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Book of the Month

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Dancing During the Storm Vol 2

My goal is to educate, inform and entertain you with these stories. I am a native Texan who loves to travel the world. I tell stories that give hope but also make you think about where you are.

Karen J Anderson

Dancing During the Storm is a collection of stories from projects that I have written over the years.  They represent a desire to praise God despite the storms in my life. As the saying goes, you are going into a storm, in the middle of a storm or coming out of a storm.  All of these stories tell of people who enjoy the life that God has given them and live it to the fullest.  Each character has a storm in their life which they are going into, in the midst of, or coming out of.

The first story is about the first man to ever encounter a storm and the impact on his life.  

The second story is about a court case that changed the lives of three of the women involved.  A Victim. A Juror. A Judge. The impact of the trial changed their thinking, yet prepared them for all that life threw at them.

The third and fourth story is a science fiction tale of the journey of a young woman who searched for peace and quiet after spending the last two years on a planet that had to resemble hell. As she emerged from the storms of her life, she saw that things were not as easy as she thought they would be.

The fifth story is another science fiction story that showed a divided world on the brink of war and two women meet to decide the fate of all the women on the planet. This meeting determined if it would either draw everyone together or increase the divide.  Would it be treason or slavery?

The sixth story two bullets changed the life of a man who had cruised through life on the back of rich parents and affluence.

Enjoy these fun, thought provoking stories, and hear the underlying intent.

You can order Amazon.com

or Books2Read.com

Case of the Perfect Attorney

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It is like seeing the love of your life before he acquired all of the qualities that endear you to him. That is how this new Perry Mason is hitting me.

I am drawn to the fact that it is set in the 1930s like Erle Stanley Gardner’s books. I like the storytelling from this time period because it is before censors began curating what type of story could be told.  Censors decided what the public could see and stayed away from anything that actually reflected society.

This new series gives Mason a backstory that reflects some of the things I learned of him in the 1960 series. As a matter of fact, he lives on the farm where he was raised as the story opens. But one thing this story does, which was hard for me take, is bust up Mason’s perfect image.

This takes my hero and makes him a former soldier of World War I with struggles that made him a divorced deadbeat dad who has a hard time holding down a job. I know right. But Paul Drake is an African American police officer with more morals than Perry in the midst of a corrupt police department.  I am all in. Della Street brings in our LGBTQ storyline, which was refreshing because these storylines are usually men.

The main story with the criminal case is very dark, with parents accused of kidnapping their own baby.

In true Perry Mason style, they defend their client with all of the same tricks, but it gives you a glimpse into why Mason does what he does.  There are many twists and turns, but worth it.

The biggest flaw in this series to me is cinematic.  African Americans are so dark in this series that in some scenes they lose their features. It is just a large black blob.  For instance, there is a moment when Drake shows up on Mason’s doorstep. He sits out in the dark with the moon shining on his face. The only features you can make out are the whites of his eyes.  I hope the producers understand that it eclipses the actor’s humanity to not make him look attractive like the other actors. I hope they correct this in season two.

Matthew Rhys plays a very troubled brooding Mason with Chris Chalk playing an equally troubled and dissatisfied Paul Drake. I mean you can see where it is leading. But the train ride to getting there is pretty fun.

Each Sunday night they drop a new episode on HBO.

There is a New Guard In Town

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The opening scene grabs your attention because all but one of the main characters are dead. The movie takes you on a winding path with many sharp turns and detours.

Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood who also directed Love and Basketball told a compelling story with The Old Guard. It is described as a covert team of immortal mercenaries who are suddenly exposed and must now fight to keep their identity secret.

Each character is from a different age, so as they battle their current enemy, they flash back to some of their earlier lives, most of which were on battle fields going back over the centuries.

I am drawn to this story not only because of the scifi-ness of it, but it reminds me of a show from many years ago which had a similar premise. The Highlander. In this TV series, Duncan MacLeod was an immortal forever battling other immortals. The connection? The immortals can sense one another’s presence.

In The Old Guard, the mercenaries fight an unknown group that comes against them, while in another direction sense a new immortal.  As they try to teach the new immortal about how life is, they learn some things about themselves.

“Just because we keep living, doesn’t mean we stop hurting,” Booker said to Nile, the new immortal. It challenges the thought of what living forever really means. It dances over a wide body of water.

Charlize Theron took me on a journey, and I was impressed. This was not the kind of role I thought of her in.  She was badass and dark and tough. She showed older women have value and can lead.

The cast is more of an ensemble, than any standout. Every actor plays their part and it is fun to watch. Kiki Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli and Chiwetel Ejiofor create a team that you want to cheer on. Each one has their own battle and this movie will just make you ask more questions as their stories are revealed.

In the end, this movie leaves you with a sense that there is a series or a series of movies coming. I hope so.