Although we all say this every year end, December has arrived with abnormal speed, at least this is the impression that dogged my thoughts as I sat down to write this post. Fortunately, I already had an outline written yet here I am a few days late with my November 2022 Chilling with Books Corner anyway. I love the above quote. No matter the genre everything ends up in a book or in my case, a post.
This month the spotlight is on Katherine D. Graham, an Indie fantasy author from Tennessee who also happens to be a developmental editor and a Reedsy Reviewer. She speaks Japanese, loves adventures and spending time with her family and three cats and is someone always happy to help other Indie writers. I love people willing to help people. Have a browse in the short video below for some of her work.
Contact her:
My books
Still struggling away with my edits for Unexpected Passion so I decided to take a break and play with my third book, Unexpected Celebrations. James and Julieann have a mixed history, from best friends to budding young love to irreconcilable differences they drift in and out of each other’s lives. Everyone around them knows they belong together. They know it too, but something always manages to get in the way.
I’m so sick of their behaviour. It is time for them to get their act together. This will be a stand-alone in my series Unexpected Love but expect some continuity as characters drift in and out from the two previous books and decide to interfere. Whether the outcome helps or hinders the confused couple remains to be seen.
The world around me
Just spent eight days in Melbourne with my eldest daughter and the hustle and bustle of city life had undeniable charm. Surprisingly though, I did miss Townsville a little. Small places are so easy. I travel more than twenty minutes and I’m out of town.
I am a city girl. Sydney to be exact. Loving the variety of things to see and do is inbuilt. Don’t get me wrong, I love Sydney, but Melbourne is so easy to get around that it nudges the mind into the fantasy that Melbourne is the best.
My visit included Joseph and The Technicolour Dream at the Regent Theatre and walking around in awe at the National Library. Have I mentioned food, glorious food and as a new vegetarian I appreciated the incredible variety available. Stay tuned for next month when I might have figured out how to do some sort of slide show. Australia has so much to offer, and Melbourne is definitely a must for any visitor.
Books I’ve read and Films I have seen.
Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta
A beautiful book because it has poignancy, because it prizes family and because from beginning to end, we see a growth in the grownups as much as in Alibrandi herself. We also gain some understanding of what migrant life was like in the 50s and 60s, both in changes and what has remained the same. I love this book.
How to Save a Life by Clare Swatman
Missed opportunities can change everything about us if we allow them to rule. The book is a guessing game until the very last few pages and is definitely worth a read. It has a happy ending, but that road was so bumpy that it made me sad and left me thinking.
The Belladonna Maze by Sinead Crowley
Haunting is the best description I can think of to explain both the story and the characters. I loved it. This novel also kept the audience guessing about the ending but in stark contrast to How to save a Life. I won’t say more than this, but I can tell you it brought tears to my eyes.
I found it interesting to have such strong emotions for two different books. One is a romance with at least one foot rooted in reality and the other is a ghost story challenging the concept of reality. Authors, they are truly a marvel with the games they play with our imagination.
Films
Not so long ago I watched the repeat of E.T. which I thoroughly enjoyed (see the October Chilling Corner 2022). I also made a comment about being obsessed with changes. Towards the end of the film, Elliot says, “Look at what they have done to you.” E.T. the Alien is prodded and pulled apart because of his differences. Why is it we assume differences are a threat?
I watched a film recently called Green Book which was based on a true story. African American pianist Don Shirley is chauffeured through the American Deep South by a tough Italian New Yorker – two different men who barely tolerate each other. Over the two-month tour (in the early 1960’s) and albeit unwillingly at times, they discover they are not as different as appearances would suggest.
In fact, despite the obvious skin colour, their thinking is aligned and both are more open to change than either realised. Subject to their own prejudices and forced to revise these as time progresses, they discover differences can be absorbed. Skin colour is skin colour, education is situational circumstance and genuine understanding is a human quality. I really enjoyed the film, but the reviews didn’t always match what I saw. This led to further contemplation about differences.
Differences are a part of life. It is how we react and then express those reactions that we need to reconsider but then I said something similar last post. I guess I am hopeful.
Alla prossima,
Barb
If you are feeling kindly disposed, please feel free to check out my books. I would love some more input on Unexpected Obsession before I release Unexpected Passion. Links below.
Questions for me? Want to share your views and ideas? I’d love to hear from you. A like and a comment will keep me working harder and if by any chance you have read my books or a book I have featured then please leave a review on Goodreads or wherever you originally purchased the book. It helps writers learn to be better writers.
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