pretty little recap: sleight of hAnd

4.12  Now You See Me, Now You Don't

LONG OVERDUE 4A finale recap! I had the best intentions to write this up BEFORE I went on vacation, but I seemed to have forgotten to factor in all that other stuff I needed to do before going on vacation. So oops. The good news is that though I've had too busy a summer to blog regularly, I have been keeping my blog idea file well stocked so I have lots of goodies to come as we head into what I hope is a slightly quieter fall.... A girl can hope, right? :) But that's for later. For now, let's discuss the season 4A finale of PLL!!!

Okay, you know you're in trouble when the town hobo is better dressed than you and your friends combined. Photo credit: ABC Family

Pretty Little Highlights

1. I actually kinda awwwed at the sweet couple snuggles in this episode. Awww, you guys! Too cute. Even with Creeper Toby involved--that's quite an accomplishment!

2. Speaking of Creeper Toby, Team Caloby lives! I don't know how I'm going to survive this show moving forward without Haleb or Caloby. I need these pairings in my life!

3. Hanna trying to do magic is priceless. In fact, all of the magic in this episode was entertaining. A's magic trick was creepy and I'm only a little ashamed to admit I didn't see the bait and switch coming.

4. Aria fighting Cece also made my life a little bit. And then the red coat being Cece's downfall? Love it. Though the fall did feel a little too Ian all over again.

5. Hooray for A (or an A-teamer at least) having a layer in Ravenswood! This raises my hope for crossover episodes! I refuse to accept that Hot Caleb is going to be gone from PLL proper.

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. Okay, girls? It's time to stop opening packages from A. I mean, really. It's clear that A craves the attention she/he/it gets from you opening her creepy obsessive little gifts. So why do you keep giving her the satisfaction? Okay, yeah, a lot of the time said gifts give you a decent heads up that nefarious tidings might be headed your way, but maybe, just once, try not opening one of her packages and see what happens. That's all I'm saying.

2. This is really picky and more an issue with high school dramas in general, but what's up with Teachers on TV introducing a topic only for the bell to ring a minute or two later? I know we the audience don't want/need to sit through an entire lecture, but can't they at least try and make it seem like we're catching the tail end of something instead of starting some new (coincidentally relevant to the storyline) discussion that instantly gets cut short? And then the teacher reminds the kids that their term papers are due or hands out essays or something and then asks one particular student to stay behind so that they can't talk about something slightly more personal? How many times do we have to see this same scene play out on our TVs?

3. Why are the liars leaving their creepy doll coffin just lying around? What if Ashely sees it? Or are the girls just assuming that after prison life, Ashley no longer questions stuff like that. Inquiring minds would like to know, liars. You're really not that good at keeping secrets.

Pretty Little ZOMG WTF?!

1. A is a guy. And probably not Creeper Toby again. Maybe. Err, okay, at least one of the A team is a guy. This we kinda know. Is this really a WTF moment? Maybe.... Whoever this man-A is has been tracking Aly. Maybe.

2. A has a payroll. This explains so much. I feel like I can finally stop asking questions about the practicality of As many arbitrary stunts. That said, I can still question the time/money investment...

3. Ali is alive! And possibly a zombie. Or maybe not. The Halloween hand rising from the grave is real though! Or maybe not. Hmmm. Most of these ZOMG WTF moments are non-starters......

4. OR MAYBE NOT BECAUSE CREEPER TOBY IS A! I mean Ezra. Ezra is A. Okay. Alright. This feels like the Creeper Toby reveal, but it also feels different enough that I'll allow it. (Also, can we please go back to Creeper Toby being evil? That was so much more fun than Creeper Toby being mopey, though admittedly I wouldn't want to give up Caloby...) I guess we'll see where this whole EzrA thing goes. That's right, old Fitz has earned himself a capitol A. I'm intrigued and ready for more answers. And yet we must wait... Damn you PLL!

Until the Halloween Special!

~PLR~

pretty little recap: where my hoe down at?

4.11 Bring the Hoe Down

This post is a few days overdue. I spent last week working on revisions and synopses and blurbs (and real work) and then was all ready to get this up before the 4A finale aired last night, but then I got sick. Which really sucks when it's humid outside and you're trying to fly through a million things before going on vacation next week. But enough about that. I'm getting this recap up now so that I can continue to recover from illness and watch and recap last night's finale!
For the record, this might be my favourite episode title of PLL ever. Cause I'm mature like that.

Creeper Toby = Creeper Cowboy. Photo credit: ABC Family

Pretty Little Highlights

1. I think the biggest highlight of the episode is pretty obvious.... Hot Caleb dressing and speaking like a cowboy! Is this what Ravenswood has in store for us? Cause I'm starting to come around... except no! I want my Haleb. I'm not ready for change! And Hot Caleb just continues to be the most awesome boyfriend in the history of ever.

2. Is it just me or is Jake getting cuter? Or maybe he's just looking more put together next to Ezra, who is looking kinda rough, but in a still mostly hot kinda way.

3. I'm not a country music fan, but I love themed dance episodes so I can get behind it. Plus, the outfits are cute and again, Hot Caleb as a cowboy. You really can't go wrong.

4. Team Caloby for the win! Man, I am loving the Hot Caleb/Creeper Toby scenes we've been getting lately and this one was great too. Now Ravenswood is poised to ruin a romance and a bromance. Can't he just do double duty? Or get Ravenswood going and then return to PLL? PLEASE????

5. Though Hanna's, "Are you pregnant?" was a close second, the quote of the episode goes to Aria with "I told you she has the best flashlight." (about Spencer). Love it.

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. Detective Bitchface is really starting to get under my skin. And really, are detectives even allowed to just show up at a school and harass the students like that? Seems sketchy. She's probably A.

2. Okay, Mr Stare-y McStarerson needs to back off. Hanna is Hot Caleb's dude so stop it with your stalkeresque glares and secret information! Even if you are one of the interns from Bones. That charm isn't going to fly here, buddy so move it along!

3. Aria's wardrobe, which has been decent lately, was bound to make a comeback appearance in the PLM section. Tiger shirt + claw-like necklace = do not want.

4. Oh Creeper Toby. You're such a wreck. I'm starting to think nothing can be done to help you. I miss legit Creeper Toby. Weepy Toby is just... so weepy.

5. While I like the theme dance in general, the music at this hoe down is neither hoey nor downy. It's so somber. Aren't hoe downs supposed to be fun? Okay, yes, there was that terrible dance sequence, but can we please just pretend that never happened?

6. Pretty Little Almost-Mistake: Emily going after the suspect in the back of the truck with the intent to.. what? Murder her? Was Emily really going to beat Red Coat to death? That's suspicious Emily. And the last thing anyone in Rosewood needs to be is more suspicious.

Pretty Little ZOMG WTF?!

1. Not sure of this is worth of a full ZOMG WTF or not cause I feel like we mostly already knew this, but are we officially allowed to say that Cece is Red Coat now? Can we just call her Red Cece?

2. Grand prize ZOMG moment goes to the stabbing through the floor holes. Holy crap did I jump. Not really a revealing moment, but definitely tense.


Finale time... Though it aired last night, I've remained unspoiled. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some big reveals + no death for Hot Caleb (as is being speculated elsewhere on the web) + some resolution to Creeper Toby's dead mother storyline so that we can move on already!

~PLR~

pretty little recap: someone is always watching

4.10 The Mirror has Three Faces

Whew! What a doozy of an episode! Lots of clues in this one, and a lot to fret about too... Let's dive in!

Go home, Spencer. Let Haleb make out in peace. Photo credit: ABC Family

Pretty Little Highlights

1. For me, the big highlight of this episode was getting to see Hanna and Hot Caleb actually acting like a couple (well, for the most part). I feel like it's been ages since we've seen that, despite their plan hatching and Hot Caleb's bamf protection of her. Sure, it took a bit of arguing to get there, but we got some street makeouts and that's not a bad thing. That said, I'm getting worried... I've been in denial over Ravenswood and all that spin-off implies for Haleb. I don't know how everything is going to go down, but dammit, I need there to be an open window for these two to be together again one day! I feel like this is Angel leaving Buffy all over again :(

2. Crazy Mona. I don't even think I need to elaborate on this. She's rocking the crazy and I'm totally digging it. I can't get a read on her motivation--could she actually be "doing the right thing"? Time will tell.

3.  Big Cece reveals! At least now we know she has a good reason to hate the liars (even if it's her misunderstanding the situation). If Mrs. D's story about Aly and Cece is true, then it sounds like the girls really did have a toxic relationship, one that leaked all over Rosewood...

4. Jake and Aria. I'm still digging this pairing. Not only has Aria's wardrobe been mysteriously decent since she started seeing Jake, but Jake himself is really likable. But here's the catch--good guy Ezra is clearly being left out in the cold. I definitely needed a break from Ezria, but I do still like Ezra so now I feel kinda torn. I'm cool with her going back to Ezra eventually, but maybe Jake could somehow be the one doing the dumping? Like, maybe have an ex show up with a child he never knew he didn't actually father? Oh, right...

5. Best quote of the episode goes to our dear Hot Caleb:

"It's a box at the post office, Hanna. She's not going to pop out like a girl in a birthday cake and yell 'boo'."

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. Not a lot to complain about in this episode. But I am still less than impressed with the amount of time being spent on Creeper Toby's dead mother. This storyline had better pay off big time... I did like the scene with Spencer on the piano though. Spencer redeems the storyline marginally...

2. Ezra's non-babymomma needs to go. But what will Ezra do about the relationship he's already developed with his non-son. I don't know if this storyline can possibly have a satisfying conclusion. 

Pretty Little ZOMG WTF?!

1. A few big moments in this episode, but none made me ZOMG WTF?! like red coat appearing behind Hanna in Aly's room. I SO SHOULD HAVE SEEN IT COMING! Mirrors and windows and cars and forests and closets and attics and basements (and this list goes on) never amount to anything good in this show!

2. Mrs. D and Emily have discovered the hidey-hole! Was anyone else on the edge of their seat waiting for someone to suddenly roll over in that sleeping bag, wearing one of the creepy Aly masks? In retrospect, that wouldn't have made any sense cause where would they escape to, but I was still waiting for it to happen. Or for Em to find some piece of evidence in the trespasser's slovenly pile. Oh well. There's always next week!

3. This isn't relates to this episode directly, but seeing Mrs. D made me think of Jason and his pouffy hair and why haven't we seen him in FOREVER? Also, did they ever explain why he suddenly disappeared from his hospital bed that one time and then was just casually mentioned off-screen as though disappearing from hospital beds is totally a normal thing to do? Weirdness.

~PLR~

pretty little recovery

4.06-09

I'm finally all caught up on PLL! And seriously, you guys, my head is spinning right now. I was going to break this recap down by episode, but then I accidentally marathoned all of the episodes I missed and they're like one big twisting PLL web in my brain right now. It's probably not healthy, but I'm okay with it. So let's do a jumblefest recap so that we're all up to speed for next week's episode, okay? OKAY!

Oh Hanna. Maybe you should stop talking for a while, mmmkay? Photo credit: ABC Family

Pretty Little Highlights

1. Team Hot Caleb/Creeper Toby left me feeling torn initially, but I think I ended up squarely on Team Caloby. While Creeper Toby is never aces in my book, Hot Caleb more than makes up for his creeperness and honestly, these two were just entertaining to watch. Okay, fine, we can call them Team Boyfriend.

2. I'm actually enjoying Fitz these days. I never really had a problem with him, but obviously his storyline with Aria needed a shake-up. I'm digging the tension. He's actually kinda interesting at the moment.

3. Jake is still all good in my books. I know he's received some criticism, but I'm cool with him. He somehow makes Aria less annoying, which is quite the feat.

4. I think my standout giggle moment from these episodes was definitely Hanna wanting Emily to cop a feel on her behalf (when Em is hanging out with Caleb in 4x06). Hee.

5. Hooray for Team Moms! (That's Team Moms, not Teen Moms) Mama Spencer is working her magic on Ashley's behalf and Emily's Mom is even getting way deep in the PLL action. I bet Mrs. Aria is wishing she didn't disappear to.. where did she go again?

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. So many missteps in these episodes so I'll try to keep this brief. Emily and Hanna BOTH need to start running every plan they come up with by Spencer first. These girls should not be allowed to scheme on their own! They do really dumb things and need to stop. Burying guns, confessing to murder, stealing keys, other evidence, etc etc is not smart, girls. Yes, Spencer is guilty of sneaky plotting on occasion too, but she's (mostly) smart about it.

2. Aria's little bro seriously needs to take a lesson from Steven R. McQueen on how to be an awesome younger brother on a hit teen show.

3. Hanna and Hot Caleb fighting. I can't even talk about it.

4. Oh Paige. Just stop trying to make everything you're trying to make happen happen. And yes, that makes sense. Just say it slowly.

5. Am I the only one who thinks Red Coat should probably stop wearing that Red Coat? It would be so easy to go into hiding at this point...

Pretty Little ZOMG WTF?!

1. Obviously some of the cliffhangers experienced in these episodes are less dramatic than they would have been when they aired a week apart, but the car through Emily's house is deffo worth a ZOMG WTF?! The A teamers seem to commit a lot of crimes involving cars. Can't any of them be traced back to anything that might help? Seems odd.

2. Aly is alive? Again. Maybe. Probably not. But the question is still being asked.

3. Can we finally say that Red Coat is CeCe? Cause.....

4. Our anonymous A teamers' flare for the dramatic knows no bounds. And who knew A could play such delicate piano with those gloves on? That's talent! Maybe if somebody had encouraged A's art, he/she wouldn't feel the need to murder people? Just a thought.

I know that's just scratching the surface of these episodes, but I wanted to clean my PLL slate so that I'm all ready for next week's episode! I can't believe this season is flying by so quickly!

~PLR~

breaking july

This is another "where have I been?" post. The good news is, I've been in my revision cave and almost have a fully revised manuscript ready to send out into the world! And that's always a good thing, right? Oh, and I've also been busy with lots of work-related reading. They don't call it conference season for nothing. Pitches are fun and exciting and they result in piles of submissions to keep you cozy on an already hot summer night.

The bad news is, there's been no Pretty Little Recap because I've been unable to access new episodes! I knew cancelling our cable service would remove our ability to watch our favourite shows "on demand" as opposed to "with a little effort", but it turns out that sometimes (like when you're really busy with other things), that little bit of effort makes all the difference. That and I've been marathoning Breaking Bad to catch up before its final season premieres in less than two weeks. You know you can't blame me for that :) Anyway, all of that is to say that I plan to catch up on PLL imminently and when I do, there will be a catch-up PLR and I will make every effort (since I'm a few episodes away from being caught up on BB) to actually be on a normal PLR schedule again. Plus, yes, the neglected Friday5 will make its glorious return sometime soon. I have to confess, for a while there, the news was pretty heavy, with the passing of fellow Canadian Cory Monteith, plus Comicon, plus lots of Catching Fire and Divergent news, and I actually felt too intimated by it all to try and capture it in such a limited format. But there are book recs to catch up on and fun stuff to discuss so it shall return!

That's the latest with me. How've you been?

pretty little recap: pledging 4 life

4.05 Gamma Zeta Die

In any teen series, I always love the obligatory check out college and hit up a frat party episode! Classic stuff. And of course, nobody does it like PLL with the character drama, the lesbian-straight fake-out, and of course, the creepy torture den, amiright? There's much to discuss so let's dive in!

Going Greek with booze and, of course, murder. Photo credit: ABC Family

Pretty Little Highlights

1. We finally return to the Tippy the bird storyline! Huzzuh! I like a good bird-phone number mystery. Yes, some of the answers were convenient, but hey, at least they returned to it! Some shows never follow up on the plot threads they introduce (I'm looking at you, Glee).

2. College party! As I said above, the college party episode always makes for great TV, even if your friends are acting weird or trying to bury evidence. Gotta love all those drunk extras.

3. Best line of the night (and this was not easy, considering Spence's entire chat with the college nerd) goes to Hanna, regarding Hot Caleb spending the weekend camping: "The closest thing he has to a phone is a can of beans."

4. But also, yeah, let's talk about Spence's geektastic convo with nerdboy.Crazy eyes. Hufflepuff. A Lannister always pays his debts. Move over Creeper Toby, I think Spencer has found a new soulmate.

5. I'm actually going to give Aria some points for her tie skirt, which was pretty cool, but she loses them all because of the horrific yellow top she wore with it. You just can't figure it out, can you Aria? Also, you lose even more points for "Four Wheel Hive". That's just bad.

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. Was Aria's brother always this useless? Yeah, I guess he was. He makes Aria look slightly less useless. But only slightly.

2. Speaking of useless people in Aria's family, why did her mom just sit in the car swatting at bees when she could have just opened the door and bailed? Yes, I know. Drama. But I would have been out that door at sight of bee #2. Maybe even bee #1.

3. Oh Hanna. I love you. But bringing a gun to a frat party with a plan to go bury it in the woods is just stupid. It's almost as stupid as trying to sink a cop car. I still love you, but you need to learn to listen to your friends.

4. Emily needs to STOP wandering off on her own. I swear she does that in every episode and when has it ever worked out for her? Okay, to be fair, I'm not putting a lot of thought into whether or not it's ever worked out for her, but I'm fairly certain that more often than not, it's just creepy/scary/awful and she usually hits her head/shoulder/whatever.

5. No Hot Caleb. Yes, the line about his can of  beans was pure gold, but still. Where's Hot Caleb???

Pretty Little ZOMG WTF?!

1. It ain’t Tippy the bird. I should have known the mystery phone number would lead to a crazy abandoned murder room with claw marks on the inside of the door! Of course. Nice pink phone though.

2. Clearly Housemother Crazy has been up to no good. But what's the connection to Aly? Is Housemother Crazy part of the A team?

3. And finally, the big ZOMGWTF moment of the night--Hanna being cuffed and hauled off by the police for TRYING TO BURY THE GUN THAT PROBABLY MURDERED WILDEN. Not smart, Hanna. Not smart. I know she'll somehow get out of this, but I'm having a hard time imagining what that will entail. Is it next week yet??

~PLR~

pretty little recap: smashing mugs

4.04 Face Time

How are we already on episode four? I feel like the season just started five minutes ago. Oh right. It's because I marathoned the first 3 episodes... Oh well. Another week, another batch of creepy masks!

It's night time! Why wouldn't you hang out at a creepy mask place? Photo credit: ABC Family

Pretty Little Highlights

1. Let's get this out of the way up front. Pretty much any episode featuring Hot Caleb means Hot Caleb is going to be a highlight. And it's not just because he's hot (though, yeah, obvs). It's also because he's brave, tries to do what's right, and looks out for Hanna like a boss. I love these two together. Can they please just stay together forever and ever? Please? PLEASE? I DON'T WANT HOT CALEB TO LEAVE THE SHOW! HE IS THE BF MVP OF THE CENTURY!

2. Aria's new dude is turning out to be pretty awesome too. When he was giving her the advice about figuring out if she's hurt or injured, I was thinking, "Man, this guy is too cool for Aria" and then Aria went and proved it by having no clue what the eff he was talking about. It's a pretty basic metaphor, Aria. How has she made it this far in school? Oh right. She was banging her teacher. Zing!

3. Spencer and Aria spying on Melissa was pretty entertaining since they were basically standing RIGHT THERE and Melissa is so dopey that she still didn't see them. I feel like Melissa is the cheerleader version of an evil mastermind. (No offense to cheerleaders--I just needed to stereotype to quickly/easily explain what I mean. You guys are admirably athletic!) Plus Sparia almost always makes for excellent dialogue. Much like Hanna + anyone.

Pretty Little Mistakes (a.k.a What Aria Did)

1. The Emily after school special continues. Something in that storyline needs to either happen or go away. I'm not diggin it.

2. Melissa, why oh why would you desperately (it has to be desperate because it's night time) take the masks from the shop only to dump them in the water nearby? Sure, she's smashing them (poorly), but a) they're still fairly accessible and b) stop littering off that guy's dock! I'm sure he doesn't appreciate waking up for his morning coffee by the lake to find pieces of smashed masks all over his dock and where he likes to swim.

3. Aria's studded sweater and weird pants combo (as partially portrayed above). Enough said.

4. Creeper Toby's Mom blah blah blah. I'm sorry. Usually making fun of Creeper Toby is enough to entertain me during his scenes, but there's nothing to make fun of in this storyline so I need it to end! It almost pains me to say this, but I need good old shirtless-for-no-reason Creeper Toby back!

Pretty Little ZOMG WTF?!

1. Melissa... killed...Wilden?? Maybe??

2. Or was it Ashley?? I'm so confused right now. Am I the only one who had trouble understanding everything Melissa was talking about?

~PLR~

why there is no excuse

I was planning to do a Friday5 this week. There's been big news in the US, leading to more exciting news (our dear KB aka Veronica Mars pulled a twitter proposal on uber-lovable Dax Shepard!), but there's something else that keeps popping up in my Facebook feed, and my blog feed, and in the news, and, it seems, everywhere I look. So I'm going to talk about that instead. I apologize for being serious and somber on the Friday before a long (at least in Canada--HAPPY CANADA DAY!) weekend, but my thoughts on the subject of Paula Deen have been bouncing around in my head all week and the more I read about the controversy, the more I worry for this society my young daughter is poised to grow up in.

I'll try to keep this brief... 

I get what she did. I get the people who are upset about it. What I don't get, are the people who think it was too small and too distant an incident to fuss over. The people who say nobody is perfect, and everybody has done something they regret, and feel it should therefore be excusable. Why should we hold Deen to a higher standard than the rest of us? Because she's in the public eye. She's in a position to influence our brains and our children and our culture. That's why. Those things you've done that you regret? Odds are, they weren't okay either, but because nobody knows about them (or cares on a society-wide scale), nobody is condemning you to the level they're condemning Deen.

That's why.

Let's set aside for a moment the fact that I personally think Deen's apologies are more PR than they are sincere. Even if it was an isolated incident that happened in the past and she regrets it, as a society who has now been exposed to a concrete example of this type of behaviour, we can't just let it slide. Because the moment we excuse it in ANY FORM is the moment we let our children believe that under some circumstances, that type of thinking is okay. And it's not. It never was. Even back when it was "acceptable", it wasn't actually fine, it was just a bunch of people who were wrong and didn't know any better. That makes it something we can learn from. But it still doesn't make it okay.

If someone is truly sorry and appears to have a firm understanding as to why what they did was wrong, then I think they should be forgiven. Forgiveness is important. And yes, if Deen really is sorry, we should forgive her. But don't try to minimize what she did. Don't claim it's being blown out of proportion. That's damaging to progress. Your excuses are hindering my ability to raise my daughter in a world where she has no reason to question the fact that prejudice and racism are ridiculous and disgusting.

So please, for the sake of evolution, go ahead and forgive Deen if you believe her apologies, but don't try to rationalize what she did. Or downplay it in any way. It doesn't matter when, or where, or why. It's forgivable, but it's not okay.

pretty little recap: new season, new insanity (and a bit of the old too!)

Season Four, Episodes 1-3

Hello my lovely PLLers! I am happy to say that I'm finally all caught up on PLL! I marathoned the first three episodes and my head is still spinning! But before we dive into the juicy deets, welcome to the Pretty Little Recap 2.0 a.k.a. the less stream-of-consciousness version of the PLR. As much as I enjoyed the live-blogging format, I found it was occasionally detracting from my enjoyment of the actual show. My attention was split between the TV and the computer screen and that's not good for a PLLer who wants to absorb every last clue (but still fails miserably cause the crazy is too intense on this show!). So, as promised, the PLR is getting a makeover and I hope this new format will allow me to pay more attention to the show while I'm watching and keep this recap (of sorts) to just the good stuff :) Without further ado, here's a condensed PLR for Season Four, episodes 1-3...

This poster totally makes me think I shouldn't mess with Aria. But I'm going to anyway.

Pretty Little Highlights

1. It took 3 episodes, but Hot Caleb is back on my tv screen! (But seriously PLL, why did it take three episodes?? You're lucky I watched them all at once...) My goodness have I ever missed our resident Rosewood pretty boy/bad boy. And he was in fine form, being all noble and defending Hanna. I know these two are in a comfortable place in their relationship now, but that girl owes him some serious makeouts.

2. Crazy Mona is still being creeptastic, but in a whole new way. I don't know if I should trust the girl or not and I love that about this show.

3. Spencer isn't broken. Our dear girl Spence is back to her old self, and yes, she's back with Creeper Toby (whom I WILL NEVER TRUST), but she's also back to her quippy Spencer self (College rejections aside). I would follow her through another mental breakdown if it came to it (because she's so entertaining to watch), but I'm glad we have our jokey, generally happy Spencer back.

4. Aria has a new sorta-boyfriend! Nothing against Ezra--I really do like the guy and I'm even fine with Aria ending up with him--but that storyline was becoming so boring and repetitive. It's nice to have a new (hot!) guy on the scene to stir the pot. He's not Hot Caleb hot, but he's more than welcome on my screen.

5. Tibby is officially my third favourite liar (after Hanna and Spence, natch). That bird has style. I have to give husband credit (he never watches PLL, but my marathon catch-up session forced him to glance up from his laptop occasionally), he totally called the phone number thing before I did. But to be fair (to me), the bird wasn't even finished whistling the tune once and husband yelled out "It's a phone number!" probably because he watches a lot of TV and is suspicious of everything and randomly guesses that things are phone numbers and when you do that, there's a good chance that eventually you'll be right! At least, that's what I'm telling myself. I was more impressed with how well Tibby managed to impersonate Aly. They should just slap a blonde wig on the bird and take her to school with them!

Pretty Little Missteps (a.k.a. What Aria Did)

1. Oh Emily. I love you, girl, but seriously, taking your mom's painkillers? This is PLL, not an after school special. You need to get your shiz together. If you injured yourself, you should get your own pills (you're already lying about what happened to your shoulder) and leave it at that. Stop being silly, Emily. The Rosewood lesbian swim team community is not impressed with how poorly you're representing them.

2. Aria's wardrobe (I told you she wouldn't escape... this section is dedicated to her after all). Clearly her fashion sense isn't improving with age. Maybe new guy (blanking on his name atm) will take her shopping or at least give her some of his old gym sweats to wear. Anything would be better than that bedazzled dress she wore to Wildren's funeral.

3. And speaking of the funeral, how many times are we going to see the liars, all dressed in black, standing outside the church post-funeral, getting a simultaneous!text from A? I feel like there should be a montage of these scenes set to Graduation by Vitamin C (Because that was the first montage song that popped into my head. Yes, I know it doesn't make much sense.).

4. The Rosewood Moms are up to something... at least Ashley is. Ashely, rule #1 in being a sneaky no-goodnick is to NOT THROW YOUR MURDER PUMPS IN THE GARBAGE! You need to burn those kicks ASAP! You know your daughter is one of the queen sneaks of Rosewood aka Sneaktown and still you pull an amateur move like that! Get your act together, Ashley.

Pretty Little ZOMG WTF?!

1. The masks. Oh God, the masks. Why PLL? Why dolls and masks and other creepy things?? I can't. I just can't. I feel like the writers have a hat with terrifying plot devices and they just randomly draw one on a weekly basis.

2. One of the A-teamers decided to choke a bitch. Yes, Mona was attached. Yes, it was creepy as all get out. Though I do find myself wondering how the attacker managed to jump into the front seat and drive away so quickly after Mona hurled herself out of the car. Does this imply that the attacked is small and nimble? Or am I reading too much into it?

3. Looks like we're in for more spooky plot devices as we end episode 4.3 on an x-ray of Emily's injured shoulder (spooky) and a crackly old recording of Dem Bones (extra spooky, unless it also makes you think of cartoon skeletons dancing around... which, yeah, kinda).


That's it for this week, PLLers! This was a bit of a whirlwind recap, but now that I'm up to speed, things will be a little more focussed with only one episode at a time :)

~PLR~

over the hills and far away

Hello blog friends! How I've missed you! Just a quick update this evening, lest you think I dropped off the face of the earth again (note to self: stop doing that!).

There's a skunk living under our shed this summer. It's an adult, but as a general rule. aren't baby skunks cute??

Things have been busy--last week was the annual husband's birthday/father's day convergence, which meant planning, parties and presents. And cake, but that gets its own sentence cause it doesn't start with a p. And then, as if that wasn't enough busy days in a row, husband is out of town on business, leaving me to solo-parent all while taking on the homestretch of my WIP! In short, yeah, time's been tight.

The good news is, my WIP isn't really a WIP anymore--it's officially a first draft! It's amazing how productive I am when husband isn't here to cause diversions. I'm just going through and checking the formatting on file, and then it's time for the rest period, wherein I take a few days off to let my brain recharge. It allows me to approach phase 2 (revision!) with a semi-fresh pair of eyes. I highly recommend a rest period between drafts. It's like that bit of time you let your steak rest after it comes off the BBQ and I have no idea what it does, but doesn't steak taste good? :)

The second bit of good news is that PLL is back!!!! The bad news is I haven't seen EITHER of the new episodes yet. I know right? What is wrong with me?? How am I supposed to do the Pretty Little Recap if I haven't seen the episodes? Well, the answer is that I'll catch up soon and then all will be well.  You see, we recently made the decision to cancel our cable. We weren't using it very much since we watch so much Netflix and stream so many shows online, but it's made it a little less convenient for me to watch shows like PLL so I need a little time to get myself organized on that front. As soon as I do, the PLR will be back and better than ever! I have big plans for a new format that I think will make it easier for me and hopefully more entertaining for you, my dear bloggie friends.

So that's what's been going on with me. How are you?

the writer's arsenal: you are not an island

I know what you're thinking. Where's the Friday5? Right? ;) Well, I've given it some thought, and right now, I really only have time to blog once a week (I'm hoping that will change one day, but alas, truths are better accepted than denied... Whoa! Where did that come from? I've been watching too much Downton Abbey/Game of Thrones/Britishy stuff). If I blog once a week, and it's always an edition Friday5, I'll never get around to blogging about anything else! So I'm going to switch it up from time to time and do a Friday5 when there's some awesome news to report (not that there isn't this week...) and then throw in a few regular posts for variety. Today, I'm in the mood for a long-overdue edition of The Writer's Arsenal so let's get to it!

You are not an island...but you could end up on one.

I've talked before about writers vs. authors and what I personally think the difference is. In short, writers write to write, while authors write to be published (Huh. That was easy--maybe I didn't need to write that post!). Today I want to touch briefly on the subject of authors in the public space. I say briefly because it’s a topic that’s been covered elsewhere, and covered well, but I want to add my two cents because good advice bears repeating.

If you write to be published, please, please, PLEASE be mindful of the self you portray online--even if you’re not yet published. Yes, even if “nobody reads my blog anyway”. It seems simple and yet so many authors get it wrong. Famed actors will often talk about how the downside to their chosen career is the forfeit of their privacy. The reasonable ones accept it for what it is—part of the job. Others can’t seem to grasp the necessity of a public persona, go on to behave ridiculously and then blame the media for invading their privacy. Is it fair that people should have to take on the burden of being scrutinized to do what they love? No. Of course not. But if privacy is important to you, chose a career that’s not in the public eye.  Being watched is PART of celebrity and celebrity is part of the job.

Authors are also in the public eye, though to a lesser extent. Regardless, people ARE watching and so an author too must be on their very best behavior. It doesn’t matter if you’re still on the journey toward being published, a debut author, or an experienced author with many books under your hat. You must—absolutely must—mind your manners in public. And yes, in this case, public means the internet, public engagements, the line at the supermarket, etc. If people can observe your behavior, you need to make sure you give them every reason to like you and no reason to feel incensed by you. Does this mean you can’t ever let off steam? EVER? No, you can, but be SMART about it. Be diplomatic. Write opinion pieces, not rants and be wary of anything that could be too polarizing. If you feel the need to really dig in bitterly on a subject, do it in private.

How you present yourself in public is part of being an author, just as writing, marketing and sales are also part of the job. Who you are matters to your readers (and potential readers). It’s a saying you’ve heard since you were a child, but it never gets old—if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. At least not in a public arena.   

Of course, all of that is assuming you don’t want to ruin your career ;)

 

friday5 for May 31, 2013

1. Let's catch up--how have you been? Sorry for the lack of a Friday5 last week. Things have been busy. The early part of summer is a crazy busy time when you work in publishing with conference prep (BEA, a conference I'd love to attend one day, is happening right now!) and lots of exciting stuff happening in-house. We're on summer hours now, which means I get Friday afternoons off (so yay to that!), BUT I plan to use that time to work on my current WIP (which is me finally finishing the back-half of my NaNo project) and do summery things like taking my daughter to the park and gardening and beating the crowd en route to the cottage and you know, summery stuff like that. While the blog isn't going to be on hiatus for the summer, posts will possibly be even more inconsistent than usual. I am hoping to start throwing in more non-Friday5 posts soon as well. I have a few topics for The Writer's Arsenal that I'd love to discuss (cause, whoops, neglect and all that) so those will hopefully happen it the coming weeks too!

2. Before we get to pop culture news, and since I mentioned that my Friday afternoons have kickstarted me lavishing more attention on my WIP, I wanted to share a snippet because--full disclosure--there is some stuff in this book that I find myself giggling at when I'm skimming through it, which yeah, whatever, you're probably not supposed to find your own writing funny, but some of the characters in this one are just so much fun to write. For your reading pleasure, here's a sample:

First I hit up the hardware store. I didn’t really know what I was looking for, but when people go about nefarious deeds in movies, they tend to always hit up the hardware store. I’d already thrown some rope, duct tape, a hatchet and a butane lighter into my basket when I dropped the damn thing at the sight of Monica folded over the paint service counter, clutching a coffee, her blonde hair braided down her back as she rested her head in her arms.

She startled at the sound, whirling around to face me as I scrambled to gather everything I’d dropped and duck behind a rack of carpet samples.

“Luce?” She tilted her head forward, her sunglasses falling down the bridge of her nose. “Lucy!”

“Oh hey!” I said, as though I’d only just noticed her. “What, uh, what are you doing here?”

“Dad’s making Stephen and I help him paint the back fence. He got us up at the crack of dawn.” She took a long swig of her coffee. “Stephen’s just arguing with this Cook’s Hardware lifer about whether or not Dad pre-paid for the paint.” She nodded toward the end of the service counter where sure enough, Stephen was looking through an order binder with a thirty-something-year-old guy wearing a yellow Cook’s Hardware apron.

“What about you?” Monica asked. She glanced into my basket, her expression nonplused as she returned her gaze to me. “What’s with the serial killer supplies?”

“Uh…” I stalled, absolutely nothing coming to mind. “Umm…” A total complete blank. “They’re for a friend?”

Monica gasped. “You liar! Lucy Girard, why are you lying to me?”

“Because it’s a surprise? For…you?”

3. This kinda blew my mind. So brilliant. The marketing team behind The Hunger Games franchise continues to impress. If I'm ever lucky enough for there to be a film based on one of my books, it's entirely possible I'll be all "HUNGER GAMES MARKETING TEAM ASSEMBLE!" How cool would that be?!

4. Arrested Development is officially back, y'all! (I think that was the first time I've ever said y'all. It felt wrong. I apologize.) Because of life obligations, I did not marathon the whole thing in one sitting and I think that's kind of good because I've enjoyed digesting it in smaller marathonettes (when you only watch 3-4 episodes in a sitting instead of an entire season like a crazy person). I get the impression from the interwebs that people who tackled the thing as a whole were left unable to appreciate it as much as they might have if they'd spread it out a bit more. There is a lot going on in these episodes and I've personally been very pleased with the quality. I'm ready for more! Is it too early to say bring on season five?

5. Day job represent! Today I'm featuring a new release by one of Harlequin Teen's own--Katie McGarry. Dare You To is the highly anticipated follow up to 2012's Pushing the Limits.

Rainy kisses, amiright?

Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. "Dance with me, Beth."

"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again....

"I dare you..."

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all....(Summary from Goodreads.com)

If you're looking for a swoon-worthy (and I mean swoooooon-worthy) summer beach read, look no further. Katie's books are some of the very best contemporary YA romances I've ever had the pleasure of reading. The plot is tight, the characters are fantastic and if you're into YA romance at all, you will not be able to put this one down.

Happy weekend!

friday5 for May 17, 2013

Summer Movie Preview Edition! It's the beginning of the long weekend here in Canada, which basically means summer has arrived! And also means that the summer blockbuster season is upon us! There are plenty of movies to be excited in the coming months (and I don't know about you, but I'm ready for Catching Fire now--alas, it's a fall film), but here are a few that I'm particularly excited about:

(Oh and I'm skipping some of the awesome flicks that are already out, like The Great Gatsby and Iron Man 3 and the new Star Trek cause, well, they're already out and this is a PREVIEW EDITION!)

1. THE BLING RING. Cause Sophia Coppola can do no wrong in my books. I've talked about my love of The Virgin Suicides before. I've been waiting for another Soph-Cop (yeah, I just made that up, but feel free to use it) film for a while and it's finally here. And it looks great! Plus Hermione! You also can't go wrong with Emma W.

2. THIS IS THE END. Cause it looks hilarious. And how can it not be? If you see one silly/stupid/but still awesome and hilarious comedy this summer, THIS IS THE END is a safe bet for a fun time.

3. MONSTERS UNIVERSITY. Cause the original Monsters film is still one of the best Pixar has put out and this one is sure to be a winner too.

4. MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Cause Whedon is our God. And if that's not reason enough, it's Wes and Fred together again!

Those are just my absolute top picks--which summer blockbusters are you most excited to see?

5. I thought about using all five slots for my summer movie preview, but I just couldn't skip over a very exciting YA book that was published this week. School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins, the first book spun off from her fantastic Hex Hall series.

Like Hex Hall with a fresh twist

Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures. But when Izzy’s older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy's mom decides they need to take a break.

Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it’s not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate. But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who's always been on her own, it’s strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush.

Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt? 

Rachel Hawkins' delightful spin-off brings the same wit and charm as theNew York Times best-selling Hex Hall series. Get ready for more magic, mystery and romance! (Summary from Goodreads.com)  (I can't see to get rid of the wonky white highlighting on this.. so whatevs)

As fans of the Hex Hall series know, Izzy was introduced in the third and final volume in that trilogy and now we get to see her story. Rachel is one of my absolute favourite YA authors. Her manuscript for what later became Hex Hall was one of the first YA manuscripts that I completely fell for when I read it as a submission at my day job. She ended up being published by another house, but I've been a big fan ever since. She's hilarious, writes swoonworthy makeout scenes, but doesn't shy away from tightly-plotted dramatic action either. She hit the NYT Children's list with her second book for a reason. These books are fantastic and I'm so excited to keep reading!

Happy weekend!

friday5 for May 10, 2013

1. As I touched on last week, I love a highly anticipated cover reveal. It's almost as exciting as a book's release date. Okay, not quite, but it's pretty damn exciting. Without further ado:

What do you think? Personally, I love it. I can't wait to see all three books together on my shelf!

2. In less happy YA book news, two YA-series-to-small-screen adaptations have been canned this week, neither making it into the fall schedule after their pilots were shot. The much buzzed about pilot for Lauren Oliver's Delirium was passed on by Fox, while the second go-round at Keirra Cass's The Selection apparently still wasn't what the CW was looking for. In looking at the popular and successful The Vampire Diaries and PLL, I can't help but feel like the length of a YA book series is a huge factor in determining whether or not its adaptation is better suited to the small screen vs. the big screen. Why were Delirium and The Selection slotted for TV instead of the movie theater in the first place? Don't they seem like big picture stories to be told? Obviously whomever optioned the rights made that call, but it begs the question--do stand alone titles or duology/trilogy series have any place on TV? Does a YA book series have to be on on-going lengthy series (like PLL) to make for good weekly programming?

3. Kickstarter. It's in the news a lot these days. I've blogged before about the phenomenal Veronica Mars Kickstarter campaign that seemingly started a trend. Well, now Zach Braff (super <3 him from his Scrubs days) is using Kickstarter to fund his next indie film project (the non-connected follow-up to Garden State). There are people who, for whatever reason, think it's okay for Rob Thomas to use Kickstarter, but not Zach (cause he's... copying? Which... doesn't make any sense? Or maybe... I don't understand this double standard?) and then there are people who have a problem with "Hollywood types" using Kickstarter at all. Personally, I don't have a problem with it (and in fact, have contributed to both campaigns). Nobody is forcing anybody to do anything. And as Zach has explained, he's contributing his own money to the project already, but this was an opportunity for him to make a great film instead of a lesser version of his vision. And yeah, if you aren't on board with his vision and don't care to help him make his film, don't contribute. That's kinda how this whole thing works. But why should the fact that he's a celebrity prevent him from using a publicly available service to raise money for an art project he feels passionate about? Zach talks about the whole situation here and I support him 100%.

4. Sigh. Community. The season four season (series?) finale just aired and I feel like if I'd blinked I'd have missed this entire season. Way too short. Yes, it had some growing pains as it adjusted under the helm of new show runners, but it was still one of the highlights of my TV week. As I write this, the final decision on whether or not the show will have a season five is looming. Fingers are firmly crossed! As different as the fourth season felt, I still love my Greendale Seven and I'm not ready to say goodbye.

5.Lots of great books hitting the shelves this week! At a time when publishing seems to be in constant flux, I love to see that great books are still managing to make it through the ever-changing system. This week I'm feeling rather enticed by The End Games by T. Michael Martin:

It happened on Halloween.

The world ended.

And a dangerous Game brought it back to life.

Seventeen-year-old Michael and his five-year-old brother, Patrick, have been battling monsters in The Game for weeks.

In the rural mountains of West Virginia, armed with only their rifle and their love for each other, the brothers follow Instructions from the mysterious Game Master. They spend their days searching for survivors, their nights fighting endless hordes of “Bellows”—creatures that roam the dark, roaring for flesh. And at this Game, Michael and Patrick are very good.

But The Game is changing.

The Bellows are evolving.

The Game Master is leading Michael and Patrick to other survivors—survivors who don’t play by the rules.

And the brothers will never be the same.

T. Michael Martin’s debut novel is a transcendent thriller filled with electrifying action, searing emotional insight, and unexpected romance. (Summary from Goodreads.com)

Okay, first of all, I am feeling tremendous amounts of love for this cover. It has many of the elements I love in a strong, eye-catching cover. Gorgeous design elements, a vibrant colour-scheme and and a mix of character and tone that puts you in the story before you even read the back cover! It's perfect. As for the story itself, I may be on a zombie kick these days, but it's not just zombies, it's fresh, interesting twists on zombies and I'm loving the set up for this one. The brothers aspect is intriguing and endearing. I love a good male protagonist too. It's a nice break from the female voices that dominate YA (especially when I primarily write in a female YA voice. It's good to change things up and get a feel for something different.) And then there's The Game. Not exactly a new concept, but the way it's being used here sounds twisty and dire. I like it :)

Happy weekend!

music: a vacation for your ears

"Ah yes," said the bunny. "That's totally my jam."

Music is a powerful thing. It can affect our mood in an instant, a feat that very few external influencers can manage so effectively. We all have our favourite tunes to listen to when we're relaxing, feeling down, or are ready to celebrate. Aiming to pump yourself up? Just crank the volume a little on a favourite tune. The excitement that washes through you isn't your imagination, it's a reaction your body is having to the music. It's science!

Emotions aside, music can also transport us to other times and places. Fond memories (or sometimes bad memories) come flooding back at the sound of a familiar song. I like to load my iPod up with a varied mix of tunes on a regular basis--old favourites for sure, but I like to try new artists and genres out from time to time too. Earlier this week, when I was out walking during my lunch hour, I loaded up Carla Bruni's Quelqu'un m'a dit and felt instantly transported. Listening to the lyrics (which I only understood bits and pieces of, having only first year University French under my belt) made me feel like I was in a different place altogether. The world around me seemed different. I felt a little like a tourist. Right here in my own familiar work neighbourhood! It was almost... magical. 

A lot of writers listen to specific music when they're writing so that they can be in the right mindset for their story. It's not uncommon for authors to pair playlists with their novels. While there are definitely songs that remind me of certain characters of mine, or situations that play out in my novels, I personally can't listen to to the type of music I usually enjoy when I'm writing (classic rock/modern rock/punk/ska/alternative). The lyrics get in my head and I can't concentrate, but I do like to listen to specific music when I'm getting ready to write (like when I'm reviewing my outline or some such administrative task). So while I don't usually write to music, it is often a part of my process. And yeah, sometimes I can find a good bit of film score to write to (lyric-free!) because it fits the tone of a scene I'm writing perfectly and I think in those cases, it really can help to keep my mind where it needs to be as the words make their way onto the page.

Is music a part of your writing process?