Beneath a Scarlet Sky and other things.

Just when you think I'm never posting to my blog again, here it is.....

I've been working on a Fantasy/Romance Novel called "A Land of Fear and Fire" It's about a young lady who wants to free her people who are enslaves by half-dragon, half human corrupted beings. Her people are forced to mine for an element that gives the half-breeds power. Without it, they return to human form. I have the draft finished and now I'm working on the sequel. I hope to have both published sometime next year. 

I recently finished reading a book called "Beneath a Scarlet Sky" By Mark Sullivan. It's about an Italian young man during WW2 who ends up being a driver for a Nazi general. At first he doesn't want to do this, but it ends up being perfect for spying and sending the resistance information. What made this book really good is the fact that it's a true story. The main character, Pino, had an amazing life. I think this story could be a great series.  

 
For just .99 cents, I recently took an online class called "Copy Writing for Social Media."  The class was on the website Domestika, which offers creative classes at low prices. You can choose from crafts, writing, fashion, web/app design, culinary, photograph and much more. Copy Writing, which is basically writing for ads, looks easy on the surface, but it's really not. Copy Writers do a lot of research before writing a few lines or a coming up with ideas for a 30 second commercial. It was fun trying to come up with a tag line and a blurb for social media.   

Lastly, I have finished painting two rooms in my house. The kitchen was the hardest to paint because of the cabinets. In the small, bed room I had to remove one wall of wall paper and a boarder. Wall paper is a real pain. It's hard work, and I also look it as exercise, except you get something out of it. My goal is to redecorate every room in the house, but I'm taking a break for the holidays. 

Have a great week!

Two Great Shows. All the Light We Cannot See and The Darkest Hour.

I recently watched a short series on Netflix called “All the Light We Cannot See.” It’s based on the novel by Anthony Doerr. The setting is WW2 mostly in France, but also some scenes are in Germany. The Germans are losing the war. The Americans are bombing them out in France.

Werner is a young man who is talented with radios. He built his own radio while in an orphanage. He often listed to someone called the "professor" who talked about education subjects. It was illegal to listen to foreign broadcasts, but Werner couldn't stop listening to the professor who talked about other things, and the not war. Werner found this to be an escape. He almost got shot for listening to that frequency, but because of his talent, he was sent to an elite German boarding school. There he learned more skills with radios and frequencies. As the Nazi's are losing the war, they want him to find foreign frequencies in France so they can shut down the French Resistance.

However, he discovers Marie, a blind French girl who is broadcasting on a frequency he used to listen to when he was in the orphanage. The same frequency the Professor used to be on. Instead, Marie is working with the French Resistance. She is sending code to the Americans of where to bomb. He knows this, but he still cannot report her. Werner cares too much about about her. Just like the professor, he becomes obsessed with listening to her. This blind girl is really amazing. Her other senses are so strong, she’s capable of a lot. 

Another good movie is “The Darkest Hour” It’s about Winston Churchill during WW2 when British troops are stuck in France, and the Nazi's are about to invade England. Gary Oldman plays plays Winston Churchill. He is so good in this role that I forgot at times this is not really Winston. 

The main conflict is that others in parliament want to enter into peace talks with Germany. Mainly because they don’t think they can win. Winston (the new prime minister) doesn’t agree. He's steadfastly against it. This causes him a mountain of stress because they pressure him to do the peace talks or step down.

Several in parliament are terrified that if they don't try to talk peace with Hitler, they will be destroyed. At some point, Winston almost agrees with them. He goes to his secretary and tries to write a letter to Hitler, but he finds himself unable to find the words. He can’t finish the letter. Then he feels like the walls are closing in on him. 

Instead, he writes a speech about why they should fight. One thing he said stands out to me. “Do you want to see a swastika over Buckingham palace?” 

And…yeah that was a wake up call. I found it admirable how Winston stood up to so much pressure from those around him.

The Rings of Power

Recently, I decided to subscribe to Amazon Prime again to save on shipping costs. It seemed to be worth it at the time. I still think so because the packages have been coming fast. Usually the next day. One item I bought came the same day I ordered it. Only about five hours later. I was so impressed. 

Then I browsed the shows and movies only to find "The Rings of Power" I love the Lord of the Rings Series, so I gave it a try. This series takes place in the distance past, well before the The Hobbit. At first, I found it interesting but also hard to get hooked into it. The reason being is that there are so many characters all separate from each other. Some of which have come together by the end of the series. There is also a lot of mystery about what is going on. 

This series has the same elements as the movies such as beautiful landscapes, castles, villages, elfs, dwarfs, orcs, hobbits and innocent humans living off the land. Although the humans have had to deal with orcs in the past. All of this contrasts when evil is released, leaving behind a scorched, barren land. 

It starts out with one young female elf is not convinced Middle Earth is safe from Sauron who is supposed to be dead, but there is no solid proof. She is told to leave Middle Earth and accept that all is well. At first, she starts to leave, but changes her mind and sneaks back. She faces a lot of opposition from the humans she wants to save, followed by battles with orcs. These orcs are, not only ugly and vicious, they are also much stronger than humans. I found out that they are they a corrupt race of elves bred that way by the Dark Lord Morgoth. The people don't want to depend on elves perhaps for this very reason, but they come to realize they have no choice. 

As the series went on, I finally became hooked. It's the classic good -vs- evil story. The hookish part is that no matter how beat down those on the good side become, they continue to get back up to fight again. 

For those who have watched the movies, you will find out more about the origin of Gandolf and Hobbits. I've never read the books by J.R.R. Tolkien, but this series makes me wonder (if I find the time) I should read them all. Movies and shows never fully capture everything. For sure, I will watch season two starting this August.