Thoughts on the WGA Strike

Mpepper/ May 8, 2023/ Writing

I have complicated feelings about the WGA strike. As a writer, I probably shouldn’t. As a would-be screenwriter, I almost certainly shouldn’t. But that “would-be” is key. The film industry is notoriously difficult to break into. I’ve written scripts that got great coverage, and one that has won an award. I’ve had scripts optioned… and then go nowhere. Which is

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AMC’s IWTV Eps 2 & 3

Mpepper/ October 14, 2022/ Reviews

All right, it seems only fair to update my thoughts after having watched two more episodes of Interview with the Vampire. I very much appreciate that Lestat’s true character is being slowly revealed. OR… it could be that he is trying and failing to change. That much is not entirely clear, but I suppose that’s kind of the point. I

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AMC’s Interview with the Vampire

Mpepper/ October 11, 2022/ Reviews

I have only watched the first episode of AMC’s take on Anne Rice’s vampires, but I have some mixed feelings. And yes, I understand why some changes were made, and I don’t have a problem with those. I don’t think Louis needs to run a slave-owning plantation in order to tell this particular story. His being a person of color

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Unpopular Opinion

Mpepper/ September 19, 2022/ Think Pieces, Writing

One of many, to be sure. But I have to admit, I’m struggling. I love me some Stranger Things, so much so that I wrote a story loosely based on Steve and Eddie (#steddie) that has since become my most popular work. (The sequel is due out in November, so go pre-order “One Night in Wyland High.”) All this to

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One Night in Wildcat Woods

Mpepper/ August 5, 2022/ Announcements, Writing

My #steddie-inspired story about two teen boys lost in the woods behind their high school is now up on Amazon, so I’ve had to remove the PDF. To be clear, this isn’t directly fan fiction; it’s fanfic adjacent. And not explicit in its steamy scenes. 1989. Though Drew and Rayze were friends in childhood, they’ve long since grown apart–until the

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Thoughts on Loki (and Loki)

Mpepper/ July 31, 2021/ Reviews, Think Pieces

Once upon a time, there was a little “boy.” He had been adopted by a powerful family, the family of a king, in fact. This boy was meant to be a prince. But his greatest bond was with his adopted mother. He delighted in time spent with her, and in “feminine” things. (His mother was a great warrior in her

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Falcon and Winter Soldier Improv

Mpepper/ June 13, 2021/ Writing

We did a family improv night and one of the prompts was: Sam, Bucky and Zemo waiting in line for a roller coaster. The kids are still getting the hang of improv, so they weren’t able to take the scene very far. I, on the other hand, may have gone beyond… I ended up sending my daughter a series of

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Television: Merlin (Seasons 1 & 2)

Mpepper/ April 10, 2021/ Reviews

Very late to this party, but my daughter requested to watch this series. She’d seen an episode of it at a friend’s house once, had immediately pinpointed Merlin and Arthur as a couple, and had been curious ever since. So we started watching it as part of our regular girl time. For those unfamiliar: Merlin is a BBC television series

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Television: Bridgerton 1-4

Mpepper/ February 16, 2021/ Reviews

So I’m halfway through this series or season or whatever (I feel like the usual ways to describe television no longer have meaning) when I realize this is the book—that is, the first book in this series—I was “warned” about from various sources. Okay, that was really convoluted, so let me try again. I didn’t realize “Bridgerton” was the name

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Television: WandaVision

Mpepper/ January 16, 2021/ Reviews

Umm… okay. So that was fun. I guess? Only the first two episodes of WandaVision are out, and it’s clear that there is more going on than at first meets the eye. Which is a good thing, since I think—fun as this is—it would tire out kind of quickly. For those not in the know, WandaVision is Disney+’s latest Marvel

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