Blog Archives
A Little Boys Blues
A Little Boys Blues, just twelve years old, carried an unusual weight of blues. He couldn’t articulate his feelings with words, but when his fingers danced across his guitar strings, everyone understood. Navigating life through conversations with old friends, new acquaintances, siblings, and neighborhood characters, he moved through his days gathering wisdom and sharing just as much through his remarkable talent. Life’s complexities—relationships and our place in the world—aren’t easy to unravel at any age. Yet, Little Boy learns that the right people can ease the journey, especially when communication happens soul to soul.
A Little Boy’s Blues, a three-act play by Stacy Lamar King, explores a multitude of adult themes through Little Boy’s eyes and his myriad interactions. Roaming the city with his ever-present guitar, affectionately named Wanda, he discovers that music’s universal language touches people in ways words never could. The talent and melodies within him create a healing magic for himself and others. The story is a rich tapestry: part parable veiled in riddles, part imaginative fantasy, and part straightforward dialogue. Little Boy’s world, and those who inhabit it, prove far more expansive than the pages might suggest. Interpersonal relationships and family bonds, especially between father and son, thread through every interaction in the play. Reflecting on his own father’s absence, Little Boy finds solace among various father figures and supporters. As he navigates the many forms of love and the sting of loss, he must learn to process these complex emotions. The music residing deep within his soul offers comfort, yet the blues that have settled in him are not easily lifted. Little Boy’s joys and sorrows unfold openly, allowing readers to journey alongside him as time progresses. The play’s duality is one of its most compelling aspects. It is both deeply relatable in its depiction of everyday life and profoundly intricate in the depth of its themes. By the conclusion, Little Boy emerges as a friend whose future we are deeply invested in and earnestly hopeful for.
A Little Boy’s Blues is a poignant and deeply moving play that resonates on multiple levels. Stacy Lamar King weaves a narrative that is both simple and profound, capturing the essence of life’s complexities through the innocent yet wise perspective of a twelve-year-old musician. This work stands as a touching exploration of the human spirit, making it a must-read for anyone seeking depth and authenticity in storytelling.
Pages: 102 | ASIN : B0859MCDQP
BELIEVE UNSHATTERED LOVE
Believe Unshattered Love by L.C. Renie elegantly continues Alexandria’s captivating quest for love and its transformative influence on her life. The moment she crosses paths with Alessio, her world shifts dramatically. But as she unravels her family’s intricate history, it threatens to cast a shadow on their blossoming romance, introducing layers of complexity and potential danger.
Both Alexandria and Alessio find themselves ensnared by the ghosts of the past. As Alessio confronts challenges rooted in Alexandria’s history, he finds himself navigating a precarious landscape. The duo are faced with a crucial choice: can their bond weather these storms and flourish, or are they destined for heartbreak?
Renie crafts a tale that effortlessly guides readers into the depths of Alexandria’s ancestry, laying a rich foundation for her narrative. The stakes are high for both Alessio and Alexandria as they grapple with the question of how much they’re willing to sacrifice for a shared future. The narrative is engaging and fluid, with each chapter drawing readers deeper into the unfolding drama. Packed with familial intrigue, pulsating action, and a tender romance at its core, this novel is a delightful treat for aficionados of the romance genre.
Believe Unshattered Love is a compelling continuation that seamlessly intertwines love, mystery, and adventure. It’s a must-read for readers who revel in tales of undying love and the challenges it faces.
Pages: 215
Alexandria: Unshattered Love
Alexandria: Unshattered Love, Book 1 by L.C. Renie, is the first book in this series, which centers around a healthcare professional who is just getting comfortable with living a single life following a divorce. As she pours her energy into her work in the field of psychiatry, she’s enticed by a close friend, Samantha, to escape for a much-needed vacation to Paris. It’s just the break Alexandria needs, but as she embarks on this trip, more lies ahead than expected.
As Alexandria prepares to unwind and enjoy her new-found freedom with a close friend, she learns a lot more about herself, her past, and the people in her life. The narration flows well and grips the reader as you become acquainted with her personality and way of life. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and how the characters develop into their roles, with a few twists and unexpected shifts in the plot. It’s a great read that initially captures the reader’s attention.
The pace of the book was excellent, giving me enough time to identify with Alexandria and her circle of friends and the people in her life. The more you read, the more you delve into a world of people, places, and experiences that are not as they seem, or at least as they appear on the surface. Alexandria’s journey takes on more than a surprise vacation; but is a life-changing experience full of romance, emotion, and relatable situations.
Alexandria: Unshattered Love, Book 1 by L.C. Renie, is a remarkable book with a well-structured story that’s truly a page-turner. I finished reading the story within a weekend and would highly recommend the book to anyone who enjoys romance with much relatable content and characters. It’s an excellent story, and I look forward to reading more from the author and this series.
Pages: 264 | ISBN: 1736498169
When Life is Like a Dream
When Life is Like A Dream is one of six plays that Phillip Methula has written on the difficult topic of apartheid in South Africa.
If the play has a main character, it is Aladam. Aladam is a human rights activist who has spent years imprisoned for opposing racial discrimination in South Africa. The play begins as he spends his last night in prison dreaming of the struggles his people have faced over the years.
As Aladam represents the black perspective, his opposite, Namein is the South African leader tasked with keeping the peace. He must keep his white population happy while always trying to quell the black uprising. Unfortunately, this lands him in deep water when he is called a race traitor for trying to appease the black protestors. Namein’s genuine opinions and beliefs aren’t always clear as a career politician.
While the play has 9 named main characters, there are over 30 unnamed “minor” characters. The main characters are all interesting, but these minor characters are the most important. Race is an issue that affects everyone. It is through these side characters that Methula best shows the opposing points of view of both sides. While the play rightly villainizes racism, Methula is careful to paint the racist white South Africans as humans with their own thoughts and feelings. Their fear, as the status quo that so benefits them is challenged, is palpable. There are no cartoon villains here.
The play has five acts that revolve around separate issues, which all connect to the overarching theme of racism in South Africa. The section covering a fever is particularly interesting. As a fever starts killing indiscriminately, racial paranoia is ramped up. It shows perfectly how people’s prejudices can stop them from working together as both sides point the finger of blame at the other.
While the play deals with heavy themes, Methula’s writing stops the play from ever being too preachy. His characters feel real, showing humor even in the darkest of times. When Life is Like a Dream is an excellent choice for anyone interested in learning about this troubling period of history. You’ll come away from it well informed, entertained, and wiser.
Pages: 290 | ASIN : B07PMJV6J1
The Importance of Being Earnest Enough
Paying homage to Oscar Wilde, Tom Beattie has written a one act play, The Importance of Being Ernest Enough. Fans of Oscar Wilde’s original will be won over with this modern-day rendition. In this clever tribute to Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, Beattie re-imagines the 19th century upper-class social sphere of Algernon Moncrieff and Jack Worthing and the women they are intended to marry. But there’s more than one twist in this tale; this caricature of upper-crust Britishness is set in the US and the characters have mobile phones, Facebook and instant access to rampant gossip. What’s more, all the main characters are gay with no intention of marrying their opposite sex intendeds.
Tom Beattie’s extraordinary and comical production will have readers entertained with scenes that have humor permeating every aspect of the production from dialogue to stage directions. The dialogue is confident and quick-witted with a dizzyingly fast pace. The puns and double-entendres are smart and hilarious, worthy of Wilde himself. This original work is unpredictable and rich with plot twists as the characters are rousing and imaginative. The stage direction notes give readers the chance to visualize how this production would look being performed by a full cast.
This play came with a bonus short scene in which the author is trying to teach his husband, David, how to meditate. Readers will laugh at the antics and back and forth banter between the two. It’s entertaining and amusing with Wildean nods to the political environment and the inevitability of aging.
The Importance of Being Ernest Enough is a fresh take on the classic by Oscar Wilde. Beattie’s version is modern, smart, engaging and hilarious and well worth a read. Those that have a passion for stage production or classics like Oscar Wilde will find something to laugh about and love in this play.
Pages: 121 | ASIN : B09LD1WRM9
American Fries: A Queer Farce
![American Fries: A Queer Farce by [Tom Beattie]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41GZpxaGnbL.jpg)
American Fries: A Queer Farce is Tom Beattie’s fun play where he explores how Molière’s playwright style could have been if it had included some queerness in it. Marriage equality and same-sex love are the main aspects dealt with in his play, all done in a fun and hilarious way that will leave its readers constantly smiling and giggling at every turn of the page.
The book includes two different plays. The first one, American Fries, based in seventeenth-century Paris, follows the friends Bayonet and Heavyset as they conspire to find a way to pair and marry each other’s kids. However, the girls Crepsuzette and Anisette, and the boys Pirouette and Leatherette, may have some different plans of their own. Although it is a period play, it is told in a modern way with modern humor, making it very enjoyable to read. The second play included in the book, Once Married, goes back to modern day to follow the lives of Tom and David, a gay couple from the United States in their early sixties, with the deep wish of having the freedom to marry each other without fear.
The plays included in the book were fun and easy to read. Even though the book deals with serious themes such as same-sex marriage, the author expresses his story and his feelings in an entertaining and natural way. I was constantly smiling throughout the different plays, highly appreciating Tom Beattie’s humor. Even the names of the characters made me laugh every time that they appeared on the page, they had such an unique and creative touch to them. The stories told were not only funny but also endearing, being able to portray by the end the significance of companionship and love regardless of gender, a very powerful message in this day and age.
I found the first play, American Fries, to be unique and would love to see a longer one in the future with the same style of writing and humoristic attitude. The deep feelings of love are portrayed in a simple, yet powerful manner, allowing the reader to feel connected to the characters and understanding the depth of their emotions. I only wish that the plays had been longer, there is still some potential that can be explored further with the characters that were introduced throughout the story.
American Fries: A Queer Farce is a fast paced and easy read with entertaining humor and an overall imaginative and creative style. Author Tom Beattie gives readers such an endearing and enjoyable reading experience.
Pages: 143 | ASIN:
Nothing is More: a High Black Comedy in Verse with Music for Six Actors
![Nothing is More: a High Black Comedy in Verse with Music for Six Actors by [Landon, Dolly Gray, Noland, Gary Lloyd]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61fQeaJCkRL.jpg)
This physiological thriller is amusing and engaging right from the start. Act one introduces us to the characters, all of which I found interesting but one more particularly so was Purvel Schlignatz. He’s a graduate student who is focused and open-minded, but gets convinced to do things that he sometimes does not subscribe to and I was not comfortable with the influence that Pelvin Penisovich had on him.
The drama and romance blended easily and were equally entertaining. I loved how Purvel Chlignatz was ready to risk everything just to be with Kitty Walters. I closely followed the drama that led to Pelvin Penisovich and Dronah Stackbut’s break up and learned a few things about friendship along the way. The romantic themes explore how pals and lovers sometimes get betrayed, and the result is anger that could be destructive.
Dolly Gray Landon’s story is exciting if not interesting and filled with characters with quirky names having engaging conversations. Melody wasn’t a favorite for me, but not for a lack of character development, quite the opposite. Her attitude and lack of empathy made me dislike her character. She was full of herself and abused the influence she had. I, however, appreciate that the author made her one of the main characters, as her role added more spice in the book. I also got to learn a few new words, as the jargon used by the Stool candidates was compelling. ‘Nadaism’ is one of the words I found to be amusing throughout the book.
Everything from the plot, literary stylistic devices used, character and writing style were excellent. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading plays and wants to enjoy a good story. Keep a dictionary handy as this story will surely increase your vocabulary.
Wealth, power, the socialite life, education, relationships, and peer influence are some of the themes covered in the book. The author’s sense of humor is subtly apparent throughout and serves to deliver a larger satirical story that kept me laughing, entertained, and quickly flipping pages.
Pages: 306 | ASIN: B07P3L7C7R
Deadly Homecoming at Rosemont
Historian Wrenn Grayson arrives at the Rosemont mansion expecting to receive payment for her services from the mansion’s new owner, Clay Addison. That expectation dies when she and Clay find Trey Rosemont murdered on the foyer floor. Across town, police officers race to Eastwood University. Priceless Egyptian artifacts were stolen from the history department safe. Wrenn’s longtime love, Eastwood professor Gideon Douglas, heads the department. Only recovery of the artifacts will save his career.
Life in Havens, Ohio, doesn’t stop for this crime spree. Wrenn works for Mayor K.C. Tallmadge. He wishes Wrenn would stop searching down clues ahead of the police and pacify temperamental playwright Barton Reed. Barton’s play is just days away from opening in the town’s historic Baxter Theater.
Amid murder, theft, or curtain calls, Wrenn’s instincts prove sharp. But it’s her stubborn one-woman approach that places her directly in the killer’s path.
LITERARY TITAN 