Blue is a Haunting Color - by Molly Dean

Eleven years ago Professor Dr. Hayden Parrish vanished without a trace during a cruise near the Caribbean island of St. Christopher. Did he somehow fall off the ship? Was he pushed? Did he commit suicide? Or might rumors be true that he faked his disappearance in order to start a new life?

And what about the loved ones the professor left behind, forced to live in a state of limbo, constantly wondering? One of these is Parrish’s now-twenty-seven-year-old daughter, Mallory, who travels to the island to seek answers and finds that each question she asks provokes more questions: Did her father conceal secrets about his youth? Who is Joanna Horne, the fellow cruise passenger who claimed to have had more than a passing acquaintance with Dr. Parrish? And why does the woman conjure up feelings of darkness in Mallory?

Mallory, while facing hostile encounters and unexpected dangers, discovers strength she never knew she had. Thrust into an exotic locale for the first time, she looks at herself and her past beliefs with new eyes. Does anyone ever really know another person, she wonders?

Cassien Le Clerq, a native islander who also lost a father to the sea, turns up one of the first clues to Hayden’s possible whereabouts. "I turn over many rocks," he tells Mallory. He also insists the island holds many secrets, though most lie beneath the haunting blue waters.

Excerpt:

“I will tell you, Mallory Parrish,” he said after a moment, “something of my life that makes me like you. When I was a child my father...he went away. He was a fisherman. He sails off into a yellow sunrise. My brother and I watch him go. It feels like any other morning. He does not look back, not even to wave. His name,” Cassien pauses, “is Elijah.

"In the evening Elijah does not return. And the next and the next. This is strange. Strangest thing that has ever happened. We go down to the dock and wait, my mother and my brothers and sisters. Night comes and we see no boats, only darkness.

‘Where is he?’ I ask Mama. ‘Where is our father?’

"My mother...she does not answer. She gives a big shrug, raises her shoulders high. I see all in the way she does this. I see the answer in her eyes. In her sad eyes. She knows in her heart we are never to see him again.

"They search. The other fishermen. The friends of the village. But find no trace, no boat, no body. There is no death. But my father, Elijah, is gone.

"And after this...our life...it is changed. We spend our time chasing Elijah. It is the way of things. We, you and I, so many people, must spend whole lives searching.”

“And once in a while the searching pays off. I mean somebody finds something,” I said in a determined voice.

Cassien sighed before answering. “Once in a while. But I will tell you this, Mallory Parrish--this island, it keep many secrets, never to let them go. And most of these lie beneath the water the tourists say is so beautiful.”

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Hillary Clinton and the Curse of the Lying Liars

My god, it's full of stars!

This will be my last serious political blog post of this election cycle.

Non-serious posts may follow.

Any attempt to make Hillary out to be a bigger lie-facer than any other politician with her longevity and career in the field is simply character-assassination. Do keep in mind, I'm not a fan of Hillary, but I generally like truth in my advertising, and this campaign has ended up with me defending/supporting Clinton far more than I would like or want. But whether it's buying into the propaganda that has been leveled at her for decades, or actively working against her, it amounts to the same thing. Politicians have an agenda, and speaking to that agenda, for personal or political ends, means making statements that at times, or from a certain point of view, can be seen as false. Are they actually lies? Sometimes. Sometimes not. This is part of the reason that PolitiFact offers a spectrum of analysis from "True" through "Half-True" to "Pants of Fire". Compare Clinton to other career politicians of the same caibre, like Jeb Bush or Marco Rubio or Chris Christie, and you'll see very similar report cards, with the majority of their statements being on the upper part of the scale of truth.

Clinton has done as any other politician would in her position and with her same goals in mind. She's crafted a narrative that support her position, at times cherry-picked elements or spun events to better suit her particular worldview, and at times misspoken, miss-remembered or conflated some statements. With all that, she has only been a "Pants on Fire" a handful of times—equivalent to any other major politician. Of course, her political enemies want to make spin a whole blanket out of those failures—no matter if they were errors of memory, cherry-picks, spins, or actual lies (yep, politicians lie). Over time, with repeated viewing, we arrive at a conclusion that could just as easily be leveled at anyone else under similar scrutiny (including you or me)—but because of the constant repetition of this narrative, without taking into consideration who is making the allegation or what their agenda might be, the public has bought into it with no better support than any other argument from repetition.

This ad nauseam fallacy has been used for a blunt-force attack, through decades of swings, which has now paid off. People regard Clinton as a liar of the highest caliber, second only to Satan or his right hand Trump (be sure to check out Trump's scorecard on PolitiFact for a real eye-opener). It's allowed discussion to be hand-waved away with a, "Well, Hillary lies, so . . ." without ever digging into the facts of the matter—whether she actually lied or unintentionally. It's become a myth of epic proportions, on the scale of anti-vaxxers or Flat Earthers. Now, no matter how much evidence if brought to the fore, how much explanation is provided, or how much reasonableness is applied, the acceptable axiom is that Hillary lies.

That is all.

Tears of Heaven - Giveaway!

Go!  Fight!  Win!

Wowee-wow-wow!  My first giveaway was over in almost 24 hours.  I had no idea there would be such amazing interest.  As such, I’m going to do a second giveaway for my first book Tears of Heaven.  If this one goes well, I may run a third for Hell Becomes Her again!

An ‪#‎AmazonGiveaway for: Tears of Heaven. NoPurcNess—Ends Aug. 18. http://ow.ly/QdyF30326mg ‪#‎urbanfantasy ‪#‎giveaway

In the past, the children of angels and humans, the Nephilim, were allowed to lead their lives as they willed. But they proved too strong, too ambitious, and too cunning for their own good. They became warlords, conquerors and emperors. They caused war and strife until the Throne stepped in and forced them to submit to Its will, or die. Unlike most of her fellows, Del, one of the first Nephilim, had no interest in conquest and domination. In the ancient past, prior to the Throne's interdiction, she met and fell in love with Dami, a Mediterranean ship captain and trader. Together, they face down pirates and storms and try to create a future together. In the present, Del unwillingly works for the Throne, obeying the commands of the angel Ahadiel. She helps to keep the world safe from the horrors of escaped demons. At the same time, she keeps herself in the Throne's good graces. Whenever a rogue demon breaks free from Hell, she and her partner, Marrin, another Nephilim, work together to banish it.

I’m definitely pulling for you to win!

Hell Becomes Her - Giveaway

See this #AmazonGiveaway for: HELL BECOMES HER NoPurchNec Ends 8-20 ttps://giveaway.amazon.com/p/fb246b02e77411cd

#urbanfantasy #readers

Angels should be a human’s worst nightmare. Del didn’t think there was anything worse than angels, or their fallen kin, demons. She and her partner Marrin helped to keep the world safe from the horrors of escaped demons for generations. But when Del’s daughter is kidnapped by a shadowy group, Del will find that the world is even more dangerous than she suspected. There are worse things than angels and demons.

I’m pulling for you to win!

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend? Why Not!

She's so broken inside!

Is anyone watching [i]Crazy Ex-Girlfriend[/i]?  While it’s uneven in parts, the majority of this sitcom is hi-freaking-larious.  We especially love the song-and-dance numbers which pay homage to, among other things “West Covina, California”, “Texmercency/Textpocalypse” and “Settle for Me”.

The series centers around Rebecca Bunch (Rachel Bloom) who, after running into her summer camp sweetheart Josh (Vincent Rodriguez III), decides to quit her high-profile legal job in New York and move to West Covina in an effort to pursue him and happiness.  Unfortunately, Josh (he of the bro-hood and thousand-watt smile) already has a girlfriend—yoga-instructor and part-time harpy Valencia (Gabrielle Ruiz).

Bloom is hi-freaking-larious and carries off the character of Rebecca with effortless grace.  The stories are clever, self-referential and fast, with the jokes flying effortlessly and (mostly) landing.  While somewhat uneven in the first season, at times actually making Rebecca sometimes unlikeable, it finishes strong with a story that is as much about mental health as it is about romance.  The show also isn't afraid to comment both on the story and on the world in general though it's multiple musical numbers.  "Boy Band Made Up of Four Joshes" hilariously reflects the "hang loose" style of Josh, while skewering the boy band style.  While my particular favorite, "Settle for Me" is a throwback to 40s/50s era musical numbers:

There really isn’t a character that we don’t like, and some that we would want to see more of.  Josh’s friend, Greg (Santino Fontana), serves as a disgruntled everyman, and his relationship with Rebecca’s neighbor, ultra-laidback and ultra-cool Heather (Vella Lovell) is a lot of fun.  Rebecca’s self-appointed best friend (and rut-stuck wife/mother/co-worker) Paula (Donna Lynne Champlin) has a wonderful arc, and some really great moments serving as both cheerleader and moral conscience.

Overall, [i]Crazy Ex-Girlfriend[/i] which has been picked up for a second season has something for everyone with a bonus of leaving you humming any of the nearly 40 catchy and funny original songs.  

Stabby-Stab-Stabberson - Parrying Daggers

Well blocked!

Let’s discuss parrying daggers.  It came up recently in an interesting discussion about female arms and armor, so it’s been on my mind.  I’m not going to go into all the various sundry how-to of sword-and-dagger combinations that can be used, as there is no real definitive conclusion on the subject.  Simply put, parrying daggers add an offensive/defensive character to a combat style in many of the same ways that shield or buckler might, while at the same time removing the added force and control of two hands on a sword or spear—also in the same ways a shield or buckler might.

This will just be a quick description of three of the most common (though not exhaustive) types of parrying-daggers from the 16^th century in Europe, when this style of fighting was at its peak when paired with a saber or rapier: swordbreakers, trident daggers and main gauche.

Swordbreakers

Despite its name, the “swordbreaker” was not intended to actually break swords. “Sword catcher” or “thrust breaker” might be a better term for what was intended.  The sturdy, short-blade with serrated teeth like a comb would be used in combination with a sword to parry and hopefully trap an opponent’s sword.  Most weapons of this era were made from strong, flexible steel and would have withstood most attempts to break them.  Swordbreakers, in comparison with other parrying daggers, were a complicated and likely expensive item that weren’t really worth the effort.  For these reasons, while they have some mention in fencing manuals and training, they weren’t as prevalent as other parrying daggers. 

Trident Daggers

This has to be one of my personal favorites mostly because this is a case, much to my chagrin, where Hollywood got it right—or at least mostly right.  Trident daggers were actually a thing.  Two spring-loaded blades are meant to jut out into a trident-like dagger, surprise the enemy, and trap the blade.  Disney’s Three Musketeers featured this weapon in the hands of Porthos (Oliver Platt), and while again it wouldn’t have broken a blade, it certainly was a real thing of which we have examples.

Main Guache

French for “left hand” this is a category for literally any dagger used to parry or thrust from the subordinate/off hand.  I’m not even certain if it’s considered a historical term.  It may simply have become the term de rigueur as meurtrière is used to describe “murder holes” and trebuchet is meant to describe any number of traction slings from around the world.  Still, the main gauche would often be a dagger specifically paired with a sword for parrying and counter-thrusts opposite, or together with, the sword hand.  From rondels to misericorde to, well, any other style of dagger.  There are simply too many to name.  But when used as an off-hand weapon, main gauche is the modern term to use.  Even the previously mentioned trident dagger is sometimes called a trident main gauche.  Go figure!

Two-sword fighting probably needs a good, bleach-based debunking (and perhaps we’ll get to that someday), but dagger-and-sword fighting generally doesn’t.  The dagger, opposite its sword counterpart (usually a rapier), was studied and developed as a style of fighting, most specifically during the Renaissance period.  This wasn’t unique to European sword fighting, as illustrated by other cultures like the Japanese daisho with a matched pair consisting of a long katana and short wakizashi (although other variations existed).

Stranger Things—A Review

What do you mean only 8 episodes!?

Netflix has really hit one out of the park with Stranger Things.  This supernatural mystery, set in the 80s, provides plenty of entertainment for audiences of all appropriate ages (probably 13 and older).  The ensemble cast brings together veterans like Winona Ryder, Matthew Modine and David Harbour alongside newcomers like Millie Bobby Brown and Natalia Dyer, crafting relatable characters who find themselves caught up in a horror story.

When Will Byers, one of a group of true nerdy kids, disappears on his way home, his mother (Ryder) becomes increasingly frantic.  Her reaction and real world fears is something any parent can relate to.  She only becomes convinced that her son is alive and somehow “trapped” when events and evidence begin to pile up.  Meanwhile, Will’s friends, played by a Goonies-inspired trio (Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin) arrive at the same conclusion when they discover Eleven, a girl with strange Stephen King-like psychic powers.  Obviously, there’s some connection between the arrival of Eleven and the disappearance of Will, but that exact nature is mostly left to the final reveal.

The 80s never looked so real.

While adhering to many of the themes of a drama-horror, Stranger Things does some wonderful things—like making its characters smart.  Those who have had some experience with the doings of a horror movie will know that in order to amp up, or hand-wave, the action, characters tend to make silly, even stupid choices given the ongoing circumstances.  That’s generally not the case with Stranger Things.  Every major character who knew, or had some idea, what was going on actively worked to protect themselves while still trying to overcome the “big bad”.  For once, there was some solid critical thinking within the rules of the story that is quite amazing.  Also, for a show set in the 80s, it doesn’t overwhelm the audience with a truckload of references.  If this show had been filmed in the 80s, likely viewers wouldn’t have been any wiser.

The overall creepy, edge-of-your-seat feel of this eight-episode series is one that will draw you in from its era-appropriate title card through to its mystery-wrapped conclusion.  Enough of the conflicts are resolved that, should it not fare well, the entire story is told.  However, there are plenty of ends loose enough that the show could build a worthwhile second season.