Joani Plenty

Born With A Desire To Inspire
January 12th, 2012

‘Being Human’…Must-See Supernatural T.V.

 

I don’t watch much television.  With 315,000 channels, not including the Spanish version of each of those channels, it’s more of a chore to find something to watch.  Because of this, I only watch shows that make me feel as if I’ll be forced to sacrifice my 1st and 4th born if I were to miss an episode.  A show that, if you told me the series was ending, would cause me to look at you like I would if you said that eating chocolate doesn’t really make my “girls” a bra cup-size bigger!

 

I’m not a “review” type of girl.  Come to think of it, I haven’t left more than one or two Amazon reviews and within those reviews, I also mentioned that I am not a “review” type of girl.  Here’s why:  Though I’m no where near considering myself to be a skeptic (they actually annoy the hell out of me with their “half empty” point of views), it seems as if everyone has an agenda these days.  So, I read the reviews, pretty much frowning at the perfect scores and lowest scores, and then take everything that I’ve read into consideration when making my own decisions.

 

But, because I have many close friends, Facebook friends and Tweeps who love fantasy/Sci-Fi thrillers, I do like to inform them of the one or two occasions where I find something new that I like (remember…I watch about 3 to 4 different shows/series per year…not per night, or even per week).  So, now that the last of “my shows” have ended until next season, the “clicker” and I have been a little distant.  Nothing but dumbed-down (but hysterically funny) sea creatures and a bipolar squirrel with a strong southern draw linger loudly in the background as I “play” on my computer.

 

Knowing of my vampire obsession *cough* liking, last week my hubs yells, over his Xbox game that he was playing to tell me that his cousin just mentioned a new show and it’s pretty good.  For the record…wishing you were a vampire and could wear your realistic fangs 364 other days of the year is hardly an obsession; nor is almost thinking you are a vampire when you wear said fangs *rolling eyes*.

 

The show is called ‘Being Human’ and revolves around Aidan (Sam Witwer), Josh (Sam Huntington) and Sally (Meaghan Rath); a vampire, werewolf and ghost who attempt to live as if they were human.  Battling against their supernatural instincts, these three unlikely roommates form a bond and defend each other against their evil “haters”.  OK, did I not just tell you what a man who has lived with me for 13 yrs. should already know?  I have “my shows”…I’ll pass, thank you.  Actually, my first thought was,  ”For the love of bacon!  You two know nothing about vampires and I’m offended that you even thought, for one silly little Skyrim second, that I would be interested in some ‘Vampire in Brooklyn’ remake for the small screen!”   But…being the vampire vixen that I am, and giving hubs a little credit for loving ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ the way that he did, I say, “OK, sure…I’ll bite.”  *snort*

 

So, we go to Netflix via his Xbox because the first season has ended.  This is perfect because I have a hard time waiting each week for the next episode of any show and have found a few of my favorite shows this way.  Great way to even catch shows that are no longer on the air.  Yea, my Facebook stats ranting about ’24′ are a bit useless but it’s my page, I’ll do what I want!  Besides, this way I can watch an entire season in almost one sitting.  If I love it, I won’t be able to go to bed, “Oh babe c’mon!  Just ONE more episode and then we’ll go to bed!  It’s only 3AM.” *good thing I am wish that I was a vampire*

 

As I’m watching ‘Being Human’, I begin to think what I thought originally; that this was going to be a farce!  ”Are you sure this is the show that your cousin was talking about?  I dunno babe…though I like to use a British accent in bed, this particular show just isn’t doing anything for me.”  I said to my hubs.  What was meant to be funny fell short and what was meant to be thrilling fell even shorter.  So I tell my hubs that I think there may be two versions of the show and to “look into that”.  Sure enough, I’m badass…we were watching the original BBC version of the show.  Not to say that this version isn’t good.  I didn’t give it a chance to find out.  So, eventually we find what we’re looking for and I agree to take even more time out of my busy day to watch what I thought was not going to be very good based on what I had already seen of the original version.

 

Well, shut my mouth and slap my momma!  It was pretty good!  OK…so I’m intrigued.  *XBOX!  NEXT EPISODE!…XBOX! NEXT EP…Hhhh…XBOX!  CANCEL!  NEXT EPISODE!*  ”Mom, you gotta say “Xbox” before your command or it won’t understand” my 6yr. old informs me, as-a-matter-of-factly.  *XBOX!  NEXT EPISODE!*  (lucky for you, all of this can be avoided by going to the official Syfy ‘Being Human’ website to  watch all of the season 1 episodes!  Yaaaay)!

 

So, if you love ‘True Blood’, I’ll bet that ‘Being Human’ will be just what the doctor ordered for your withdrawal symptoms.  ’Being Human’ got off to a slow start but not in the usual sense of the word.  I love that it was revealed early on how and why Aidan, Josh and Sally became the fun loving freaks that I (and you will soon) love.  By slow, I mean that it was just good for a few episodes but then became great!  So, if you keep this in mind along with the fact that you’re getting this valuable  information from a non-reviewing, stubborn, one-show-Wendy, lover of all things supernatural and you keep watching, I think you’ll be pleasantly pleased *redundant* surprised.

 

Hubs and I watched the rest of the first season.  Josh, Aidan and Sally evolved a great bit and what unfolded was unexpected to say the least.  The end of the episode before last motivated me to write this article.  I jumped up off of the sofa and screamed, “Whaaaaat?!  I thought vampires couldn’t do that!  Are you $%#! kidding me right now??!!   So THAT’S what happens if a vampire…?!”   Hubs was equally impressed with the show though less animated with his reaction: “Whoa…he must have said to himself, “I don’t give a %#!”.  Of course I can’t reveal who “he” is but I immediately informed my Facebook friends that I’ve found a new “my show”! ;)

 

*Now to give credit where it’s due: Be sure to catch the season 2 premier of ‘Being Human’ January 16, 2012 @ 9PM EST.  ’Being Human‘ is a  Syfy© original series.

 

 

 

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January 4th, 2012

REDRESS. by Author, Joani Plenty

She could feel the urine running down her scrawny leg and across her ankle, creating a puddle in the heel of her left shoe. The white kids sometimes laughed at Sweetie because she had holes in the toes of her shoes, but they were her favorite.

The scent of moonshine and sour body odor was getting stronger. He was getting closer and was sure to find her. “Nobody ‘pose to be in his children’s tree-house sep his children.” Sweetie thought to herself. Sweetie’s heart was beating faster now as she sat, alone, on the tree-house floor.  She quickly but quietly pushed herself backwards into a corner of the wooden fortress, slashing the side of her neck on an exposed rusty nail.  Holding back a cry, Sweetie sat with her thin arms wrapped around her knees.  She ignored both the pain and sensation of warm blood seeping down her neck, soaking the collar of her dirty white dress.  Sweetie tucked her head into her lap and held her breath, hoping it would stop her heart from beating.

“I know you’re up they’uh!” The Captain hollered. He stretched his good leg toward the first wooden plank of the treehouse ladder and held tightly to the lantern that was lighting his way. He had threatened to kill Sweetie before, during his many drunken tantrums, but she was not afraid. She pitied him. The Captain blamed Sweetie for her mother’s death and could barely stand the site of her beautiful, caramel-complected face. Though, beneath the wrinkles, his skin was not much lighter than hers. He lacked her beauty though; inside and out.  His skin seemed as if it were melting from his face and sliding down his neck to his chest. The Captain was disappointed that Sweetie did not resemble her mother who had dark, flawless skin. Little did he know…Sweetie spent her afternoons in the field blowing on dandelions, wishing the same thing.

Sweetie could feel the gagging beat of her heart inside her throat.  Today, she feared him. She intuitively knew today was the day he would get his wish; for Sweetie to suffer a painful death. But she was not ready to die. Seven years of life, whether filled with tragedy or happiness, was not enough time. It was not enough time to wish on all of the stars, to count every sheep, not enough time to smell the honeysuckle she planned to pick for the breakfast table in the morning. “I’m sorry.” she whispered between her knees. “I’m sorry I killed mama….I’m sorry.”

A fresh and steady cool breeze blew in through a crack in the wall behind her. Sweetie took a deep breath as if it were her last and blew it out slowly. She was tired. Tired of running, tired of being afraid, and most importantly, tired of trying to understand why none of the wishes that she made ever came true. Well, except for her wish to one day play inside the big treehouse…

Thank you for your interest in my most recent novel/WIP. Stay tapped in for more information on the unexpected twists and turns of this untitled paranormal/fantasy thriller by following me on Twitter (@joaniplenty) and facebook (facebook.com/joaniplenty). ;)

 

**UPDATE**

If you read this excerpt previously you may (or may not) notice that ‘Sweetie’ originally “…quickly but quietly pushed herself backwards into a corner of the wooden fortress, slashing the back of her neck…” and it went on to say that she ignored “the pain and sensation of warm blood seeping down the back of her neck.”

 

Well…being a perfectionist (and actress by hobby and profession) and not wanting my favorite book nerds leaving negative reviews on the authenticity of my stories, I like to reinact scenes (hey, this could be a screenplay one day…who knows, lol).  Well, I actually love when I find a discrepancy between the words on the pages and real life.  I am so proud of myself and hurry back to the laptop to edit.  With the sentence above I stated that ‘Sweetie’ moved backwards into the corner “slashing” her neck, then later mentioned blood seeping down the “back” of her neck.  But when I sat down in my dirty, daddy-long-legger infested shed to play this out myself I realized that the nail wouldn’t be able to slash her neck.  A puncture possibly but not slash if she is moving straight backwards.  So I changed it to “slashing the side of her neck” which makes sense if she is sliding backwards quickly to squeeze her little body into the corner.  I then needed to remove the sentence that told my readers that the blood was seeping down the “back” of her neck.  ;)

 

Joani Plenty…working hard to get the best finished product; a gripping story, to my readers since 1984, lol.  Synopsis coming soon so check back!

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