Author Archives: lydias

About lydias

I'm a sci-fi writer who loves lifting weights and hates eating Brussels sprouts.
July 14, 2021 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Favorite Holiday (and a Recipe)

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year. Everyone who participates can sign up to win gift certificates and other prizes, so be sure to do that as well after you’ve added your post to the list.

A pumpkin covered in dew sitting in grass covered in dew. There is an orange leaf leaning up on the pumpkin.Halloween is my favourite holiday!

I love the magic of that season for so many different reasons.

Halloween candy is a delicious smorgasbord of flavours and textures. I love everything from candy corn to dark chocolate.

There are tons of creative costume ideas out there. It’s wonderful to see what folks come up with. I once knew someone who dressed up as a wedding cake for this holiday. How cool is that?

Seeing kids trick-or-treating makes me smile. It’s such a nice way to encourage neighbours to spend time together and be kind  to friends and strangers alike.

Halloween is also one of the rare times of the year when graveyards are mentioned a lot in pop culture. I don’t actually find cemeteries frightening at all. They’re often peaceful, beautiful places to visit in real life.

As far as a recipe goes, why not try something simple like roasted pumpkin seeds?

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 cups of raw whole pumpkin seeds
  • 2 teaspoons of butter, melted (margarine or other fats can work well, too)
  • 1 pinch of salt

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit (150 Celsius)

Toss the seeds in a bowl with the salt and melted butter until every seed is coated.

(This step is optional if you’re like me and also hate scrubbing oily dishes) Put a sheet of tin foil on a baking sheet.

Spread the seeds in a single layer on the baking sheet.

Bake for roughly 45 minutes. Stir occasionally. When the seeds are golden brown, they’re finished.

 

It’s healthy, easy, and delicious. I also find crunchy, salty things like this to be a nice break from all of the sugary foods of the season.

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July 13, 2021 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Titles That Are Questions

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I asked the Internet to give me stock photos related to the word question, and it delivered someone wearing a cardboard box over their head. They’re tapping the side of the box with one hand while making a quizzical gesture with their other arm.

I can’t stop giggling at this image and hope you all find it amusing as well. The internet really is full of surprises, isn’t it?

Let’s move on to the list.

1. What’s the Use of Walking If There’s a Freight Train Going Your Way?: Black Hoboes & Their Songs
by Paul Garon

2. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

3. How Do Witches Fly?: A Practical Approach to Nocturnal Flights by Alexander Kuklin

4. What Killed Jane Austen?: And Other Medical Mysteries by George Biro

5. Where’s Waldo? The Fantastic Journey by Martin Handford

6. Who Is Santa Claus?: The True Story Behind a Living Legend by Robin Crichton

7. Who Do You Think You Are? by Alice Munro

8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner, #1) by Philip K. Dick

9. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee

10. Did She Kill Him?: A Victorian Tale of Deception, Adultery and Arsenic by Kate Colquhoun

 

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July 8, 2021 · 1:00 am

Sweet Sleuthing: A Review of Junkyard

Junkyard by Lindsay Buroker book cover. Image on cover is of a spaceship flying above a forest and below a large moon above the planet. Title: Junkyard (a Fractured Stars Novella) 

Author: Lindsay Buroker 

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: January 5, 2019

Genres: Science Fiction, Mystery

Length: 81 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Blurb:

McCall Richter works as a skip tracer, tracking down criminals, con men, and people who stop making payments on their fancy new spaceships. 

Her job description says nothing about locating vast quantities of stolen maple syrup, but thanks to her helpful new android employee, she finds herself tramping through a “sugar house” on a frosty moon full of suspicious characters. The only witness to the crime? The junkyard dog next door.

Junkyard is a stand-alone novella set two years before Fractured Stars.

Review:

Talk about a sticky situation! 

It only took me a few scenes to find McCall endearing. She was an independent person who knew exactly what she wanted out of life. I was intrigued by the quirkier aspects of her personality, too, and was eager to get to know her better. The short introduction to her was more than enough to whet my appetite for more from this character and series. 

I would have liked to see more time spent developing the mystery elements of the plot. The basic structure of it was there, but it was so simplistic that I didn’t have to put much effort into sorting everything out at all. There was a lot of space here to add nuance to the question of what happened to the maple syrup and who might have been responsible for the theft of it. This was the only thing preventing me from giving this tale a higher rating. 

Some of my favourite scenes were the ones that showcased McCall’s relationships with Scipio and the other non-human creatures she spent a lot of time around, especially given how much she struggled to relate to other humans at times. It was marvellous to see her relax and enjoy the company of a select few companions who understood her so well. I’d love to see more of this later on in this series if it happens to be included there. 

Junkyard would be a good read for fans of both the science fiction and mystery genres. 

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July 7, 2021 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Best Biography or Autobiography

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

Shot of daisy growing up from the ground. We can only see the bottom of the daisy and the blue but cloudy sky above.It was difficult to narrow my answer down to only one book this week.

There are so many amazing biographies and autobiographies out there, but in the end I had to go with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou for reasons I’ll get into below.

One, Ms. Angelou had a unique story to tell. Her childhood included very difficult experiences like moving between multiple households/caregivers as a small child and recovering from sexual abuse a few years later. (The incident itself was not included in her autobiography from what I recall, but I thought I should mention it for anyone who would rather not read about the after-effects of that topic).  With that being said, she was also surrounded by adults who loved her and who did everything they could to help her heal.

Two, the author had a poetic and descriptive writing style that is well-suited for an autobiography. She brought the heartwarming moments of her childhood to life in exquisite detail, and there were quite a few of them.

Three, everyone goes through tough times at one point or another. I find comfort in reading about the coping skills other people have relied upon when they experienced loss, trauma, grief, or other hard stuff. No two stories are every alike, but you can find many common threads in them if you pay attention.  It’s also encouraging to see examples of people persevering and eventually finding their way to happier chapters in life.

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July 6, 2021 · 12:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Reasons Why I Love Reading

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl 

I could have written a list two or three times this length! What a fantastic topic.

An open book lying spine down and pages fanned out while letting on a metal table. 1. It’s a healthy form of escapism.

2. It has introduced me to historical eras and events I may not know much about. I have no doubt this will continue to happen in the future!

3. It has let me meet people, both real and imagined, that I would have otherwise never met.

4. It gives me a chance to visit places I haven’t seen in real life yet.

5. It lifts my spirits when I’m sad and gives me hope when I’m going through a rough time.

6. It shows me the beauty in our world.

7. It can be a wonderful way to learn about how others live. For example, you can read books about characters from cultures you didn’t grow up in or who are dealing with sensitive issues that generally aren’t considered polite to ask about in many societies unless you know someone quite well. (Even then, there are plenty of things I’d never bring up unless the person experiencing it mentions it first and says it’s okay to ask questions!)

8. It can help you come up with new strategies to handle your own medical issues, experiences with prejudice, conflicts, etc. For example, I love reading books about other folks who have migraines or chronic headaches because of everything we’d have in common related to that.

9. It’s hopeful. I love reading about how past generations solved their biggest problems or how characters tackle issues that seem insurmountable at first.

10. It’s a wonderful way to make new friends though the blogging community and by discussing books with fellow readers.

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July 1, 2021 · 1:00 am

A Review of This Time Around – A Canadian Werewolf Story 

This Time Around - A Canadian Werewolf Story by Mark Leslie book cover. Image on cover shows a city skyline at night. Superimposed on that photo is a photo of a wolf's head that's superimposed on a maple leaf in front of a full moon.Title: This Time Around – A Canadian Werewolf Story

Author: Mark Leslie

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: February 16, 2013

Genres: Fantasy, Contemporary

Length: 70 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author 

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Blurb:

Caught Between the Moon and New York City 

Being a werewolf isn’t all about howling at the moon.

Or running carelessly through boundless fields feeling the wind in your fur.

Not when you live in the most populous city in the US.

For Michael Andrews, a Canadian living in Manhattan and afflicted with lycanthropy, there are odd side effects to being a werewolf in the middle of a bustling metropolis.

Such as waking up naked in Battery Park with absolutely no memory of the night before as a wolf and trying to figure out why there is a bullet hole in his leg.

Just another day in the life of a man living with the odd side effect of his werewolf affliction.

(This 10,000 word short story is the original short story written by Mark Leslie that eventually inspired the full length Mark Leslie Novel: A Canadian Werewolf in New York)

Review:

Content warning: blood and brief violence. I will briefly mention the former in my review.

If you think you know what it’s like to be a werewolf, think again. 

Humour wasn’t necessarily something I was expecting to find when I began reading about Michael’s adventures here, but it was exactly what he and I both needed. Some of the scenes were subtly humorous in ways that nodded at Canadian culture. While they certainly had universal appeal as well, it was nice to see the author acknowledge his character’s background like that. 

The only thing that held this story back from a much higher rating were the typos in it. I can ignore the occasional grammatical or punctuation error, but they happened so often here that I felt compelled to mention them. With another round of editing, this would have easily been a five-star read for me. I loved everything else about it. 

This was such a unique take on werewolves. The plot showed how Michael coped after waking up naked and covered in blood in a park after spending his night in his wolf form. Obviously, that’s not the ideal way to start anyone’s day, and somehow things only became more complicated for him from that point. I was immediately sucked into his quest for clothing and, eventually, answers about what happened to him the night before. The author went into the perfect amount of detail about what this sort of experience is like for a shifter and how many different things they must consider as soon as they revert to their human form. 

If you enjoy lycanthropy fiction, definitely do check out This Time Around – A Canadian Werewolf Story.

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June 30, 2021 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: People Who Inspire Me

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

Every few months, the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge poses a question that makes me wish I could peek into all of your drafts folders as I’m writing my response to it. Will you all choose people you know or famous people?

I decided to nominate one famous person and a couple of people I know in real life.

Foster Parents

Several years ago, my brother and sister-in-law signed up to be foster parents. I won’t go into details about the children they looked after for confidentiality reasons, but I’m so proud of my relatives for the excellent care they provided for the little people who needed a safe place to call home for a while. Foster children deserve families who truly love and cherish them, and that’s exactly what my relatives did for their kids whether those kids stayed a few days, a few months, or forever.

Photo of Malala Yousafzai wearing a green dress and a purple headscarf Malala Yousafzai

I’m sure you’ve all heard Malala’s story already, but I’ll quickly summarize it just in case.

In 2012, she was shot in the head by a member of the Taliban in retaliation for writing blog posts about her experiences living under their rule in Pakistan and advocating for the education of women and girls.

Malala miraculously recovered fully from that injury and has spent the last nine years advocating for everyone’s right to an education.

I also admire her commitment to non-violence and forgiveness. While she has never shied away from speaking the truth and attempting to make the world a better place, her empathy for her attackers is astounding.

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June 29, 2021 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books of the Second Half of 2021

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Rabbit wearing glasses and sitting next to an opened book

This isn’t my rabbit, but I love this bookish picture.

There are so many amazing books being published throughout the rest of 2021!

Toronto’s public library system is pretty good at getting new releases, so my fingers are crossed that I’ll be able to request, and probably even read, all of these books by the end of the year.

If nothing else, I hope to be in a comfortable position in the waitlist for the really popular ones on this list before Christmas rolls around.

 

So Many Beginnings- A Little Women Remix  by Bethany C. Morrow book cover. Image on cover shows four smiling black sisters.

1. So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix  by Bethany C. Morrow

Release Date: September 7

Why I Want to Read It: This will be my first retelling of Little Women. I can’t wait.

 

The Lost Girls  by Sonia Hartl book cover. Image on cover shows vampire with blood coming out of the corner of her mouth .

2. The Lost Girls  by Sonia Hartl 

Release Date: September 14

Why I Want to Read It: It’s a queer vampire romance that playfully acknowledges the creepiness of a 100+ year old vampire dating a teenage girl. I do enjoy this sort of thing on occasion and am not making fun of it or anything. It’s just nice to see some nuance in the trope.

 

The Hill We Climb and Other Poems by Amanda Gorman book cover. Image on cover shows title in red except for "and other poems" which is written in white

3. The Hill We Climb and Other Poems by Amanda Gorman

Release Date: September 21

Why I Want to Read It: I loved the poem she wrote for President Biden’s inauguration and can’t wait to read more.

 

The $16 Taco: Contested Geographies of Food, Ethnicity, and Gentrification  by Pascale Joassart-Marcelli  book cover. Image on cover is a drawing of people waiting to get into a small ethnic restaurant.

4. The $16 Taco: Contested Geographies of Food, Ethnicity, and Gentrification  by Pascale Joassart-Marcelli  

Release Date: October 5

Why I Want to Read It: There are many restaurants here in Toronto that will take an inexpensive dish from one ethnic group, add a few unusual ingredients, and jack up the price so much that only wealthy (and generally white) folks can buy it. I’m curious to see what this author has discovered about this practice in general.

 

Cackle  by Rachel Harrison book cover. Image on cover shows a porcelain cup decorated with a spider and spider webs. Something is releasing steam from it.

5. Cackle  by Rachel Harrison

Release Date: October 5

Why I Want to Read It: Most books about witches are not at all scary these days. The blurb hints that this won’t be a traditional “witches are terrifying” tale either, though, so I look forward to seeing what angle it does take.

 

Gastro Obscura- A Food Adventurer's Guide  by Cecily Wong book cover. Image on cover is a mishmash of various travel and food images,from an airplane to strawberries.

6. Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer’s Guide  by Cecily Wong

Release Date: October 12

Why I Want to Read It: I have some health conditions that limit my diet. I’m as adventurous as my body will allow, but I love reading about foods I can’t actually have just as much as I do the ones I can eat.

 

Bright Lights, Prarie Dust: A Memoir  by Karen Grassle 

7. Bright Lights, Prarie Dust: A Memoir  by Karen Grassle

Release Date: October 19

Why I Want to Read It: I grew up watching reruns of Little House on the Prairie and enjoy going back to that world.

 

Yummy- A History of Desserts  by Victoria Grace Elliott book cover. Image on cover is a drawing of a large ice cream sundae and three small characters adding more cookies to it.

8. Yummy: A History of Desserts  by Victoria Grace Elliott 

Release Date: October 19

Why I Want to Read It: As you’ve probably noticed, I love reading about food.

 

Noor by Nnedi Okorafor book cover. Image on cover shows african woman holding her head up high.

9. Noor by Nnedi Okorafor

Release Date: November 9

Why I Want to Read It:  Ms. Okorafor is on my shortlist of must-read authors.

 

Within These Wicked Walls  by Lauren Blackwood book cover. Imageon cover shows a woman's face superimposed over an imposing mansion

10. Within These Wicked Walls  by Lauren Blackwood   Jane Eyre retelling. Ethiopian 

Release Date: November 9

Why I Want to Read It: Jane Eyre is one of my all-time favourite classic novels. I can’t wait to read this retelling of it.

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June 24, 2021 · 1:00 am

Unsettling Art: A Review of 300 Down

300 Down by Keith Minnion book cover. Image on cover is a black and white photo of a narrow strip of grass.Title: 300 Down

Author: Keith Minnion

Publisher: White Noise Press

Publication Date: January 21, 2021

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary

Length: 11 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

Arthur Hubbard just purchased another painting for his NYC art gallery: an Expressionist portrait of a red-headed woman in a lurid green dress. He already owns two others, all different paintings, all by different artists, but the subject, the redhead in a green dress, is the same. Why is Arthur so compelled to seek out more paintings, more portraits, of her? The most important question, however, is: why is she haunting him?

Review:

Content warning: Infidelity and suicide. I will not be discussing these things in my review.

If you love unsettling art, keep reading.

There’s nothing like staring at a painting of what appears to be ordinary scene only to feel a chill run down your spine as you gaze upon it. Arthur’s obsession with the paintings of the red-haired woman wearing a green dress he kept finding only intensified over time. The more it bothered him, the stronger my curiosity grew to find out what it was about this woman that made it impossible for him to ignore her.

This is a minor criticism of something I otherwise enjoyed reading quite a bit, but I did wonder why Arthur kept collecting paintings that were clearly causing him emotional distress. Given his employment in the art industry, it seemed like it would have been pretty easy for him to sell them and therefore not have to see them every day. There were a few tantalizing hints about why he decided not to go this route. I do wish he’d been more straightforward about his reasoning there.

The ending was perfect. Without giving away spoilers, I loved the way the audience was expected to come up with some of our own theories about what happened next while still providing enough resolution for the conflict that I felt satisfied by how it was all wrapped up. Arthur struck me as the sort of man who expected those around him to do their own fair share of mental work like analyzing clues, so I was glad to see this pattern continue until the final scene. I will keep hoping for a sequel, though!

300 Down made me shudder in a good way.

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June 23, 2021 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Saddest Book I’ve Ever Read

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

black and white photo of slumped over man reading a book while sitting on a park bench outdoors The saddest book I’ve ever read was The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

It was a dystopian horror tale about a man who was trying to keep his young son alive in a post-apocalyptic version of Earth in which every plant and animal they found had died.

The writing itself was decent, but there were so many awful things that happened during the course of the plot that I really struggled to finish it.

If you decide to read it, I strongly recommend reading some spoiler-y reviews first or asking someone who has already read it to warn you in advance about certain scenes. Some of them were pretty disturbing, and that’s coming from someone who read horror for years.

I don’t read books like this one anymore. My tastes have since shifted to require more hope in plots and endings, but kudos to those of you who enjoy this type of horror.

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