Madhuri Pavamani's Blog, page 22

#laughoftheday

“Pharrell has basically spent the last year looking like Abraham Lincoln joined Run-DMC and still looked amazing. You’re just cool. You’re the absolute coolest. You make everyone around you cool. You even did what we thought was impossible—you made Robin Thicke cool for a summer. And I don’t think any of us realize how you did that. I mean, Marvin Gaye helped, but still, that is impressive. Robin Thicke is here tonight—I’m joking.” – James Corden’s CFDA speech

That Girl

I never planned to be that girl

she of the star-crossed love and burning desire

I would see her in the hallways at school

and scoff at her silliness

girl, please

control yourself

I would see her at a soccer game

cheering her man

instead of being out there on the field

dribbling the ball

outrunning the defender

scoring the goal

I would see her in the cafe

waiting

I would see her in the library

trying to focus on her Russian

because there was an exam tomorrow

and she wanted the best grade in class

but he wanted her attention

I would see her make excuses

for his rude behavior

his boyish antics

and wonder

when does she get to be girlie?

I never planned to be that girl

she of the star-crossed love and burning desire

Then I saw you

And I don’t know if I’m that girl

but as I sit here and wait for you

hours

dolled up like you asked

wearing the dress you bought

I kind of understand her

and I kind of hate her

Book Review: SILVER PHOENIX by Cindy Pon

Fantasy

Published April 2009

Look back again, she thought, and I will follow you.

I finished reading Cindy Pon’s SILVER PHOENIX around one in the morning last night – I simply couldn’t put it down until I knew what happened to Ai Ling and Chen Yong, her father and the evil Zhong Ye. Despite needing to work on my own book, despite needing to do some lawyering, despite needing to pay attention to the other humans in my life – the canine in my life does not allow for being ignored, so he is not on this list – my nose stayed glued to Pon’s epic tale of magic, mythology, and brutal love until the last word

which if you’re wondering, happens to be “twilight.”

Check out the notes I furiously typed at that late hour subsequent to closing the book, needing to get my immediate thoughts down on paper:

SILVER PHOENIX is epic and awesome and so freaking good. a journey reminiscent of The Odyssey and really, does it get much better than that?

the feels, the adventure, the friendship, the unrequited love. it’s too much but you only want more, more, more

the badass girl and the boy who lets her be badass, promising always to be at her side – swoon

the magic and evil and wonder

Chen Yong’s pain of feeling other, being spoken to as if a lesser being, always seeking a place to belong when it’s right under his nose, with Ai Ling – meep

I promise you I was not delirious – Silver Phoenix is just as fantastic as classics like The Odyssey and Lord of the Rings and as I turned its pages, it reminded me of the pure joy I feel whenever I read those tales – the escapades and intrigue, the danger lurking around every corner, in every face, the overall genius of the hero’s journey. Silver Phoenix is just all. so. good.

But for me, because I am an admitted sucker and fucking sappy ass romantic at heart – although please, please, please make my lovers total badasses to the end – even more moving and poetic than the journey is Pon’s underlying theme, that wicked slow burn she weaves throughout her novel, of unrequited love.

She had me stopping and taking notes several times throughout the book:

when Ai Ling notices Chen Yong’s eyes and immediately wishes she hadn’t

“I’m glad I followed you here.”

the LOVE LOST TREE – ugh – stop it! – please

“Besides, you always had my heart, I just never had yours.”

Ai Ling’s memorization of Chen Yong’s letter to her, “the curves and lines of his calligraphy” – dying

And this doozie

“Ai Ling realized then she would be willing to leave her home, her family, everything to be by his side – and the revelation stunned her…Look back again, she thought, and I will follow you. Instead Ai Ling watched him walk away, with easy grace, until he turned the corner. She shut the heavy wooden door…her chest tight with all the words she had not said…” – just kill me already because you already ripped out my heart

at one point, I got so brave as to tweet Cindy:

Based on her response, I think she enjoys that slow burn and our suffering for unrequited love. She damn sure knows how to write it.

I already had a huge girl crush on Cindy because of all the phenomenal work she’s done and continues to do to diversify our bookshelves – and the fact she was such an enthusiastic participant in my Getting Proustian With… interview series – but now my love for her is on a whole other level.

Silver Phoenix, Ai Ling, and Chen Yong are going to hold special places in my little bruised and battered heart for a very long time and already have me rushing off to Amazon to order the sequel. #Ididthat

Get the book, folks.

Now.

For real.

#thankmelater

#ThursdayThoughts

Find It. Hold it. Love it.

#WednesdayPrompt – Oncoming

Leave it to me to take this morning’s Wednesday Prompt and make it just a tad bit dirty.

Oncoming

There’s that moment

it can happen anywhere

anytime

And when it does

it floors you

The way she twists in the bar stool

and orders her drink

Neat

The curve of her neck

because you’re watching her from behind

The swell of her hips

that have you thinking of fifty different ways to fuck her blind

Her smile and her laugh

as she chats with the bartender

and you’re thinking, “shit, I should have taken those classes at Columbia”

Then she catches your eye

and busts you staring

and smiles

Because she’s confident like that

and knows what she wants when she wants it

And maybe just maybe

she wants you

But you’re not ready

and there’s no telling if you ever will be

for all of her truths

her honesty

her desire

So you look down at your drink

and pretend you didn’t see her

and the bar empties out

and you’re still sitting there

Thinking

Contemplating

Wondering

How does she smell

taste

feel

How does she kiss

laugh

come

You tell yourself not to think like that

Stop it

Behave

But her ass

her lips

the curve of her tits

Ha!

Everything about her is overwhelming

and oncoming

at a speed so fast

you’re blown away

by her and her sex

to the point where all you can focus

is

on

coming.

Nothing

She shot out of her seat

and was upon me in seconds,

all over me,

everywhere,

without touching me anywhere.

And I needed her to touch me,

I fucking craved it.

But I didn’t deserve it,

so I said nothing,

begged for nothing,

and simply followed her lead

of hands off

no touching.

#ThursdayThoughts

Always.

#WednesdayPrompt – CONVENIENCE

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I joined a writing group led by Jena Schwartz called Get Your Muse On.

I also mentioned that on Wednesdays, Jena sends around a topic and we are encouraged to participate in a ten-minute free write. It’s exactly what it sounds like: set your timer for ten minutes and write anything you want on that topic, no editing, no fussing, then post it for the group to read.

Although I skipped the first free-write, I took part in the second and since then, it’s become one of my favorite aspects of the group. I love those ten minutes where I empty my brain of everything and just flow.

It hit me today that these prompts make for a perfect blog series so from here on out, and with Jena’s blessing, I’m going to post what I produce for the Wednesday Prompt

and with no editing.

If you find errors or anything fucked up or maybe not so clear or perfect, it’s because I’m remaining true to Jena’s parameters of no tinkering, no toying. Which kills my inner perfectionist, but I’m going to do my best to keep her in check.

So on that note…

CONVENIENCE

Convenience is walking out my front door at 8:20

hitting the Hundred Steps

which are really 96

but who’s counting

and zipping to the Path

Convenience is the grocery store four blocks away

the other grocery store four blocks in the opposite direction

the mega grocery store down the Viaduct

and the rip-off A&P down the hill

Convenience is the park up the block and overlooking the City

the other park past the grocery store where we played ball

the teeny-tiny park down by Supremo

and the huge, gorgeous park at the end of Webster

Convenience is the little man who dry cleans my clothes

and knows it’s going to take me weeks to pick them up

so he calls me on my cell to remind me

Convenience is the liquor store owner

who also owns the art space

who also helps with Little League and reminds me it’s almost time for sign-ups

Convenience is the pet store on Central Avenue

just a few blocks away

since I kill fish like no other motherfucker around

Convenience is the lady

who threads on Saturdays

in case I don’t have time to see my lady

in the city

during the week

Convenience is my beloved bodega

the one The Husband detests

because he’s convinced it killed our property value

but I love it

because I know all the guys inside

and I know the owner’s wife

and kid

so when it storms and I need an extra bucket

or when I’m a dollar short

he hooks me up

Convenience – and love – are my girls

the women I met and grew to love

my bitches

we’re tight and it’s fierce

and they live right down the block

around the corner

up the hill

Convenience is my past

The suburbs are my present

Getting Proustian With…ROSE MONTAGUE – The Interview Series

Gertrude Stein said

“a rose is a rose is a rose”

Ms. Stein obviously never met fantasy writer Rose Montague

Rose writes great books about kickass women who love

coffee, steak, fast cars, sexy lingerie

and each other

     

She is all about diversifying our bookshelves

and helping other Indie authors

and just being generally amazing and wonderful

She is also totally down with subjecting herself to my little questionnaire

and doing that Proustian thang I like to do around these parts

So come on check her out and discover why

this Rose is a rose like no other

Getting Proustian With…
ROSE MONTAGUE

1 What is your idea of perfect happiness? Making a living writing full time.

2 What is your greatest fear? Not being able to take care of my loved ones I leave behind.

3 What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Procrastination.

4 What is the trait you most deplore in others? Wanting things done right now.

5 Which living person do you most admire? That’s a tough one. I’m going with Coach K.

6 What is your greatest extravagance? Surf & Turf with lots of wine.

7 What is your current state of mind? I’ll have to check with my editor on that one.

8 What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Beauty.

9 On what occasion do you lie? When it makes someone happy.

10 What do you most dislike about your appearance? Being overweight.

11 Which living person do you most despise? Terrorists. All of them.

12 What is the quality you most like in a man? Benevolence.

13 What is the quality you most like in a woman? Compassion.

14 Which words or phrases do you most overuse? Can I, use, commas, as an, answer?

15 What or who is the greatest love of your life? I can’t choose. Family, friends, my cats. Love them all.

16 When and where were you happiest? Orlando. Guess I’m still a kid at heart. I haven’t been there in awhile and I need to go.

17 Which talent would you most like to have? Music. My latest attempt was the violin. I need to take that back up.

18 If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I need to multi-task better and I’m not nearly as organized as I used to be.

19 What do you consider your greatest achievement? My first book. Jade.

20 If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? I like cats. A cat in a loving home would be great.

21 Where would you most like to live? I would love to rotate between the beach and the mountains.

22 What is your most treasured possession? My health. Getting harder to hang on to this one.

23 What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? For me, it was when my computer died.

24 What is your favorite occupation? Silly rabbit.

25 What is your most marked characteristic? I like helping people achieve their dreams.

26 What do you most value in your friends? The same.

27 Who are your favorite writers? Jim Butcher, The Ilona Andrews team, Faith Hunder, Darynda Jones, Charlaine Harris, Laurel Hamilton, and I could go on and on.

28 Who is your hero of fiction? Dresden.

29 Which historical figure do you most identify with? It’s not Proust.

30 Who are your heroes in real life? My son Alex and my daughter Melanie. I am so proud of them.

31 What are your favorite names? Jade, Jane, Jill, & Jewel currently.

32 What is it that you most dislike? Editing.

33 What is your greatest regret? Editing.

34 How would you like to die? Writing.

35 What is your motto? Keep writing.

   Rose has always been a big reader and her dream of becoming a published author became a reality when Jade was published in November, 2013. Book Two in the trilogy, Jane, was published in March 2015 as was Norma Jean’s School of Witchery, the first book in Rose’s new Young Adult fantasy series. Rose has worked both in a library as well as several bookstores. Rose lives in Elon, NC and is currently working on the final book in the trilogy which will be called Jill. And because Rose is so cool, she’s giving away a set of keychains with this interview  It’s super easy to enter – just share or tweet or comment on this blog post and Rose will randomly select a winner at the end of the month. Share! Tweet! Comment! Win! You can follow Rose at these links: TWITTER FACEBOOK GOODREADS

The Kiss

I set down my coffee cup

and taking a move out of her book,

stepped into her space,

forcing her back against the counter as I pressed forward

until we were almost touching

but not.

She met my stare and bit her lip and I was done.

I was hard as a rock, screaming for her body

and even though I knew I could push her legs apart

slide her panties to the side

and fuck her silly,

what I really wanted was something much simpler

less involved

far more intimate.

I pressed my lips to hers and got lost for a while.