Susan Mac Nicol's Blog, page 48

watson-sighs-and-tuts: Sherlock’s mind palaceApart from it...

watson-sighs-and-tuts:

Sherlock’s mind palace

Apart from it being a masterpiece of montage, this scene is so emotionally disturbing. Yes, he’s stunning, absolutely beautiful, showed in the middle of the rawness of the process of deducing. His uniqueness, being special, above everything ordinary, above average human potential shows here. You can’t look away - it’s hypnotising, but at the same time you want to because it’s so distressing to see him like possessed by this genius, by his brain, by this monster inside him. Living beast, feeding on all these tiniest associations, subtle hints, directions, words, slogans, images, tiniest bits of the whole wide universe ever surrounding him until these scraps form final solution. But before it comes to this the whole “ritual” looks almost painfully ecstatic, like he’s on high, beside himself, barely managing, being on the edge, and at the same time nothing could tear him away he’s exactly where he wants to be, belonging, complete, ABSOLUTE. It’s like one step too far and he snaps – done, swallowed by madness, turned into machine on the loop until he burns and turns into ashes along with his brain. You can feel that burden of his MIND, how his brain is a separate living being, forcing him to feed it all the time, taking control, driving away everything else but the purest intellect. Devouring him as a person, as a human entity, while fed. This scene shows so intensely the genius, Sherlock’s greatest asset that is his greatest tragedy. This scene shows how this blessing of his is also his curse threatening his humanity, stability, emotional well-being. It shows how he stands on the edge of abyss  all the time and one step too far and he’s falling.

Great description of Sherlock, very intense. Do you all agree though?

Trigger warning- The post below is about rape (seriously), a...

Trigger warning- The post below is about rape (seriously), a little bit about ducks, but mostly about rape.

Well written but humorous post regarding female to male rape. This just backs up what I said previously and lends credence to everyone out there who does believe its possible.

An old chestnut- Female on Male rape

I wanted to revisit a topic I blogged about some time ago because I think it’s an important one.  The subject of female on male rape has always seemed to be a point of controversy.  I first wrote about it in my debut novel, ‘Cassandra by Starlight’, not thinking at the time that it would have such an impact on people or indeed, on me.  When the male lead in my book, Bennett Saville, is stalked, kidnapped, forcibly restrained and raped by his crazed female stalker, I knew then that this wasn’t a normal theme for a contemporary romance novel. It was an event born of the way the story developed and I wanted something visceral and different to distinguish my story from anyone else’s.

Like a good writer should, I researched the topic before putting pen to paper. I joined online male rape and counselling forums, looked up accounts of male survivor’s experiences on the internet and read some clinical dissertations and papers on the subject . 

But the bottom line seemed to be a mix of opinion on whether a man could actually be raped by a woman. The physical properties of the penis were debated, the reaction of a man to stimulus was hotly debated, male sexuality was bandied about as being almost a case of ‘any man would be happy to have a woman take that much control and give him sex’. It was such an eye opening experience I decided that I was definitely having this scene in my book, if it might provoke this kind of talk and heated debate.

I used the real life event of a man called James Landrith to put my perspective into my book. James had been there, been raped and wore the t-shirt to prove it. When I was writing the story, his bravery at telling his story and sticking to his beliefs was inspirational to me.

I formed my own opinion based on everything I’d read:

·         Yes, a man could be raped by a woman

·         Yes, a man can get an erection even if he doesn’t want to –it’s a physical thing

·         Yes, a man can feel shame and guilt after being raped by a woman

·         Yes, it is a crime, despite what anyone might say.

One of the most amazing events in my life was when I finally published my book and started to ‘tweet’ out the key points into the world of Twitter, James actually contacted me, telling me he’d experienced such an event. Imagine how good it felt to be able to tell him that his story had been the inspiration behind mine. Karma just doesn’t get any better than that.

James and I now chat often and I occasionally watch him appear on certain online forums to discuss his experiences with other rape survivors. He was also good enough to write a wonderful blog post on my book which you can see here as well as my previous posts  on the subject.

http://jameslandrith.com/content/view/3904/79/

http://www.susanmacnicol.com/serious-topics-in-my-novel/

I know this is a long post but I thought I’d put a short excerpt about Bennett’s rape on here for you read. It might inspire you to go out and buy the book and see what happened next, as after all, I’m a self-promoting author.

Excerpt from ‘Cassandra by Starlight’

As if on cue, music started to play. Bennett recognised the tune from the late night phone calls and the CD that had been left in his dressing room. Seal’s “Kissed by a rose” played on. He could hear Laura panting hard next to him as she moved quickly then, straddling him on the chair, her long legs threading their way through the chair arms as she sat on his lap.

“Don’t you just love this tune?” she whispered in his ear as she bit his earlobe viciously.“It’s great music to fuck to.”

He bent his head backwards to try get away from her and she laughed and moved her face forward to meet his. Slowly she licked his lips, her teeth teasing his bottom lip and then she bit it sharply, causing it to bleed. He tried to ignore the pain as once again she drank his blood. She manoeuvred herself over him and he could smell her arousal. She had no underwear on underneath the dress and he could feel her skin and her sex against his body, causing waves of shame and guilt to wash over him.

She lowered herself on him and rocked slowly, as he tried to ignore the sensations his disloyal body was causing as she moved upon him. She leaned in and kissed him, her tongue darting in and out of his mouth like small fish in a tank, as she moaned and thrust herself down against him in ecstasy, her eyes closed. He wished she would die there and then.

He kept his own eyes closed, not wanting to see her above him, thinking of dead people, the man he had just seen die, his brother’s mangled body in the morgue, the beatings he had ensured at the hands of his father, Cassie covered in blood after being stabbed by his mother, anything to escape the ultimate sacrifice he might make and hopefully give her less satisfaction.

“You feel really good, Bennett. You really should give it a chance.” She danced back and forward on his lap with her body, her hair falling over her face, her hands running themselves through his hair and pulling it viciously at times.

Cabin Pressure writer John Finnemore on the joy of radio, crafting comedy - and Benedict Cumberbatch | Radio Times

Cabin Pressure writer John Finnemore on the joy of radio, crafting comedy - and Benedict Cumberbatch | Radio Times:

A wonderful interview with John Finnemore on the new series of Cabin Pressure.

cumberbuddy:OHHHH BOY!! CUMBERBUDDY’S FIRST EVER (RATHER EPIC)...

cumberbuddy:

OHHHH BOY!! CUMBERBUDDY’S FIRST EVER (RATHER EPIC) GIVEAWAY!!

I don’t really have an occasion for this, BUT i’ll use the fact that i recently surpassed 8,000 followers on Cumblr, 2,000 Twitter followers and it’s two thousand and frikken thirteen, the year of the Cumberbatch!

I’ve been SO fortunate this year to have met Benedict on more than one occasion and own a few signed bits by him. You guys, my followers, have ALWAYS been so pleased for me. When i got my signed bits in March. LBiA. Cheltenham. Cabin Pressure. I’ve always had many of you saying you live vicariously through me and how getting anything signed, let alone meeting him is near enough impossible. Well, Never Say Never my friends. And with that, I’ll tell you what ONE lucky person can win below.

ONE Star Trek Into Darkness posters signed by Benedict Cumberbatch
Sherlock 2013 calendar

(Both pictured) It doesn’t look like much but that’s all i can conjure up right now.

The autograph is 100% LEGIT. I met him at Cabin Pressure on January 6th. I told him that i would be giving the picture away on my blog at which he replied, “Aw, that’s lovely!”

SO. WHAT YOU GOTTA DO TO BE IN WITH A CHANCE TO WIN IT?

You have to be following me. 
REBLOG ONCE. 1 time. ONLY ONCE. ONLY. REBLOG. ONCE.
One LIKE.
Giveaway blogs DO NOT enter, Your reblog will NOT count. 
It doesn’t matter WHERE you live, i will ship WORLDWIDE.

The closing date will be Sunday January 27th and the winner will be fairly picked by my boyface who will have much joy doing so, as you can imagine. If the winner doesn’t reply within 24 hours, another winner will be chosen. 

GOOD LUCK HOMIES.

Benedict Cumberbatch Is Just as Frustrated by the Mystery Surrounding His Star Trek Character As You Are

Benedict Cumberbatch Is Just as Frustrated by the Mystery Surrounding His Star Trek Character As You Are:

“It’s achingly irritating… Believe me, I’d rather talk about the role and the fantastic story and all the things J.J. [Abrams] has come up with. And then everyone would be as excited about the film as I am. But then of course I think I would be on a phone call coming from J.J.’s office.” — Benedict Cumberbatch speaks out on how he wishes he were able to talk about who he’s playing in Star Trek Into Darkness already. He went on to praise Abrams’ withholding of information, however, saying “We live in the modern world, which is a place of oversaturation and now people, especially Trekkies, want to know everything before they witness it themselves… I think of it as a kid having a box of chocolates and not knowing what’s good for them. They eat three and they keep eating as they get sick… and the candy is gone.” That’s… a little condescending-sounding, Mr. Cumberbatch. (via: CinemaBlend) Are you following The Mary Sue on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, & Google +?

Wonderful picture from Parade’s End

Wonderful picture from Parade’s End

Amazing collage of the man himself.

Amazing collage of the man himself.

Wonderful picture, one of my favourites of him in this.

Wonderful picture, one of my favourites of him in this.

My day of book research in London

London was a joy today and the weather was kind to us. But it was hectic and I walked close on six miles in total from one end of the city to another. My feet hurt and my damaged leg will be very sore tomorrow. I needed to visit certain places mentioned in my books, to make sure my ideas about them were true and I wouldn’t be branded a liar by those in the know. I’m glad to say they shouldn’t be able to…

We started out in St James, taking pictures for a fellow author in the US, Regan Walker, who set her book, The Holly and the Thistle, in a beautiful old wine shop, the oldest in London. I promised her I’d get some shots of it in real life and go inside and try meet the owner. Mission accomplished mostly although the owner unfortunately wasn’t available. But I chatted to Edwin, the Assistant Manager- does that count? Incredible shop, if you’re ever down there I heartily recommend taking a look at Berry’s Bros and Rudd on St James Street.

Then onto Trafalgar Square in Westminster, as my characters, Bennett Saville and Cassie Wallace from ‘Cassandra by Starlight’ have a flat in the area. The square is also going to be used in a scene for the ‘Big Walk’ charity fan event in Book 3, so I wanted to make sure my facts were right.

Then off to De Hems Dutch Bar in Soho where Bennett, Cassie and friends often gather to have a quiet drink or two. It’s a great place, fairly secluded with great Dutch beer and Dutch food. We indulged ourselves in a pint and some snacks then onto the next venue.. whilst wandering via Chinatown. Amazing sights, saw loads of different fish swimming in the back of a Chinese kitchen in a huge tank…fresh I guess.

We then walked about two miles from Tufnell Park tube station up onto Hampstead Heath, looking for the Highgate Ladies Pond. This area of the city is featured heavily in my new paranormal series, Double Alchemy. Crikey, I never realised there were so many steep hills and paths in Hampstead Heath. Great part of the city, only the wealthy can stay there from what we saw. One house being built -the builder we spoke to said it was costing 40 million pounds! The mind boggles.

For the return trip we needed sustenance so at the bottom of the hill we stopped at an Italian coffee bar, very quaint and intimate, for coffee and croissants.

Fiinally it was back to Tufnell Park, on the tube to Tottenham Court, change for Central Line and back to Stratford where we parked -Westfield Shopping city. Took more pictures here as Westfield also features in my Cassandra 2 book when Cassie’s ex-husband returns with a vengeance..

Got home about 7 pm and I am very glad to have stopped walking. I have pictures of everywhere we’ve been so I can prove this busy but very rewarding day actually happened…