Coral Alejandra Moore's Blog, page 2

An Update? In This Economy?

Okay my lovelies. I know it’s been a minute. I’m sorry about that. I don’t really have any excuses that aren’t just life, so I won’t bother with them. Who has time for that anyway?

If you’re here, it’s most likely because you have at some point enjoyed my writing. The good news is that I’ve come to a realization about me and my writing this weekend and that’s what I’m here to talk about today. The bad news is that some of you might not like what I’m going to say. Not in a bad way really, just in a maybe you didn’t come here for that kind of way. Anyway, let’s get to it.

The majority of you are probably here because you read and liked Broods of Fenrir. More people have read those two self-published books of mine than probably anything else I’ve written. The news for you is excellent. Today, for the first time since 20 and fricken 13 I opened the folder marked Broods 3 and started looking at it.

You see, something happened to me in 2013 and I’ve never talked about it much, because I didn’t realize until just this week how much it had affected me. (Yes, I can be a terribly slow learner when it comes to things about me. Denial is a bitch.) That was when I started to believe everyone in the publishing industry who kept saying things like “Urban Fantasy is dead” and scoffed whenever I said I wrote Paranormal Romance. I decided that I had to listen to them. I had to grow up and be a “real writer” (whatever the hell that is). So, I put aside Broods and everything else I had written to that point and started to go another way.

It’s been a struggle, to put it mildly. While I’ve certainly had moments where I believed in that change there were far more where I hated every word I wrote during the entire time since. Finishing anything was torture and I had no idea why. This coincided roughly with several large changes in my life, so I had a hard time pinpointing why all of a sudden writing had become so difficult. Then 2016 happened. Then 2020 happened. And now here we are.

But I hadn’t only stopped writing, I had also largely stopped reading. I felt like I didn’t have the attention span for either of those activities I’d once loved so much.

Then, a couple of weeks ago I picked up a thing I had put down all that time ago that I had loved reading. I’m not going to tell you what, because that’s not important. What I will tell you is that since then I have consumed more words than in probably the last two years, maybe even the last five years, I don’t know. Then I moved on to another thing. And another. And then I opened up the first Broods book and read that for the first time in ten years. Then I opened up the second one and read that one too.

And you know what I realized? I fucking love Urban Fantasy. I love Paranormal Romance. Those genres thrill me. They have since I picked up my very first one. Why? Eh, who cares? They bring me joy. So why had I been letting some people I don’t even know tell me they were dead? You know, I have no fucking idea. I shouldn’t have.

So here’s the news: I’m going to start writing that third Broods book. I deserve an ending, and so do Brand and Dagny, Gunni and Leo, and every other character in that world–and so do you, Dear Reader. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to come to that conclusion. Like I said, sometimes I can take a while to learn something about myself. The third book may be substantially different in style as I’ve changed a lot as a writer in the last ten years, but I think that will only make it better than it would have been, honestly. That book already had an outline and a title which I’ll share in another post… someday soon. (How’s that for a tease?!)

I have another book that I’m in the middle of writing that is also Urban Fantasy that I will finish called Inundation. That one is likely to be posted as a serial once it’s all done, at least that’s what I’m thinking right now.

I have another Urban Fantasy novel that the first draft is done called Summoner’s Circle that I also haven’t touched since 2013. Once I’m done with Broods 3 and Inundation, I’ll crack that one open and see if I think it’s worth delving into again.

After that… well I’m thinking I’m going to invent a whole new sprawling paranormal world, just because I can. Some of you might wonder why I don’t just continue on with Broods, and there are lots of reasons for that. Mostly, when I was writing those first two books I was in a certain place in my writing where I no longer am. I want to finish that story, because I think we all deserve it–like I said–but I don’t feel the need to expand that world any more than the bounds of the current characters’ story. I want to start over with something new and sparkly.

For those of you who have come here because of my science fiction or more traditional fantasy, well, I probably won’t write much more of that anytime soon. That’s the bad news I alluded to at the start. I’m not saying I never will again, but it’s just not where my heart dwells.

And I think that’s about all I have for now. Whew, that was a lot. Anyway, I think I’ll be back soon with more to tell you, because I have so many thoughts and plans and schemes and I want to share them, but for now I’ll let you fly off somewhere else.

Love and puppies,

Coral <3

Eff That Guy

The older I get, the more I resent being taught about the man whose holiday began this week in school but never being taught about the other side. I understand, sort of. I mean, if I had learned all of the stuff I know now I would probably have been a furious 10-year-old, and I guess no one wants that.

Because honestly, that’s how I feel every time I even read that man’s name anymore. FURIOUS.

He decimated an entire civilization–a peaceful civilization that welcomed him and his weary men when they landed–one that I can draw a straight line back to through my mother, and he’s lauded as a hero. He even has a fucking holiday.

[image error]Boineal the Sun God by Sabrina Cintron

Honestly, I can barely think straight if I think about it too much. So I guess I understand. A little. It would have been really confusing for ten year old me to learn about this stuff. I would have known they were talking about people who look a lot like me and it might have been even more isolating for me. I do resent the lie that is foisted on American children. The cute rhymes.

Having to learn the names of his ships but not the names of the people he almost wiped off the face of the face of the earth, that’s really the worst part. I didn’t even know the name of the people I am descended from until I had a conversation with my uncle about it. That’s how forgotten they are. It’s insulting and I hate it.

[image error]Yuiza by Samuel Lind

So, I guess what I’m saying is: do me a favor, go read about the Taíno people and learn a thing. It would mean the world to me.

Fuck that guy.

-C

So Needless to Say

Apparently I have things to say about television shows lately. So like my last post, this post comes with very strong spoiler warnings for both Season 4 of Veronica Mars and Season 4 of The Magicians. If you haven’t seen both of those season finales (or you just don’t care) look away now child of the light!

I’m serious. Big spoilers here. Turn back before it’s too late!

Okay, here we are in spoiler land. It’s nice here. The water is so warm. The reason I want to talk about both of these seasons at the same time is because of my last post. I spent quite a few words telling you why I thought the ending of Season 4 of Veronica Mars didn’t work. I spent a lot of time talking about the reasons, and they weren’t just the killing of a beloved character. Not really. And to prove my point I’m going to talk about the murder of another popular character-Quentin Coldwater.

You see, the latest seasons of these two shows are similar in a lot of ways. Both finales feature the killing of a major character near the end of the season. However, I feel like Veronica Mars failed at this and The Magicians managed it beautifully, and in this here post I’ll tell you why.

First, allowing us to see the grief of his friends in a final sing-along was a heart wrenching moment that allowed the audience to grieve as well. I was crying like a baby as the group sang Take On Me and I didn’t even particularly like Quentin very much. When Logan died I didn’t shed a single tear, and I loved Logan. A lot. The difference is that the hurried rush to *One Year Later* in VM didn’t give me a chance to see why Logan’s death mattered. It felt like it was no big deal, like life just went on without Logan and no one really cared all that much. I mean hell, even just give me Dick Casablancas being sad if you don’t want to show Veronica being vulnerable, that would have been fine.

Second, the finale of The Magicians gave the audience time which I think was necessary to properly process our feelings on the death and not feel cheated. Mostly in the aftermath of Veronica Mars Season 4 I just felt angry, and that’s not how you want to leave your audience. You can leave them concerned, but not angry.

Third, The Magicians finale helped transition to the next season far better than Veronica Mars. By the time the credits rolled on The Magicians Season 4, I already understand that the next chapter in their lives would be about how the other characters deal with Quentin’s death. I can tell because that’s what they are all thinking about when the season ends. What is Veronica Mars season 5 going to be about? I don’t know, and I’m not sure I really care. Seriously, this isn’t how you want to leave your audience, because if I have to consider if I even care about your next season already, I’m just going to watch something else.

[image error]Damn that episode was some of the best TV I’ve seen in a while.

So, for me Veronica Mars Season 4 joins Torchwood Season 3 as ejected from my headcanon. I will pretend it doesn’t exist and won’t watch any more (except possibly previous seasons although honestly my taste for even that has soured). As far as I’m concerned VM ended with the movie, as is right and proper. Meanwhile I can’t wait for Season 5 of The Magicians.

Okay, that’s all for now my friends. Hugs & Puppies,

-C

We Used to be Friends…

So, I think it’s been long enough that a spoiler-filled analysis of Veronica Mars Season 4 is fair game, but just in case you haven’t seen it yet and would like to be unspoiled, turn back now!

Last chance.

I mean it.

Okay, if you’re still here, I assume you have either seen all of season 4 or heard about it in advance and noped out of the season because you heard that Logan gets killed. Various parts of the internet were aflame afterwards and I can understand that impulse.

Quite a few of my friends who were big VM fans had heard about the ending in advance and decided that it wasn’t for them. I can respect that. However, I think looking at what happened and the backlash from the fans gives us a really interesting opportunity to analyze some aspects of story that we don’t often get to.

A lot of people responded to Logan’s death, and the explanations from Rob Thomas afterwards, by saying that the writing was lazy and I’m not going to retread that ground here, mostly because I don’t think it’s true. I don’t think the move to kill Logan was particularly inspired, but I don’t think that decision could never have worked out. This was a problem of execution.

I went into season 4 unspoiled, and I hated the ending. I was angry for quite a while without knowing why, but then my spouse and I had an in-depth conversation about what was wrong with the season. We both had different ideas about what was wrong at first, and both ended up changing the answer to the question which I found really fascinating.

The answer, it turned out, has to do with why I was angry rather than sad. Logan was dead. I’d been Team Logan very early and his death should have left me inconsolable. I wasn’t sad though. Honestly I didn’t shed a single tear, and I’m quite a crier normally. (I’m serious. Cute puppy videos sometimes make me cry folks.) But somehow I was not at all sad that one of my favorite characters was dead. There was absolutely no emotional investment in his death.

Logan died. Veronica yelled. Bam, we’re a year in the future.

Excuse me, what?

[image error]We are not amused.

Most of us (who hadn’t been spoiled in advance) probably hadn’t even finished processing what had happened before “One Year Later” was printed on the screen. There’s no time to breathe. No time to inhabit the reality where Logan is gone and V’s reaction to that grief. We were robbed of all of that emotion by the rushed way it was presented.

Beyond that lack of emotional punch, there was something else wrong with the way this was handled and this is far more important to the story. Having Logan die in this way removed all agency from Veronica regarding how to proceed going forward. The person who killed him is already in jail. There’s no mystery to solve, no bad guy to hunt, nothing to do except grieve, and she was robbed of even that.

Season 5 could have been hella compelling if it had been all about V tracking down the person who killed Logan. I would have been 100% on board that train. Choo-mother-fucking-choo. Instead, I find that I don’t care if the show even comes back. In fact at this point I hope it doesn’t.

For those interested in Ryan’s analysis as to why the ending didn’t work out (his reasons are quite different from mine, actually), I think I’ll save that for another post, because this one has gone on far too long already.

Love and Puppies,
-C

Under Construction

So, as you may or may not have noticed, ye olde website is undergoing a bit of a change. I’ve imported all of the old posts to the new domain, but that means some links or other things may have broken in the process. I’ll be fixing these problems as I unearth them, but it’s likely to be a longish process. Also the look of the website will probably be in flux for the next little while as I settle on what I like going forward. In summary, stuff is likely to be weird for a little while, but I think it will all be worth it!

Hugs and puppies,

-C

Challenger Deep

I was looking at some historical speeches today and I happened to catch one I’d never heard before, but has quite a lot of childhood emotion wrapped up in it for me: Reagan’s speech following the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle.

It’s striking to me, while I’m no fan of Reagan’s in particular, that his love for this country and its institutions is so obvious in every line.

And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle’s takeoff. I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It’s all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It’s all part of taking a chance and expanding man’s horizons. The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we’ll continue to follow them.

There’s an attempt to restore normalcy and comfort in his words which we just don’t see from our current president. If something tragic like this happened on his watch there wouldn’t be anything like this speech to remind all of us that we will survive and move past this.

On a purely artistic level, I hate that our current president has brought the discourse in our country so low. There’s an artistry to Reagan’s speech, a dedication to communication and good writing. While I’m under no illusion that Reagan wrote these words himself, at least he cared enough about language to hire someone who wrote well and was competent enough to deliver the lines properly.

I’ve never considered myself a patriot. Sure, I love my country but I’m not the flag waving kind. So I’m confused why the people who so boldly claim patriotism can’t see how much disdain our current president has for everything our country is founded on. He’s upfront about wanting to destroy all of our institutions. His rhetoric is hateful and ugly, and that’s on top of his speeches just being aesthetically garbage.

I guess I’m shocked that the same party that gave us Reagan has now given us this. There’s no love, no artistry. Everything is fear and it hurts my heart.

-C

 

Dia de los Reyes

I don’t often reminisce about my childhood in this space or anywhere else. As I said in my last post about meeting Buzz Aldrin much of my childhood is a murky place and there are few things I remember with anything like clarity.

One thing I do remember though, is celebrating the Dia de los Reyes. In my house, it was an even bigger deal than Christmas.

I hate to tell you that you’ve been celebrating the birth of Christ wrong all these years, but you really have. The tradition of giving gifts started with the three kings who didn’t arrive until twelve days after his birth on January 6th. From puertorico.com:

Three Kings Day, also known as El Dia de los Reyes in Spanish and Epiphany in other countries, is a long held Latin American tradition. It celebrates the gospel account relating to the visit of the three magi – or in this case kings – to the baby Jesus. According to Latin culture, January 6th saw three different men visiting Jesus – Melchor (representing Europe), Gaspar (representing Arabia) and Balthazar (representing Africa). The first is believed to have arrived by horse, the second by camel, and the third by elephant and they brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh respectively.

How should you celebrate? Why, exchanging goods for services, of course! Kids put out hay or grass for the wise men’s mounts in shoe boxes (some families use old shoes) and in the morning they find gifts. We always did the exchange in the living room near the Christmas tree, but I read in a few places that some families do theirs under the kids’ beds (obviously those kids kept a cleaner room than I did.) Like Christmas there’s a big family meal because we haven’t had enough of those yet during the holiday season. I think we usually had pasteles which are kind of like tamales but wrapped in banana leaves rather than corn husk.

For those of you playing along at home, this is also where the Twelve Days of Christmas comes in. While Advent starts on the first day of December, the Twelve Days don’t start counting until Christmas proper and end on the day the wise men arrive and offer their gifts to the baby Jesus.

Why am I telling you all of this? I’m not sure. I suppose because being raised an Old World Catholic left a mark on me that can never be erased, no matter how far I drift away from my faith (and these days that’s very far indeed). There will always be a part of me that loves solemnity of midnight mass and the most devout of the hymns. While I no longer believe in the deification of Christ I will always believe in the message of Christ, that love and the spirit of giving are the most divine aspects of human nature and that we should celebrate them.

Wishing you peace and love on this three kings day,

-C

A story about a Girl and an Astronaut

I met an astronaut when I was in fifth grade. It wasn’t John Glenn, though his passing today has reminded me of the experience and the lasting impact it had on my life.


 


I was a girl who wasn’t particularly interested in math or science. What I was interested in was astronauts. I don’t know where the obsession came from. I’m a few years too young to be caught up in the moon landing craze, but for some reason astronauts have always seemed like the pinnacle of exploration and adventure. There was an essay contest for girls and the winners were going to the Talcott Mountain Observatory to meet Buzz Aldrin–a man who had actually set foot on the moon. I was in. I had to meet him.


 


The essay was to my best recollection something about why I wanted to be involved in math and science. As I said, I wasn’t particularly interested in any of that so I’m not sure what I could have written about, but I was always a pretty fair writer so I’m sure that’s what got me through (maybe this was even my first piece of fiction!).


 


[image error]Much of my childhood is a murky place of half-remembered impressions, but the day I met Buzz Aldrin is one of my clearest memories. He spoke about the importance of science and the space program, and most especially about getting more women involved. And that was why we who were in that room were so vitally important. He got me, just by the simple act of reaching out.


 


That meeting changed my life. I read all the science I could get my hands on. I struggled through math classes with teachers who didn’t think I could. I’ve learned things that amazed and delighted me. Above all of that, I became curious. The questions I still ask about the nature of life and the universe were born that day and I will always be thankful for that.


 


Sometimes, when I look back at the almost and might-have-been that was my biology career I’m sad, but that doesn’t last long. I’ve come through to the other side, probably where I was meant to be all along, writing about the fantastic and wonderful things that science could and might do. So thank you for everything Mr. Glenn and Mr. Aldrin, and every other brave man and woman who reached for the stars and inspired generations of scientists and writers.


-C

Top Seven TV Shows

Continuing the theme of last week’s post, but this time collecting my favorites for the small screen. This list is much harder for me to winnow down, mostly because there’s always a tendency for shows that are still on air to bump other deserving series off. What I’m currently binge watching also seems much better than it should probably rate it in an overall list just because of the recency. In the end, I decided to go with the shows I watch over and over again.

 

[image error]

1. Veronica Mars

For me, this is the holy grail: smart dialogue, amazing acting, crisp writing. Veronica is a bit of an updated Buffy, without the vampires. Taking on complex issues with wit and humor, and always with a clever twist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[image error]2. Firefly

There are two Joss Whedon shows on my list, but for me this is the better of the two. Science fiction with a western sensibility. With such a large, wonderful cast it’s difficult to pick just one favorite. The only thing there is to complain about is that it was canceled far, far too soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[image error]3. Torchwood

Captain Jack Harkness may be my favorite character in a show ever. This is a spinoff of Dr. Who that I feel never got the appreciation it deserved and suffered by being the add-on rather than the main event. For my money, Torchwood is a better show. That said, the show falls apart after a few seasons. If you’re going to watch it for the first time do yourself a favor and stop after the second.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[image error]4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer

What is there really to say? It’s Buffy: snappy dialog, girls kicking butt, just all-around fun. It hasn’t aged as well as some of the shows on my favorites list, but it certainly deserves a high place. If there’s one television show that changed my life, this is it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[image error]5. Farscape

All of the best things about science fiction wrapped up in a beautiful red bow. Adventuring across the galaxy aboard a living space ship. Fantastic (and fantastical) characters, and a focus on deep, dark topics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[image error]6. The Wire

A masterclass in dialogue and characterization wrapped up in a frank look at crime and corruption of local government. The content is often uncomfortable, the language is extremely strong, and there is a brutal amount of violence, but it is an amazing show that deserves watching if you can stomach it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[image error]7. Deadwood

When I want old-timey dialogue and steam trains, this is where I go. A strange, marvelous cast interacts in a dysfunctional Western town. For me, Calamity Jane is a beautiful, perfect character.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Honorable Mention for Lost and the new Battlestar Galactica. They can’t go on the favorite list, just because they ended so poorly in my opinion, but I did enjoy the lion’s share of episodes and do rewatch them often. Much love also for the Good Wife and Justified which could easily slip into any of these spots on the strength of their acting, but miss a little something extra.

Hearts and puppies,

-C

Top Seven Movies

I saw this floating around on Twitter last week, and I knew 140 characters wasn’t going to be enough to say what I really wanted to say about all these movies, so I decided to make it a blog post instead. Here they are, in no particular order.

[image error]The Abyss

Adventures on an underwater drilling platform. To tell you much more is to spoil the best thing about this movie. Main female character is the on who designed the platform.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[image error]Aliens

It’s got everything: creepy aliens, space marines, women kicking ass, and most especially witty banter. Ripley might be the quintessential strong female character, and for good reason.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[image error]The Brothers Bloom

Ostensibly a movie about two brothers who make their way in the world by conning people, but Rachel Weisz’s character adds tremendous dimension and humor to this movie. It’s a little slow in places, but it is a beautiful and extremely emotional movie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[image error]True Romance

An unconventional meet cute followed by an unconventional romance. Alabama Worley might be the most underappreciated character ever in Hollywood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[image error]Labyrinth

A teenager’s baby brother is kidnapped by the Goblin King and taken to his castle. The only way for her to save him is for her to solve the labyrinth that bars her way. Although I said I would present these in no particular order, Labyrinth is far and away my favorite of the bunch. The reason is simple, the princess turns down the promise of love and goes out to save her brother. It’s campy as hell, but wonderful too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[image error]The Princess Bride

True love will always triumph. A princess is kidnapped and later rescued by a notorious pirate. Oh, it’s also a kissing movie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[image error]The Matrix

If there was a single movie that shaped my early adulthood, this was it. I remember my brother telling me, breathlessly, that I had to watch this movie. I wasn’t terribly interested, all I could remember about Keanu Reaves was that he’d been in Bill and Ted which was humorous, but definitely not one of my favorites. He wouldn’t tell me anything about it, and I’m so glad about that. I was hooked with the first scene.

 

 

 

 

After looking through my list, one thing became clear. I like movies where women are cast in unconventional roles. You could argue, I suppose, that Princess Buttercup is the most conventional of women roles, a princess, but I would ask you if you’ve seen the movie because not much is conventional about Buttercup.

I hesitate to say things like “this movie changed my life” but to a certain degree all the media we consume changes our lives, and to discount that is to ignore its impact. So I leave you with this, once again:

Representation matters.

If you haven’t see any of these, you should go find them now, you’re missing out.

-C