The other day, I was craving some “deeply screwed up” romance and found myself turning to Anne Stuart, who has swiftly become my go-to for the kind of uncomfortable, twisted narrative you usually only find in villain-centric fan fiction or wholly nonromantic thrillers. In Stuart’s Black Ice, the male progatonist — I hesitate to say “hero,”… Read More From Bad to Worse: Stuart, Soaps and Seductive Villains
My defection to ABC Family began years ago, with Greek (2007), The Middleman (2008) and Make it or Break It (2009). Now, it’s the channel I turn to first for smart, fun, diverse youth-oriented programming. If you still think ABC Family is the “Family Channel” of yore, rife with conservative, preachy, Seventh Heaven-esque shows run back-to-back with The 700 Club, you’re missing out on… Read More ABC Family Spells “Must-See POC TV”
As a long-time soap viewer, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to hear a character on General Hospital declare that, “Sonny is a good man.” They could record that line and just play it back as needed — and if I had a dollar for every utterance, I could retire in Fiji.… Read More Come to the Dark Side, We (Don’t) Have Cookies
Ah, the ‘70s and ‘80s bodice ripper era…when men were men and women were raped. The romance community likes to filter it through a rose-colored rearview mirror, chased by alternating mild chagrin and feminist horror. But more than 30 years later, those misogynist underpinnings of forced seduction romance — mostly overpinnings, if we’re being honest… Read More Plugging the Alphahole
Love triangles are a cornerstone of relationship-themed serial drama. Long before anyone was declaring Team Edward or Team Jacob, both daytime and nighttime soaps were making bank on meaty, angsty, sexy wars of the heart. But triangles are hard to write effectively, and the better ones showcase all the characters involved at their peak awesomeness.… Read More Playing the Triangle: the Dos and Don’ts of Tangled Love
It’s the last day of December. You know what this means: obligatory year-end navel-gazing! This being me, I’m doing it with books, movies, TV shows and other pop culture happenings! Best Personal Pop Culture Thing: getting published in both fiction and nonfiction. Worst Personal Pop Culture Thing: the closure of Soap Opera Weekly. Biggest 2012… Read More 2012: Year in Pop Culture Review
I’m reading a series right now that I’m really enjoying — except for its portrayal of race, particularly through the lens of its first-person narration. It’s textbook depersonalizing, fetishistic, racefail — accurate for the time and the character’s head space, but not exactly sunshine and roses for the reader. And I’m torn: On the one… Read More Take Me Out To The Black: Spec Fic, Space and Racefail
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