"A handsome and likely intelligent guy, who wasn't my best friend and gay, was something of a unicorn in my life. So I maybe let my eyes linger a touch too long on the front of his pants as he approached. And my posture might've stiffened to let him know I was tall and lean, but still had enough curves to make driving dangerous--and fun."
-- Witch's Nocturne by E.J. Wesley
You know how agents and professional writing blogs are always telling you to write with voice? E.J. has got voice down. You can pick it up in that single paragraph, and it's like he picks you up and stuffs you into Jenny Moonsong's head. It's SO AWESOME.
I LOVE Witch's Nocturne. Finished it in two lunch breaks at work. E.J. brings alive the best aspects of a paranormal hunter by giving us a character that is equally cool to the well-known Anita Blake that we saw in Laurel K. Hamilton's earlier books, Burnt Offerings and my favorite, Obsidian Butterfly. Here's one of my favorite lines from Hamilton (compare the voice with Penny Moonsong):
“Accidental sex. He made it sound like I fell down, and there just happened to be an erection in the way.”
—
Anita Blake, Incubus Dreams by Laurell K. Hamilton
Jenny Moonsong on the outside, would not fit your typical Texan. But on the inside she's a gun totin', ass-kickin, mohawk wearin', tomahawk totin' female with size 11 boots (everything is big in Texas). Along for the ride is Marshal and the above tall, dark, and handsome stranger who just happens to be a warlock.
Because the story is short, I'm not going to spoil the plot. But if you're a fan of dark paranormal stories that don't shy away from blood, language, and violence all in the name of putting dirty bad nasties (DBN's) back into the grave, then E.J. is the author for you. Witch's Nocturne is the second book in the Moonsong trilogy and I can't wait for the third. I've seen werewolves, and now I've seen a powerful coven of witches summoning dark powers under a blood red moon. What's next E.J.?
I give this novella five stars, because I can't wait until the next installment. Witch's Nocturne is more fun than 8 seconds on a bronco at a championship rodeo. And you can take that all the way to the roundup.
If you are intrigued, visit E.J. at his blog HERE. You can also pick up a copy of Witch's Nocturne by visiting his book page HERE wherein you will find links to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other fine online outlets. For 99 cents, you should own this book out of principle. Seriously. Cheapest entertainment ever.
*****
Ellie Garrattallowed me to post on her blog yesterday. If you have time, please go and visit. I'd love to have some more comments to read.
I love this cover! It's like a Nationwide insurance commercial where the guy talks
about "vanishing deductible" and makes a huge boulder hanging over a
woman's head disappear.
Today, I'm participating in the Weighted release day blitz written by critically acclaimed author and fantastic blogger, Ciara Knight. At right, I've included a picture of what she looks like:
This is Ciara Knight. She writes great books.
Ciara writes to ‘Defy the Dark’ with her fantasy and paranormal books. Her debut novel, The Curse of Gremdon, was released to acclaimed reviews, securing a Night Owl Top Pick and five stars from the Paranormal Romance Guild. Also, book I, Rise From Darkness, from her debut young adult Battle For Souls series, secured glowing reviews and won July Book of the Month from Long and Short Reviews.
Her first love, besides her family, reading, and writing, is travel. She's backpacked through Europe, visited orphanages in China, and landed in a helicopter on a glacier in Alaska.
The Great War of 2185 is over, but my nightmare has just begun. I am being held captive in the Queen’s ship awaiting interrogation. My only possible ally is the princess, but I’m unsure if she is really my friend or a trap set by the Queen to fool me into sharing the secret of my gift. A gift I keep hidden even from myself. It swirls inside my body begging for release, but it is the one thing the Queen can never discover. Will I have the strength to keep the secret? I’ll know the answer soon. If the stories are true about the interrogators, I’ll either be dead or a traitor to my people by morning.
It will be up on all online retailers soon, including iBookstore, Kobo, AReCafe, etc…
If anyone has a second to ‘like’ or agree with tags on Amazon, that would be awesome.
Upcoming books in The Neumarian Chronicles:
Escapement (Book I) - Early 2013
The website io9 recently did an article on the golden age of trash culture, and I couldn't agree more. You can read the whole article HERE. In the TL;DR version, basically "there is more corporate-funded trash being unleashed on the public than ever before... and meanwhile, there's a huge wave of new-media trash coming as well."
Isn't it glorious?
All the movie adaptation of this book needs is to cast Alex Pettyfer as the guy. That's it. Ka-Ching. Google Alex Pettyfer and you'll see what I'm talking about.
With free books and or 99 cent offerings on kindle, we have access to wafer-thin characters in just about every paranormal situation you could shake a stake at. The rise of erotica with such offerings as Fifty Shades of Gray and the subsequent sequels are plain awesome. Plus you can read smutty books on the kindle in the subway or on the train because no one can see what you're reading so you don't have to be embarrassed by the fact that you're secretly into whips and chains or possess bizarre sex fetishes.
On television insanity rules. Basically, nothing is too insane or too out there. Really, writing has broken through a boundary where you can literally string together a story from four random dice rolls (roll twice in the first section) and it seems to work. Example:
1 A guy who gets naked a lot
2 A girl who gets naked a lot
3 A vampire who gets naked a lot
4 A werewolf who gets naked a lot
5 An alien from the planet Shmieldorf who gets naked a lot
6 A ghost who gets naked a lot
1 Don't have sex but falls in tortured love
2 Can manipulate fire but is a cheerleader
3 Can read minds but feels guilty about that
4 Can teleport into a person's dreams and realizes they are actually dead in real life
5 Learns magic at a school for magical peeps
6 Drives a BMW hybrid while listening to Chicago love songs
1 Takes Newt Gingrich to a moon colony.
2 Saves the world from Goatzilla
3 Pimps minors out for sex
4 Finds a duck with super powers and prevents an alien invasion
5 Wins a game show in a post apocalyptic setting
6 Gets married.
Okay my rolls using my trusty 6-sided dice are: 3, 4, 4, 6
My new story plot is "A vampire who gets naked a lot and a werewolf who gets naked a lot can teleport into a person's dreams and realizes that they are actually dead in real life and then gets married."
I don't think these kinds of stories could have ever had a place in the 80's or the 90's because people would see through them. But now...bring it on baby. Just look at True Blood. I'm addicted to this show which has about as flimsy a writing as anything. In Sunday's episode, a guy talks to Bill Compton and gestures at a book. He says, "Do you know what this is?" Bill answers, "It's a Bible." But then goes on to say that it's not "THE Bible" but the "original testament"...you know...the vampire Bible and then they go on to say how vampires came first and were really god's children and how Adam and Eve came later and it just shows how humans were meant to feed vampires.
Brilliantly written dialogue? Alcide is awesome. This really is
the written conversation. Not kidding.
What did I think of that background? It was both brilliant and incredibly stupid trash and I loved it. The mire of bullshit that flows from writers these days is awesome. In our trashy culture...pure bullshit reigns. You can explain anything away in your plot--plausible no longer matters, just make it up. For television and movies, you don't even need to script it. This kind of thinking can be done on the fly as long as it sounds clever. And being random is now king.
Random True Blood baby eater character that got more lines than Alcide
Random characters (like those in the above picture) are key to trashy stories. Have you seen Jersey Shore? Random is that cast's bread and butter. That and tanning, big bewbs, and tequila.
From the article, io9 points out that Michael Bay is one of the greatest film makers alive. Have you seen a Michael Bay film? All you need are explosions. That's it. Check out one of the greatest moments in last night's True Blood episode. Jessica (the red-head) gave Steve (a former religious pastor) a "Fang Boner" by describing Jason Stackhouse's butt and cock to him and offering to sell him for $20,000.00 since she technically has the rights to Jason's body. How is this at all great television? I have no idea, but I'm glued to the screen like millions of other watchers in America every Sunday with our bowls of Cheetos and our guts hanging out over our belts muttering, "damn...this show is GOOOOOODDDD. Mmmmhmmm."
So writers...WRITE MORE TRASH! WE NEEDSSES IT. There clearly isn't enough. Twilight, as an example, is getting rebooted by Lion's Gate because they don't want to lose their cash cow. Yep, they are going to cast a whole new group of people right after Breaking Dawn, Part Two shatters records this fall.
I can't wait. I hope they get a better looking Edward. #JustSayin
I just finished Alyson Burdette's Nightfire, and I have to say that this is one of the best vampire books I have ever read. Just so you know, I read Anita Blake (Laurel K. Hamilton), Anne Rice (Lestat), and have read the first book in the Twilight series so it's not like I'm a stranger to vampire fiction.
What I loved:
1) Olivia. She's an amazing and refreshing protagonist. This is a vampire novel told from the female point-of-view (as a vampire and something else). I'm going to leave the "something else" as a spoiler free thing. But trust me...Olivia is not a run-of-the-mill vamp. There's a reason she hangs out around all that water in Peninsula, and I can't wait to see Alyson explore this in future installments of the series.
2) Jesse. Although he does something that is pretty terrible, I couldn't help feeling drawn to his obvious charm. It's clear that he loves Olivia, wants what he sees as is best for her, but ends up hurting her terribly in the climax of the book all to prove a point. I wonder if she'll be able to see that Jesse is probably better for her than William, but Olivia is definitely stuck on William.
3) William. The handsome vampire hunter. Aside from being a tough-as-nails guy he's also got the whole swoon worthy blue-eyed boy-next-door thing going on. I loved every scene in which Alyson explores with this guy. It's some of the best romance writing around.
4) Alyson's prose. She is a great writer. Here are examples pulled from the book:
"He's suddenly little more than a memory, and I wonder if my body has remembered how to dream...His deep blue eyes open wide as he pulls me toward him. They are two glass jars full of fireflies that dance in the moonlight."
"I spit the words out at him, wishing they were knives."
"He laughs, and it is the sound of a thousand birds in song."
Pretty amazing, right?
So yeah. Alyson...when can we expect a sequel? Nightfire has left me wanting more :))
If you haven't met Alyson yet, you might want to hit her up on her blog HERE.
If you want to be supportive, mark her book "to read" on goodreads so that others that follow your stream will see that you at least find the book "of interest". Go HERE to do that.
And if you want a sample or can't wait to read it, go to Amazon right HERE.
Today I would like to welcome author Brinda Berry. I read her first book called The Waiting Booth and reviewed it HERE. Now, she's back with a sequel and it's very exciting.
From Inside the Flap...
Weapons training and winter formals… a deadly combination
All Mia ever wanted was to fit in at Whispering Woods High. But being a portal-finder who dates a guy from another dimension sort of makes it hard. A month ago her brother disappeared, and agents from the IIA began policing people’s movements through dimensions. She’d trusted Dr. Bleeker from the local university when he’d told her the IIA were the bad guys. But even a girl with an extraordinary ability to sense things can make mistakes.
Now two people are dead, and as a portal gatekeeper for the IIA, Mia needs to find Dr. Bleeker before he hurts anyone else. And her boyfriend Regulus, an Agent for the IIA, carries secrets of his own. Between learning about weaponry, finding the perfect dress for the winter formal, and catching bad guys, who has time to fit in?
Brinda is running a contest to celebrate the release of her new book. She is giving away romance trading cards and a Kindle Touch. The giveaway ends on April 30th so please enter below and win win win.
Check out the cool romance card
Now Brinda has a question for you.
High school senior Mia Taylor and her friends seem to draw trouble like a magnet. Did you have anything out of the ordinary happen to you during your senior year? As for me, my senior year was pretty boring. I guess the highlight was that I graduated. Oh and I thought my senior class was lucky...no one died through all three years of high school (and it was a big class). So maybe that's somewhat out of the ordinary. Most high school classes have one or two deaths by the time the average kid reaches graduation. Oh and we had six valedictorians. How dumb is that?
Please be sure to check out Brinda's blog located HERE.
Please give a warm welcome to Theresa Milstein whose short story "Allured" is included in the YA Anthology called Fangtales. You can find Theresa at her blog located here. I for one am so thankful that I met Theresa through blogging. She is an accomplished, intelligent, and spiritual woman. I would encourage you to get to know her as well through correspondence and through her writing. In reading her guest post on my blog today, I was reminded of his holiness, the Dalai Lama and a very spiritual story.
On October 1st, I attended a program for writers, illustrators, and
educators. It was called Overcoming Challenges. Authors Jacqueline Davies, Kathryn Lasky, and
Lois Lowry were in attendance. Illustrator Bill Thompson was also on the panel. All four of them have received awards. Jacqueline Davies won a Massachusetts Book
Award Honor. Kathryn Lasky won a Newbery
Honor. Lois Lowry won two Newbery
Medals. Bill Thompson won awards and was
up for a Caldecott.
When they were asked, “How do you define success?” I
listened.
Author Theresa Milstein on the left and author Jacqueline Davies on the right.
Jacqueline Davies answered this in three bullet points:
1)Write
what she wanted to write
2)Have
a lot of readers
3)Earn
a living as a writer
She’s recently accomplished her three goals.
Kathryn Lasky said she feels successful because, “Everyday I
get up and re-invent the world.”
Lois Lowry said she feels the word is subjective, like
trying to obtain perfection.
“Satisfaction is more important.”
Theresa Milstein and Lois Lowry
Bill Thompson had the most poignant answer. He thought winning a Caldecott Medal would be
his measure of success. When his book
was being considered, he thought he’d reach his goal.
He’s also a teacher.
A student stood up in his classroom. She collapsed. Face-forward onto concrete. He checked her. She was breathing, so he didn’t start
CPR. He didn’t want to move her in case
she’d injured her spine. He had someone
call for help. Then she stopped
breathing. He performed CPR until the
ambulance arrived.
Bill visited her in the hospital. She was in a coma. She had a husband of six months. He prayed that he didn’t care about the
award. He’d rather have her live.
Eventually she woke up.
He didn’t receive the award.
He’s learned not to focus on worldly praise. He loves that he can do what he loves to do.
He’s still a teacher.
If someone called him in the middle of the night and asked him what he
is, he’d say, “Illustrator.”
All of the writers who haven’t been published, what would
they say if they received that call in the middle of the night?
I’ve had two short stories published. I clearly don’t make my living as a
writer. My time is divided between so
many different jobs: mother, instructional aide, wannabe teacher, student, and
writer. What would I say? Would I feel like a fraud to respond, “I’m a
writer,” because I don’t make my living from it?
I think about my stories almost all the time.
I will still write when my children grow up.
I’ll still be typing tales when I retire from teaching.
Am I defined by a paycheck or a role or a passion?
When that call comes, I hope I’m brave enough to answer,
“Writer.”
DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT an industry professional. I am not an agent nor a publisher. I'm some dude with a middle-class salary that sits around and throws his opinions out to the world on a blog. Some of them, like this one, will be controversial. I read A LOT into books, into what people say, and into what people do not say (that I think is the most interesting). So read my latest interpretation of what I'm saying about the Big Six publishing industry below knowing that I'm just some guy with an opinion and every person has them. I just happen to write them down. And thanks for the shoutout at The Quintessential Query Experiment :)
Yesterday I came across a post written by fellow writer and blogger L.G. Smith. She attended a workshop held by Sara Megibow, an agent for Nelson Literary Agency, and what was talked about just confirmed what I've been saying all along. Here...I'm going to cut and paste it:
"Not knowing your genre and NOT writing to a formula. Sara (who represents highly commercial fiction) needs to be able to immediately identify within the first thirty pages which genre the submission falls under. Each genre has a formula or certain expectations that must be met. For example, a Young Adult novel can only be told from the perspective of someone between the ages of fourteen and nineteen, must be a coming of age story, and cannot ever show the point-of-view of an adult. Adhering to word count standards is also part of following the formula. Most adult novels should come in around 100K, while Young Adult should be between 65K-85K. Veering from these standards will result in a rejection, because she isn't looking for the exception to the rule."
So there you have it. Getting published traditionally by the Big Six means you are writing to a formula (not my words but an authentic agent that has the cahones to come out and say it). It's why all the books that are coming out all sound the same. Stop kidding yourself if you have an agent and write YA and think that your work is not formulaic. For those of you that desire to have the literary agent, fame, fortune, and snobbery rights to look down on those who are not represented, here is your toolbox:
White-wash your story. Blacks, gays, lesbians, hispanics can only be put into the book if they die or are there to come in second-place to the white people.
Female point-of-view, first-person, present-tense. Look at the Hunger Games for a really good example of this.
Love triangle. You gotta have two hot guys and they gotta really want to bone your protagonist. But the actual boning can never happen.
Powers: vampires, mermaids, x-men, angels, demons, undead, magic, and if all else fails, go for the autistic savant that melts brains when he counts toothpicks. People will be like OMG...that's so original!
There must be tension between the guys to the point that the girl is always throwing up her hands saying, "Enough!"
A setting. If you don't want to make one up roll the dice on the following chart (grab a six-sided die):
Future apocalyptic. The world has gone to shit for one of the following reasons: a) overpopulation b) natural disaster c) global warming d) nuclear fallout e) a Jerry Springer virus made all the people in the world into white trash and they killed each other over child support.
Underwater. People live underwater because living on land is so 2008. And being underwater means everyone has a swimmer's body.
Sky. People live in the sky because living on land is so 2007.
Underground. People live under the ground because Sn00ki got a disease called tanmonsteritis from UV rays and they turned her into a monster that started eating people by the truckload but she cannot go underground because UV rays now power her life force.
Space. People live in space because the planet is overcrowded and space is where no one can hear you scream (blatantly stolen from Alien--like that matters since ideas from the eighties are getting recycled anyway).
Modern high school. This only works if there are bullies. Bullying is so 2010. The bully should also be a stupid jock because there are no smart jocks and if they were smart they wouldn't be bullies.
I have to say that knowing this and being validated by hearing it from an agent even though I suspected it to be true...puts a slightly bad taste in my mouth. This brings up a matter of respect. As authors, we tend to look up to the writers who are Big Six published. We put them on a pedestal. Is this all misplaced when we realize that the reason they got picked up and published in 2011 is because they followed a formula...whether it be accidental or intentional? Here's an analogy for you.
The McDonald's Cheeseburger is made the same no matter where you go. It's one of their most successful formulas and is a constant seller. Just like in writing, you can change it up a bit. Hold the mustard, no pickles, no ketchup. But all-in-all it remains the same. It's kinda like Dystopian YA fiction, right?
I don't know about you, but I don't respect the McDonald's cheeseburger. It tastes the same no matter what city I happen to be in. Even though I occasionally eat them, I'd rather have a bacon, garlic burger covered in sauteed mushrooms and made from prime meat that I can get at a greasy spoon any day. But no one can dispute the selling power of McDonald's, right? Do you aspire to be McDonald's or do you aspire to be the chef that makes an individual burger that is unforgettable? And if so, how do you get the world to know about it when McDonald's has a vested interest in keeping your unique creation unknown to protect their business model?
The Nine Lives of Chloe King if anything is unoriginal. At its best, it's a shoddy knockoff of a series that died called "Birds of Prey" which followed the escapades of the Huntress (Batman's daughter) and tanked after a few episodes. At it's worst, it has a terrible moral compass and is disturbing on many layers. In brief, the pilot episode had the subtle messages:
1) It's okay to lie about your age where sex and getting into a bar are concerned.
2) If you commit criminally negligent manslaughter, then it's okay as long as you didn't know that what you did could kill someone. WTF??! More on this below.
Now, I don't watch many ABC Family shows but I gave this a try because the premiere was last week (I missed it), however, you can download the premiere for free on iTunes (which I did).
First off, the lead-up promotions to this show were absolutely insane if you got in on it early (which I didn't). You could play this game where they sent you an Egyptian box in the mail that included a "Nine Lives of Chloe King" free iPad 2 that had an Egyptian hieroglyph on the back plus a bunch of cards and clues that you followed on that iPad. Then the winner got some grand prize (I assume it's to go to one of the live tapings of the show). I would rather have had the iPad 2 to be honest.
Anyway...impressions from the show.
1) Everyone is skinny and the setting is very rich (urban San Francisco). In case you don't know...you gotta be making some bucks to be able to live the city life of San Fran and send your kids to high school there. No $50,000 a year State government job is going to cut it...try making at least four times that. However, it's the kind of rich that you see on Beverly Hills 90210...less subtle and ostentatious but if you know your designers and you know how much hairdos, shoes, cars, morning coffees with biscotti, and tech costs...then you can add up the cost of this lifestyle for parents and kids alike. It's really no wonder that the main character is white...just sayin'. However, it's also a huge lie. Very few people can actually live this kind of lifestyle yet young women grow up with expectations of just this. So I guess if you want your daughters to grow up with entitlement on their minds then this is definitely another show you should add to the list of brainwashing that gets pumped to today's youth.
2) Everyone is beautiful. Main character is blond with blue eyes with token Asian friend (who is probably good at math) and dark-haired (tag along BFF). There are no "real" people...ever. "Real" meaning people who have weight problems, maybe who have eyes that are too far apart, or too close together, are losing hair, or who work real jobs (the adults in the show gotta have lots of free time to send covert messages, keep tabs on people, or to be available for kids whenever they need to "talk".) Food when consumed is only in the swanky sushi parlors. There's no fried chicken and hamburgers.
All you needed was a blog to get this sent to you.
3) Once again everyone that is "Sixteen" is obviously older because to me they look twenty. That's just how Hollywood goes about these things...If you're twenty, you can fool sheeple into thinking that you're sixteen (but not really). I've never been fooled by it but I guess some people are which I don't understand. For example: Glee cast members look almost thirty to me but whatever...they're supposed to be teenagers.
4) Favorite Quotes: "I just wish I could get kissed..." Keep in mind the main character is a blond bombshell. This is the same as an obese man saying, "I just wish I could eat a frickin' doughnut!" Also it does play into the fact that her kiss is deadly to mere humans thereby sealing her into loneliness unless she is to mate with another of the Mai.
Mom says to Chloe, "Your father wasn't a big fan of questions"...this just goes along with the cliche "Men are not good at communication." Whatever...this is cliche.
5) Cliche Lies: Some dude to Chloe at a nightclub, "Don't get me wrong...but you look kinda young." Answer from Chloe, "Oh, I'm eighteen..." (awkward smile). MESSAGE to young women: lie about your age to men so you can get attention and maybe some sex. If you don't like the sex, you can call it rape and have the perv arrested.
6) Everyone has super white, perfect teeth. Even the street bum.
7) The villain in the pilot is a black man. That isn't enough though...he has a scar on his left cheek from where she clawed him with her cat nails (different than press-on nails). Additionally, a bum tried to rape her (the one with perfect teeth) after she wouldn't give him some money. MESSAGE: Black men are evil and men without jobs are rapists.
8) The high school jock is blond with blue eyes and could be an amateur bodybuilder easy...maybe professional. Plus there is no acne at all on any of the supposed "teens". Super clear complexions. You find out later that he's one of the special "Mai" that are this super race which maybe goes to explain his incredibly "rockin" body but again...whatever. More Hollywood crap.
9) Lots of Apple plugs because "Apple" is the tech brand that is popular amongst young rich kids.
10) She discovers her powers in the same wide-eyed goofy way that Tobey Maguire did in the original Spiderman. In fact, she seems a lot like a female spiderman but I guess being part cat makes you super strong and agile, she has tons of energy, and superhuman hearing.
11) Every conversation between Chloe and her BFF (when no one else is around) is about boys, kissing, and potential coupling. There was lots of squealing and "OMG...did he kiss you? ... Yeah I think he did!!!" stuff. There was also reinforcement from the BFF that she needs to see the guy she kissed with his shirt off first before making a choice (reinforcing that the dude had better have six-pac abs or is unworthy of 'boyfriend' status).
12) Real parents are gone (she's adopted). If that weren't enough, her adopted dad was a dead-beat dad. Dad left over ten years ago leaving mother to come up with all the money to afford a San Francisco lifestyle (remember when I said it was expensive to live there? Look San Fran up sometime and you'll see).
Checkout this cast of...ermmm...regular teenagers.
13) Every shot of San Francisco includes the Trans America Pyramid. I'm just waiting for the first chase scene on cars because San Fran has hills and there is always some chase seen with cars bouncing on hills.
14) She's part of some strange race where if she kisses someone she kills mortal men. So her touch is poisonous/deadly to guys. This "forced loneliness" opens the series to much angst of course and forced romance as she can't have guys or kills them (we've seen this before a lot). Lana Lang became poisonous to Clark Kent (Superman) in Smallville. In Tahereh Mafi's upcoming "Shatter Me" her heroine kills with a touch. In Marvel comics, the X-Men called "Rogue" kills people if she holds onto them too long. That's how she got all of Miss Marvel's powers.
I have issues with this curse, primarily, in how it's being handled by the show. She murdered an innocent guy that she met at a nightclub after lying to him about her age and kissing him outside. Yes...he went home and died on the floor of his apartment. At the end, she cries about it and the other Mai say, "It's okay...you didn't know that this would happen." I think that this is bullshit.
Criminally negligent manslaughter in the United States is a crime and it doesn't matter if the woman involved is sixteen, rich, white, lives in San Francisco and enjoys sushi and shops at boutiques, and is the member of some ancient race of perfect white people that served Egyptian Pharaohs. If she doesn't turn herself in, I'm seriously going to be pissed at this show because it sends a terrible message to kids. "Oh I just hit some guy and killed him with my truck on a dark road because I was talking on my cell phone and telling my BFF about how handsome this new boy is that I met." (looks around to make sure no one was watching)...then hits the gas and drives off. I'm going to watch this show for a few more episodes but if this issue is dropped, I'm going to send a terrible letter to the producers of this show. I'm tired of crap like this being shoveled down our throats.
15) The CW's successful formula of pairing Pop music with the show. I can't complain about this as I like Pop music. It's smart to do this, actually.
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