Adan Ramie's Blog, page 33

Two Stories | WFF & SS

I want to apologize for the delayed and missing posts in the last few weeks. I haven’t yet caught up from all that has happened in the past month, but I’m slowly making headway.

Here’s a double-feature (Weekly Flash Fiction inspired by my latest Word a Week prompt, and Serial Sunday) to hopefully make up for the confusion around the blog lately.

A Case to Give You Chills

His behavior immediately raised suspicion. The notebook he pulled out of his pocket was a congeries of flummery. Dates an...

Book Review Wednesday | Pokergeist by Michael Phillip Cash

A little known fact about me is that I’ve always been fascinated by the game of poker. I love to play (even though I’m terrible — I have more tells than anyone I’ve ever met), and I’ll even stop to watch if a tournament is on TV just to see the kind of crazy plays people make. It’s intense, psychological warfare.

And, of course, everyone knows I love spooky. Halloween is my favorite holiday (as I might have mentioned before a few times), I write speculative fiction in the horror vein, and I l...

Word a Week | Week 36

Welcome to the 36thinstallment of Word a Week! You can find the other Word a Week words here.

Yesterday was “Clean Your Fridge Day”. I cleaned mine out and, surprisingly, it wasn’t that bad. (I even got an article written about it for a parenting magazine. Score!) Did you clean yours?

In honor of the prestigious holiday, this week’s words are two things one might find while cleaning out a refrigerator or most other parts of a house. What can you do with them?

Original image credit to http://m...

Phoenix, Part II | Sunday Serials

For those of you eagerly awaiting the newest Sunday Serial, I apologize for the delay. The untimely death of afamily memberhas keptme busy and left me feeling unproductive this past week. However, I do have another piece of the puzzle for you today, however late. This is part two of “Phoenix,” the story of a young leader facing stacked odds and a deadly threat.

Phoenix, Part II

[Part I]

“What are we going to do?”

The girl who walked beside her trembled. Angela-Maria held a fist into the air...

Book Review Wednesday | Sharing Turf by Dr. David Lazerson

I don’t often read books of which I know little. Usually, I start with a recommendation from a friend or family member, or the description sparks my interest from the shelf (physical or virtual). But Sharing Turf: Race Relations after the Crown Heights Riotsby Dr. David Lazerson was different. I went into it knowing only the title and seeing the cover.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. I try to stay away from race relations issues, because no matter what my opinion, no matter how progressive or...

Word a Week | Week 35

Welcome to the 35thinstallment of Word a Week! You can find the other Word a Week words here.

For those of us in the United States, Veteran’s Day is almost here. Be sure to thank a veteran or service member for their dedication and courage, and/or donate to an organization like the Wounded Warrior Projectto show your thanks.

This week’s words are:

nonplussed – (adjective) [of a person] surprised or confused so much that they are unsure how to act.

bedizen – (verb) to dress or adorn in a gaud...

Phoenix, Part I | Sunday Serials

My last serial fiction story, Debate the Case, focused on the fictional television series of the same name. It was a parody that followed a TV show host through the case of a woman accused of murdering her spouse, and the strange revelations that come from publicizing such cases.

This time, I thought I would try something a little different. Thisone is called Phoenix. It’s the story of a young girl’s rise to power in the face of a civilization who wishes to have her — and all her followers —...

Book Lovers Day

No one knows the origin of Book Lovers Day. There is even controversy over which day to celebrate it — August 9th or the first Saturday of each November. My take on it: ‘Who cares when it started?’ and ‘Let’s celebrate both!’

Here’sa list of thirteenbooks coming out this month from Goodreads. Maybe you’ll like one of them, and can pick it up, find a nice shady spot under a tree somewhere, and get some quality reading time in.

Winter (The Lunar Chronicles, #4) Fire Falling (Air Awakens, #2)...

Weekly Flash Fiction | Ankle Biters

Halloween is nearly one week gone, and I’m not sure when I’ll stop mourning it. It snuck up on me this year, and had me racing to decorate even on that very last day. The black pumpkin still sits on the cabinet waiting for its day to die.

Because I never did get to watch any scary movies, and our celebrations were limited to one very rainy night and trick-or-treating at the mall, I’m still in Halloween mode. Since I can’t write Halloween into Cluster B due to timeline restrictions, I’ll still...

Book Review Wednesday | Heroes: A TPQ Anthology

Asa young, angsty tomboy ina town that livedbehind-the-times, I often took solace in fiction. Books, cartoons, movies… and comic books. A lot of my favorite comic books were hero-based, especially dark heroes, anti-heroes, and tough female leads. So when Ashley Cyr asked me to review the anthology she edited, Heroes: A TPQ Anthology, I was keen on the idea.

There are thirteen stories in this anthology that range across many different genres. These aren’t all spandex-and-cape stories. On the...