Lari's Bookshelf

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.  -  Ben Franklin Unfortunately, the Patriot Act is not a thing of the past. It is arguably unconstitutional and riddled with controversial provisions . Despite campaign promises , President Obama extended the Patriot Act in May of this year  without any new civil liberties provisions or amendments. The seemingly valid attitude of "well, if I'm not doing anything illegal than why should I care" is a little naive. The fact is, once the government gets on 'in' on your personal information, and what your are choosing to read, whose to say this will cease in the future? Do people honestly think that one day terrorism will just end and we'll all get our rights to privately and freely access information unless the people speak out against it? And while authorities could technically get a warrant if they suspect suspicious activity, sometimes it's ...

I just finished my chronological outline for my novel. I've had a few false starts already, but lacked knowledge of "where it was going" and hit dead ends. I think this is the first time I really have a clear picture of an ENTIRE book in my head. When I was in college and writing chapters of different novels for different creative writing classes, I had a lot of ideas but not a lot of direction. I almost fell into that trap again. The man and his creation.* Recently, I read At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft. The man is a genius and I don't care if you don't like his paragraph sentences. I relish every word. So I had Lovecraft on the brain, and while researching what an Old One might have looked like, I came across this short little article written by Lovecraft himself called Notes on Writing Weird Fiction . It wasn't anything particularly brilliant. It was simple. Too simple . But in a way, that's what made it so decidedly useful to m...

I had the pleasure of visiting a town named Winchester in Virginia last month. While there, I stopped by the Handley Regional Library and, with mouth perpetually agape, snapped lots of photos until they closed and asked me to leave the building. The library was first opened in 1913 because Judge John Handley (a self made man who immigrated from Ireland) of Scranton Pennsylvania willed $250,000 (which would be nearly 5.5 million today) to " . . . open a Public Library for the free use of the people of the city of Winchester forever ." Here are some pictures of the library from the outside: Upon entering this timeless temple to knowledge and steamy paranormal romances, you stand in a glorious rotunda.  Here is the library's magical golden directory. Look, they had to change some things and you can tell because they put little metal strips over some words! And then I started exploring the different sections of the library... Disembodied hand! Teen Sp...

I know it's cheesy. I know the special effects can sometimes look cheap. I know that dragons, fairies, and wizards don't really exist, but I don't care. I also don't care if you think it's stupid. Fantasy rules. 1. Legend of the Seeker     (2008) 2 Seasons No. It doesn't follow Terry Goodkind's books to the letter, but I kind of liked it that way because the plot took a different direction and told a new story. Richard Cypher is named the Seeker by a skinny, tall, odd looking wizard named Zeddicus Zul Zorander and his mission is to kick the tyrannical Lord Rahl's ass all the while fighting the urge to make out with Kalan, his beautiful partner and a confessor whose touch could kill his soul. Will he succeed? Dun. Dun. Dun! Of course he will. This is a show made for American audiences afterall... Look how they look heroically off into the distance. LOOK AT THEM. Pros: Legend of the Seeker shows off the beautiful New Zealand landscape. The magic ...

I vant to suck your blood cowboy! American Vampire, Volume 1 by Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque, and Stephen King Published by Vertigo in 2010 American Vampire is not just another vampire rehash. Scott Snyder and Stephen King are co-authors in a one of a kind introduction to a compelling new addition to the modern vampire mythos. King’s narrative illustrates the creation of the first American Vampire, Skinner Sweet, an outlaw who makes enemies of an elite group of Euro-vamps. Snyder’s storyline takes place in 1925, a few decades later, in Los Angeles where would-be actress Pearl Jones’s life is turned upside down by an encounter with the undead. She is given a chance for bloody revenge, however, when she is made vampire by none other than Skinner Sweet. Conflicts between Euro and American Vamps ensue, and the work delightfully lays down some new vampire rules. Rafael Albuquerque’s crisp lines and colors pop in this graphic novel’s beautifully designed panels. Shocking viole...

Here is a recent steampunk scene I wrote for a writing challenge: The ocean swelled and coughed up a small figure onto a rocky beach. At first, he just laid there, seemingly as dead as the beached man o’ wars nearby. A few hours later, however, a quiet low cough, and a twitch of the limbs, startled a tropical finch, which had briefly landed on his head to peck on a few strands of his golden, sun-bleached hair. The boy’s freckled visage, covered in sand, squinted at the sun as he turned over. Eyes burned and watered at the brightness, reflecting a sea-like combination of blue and green. Carefully, he stood up, and became aware of a weight around his neck. Placing a hand inside his torn shirt, and feeling the cool, hard object suspended against his salt stretched skin, he remembered the submarine. The captain was humoring him by showing him the different functions of the levers on the control panel. Then there were shouts, and chaos consumed them all. Shaking his head, it was all...

Bright orange vermilion filled the watery void. It curled around itself like a grotesque eyeless snake, shedding its black skin to reveal new iridescent flesh.  Time passes, and the fire still roars from the void. Except now the molten blood of the earth has cooled and coagulated like a giant scab on the ocean's floor, forming a magnificent black mountain.  At its peak, fire, light, and bubbles still perform their eternal dance. Fissures and vents, stretch marks on the outer shell of the continually inflating mountain, pop in and out of existence.  A kaleidoscope of iridescent pits and lines, manifesting through eons.  ...to be continued...

The title may sound like a downer. But it doesn't need to be. Frankly, a lot of talented people get published, but in my observation and experience, a lot of not so very talented people get published as well. Talent doesn't guarantee a person success in the least. So how do some mediocre writers get published over some very talented writers? Humans try to find patterns and order out of chaos. We try to find reasons for why things happen the way they do, when there really is no reason to be found, only invented. I'm currently reading a rather fabulous book about randomness called The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow. My current random read. In it, the author illustrates some enthralling examples of how randomness plays out in different industries, and how people try to intepret meaning where there is none. Eventually this causes them to lose out in the end. Mlodinow applies the idea of randomness to the publishing industry as wel...

The past few days have been good for me. I had the opportunity to go camping with my family and consider a few things. We went camping in Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii and had the opportunity to get our minds blown at how freaking awesome nature is. I also had the inspiration to write a short story about Lo'Ihi for the latest webook writing challenge, a challenge that calls on the author to create a world and destroy it in 300 words or less . I don't know why I get a kick out of these writing challenges, but I do. For one, it is a way I'm able to get some creative highs from them, and inadvertently they help me with my own personal creative endeavors. For two, they are a lot more fun than some of my freelance articles. Speaking of which, I'm still working on a schedule for my freelance work, but I have my excel document creator open and I'm going to start that as soon as I finish rambling here. I'm continually fascinated by stories in all their forms. ...

I'm not quite sure why I'm starting this blog. But then again, I am a little aware of the reason. The fact is, I've had quite a few failed blogs, and I have a propensity for making a new one every time a new idea pops into my head. My problem is... I like to write, but I have the attention span of a parakeet (which I know, by experience mind you, is not very long). I have a hard time finishing anything, I mean anything , I start. So I decided to create a blog about my writing, or about my non-writing, so that I actually write regularly, to combat the fact that I don't write regularly. . . . Or, in other words, this is a place for my brain to purge freewrites, pontifications, and anything specifically related to writing fiction, freelance writing, etc. Currently I do some freelance writing but have had a hard time organizing myself. In between being a mother of a three year old, making some huge life changes by moving off the mainland, living in a one bedroom apa...