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dailymolliarty · 5 years ago

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The Mouse and the Spider by I’m Over There: Jim Moriarty gets bored. Molly Hooper gets lonely. They’re just two planets revolving around the brilliant sun that is Sherlock Holmes, drawn in by his gravity. And his light. But everybody needs distractions…

Song as Old as Rhyme by @wherestoriescomefrom: Hush, the wind is blowing hard. Be quiet, child, sleep soundly - Or the Dark One will steal your heart. [Beauty and the Beast AU]

Nameless by @wherestoriescomefrom: The first name was expected - even welcomed. The second, on the other hand, left much to be desired. And Jim would never understand what it was about it that was compelling. [Soulmate AU: On one hand, the name of your soulmate, on the other - your enemy. Molliarty.]

The Rose Point Manor: A young woman struggling in an unjust society takes a break from the theatrics of pretending to be her male counterpart, Mark Hooper, and decides to relax at the quiet but foreboding Rose Point Manor. There she comes to a realization that something far more sinister lurks there than at her morgue back home - Victorian AU

We’re Ancient History: When Molly Hooper had begun her scientific expedition, she never knew her time on the dig sites would unearth more than the dead.

Forget Me Not: “This melancholy London - I sometimes imagine that the souls of the lost are compelled to walk through its streets perpetually. One feels them passing like a whiff of air.” What happens when two lost souls find each other? Are they still forgotten? - Amnesia!AU

Capture My Good Side: “Photography is all about secrets. The secrets we all have and will never tell.”

Deus Mortis: "You can hide from the devil, but he’ll always find you.“ - Victorian AU

Face Value: “I’m not sure how to describe this nonsense, basically Molly looks good in a moustache and Jim notices.”

Not a Body Farm: Molly really should’ve known better than to download FarmVille on a criminal mastermind’s cell phone, even if it had been a hilarious joke at the time. Since one day she wakes up in a bed in some random farm in the middle of nowhere, and the deed to the property in her name.

Oh God, Not the Westwood!: In which timid Molly Hooper must hide a heinous crime from a man who likes to watch a murder take place while drinking his morning coffee.

Life Preserver: “Missing you comes in waves and tonight I am drowning.”

Midnight Edition: The Bittersweet: Pop-rocks can be unpredictable. In an instance, a delight to the senses, or startling painful the next - smut

The Bittersweet: Even delicious things can be sour, at another glance.

Third Date Syndrome: Long bouts of silence and awkwardness on first dates are inevitable, and for the hundredth time Molly wished she was exempted from it.

We’ll Always Have St. Barts: “I wish I didn’t love you so much.” - Casablanca AU

Apex: Molly Hooper thinks fondly of Jim from IT, but can’t get enough of Jim Moriarty - contains smut~

The Parting Glass: After Reichenbach, Molly Hooper is drowning. She receives a package, request and tradition from a very dead Jim Moriarty. She receives nothing but burdens from a very alive Sherlock Holmes.

Rust and Stardust: “The last long lap is the hardest. I shall be dumped where the weed decays, and the rest is rust and stardust.” - Jim is a ghost, and wouldn’t it just figure that he haunts Molly Hooper.

Wild and Precious: “Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” - How Molly fell in love with a ghost, and tried not to waste her life beside him. She failed. - settled in the same universe of Rust and Stardust

Release: Written for the prompt “Jim fucking Molly so hard and so good that she can’t even get a full word out, only moans and half-uttered curses “: In which Jim surprises Molly after work - contains smut~

A Love Outside of Time: There’s a lot of strange happenings at 2945 S Willow Street, shrieks and screams and moans that have terrorized the neighbors and left the house unsold for generations. Can the great paranormal investigator, Sherlock Holmes, exorcise the spirits living there?

Gifts Given and Received: Sherlock ruined Molly’s Christmas gift and Jim is determined to make her holiday better. - ASIB AU, contains smut~

Cabernet Sauvignon: Written for the prompt “Jim’s ready to propose, but wants the event to be special, and so he hides the ring in Molly’s wine. Molly drinks it down too fast and chokes on the ring”: A fluffy slice of life, where Molly makes Jim’s life just a little less lonely.

Power Dynamic: Molly can’t help trying to control the insanity that is Jim Moriarty. A framework for his mind to lean on, a collar to hold him together, a mistress to keep him mostly sane.

Asphodel: “When you need slightly-less-than-legal magic substances, you seek out ‘Moriarty’s Special Imports and Fineries’. A new branch of Necromancy, pathologist-in-training Molly Hooper returns a set of counterfeit goods and receives a job offer in return.” - Fantasy AU

Her beast feature: “As he studied her from afar, Jim thought Molly’s best feature was her neck. He really didn’t anticipate her reaction to Sherlock beating a dead man with a riding crop.” - Molly x Jim, PWP, set at the beginning of A Study in Pink

Junior: So what’s a beleaguered pathologist to do when the UK’s Most Wanted turns up to visit her cat?

Mr Sex: Jim doesn’t ask her what she likes or what she needs; it’s not necessary. But he asks her what she wants - contains smut

Sunday Afternoon: Sleep with Molly Hooper: Molly canceled their date at the last minute, but no one messes with Jim’s precisely organized calendar and gets away with it.

Why Don’t You Do Right?: Seb arranges for Molly to get an extra special, early birthday present. Jim gets to learn something new about Molly. And Molly discovers one of Jim’s deepest secrets.

Club Calavera: Downing five zombies doesn’t give Jim the liquid courage he needs to ask Molly a very important question. It only makes him forget that he and Molly are already together.

Happy Birthday, Jimmy Boy: Jim’s never had a good birthday. Molly’s determined to buck the trend. - contains smut

It’s A Nice Day For a [White Wedding]: The wedding of James Moriarty to Molly Hooper can be nothing less than a momentous occasion. In his speech, their best man recounts some of the juicier bits of Jim and Molly’s journey into matrimony.

Cold War: She had to admit Jim was creative. Who else would think to kill three ice cream salesmen from different towns and attach a one-worded note to each corpse, forming the sentence, “Ready to concede?”

My Persuasion Can Build a Nation: In a world where Eurus had a best friend growing up, she doesn’t go to Sherrinford, nor does she turn out as unhinged as she did in canon. However, she’s still Eurus, and her brothers absolutely forbid her from meeting Jim Moriarty. She’ll just have to fix that, won’t she? Also: Matchmaker!Eurus ftw.

What Sober Couldn’t Say: “(11:23 pm) Drinking again(11:24 pm) And since it makes me too sad to go on my blog anymore thanks to you, I figured it’s only fair you become my new place to vent(11:25 pm) You’re probably not receiving these messages anyway so no harm no foul(11:25 pm) Right?” - Molly drunk-texts Jim over the course of several months.

I Wanna Feel Like I Am Floating: “Now the question is…" He vamp-flipped them over so she was lying down and his body was pinning hers. “Should I tie you up and make you take it, or are you going to be a good little vampire and let Daddy have his way with you?” Jim & Molly’s journey: blood-sharing edition.- Vampire!Molliarty AU, s-m-u-t.

Coffin Shopping: Sebastian could only imagine what the other, mostly ancient customers perusing the store must be thinking of the couple in their thirties, bubbling with laughter and fooling around as they ran about in search of the perfect coffin.

Come To Daddy: Jim failed to see how Molly’s physicality could ever not be arousing. The size of her lips did nothing to detract from how amazing she was at sucking cock. The size of her breasts made it no less fun for Jim to cup them in his hands, tease her nipples into hard peaks, suck on them until she squirmed and made those delightful little sounds. - smuttish ;)

Intention: A take on how the brief but unforgettable office romance between Jim from IT and Molly from Pathology began and how it just might become more than just a simple office romance.

An Exchange: Jim Moriarty comes across a familiar face and realises, from just one exchange, that it is not merely Sherlock Holmes that connects them, but a connection of their own.

A Beginning: Jim Moriarty tries to make sense of new waves of sentiment as his office romance with Molly Hooper transits to become something more.

Interruptions: Molly Hooper is made to face a stunning revelation about Jim Moriarty, but it is her reaction that stuns him most.

An Enemy’s Gift: In the pursuit of his greatest enemy, Jim Moriarty makes an unexpected discovery.

On Fanfiction.net:

Life: James Moriarty is in trouble, so much trouble that he fears for his life. He soon learns, however, he has absolutely nothing to fear, not with Molly Hooper around.

Spiders: Molly and Jim have a casual chat laced with hints of their plans, revealing a side to Molly that both surprises and seduces Jim.

(Re)kindle: Jim Moriarty is perplexed at the lasting impression a certain Molly Hooper has left on him. When his rekindled fascination with her meets an unexpected obstacle, an animosity is ignited.

Other fics:

- The Demon I cling to

- The Anatomist

- What Slinks Unseen (one-shot)

- Safety in Small Numbers (one-shot)

- Heart Shaped Buttons (one-shot)

- I.O.U (in progress, Season 4 AU)

- A change of clothes (one-shot, smut)

- The Uninvited House Guest

- Home is where (one-shot)

- Danse Macabre (one-shot) mine

- Lay your body next to mine (one-shot, mine, smut, dark themes)

- Symmetry (one-shot)

- Kisses for the Devil (one-shot)

- Descend (one-shot)

- Death and the Maiden

- The Number Is (one-shot)

- The Devil’s Own (warning: dark themes)

- Reality of Innocence (warning:smut)

- Gifts (one-shot)

- Thanaptosis (warning: dark themes)

- Pulse (one-shot)

- Yorick’s grin

- Hades (one-shot)

- Gay (warning:smut)

- Oaths, affidavits and Other Lies

- Brain Drain (one-shot)

- Counting Days (one-shot)

- A conversation starter (one-shot)

- Spinning Tornadoes (one-shot)

- Secret Veins and Arteries (warning:dark themes)

- Watching the world burn (one-shot, smut)

- Death and the Maiden

- Unloveable

- Sweet Dreams (one-shot)

- Frozen Feelings

- Forever and Always

- I will burn the heart out of you

- Choke (one-shot)

- His Dark Mistress (one-shot)

- He saved the last dance for me

- Exsanguination (one-shot, very kinky smut)

- Almost Anyone (one-shot)

- No Space between Us (one-shot, smut)

- Brain Drain (one-shot)

- Between the bars (one-shot, smut)

- Troubleshooting (one-shot, smut)

- Falling (one-shot, smut)

- Knots in this noose of mine (one-shot)

- Glass shatters softly (one-shot)

- Victor, meet spoils (one-shot)

- He kindly stopped me (one-shot)

- Blow the House Down (one-shot)

- The answer is one (one-shot)

- Strings (one-shot)

- Heartbeats in the Dark

- The Fox (one-shot, smut)

- Bad Romance

- Lion and the Lamb (one-shot)

- Red Song in the Night

- The Rules Are (one-shot)

- Molly Mine (one-shot, smut)

- Restless Things (warning: very dark themes + Johnlock)

- Intention (one-shot)

- At the End of it all (one-shot, smuttish)

- An Incorrect Deduction

#jim moriarty #molly hooper #molliarty #sherlock #fic recs

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kinkyacademia · 7 years ago

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Um... hello! You have a real nice blog!! I have a bit of a request, if you can! Imagine Aizawa is with a virgin (female) S/O. She finally decides she's ready, but she's still scared since even tampons hurt her. How does he act? Also, how would he react if she almost immediately falls asleep just after they finish? Thank you in advance, and sorry for the trouble!

Sorry this took me so long, one-winged-natu! I put a lot of thought and care into this reply for you, so I hope you enjoy this, my lil strawberry~

-Mod Shortcake🍰🍰🍰

This was one of those nights where you and your boyfriendwere both free. There was nothing that could interrupt you during this preciouslittle at home dinner date of yours.

It wasn’t over the top romantic with candles or anything,but you two, kind of mostly you, cooked up a simple meal for tonight. After youtwo had enjoyed it and talked about each other for a bit, you couldn’t help butfeel like tonight was different.

When you looked at Aizawa, you felt something very specialin your heart. You didn’t know what it was, but something made you feel braverwith him. Aizawa catches your stares and comments on them first though. “Whatis it, (F/N)? You’ve been staring at me for a while now.” He spoke, collectingthe dishes and placing them in the sink.

“O-Oh! I have?” You blushed. Mentally scolding yourself, yougot up from your seat and moved over to the sink. You turned on the water tostart washing. “Sorry, I was just… thinking about something.”

For each dish you washed, Aizawa was there next to you,drying them off. “Thinking about what?” He asked you quite easily. You two hadbeen together for almost a year now, so you talked about anything with eachother at this point. You shared secrets and personal thoughts, so this didn’tseem like a big thing to talk about with each other. But your thoughts were abit scrambled on the matter, so it took you a good second to collect it alltogether. Or try to.

You hummed softly. “I don’t really know…”

Aizawa glanced at you. “That’s weird. You always know whatyou want to say.”

That was true. You blushed again, darker than before. “Yeah,but I guess… I don’t know, I just don’t know what I’m feeling right now.”Aizawa didn’t want to pry the words out of you, so he dropped it to finishdrying the last of the dishes, but he’d be lying if he wasn’t terribly curiousto know what was on your mind. It clearly had something to do with him.

“That’s fine.” He broke the silence after the last dish wasdried. You could feel his warm touch on your chin; grasping it gently andmaking you look at him. It was the little gestures like these that got theblood rushing to your cheeks. “If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to,but when you know what it is, you can talk to me.” He placed a gentle kiss onyour lips.

Then it clicked in your brain.

When Aizawa broke the kiss, you blurted out, “I want to havesex.”

Cue the longest silence ever in the history of silencesbetween the both of you.

Aizawa blinked. “You want to have sex?”

Your face exploded into crimson, feeling your hands gettingclammy and your nerves tightening up. “Y… Yeah! I think… I’m ready to… do it!”

“Are you sure?” He briefly looked over you, knowing that youwere a virgin and a sensitive one at that. He never pressured you to doanything you weren’t comfortable with, but hearing that you wanted this…

You nodded, trying to mask your fear with determination.“Yes! I feel like we’re ready to do that now…” Your face flushed again and youlooked down at the ground, “Because I love you and you love me, right?”

You were so innocent, so cute; Aizawa couldn’t help the lowchuckle that escaped him. “Yeah. I love you, (F/N).” He lifted her chin again,giving her another kiss. This one was more passionate than the last one, a bitdemanding as his arm wrapped around her waist.

Aizawa takes advantage of the situation to lead you to yourbedroom. Despite your nerves, you do your best not to trip over anything orembarrass yourself in anyway.

Aizawa broke the kiss to open your bedroom door, leading youwith another kiss. But this kiss was short lived when the back of your kneesbumped into your bed, and you both fell onto the mattress.

This was actually happening.

Aizawa pulled back from your lips and trailed his kissesdown your neck, exploring and searching for that soft spot of yours. When yougasped softly, he knew he found it. Aizawa bit right into it, sucking on thespot, marking you as his. The pain felt sudden and fierce, making you whimperand grab onto the back of his shirt. “Sh-Shouta…” You whimpered out his name,exciting him. You squirmed under him, tears pricking at your eyes when hisbiting got harder. Relief washed over you though, when he pulled away, dragginghis tongue over the mark that was sure to bruise. He kissed it, nipping aroundthe rest of your neck and taking off your shirt. He tossed it to god knowswhere, leaving you in your adorable bra. Aizawa pulled back some to get a lookat you. A smirk pulled on his lips.

“You look beautiful like this.” He complimented, caressinghis hand down from your cheek to your breast. “May I?” Aizawa drew circles overthe spot where your nipples would be. You gasped from the sensitive feeling,but nodded your head, encouraging him to have his way with you. And that’s justwhat he did.

Slipping his fingers under your bra, Aizawa tweeked andpinched your nipple between his fingers. His other hand slid along your waist,raising goosebumps as he made his way to your back, trying to undo your braclasp. You arched your back ever so slightly to better help him. Soon enough,the bra was off and tossed to the side as well.

Aizawa admired your chest, loving the way your nipplesperked up eagerly for him, the cold air in the room assisting in their arousal.It was too cute.

He leaned down and captured the other nipple in his warmmouth, teasing the other with his fingers, making you gasp and lift a hand tocover your sweet gasps and flushed face. His warm, moist tongue swirled aroundyour nipple, flicking it a few times. You brain felt fuzzy and full of cottonfrom how pleasant he made you feel.

He was waking up a libido that you never knew was sleepingdeep down inside of your core, those wet sounds of his tongue and the pinchingof his fingers getting you more and more excited for him. So much so that youdidn’t even realize your legs already spreading for him, rubbing your legagainst his invitingly.

Aizawa chuckled against your chest. He pulled his mouthaway, the cold air abusing your now damp nipple.

“You really like that, huh?” You flushed a dark red.“D-Don’t tease me, Sh-Shouta…” You whimpered behind your hand, shooting him atimid yet lustful look that was enough to get to him. He pulled away from yourchest completely, taking off his own top. His body was gorgeous and totallypleasing to the eyes. You couldn’t help yourself when you leaned upinstinctively and began to litter his jaw and neck with fleeting kisses of yourown. Aizawa shut his eyes for a moment, savoring the feeling of your lipsagainst his skin.

You wanted to see and feel more of him, to hold him closerto your body. You wanted him all to yourself. Lost in your own thoughts andnipping at his collarbone, Aizawa took this moment to slip his hand down thefront of your pants, rubbing his fingers against your clit through youmoistening panties. You trembled, a mini spasm vibrating through your legs fromthe sensations.

“Mmm~… Sh-Shouta-aaah…” You whimpered softly, shifting yourbody so he could easily slide off your pants and underwear for you. He was justas eager as you were to do this, you could tell.

You wanted to lay down, but he wrapped an arm around yourwaist to keep you sitting up right. “Shouta?” You practically breathed out hisname, placing your hands on his chest.

Aizawa looked over you, leaned down to your ear andwhispered, “If we’re really gonna do this, then I have to stretch you out alittle more beforehand.” He left no time for you to fully process his wordsbefore slipping two, thick fingers up into you. You gasped, and gasped a littlelouder when he pushed his fingers fully into you, spreading them to stretch youout and curling them to make you melt in his arms. You felt your legs tremblingand your head fell on Aizawa’s shoulder, moaning his name and other pleas forhim to fuck you already. You never knew you’d be one to dirty talk, but hereyou were, asking to be fucked silly.

Your hands moved from his chest to shoulders, squeezing themas you moaned.

He kept fingering you, adding a third finger and you weregone. You grinded your hips down on his fingers, riding them. Aizawa waspleasantly surprised that you were coming out of your shy shell.

Whispering sweet (and dirty) nothings into your ear, youfelt a knot building and tightening up in your gut. “Sh-Shouta, I think I-I’mgonna cum…!” You whined and buried your face into his shoulder, “I’m gonna…!”

“That’s right, cum on my hand, (F/N). Cum for me.” His voicewas husked as he growled lowly into your ear. Between his voice and the wet,slapping sounds from down below, you came all over his hand, whimpering andfeeling a little tired from all that work.

But you two were far from done.

Aizawa pulled his fingers out of you, licking your juicesoff his fingers as he laid you back down on the bed. He unzipped his pants now,slipping them halfway down his thighs along with his underwear as he pulled outhis fully erect cock. “Now you’re ready.”

You blinked, still panting a bit from cumming that firsttime. “Wh-What…?”

Aizawa crawled on top of you, his long hair falling over hisshoulders as he probed your entrance with the tip of his cock. You were slickand ready to take him. You were awakened again when you felt him there.“W-Wait, Shouta…” She speaks softly. He looks into her eyes and he sees tracesof fear. She’s scared of the real thing. Aizawa gives her a small reassuringsmile. “It’s going to be okay, (F/N). We did all the preparations so itwouldn’t hurt as much.”

“Y-Yeah… I know, but…” You wanted to be convinced, but yourstomach was uneasy with nerves. Aizawa leaned in and pecked your lips. “Here.How about this…” He kissed her deeply to which she returned, sharing apassionate, distracting kiss while he slowly pushed himself inside of her.Despite the slickness, you still winced and gasped into the kiss, tearspricking your eyes from the foreign girth entering you. You tried to break thekiss to cry out your moans, but Aizawa moved with you and captured your lipsagain and now intertwined his fingers with yours.

Your moans were swallowed up into the kiss, your legstrembling. It wasn’t until Aizawa was fully in you that he broke the kiss andlooked at your face. He kissed the tears off your cheeks.

You loved how gentle and sweet he was with you. There was nomovement for a while, but once you whispered that it was okay for him to go,Aizawa began a slow and steady pace. It was a little painful at first, but oncethe pain subsided into pleasure, you become a little bolder.

“Faster…” You moaned sweetly into his ear, “H-Harder,Shouta… Remember I told you… to fuck me~…” You wrapped your arms and legsaround him. Aizawa chuckled lowly, bucking his hips into with a new foundintensity that had you seeing stars. He hit that spot and tangled your fingersinto his hair. “F-Fuck-!”

Aizawa hummed, littering your neck in rough kisses, poundinginto you now mercilessly. “Do you like the way I’m fucking you right now, (F/N)?You’re so tight…” He gave your ass a squeeze, making you yelp and tighten uparound him more. Aizawa groaned from the feeling, his thrusts becoming erraticand desperate to hit that spot more.

He had you turn into a moaning, crying mess.

“R-Right there- Ahh~ Shouta! Shouta, I-I’m gonna cum…!” Youcried out, holding onto him tightly, clawing into his back. You body trembledand shook under him, spasming as you came all over him. Your orgasm brought outhis own as Aizawa gave a few more deep thrusts before pulling out and releasinghis seed onto your stomach.

Aizawa panted from that sex. Despite it being your firsttime, it was pretty impressive. He made a mental note that for the next time,there was definitely gonna be more experimenting.

Aizawa fell to your side, sighing and turning toward you. “Howdo you feel, (F/N)?” He asked you, brushing some of your hair out of your face.He stopped when he saw that you were already dead asleep.

Aizawa blinked, his deadpan expression saying it all. “You’resomething else, (F/N).” He reached out and pulled your sleeping body close tohis, resting his head on top of yours as he too decided to call it a night.

#aizawa shouta #aizawa #reader x aizawa #aizawa x reader #shouta x reader #shouta #boku no hero academia #mod shortcake #boku no hero scenarios #boku no hero academia imagines #scenario #scenarious #request #sorry for the wait my lil strawberry

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physticuffs · 7 years ago

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Hello! I have a question.... what are your favorite books, and why? (I love your blog!)

@smallricochet

Wow, thank you! Took me forever to reply because my first answer got erased when i was halfway through. Rawr. anyway, here’s the thing: i don’t have favorites. I just love books so much i can’t choose! And there are books for different moods, too, or books that i love for different reasons. There are those that i can read anytime because they’re friendly and easy to sink into, but aren’t necessarily the best of anything in a particular aspect. There are books that i have to be in a specific mood to read but that i love more than anything when i am in that mood. There are books that are outstanding in one thing and lacking in another…so i don’t have favorite books, and when i have to think of my favorites, they’re divided by genre. This is gonna be a long post, haha. Without my bookshelf in front of me, there may be some I’m forgetting, but those are the ones that stand out in immediate memory.

Fantasy: most of the books i’ve read would probably count as fantasy if you included YA, but i’m going to break out YA as its own thing because i look for different things now than i did when i was younger. For one thing, the writing style plays a much larger role now for me, which is one of the things that makes Neil Gaiman one of my favorite authors. American Gods is this gorgeous book examining the nature of belief, with such evocative language that i felt like i was taking the journey alongside the characters. The characters themselves are rather stock, but that’s okay–Gaiman has a true sense of the mythic and interweaves old stories with new in a way that captivated me. I also loved The Ocean at the End of the Lane, which just felt…almost more real than our own world. I read the book (it’s quite short) in one sitting, and when i finished i realized i’d teared up. There’s a scene where the main character is immersed in this experience of understanding everything and then is pulled out of that state, and i felt the same way upon closing the book. The sense of the world-beyond-our-world was intense–again, taking the journey with the characters. I adore Good Omens, which was co-written with Terry Pratchett, and i think combines the best of both authors: Gaiman’s sense of mythology, Pratchett’s humor, and their shared love for stories that examine the values individual people hold. Individual values are a theme often repeated in Pratchett’s books, of which my favorites are Hogfather and Thud! because of the beautiful, hopeful characterizations and complex conflicts. Pratchett’s books really carry this sense of optimism and hope for how much better we can be; his characters have this evolving humanity (lol some of them are dwarves and trolls and werewolves) that really strikes a chord with me. Also, those books are fucking hilarious.

I’ve written about Guy Gavriel Kay recently; his novel Under Heaven is remarkable for its beautiful language, fascinating characters, and exciting political plot. I love that niche–historically-based political fantasy–and am really relieved to have found someone besides George R. R. Martin who does it, since Kay is much subtler and doesn’t have Martin’s penchant for shock and gore. I’m about to read every other political fantasy novel Kay has ever written. I used to think that if i could write like anyone i’d want to write like Gaiman, but now that i’ve read Kay’s work, i’d rather write like him, because that’s the genre i’d want to succeed in.

Then there’s Susanna Clarke’s exquisite Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I know this is very much a love-it-or-hate-it book, and i love it. Actually, i think it’s a perfect novel. I would change nothing about that book; there’s nothing that could make me like it better. The descriptive visual language is rich and flowing, the dry humor is just right, and the mythology she builds is original and forms a perfect pattern. One of the things that stood out to me the most in the book are the names. I’ve never seen an author choose names like her–they’re all lyrical and evocative without being literal. I don’t even want a sequel because the plot is wrapped up perfectly; i just want a whole series set in that world. (Clarke also wrote a short story collection in that setting, The Ladies of Grace Adieu, which is excellent, but does not fulfill my desire for a million more full-length novels.)

Historical fiction: The Lymond Chronicles. This is a masterwork, to the point that the author, Dorothy Dunnett, was knighted for her books being such a huge contribution to UK culture. They’re hard to read, no denying that, but they are unparalleled for incredible descriptive language, depth of emotion, dexterity with shifting viewpoint, epic scope, characters’ journeys and personalities interwoven in fascinating ways…they so far outshine every other work of historical fiction i’ve read that i think i can say that series is my favorite. HOWEVER, the irony of it is, i have never reread those books, except the first. I flick around occasionally to reread passages, but they’re simply too dense to make for good light reading in between all my new reading material. I love Les Miserables too, in the sense that i think it’s one of those almost accidental masterpieces that would never make it to market in full form today. Victor Hugo was a mystic grandpa whose interest in architecture/public infrastructure reeeeally got in the way of his own plot. I can’t HELP but love that book and i don’t even know why, except that Hugo captures the emotions and complexities of youthful rebellion so well, and is deeply respectful to the tragedy of it–not flippant, not over-aggrandizing, but accepting in just the right way. I also wanna give a shoutout/honorary mention to Romance of the Three Kingdoms. (It’s sort of unfair to put it with historical fiction, given the part where a guy’s ghost wanders around beating people up, but like. What else do i call this book.) I mean, it’s not my usual fare, but it well deserves its place as one of China’s four great classics. It’s so different from modern writing, which places a lot of emphasis on knowing individual characters. Three Kingdoms doesn’t give a shit about the inner lives of the characters. This is a story about how empires are formed and fall. it’s a true epic, and a fascinating look into one of China’s most tumultuous historical periods. (most tumultuous, except for all the others. You do you, China.)

Nonfiction: I’ve only rather recently become interested in nonfiction, and most of what i like is just a combination of good writing style and a topic i’m specifically interested in. How Not To Be Wrong, by Jordan Ellenberg–applied math and statistics, written in a very fun way. The Disappearing Spoon and The Violinist’s Thumb, by Sam Kean–a history of the periodic table and genetics respectively; Kean is such an engaging writer and really knows how to draw a common thread through anecdotes. Fermat’s Enigma, by Simon Singh–a history of the quest to solve Fermat’s Last Theorem. Weapons and Fighting Arts of Indonesia, by Donn Draeger–uh, what it says on the cover, but also a very interesting cultural text, although the info is a bit out of date. Walking the Bible, by Bruce Feiler–Feiler travels through the Middle East, examining the historical context of biblical stories; i’m reading his other works now. There also have been a couple books i’ve read for school that i loved–one was a cultural study of Hello Kitty, of all things, and one was about coffee farming in Honduras. Both were for a globalization course, but i can’t remember the titles offhand. I also read Walkable City by Jeff Speck for urban studies, about the importance of building walkability into your urban planning, which kicked off an interest in urban planning for me. I wound up getting three other urban planning books out of the interest generated by that one.

YA: Most of the books that have stuck with me after i read them as a teen had characters i wanted to be friends with or that i strongly related to–books with a lot of analytical, assertive girls, or girls who loved stories and were very imaginative. These include Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, the All-of-a-Kind Family series by Sydney Taylor (bonus points for multiple girls i related to and they were Jewish), The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall (again bonus points for multiple girls i related to), Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, and The Princess Academy and The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. These last three (modern takes on fairy tales) mattered so fucking much to me, and they seriously hold up on rereads. Hale and Levine don’t protect their readers from harsh events, but it’s still fantasy, still has the magic i love reading about. They show the young characters win magical battles and friendship through intelligence, creativity, and determination, instead of beauty like the original tales, so that was really inspiring for me, and i related really hard to the main characters personality-wise. All three main characters in these books do find relationships or even marry at the end, but it’s because they’ve already been best friends with their love interests for a while. There’s also The Hunger Games, which had fascinating characterization, and unusually subtle morality for a YA series, especially in the last book, and the similarly adventurous Icemark Chronicles series by Stuart Hill, which is historically-based fantasy–think Guy Gavriel Kay for younger readers–with a wonderful main character that i really looked up to. And then there’s The Pushcart War, by Jean Merrill. The Pushcart War is just completely charming. It’s a friendly, quick-read book about a group of pushcart vendors trying to make space for themselves in New York City, opposing the aggressive truckers, and it was just plain fun while also being…actually pretty educational about urban design.

So…i know that’s super long, but y’know, asking me about favorite books is a dangerous thing to do. And i can’t emphasize enough that this is only what i can think of off the top of my head, without my bookshelf in front of me. But thank you so much for the question!

#books #asks #tagging my asks hell yeah

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starsinursa · 8 years ago

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My trip to Iceland

Hi all! I’m back in good ole’ Kansas after vacationing in Iceland for several days, so I wanted to share some of my stories and pictures! :D

I’ve placed everything under a cut for anyone who isn’t interested in my personal life. If you just follow my blog for the Supernatural goodness, no worries, friend, go ahead and keep on scrolling right past this post!

For the rest of you... (warning, very picture heavy)

So I spent about 5-6 days total in Iceland... I arrived on Sunday, March 19, and flew back home yesterday on Friday, March 24. I stayed in a hotel in Reykjavik, so I got to explore the city, but I also took several tours out-of-town.

Not sure how to format this post, so I’m just gonna do little ‘bulletin point blurbs’ about my experiences, in chronological order. Pictures included here and there, and also at the end.

The flights were about as long and mind-numbing as expected. Two hours from Kansas to Chicago, and then about six hours from Chicago to Reykjavik.

It’s interesting to see the differences between rural areas like Kansas versus massive cities like Chicago. At the airport in Wichita, I had three airport staff tell me they loved my “Everyday is Caturday” shirt and make small-talk with me. In Chicago? Not a one.

Sat in front of a Canadian veteran on the flight to Chicago, on his way home with a new service dog for his PTSD. Consequently, I learned a ton of interesting things about both the processes of training and qualifying for a service dog, and also about Canada (okay, so I never actually talked to him, I just eavesdropped on his conversation). Apparently a lot of older, retired Canadians will buy timeshares in Florida and chill there for a few months out of the year because Canadians are allowed to spend up to six months at a stretch in the U.S.? I was not aware of that (...and does it go both ways?).

Sat next to a smokin’ hot dude (seriously, he looked like Ezra Miller) with a full tattoo arm sleeve on the flight to Reykjavik. Made minimal small talk and never even exchanged names, but I did let him share my adult coloring book and gel pens when he looked super bored by hour two. We colored in companionable silence for a couple of hours. It was nice. Alas, I’ll likely never see him again, and all I have is this stunning artwork to remember him by.

This one is the artwork of my mystery plane companion.

This one is mine.

Listening to the tour guides talk in Icelandic is awesome (like 80% positive they were talking about us though). When they do speak English, it’s with a definite Scandinavian accent.

Dudes, I learned so much about Iceland. So, so much. Some trivia: Iceland is most heavily influenced by Norway and Denmark. They were under Denmark rule for quite a while and actually had the king of Denmark as their king. Also, the only animals originally found on Iceland are basically: artic foxes, some birds, and a shit ton of different whales. Puffins stay on the land for a few months during the summer to breed, too. Everything else? Originally imported. Reindeer? Imported. Sheep? Imported. The famous breed of Icelandic horses? Imported. Iceland also has some of the best water fresh from the tap, since it’s drawn straight up through the lava rock which filters it (I’m a tap-water drinker so this was awesome).

Everything was a weird mix of familiar and unfamiliar. There was a Subway restaurant right across the street from my hotel, but the whole menu was in Icelandic and they had corn as one of the vegetable toppings and the mayo tasted different? The chicken was A++ though, way better than the nasty chicken patties Subway uses in the States.

The Blue Lagoon is awesome. The water is nice and toasty and it actually DOES have that beautiful milky blue color you see in pictures because of a special kind of algae that lives in the water and you only catch a whiff of sulfur every now and then. You can also do face masks with silica mud.

The white hand of Saruman...!

So you would think you’d be perpetually cold in Iceland, right? Even with heated buildings, I kinda figured everyone would be used to the cold and so they would naturally keep the temps in their homes lower, even during the winter. WRONG. Turns out, geothermal energy provides the hot water and the central heating for most of Iceland and since there’s such a huge abundance of it, Icelanders just bask in that shit willy-nilly. Everywhere was super warm, you could NOT keep your coat on inside any buildings or even the tour bus or you’d be sweating. I spent the first three nights in my hotel room sweating my ass off, and when I finally asked, “Dear god, how do I turn down the heat?”, the answer was, “Oh, we never turn down the heat here in Iceland. Just open the window!”

Inevitably, there were a couple of occasions when I ducked my head and pretended to to be invisible when some of the other American tourists asked really dumb questions. On the other hand, I felt warm and fuzzy when all of the American tourists tipped our guides really well and thanked them genuinely and gave them contact info to get in touch if they ever visit the States. Americans: we’re loud, we’re proud, but we mean well.

Apparently tourism has really exploded there just in the last five-ten years, and it’s actually causing some strain. There’s only about 330,000 people in the whole COUNTRY of Iceland (with about 2/3rds living in Reykjavik itself), but there was about 2 million international tourists just last year alone. A lot of things are changing, a lot of construction is underway… the Icelanders seem to have mixed feelings about it. Some like the tourism because it brings in money and jobs, but some are against it because Reykjavik is basically commercializing and expanding to keep up with demand. I can understand both sides. Mostly, it makes me anxious about how millions of new tourists are going to affect these natural landscapes...and a lot of these places are very culturally important to the Icelanders, very full of heritage. Our guide described one of these places as “the heart of Iceland” and even in these days, native Icelanders feel compelled to make a trip at least annually to these places to reconnect with their history. As tourists, I felt like we were really being honored by the Icelanders sharing these places for us, and I just hope that tourists continue to earn that privilege. For the most part, all of the tourists I saw were respectful and didn’t throw trash everywhere and etc., but I also know that it only takes one person to ruin something for everyone. :/

Everything is super expensive in Iceland, the travel reviews were NOT kidding. Take the cost of something in the U.S. and basically double it. $1.50 bottle of water? $4 (or around 450 kronas). $8.50 subway sandwich? $14. Keychain that would be sold for $2.99 anywhere else in the world? $10. Normally I like to get a couple of T-shirts as souvenirs, but those were $40 a pop! So everyone in my family got a keychain and they’ll damn well be happy with it (6 keychains + 1 shot glass still ended up costing me about $80 though).

The northern lights were…underwhelming. Still 100% glad I did it, and now I can check it off my bucket list, but still. All the gorgeous photos you see of the northern lights in long green waves are captured with long exposure photography and all kinds of special equipment. In real life, they didn’t look that intense. Honestly they didn’t even look green, just whitish…like a cloud in the distance. I did finally see the lights “dancing”, which was cool, but that effect was really subtle too. If you weren’t looking and paying close attention, it was easy to miss. The lights “dancing” was kind of like looking at light coming from under the crack of a door where people keep shuffling past on the other side...just a subtle interchange of light and shadows. I tried to take pictures but they didn’t turn out at all. I did hear the northern lights were stronger a couple of nights later though, and some people got to see the green coloring.

Apparently the Icelanders are my kind of people. Aversion to dramatics and not taking shit too seriously? Check. Perpetually late to every single thing in life? Check.

If I talk very slowly and concentrate very hard, I can now correctly say Eyjafjallajökull. And the tour guide said I had the best pronunciation of any tourist so far, though. *preens* (That’s because I practiced saying that shit like hundreds of times, though. Literally. I just sat there on the bus, quietly muttering “Eyjafjallajökull” over and over under my breath like a weirdo, determined to get it right).

Do not call the Icelandic horses “ponies”. Icelanders are picky about that (...even if the horses totally do look like little fuzzy ponies).

True to form, while everyone else in the group was petting the horses, I made friends with the resident barn cat and spent ten minutes petting it instead. His name was Jamie, FYI.

Got up close and personal with a geyser when it drenched me. I watched that thing erupt three times and the water always went in the same direction. As soon as I moved locations off to the side for a better view, the water came right at me. At least the water was warm.

Learned about the Icelandic system of choosing a surname, which they still use today. They don’t pass down “family” surnames (with a few exceptions) like most of us do. Instead, they always use their father’s name as part of the surname (or sometimes their mother’s name, but not as commonly) and then ‘son’ or ‘daughter’ depending on if they’re a boy or girl. So, since John is the dad of Sam and Dean, their Icelandic names would be Dean Johnson and Sam Johnson. If John had a daughter too, she would be (firstname) Johnsdottir. Once Sam and Dean have kids of their own, the tradition continues with their own names. So if Dean has children, their names would be (firstname) Deanson for a boy, and (firstname) Deansdottir for a girl.So it’s entirely feasible in Iceland for everyone in the same immediate family to have different last names. Confusing, huh? (Sometimes the daughter’s surname has an -ar instead of an -s? Like Deanardottir instead of Deansdottir. But I have no idea when or why).

It is impossible to maintain a coffee addiction there. I like my coffee, okay? I like it in very large quantities, I need like two cups in the morning to be useful at all. But in Iceland, since everything is so expensive, a cup of coffee usually runs like $4-5. And I’m not talking about a fancy Starbucks coffee with caramel drizzle and whipped cream, either, I’m talking like just straight black coffee. But that’s not all - you don’t even get like a 16oz or 12oz cup, you get the tiniest little 8oz cup of coffee...even the gas stations coffee cups are tiny! I felt like soulless!Sam.

So apparently flying to another country and going on a week-long vacation by myself is a piece of cake, but I still get super anxious anytime I eat in a restaurant alone. Not surprising, I guess, since I’m kind of a moron. Tried some tasty beer though.

Even though I had a ton of fun, I was also really ready to get home. I missed my furbabies...and they missed me! Well, one of them. :D

My doggie, who was SO excited to see me and has been cuddling as close as he can get.

My kitty, who is pissed at me and has spent all night at the very end of the bed ignoring me.

Is...is it bad that I’ve already started looking at trips for next year? Scratch that, I wasn’t even HOME yet, I was still in Rekjyavik with two days to go, and I was already looking at trips for next year.

All in all, a very awesome, educational, and fairly relaxing trip. :D A++ would do again. If you’re interested in taking a trip yourself, please check out Gate1... they have really affordable prices (good enough that even my broke ass could go!) and they really took care of anything and looked out for us, it was such a relief.

Last but not least, here are some random pictures of the scenery. :)

The Catholic church in Reykjavik. Looks like Isengard!

IS IT WINDY OUT IT FEELS WINDY OUT

Some dumb kids stomped a word all over the snow, I have no idea what it means, so just ignore the word and look at the bad-ass crater.

They have to use these giant landrovers for traveling on the glaciers.

Famous black sand beach...because it’s old lava ash!

And finally, the best picture I will probably ever take in my natural born life.

Double rainbooow... what does it mean...?

#me #my personal life #vacation #iceland #picture heavy #my ramblings

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kmalexander · 5 years ago

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Prose Palaver with J. Rushing

So, funny enough, despite being friends with a lot of fantastic authors, I’ve never once used this blog as a platform to interview them and pick their brains about fiction, stories, and writing in general. A great big missed opportunity, right? After all, whether you’re a reader or a writer getting insight into an author’s approach can be really eye-opening. Plus, it’s always a great way to discover new writers and, of course, new books. Today I’m going to fix that!

Welcome to Prose Palaver, my new series where I’ll be interviewing fiction authors who I personally know. The goal is to do something a bit different from the standard author interview. These won’t be canned “where do you get your ideas” sort of questions. I’m hoping the tone within is more conversational, allowing us to open up and talk craft on a deeper level.

In this first interview, I’m interviewing my friend and travel buddy J. Rushing who’s debut historical fantasy novel RADIO just launched in ebook on April 4th. Jim and I have known each other over a decade now, we come from a similar background, and we’ve spent many hours drinking scotch and talking stories in those years. A former elementary teacher from Seattle, Jim now finding himself living and writing in Baden, Switzerland.

[!] Quick Note: The intent of this article was to try to regain some sense of normality as we’re all sheltering-in-place and working to flatten the curve in our communities. Because of that I specifically avoided discussion about the virus or related topics. Enjoy!

K. M. Alexander: Hi, Jim. Thanks for coming to my blog. You get the dubious distinction of being the first Prose Palaver interviewee—no pressure.

J. Rushing: Thanks for having me. You know I’d never pass up an opportunity to talk shop with you, and it’s an honor to get to be here while you smash the champagne against this new ship.

Thanks! I’m excited to launch. So, let’s talk about you. Congrats on the launch of RADIO! I bet you’re eager to get it out in the world. Tell us about it. Give us a short pitch.

Thanks. It’s been a long time coming and I’m so happy to finally give readers the opportunity to discover this world I’ve been living in for the past few years. While RADIO has a strong plot, it’s really focused on the characters. If there was one core theme for RADIO it would be struggle. The struggle against addiction, a struggle to save one’s livelihood and legacy, the struggle to work with people who are at odds philosophically but share a common goal, struggle with feelings of loss and betrayal, every character struggles with something. As for a pitch, I’m pretty happy with my back cover copy so I’ll go with that:

Amid the music, lights and energy of 1928’s Paris, something sinister pulses through the æther. The Radio of the Gods manipulates minds across the continent and its creator, the arrogant god Marduk, will sacrifice everything to keep his kind from perverting his masterpiece.

Attempted treason and bitter betrayal force Marduk to escape into a new, unknown body. Worse still, the previous owner, an opium-addicted jazz guitarist, is still inside.

Desperate, drug-addled and fighting for control, Marduk is forced to rely on the few friends he has left – and one terrifying enemy — to see his mission to fruition. If Marduk and company fail, the gods’ vain machinations will destroy everything they’ve built, including civilization itself, all made possible by his RADIO.

You’re an ex-pat living abroad, and you lived in Paris when you started writing this book. I remember you talking about the idea’s gestalt when we were coming back from a trip out to the Olympic Peninsula. How much did the city influence and inspire the world and the writing?

I remember that day vividly. RADIO started out with two basic ideas. Well, one question and one challenge to myself. The question was, What if consciousness behaved like a radio signal? As in, what if it’s external to the body rather than intrinsic? That one small question started an avalanche of ideas and concepts. As I was setting out to turn those concepts into a story, I set a challenge for myself.

Human beings are complex. No one is evil or good 100% of the time. Evil people still pet kittens and good people still wish others dead. I love it when a writer can make me truly like a truly bad character. The challenge I gave myself was, could I write a protagonist that is more than just an anti-hero, but a true asshole, and still have people like them? So far, the feedback I’ve been receiving is that yes, I can. That has been both a huge compliment and a huge relief.

As for Paris, everything about RADIO is dripping with Parisian influence. Aside from merely setting the story in Paris, I wanted to capture the true atmosphere of the city. Paris is a million things at once. So much of the media surrounding Paris only focuses on its place as a city of light and love. Paris is viewed as a gleaming jewel or a fairytale city full of beauty and wonder. The trouble is that these images are absolutely true yet only ever show half the picture. Paris is a gorgeous, romantic city from the knees up but look down and the streets are filthy and trash-strewn. It’s a city full of art, science, and literature, but it’s also a city of excess, vanity, and selfishness. It’s a city that is both fuelled and hobbled by its history. Living in Paris is as much a non-stop struggle as it is a non-stop joy. It’s the hardest place I’ve ever lived yet the most vibrant. I wanted to build a story set in the darker, dingier half of the Parisian mystique. There’s so much to explore there and it’s so often ignored.

That’s a fair point. Paris, as a character, tends to get polished up and viewed through rose-colored lenses—overly romanticized. In many instances, it’s almost more of a fantasy setting rather than a living and breathing city. How much of the Parisian culture crept into RADIO—in particular, the characters and how they behave and interact with one another?

That’s a tricky question since most characters aren’t specifically Parisian but I think there are aspects of Parisian culture present. Paris is a funny place. Most of the French stereotypes people hold in the U.S. are actually only Parisian stereotypes and a lot of those aren’t even true. For a classic example, I only had one rude waiter in almost three years of living there. Seattle or New York are much worse. But there are quite a few that do still hold up. One thing that struck me as unique and a bit odd when I moved to Paris was how survivalistic people in public all seem to be. Day to day life always seemed to be about carving out your own space and not yielding to others. Population density likely has a lot to do with that and Paris has been dense for centuries. In a city like Seattle, or Tokyo, or Edinburgh, if two people approach each other on a sidewalk, they’d each take a small step to the side to allow each other to easily pass but in Paris, pedestrians will shoulder check each other to maintain their own path. On the flip side, if you ask almost any Parisian for help, if you make your interaction at all personal, it’s like a social switch flips and they are more than willing to make time for you. I think the brusque streets yet willingness to help when called upon definitely found their way into RADIO.

Living in the city already gives one a unique perspective. How much research did you have to pour into this work? The clubs from that era really only exist as records, right? Any books you’d like to recommend that helped you out?

I tend to be very open and willing to experiment in my writing but there are a few aspects where I refuse to compromise. Most of my writing is set in worlds that are a take on our own. I only like to ask my readers to suspend disbelief over a few core details. In the case of RADIO, it’s mind control, gods, semi-immortality, and consciousness being external to the body. Past these few asks, it’s very difficult to allow myself to just make things up.

RADIO was as well researched as I could manage. At one point I swore to myself that I’d never write anything historical ever again because the self-induced pressure to be accurate was so great. I’ve calmed down since then. Everything from the music of the era, to street names, trains, and clubs, all were present in January of 1928. I can’t and won’t promise perfection but I can say that to my knowledge there are no anachronisms and all of the details are as period-accurate as I could make them. While the research was difficult and often tedious, it often yielded some amazing fruit. For instance, I discovered that the grocery store I shopped at most often while living in Paris turned out to be the site of what was probably the most terrifying nightclub in the city. If you get a chance, look up pictures of L’Enfer. It was right across the street from the Moulin Rouge in Montmartre. Trust me, the effort is worth it.

As for books and resources, the internet was my best friend. I would try to find the same information from as many sources as possible to help determine accuracy. It wasn’t a perfect system but being an ex-pat makes finding more official English language reference materials a little bit challenging. I do want to mention one book, however. In researching opium and opium addiction, it became very clear just how biased and inaccurate the various available resources were. Then I found a book called Opium Fiend: A 21st Century Slave to a 19th Century Addiction by Steven Martin. Basically, he was an opium antique enthusiast who also realized the shortcomings of the available material and decided to gather accurate, modern data by documenting his own experiences. Those experiments turned into a full-blown addiction and his book covers everything from his first antique pipes to his detoxing and withdrawals. It was important to me to make my depiction of opium use and how it affects the body as accurate and respectful as I could and this book was invaluable to me. It’s wonderfully written and I recommend it to everyone, whether or not you’re doing research.

You recommended it to me as well, and I have a copy in my TBR pile. You talk about being careful around anachronisms, and it’s funny how many writers don’t think about that stuff. But it really goes a long way toward making a place feel like a place and an era feel like an era. Paying attention to little nuances like that are essential, don’t you think? Otherwise, you risk pulling readers out of a story.

I totally agree. It’s really all about building trust. When your readers trust that you as an author, have full command over the world and characters you’ve built, they are a lot more willing to follow your lead and focus where you want them to focus. Sometimes you want them to doubt what they’re reading and when it’s by design, it can be really powerful and engaging but inaccuracies breed mistrust and when that happens, readers start to spend more time looking for other mistakes rather than enjoying the ride.

Trust is a good word for it. Along with living abroad, you’re also an extensive traveler. I’ve lost count of how many countries you’ve been to at this point—what from your travels finds its way into your work?

The last seven years have been an absolutely wild ride. When my wife was able to transfer to Paris, we sold almost everything we owned, I quit my job as a teacher, and we made a pact to explore the world as much as we could for as long as we could. We haven’t looked back.

When I travel, I often take a notebook with me (or just take notes on my phone) and I devote a little time to scene scouting as I explore both new locations and old favorites. I write down the sounds, smells, flavors, mood, and any other specific details that seem to make a given place unique. Sometimes it’s a matter of just taking mental notes but I always keep myself open. Even if I don’t plan on using the location in any current projects, I try to capture something that may prove useful. In RADIO, and really all my work, the atmosphere of a scene matters as much as any character and my research while traveling has been so helpful. Sometimes being able to describe the right smell or sound can really make a scene pop and help readers immerse themselves.

All that said, one of the most important writing lessons I’ve learned from traveling is that the world is much more similar from place to place than one might assume. I’m so lucky that I get to travel but I don’t think it’s a necessity to be able to write nuanced scenes set in far off places. We often hear the phrase “write what you know” and for a lot of topics, that can be sound advice, but I don’t think it’s very applicable to setting. The thing is, we all know a lot more about the world than we think. For instance, where I live now in Switzerland is very similar to the Pacific Northwest where I grew up and first adulted. Sure we have castles here and you have volcanoes there but seasons, weather (generally), greenery, large bodies of water, mountains, even social interaction styles, all are close enough to be easily understood and described by someone from either location. Lazy writing is always going to be bad writing but if a writer is willing to do the research, a rich setting can be built using a combination of our own experiences and a healthy dose of new learning. Everyone’s mileage will vary (pun intended) but I don’t think writers should feel limited to only their personal travel map. The world and the internet are big places, explore them.

I’ve done a more in-depth write up on the subject over at my own blog.

That’s a great point. I mean, how many people write novels set during specific periods of the past and never live during that era, you know? Research matters. Did you find that your research happened en masse, or was it something that you would dive into as you wrote?

Almost entirely as I wrote. Big picture items like opium, jazz, 1920’s slang, the city of Paris, these were always going to be important areas of study so they were researched in large chunks though I still supplemented that research as I went along. Everything else happened on a scene by scene or character by character basis. I won’t pretend that a strategy like this doesn’t slow my writing down but it just works better for me. It forces me to find the right details while I’m in the moment and inspired rather than just settling on the available details I have from past notes.

I also tend to research as I write. Especially since I’ve become more exploratory in my writing rather than sticking to a strict outline. Research is one angle, but stories—all art, really—aren’t created in a vacuum. Is there a specific set of authors or creators who have influenced your writing? I know a few just from our discussions, but let’s get specific to RADIO.

Absolutely. A lot of influences made their way into RADIO from Agatha Christie to Cormac McCarthy but the most obvious influence pertaining directly to RADIO is probably Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The dynamic between M (Marduk) the protagonist and Bernie, or Bernard as M calls him, is built off of the framework of Holmes and Watson. I say framework because I wanted Bernie to be more assertive and challenging toward M and more active in the story than Watson is with Homes. That said, I really enjoy Watson’s role as the reader’s proxy in the story and I tried to emulate that. Bernie is the moral hero of RADIO and as such, readers can attach themselves to him more than any other character. He’s the anchor just as Watson always was.

Another big influence for me is Chuck Palahniuk, specifically for both tone and his ability to make unlikeable characters likable, or at least sympathetic. A prime example of this is Victor Mancini from Choke. The bleak, stained atmosphere of Fight Club was also a big influence however The Cypher by Kathe Koja does this even better. There’s a beauty to the dark, dirty negativity in that book that really resonated with me. The Cypher has that mid-90’s David Fincher vibe, but on steroids. That aesthetic is all over RADIO to varying degrees. Fincher meets Poirot.

Hunter S.Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a clear influence for the drug scenes but not for the reasons one might expect. While his descriptions of drug trips are wild and fun, they lean toward an Alice in Wonderland-esque rabbit hole. I was more influenced by how immersive his descriptions were. You can’t read them without feeling the disorientation. My depictions are meant to be accurate but strive to be as enveloping as Thompson’s. I will add that in one early scene in RADIO, I take a few liberties with the effects of opium but there are other, fantastical circumstances involved that heighten the experience.

Lastly, I’d like to mention Katherine Dunn’s Geek Love. That book is so good for so many reasons. She did such an amazing job creating characters and a culture (in her case, a family culture) that is totally closed off to the outside world while operating in plain sight. It’s also a culture filled with humans who are unique and who fill every role from hero to villain. It’s a culture that is different, and vile, and follows its own rules. All of these elements helped inspire the Mentium, the clandestine group of gods Marduk is both a part of, and who he is his fighting to stop in RADIO.

I still need to read The Cypher. It sounds right up my alley. I’m glad you mentioned Marduk. There’re a lot of interesting choices for the gods that make up the Mentium, some obscure others less so, what made you settle on Babylon’s Marduk as the choice for the main character? I have to admit I found it a refreshing alternative over the tired Odin and Loki archetypes.

Marduk is one of the most important ancient gods in a pantheon that nobody knows about or at least pays attention to. Mesopotamian religion and others from the Fertile Crescent are the source of many of the stories from the Abrahamic religions. Eden, the flood, most of the Old Testament stories are repurposed versions from the Torah which in turn drew heavily from Mesopotamian sources. Western religions trace their roots back to Mesopotamia so it felt fitting that the central god in RADIO should come from there as well.

In many ways, that connection through history is another sub-theme that runs throughout the narrative. Music is a big part of this book, and we wouldn’t have the “pantheon” of music we see today without the explosion of jazz and the use of radio to spread it throughout the world. You’re a musician yourself and have gone as far as building your own guitars, how did that knowledge help you when you approached the musical elements of RADIO?

Music is a huge part of my life. I’ve been playing guitar since I was eleven years old and spent many years playing saxophone in middle and high school concert and jazz bands. It just made sense to have the two jazz musicians in the book follow suit and play guitar and sax. One of the most beautiful aspects of music is how, no matter how deep your understanding, you can feel it and move to it, and appreciate it. If all you understand is that you enjoyed it, wonderful. If you’re waiting on the edge of your seat for that Ab7 to finally resolve, wonderful. Both people are having a great time together. In RADIO, I tried to build the musical scenes in such a way that a layperson can still feel immersed in the music while those with more musical knowledge can dive a little deeper.

I also spent years in college playing on stage in a local rock band so the interactions between the musicians in front of a crowd and under the lights is something I have first-hand experience with. Most people have no idea what being on stage would even feel like. I made it a point to try and make those scenes as vivid as possible to give readers the chance to see what it’s like looking out at the crowd vs. up at the stage.

I think you did an excellent job, as you know I’m a jazz fan but a non-musician. That said, I thought the music scenes were evocative—you captured that frenetic energy that lives within jazz. You know, I realize he didn’t make a name for himself until about 30 years after RADIO, but you really should have referenced a Jimmy Rushing song in the book. I feel like that was a missed opportunity.

I actually have a story about him. When I was in high school, a friend of mine worked at a framing and poster shop at the mall. One day he came by my house with probably a three by four-foot poster board of Jimmy Rushing. At that time, I hadn’t seen him before and my friend was hiding the name on the poster so I was confused why I was being gifted a massive picture of a sweaty guy pouring his soul out into a microphone. I love Jimmy Rushing’s voice. He has this syrupy transition technique from phrase to phrase that is just so satisfying to listen to. I wish I still had that poster. Actually, I should check some of the closets at my parent’s house.

He’s an incredible vocalist. I’ve always dug his work with Count Basie, but I really enjoy the album he made with Dave Brubeck. Brubeck’s cool jazz piano and Rushing’s rich vocals work so well in tandem. Okay, enough jazz talk. We’ve certainly covered a lot: RADIO, Paris, research techniques, ancient religions, and so much more. I hope our discussion got my readers excited about your book and writing. I don’t want to keep you too much longer, but why not share what’s next for you?

In the near future, my focus is on getting the paperback edition of RADIO to market and continuing trying to navigate the intricacies of launching a book in the middle of a pandemic. A lot of people have a very doom and gloom outlook about publishing right now but I see our current situation as both a challenge and an opportunity. I will mention just how glad I am that I chose to self publish. I can be so much more dynamic and responsive with marketing than any big publishing house. Right now, I think that’s a huge advantage.

In the coming months I’ll be settling into a new project. While the idea of RADIO being the first of a series is a possibility, it was written as a stand-alone novel. I have ideas for sequels but they’re in their infancy and I want to wait until they mature enough to start those endeavors. In the meantime, I have a few open projects and I’m trying to decide which will fit best as my next WIP. One is a near-future post-apocalyptic series that involves both bio and eco themes. It’s more than fitting for our current state of affairs but also a bit serious. The other is a contemporary urban fantasy which, while still dark, is a lot more fun. Once I make up my mind, I’ll dive in headfirst.

I’m excited to see where you go next. I started rereading RADIO a few days ago [Disclosure: I was an early beta reader for Jim], and I can’t wait to continue. Knowing what I know, the possibility of a sequel is an interesting one. (Maybe Jimmy Rushing can still make an appearance.) Thanks for participating in the first Prose Palaver and giving us a little more insight into your process and RADIO. Good luck with the launch!

Thanks. There’s still a lot to do but I’m really excited for the work. This was a lot of fun. Thanks for having me.

Purchase RADIO

J. Rushing’s RADIO launched April 4th and is available as an eBook for any of the platforms I’ve linked below. (Paperback is coming soon, I’ve seen it and it’s real pretty.)

Kindle • Nook • Kobo

More about J. Rushing

J. Rushing is an American writer whose work blends elements of adventure, fantasy, science fiction, and horror to create worlds that feel as familiar as they do foreign.

He is a musician, amateur luthier, and former teacher who first traded the microbreweries and Cascade Mountains of the Pacific Northwest for the bustle and beauty of Paris. After nearly three years in the City of Light he and his wife settled near Zürich, Switzerland where they spend much of their time traveling and immersing themselves in the outdoors.

Jim is active all over the internet and I recommend connecting with him. You can find all the pertinent links below. Give him a follow.

Website • Goodreads

Twitter • Instagram

Thanks for reading Prose Palaver!

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jenmedsbookreviews · 7 years ago

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I won’t lie. As I write this post I am at the end of a mammoth post prep session in which I have prepared a rather small (not) 15 posts. Yes you read that correctly. 15 posts!!! Not all are original content. There is one re-post and some are quick cut and paste jobs for reviews from Mandie, but I still have to prep all the links, pictures etc, check spelling and basically stay awake. not easy given the fact that I am absolutely shattered.

Manchester and Edinburgh with work this week which allowed me to listen to a cracking audio book, but all this mucking around of y work schedule really plays havoc with my sleep patterns (when I eventually do sleep) and unsettles the dog, meaning I get treated to a middle of the night barking session which is always nice. Not. Really starting to feel my age this week.

After all of the excitement of last week I’ve very little of interest to tell you this week. I am still on a bit of a high from the whole best book blogs thing last week to be fair, at least I’m hoping that explains the light-headedness ;). This week has been mostly about work and reading though, which isn’t all bad as I’ve been needing a little down time to recharge the old batteries.

Book post wise I only got the one delivery this week but it was a very welcome one. Bad Sister by the lovely Sam Carrington courtesy of Avon Books. I loved Saving Sophie so I’m really looking forward to reading this one as I’m on the blog tour in a couple of weeks.

Oh. One bit of bookish news – I made 500 direct followers/subscribers on the blog. A big thanks to everyone who does follow and also to everyone who puts up with my record number of twonkish tweets while following me on Twitter. Your support is very much appreciated.

Book purchase wise, I was doing so well. And then I prepped Karen Cole’s book love post and ended up back on Amazon buying one of her recommendations … and a few others. I blame book love. It was nothing to do with me…

So, I ended up purchasing Kill Me Twice by Simon Booker, The Binding Song by Elodie Harper, Heroic Justice and Deadly Encounter by Mel Comley, The Language of Secrets by Ausma Zehanat Khan and Christmas at the Falling Down Guest House by Lilly Bartlett. On audible I purchased The Binding Song and Without Trace by Simon Booker.

Netgalley wise I may have picked up a few titles. Just a few. The Wicked Cometh by Laura Carlin, Class Murder by Leigh Russell, Silent Victim by Caroline Mitchell and The Deaths of December by Susi Holliday.

Reading wise I didn’t quite manage all I wanted to this week do I treat that as a fail. I managed three of my planned four books, but snuck in an audiobook on the side.

Books I have read

Now We Are Dead by Stuart MacBride

She can’t prove he did it. But she might die trying…

From the Sunday Times No.1 bestselling author of the Logan McRae series, comes a standalone spinoff featuring DS Roberta Steel.

Revenge is a dangerous thing…

Detective Chief Inspector Roberta Steel got caught fitting up Jack Wallace – that’s why they demoted her and quashed his sentence. Now he’s back on the streets and women are being attacked again. Wallace has to be responsible, but if Detective Sergeant Steel goes anywhere near him, his lawyers will get her thrown off the force for good.

The Powers That Be won’t listen to her, not after what happened last time. According to them, she’s got more than enough ongoing cases to keep her busy. Perhaps she could try solving a few instead of harassing an innocent man?

Steel knows Wallace is guilty. And the longer he gets away with it, the more women will suffer. The question is: how much is she willing to sacrifice to stop him?

Crikey. How in God’s name am I supposed to review this? One word. Brilliant. No. Actually. Two words. Bloody brilliant. I love the humour that flows through this book, no less that you would expect from Roberta Steele and her potty mouth. I really don’t know where to begin with a review but I’m going to have to figure it out as I’ve got to review for First Monday Crime. While I’m figuring that out, you can be pre-ordering the book right here.

…

Murder Game by Caroline Mitchell

A serial killer is playing a terrifying game of life or death with his victims. After he captures them, a countdown begins. He marks the time by sending clues to the whereabouts of the women he has taken in three disturbing images: alive, tortured, dead.

In a race against the clock, East London Detective Ruby Preston must play the twisted killer’s terrifying murder game and decipher the clues before more women die…

But this isn’t the first time the police have seen such a sickening crime. The notorious Lonely Hearts Killer, Mason Gatley, was put behind bars ten years ago for murdering six women in exactly the same chilling way. Desperate for more information, Ruby persuades her boyfriend, Nathan Crosby, to use his criminal connections to set up a dangerous meeting. Because to catch this killer, she needs to think like one…

But the closer Ruby grows to the dark and charming Mason Gatley, the more worried her team become. Is Mason really helping her catch the killer? Or is he lining Ruby up to be his next victim?

Fans of Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott and Peter James will be hooked by this dark and utterly disturbing thriller, packed with twists until the final page.

Oh my life. What a cracking read – quite probably the best one in the series. Sad to see the end of the Ruby Preston series but what a way to bow out, tracking down a ruthless serial killer who is murdering adulterers. It is down to Ruby to convince the killers mentor and muse, Mason Gatley to help her before it is too late. The book is released on 31st October, but you can preorder it right here.

…

Absolution by P.A. Davies

When the Militia entered the peaceful village of Nyanyar Ngun, South Sudan in 1992 – amidst the backdrop of a bitter civil war – it wasn’t in peace.

Soldiers of the SFL committed untold atrocities in that small farming village, before finally razing it to the ground. From a line of terrified children, boys were chosen to become recruits of the Militia, whilst girls were taken for selling within a market of odious buyers. Those who weren’t selected were either left to perish or murdered where they stood.

In a field of high maize next to the village, sixteen-year old Jada lay hidden and afraid, witnessing the merciless slaughter of his parents and the capture of his sister Kiden; powerless to stop it, too frightened to try.

But now – tortured by grief, consumed with shame and driven by guilt – Jada must embark on a long & arduous journey to rescue his sister from a sinister world and earn his absolution…or die trying!

A rather intriguing tale, this follows young Sudanese boy, Jada, as he tries to track down his sister, a victim of trafficking as a result of the war in Sudan. Blending two of the most heinous wars in modern history, this book will take you from war-torn Germany, to the Sudan to good old Great Britain in a tale which highlights the real atrocities of war. You can order a copy fo the book here.

…

The Binding Song by Elodie Harper

A chilling debut for fans of Mo Hayder and Sharon Bolton, THE BINDING SONG takes you on a trip to Halvergate Prison. If you’re lucky, you’ll get to leave… ‘Splendidly unsettling’ John Connolly Dr Janet Palmer is the new lead psychologist at HMP Halvergate in a remote, bleak area of Norfolk. At first, she was excited by the promotion. Then she starts to see how many secrets are hiding behind the high walls.

A string of inmates have committed suicide, leaving no reasons why, and her predecessor has disappeared – along with his notes. The staff are hostile, the threat of violence is ever-present, and there are rumours of an eyeless woman stalking the corridors, punishing the inmates for their sins.

Janet is determined to find out what is really going on. But the longer she stays and the deeper she digs, the more uncertain she feels.

Halvergate is haunted by something. But it may be a terror worse than ghosts…

Oh my life. I picked this up on a whim as I am going to hear the author on a panel at First Monday Crime in a couple of weeks. I am so glad that I did. What a chilling and atmospheric book. And such a compelling and engrossing read. I loved it. Do yourself a favour and go take a look. My review will be posted next week but don’t wait. You can order the book here.

…

Busy old week on the blog with a mixture of book love and reviews. You can find all the recaps here.

BlogTour: Fox Hunter by Zoe Sharp

London Noir by Ann Girdharry

#BookLove: Joanne Robertson

#BlogTour: The Second Son by Andy Blackman

BlogBlitz: Christmas At Hope Cottage by Lily Graham

BlogBlitz: The Girl From the Sugar Plantation by Sharon Maas

CoverReveal: @Lisalregan @bookouture

BookLove: Meggy Roussel

The Perplexing Theft Of The Jewel In The Crown by Vaseem Khan

The week ahead is pretty full on too. I have #booklove from Karen Cole on Tuesday and reviews for Elodie Harper, Vaseem Khan and Lilly Bartlett scattered throughout the week. Blog tour wise I’ll be taking part in tours for Dead Lands by Lloyd Otis and Absolution by P.A. Davies on Wednesday, A Cost Candlelit Christmas by Tilly Tennant on Thursday and The Lost Child by Patricia Gibney on Friday. Do make sure to stop by.

Have a fabulously bookish week all. I have a trip to Southampton to look forward to and a wonderful bookish get together over the weekend too, as well as lots of lovely reading.

See you all next week

Jen

Rewind, recap: Weekly update w/e 22/10/17 I won't lie. As I write this post I am at the end of a mammoth post prep session in which I have prepared a rather small (not) 15 posts.

#Rewind Recap #Weekly Round UP

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