Period Dramas.com (a Website celebrating period-drama stories) has created a page supporting A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM. You can check it out here-
http://www.perioddramas.com/articles/a-jane-austen-daydream.php
It has been very flattering the attention and support I have received from the Jane Austen fans (the Austenites) out there for this little book.
Thank you!
An article on summer blockbusters by me. Here is the intro:
Every year, reviewers complain about the summer blockbusters and every year it seems to become more and more exactly what the reviewers are complaining about (destruction, violence, non-stop action films, superheroes, over-the-top/cookie-cutter stories, etc.), but this year seems to knock the rest out of the ballpark. There is just more of everything. And while I agree with some of the criticism heaped upon studios for their choices of what to produce and distribute, I understand where they are coming from. (more…)
I have a new article up at Green Spot Blue. This time I talk about the movie Thor and Kenneth Branagh.
You can check it out here.
A comedy essay for Green Spot Blue about the end of the world (May 21). Share and enjoy –
http://www.greenspotblue.com/world/2011/5/19/essay-good-riddance-a-letter-from-the-sinners.html
I wrote an article for GreenSpotBlue with some parental advice for finding a first house. Here is the intro to it:
We all want our child to grow up next door to Mr. Rogers.
And for those of us who have grown up in rural communities, we want our children to have the same streets to bike on and the same trails and paths to explore. But many times when looking at a first home, new homeowners can see the world through hazy eyes, shrouded in memories of their own childhood, as compared to the actual reality in front of them. (more…)
With A Jane Austen Daydream about to be released in installments by Green Spot Blue (the Introduction comes out on March 17), I did some changes to the blog. There is a new page just for A Jane Austen Daydream (tab above). While the main page will update with a link each time a new chapter is released, this page will contain links to all of the sections previously released for your reading pleasure.
So if you get behind in the reading or wish to wait and read when there is more than a bit available, this will be the page for you.
I hope you enjoy the book.
Hi, I’m quoted in an article on annarbor.com. The article is called “The Quirk Classic Series: A Literary Homage or a Disrespectful Distortion.” For those not in the know, these are the series of books where “authors” take another (and far better) artist’s work and add a “fantastical trick” to it so they can make a buck off of the other’s product. And since the author is far dead, they won’t mind, right? (But wouldn’t it be great if Jane Austen could return as a zombie and attack the people that ruined her greatest novel?).
This is my quote from the article:
“They are actually using Austen’s words, and Jane was pretty protective of her writing. I can’t imagine she would be happy to have another author’s name like that on the book, nor the …intrusion of zombies…” says Scott D Southard, author of “My Problem with Doors.” “I like to think of these new ‘classics’ as the equivalent of a bratty child repeating what a parent says in a higher, squeaky voice… but on a literary, artistic level, of course.”
You can read the rest of the aticle here:
A children’s book review I wrote is up on GreenSpotBlue. Here is the beginning of the review:
I am not a PG-13 parent. What that means is I believe “age appropriate” means something and is important.
I don’t want you to think I am a snob or super-protective, far from it. I try to be understanding about parents that make different parenting decisions. If you want your toddler to watch Avatar, that is fine, you are the parent (But seriously, do you think they can follow any of these older boys stories… really?); I’m just not going to make the same call with my son. (more…)
The Stories of Scott D. Southard 