'Dexter Morgan: The Great Anti-Hero'

            Serial killers are always the villain.  They're sadistic monsters who make it their mission to stalk and kill innocent victims.  Normally, we the audience cheers when the serial killers are caught or killed.  It's hard to imagine people cheering for a serial killer.  But what if a serial killer was a hero?  What if there was a serial killer out there we could actually root for?

            Jeff Lindsay created a series of novels that gave the world a serial killer that the world can cheer for.  His hero, or anti-hero if you will, is Dexter Morgan.  Dexter works for the Miami police department as a crime scene technician by day and is a serial killer by night.  However, Dexter only kills criminals.  He's a serial killer and a vigilante all in one.  He's made it his mission to take out the criminals that the law can't or won't touch.

            What makes Dexter such an interesting character is that he's conflicted.  He likes what he does.  He feels he's making the world a safer place by killing vicious criminals.  But at the same time, he wonders if he's helping the world.  He was asked himself: 'Am I good guy doing bad things, or a bad guy doing good things?'

            Showtime has taken the novels and made a great TV series.  Every Sunday, all of us fans tune in to see who will Dexter kill this week.  The show is currently on its seventh season.  Don't worry, I won't give away any spoilers.  But trust me, this is a show you need to watch.  I'm not going to lie.  The show does contain language, violence and sexual scenes.  Consider 'Dexter' your guilty pleasure.

Please Welcome....Mimi Barbour

MIMI BARBOUR

Author of The Vicarage Bench Series, Angels with Attitude Series, and a hot, new romantic suspense series called Vegas. Mimi Barbour lives on the east coast of Vancouver Island and writes her romances with tongue in cheek and a mad glint in her eye. “If I can steal a booklover’s attention away from their every-day grind, absorb them into a love story, and make them care about the ending, then I’ve done my job.”

Title: What do you like to read in a Christmas story?

I know what I like to read.

It’s all about families. I’m a sucker for romance, and old folks and an even bigger sucker for kids. When you join those features into one story and add in a heroine you can’t help but love, then the book is my idea of perfect entertainment.

Some of my friends tell me I’m a softie and tend to write naive tales about people who just aren’t that way anymore… kind and thoughtful, loving and giving. I beg to differ!! There is a world full of ‘nice’ people out there. Folks who live every day being helpful to others and generous with their families.

There’s one story in particular I’d like to share. My mother-in-law, a tiny, cranky, eighty-eight-year-old woman who has insisted on staying in her little house because she ….well she can. And the reason this is possible is because of her neighbour. A young man, maybe in his forties, has taken her under his wing (no pun intended) and goes there every day, looks after all her yard work, takes her grocery shopping and even to church. When she forces money on him, he’s terribly uncomfortable and has tried to tell her he doesn’t expect payment. See what I mean by angels in our midst???

My angel in this Christmas story is an old man called Pi. I created him as close to a real person as possible because I truly believe that we are surrounded by angels in our everyday lives. Ordinary people who behave in extraordinary and loving ways. In many cases, both men and women who come to ones aid without needing to be asked. I have friends like that and I’m sure most of you do also. In fact, you’ve probably acted like that yourself at one time or another. We all have stories to tell of the time that we…!

So this Christmas tale is my present to those of you who are suckers for romance and prickly little boys and loveable seniors. For your holiday pleasure, I’ve wrapped up all these elements up in an entertaining parcel called “Lovable Christmas Angel”.

Hint: This would make a perfect gift for someone special on your list who you know is sweet on those special uplifting stories that make the season just that little bit brighter.

Amazon special price 99cents

If you'd like to know more about the author:

Twitter: @MimiBarbour

Blog: http://mimibarbour.blogspot.com

Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/ppw6av

Halloween

          I have many favorite holidays.  Christmas, 4th of July, Easter, and of course Halloween.  When I was a kid, I had so much fun.  Even though I didn't always dress up, I still had fun.  I would help out my brother, Aaron, and my sister, Sam, help pick out their costumes.  My brother and I would act as bodyguards for our sister that night as we escorted her out trick or treating.  I was a picky eater, so instead of eating my candy, I'd give my haul to them earning lots of bonus points with them.

            Horror movies were also a mandatory Halloween staple.  .  Back when I was a kid, my parents were really strict on what movies I could watch.  Watching PG-13 horror movies seemed to ruin my Horror movie experience.  I remember watching Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' on MTV.  The scene where he turned into a werewolf scared me, but being scared by that scene became a tradition. 

            As I got older, my choices in Halloween movies increased.  After finally being able to watch R-rated movies, I would watch as many scary movies as I could.  I would surf the cable channels looking for the goriest, scary movies I could find.  Of course as soon as I found one, the doorbell would ring signaling trick or treaters.

            As an adult, I can still have fun on this holiday.  Of course with work and school, I don't have as much free time as I did when I was a kid.  A lot of people my age go out to the clubs and bars.  I'm not much of a drinker so I prefer to either stay home or go to a friend's house.  Adult or a kid, there's just something about Halloween that's intoxicating.  It's hard to describe.  

Behind The Keyboard: 'In Due Time'

I love to write.  Of course I want to become filthy, stinking rich by doing so.  But I have to be patient.  No one becomes famous overnight.  And if they do, it doesn't seem to last very long.  That being said, I figured I'd give you, my reader and hopefully someday my fan, and look behind my first e-book 'In Due Time.'
I'll do my best not to give away any spoilers.  What's the point of reading a book if you already know how it ends?

I came up with the idea by watching 'Hostel' and 'Saw.'  Those movies were disturbing in which we saw innocent people being tortured to death.  I started to wonder if it would be equally disturbing if criminals were tortured to death.  I mean brutal criminals.  Rapists, child molesters, drug dealers, cop killers.  The kind  people often fantasize about killing.

The four criminals, Kevin, Dawson, Matt and Mitchell are scum.  Three of them have no remorse for their actions.  Matt seems to have some remorse.  But is he truly sorry?  Or is he sorry he got caught?  I wanted to create some truly horrible people.  The kind you want to die by the end of the story.  I tried to give each criminal a personality, a bit of background into them.  I figured the more you knew about them, the more you would hate them.

These four men find themselves in a strange environment.  A mysterious vigilante, Mr. X, has brought them together so they can be punished for the crimes they committed.  Only he knows what fate awaits these men.  He obviously put a lot of planning into this event.  But is he alone?  What does he have planned for his captives?

The story is violent.  If you're going to do a story about criminals being punished, you need to go all out.  You can't hold back.  This story could be considered 'Horror,' or 'Horror\Suspense.'  Horror stories need to have some degree of violence in them.  I'm not saying you have to make it bloody and twisted.  But if you do a Horror story without violence, people won't take it seriously.

The hero (or possibly villain of the story, depending on how you view him) is Mr. X.  Mr. X is the ultimate man of mystery.  I don't even give him an actual name.  I just call him Mr. X.  He's the mastermind of this revenge scenario.  I consider him to be James Bond's evil twin brother.  Both are men or mystery.  Both are capable of violence.  But James Bond commits acts of violence to protect himself and others.  Mr. X planned this nightmare because he could.

I hope by reading this blog you've become interested in my story.  It's only $0.99.  Hopefully this cheap price will entice you to give it a shot.  I am planning on doing a sequel.  I'm just not sure what it'll be about.  I want to do a story worth reading, not some story I slap together at the last minute.  Thank you for reading this blog.  Now go buy my story.  Here are the following links where it can be purchased:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/Guardian27
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009QTK8NK

Erotica Is Getting Popular: God Helps Us All...

I've heard of porn and erotica.  Is there a difference between the two?  Which one is better?  Which one is sexier?  The way I see it, they are very similar.  Erotica, however, is classier.  It's easier to admit you read erotica than to admit you watch porn.  Of course, guys would be beat to a bloody pulp if their friends found them reading an erotic\romance novel.  Watching porn will give them a pass.

Erotica is becoming trendy.  '25 Shades of Grey' is one of the up and coming books that is paving the way for erotic literature.  I've never read '25 Shades,' but I am tempted too.  I mean you hear so much about a particular thing, you become curious.  You begin to wonder if all the hype is justified.  Is the book really that naughty?  It could be fun to read.

I have no problem with people out there writing erotica.  To each his or her own.  I'm a writer myself.  (Or rather trying to be)  You have to challenge yourself by stepping out of your comfort zone.  And besides stepping into the erotic realm might be your ticket to fame.  There's is nothing wrong with exploring your sexual side.  It's healthy to be curious and wanting to explore your sexuality.

Writing Erotica is a safe way to explore the world of sexuality.  You can create scenarios that you are normally too afraid to explore in the real world.  You can create characters that represent a part of you.  You can finally be the casanova you always wanted to be.  Just because you're against erotica doesn't mean erotic writers are bad people.  If just means you have a stick up your ass.
Just kidding.

Too Stressed To Write

I'm a writer, but not a professional writer.  I have written several things over the years.  Stories for fun, stories for school, blogs, I even wrote a couple of poems.  I'm trying to get published.  I have a few ideas for short stories, novels, and a couple of poems.  I've started to work on a few projects.  But I can't bring myself to finish them.

It's because I'm stressed out.  I've been unemployed for almost two years now.  I was on unemployment, so that made things easier.  Now the unemployment has run out.  I'm about finish school at Fresno State University.  I will have a Bachelor's degree in Journalism.  I hope I'll be able to get a job with that degree.
I'm proud that I stuck with school this long.

It's so hard to write when you're stressed.  Worrying about money, life in general, makes it hard to concentrate.  It's easy to write blogs.  They're quick and easy to write.  But anything else takes patience and concentration.  It's hard to work on a novel, even a short story, if you're worrying about paying your bills.  It's going to be even harder during school.  Trying to do homework and study for tests takes precedent.  It's possible to juggle creative writing and school work at the same time.

I'm about to get my financial aid for school soon.  That'll take some of the financial burden away.  Maybe I'll be able to concentrate more on my writing once my bills are paid off.  The less stressed I am, the more I can write.  Once the stress goes away, the creative process can continue.

Total Recall (1990) or Total Recall (2012)??

(CONTAINS SPOILERS, DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE YET!!)

Anytime a remake (reboot, whatever you want to call it) comes out, many people, like me, become skeptical.  It seems Hollywood prefers to remake old movies rather than take the time and money to make a new movie.  Remakes can go good or bad.  The majority of the public seems to be annoyed by remakes, so as soon as word gets out there's going to be a remake, the public seems to be automatically against it.

Back in 1990, 'Total Recall,' was one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's biggest hits.  It had great action, special effects and one hell of a premise.  Arnold played Douglas Quaid, a construction worker who is really a secret agent.  He dodges soldiers, assassins, to save the people of Mars by changing the atmosphere to give the Martians free air.

In the remake, 'Total Recall,' director Len Wiseman wisely chose to keep most of the original intact.  Doug Quaid, this time played by Colin Farrell, is now a factory worker.  He dreams of doing something more.  He decides to go to Rekall to get a fantasy.  However, he is soon attacked and must defend himself against a group of soldiers.  Quaid must now fight an unknown enemy while trying to find out why he is being targeted.

To be honest, I like both movies.  It's rare that you find yourself liking the original and the remake.  Len Wiseman did a great job with the remake.  He changed some major plot points.  Quaid doesn't go to Mars, there are no mutants.  In the original Quaid must risk it all to get the people of Mars air.  In the remake, Quaid must stop an invasion that could kill millions of innocent people.  Also in the remake, there is no army of soldiers, but rather a robot army.

The remake still has great special effects, awesome action scenes.  The acting is pretty good too.  Colin Ferrell does a great job as someone who a believable person.  Kate Beckinsale shines as she actually plays a  villain this time.  Jessica Biel also gets a nod as the woman that is kind hearted, but can fight as well.  Bryan Cranston, who is an awesome actor, doesn't get much screen time in this movie.

The remake of 'Total Recall' proves that if a movie is going to be remade doesn't necessarily mean it'll be bad.  Give it a chance.  For better or worse, it'll be fun to discuss afterwards.