When I first began sharing Stories I Love, I focused on the mysteries that I return to again and again, like comfort food for the story-lover’s soul. Over the past year, I’ve worked my way through most of those, and the Stories I Love have expanded to include other character-driven narratives that I’ve happily stumbled across, but haven’t made it into my regular rotation yet. (I’ve learned that character-driven narratives are what my brain craves like Ben & Jerry’s Peanut Butter World. Mmm, peanut butter.) This week, I was thrilled to binge-watch a new show with my husband, and even Read more…

I haven’t been reading a lot lately. The evening hours when I could do so are quickly lost to blogging and social media and website and retailer admin and all of the other writing-related activities that are not actually writing. Funny how that happens. You can hear me laughing, right? I swear that’s what that jagged sound is. When I do read, like many people, I am a creature of habit. I recently read Patricia Briggs’ latest because she has two series that I (and my husband, who’d had a birthday) don’t miss. A few months back I read Michael Read more…

I’m constantly realizing things about my viewing and reading habits while writing this series. This week’s revelation: the Stories I Love are all about character. That makes sense. You can definitely enjoy a story that’s plot-driven, and there are some plot-driven stories I’d like to watch or read again, just to see how they made it work, sort of like a mechanic looking under the hood of a fast car. But how many of those stories do you return to time after time after time? The Thin Man movies stay near the top of our DVD rotation not because of Read more…

I’ve noticed an interesting inconsistency. I don’t often read historical fiction, but according to my Stories I Love track record, I love to watch it. 😂 Adding to that long list of lusciously layered stories is the ITV mystery drama—Foyle’s War. (Once again, thank you Acorn Media.) Foyle’s War takes place in coastal Hastings, Sussex, England during World War II. DCS Christopher Foyle served in World War I (there are episodes that give hints of his experiences during that time), but he’s been told that he is of most use to this war effort maintaining law and order on the Read more…

Okay, so I’m deviating a little bit from my formula here. I wrote about Broadchurch as a Story I Love a while back. The Fall is another amazing British police procedural I heard about around the same time. I highly recommend it, but I can’t quite say it’s a Story I Love. More on why that is in a bit. Unlike Broadchurch, the 5-episode first season of BBC’s The Fall doesn’t follow a single case, but it does follow a single serial killer. And rather than being a mystery, The Fall is more of a cat-and-mouse thriller. The viewer follows Read more…