Alyssa Linn Palmer's Blog, page 22

New Release! Vee’s Notebook in ‘Anything She Wants’

My short story ‘Vee’s Notebook’, a continuation of the story begun in the FELT TIPS anthology, and in the free reads on my site, is released today in the anthology ANYTHING SHE WANTS, published by LadyLit.

Check out the full table of contents on their site, and pop over to Amazon to pick it up. All 12 stories in the collection are great!

It will be on as a free promo starting today, for four days, so this is your chance!

Here’s the blurb:

In the office, on the set of a movie or on the bathroom floor, the ladies in this anthology don’t care where they get it on. Power play, first time encounters and office rivalry get the characters in these twelve stories so riled up, the only way to go is down and dirty. Tales of spanking, a wild all-female college party and a waitress with a strap-on grace the pages of Ladylit’s first multi-author lesbian erotica anthology.

Caution: Reading ‘Anything She Wants’ will make you wet!

Stories by Kay Jaybee, Laila Blake, Lucy Felthouse, Erzabet Bishop, Sarah Ellen, L.C. Spoering, Vanessa de Sade, Kelly Lawrence, Giselle Renarde, Alyssa Linn Palmer, Ariel Graham and Harper Bliss.

Article: Why does France insist school pupils master philosophy? (BBC)

From the BBC:

“Why this emphasis on philosophy in France?

Other countries have school-leaving exams which cover the history of ideas and religion and so on. But the French are very clear that that is not what theirs is.

The purpose of the philosophy Bac is not to understand the history of human thought but to leap into the stream that is the actuality of human thought.

If you learn about what Kant or Spinoza once said, it is not so much to understand their argument as to use their argument. …

So the purpose of teaching philosophy was – and remains, in theory – to complete the education of young men and women and permit them to think.

To see the universal arguments about the individual and society, God and reason, good and bad and so on, and thus escape from the binding imperatives of the now – by which I mean the dictatorship of whatever ideas are most pressingly forced on us in the day-to-day by government, media, fashion, political correctness and so on.”

During my schooling (excluding post-secondary), philosophy was never touched upon. Even in university, it was not a required part of any degree that I can recall (excluding of course the Philosophy major or minor). I chose to take several philosophy classes while at uni, my favourite being Philosophy of Literature, where I was introduced to the ideas of Jean-Paul Sartre (and through him, to Simone de Beauvoir, which was pretty well life-changing), as well as reading works by Andre Breton, Plato, and Edmond Jabes, among others.

Though often philosophical subjects were difficult to understand, reading and discussing concepts like existentialism, where each individual must give meaning to their life, and not rely upon outside sources, such as religion. A very different view from my Introduction to Philosophy course, which seemed to focus almost exclusively upon the question of whether or not God exists. Part of that course, though I had no real interest as to the existence of God, was meant to teach the basics of argument, and formulating a concise statement of belief. It wasn’t quite a class in rhetoric, but it helped.

I think that it would be useful for everyone, but here it seems that degrees in subjects like Philosophy are derided as useless, while exalted are those degrees which provide the greatest financial gain–engineering, business. I wonder that we’re losing something in focusing upon financial gain at the expense of other things, of thinking beyond the immediate events, learning how to step back from the clamour and rationally consider our lives.

Have you taken philosophy courses? What did you think of them? Did they help you consider the world in a different way?

London’s Highgate Cemetery

On May 7th, I went to Highgate Cemetery, which I’d read about in Audrey Niffenegger’s excellent book “Her Fearful Symmetry” (which I highly recommend, it’s fantastic). I’m especially fond of old cemeteries (though as things go, Highgate isn’t especially old, dating from the Victorian era.) Every trip I take, I am compelled to go visit at least one cemetery.

Highgate has a number of famous burials, and I took pictures of several. I suppose most famously, Karl Marx is buried here. (I did take a photo, but the tomb is pretty pretentious, a big head, and not especially remarkable otherwise.) Other writers in the cemetery: George Eliot, Douglas Adams, Radclyffe Hall, and the brother of Lord Tennyson (though I don’t think he was a writer.)

This is Radclyffe Hall’s tomb, a vault on the Egyptian Avenue, in the Western cemetery, which is only accessible to the public via a guided tour. This side of the cemetery is Grade I listed, and thus is restricted to reduce damage/vandalism/people picking flowers, etc. I’m glad I paid to go on the tour, as it was an incredibly beautiful cemetery.

Radclyffe Hall is buried with one of her lovers, and there is a plaque tribute to her second lover, who died in Italy and was buried there. Someone pays for flowers to be left there every week, which I find absolutely charming. I’d love to know who, but not knowing, I like to think it’s a longtime friend or lover, or maybe a dedicated fan.

On the Eastern side of the cemetery, Douglas Adams (of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, if you’re not already familiar with him) is buried. His headstone is simple, and the pot of pens and pencils is incredibly charming. His plot is along the main road of this side of the cemetery, but it is set back a bit, and I almost missed it, as it’s a fairly low-key headstone (as compared with many there).

Above is the tomb of the writer George Eliot (writer of “Middlemarch”, check out her Complete Works which is available on Kindle in all its 4000+ pages). She was a leading writer of the Victorian era, and her tomb reflects the tastes of the time, with its Egyptian pylon style headstone.

I was fortunate that the weather was generally warm and sunny when I went; I was able to wander around for quite awhile, though it did start to rain later on. Though I wasn’t able to wander off the path in the Western side, I tromped along the small trails between tombs in the Eastern side. At one point, all I could see was trees and brush, and headstones. Birds chirped, wind rustled the leaves, and I could forget entirely that I was in a huge, busy city.

How about a 1940s vampire noir? Yes, it’s a movie, or will be.

That’s really where we all come in. I don’t think I’ve ever posted about a Kickstarter campaign before, though I did participate in one for The Last Lonely Place, another noir film which had the backing of the Humphrey Bogart estate (and thus, caught my attention), but this one…Oh my. I write noir, I read noir, and I love to watch noir. And I can’t wait to watch this one.

In short: Michael Reaves, Amber Benson, Neil Gaiman, Tom Mandrake. Michael Reaves has written some great films, Amber Benson of course I knew from Buffy, Neil Gaiman is an author extraordinaire…and making his acting début (!), and Tom Mandrake does fabulous comic books.

But, all those people aside, it was the concept that really got me. A noir film, set in 1940s Hollywood, with vampires. And a detective who doesn’t believe in them. All things I am fanatical about, in one film.

Here’s a bit from their press info:

Emmy Award winning writer Michael Reaves is creating a new film, BLOOD KISS, and  new genre, Vamp Noir. He’s discovered a fresh acting talent to co-star, superstar writer  Neil Gaiman. Also starring fan favorite Amber Benson from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Blood Kiss revolves around detective Joe Belicek, who must solve the murder of a

vampire before a deranged killer murders them all. Inspired by Film Noir, this

supernatural thriller is set in 1940s Hollywood with famous haunts like the Brown Derby.

I liked the sound of it so much I couldn’t help but pledge. If this sounds like something you’d like to see made, a pledge is the way to make it happen. $10, or more (up to $10,000 if you’re so inclined!), and we can see this vampire noir. I can hardly wait. It’s like the Sound of Music, except that these are my favourite things (not that there’s anything wrong with whiskers on kittens, of course.)

Check out the film’s website, too: bloodkissmovie.com

Article: Lesbian drama tipped for Cannes win (BBC)

From the BBC:

An intimate love story between two young women has received rave reviews in Cannes as the film festival draws to a close.

Directed by Tunisian-born French director Abdellatif Kechiche, Blue is the Warmest Colour, has shocked some critics with its graphic sex scenes.

Variety magazine said it contained “the most explosively graphic lesbian sex scenes in recent memory”.

The film is the bookmakers’ favourite to win the Palme d’Or on Sunday.

But reviewers have speculated the film may require editing to secure cinema distribution.

The three-hour character study centres on the 15-year-old Adele, played by French actress Adele Exarchopoulos, and her lover Emma, played by Lea Seydoux.

The Hollywood Reporter said the “sprawling drama” would “raise eyebrows” as it crossed the barrier “between performance and the real deal”.

Kechiche, best known for his critically acclaimed 2007 film Couscous, said he would consider cutting some scenes to allow the widest possible audience to see the work.

“We wouldn’t want the film not to be screened because of one scene,” he said. “But of course that wouldn’t apply if it were the whole thing.”

The headline to this article caught my eye, for obvious reasons. As I write and read lesbian fiction (and romantic fiction), I’m heartened to see that a lesbian film is receiving such rave reviews. However, it always surprises me when people talk (or complain–hard to tell which it is, here) about ‘graphic sex scenes’. And yet, so many films contain such graphic, awful violence that I can still remember it years later. (Gaspar Noé’s film ‘Irreversible’, for example), and very little is said. (Though certainly in ‘Irreversible’s case, there was plenty posted about its violence, though most seemed to centre on the rape scene.)

Personally, I’d much rather watch a graphic sex scene than a violent one. Sex is something that most people experience in some form or other (mostly positive, I would hope), but violence, particularly on the scale shown in film, would not be.

This film will be on my ‘to watch’ list, and I hope it wins the Palme d’Or, and gets a wider distribution.

Cover Reveal: The Paris Game

I’ve been sitting on this for a little while, waiting until I returned from my trip. But now, I’m pleased to be able to show off the cover for my upcoming release, The Paris Game! It is the first in a new series, and I’ll be releasing a second book later this year.

On the darker side of Paris, it’s dangerous to not pay your debts…

A singer in a jazz club past its prime, Sera Durand must come up with thousands of euros to pay back her boss, a ruthless gangster.  A confrontation with her ex, an art dealer profiting on the wrong side of the law, leads her into a questionable wager, but one that could solve her problems.

Marc Perron knows a winning proposition when he sees one. Seducing a shy young woman of Sera’s acquaintance will be the easiest thing in the world, and the prize, to have Sera in his bed once again, is worth the chance of losing a sizable sum. What he didn’t expect was the depth of Sera’s desperation.

When one of his deals goes awry, Marc’s solution could cost them more than money…

Article: Franglais row (BBC)

From the BBC’s website:

“The French parliament is debating a new road map for French universities, which includes the proposal of allowing courses to be taught in English. For some, this amounts to a betrayal of the national language and, more specifically, of a particular way at looking at the world – for others it’s just accepting the inevitable. …

“According to the left-leaning daily newspaper Liberation, 790 higher education courses in France are already taught in English, and like Fioraso it sees nothing wrong with the idea.

Its all-English front page on Tuesday featured the words “Let’s do it” in bold capital letters.

Liberation represents a growing fringe of the French population – young, urban, trendy, the kind which, in the last 20 years, has adopted franglais in their daily life.

For them, the work of the Academie Francaise - which offers grammatical advice and alternatives to new foreign words – now feels irrelevant and obsolete. They like nothing more than adding English sounding suffixes to French words, or combining English words into new terms such as “fooding” (made out of “food” and “feeling”).

The result is a fantasy English that exists nowhere else; this, many think in France, is an inverted snobbery. “Why speak French well when you can speak English badly?” asks with irony the literary critic Bernard Pivot.”

I would hope that France does keep up some of its language snobbery–every language has different ways of viewing the world (the article likens it to a particular ‘vision’ of life). However, I did notice on this trip, as compared to my earlier trip in 2003, that many more French people spoke fairly good English, and were more willing to use it. English does seem to be the language of the world (particularly in business), but I think there is a place for others.

The best bookstore.

Foyle’s is quite possibly my favourite bookstore ever (with the exception of Shakespeare & Co. in Paris, for obvious reasons). I could browse there for weeks and never see everything. You may be surprised that I only came out of there with one book (a biography about Sartre & Beauvoir, and their relationships with others), but I didn’t have too much suitcase space to spare. But, even better was that I finally met the most excellent Aleksandr Voinov.

More posts about my trip will be forthcoming!

A new free read!

While I’m away, I wanted to give you a treat to tide you over.

Vee: Past Imperfect

The latest short in my story of Vee.

Forthcoming…

I’ll be travelling soon, so there won’t be as many posts. Never fear–when I return, there will be a ton of posts about my trip, plus some special goodies, and a secret!

I’ll give you a hint…you may have noticed that my website’s look has changed…