Molly Ringle's Blog, page 12

August 29, 2016

Gene Wilder

Oh, Gene Wilder... 2016 has been a cruel year for celebrities and the reaper. Jeez.

Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles are two of the first movies I ever remember seeing, on the VHS machine my mom and dad rented from the newfangled video store in the early '80s. We got our own copies ASAP and watched them over and over. To this day I can pretty much still recite them. Safe to say Gene Wilder (along with Mel Brooks, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, and the rest of the team) were integral a...

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Published on August 29, 2016 13:37

August 1, 2016

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, condensed

Hi everyone,I finally rounded out my Harry Potter condensed parody collection by writing one for Order of the Phoenix, and it is now done and you can read it here! (Also here.)
Or at least, my parody series WAS complete until they released that eighth book yesterday. I'm ignoring that detail for now.Feel free to send anyone to my full collection of parodies if you think they'd like them. They include not only the HP books but the Lord of the Rings movies, and a couple of other random t...
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Published on August 01, 2016 16:57

July 14, 2016

Harry Potter and the...Vanishing Kittens??

So I'm re-reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in order to (finally!) round out my condensed parody collection. And here was this I came across at the start of chapter 16:

"Hermione had actually progressed to vanishing kittens"

Another item for the list of times the Hogwarts curriculum really disturbs me. Making KITTENS VANISH FOREVER? How is this okay, and not Unforgivable? Or even if it's okay under wonky wizarding ethics, how is it fine with Hermione, who...

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Published on July 14, 2016 12:25

June 26, 2016

The Greek gods as Rubin's Four Tendencies

In her books about happiness and habits, writer Gretchen Rubin delineates what she calls the Four Tendencies. They are, in short:

Upholders: respond readily to both outer and inner expectations (that is, expectations from others and from themselves)
Questioners: meet inner expectations, but question outer expectations; they’ll meet an expectation if they think it makes sense
Obligers: meet outer expectations, but struggle to meet expectations they impose on themselves
Rebels: resist all exp...

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Published on June 26, 2016 16:09

June 20, 2016

Guest post: Kaitlin Bevis on Poseidon and Ares

I'm happy to be able to liven up this Monday by bringing back Kaitlin Bevis, author of the Daughters of Zeus series! We've been talking about our Greek myth series and the different ways we've handled the characters of the gods, so here she is on this week's topic. Welcome, Kaitlin! Take it away...

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Last time I was a guest on this blog, I touched on the surprising similarities between the characters in my Daughters of Zeus series and Molly Ringle’s Chrysomelia Stories S...

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Published on June 20, 2016 08:50

June 15, 2016

Three small personal updates in the wake of Orlando

What I pinned to my purse this week. Almost literally the very least I could do, but I couldn't not do it.

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A cross-post from my Tumblr:

I’d like to share with you how our youngest child learned and dealt with the shocking, traumatizing truth that same-sex couples can marry in the U.S.:

Our 10-year-old son: I love Lionel Messi. [A famous soccer player.]
Our 6-year-old son: Are you going to MARRY him?
10-year-old: No! He’s way too old for me.
6-year-old: Also, boys can’t marr...

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Published on June 15, 2016 14:11

June 13, 2016

Writing worksheet: character questionnaire

I handed this out, along with pretty bookmarks, at the B&N events I attended over the weekend. (Which were fun, by the way! Got to talk to lots of cool book-loving and book-creating people.) Feel free to use it for your character-creating needs.

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WRITING WORKSHEET: DRAW UP A CHARACTER


What’s your character’s name and how old are they?

Where did they grow up and where do they live now?

Relationship with parents or other family members: what’s that like?

Who are their best...

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Published on June 13, 2016 14:18

June 8, 2016

Book events! With me!

Though I rarely like to emerge from my quiet attic and face the public, I've consented to do so for the next couple of weekends in order to chat about my Greek myth trilogy. So for those in the Seattle area, here is where I will be. All are free events, no reservations required. And I do hope you will come join me!

In celebration of Barnes & Noble Teen Book Fest:

Friday, June 10, 1:00-3:00 p.m.: Downtown Bellevue B&N, hanging out with graphic novelists, artists of posters and c...

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Published on June 08, 2016 10:20

June 1, 2016

The "Not Enough People For This World" trope

I see that the small class size of Hogwarts is a trending topic lately. The "Voldemort-era anti-baby-boom" explanation as shown there on Buzzfeed may actually make some sense. But on the whole I'd attribute the small-ish cast to a trope you see a lot in fantasy, sci-fi, and other works involving extensive world-building. As far as I can tell, TV Tropes doesn't have a name for it (or maybe they do, but I'm not searching deep enough), but I'd call it something like &qu...
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Published on June 01, 2016 19:24

May 28, 2016

An awesome discussion with Pam Stucky on the writing life

Today I am delighted to spin the spotlight onto my friend and fellow Northwest author, Pam Stucky! Pam is celebrating the release of her newest novel, The Secret of the Dark Galaxy Stone, second in her YA time-travel adventure series, following up on book 1, The Universes Inside the Lighthouse.




She's humoring me by answering some questions today about her writing life, and her answers have made me laugh several times, so I think you'll enjoy them too. Here they are—enjoy!

You&rsqu...

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Published on May 28, 2016 11:32