Monday Fables #14: Big Bad Handsome Man

Big Bad Handsome Man - Imelda May

The man is tall, mad, mean, and good-lookin'
And he's got me his eye
When he looks at me, I go weak at the knees
He's got me going like no other guy

Chorus
Cause he's my big, bad, handsome man
He's got me in the palm of his hand
He's the Devil Divine, I'm so glad that he's mine
Cause he's my big, bad, handsome man

Oh, the music he plays, the way he moves me and sways
Rocks me to the core
When he sings in my ear, he makes me shiver and leer
Leaves me wanting more and more

Cause he's my big, bad, handsome man
He's got me in the palm of his hand
He's the Devil Divine, I'm so glad that he's mine
'Cause he's my big, bad, handsome man

Trumpet

With his rugged good looks yeah he’s got me hooked
Got me where he wants me to be
With his arms so wide, he pulls me in by his side
He’s the kind of guy that does it for me

Chorus
Cause he’s my big bad handsome man yeah
He’s got me in the palm of his hand
He’s the devil divine, I’m so glad that he’s mine
Cause he’s my big bad handsome man
Ouuuw
My big bad handsome man, yea
He’s got me in the palm of his hand
He’s the devil divine, I’m so glad that he’s mine
Cause he’s my big bad
I’m so glad that he’s my handsome man
Hhmmmm

What I Learned From 10 Queries in 10 Tweets

For those of you who don’t know, Sara Megibow is an agent at Nelson Literary Agency who represents:

Fantasy/science fiction                Juvenile fiction                 Science Fiction                 Fantasy

Romance Young Adult Middle Grade and General Romance

She also does (well, did) a weekly twitter program called “10 Queries in 10 Tweets” where she randomly went through her slush pile and talked about why she would accept or reject any given query (while maintaining the author’s anonymity).

December 3^rd marked the last of the #10queriesIn10tweets series to be replaced by something new and exciting in the coming year. She is a fountain of eternal query knowledge and advice and if you aren’t following her, you really should be.

With her permission I’ve taken a few of her sessions and compiled a sample “10 Queries” set up so you can get an idea of what she talked about.

In Which I Discuss My New Years Resolutions (and why they won't work)

So Christmas is over. It's Boxing Day here in Canada and in the UK but the brunt of the festivities are over and people must prepare to return to their everyday life - if they haven't already.

Here's a scary thought: in less than a week it will be 2013. Some people honestly believed we wouldn't make it this far and some people just laughed at them - but as each year comes to a close people everywhere resolve to make a change in the New Year, goals to improve themselves in some way. And every year, people fail. Not everyone, mind you, but New Year’s Resolutions are infamous for failing.

Monday Fables #13: Summer Wind

How ridiculously appropriate for Christmas Eve: Summer. It is Christmas Eve and I hope those who celebrate are spending the day wisely. I, myself are posting this and then heading out to volunteer as an elf at a local hospital before heading home for some last minute wrapping and family time. And even if you don't celebrate the holiday, it's a monday and the world is sort of taking a breather so enjoy the moment.

Traditional Scottish Christmas

It’s getting close to Christmas and so I thought it would be nice to sit around the fire with a cup of hot chocolate and learn a little about Scottish Christmases. This isn’t some comprehensive guide by any means; just some little tidbits to amuse you.

First of all, Christmas is celebrated on December 25^th. Christmas Eve is the 24^th and St. Stephen’s Day (also known as Boxing Day) is celebrated on the 26^th – commercially, Boxing Day is kind of like Black Friday; lots of sales.

The Christmas Tree gets its origins from Germany (Tannenbaum) and are decorated with different lights and homemade decorations like holly and tartan bows.

Christmas Dinner is filled with many dishes but some musts are (taken from How To Have a Scottish Christmas):

The Post Where I Update You On My Post-Apocalyptic Blog

I'm not even going to apologize for excessive posts this week. This close to Christmas and the end of the year, there's lots to talk about.

So...since the world did not end - though a zombie attack is still totally a viable option - I suppose I should start thinking about the new year. 2013 is fast approaching and I thought I'd take this opportunity to let you in on what's going to be happening in this new year.

First I want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has been following my blog these past few months. To those of you who commented...

You're awesome!!!! I know my blog is tiny but we're slowly growing and I really appreciate every one of you who are helping me along the way.

2013 is going to bring a few changes. I'm going to be starting a new semester at University (Shakespear, Greek Poetry, Archaeology and Chamber Choir...what) and - hopefully - a new job and possibly a new resolve to write one of the novels tumbling around in my brain box. And I'm also making one or two changes to the blog. Nothing big, just little things.

This Fairytale Lives of the Brothers Grimm (200th Anniversary)

If you look on Google today you’ll find they’ve changed their logo (as they do for all geeky/awesome anniversaries and events). It features a little girl in a red riding cloak and if you scroll through the images on the logo you’ll get her complete story. It’s the story of little red riding cap, a French tale that can be traced as far back as 1697 that was included in the original first edition of Children’s and Household Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Today (December 20^th 2012) marks the 200^th anniversary of the Brothers Grimm publishing their first collection of fairytales. The first of many.  Over the years the tales they collected have been warped and twisted so that you can barely see where it began but like any good story, there is a beginning to the tale of the Brothers Grimm.

The Importance of Fairytales by Anna Meade

As part of the fairytales collection week, I got the Fairy Queen herself, Anna Meade to talk about the importance of fairytales. How awesome is that? So without further ado, I present (with a flourish) Anna Meade!

Retelling Tales: Fairytales with a modern twist

Everyone nowadays has seen - or at least heard of - NBC's Grimm and ABCs Once Upon a Time as today's example of modern day fairytale retellings. Although they take very different approaches to storytelling, the both centre around a world where fairytales are real. It seems that these two shows have started a fad in hollywood of fairytale retellings with movies like "Mirror, Mirror" and "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters" but really, we've been retelling tales since the tales were told - and yes, that was the cheesiest line I could come up with. 

 

In fact, the Brothers Grimm are just retelling tales and folk lore that have been around for centuries but I'm getting a little ahead of myself. These are the modern fairytale retellings from books to movies to television, OUAT and Grimm are just two in a long list of tales retold. And this list I'm providing is just a sampling.

Monday Fables #12: Best Safety Lies in Fear

In honour of 'Fairytale Week' I've got a somewhat fairytale-esque story that was written several years ago. It was inspired, actually, by J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan - which I don't consider a fairytale but it's still one of my favourite stories ever. If you've written a fairy tale, let me know; I'd love to read it!

Fairytale Week: The Week I Went Insane

So this entire week is going to be a bit of a cry for help on my part. I am going to make myself go crazy for the simple reason that I love you guys that much. This week marks to 200th anniversary of the Brother's Grimm publishing their first anthology "Children's and Household Tales" and some of you may be like "why should I care?" and you don't have to but I love fairytales so of course I really wanted to celebrate with you. So all week (well actually just Monday-Thursday) I'm bringing you something Fairytale themed.

Monday: It's still Monday Fables but I'm sharing with you a fairy-like story I wrote about a year ago.
Tuesday: The world is latched on to the fairytale remake idea so we're going to go through some of them and their pros and cons.
Wednesday: Anna Meade, the fairy queen, is coming on to talk about the importance of fairytales.
Thursday: Marking the 200th Anniversary with a little history fo the Brother's Grimm.
Friday: No more fairytales but I've got an update on the coming new year - should we make it that long...
Saturday: In co-ordination with my other blog Aiden's Angels I'm talking about the Traditional Scottish Christmas.

So, lot's to look forward to this week. The reason I'm going insane is because I have my final exams this week and I haven't finished writing christmas stories for the people who are getting short stories for Christmas. Lot's of craziness for me, lot's of awesomeness for you guys.

Enjoy!

Fantasy: A Guest Post by Virginia McKevitt

Today we have the fabulous Virginia McKevitt, author of The Secret Enemy Saga, here to talk about what fantasy means to her.

Writing Contemporary Horror: A Guest Post by Mike Robinson

I'm very excited because today I have the brilliant Mike Robinson author of Green Eyed Monster here to talk about Writing Contemporary Horror Fiction. Last week, I reviewed his book so you can check that out in the archives. How many of you guys are fans of horror? Do you have any favourite books?

Monday Fables #11: Endless Night

Endless Night – The Lion King

Where has the starlight gone?
Dark is the day
How can I find my way home?

Home is an empty dream
Lost to the night
Father, I feel so alone

You promised you'd be there
Whenever I needed you
Whenever I call your name
You're not anywhere

I'm trying to hold on
Just waiting to hear your voice
One word, just a word will do
To end this nightmare

When will the dawning break
Oh endless night
Sleepless I dream of the day

When you were by my side
Guiding my path
Father, I can't find the way

You promised you'd be there
Whenever I needed you
Whenever I call your name
You're not anywhere

I'm trying to hold on
Just waiting to hear your voice
One word, just a word will do
To end this nightmare

I know that the night must end
And that the sun will rise
And that the sun will rise

I know that the clouds must clear
And that the sun will shine
And that the sun will shine

I know that the night must end
And that the sun will rise
And that the sun will rise
I know that the clouds must clear
And that the sun will shine
And that the sun will shine
(Repeat to end)

I know
Yes, I know
The sun will rise
Yes, I know
I know
The clouds must clear

I know that the night must end
I know that the sun will rise
And I'll hear your voice deep inside

I know that the night must end
And that the clouds must clear
The sun
The sun will rise
The sun
The sun will rise

Review of Automatic Woman by Nathan L. Yocum (And Giveaway)

Automatic Woman by Nathan L. Yocum

Review of Green Eyed Monster by Mike Robinson

At the end of October “Green Eyed Monster” by Mike Robinson was released and as part of the blog tour I got my hands on the book and I devoured it in the span of a weekend. I love it so much in fact that I got myself two slots on the blog tour so we’ll be back next week with more. This week, however, you get my review of the book.

Martin Smith and John Becker: bestselling authors with ordinary names and extraordinary minds.

Their words have power — to heal, to kill, to change the lives of their “characters” in shocking and unexpected ways. Famous for their uncanny similarity in both physical manner and literary voice, their childhood rivalry spins out of control into adulhood.

The death of one at the hands of the other brings to light their troubling past — and a mysterious presence, watching on from the shadows — an authorial entity with roots beyond our time or dimension; an entity with far-reaching designs.

The pen is truly mightier than the deadliest sword.

Monday Fables #10: Like a River

Holy crap! Ten? How have I done ten of these? Wow. Well I'm still thinking of what to replace this with in the new year so if you have suggestions let me know.

Both this song and the piece I wrote are about goodbyes between a couple but they're different goodbyes but no matter the circummstance, saying goodbye to someone you love is always so hard. Are there an goodbye stories you're willing to share?