Happy 23rd Birthday Daniel Radcliffe!

In the world of Geeks, it surely is some sort of international holiday when “The Boy Who Lived” celebrates a birthday!  The Geeky Chic joins the world in wishing a very happy birthday to Daniel Radcliffe!   Not only did he embody for us Harry Potter and give us a spectacular gothic turn in The Woman in Black, Danielle is a very involved in equality movements. In particular, we adore his work with The Trevor Project, an organization that provides crisis intervention to GLBTQ youth.  Now that’s magical!  Enjoy your 23rd year!   The Geeky Chic knows you’ll be making magic for a long time to come.

Daniel Radcliffe – image copyrighted to original photographer

Noir, Grit, and Hotcakes the Movie

For those of us who like a little grit for our weekday starters, please enjoy Hotcakes presented live on The Geeky Chic!

Watch and Dish: Hotcakes

Still Image from Hotcakes, 2012, used with permission

The questions of life are many.The most basic can often be the most dark. What do we do when we come in to the light again from a dark, dark place?  Is it easy to begin again?  Will we fall back to the old habits that are familiar, if not damning?

Imagine considering all of this within minutes of walking in to a diner for a plate of something familiar. 

Marty would like to have his hotcakes, go out, and begin again.  From the second he opens the door, however, two fellow ex cons, a fortune teller, and the tension in his actions leave the viewer to wonder if that is possible at all.  In nineteen minutes, the film characters have an Eastwood grit in a setting lending itself to Aronofsky style contemplation. Is he destined to return to his old ways?  Is there more to it than that?  These are questions the audience will continue to ask throughout the film. A fortune teller arrives to tell Marty that he is missing a connection that has been trying to reach him. Who is this person? Will he reach her?

The look of the film and the style it follows the noir/western model. Black and white film mixed with a downplayed interior, gritty characters, and a gritty tale. My only complaint was that the movie ended when I wanted it to go on. Twenty minutes of independent film accomplished what many main industry films are losing: character investment, plot connection, and a want to go along on the character’s journey.  If this film is any indication, and I believe it is, New Orleans is a place teeming with originality just waiting to be discovered.  

Hotcakes: well written, acted, directed, and styled.  Twenty minutes I truly wanted to go on for two hours.

Geeky Chic Grade: A+
Don’t forget to watch it: HotCakes  (Link to Vimeo for viewing)

For More About Hotcakes:

Hot Cakes Movie
(Blog/Site)
Hot Cakes Page
(Facebook)

Upcoming Themes

Below you will find a list of upcoming themes covering periods over the next three months. Geeks corresponding to the following items are highly encouraged to seek a spot by following the review section of the blog or by contacting me directly at thegeekychic@ymail.com

Upcoming Themes

Mid July – Mid August: Science and History Electric – writing concerning science fiction, alternative history, alternative history groups (such as steampunk), movies with an alternative history kicks, renactors, and more. Highly interested in stories, groups, and images that bend time, space, and technology! In groups, highly interested in multicultural takes on technology (IE African or Asian steam punk)

Mid August – Mid September: Fairies, Myths, and Legends – writing concerning fairy tale, fairy tale spin offs, historical legends, popular creatures of religious (ie angels), relating films, and dreamy costumes. Highly interested in lore concerning angels, demons, especially fairy tales or lore with an Asian/African feel to go along with well known European delights.

Author Interview: Katherine Gilraine of The Index Series

Happy post 4th of July, my fellow geeky Americans!  To all of you who come from across the world, perhaps you will mirror our American festivities by celebrating your own freedom in some spectacularly geeky fashion.  I say to the citizens of the world this:  Hold up your comic books!  Wave your graphic novels in the air while dressed in cosplay attire.  Press down the “A” button repeatedly as you game!  Do you know what else you can do to enjoy that freedom?

Why, of course you do. You can settle in to learn a little bit more about the wonderful Katherine Gilrane. I have had the pleasure of getting to know Katherine this last half of a year.  She does many things including:  magically fixing finances, finding homes, crafting digital art, and the reason we are here today which is writing!   A series sure to set off fireworks the more gain it gets, The Index combines science fiction and fantasy in an intergalactic free for all that pits cosmic forces of good and evil.

Cover for the newest novel in The Index Series, Revival – Cover art by Marion Meadows

 

I bet that’s way more intense than your Mother’s 4th of July jello leftovers. 

 

 

1.) Welcome to The Geeky Chic!  -  Good morning!

2.) Tell us a little  and the world of The Index Series. –  The Index Series follows a group of intergalactic cops as they do their jobs – all over the known universe as they get to sort out the universe’s curveballs. They get to save Earth, confront a megalomaniac, try and unravel a personal mystery, and at the same time, they learn something about themselves too. In other words, it’s a story about people, their strength, and their spirit. And they have a lot of spirit.

3.) How did you come across the idea for The Index?-  The ideas have been in the making since I was a kid. I grew up reading old-school adventure stories; Capt. Thomas Mayne Reid, Mark Twain, etc. I wanted to create an adventure story too, just…a little out-there. Well, it kind of turned out to be way out there!

4.) I found it felt like fusion piece of sci fi and fantasy. Is it a fusion piece? –  It is indeed.

5.) What do think the main appeal is with science fiction and fantasy? –  It’s an incredibly liberating genre. The only rule in sci-fi/fantasy fusion is make it work and keep it consistent, but other than that, anything goes and everything is par for the course. There is no limit to what I can cook up as part of The Index world, and there’s no limit to the outtakes my characters can have.

6.) Favorite character in your series and why. –  At this moment – Kataria. She’s not exactly a heroine, nor is she a flawed-hero sort, but she has a lot of growing to do. Especially in the coming arc of the series. She has to take charge in a very personal situation, and having never thought that she would find herself in this position, she’s struggling to get comfortable with several changes in her life. But she has one thing going for her: she has a lot of determination. And that is a very admirable trait.

7.) Was there anything you had to research for your story you are now expert on? - Oh yes. In part because I have a crim-justice degree, I wanted to give the series a CSI-style twist, but I had to really, really dig into anatomy and pathology. It’s a topic I’ve only loosely covered as part of my college education. You know what that meant for the story: research. I went back to my biology notes, then hit up every single pathology/anatomy text I could conceivably acquire online. I’m no expert, and I am by no means a medical examiner, but I have a whole new depth of knowledge about ways to die on a medical level.

8.) What authors inspire you to write? - Stephen King. Philippa Gregory. Pretty much anyone with a good and solid voice.

9.) As we venture in to Book 1, is there anything for the curious reader to keep in mind? –  I will warn any Book 1 reader now: you will have questions, and some of them may be discouraging. Know this: the other books will have answers. What seems disjointed now will not seem so. Ask your questions, but don’t let them be a discouragement.

10.) Any upcoming Index projects we should be aware of? –  I just finished remastering Book 1 as a screenplay. Maybe and hopefully, I will have some luck in turning it to the screen!

The lovely and talented Katherine Gilraine

 Now that I’ve got your radar set in the right direction, stay tuned to The Geeky Chic as we take science-fiction for a ride in the long overdue enterprise called “Science and History Electric” where we take a look at sci-fi using, alternative history writing, and mind bending fare to delight your beaker holding, lightning loving, and history quirky appetites.  Katherine kicks off a two month adventure where in July and August we heat up your summer so well it would have made the dinosaurs (or aliens) pass out with joy...

For More Gilraine Good Times..

 The Index Facebook

Ms Katherine G. on Goodreads

 The Index Series is available for purchase on Amazon

“The Next Big Thing”, Part 1

It started out as a single idea; one item that was a set of words contained between two hardbound pieces with a picture rendered, glossed up jacket or box to top it off.  The book with a captivating title waited on a library shelf  or a store display. A movie waiting to be watched. One by one, the book was picked up again and again.  The  movie gained buzz. Games were played.  The flame ignited for the world inside the covers, and so wildfire was born.

We are living in a time of pop culture fire, my friends.  This means that geek culture + pop culture = the GPCF (geek pop culture fusion). If you haven’t noticed, our sub-cultures have melded with many items deemed “hip.”   What does this mean?  It means you can get out of the convention and in to the realm of public opinion.  Here at TGC, we’re kicking off our return to the blogsphere by wondering what of subculture equals the “Next Big Thing”.  Every enterprise has trends they monitor in order to determine what product or service will be the most marketable.  What is the public in to right now?  What has someone else done that can translate in to success with the right turn in another industry?

Cinema alongside books, comics, and games is a union so official it might as well have a pluralist marriage license.  The want to adapt is decades old, and will only increase in fervor as studios look for new spins on the old favorite.  Or, better yet, what they haven’t done.

Silver Question Mark, Stock Image

The good thing is that fan favorites have a chance to be reborn in a way that only artists of other mediums can provide.  The bad?  Expectations can fall terribly short. While every project has its naysayers, there is a difference between faithfulness to the source material, and just plain hacking it to pieces.  So what can the Next Big Thing have so it has not only forward presence, but promise of staying power?  The most hallowed space after the fires have gone down to a steady simmer is, after all, cult classic.

1.)  Know your source material:  You can’t turn a book, comic, or game in to a movie until you read said book, understand the comic’s world, and play the game.  If you want to take creative license, it is best to understand where the license originates.  There is nothing worse than watching a movie where they all but drag themselves to the finish line. A fan shouldn’t be thrilled the movie is over because it blows. They should be on the edge of their seat until fade to black.  Harry Potter did just that. Thor and Captain American now have me salivating for The Avengers.  To contrast, I am afraid of the horrors that could come with The Last Airbender franchise. The first film was a cinematic train wreck for the most part. The few elements that were redeemable will probably be crushed by number two, and turned to ashes by number three.  Shalaman’s direction was bad enough, but the script was terrible.  The acting, for as bad as it was, couldn’t help it if the script was already worse.  When your source material is an animated series that illustrates for you the people, agendas, and corresponding mythology, the point loss is even greater than if it were a book where the imagination is the only stage.  Bad script = bad adaptation.  Bad script from rich source material = loss of respect. People are telling the man who brought us The Sixth Sense to go back to film school. Ouch.

2.) Who’s going in with you: Make sure your partnerships will be remembered for the joint effort. They have to correspond like nothing else.  The Adventures of Tin Tin featured a partnership between Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg that will go down in history.  Both come with the vision and the resources to compliment where the other lacks, and the outcome was a justice done to the world of the journalist that was magnificent.  Universal’s loss was Sony’s gain when the dropped co-production ball went to them a few years earlier. Who’s the most daring?  Who won’t be afraid to push it with you?  Let alone, if money is what they were looking at..it’s Jackson and Spielberg. Mr. Middle Earth and Mr. Indiana Jones.  Universal what were you thinking?

3.)  Sometimes cuts aren’t for the best or trust in your stuff: Sometimes the hardest thing to do is trust.  New Line Cinemas was hoping for another Lord of the Rings in The Golden Compass. The source material is based on the first book in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. The Golden Compass comes out as one of the most expensive films New Line ever came out with, but was lackluster.  I watched the movie then and even now, and still feel it was..missing something.  Do you remember the controversy surrounding this movie in regards to the books alleged themes on rejection of established religion and the abuse of power?  Boycotts were being hurtled in the media left and right, and many were calling the movie a gateway to the books, which was a gateway to atheism. All of that fuss really didn’t amount to the burning stove in the kitchen of heresy it was supposed to be leading us to.  What The Golden Compass became was a movie that had the potential to be better than the some of its parts, but wasn’t because you got the feeling either the director of the studio couldn’t commit to what they had.  What they had wasn’t just your a-typical fantasy novel, but a world that was rich in its darkness as it was in what could be light.  New Line didn’t commit to that darkness. In fact, it left director Chris Weitz to leave and return after New Line lost it’s second director due to creative differences.  It mattered little in the end that the Magestrium was played down to represent all matter of organizations that try to control, influence, or abuse people away from free thought or expression. What mattered most  is that New Line didn’t trust what it had, nor who was at the helm, or themselves to represent it.  It’s been nearly five years since the first film and as much as Weitz hopes the sequels will come, I think it’s going to take quite a lot for that to happen. If the sequels were commiserate on the success of the first film, then New Line set it up for failure.  By deviating so far from the novel, shifting things around,  shunning the true darkness, and being afraid of the potency of what it possessed the film was half-baked to fans and so so for critics. It’s a franchise though, that if ever picked up again, has hope in take two if they pay attention to the lessons written here.  You know you should really listen if even the director feels like its a hack job.

In part two we will examine a few adaptations that excel, and others that have fallen short, and those we hope will become The Next Big Thing

Please Note:  All corresponding links to Wikipedia, Imdb, actor’s sites, and more will be added on Thursday, January 19th when TGC resumes posting.  Tomorrow on the 18th we will be going dark to join with those who are against the SOPA and internet censorship

Listen n’ Share: Phantom Universe, as read by Karen Savage

For once, it is not the story to be reviewed, but a presentation of the story. The Geeky Chic was fortunate enough to be granted the chance to listen to the reading of the book Phantom Universe, as done by Karen Savage.  As a large fan of classic radio theater, audio books are a continuation of a decades old style that leaves the listening to picture what the storyteller is verbalizing.  Being a fan of the book itself, this presented a new forum:  for the voice inside to be narrated by another.

Phantom Universe, Summer Chronicles #1 follows the story of a young woman named Summer, a mute slave who has spent an entire life on a pirate ship, only to experience the alternative state on an alternative shore.  Moving back and forth through time, a story is presented with an interesting array of characters, settings, and individual principle that tie toward the main goal.  Therein lay the challenge for the reader: to fluctuate between the changing characters, scenes, and ideals. Each character had to be unique, while the flow continuous.

Savage is possessed of a soothing, melodic tone. While this works to draw the listener in, unfortunately it is not varied enough at the right moments to break up the continuity when action arrives.  What works in the beginning and in the middle had hard transitioning points in the center of each, and onward to the end.  One example that caught my attention was when the pirate ship Summer is on was first introduced.  The descriptions concerning whipping and abuse were strong, but not enough punch was lent to the moment. 

There was good detail paid to variation in accent between characters, and lit between female and male.  Jayden and Landon stood out as the strongest presentation of this, with attention paid to emphasizing emotion, inquiry, and range in their dialogue.  In moments like these, Savage is able to shine.  Yet when it wasn’t consistent, it hindered my ability to fully invest in what was taking place.

What would have improved this reading would have been an equal range of emotion between character and scene, for when you can’t fully enjoy the setting, it is hard to appreciate the characters in it. When you can’t appreciate the characters, the story becomes harder to follow.

One of the most significant moments of fear, power,and presence that Savage has was in the first person perspective of Summer’s nightmare. Suddenly, the reading style changes so dramatically it commands your attention. What the young woman was experiencing was truly terrifying!  I wish this ability to captivate, keep, and continue was utilized throughout the story.

While the quality of the reader’s voice was pleasing to the ears, the inconsistency made it hard for full story investment.  Savage’s voice rings more poetry than science fiction, but it was still a good listen.
Geeky Chic Grade: B

Read and Dish: A Love By Any Measure, Interview Edition

A Love by Any Measure: Killian McRae, Tulipe Noire Press

The Summary: (Goodreads, Amazon)

An Irish lass. An English lord. A love that overcomes all boundaries.

August Gryason has secretly dreamt of the girl living on his family’s Irish estate since childhoods spent together in Killarney. Now a proper Lord of the British Empire, he knows that Maeve could never be more than just a distant fantasy. Still, if only…

Maeve O’Connor owns nothing in this world but her good name, which proves just enough to win a proposal for a marriage of convenience to a good, Irish lad. Until the wedding, however, she’s in dire straits. Rent on the cottage she and her father share is due, but there simply isn’t the money to pay. Driven to desperation, Maeve hopes Lord Grayson, her childhood-chum-turned-dashing-English-rogue, will prove lenient when she comes seeking clemency. The temptation presented proves too much, and August offers Maeve a compromise: should she permit him twice as long on each succeeding visit to do whatever he wishes in pursuit of his pleasure, he will consider her rent paid. Starting with a mere five seconds, pulses soon out race the ticking clock, as August’s desires become Maeve’s own. Passion blinds them to the challenges closing in on both the Irish and English fronts, threatening to destroy the love they’ve discovered. Working to bridge that which divides them, tempting fate with each stolen kiss, and torn between desire and obligation, Maeve and August must strive to overcome all and find a love by any measure…

Read via: Epub, Tulipe Noire Press
Special Thanks to Killian McRae and Tulipe Noire 

The market of historical romance is saturated with several standards:  Regency era ballgowns that fall away due to hands on a pair of muscular arms, attached  to a muscular, exposed chest.  A Highland moor, a crashing surf, a castle wall, Victorian setting, Gothic setting, Renaissance setting…with (insert swooning woman, brooding man, and their half removed clothing) doing precisely the same thing. Over and over. For years.   The stories are often filled with formulaic pose consisting of heaving bosoms, quivering hands, one high family and one family of good name on the bring of ruin.

Romances have captivated mankind for centuries, and someone argue that the endless dance of rising passions and sobering obstacles leave nothing to be new under the sun.

I counter that with the following:
1.  A cover that should be on display in an art show.
2.  Historical settings well researched.
3.  Characters given such aching realism that you can’t help but become invested in their lives.

A Love By Any Measure tells the story of Maeve O’Connor and Lord August Grayson against the backdrop of  Ireland, England,and Boston with highlighted years in 1866 and 1872. The differences in class are only a fraction of the things that keep Maeve and August from attaining a desire that once came to them in youth. This isn’t the common love found in  run-of-the-mill stories. The main characters alternate at points in the story who is victim and who is victimized.  The people in their lives stand to benefit or fail due to the decisions that they make.  Enriching their meetings is a world rich in detail. McRae breaks apart the standards for the genre and brings out rich, fluid beauty to take us through the circumstance.

One of the things that made the story was the attention to historical detail; while there are major events touched on, the writer was able to capture an authentic tone for the social attitudes of the day. While every reader has their guilty romantic pleasures, there is a certain union that comes when the mind meets at the same intersection of the heart.  Killian McRae balances the history in such a way that it makes a reader desire to learn more of what bubbles underneath the surface.  This is a critical skill, and well done.  The textbook is a human one, and from the eyes of the characters, you are able to see the effects of classism, political inequality, disparity, and the obligations of higher standing.  Rare is it to find an author who is able to show us that the world surrounding is not one cut for romance. There is a sense of desperation that drives one on to survive even in a Killarney rising from the ashes. An expectation that breaks friendships, and backs.  A sadness that carries over the Atlantic, and a second thought to leave you wondering if it all was truly worth it.

What made A Love By Any Measure as pleasurable as the moments passing in the exchanges between the two many characters was that taking me to the moments of white-hot passion were actions that spoke of true human beings.  Another out-of-the-box genre moment, for it is often found that romantic leads far fall more under stereotype than familiarity with true experience. And for those that wonder if there are enough white-hot moments?   The reader will not be disappointed.   It is the way the leads are written than when they encounter the moments of their time agreement, and beyond, that leave the cheeks to blush and the mind to wander to places where lover’s dare to tread.

To conclude:  There is a new girl on the block, ladies and gentleman, and she’s got the genre’s number.   Look out, status quo.  McRae is coming to break your door down.  And she writes sci-fi, too!

Geeky Chic Grade: A+

Interview

1.) What drew you to becoming a writer, and what was the first inspiration you had for “A Love By Any Measure?”

I don’t know how to answer except to say that I’ve been writing since I had the mechanics to do so. I remember even as far back as 2nd or 3rd grade, making text books for my stuffed animals. It’s just something that I’ve always done.

I was introduced to the genre of historical romance in high school. Already a fan of historical fiction at the time (I was one of the rare teens who was enthralled by “A Tale of Two Cities” and “David Copperfield”), and being female, it was a natural progression. Historical romance allows the author and the reader to explore the challenges against lovers within their historical context. One of my areas of historical interest has been the Irish-English conflict through time. ALBAM emerged as the crossing of these personal interests.

2.) What do you think is the most important aspect to making historical fiction true to your chosen period while still being accessible to the modern mind?

One must be cautious to first frame the larger base of conflict that transcends times. i.e. One thing that carries through history is the grand tradition of fathers to believe that no one is good enough to marry their little girls. In the context in which you write, however, this can be further expressed. In ALBAM, Rory O’Connor despises August Grayson, and he needs no other reason than the fact that August is English.

3.) How did you go about doing the research for the story?

I read extensively on the Irish experiences around this time, and of the Fenian movement in its several incarnations during the last few hundred years.

4.) The characters of Maeve O’Connor and Lord Grayson stand out as different than the standard historical romance leads. The portrayals in their intelligence, emotions, hopes and fears made reading about them refreshing; I became easily attached to them because of their genuine nature.   What did you hope to highlight the most in each character?

While I adore historical romance, I often feel let down by the flat personalities they employ. What I most wanted to reader to come away with was the fact that neither August nor Maeve were easily defined as a victim or a perpetrator. Neither is entirely just or lacking blame. I gave this dynamic much thought in naming the book. “Any Measure” is significant. It’s a romance, it’s a story of love overcoming obstacles. However, unlike many other historical romances, what Maeve and August must go through and what they must give up to in order to find a fertile ground on which to grow that love is immense. One could even argue they don’t deserve the happiness they are eventually able to find. And, believe it or not, that’s what I was shooting for. I want to reader to question at the end of the end is truly a happy one, or simply a continuation of Maeve and August’s self-satisfying arrangement.

5.) For the setting, what drew your choice to Victorian Era Ireland of 1860, and to Irish-English relations?

In large part, I was drawn to many of the social questions that were beginning to emerge in England at this time, vis-a-vis Ireland. Many don’t realize that the reason the Irish famine was so devastating isn’t simply because Ireland lacked sufficient food. In fact, they didn’t. There was plenty of food in Ireland in the form of livestock and crops other than potatoes, but it was forcefully exported by the English for profit even as the Irish descended into epidemic woe, disease and death. In the 1860′s, many of the English had begun second thinking their policies in Ireland that basically left the people in an frozen system of life-long debt and servitude. Placing the love story in this era gives on the opportunity to explore this transition on a very intimate level.

6.) If you could live in any era yourself, what would you choose and why?

What a grand question. My first instinct was to say ancient Rome, because I’ve always been fascinated with its legacy and history. On second thought, though, as a woman I’d be a second class citizen in Rome. Honestly, for a woman like me, this is probably the best times and one of the best cultures in which to live. Many eras I’d like to visit (Ottoman Empire, Gilded Age New York, Victorian England), but I wouldn’t want to live there.

7.)  Any new projects in the works?

If there’s one thing I never lack, it’s projects. (or is it  :( ? ) But, things I can confirm that are coming up in the next six months or so:

1. Late Winter: Release of a YA fantasy

2. In 2012, I’ll be releasing a 4-part novella series that are spin-offs of my science fiction book, “12.21.12″

3. Starting in January, I’ll be serializing the same book, “12.21.12″ as a podcast/audio book.

There may be some other things, I’m sure. If there’s one thing I don’t lack, it’s ambition.

To learn more, please visit
Tulipe Noire Press:  Site & FB

Killian McRae:  Site & FB

The Art of Lisa Little

The wonderful thing about  art is that it is a subjective experience. All of the movements, collected attempts at academic objectivity, and the artists whose lives and works are sandwiched between amount to a buffet of interpretation to partake in.

True, there is a distinct way to identify brush strokes, color use, or genre. There may even be types of art. Yet the best type of art is the sort that digs down in to your soul to form roots.  Artist Lisa Little does just that with an evocative style that takes you on a journey to places you’ve wanted to articulate with words but haven’t found the way without the picture in front of you. Guaranteed, you will be talking about it after the moment washes over you.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

What I like the most about the work is that the same hand that uplifts with bright colors also becomes sensual to demonstrate waiting sex. At another moment, the exploration in the dream cycle becomes one that shows you the lonely, dark, if not forbidden aspects of the psyche in bold gray, black, white, and silver. The artist favors Jungian psychology as a basis for her pieces. The influence is strong, but still unique.  There is not a single painting that doesn’t seem to come from a personal experience of the artist herself even if it is meant for a broader experience.  She is an artist you will want to put on your wall, seal in a book to carry around for sharing, and always keep fresh in your mind for the latest happening.

To learn more about artist Lisa Little and the corresponding collections associated with each piece presented in the slideshow, please visit her on FB at Lisa Little Art and her website at www.lisalittleart.com.

In December, The Geeky Chic will post an interview with the artist to learn more about her selection of subject, favorite influences, and about the world around her!

Books N’ Snuggle Season

If you haven’t already felt it in your local weather, the time has come my friends to grab your blankets and books!  Get yourself a cup of something warm, a plate of something delicious. Open up the paperback pages or turn on the e-reader. (Of course, reading at The Geeky Chic is endorsed all year round. Yet nothing is better than cozy Autumn reading.)

Upcoming Reviews from The Geeky Chic
November 27:  (Historical Romance)  A Love By Any Measure by Killian MacRae, Tulipe Noire Press + Author Interview
December 2011:(Creative Nonfiction/Literary) Western Pennsylvania Reflections: Stories From The Alleghenies to Lake Erie, The History Press
December 2011:(Creative Nonfiction/Literary) Philadelipha Reflections: Stories from the Delaware to the Schuylkill, The History Press