Maria Lima's Blog, page 2

In the Hunt: Unauthorized Essays on Supernatural; Benbella Books/Smart Pop Series (March, 2009)

Every culture has a trickster figure; this essay written in 2008 examines the role of the Trickster character in the TV Show Supernatural.

From his introduction in Tall Tales, as jokester/mischief maker, to his darker incarnation as the Chaos-bringer in Mystery Spot, the Trickster plays a seminal role in the mythos of Supernatural. Though only physically appearing in these two episodes, we find that his role isn’t just to provide humor, but manifests as the catalyst, bringing realization through upsetting the norm. As in the many myths and stories, this Trickster is a transformative character who by his actions, changes the primary characters at an essential level.

About the book:

A relative newcomer to the paranormal-teen drama scene, the hit TV show Supernatural has already developed a rabid and deeply committed fan base since its debut in the fall of 2005. When their dad mysteriously disappears, brothers Dean and Sam Winchester join forces to bring him home and are pulled headlong into the world he knew best—one full of demons, spirits, monsters, and ghouls. Featuring essays from three lucky fans as well as leading writers and pop culture experts, this insightful anthology sheds light on a variety of issues, including why such a male-centric show has such a large female fan base, “Wincest” and homoeroticism, how Supernatural can be interpreted as a modern-day Brothers Grimm, and the questionable nature of John Winchester’s parenting habits.

Maria Lima contributes something rare for the Akashic Noir series, a crossgenre story set in the heart of the city’s downtown.

San Diego is home to miles of beaches, Balboa Park, a world-famous zoo, and some of the country’s most expensive home and resort real estate. Yet the city also houses a few items that aren’t actively promoted by the visitor’s bureau: a number of the country’s most corrupt politicians, border-related crimes, terrorists, and the occasional earthquakes. A noir feast!

In the 50-plus years since Raymond Chandler set Playback in Esmeralda, his name for La Jolla, the population has grown by more than a million, and crime has proliferated as well. San Diego of the past and the present offers the book’s contributors a rich selection of settings, from the cross on Mount Soledad to the piers of Ocean Beach, and perpetrators and victims from the residents of its wealthiest enclaves to the inhabitants of its segregated barrios.

Urban Fantasy: conjures up tales of the mean streets, doesn’t it? Wizards on a case, stomping the alleyways of gritty Chicago with their magic staff; Druid investigators tracking down evildoers in South Boston; PIs joining with a vampire partner searching for demons in downtown Toronto. From vampire executioners in St. Louis to all the amazing and wonder leather-clad kickass female heroes and heroines in today’s urban fantasy, we all love these stories set in modern cities.

But what about the country? Small towns, rural areas? There’s no lack of intrigue, suspense, backstabbing partners, and all the things you’d find in a large city (except perhaps for the high-rises and traffic).

I chose to set my Blood Lines series in Rio Seco, Texas – a fictional small town very much based on a lovely Hill Country community I lived in during my late high school years: Lago Vista, Texas. The Hill Country, dotted with small towns, rural communities and resorts remains, to this day, a jewel in the bellybutton of the state. Lakes, rolling hills, gorgeous scenery complement the hustle and bustle of the major cities. It’s a place to get away and a wonderful place to live.

Even as early as the late 1970s, the Hill Country was becoming a mecca for those with money/fame/power to buy a vacation home. Now, in the early 21st century, nearby cities keep expanding into this once isolated area, bringing with it the pressures of new population, new development. Small towns may not have the numbers of people as in cities, but they certainly have the same issues, often magnified because people all tend to know one another.

Agatha Award Nominee for Best Short Story 2004

originally published in Chesapeake Crimes I.

What happens when your weird cousin sends you a telegram stating that your aunt’s dead and the butler did it? Lindsay discovers that there’s more in store than a traditional English funeral and the requisite neighborhood gathering. Way more.

aka, Maria Lima, TheMariaLima, etc.

I’m a writer, reader and all-around fangrrl with feet firmly planted in the Other. Nowadays, I’m retired from the day job & am mostly reading, watching C-dramas and trying to figure out what’s next.

My Blood Lines series, a not-so-urban contemporary fantasy set in the Texas Hill Country, is available wherever books are sold. All five books are now available as audiobooks via Audible.com.

But, wait, there’s more!

I’ve also written short stories and non-fiction essays for various collections. Find out about all my work at the My Work page.

All’s fair in blood and war. . . .

Talk about wedding crashers from hell. Keira Kelly and her sexy vampire king, Adam, are about to tie the proverbial knot—sort of—when an uninvited blood relative shows up to cast a long, dark shadow over the happy occasion. Adam’s brother Gideon comes bearing the one-size-fits-all gift of bad news: an ancient, convoluted Challenge thrown down upon the entire Kelly clan. It seems the dreaded forces of the Dark Fae have declared war on Keira’s family, and at stake is the land that is rightfully theirs. But while the Kellys gather their troops in a historic San Antonio hotel to strategize, there’s mayhem back in Rio Seco. The old cemetery is vandalized, fires break out, and—worst of all—the Kelly clan matriarch and leader, Keira’s great-great-grandmother Minerva, goes missing. Should Keira risk breaking the Challenge rules by returning to her beloved home, or should she continue the waiting game that seems the only other option? With everything she loves and maybe even her life on the line, she has only one chance to get the answer right.

Buy this book

I used to dislike audiobooks.

Not really sure why, but part of it stemmed from the fact that I read so very, very fast; part of it because I didn’t want someone else’s voice telling me how I should understand the text and another bit because the few audiobooks I’d experienced had rather monotone narrators —  a thing that some folks might not mind, but I do.

Another drawback: I tended to fall asleep while listening, or my mind completely wandered…through no fault of the narrator, but of my own mind, that needs more stimulus to concentrate. I can’t even just watch a show, without having something else to do during it. Plus, I don’t actually ever drive anywhere, so listening in a car was out. Even when I did commute to my job, I lived only 15 minutes away, so not conducive to a long story.

There were some I had enjoyed. Nonfiction, mostly humor (David Sedaris, Bill Bryson) that I’d borrowed from the library, but fiction was pretty much a nope. A wandering mind is not conducive to grasping a story. I really wanted to like audiobooks. My sister pretty much lives by them (with a 40-mile each way commute).

I even made the mistake of signing up for Audible, figuring that would make me get into listening (it did not.) I went through and bought a bunch of books (mostly ones I’d already read & enjoyed) figuring that eventually (maybe when I retired), I could spend time to listen. I let my subscription hang in there for a long time, then canceled it, because it grated on me, having those books sit in my virtual library, untouched.

After thinking about it, I realized that with the Whispersync feature, I could read along with the book while listening to the audio. So I gave it a whirl – and something clicked – well, that and the fact that I ran across a really awesome narrator: Tim Gilbert, who narrates Harper Fox‘s Tyack and Frayne books. I love this series beyond the telling and often re-read them because they are so fabulous. Now with the audio, it was like getting to discover them again.

Even thought the books weren’t necessarily Whispersynced, I could still read along on my tablet and Gilbert’s narration fit the stories properly. I ended up binge-listening, each night after dinner until I finished the series.

I then switched over to K.J. Charles A Charm of Magpies series and narrator Matthew Lloyd Davies – another brilliant voice actor. He also narrates her Sins of the Cities series and Society of Gentlemen series. Another most excellent experience.

By this time, I was all in, continuing to (mostly) buy books I already read & loved, still a bit unwilling to dive into an unknown book with only a short sample narration to go by.

Recently, I wanted to re-read Natasha Pulley‘s Watchmaker of Filigree Street, a wonderful, brilliant, complex twist of a book that I adored when it first came out. Its sequel, The Lost Future of Pepperharrow, was about to be released and I wanted to be sure I remembered all the details of this complex story. I bought the audiobook (already owning the actual book) and began to listen: I was transported.

I don’t know what it was about narrator Thomas Judd, but his voice and interpretation entranced me. He simply was Thaniel and Keita Mori and all the other characters. I immediately went back and pre-ordered the audio of Pepperharrow, along with the ebook I’d already ordered. This would be the first time I’d listen to a new, not-yet-read story. It was glorious. In fact, I want to re-listen to them sooner than later.

These days, with COVID-19 anxieties, I find myself unable to focus, to have anything keep my attention. A traditional read (with my eyes) is nearly impossible. I start books, then can’t concentrate enough to enjoy them. I have tons of book in my audio library, but listening requires more brain-focus than reading, and I just can’t. If I open my computer, I usually just end up on Twitter and other social media, flitting from post to post, topic to topic, brain whirling.

Then it hit me. I could try a book of short stories, or something with discrete parts that I could get through in one listening session (usually about a couple of hours.) And I already had such a book in my audio library: The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal by K.J. Charles. Pretty much anything by KJ is an auto-buy for me (as maybe you could tell by my previous listing of her series), and Simon Feximal was perfect for my scattered anxiety-brain: an overarching story made up of individual case files. Perfection.

I’m now happily listening each evening, and when I’m done with this, I might dive into Jordan Castillo Price‘s The ABCs of Spellcraft Collection, Volume 1, which I picked up a while ago. Fun, novella-length stories, with a great narrator, Nick Hudson.  (Side note: Jordan & Nick did a YouTube presentation about Writing & Voicing Characters that is a lot of fun to watch.)

What are your favorite audiobooks/narrators? I’d love to hear your recommendations!

 

 

 

If you’re not following the #womensart hashtag (and the womensart account) on Twitter and you love art, you ought to be.

So often, when we think of great art, it’s by a man…and that’s a result of our biased schooling. We learned about great men – DaVinci, Michelangelo, Picasso, Van Gogh. The list is endless. And sure those artists are great, but we hear so little about women artists and their work. Do a Google search on “famous artists” and all the top listings will be of men. That’s unconscionable!

I like finding out about artists beyond the few women who come to mind (Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keeffe, Mary Cassatt), and thanks to social media, there’s a wealth of information. Today, in fact, I discovered Ruby Silvious, who makes awesome miniature paintings on teabags, upcycles old materials into beautiful works and many other fascinating, talented women.

So much of social media these days is negative, terrifying and heartbreaking. Give yourself permission to find the beauty.

Te Arawa Māori women weavers (c.1898), floor mats woven for Te Rauru meeting house, Rotorua, New Zealand

Marie Kondo talks about items in your house bringing joy. I get it, if you don’t like it, use it or otherwise enjoy it, why do you still have it?  A year ago, I got 2 new Buddha statues for . my office/room. They still bring great joy.