Valerie Estelle Frankel
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With oodles of steamy romance, paranormal time travel, adventure, and much more, Outlander is sweeping the nation. From over a dozen volumes to its newest incarnation as a breathtaking Starz show, it continues to delight, even with subtle, clever changes. But what was life really like then – from kilts and bagpipes to selkies and the fair folk? Who was Bonnie Prince Charlie and why was his campaign so disastrous for the Highlanders? Discover the...
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The Avengers franchise has slammed off the charts, with brave, clever characters embarking on amazing adventures. But what fuels their fire? Tony Stark's obsession with fast cars and fast women conceals a deep quest for purpose. When he witnesses that his weapons have murdered innocent families, his heart literally shatters – he builds himself the new heart of a hero. Captain America's weakness is weakness itself, as Steve Rogers transforms into...
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Just published? Self published? Indie title? Looking for wonderful advice on self-promotion? This book has it all: silly hats, theme candy, sandwich board costumes. There's also plenty of up-to-date social media advice -- Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogging. There's advice for KDP free days and linking your book with bestsellers. Getting reviews and arranging bookstore events. Basically, these stories by award-winning authors can help you build you...
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Orange Is The New Black offers much that no show ever has. First, it slams us inside an unseen world – not just a women's prison but its toilet stalls and secret storerooms. While our guide is the blonde yuppie Piper, we expand to meet Black women, Latina women, a Haitian, lesbians, a transvestite, the poor, and the elderly – all minorities generally sidelined. Now Remember All their Faces offers a guide, not just to characters, but to each one's...
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Part of the delight of Xena: Warrior Princess comes from its campiness – she duels with swordfish, beats thugs with a diaper, flips and spins without a thought for gravity. As she and Gabrielle spar with Santa Claus, Lao Tzu, Julius Caesar, Goliath, Beowulf, Homer, Ulysses, Caligula, Odin, and Genghis Khan, they exist in a historical mish-mash impossible to take seriously…even without the rock music and American slang. Yet hidden within the silly...
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Wonder Woman the 2017 film blazed into the theaters and thrilled audiences with its killer action. Boys and girls cheered when their superheroine dropped her cloak and raced across No Man's Land, eagle blazing on her chest. In fact, a deep symbolism lurks behind Diana's lasso, shield, and crown, especially the new film versions. Why is her island filled with shells and spirals? As she explores Edwardian London, and mucks through the trenches, how...
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Speed, Toy Story, X-Men, Alien: Resurrection, Roseanne, Parenthood, Superman/Batman. Even outside Buffy, Firefly and Avengers, Joss Whedon has written stacks of scripts, along with many series of comic books. His signature style offers strong women, sudden tragedies, and clever quips. But even more than these, he's known for the pop culture references: Under his watch, Iron Man calls Hawkeye "Legolas," Buffy dresses as Red Riding Hood and snarks,...
10) Harry Potter and Myth: The Legends behind Cursed Child, Fantastic Beasts, and all the Hero's Jour
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Adoring fans have explored much about Harry Potter, especially his classic hero's journey. However, many don't notice how the other characters suffer through the same struggle at every stage of life – one Dumbledore and Neville Longbottom pass but Draco Malfoy and Voldemort do not. Exploding into the Wizarding World in 2016, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child offered an unusual double hero's journey for Albus Severus and Scorpius and a twisted antiheroine's...
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The devious Lord Revolting has split his soul into seven Plot Devices, from the One Ring to the Really Gross Wooden Eyeball. Can Henry Potty, lousy student and heroic Chosen One, destroy them in time? Or will a paper shortage kill him, as the corporeally challenged Bumbling Bore foresees? Join Henry as he duels mimes, droids, blobs, religious extremists, parapsychologists, and the dreaded Tooth Fairy. Which is the deadlier weapon: the Wand of Napalm...
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Catastrophe strikes Chickenfeet Academy, and it's not just the cafeteria food. Lord Revolting, murderous goldfish-flusher, needs Really Wimpy's pet rock to conquer the world! Watch Henry Potty take on sparkly vampires in the Try Wizarding Tournament & unite all the hottest franchises into the powerful Order of the Takeout. Unapproved, unendorsed, unofficial, and unstoppable.
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"Three books were given to the fans, with many appendices to boot, and from them sprang a mighty genre." An Unexpected Parody: The Unauthorized Spoof of The Hobbit revisits the film with mayhem, mirth, and magic missiles-or at least, crumpled newspaper missiles. Torn Teepeeshield, the Hot Prince of the Dwarves, puts aside his developing stardom in dwarf cabaret to quest to the Lame Old Mountain and destroy the dragon Erpolushun, or in the common tongue,...
14) The Marvelous Metafiction: Investigating the Literary in Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate E
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A Series of Unfortunate Events delighted readers young and old with far more than clever mysteries and harrowing hijinks. The books celebrate language itself, packed with wacky definitions and Sunny's playful puns. Idioms rise to a new level as the books curve their plots to literalize barking up the wrong tree or being in the belly of the beast. The Netflix show adds even more fun, while All the Wrong Questions blends a celebration of children's...
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Throughout the world of story, the heroine's journey story pattern has always existed – less common than the hero's journey, perhaps, but just as dramatic and transformative. The great children's classics like Alice in Wonderland and Narnia show young girls redeeming the world with faith and cleverness – not swords and savage battles. Modern teen dystopias see young fighters who wield their bows and throwing knives to defend the helpless and strive...
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Everyone in the galaxy wants the Plot Device…especially the looming orange supervillain Big Vicious Dude, Lord of All the Galactic Places He Feels Like and his Vice Lord Whinin the Finger Pointer. Clearly, the galaxy needs a hero! Too bad all they've got is man-child Quitter Pill, Grapesoda the space babe, Bunny Foofoo, Dweeb the world's biggest raspberry gumball, and a treelike creature who keeps saying "I am Grout." Together they're the Mockeries...
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Gushing fans of Outlander name it the feminist Game of Thrones. Is it? More action-packed than a romance, this historical time travel narrative soon transforms into a war saga. Claire delights as the fierce, prickly World War II nurse who falls for Jamie, the sensitive Highlands outlaw. He offers more than a fling or even a timeless love, as he guides the heroine to a deeper level of spirituality. Of course, Diana Gabaldon explores much about modern...
18) Sci-Fi Fantasy Baby Names for the Twenty-First Century: Anime, Authors, Actors, Dark Lords, Disne
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Did you know that Ellen is a good name for an astronaut and Emma for an action heroine? Or that dark lords are predetermined? Given all this, what's the best name for your scifi baby? True, those more fannish than sensible might go with Darth, Zoidberg or Katniss. Crueler yet are Mekaneck, Mundungus, or Number Six. However, the cleverest fans can sneak in their homages. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is really named Elizabeth, and her boyfriends are both...
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Wonder Woman is an icon…but an icon of what? To some, she's Lynda Carter, spinning into star-studded shorts to save the day. To others, she's a racy Halloween costume or inspiring feminist role model. Which is true? This book analyzes each era of Wonder Woman, from the Golden Age to George Pérez and Gail Simone's reboots to The New 52 and television shows, cartoons, and films. Which teach the right messages for girls and boys? Which have problematic...
20) A Preposterous Portfolio of Parodies: Free Selections from Spoofs of The Hobbit, Game of Thrones
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A collection of short parodies, excerpted from the award-winning Henry Potty and the Pet Rock, An Unexpected Parody: The Unauthorized Spoof of The Hobbit, How Game of Thrones Will End, and new side-splitting material for readers young and old. A delightful romp through the world's favorite franchises.