Cindy A. Matthews's Blog, page 7

A great review of The Vampire Next Door!

My Kindred vampire novel, The Vampire Next Door, received a nice review from Coffee Time Romance. Thanks, Delane! :)




THE VAMPIRE NEXT DOOR
180 Pages
Erotic, Romance, Paranormal, Vampires
Rating: 4 Cups

The writing of Ms. Chatillon draws the reader into the small world of Melynda and Val...As the story progresses, the reality of the characters and the storyline reveal themselves. I enjoyed reading The Vampire Next Door and know paranormal enthusiasts will find it entertaining and enjoyable.

Delane
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More
See more at: http://coffeetimeromance.com/BookReviews/thevampirenextdoorbycelinechatillion.html#.VBXwF7uxt2N The Vampire Next Door is available now at eXtasy Books and wherever fine ebooks are sold! ;) 

I Got the Doctor Who Let Down Blues

                                                               

I Got the Doctor Who Let Down Bluesby Cynthianna

The tension has been building up for months now—eight months to be precise. The new season of Doctor Who with a new actor in the title role has been touted since last Christmas with only crumbs dropped now and then to feed the fans’ rabid appetite for news and gossip. Big kudos go out to the BBC marketing department for their expert dangling of the carrot in front of the fervent fans and for preventing our attention from ever wandering too far. The Beeb promised us a mind-blowing, landmark-making, scrumpdillyupmptious sci-fi/fantasy event of unbelievable proportions. In the last couple of weeks Whovians were whipped into a frenzy further with the Doctor Who World Tour featuring the main actors and creators of the show. (Once again, kudos to the BBC marketing department.) Doctor Who fans have bemoaned the long wait but they were totally and sincerely psyched when at last the big day, August 23, finally arrived.

I guess it’s only natural after so much whipping up of excitement and expectations, a fan girl might feel a bit let down after actually viewing said long-awaited first episode of the new season. No, you can put the tomatoes away—I adore Peter Capaldi as the Doctor and have no problems with Jenna-Louise Coleman as Clara the companion—but I will say I’d hoped for a stronger vehicle for their debut story together. Once again, I don’t fault the actors or the special effects or even the story idea, but I found some very avoidable faults in the scriptwriting that literally set my teeth on edge. (To quote a fan about what made the Matt Smith era seem less than stellar: “Moffat!”)

Where to begin? I don’t want to give spoilers to those who haven’t seen said episode yet, so I will be general in my comments. Also, I will compare and contrast the classics series of Doctor Who to the new series in hopes this will illustrate where I see the newer episodes have lost their luster. If I had to give a one word quote about what I feel the new series of Doctor Who is missing, that word would be “intelligence.”

“Intelligent what?” you may ask. Don’t worry, I’ll get there. Here’s some background first: My husband and I are very fortunate to be able to receive the Retro-TV channel where we live, and since August 4 we’ve been watching nightly episodes of classic Doctor Who, starting with the very first Doctor as portrayed by


Okay, BBC marketing department this is where you guys might have made a big mistake by asking us to wait eight months for the new season to begin... Those of us who were big fans since the last century have had ample time to re-watch our favorite moments on DVD and broadcast TV. We can leisurely stop and pause our DVDs and discuss what works and what doesn’t in a particular Doctor Who story. Surprisingly, even if we agree that the special effects could have been better in an episode, we very rarely complain that the writing is weak, the characters aren’t realized well, or anything sets our teeth on edge.

Not bad for a sci-fi show whose entire yearly budget in the 1960s - 1980s was no where near what they spend creating just one episode today—even when adjusted for inflation. So, if a bigger budget and flashier special effects don’t make for a better Doctor Who experience, what does? This is where I posit my thoughts on what is currently missing from the series—intelligence. What do you take away from a Doctor Who story? What lesson(s) did you learn? Did you find out anything new about science or history or humanity or yourself?

I know some of the new series fans will argue, “Doctor Who has never been a family friendly show—it’s not about teaching kids things,” but that’s where they’re wrong. All one has to do is go back to the original 1963 proposal for Doctor Who to see that it was created to be a television show for families with school-aged children, and it was to have “teaching moments” scattered through-out its futuristic tales along with facts and insights tossed into the historical storylines. The point I’m making here is that the writing was strong enough to both entertain and enlighten both adults and children. Viewers never felt as if they were being talked down to or manipulated by catch-phrases and multitudes of explosions. (Plus, they never felt as if being a person of faith was somehow suspect, a common theme in the newer series. It's okay if you don't believe in God, Mr. Moffat, but please don't try to purposely offend those who do. It's just plain rude.)

I celebrate fans--not insult them, Steven!
No doubt, the newer series’ emphasis has drifted away from the educational premise. Alas, sometimes it doesn’t even entertain. One can walk away after viewing a new series’ episode and fifteen minutes later totally forget what the premise or point of the story was. Sure, you might remember the Doctor wore a dressing gown or rode a horse or cracked some funny one-liners (possibly of a sexual nature), but nothing stays in your mind of any importance. You don’t feel like the show helped you to think more intelligently. You may not feel that some of the content was appropriate for your six-year-old. Classic Doctor Who writers probably wouldn’t recognize it as the same show anymore.

To clarify, let’s look at the 1973 story, The Green Death. The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and his assistant, Jo Grant, along with his friends at UNIT, are fighting against an international chemical company which is bent on polluting the water supply and killing people (through the infected maggots created) so the corporation and its masters can reap mega-profits. Change “Global Chemical” to “Monsanto” or “Dow” or “Bayer” and this story of how important it is for humanity (with help from the Doctor) to rise up and stop this disaster before it’s too late would make for an episode that is both entertaining and educational and very relevant in the year 2014. Added bonus, once viewers watched such an episode they might actually be motivated to become more environmentally aware and take positive action.

The Third Doctor era can also boast of another intelligent environmental awareness storyline—1970’s Inferno. If you’re alarmed about the increasing earthquakes and ground water pollution caused by hydraulic fracturing or fracking, this is a story that bears close viewing. Even more amazing, the 1964 story Planet of Giants starring the first Doctor deals with a businessman who kills a government official in order to make a fortune off his new pesticide that destroys everything it touches... Recent headlines about “bee-killing” pesticides called neonicotinoids are both shocking and frightening. But can one imagine Doctor Who in 2014 touching upon such a burning topic that could affect life on Earth as we know it?

Intelligent television? Yes, even a fictional TV series can work for the good of humanity. At the very least it could make us all more aware of state of the planet and our impact upon it. Wouldn’t it be better to inspire a new generation of ecologists and astronauts and historians simply than create a mad marketing rush to get the kids to haul ass to Hot Topic to purchase millions of dollars in Doctor Who T-shirts, fezes and bow-ties?



I got the Doctor Who Let Down Blues. I was hoping for more intelligent writing for Peter Capaldi in his new incarnation as the Doctor, but producer Steven Moffat didn’t want to disappoint his perceived audience’s tastes—he kept things on the rather silly level. All I know is that I’m too old to care for discussions about “boyfriends” in the Tardis or learning the funny put-downs the Doctor and his companions will use with each other for the next year. Whatever happened to the Doctor and his companions treating each other with respect and kindness? Are women in the Whovian universe to be seen simply as sex objects?

Case in point: Girls kissing lizards? Who needs it? Not my bag, baby, and I don’t believe that scenes of adult sexuality add anything to a show that should be family friendly, even when it outright refuses to be “educational for school aged children” as the original 1963 show premise states. Silly sex talk—that’s what late-night TV and locker rooms in middle schools are for, isn’t it? Rise above it, please.




Perhaps both George Lucas and Steven Moffat should be banned from attempting to write/produce any of their story ideas ever again. Remember The Phantom Menace, another long-awaited event that proved to be disappointing? These two guys should stick to their strengths and recruit strong writers who can craft intelligent, respectful, and moving storylines without all the adolescent fluff. Who knows—some of these writers could even be adult females?
 
I think the Doctor—with his numerous intelligent and strong female sidekicks—would approve.

What Makes a Story? Beginning, Middle...End?

I usually post a modified version of the book reviews I do for an established literary site on my blog and Goodreads, but this time I don’t feel comfortable doing so. I’m a different type of book reviewer, you could say. I’d rather say nice things about a writer’s work, or at least make some constructive criticisms of where he or she could improve it, but sometimes I’m at a lost for words. This is one of those times. Amazing, isn’t it?

Back in the day of the dinosaurs, those of us who had the pleasure of taking English composition classes and creative writing courses where taught the basic structure of fiction. Every short story, novella or novel has a beginning, middle, and last, but not least, an end. These are sometimes called by fancier names such as inciting incident, rising action, and resolution, but they pretty much mean the same thing. When a reader sits down to read fiction he or she expects to find character(s) who start a journey of sorts—physical and/or emotional—and after a series of incidents, which illustrate the personality of the character(s), the story comes to a resolution of sorts. A story may have a “happily ever after” ending or a “happy for now” ending or the merely satisfactory  “that’s the way it goes but tomorrow is another day and we’ll keep trying” ending. One thing is certain—the tale comes to a conclusion. 



I guess this isn’t the case anymore. How did I know my English professors back in the dinosaur days were wrong? After recently reading a “short story” collection by a recent graduate of an Ivy League Institution, I’m led to believe that strings of words thrown onto a page can qualify as a story. Okay, it’s not all that bad, but in a way it is. It’s a crime. A young author, with a strong voice and a talent for coming up with interesting characters and situations, has been taught that telling just the beginning and middle somehow equals crafting a complete story. To me, and probably the majority of humanity, it doesn’t. Who would knowingly mislead impressionable students?

Another sad observation—when did using passive “was” verbs and adding he saids all over the place equate to creating dynamic prose? I’ve learned a lot over the years from genre writing workshops, particularly that a good writer shows not tells the story. Readers don’t want to read a listing of dry facts. Readers want to imagine the characters in their minds taking action. In the process of exercising our imaginations, we readers walk away from the story feeling that we’ve learned something about ourselves or life and, better yet, were entertained in the process.

How can readers learn anything from being told the beginning and some of the middle of a character’s arc? We can’t. An incomplete piece of fiction breaks the cardinal rule of all artists, “Whatever you do, don’t be boring.” Maybe in Ivy League literary fiction circles the entertainment factor isn’t considered all that important and, subsequently, has been junked? Perhaps root canals are considered entertaining in those circles? Yikes!



 Throwing up academic credentials as an excuse for being boring reminds me of a conversation at a party a friend and I had with a man introduced as a creative writing professor from a local private university. My friend asked him what sort of creative writing the professor had published recently. This gentleman stated that he didn’t publish his fiction because, “It was too good to be published.” My friend and I continued talking about our recent novel ideas and book deals while the creative writing instructor looked at us as if we’d grown horns or a third eye.

I surmised the professor didn’t enjoy receiving rejection letters from publishers, so he simply didn’t even try to pen publishable fiction anymore. But then that begs the question—Why should parents pay tons of money to a college which employs an instructor with no interest in writing publishable fiction to instruct their children in the craft of creative writing? Shouldn’t the professor teach “creative ways to avoid rejection” classes instead?

After this recent book review, my impression of creative writing classes offered at prestigious and costly private colleges has not improved. I learned one simple axiom in many writer’s workshops: Writers write. And the sole purpose of writing for publication is to connect with readers—not to bore them. I liken offering incomplete works to the reading public to a master chef tossing uncooked ingredients willy-nilly onto a plate and calling it a culinary masterpiece. (I realize some enjoy sushi, but I want my fish cooked.) When you can’t finish the job, you’re not really a success, are you? 

I can’t boast an Ivy League education, but my books have received some great reviews over the years. Not one reviewer has ever said my fiction was boring or incomplete. I listened in English class and took notes at writer’s workshops and became a published author. Thank heaven I received good advice!

Click on the  book link at the top to learn more about my erotic-romance novels and novellas. You can even review one if you wish. ;)

Not Quite an "Iron Author" (Flash Fiction from DetCon1)

We're home from the NASFic, aka DetCon1, and still trying to mentally and physically recoup. My husband AJ Matthews took some great photos and put them up on Facebook for all to see. (Click here to see his photos. And, no, this blog has not been copyedited. I'm tired. So there!)

We had a lot of fun in Detroit, met some nice folk, and got a couple invites to area conventions to talk about writing, publishing, whatever. AJ sold two of his world famous bookends in the art show, so all-in-all, not a bad showing.

I thought I'd share a bit of the flash fiction I wrote in the "Iron Author Detroit" contest I participated in Sunday morning. (Yes, it was early on the last day of the con--not the best timing for a contest.) The winner was the fabulous author Lucy A. Snyder, so I don't feel too bad for losing to her at all. However, I do wonder about the sanity of the audience members who came up with the "prompts" we used to write a short story in five minutes. My example below will show you why I have some reservations on their mental stability, as these three words actually made sense or at least more sense than the last three sets of prompts. Enjoy! ;)

Prompts: a Watermelon, a Triceratops, and a Lost Shoe (the secret ingredient)

"Wherever could it be?"

Lilah looked at the trail behind her. No shoe. It must have fallen off after she had forded the stream, after she had eaten some of the delicious wild watermelon, but she was pretty sure she was still wearing it when she scrambled over the sharp rocks near the waterfalls.

"I knew this was a mistake. I knew I should have never listen to Marc (the panel MC). This is beautiful country, but really... What's so special about it?"

She sighed and plopped down on a boulder. That hiking shoe had cost hundreds. She'd never be able to afford another pair anytime soon.

"Why did I believe, Marc?"

Then she heard the sound far-off... Oh, my God! A triceratops was grazing in the meadow below where she sat.

"The Lost World!" she cried. This is why Marc had told her to come here.

I was writing with pen on legal paper since I didn't bring a laptop. I'm not sure the story would have been much longer or better written using a keyboard, but I certainly could have read it with less problems. Deciphering my horrible handwriting a day later is a challenge and a half! 

Feel free to leave a comment below, especially if we met at DetCon1, and feel free to like me on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, etc., at the links on the right side of the page. It was great getting to know you, but now I need to catch up on my sleep. Zzzzz... :)

See you at DetCon1

We'll be seeing you at DetCon1 in Detroit this weekend. It should be a lot of fun and draw a lot of folks, as it's this years N.American Sci-Fi con (since World Con is in London). I'm on two hard science panels (really!) and one editing panel and taking the "Iron Author" challenge. I've never attempted to write flash fiction under pressure in  front of a live audience before, so this should be quite... different! ;) Be sure to say hello if you see us! (I'll be wearing a badge with my "mundane" name of Cindy A. Matthews. When I call myself "Celine" and say I write erotic-romantic fiction, I tend to scare off some SF fans. I don't know why--I won't bite them... Not unless they ask nicely.) ;)  Now available at All Romance eBooks, my latest in the Kindred Vampires series:The Vampire Next DoorBy: Celine Chatillon | Other books by Celine Chatillon
Published By: eXtasy Books
ISBN # 9781771118644
Word Count: 52832

Available in: Adobe Acrobat, Palm DOC/iSolo, Microsoft Reader, Hiebook, HTML, Mobipocket (.prc), Mobipocket (.mobi), Rocket, Epub
Read More

Two short book reviews for two long books!

Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fun tale for fans of the Discworld series. I'm a follower of the wacky wizards and their magic and sadly they only make a brief appearance in this tale, but over all there's plenty of action, adventure, terrorists (of the dwarf variety), and steam engines. Who could ask for more?

View all my reviews


  People of the Morning Star by W. Michael Gear
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fascinating look into the Mississippian culture at Cahokia of a thousand years ago... I lived across the river from the mounds and always wondered what its citizens had been like before they disappeared. There's a large cast of intriguing characters in this story--from a thief on his way to becoming the first P.I. to a captured/enslaved warrior on his way to becoming the first paramedic--and the story has more twists and turns than the Big Muddy itself. There is a lot of graphic violence in the plot's resolution, so readers are forewarned if this isn't to their tastes. However, the full-bodied realization of what the Cahokians' city and culture must have been like captures your imagination and makes you wish you could have been there in the day.

View all my reviews

Book Review: A**holes--A Theory

Assholes: A Theory by Aaron James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Philosopher Aaron James discusses the phenomenon of the asshole—a person with an entrenched sense of entitlement and feeling of superiority—and gives us, the more cooperative members of society, some hints at identifying and dealing with those who routinely inconvenience us while rarely giving us a second thought.

Has American culture with its emphasis on individualism produced an upsurge in assholes? James would argue that it certainly hasn’t helped. The “dampening effects” of family, religion, and a societal emphasis on working toward the collective good seem to be waning. The “Cable News Asshole” fans the flames of discord to create smokescreens of division (where none may actually exist) so that other assholes may flourish. A most telling example comes from the “Delusional Asshole Banker” who after taking billions of dollars in bail-out money due to his reckless behavior asks what his bonus will be. He then argues that the government bailed him out because he is “smart” and worthy of special treatment. Assholes in political office reinforce this dysfunctional mindset through legislation which rewards future asshole behaviors.

James cautions that no amount of discourse will change an asshole’s narcissistic outlook, so convinced he is of his moral superiority. At best, cooperative people can publicly state their objections concerning the asshole’s boorish behaviors to encourage their fellow sufferers that they aren’t alone in feeling incensed/slighted and hope for the best. Assholes: A Theory is the definitive survival guide for life in the twenty-first century.


View all my reviews

Book Review: Scatter, Adapt, and Remember

Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction by Annalee Newitz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Our primitive ancestors’ survival extincts served them well, Newitz theorizes, as they dispersed from Africa and wandered across the continents, possibly intermingling and intermarrying with our fellow hominids the Neanderthals and Denisovans. Love and cooperation may very well have saved Homo sapiens from extinction—and not our ability to use symbolic logic alone, although it played a crucial role. By scattering far and wide, adapting to the local climate changes and environments, and remembering to share their stories and adaptive technology with their offspring, our ancient human ancestors insured we’d still be here today.

But what happens if another mass extinction event occurs? Remember the dinosaurs? What if we’re hit by a burst of gamma radiation from a hypernova or a megavolcano erupts spewing particulates high into the atmosphere, blocking out our sunlight? How will we survive as a species then? Newitz interviews top scientists about the cities of tomorrow and where they’ll be located (probably underground), and how we could change genetically in order to survive on Mars or Titan. More good news—research into these far reaching fields will yield discoveries we’ll be able to use now, such as the space elevator and fuels derived from blue-green algae. All in all, our odds of surviving the apocalypse have never been better.

View all my reviews

Red Hot Excerpt from The Vampire Next Door

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  WARNING: This is an adult excerpt from The Vampire Next Door, now available at eXtasy Books!

The Vampire Next Door
by Celine Chatillon
180 pages
http://www.extasybooks.com/the-vampire-next-door/

The vampire Valentine Drakul longs for a mate, someone to share eternity with who won’t be totally grossed out living on a diet of steak tartare. Could the sexy girl living upstairs fulfill his every fantasy? 

    Melynda Kerpanik got the heck out of Dodge and ended up in St. Louis working for her cousin as an interior decorator. But will her career plans take a backseat to her curiosity about things that “go bump in the night”?

    A deadly foe ensnares Mel in his evil plot to rid the world of Kindred vampire race… Can Val save the mortal woman he loves without transforming her into the eternally lonely being he’s become?


Excerpt: Val and Melynda meet up in an alleyway...


She began to kiss his chin and face over and over again, stroking his shoulders and pecs, pressing her warm, womanly curves tight against his muscular frame. Val sighed and relaxed, pulling her deeper into the shadows with him. Leaning against the brick building brought back memories of other secret lovers’ rendezvous long ago on deserted streets and in back alleys. His cock grew hard, throbbing at the thrill of getting caught in the act.

“Hmm, Melynda, have you ever…?”

“Ever?” She paused her assault on his senses and smiled. “Have I ever done it under the moonlight in some back alleyway, you mean?”

“Exactly.” He lowered one dress strap and then another, lowering his lips to each nipple, licking it to full attention. “No one will see us here and the nearest occupied house is a block over.”

She chuckled. “I promise not to shout if you won’t.”


“No promise.”

Val squeezed her buttocks, rubbing the bulge in his pants against her pussy covered only by the thinnest of cloth. She threw back her head, and a low moan escaped her lithe, lovely throat. He fought off the urge to sink his fangs into the smooth, white flesh and partake of the life-giving liquid contained within.

Mel would give of herself in a human manner, the manner he had always desired to enjoy without corrupting it with his people’s ancient curse. He had vowed to act human, or at least as close an approximation to humanity as he could attain.

He pushed up her skirt and pulled her thong down, greedily fondling her clit. She was hot and wet and ready for the taking. As if reading his mind, she undid his jeans zipper and yanked his pants all the way down to his ankles.

“Hmm, I didn’t have any dessert tonight, by the way.” Mel knelt and nibbled his stiffening cock through the silky material of his boxers before removing the barrier and tantalizing the red, engorged head with her tongue. “Delicious.”

He groaned. The cool brick on his backside and the hot breath of his lover on his cock drove him to distraction. If he wasn’t careful, the neighbors would hear them. “I know someone else who’s finger-lickin’ good.”

Val pulled Mel to her feet, simultaneously plunging a tongue into her mouth and a digit deep into her eager pussy. She squealed in delight. He backed her up against the first step of the stoop and laid her down, continuing his assault on her cunt. As their kiss deepened she wrapped her legs about him and speared herself on his erection, drawing it deep within her.

He lifted her up as easily as she were a phantom without substance and took her deeper into the shadows, pinning her against the cool brick wall with his hot cock, madly ramming it harder and harder into her eager pussy. His mind went blank and his canines extended. He lightly raked them against the tender flesh of shoulders, drinking in the perfume of her blood. He teetered close to the edge of insanity.

Mel sighed. “Oh, Val, you know exactly how I like it—fast and hard. And that is the most wonderful sensation on my neck. Bite me, will you?”

His head instantly cleared. “What did you say?”

“I said give me a hickey. It won’t show if I wear a turtleneck for the next week or so. You’re driving me crazy with your nibbling. And I’m about to… I will if you…”

“Melynda, I can’t bite you. If I did, I’d…” He couldn’t say the words I wouldn’t stop until I had drained you of all your blood.

“Hmm, that’s okay. Just gum me a little harder.”

Drink, drink! She’s offering herself to you, a willing victim.

The Vampire Next Door, book 4 in the Kindred Vampire series, is now available at eXtasy Books:
http://www.extasybooks.com/the-vampire-next-door/

It's almost time to sink your teeth into... The Vampire Next Door!

Coming May 15th from eXtasy Books... The Vampire Next Door

Book 4 in the Kindred Vampires series is a contemporary tale of a divorcee who moves to the big city and discovers her handsome "night owl" neighbor is more than just sexy and handsome--he's a vampire!

 The Vampire Next Door
http://www.extasybooks.com

Valentine Drakul longs for a mate, someone to share eternity with who won’t be totally grossed out living on a diet of steak tartare. Could the sexy girl living upstairs fulfill his every fantasy?

Melynda Kerpanik got the heck out of Dodge and ended up in St. Louis working for her cousin as an interior decorator. But will her career plans take a backseat to her curiosity about things that “go bump in the night”?

A deadly foe ensnares Mel in his evil plot to rid the world of Kindred race... Can Val save the mortal woman he loves without transforming her into the eternally lonely being he's become?


(I hope to see you at Marcon May 9 - 11 in Columbus, Ohio! This is our first time at Marcon, so be sure to say hello and help us find our way around.)