Michael M. Jones (Author of Scheherazade's Facade)

Michael Jones liked Andrea Blythe's review of Scheherazade's Facade: Fantastical Tales of Gender Bending, Cross-Dressing, and Transformation:

Scheherazade's Facade by Michael M. Jones

" 32. [Scheherazade's Facade]: Fantastical Tales of Gender Bending, Cross-Dressing, and Transformation, edited by Michael M. Jones (****1/2)
Category: Unicorns from Space! (Part I)

As the title suggests, this anthology features fantasy stories with ch... " Read more of this review »

Michael Jones added a status update: You Bet Your Soul: Casino Infernale by Simon R. Green | Tor.com http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/06/book...

Michael Jones liked Shomeret's review of Scheherazade's Facade: Fantastical Tales of Gender Bending, Cross-Dressing, and Transformation:

" I supported this anthology through Kickstarter and received an e-copy in return for my support. As is usual with anthologies, not every story was of equal interest to me.

I decided to discuss my favorite story in this review. "Driftwood" by Tiffany... " Read more of this review »

Michael Jones liked Jesse's review of Geek Love: An Anthology of Full Frontal Nerdity:

" Shanna and her legion of writers have delivered a wonderful collection of stories sure to please any geek. It is not to often that we get such a dedicated, geeky and down right hot offering of worlds to read and enjoy. If you are a geek and are lo... " Read more of this review »

Michael Jones and 2 other people liked Jarla Tangh's review of Scheherazade's Facade: Fantastical Tales of Gender Bending, Cross-Dressing, and Transformation:

" Book Review: Scheherazade’s Façade: Fantastical Tales of Gender Bending, Cross-dressing and Transformation

Edited by Michael M. Jones

© 2012

Circlet Press

*Spoiler Alert*

A description of Adult material follows. Her Tangh-i-ness greatly appreciates pit... " Read more of this review »

Michael Jones rated a book 5 of 5 stars

Sea Change
by S.M. Wheeler (Goodreads Author)

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Simply amazing. A beautiful, sophisticated, captivating fairy tale. One of the best books I've read all year.

Michael Jones rated a book 2 of 5 stars

Last Cut
by Wren Handman

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Caitlin Myers is a teenage actress who desperately wants to be a superstar. When she gets the chance to audition for a local B-movie slasher flick, she leaps at the chance. She’s thrilled when she wins the role, though less so when she learns it’s as...more Caitlin Myers is a teenage actress who desperately wants to be a superstar. When she gets the chance to audition for a local B-movie slasher flick, she leaps at the chance. She’s thrilled when she wins the role, though less so when she learns it’s as a bikini babe who spends way too much time showing way too much skin. Nevertheless, she allows ambition to override common sense, and accepts the role.

Two problems: She’s 16, and her mother won’t let her take the time off school to do the film.

Solution: Caitlin starts lying. To everyone. She tells the people doing the movie that she’s 18 and, you know, totally legal. And she plays her separated parents off against one another to create the alibis needed to skip school and follow her dreams. She lies to her friends about the quality and prestige of the film and the fun she’s having. She lies to her boyfriend about the same things, and how she’s feeling.

The work is long and hard and exhausting. It’s also more than a little sleazy and unsettling. And when they ask her to take her top off, she naturally balks. But faced with pressure, she caves and does the nude scene. Later, after second thoughts, she changes her mind and tries to have the scene removed. Fat chance. It’s there to stay, and her contract won’t allow for her to object further.

Faced with no other way out, Caitlin reveals her true age…and that’s when the house of cards collapses all around her. As the lies stand revealed, she’s faced with upset people on all sides: parents, friends, boyfriend, director and producer….

Here’s where I’d normally leave you with the dangler, and you’d accept that, secure in the knowledge that, having reached Act 2 or 3 in the story, we’d thus be looking forward to Caitlin’s eventual redemption as she climbs out of the hole she’s made for herself. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Last Cut as good as ends with our heroine at her lowest point and we’ve no idea what happens next or how she deals with the fallout. And while I am opposed almost to a fault when it comes to spoilers in my reviews, it’s hard to talk about a book that ends halfway through a character’s journey otherwise.

Caitlin herself puts it best, when she says, “I have a feeling this is going to bite me in the ass.” As the narrator, she’s supposed to have qualities to which we can relate. Instead, we’re treated to the thoughts of a selfish, self-absorbed, high-strung dive, a compulsive liar who barely thinks ahead unless it’s to count her Oscars in her imaginary future. She alternately uses, lies to, and ignores her friends, and is surprised when they turn on her. She pits her parents against one another in a heartless display of emotional manipulation and outright falsehoods. And yeah, I’ m not going to say that the director of the movie is a paragon of virtue, demanding T&A for his low budget slasher flick…but in his defense, he thought she was of consenting age and understood her contract. He may have been a jerkwad, but he didn’t deserve to have Caitlin torpedo the whole production with her illegal, underage showboating.

That’s not all. Caitlin spends the entire story being jealous of a newcomer, a talented actress who transfers to her school and who actually dares to compete with her for the choice roles. At no point do we ever get any impression that Lianne, her competition, is anything other than a genuinely decent person, but Caitlin goes wild with jealousy and hatred at every turn. No wonder her friends are ready to ditch her; Lianne probably seems like a breath of fresh air after all that. Caitlin also quits her job with no notice, to go work on the film…good luck getting a reference after that! Doesn’t she know that most actors wait tables in between gigs anyway?

Perhaps if Last Cut actually had a second half, the one where Caitlin actually dealt with the consequences of her actions, made amends, and displayed some personal growth, I wouldn’t be quite so critical of this story. After all, it’s standard procedure that when you bring your hero low, it’s to build them back up again. We want to see how the protagonist presumably comes out of the experience as a better person. Here, we see Caitlin act horribly, alienate or upset everyone she cares about, and ruin her career, and that’s about it.

It’s a shame; I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. Lorimer’s SideStreets line of edgy, “fast-paced, high interest” books for reluctant readers really seems like a great thing, full of potential. A quick scan of other offerings displays a wide variety of situations and topics, diverse characters, and realistic slices of life. However, they all aim for the 30k word count, which is a pretty tight range for something aspiring to be a book. I’m not sure Last Cut makes the best use of its space. (That, and the overly authentic teenspeak, both in narrative and dialogue, started to grate after a while. As in, “Plus, I don’t think she gets that sometimes kids have to be like, grown up and stuff.”)

In short, I applaud the overall aim of the line of books from which this sprung, but I still feel like I only got half a book featuring a wholly unlikable, unsympathetic character whose ambition got the best of her, and no true resolution.

(Originally published at Schrodinger's Bookshelf">(less)

Michael Jones rated a book 3 of 5 stars

Out of Sync
by Amanda Humann

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Madison “Maddie” Wong plays soccer for the Fraser Hugh Copperheads. A talented midfielder, she dreams of playing for a Division 1 college like Stanford or Duke, but she’s overly reliant on the “sick soccer sync” she shares with her best friend Dayton...more Madison “Maddie” Wong plays soccer for the Fraser Hugh Copperheads. A talented midfielder, she dreams of playing for a Division 1 college like Stanford or Duke, but she’s overly reliant on the “sick soccer sync” she shares with her best friend Dayton. Together, they’re unbeatable on the field. Unfortunately, the more intense Maddie becomes, determined to show off her skills to the college scouts starting to come by, the less dedicated Dayton is. In fact, Dayton’s more interested in partying and boys, leaving her “sync sister to founder and flail on her own. Will Maddie be seduced by her best friend, and abandon the game for a chance at a social life? Or will she find her own path, one that doesn’t rely so heavily on a single other person?

Out of Sync, part of the Counterattack series of quick reads for “reluctant readers,” focuses on the intense pressures facing many student-athletes. Maddie, the very picture of the driven player, must find the right balance between her athletic ambitions and her friends, between striving for perfection and accepting when she needs help. When she realizes just how much she depends upon Dayton, it forces her to reassess her skills, her rapport with her fellow players, and her own inner strength. She struggles with the temptation to let it all slide, to relax, and it almost costs her more than she can stand.

Like all of the books in this series, it’s rather short and to the point, with little room for extraneous plots. Out of Sync is a fun story, with realistic characters and believable situations, featuring the sort of problems teens can undoubtedly relate to. While the storyline revolves around high school varsity girls’ soccer, detail-rich and featuring numerous scenes set on and off the field, it still touches on universal themes. At just over 100 pages long, it’s little more than an appetizer for some readers, but it might just be the right size to read on the bus after a game. The diverse characters and positive message, straight-forward without being heavy-handed, make this a worthwhile read.

(Originally published at Schrodinger's Bookshelf>(less)

Michael Jones rated a book 3 of 5 stars

Offside
by M.G. Higgins

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Faith Patel may only be an average soccer player—practically a benchwarmer for the Fraser High Copperheads—but it’s something she loves. More importantly, it’s one of her few refuges from the constant pressure of family and academics. Torn between he...more Faith Patel may only be an average soccer player—practically a benchwarmer for the Fraser High Copperheads—but it’s something she loves. More importantly, it’s one of her few refuges from the constant pressure of family and academics. Torn between her responsibilities to her younger siblings, and her mother’s insistence that she get the grades needed to get into a good school, she has to fight for the chance to play soccer, to take a little something just for herself. Worse, her obligations prevent her from having a social life, and she afford the time and money needed to pay on club teams like many of her teammates, further setting her apart.

Things get complicated when she develops a crush on her coach after he shows an interest in her wellbeing. Now Faith has to worry about what to do, how to approach the older man. Is it all in her head, or is there a real spark? And when one of her teammates finds out, will everything come tumbling down?

Offside is a strong, if fairly to-the-point, story about warring obligations and inappropriate crushes. Faith’s predicament is honest, believable, and just a little painful, as we see the desperate-for-a-break, stressed-from-all-sides young woman get caught between dutiful daughter and sister, and teenager in need of stress relief. It’s easy to identify with her yearnings, confusion, and desires.

However, the short nature of this book seems to keep the storylines from really going anywhere. What could have been a powerful way to explore the power dynamics between teen and adult, athlete and coach, fizzles, primarily present only in Faith’s mind. Coach Berg is pretty much an unknowing participant in the plotline, and we never get to see just what he thinks, or how he’d react. Likewise, the issue with Faith’s teammate and the potential blackmail/troublemaking also stays fairly mild, never going anywhere. While I’m definitely not advocating that the author take up what could be an intensely controversial or volatile issue, the fact remains that the storyline seemed ready to steam right into those troubled waters, before veering off into safe territory. Sadly, this book just doesn’t seem to reach its full potential, possibly due to its relative brevity, or an inability or unwillingness to push the boundaries.

Despite these shortcomings, Offside is a well-written story, with realistic characters and believable situations, featuring the sort of problems teens can undoubtedly relate to. While the storyline revolves around high school varsity girls’ soccer, detail-rich and featuring numerous scenes set on and off the field, it still touches on universal themes. At just over 100 pages long, it’s little more than an appetizer for some readers, but it might just be the right size to read on the bus after a game. The diverse characters and positive message, straight-forward without being heavy-handed, make this a worthwhile read. While not as strong as others I’ve seen in the series, it definitely has an appeal and a charm unto itself.
(Originally published at Schrodinger's Bookshelf )(less)

Michael Jones rated a book 5 of 5 stars

In Too Deep
by Coert Voorhees

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	Scheherazade's Facade: Fantastical Tales of Gender Bending, Cross-Dressing, and Transformation by Michael M. Jones (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Alma Alexander (Goodreads Author), Shanna Germain (Goodreads Author) 3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 23 ratings — published 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Like A Cunning Plan: Erotic Trickster Tales by Michael M. Jones (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Nica Berry, Sunny Moraine (Goodreads Author) 4.75 of 5 stars 4.75 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Masked Pleasures: Erotic Stories by Michael M. Jones (Goodreads Author), Anya Levin (Goodreads Author), Victoria Pond (Goodreads Author) 4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Clockwork Phoenix 3: New Tales of Beauty and Strangeness by Mike Allen (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Tanith Lee (Contributor), C.S.E. Cooney (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 19 ratings — published 2010	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fantastic Erotica: The Best of Circlet Press 2008-2012 by Cecilia Tan (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Bethany Zaitz (Editor), Clarice Clique (Contributor) 4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 2012 — 3 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Seductress: Erotic Tales of Immortal Desire by D.L. King (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Aurelia T. Evans (Contributor), Anya Richards (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 4.55 of 5 stars 4.55 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 2012	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Slipstreams by Martin H. Greenberg, John Helfer, Michael M. Jones (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 3.13 of 5 stars 3.13 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 2006	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Like A Queen: Lesbian Erotic Fairy Tales by Cecilia Tan (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Rachel Kincaid (Editor), A.D.R. Forte (Goodreads Author) 4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 2009 — 3 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Rumpled Silk Sheets: Lesbian Fairy Tales of Erotic Romance by E.M. Lynley (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Kenzie Mathews (contributor), G.G. Royale (Goodreads Author) (contributor) 5.0 of 5 stars 5.00 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2010 — 3 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Like a God's Kiss: Erotic Mythological Tales by Cecilia Tan (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Michael M. Jones (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Jennifer Levine (Editor) 5.0 of 5 stars 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2009 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Michael Jones liked Andrea Blythe's review of Scheherazade's Facade: Fantastical Tales of Gender Bending, Cross-Dressing, and Transformation: " 32. [Scheherazade's Facade]: Fantastical Tales of Gender Bending, Cross-Dressing, and Transformation, edited by Michael M. Jones (****1/2) Category: Unicorns from Space! (Part I) As the title suggests, this anthology features fantasy stories with ch... " Read more of this review »
Jun 05, 2013 08:33pm · see review
Michael Jones added a status update: You Bet Your Soul: Casino Infernale by Simon R. Green \| Tor.com http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/06/book...
Jun 04, 2013 12:15pm · like · see status
Michael Jones liked Shomeret's review of Scheherazade's Facade: Fantastical Tales of Gender Bending, Cross-Dressing, and Transformation: " I supported this anthology through Kickstarter and received an e-copy in return for my support. As is usual with anthologies, not every story was of equal interest to me. I decided to discuss my favorite story in this review. "Driftwood" by Tiffany... " Read more of this review »
May 22, 2013 12:08am · see review
Michael Jones liked Jesse's review of Geek Love: An Anthology of Full Frontal Nerdity: " Shanna and her legion of writers have delivered a wonderful collection of stories sure to please any geek. It is not to often that we get such a dedicated, geeky and down right hot offering of worlds to read and enjoy. If you are a geek and are lo... " Read more of this review »
May 12, 2013 12:17am · see review
Michael Jones and 2 other people liked Jarla Tangh's review of Scheherazade's Facade: Fantastical Tales of Gender Bending, Cross-Dressing, and Transformation: " Book Review: Scheherazade’s Façade: Fantastical Tales of Gender Bending, Cross-dressing and Transformation Edited by Michael M. Jones © 2012 Circlet Press Spoiler Alert A description of Adult material follows. Her Tangh-i-ness greatly appreciates pit... " Read more of this review »
Apr 09, 2013 05:50pm · see review
Michael Jones rated a book 5 of 5 stars Sea Change by S.M. Wheeler (Goodreads Author)	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Simply amazing. A beautiful, sophisticated, captivating fairy tale. One of the best books I've read all year.
Apr 06, 2013 06:06pm · see review
Michael Jones rated a book 2 of 5 stars Last Cut by Wren Handman	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Caitlin Myers is a teenage actress who desperately wants to be a superstar. When she gets the chance to audition for a local B-movie slasher flick, she leaps at the chance. She’s thrilled when she wins the role, though less so when she learns it’s as...more
Mar 31, 2013 11:48pm · see review
Michael Jones rated a book 3 of 5 stars Out of Sync by Amanda Humann	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Madison “Maddie” Wong plays soccer for the Fraser Hugh Copperheads. A talented midfielder, she dreams of playing for a Division 1 college like Stanford or Duke, but she’s overly reliant on the “sick soccer sync” she shares with her best friend Dayton...more
Mar 31, 2013 11:44pm · see review
Michael Jones rated a book 3 of 5 stars Offside by M.G. Higgins	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Faith Patel may only be an average soccer player—practically a benchwarmer for the Fraser High Copperheads—but it’s something she loves. More importantly, it’s one of her few refuges from the constant pressure of family and academics. Torn between he...more
Mar 31, 2013 11:41pm · see review
Michael Jones rated a book 5 of 5 stars In Too Deep by Coert Voorhees	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 28, 2013 09:53pm

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