Pamela Schloesser Canepa's Blog, page 52

Weekend Coffee Share. #maythe4th Be with you!

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Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Allison at eclecticali.wordpress.com

This week was hectic with state testing, and it is not over, but at least the tests for my subject area are done!  So, I plan to have a little more fun with teaching in the next few weeks, giving them a fun project and having them do some creative writing.  Those brains can still grow a few more synapses before the year’s over!  My excitement for the coming of summer is partly based on having more time to write.  I also have three books I just bought and have started on one of them.  Guess what?  Stephen King is coming out with a new book that I am considering, but I also am putting a book on my list from a past professor of mine, Michael Wiley, who writes local mystery taking place in Jacksonville, Florida.  You can never have too many books, right?

My Top Five Sci-fi Books that were Made into Movies. #scifi

Welcome, friends and fellow bloggers!  I’ve signed up to be part of an event in May called CyCon, which features writers from all sorts of genres and has lots of fun events.  I’ve set up an author booth on the OWS CYcon site if you’d like to check it out:  https://owscycon.ourwriteside.com/forums/topic/author-pamela-schloesser-canepa/

At any rate, one of the events is the sharing of our Top 5’s in our genre on a blog hop.  I was excited to do this one!  These are in order from my fifth favorite to my top favorite.  Read on for my top five:

Close Encounters of  the Third Kind

People from all over the world receive a shared vision and think they are going crazy, while the government is obviously hiding secrets.  What is not intriguing about this story?  I was likely a young child and very impressionable when I first saw this movie.  I can’t ascertain whether I took in the movie or the book first, though it could have been either.  I don’t recall it being very violent, but it was very shrouded in mystery and conspiracy (the coer up kind).  Later, I realized the whole collective consciousness theme running through it.  I found that very appealing. What sci-fi fan has not seen this movie?  The book was just as awesome; its details even more dense than those in the movie.

1984 by George Orwell

This movie came out when I was a young teen and probably not allowed to go see it.  However, I do recall a date in 1984 when someone had predicted the world would end.  Guess what?  It didn’t.  But I digress…  I read the actual book when I was 18, and it stuck with me.  The proletariate enslaved by the upper class, human emotions being discouraged, Big Brother always watching.  This is an excellent dystopian novel!  I don’t know very many people who have seen the movie though.  I ought to rent it someday.

The Time Traveler’s Wife

I never saw the movie.  The previews made it look like a chick-flick/soap opera romance with a slight sci-fi taste.  No thanks.   I read the book; it was earth shattering.  There was violence, a flawed hero, much time tripping, a man protective of our main character’s innocence, and the need to suspend all disbelief wrapped up in themes of coming of age and fate.  There was also an ending that was a big letdown if you were just looking for romance in the story.  It was about much more than that.  It was about how much you would do for the one you truly love.  My feminist taste hated that she was always waiting for him to show up on his own time schedule, but who makes the schedule?  The male lead had no control over where and when he would leap.  Yet, they were always drawn to each other, an element that has appeared in many other stories and movies.  What could ever compare?  How could a movie live up to that?  And I even like Eric Bana.  This one remains a tale I am glad to keep in book form without seeing someone else’s take on the screen.  It was touching in a heartbreaking way, not romantic, and I loved it.

Divergent

I loved the book series and its devotion to family and where that fits with one’s identity.  The details of having a personality that is strong in many areas was very appealing, as well as a government conspiracy enacted on a large group of people who were basically one huge social experiment.  Confronting your fears and finding out who you truly are were themes woven through this story.  All of that seemed similar in the movie, except, the movie also had Theo James. 

Dance of Life. #poetry

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2006. Ballroom dance practice.

[image error] 2009, before I retired these shoes.

 

Dance of Life by Pamela Schloesser Canepa, (c) 2019

Please don’t tell me how to dance
and don’t critique my dance
This dance is life and is not a dance with death,
it is a dance with what I’ve been given.

Don’t check the boxes while I dance
My dance is what I’m feeling inside
My dance is where I am in life…
It changes all the time.


To think I used to wear those shoes,
I danced away depression and blues.
Did I worry about a judge?
I also forgot to bear a grudge.
Now here I am, sneakers and yoga pants
and I still at times break into dance.
Sometimes the flow of words is my dance,
Sometimes comforting a child is my dance.
Don’t stare and check your boxes,
the dance is the story, a story, partly fiction
the story is me, the dance is survival
One can only live through self-expression.

I am not within the box,
and no one else draws my lines
so join me if you dare, or laugh along.

Yes, laugh, I said. It means that we’re alive.

Weekend Coffee Share. A Bird’s Eye View

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Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Allison at Eclectic Alli .  The weather looks beautiful, but I’ve been moving slow this morning.  I also have had some coursework, and I am almost done.

Last night, I went with my mom and my son to a Mexican restaurant with a really hip, cool vibe.  It was packed, so we sat at the bar.  After a while, a guy comes over, and I recognized him as one of my cousins.  We are all glad to see him and chatted for a good, long while.  He travels a lot.  It was really nice though, to feel connected to family beyond our small unit.  He tells interesting stories, but my family is awesome story fodder. 

Weekend Coffee Share. Happy Easter!

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Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Allison at https://eclecticali.wordpress.com/ . I would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter, whether you are simply celebrating spring time, Passover, or the resurrection of Jesus, whether you are religious or simply spiritual, or even agnostic. As I grow older I am firmly believing it is not my place to judge one’s beliefs but to respect all.

Maybe I am developing a live and let-live philosophy. After all, I do believe in Jesus’ teachings that we should love one another.  I wish it was more pervasive in our world.

I was blessed to help my son celebrate his 23rd birthday on Friday! I feel blessed that he made it this many years, and I have decided that is how I will see every new birthday that I come across, as well. A blessing.  Even though I seem to get more aches and pains as time passes, it is all a blessing.  Well, some of it is downright laughable, so plan on seeing some jokes from me in future posts, as time goes by. 

Undercurrents in Time, Kindle ebook deal. #.99

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Read Undercurrents in Time, a tale of the balance between love for another and love for oneself, between adventure and finding home on a Kindle Countdown deal, just .99 until 4/22!

N.N. Light Blog made Undercurrents a finalist in their 2018 Book Award Contest in the #scifi and sci-fi/romance category.

Undercurrents in Time is the sequel to Detours in Time. Milt and Tabitha went to places they could never have imagined. Has the wanderlust faded? Find out what happens next…

Find Detours in Time or Undercurrents in Time here at my Amazon author site:

https://www.amazon.com/Pamela-Schloesser-Canepa/e/B01E0KV716

April. #RDP #shortreads

(C) by 2019 Pamela Schloesser Canepa

The wind was howling and we needed to take a break from our cliff hike.  Mike spotted a cave ahead in the distance.  “Let’s stop there,” he suggested.

The height was already making my breath come in short spurts; the wind made me feel like I’d be toppled over any minute, but with one foot in front of the other, we made it to the cave.

“Further in, so the wind won’t blow dust at us,” Mike said.

It sounded reasonable to me.  Further into the cave, I saw a huge blanket on the ground.  Mike and I look at each other warily.

In my peripheral vision, I spotted something moving.

“Stop right there!”  Mike wielded a pistol.

“Really, Mike?”  I was disgusted.

“You wouldn’t be so judgmental if it was a bear,” he argued.

The moving object was much too thin to be a bear.  As it came closer, I could see it was human in shape, with its hands up.

“No harm here, it’s just me,” the small form said.  A small form with the voice of a man.  He seemed taller as he slowly came closer.

Unthreatened, Mike put his pistol away.

“Do you live here?”  I asked.

“Oh, no.  I was camping with my girl.  She wondered off; I’ve been looking for her, well, until the wind picked up.”

“Shouldn’t there be a search party?”

“Not anymore.  It’s just me now.  I’ve been at this for a few weeks.  Haven’t gone home since I last saw her.”

“When exactly was that?”

“The end of April,” the man replied.

“Did you know it’s September now?”  I asked.

“September?”  He chuckled.  “That’s not funny.”  His face grew worried and withdrawn.

“When the wind dies down, we’ll take you into town for a coffee and steak, my treat,” Mike offered, probably feeling badly for having been so defensive.

The man just nodded, eyes wide open as saucers. Exiting the cave, he sang softy:

“April came and went. 

Its beauty fleeting, its energy spent. 

But my love is all but gone.

And all I have left is this sad song.”

MIke and I exchanged nervous glances, wondering what we’d gotten ourselves into.  I patted the man on the back.  “That’s Mike, and I’m April,” I said.

 

***Thank you to the Ragtag Community.  Visit them for other takes on the prompt and to join the daily writing inspiration at Ragtag Community on WordPress

**Both the poem and story are written by yours truly.  Thanks for stopping by.  Your comments are also much appreciated!

Weekend Coffee Share: April 7, 2019

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Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Allison at http://eclecticali.wordpress.com

I had a lot of work this weekend that involved computer time, but I got a little relaxation in, so I’m going to express most of it in photos.

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Friday night TV on the recliner at my boyfriend’s house.  Seinfeld rules!

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I finished this heart-breaking book, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Saturday. WW2 Holocaust, #historicalfiction.  It has quite a deep message.

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I took the time to get my toes pedicured as well.

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Saturday I wore my new dress to church. I have to wear it before Lent is over, besides, the weather here will only get hotter.  Now I’ll retire it until fall.  You can’t beat a black dress, and with polka dots to boot!  Now I have to start wearing pastels to celebrate Spring!

Have a great week, my friends and fellow bloggers!

Weekend Coffee Share

[image error]

Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Allison at http://eclecticali.wordpress.com

I had a lot of work this weekend that involved computer time, but I got a little relaxation in, so I’m going to express most of it in photos.

[image error]

Friday night TV on the recliner at my boyfriend’s house.  Seinfeld rules!

[image error]

I finished this heart-breaking book, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Saturday. WW2 Holocaust, #historicalfiction.  It has quite a deep message.

[image error]

I took the time to get my toes pedicured as well.

[image error]

Saturday I wore my new dress to church. I have to wear it before Lent is over, besides, the weather here will only get hotter.  Now I’ll retire it until fall.  You can’t be a black dress, and with polka dots to boot!  Not I have to start wearing pastels to celebrate Spring!

Have a great week, my friends and fellow bloggers!

Malachi’s Zodiac Sign-Aquarius. #characterbuilding #WIP

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They don’t bear their soul, they trust no one.  Malachi is a side character in Undercurrents in Time who is hired briefly to help Dr. Milt Braddock secure some of his scientific secrets by scoping out the competition.  Why?  Because Malachi is good at being sneaky and fitting it everywhere.  He doesn’t bear his soul, what he bears is a made up fiction to fit any given situation.  Malachi is also now the main character in my work in progress, tentatively titled, Malachi.

I’ve used Zodiac details to flesh characters in the past, such as Tabitha in Detours in Time and its sequel, Undercurrents.  It really helps me get into the character and imagine them as a flesh and blood person.   Malachi is an excellent actor and well, a good liar.

From  https://www.yourtango.com/2016285888/fascinating-way-you-tell-lies-per-your-zodiac-sign   WHo lies best?  “Like Geminis, Aquarians are creative and witty storytellers. Their lies may be too good to be true, but they deliver it so flawlessly that people end up believing them.”

From  https://maripiermorin.com/en/2018/02/12/aquarius-kids-are-too-cool-for-school/

“If you have an Aquarian in your life, you know how goddamn independent they are. Supposedly, they need space to love you back – pfff. So if you let them have their personal freedom, you’ve won half the battle.”  Malachi totally relies on himself but finds himself in a financial, emotional, and moral battle in his youth which has the possibility to create a turning point.  Not to mention, when someone is so dishonest with the world (and perhaps, himself), relationships are either a struggle or non-existent.

Aquarians, in the above article, are termed “Too cool for school.”  “To put it simply, they just have this je-ne-sais-quoi without even knowing they have it. Cool-kids like these come with a knack for starting and entertaining conversations with people of all kinds of walks of life. If I can give you a tip: Beware of the moment they switch from entertained to bored. It does happen quite suddenly if you’re a little too square for them.”  Malachi has an excellent gift of gab.  He wows all of his professors and puts on an excellent Hamlet.  He wows everyone until the day of mid-term exams.

Weaknesses- “You shut down your emotions like you shut down your laptop, right?”  Again, Malachi avoids his family because of the drama that surrounds them, and he has lied to most of them since childhood.  He rarely shares his feelings with anyone.  He’s a young man living in a new town, failing out of college because having deep discussions with your professor is not enough to pass, and struggling to find a new life plan that also provides food and shelter.  He knows he must survive on his own, so indulging in his emotions is a luxury he can’t afford.

Another Aquarian weakness:  “Idealistic because you think it’s the same as being realistic.”  I wasn’t sure if that fits Malachi.  Though people change in times of scraping to survive.

You’ll have fun reading about Malachi, and maybe you’ll be familiar with his struggle for identity as he finds himself in a world of deception.   I even enjoyed remembering being in my young twenties, looking at myself through a new lens, trying not to judge myself and others as I was taught as a child.  This book is not sci-fi per se, but Malachi  is linked to many characters from my sci-fi series, Detours in Time.  One example is Ellie, whose identity and place in the space–time continuum is slowly being revealed, even to me.  Characters can tend to do that.

Overall, this book is devoted to the character Malachi, and the people he comes across, the development of ihis identity, and his struggle to discover just what kind of person he is.

There will be more behind-the-scenes hints in the next few months.  This one is going to stew on the stove, as I slowly fit it in with many other goals I am seeking this year.  Look for it in 2020!