For those interested in "heartwarming" romance with a message, here's my review of THE LIFE LIST, which was released by Netflix earlier this year. I actually watched it before My Oxford Year.
The Life List is a romantic comedy/drama film written and directed by Adam Brooks, adapted from the novel of the same name by Lori Nelson Spielman.
SHORT BLURB
After the death of her mother (portrayed by Connie Britton), Alex (Sophia Carson) views a video her mother had left that reminds Sophia of her childhood aspirations and urges Alex to try to achieve the goals set when she was young.
The result is a surprising and emotional journey characterized by memories and emotions resulting in Alex finding her true self and possibly true love too. The film is a love letter to mother-daughter relationships, and that fact makes it watchable even though the story is nothing new.
Starring along with Sofia Carson are Kyle Allen as Brad, Connie Britton as Elizabeth Rose, Sebastian de Souza as Garrett, Jordi Mollà as Johnny, Marianne Rendón as Zoe, José Zúñiga as Samuel, and Chelsea Frei as Megan.
I found the movie to be "heartwarming and charming" despite its predictability.
I mean, we all know how a romantic movie ends—it's the journey from no love to true love that makes us watch.
That's the reason why romance novels are the most popular genre—we want to see the road the heroine and hero travel from beginning to end.
The ending is as important as the beginning. It must be worthy of the struggle the characters undergo, and the ending of this movie is satisfying.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
There aren't any huge surprises in the movie, but, nevertheless, you'll find it appealing.
It's simple. Become a Zombie, just walking through life and trying to get over being tired, and you Fall Behind.
That's me. I was crazy busy from May to July 23 with my personal life and finishing a book to publish that I felt like a Zombie after that marathon was completed.
I was too tired to write, blog, or even do my daily workouts.
The weather turned excruciatingly hot so I stayed inside where it was cool instead of working on my landscape which is another personal project that is now on hiatus.
I haven't written or blogged or even kept my monthly commitments to my group blogs.
Apologies to my Smart Girls Read Romance blog friends.
Also pologies to my Romance Gems...Where Authors and Readers Meet blog friends.
I encourage you to visit both those groups for some compelling blog posts and discussions.
NOW, 3 WEEKS LATER
Yikes. My latest book, OLD ENOUGH TO BE BOLD, was published July 23, and I'm waking from my exhaustion stupor to realize I am woefully behind on email, blogging, and writing the next book.
Thankfully, the new book is doing quite well which pleases me greatly. The next book in the Mean Woman Blues series is outlined and waiting for me to put fingers to keyboard.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
There's a difference from taking a much-needed break and falling off the radar. Hmm. Maybe in today's world those are one and the same? What do you think?
A dear friend passed away. We'd been friends since the late 1980s. Even though she had moved away, we stayed in touch nearly every week.
I can't believe it happened. I guess that translates into I can't accept it. I thought of the quotation above and have come to the conclusion that acceptance must be the optimistic cousin of resignation.
Takeaway Truth
I know I'll eventually "accept" this loss, but it will simply be that I'm resigned to it.
(I thought I had reviewed The Life List, but it seems I have not. It was actually better than today's movie. Look for that a review of The Life List next week.)
In My Oxford Year, Ms. Carson is Anna De La Vega who was born to a Hispanic family and raised in the United States.
She's a Cornell summa cum laude grad who deferred a fabulous job offer in order to pursue a Master’s degree in English Language and Literature at Oxford.
Corey Mylchreest is Jamie Davenport, a PhD student and tutor in English. Of course, he's handsome, with a plethora of girlfriends, and he's from an upper-class, wealthy family.
This may be a spoiler, but I saw it coming from a mile away. He was born into a wealthy, upper-class family, and has inherited a genetic predisposition to cancer. Enough said, right?
Dougray Scott is his father, William Davenport, and Catherine McCormack is his mother, Antonia Davenport.
BLURB
This movie seems to follow the playbook established by Dying Young (1991), The Fault in Our Stars (2014), Me Before You (2016), and a bunch of others.
Yes, it has the too-beautiful, too-smart, too-accomplished heroine who cries beautifully—no ugly cry like most women in real life. The hero is gorgeous and sexy, the film has the usual cute bits found in most romances, and the "tragic surprise" is never really a surprise.
Despite all that, there's nothing inherently wrong with the movie "inspired by the 2018 novel of the same name by Julia Whelan, which was adapted from a screenplay by Allison Burnett."
I have not read the book so my remarks don't pertain to the book which may differ vastly from the movie.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
A lot of people like tragic romance so you may love My Oxford Year and its presentation of the genre. I do highly recommend the other movies I mentioned. Same plot, different presentations.
I have 3 YouTube HotKey Tricks to share with you today. These are easy peasy and speeds up your ability to navigate videos you watch.
If you watch information videos, chances are you pause the video quite often, rewind, and play numerous times.
Rather than clicking video navigation icons, try these easy keyboard hotkeys to navigate faster.
1. PAUSE AND RESUME VIDEO
Tap the K key or the space bar and your video willl pause. Tap either again to resume.
2. REWIND
Tap the J key to rewind 10 seconds. Keep tapping if you need to rewind more. When you're ready to resume, tap the K key or the space bar to resume.
3. JUMP FORWARD
10 seconds—tap the L key and the video jumps forward 10 seconds.
Beginning—tap the 0 key and the video jumps to the start.
% of video—tap a number on the number pad, and the video jumpes to a percentage of the video, i.e., 1 = 10%, 9 = 90%, etc.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
These are the most common hotkey tricks. I hope they'll help you navigate a video faster.
I never knew him when he looked like this photograph of him which was taken in a nightclub in London or Paris. He was one of the D-Day soldiers who came ashore in a hail of gun and cannon fire.
He survived and went on to marry after the war and have 3 children. I'm the middle child. I have his blue eyes and dark blond hair.
My older brother has his handsome features, and my younger brother, also handsome but not resembling him as much with his facial features, has his body shape and strength.
Daddy played the guitar and piano by ear. He had a great sense of humor, loved a good joke, and had a wonderful laugh.
I wish an impossible thing—to have known him in his youth when he was young and had the whole world in front of him.
From his World War 2 experiences—fighting in England, France, and Germany—he suffered from a back injury incurred when he carried a wounded friend to safety.
He also suffered from what we now call PTSD. I believe that arose from horrible abuse in his childhood coupled with memories of the war that haunted him—the dead and the dying and so many more awful things that he wanted to forget. I often wonder if that's why he developed Alzheimer's. In the end, he forgot everything.
If only I could have 5 minutes with him again. Five minutes to tell him how much more I appreciate him and everything he did and everything he was. Five minutes to tell him how much I Iove him.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
If your father is still on this earth, take time to tell him the things he has done that you admire. Tell him you love him.
It's good because making lists can keep you on track and focused on what you need to accomplish.
List making is a great organizational tool that can be used for every aspect of life from making grocery lists to accomplishing big goals.
Unfortunately, list making can be bad because making lists can become procastination. The act of making a list may dilute the urgency to actually do the items on the list.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
Action is key in any endeavor. Time spent on list making is wasted if action doesn't follow.
Freelance was a 2023 theatrical release, but it didn't do very well at the box office. However, if you're looking for something light, a bit humorous, and with a little bit of action, Freelance might entertain you.
BLURB
Mason Pettis found his call in life when he rejected a law career and joined the military where he made it as a special forces operative.
Unfortunately, his team was killed, he was injured, and he ended up back in the civilian world, married, and with a child.
When he's asked by an old friend to provide private security for a washed-up journalist as she interviews a ruthless dictator, he accepts. A military coup breaks out, and the trio of unlikely comrades must survive a jungle and learn to get along to make it out alive.
MY 2¢
I wouldn't say this is an uneasy mix of comedy and action, but I will say the writers, producers, directors, or whoever made the decisions about this picture weren't adept at wearing 2 hats.
You've got a talented cast who did their best to make the movie watchable. In the end, the script wasn't funny enough to be a comedy and didn't have the high action scenes action fans want.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
It's new so you might give it a look if there's nothing else on your radar.
Mixed reviews popped up when it went live, but it's proved popular with fans—especially with those who were devoted Supernatural viewers.
Like most series in the last couple of years, Amazon releases them one at a time.
Yeah, they trained us to binge watch then they took that away. To make matters worse, they shovel in so many commercials that watching becomes tedious.
Honestly, I think there are more commercials than on traditional television, but I digress.
BLURB
An LAPD Detective Marck officer (Jensen Ackles) joins a secret task force to investigate a suspicious murder. When a sinister plot is uncovered, the team must unite to save the city.
The rest of the cast are:
Jessica Camacho as Amber Oliveras
Eric Dane as Nathan Blythe
Violett Beane as Evan Shepherd
Uli Latukefu as Lucas Finau
Jonathan Togo as Damon Drew
Milo Ventimiglia as Robert Daren
Elliot Knight as Keyonte Bell
MY 2¢
Countdown doesn't pretend to be anything but what it is, an entertaining crime drama with a plot that's been done many times.
The actors are excellent with the material they've been given. Of course, the ending is predictable, but the surprises are all held by the villain of the piece, Bogdan Yasinski, who portrays Borys Volchek.
It's watchable, but there's one thing that is really annoying. That's the music that accompanies all of the action scenes. It takes away from the drama of the scene. In fact, it's become so annoying that I hit the mute button when it starts.
I fear this music accompaniment may be a trend because I noticed the same thing on the other new Prime series, Ballard.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
If your watchlist is looking anemic, add Countdown to the list. You could do worse.
I was watering plants on the patio with the thought that I'd repot some of the ferns, but I changed my mind after 20 minutes. It was just too hot to be outside at noon.
I certainly identified with what Jane Austen said: "What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps one in a continual state of inelegance."
I know I felt inelegant—a much nicer way to say I was hot and sweaty.
5 GREAT SUMMER HEAT QUOTES
"Books and summertime go together.” ―Lisa Schroeder, I Heart You, You Haunt Me
"What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness?" —John Steinbeck
“I love how summer just wraps it’s arms around you like a warm blanket.” ―Kellie Elmore
“Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.” —Russell Baker
"Summer is the annual permission slip to be lazy. To do nothing and have it count for something. To lie in the grass and count the stars. To sit on a branch and study the clouds." —Regina Brett
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
Summer heat and books go together like vanilla ice cream and frozen chocolate-covered peanuts. Hey, why not indulge in all 3 this week?
For this "new book" celebration, it's discounted from $3.99 to 99¢, and it's also available on Kindle Unlimited for subscribers.
Yes, the "poster" at left is the set up for this enemies to lovers romcom. I hope you'll enjoy the book.
I'm particularly interest in what you think about the quotations at the beginning of each chapter from The Book of Counted Pleasures by Lady Adorée.
I had a lot of fun writing this book in composing those excerpts from The Book of Counted Pleasures as well as the limericks in the book.
Tell your friends and family who read romance about my new book, available as an ebook everywhere and in print next month.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
Writing a book is hard work, but the euphoria and the satisfaction when it publishes is absolutely stunning.
That movie was so good, I was elated to see Netflix had released his new series UNTAMED.
Darling Hubby and I binge-watched it this past weeked. Seriously, it was impossible not to keep clicking "next episode."
The story is intelligent with believable characters acting and reacting in believable ways. That is something you don't see too often in television and movies in today's world.
Your heart will be pounding during the opening scene. I won't say more than the story starts with the death of a young woman. Who the woman is and what actually happened to her is the engine that drives this story.
Federal Agent Kyle Turner (Bana) is the taciturn dogged investigator who will not give up. The tragedy that drives him is heartbreaking and colors everything he thinks and does.
Since I'm an author, I'm always trying to figure out "whodunnit" which wasn't really possible until the twist and twisted ending revealed all.
You'll find yourself emotionally involved with Agent Turner, his es-wife, and the rookie agent who learns some hard lessons about law enforcement in the wilderness.
Set against Yosemite National Park—with British Columbia sometimes standing in for Yosemite—the scenery is breathtaking. Yes, there is AI-generated art in some of the wildlife shown, but, I guess that's safer than the real thing in those scenes.
I've been griping a lot this year about Netflix and the poor quality of their offerings. This series will make me keep my subscription for a while longer.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
If you're a Netflix subscriber, watch this. If you're not a Netflix subscriber, visit a friend who can stream the movie! Happy viewing.
When all of the special events—inluding selling a house and packing up its contents to move into storage—were over, I settled in to finish writing The Book.
To be honest, I'd written this book a couple of years ago, but I felt it was missing something so I shelved it.
This year, I pulled it out and started rewriting it—again. I had a fourth of it done when all the personal stuff happened. I didn't get back into the office until after July 4. When I considered that I had only 15 days to get it finished, edited, proofed, and formatted, I nearly canceled the book because I was SO tired.
I did it. I managed to get it uploaded by 5PM Saturday—1 hour before the deadline. Whoop!
Sunday I walked around like a zombie.
Today, Monday, I started a new book.
PERSEVERANCE
If you look up the word, perseverance, you'll see that it's "the quality of continuing with something, especially despite difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement. It involves steadfastness in pursuing a goal, purpose, or course of action."
Perseverance is usually viewed as a positive trait linked to success and achievement. At least, that's always the way I've thought of it.
Personally, I think perseverance is linked to stubborness. You just get deep down stubborn and will keep going no matter what obstacle tries to block you.
The result? My new book, OLD ENOUGH TO BE BOLD, a spicy enemies to lovers RomCom that publishes July 23, it will be available on Kindle Unlimited.
Like the end of any good Romance, my writing challenge has a Happy Ending—the publication of OLD ENOUGH TO BE BOLD.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
I hope you'll get my new book and love it! If you do, please leave a review.
When I say "CrockPot" recipe, that's because my 2 slow cookers are CrockPot brand. Any slow cooker will work.
Today's recipe is for Gingerbread, an old-fashioned spicy cake made with molasses and ginger.
For those who grew up with grandmothers and moms who made this cake, you probably were told that it had its origins in ancient times.
MINI-HISTORY OF GINGERBREAD
Gingerbread's history begins back in ancient times, and it evolved through many cultures and eras. Ginger, the plant, grew in ancient Egypt and Greece and was used in honey cakes and spiced bread for religious ceremonies.
In the 11th century, Crusaders brought ginger to Europe where it was adopted by European cooks, especially in Belgium and Germany. In the Medieval period, gingerbread was a popular treat at fairs and festivals. Bakers shaped it into animals, people, and even religious figures.
Gingerbread houses which we think of only at Christmas were created in Germany in the early 1800s and were inspired by "Hansel and Gretel, the Grimm fairy tale.
MAKE GINGERBREAD THE EASY WAY
That means in a Slow Cooker. You'll need a 6 quart or larger device. Oval is great if you plan on baking it in a loaf pan. Round is fine though to make it in the crock without a pan. I don't use a baking pan.
You'll need 2 medium sized mixing bowls—1 for dry ingredients and 1 for wet.
Note: Slow cookers vary in heat output. This recipe may work best in an oval device because a round slow cooker might not let it cook through in the middle before the edges over-cook.
1. Spray your slow cooker stoneware with Pam or other baking spray.
2. In one of the bowls (you can use a stand mixer for this if you wish, but I use a hand mixer.), add the soft butter and sugar and cream together with a mixer. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again until fully incorporated. Now add the molasses and blend well.
3. In the second bowl add the flour, salt, spices, and baking soda. Mix well.
4. Pour the dry mixture slowly into the wet ingredients, blending well after each addition.
5. Carefully pour the hot water slowly into the mixture, mixing well to achieve a smooth batter.
6. Pour the batter into the slow cooker, and place the lid over it.
7. Cook on high. Cooking time may vary based on the shape and size of your slow cooker. Generally speaking, my 6 quart oval CrockPot takes about 2 hours and 10-15 minutes. Do not open the lid during this time.
8. When the cooking cycle is ended, check the cake. First, look through the lid towards the end of the cooking time. The gingerbread should look like a done cake. If uncertain, give the slow cooker a shake. If the cake isn't set up, it will show a slight movement in the middle. Replace the lid and cook 10-15 minutes longer.
9. When done, remove the stoneware and set some place for it to cool to reoom temperature. When cooled, carefully remove the cake with a wide spatula.
10. Serve plain or with Lemon Sauce (my recipe posted a few weeks ago.) or whipped cream. My family likes it slightly warmed with a butter pat on it.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
The smell of the gingerbread is insanely aromatic, and the taste is delightful.
Most older people already have everything they want. They do NOT want some cute decorative item that is a dust catcher, a food item not keyed to their dietary restrictions, clothes that may not fit or be to their taste, things that don't fit their lifestyle, etc.
The gift of last resort is usually a generic gift card, but wouldn't it be nice to give something the recipient would really appreciate?
Most senior citizens are on fixed incomes so giving something they would enjoy but don't buy for themselves is a good thing.
Also, giving something they ordinarily buy to relieve some of their monetary stress. Let's focus on those 2 areas—wants and needs—with this post for seniors or for those who give presents to seniors.
PRIME DAY DEALS FOR OLDER LOVED ONES
We started this a year ago after watching several doctors' videos about the health benefits to body and brain. It's a Prime Day Special.
