Welcome to Some Cozy Horror

I recently finished reading Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynn’s Jones. I was familiar with the 2004 Hayao Miyazaki animated movie, but had never read the book. It was delightfully cozy - probably the coziest fantasy book I’d ever read. The book and the movie match maybe a third of the way through the beginning before both go off into their own adventures. Though, Calcifer does get the last word in about rain in both versions.

Typically, when I think of fantasy stories, I think of grand adventures, good versus evil, and epic battles (even when the stakes aren’t very high). Cozy fantasy was new for me and I loved it. Though, if I really think about it, a lot of Miyazaki films are fairly cozy in nature (like “My Neighbor Totoro” or “Ponyo”). Much the same could be said about Science Fiction, too, with the likes of “Castle in the Sky” or “Nausaicaä of the Valley of the Wind”. 

That got me thinking about other genres that occasionally have the cozy sub-genre attached to it.

 Mystery, is probably the best well-known genre to have a cozy sub-genre. There are a ton of cozy-mysteries out there (usually starring a middle aged female protagonist with a bookshop, a pet, and a cop boyfriend - though that’s not always the case).  My personal favorite was The Cat Who series by Lillian Jackson Braun (which starred a retired male newspaper columnist with his two cats 500 miles north of everywhere).

Romance might also have a lot of cozy sub-genre stories. I’m not super familiar with the romance genre, but I’d say that a lot of Jane Austin and the movie “The Princess Bride” are cozy romances. However, I’d probably have to ask an actual romance reader for their opinion on the genre.

Now horror seems like it shouldn’t have anything to do with the cozy sub-genre. Yet, I would argue there are several horror stories, films, and books that could count as being a part of the cozy horror sub-genre.

Gather around the campfire kids.

I’m not the first to ponder the cozy horror sub-genre. I’ve seen conversations on the-app-formerly-known-as-Twitter, posts on Instagram, and YouTube videos all discussing the idea. I identified a few children’s movies (mostly Disney or Disney Channel Original Movies) and books that could fit the bill. Think “Don’t Look Under the Bed”, “Phantom of the Megaplex”, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (the animated short), “Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman” (which has a lot of great callbacks to the original movie and Frankenstein book), “Over the Garden Wall”, R L Stein’s Goosebumps books, and Coraline (the movie and book). These stories may scare kids (and some adults), but they focus more on atmosphere rather than cheap jump scares.

A good balance of cozy mystery and spooky horror that usually spring boards kids into either adult versions of the genres would be Scooby Doo. Scooby Doo typically starts the mystery out with a spooky legend, curse, or ghost story that leads the gang on a merry chase looking for clues that culminates with the reveal that there wasn’t anything supernatural at all going on (minus movies like “Zombie Island” and “The Witch’s Ghost”).

During the Halloween season, “Hocus Pocus” and “Halloweentown” are fairly cozy movies - though, maybe, only “Hocus Pocus” could be considered a horror movie.

But what about the jump from children to adult horror. Sure adults can enjoy Scooby Doo and the animated or TV-movies of their youth, but are there any strictly adult cozy horror movies?

This Batman likes cozy horror.

Well, I think that depends on what we define as cozy. A quick Google search brought me to Kim Berkley’s 2022 blog post where she links readers to a 2021 Nightmare Magazine post by Jose Cruz where he lays out what defines cozy horror (I know that was convoluted, but it’s accurate to my search history). There are four basic components:

1. Familiarity

2. Sensuousness 

3. Distance

4. Fun

These four components, when applied to horror, allow people to have a safe space to explore all things spooky without causing true trauma. Much of this can be applied to children’s horror like the above named media. 

Cross stitch cozy horror!

It’s a lot harder to see how these apply to adult horror media.

Except, sometimes I do crave a spooky movie that’s not meant for children, but also mind numbingly scary. These might be “Practical Magic” (granted this is a bit of a romance, too), “Sleepy Hollow” (the Tim Burton movie that was described like being on a Scooby Doo movie set), “House of Wax” (the Vincent Price version), “Crimson Peak”, “The Woods”, “Willy’s Wonderland” (don’t ask), many Hammer Horror movies, and (probably most odd) “The Ring”. All can be scary, especially for the younger audience, but overall are just delightfully spooky after multiple viewings.

Books might be a little more difficult, but I’d argue that Abram Stoker’s Dracula, Mexican Gothic, and Kingfisher’s What Moves the Dead are good examples of cozy horror (I also recognize that two of those books mentioned prominently feature mushrooms). Why Dracula, you may wonder? There are parts of Dracula that are oddly quaint - once you get past the first third of Jonathan’s “wacky fun times” in Transylvania (that quote is from Overly Sarcastic Production’s summary of the book).

The manga “Another” and video games like Silent Hill (at least the first one) and Luigi’s Mansion would also fall under cozy horror - in my not so humble opinion. They are atmospheric, spooky, and, most importantly, fun.

And remember these are my opinions. What I find cozy versus what someone else finds cozy in the horror genre might vary greatly. It’s all subjective and relative anyway.

If you enjoyed this post (or if it really pissed you off), please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y’all like hearing from me.

Until next week.

Welcome to the Reading Over a Year

 Last year I joined Goodreads to help me keep track of the books I've been reading. I really like the platform and am enjoying writing reviews for everything I've been reading. 

Now, I'm normally a slow reader. When I saw that there was a challenge to read a certain number of books, I opted to give myself an arbitrary number that seemed reasonable for me to achieve. That number was 20.

As time progressed, I found that I was reading a lot more than I thought I would (thanks to the pandemic and all). I kept upping the number of books I pledged to read until I settled on 30. As the end of the year approached, I wasn't sure I'd accomplish my reading goal (especially when the counter kept reminding me how many books I was behind). Good thing audiobooks count!

I managed to hit my 30 book goal plus one.

The books I read over 2020 were varied and didn't have any common themes what so ever. The majority of the books I read were poetry and manga - quick reads that I can finish in about a week. However, there were a few books that took me months to get through.

I'd like to share with you guys some of my favorite books that I read last year. I promise there won't be too many spoilers. 

1) Finding Your Harpy Place by D.H. Willison - This was the final book I finished in 2020 and put me at 31 books read. It's a fun fantasy adventure with Darin, the poor modern guy who ended up in a fantasy world where everything wants to kill him, and Rinloh, a harpy who really doesn't want to kill and eat a human to become a full fledged member of her flock. It's an unlikely friendship and an even more fun adventure.

2) The Girl and the Goddess: Stories and Poems of Divine Wisdom by Nikita Gill - I have so far loved everything Nikita Gill has written and this is by far my favorite of her work. This poetry collection is unique in that it tells a full narrative about a young girl growing up in India and then studying in the UK. I highly recommend it if you're a fan of mythology and poetry.

3) The Daphne and Velma books by Josephine Ruby and by Morgan Baden - This is the start of a not so average Scooby Doo series that heavily focuses on Daphne and Velma. Shaggy and Scooby do show up in both books (and have a somewhat larger role in the 2nd), but poor Fred gets barely any attention. That's okay because the books aren't just about the mysteries the girls are solving, but their relationships and personal growth. Both The Vanished Girl and The Dark Deception are worth a read if you're a fan of any version of the Scooby gang (and there are tons of references in the books). I can't wait for the third book to come out in February.

4) Princess Holy Aura by Ryk E. Spoor - I've been meaning to read this book for a while and 2020 was the perfect year to do so. If you loved Sailor Moon or any other magical girl manga or anime than this book is for you. All of the tropes are there, pointed out, and subverted all to save the world from Lovecraftian monsters. There's also a lot of reflection on identity (particularly gender as the main character was originally male and then became female), ethics, and what it means to be a hero.

5) Twain & Stanley Enter Paradise by Oscar Hijuelos - I was gifted this book from a friend. It was the longest to read (both in page number and time). It is historical fiction based on the actual friendship between two of the most famous people from the turn of the 20th century, Mark Twain and Henry Stanley. It was a fascinating take on speculated events. It prompted me to learn more about the two men and the events that shaped them. I have a lot of mixed feelings on Henry Stanley. He was a deeply flawed person and this book doesn't shy away from that.

6) The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin - My sister gifted me this book last Christmas and it was one of the first I read in 2020. Evidently she read it in school, though I never did. It's delightful and fun mystery to figure out. I can't wait to pass this book along to my younger cousin (when he's just a little bit older).

7) War / Torn by Hasan Namir - this is a tough poetry collection about a man facing homophobia in his home country. It's raw, depressing in place, and beautifully written. If you enjoy poetry on tough subjects (especially for the LGBTQ+ community) I recommend picking up this collection.

For 2021 I'd like to read at least one more book than 2020. I've already started my challenge with a poetry book and a longer Young Adult novel set in Jamaica. 

There are a lot of things I'd like to achieve in 2021. Many of those things depend on the pandemic going away or at least the risk of COVID greatly diminishing. Other goals require a lot more creativity to achieve. Reading 32 books feels doable in the current crazy climate. 

If y'all are on Goodreads let me know and I'll be happy to see about adding you as a friend. If you've got goals you'd like to meet in 2021, feel free to leave a comment on those as well. We may all be separated by necessity, but little things can bring us together without physically being close.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Welcome to Food World Building Part 4: Food in Fiction

One of my favorite YouTube channels is Feast of Fiction. It's a YouTube channel entirely dedicated to recreating food found in popular books, movies, TV shows, games, and graphic novels. The two leads, Jimmy and Ashley, have created an awesome show that entertains and teaches viewers about food. A lot of times the food they are making doesn't have a known recipe to follow, so they have to create the recipe.

It takes a lot of creativity and guts to come up with recipes that might sound good on paper, but aren't practical to make. For example, it might be a little hard to make acid pops from Harry Potter as they are known for burning holes in people's tongues. I'm also not too keen on the idea of cockroach clusters.

But it's the inclusion of these odd treats along with descriptions of butterbeer, pumpkin pasties, and sugar quills that add to the Harry Potter universe.

Yes, I've actually tried making pumpkin juice. It turned out alright.

I love it when authors weave in small details about food. They make the world feel more alive and believable.

I've always been curious as to what is in lembas bread that keeps away hunger from Lord of the Rings. I'd love to try Tiana's gumbo and beignets from The Princess and the Frog. And which deity do I have to bribe to bring the creations of Food Wars into existence?

Now, food doesn't have to prominently feature in the narrative. There seems to be an entire section of Amazon and Barnes and Nobel dedicated to food themed mysteries (complete with recipes in the back). Like Water for Chocolate has chapters that start out listing ingredients and describing how to make a dish, then slowly transitions into the plot. Food is used to show wealth and prosperity in Charles Dickens's classic A Christmas Carol, especially once the second spirit shows up. And it's occasionally used as an innuendo in steamy romance novels (Like Water for Chocolate can be used euphemism for sexual tension or passion).

The thing about food in fiction is that it's not always just about the food. Descriptions of decadent meals show off wealth and power, especially when poverty is also heavily described (The Hunger Games series is an excellent example of this). Character's who don't often think about when they'll eat next are more likely to be in a stable environment versus a character who is constantly worrying about where they're next meal is coming from. Does a culture hold a certain animal or plant as sacred? If so they might not be including it in their diet or it could be the most central part of a meal.

How do character's react when they're hungry? Are they irritable or can they manage it no problem? Is that character used to hunger? Do they overeat the first chance they're with in grabbing distance of a good meal? These can be important tiny details that help to define a situation in the narrative.

For example, in the seventh Harry Potter book Harry, Ron, and Hermione are on the run with little food and almost no money. They're hungry and each reacts slightly different to the situation. Harry was used to going hungry after being neglected by his Aunt and Uncle for years. He wasn't happy about being hungry, but otherwise wasn't that affected by it. Ron, however, was used to never going hungry and was irritated and angry the second he missed a meal. Despite growing up poor, his family always had enough to go around and he was always well fed at Hogwarts. Hermione was the middle of the two extremes. She wasn't used to going hungry like Harry was and could be irritated by the lack of a good meal, but she wasn't quite to Ron's level of anger.

The situation was made worse by the fact that they had a cursed object with them, adding to they're already short tempers.

So if you're a writer, I'd recommend incorporating some descriptions of food into your work. Don't over do it though. Describing a meal down to the tiny detail of "the cinnamon garnish carefully floating on the frothy cappuccino milk" is going to make me put down the book and head to the nearest coffee shop.

Also I don't recommend the use of food to describe characters, especially skin color for non-white characters. Describing people this way can be seen as objectifying or down right creepy. If you'd like a blog post on how to describe a person's skin tone without using food, check out this blog post. It's a few years old, but I think it's still a good guide for modern writes who'd like to include a diverse cast (which writers should be doing anyway).

What does a basket of apples, peppers, tomatoes, and peaches say about a character?

So, the moral of this food related post is: include descriptions of food, but don't over do it and don't use food to describe a character's looks.

Until next week!

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Welcome to NaNoWriMo

So you've never heard of NaNoWriMo? Or maybe you have seen the mash up of letters, but have no idea what it means. Or maybe you already know what it is and want to know why I'm writing about it this week.

NaNoWriMo is a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel (which is the bare minimum word count for a novel) in a single month. The focus is not on perfection, but on finishing the (censored) things. The idea is that once the novel is finished, the author is more likely to go back and edit, revise, or get it published later.

So why am I writing about this now?

Do I even have a good story to tell?

Well NaNoWriMo is comprised of four words National Novel Writing Month. That's right. November is the national month of writing a novel. It doesn't matter if the novel is fiction, nonfiction, or a fan fiction. What matters is that it's at least 50,000 words.

My cousin and I are both writers. It doesn't matter that we're not 'officially' published, we write thus we are writers. We're currently competing against each other to finish writing our current novel projects by the end of the month. Whoever looses must treat the winner to dinner.

Technically, we started this little competition back in October. We did this because our schedules at this time are absolutely crazy and we are trying to motivate each other to finish writing that story that has been floating around in the back of our minds for a while now.

But wait, you might be asking yourselves, didn't I already write a blog post about how I finished writing a novel. And you'd be correct. Back in 2014, I spent about six months or so writing a novel. Unfortunately it's been stuck in editor's limbo for two years. Editing is hard, especially when you want to change a good two thirds of the plot.

So what about this novel? Will it be edited, published, and become a best seller?

Even famous YouTube celebrates find time to write

I have no idea. I would love to become the next J. K. Rowling or Stephen King, but I don't have a crystal ball.

It takes a lot of hard work and even more luck to get traditionally published. To become a best seller takes even more luck and really good advertising.

Does that mean it's impossible and that I shouldn't even try?

No, if anything it means I should try even harder. I already do a lot of writing. Some of it is a hit, some of it is just left hanging in cyberspace (or somewhere on my hard drive). What's important is that I keep writing and working on improving my writing.

Do I have any advice for anyone who wants to be a writer?

Sure, just start writing. You might end up being a big hit. What matters is you and I are trying. We're learning. It might take some time, but at least you are enjoying yourself.

I know I am.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, comment, and/or share. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Maybe someday we'll all be reading each others  work.

Until next week!