Book Review: Review of Pickled Apocalypse of Pancake Island from bizarre Eraserhead Press

by in Author Thursdays, Book Review, Local Authors and tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Gaston Glew is a pickle and Fanny W. Fod is a pancake. From the very beginning, the reader can tell this book will be bizarre. This story was everything I have and have not imagined about pickles and pancakes. The writing style was curt and to the point and the author spared no details when it came to sticky subjects such as suicide, death, murder, and sex but he did provide a strange perspective: that of a pickle. This pickle was not just any pickle. It was a sad pickle. Did the author choose a phallic vegetable on purpose? Pickles do come with their own associations and prejudices.

As I read the story, I felt like I could smell and taste the sickly sweetness of the maple syrup and the briny sourness of the pickled pancakes and it totally grossed me out! Cameron Pierce effectively captured all my senses in relation to pickles and pancakes, unusual subjects. Pierce has imagined every nook and cranny of these two subjects and then mashed them together in an uncommon storyline that is so bizarre I don’t know what to think. Pierce was able to capture a different perspective with his edible characters, translating death, sadness, and happiness into tangible shaped concepts.

The plot was straightforward, to find Happiness (as a pickle) but the plot seemed wandering and mildly purposeless. I thought the story got a little chatty with the author’s own musings on the subjects of happiness and sadness with too much emphasis placed on the characters’ thoughts and feelings. However, Pierce wrote a wonderfully imaginative story about what could and would happen if pickles and pancakes were alive in a world where unequivocal certainties are not complete realities on Pancake Island.

Pierce’s writing style reminded me of the curiosity of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry mixed with the emotional wanderings of The Missing Piece Meets the Big O by Shel Silverstein.

 

Would I recommend this book?

This book is different. If you are not willing to read something bizarre, then I would not recommend this book. Also, the detailed sex scene might be overwhelming for certain readers (even when it’s between two made-up characters: a pickle and a pancake). I enjoyed the book, it gave me some ideas for my own unusual fiction. Also, the author is highly imaginative and I appreciated reading the book just for the odd tidbits of imagination.

Author Tuesdays: Ataxia and the Ravine of Lost Dreams

by in Ataxia and the Ravine of Lost Dreams, Author Thursdays, Local Authors, Rachel Barnard | 1 Comment

 

Local Author Re-releases Debut Young Adult Novel

 

Seattle, Washington, March 25 – Rachel Barnard, a driven young author in the Seattle area, released the new version of her debut novel, Ataxia and the Ravine of Lost Dreams. The novel is version four, according to the Amazon version counter, and features a stunning new cover from Dodo’s Design as well as improvements within the front and back covers. The novel is available in both print and eBook formats on Amazon and Createspace.

Barnard wrote her debut novel after graduating from New College of Florida and has not stopped improving the novel since. She released the first version in 2012 but decided that she wanted a more vivid and professional cover. She has been working for months to solidify both interior and exterior of her book and has now released the updated and final version.

Ataxia and the Ravine of Lost Dreams follows MC three years after she has infiltrated one of many elite academies across the U.S. The government has created these academies in order to train the youth for high end government positions in order to take over the world. MC must rise to the top in the Cube training grounds in order to be placed high up within the government so she can stop them in their takeover. It is not until her fourth and final year at the academy that her top-student status is threatened by the sudden arrival of Li, the new transfer student. MC is completely focused on her self-created mission until she gets sidetracked by Li, who might be bad news in more ways than which she bargained.

“Rachel is a writer with a strong head on her shoulders. This is evidenced by her presentation of the main character. MC has a purpose, that’s at odds with her school life. She doesn’t need friends, sneers at getting a crush on a guy, and is willing to vanquish her enemies. Travel with her as she explores the underside of the school, finds her hiding places and learns strategy while fighting with the other students at the Cube,” says Victoria Bastedo.

Rachel Barnard released a book of poetry, Wandering Imagination, early this year that is also available on Amazon in print and eBook format. For more information on either the author or Ataxia and the Ravine of Lost Dreams, you can visit her website at www.rachelauthorbarnard.com

 

Foodie Fridays: The Top New Year’s Resolution

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I bet you can guess that it is to lose weight.

I believe that the body has an ideal weight and when you are in that ideal weight zone, it is easier to stay at that weight. I also believe there is a comfort weight level your body can reach above that ideal weight zone and it is really difficult to get under that comfort weight level.

Most everyone is obsessed with their weight for one because it is an easily attained statistic. Step on a scale and boom. There it is. But there are other measures of health. Such as body fat percentage. According to the internet, my source of almost all knowledge these days, says that a fit percentage of fat content is 21-24% for women and 14-17% for men. An average percentage of fat content is 25-31% for women and 18-24% for men. Where do you fit?

Author Platform: Getting it Done

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Dearest blog readers,

This blog post is coming to you from a new blog host. You may notice that the blog has been completely revamped (changed). I’m excited to say that the transfer from blogger to wordpress was not entirely too difficult. The worst part is attempting to redirect from rachel-barnard.blogspot.com to rachelauthorbarnard.com, which I have not figured out yet how to do. Any suggestions?

This change comes in part from the wonderfully informative workshop by Casz Brewster from SnoValley Writes in which I learned that my author platform was not quite up to par. More changes, hence, are on the way!

Also, I’m working on publishing the updated/revised version of Ataxia soon (you may notice the new cover already posted here). Thanks to Dodo’s Design for the wonderful book cover. Bravo and well done.

Sincerely,

Rachel Barnard

Foodie Fridays: Portion Control and the Nation of Over eaters

by in Foodie Fridays

I think a common problem is that we eat too much…

I have an expectation of quantity in my meals built in from growing up in a nation of large portions, over-eaters, and finishing what’s on your plate. Slowly, as a culture, we’ve been moving away from this but the damage has been done. I want to eat and I want it to be a lot. Every time.

I also have an expectation that the food should fulfill qualities of a stereotypical meal when in fact not every time I eat do I need to represent carbs or sugar or meat. But I still think eating without any of these constitutes an incomplete meal that I must make up for in subsequent meals.

My appetite expectations don’t meet my realistic amount of hunger and instead of allowing this disparity to exist, I reconcile the difference by consuming more than I want or need to. And then I do that two more times every day. So many extra calories!

We must first change our eating attitudes and then amend our eating behaviors.

Author Tuesdays: Writing About Children for Adults

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AWP Panel with Suzanne Berne, Ann Pancake, Melanie Rae Thon, and Kent Meyers.

What makes for a compelling child character in literary fiction?

Here was my take-away from the panel:

  • Children are unable to pretend not to see what’s in front of them such as the homeless person in front of a Bloomingdale’s
  • Children don’t always have purpose in what they do or where they go
  • Children’s dreams can be small (such as taking a bath every day or going to the neighbor’s tree house).
  • Children can have unexpected insights
  • Children create unusual metaphors
  • Children are a natural fit for stream-of-consciousness writing style
What other advice do you have for an adult writing a compelling child character?

Foodie Fridays: Vegan burgers – You’re Eating Them Wrong

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What do you see when I say (write) the word “burger” ?? Probably a slab of beef encased in buns with some lettuce/cheese/onions/ketchup/etc. Essentially a traditional burger, right?

What about a vegan or veggie burger? Do you still see the same thing? Does this burger still have buns, lettuce, ketchup, etc?

I’m hear to tell you that you’ve been eating those vegan/veggie burgers wrong. They aren’t like meat patties. They are best eaten without all the burger accessories. They can be crumbled and placed atop a salad or with rice. They are like a patty stir fry. I think the best way to eat these bad boys is plain or as a ‘side’ with your meal.

Author Thursdays: AWP – an Effort in Futility, Confusion, Overeager Expectations, and the Occasional Schmooze

by in Author Thursdays, Local Events | 4 Comments

As you dear readers know, I was at the AWP conference last Thursday and Saturday. Here is the short assessment: Don’t pay when you don’t have to. AWP, this year, was able to offer free admission to the bookfair. I’m not sure they advertised the fact that at the book fair were three stages and there were at least 3-5 lectures at each stage on Saturday. This means that they were FREE. The only portions of AWP that required the pass (and the money to purchase the pass), were most of the other panels/discussions/readings, Thursday and Friday, and the receptions/parties at night. 
I only attended 2/3 days, didn’t go to any of the receptions/parties, and didn’t think much of the panels.  

There was also a free networking with visiting authors event hosted outside of AWP by several groups at the Sorrento Hotel on Thursday, which I did attend.

Just going to Seattle was a treat in and of itself and Saturday was no exception. Traffic was easier. Parking was easier. Pike Place Market was open. Next time AWP rolls around, I suggest saving the $200 and just spending the day in Seattle and checking out the book fair.

Pictured above are two pieces of excellent writing advice written by AWP event goers, hosted at a Writing Advice booth at the book fair. These two were my favorites.

Medical Mondays: Why I Do and Do Not Like the Nuva Ring (birth control)

by in medical Mondays

Here’s the breakdown according to my experiences:

Pros:

  1. Regular periods
  2. Convenience of only dealing with it once every three weeks
  3. No side effects 
  4. Availability
  5. I can take it out myself without the aid of a doctor
  6. Easy in, easy out
  7. Low dose of hormones

Cons

  1. Price (try $100 a month)
  2. Price (insurance hardly covers this thing!)
  3. Price (Every month!)
  4. I can take it out myself, which means it does not sit that far back and can be ‘felt’
  5. Did I mention the price?

I’ve had an overwhelmingly positive experience thus far with the nuva ring. The worst part about it is that it is so pricey and my current insurance does not cover much of that price and the entire price goes towards a monster deductible i.e. I will be paying full price for most months out of the year at a whopping approximate $295 for a three pack.

Con: Pricing is everything nowadays and this thing is not cheap. It is so not cheap that I wonder if anyone is really using it… Who has this kind of money? Or do I just have the wrong kind of insurance? Now that a multitude of birth control is offered for free, why would anyone choose to pay $100 a month for the nuva ring?

Pro: No side effects. Repeat, no side effects. When I was on no birth control, the Mirena, and oral birth control I experienced a wide and wild variety of side effects during, before, and after my period. Basically, some days I was a mess. I got cramping, headaches, nausea, 2 week long periods, 2 day long periods, heavy heavy periods, bloating, extreme carb and sugar cravings, etc.
     The nuva ring has given me no side effects other than actually bleeding. But hey guess what, I only have a three day period. Every time.

Pro: Regular periods. I know when it’s going to happen. My entire post-puberty life has been spent without knowing when I would get my period. And I was wildly irregular. Not that I’m weird or anything but I have a list of all the dates when I got my periods and so can do some statistics. Here are some results for you: the range was 10 – 91 days between periods. The mean was 40 days between periods. Sometimes our bodies are great indications for how much stress or changes is in our lives.

Pro: I don’t have to worry about forgetting to take my birth control as much as with oral birth control because I only have to worry about taking it out every four weeks and putting it back in. I have this scheduled on my calendar so I won’t forget and I have all day on the Sunday to take out or put in. It’s easy! You’ll notice I said every four weeks and not the standard three because, as I mentioned earlier, my average time between periods was 40 days and so I thought my body was more used to a longer time than 21 days between periods.

Pro: I also don’t have to worry about going to the doctor to take it out like I did with the Mirena. Also, if it’s TEOTWAWKI (Sh*t hits the fan I’ll be able to take out my birth control when it “expires”).

Pro: The nuva ring is also a lower dose of estrogen, the hormone typically blamed for side effects. I take to heart the phrase: ‘moderation is key’.

Con: This is one I didn’t realize might be an issue. Because you can take out the nuva ring yourself, it can be felt by anything the length of my longest finger (3″ or so), I guess due to placement and size. After some basic research, this may mean I have not put it in the right place!