#this one is from an anthology i picked up because it had the original spanish versions as well | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thelivebookproject · 1 year

Text

January - March 2023 | Reading Wrap Up

Hello all!

Since I'm no longer reading enough to do monthly wrap ups (much to my chagrin, life continues taking over and I'm fighting from my corner), I thought I'd do a three-month one instead 😅

Code: books read in English are in black, books read in Spanish are in red and the book I read in French is in blue.

JANUARY (1)

• Loathe to Love You (The STEMinist Novellas #1-3) - Ali Hazelwood → 3.5/5

My year began pretty disappointing, with only one book (a collection of three novellas) to show for the whole of January.

The good: very fun, fast and easy to read. It was also a buddy read with a friend, so I had someone to chat with!

The bad: all three books I've read by Ali Hazelwood have been exactly the same tropes, characters, and basically plots over and over again. Which, I enjoy them, but reading three of the same thing in a row, even if they were short, was a bit too much.

FEBRUARY (2)

• The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches - Sangu Mandanna → 4/5

• Mysteries of Thorn Manor (Sorcery of Thorns #1.5) - Margaret Rogerson → 3/5

Two very good and enjoyable books marked my February! I really enjoyed Sorcery of Thorns back when I read it in 2020 so it was nice to go back to the world for a little bit, and Sangu Mandanna's was lovely, peaceful, and a nice pick-me-up in dreary weather. I'll definitely look out for other books from the same author!

MARCH (5)

• L'Énigme de la chambre 622 - Joël Dicker → 1/0

• Los Cinco y el tesoro de la isla (Los Cinco #1) - Enid Blyton, translation by Juan Ríos de la Rosa → 3.5/5

• Otra aventura de los Cinco (Los Cinco #2) - Enid Blyton, translation by Juan Ríos de la Rosa → 3/5

• The Answer You Are Looking For Is Yes (A Witch Way Anthology #1) - Olivie Blake → 4/5

• Clara and the Devil - Olivie Blake & Little Chmura → 3.5/5

It took me THREE MONTHS to finish Joël Dicker's so I think that alone speaks for itself. I really enjoyed his Harry Quebert book when I read it back in 2016, so that's what prompted me to buy this other one, and it was just... So terrible. So, so bad. If I could rate it negative points, I would. At least I bought it second-hand in a book fair so it only cost 2€ because what a disappointment otherwise!

In happier notes, I went back to my childhood and read two Famous Five books that were around in my family's house, in their original Spanish translations. Questionable translation decisions aside (how have the times changed!), I did enjoy this little trip down nostalgia lane, which, to be entirely honest, was partly forced by my E-reader dying after seven faithful years of service... RIP.

But not all was dire, because I bought a new E-reader (an Inkbook Calypso Plus, if anyone was curious) and used it for the first time to read Olivie Blake's five romantic novellas/short story collection, which was an absolute delight. Some novellas I enjoyed more than others, but overall it was honestly really fun. While I was Olivie-ing, I also gave graphic novel Clara and the Devil (available in Webtoon, drawings by Little Chmura) a read. It was short but a bit generally unsatisfying.

And this was mostly it! On top of the Forgotten YA Gems book club over in Goodreads (wonderfully managed by Carrie), I also joined a book club in Spanish called La vuelta al mundo en 80 libros. It's managed by my good friend Cris, so if you can read in Spanish and are interested in diversifying your readings by country, do give it a try! (To be entirely honest, I haven't read anything related to any of those book clubs in 2023 yet. But hopefully soon I'll get the chance!)

How has your reading in 2023 been? Any highlights? Talk to me, since I'm barely on here and don't know what everyone is doing!

#thelivebookproject #booklr #reading wrap up #2023

9 notes · View notes

dachi-chan25 · 4 years

Text

How do months in 2020 manage to last years and yet end in the blink of an eye???

Anyway I did finish my TBR so...

1 -The Vampire Armand (The Vampire Chronicles 5) by Anne Rice

🌟🌟🌟

Sooo, this one was my least favorite the 1st time I read this series and I hoped to like it more since I wasn't finding Armand as annoying in the first 4 books but gosh I really feel Anne Rice doesn't have much love for characters that are not Lestat, cuz I feel Armand could have been intresting but the book lacks the passion and wit Anne adds everytime she writes Lestat so yeah it was pretty meh. I love the cover tho.

2.-Dead and Alive (Prodigal Son #3) - Dean R. Koontz

🌟🌟🌟🌟

I was plesantly surprised. I hadn't very high expectatives for this one cuz even though I enjoyed book 2 I thought the pacing was waaaaay too slow, the plot wasn't advancing much. But this one was super cool, it picked up inconcluse storylines from the 1st book and that CLIFFHANGER!!!! The romance between the detectives was meh, like I wish I had liked them both more but the Erikas have my heart and I want to see more of Deucalion.

3.- Wild Cards I - George R. R Martin

🌟🌟

I was so disappointed. Ok so the concept is pretty cool. Like an alien virus is set loose and it causes some people to have amazing superpowers and other people gets terrible mutations, What's not to like??? But oh my fucking god. The mysogyny of this book. I can usually read books with mysogyny like I enjoy classics like 1984 despite the rampant way in which the protagonist hates woman. I couldn't handle it here. The female characters have less dimension than a sheet of paper and they depend entirely on the male characters it ruined the whole thing for me, and the writing was mediocre at times (I mean I know this was written by multiple authors but at points the quality of the writing droped like super hard) I am not picking the next one.

4.-My Sister the Serial Killer - Oyinkan Braithwaite

🌟🌟🌟🌟

I just love horror stories where a pretty girl is the killer. Like they are so enjoyable. And this particular story is so good because we have this 2 sisters, they are very different, one is like the epítome of beauty and the other is an average woman. The pretty one literally can do no wrong in everyones eyes and that’s just fine cuz she just so happens to kill her boyfriends. Her sister who is a nurse helps her clean up and get rid of the bodies because at first she believes they were abusive towards her sister but then she starts to get suspicious and things are super cool and intresting. I feel it could have gone deeper with some stuff but it was a great and quick read.

5.- Moloka'i - Alan Brenett

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I cried so much. This book is about Rachel, a girl diagnosed with leprosy at 7 years old during the 1890's and is sent away to live at the leprosarium in Moloka'i, Hawaii. We follow Rachel as she makes friends and family and loses them all over again to the sickness as she grows older. This book was so beautiful and pretty diverse (I loved Leilani I had never seen trans representation in a 19th century book) full of history and humanity. An amazing read I fully recommend it.

6.- New Suns: Original speculative fiction by people of color - Nisi Shawl.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

I Loved it. One of my main problems with anthologies is that inevitably I find some stories better than other but that was not the case here, every story had an intresting premise and amazing writing (my fave was maybe the one with the lesbian mermaid or the one were a woman raised the death to get rid of colonizers) like I need to read more from all these authors ASAP.

7.- Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevski

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I love me some good classic. This one is really amazing , I love how much we get into Raskolinov's psyche and the things that lead him to comit the crime and the effect it has on him once he does. And all this conversation about morality and if it's ever valid to commit a crime even if it's for the "greater good" and all that good stuff about how people trapped in poverty are more likely to fall down the rabbit whole of prostitution and crime and yassssss it was good,

8.- A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I struggled like I should have known they would use the slang like in the movie (but I watched the movie in Spanish) so I was just vibing in the first few pages of the book barely understanding shit, except those words in other lenguages and then I started to pick it up and the book is so good??? Like Alex is awfull but the book actually makes a compeling argument about free will and the concept of choosing between good or evil. In general terms the movie is super accurate tho and yeah I really enjoyed this read.

9.- The Winter of the Witch (Winternight #3) - Katherine Arden

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I LOVED it. This book absolutely messed me up. Like I suffered a lot for my girl Vasya. And then all the stuff with the Bear and Morozco and the war, ahhhhh it was a LOT, but the ending was pretty satisfying, I cried tons and I am hoping we get another saga maybe following Marya this time????? I will just read anything Katherine Arden writes tbh.

10.-Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters - Emily Roberson

🌟🌟🌟

It was ok??? I wished it had been more about the sisters together as opposed to make Ariadne "not like the other girls" I am sick of that trope, and the "beautiful but doesn't know it" and less about the romance. Like the premise of retelling this greek myth as a reality show actually picked my interest but the execution wasn't that great it had lots of clichés I hate and mentioned before, what I kinda liked was that even though Ariadne had a romance she decides to start over by herself when things kinda fall apart and she is maybe open to dating another dude at the end, which honestly was a relief for me cuz I feel a lot of time YA pushes this idea that your first love is the only love you'll ever feel and that’s dumb .

11.-The Glass Menagerie - Tennessee Williams

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I really love this play, well Tennessee Williams plays in general, and aire felt like re reading this one. I love Laura so much and it was a pleasure to read this again.

12.-In the Miso soup - Ryu Murakami

🌟🌟🌟

This is a very gorey book. Lots of graphic murders and violence, mentions of the sex trade in Japan. This was a very intresting read, lots of insight into the japanese society and how this very cliché image people have of it is completely wrong. Again sex trade is heavily discused as our protagonist makes a living out of taking foreigners to experience the sex clubs in Tokyo he meets this sketchy american guy who hires him, our protagonist has a feeling he might be a murderer and it goes from there. I really enjoyed it a lot and might consider reading another book by Ryu Murakami.

13.- The Downstairs Girl - Stacey Lee

🌟🌟🌟

It was amazing to read about an asian girl in the post-civil war era, and how this minority kind of lived in a limbo cuz white people didn't think much about them when making up all this crap ass rules about where PoC where supposed to live in or sit. And our protagonist Jo, is really a charming girl with a lot of opinions and so passionate I loved her so much. It was a bit cheesy at times, and I saw the book's big reveal coming but still it was a pretty good read.

14.-En el bosque bajo los cerezos en flor - Ango Sakaguchi

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Me gustaron mucho las historias, todas realmente te meten a una atmósfera japonesa: las imágenes como las flores de cerezo, los kimonos, templos, budas. Y las mezclan con un terror por lo desconocido y lo no visto que encaja tan bien en cada una de las historias. Realmente lo disfrute muchísimo y me gustaría leer más trabajos de este autor.

15.- Agamemnon - Aeschylus

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I am weak for the greek plays. And this rocks so much. Chlymenestra is a queen, I stan her so hard. This play always makes me feel so bad for Cassandra, like how shitty is it to have the power to make super accurate predictions but no one ever believes you???

#july 2020 wrap up #booklr #dachi reads stuff

2 notes · View notes

papermoonloveslucy · 3 years

Text

ORSON WELLES RADIO ALMANAC

March 9, 1944

“Orson Welles Almanac” (1944) is a CBS Radio series directed and hosted by Orson Welles. Broadcast live in California and Arizona via CBS West Coast studios, the 30-minute program was heard Wednesdays at 9:30pm beginning January 26, 1944. Its last broadcast was July 19, 1944. Orson Welles Almanac presented readings from classic works, drama, music, sketch comedy, magic, mindreading, and personal commentary by Welles. Many of the shows originated from US Army camps where Welles entertained the troops. Welles had an ongoing battle with the program's sponsor, Mobil Oil, which shortened the life of the series. Twenty six broadcasts were produced; all but four shows have survived.

This is the seventh episode of the series, aired on March 9, 1944. Previous guests were Groucho Marx, Lionel Barrymore, Ann Sothern, Robert Benchley, Hedda Hopper, and Victor Moore. Lucille Ball would return to the series to guest star on May 3, 1944. Unfortunately, this is one of the four lost episodes.

CAST

Lucille Ball (Guest Star) was then filming Ziegfeld Follies for release in 1945. Her films Best Foot Forward and Thousands Cheer (both released in 1943) were then in local cinemas. Ball was in her fourth year of a rocky marriage to Desi Arnaz, who she would divorce in September 1944, although the papers were never officially filed. The week prior to this broadcast, Ball guest starred on Bing Crosby’s radio show “Music Hall”.

Orson Welles arrived in Hollywood in 1939 when Ball was a contract player at RKO Studios. To squelch rumors that he was a homosexual, the studio sent Lucy to escort him to a premiere to be photographed. He later recalled,

“We went to see the opening of some movie or other—I simply picked her up at her house and we went to the movie and got photographed and came home and I said ‘Good night,’ and that was the end of that. That was the end of that romance, but it was the beginning of a long friendship.”

A veteran of the theatre, in 1941 the actor / director completed his magnum opus film Citizen Kane. In the 1950s he was under contract to Desilu to film a pilot for an anthology series called “The Fountain of Youth,” which wasn’t aired until 1958 and did not result in a series. Despite that, it won a Peabody Award, the only pilot to ever do so.

On February 5, 1956 Lucy and Desi appeared with Welles on Ed Sullivan’s “Toast of the Town.” They were there to promote their film Forever Darling. Welles was there to promote his revival of his King Lear at New York’s City Center, which he initially performed in a wheelchair due to injuries to both ankles. By the time he performed it on “Toast of the Town” (aka “The Ed Sullivan Show”) Welles was using a crutch.

When the Oscar-winning actor and director was down on his luck he was invited to stay in the Arnaz guest cottage. Notorious for his drinking and rude behavior, Lucy had to find a way to politely get rid of her guest so she decided to have an episode of “I Love Lucy” written for him so she could pay him a salary. With that in mind, Desilu paid him the exorbitant sum of $15,000! Ball’s memories of Welles were mixed. “I had a real love-hate relationship with Orson,” she said towards the end of her life. “His mind was awesome…but he was also a pain in the ass.”

At the time of this broadcast (March 8, 1944) Welles’ film Jane Eyre was playing in cinemas.

Ella Mae Morse (Musical Guest) was signed by Jimmy Dorsey at the age of 14 (she lied about her age and said she was 19) and was subsequently fired after discovering the truth about her age. Her recording of "Cow Cow Boogie" was the first million-selling single for Capitol Records in 1942. Her biggest hit was "The Blacksmith Blues" released in February 1952. The song she sings here, “Shoo-Shoo Baby” (written by Phil Moore), would be heard in the about-to-be-released film South of Dixie in which she played Barbara Ann Morgan.

Agnes Moorehead (Prudence Pratt / Miss Grimace / Swoon Club Girl) was a member of Welles’ Mercury Theatre on stage and radio as well as starring in Welles’ films Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons. She is best remembered as Endora, Samantha’s mother-in-law on TV’s “Bewitched”.

Hans Conried (Colonel Peabristle / Hotel Operator / Frenchman / Dr. Snake Oil / Flat Top) first co-starred with Lucille Ball in The Big Street (1942). After being a recurring guest on her radio show “My Favorite Husband” (1948-51), he appeared on “I Love Lucy” as used furniture man Dan Jenkins in “Redecorating” (ILL S2;E8) and later that same season as Percy Livermore in “Lucy Hires an English Tutor” (ILL S2;E13) – both in 1952. The following year he began an association with Disney by voicing Captain Hook in Peter Pan. On “The Lucy Show” he played Professor Gitterman in “Lucy’s Barbershop Quartet” (TLS S1;E19) and in “Lucy Plays Cleopatra” (TLS S2;E1). He was probably best known as Uncle Tonoose on “Make Room for Daddy” starring Danny Thomas, which was filmed on the Desilu lot. He joined Thomas on a season 6 episode of “Here’s Lucy” in 1973.

The All-Star Jazz Group: Mutt Carey (trumpet), Kid Ory (trombone), Jimmy Noone (clarinet), Buster Wilson (piano), Bud Scott (guitar), Ed Garland (bass), and Zutty Singleton (drums).

John McIntire (Announcer)

EPISODE

Orson Welles introduces the episode, opening with a Household Hint by Prudence Pratt and a Wonders of Science fact by Colonel Peabristle. After the opening music and Mobil Oil sponsorship message, Welles summons his secretary Miss Grimace to tell him who is on the show tonight. She reports that it is Miss Lucille Ball, although she hasn’t arrived yet. Welles says she is filing her tax forms.

WELLES: “Can you imagine. The Government wants Lucille Ball to fill in HER form!”

Miss Grimace admits the three members of The Orson Welles Swoon Club. Welles interrogates them as to their whereabouts during his public appearances. He wants new members, promising them nylons.

Oops! Welles mis-reads the script, saying “nylon baby socks” instead of “nylon bobby sox”. He corrects himself with a laugh and says “For me, it’s booby socks!” Bobby soxer is a term for the wildly enthusiastic, teenage female fans of 1940s music, particularly Frank Sinatra.

Orson wants to know if they have gotten the new photographs he sent them. One of the Swoon Club compliments him on how he looks in his sarong - mistaking him for Dororthy Lamour in a Bob Hope / Bing Crosby picture.

Dorothy Lamour was nicknamed ‘The Sarong Girl’. In 1936 she donned her soon-to-be-famous sarong for her debut at Paramount, The Jungle Princess (1936), and continued to play similar parts through the war years and beyond. The most famous of these was in the popular Bob Hope / Bing Crosby "Road" pictures - a combination of adventure, music, and slapstick.

The Swoon Club feel sorry for Orson that he hasn’t won an Oscar, so they knit him a tie - which started out as a pair of socks.He dismisses the club.

When the 16th Academy Awards were distributed at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Thursday, March 2, 1944, neither of Welles’ 1943 motion pictures were among the nominees: Jane Eyre and Journey Into Fear, which he also co-directed and co-wrote. Welles shared a 1942 Oscar with Herman Mankiewicz for writing Citizen Kane, a bone of contention between them, since Mankiewicz later claimed he wrote the entire script. The backstory is explored in the modern film Mank (2020).

Miss Grimace reports that the Hotel Carlton is suing him. After he did a magic show there, the two rabbits ran rampant and did damage! Orson calls the hotel operator (Hans Conried) and learns that the hotel is now called the Carlton Rabbit Farm and the manager’s eyes have turned pink! Welles asks Miss Grimace to send Lucille Ball roses. Miss Grimace says they are too expensive and he should send her something simpler, like phoenicia vulgaris. Welles says no because it sounds too dirty.

Here Welles ad libs, causing Agnes Moorehead to break character and laugh. He mentions Lewis Titterton, the NBC censor and says “If you had a name like Louis Titterton anything would sound dirty. Let’s get back to the script.” They try, but it takes a moment for their laughter to subside.

A Frenchman from a reducing salon (Hans Conried) approaches him for an estimate on a new body. He measures Welles’ body with a tape measure. He was once the girdle coordinator at Bullocks basement for 15 years.

FRENCHMAN: “If a size 44 tries to get into a 38, I help push!”

Announcer John McIntire does a live commercial for Mobilgas with some driving tips.

PART 2

Before a musical introduction, Dr. Snake Oil (Hans Conried) gives a tip about dislodging a fishbone caught in the throat.

The All-Star Jazz Group plays "Bésame Mucho" ("Kiss me a lot"), a song written in 1940 by Consuelo Velázquez. It is now considered one of the most popular songs of the 20th century and of all times. It is also the most recorded and covered song in Spanish of all time.

Welles welcomes Lucille Ball to the show to studio audience applause. Welles says he’s written a sketch full of romantic love scenes. Orson improvs a commercial for a sponsor Krunchies, a noisy breakfast cereal that gets soggy in milk. He introduces...

“THE CASE OF THE BLUE BLOOD STAIN”

Orson plays Mickey, a detective on his night off, reading the evening paper. Lucy plays his adoring wife, Dora.

DORA: “Mickey, where were you last night?” MICKEY: “Don’t be silly, you know how I feel about you. You’re the eighth wonder of the world.” DORA: “Yeah, well, just don’t let me catch you with the other seven, bub!”

Lounging in bed, Dora feels a cold hand which doesn’t belong to Mickey. She screams! There’s a dead man in their bed.

MICKEY: “You know how difficult it is to find a room these days.”

Detective Mickey notes that the dead man has 18 knife wounds in him and no holes in his shirt.

DORA: “Must have been an inside job.”

They push the body off the bed and decide to turn out the lights and go to sleep. In the darkness, they hear a squeaky door.

WELLES (aside): “Fine thing, a squeaky door in an oil program!”

The audience loudly applauds this ad-lib by Welles, and even Lucy chuckles.

Dora insists there’s someone in the closet. A body falls out of the closet and onto the floor with a loud thud. Someone throws a rock through their bedroom window with a note on it.

Except the sound effect of broken glass does not happen. Welles laughs a bit but forges ahead.

MICKEY (reading the note): “Keep your mouth shut and throw a thousand dollars out of the window or you’ll never get another sounds effect...no, excuse me... or they’ll be four bodies in your room.”

Another rock comes through the window - with a sound effect this time!

MICKEY (reading the note): "PS: I’ll settle for $950.”

A knock at the front door.

MICKEY: “That must be the murderer. Come in! I’ll take that line again: That must be the murderer. Come in!”

The man, Flat Top (Hans Conried), pulls a gun on them and threatens to shoot.

DORA: “Where’s your patriotism? You can’t shoot him. Don’t you know the government is trying to save waste fats?”

During World War II, the US government urged Americans to save excess fat rendered from cooking and donate it to the army to produce explosives. Fats are used to make glycerin, and glycerin is used to make things blow up.

As gunfire rings out, Welles does a Krunchies commercial, extolling their virtues with strawberries and cream.

WELLES: “You can have strawberries and cream. What do you need Krunchies for?”

Mickey is bleeding. During the commercial, Mickey has hit Flat Top on the head and called the police!

John McIntire does a commercial for Mobil Oil. He urges motorists to keep their car oil clean to avoid repairs.

PART THREE

Welles introduces Ella Mae Morse, who sings “Shoo-Shoo Baby” backed by the All-Star Jazz Group.

The song was also heard in the 1944 film Follow The Boys aka Three Cheers for the Boys sung by the Andrews Sisters.

Welles then takes a serious tone, dedicating the show to the premise that ‘every man belongs to all men.’ He reads from “Meditation 17″ by John Donne (1572-1631).

Nunc Lento Sonitu Dicunt, Morieris. Now this bell, tolling softly for another, says to me, Thou must die.

All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated; God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but God's hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to one another. And therefore the bell that rings to a sermon calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come, so this bell calls us all; Who bends not his ear to any bell which upon any occasion rings? But who can remove it from that bell which is passing a piece of himself out of this world?

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

Welles bids the audience goodnight.

#Orson Welles #Lucille Ball #1944 #Hans Conried #John Donne #Ella Mae Morse #Agnes Moorehead #Besame Mucho #Shoo-Shoo Baby #John McIntire #CBS Radio #Dorothy Lamour #Mobil Oil

0 notes

revwinchester · 7 years

Text

Spring Break

Summary: Now that he’s in college, Sam goes on his first ever vacation but when a supernatural creature threatens his friend, Sam has to jump back into the life he had tried so hard to leave behind.

Character(s): Sam Winchester, Tyson Brady, Zach Warren

Word Count: 2478

Warnings: Language, Canon typical violence

A/N: So, I was selected to write a fic for an anthology of fanfic that’s being put together over at @spnshortstories - you should go check it out - and I wrote this piece for that but it ended up being twice the word limit (apparently, I’m a wordy bitch...) and I couldn’t figure out how to cut out half of the words without losing anything important for the story. So instead I started from scratch on that project and wrote some fun Gabriel/Trickster fluff. Now that book fic 2.0 has been submitted, you get to read the originally intended story, which is a case!fic set in the cannonverse during the time Sam was in Stanford. I also edited it to include one of this week’s SPN Hiatus Challenge prompts (thanks to @thing-you-do-with-that-thing for hosting and for the inspiration every week), which is “you’re supposed to talk me out of this” and is in bold in the fic.

TL;DR: This was written for a book and was too long so you get to read it here instead.

Spring Break -

Brady hadn’t believed his ears when Sam had mentioned he’d never been on vacation. After finally convincing his friend that it was true, Sam watched in awe as Brady pulled out his cellphone and called someone to make arrangements. He hung up less than ten minutes later and announced that Sam should find a part time job because they were going to Tijuana for spring break.

“My parents own a timeshare,” he offered as an explanation.

Sam nodded like he understood even though he had no idea what Brady was talking about.

Nevertheless, spring break rolled around and Sam was riding shotgun in Brady’s car. Brady was behind the wheel and their friend Zach was in the back seat as they made the eight and a half hour drive to Tijuana, Mexico. They crossed the border without any issues and soon enough, Brady was parking outside of a well appointed condominium.

The boys had left early in the morning so it was only about 2 PM when they arrived. They quickly unpacked the car and got changed for the beach.

As they walked toward their destination, Sam noticed dark looks on the locals’ faces. It was a look that went beyond a native person’s disdain for potentially unruly tourists but before he could think too hard about it, Sam felt himself getting pulled into a building. Apparently, Zach had decided that, since they were of legal drinking age in Mexico, the only way to start their vacation was with tequila shots. Each of the boys bought a round and the three shots in quick succession worked up a good buzz as they continued their walk to the beach.

Sam couldn’t help but notice the darkness on people’s faces again. It was a familiar look. One he had seen in so many small, no-name towns across America; one he had worked hard to forget. Sam did his best to brush it off, to ignore those faces and focus on the smiling tourists. Hunting wasn’t his life anymore, would never be his life again if he had any say in the matter. He was Sam Winchester, college student, Stanford University pre-law class of 2005, and he was sure a hunter would catch wind of whatever was happening here and come deal with it.

The three boys settled in on the beach. Sam was reading through a guide book, thinking about the next few days while Brady and Zach were trying - and failing - to pick up girls using their meager high school Spanish skills. Every so often they would splash into the water; it was still on the cold side so they never lasted log before retreating to the sunny beach to warm up. Their afternoon continued on in much the same manner until the sound of music began wafting down to the beach. The three began walking across the sand toward the road that would get them back to their condo when Zach stopped.

“You guys hear that?” Zach asked. Craning his neck around to look for the source of whatever had caught his attention. “It sounds like there’s a baby crying.”

Sam listened but all he could hear was the sounds pumping from the bars and restaurants further up the beach. “It’s probably just something in the music, man,” Sam surmised and continued his trek towards the road.

They got back to their condo and started getting ready for diner. Sam grabbed the first shower and was dressed and watching the news before Zach and Brady were ready. Sam was following along with the subtitles for the beginning of a story about a rash of missing people when Brady flipped the tv off. “You watch enough of that depressing shit at Stanford. You’re on vacation, give it up for a week!

Brady wasn’t wrong; Sam did watch a lot of news back in the dorms. He told himself it was to keep abreast of what was happening in the world but, in reality, it was a habit from his hold life that he hadn’t broken. Sam’s job had been to check tv and internet news sources for potential cases for their dad while Dean would read through any number of print news sources. Brady was right, though, this was vacation - Sam’s first vacation - he could take a break from the world.

Once all three were ready, Sam, Brady, and Zach made their way back out into the city in search of dinner and drinks. They popped into a few bars and by midnight they were stumbling towards the beach with a couple of local girls when Zach started looking around almost frantically.

“It’s still here somewhere!” When no one else helped him look, Zach turned back to his friends. “You still say you don’t hear that? There’s a freaking baby crying somewhere on the beach!”

“You’re drunk!” Brady shouted at his friend but the girl he had his around around turned to him with a terrified look.

“Take your friend home, lock him inside,” she pleaded, “and then leave this city first thing tomorrow.”

Brady turned to her. “No way! It’s spring break and we’re just getting started! Are you tired of me already?” he asked.

“My sister is afraid of an old tale our Abuela told us; a horror story,” the other girl said, rolling her eyes.

The two girls had a quick conversation in Spanish. Sam couldn’t make out much but from the girls’ faces and voices he could figure out they were talking about this story. One word was repeated a few times: “ahuizotl.”

Sam interrupted the girls, his hunter’s instincts on high alert. “I don’t think the guys introduced us back at the bar, I’m Sam,” he started, needing some kind of in with the sisters, who smiled and introduced themselves as Maria and Valentina.

Sam turned to Maria, the sister who believed her grandmother’s story. “I really love folklore and local legends,would you tell me about it? The ahuizotl?”

Valentina rolled her eyes again but Maria looked up at Sam. “The ahuizotl is like a dog but with hands. It has two hands where its front paws should be and a third, very strong hand at the end of its tail,” she explained. “It lives in the waters but hunts from small caves near the water and it lures its… las presas,” Maria turned to her sister for help.

“Prey, victims,” Valentina provided.

“Yes, it lures its victims by crying like a baby. Then it will grab them with the tail hand and swim into the water to eat their skin and nails,” Maria concluded.

Valentina laughed at her sister’s serious tone. “Don’t forget the eyeballs. Abuela said the ahuizotl's favorite was eyeballs.”

Sam could hear the teasing in Valentina’s voice and it made him miss his own brother but he pressed on. “Did your abuela ever mention how to kill it?” he asked as casually as he could. Usually he wouldn’t ask that question so quickly or bluntly but if the thing was already after his friend, Sam needed to know how to take it out. He hoped Maria and Valentina would chalk his curiosity up to the alcohol he had consumed.

Valentina looked at him like he was crazy. “It’s just a story, Sam.”

“Right,” Sam forced a laugh, “yeah. Thanks for telling it.”

They pulled Zach away from the beach, Brady assuring him there wasn’t a baby as he ushered the group towards another bar. The five of them continued with their night but a cloud was hanging over Sam now and he could see the same darkness in Maria’s face, too.

At the next bar, Maria sat beside Sam. “You look sad, Sam. I should have never told that story. My sister is right, it’s just a, um...” she searched for a word, “a tall tale.”

Sam looked her in the eye. “You don’t believe that and neither do I. This thing is after my friend and I’m gonna stop it.”

Maria smiled sadly up at Sam. “How” she asked, clearly humoring what she assumed to be the whims of a drunk man.

“I don’t know,” Sam admitted, defeated.

Sam and his friends made their way back to their condo. Brady and Zach went to bed but Sam booted up his computer and spend the rest of the night researching. When Brady stumbled out of his room the next morning, Sam still didn’t know how to specifically kill an ahuizotl but, despite that, he had a plan.

“Beach again today?” Sam asked.

Brady grunted, searching the cabinets for something. He pulled a small bag out with a tired but victorious smile. “Coffee first.”

Soon the scent of coffee lured Zach out of his bedroom, too. Instead of going back to the beach right away, the boys decided to hang out poolside at the condo until Brady and Zach were less hungover. Sam forced himself to sit still and relax, even managing to catch a nap in one of the lounge chairs.

Sam woke up a could of hours later. He was alone at the pool but he quickly noticed a piece of paper and Sam recognized Brady’s handwriting:

Needed food. Meet us at the beach, we’ll grab you lunch.

Sam scrambled up and started toward the beach, stopping in the condo and then a couple of shops and stores along the way to pick up the supplies that he needed. He thought about his brother as he shopped and all the times that Dean had convinced Sam to let someone older and more experienced handle a hunt. “You’re supposed to talk me out of this,” he mumbled, more to himself than to anyone else, though he intended the words for Dean and he wished his brother were here, now.

When Sam got to the beach, he only saw Brady. He trotted up to his friend and put his bags down in the sand.

“Morning Princess!” Brady joked. “You sleep like the dead, man. Zach tried to wake you before we left but you just weren’t having it.”

Sam laughed. He had only learned to be a heavy sleeper since going to Stanford. A hunter always needed to be on guard, even while asleep, his dad had said. “Yeah, well, I didn’t sleep much last night,” Sam admitted. “Where’s Zach?”

“Oh,” Brady rolled his eyes, “he claimed to hear that damn baby again and he went to check it out.” He looked down the beach toward a rocky outcrop. “That was about 20 minutes ago. Honestly, I figured he’d give up by now.”

“Shit,” Sam muttered under his breath. It would seem that he was out of time. He gathered up his bags before he spoke, louder this time so Brady could hear. “I’ll go take a look for him.”

Sam walked towards the rocks that Brady had looked toward earlier. When he reached them he put the bags down, donned a head-lamp style flashlight, and began assembling a makeshift blowtorch. He didn't know how to properly kill an ahuizotl but he hadn’t heard of any creature that could survive being burnt to a crisp.

Sam carefully waded out into the water, holding his weapon above his head to keep it dry as he followed the edge of the rocks. After a few minutes of wading, he was up to his waist in the sea water and he came to a point where he turned a corner and couldn’t see the shore anymore. Sam was on high alert now as he continued to follow the shape of the rock face. The rocks curved again, towards shore, but instead of seeing another part of the beach, Sam found himself in a private cove with a cave opening about 15 yards away. Sam steeled himself for a fight and cautiously made his way into the cave, flipping on the flashlight he wore on his head.

The cave wasn’t very deep and as Sam looked around his light fell onto Zach’s unconscious form. He hurried to approach his friend and free him from what looked like seaweed that was binding his hands and feet. Sam kneeled and put his weapon down on the dry rock beside Zach. He needed to get his friend out of here before the next high tide. Just as he finished ripping through the dense plants around Zach’s ankles, Sam felt something grabbing at his own leg.

Sam kicked back hard and reached for the flame thrower. He managed to disengage and turn toward his attacker just in time to see a long, strong limb dart out of the water and grab at him. Sam dodged and backed up as far as he could. He had to lure the thing out of the water if he wanted to stand a chance against it.

Luck was on Sam’s side, it seemed, and the ahuizotl followed Sam onto dry land. He threw some of the flame thrower’s fuel onto the creature as he dodged another attack from the tail hand, feinting his way behind it so that he stood between the ahuizotl and the cave’s mouth. Sam ignited the flame thrower and pointed the fire at the creature. The thing screeched and squealed but Sam used ite flames to keep it away from the safety of the water until it wasn’t moving or making any sound.

Sam flipped off the weapon and slowly approached the ahuizotl, poking at it with the muzzle of the flame thrower and making sure it was dead.

“Sam?” a familiar but scratchy voice croaked.

Sam froze in his spot. He had hoped to get Zach out of the cave, at least, before he woke up. He’d been prepared to tell his friend he’d gotten caught in a rip tide and nearly drowned. Cruel, maybe, but better than Zach knowing what had really happened to him.

Sam splashed over to his friend and tore at the rest of the seaweed that was binding him.

“What happened?” Zach asked, “and was that a flame thrower?”

Sam’s hands didn’t falter as he dealt with the rest of the seaweed and helped Zach to his feet. “Nah, man, you’re wasted,” he improvised, “this is all a tequila induced hallucination.”

Zach blinked a few times and reached out, poking Sam’s arm. “Woah, you’re really solid for a hallucination.”

“Yeah, well, you’ve got a really good imagination,” Sam lied as he led Zach out of the cave and around the rocks. Once they got to shore, Sam checked him over for a concussion. Certain that Zach was just groggy and not actually hurt, Sam decided that there were two things he needed to do. First, he needed to get Zach drunk enough that he would actually chalk the past few hours up to booze. Then he would pray that neither of his friends found themselves this close to the supernatural ever again.

Feel free to let me know if you’d like to be added onto my forever or character specific tag lists!

ALL THE TAGS! (forevers): @deathtonormalcy56 @supernaturalyobsessed @roxy-davenport @sumara62 @ginamsmith @gallifreyansass

Mooselings: @jared-padaloveme

Tags from @mrswhozeewhatsis: @mrswhozeewhatsis @vintagevalentinexx @thinkwritexpress-official @blushingsamgirl @bowtiesandapplepie @itsemmyb @ezauraemmaline @matteson-crazed @castielspahdehrah @beriala @charliesbackbitches @crzcorgi @ellen-reincarnated1967 @gryffindorable713 @deandoesthingstome @deerlululucy @walkingencyclopediaoffandom @MrsJohnSmith @manawhaat @growleytria @thegleegeneration @samtomydeanwinchester @sinceriouslyamellpadalecki @i-never-said-a-pilot @thewinchestielboys @supermoonpanda @sis-tafics @amaranthinecastiel @fandommaniacx @meganwinchester1999 @kittenofdoomage @samanddeanwinchester67 @prettyxwickedxthings @ferferelli @lilyoflothlorien @myfand0msandm0re @olitzisbae @iridianuniverse @the-morning-star-falls @shortandlongstories @strange-inhumanity @ackleslaugh @noisilyyoungpuppy @fangirling-instead-of-working @hellbentcrowley @eyes-of-a-disney-princess @roxy-davenport @chrisatplay @kayteonline @spnsimpleman @faith-in-dean @kreborn17 @mamaimpala @for-the-love-of-dean @winchesterfiesta @zanthiasplace @sleep-silent-angel @thing-you-do-with-that-thing @gadreelsforbiddenfruit @trenchcoats-and-bees @curliesallovertheplace @jencharlan @not-so-natural-spn @skybinx-blog @thebunkerismyhome @feelmyroarrrr @winchesters-princess @beachy2014 @fandom-book-nerd @leatherwhiskeycoffeeplaid @tia58 @sams-little-toy @deansleather @sunriserose1023 @jelly-beans-and-gstrings @jotink78 @everyday-supernatural-af @notnaturalanahi @howmanytuesdaysdidyouhave @supernatural-jackles @babypieandwhiskey @mysaintsasinner @chelsea-winchester @spn-fan-girl-173 @wheresthekillswitch @shelovesallthethings @iamreadinginsecret @klaineaholic @deanwinchesterforpromqueen @supernaturalismalife @pinknerdpanda @inmysparetime0 @hexparker

#spn hwc - week 4 #supernatural hiatus writing challenge 2017 #spnshortstories #supernatural fanfiction #spn fanfic #gen!fic #Sam Winchester #tyson brady #zach warren #stanford!sam #stanford sam #spring break #Sam goes on vacation #fics by Rev

13 notes · View notes

mrhotmaster · 4 years

Text

The List Of April 2020 TV Series Of Hotstar, Netflix And Amazon Is Here: Check Now

The biggest TV title of March — The Mandalorian — was gifted over fortnight early because of the (botched) beta roll-out of Disney+ Hotstar, which now launches officially Friday. Star Wars fans haven't any doubt already watched it, so you will not find it below. April also saw the return of confounding sci-fi Westworld and Jason Bateman-led Ozark for his or her respective third seasons. the previous continues through March, as is that the case for the opposite HBO series, The Plot Against America, from the creator of The Wire. Joining them in April may be a jam-packed list of latest and returning TV, and that is despite us not having the ability to incorporate some (like Killing Eve) which don't air weekly on India.

Disney+ Hotstar has five new titles — from a previous couple of episodes of recent Family to new shows featuring Cate Blanchett and Phoebe-Waller Bridge — despite not having one new Disney+ original series. Netflix also has five. Money Heist is the most-talked-about title, but there's a promise within the hands of Mindy Kaling and Vir Das, who are drawing on their own lives in a method or another. And if it's local content you're after, Amazon has two of these on offer: the return of Four More Shots Please!, and another from the house of The Viral Fever (TVF).

Here's our April 2020 TV guide, which incorporates shows on Disney+ Hotstar, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV+.

Home Before Dark

When: April 3

Where: Apple TV+

The first of two Apple originals in April is predicated on the true story of young journalist Hilde Lysiak (Brooklynn Prince, from The Florida Project) who unearths a chilly case that everybody, including her father, is trying to bury during a small lakeside town. Created by Dana Fox (The Wedding Date) & Dara Resnik (I Love Dick), and directed by Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians). Three episodes on the release date, and therefore the remaining seven weekly thereafter. Already renewed for a second season.

Money Heist

When: April 3

Where: Netflix

“The war had begun.” That's how the hit Spanish heist series ended its third season. (“Part”, to be precise. The new “Part 4” is technically the last half of the second season.) When the fourth season begins, everything is in chaos: the Professor (Álvaro Morte) thinks Lisbon (Itziar Ituño) is dead, Nairobi (Alba Flores) is somehow hanging in there, and Tokyo (Úrsula Corberó) and Rio (Miguel Herrán) have invited the army's wrath. On top of all that, an insider plans to defect.

Panchayat

When: April 3

Where: Amazon Prime Video

Jitendra Kumar (Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan) plays an engineering graduate with dim job prospects during this The Viral Fever (TVF) series, which finds him eventually picking the village council — hence panchayat — during a tiny Uttar Pradesh village. There, he struggles to handle the responsibilities and chart a far better path for his future. Neena Gupta (Badhaai Ho), Raghubir Yadav (Peepli Live!) also star.

Tales from the Loop

When: April 3

Where: Amazon Prime Video

Swedish painter Simon Stålenhag's futuristic art book of an equivalent name is that the foundation for this new sci-fi series, which tells the story of a rural Swedish town where people live above “The Loop”, a machine that has unlocked the mysteries of the universe and delivered to live things that were confined to sci-fi. Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Paul Schneider (Parks and Recreation), and Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes) star. Nathaniel Halpern (Legion) is the creator.

Modern Family

When: April 9

Where: Disney+ Hotstar

We don't usually usher in ongoing series in our TV guide, but a series finale for a long-running popular show deserves a mention. After 11 seasons and 248 episodes — the two-part hour-long finale will make that a good 250 — the once-brilliant mockumentary about the extended Pritchett clan is prepared to wrap things up. If you've never seen the show, you will need a full five days — that's 124 hours — to catch up. Sleep is for the weak (or dead?).

Run

When: April 13

Where: Disney+ Hotstar

Fleabag's Emmy-winning creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge is an executive producer and recurring star on this comedy thriller that comes from the mind of Waller-Bridge's frequent collaborator, Vicky Jones. In it, a lady (Merritt Wever, from Unbelievable) with an uneventful suburban life drops everything for a pact she made together with her college boyfriend (Domhnall Gleeson, from About Time).

Mrs. America

When: April 16

Where: Disney+ Hotstar

Cate Blanchett leads the power-packed cast — Sarah Paulson, Elizabeth Banks, Uzo Aduba, Rose Byrne, Margo Martindale, and John Slattery the others — in her American TV debut with this miniseries that tackles the story of Phyllis Schlafly, a conservative activist who opposed the Equal Rights Amendment within the 1970s. Three episodes on the release date, with the remaining six weekly thereafter.

What We neutralize the Shadows

When: April 16

Where: Disney+ Hotstar

Based on Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement's 2014 mockumentary horror comedy film, the story of 4 vampire housemates who are cohabitation for many years on New York's Staten Island continues within the second season, which can feature the likes of Mark Hamill (Star Wars) and Haley Joel Osment (Future Man) as guest stars. Two episodes on the release date, and one weekly thereafter.

Fauda

When: April 16

Where: Netflix

After airing over the New Year period in Israel on local TV, the third season of the political thriller — first announced back in December 2017 before the second season released, confirming the series' uber popularity — reaches global audiences. In it, Doron lays a trap for a determined young boxer when a months-long covert mission puts him and his team on the trail of a Hamas leader high on Shin Bet's — the Israeli equivalent of the FBI — wanted list.

Four More Shots Please!

When: April 17

Where: Amazon Prime Video

The all-women quartet — Sayani Gupta, Kirti Kulhari, Bani J, and Maanvi Gagroo — is back for more meaningless sex and rocky relationships within the second season of this romantic comedy-drama, which finds them jetting off to Istanbul and Udaipur when they are not busy living it up within the posh upscale neighborhood of south Mumbai. It stays all women behind the scenes too, with Nupur Asthana (Bewakoofiyaan) the new director, and Ishita Nandy joining her sister Rangita as co-showrunner.

The ghost within the Shell: SAC_2045

When: April 23

Where: Netflix

The Japanese cyberpunk franchise — which received a horrible Scarlett Johansson-starrer live-action adaptation three years ago — further expands with a replacement anime set within the titular year 2045, during a period of a replacement global financial crisis and a time when the planet is engulfed in an AI-driven “sustainable war.” Amidst all that, counter-cyberterrorist force Section 9 has new threats to affect.

Defending Jacob

When: April 24

Where: Apple TV+

Chris Evans (Captain America), Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey), and Jaeden Martell (It) lead the cast of this thriller miniseries, directed by Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game), that's supported William Landay's 2012 novel of an equivalent name. In it, Evans' character may be a lawyer whose teenage son (Martell) is accused of murder. Three episodes on the release date, with the opposite five weekly thereafter.

Never Have I Ever

When: April 27

Where: Netflix

Mindy Kaling delivers her own childhood experiences as an Indian-American during this coming-of-age tale, which is about in the present day and follows Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), who wants not-a-nerd boyfriend, less hair, and an invitation to a celebration, where she is going to politely decline the alcohol and hard drugs she is going to naturally be offered. Tennis legend John McEnroe drops in as narrator because he's the idol of Devi's dead father.

Penny Dreadful: City of Angels

When: April 27

Where: Disney+ Hotstar

Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones' Margaery Tyrell) and Daniel Zovatto (Fear the Walking Dead) lead the cast of this dime novel spin-off set 40 years after the events of the first in late 1930s l. a. , during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Dormer plays a shapeshifting supernatural demon and Zovatto is l. a. Police Department's first Mexican-American detective. And since this is often the late 1930s, Third Reich features a role to play also.

Hasmukh

When: April TBA

Where: Netflix

Vir Das may be a co-creator, co-writer, creative producer, and star of the sole Indian original series on Netflix in April, which follows a timid, aspiring, small-town comic (Das) who discovers that he must kill off-stage to kill on-stage. “Kill” naturally implies two very different meanings here. Das has said that the show has elements of crime mystery Dexter and comedy anthology Fargo. Ranvir Shorey (Khosla Ka Ghosla!), Manoj Pahwa (Article 15) star alongside.

Beyond April

We'll have an in-depth round-up of upcoming TV shows monthly, but we do know a good bit about the longer-term already.

Hollywood: Limited Series / May 1, Netflix

Trying: Season 1 / May 1, Apple TV+

Upload: Season 1 / May 1, Amazon Prime Video

Betty: Season 1 / May 2, Disney+ Hotstar

Billions: Season 5 / May 4, Disney+ Hotstar

The Eddy: Limited Series / May 8, Netflix

The Third Day: Limited Series / May 12, Disney+ Hotstar

Central Park: Season 1 / May 29, Apple TV+

youtube

0 notes

mysteryshelf · 6 years

Text

AUTHOR GUEST POST - Nancy Boyarsky

Welcome to

SHANNON MUIR’S THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF!

DISCLAIMER: This content has been provided to SHANNON MUIR’S THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF by the author. No compensation was received. This information required by the Federal Trade Commission.

About LIAR, LIAR

“Tough and likeable” (Foreword Reviews) Nicole Graves finds herself in the crosshairs when she reluctantly agrees to babysit a witness in a high-profile rape trial. Mary Ellen Barnes is suing her university’s star quarterback for rape when the authorities won’t act. In the court of public opinion, Mary Ellen appears to be the quintessential, pious, good girl. But her lies and mysterious comings and goings lead Nicole to suspect that she’s not what she seems.

It isn’t just Mary Ellen who’s acting suspiciously. No one wants to own up to the truth in Liar Liar, not even Nicole, whose fiancé begs her not to look into the case. But when the witness goes missing during the trial, Nicole is caught up in a tangle of lies that turns deadly. After the investigator assigned to the case fails to do his job, Nicole is determined to find the killer on her own, no matter the risks.

Guest Post by the Author

A Visit from the Bomb Squad: A Mystery Writer’s Mysterious Adventure

I was reading the paper one morning in our breakfast room, a round, domed curious feature of our 1929 Spanish-style house. This room, with its five windows, catches the morning sun and is lovely for reading the paper while eating breakfast. I happened to glance out at our front courtyard and noticed something odd sitting in the center: a battered brown paper bag with something inside it.

How odd, I thought. Had I dropped a grocery bag on my way in from the store the day before?

I went out to look. I didn’t pick it up. Something warned me to be careful. The bag was obviously recycled, its top bent inward, so I couldn’t see what was inside. I remembered airport warnings about unattended bags. So, feeling a bit alarmed, I used my toe to spread open the top of the bag so I could see what was inside. It looked like an old-fashioned doctor’s valise, but made of cheap, somewhat worn imitation black leather. I stepped back, alarm bells ringing in my head.

You have to understand. We live in Los Angeles, paranoia central. To add to this, my husband writes for several political news outlets. Politics is a fairly incendiary topic. Understandably, whether its from the left or right, he’s gotten his share of hate mail over the years — varying from insults to veiled death threats. He never takes these seriously, although I’ve worried about several of the more scary ones. He even had one framed and hung it on his office wall: “Boyarsky,” it said. “You have shit for brains.” He thought it was hilarious. I wasn’t so sure.

A more recent message really did scare me. It was from someone who seemed to have known us in our youth. It mentioned his father’s car, in which we’d gone on dates many years ago, and a lovers lane in our old home town, where some people— but not us—used to park at night. This particular message ended with a hope that throngs of people would gather around our car, set it on fire and listen with satisfaction to our screams as the car went up in flames.

OK. Back to me and the mysterious package in our courtyard. My husband was out playing tennis, and I was alone in the house, completely stumped about what action to take.

After some thought, I called the LAPD police department’s non-emergency line. I described the package and asked what to do. There was a hesitation on the part of the non-emergency operator. Finally, she passed me on to 911 emergency. A male voice came on and told me, “We’ll be there as soon as we can. Please exit your house, preferably by a back door, and come out to the sidewalk.”

There is a police station close to our house, and it was only a minute or two before I heard sirens approaching.

The cops asked me to walk to the far corner of our block and wait. I watched as police officers knocked on the door of my neighbors, evacuating the entire block. We stood crowded at the end of the block, waiting for the bomb squad.

There must be a lot of bomb threats in L.A. because it was two hours before the bomb squad arrived. Meanwhile, my husband had returned and was waiting —with all our neighbors— to get home. Since we were the owners of the house and possibly targeted with a bomb, one of cops asked if we’d received any threats.

My husband admited, somewhat modestly, that, yes, he wrote political columns for several websites. People of opposing views sometimes took exception to what he wrote. And, yes, sometimes he received threats. But, he insisted, they weren’t serious. These people were just venting. He didn’t mention the guy who’d fantasized about watching us burn alive in his father’s car. But it was certainly on my mind.

Finally, after another long wait. A member of bomb squad walked to our end of the block and asked if we knew someone named (I’ll spare her the embarrassment of actually naming her here). Sure enough, she was someone I knew from the Botanical Artists’ Guild. Instead of a bomb, the package contained photo images of flower paintings.

I was completely humiliated, even though none of my neighbors seemed to hold it against me. To them, perhaps, it had been an adventure. I don’t know. I turned the bag of art over to a friend who was still active in the guild (which I no longer was, that chapter of my life having closed). And I suppose it eventually ended up where it belonged.

I never did figure out why the woman chose to leave the package in the middle of our courtyard without calling first, or why she put her note of explanation at the very bottom of the bag. I guess some people (like me) have a more highly developed sense of danger than others (like her).

About the Author

Nancy Boyarsky is the international best-selling author of the Nicole Graves Mysteries. Her third installment of the series, Liar Liar will be published September 25, 2018 by Light Messages Publishing. The first book in the series, The Swap, received the Eric Hoffer Book Award.

Nancy coauthored Backroom Politics, a New York Times notable book, with her husband, Bill Boyarsky. She has written textbooks on the justice system and contributed to anthologies, including In the Running about women’s political campaigns and The Challenge of California. She has also written for the Los Angeles Times, West magazine, Forbes, McCalls, Playgirl, Westways, and other publications. She was communications director for political affairs for ARCO.

Nancy is a graduate of UC Berkeley with a major in English literature. She lives in Los Angeles. She can be contacted at [email protected]. Her website is nancyboyarsky.com. She is currently working on a fourth book in the Nicole Graves series.

More information about the books and me as an author:

https://www.lightmessages.com/nancy-boyarsky

https://www.nicolegravesmysteries.com/

Purchasing links:

ibooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/liar-liar/id1335396642?mt=11

amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0788BBL57?tag=lighmess-20

barnes & noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/liar-liar-nancy-boyarsky/1127685241;jsessionid=2FE45E32FEB40603192A37C7879552A7.prodny_store01-atgap03?ean=9781611532531&st=AF&2sid=CJ_8091507_NA&sourceId=AFCJM000409

kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/liar-liar-26

AUTHOR GUEST POST – Nancy Boyarsky was originally published on the Wordpress version of Shannon Muir's The Pulp and Mystery Shelf

#shannon muir #pulp and mystery shelf

0 notes