C.D. Brennan's Blog

I’m now an Amazon Vella author

VELLA is a new reading platform described by Amazon as:

“a new mobile-first, interactive reading experience for serialized stories”

It’s like how they used to publish books back in the day. Books like Charles Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities to James Joyce’s Ulysses. Authors would release chapters of the book at the time, and with Vella it’s similar, but they are called “episodes.” They are anywhere from 600-2000 words that you can read on your coffee break or while commuting, five minutes you might have before the kids get home from school or after they are asleep at night. The first few episodes are FREE and after that it’s mere pennies to read an episode.

Right now, you can start reading two of my books on Vella! Once all the episodes are released, then the books will be compiled and published through Amazon in full-length ebook and print. But! That won’t be for a while so you might as well enjoy now! This is a great platform for a writer like me who doesn’t have a lot of time to commit to writing because of work, kids, dogs, farm. It keeps me writing almost daily, though, maybe just 1000-2000 words but it keeps my stories going and my craft alive. I release a new episode every week for both books.

I’m excited!! I hope you join me.

Belong

Episodes 1-4 available now!

In this beautiful yet cruel life…where do I belong or who do I belong with? It’s difficult enough for anyone to find a sense of inclusion, let alone me, a person with special needs and of mixed race. I have struggled my whole life to be accepted for who I am and what I believe. I’m an AI specialist. I’m a rock climber. A piano player. A son…a brother. An Aspie. I want to live and love like everyone else, but I can’t. Yet, I still want to belong.

Protector

Episode 1 available now!

His men went to battle without armor and acted like mad dogs or wolves. They bit into their shields and were as strong as bears or bulls. They killed men, but neither fire nor iron harmed them. This madness is called berserker-fury. Book 1 of the ShapeStrong series: Protector is the love story of Amund, a bear shifter, and Dagna, a willful young woman that won’t be married off to just anyone, especially a man plotting against the king that Amund has vowed to protect.

Dutch Harbor Protector is out now!

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Ephraim Johnson, the shiest and quietest of the Night Shift crew, is floored when his first love shows up on the decks of the Night Shifter. But the teenage girl he fell in love with is now a professional woman in a business suit and working for…Mr. Beaner? Yep, the slob that owns the crew’s trawler has hired Marty to do an analysis of the Night Shift, including the men that work it. Though they’ve known each other for years, Ephraim has still kept a secret from her. He’s a wolf shifter.

Martha Williams has taken a contract job in her home state of Alaska to get some experience on her resume. Dreams of high-rises, caramel macchiatos, and high heels in New York is fading fast while she stands next to a smelly, fat fart who has hired her as a business consultant. The only saving grace is that the crew she’ll be working with are all hunks. Including Ephraim Johnson, her childhood friend who has turned from skinny and scrawny to sexy and sinfully delicious. And still as sweet as he was years ago.

While the Night Shift is out on a run so Marty can “evaluate” their performance, they respond to a call for a dangerous emergency at sea. To save the unconscious man from the icy waters of the Bering Sea, the crew is forced to shift into their animals. It can’t be helped. But as soon as the crew returns to Dutch Harbor, they find out they’ve been outed. Everyone knows they are shifters. And who else could have told the media other than Marty? Or is there someone or something else going on that is working against the Night Shifter crew?

Writing plans! (Get excited with me)

It’s been a busy year of editing so I haven’t had a chance to do as much writing as I’d like…BUT, the following are still in the works.

Lettie Portman series

John Ellsworth and I are planning a big collaboration starting now to start pushing out more Lettie Portman books, our troubled but feisty San Diego DA. I’m really excited about this series. We are going to rework Book 1: The People’s Lawyer this year yet and then jump right into Book 3: Lettie for the Defense since Book 2: Justice in Time has over 1700 reviews on Amazon!

BELONG series

This is a new sweet series that I’m totally excited about. It will be a series of 12 novellas released in “episodes.” The story is set in Seoul, South Korea, which I dreamed up after becoming addicted to K-dramas. So the series has been influenced and inspired from that genre.

Where do we belong? In this big life, where do we belong or who do we belong with? It’s difficult enough to find a sense of belonging for your everyman, let alone a person with a social disorder and of mixed race. Sam has always struggled to find a place or people where he feels where he belongs. He will find it in Yu-ri and his friends in Seoul.

*still messing around with the cover Night Shift Crew series

Gemma Brocato and I are still working hard on completing this series. We only have two books left after we release Dutch Harbor Protector, Ephraim’s story, in the next week.

Book 6: Dutch Harbor Bear – Gideon’s story

Book 7: Dutch Harbor Mate – Frank’s story

First of Series on sale now!

DUTCH HARBOR ALPHA

Desperate to earn some money for his family, Captain Adam Bershov hires a motley group of shifters to crew a piece of crap trawler called the Night Shift out of Dutch Harbor, Alaska. If he can get them to stop fighting amongst themselves and stop acting the immature idiots, maybe they could get some crabbin’ done. They all need the cash, all for different, but unselfish, reasons. But six greenhorn alpha males on one boat doesn’t a crew make.

Enter Amelia (Millie) Wheeler, hired to help get the crew’s act together. Unbeknownst to Adam, of course. They barely have enough money to feed the boys, let alone another addition to the crew. But Millie is desperate to stay for her own reasons. Leaving isn’t an option, so she digs in and gets the boys in line.

The growing attraction between Adam and Millie makes it easy to work together to make the Night Shift successful. But unexpected incidents of sabotage could jeopardize all they are working for, including their budding romance.

BUY NOWIN TOUCH

Sexy. Passionate. Fierce.

Irish rugby star, Padraig O’Neale, has fecked up his life and is one angry man. When caught using a banned substance for his back pain, Padraig is excused from both his provincial club and the Irish International team. Right before World Cup selection. Out of choices, his agent convinces Padraig to play for a small American club in Michigan. Just until things settle down. But when Coach asks the team physical therapist, Gillian Sommersby, to help the newest Blues player with his issues, Padraig finds himself trying every wacky treatment out there from stinky salves to music to yoga. Like her therapies, the therapist herself is a bit…odd. The cute college grad in Converse and glasses doesn’t seem all that impressed with Padraig’s celebrity status, nor gives a shite about his excuses. As it turns out, she might be exactly what he needs…

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Romantic Suspense

One of my author’s, John Ellsworth, and I teamed up for the latest Lettie Portman release, Justice in Time. This is a legal thriller with romantic elements. You can find it on Amazon. Just click on the book cover here!

Reply 1994

This is my review for the Kdrama Reply 1994. 21 episodes originally aired in South Korea in 2013. Produced and released by tvN, the television series starred Go Ara, Jung Woo, Yoo Yeon-seok, Kim Sung-kyun, Son Ho-jun, Baro, Min Do-hee, Sung Dong-il, and Lee Il-hwa. My favorite in this movie was Yoo Yeon-seok. I have a huge crush on him. I feel like an idiot, though. Who crushes on moviestars these days? But boyo, do we get a few great shots with his shirt off. I’ve never been a baseball fan until this movie. Yeon-seok is also in Hospital Playlist, which I’ve watched, but am waiting to do a review after Hospital Playlist 2 is out this year.

So, let’s get into it! I watched Reply 1994 because I loved Reply 1988 so much. 1994 is actually the second movie in the series, and I know this is confusing, but Reply 1997 is actually the first movie in the series. So the director, Shin Won-ho, didn’t follow chronologically, but that’s okay because the actors are all different anyway – totally different scenarios, settings, and characters. Maybe with the success of the first movie, him and the writer Lee Woo-jung took a look at other years that were profound and bundled them together for this movie. I appreciate the nostalgia in these movies, as I, too, am at the point in my life where I am looking back at decisions I made. Where Fate was present, where I perhaps took a wrong turn, or even perhaps where I took a right one.

What I do love about the Reply series is that it captures those years that the TV series spans so well. And what a great way to retain that history! After these dramas, and Hospital Playlist, I became a huge fan of the writer and director. I’m not Korean, but I still enjoyed watching how the characters reacted to the events unfolding around them. Like: the hottest summer in Seoul, the soccer World Cup, the death of North Korean president.

What I loved about it: The Koreans are fascinated, almost obsessed, with the idea of First Love. You find this trope in almost every K-drama. In this TV series, it’s not only the love of Na-jung and Sseureki (nickname Trash), but also multiple other couples’ journey in finding love – whether it’s the “fighters” or the “lovers reunited.” The concept of the boarding house was good. The university students from the country and their experience in living in Seoul. K-dramas have a way of identifying a situation where the conflict can be real, bringing together a large cast of characters in one spot.

What I didn’t like: Who the female main characters ends up with. UGH. Why, oh why, does K-drama insist on giving the female lead, the lesser of the two? Now, this one isn’t is bad as some I’ve watched like Boys Over Flowers, but I still don’t understand why they always have the heartfelt, kind, supportive second love interest to always fail to achieve love with the MC.

Not at good, in my humble opinion, as Reply 1988, but still worth a watch. To say that the director and writer of both have a huge fan behind them now is an understatement! They use the same plot development tool as Reply 1988 where we get glimpses of the characters in the future, but we still don’t know who ends up with who. A great plot strategy done well. They even use some of the same characters from Reply 1988, especially one of my favorites, Sung Dong-il .

You can find all the Kdrama movies I’ve watched HERE, where I’ve rated them 1-5 stars.

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Yoo Yeon-seok

Ladies, I think we haven’t given enough credit to the Asian sexiness out there. I’ll feature one of my favorites every week.

May I introduce Yoo Yeon-seok. Yeon-seok, 사랑해 !

Social Media

IG @yooyeonseok.ph

FB Yoo Yeon Seok

Details:

Nationality: Korean

Age: 37 (by Korean calendar) – If I was only 13 years younger!!! Sigh…

Dramas: Hospital Playlist, Mr. Sunshine, Reply 1994,Dr. Romantic, Warm and Cozy, Perfect Proposal, Mood of the Day + many more.

*Represented by King Kong by Starship Entertainment

Along with acting, he can also sing and play the drums and has a university degree. For more information, you can find it at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoo_Yeon-seok

#koreandrama #kdrama #YooYeonSeok #bemine

Reply 1988

This is my review for the Kdrama Reply 1988. 20 episodes originally aired in South Korea from 2015 to 2016. Produced and released by tvN, the television series starred Lee Hye-ri, Park Bo-gum, Go Kyung-pyo, Ryu Jun-yeol and Lee Dong-hwi. (One of my favorite Kdrama stars is Go Kyung-pyo, who is also in Strongest Deliveryman. I refer to him as the Korean Heath Ledger. Gah, I love him!)

Being an 80s girl myself, I was drawn to this Kdrama of the vast amount that is now offered on Netflix, Viki, and Amazon Prime. Oh, the world I entered after learning about Kdrama. Before Reply 1988, I had already watched thirty or so Kdramas, so even thought it wasn’t my first (which was Crash Landing on You), I felt that I am now schooled enough in Kdrama to give an honest review and opinion. You can find all the Kdrama movies I’ve watched HERE, where I’ve rated them 1-5 stars.

Reply 1988 isn’t only a romance. It’s so much more than that. It’s more than a coming of age story of five friends that have grown up on the same “block.” We also follow the lives of the parents and siblings as they go through their own trials – from menopause to work troubles to health concerns to getting a job. By the end, I was completely invested in all of them and cried when they all left the street where these families blossomed in Seoul. It wasn’t only the main characters, but all of them. One thing that Korean drama does well are their characters – never flat, always unique and interesting, multi-faceted, and honest. GENUINE. No extra fluff.

What I loved about it: I graduated high school in 1989. You would think that there would be too significant of cultural differences between South Korea and Michigan, but ya know, I found plenty that I could relate to. They enjoyed games and TV and movies the same there in the 80s, from Monopoly to the movie Dirty Dancing. No cell phones. So much of the modern Kdramas, and our lives in general, revolve around smart phones and texting. There is something so freeing about NOT being able to be in contact all the time. How can there be growth and conflict if we can always simply solve any issue we have in life by sending a quick text, making a quick call, entertaining ourselves while we wait, to researching something we don’t know. All at the click and tick of our smartphones. Sometimes I feel regressive and want to go back to those days when everything in life was more…uncertain.

What I didn’t like: I pretty much loved all of it EXCEPT who Duk-seon ends up with at the end. I wanted the other boy soooo bad! I rooted and hoped for him to the very end. Throughout the movie, two of her childhood friends, Choi Taek, an internationally renowned genius GO-game player, and Kim Jung-hwan, stoic and sarcastic, but with a secretly sweet heart, fall in love with Duk-seon. She’s oblivious to any of it most of the film. Which really makes it because we such growth in all the characters. I’m not going to give it away for you since that would spoil it, but we do get hints. The story has a modern thread with Duk-seon grown up and in an interview of some sort, so we get a completely different narration. We aren’t sure WHY she is being interviewed until the very end when everything comes together, including who she ends up marrying. A great cinematic strategy. So even though she didn’t end up with the hottie that can now fly a (cough, cough), it was still pure brilliance.

Watch this movie, especially if you are an 80s girl like me. You won’t be disappointed. You will laugh and cry and wish you were a high school senior again so that you can make some of those awkward but beautiful mistakes again.

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Book of Love FREE

Today is my birthday! So you get this Christmas short for free today to get you in the mood for the holidays and a brand new year coming. I have to be honest and say I’m going through a bit of a midlife crisis at the moment, so very despondent about everything—work, kids, hubby, creativity. My muse is taking a vacay. I’m addicted to red wine and watching Kdramas. Plus, I turn 49 and am going through menopause—hot flashes, moods all over the place. I’m a chunker and don’t feel beautiful or sexy anymore. I feel like I’m looking for something, but what?

The first thing I’m going to do is start meal prep and planning like my friend and colleague T. She inspires me with her journey. I need to lose 20 kilos and it starts now! (Well, after reading this book. Ha ha)

Too much information, you say? Like you asked, right? Ah, feck it. It’s 2020, a year that has as much crazy and turmoil as it could pack it in. I could do light and fluffy, but ach, does that really help hiding under the covers?

Anyhoo, pick this baby up for free. Tuck into your red wine and get under your covers for a short sexy read. Break out the mistletoe!

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Now in Paperback! Dutch Harbor Wings

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Book 3 Dutch Harbor Wings is now available in PAPERBACK. Get it on Amazon!

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***** Night Shift Crew *****
 
Book 3 Dutch Harbor Wings

Caleb Jensen, a deckhand on the Night Shifter, can charm the pants off of any female. He’s a crooner and a swooner and has relied on these “talents” to get what he needs out of life. So when he makes a deal, unbeknownst to his alpha captain, to take on another passenger for extra money on their next crabbin’ trip, he’s gobsmacked to find out it’s a she, not a he. Caleb and his eagle are blown away by the talented, super smart, and sexy scientist.   

Shy academic Sarah Goldsmith has been sent by her bioscience company to study the impact of global warming on the crab population in the Bering Sea, but when she lays eyes on the Night Shifter trawler, it’s the biggest piece of crud she’s ever seen. How can it even float? But there are no other options available, no other crews going out for brown crab, so if Sarah wants to keep her job and get to research her secret project, zombie crabs, she’s gonna have to take a chance on this motley crew. It doesn’t hurt that her attraction to Caleb is immediate and hotter than a summer thermal.       

Eagle shifters are rare, and for two of them to end up in the tiny Dutch Harbor can only be fate. Caleb and Sarah are as different as you can get as humans, but when their eagles come together, will they find they are meant for each other?