Meredith R. Stoddard's Blog, page 12

Fall for the Indie Book: Dying for a Living

I'm a little late this week, because last week was crazy busy with writing and producing a new short story. But here is the latest review for the Fall for the Indie Book Challenge. 

This time I'm tackling Kory M. Shrum's Dying for a Living (A Jessica Sullivan Novel) or maybe I should say giving this book a great big hug rather than tackling it. There is so much to like about this story. 

Here's a little summary:

Jessica or Jesse makes her living as a Death Replacement Agent thanks to a genetic variation that makes her a Necronite, someone whose body can restart itself after dying. So she acts as a kind of death magnet when accidents happen she can step in and die on behalf of someone, then reboot herself after a brief down period. But one day a "client" tries to kill Jesse permanently. In trying to figure out why, Jesse uncovers a rat's nest of conflicts and conspiracies within the agency she works for and various other authorities. On top of that she's trying to manage a personal life including friends, a lover and someone who is somewhere in between. 

One of the toughest things about a book like this is making the fantasy of Necronites and their place in society and how society reacts to them believable. I'm happy to say that Shrum does a great job with this. I was impressed with how well-thought out the scientific, social and political aspects of this sort of thing were in this book. Shrum builds a world that behaves exactly as you would expect our society to deal with finding out that there are people among us for whom death isn't a permanent condition.

In addition to creating a believable world for this story. The characters are also highly credible. Jesse is snarky, funny and sharp about a lot of things, but a bit thick about emotional issues. Given her backstory which I won't spoil for you, she is exactly what you might expect. She's likable, but still has her share of faults and manages to confront some of them in the course of the story. The supporting characters like her lover, Lane and friend/coworker Allie, and mentor Brinkley also have depth that makes Jesse's relationship to them interesting to the reader and makes them effective plot movers rather than just props.

Overall, I am very glad that I read this one, and will likely read the next in the series, Dying by the Hour.

Meaner, Smarter, Sexier

I ran out of banked blog posts, so I was wondering what I was going to write about this week. I didn't want to do another Outlander related post because I did one last week. While this is not exclusively an Outlander blog, there is a lot to learn from this adaptation process. It opens up new avenues of discussion on material many of us are already familiar with and I like that. I'm don't do weekly recaps, or reviews. I like analysis and the debates that arrive from discussing the many layers of this story.

One of the things that has come up in some forums after The Wedding episode is the question of whether Dougal MacKenzie is made to seem more of a villain in the show than he was in the books. I don't think so. I know what you're thinking, I'm Dougal's chief apologist and to a certain extent, you're right. I love Dougal, because he's a challenge. Who doesn't love a guy who is described like this?

“One thing to be said for Dougal MacKenzie was that an encounter with him stimulated the mental processes, out of the sheer necessity of trying to figure out what he was actually up to at any given moment. ”

— Dragonfly in Amber

However, I could just as easily be an apologist for Laoghaire or Jack Randall (Yeah, I said that.) That's because one of the things I like most about Diana Gabaldon's books is that none of her characters are purely bad or purely good. They're all human. The ones we love, like Jamie and Claire make mistakes. I won't mention them for the sake of spoilers. And the ones we hate like Jack, Loaghaire and Dougal have some goodness in them. They have some vulnerability. Dougal for example cares very deeply for his men and his clan. We saw that when Geordie got gored by the boar, and we'll see it again in Dragonfly in Amber. Jack loves his brother and in a strange, twisted way I think he loves Jamie. And Laoghaire is just immature and insecure. This is true of the later books as well. Antagonists like Stephen Bonnett and Malva Christie, show some vulnerability. There is a reason why Disney saw fit to make an entire film, Maleficent, around one of their classic villains, because we like villains. And we like it when they have weaknesses.

The antagonists in my work have their own vulnerabilities. Blackbeard in The White House despite being brutal and single-minded in a way that I think Dougal MacKenzie would admire is also tired and lonely. Dr. Manney in A Fond KIss, just wants the best for his children although his idea of what's best isn't always the same as theirs. I won't name the bad guys in The River Maiden, but they're there and trust me, they're not purely bad either.

It reminds me of a favorite quote from Steven Pressfield's The War of Art. (see image to right) DG likes to relate a story of sitting down to lunch with some readers all talking about how evil Jack Randall is not realizing that she is Jack Randall. She's also Dougal, and Loaghaire and Bonnett and Malva and Rob Cameron...That's how this fiction writing thing works. 

We're like actors, except we don't need costumes or make up and we write the scripts as we go. I've just spent the last several days trying to find the voice for a particular character. This one has given me fits, because she's pretty different from me. I was having a hard time finding that common thread that tied me to her so that I could write HER words. Much like an actor might search for the right sense memory to get into a scene or a character's head, writer's do the same. Music is a big help for me. Certain songs can pull me into the head of a character or set the tone or pacing of a particular scene. I've heard other writer's talk about using certain hats. I do have a shawl that I find especially helpful for a certain character. Tobias Menzies has said in interviews how important his costumes are for helping him switch from playing Frank to playing Jack. Because those things whether they're clothes or music or a certain scent (lavender anyone?)  put us into those characters. 

Still, no matter how immersed I am, there's always something of me in the characters, "even the villains. Especially the villains."

Fall for the Indie Book: Return of the Rose

In keeping with last week's time travel theme, I went with another time travel book this week. I chose Theresa Ragan's Return of the Rose. There is a little twist in this one, because the heroine had already traveled through time once, she just didn't know it.

Morgan Hayes was actually born a twin in the fifteenth century, but was born sick and in a desperate bid to save her, her father let a witch send her forward to a time when she could be healed. Morgan grows up in the modern world, but through a strange series of events involving a suit of armor gets sent back to her original time and is mistaken for her twin sister. She finds herself unwittingly betrothed to a Derek Vanguard, Lord of Braddock Hall. Naturally, the modern girl butts heads with Lord Vanguard and his fifteenth century sensibilities and has a very difficult time convincing him that she is not her sister, Lady Amanda. Meanwhile, Amanda's true love is also fooled and keeps trying to get Morgan to run away with him. 

If you are looking for a fun, romantic adventure, and aren't too concerned about historical accuracy, then you might enjoy this book. Because that's what it is. Unfortunately, I'm history nerd, so I get bothered when the fifteenth century servants call for "doctor" or when the Lord of Braddock Hall is repeatedly called Lord Vanguard instead of Lord Braddock. It's a bit like calling Prince Charles the Prince of Windsor instead of the Prince of Wales. One is a surname, the other is a title. There is also the issue of Morgan convincing some of the castle women to go swimming in homemade bikinis. 

One thing this book got very right however is the hero's comeuppance in the end. It's a common romance novel formula to have the heroine insisting one thing is true, while the hero refuses to believe her and punishes her/abuses her/breaks her heart wrongly. In the end when he realizes the error of his ways, he offers a mea culpa that melts her heart.  There's nothing wrong with this formula, in fact I quite enjoy it. However, I when I read those mea culpa scenes, I'm frequently left feeling like she forgave him way too easily and quickly. Without giving any spoilers, I'm happy to say that wasn't the case with this book. He had to work for it, and she really thought about whether things would work out. I found that scene to be the most realistic of the book. 

Now, Theresa Ragan is a bestselling author, so obviously there are a lot of people who enjoy her books and obviously she knows what she's about.  I mayl pick up one of her contemporary fiction books in the future. 

The River Maiden - The song

In The River Maiden, Sarah spends her time chasing down a particular song. That's where the book get its title. This song itself is fictional. I wrote the lyrics to match the legend of The River Maiden. The legend is also invented but is an amalgam of various motifs commonly found in Celtic folklore. 

Just as the legend employs common Celtic themes, the song uses a common structure found in Scottish folk songs. I confess that the Gaelic version might not have exactly the right amount of syllables per line to make it properly poetic. I wrote the original in English and had it translated by the incredibly helpful Caroline Root at Daily Gaelic. 

Like most folksongs, I borrowed the tune, or at least my mental imagining of the tune from another traditional Gaelic song, Blar Inbhir Lochaidh. It's a hauntingly beautiful song about the Battle of Inverlochy during the Scottish Civil War, and it makes me cry every time I hear it. Here is Mary Jane Lamond giving a

More importantly it follows a common structure in which each verse contains two lines that tell the story alternating with two punctuating lines creating a dirge-like rhythm. These punctuating lines can contain a repeated declaration or lament. They can also be simply a series of sounds that create the right rhythm. 

The structure looks a bit like this. 

“‘S gur e mise th’ air m’aineol
Na i ri ri si ri o ro
O gur mise th’ air mo leònadh
Na i ro ri o ho

O gur mise th’ air mo leònadh
Na i ri ri si ri o ro
Bho latha Blàr Inbhir Lòchaidh
Na i ro ri o ho ”

First line of storyPunctuating line 1Next line of storyPunctuating line 2

Here are some lines from Blar Inbhir Lochaidh as an example. 

The punctuating lines here don't translate. They either have no meaning or it has been lost in several hundred years of being passed down.  You can see the full text and translation here. 

There are many other songs that follow this structure. Most commonly they are laments or ballads. I used that structure when constructing the song for The River Maiden. As I said, I wrote it first in English, then had it translated by a pro, because my Gàidhlig is not good enough for that.

Here is the text of whole song with the Gaelic translation on the right. Note: The entire song never appears in one place in the book, only in parts. 

“The king was wandering, miserable
The king was lost in the mist
He sat to brood beside the river
He will rise again

A maiden swam on the surface
The king was lost in the mist
What troubles you, king?
He will rise again

The tribes are at odds with each other
The king was lost in the mist
What I wanted was peace
He will rise again

Join me in the cool water
The king was lost in the mist
It is so very soothing
He will rise again

He swam in the river beside her
The king was lost in the mist
They drifted down the river to a hidden island
He will rise again

He said, “We are lost.”
The king was lost in the mist
She said, “No, this is my home.”
He will rise again

She led him to the high fort
The king was lost in the mist
This is my father, king of your people.
He will rise again

The old king had a sickly yellow pallor
The king was lost in the mist
And he was lame in one leg
He will rise again

There was a big pot on the hearth
The king was lost in the mist
There was food aplenty in the pot
He will rise again

He was given a bowl of delicious stew
The king was lost in the mist
Eat up, the pot will make more
He will rise again

She led him to a hidden cave
The king was lost in the mist
There was a great stone in the cave
He will rise again

This is the heart of my people
The king was lost in the mist
He kissed her on the stone
He will rise again

A raging storm attacked the island
The king was lost in the mist
The island sank under the water
He will rise again

The young king awoke on the shore
The king was lost in the mist
The maiden was beside him with the great pot
He will rise again

He had a son with that woman
The king was lost in the mist
The son became king of all people
He will rise again”

“Bha an rìgh a’ siùbhlach, gu tùrsach
Bha an rìgh air chall ‘s a cheò
Shuidh e ri taobh na h-aibhne lan smaointinn
Eirichidh e a-rithist

Shnàmh mhaidean air an uisge
Bha an rìgh air chall ‘s a cheò
Dè tha a’ cur drag ort a rìgh?
Eirichidh e a-rithist

Tha na cinnidhean an adhaidh a cheile
Bha an rìgh air chall ‘s a cheò
‘S e an sìth a bha mi ag iarraidh.
Eirichidh e a-rithist

Trobhad a-steach dhan uisge comhla ruim
Bha an rìgh air chall ‘s a cheò
Tha e cho ciuin
Eirichidh e a-rithist

Shnàmh e anns an abhainn ri a taobh
Bha an rìgh air chall ‘s a cheò
Dhrioft iad sìos an abhainn gu eilean falaichte
Eirichidh e a-rithist

Thuirt e “Tha sinn air chall”
Bha an rìgh air chall ‘s a cheò
Thuirt i “ Chan eil. ‘S e seo an dachaidh agam”
Eirichidh e a-rithist

Stiùir i e dhan dùn àrd
Bha an rìgh air chall ‘s a cheò
Seo m’athair rìgh an cinneadh agad.
Eirichidh e a-rithist

Bha coltas tinn agus buidhe air
Bha an rìgh air chall ‘s a cheò
Agus bha e crubach
Eirichidh e a-rithist

Bha poit mhòr air an gealban
Bha an rìgh air chall ‘s a cheò
Bha pailteas de bhiadh anns a’ phoit
Eirichidh e a-rithist

Bha bobhla stiubha blasta air a thoirt dha
Bha an rìgh air chall ‘s a cheò
‘Ith gu leòr, Ni am poit barachd
Eirichidh e a-rithist

Stiùir i e gu uamh falichte
Bha an rìgh air chall ‘s a cheò
Bha clach mhòr anns an uamh
Eirichidh e a-rithist

‘S e seo cridhe mo threubh
Bha an rìgh air chall ‘s a cheò
Thuig e pòg dhi ‘s iad air a’ chlach
Eirichidh e a-rithist

Bhuail stoirm gu cruidh air an eilean
Bha an rìgh air chall ‘s a cheò
Chaidh an t-eilean fodha
Eirichidh e a-rithist

Dhuisg an rìgh òg air a’ chladach
Bha an rìgh air chall ‘s a cheò
Bha a’ mhaidean ri a thaobh leis a phoit mhòr.
Eirichidh e a-rithist

Bha mac aig an rìgh agus a’ bhoireanach
Bha an rìgh air chall ‘s a cheò
Chaidh a chrùnadh mar rìgh nan cinndhean uile.
Eirichidh e a-rithist”

I did leave off the mysterious last verse that Sarah is unable to decipher to avoid spoilers. The story lines of that last verse are neither Gaelic nor Welsh, but a blend of the two. Just as the proto-Celtic language likely was before the Q-Celtic and P-Celtic languages split.. The meaning of those lines will be revealed in the next book. 

Shh...Do you hear that?

It's the sound of all of those 'poutlanders' left speechless by this week's Outlander episode, The Garrison Commander. I'm talking about those folks who watch with books in hand decrying every difference between the book and the show.  I'm not sure whether it was the watch through your fingers goriness of the flogging scene or the outstanding performances of all involved, or maybe those picking apart every previous episode have just given up, but there seems to be a distinct lack of complaints this week about things that are different from the book.

And there was A LOT that was different from the book this week, but at its core there was a lot that was the same. One key difference actually started last week in the form of the dashing Lt. Foster, which I also don't think I heard much griping about. Foster and his gallant offer to help Claire provides the impetus for taking her to the inn where she encounters Jack Randall. Now, in the books Dougal doesn't need any reason other than to see if she is a spy. This works in the book because it's a lot easier to convey the subtleties of the relationship between the Scottish nobles and their English occupiers in print. Unfortunately, that doesn't make for great TV drama. It would have been difficult for viewers not versed in Scottish history to understand the sort of tense cooperation that characterized that relationship. 

Instead, we get handsome, heroic  Lt. Foster saving the "English rose" from her savage hosts and taking her to what is possibly the most tension filled dinner since Walt and Hank took Skyler and Marie to Gardunia's Taqueria. (One of my favorite TV moment ever!) 

Here is where we get to see that "respectful" occupation played out in all it's subtext laden glory. When Lord Thomas acknowledges Dougal's nobility, but makes his disdain obvious as well, he's summing up the Scottish/English relationship in a nutshell. In fact despite all of his fawning over Claire, he gets so carried away with his genteel bullying that he completely forgets there's a lady in the room until Dougal reminds him. He even struts about claiming to like being a "man in the field". Seeing Lord Thomas's behavior deteriorate so quickly makes the idea of the Kurtz-like descent into madness that Jack claims later almost seem believable. This entire scene is invented for the show and it works incredibly well with the likes of and in the Walt & Hank roles here. 

Once Dougal leaves, things relax and Claire can charm the officers until Jack arrives and we get THAT scene. Readers will know that in the books we piece together the details of the flogging from Dougal and Jamie's memories. While repetition and exploration might have more impact in the course of an almost 900 page book, television requires a more direct impact to convey the gravity of the events. I love that they chose to give us that direct account through the eyes of Jack Randall. This gives us not just the impression of the acts themselves, but of the crowd's reaction and of his own reaction instead of  just Jamie's or Dougal's speculation about it. 

I absolutely love this whole conversation and and deserve every accolade they get for this scene. There is so much going on here. He's coming out to her as a depraved sadist (No offense intended to actual sadists who gain consent.) She's learning more about Jack's character and developing an even stronger admiration for Jamie's character. She's searching for a way out of that inn, whether to Inverness or anywhere Jack Randall isn't. She's also dealing with the horror of a man with her beloved husband's face and voice describing his gruesome enjoyment of that brutal act. What was a relatively short but impactful scene in the book, became a drawn out character piece full of juicy dramatic goodness. 

The flogging parts in Jack's flashback and his voice narrating does a far better job of conveying just how sick Jack is. Tobias Menzies absolutely disappeared in this segment. I believed that he got a sexual thrill out of flogging poor Jamie. And deserves a lot of credit for that scene as well. For all he spent most of the time facing a pole, his physicality in this scene conveyed the right balance of physical pain and determination of spirit. The dynamic between the two of them in that scene deftly sets up the unfinished business that book readers know is coming. We won't need Claire's narration to tell us that when the time comes. We won't be likely to forget it. 

This episode of Outlander arguably departs from the book the most of any episode so far, but it also stays true to the core of the story. Those departures make this story that much more exciting for TV audiences. It also gives book fans a different view, a further exploration of the story that many of us know inside and out. We're not just watching scenes that we've wanted to see on screen for decades, we're exploring that world that we love from new angles. And I for one, feel like the story is richer for it.

 

Fall for the Indie Book Challenge: Out of Time

I found this book through some of my Outlander pals, and it sounded like an interesting time travel romance. What history nerd doesn't like a good time travel romance, right? Imagine my surprise when I started reading only to find that part of the book is set in my hometown of Fredericksburg, VA, even more so when the main character's mother lives a "few miles up the Rapphannock" on what is probably the same road I grew up on. So, my review might be slightly biased from familiarity alone.

I will say that it's clear that Truscott knows the town. Having lived there almost all of my life, I can attest that no matter how big it seems to get Fredericksburg is still a small town. She does a great job of capturing that small town, feel for a family that has generations of history there. When she was describing some of the characters, I could easily have seen them walking down Caroline Street.

Location aside, I really enjoyed this book. I found that I had a hard time putting it down. Right from the start we learn about some of Kathy Lee's back story and the challenges that she faces, and they are many. Her mother for one thing has an interesting history, and her husband is no prize. She had given up on her marriage, but is reluctant to admit it to anyone but herself. The action really begins when she inherits a house in Pennsylvania from an uncle she hasn't seen in ages. It offers the perfect opportunity for her to step away and clear her head so that she can deal with the breakup of her marriage.

As she's cleaning up the house she discovers a Revolutionary War Era British officer in her garden shed. Neither one of them really understands how he got there, and they spend the rest of the book working together to figure out how to get him back. Add to that the potential danger of another time traveler and someone who wants very badly to get his hands on Kathy Lee's new house and you've got the potential for lots of action and tension. Of course, there is also plenty of tension between Kathy Lee and Robert the dashing officer.

The key characters have rich back stories and stay true to who they are throughout the book. It's the complexity of the characters and the situations they are in that make this book work. They have more to puzzle over than the figuring out how Robert got into the woodshed. Kathy Lee has to figure out how to end her marriage and what she and her children will do once that is done. Robert has his own emotional baggage to deal with on top of being stuck in the twenty-first century. The story is much richer for all of this complexity. The action does slow down a little in the middle, but when it picks up it really moves. It is a romance after all, so the ending is a little predictable, but getting there is a lot of fun.

Out of Time is also the first of a series. The next book, In the Nick came out last April. I look forward to reading that one too.

Win a signed copy of The River Maiden

To celebrate kids going back to school and me being able to FINALLY dive deep into writing the next book in the series, I decided to do a Goodreads giveaway. So, 5 lucky readers can win a signed copy of The River Maiden. All you have to do is sign up below.

Goodreads Book Giveaway








The River Maiden


by Meredith R. Stoddard

Giveaway ends September 16, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

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Hope, fear and narrative power

I had originally planned another post about the music behind The River Maiden. In fact, I wrote one and have it sitting in the bank waiting to be published. However, something in the news yesterday caught my eye. It was this article in the US edition of The Huffington Post. The gist of the article is that the campaign for Scottish independence or the "Yes Campaign" came out the leader in a poll for the first time. 

I write FICTION about neo-Jacobites on the cusp of the twenty-first century, so I've been watching the referendum debate much closer than your average American. But, I am American and don't live in Scotland, so don't have a dog in this fight.  I'm just an outside observer. I like to think of myself as a perceptive observer and I am a professional story teller. Now, it would take history and economics lessons far longer than I can fit into a blog post to explore this issue, and the referendum itself is not really what this post is about. I'm writing today because of the stories being told by the campaigns on either side. 

I confess I'm a political nerd. Here in the states I watch campaigns and have even worked some, and (money aside) the campaign that is successful is always the campaign that can tell the better story. I learned in over a decade in software sales that the most popular product wasn't always the best product. It was always the product with the best marketing. Sometimes that means the most coherent story, but more often it means the story that people respond to in an emotional way. In the jaded world that we live, people want a positive story. They want hope. And THAT is why the Yes campaign is gaining ground. 

The majority of the argument that has come from the "Better Together" campaign has been stoking fear about what would happen if Scotland became independent. You hear things like: "The economy will go into a tailspin.", "Who will manage the National Health Service?", "If Scotland becomes independent Wales and Northern Ireland will want to leave too?", "The oil will run out and then Scotland will be poor and helpless." There are all manner of straw man scenarios that have been floated that would be the supposed result of devolution, but they're all hypothetical. 

This scare mongering is perfectly exemplified in the following ad that was released last month. 

This is possibly the most insulting political ad I have ever seen and believe me we have plenty of them here. According to this ad, Yes voters are irresponsible gamblers, but No voters are just too busy to get informed and have their heads in the sand. And don't even get me started on the blatant misogyny going on here. In fact, the ad is roundly trashed that it has prompted a wide array of memes. I think one sums it up. 

It might be more accurate to call the "Better Together" campaign the "Don't rock the boat campaign" or the "Shut up and eat your cereal campaign".

Contrast that ad with this one for the Yes campaign. 

It's a much more positive message. It's not saying vote status quo because change is scary. It gives people something to vote FOR. The message here resonates because it gives people HOPE. Grant O'Rourke (2:30) actually makes me a little teary in this video. It's hard to look at the hope in his eyes and not get a warm feeling. It's the Scottish version of "Yes we can!" and that worked pretty well here. 

If you want more specifics you can watch the debates between Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling on Youtube. However, even during the debates you will find that those for independence have a plan with specifics and those who are against independence, don't have a plan for improving life in Scotland. They just want to shoot holes in the independence plan. 

Either way the majority of the argument presented by Better Together appears to be more about the potential horrors of parting than a plan to actually make it better for people in Scotland. That is until the late last week when a list of promises to move toward self-rule were released after the polls started showing a shift. This seems to be viewed as a panic move, sort of their version of John McCain suspending his presidential campaign to go to the White House to solve the financial crisis when no one asked for his help. Nice to see them offering some sort of plan, but I think it's a bit too late in the political narrative for that. It just winds up looking desperate. 

As I mentioned before, I write FICTION about Scottish independence, but it's just that fiction. What's going on right now is very real. And story telling is a very important part of convincing voters either way. At moment it appears that the Yes Campaign owns the narrative. They are simply telling a better story, and if the momentum continues it might just carry them to independence.

Fall for the Indie Book Challenge - How To Be Alive

Buy on Amazon 

For my first review of the Fall for the Indie Book Challenge, I picked Mary Chris Escobar's How To Be Alive. I have read and reviewed Escobar's Neverending Beginnings in the past and enjoyed that book. So, I had a reasonable expectation that this would be a positive start to the challenge. 

I was not disappointed. The book starts with Jen Emerson attempting to get back to something like a normal life after her fiance dies in a car accident. The trouble is that when Jen starts reflecting on that life, she realizes that not only isn't it the life she and her fiance planned for themselves, but that their relationship wasn't what all it was cracked up to be. She's assisted in this realization by the escalating harassment and manipulations of her fiance's high school sweetheart. She attempts to start a new life, but blunders into the path of a friend from her past with whom she has some unfinished business.

One of the things that I love about this book is that the characters are very real. They're not perfect. They make mistakes, have foibles, and sometimes even let each other down. It is easy to find yourself wanting to sit down and have a beer with them.  So frequently in books like this characters can end up being trope-y. There's the gently wise best friend, and/or the saucy straight-talker and the hero who comes in a fixes it all. Those characters are here, but the wise best friend has her own thing going on. She's not there just as a foil for the main character. The saucy straight-talking pal is starting a new romance. And the hero for all that he's a good guy, doesn't swoop in an fix everything. He also has the irritating habit of mansplaining to Jen just what she should be doing. 

Where the book wins is that Jen manages to figure a lot of things out for herself. She finds she can be happy for her friends and their successes. She also calls the hero on his mansplaining ways. To his credit, he can admit when he's wrong. Where so many books that begin with the death of a partner devolve into syrupy stories of loss recovery. This one manages to keep the characters grounded and not taking themselves too seriously.

There is a twist toward the end of the story that has the potential to upend all of Jen's progress. I won't spoil it, but I did see it coming. It gives Jen the perfect opportunity to test her progress in recovering from where she was at the beginning.

Which brings me to the other thing that I love about this book. Jen fixes her life herself. She doesn't rely on a new guy to fix things for her. And she doesn't just fall into a new situation. She shows a lot of independence and strength. Sure, she made some mistakes, but I think How To Be Alive leaves us hoping we would be able to recover as well as she does. 

You can find out more about Mary Chris Escobar and her books on her website. 

Next up Out of Time from another Virginia writer Deborah Truscott.

Follow up: 2 Sides of the Same Coin

My blog post 2 Sides of the Same Coin from last December on the parallels in character and the relationship between Jamie Fraser and his uncle Dougal MacKenzie is my most read post EVER. So, I've known for a while that I would need to do a follow up now that I've seen some of the show. I originally thought that I would wait until the mid-season break, but then I saw Episode 104: The Gathering. First of all for a Dougal fan like me, this episode was a delicious meaty dish of subtext. The writers made it just as much about Dougal and Jamie as it was about Jamie and Claire. And Graham McTavish OWNED it. It's like the writers read my post or something.  

“Spoiler alert! Don’t read any further if you haven’t seen Episode 104.”

Poor Dougal had a rough couple of days. 

Seriously there was so much Jamie/Dougal interplay in this episode that I half expected them to start arm wrestling at any moment. The key with this episode is that Dougal taught Jamie how to navigate clan politics just as much as he taught him to fight and play shinty. But now the student is surpassing the teacher and it is eating Dougal from the inside out. With the exception of Geordie's death and telling Claire that they were going on the road, there was nothing in this episode that Dougal did that Jamie didn't also do.  I almost thought that game of shinty was going to end up with them lifting their kilts to compare their goods. Tough part for Uncle Dougal is that in all those things they both did, Jamie did them better. 

Save Claire from being accosted by drunken, lecherous faceless clansmen.Dougal: Saves Claire, but then proves himself dangerous by also accosting her. Jamie: Saves Claire and gets himself knocked on the head for it by Rupert. Sure he got knocked out, but wins chivalry points for not pawing at her when he has the chance.Manhandling Claire.Dougal: After rescuing Claire from the clansmen too drunk to find a privy, Dougal procedes to demonstrate that his interest in Claire isn't only because he thinks she's a spy. (Incidentally, Graham McTavish could pin me up against a wall any day. Hottest scene of the show.)Jamie: Tumbles Claire in the hay when she almost trips over him. Loses points to Dougal on this one for pulling a knife. Gains them back for that smile and the fact that he didn't take advantage of her when she was in that position. Lord knows Dougal would have. I'm calling this one a drawThwarted Claire's attempt to leave.Dougal: Notices Claire's sack of provisions and nearly calls her out for it, but is too drunk and gets knocked on the head instead.Jamie: Logically convinces Claire that it would be futile to try, and tries to help her get back inside without trouble. Points to Jamie for treating Claire like the intelligent person that she is.  (If you're keeping score that's Jamie 2, Dougal 0, and 1 draw) Lusting after Claire. (Well, who wouldn't?)Dougal: Dougal spends some time in the hallway drunkenly staring into Claire's eyes before groping and kissing her. He certainly gave Jamie a run for his money in the eye sex department, which is a pretty tall order after last week. Loses points though for being drunk. It's hard to tell when a guy is drunk if he's really into you or just having trouble focusing.Jamie: Just more of what we saw last week. Seriously, Sam Heughan could teach classes in smoldering looks. Swearing an oathDougal: Goes first, does it with eloquence and gravity, as he should. Jamie: Manages to 'split the baby' by swearing an oath of obedience while on MacKenzie lands, but not out right allegiance. Very wise. Dougal of course looks on feeling a little thwarted by not being able to kill Jamie on the spot. Colum on the other hand seems impressed with Jamie's ability to navigate such a tricky situation. We're left wondering if Dougal would have been as wise had he been in Jamie's shoes.Drinking more than required with the oathDougal: Early in the episode when Dougal gives his oath, he drinks from the quaich and then steps away and drinks considerably more. It's like the little bit of leadership (or oath taking whisky) that he shares with his brother isn't enough for Dougal. Of course, we all know it's not, but Dougal doesn't say it openly, he goes off to the side and swigs with gusto while Colum is hearing the oaths of others.Jamie: On the other hand, Jamie publicly and obviously drinks every drop in the quaich. In Jamie's case, he's not saying he wants more. He's saying he appreciates the MacKenzie hospitality and will honor it as long as he's there and he REALLY means it.Playing Shinty - This was great addition for the show. It really demonstrates the competitive and paternal relationship that these two have. Dougal clearly needing to blow off some steam after watching his friend die chooses Jamie as his punching bag because Jamie has been besting him left and right during The Gathering. Jamie accepts some of that out of respect. He clearly doesn't fight back as hard as he could. But when he's had enough, he flips Dougal over his shoulder. (Don't click Play yet.)

Still keeping score? That's Jamie 6, Dougal nil, 1 draw.

“WARNING: Minor Dragonfly in Amber spoiler ahead. Do not read anymore if you don’t want to know where this is all going. ”

One of the benefits of making a show based on a book series is that you can in episode 4 foreshadow something that won't happen until nearly the end of the second season. Just look at the image above (providing you haven't clicked play yet. I did tell you not to). I know the script for this episode says, "I taught you this game." but I can't help looking at Dougal's face and hearing...

“Come here to me, fox cub. I’ll kill ye quick for your mother’s sake. ”

(You can click play now. I'll wait...)

Naturally, Dougal does manage to assert his power in the end by declaring that Claire will go with them. Sure, he says he needs a healer on the road, though that reasoning sounds flimsy. Those of us who have read the books know that he's also going to take her to Fort William to see if she's a spy. Still, after being shown up by Jamie at the oath taking and shinty, it seems a little more like Dougal is pointing out that he can take away Jamie's new friend and depending on what happens at Fort William it could be permanent.  He's reminding Jamie and anyone else who might doubt it that he's still Colum's right hand man. 

I should also say at this point that Graham McTavish and Sam Heughan are giving fantastic performances. Much has been made of the on screen chemistry between Heughan and Caitriona Balfe, but I think there is terrific chemistry between these two gents. I can easily believe that they are uncle/foster father and nephew/foster son. I can't wait to see them on the road in Episode 105.