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Subplots and Storylines – October 2016

Tracey Dyck 24 Comments
Well, hasn’t this been a packed month! I celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving with copious amounts of turkey; went from eating outdoors at the beginning of the month (I don’t recall it ever being warm enough for that in October before!) to shivering in gusty winds near freezing temperature; and generally spent most of my waking hours in college.
I was looking back over my college notes to see what I all did this month, and I was surprised to see what I’d been learning at the start of October. It feels like so long ago that we talked about stress, attitude, belief systems of the heart, figuring out what you want in life, personal capacity . . . Looking back, I’ve learned a lot this month. More importantly, I’ve internalized a lot. The things I’m being taught haven’t fully stuck yet, but many things are well on their way to changing my thoughts. It’s amazing to see that.
Some other college highlights:
  • Allll the volunteering and being a part of awesome events.
  • My first speech in my communicators class! It was an icebreaker speech designed to give me public speaking experience and help my audience get to know me. It was fun and nerve-wracking, and I received great feedback/critique.
  • Loving my junior high girls small group that I get to help lead every week. It’s such a fun age group, and there’s a distinct mix of girls who have grown up in church, and girls whose only church is small groups.
  • One of my big college projects has been preparing a message for a high school chapel program. Three classmates and I have been working on this for weeks, and we just recently rehearsed our chapel in front of the class. Because I tend to prefer working alone, it’s been a great experience to work as a team. We got creative and filmed our own short video to introduce our message topic . . . a video in which I play a cheesy T.V. anchor. A male cheesy T.V. anchor, complete with a curly wig and mustache. (I am sooo going to regret this.)
  • Youth held a Halloween costume party (pictures to come in a minute), and featured two escape rooms! I got to help plan and build them, so it was fantastic to see them completed and ready to be used. We built a zombie lab where the objective was to find the cure, and also a Bigfoot forest with the objective of finding the dead researcher’s notes proving Bigfoot’s existence. Really fun!

Here’s a couple shots of my steampunk costume. It was quite fun putting it together. I already owned the vest, jewelry, one of the belts, leggings, and boots. I bought the shirt and the other two belts at a thrift store for a few dollars, the skirt at a different thrift store for $6, and the aviator goggles at a costume store for $14.

 
That’s actually a watch, not a choker–I used
thread to tie it around my neck. 🙂
 

October Films

 

The Flash
My siblings and I finished season 1. Oh. My. Goodness. This show is just amazing. I can honestly call it a favorite (shhh, I know I haven’t watched oodles of shows to begin with). This season ended spectacularly, leaving me satisfied and in agony at the same time. I’m really going to have to make a separate post on this show just to flail over the characters and twisty plot.

 
 

Once Upon a Time (Seasons 1 and 4)
My sisters and I almost finished season 4 during October (!!), and we’re about a third of the way into season 1 with our parents. So much is happening in 4, and it’s still fun going back to the first season and getting a “before and after” snapshot of the characters.

 
 

Tron: Legacy
My brother’s college ministry area is media, so he has a number of movies to watch as homework. Tron: Legacy looked like one of the more interesting ones, so I watched it with him. It had some cool things about it, like the main character being a young adult rather than the typical teen, going into a digital world, Light Cycles, identities contained in discs, etc. But the plot itself was rather clichéd, and the only main female character was pretty two-dimensional.

October Reads

The Dream Thieves // Maggie Stiefvater
I loved this one, but not . . . completely. It’s a complicated issue, much like the first book. I adored Maggie’s writing style. I loved the characters. (Gansey and Adam, man.) But the language bothered me again, and Ronan–who was more of a focal character this time around–did some stupid things. There was a middle chunk of the book where I was fed up with him, but then things turned around and made more sense and he made better decisions and a certain somebody got what was coming to him. So yeah. Also the occult stuff from the first book was less occult-y in this one, with more of a fantasy flavor to it, which I appreciated. (It’s less real and less weird that way.)

Honestly, though, aside from Ronan’s temporary stupidity and the foul language, THIS BOOK IS BEAUTIFUL. I’m so excited to keep reading the series!

Into the Wild // Erin Hunter

This was a reread. The first time I read it was yeeeaaars ago, and I remember loving it until I read further in the series and realized that the astrology-type thing with StarClan was not the best thing to be reading about, and quit. (The idea is that the warrior cats become stars when they die, and living cats seek guidance from the stars.) The only reason I picked up Into the Wild again was to screen it for my youngest sister. It’s been a long time since I made the decision to quit these books, so I thought it might be wise to re-evaluate, since she wanted to check them out . . . but I don’t think my conclusion has changed.

I will say, however, that the writing was less wonderful than I remembered, but the plotline–once it got past the initial tropes–was still fairly engaging.

Writer to Writer: From Think to Ink // Gail Carson Levine

I have been slowly picking my way through this book for an embarrassingly long time. I think it’s been a year? Maybe more? Not that it was hard to read–quite the opposite, in fact. I was just reading a couple chapters at a time here and there between novels.

Anyway, this is Gail Carson Levine’s second writing advice book. (I also have Writing Magic: Creating Stories That Fly on my bookshelf.) Writer to Writer is written simply, but in an engaging way that boils down the elements of storytelling into easy-to-grasp sections. I found plenty of good reminders within these pages. Unlike the first book, a lot of the material was adapted from her blog, a valuable resource I’ve been reading for years.

Eagle Strike // Anthony Horowitz

As the fourth installment in the Alex Rider series, this one broke the mold in some ways, which was a nice change after three very similar books. It still required some suspension of belief when fourteen-year-old Alex runs around pulling James Bond-like stunts (this kid probably should have died three books ago), but it’s still an entertaining read. I enjoyed the video game element, which I can’t elaborate on without spoiling things, and I had the satisfaction of halfway predicting a plot twist.

 

Book Haul
Three cheers for second-hand books! I shopped around at the annual book faire, and came home with some fabulous finds.

 
  • The Lost Road and Other Writings // J.R.R. Tolkien
  • A Hero’s Throne // Ross Lawhead (I forgot that I already own a brand-new copy of this book. *sigh*)
  • Inkdeath // Cornelia Funke
  • Mockingjay // Suzanne Collins
  • Allegiant // Veronica Roth (I guess it was the day for YA trilogy finales!)

October Writing

The Prophet’s Key advanced by exactly 1,911 words this month. Yep, that’s it. I also started working on a character questionnaire by Kristen Kieffer @ She’s Novel for Aileen, but didn’t get very far. When I actually have the time/take the time to fill out those questions for all my main characters, I have a feeling it could rescue my novel. I’ve been strangely struggling to connect to my characters, so reviving them should revive me.
And I wrote The Cage, a 1,612 word spooky story. Quite fun to exercise my writing muscles on something with no expectations put on myself!
Altogether, this adds up to only 3.5k words written in October. Of course I would’ve liked to have written more, but at the same time, I’ve been doing lots of living lately, and that’s just as important. (Not gonna lie, though, everyone’s NaNo excitement and wordcounts and progress makes me a teensy bit jealous! One day, you guys, one day I’ll join you . . .)

And that, questers, was October.

I’d say it was a pretty solid month. Many subplots going on, lots of personal growth, some good books and shows . . . just very little writing. But Christmas break is coming. Eventually.
How was your October? Did anybody dress up? What’s one
thing you learned last month? And who’s all participating
in NaNoWriMo? (You guys rock! Keep pushing on!)
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Subplots and Storylines – September 2016

Tracey Dyck 34 Comments

September was wind and golden trees and russet fields. Just as autumn transforms the trees, it shows its many faces in the heavens. From rain-smeared skies to crisp, pale blue ceilings to brooding banks of clouds shredded with the rosy-golden glow of morning, I relished every face she displayed.

As beautiful as the season is, September galloped headlong into October this year, folks. The month was packed with college starting, clearing out the garden, celebrating my parents’ anniversary, and more.

In case you missed it, my brother and I are in a one-year leadership/Bible program at a college run by my church. I’ve already learned so much in just one month, it’s amazing! My teachers challenge me, my teammates are wonderful and serious about getting the most out of this year, and the course material is great.

The way it’s structured is that part of the week is spent in class, and part is spent volunteering at church, in inner city, and in the specific ministry areas of the church we picked. I’m in youth, which is a stretch because ack, teenagers, but I’m really loving it so far.

Some tidbits of my college activities . . .

Early in the month, my class and I helped run a church carnival.

We went through an inner city “boot camp,” helping out at foodbank for the first time, touring the neighborhoods by bus, and handing out ice cream to inner city kids as they streamed out of school.

We’re learning about creativity, divergent thinking, leadership (which just means influence), excellence (which just means doing the best you can with what you have), teamwork, collaboration, the Bible, what truth really is, focus, attitude, et cetera. It’s all in modular style, so our teachers can hop around from one thing to the next depending on what we need to learn in the moment.

One big highlight of the month was our two-day camp retreat designed to get us to gel as a team while simultaneously learning hands-on leadership skills and pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones. Pretty intense. You may remember from older posts that I’m not real keen on heights. Well.

I climbed a climbing wall. (One and a half times. Halfway up the difficult side, my noodle arms and I gave up, so I came down and then decided to try the easier side–and I made it to the bell at the top.)

I climbed a fifty-foot pole and zip lined down, which was scary and way fun.

I attempted a high ropes course, but that’s a longer story for another post, methinks.

Needless to say, it’s been quite the month. It’s crazy busy–as in, I’m spending 50+ hours at college (or driving to and from college), plus working two shifts a week. I guess you can see why this post is a day later than it should be! But even though my schedule is packed, I love almost everything I’m doing, so that makes it a little bit easier to wake up early every morning.

Somehow I had time to watch things.



The Jungle Book
I did not expect to like it as much as I did, which was quite a lot. I was never a huge fan of the original Disney animated film–not that I disliked it, more like I was apathetic about it–but this live action/convincing CGI remake was splendid. It’s visually beautiful and also does a great job with a solid storyline. By the end, I loved hearing the animals recite the Law of the Jungle.

The Battle of the Five Armies (rewatch)
At a last-hoorah-before-college sleepover with my aunt, we watched this together. Since finishing the Narnia movies together, it’s been our goal to watch all the Hobbit movies. This was her first viewing of it, and she’s very partial to Thorin Oakenshield, so you can imagine how that went.

Zootopia (rewatch)
I LOVE IT SO MUCH. The twists didn’t have me on the edge of my seat this time since I knew they were coming, but that was okay because it meant more room in my brain to appreciate the storytelling all over again.

The Flash (season 1) and Once Upon a Time (season 1 and 4)
My siblings and I are still watching The Flash and loving every episode. My sisters and I have slowed down considerably with OUAT season 4, but are still loving that too, and we started the show from the beginning with our parents. It’s fun to see the characters in their old roles, and Henry is so little and adorable.

Somehow I read nothing.

Okay, not nothing, just very little.

Five Enchanted Roses
Though I read the majority of it in August, I finished in September. You can read a full review HERE.

The Calling // Rachelle Dekker // book 2 in The Seer trilogy
This was a splendid book that took me a decidedly unsplendid long time (three weeks! what is wrong with me!) to read. Just like the first book, it delves deeply into the internal struggles of its main character–this time Remko instead of Carrington–against a backdrop of dystopian action. Just like the first book, the narrator phrases (Remko saw, Remko felt, etc.) bothered me a bit. But just like the first book, I was floored by the message and how it resonated with me. The Choosing was about true identity, and The Calling is about fear, another timely topic that Rachelle dealt with masterfully.

And of course I’m now antsy for the release of The Returning.

12 beta chapters
On supper breaks I had some time to read more of Emily’s The City and the Trees, which I aim to finish soon!

And so it’s no surprise I wrote piddly beans this month.

I finished the 100-for-100 challenge . . . and proceeded to not write a single word afterwards. Yup, I produced a grand total of 1,239 words in September. Knowing that I’m capable of creating ten times that in the same timespan needles me a little, but I also know that I needed the break to recover from challenge burnout and acclimatize to a new life schedule.

Maybe I can manage to write a little more in October?

Oh, and hey, if you missed it: I interviewed Christine Smith about her writing life, and she interviewed me!

Subplots of character growth

It’s been an intense month, but in a pretty good way. I’m being stretched, which isn’t always easy, but I prefer this over plateauing! It’s like those training periods in so many fantasy character arcs. Learning, growing, being challenged. Filling my toolbox with things I’ll need for the future. Because of all this thinking, I feel some blog post topics stewing in my brain, so I may plunge deep without warning this month. Is that good with you? (I know it is.)

So tell me of your own autumn quests! Any good novels you’ve read? Is the weather crisp and lovely where you are, or still swelteringly summery? How are your pursuits going, academic or otherwise?

This song has been in my head since I took a glorious walk this afternoon. ^_^

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Book Review: Five Enchanted Roses

Tracey Dyck 27 Comments

What do you know, my first official book review! It doesn’t feel like my first, however, since I’ve been sharing my thoughts on various novels in all the monthly wrap-ups, but still. I promised a review on Five Enchanted Roses, and a review is what you shall get.

Esprit de la Rose by Kaycee Browning

Well, well, well, the collection starts out with a swashbuckling bang! I got a bit of a Pirates of the Caribbean vibe, especially from the cursed sailors; the evil mermaid element was pretty cool (and also served as a tool to bring home several Beauty and the Beast elements); and I just love pirate ships. I don’t know why exactly, but those big, beautiful ships with their sails and rigging and adventurous crews just get to me.

Cecilia was a plucky heroine, but it was Captain Pepin who kept me engrossed in the tale. Arrogant, humorous, unpredictable . . . and with more to him than meets the eye, of course. The story’s conclusion was a tad on the swift side, but given the limits of the contest, it couldn’t really be helped. 4 STARS

Wither by Savannah Jezowski

Okay. This might have been my favorite story of the entire collection–though it’s hard to say something so conclusive when all the stories were unique and enjoyable! But something about the writing style really clicked with me. Not to mention the main characters: especially sturdy, spitfire Bet (oh my goodness, such a refreshing heroine) and gruff, hurting Corwin (my poor baby). And Quarrel! I want him as my own pet now.

And I can’t go without mentioning the world. In the space of a short novella, we get a rich taste of it–a deep lungful of its smells and sights of its scenery–all without bogging the story down. It’s dark and gloomy, a tale populated by bloodthirsty monsters and lonely wraiths, but the chilling backdrop served to make the themes of love and sacrifice shine brighter. Quite the powerful story here. 5 STARS

Stone Curse by Jenelle Schmidt

I found it extra fun to read this one because I’ve gotten to know Jenelle in the blogging world since this book was published! A very sweet read, slower than the previous tale, yet still twisting Beauty and the Beast in a clever way. I did predict the twist early on, but I enjoyed taking the journey with the unknowing characters as they traipsed through a comfortably familiar fairy-tale world of woods and castles and cozy inns.

Plus the beast is a bear! A big, cuddly, I mean ferocious bear! Poor Barend might be the kindest beast character in the collection. The romance between him and Karyna left me smiling by the end. And Ritter, charming fellow that he is, stole my heart rather easily. 4.5 STARS

Rosara and the Jungle King by Dorian Tsukioka

What a unique twist! Amazonian-type tribes in a jungle setting . . . brutal customs . . . a talking jaguar . . . Who’d have thought? And yet the core themes of Beauty and the Beast transplanted into this unfamiliar setting are immediately recognizable. Rosara is a courageous young lady, and Tupa is a huggable beast. (Sorry, but large predators often look so cuddly and wonderful–it’s one reason I adore Aslan.)

I’m not sure what to think about the spiritual aspect of the karawara birds and whatnot. It did fit the tribal aspect of the story and provided for some cool twists, though. This tale is harsher than some of its companions, but it’s fast pace kept me flying through the pages. 4.5 STARS

The Wulver’s Rose by Hayden Wand

This historical novella was a sweet, satisfying end to the collection. It took a while to get into the Beauty and the Beast elements, but the beginning segment was necessary to set things up and get Bonnie Alleway into the right mindset for future story events. I found her guilt over her mistakes to be done in a real, relatable way.

And it’s in Scotland, people! How dreamy is that? I adored the bits where the characters’ accents were stronger. And the setting comes through beautifully throughout the story, making it feel like you’re in the rolling hills yourself. Oh yes, and the non-romantic relationship between Bonnie and the beast was a nice flip too. 4 STARS


Overall . . .

I give the collection 4.5 stars! It’s well-rounded and yet there’s still a common feel threading through each story. I found it interesting to see which qualities the various beasts shared, such as at least one lovable quality hidden beneath some kind of monstrousness, whether it was a gruff nature or an ugly appearance. And all the beauty characters were spunky, kind, courageous, sacrificial, and able to see beauty underneath brokenness.
The themes of Beauty and the Beast were highlighted in different ways in each of the stories, which was really neat. The original fairy tale is so powerful. Sacrifice, love, seeing past appearances . . . all beautiful themes that have the potential to make a great impact–which I think this collection accomplished. I’ll definitely be rereading it in the future!
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Subplots and Storylines – August 2016

Tracey Dyck 32 Comments

August passed along much like the rest of this summer: ebbing and flowing with garden work/housework/real work and periods of rest . . . of ice cream and thunderstorms and hanging out doing nothing. I had almost a week off at the beginning of the month, which was great for catching up on things that had piled up (like my inbox. which is piling up again. such is life.) and enjoying a more relaxed pace of life.

My sisters and I had a “sleepover” together like we used to do, squeezing an extra mattress onto the floor, spending exclusive time together, giggling, and watching YouTube videos.

I went swimming twice (summer goals!) and came home the first time with a brilliant red sunburn. It took a week for the sting to fade, after which time I peeled like a banana. Ick. But worth it!

I filmed my first vlog and had a blast doing it. Once the technical difficulties were dealt with, I mean. You got to hear my Canadian accent (apparently I say ‘tag’ differently?), and we all got to feel like we were having a lovely conversation.

My cousin got married at an outdoor wedding with the most perfect weather.

I’ve been missing my car half this month, because it’s in the shop getting a rusty fender replaced. So it’s been back to the old vehicle shuffle lately, in order to get four people to work with one less car.

My sisters went to camp for a week and had a blast, thank you for asking, though the house was so quiet in their absence. To fill the time, we powered through a ton of gardening tasks. Apples. Salsa sauce. Beans. Corn.

There was also some spontaneous friend things–long walks and tea and playing Carcassone for the first time (which I lost). I discovered the yumminess that is Spice Dragon Red Chai. It has a cinnamon-y flavor and an awesome name, so it’s a win-win.

Watching

I watched more of The Flash (season 1) and Once Upon a Time (season 4). Both are excellent, and both have had very exciting developments lately.

Mockingjay Part 2 – I watched it twice, first with my dad and later with my brother. So good! It’s not a happy movie at all, but it provided a satisfying conclusion to the series, and it ripped my heart out once or twice along the way. If you’ve watched it, you’ll know exactly which scenes I’m talking about! Also, I’m continually impressed with how Jennifer Lawrence brings Katniss to the screen. She manages to convey so much depth and inner conflict and pain. The first time I watched this final movie, the pacing of the ending felt a bit off to me. But the second go-round, it was perfect.

Kung Fu Panda 3 – Probably the best of the three so far. I was tired when I watched it, so in a way it was still kind of “meh,” but the music was great and I do have to admit the movie improved over its predecessors. There were some funny moments too. (But seriously, how epic is THIS theme?)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Okay, confession: this was my very first Star Wars film. Ever. My brother had to pause it several times to explain things to me. I do know some Star Wars background–it’s kind of hard not to pick up on a few things–but stuff about the different sides and who was fighting for whom took a little brain work. All that aside, I quite enjoyed it! Han Solo and Chewie are hilarious together, and I loved Rey and Finn. Rey in particular manages to pull off that overly-hyped “strong female protagonist” thing while still retaining a feminine side.

Reading



34 beta chapters – I finished Christine Smith’s Burning Thorns (ahhhh, so gorgeous and heartrending!) and reached the halfway point of Emily’s The City and the Trees (poetic writing and a main character who shares part of a brain with me!).

The Realms Thereunder // Ross Lawhead
I was excited to read this because a) I own the sequel and it looks good, and b) the author is Stephen R. Lawhead’s son. Unfortunately, the book didn’t deliver quite what I was expecting. Don’t get me wrong, the concept was awesome–two young adults who discovered an underground kingdom as children, and are now dealing with life, either fighting monsters or trying to forget that ever happened. I just struggled to connect to the story on an emotional level, which kind of detracted from the plot.

There are two main storylines going on: Daniel and Freya as children in the underground city called Nidergeard, and Daniel and Freya as adults. A subplot deals with a mysterious guy tracking monsters and such in rural Scotland. I liked the grown up side (some elements reminded me of my own WIP), but then Freya’s parts grew dry and confusing. It was for a good reason, I found out later on, but while it was happening I skimmed a bit. Daniel’s parts were cool as he fell into Elfland and learned the peculiar rules of a magical forest . . . but then he randomly spends days and days with this coal-maker and not much happens until Daniel makes another move toward his goal of getting back home.

I expected to love the childhood half of the story because, come on, discovering another world beneath our own? Monsters? A quest? Unfortunately, I felt somewhat distanced from the characters, so it fell a little flat and seemed to wander.

The Scotland subplot was great, and I think it’ll feature more in book 2. The appearance of a dragon made me happy!

Overall, I’m just not sure what to think of this book. I really like the concept, but it was executed in a way that didn’t click with me. It could very well be a “it’s not me, it’s you” kind of thing. 3 1/2 stars? I’ll definitely still read the sequel.

The Runaway King // Jennifer A. Nielsen
It’s been a year since I read the first book, so it took me several chapters to remember things and get re-immersed in the events of the story, but once I did, this was a really fun book. Not quite as unpredictable as the first book (which was one of The False Prince‘s greatest strengths), but still twisty and cool. I really can’t say much about the plot because that would spoil the first novel, but there are pirates involved. And moral dilemmas. And cleverness. By the end, I was very much rooting for the main character! Five stars.

Peter Pan // J.M. Barrie

Such a delightful little book! I wish I had read it during my childhood, so that I would have lots of fond memories attached to it. Just as whimsical and funny and heartfelt as I expected, this book told a great story on the surface, but also had some profound observations on childhood to share.
When my sisters asked who my favorite character was, and if it changed at all during the course of the book, my answer was “Peter Pan” the whole time. He’s so charming and fickle and full of himself! He makes things up, he forgets everything, he’s vicious, he’s clever, and deep down he really does love Wendy and the Lost Boys (of which Tootles is my favorite).
And the writing style was such fun to read. It reminded me so much of my own childhood make-believe. Five stars!
Started reading Five Enchanted Roses
I’ve read the first four novellas so far, and have just started the fifth. I’m tempted to talk about all the stories now, but I’ll wait for the next S&S post. Actually, I just may post a book review sometime this month . . . For now, I’ll say that this is a beautiful collection!

Writing

I did session 10 of The Creative Way. This one was on device, which covered setting, storyworld, and genre all at once, describing it as the candy of the story. Very entertaining and informative. I also re-listened to session 1 with my mom and brother whilst cutting up peppers for salsa. It was cool to hear the intro again now that I’m partway through the course.

As for actual writing, my word count was down a bit this month: 8,025 words added to The Prophet’s Key. The end of the 100 for 100 challenge looms near, and I’m feeling a tad burnt out, to be honest. The last full week of August was my lowest weekly word count yet for this summer. I’m not too worried about that. Once the challenge is over and I’m in college, I’ll be writing less, which may mean that when I do write, I’ll be more inspired. Hopefully. Whatever the case, a break will be good. And sometimes you just have to keep marching on even when the words are bland. (Which is crazy because I’m currently writing an epic chase scene.)

Random writing observation . . . I think I’ve fooled myself about my writing style. In The Brightest Thread, I let myself be lyrical and imaginative–very fairytale-esque. But when I returned to my Journeys books, I felt that the style of that series was less pretty, more functional. And so as I’ve been drafting TPK, I haven’t done much in the way of imaginative description, and I think that may be one reason I’ve been having a harder time with this draft. I’ve been restricting myself.

Looking back on book 1, The Prophet’s Quest, I recently realized that I actually did write it with color and verve. Not in the same way as TBT, and not to the same extent, but it was still there. So perhaps I need to unlock that side of myself next time I sit down to work on TPK.

*random rabbit trail is over*

Oh yes, and I did some serious thinking over the last month or so in regards to publishing plans!

Farewell to August, bring on September!

It’s funny to think of August as the calm before the storm of college, because it certainly was busy in its own right. But September promises to be a whole new flavor of busy. I’m looking forward to the change of pace, to the beginning of a year of personal growth and new opportunities. Next time you hear from me, I’ll have three college days under my belt! I may re-evaluate my blogging schedule this month, depending on how it goes, but I do hope to keep posting here every week.

How was your August? Isn’t it sad that summer is coming to a close? Are you headed back to school of some sort? Any 100-for-100 writers out there–how goes the war? Pull up a log and sit ’round the fire, folks. Pass around the hot dogs and roasting sticks. (Having a bonfire seems like an end-of-summer thing to do, right? Now I’m making myself hungry . . .)

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