The Murder of Secretary Judd Cane: Adventures on Capitol Hill Series, VOL. 2
Author: Celine Rose Mariotti
Publisher: Dreaming Big Publications
Reviewed by: Emily Chance
​
ABOUT THE BOOK:
If you liked The Kidnaping of Senator Andy Thompson, you’ll be excited to read The Murder of Secretary Judd Cane. This time murder stalks the House of Representatives as Congressman Michael Rhodes is accused of murdering Secretary Cane. House Minority Leader Dack Jamison comes to Michael’s defense. While Congressman Mario Ceccarrelli and Simon Goldstein play detective, the rest of the House debates National Health Issues, and Congresswoman Priscilla Jones leads the fight for womens’ rights, Brian Travors holds a gun on Congressman Rhodes and forces him into a car. Then the political shenanigans begin to add up. If you love a good mystery with intrigue and adventure, you won’t be able to put this book down.

MY REVIEW: 3/5
I gave this book a 3/5 rating because I stayed interested most of the time, but there was a lot of describing. Many times, this is a good thing, but in The Murder of Secretary Judd Cane, the first quarter of the book seemed to take paragraphs out of the story to describe how a person looked, what state they were from, and maybe some about their family, even if that character isn’t relevant to the story. To me, it took from the story and didn’t help it flow very well. However, once the book got going and finally started to get into the investigation of the mystery of the killing of secretary Cane, I just wanted to know more. The petty nature of every congressman and congresswoman made up for all of the over describing.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Born in Derby, CT, and a lifelong resident of Shelton, CT. Celine is a graduate of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT where she majored in Business Administration with a minor in English. Since a child, she always loved to write.

DISCLAIMER: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for writing a review. I was not obligated to give a positive review, and all thoughts are my own.

Family
By Emily Chance
​
When I was little, my mother left my family and didn’t look back. I never understood why any mother would dare leave her husband and children for a random man she just met, and I honestly still don’t. However, over eight years later, I am living with my dad and stepmother, who I feel is my real mom. Or at least, more real than the first.

I’ve been in this little family going on about four years now and I still don’t exactly fit in. I get along with one of my stepbrothers and one of my stepsisters, and I finally had a bonding moment with my other stepsister and stepbrother, but there is still one person in the family who doesn’t accept me as family: my grandmother from my stepmom’s side.

While I understand a couple of years of forgetting or not being used to me being in the family, four years is a long time, but when my stepsister “Marie” talked to me, she said that she has been in the family for over half her life and Grandma still doesn’t recognize her as her grandchild; she is 27. Not only that, but her daughter, my five-year-old niece, Fay, has been in the family her whole life and Grandma doesn’t care or know or realize that we are those parts of the family.

Usually you could pawn it off as being paranoid and that she does consider us immediate family, except she drops huge hints, like, “Here are my grandkids! Douglas and Jo!” While Marie and I are standing right there. As well as, “Here is my great-grandkid! Lee!” While Fay just sits there and laughs, because she is not quite old enough to realize that her own great grandmother doesn’t recognize her, but soon she will be...

It’s times like this that I can accurately compare myself to Stitch from Lilo and Stitch. I have angry mood swings, everything I touch ends up falling apart or breaking, I’m accident-prone, and I had to find a family I fit in to. I want to be considered part of the family in my grandmother’s eyes, because it hurts to be rejected after four years.

Not being accepted by her is like being the last piece of a puzzle and fitting into only three of the surrounding pieces, but slighting overlapping the last. Because of not having a mom at an early age and then finally being mostly accepted into another family, I found out that just because you share blood, it doesn’t mean you’re family, however, just because you don’t share the same blood, it doesn’t mean you’re not family. I even have friends I could consider my siblings. I love them to death.

I guess I must accept that Grandma doesn’t consider me part of her grandchildren, but I know she loves me in her own weird way. So I guess that means “ohana” means family, and family means nobody gets left behind, but “ohana” doesn’t always mean blood.

Edited by London Koffler

Relationships 6 by Piers Anthony, published by Dreaming Big Publications
Reviewed by London Koffler
​
About the Book:
This is the sixth volume of stories in this series. This time there is one about the idealized love of a man for a mute wild girl, and another about an older woman who takes a hot young lover. There is one brief essay relating to my own relationship to writing. There are two story sets, one with an older man and young woman, the other relating to a fearsome god. Most are more or less mainstream, but some are fantasy adventure. The shortest story is only 500 words; the longest is 13,600 words. Some are erotic as hell, others not. In short, there should be something here to intrigue or offend any taste.

My Review: 3/5
            Most of these stories were about romantic, even erotic, love. While romance is not my typical genre of choice, this collection has stories that also bring in elements of fantasy, which I do enjoy. “Mark of Moloch” and “Mission for Moloch” are about a group traveling through a fantasy world of realms inhabited by different creatures. I enjoyed these the most, as the relationships are more of friendship and companionship than romance, and the story had such a fantastical plot. Though a short chapter, another I enjoyed is “What Am I Writing For?” which explains Anthony’s own relationship with writing. I appreciate his honesty in opening the darker parts of his life to explain his love for and devotion to writing. For me, it was still worth reading the non-fantasy stories because of Anthony’s concepts, some of which are highly imaginative and creative.
            As Anthony himself says in the description, some of these stories are “erotic as hell,” and they are unsuitable for younger or sensitive readers. Some descriptions and dialogue are very sexually explicit, and some of the age choices are a bit disturbing to me. One half of each couple is often barely of legal age. However, legal is legal and consent is given. I would recommend this book to lovers of love, erotica, companionship, and even fantasy. Based on this sixth volume in the series, I would gladly read through the others to find the gems I know Anthony is capable of creating.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for writing a review. I was not obligated to give a positive review, and all thoughts are my own.

About the Author:
Piers Anthony is the best-selling fantasy author of the Xanth series, among others. He lives with his wife in Inverness, Florida.
 
https://www.amazon.com/Relationships-6-Piers-Anthony/dp/1947381059/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1530374120&sr=8-1&keywords=relationships+6
 

Mia
By Emily Chance
​
A couple months ago, a dog started to come around. After asking a few neighbors, we realized this dog was dumped on our road. This occurrence is not abnormal; this is the second or third time in two years this has happened. She seemed young, probably around a year old or so. We began feeding her and growing attached to this sweet pup, and we decided to name her “Mia.”
            Recently, however, I came home to find a three-prong fish hook stuck and hooked inside her gums, with the knowledge of nobody having seen Mia for three to four days. She hadn’t touched the food or drink we laid out for her, and I tried to call the animal clinic to no avail. Mia was dehydrated and bleeding when I found her, and unsure of what to do, my friend and I took her into the emergency animal room. I loved this dog more than I realized when I waited four to five hours in the waiting room without having eaten beforehand. I left my Chinese food on the stove, left for the clinic at 3:15 p.m., and finally got home at 9:15 p.m.
            While we were at the clinic, the doctor said that Mia’s stomach was bothering her and they were afraid Mia had eaten another fishhook and had it in her stomach. After much debate and discussing numbers and prices, it came to the decision that if Mia had a fishhook in her stomach, we would have to euthanize her. It seemed that no matter what we did or what path we were going down, it would be between $300 and $500, and if we did the x-ray and they found a hook in her stomach, we would have to pay over $1,000. We talked the doctor down to only doing one x-ray, which cut the cost down to $67.
            After we did the x-ray, we found out that there was nothing in her stomach. After this good news, we decided to go ahead and hospitalize the poor pup and put her on IV fluids.
            Here’s the thing: people need to be more careful with their belongings, even if they don’t have any children or animals of their own, because they could cause serious damage to someone else’s animal. This kind of recklessness causes families to crumble and go broke. It causes pain and suffering emotionally and physically to the animal and anyone around them. That animal happened to be my family. However, while we were with Mia, we overheard that the doctor was in surgery cutting another fishhook out of another dog’s esophagus. So it’s not just one person or one dog affected by this problem. There are hundreds, probably thousands, of dogs and other animals getting hurt from someone’s carelessness and disregard for another’s safety.
            I’m not trying to point fingers or make anyone feel guilty. All I want is for everyone to be more careful about their belongings. I don’t want anyone to have to go through what I had to go through. I love this dog, and I had to spend money I don’t have to help her, so I believe it’s fair to expect everyone to be responsible with their stuff.
 
Edited by London Koffler

Sinfonia: First Notes on the Lute: A Vampire Chronicle: Book One by David Landrum, published by Dreaming Big Publications
Reviewed by London Koffler
​
About the Book:
Nelleke Reitsma is one of the world's top lutenists and guitar players. She is very good because she has had 350 years to practice. 

Sinfonia: First Notes on the Lute records her life, beginning with her entrance into the world of the undying through friendship with Izaak, a mysterious young man who only comes out at night; and, eventually, her crossing over into that world. Leaving her native Netherlands for England, she finds herself embroiled in a fight to save the vampire community of London from destruction. She encounters Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth, and, using her connections to government and the theater, uncovers the last followers of an ancient religion that possesses power capable of destroying Nelleke and the coven of vampires to which she belongs. It is up to her to stop them. 

A fascinating and compelling piece of paranormal fiction, it abounds in danger, romance, horror, love, and beauty.

My Review: 4/5

I have grown tired of popular vampire novels and their clichés. I feel like I’m reading the same story over and over. However, in this new take on a vampire story, Landrum crosses fantasy with history. He takes the time to explain his vampires’ “rules,” some of which differ from the traditional, and he carefully weaves his tale with famous people and events in history. He explores the relationships among vampires as well as between vampires and humans. While the vampire craze of the past decade or so often focused on vampire love stories, Sinfonia finds more substantial plot points to focus on. I found it refreshing that Nelleke is so influenced and motivated by her daughter, rather than by a man. Nelleke herself is the strong female protagonist I often found missing from popular vampire novels. Despite her abuse early in the story, she overcomes and becomes a strong, independent woman and an increasingly influential vampire as she climbs the ranks of the vampire community.

While I know this is a novella, sometimes the plot moves too quickly, and events that deserve some more time are rushed or glossed over. In addition, I felt there is more telling instead of showing in some of the storytelling. I would have preferred to use my imagination to picture his world and characters. Also, because the story is set throughout history, I would expect dialogue to demonstrate that. However, sometimes the language used is either obviously modern or forcibly antiquated. Despite this, I found Sinfonia to be a fresh, unique vampire story, and I look forward to reading new additions to the series.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for writing a review. I was not obligated to give a positive review, and all thoughts are my own.

About the Author:
David W. Landrum lives and writes in West Michigan. His fiction, poetry, and scholarships have appeared in journals and magazines around the world. Landrum has published over 150 short stories in such journals as The Horror Zine, 34th Parallel, Black Denim Review, Silver Pen, Erotique, Non-Binary Review, Night to Dawn, The Lorelei Signal and in many others. His novellas—The Gallery, Strange Brew, ShadowCity, The Last Minstrel, Le Café de la Mort, Mother Hulda, The Prophetess, and The Sorceress of Time, along with his full-length fantasy novel, The Sorceress of the Northern Seas, are available through Amazon. He has also published a great deal of poetry and many academic studies.
 
https://www.amazon.com/Sinfonia-First-Notes-Vampire-Chronicle-ebook/dp/B01F8BMZJ4/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
 

Veterans
By Emily Chance

            It has recently come to my attention that those who don’t have very many relatives in the military don’t think about veterans very often. The only time we really think about the people who died for our freedom is on Veterans Day.

            I remember one time as a little kid; I was probably three or four. I was over at my uncle’s house for Memorial Day. We were swimming and eating hamburgers and hotdogs, and I remember wondering why we had a holiday dedicated to eating food and swimming. It wasn’t until a few years after that, that I realized it was called “Memorial Day” for a reason. We were supposed to be honoring and remembering the fallen soldiers who died for our freedom. We turned a holiday about respecting our fallen soldiers into a day of swimming and eating to celebrate summer.
​
I recently decided I was going to think about our fallen and living heroes more often. Those who died so we could eat food and swim in water instead of being under a stern ruler. Instead of only remembering once a year, or one family member’s birthday, we should remember to thank them every day for what they did for us. To honor them more than once a year for their sacrifice. I want to become someone who remembers.
 
Edited by London Koffler

​THE WAIT
 
“Tomorrow,”
I whisper as I close my eyes to sleep.
My dreams of tomorrow come
And light up the darkness.
I hold a book in my hands and cry
The wait has been long.
I feel my heartbeat inside it.
It has become me.
The sun rises, and I whisper
“Today,”
But now my hands are empty
There is no beating in my chest.
I lie still as death and wait.
Release day will come
Tomorrow.



By Anita Stafford, author of The Legends of Sassafras House
 

Judge Positive Qualities, Not Flaws
By Emily Chance
​
The problem with the world is that we all define ourselves by our sob story, which makes everyone else define us by our problems as well—that one thing that happened in our lives that changed us forever. To a lot of people, I am the girl whose mom abandoned her. My friend is the one who got his girlfriend pregnant. My other friend is the goody-two-shoes who complains about her life when nothing is wrong.

However, if people looked deeper, they would realize that I’m the girl who lets nothing stand in her way when it comes to her goals. They don’t realize that my guy friend is going to be serving in the military to fight for our freedom. They don’t realize that my female friend is so tight with her family that she stays strong enough to never let them know she is battling with depression. All of us have something inside of us that we are battling, whether it be depression, an illness, a hardship, and when someone finds these issues out, we become defined by them.

Just for once I want someone to look past the hurt and everyone’s problems to say, “that girl is a warrior. She is strong enough to conquer whatever life gives her” or “that guy may have gotten his girlfriend pregnant, but he stayed with her instead of running away when that child came out. He is an amazing father.”

I love looking into people’s eyes. Eyes tell stories. You can see everything someone is feeling just by looking in their eyes. At first glance, you only see colors; then you see pain and brokenness, but if you look even deeper, if you don’t define them by their problems and you stick with them, you will see love. You will see dedication and strength.

We are far too complicated to be defined as “broken” or “abandoned” or “no one.” Instead, we should define others by their accomplishments: “That man went out of his way to volunteer with neglected children who have nothing to eat, and he gave them food, hope, and love, if only for a couple minutes.”

The only issue that that when something good happens, it can change in a moment. You feel bad for laughing and having a good time even when there was no way you could have known something else was going on. One day you’re walking through the hallways at school and for once in your life, you feel confident and enough, but someone makes fun of you; suddenly, your life is turned upside down.

Some people hurt others just the see the world burn. It is up to the rest of us to treat people with kindness. With a little compassion and understanding, the world would be a much better place. There would be less death, less anxiety, and an overall increase in positivity. I want to be the generation that brings back faith in humanity. Instead of judging everyone all the time, I want to accept them for who they are.

Edited by Allison Naumann

Sexism and Abuse in 10 Things I Hate About You
By London Koffler
​
            Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew is undoubtedly a play concerning gender dynamics and gender roles. The 1999 film adaptation, Junger’s 10 Things I Hate About You, claims to present the story in a more empowering and feminist light and is often regarded as more progressive than the play on which it is based (Pittman 144). However, this film has its own problems, romanticizing abuse in teenage relationships and resorting to discreetly stereotypical and sexist portrayals of women to tell its story.
The interpretation of Bianca from 10 Things I Hate About You is exaggerated according to stereotypes about teenage girls; while she is beautiful and popular, she is also “vapid” and “conceited” (Junger 09:42-09:57). For example, even when her sister, Kat, discusses her traumatic sexual experience with Joey, Bianca is not sympathetic toward her but instead focuses on how it has affected her own social life. Despite these character flaws, she is presented as the most desirable girl in all of Padua High, turning heads and attracting the attention of boys much older than she.    
            Bianca’s sister, Kat, is intelligent, but because she outspokenly rebels against the norm and confronts sexism in her school, she is labeled as an over-zealous feminist. Kat’s peers describe her as “a bitter, self-righteous hag who has no friends” (Junger 06:02), but her intelligence and sarcasm allow her to craft scathing attacks to defend herself. Kat is considered unattractive because of her dark and oversized clothing, reinforcing the idea that a lack of stereotypical femininity is undesirable.
            Despite Kat’s intelligence and wariness toward men, she discards her tough exterior and falls for the school’s “bad boy,” Patrick. Patrick’s control over Kat is a sinister cycle of humiliation and abuse disguised as a teen love story. Shakespeare’s Sonnet 141 describes the author’s devotion to a woman, even though he does not like her personality. Kat reinterprets this to apply to her relationship with Patrick. Although part of her despises him, Kat still finds herself attracted to and submitting to him. In the last scene, Patrick literally silences Kat with a kiss while she is speaking, leaving a very “disturbing” message about the agency that should be allowed to women (Hateley). Patrick shows mental, emotional, and physical control over Kat, and she seems to surrender to him again and again.
            The film, while claiming to profess a “girl power” message, sexualizes and objectifies these two teenage girls and perpetuates the idea that “to be a girl is to be a body” (Balizet 823). Kat is not a sexualized object until she begins to show some femininity, but Bianca is sexualized from the first slow-motion moment Cameron sees her. Because of his infatuation with her appearance, he devises a plan to “get” her, as if she were a trophy to be won. His pursuit is unwarranted and appears to be the result of his objectification of Bianca.
            Despite sexualizing and objectifying Kat and Bianca, the film also suggests that sex, rather than being a natural human act, causes impurity. The main advocate of chastity is the girls’ obstetrician father, Walter. His reason for not allowing the girls to date is to preserve their virginity, and to him, the ultimate physical mark of impurity is a teenage pregnancy. Walter makes Bianca wear “The Belly” before she goes out to a party “to give her an embodied experience of pregnancy as shameful” (Balizet 828). This seems to work for Bianca, who, although embarrassed, acts as if this is a common routine for both daughters in the Stratford home. Walter wants this small instance of humiliation to deter his daughters from making this fake pregnancy a reality.
            What Walter does not know is that, despite his efforts, Kat has already been sexually active. Throughout the film, her impurity is subtly referenced, and she is shamed for it. For example, during Patrick and Kat’s paintballing session, Kat’s pure white coveralls are dirtied by paint—a literal symbol of her impurity. When Patrick kisses her for the first time, the soundtrack proclaims, “you’re holy even when you are not new” (Junger 1:09:40-1:09:55). The implication is that Kat’s being “not new” is something shameful and will make her less desirable.
            On the other hand, “It is because [Bianca] is so clearly depicted as a virgin that she is also seen as a sexual prize” in the film (Balizet 830). In fact, the reason Cameron gives for liking Bianca, even though he hasn’t met her yet, is that “She’s totally pure” (Junger 10:03). Her virginity is sexualized by the other boys at school, who announce “Virgin alert” (09:07) when she is in the area and predatorily stare at her as she passes. While she is expected to be “pure” sexually, she is also “expected to be desirable” in her appearance (Balizet 826). Cameron’s friend says that Bianca wears a “strategically planned sun dress” (Junger 10:32) only to tease the boys, as it is a known fact that she is not allowed to date.

•          

 
Balizet, Ariane M. “Just Say Yes: Shakespeare, Sex, and Girl Culture.” Women’s Studies, vol. 44, no. 6, 2015, pp 815-841, EBSCOhost, doi: 10.1080/00497878.2015.1045687.
Hateley, Erica. “A Gendered Educational Agenda: What’s Wrong with 10 Things I Hate About You?” Australian Screen Education, vol. 57, 2010, pp. 129-135, EBSCOhost.
Junger, Gil, director. 10 Things I Hate About You. Touchstone Pictures, 1999.
Pittman, L. Monique. “Taming 10 Things I Hate About You: Shakespeare and the Teenage Film Audience.” Literature Film Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 2, 2004, pp. 144-152, EBSCOhost.

Edited by Allison Naumann


 

​Tragic Figure
JD DeHart
 
They want a bent
ashen figure of resounding
scuffle.
 
Like two dogs fighting
over a bone in a barren
street. No use for brawls.
 
They wish for the
punishment, the nemesis
aspect of the story.
 
But I’m focused on the rise,
the return, the power
of the counter-narrative.
 
A story of redemption
and ultimate possibility.