SK Saturday: The Gunslinger

And so it begins...

This week I read The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger for the second time. It took most of the week because I had a lot going on with my daughters' last few days of school. But to be honest, I could've finished it in one day of uninterrupted reading. Is it that good? That's certainly a matter of perspective. I can't say I was as riveted by it this second time around as I remember being the first time. But I have changed in the past few years as a reader...the world has moved on.

In this first installment we are introduced to Roland Deschain, born in New Canaan. His land is long gone as are the people in it. The world has moved on and his life's quest now is to find the dark tower. To do so he must capture the man in black, who we are led to believe is a type of magician. In this first part of the saga the reader isn't given much in the way of explanations. We learn some of Roland's past and get a glimpse of his hardships. We're told a small bit of what has made him the man he has become. We meet Jake, who plays a much bigger part later, and we lose him before the end.

I remember the first time I read this book that I hated Roland at the end. I was very upset about Jake and no insight to Roland's motivations or psyche could appease my anger at him. This time, knowing more about Jake and Roland as I do, it wasn't nearly as emotional a journey for me. I can't say if that's a good thing or not.

I don't want to give too much away in case you haven't read it yet, but I do encourage you to do so. Whether you're a Stephen King fan or not, if you enjoy a good story then read this series. It's described as "Part sci-fi novel, part futuristic dystopia, part spaghetti Western, and part high fantasy vision," on the website. I'll have to agree. It's not like anything else I've read before or since, but it's certainly an adventure.

Are you reading along with me? Post your thoughts in the comments, or link to your own review.

Friday WTF: My Kids Eat What?!

I know in a lot of ways I'm a bit overprotective and paranoid when it comes to my kids. But I promise you, I'm the one who does the grocery shopping in my house. Every now and then I'll ask them what they would like for dinner and I pretty much bow to their wishes for breakfast. However, there is no ad campaign in creation that can turn my kids into mindless food zombies who will FORCE me to buy what is advertised. Nope. Not gonna happen. So, I find the news about Disney Channel no longer showing junk food ads aimed at their young target audience silly. Okay, in reality I think it's just plain fucking stupid. So what if they show my kids sugar packed cereals and calorie riddled candy bars. If I decide my kids shouldn't eat them guess what, THEY DON'T. You know why? Because I'm the adult in this equation and I decide on what they eat. I also decide on what they watch and I'm more concerned about some of the TV show content than those damn commercials. I'm very close to tossing all of the TVs out of my house. Le sigh.

MMM: The Tantalizing Jimmy Thomas

Stats

Name: Jimmy Thomas

Home: Los Angeles, California 

Contact: Jimmy@JimmyThomas.com

Height: 6’-0"

Weight: 220lbs 

Hair: Black/Med 

Eyes: Hazel 

Suit: 48R - Waist: 33 - Inseam: 34 - Neck: 18 - Sleeve: 35 

Shoe: 9.5

What can I say about Jimmy Thomas? Le sigh...there's quite a bit actually. He's one of the hardest working male cover models I've ever had the pleasure of groping, er...meeting in person. He's graced two of my books and 2,936 others (according to his Facebook bio). He's has an extensive resume that includes TV, film, commercials and music videos. He's a certified personal trainer involved in  martial arts and kickboxing. He is also a web designer and architect. See what I mean? Hard working!

I was able to pin him down long enough to have a few questions answered last June. Here is what Jimmy had to share with us:

(This interview was originally posted on June 15, 2011)

If you even have time (just reading your bio wore me out!) do you ever read the books you're featured on? If not, do you prefer another genre, or read for fun at all?
I rarely have time to do anything other than work, so unfortunately, I haven't read any of the books I'm on. If I did, I wouldn't get new images shot and uploaded for all to use on their covers ;)

Your site romancenovelcovers.com is phenomenal and unlike anything I've ever seen. What made you decide to market yourself in this way?

Thanks :) I've been modeling for 13 years and have always shot "couples" images of romance, sensual and erotica, and I knew the romance industry needed a place to go to get exactly that, without extensive searching on random stock image websites that didn't have much of what they wanted/needed. And I've always been one to come up with marketing, network and advertising ideas that work well ;)

I've browsed the covers on your site and you seem to have every sub-genre of romance there. Historical, sensual, steamy, paranormal and even you in a kilt! (sigh) Do you have a favorite pose or type of cover? If so, why is it your favorite?

Not really. I love any style/genre, as long as I produce great images that I love within any genre during a shoot, I'm happy :) Of course those where I'm holding a half naked/naked beautiful woman doesn't hurt ;)

Since this interview Jimmy has changed his site a bit to be more encompassing for the Romance community. It's now a place for authors to meet and network. If you have any interest at all in the world of Romance literature, I highly recommend you visit!

http://www.romancenovelcenter.com

You can interact with him on Facebook here:

https://www.facebook.com/JimmyThomasDotCom

Or just be a fan (harem girl) here:

https://www.facebook.com/CoverModelJimmyThomas

SK Saturday Update

If you've followed me online in any way for any length of time at all, you may have come to realize I'm a HUGE Stephen King fan. I own almost every one of his books that's currently in publication. With very few exceptions I've even read most of them. 

Back in June of 2003, I was pregnant with my third child and working full time. I somehow found the time to read The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger in only a couple of days. I was enthralled and instantly in love with Roland, the last Gunslinger. He was every cowboy fantasy I'd ever had and I had to know everything about him. Over the following year I eagerly awaited each installment of the Dark Tower series and read it with ever increasing fervor. What was going to happen to Roland and his ka-tet? Would he ever reach the Dark Tower alive?

Like many other very vocal fans, I was highly disappointed in the pseudo ending of the series and swore never to touch the books again. But of course I couldn't get rid of them. So, now that SK has released another installment, basically book 4.5, I'm feeling the itch to visit my beloved Roland again. The Dark Tower IV.V: The Wind Through the Keyhole is out and I have to have it. But what does it have to do with the story? To be honest, it's been too long and I've read too many books since 2004 to remember any details. 

So, this summer I'm embarking on the adventure again. I'm going to read all eight books and one short story in Roland's world. Would you like to join me? I'm willing to commit to one book per week, though I may read faster or slower than that. I'm going to post a weekly review/update every Saturday to let ya'll know my progress. If you decide to read along, feel free to post links to your reviews in the comments section each week. I'm eager to know if the story will feel the same after all these years.

Schedule:

June 9th:    The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger

June 16th:  The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three

June 23rd:  The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands

June 30th:  The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass

July 7th:     The Dark Tower IV.V: The Wind Through the Keyhole

July 14th:   The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla 

July 21st:   The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah

July 28th:   The Dark Tower VII

August 4th:   Little Sisters of Eluria (Short Story in Everything's Eventual) 

August 11th: Final thoughts and impressions

Friday WTF?: Boobs Hanging Out

By now many of you have probably already read the Yahoo article about another "controversy" over breastfeeding. Am I the only one rolling my eyes over this? I know this is a hot button for many people but I'm going to state my opinion here anyway. So, buckle your seat belts. Here it goes.

I breastfed my oldest for three months of her life, but her sisters didn't get the same treatment. Now that she's a teen and they are all older, the differences in their health are painfully obvious. Therefore, I well and truly support breastfeeding a child if at all possible. However, I'm not a fan of ANYONE exposing themselves in public. I know I "like" and comment about shirtless and mostly naked men on Facebook all the time. But to be honest, if I'm walking around with my kids somewhere I want everyone to be covered up.

Now, before anyone of you start unfriending me and typing the angry "but it's a natural and beautiful thing" emails, let me remind you this is my OPINION. It's what works for me personally. But I think it's important to state that just because I don't want to see a woman's boobs (feeding or not) when I'm out in public, doesn't mean I'm against breastfeeding at all or in public. I mean, come on, there are so many tasteful ways to do it that I think those who choose to flash everyone are just at the point of belligerence now. We as a society have gotten to the "my rights, fuck you" stage where we're like five-year-olds doing what others don't want us to do just to start a fight.

Back when I was breastfeeding, I had to sit in bathrooms and cover my child's head with a blanket. Now there are all kinds of cool bras and shirts that do the job for you, and many places have special rooms and areas away from the toilets. Now, if you can't afford the cool clothes and are somewhere without the special area, can't you still show some dignity by not being painfully obvious?

Back to the article. Should she have done this in uniform? I wouldn't have. To me the uniform of a US soldier is sacred. There are MANY things that shouldn't be done in them. But again, that's just MY opinion. Okay, let the angry comments begin...