Éric has had an eclectic career which ranges from casino dealer to canal boat captain to radio station DJ. Since 2009, he’s worked as a desktop publisher for the federal government. During his off time, he works as a freelance typesetter for various Canadian-based authors and publishers, roasts gourmet flavoured coffee, runs several pen-and-paper role-playing games, writes, and helps run JenEric-Designs.ca (Home of the TravellingTARDIS.com).
He lives in Ottawa, Ontario with his author wife, daughter, and son.
Hello Friends, Family, and Fans;
I’m still dealing with tendonitis. I have full range of motion back but still dealing with pain. I can do most things but 1000 words was beyond my abilities this week. I’ll try and get it done soon.
Thank you for your patience.
Stay safe and be kind,
Éric Desmarais
Hello Cinephiles,
Today we’re talking about the 2025 film Fountain of Youth.
As entertaining as the movie was, there wasn’t so much a story as a bunch of set pieces held together by banter.
Score: 0
The major problem with saying your characters are super-intelligent is that they then have to act it. These characters missed obvious things and acted smart when the plot demanded it.
Now that being said, the actors took some mediocre scenes and elevated them. Every last one of them oozes with charisma and charm.
Score: 0.5
Intelligent people don’t have to use big words. With intelligence comes the ability to be concise.
The majority of the dialogue was good and the brother-sister banter was fantastic.
Score: 0.5
This movie was stunning. The special effects, choreography, and camera work were superb.
The music was clever, incorporating the small theme in both the plot and the music was a genius idea.
Score: 1
I and the rest of the family really enjoyed this movie. It was pretty, exciting, and had some good banter. I dislike the ending enough to make me annoyed every time I think about it.
Score: 0.5
Unoriginal with one of the worst endings I’ve ever seen, the movie is fun and fluffy with the actors making it extremely likeable but the supernatural and the plot were poorly thought out.
Final Score: 2.5 Stars out of 5
Hello Coffee Lovers,
I am a coffee snob. I prefer my coffee pour-over, I like high grown South American beans, I like a light to medium roast, I think the water should be 175-190 degrees fahrenheit, and I will say no to certain coffee.
I LOVE flavoured coffee, especially the flavours that combine with the natural flavour of the beans. It’s one of the reasons I started JenEric Coffee.
When it comes to adding things to coffee, I had always believed that you were supposed to only drink good coffee black. I tried changing from cream to milk, and lowering the amount of sugar I use. I thought that as I got used to the taste, it would get better. It didn’t, all it did was make me enjoy coffee less. That could be because I recently found out I’m a supertaster, or it could be that I just don’t like the more bitter coffees.
I have had a few really good coffees that I drank black. They are very rare but they exist.
More recently, I have started thinking of dairy and sweeteners like salt in food or vanilla in baking. It’s a way to bring out the taste and enhance it. No one looks at you funny if you add cinnamon or nutmeg to your coffee and those are great ways to lower the bitterness and cover the taste of certain chains over-roasting their beans.
If adding something to your coffee makes you like it, then more power to you. If you’re adding stuff to make it tolerable, than maybe it’s the wrong coffee or coffee isn’t for you.
Basically, enjoy what you enjoy without feeling bad, and don’t force yourself to like something just because it’s “the way it should be”.
Stay safe and be kind,
Éric
Hello friends, family, and Fans;
I hurt my shoulder on Saturday, and on Monday, the nice doctor at the ER said it was calcific tendinitis.
I’m starting to get movement back and the pain is a little less. I’ll be okay but it’ll take a little while. Thankfully, this has a great recovery rate.
I’ll contact physio next week and get that started.
Start safe and be kind,
Éric
How This Works – Read Other Reviews
Hello Cinephiles,
Today we’re talking about the 2024 film Y2K.
It’s a standard survival horror with almost no deviation in plot.
Score: 0
The “awkward dude gets the hot popular girl” is a really tired trope. Making her good with computers is a nice twist but makes him even blander which I didn’t think was possible.
The rest of the movie’s characters were tired tropes pulled from survival horror or stoner comedies.
Score: 0
The dialogue was written by nerds for nerds and is unironically goofy in the best way. The “edgy” dialogue is pretty much what we all thought was edgy back in 2000 but in retrospect is kinda childish.
Score: 0.5
The camera work was excellent and the special effects were pretty impressive.
The music was nostalgic and fun.
Score: 1
This isn’t a great movie but there were some fun parts. I watched it on my own because it is really not kid friendly.
Score: 0.5
A lackluster plot with nothing special that can’t seem to decide if it hates the 2000’s or loves it.
Final Score: 2 Stars out of 5
Dear Dragon and Pegasus,
I’m sure that by the point you’re reading these, you have already figured out that we had some… different… traditions.
When I you were sick in December 2023 (half a dozen ear infections between you on top of RSV) and I was recovering from RSV, Mum played an escape room game on the TV. Since, whenever you’re sick, we tend to play one. Especially if Mum is sick, or has a broken foot like now.
This past week we all played, (I played from a distance since I was working) a game called Enigmatis. It’s a puzzle and hidden object game with a storyline. We played all three and will probably play more from the same company, Artifex Mundi.
I really enjoy watching you guess the stories, figure out the puzzles, and find the hidden objects. The game was a little scarier than I would have wanted, but you loved it.
It’s nice to relax and do something together when a large portion of us aren’t feeling well.
I know someday you’ll probably find this “cringe” but I’m going to enjoy as long as I can.
I love you!
Papa
Hello Friends, Family, and Fans;
Sorry for the late post. The little mythological creatures have been fighting a cold all week and now Jen seems to have caught it. I’m in my yearly war with allergies, and I’ve been exhausted.
Today I got the edits for The Copper Tarnish. EEEEEEE! I’m excited to go look at them and get this ready.
The ebook pre-orders are available now!
Be kind and stay safe,
Éric
How This Works – Read Other Reviews
Hello Cinephiles,
Today we’re talking about the 2005 film The Legend of Zorro.
A straight sequel to the first one, it relies on miscommunication to move the plot forward. It also fall into the superhero trope of only failing when it’s a plot point.
Score: 0.5
The kid is adorable and the two leads are just as charismatic as the first time. Unfortunately, they are split up most of the movie when they work best as a team.
The villain is mustache twirling, British, and evil.
Score: 0.5
There’s some amazing banter between the two leads and with the villain.
Score: 1
The movie looks just as beautiful as the first and the fight scenes are amazing.
Score: 1
I hate that the characters can’t just be happy… It’s frustrating and feels forced when they work so well as a team. That being said, it was still an extremely fun movie.
Score: 0.5
The movie suffers from needing to split its leads but it’s still an excellent movie.
Final Score: 3.5 Stars out of 5
Hello Readers,
Last weekend I asked the incomparable Talhí Briones to comment on the cover I had designed. She didn’t hold back and reminded me of things like balance and the rule of thirds.
It led me to redesign the cover. I think the changes, although minor, make it a much stronger cover.
What do you think?
Pre-orders for the book will be coming soon.
If you want a book that you can pre-order now, check out Talhí’s Mrs. Victoria Buys a Brothel.
1865, United States— It took thirty years and a dislocated arm for Victoria to leave her abusive husband. Heartbroken, she has to choose her own life over the hope of ever seeing her son again. She escapes the manor in the dead of night, only bringing with her a white wedding dress.
She ends up in Swainsburg, a minuscule town in Wyoming, where she’s adopted by the local prostitutes. To save them from expulsion, she buys the building and learns that in these parts, entertainment is worth more than gold. It’s almost easy, even fun, to organize piano recitals and cancan shows for the cowboys of the area, but being a Madam comes with responsibilities and dangers she isn’t ready to face. Her husband, after all, has contacts everywhere.
It’s hard to navigate the delicate tensions between respectable ladies and whores, between white society and the ‘others.’ Her new friends are women who carved their place in this merciless life; people who, like her, ended up in Swainsburg when they got tired of running.
Victoria doesn’t notice, can’t even imagine the possibility; but she falls in love. The townfolk say the widow Díaz is strange, but Natane is actually incredibly awkward, kind, and very lonely. Victoria has no name for this burning friendship, but the feeling grows and demands to be acknowledged.
This is a story about women who age, gossip, drink, love… and help you hide the body of your dead husband.
Here are some places you can order the book:
You can also ask for it at any local bookstore or library 🙂
Thank you,
Éric
Hello fellow humans,
This morning I woke up to a MASSIVE puddle in front of the fridge. I started to panic but then I remembered that Jen gave me a book on home repair for Christmas.
In big bold letters on the back are written, “Don’t Panic – I’m here to help!”
Honestly, if it was just for those words, the book would be worth it, but inside there were details on fridge cleaning and maintenance. Which helped me find the largest dust bunnies I’ve ever seen. I also found an ice wall that John Snow would be proud of. Hopefully cleaning those out will fix the issue.
Did you know that over-filling your fridge or freezer could cause issues? I didn’t before I read this book.
Mercury Stardust’s book is a must for renters! (and useful for those of us homeowners that have no idea what they’re doing)
She also has a wonderful podcast and extremely entertaining TikTok. You can find the book in all the places you buy books.
Find everything you want to know on her website.
Stay safe and be kind,
Éric
