it was going to explode. It was so soft and sweet and yet the angst. My dude. Keep this shit coming. I'm so here for it.

I struggled with this one in a similar way that I struggled with the first one: in that I needed more. It's wrong (and frankly should be illegal) for this book to be under 350 pages. I think more description during the action or for settings would help ground the reader into the world better. I also just want more of this world and EVERYTHING between Sydney and Winter. The side characters in this one took a bit more of a backseat in this one just because of the scope of the plot. I understand it, that doesn't mean I have to like it. I don't know that there's anywhere to go from here as far as similar novels. I think the first two being missions for Sydney and Winter to go on made sense. I think with how this one went down it would be hard to do another one. But I could be wrong. There's still an opening there for another story with Sydney and Winter. I just think them going on a mission together wouldn't make sense.

Overall, this was so much fun to read and I loved seeing the foreshadowing throughout the novel. I think this is a great series for fans of Marie Lu or any reader who wants a little more spies in their novels.