Guest Blogger: Author Ani Gonzalez Talks About A Current TV Fave

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Hi! I’m Ani Gonzalez and I write lighthearted paranormal romance. I love paranormal stories, genre-smashing, and humorous situations so when LD invited me to write a guest post on a television show I knew exactly which show I would pick.

Lucifer.

I didn’t have high hopes for this show. I loved Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series, and Lucifer Morningstar was one of the best characters in that series (Death, of course, was the best). Tom Ellis as Lucifer? I wasn’t really convinced. Lucifer in the comics looked more like Alexandr Skarsgard. Plus I didn’t find the concept of Lucifer as a detective particularly compelling. I’m not a big fan of police procedurals.

But I am a big fan of paranormals, particularly the ones with a contemporary feel. So, I tuned in.

And I was hooked. The show is funny and smart. I don’t find the mysteries all that interesting, but that may just be me. Like a said, I’m not a fan of procedurals.

When the series opens we learn that Lucifer has a fast care, a weird way to identify (and satisfy or manipulate) people’s desire, a nightclub (called Lux), and a surly employee (called Maze). Maze, we find out, didn’t leave Hell to become a bartender.

I feel for you, Maze.

Lucifer also has an older, angelic brother called Aminadel, a therapist, a grumpy partnership with a local police detective (Chloe) who he’s weirdly obsessed by, and a huge daddy complex.

As the series progresses, Lucifer tries to help/interferes with the local police, tries to work through his daddy issues, and builds an odd crushing/partnering relationship with Chloe.

Lucifer is snarky and funny with an idiosyncratic view of crime and punishment. The series, however, doesn’t quite figure out what to do with him. It’s not clear whether the humans around him think he’s crazy, eccentric or a real supernatural demon. We never figure out why he left Hell or why he chose Los Angeles as his new abode. It’s all very unsatisfying.

But I still I loved the series. The crimes, frankly, were not that interesting, and I could never figure out why Luci (as he’s called in the show) wanted to be a police detective. The paranormal aspects were intriguing, but were oddly relegated to the sidelines (none of the crimes are supernatural in origin). The worldbuilding, however, was great, the supporting cast was amazing, and the music was fantastic (here’s Tom Ellis singer Sinnerman. I died.).

I was pleased when I found out the show was renewed for a second season. The season finale established some great relationships (particularly between Lucifer and Aminadel and Chloe and Maze) and hinted to a stronger paranormal feel in the second season. I’m looking forward to watching it.

Did you watch the series? Did you like it? Are you sticking around for season two?

If you want to know more of my Lucifer thoughts (I’ve had many) you can check out my Lucifer recaps in my blog. If you like magic and humor you can explore my Banshee Creek series (romance and paranormal hijinks in a crazy haunted town) in my website or sign up for my newsletter and get some free books!

Logo/Picture belongs to Fox Network.

Don't forget that Ani has a couple giveaways still open on the Another Year of Books Celebration Event page... And remember - the event's GRAND PRIZE CONTEST is open until June 16th - enter today!

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What Are You...

What are you reading?

I ask this every once in a while because I truly am interested. I don’t want to simply tell you all the time what I’m reading, what I think you should read, what I think you may (or may not) like about a book, or even why you should buy it.

Every one likes different things. They read different things, watch different shows. They have different taste in music and food.

Just because I like something, doesn’t mean that you will.

So I ask what you’re reading. Or what you’re listening to. And I ask what TV shows and/or movies you’re watching.

Because I like to sample and try new things.

I like to try and watch new shows, to read new genres (or sub-genres) of books, and discover cool new songs or artists. I may discover that I just can’t get into a new show I try. I may come to decide that a specific genre of book just isn’t to my taste. That new song you love may not be as appealing to me.

But I still ask. I still try. I’m still interested. So really…

What are you reading?

         What are you watching?

                  What are you listening to?

Suggestions and Recommendations

It's SUPER EASY to submit recommendations and suggestions for review, discussion, promotion and more!!

 
Book and/or Book Series suggestions can now be submitted by filling in the short form found HERE or by emailing apalusalight@gmail.com.
 

Movie and TV suggestions should be emailed to apalusalight@gmail.com - not all suggestions can be viewed and are subject to the local availability of the shows.

Full Scene Spread

So I’ve had a lot going on for the past, well, several months.  Truthfully I went through something of a depressed stage (trying to figure out “what to do with my life now?”), that was preceded by months of a different type of depression - the kind where you do what you have to do day-to-day, but most of it barely registers except for those extremes: the joy, the bliss, the sorrow...

But most recently I’ve been in super busy mode, having finally (metaphorically) slapped myself to awareness and made myself realize that I could continue to be miserable, or I could do something about it.  So I decided to do just that.  Now my personal life is on something of an upswing, plans and actions are moving along reasonably well in that sphere, and I figured it was time to start working on that “balance” thing.  You know, shaking off the tunnel vision every once in awhile and focusing on something else.

So here I am.

Besides trying to keep up-to-date with “the favorites” on TV: Criminals Minds, Law and Order: SVU, and Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Bunheads, and Once Upon a Time - I actually haven’t been spending a lot of time watching TV.  (Not to mention that my VOD service has been spotty, and my husband has been monopolizing the DVR with Pawn Stars and Lizard Lick Towing.) But because of how busy I’ve been in other spheres of life, by the time I sit down to watch TV I’ve been lucky lately if I make it through a single episode of anything before I’m passed out, and most likely snoring in my lazy boy.

That said, if you haven’t been keeping up with Once Upon a Time - or are within the set of TV viewers that haven’t watched any of this simply amazing show - you need to take the time to GET CAUGHT UP!  Season 2 has thrown us a bunch of twists, turns and “what the?...” moments, that I honestly think makes Once one of the best dramas on TV right now.  Don’t miss out!

I’ve actually seen a handful of the newest cinema releases lately.... 

The Call - while perhaps not Halle Berry’s best movie ever, it attempts to dig in deep and hook you.  This drama/thriller(??) aims to grip you by your emotions, but mostly missed the mark.  I enjoyed it overall but it’s definitely not a movie that I’ll be clamoring to watch again... ever.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation - I was actually really excited to go see this movie.  Both my husband and I loved the first movie when it came out a few years ago, I think we may even have gone to see it twice in the theater, but sadly - Retaliation did not live up to our expectations!  The were very few, if any Joe-gadgets - something that made Rise of the Cobra a distinctive success for me, and in the end Retaliation became just another action movie.  Entertaining, but clearly lacking the WOW factor that we’d expected!

And lastly, The Croods - perhaps one of the best movies I’ve seen so far this year. (Granted there are a couple movies out right now that I’m dying to go to...) This was a fun movie that entertained everyone - from my 4-year old daughter, to her 55-year old grandma!  With Laugh-Out-Loud parts, and sweet and serious tear-jerkers, The Croods will be one pick that will definitely end up on my shelf.

Despite how busy I’ve been lately, one thing that I have spent a considerate amount of time doing is reading.  Mostly because my insomnia has been acting up again and reading is one of only a couple of compassionate activities to partake in at 3:30am.  For the most part I’ve been doing re-reads of favorite series: Jean Johnson’s Sons of Destiny series, Stephanie Laurens’ Bastion Club and Cynster series, The Highlander series and the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning, a couple of the novellas from the Carpathian series by Christine Feehan, some Lora Leigh books and some Lara Adrian.  Lots of my favorites and all stories that I would recommend to any and everyone!

Most recently I wrapped up a re-read of the entire Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward - which started and finished with reads of Lover at Last, the newest release in the series and the long awaited story of Blaylock and Qhuinn.  Because I love the BDB novels so much I’m going to leave deeper discussion of this book and it’s place and impact on the series for another time, and just say that I loved it, I recommend it to absolutely everyone and leave it at that.  For now.

In the last couple months I’ve stumbled upon a few new authors (or new to me anyways) and a couple new series that I think have a lot of future potential.  I’m going to wait and talk about them in another update too and I hope you’ll check back to find out who and what has caught my interest now!

And in Fan-Fiction news... I haven’t published anything recently, as anyone who checks or is a fan would know, but I am working on a couple things.  I’m (still) working on the next chapter for The Best is Yet to Come - this story can be alternately easy and difficult to write, and this next part to come has been one of the most strenuous parts to write so far.  Rest assured though that I have not given up on this story though, its just a [hard] labor of love.

I’m also working on a new story.  Well, it’s sort of new.  It’s basically a companion story in the An Ending or a New Beginning world.  I’ve been jotting down a bit here and there, and it’s coming along, but I have to make sure that it matches up to the timeline from An Ending or a New Beginning and that I’m not compromising the original story with anything from the new one.  That is after all one of my FF pet-peeves = when a FF-author creates a world, has a whole bunch of stories that fit into it, but constantly contradicts themselves with the details.  So I’m really trying to make sure that I do it right!

Last but DEFINITELY not least - music.  There are always songs that catch my attention, or ones that I just fall in love with right off.  This song is one of those.

Little Talks by Of Monsters and Men

It’s an amazing song, and something of a confusing, messed up video that one YouTube video likened to the ‘Tibetan Book of the Dead’... Love, love, love this song!

A Call for Suggestions

Since it’s been almost a year since I’ve posted any reviews - not that I haven’t read (literally) dozens of books, scoured the FanFiction.net archives in several different areas, watched lots of movies and hours upon hours of TV – I wanted to give everyone a chance to make suggestions and recommendations.  I’m going to get started working on some reviews, commentaries and discussions about some of the stuff I’ve taken in during the last year but I’d love to hear what everyone else is interested in too.

Here are some guidelines as far as what I can get my hands on and may be able to review:

Movies – I can more or less get a hold of any new or old movies, and as I’ve seen a few really good ones during 2012 I intend to talk about them at some point in the near future.

TV – like with movies, I can generally get my hands on any TV shows out there; though I am somewhat limited to those shows that air or are available in Canada right now.  That doesn’t mean I can’t get my hands on shows that don’t normally air in Canada but I know there can be issues with some HBO series.

Books – I can be game for anything.  Obviously my usual interests lie in romance, paranormal, sci-fi, fantasy and/or some combination of all of the above, but I can be convinced to read books and stories that are outside of those genres.

FanFiction – if you’re a writer of or just an avid fan of FF, feel free to make recommendations.  My posts about FF aren’t as common but when I find something really good or an author that I think has an intriquing style I will talk about it.

Other Stuff of Interest - and don't be afraid to suggest other interesting things you've come across that you'd like to share or have shared: new/old songs, YouTube videos, blogs, poetry, authors, places, etc.  I like neat, cool, weird, interesting things - you may just put me on to something new!

As always, you can make your recommendations and suggestions here on this blog by commenting on this post or on the specific page – Books, TV and Movies, or FanFiction.  You can also email your suggestions to: apalusalight@gmail.com

A Really Long Time... With Nothing to Say, Apparently

Image via Wikipedia

So yeah, apparently it really was a long, long time with nothing to say.  Well you know, that’s not really true either. I’ve read a lot of books, finished more fanfiction writing and reading, watched a few really, really good movies and watched a bunch of TV that was review-worthy… And I just haven’t done anything about it.  I’ve been busy and when I’ve had free time I’ve done those things that I just named above.  But hey, there are literally REAMS of things to write about now – books, movies, tv, fanfiction stories that I’ve read (from the archives) and are really awesome… Yeah.  Plenty to write about.

Will I? Fingers crossed people…

To get something appearing here with some regularity I’m going to start posting my reading lists again, either bi-monthly or weekly depending on how things go.  And though I may do more, I will post at least 1 book review monthly – sometimes for new releases and sometimes just for old favorites.  I’ve tons of ideas of what I can do, now it’s just a matter of fitting the work required to do it into the schedule of everything else that I’ll be working on or have to do with the kids now that school is starting again this week.

Ready? Set?.. LOL!

See you soon!

Another Fanfic is Finished!!

Image by missresincup via Flickr

After sitting in hiatus for almost 2 years, Bridging the Gap - a post-series fanfic for Gilmore Girls is completed! There's not much to say concerning this beyond letting you know... And pointing you in the right direction so that if you want to read it you can!

So with that in mind, CLICK HERE to go to the story!

If you read it, I hope you enjoy the story.  If you skip it... well, you're missing out!!  

Happy Reading!

Sci-Fi Friday!!

Tonight was the last episode before the season finale of SGU! Incursion gave us the first close encounter with people from the Milky Way galaxy and the Lucien Alliance gives the crew of Destiny a run for their money.

With Rhona Mitra (Nip/Tuck), Richard Dean Anderson (“Jack O’Neill”), Amanda Tapping (“Samantha Carter”), and Lou Diamond Phillips (“David Telford”) as support cast tonight, this episode was a killer. Now I'm looking forward to next week's season finale and what will happen between the Destiny crew and the Lucien Alliance... Here's a sneak peak of next weeks show!

Happy TV viewing my friends and enjoy the season finale!!!

Tonight on TV - My Fantasy, Sci-fi Fridays!

Yeah, yeah, so I've been pretty lax about updating the last couple weeks - I am going to get the next installment of Feehan's Dark Carpathians posted in the next 24-48hrs **PROMISE** - but for right now I want to make a few comments about my "fantasy, sci-fi fridays" which include (but is not limited to): Stargate Universe and Sanctuary!! [I watch these on Space channel here in Canada.]

First for Sanctuary... This is a new show for me this season, though it is currently season 2 for the series itself, and so far I am really enjoying it.  The one plus that it holds for me is that it stars Amanda Tapping, who played Samantha Carter in Stargate SG1, and has always been one of my favorite actors! The last couple of weeks has given me a crash course into the Sanctuary series and as the story continues tonight with "Hero," I'm looking forward to what will happen next for the team...


[this video is actually the trailer for Season 2 - NOT the episode for tonight!]



And for Stargate Universe... "Water" (episode 6) is on tonight and it promises another amazing show and more twists into the Destiny's destiny. I've liked this series right from the start, as I mentioned in my last post on SGU, and since then my interest and appreciation for it has only skyrocketed! Last week's episode ("Light") was an absolute wonder and now I can't wait to see what will happen next!! 


[This video is the trailer for tonights episode!]





So there's my intro for my Fantasy, Sci-fi Fridays! I may just give you an update on the episodes (after the fact), later tonight!!!! TTYL!!

A Whole New Experience: Stargate Universe

"'... It's a non-disclosure agreement. I assure you, it'll be worth your while to sign it.'

'And if I don't?'

'We'll beam you up to our spaceship.'" 

[Rush, Eli and O'Neill]

Six years ago I was living near Vancouver (British Columbia) and being new to the area I didn't have a lot of friends yet, so I was spending a great deal of time watching TV.  On one of those lonely evenings at home I happened across an episode of Stargate SG-1.  I haven't always been a big fan of science fiction or fantasy on TV or in the movies, but between the release of the first Lord of the Rings movie the previous year, and a brief sojourn in to the world of Alien (with Segorney Weaver), I was becoming increasingly interested in the genre.  For me, SG-1 was the perfect route into "weird."

The science behind the Stargate series, though complicated and advanced far beyond what we are currently capable of, is possible.  The idea that we're not alone in the universe was already one that I accepted.  Combining the two, in my opinion, was genius.  Of all the SG-teams that we've seen to date the original 4 - O'Neill, Carter, Jackson and Teal'C - are and forever will be my favorites.  It just worked out that over the next year my husband and I were able to find all of the available seasons of SG-1on DVD, and thus, our combined obsession with the Stargate franchise began.

It was around that time that Stargate: Atlantis began and Richard Dean Anderson started to pull out of the original series.  We continued to watch and to love the SG worlds, then eventually SG-1 ended and the movies were made, the Atlantis series wrapped up and we were left wondering: what next?

Stargate Universe is the answer.

Over the last several months I've searched out information about the new series - cast, plot, etc. - but no matter what I was able to find, I never really gained a clear understanding of what the show was supposed to be about.  I found a lot of speculation on forum sites, some vague (and not-so-vague) hints on Robert Cooper's blog and eventually there was some concrete info on the Stargate websites.  But when I turned on my TV to watch this first episode, I really didn't know what to expect.

I'm happy to say that after the completion of the premeire/pilot episode that I really like it. I'm looking forward to seeing more and while I'm still not entirely sure where the series, or the season, is going to go, I am interested enough to keep watching.  I was happy to see the brief cameo appearances of O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson), Carter (Amanda Tapping), Daniel (Michael Shanks) and even Dr. Lee (Bill Dow) because I'm a huge sucker for the "originals" but it was great, too, to get to see some background for the new characters. Though in getting the background, the time shifts during the episode did become a bit confusing.  They weren't always, sometimes the differences in the scenes was obvious but once in a while I couldn't quickly tell.  That being said, there are also wonderful opportunities that have been left open to learn more about the new characters too.

At this point the show is quite a bit darker, a bit more serious and more "mature" then previous SG series have been.  It does hold certain visual aspects that are reminscient of Battlestar Gallatica but it was refreshingly different from anything we've seen from the Stargate franchise before.  Will this hold for the future?.. Only time can tell, but I look forward to finding out.

Here are a few quotes from the premiere that really liked!

"This is my second spaceship, and my first was yesterday." [Eli]

"'A number of people died during the attack on the base, some I knew very well.'

'I'm sure some of them had more value then others.'

'As human beings, all of them were invaluable.'" [Rush and Chloe]

"'Have you found anything?'

'Destiny.'

'As in ours?'

'The name of the ship.'"  [Eli and Rush]

"There are just some things you never get over.  You get through them.  As best you can." [Scott]

The Vampire Diaries on the CW

I saw the previews on TV about a month ago for the Vampire Diaries and I was intrigued, enough so that I went out and bought the original book series - including the reunion (book #4). Since Twilight I've been more perceptive to 'new' Young Adult and Teen paranormal or fantasy series, so I was actually pleased to have something new to read that could compare.  And it did, compare that is.

L.J. Smith's Vampire Diaries perhaps wasn't as compelling and addictive, for me anyways, as Twilight was but the series itself and the romance between the young 'teenaged' male vampire and the human girl was, and is, an interesting read.  In reading the two different series quite close together, I found that while I read I was making a lot of comparisons between the stories.  That's probably not entirely fair to either Meyer or Smith, but I hope that they won't mind.  Smith wrote her books some time ago and the mind set of our society at the time and the driving 'plot requirements' for young adult/teen stories was different.  In many ways, I think as a society we're just maturing more quickly and also we're not quite as protective of what our youth are reading (and watching on TV).  But personally, I really liked the Vampire Diaries book series.  

I liked reading about Elena and Stefan, Damon, and all the other characters.  I liked the plot line and the color that Smith was able to incorporate into the story with flashbacks to Stefan and Damon's past.  When it comes right down to it, I liked the series as a whole and I don't think there is anything that I could complain or criticise about it.


Not so with the TV version of the same. 

 

When I saw the previews the first thing that I said to my husband was, "They've got it all wrong - Stefan is 500 years old, not 100, Elena is a blond, not brunette and Bonnie was a short redhead, not a tall-ish African American."  And that was just from the preview!  I was almost tempted to not watch the show.  I didn't want to have to rearrange my vision of what the characters looked like in my head.  I didn't want to have to adjust my vision of the town and surrounding setting.  I didn't want to have to adjust to changes in the story line.  I just didn't know if I wanted to risk watching the show and having it skew my pleasure of the book.


But I watched it anyways.  Yeah, it's different.  There's no arguing that, those differences are just to glaring to ignore.  Yet surprisingly, so far anyways, they fit.  I just finished watching the series premiere and I liked it.  For as skeptical and downright pessimistic I was about whether it would be any good, that is actually saying alot.  It's certainly not my favorite show and I wouldn't compare the TV adaptation of Vampire Diaries to the movie version of Twilight but I do like it and I will be watching next week to see more.

So once again I've been surprised by my enjoyment of something that for all intents and purposes I didn't think would be as good as it was.  It was that good, and I can only hope that the show will continue to get better as time goes by.  

Here's hoping?!?!

For more information about the CW's production of Vampire Diaries please visit the official website, here.
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I have part 2 of Feehan's Dark Carpathians nearly ready for posting, so I'll be getting that up this weekend sometime.  And a hint on it's content, one word: madness!