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The Stories of Scott D. Southard

  • In Jerry’s Corner
  • A Jane Austen Daydream
  • Permanent Spring Showers
  • Megan
  • Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare
  • The Dante 3
  • Me Stuff
  • Man Behind the Curtain
  • November 30, 2013

    Why The Littlest Angel is the worst holiday story… ever

    The First Cover for the "classic"When The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell was published in 1946 it was a holiday phenomenon. This “classic” story has since been published numerous times (with many different illustrated versions); made into movies (cartoon, musical, and live action); and in the list of best-selling children stories of all time (!) it comes up in the top 20. 

    Heck, even holiday crooner Bing Crosby sang a song based on the plot of it! 

    I remember the first time I heard this story. It was at catechism. and the teacher read it to us as if she was bestowing a great holiday gift on us children. I can still see her smile. While the other kids casually sat near me with crossed legs, I remember really being bothered by the story. I couldn’t put my finger on it then, but that reaction to the tale has never gone away for me. And that day, I raised my hand for I had some questions.

    My hand is still up in the air.

    The fact is, after thinking about it far too much, and being haunted by it like Marley’s ghost each year, I can’t escape my problems with this narrative. I have come to the opinion that this Christmas traditional yarn is… just awful. Horrendous. Possibly the worst holiday story. Oh, God, it is just bad.

    Okay, it takes a lot for a story to be a worst holiday yarn than the appalling song “The Christmas Shoes” (which for those lucky not to know is the materialistic and disturbing ditty about an ignorant child who leaves his dying mother’s bedside to go shopping, assuming that the shoes he puts on her feet will go with her soul to heaven and there impress Jesus), but The Littlest Angel does it. It does it ten times over.

    Grab a cup of hot chocolate and a Christmas cookie, snuggle in by the fireplace, and let me tell you why… (more…)

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  • November 28, 2013

    Jane Austen! Demonic Castles! Time Travel! Dragons! This Black Friday Consider a Southard Novel…

    When I sit down to write a book, my first goal is always to give my readers something new. So much of what you find on bookstore shelves can feel like a cookie-cutter recipe for a tale. Add a twist here, build to a love story here, sprinkle some comedy… That is not what you will find in one of my novels.

    This Black Friday, and in your holiday shopping, consider one of my novels for your readers. You can find excerpts, reviews, interviews, and more information on each of the books via their pages on this site.

    A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM
    Available in print ($13.46) and eBook ($3.99) from Madison Street Publishing via Amazon.com here.

    A Jane Austen DaydreamAll her heroines find love in the end–but is there love waiting for Jane?

    Jane Austen spends her days writing and matchmaking in the small countryside village of Steventon, until a ball at Godmersham Park propels her into a new world where she yearns for a romance of her own. But whether her heart will settle on a young lawyer, a clever Reverend, a wealthy childhood friend, or a mysterious stranger is anyone’s guess.

    Written in the style of Jane herself, this novel ponders the question faced by many devoted readers over the years–did she ever find love? Weaving fact with fiction, it re-imagines her life, using her own stories to fill in the gaps left by history and showing that all of us–to a greater or lesser degree–are head over heels for Jane.

    “I consider this novel one of the best not only in regency era literature, but also in mainstream fiction.” -NovelTravelist.com

    MAXIMILIAN STANDFORTH AND THE CASE OF THE DANGEROUS DARE
    Available in print ($9.71) and as an eBook ($3.99) via Amazon.com here.

    Maximilian Standforth and the Case of the Dangerous Dare, CoverThe cursed and foreboding McGregor Castle is the most terrifying and haunted location in all of the British Empire. Only a brave (or foolish) soul would consider visiting it, let alone staying within its walls for five days. In other words, a perfect dare for a man like Maximilian Standforth!

    Maximilian Standforth, famed playboy aristocrat and private detective, is a genius with dangerous tastes. With Bob (his trusty carriage driver, biographer, and body guard) and Maggie Collins (actress, spy, and maid) by his side, Maximilian will experience horrors and madness unlike any seen before. For it is at McGregor Castle that the team will discover more than they ever could imagine in this very experimental and genre-breaking thriller.

    “Playing with traditional style and plot ingredients but introducing enough surprises and originality this book was great fun to read.” -Christoph  Fischer Books

    MY PROBLEM WITH DOORS
    Available in print ($15.38) on Amazon.com here and as an eBook via Google Play ($9.99) here.

    My Problem With DoorsJacob’s life changed in a single moment when, as a toddler, he walked through his bedroom door only to find himself in the office of a British officer in Capetown, 1870. This would begin a thirty-year journey which would take him from ancient to future civilizations, and innumerable places and times in between. Through all of his travels, Jacob seeks for the purpose of his predicament, the significance of his life with all of its joys and suffering, loneliness and impermanence.

    “This is a most compelling book. It pulls you in to a fascinating concept from the beginning…. I give this book 5 stars.” -The Voracious Reader

    MEGAN
    Available in print ($15.51) on Amazon.com here and as an eBook via Google Play ($9.99) here.

    MeganMegan Wane is caught in a life of dull dreariness. She goes to work in a dead end job with a boss she can’t stand, and comes home to a silent apartment with only a standoffish cat for company. She can only get away through her imagination. And there, in her thoughts, there exists a fairy-tale kingdom with wizards and dragons. A place called Prosperity, where she is both a princess and a hero. On this day, both Megan’s external reality and her interior world will suffer tragedy that will turn her life upsidedown and shake her to the foundation. Can Megan turn disaster into deliverance?

    “I am very impressed with how Mr. Southard has interwoven the two world’s of Megan. It is very artfully crafted with vivid descriptions. ” -S. M. Nystoriak, Writer’s Block

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  • November 21, 2013

    Five Things I Am Into Right Now, November 2013

    A Charlie Brown ThanksgivingThanksgiving bothers me.

    Last year, I wrote a post on the holiday where I summed up all of my feelings around it (You can find that piece here). I wrote about how odd it is to see Woodstock eat another bird in the Charlie Brown special for the holiday and I did this deep thing about how maybe we should reconsider the holiday; as compared to the starting mark for Black Friday. In other words, a typical Southard post.

    Well, that post did some good numbers on the site, so I thought it might be fun to take it on again… So I thought… and thought… and then banged my head on my keyboard. Seriously, I have nothing else to say about the holiday. Nothing. Nada. Zip.  I then considered just reblogging that post, but I already did that once before. As Charlie Brown would scream “Argh!”

    This year my wife is making the turkey for the first time. I’ll probably attempt to watch some of the Macy parade with my kids (which always seems to have more commercials than floats). I’m not a football dude, never have been. I think that goes back to a memory I have of one of my cousins tackling me which knocked the air out of me. After that I rarely showed interest in the sport.  I was done. So I’ll watch the kids, help my wife when I can in the kitchen, and countdown the days until I can write about Christmas.

    I always have something to say about that holiday.

    Here are my five things that interest me this November. (more…)

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  • November 20, 2013

    “Brought Jane to life.” A Jane Austen Daydream on the writing site Work at Home Windows

    From PersuasionOne of the fun things for me around my book A Jane Austen Daydream is discovering how it is impacting its readers. A good example of what I mean is the recent article by Kelly Hand on her writing site “Work at Home Windows.” Her article is called “Daydreaming My Way to the Real Jane Austen.” You can read it here.

    It is funny to read Kelly connecting me to pop culture. Looking over my blog, I guess I am that in a way. But I am very much a literary snob, I swear. For a time, I was working towards my PhD in English Literature at a major university. I’ve written posts on Joyce, Salinger, and Vonnegut! One of my dream projects is an adaptation of Hamlet!

    Granted, I’ve probably written more on Star Trek and Doctor Who than on Chaucer (and yes, I am planning a post in the future on him and my experience with his work), but us snobs like TV too. There are no different team here. Shakespeare and Dickens were once part of their own pop culture. Same team. Same team!

    Deep breath… Okay, you can read Kelly’s article here. Be WARNED– There is a massive SPOILER for A Jane Austen Daydream in the article.

    A Jane Austen DaydreamA Jane Austen Daydream can be purchased in print ($13.46) or as an eBook for the outrageously low price of $3.99 for Kindle. You can find it on Amazon here (http://amzn.com/B00CH3HQUU). I hope you will enjoy it as well.

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  • November 12, 2013

    “A definite read for all Jane Austen Fans!” Laura’s Little Book Blog reviews A Jane Austen Daydream

    A Jane Austen DaydreamToday A Jane  Austen Daydream was reviewed by the popular book site Laura’s Little Book Blog! Here is an excerpt from the review:

    I instantly took [to] this novel, it is written extremely well and it was almost like Jane Austen herself had written it; it was written so adeptly to the period and I instantly fell in love with Jane’s character.

    The author states from the beginning that this is a work of fiction and not a biography and I mean this in a nice way, but I instantly assumed it would be fictional and not biographical, although it would have been a very clever attempt by the author considering Jane Austen passed away nearly 200 years ago! So this is the authors imagining of what Jane Austen’s life would have been like and I easily could have  believed this really was what Jane Austen was like.

    An Illustration from AustenYou can read the rest of the review here.

    A Jane Austen Daydream can be purchased in print ($13.46) or as an eBook for the outrageously low price of $3.99 for Kindle. You can find it on Amazon here (http://amzn.com/B00CH3HQUU). I hope you will enjoy it as well.

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  • November 7, 2013

    “Touching… Entertaining… Unexpected…” The Historical Novel Society reviews A Jane Austen Daydream!

    Jane AustenThis week, my new novel A Jane Austen Daydream was reviewed in the recent issue of the Historical Novel Society! So very cool.

    Here is an excerpt:

    Novels are also little fun if predictable and in creating a story of Jane’s life, where the facts and incidents are already known, Scott Southard has managed to produce both an unexpected and unconventional story. A Jane Austen Daydream captures the warmth, laughter, folly, wisdom, and grief that must have been present in Jane’s family life and surroundings for her to have produced her novels. And in Southard’s novel dear Jane is given a much kinder end.

    You can read the entire positive review here.  A Jane Austen Daydream

    A Jane Austen Daydream can be purchased in print ($13.46) or as an eBook for the outrageously low price of $3.99 for Kindle. You can find it on Amazon here (http://amzn.com/B00CH3HQUU). I hope you will consider checking it out.

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  • November 3, 2013

    “Wonderfully Written” New review for A Jane Austen Daydream

    121610-brock-persuasionI just found this great new review of A Jane Austen Daydream on Cindy Wade’s blog The Writer BackBlogger.

    Here is an excerpt from it:

    At times I felt as though Scott knew something everyone else didn’t. As if he had been there personally and was sharing her life with his readers.

    I cannot remember when last a book evoked such strong emotions within. I laughed out loud and cried really hard and was shocked, excited, disgusted and sometimes perplexed.

    I couldn’t put this novel down until the charming end after which I sat down with a cup of tea and started my very own daydream.

    A Jane Austen DaydreamYou can read the rest of the review here.

    A Jane Austen Daydream can be purchased in print ($13.46) or as an eBook for the outrageously low price of $3.99 for Kindle.

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  • November 1, 2013

    Discover A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM

    A Jane Austen Daydream

    “I consider this novel one of the best not only in regency era literature, but also in mainstream fiction.” -NovelTravelist.com

    Need a book for this November? A future gift idea? Something new and different for those that feel they have read it all before?

    A Jane Austen Daydream (published by Madison Street Publishing) is a book for the “Janeites” to the everyday reader. It reimagines a new adventure for Jane, something she might’ve wanted but never got… with a very surprising and daring new twist.

    “…Lovely, thought-provoking novel. Fans of Austen will adore this book.” – Lori Nelson Spielman, author of The Life List.

    You can discover about this fun book via links on this site!

    • There are two exclusive excerpts available (here and here). In one Jane discovers her destiny, and in the other she works to fight the fates.
    • There are a series of different articles on its creation from finding its inspiration (Visiting Austen), to the courage needed to attempt it (Braving Austen), the writing of it (Finding Jane’s Voice), and, finally, the gift behind its creation (Austen in Stealth).
    • There are also interviews and reviews by different literary sites, readers, and authors. You can learn more via the main page for the book here.

    “…quick paced novel unlike any you can ever have read, which injects new ideas and possibilities into the world of Jane Austen.” -The Jane Austen Centre

    A Jane Austen Daydream can be purchased in print ($13.46) or as an eBook for the outrageously low price of $3.99 for Kindle.

    “A JANE AUSTEN DAYDREAM by Scott Southard, a fictionalized account of Jane’s life, is a book that should be placed on the shelf of every book-loving fan of Jane Austen because she’s absolutely “alive” on the pages of this book.” -Julie Valerie’s Book Blog

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  • October 23, 2013

    Finding Comfort in Possessions: 14 Days Until 40

    Back to the FutureOne of the films I loved growing up was Back to the Future.  I’ve owned the trilogy a few different times now, and have the current version on Blu-Ray. I believe I bought it that opening week when it came out. Yeah, I’m one of those kind of collectors. I like things fresh off the shelves like fruits and vegetables.

    Well, a few years ago I was reading an interview with one of the creators. To be honest, I can’t remember if it was Robert Zemeckis or one or the producers or writers, but the speaker complained about the importance of greed in the film. If he had a chance to go back, he argued, he would have made it more about family as compared to the acquisition of possessions at the end.

    In other words, Marty’s family didn’t have to be rich and successful and Marty didn’t need the sweet new truck. Just getting his family back together should have been enough.

    Being a child of the 80’s, this idea kind of blew my mind. And between you and me, I feel like Marty had earned that truck… but now as a dad trying to imagine a better world for my kids, I side with that speaker. I would like my kids to see it that way. Marty won without the truck.

    Yet, with 40 fast approaching, I seem to be finding comfort in some of my possessions. They help me turn off my brain, focus my thoughts. And, in a way, define my journey up to this point and where I would like to see myself go. Of course, being the blogger I am, I have written about most of these things before.  So I will link to an original post and then give you an update on where I am now. Therapy? Partially. Helpful? Definitely.  These are my sanity as I step slowly towards this halfway mark… (more…)

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  • October 22, 2013

    Five Things I Am Into Right Now, October 2013

    HalloweenEvery year around this time I always wish I had musical talent. Why? Because Halloween is a surefire money opportunity for a creative songwriter.

    See, across this country, from kids to adults, people have Halloween parties, but there is no real Halloween music to play. Oh, there is “Thriller” by Michael Jackson and the awful “Monster Mash,” but what is there after that? Dance remixes of famous horror movie themes?… That’s not good enough!

    And that is when an enterprising music genius steps in.

    You make a CD that is family friendly, has some fun danceable tracks (maybe comes with its own dance move), add enough references to Halloween memories to stir a heartfelt response (think any classic Christmas song, most are built around memories) and you will be cashing a big check once a year for decades to come.

    Sadly, I don’t have music talent and the extent of my songwriting skills only brings up corny titles like “I Want My Mummy” and “Do the Frankenstein Shuffle.” That is just embarrassing. It is even more embarrassing because I am literary enough to know Frankenstein is the doctor not the monster.

    Sigh.

    Here are the five things I am into this month… (more…)

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