Various and sundry

So I could make a number of shortish posts or I could just compile a few of my scattered thoughts into a long, rambly blogt. Needless to say, I have chosen the latter.

Last night, I was browsing Ellora’s Cave as I am so often wont to do, and found myself thinking about an old anthology I read and reviewed back in October. Most particularly, I was thinking about the short story that left the longest impression on me, an offering by Mary Wine. If you click on the link to my review, you’ll see that I was less than overwhelmed with the story. The characters were both stupid, and neither of them reacted the way those of us who live on planet Earth would react to typical situations. But the author did do sexual tension liek whoa, and even though the characters were both fresh out of central casting, I was still curious about that. Because sometimes short stories are just not an author’s forte, you know?

Anyway, it turns out that Ms. Wine’s writing, it is like crack. I am usually not a fan of over the top alpha males who are all, “You’re mine, and I will press my body hard against yours several times so that you will accept this fact and give in to the inevitable.” But I want to read her books. She’s got some excerpts on her website that are really doing it for me, and my inner feminist is seriously considering going off and joining a commune or something like that.

In other news, I found the idea of a marketing guru writing a book for young girls that might or might not have product placement in it rather fascinating. The product placement question is interesting but easily answered for me. Don’t want it in my fiction. every time Butch had a name-dropping orgasm in Lover Revealed , for example, I wanted to smack him. But this is what struck me from the commentary on DA:

Tina said she was inspired to write the series because she felt it was important for girls to have positive books to read and to encourage them to make good choices.

As opposed to, oh, the 85 million books out there that are not providing girls with positive books to read and encouraging them to make good choices? I don’t read much YA these days except for the occasional revisit of an old favorite, but honestly now, isn’t that the whole point of the genre? I mean, for crap’s sake, even books like the Sweet Valley High books or the Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging books try to sneak in a few good life lessons in amid the random schlock. I’m sure that, had I kept reading the Stephenie Meyer books before I decided that there was a special place in hell for Bella and Edward, I’d have found some life lessons and positive choices in there. And how, precisely, do you come up with a character about whom the most important thing is, “She likes Converse?” I mean, what do you do with a plot like that and still have it teach about making good choices?

Third, guess what showed up on my bloglines while I was doing my daily blog reading? TGBTU, that’s what! I was so very stoked, as it’s been way too long since I’ve been able to read TGBTU without going to the site. So thanks for fixing everything, Syb, whatever you did. Mwah!

Fourthly, I am listening to the Folk Alliance awards on XM. I wish I had someone who could descend to my levels of geekitude and let me provide them with a running commentary. Sadly, I am probably the only one amused by that idea.