The blog of author Stacy Kingsley - Stacy Kingsley

Book Release for Gracie Wilson

1/30/2018

Gracie Wilson has a new book out. As a romance writer she loves love and the beauty of romantic entanglement.

More about Gracie:
You can look for her in the trees enjoying nature’s wonders, traveling to see the latest animal conservations, or at aquariums all around the world. Gracie loves nature and all animals. She has many pets and is always adding new addition. The more the merrier in her mind. She enjoys sitting under the shade reading a book, letting the world around her pass by, while she is safe in her bubble of imagination. Well that is where she’d love to stay. She is a softball player, can be talked into the occasional Karaoke and loves going out to dance. She is a first generation Canadian living in Ontario. Her family is from Scotland, so finding her in the hot sun for very long is unlikely, but give her rain and thunderstorms and she’s golden.

Gracie's new book is BEAUTIFULLY IMAGINED

Synopsis:
Imagine.
Love, Life, Lies.
Playing the game of imagining is a dangerous one. It can leave you paralyzed by all the possibilities. Not knowing because you are scared to dream.
When my life finally all came together I thought I’d imagined every outcome.
I dreamed of the ocean. The waves. But most of all the shore. Covered in sand or snow. It haunted me every night but in the most wonderful of ways. Until that night.
Sometimes taking a risk is the only way. But that doesn’t mean its going to end well. I should know.

Her book is available at:
Amazon US: goo.gl/9j593v
Amazon CA: goo.gl/9LDPey
Amazon UK: goo.gl/Hq4FaE
Amazon AU: goo.gl/MfGtmj
Kobo: goo.gl/zbKLde
iTunes: goo.gl/KGNV2Q
Nook: goo.gl/pidxqD

#KickassRomance #BeautifullySeries #BeautifullyImagined #NewAdult #StandAlone

Television Show Review - GODLESS

1/20/2018

Let me start by saying I do not, I repeat I do not, like westerns. I only started watching this show because my partner wanted to watch it. I will now admit that I don't regret it. This was a really television show.... Like really good!

If you haven't seen the Netflix original television series GODLESS, do yourself a favor and go, watch it now, like right now. T

The plot from IMDb - Frank Griffin, an outlaw terrorizing the 1880s American West, hunts down Roy Goode, his partner turned enemy. Roy hides out at a ranch as Frank's chase leads him to La Belle, New Mexico - a town mysteriously made up almost entirely of women.

The cast of characters is delightful as there is more than one good guy and more than one bad guy. The scenery is desolate and the show starts of with a huge scene that makes the viewer wonder what the heck they have stumbled into. It does make one want to watch what happens to either find out what has happened in the show, or to find out what will happen in the show.

The women of the town, La Belle, are self- sufficient, but it isn't something they have picked up because they wanted to. The reason the women are taking care of things in the town is horrifying and yet it is fascinating. They have the strength to do everything a man is supposed to be doing for them, from the whores to the elegant ladies to the hard edged frontier woman. In fact, throughout the show the women are all seemingly stronger than the men.

This show also has some excellent acting from Jeff Daniels as Frank Griffin, Scoot McNairy as the sheriff, Bill McNue, and Merritt Wever as the sheriff's sister, Mary Agnes. There were in fact, several good actors and would love to name all of the but I would run out of room. I will comment on Jeff Daniels as Frank. I have never seen Jeff Daniels play a bad guy like Frank, and he was lovely at it. There were times in the show when the audience can feel for him and what he has gone through, but then there are times when the audience see how terrible of a person her really is. He was really wonderful in this role.

I recommend this show for everyone. It is a limited series and currently has only seven episodes, although some of them are longer (the last episode is an hour and twenty minutes long). It was fascinating, it had a ton of well written characters, and I loved how this was a woman driven show where women were the main characters.

Movie Review - THE BYE BYE MAN

1/18/2018

As I was looking up the information for this movie I saw that people are asking for a sequel, and all I could ask myself was, "Why?"

THE BYE BYE MAN could have been a great movie, with an interesting monster and an idea that could scare generations, but unfortunately it falls flat of its possibilities. The plot description from IMDb is: Three friends stumble upon the horrific origins of a mysterious figure they discover is the root cause of the evil behind unspeakable acts. The problem with this plot description is that it is one hundred percent true. The friends do stumble on a mysterious figure, and it is never explained in the movie.

Honestly this started out very promising with a man walking through a neighborhood shooting and killing people in that neighborhood. All of the while he is walking around chanting, "Don't think it, don't say it," which is intriguing and causes the audience to want to learn more. As he is walking around shooting people in the neighborhood he is asking them, "If they told anyone," which again is an unanswered question that might cause the audience to want to learn more. From there however, the movie loses steam and tried to rely on jump scares and no background information.

With this beginning behind us we see is a group of friends hallucinating and trying not to succumb to their fears. It is over the top and predictable, even to the very last scene in the movie. While I write this, I must admit that it could have been a truly horrifying movie, in the same vein as the first JEEPERS CREEPERS, but instead it doesn't even try to explain the origins or idea behind the monstrous figure who terrorizes the three friends in the movie.

Now, isn't to say that there aren't moments of interest in the movie, but they don't last long enough to fulfill the need of a horror lover to be scared.

While the movie ends in a moment that might lead the audience to believe there will be a sequel, I don't think this is one that needs it. This one can go down in the bad movie cyclone to the bad movie graveyard.

Reflections on Life

1/12/2018

Often I can't sleep at night for one reason or another. It is currently after one in the morning, almost two. Tonight I can't sleep because my partner can't stop snoring, my restless leg syndrome is acting up, and overall I am worried. Stress causes the brain to keep moving long after it should chill.

Every now and then our lives seem difficult. We tell ourselves that things aren't as bad as they seem because we are still alive, or we tell ourselves life could be worse, we could be dying from some incurable illness. In all honesty we can't live in the past, and we can't question what we are going to do in the future. Of course things could be worse, but maybe right now things are the worst they have been in our lives. Right now might be the worst things have ever been, and maybe on reflection things have been worse that in the past, and they might get worse in the future, but we are living in the now. We reach out, wanting to talk to our friends, but often when that time comes we hesitate, not wanting to burden people with our problems when we know they have problems of their own.

There are very few people I can talk to. It isn't because I don't feel comfortable, it isn't because I don't think they won't listen, it's because I don't like being vulnerable. I hate crying in front of people. I hate having emotions or being emotional, and if you have ever seen it you should feel honored. Right now though, I may be at a breaking point.

I have a lot on my mind. One of those things is my anxiety over talking to my partner about our eighteen year old cat. Our cat, lovingly called Shaggy Maggie, isn't doing so well, and I think it is time for us to let her go. She has gone from nine pounds to less than four, and she looks, and feels, like a skeleton. She has chronic kidney disease, and isn't going to get better. We have given her medicines, and the vet tried extraneous fluids but she was having none of that. So, after continually giving her anti-nausea meds and all the wet food she can eat without puking, I realized tonight that she is still losing weight. I can't, however, have a rational discussion with my partner about it right now because their father is not doing so hot.

Balancing things creates more tension. I am struggling with this decision I have to make, and I am struggling with how and when to talk to my partner about it, and I am trying to balance my upset with and their anxiety over their father.

But right now, I'm tired. I am so tired. I want to be sleeping, but my legs actually hurt. I want to sleep, but my partner sounds like an Harley. I want to sleep, but I am worried about making the best decision for my cat. I want to sleep. I want to stop thinking. I want to stop life for a minute so I can take a breath. I want to take a breath. I want a moment, just one, where I feel mentally and physically okay. Is that too much to ask?

This, the thinking, is one of the reasons an author with insomnia isn't the best combination.

Movie Review - THE VATICAN TAPES

1/5/2018

If someone were to ask you if you believed in demons what would you say? If someone were to ask you if you believed people could be possessed by evil what would you say? What if someone asked you how the antichrist were to come to earth would you answer? Most people would say yes, yes, and being born to a virgin or corrupted mother depending on the background they knew.

THE VATICAN TAPES answers some of these questions and makes you ask others.

Angela is a normal, beautiful young woman, with a live in boyfriend her catholic father doesn't like and a life that could be better, but isn't that bad. On the day of her surprise birthday party she accidentally cuts herself, this causes terrible issues ending in a car accident which puts her into a coma. After some time she awakens and is a different person. The Vatican realizes she may be infected by an ancient evil and they try everything they can to release her.

While this movie follows the tropes of several others involving demonic possession, it does take a solid and original view on evil, possession, and the antichrist. Throughout the movie the viewer sees the normal things of a freaky animal who seems to tell Angela what to do, chanting, people reacting badly to Angela, and some deaths. There are several scenes where her father and boyfriend are involved that could have been fleshed out a little better, but I will get to that later. Overall, the tone of the movie is dark and suspenseful. There were several moments that I didn't see coming throughout, which was good since most horror movies rely on jump scares and predictable frights. This one seemed to have sudden moments that were not only unexpected, but also unpredictable, which was interesting because it also revealed the unpredictability of Angela and her possession.

While this was an interesting take on the whole idea of religion, possession, and the antichrist, and most of the movie was quite delightful to watch, there were several scenes with the father and the boyfriend that were just dull. First I have to say that the actor who portrays the boyfriend, John Patrick Ademori, was good. He played his character as flat and even in scenes where he was worried ad scared for his girlfriend he was just boring. If he had been my boyfriend I am sure I would have dumped him for his dull and flat behavior. The father, played by Dougray Scott, was okay, but he was a little bit of a whiner who asked too many questions at one point and not enough at another.

I don't know if it was the script of the acting that was bad for both of these male characters, but they did not deliver anything, nor did they enhance the story much. It could have been a movie solely about Angela and the Catholic church and it might have been a much better movie.

So while the premise and the idea was interesting, it wasn't a great movie. It was a little long, and in some places it was incredibly dull. In all honesty the only thing I really enjoyed was the questions it brought up.

So, internet readers, how do you think the antichrist will show itself?

Movie Review - THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE

1/4/2018

I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie, since I hadn't seen much about it and there didn't seem to be much chatter about it. I had heard a few things, but not really what the movie was about. The movie follows a medical examiner and his son as they called to identify the body of a beautiful corpse. She is possibly the victim in a homicide but with no external injuries it is hard to say what happened to her. She is found at the scene of a homicide, half buried in the ground, which is why she is included in the homicide scene.

Not knowing what this movie really was about before watching it I wondered what I was about to watch, and how an autopsy could be made interesting and horrifying, but this movie did set things up quite well. The father is teaching the son how to be a medical examiner, and the son is learning quite well and fast. The night the body of Jane Doe is brought in the son is about to leave for the movies with his girlfriend, but instead feels an obligation to stay with his father and help him out. He makes plan with the girlfriend for later and tells her to come get him when it is time to go.

The body of Jane Doe is a complete mystery. She comes in with signs of decomposition and later death, but her body is not in bad shape and there are things that suggest she has been buried in another place rather than where she was found. As they do their work and slowly run through the body they find things that suggest this young woman has been severely tortured, but they don't understand several of their findings. As the night moves on a storm outside grows and they find themselves trapped in the morgue as strange and dangerous things start to happen.

This movie doesn't rely on jump scares which is fantastic since those really are overused. It slowly builds up with the mystery and horror of the body and what is happening around them. I didn't appreciate one scene involving an animal, but that is only because there are often scenes in which animals are harmed (which to me seems very cliche). With each slice to the body something new happens, whether it is bodies moving on their own or mysterious songs playing over the radio, these things keep up all night as the father/son team try to figure out how to get out of the building.

As the night moves on and they attempt to figure out what is going on, things continue to get worse, ending up with a death and severe injuries. This movie didn't end how I expected it to, but it also wasn't quite a surprise either. It was an unusual subject matter and the plot was an interesting take on an old story. There are some parts that are remniscent of other movies, but overall it was a new idea and an interesting subject matter.

I also have to applaud Olwen Catherine Kelly who plays Jane Doe. Throughout the movie she has no lines and the only thing she gets to do is be a dead body. While this seems like it might be one of the easiest jobs ever, I am one hundred percent sure that this was probably a very difficult part to play as the character is naked the entire time, or in a body bag, and has her eyes open. And yes I do realize that some of the scenes are probably not the actress, but she did a fantastic job.

Movie Review - ANNABELLE: CREATION

1/4/2018

Where do I begin with this movie, I guess by saying I am so glad I didn't buy it. The description of the movie is: Having their daughter many years ago, a doll make and his wife decide to take in a nun and several girls as an orphanage. One of the Doll Maker's creations isn't pleased to have the girls in the house and does everything in its power to push them out. Of course the "creation" it is talking about is the doll of Annabelle.

The movie starts out really well done. The characters are interesting and the family in the beginning is a very loving family. The doll maker is a man with a talent that only stops because of the unfortunate death of his daughter. When the girls move in as the home becomes a sanctuary things start to change and the movie takes on a darker tone. Although the tone darkens it tries to scare with a lot of jump scares and slow paced frights. Nothing in the movie was original, which really was a shame since the acting was spot on and the actors did a really great job building their characters.

Now, the movie begins with the family and shortly after the loss of their daughter, then skip forward twelve years to when the house is opened as an orphanage, then it skips forward again to an adoption, then once more to twelve years later and basically near the beginning of the movie ANNABELLE. This should have been avoided as it tried much too hard to explain the origins of ANNABELLE and the possessed doll. The audience didn't really need to be told how the doll got from point A to point B, instead, another movie could have been made, or it could have been left up to imagination. As it is the movie was incredibly slow and at times it was actually dull. There could have been more time spent on the girls and what their backgrounds were, or on why they were moving from one orphanage to another, or why there was only one nun in charge of the girls. Instead the movie focused too much on the doll and her origins.

The attempts of the tone to build up the horror of the film doesn't quite work as the movie becomes underwhelming. There should have been more story and less moment sitting in the dark waiting for a monster to appear. I honestly wanted more than a dark, sinister setting and a movie that is only a build up to the original film. This didn't really add to the story of the doll, in fact it takes away from the story by trying to explain it too much.

The only thing that makes this movie tolerable is some of the acting. The child actors were all fabulous and didn't seem to fit the tropes normal for actors of their age in a horror movie (the child hiding under a bed or in a closet). The doll maker and his wife were intentionally creepy and they were well played. The nun could have used a little more development, I would have liked a little more background on her and how she came to be the one caring for the children.

Overall, this movie wasn't great, and it wasn't necessary to make. I'd say skip it, and if you've already see it I'm sorry for your wasted time.

The New Year

1/2/2018

The new year has begun. Often we start the new year with resolutions for the year, and what we are and aren't going to do in the new year. How often do we hold to all of them? Not often, as we forget what we have resolved to do. Most of us have such huge expectations for ourselves and we make unrealistic requirements that are setting us up to fail. Why do we do this?

My resolution for this year, and most years is that I don't want to make any resolutions. I usually don't make any resolutions, I usually just tell myself that this year I need to try harder, on what it depends. This year I want to try harder to write and complete at least two books. I also want to submit more and try to get some of my unpublished short stories published. These are things I want to try to do, but if I don't get them done I am not going to feel bad about it.

This year the year of me. I plan on adventuring, and learning new things. I plan on taking steps to adventure, baby steps and large steps. I plan on building my life into something that can support my future. I have big plans, to either venture one way or another. I plan on making this life my best life. I don't know what my future holds, but it probably holds two years of some sort of schooling, things I have been thinking about for a long time.

So, don't be too hard on yourself. If you made resolutions, make sure they are ones you can actually do. If you fail, it isn't failure, it is another chance. Another chance for you to get it right and try again. We all have things we accomplish and fail at, but that is what makes us human right?!