Free Ebook (Limited Time)

Mpepper/ January 5, 2021/ Announcements

The Kindle version of The Fall and Rise of Peter Stoller is free for a limited time! (And remember, you don’t have to own a Kindle to read Kindle books; you can download the app!) In 1960’s London, British Intelligence agent Peter Stoller is next in line to run the Agency—until he falls in love with cab driver, Charles, and

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Movies: Soul

Mpepper/ December 29, 2020/ Reviews

Let me start with the disclaimer that I’m not actually much of a Pixar fan. They’ve made some good movies, but most of their work I’m either indifferent to, and a few of their films I actively dislike. I do think their overall visual quality is generally amazing, but I often can’t connect to their stories. I don’t know why.

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Looking to 2021

Mpepper/ December 27, 2020/ Lists

I think we can all agree 2020 was a disappointment. I had so many plans: my reunion with Shakespeare at Winedale, a trip to Japan… We were supposed to host Japanese exchange students, too. None of that happened. (Well, the reunion was online, but it’s not nearly the same as being back on the Winedale stage.) We missed out on

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Writing Advice: Load-Bearing Literature

Mpepper/ December 23, 2020/ Writing Advice

I’m going to tell you a little secret about writing. (It’s not really a secret. Lots of people know this. But I’m going to reiterate it anyway.) There are many things that are fun to write. Certain scenes. Writers often play with their characters as if they were dolls in a dollhouse. We try out a few things, see what

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Books: Carry On and Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

Mpepper/ December 23, 2020/ Reviews

It probably helps to start with Fangirl. Which I read, oh, two or three years ago? It’s the only other book by Rowell I’ve read, and I only thought it was okay. But I know I’m not the only person to think the best parts of that book were the faux fan fiction pieces the main character was writing. For

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Movies: Tenet

Mpepper/ December 22, 2020/ Reviews

This movie was so boring. It’s a movie so intent on being clever (or thinking it’s being clever, anyway), that it has exactly nothing to offer to make the audience care about any of it. By which I mean, the characters are flat and trite, and we have zero reasons to give a f*** about any of them. “Leaden” is

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It’s Complicated

Mpepper/ December 7, 2020/ Think Pieces

The publishing world is a complicated place. More so now than ever, really. It used to be relatively straightforward: you wrote a book, you submitted it to agents, they said yes or no, and if they said yes, they submitted the book to publishers who would also say yes or no. For some publishers, it was possible to skip the

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Book Summary 2020

Mpepper/ December 4, 2020/ Flashbacks

Prefer video? View my 2020 Reading Wrap-Up on YouTube. Yes, there are still a few weeks left in the year, but the chances I will finish reading another book in that time are slim to none. So I don’t think it’s premature to look back at my year in books. This year, I read 62 books, fewer than the 81

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2020 in Review

Mpepper/ November 21, 2020/ Flashbacks, Think Pieces

There are 39 days left in the year, which means it’s time to begin the process of reflecting on all that has occurred. And for a year spent mostly at home, there is surprisingly a lot to review. I started the year with health issues and big plans. My focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) in my liver had begun to act

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