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Lina Girgis Interview
Lina Girgis is a poet and author of her thoughts past midnight. After meeting her at an author signing, she kidnly took the time to answer my questions on her journey and her poetry. Enjoy!
1. When did you begin writing?
I used to write all my life. I recently took a trip back home-my home is Egypt and moved to the US when I was 13 in 2013-this was my first trip since I left 11 years ago.
I actually found all the poetry I used to write when I was little, around 6 or 7, in Arabic. It was inspiring to see that folder and look back in the head of six year old Lina and how I expressed myself even though I didn’t know it was poetry.
So I could say I’ve been writing all my life. I stopped writing when I moved to the US because it was a drastic culture shock especially at thirteen which is already a tumultuous time period, dealing with the language difference, a new school, everything
I started writing again when I was senior year of college, around October 2021 as I was reconsidering my career in engineering along with other overwhelming things. Poety helped, I found my passion again.
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Book of the Month: 1st to Die
Well, we return to the formation of theMurder Club and wow, it’s been awhile since I read the book.
Awhile but I did remember key parts so the sequence of events and the serial killer reveal wasn’t too big of a surprise for me. Nor was it for my friend but she’s always been good at guessing the killer. She feels like a genius.
Still it was the usual Patterson mystery with quick description, tight pacing and a twisty plot. More of the appeal for me was seeing how much had changed for Lindsey Boxer since the beginning. Like the fact she spent the entire book battling a fatal anemia, concerned about her future and whether or not she’ll ever reach her goals of getting promoted, finding love etc. Just knowing it will all happen makes it surreal.
Same with seeing how young the rest of the club members feel with Cindy spunkily making her first big break when one knows that she’ll not only become a big time reporter but a big time author; Claire’s calm and cool demenour when knowing she has big traumas coming ahead; and Jill, poor Jill, I feel like she’s really forgotten as the series continued.
Same with Chris Raleigh, I completely forgot about him. Still he made a poignant emotional impact on Lindsey in the short space of time with their work-trauma bond, opening her up to the concept of love again. Could he be a rare case of male fridging?
My one nitpick would have to be with the epilogue that reveals the true mastermind behind the serial killer’s strategies. Even though the ending implies this is a real scene but the way Patterson wrote it, it felt more like a nightmare with sparse description, clustraphobic surroundings and distorted features, not a realistic ending.
Next up: Bobbie Faye’s very (very, very) bad day by Toni McGee Causey.
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Vanessa Riley Interview
Vanessa is the prolific, best-selling author of the Lady Worthing Mysteries series, Queen of Exiles, Rogues and Remarkable Women, and much more. From mystery to historical to regency, Vanessa puts strong, dynamic Black women and women of color in her novels in all their joy and complexity. She graciously took the time to answer my questions on her work. Please enjoy.
1. You have a PhD in mechanical engineering. How did you pivot to writing?
Even while pursuing my engineering career, I’ve always had a passion for storytelling. The analytical skills from my engineering background help me plot intricate stories, be adept at researching historical details, and bring additional insight into understanding how money flows in the past. My background lends to my fascination with materials and how things are made—more ways to draw a reader into appreciating the past.
Writing became a natural extension of my love for history, allowing me to explore new worlds and characters and engage readers in meaningful ways.
2. What are some of your biggest influences in writing?
My influences range from classic literature to contemporary authors. Jane Austen, Shakespeare, and Longfellow profoundly shaped my understanding of character and society. Additionally, Toni Morrison’s rich narratives and James Baldwin’s cultural insights have inspired me to delve deeper into the experiences of people, particularly marginalized people, throughout history.
3. What is it about the Regency period that has an enduring appeal for you and your audience?
The Regency period is a fascinating era of transition, filled with social and political changes. The elegance, wit, and drama of the time provide a rich backdrop for storytelling. It’s also about uncovering the untold stories of people of color who lived and thrived during this period, bringing a fresh and inclusive perspective to the genre.
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Author Highlight: Wendy Mass
In small-town Willow Falls, nothing is a coincidence.
It’s all thanks to octagerian resident, Abigail whose distinct duck-shaped birthmark and her perchant for appearing everywhere, all at once throws the lives of these kids into a tailspin on their birthdays.
For instance, Leo and Amanda, best friends literally from the day of their birth experience a groundhog day loop on their eleventh birthday.
Rory finds out that trying to rush through childhood leads nothing but problems on her 12th birthday.
Tara gets into trouble when she tries to dupe Abigail herself and must go on a town-wide scavenger hunt to find 13 gifts before her 13th birthday.
And Grace. . . well they all have to come together to figure out the secrets of this town and help Grace on her tenth birthday in order to fulfill her destiny.
I have previously encountered Mass’ writing with Every Soul a Star, a thoughtful tale that expounds on the vastness of the universe and uniqueness of each individual finding their place when she brings three disparate teens together in a coming of age tale under an eclipse.
Her Willow Falls series is much more whimsical and humorous as one can tell by the premise of each novel. It falls under the realm of magical realism with more magic as the series continues forth. Well magic mixed with physics.
But that starts getting into spoilery territory so Ill focus on the characters which are the real draw of the series. While Abigail and the town fall under the magical side, the kids are three-dimensional and realistic in their strengths and flaws.
She totally gets how kids might react in these situations from Amanda and Leo happily taking advantage of the groundhog day loop in order to fix friendship problems and skip school or Rory’s insistance on following through on her list no matter the amount of physical injuries she encounters. The kids misunderstand one another while making fun of the crazy situations they get up to.
They’re not bastions of maturity but they’re endearing in their awkwardness and confusion while trying to be supportive of their friends and the magical mishaps they are thrown into by Abigail.
I’ll admit Finally, Rory’s book feels like an outliar in the series as the magical events seem more like orchestrated coincidences but it’s the funniest so I don’t mind. It still fits as Mass continually ages up the characters and incorporates them into each other’s lives in order to bring the series to its conclusion in regards to friendships and growing up and the interconnectedness of community. Magic or not.
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Aug Books
She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs by Sara Smarsh
Who doesn’t love Dolly Parton? I mean, she can sing, has fabulous costumes, has an amusement park and still gives back to her roots. So it’s no surprise that Dolly has a few books written in her honor.
Smarsh’s book is part autobipgraphy, part music analysis and part memoir as she relates her and her grandmother’s rural experience to Dolly’s and what she represents to other demographics.
Dolly’s story is relatable yet aspirational in how she grew up poor but rose to great prominance by navigating the music indutry and gaining confidence to manage her image.
And it may sound overused but you can tell Dolly is authentic in the way she writes and the way she speaks. The big takeaway is that she knows her mind, she knows she has talent and that her heart is what matters more than her appearance. Although she sidesteps it by keeping her philanthropic efforts out of the press and poking fun at her enhanced body and hair.
This relates to her background in a big way as everyone knows that Dolly is not overtly political. Not because she doesn’t care but as an extension of her rural upbringing, she doesn’t have the fancy, Oxford definitions academics and others use to define their ideologies and speeches. Rather she lets her actions and classiness demonstrate that.
If there are three words to describe this book, it’s music, sex and God, and that’s not a bad way to live one’s life.
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Twisted Tales: Suddenly Super Review
What if Violet was an Agent of Syndrome?
This was another solid addition to the Twisted Tales series. It’s unfortunate this tale is only available out of the U.S. because Calonita does a great job on the first Pixar-based tale.
All from Violet’s POV, Calonita explores the girl’s negative feelings about her powers. Since being Super is illegal, it’s been ingrained into her to never show her powers to others. Problem is, she can’t quite control it when she turns invisible from anxiety, embarrassment or any high emotion. I mean, it’s teenage hell amplified.
Add in the fact that they’re constantly moving when Mr. Parr blows their cover, chasing his glory days, Violet wishes she was never born super. She wants to be normal.
What’s more normal than getting grounded for sneaking to a party without her mom’s permission. And almost getting exposed. But that brief bout of normality is all Violet’s gonna get. When her parents don’t return from their vague conference, Violet has an inkling that her mom’s paranoid attitude the day before might have something to it.
She certainly knows it when goons break into their house to kidnap them!
With no one else to turn to, she accepts the help of Mirage, a woman she only knows from her dad’s mess of business cards, and her boss, Syndrome. Syndrome offers Violet a chance to rescue her parents with a special bonus. To ensure that they won’t be targeted by supervillains again, he’ll help get rid of their powers.
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Summer Comics
Scout is Not a Band Kid by Jade Armstrong
Scout is obsessd with Pristine Wong’s fantasy series and when the author is scheduled to go to AlmonteFest, Scout is determined to attend. However, she needs money. Money. . . or a skill in trombone. The school band is also attending AlmonteFest for their final music competition so Scout signs up.
However, it’s not easy to fake skill at the trombone and Scout is assigned to uberserious, Type A Merrin who belittles and scolds her for her lack of interest in the instrument. Band is torture, can Scout survive the next three months?
This was a delightfully, adorkable graphic novel. Some readers may get annoyed with Scout as she causes her own problems with her laziness and disinterest in learning trombone. But she is rightfully called out by others and she soon learns to appreciate the skill and discipline involved in playing trombone and the friendships she makes with the other band kids. In fact, Merrin and Scout gave me serious Luz/Amity vibes although Armstrong did not make them go in the romantic way like in The Owl House. Still, it’s a delightful little novel.
(more…)#alexhirsch, #annaandthemysteryofthemountains, #cassandracalin, #christinadiazgonzales, #disneyhyperion, #disneyprincesses, #graphicnovels, #gravityfalls, #invisible, #jadearmstrong, #lostlegends, #middelgrade, #mulanandthepalaceofthesecrets, #pancooke, #pizzaface, #puzzled, #rachelreads&reviews, #rexogle, #rhonaclearly, #scholastic, #scoutisnotabandkid, #thenewgirl -
Truth or Dare Review
I always enjoy it when Archie comics brings the spotlight to one of the lesser-known reoccuring characters. In this case, it was Trula Twyst, my favorite adversary for Jughead with her mental mindgames. I can see why Robbins thought she was prime material for a psychological thriller in liu of Saw and Escape Room.
He has a great set-up too with his new backstory of Trula being a foster kid who’s been emotionally and physically abused to the point of being a cold, calculating maniac trying in her own twisted way to get attention.
Yes, the attention of Jughead Jones. By eliminating all his friends and classmates so they can be the ultimate power couple by forcing them to turn on one another.
Unfortunately, all this great set-up is carefully plotted only to be wrapped up in five pages. We have such intriguing secrets with Cheryl cheating on Toni, Trev and Betty making Kevin a third wheel, Reggie supplying Moose with steroids. . . and then we get no follow-up on how the revelation of these secrets will affect the friend-group.
Nor do we actually see the teens try to escape or what would have happened if they didn’t fess up their dark deeds. There were hints of danger, but no blood was actually shed as if Archie Comics felt constrained by their family-friendly reputation even though they’ve tackled horror in their horror line before.
I’m sorry to be bringing up this again but the problem is the page limit. Previous specials were able to do sixty pages but these one-shots seem to be constrained to just half and it leaves the endings to feel hollow and rushed. I don’t understand why they’re not longer.
I will say I did like having Ethel be the one to bring Trula down and reach out to her at the same time as she can understand the feelings of alienation and bullying. I just wish there was a little more from Jughead because he was barely present that new readers might not understand why Trula decided to latch on to him.
Finally, one last nitpick. I wish they gave Trula a different shade of red from Cheryl. Like I know the difference because Cheryl has straight hair and Trula’s more curly, but just differentiating the shades from straight red to some sort of auburn would have been helpful. I’m just used to her being darker.
My final review would have to be 3 stars. So much potential but rushed execution.
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Book of the Month: Lessons in Chemistry
Don’t let that gorgeous hair and sassy look fool you, Elizabeth Zott takes chemistry and cooking seriously. In fact, she takes everything seriously. She rarely smiles, and she has good reason to. Being a female scientist in the early 60s is just hell. No respect, constant comments from men and women, no one likes her because she won’t shut up and be pretty, and is smarter than them and that eats them up with jealousy, and has her work stolen and undermined all the time because even though she leads all the science teams, no one would actually believe she is that competent.
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Peter Vronsky Interview
Peter Vronsky is the foremost expert on serial killer history, and author of such books, Sons of Cain, American Serial Killers: The Epidemic Years and more. He generously took the time to talk with me about Cottingham, the state of true crime publishing and how do you define a psychopath. Enjoy.
1. What put you on the path to criminal justice history?
Technically, I’m a historian of espionage and international relations. Espionage is an offense in the criminal code, a felony. I was generally interested in the legal aspect of espionage and prosecutions. As a background, when you do a PhD, you have to do a number of fields and one of my fields was criminal justice history, particularly how the courts work in the Anglo-American system.
As a Canadian, we’re similar to the British system, and the US was a former British colony so the core principles of justice are very similar as well, although there are unique American elements to it.
But in talking about spies, I’m not talking about James Bond kind of spies that work for the government.
I’m talking about people who are betraying their own country. Those kinds of spies are very similar to serial offenders/perpetrators and their psycology is very similar to serial killers and are motivated by the same motives, so that made it helpful to writing my history books on serial killers.
The first two I wrote while I was still a student in grad school. That helped the next two books I wrote after eight years of grad school where I had a different discipline in research.
I was a college drop-out and I didn’t return to school until my forties. I earned my PHD, I defended my thesis in 2010, 14 years ago, and I’m a very young professor in that sense.
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