Author: Jen D.

Graduate of Rowan University with a Bachelor's Degree in English and a Bachelor's Degree in Writing Arts. Proud bibliophile. Proud mother to 4 cats (Murmur, Junebug, Crowley, and Aziraphale).

Happy, happy, happy mail!

Wow, long time no talk! All of us here at Writing Across the Lines have been dealing with a ton of different things in our lives. Plus, the pandemic didn’t help. Yes, we were home most of the time, but we still were crazy busy.

I, for one, have been distracted the past few months with making what is called “happy mail.” Happy mail is essentially a penpal letter with extras. For example, I like to include stickers, washi tape samples, tea, and Project Life cards. I also like to make different things such as “loaded cards,” “envelope flipbooks,” and “shaker cards.” Shaker cards are fun because they add an extra element to your happy mail.

I tend to go through phases when I am making my happy mail. I watch my favorite YouTuber, Vivian of “The Paper Letter Blog,” and I see what others have sent her or what she herself has made and I put my own twist on it. I usually make all of my penpals a certain style and then when I have sent one to everyone, I find a different style to try. Currently, my style is making “flipbooks” out of macaroni and cheese boxes. I do this by covering the box with pretty papers, tape or glue envelopes inside, fill them, then decorate the outside. The featured image of this post is my most recent happy mail to my co-moderator on here, Cym! She hasn’t gotten it yet, but I hope she loves it.

Now, you may think that you need to spend a lot of money on things to make pretty mail, but that’s not true. Yes, you can get things like a “fuse tool” or a “crop-a-dial,” which fuse plastic and set eyelets, respectively. However, there are a ton of things you can do to make your happy mail look extra lovely! For instance, as I mentioned before, I like to recycle macaroni and cheese boxes for my flipbooks. I also have been saving all of my cardboard because it can be covered with scrapbook paper and cut into shapes. You can also use things like yarn and Elmer’s glue, which can be found in a lot of households. Vivian has done a few videos on how she also recycles things to make into pretty mail.

One other tip is to visit thrift stores if you have them in your area. I have gotten so many things at my favorite thrift stores, including a bookbinding machine/laminator, scrapbook paper pads, stickers galore, and my beloved electric typewriter (99c!!!). Not only do you get supplies for insanely cheap, but you also get to help out the charity connected to the thrift store.

Of course, you can also visit your local craft store, but they can be kinda pricey. One store I like to visit for craft supplies is Tuesday Morning. They’re kind of like a Ross or HomeGoods, but they have a HUGE selection of craft items at insanely discounted prices. For example, I got a Sizzix “Big Kick,” normally a $100+ device, for $49. They have a ton of dies there for it, which aren’t cheap. I’ve gotten a big set of crafting tools that included a hot glue gun, fuse tool, and Dremel-like tool for $30, whereas it would normally be much higher than that. Heck, the fuse tool alone costs that much! If you have a Tuesday Morning near you, I HIGHLY recommend you take a visit. They also have things like home goods, toys, fancy snacks, and bedding, but I go for the craft aisle.

If you are interested in starting on happy mail, that’s awesome! Getting more people reading and writing to each other helps us connect in these uncertain times. I have penpals in NJ, MD, TN, PA, NM, even Australia and Finland! I’ve grown so much closer to some of these friends because of our correspondence, and I treasure their friendships.

If you want to take a look at Vivian’s videos, including her P.O. Box openings (where I get a ton of inspiration!), you can find her YouTube page here. If you want to see the things that I have made myself, you can check out my Instagram @box5crafting. If you need help or are unsure where to start, you can feel free to message me on there and I will gladly point you in the right direction.

I can’t wait to see what you guys create! Keep crafting!

Prodigal Son

Rating:

Most of you may not know this, but at one point, I wanted to be a Criminal Profiler for the F.B.I. I ended up choosing a different career (and met the amazing co-owners of this website), but something about serial killers fascinated me. I wanted to know how they think, why they do what they do, and how? This stemmed from an obsession with all things Hannibal Lecter, including my falling for the title character.

When “Hannibal” and “Red Dragon” came out, I was in love with Anthony Hopkin’s portrayal of the genius cannibal. He used his wit to string Clarice Starling and Will Graham along while also helping them solve their cases.

Then came the “Hannibal” T.V. show starring Mads Mikkelson as the titular character and Hugh Dancy as Will Graham. It was a beautiful amalgamation of “Hannibal” and “Red Dragon” and gave great insight into what it’s like to be a criminal profiler. Sadly, the show ended a few years ago, leaving a gap for eager minds such as myself.

Then, three weeks ago, “Prodigal Son” premiered. I knew I would already love the series because Michael Sheen is an acting genius. I loved him in the “Underworld”/”Underworld: Rise of the Lycans” duo, but especially loved him in “Good Omens.” However, when I watched some of the trailers, I knew we had found something to fill the hole that “Hannibal” left behind.

The first episode (and the two following) seem familiar: the criminal profiler (Malcolm Bright, played by Tom Payne), who does things a bit differently from everyone else, goes to the very intelligent serial killer (his father Dr. Martin Whitly, played by Sheen) for help solving the case while also learning that they themselves might not be all there. It’s essentially a family-style “Hannibal.” And it’s glorious.

In the pilot episode, there were two quotes that made me fall hard for the show. They’re said by the protagonist, and then by the protagonist and his father. They are:

Bright: “Next time you call someone crazy, ask for their gun first.”

and

Bright: “Dahmer wasn’t that smart. His fridge was so packed with body parts he didn’t even have room for groceries”
Dr. Whitley: “Those were the groceries”

These lines not only made me laugh out loud, but they also endeared me to a show that I was already loving, even a few minutes in. There haven’t been too many more quips like this (minus the one about “taking the fall.” You’ll know what I mean when you watch it), but that doesn’t mean the show isn’t good. On the contrary, it’s not only entertaining, but it’s an informative look into the minds of a psychopath (or, as he puts it, “a predatory sociopath”).

My only issue with the show is that the identity of the second episode’s killer was blatantly obvious, especially if you’ve watched crime dramas before. Still, it did not make the show any less enjoyable.

In conclusion, this is a great show. With heavy influences from “Hannibal,” it is a delicious treat that fans were looking for (pun intended). If you loved (or liked) that show, you will love “Prodigal Son.” Hell, you’ll love it even if you weren’t a “Hannibal” fan. Either way, WATCH THIS SHOW.

“Prodigal Son” airs on FOX Mondays at 9/8c.

Michael Sheen, Prodigal Son, Show, Tom Payne

In Memoriam

Mini Steve was the best hamster anyone could have ever asked for. He was a Chinese Dwarf Hamster, smaller than the palm of your hand. He was a grey-ish brown with a tiny tail he loved to wrap around your finger. His tiny nose was so cute with it’s tickling whiskers.

He didn’t start off as mine. My mother bought him from PetSmart for my nephew Stephen. We bought a really nice glow-in-the-dark cage for him, complete with a section where you could watch him burrow. When we brought him home, my nephew immediately named him Steve, after himself (as children are apt to do). We added the “Mini” to the name to prevent confusion. Stephen loved him and loved to watch him burrow into his bedding. We all loved to hold him, as he was very sweet and docile. In all of the time we had him, he never bit anyone, only nibbled, and then only if your hand smelled like food.

However, as young children do, Stephen got bored of him. Since I was the only one taking care of him, he came to me. I loved that little guy. My cat Murmur loved to watch him run around but never did more than sniff him. I had my boys.

When I got my female kitten, Junebug, she did a little more than sniff. She kept pawing at him and, at one point, even knocked the cage over. Still, we were a big, happy family.

Mini Steve stayed with me, even after I moved to Florida to be with my fiance. We tried to make a different cage to prevent Junebug from knocking it over, but it didn’t work as intended, so we went back to his old home.

I loved him so much. He always came to the door of the cage when I opened it. His favorite treat was sunflower seeds. He was the best.

One day, about a year after we had moved to Florida, I noticed Mini Steve was very lethargic. He wouldn’t eat or drink, no matter what I tried to give him. We began to look into 24-hour emergency vets but couldn’t find one that was nearby and specialized in small mammals. I ended up going to bed, planning on taking him to our local vet once they opened. However, I could barely sleep and kept crying, worried about my little boy. Finally, at around 6am and still dark out, I got up and got him from his cage. He was cold but breathing. In a desperate move, I put him on a heating pad set to low. Then the gasping began.

Once he started struggling to breathe, I knew it was near the end. I started yelling for my fiance, but right before he came out of the bedroom, Mini Steve took his last breath. My baby boy was gone.

After he passed, I trimmed some of his fur to remember him by. In my devastated state, I accidentally cut off some of his skin. I sobbed as I tried to put it back on. Not that it mattered, really, but it mattered to me.

After we got home from work, we went to my in-law’s house to bury him, as we were living in an apartment at the time and couldn’t bury him there. We tried to make the grave look nice. We put up his spare hamster wheel, which was one of his favorite things, and wrote his name on a terracotta plate. It’s still there, 4 years later. The wheel is almost completely gone and the weather took his name off of the plate, but we still visit him from time to time. No matter what, I will always remember my sweet little boy.


Me and my baby boy.

cats, children, Hamster, Junebug, RIP

Good Omens – Amazon Prime

Rating:

Let me preface this by saying that I love Sir Terry Pratchett. I have read all of his Discworld books, save the last (I can’t bring myself to read it, knowing it is the final one). I have also met Neil Gaiman at my college, Rowan University. When I met him, I asked him about “Good Omens” and what it was like to write a book with another author. Afterward, he asked to “scribble in [my] ‘Good Omens’.” I later would buy a copy of the book signed by Sir Terry. My goal in life is to meet Neil Gaiman again and have him sign my STP-signed book so that I have one with both of them. Needless to say, I don’t let anyone touch my STP, as his death will prevent me from getting one signed in person.

I was ecstatic when I had heard that they were finally making a miniseries of the novel. It had been hinted at throughout the years by both Pratchett and Gaiman, but many of us thought that it wouldn’t happen once STP died. However, Amazon announced they were going forward with the series having the amazing David Tennant and captivating Michael Sheen as Crowley and Aziraphale, respectively. Being a fan of both of them and the novel, I had high hopes for the series. Goodness was I not disappointed.

Let me give you a short rundown of the premise of the book/series. The main characters are Crowley (a demon) and Aziraphale (an angel). They get notice that the antichrist is to be born and that Crowley has the duty to place him. However, he lets his best friend, Aziraphale, know that Armageddon has been set in motion. They both work throughout the young boy’s life to try and keep him neutral, with Crowley pushing him towards bad and Aziraphale pushing him towards good. What they didn’t know was that they had the wrong boy. The antichrist was raised as a normal, everyday boy.

One of the prevailing storylines through the book/series was that of Agnes Nutter, who had published a book in 1655 which contained all of her “nice and accurate prophecies.” Every one of them came true, up until Armageddon. Her descendant, Anathema Device, has made it her life’s work to figure out the prophecies. This leads her to Newton Pulsifer, the descendant of Agnes Nutter’s executioner. They grow close in their search to find the meaning of Nutter’s book.

In the present day, Aziraphale and Crowley are very good friends. They met in the Garden of Eden and throughout history. They would meet up and socialize, even though it was frowned upon. One could even say they’re in love (I subscribe to this theory, but many would disagree). Both of them have their treasured items: Crowley loves his Bentley and Aziraphale his antique/rare book store. In the end, both will have sacrificed what they loved most in an attempt to thwart Armageddon.

Now, to the mini-series. Unlike many adaptations, Amazon should be given credit for sticking true to the source material. Granted, Gaiman had written the script, but that wasn’t a guarantee that the series would have the same humor and witticisms as the book. However, they did a phenomenal job with the adaptation. The writing was spot-on and I truly believe that Pratchett would have been proud.

Tennant and Sheen were the stars of the show. They played their parts perfectly. Sheen played Aziraphale as an innocent ingenue determined to do good, and Tennant made his Crowley a devious, swaggering, handsome devil (pun intended). Their interpretation of the relationship between demon and angel made you think that there was more than friendship between the two supposed-to-be-enemies. They played them perfectly and did not disappoint.

Overall, the series was amazing. I had high hopes up until the day I watched it, and they did such a phenomenal job at adapting one of my favorite books. None of us fans of the book were left wanting (except we wanted more, but alas, that is impossible). Even those who were not fans of the book fell in love. I’ve had many people talk to me about how much they loved it and I pointed them not only to the source novel but to other novels written by Pratchett and Gaiman.

If you choose to watch this series, I cannot recommend it any higher. Normally, I would say read the book first, but they did such a good job that you don’t need to. Yes, reading the book adds to the story, but it’s not like the series wasn’t up to snuff.

If you get a chance to watch it, DO IT. I promise you won’t regret it.

adaptation, Amazon Prime, Aziraphale, discworld, good omens, Michael Sheen, Neil Gaiman, novel, series, terry pratchett

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