Trope Tuesday: The Bechdel Test

The Bechdel Test is a way to measure how prominently women figure in a story.  It mostly comes up in discussions of TV and film, but can also be applied to works of literature.  To pass the test, the story must have at least two named female characters who talk to each other about something… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: The Bechdel Test

The Swords of Night and Day by David Gemmell

A thousand years ago, a young warrior named Skilgannon helped the princess Jianna escape an attempt on her life.  They became lovers, and when she retook her throne, she made Skilgannon her chief general.  When she ordered the abject annihilation of her enemies, he loved her too much to refuse her–and thus became Skilgannon the… Continue reading The Swords of Night and Day by David Gemmell

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I think the first line of this novel sums it up better than I ever could: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. I’ve been familiar with the story of Pride and Prejudice for a long time, but this… Continue reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Was Jane Austen a man?

Okay, okay, don’t worry, I know the answer to this question.  But in five hundred or a thousand years, will people be so certain?   We question the true authorship of Shakespeare’s works.  Some of us even question whether Jesus Christ was a real human being, or just a fiction that some religious group invented.… Continue reading Was Jane Austen a man?

…and they all lived evily ever after.

Today we had a quark writing group party, and it was lots of fun! We all went up to drek‘s new house, up in Draper, and read some of our really old, really bad first attempts at writing stories. Good times! Drek, Nick, lexish, slipperyjim, jakeson, gamila, aneeka, and one of my friends from the… Continue reading …and they all lived evily ever after.