New Book Alert: The Lady on the Billboard by Stefanie Hutcheson; Soap Like Contemporary Fiction Connects Various Characters

 

New Book Alert: The Lady on the Billboard by Stefanie Hutcheson; Soap Like Contemporary Fiction Connects Various Characters

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Stefanie Hutcheson knows how to write about relationships with humor and sadness. In her The Adventures of George and Mabel: Based on an Almost (Kind of? Sort of? Could be?) True Story trilogy, a happily married couple  share a history of road trips and inside jokes only to reveal in the final book that there is a deep searing grief that is buried underneath their happiness. Her novella, Left, is about a couple dealing with the decline of their marriage after the wife abandons her husband at a convenience store. In these works, Hutcheson had a firm grip on characterization as she takes little incidents and nuances in the characters’ lives to provide commentary on them. 

Her latest book, a KindleVella called The Lady on the Billboard, takes her talents of writing characterization and humor, capturing little moments, and discovering emotional truth to new heights. She doesn’t just capture one couple and their intimate circle of friends and family. Instead she uses those gifts to capture a whole town in what is her most ambitious and probably best work yet.

The conflicts begin when Dr. Elizabeth Perkins, high school principal, gets her face posted on a billboard celebrating her achievement as “Administrator of the Year.” She is flattered but embarrassed, but that’s not all. The billboard becomes a catalyst for the large cast to open their secrets whether they are affairs, familial ties, or obsessions. Many of them involve Elizabeth and poke some holes into her reputation as a prime educator, happily married wife and mother, and proper pillar of the community.

The Kindle version of this book is available on KindleVella which means the Reader can read a chapter at a time as they are released instead of at once which actually fits the style of the book. The many characters’ relationships and various subplots seem almost reminiscent of a soap opera or episodes of a long running sitcom so the book’s format is perfect to lend itself to serialization. Sometimes the chapters get repetitive like an episode that is created to catch the audience up to speed on the various situations. The serialization format also allows the individual characters to gain focus and get their point of view across in what would be a large convoluted story otherwise. 

However, Vella has a points system in which the Reader has to pay money for a certain amount of points to read the chapters. It is very irritating especially if one doesn’t have a lot of money on hand and already has a Kindle Unlimited account. I suggest caution for Readers who have never tried Kindle Vella to be wary of the extra cost. 

Okay now the story. This is going to be fun to summarize but here goes (deep breath):

Elizabeth is unhappily married to Jason, an attorney and is the mother of twin girls, Laney and Lucy. She tries to put on a facade of a happy family but can barely stand her condescending husband. She worked hard to get to her position as principal but sometimes doubts herself and whether she is making any meaningful connections with her students or their parents. She also has nightmares of a past that she barely remembers but her memories are faint and troubling.

Her husband Jason is having an affair with Rebekah, his administrative assistant, who has enough brain to run the firm herself. Elizabeth’s old high school boyfriend, Josh, is still around reliving his glory days before an injury ended his dreams of a football scholarship and his romance with the girl he once called “Liza Jane” after the Vince Gill country song. He still reminisces about Elizabeth, the one who got away and what might have been.

Elizabeth has some other men who also fantasize about her. Brad, a college professor, hosts open poetry slams at the local coffee shop and visualizes the principal as some muse or poetic inspiration. Derrick, a barista at the coffee shop, also fancies her but his interest in Elizabeth is more of the sexual and lustful variety.

Elizabeth has some close female friends as well. Madison, a bubbly teacher, has an active love life and is more outgoing than her serious friend. However, she is suspicious of Elizabeth’s friendship with Brandi, another teacher, who has a very violent past. 

Henry, a high school senior and football star, has some unanswered questions about his past and he is unaware that the answers are all around him. Annie, a newcomer in town, is fleeing an abusive marriage with her young son. She discovers a link to her past as does a private investigator, Abby Stevenson, who has been searching for family members for years. 

Got all that? Good, I hope so.

Like I said the plot or rather subplots are numerous. Sometimes, it’s very hard to keep track. Luckily, Hutcheson has a good handle on her wide cast of characters. Sometimes they resort to archetypes (the fighting married  couple, the dogged suitor, the teen with big dreams, the dedicated detective with the important information and so on), but in this type of work, that can sometimes be expected. 

What makes them stand out are the little subtle nuances and touches. Things such as Madison's nickname for Elizabeth, "Bitsy," Josh's love of '90's Country music, and Brad's constant repetition of definitions of words make these characters fully recognized. Just like she did with George and Mabel, Hutcheson gives characters details and idiosyncrasies to make them stand out.

Those idiosyncrasies provide much of the book's humor partly because we know these characters. We understand them. They could be reminiscent of a friend, teacher, family member, or ourselves. It's a gentle humor that comes from personality and identification rather than topical jokes and snarky one liners.

There is also some drama with the character's situations. This book has a definite edge which is present throughout. Subjects like teen pregnancy, adoption, identity, parental abandonment, death, mental health, addiction, and various others come forward. Because the characters are so relatable, the darker aspects are more emotional and moving. You don't want to see them suffer because you don't want to see a close friend suffer. These troubled times could strengthen or weaken the characters. 

Of course, the nucleus and center of this entire book is Dr. Elizabeth Perkins. It is highly significant that these complications begin when her billboard appears. It reflects her image, the figure that she tries to convey. It's all surface. Administrator of the Year. Principal. Wife. Mother. Community Leader. She spends so much time maintaining this surface image that it is exhausting.

Throughout the book, she is faced with different complications and revelations that create cracks in this facade. Elizabeth questions her identity, where she came from, what pushed her forward, what truths she has to confront, and what she really wants and needs. 

Ultimately, Lady on the Billboard is a humorous and moving character study about a woman confronting her image, her place in the world, and her own self identity and worth.

Lit List Short Reviews Blight and The Blarney by Rosemary J. Kind; The British Marine Engineer Poems and Stories by Lianna Margiva; Don't Floss by Deleon DeMicoli; Left by Stefanie Hutcheson; Requisite Records of a Misplaced Hero by Envy Mercury

 Lit List Short Reviews Blight and The Blarney by Rosemary J. Kind; The British Marine Engineer Poems and Stories by Lianna Margiva; Don't Floss by Deleon DeMicoli; Left by Stefanie Hutcheson; Requisite Records of a Misplaced Hero by Envy Mercury

Blight and The Blarney (The Tales of Flynn and Reilly) by Rosemary J. Kind

Blight and The Blarney by Rosemary J. Kind is a detailed and heartbreaking novella about a family faced with poverty, starvation, and some very tough decisions during the Irish Potato Famine.

In 1852, the Flynn Family was impoverished and on the brink of starvation. Potatoes no longer grow well in Ireland because of a blight and the English government evicts several Irish tenants and are extremely slow in responding with aid. Family patriarch, Michael is milling an offer from his landlord (one of the few kind ones) to move himself and his family to America. Of course it means saying goodbye to everyone and everything that they ever knew so it's a giant step. Things get even more complicated when Michael's brother, brother in law, and their families get evicted turning a homestead with barely enough to feed four into an overcrowded house of twelve. It doesn't help that Michael's brother in law, Seamus, is getting fed up with the mistreatment and looking towards more politically active and violent means to fight against the English.

Even though The Blight and The Blarney is short, it packs quite an emotional punch. Enough of a punch that any longer and it would be overdone. The most heart wrenching moment occurs during the death of one of the central characters. The illness is long term so it's not a surprise when it happens. But the build up and loss are moving and tug at every emotional fiber that the Reader has. 

The book is also good at showing different ways people react to difficult times without judgment or saying which way is the best way. Some like Michael opt for more peaceful resolutions like taking care of their family first and sometimes move on to another place. Others like Seamus fight against the circumstances that cause this misfortune and against those who profit off of it. Neither way is looked at as wrong or right and sometimes those choices lead to harder ones later on.

Unfortunately, the end of the novella suggests even more strife for the Flynn Family and the title of the next volume, New York Orphan, suggests there will be much more heartbreak and tougher choices to come.

British Marine Engineer Poems and Stories by Lianna Margiva

Liana Margiva's British Marine Engineer Poems and Stories is a dark, moving, depressing, and sometimes disturbing anthology about love and loss.

"The British Marine Engineer" is a moving story about lost love and second opportunities that arrive almost too late. Lorena, a Russian woman, falls for Douglas, a widowed British marine engineer. The two engage in a love affair and exchange passionate letters despite cultural differences and physical separation. They make plans to get married but are separated by circumstances beyond their control.

The love story between Douglas and Lorena is moving. Since they are in their 60's and 80's respectively, one gets the idea that since they are so much older, this may be their last chance for love. The letters that the two exchange are romantic but filled with an awareness of loss and sadness. This makes their separation all the more emotional because this was a couple who waited their whole lives for this kind of happiness only to have it snatched away.

"The Witch" is a twisted tale of revenge and obsession. After she learns that her husband, Marco, has been cheating on her with her friend, Emily vows to get revenge. An elderly woman, Granny, discovers that Emily is a fellow witch so Emily uses her new found abilities to get even.

"The Witch" is a strange tale with an even stranger protagonist. Many could understand and relate to Emily's anger about being betrayed but some of her actions are questionable. Most alarming is when she entices a young woman dying from a venereal disease (implied to be AIDS) to sleep with Marco purposely to infect him. She cares very  little for this woman's welfare, only what she can do for her. Involving Marco and Emily is one thing, but pimping out and destroying an innocent party's short life is another.

What does save this situation is that the story shows that Emily's desire for revenge ruins her. It seems to turn on her own health and personality (perhaps a visual representation of the beliefs that some Wiccans have over the Rule of Three: What you send out to the universe returns to you threefold). Both Emily and Marco end up as miserable people and somehow get the most acceptable deserving punishment in the end.

"Vincent Island" is a story of a troubled relationship in a beautiful setting. In the lovely Vincent Island, newcomer Ofra and local Spartacus fall in love. Unfortunately, their love is tested by rumors of infidelity and an affliction that consumes the island's residents.

"Vincent Island '' spends a great deal of time describing the setting as a beautiful vacation spot with sunny beaches, easy going people, and unique customs. It's the kind of place where one would think nothing could go wrong which of course means that it is going to. The dichotomy between setting and character is intentional as the beautiful Paradise location can't contain the dark souls that inhabit it.

Of the stories in this anthology, this probably has some of the lightest moments partly because of the setting but also the writing. Ofra makes friends with a woman named Desdemona who talks about her exes Othello and Hamlet (Someone not only brushed up their Shakespeare but they mixed him up as well.) The mostly light tone makes the ending somewhat jarring and out of place but it is also well written.

There are foreshadowing hints throughout the story that Ofra and Spartacus are not destined for a good ending. The island's residents have some regulations regarding the end of the relationship and Ofra receives hints from others that her relationship is not as strong as she believes it to be. The ending suggests that their end is inevitably likely to end badly.

The anthology also contains shorter poems and essays. All of them, like the stories, carry a somber feeling that love and loss unfortunately go together. 

Don't Floss by Deleon DeMicoli

Deleon DiMicoli's Don't Floss is a very broad parody about a renegade gang of dentists who plot to take over the world (Yeah you read that right). It almost reads like a Month Python sketch or an animated cartoon with its odd premise and over the top farcical characters.

Divorced private investigator Hugo Picoli is hired by a woman named Farrah to look for her missing dentist husband, Jolly. The last anyone saw Jolly was when he got rough with a teenage boy who harassed his mother. The first place to ask questions is Crowns Social Club, a hangout for all the prominent dentists. Of course they aren't exactly forthcoming with information.

 Oh yes and  Hugo's ex wife, Frida, a social activist and Beef, a reality show star/ex football player get involved. That's not to mention the secret behind dental floss. The plot gets convoluted and more confusing as it goes along

The plot and characters are broad and farcical to the point where it's hard to take anything in the book seriously. Since it's a short work, it's hard to see beyond the face value of parody. One could believe that the ridiculous idea of a conspiracy involving dental floss and an organization of dentists could be making fun of real life conspiracy theories. Those theories are just as arbitrary and sound just as ridiculous as the real life ones so much so that it's hard to tell what's a parody and what's real.

There are some moments of genuine suspense like a kidnapping attempt and a few chase scenes which show people getting hurt and worrying about the consequences. But most of the writing is played for laughs and with a short length that's all it has or needs.

Sometimes with a parody you can search for meaning. Sometimes you can search for laughs. With Don't Floss, it's definitely the latter.

Left by Stefanie Hutcheson

Stefanie Hutcheson's George and Mabel trilogy is a series of sweet and moving stories about a lovely middle aged couple who are happily married and spread that love towards others. Her follow up, Left could be described as the "Anti-George and Mabel." It is about a married couple on their last nerve who are miserable either together or separate.

An unnamed husband and wife are to say the least having the mother of all marital troubles. One day the wife just leaves her husband at a convenient store leaving him to walk home alone. Most of the book consists of the husband at home in denial about the decline of his marriage and struggling to commit to his daily activities and the wife's time of self proclaimed freedom in hotels which are not free from loneliness or guilty feelings.

Left spends a lot of time deconstructing the couple's marriage and shows that while the end is a surprise to the somewhat oblivious husband, it's not to the wife. It comes after years of silence, small talk, tolerating annoying habits, and having little to do with each other. In her eyes, it's not the decline of their marriage that is a surprise, it's the way that it happens. She second guesses herself not for leaving him at all but leaving him at the convenience store (which is admittedly pretty low. She couldn't have driven him home and left him afterwards?) 

The husband and wife are the ultimate can't live with them can't live without them pair. As the husband goes through his shock and denial, he realizes that yes his marriage wasn't as perfect as he remembers and yes they had flaws that neither could live with. Meanwhile, the wife's guilt over the faltering marriage takes over her independent life in hotels. Their feelings reverse as the separation strengthens him but weakens her.

Left ends on a heartbreaking but unfortunately inevitable note as the couple who had so little to say to each other, so little in common except some exchanged vows said years ago, are finally deprived of the chance to actually talk, reconcile, or find any sort of closure. 

George and Mabel they're definitely not.

The Requisite Records for a Misplaced Hero by Envy Mercury

Though brief, Envy Mercury's The Requisite Records of a Misplaced Hero is a unique voice in the Epic Fantasy genre. It takes the Chosen One story to a different level by showing what happens to the Chosen One after the legend is over, the foe is vanquished, and the hero returns to the normal world older but maybe no less wiser.

 

About twenty years after he rescued a fantasy kingdom, saved a princess, and returned to the ordinary world, Beck finds himself coasting along in said ordinary world. He is stuck in a job that he hates, is addicted to drugs, has PTSD, and has huge gaps in his memory that occurred during his fantasy life which he doesn't remember. 

One day he passes out and finds himself surrounded by anthropomorphic humanoid creatures. He is referred to as Rezner, Prince of Darkness, and is either welcomed back or cursed because of his return. Sure enough Beck is back in the fantasy world in which he left behind previously and has to fight former enemies out for revenge while reuniting with former allies like the demon familiar, Mecci and Princess Valentine, his former love interest.

This is a short work that can definitely be longer. While it makes sense to skim over Beck's previous adventure (after all it would be the standard paint by numbers epic fantasy), Beck's return and adult life could use more dissection. Here we have the life of a hero after the return. Beck is someone who is floating along in the real world because he doesn't feel a part of it. Even though he doesn't remember his time there, he is haunted by those missing memories. He loses himself in drugs and apathy so he can reach a place that is in the far reaches of his memory. He knows it but he can't quite see it.

Of course no sooner are we introduced to Beck than he returns to the world and reunited with the friends that he doesn't quite remember. Because his memories are misplaced, he has to practically be carried along by the more self assured stronger characters like Mecci. Everything is a new, or rather familiar but not quite, experience so he really doesn't know what he's doing. His decision to stay is made less for altruistic reasons to help out and is more because there is no one to miss him in the real world where he is considered a loser. He would rather be in a world where people admire, befriend, and some would fight and die for him. Of course his journey strengthens him and reopens talents and experiences that were never gone, just hidden.

The Requisite Records for a Misplaced Hero is a unique voice in the sometimes overdone epic fantasy genre. It's a brilliant idea that needs more exploration.

New Book Alert: The Adventures of George and Mabel: Based on An Almost...Well You Know by Stefanie Hutcheson; The Darling Duo's Third and Final Installment Ends on a Heartwarming, Touching, and Even Tearful Note

 

New Book Alert: The Adventures of George and Mabel: Based on An Almost...Well You Know by Stefanie Hutcheson; The Darling Duo's Third and Final Installment Ends on a Heartwarming, Touching, and Even Tearful Note

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: George and Mabel Harrison are this year's Maggie Elizabeth Harrington. Similar to the protagonist of D.J. Swykert's novels which I reviewed last year, George and Mabel are a couple of characters that I have gotten to know through various stages and have loved them through these stages. I have enjoyed them so much that I am a little tearful reviewing this, their final installment The Adventures of George and Mabel: Based On An Almost..Well You Know. Once again, their author Stefanie Hutcheson gives us a few stories that are not long on plot but are vast in character and charm. The Reader will sigh in delight, smile in pleasure, and finally shed a tear when the book is closed knowing that the journey of the Darling Duo has finally come to a moving and satisfactory end.

Like any well-written character, just when The Reader thinks that they know everything about the Harrison's, Hutcheson throws another bit of information to add to the depths of their personality. We are aware of the Duo's love of music and penchant for quoting song lyrics and know of their travels such as (in this volume) a spontaneous and crowded Labor Day trip to Myrtle Beach. We now learn that Mabel combined her love of music and traveling to collect music boxes. They include ones from Colorado that play "Rocky Mountain High" and "The Song Remembers When," one of LA that plays "LA International," and one of the Golden Gate Bridge that plays "Come Monday." (not "Dock of the Bay"  or "San Francisco, Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair"?). For Mabel's 43rd birthday, George surprises his wife with a music box of the Eiffel Tower that plays "Leaving on a Jet Plane" foreshadowing a bigger surprise: tickets for two to Paris. (Altogether now: Awwww!) 

These additions to their character are not meant to be earth shattering. Instead they are stimple nuanced layers that help The Reader understand them. It's almost like getting into a conversation with George and Mabel and The Reader says to George, "I didn't know you used sleight of hand with a gumball machine ring and a real diamond ring to propose to her." They are the couple that you always learn something new about them

As with the previous volumes we also learn about the Harrisons' friends and family and how their influences shaped George and Mabel into the man and woman that they would later become.  A tender WWII-era love story between George's aunt and uncle foreshadows how important finding that soul mate becomes to George and how he knows when he finds her.

Mabel gets a high school-era tale of peer pressure. When she is involved in a drink driving accident, her popular girl clique abandons her. As an adult, Mabel retains loyalty to the true friends who stuck by her even into adulthood.

Because of this being the last volume, there is a sadness present in this one, over the others. One of the darkest and best stories in all three volumes, serves as a wrap around to this volume by carrying over various alternating chapters with the rest of the text. The reason why the Harrison's never had children is revealed in an emotional story. What could be a life of regret and loneliness becomes a heartwarming story of sacrifice and forgiveness, especially when George has to make the decision to not only save the woman that he loves but the one who nearly causes much destruction in their lives. 

This story and an epilogue set in the near future end things on a tearful, but ultimately uplifting note. To borrow the famous quote that has been roaming the Internet, I don't cry because their story is over, I smile because it happened.