romance

Crushing It Book Mood Board

by

I had fun looking for pictures that made me think of the book Crushing It.

And I thought, why not share it with you?

Mood board of Crushing It. Pictures of a DIY vaccum, Ishihara plates, a bridge, the Toronto skyline, a robot labelled Door Tech, a promo image of the dinner theatre “Knights of Everdome”, a street sign indicating Westmeath to the right, a drawing of DNA, and a maze surround the image of the book Crushing It in various formats.

Summary

After an epic grounding for some bad decisions with even worse friends, Tommy is lucky to even go to the Door Tech March Break camp. There, he crosses paths with Carter Batudev, and chemistry isn’t just for the classroom. With love and a renewed interest in STEM, Tommy returns home to Parry Sound, where, to the relief of his parents, he makes better friends, and joins the STEM club.

When the club goes to the province-wide competition in Toronto, he’s reunited with Carter, whose team is also competing. Thus ensues a wild long weekend full of romance, hijinks, STEM, and singing.

Includes a novelette from Carter’s POV at the dinner theatre show Knights of Everdome.

The first book in the Lucky in Love series.

Cover art by @pinkpiggy93 on Tumblr and @flowerraven93 on Instagram

Pre-order Crushing It by Jen Desmarais now!

Physical version, electronic version (Coming Soon)

Carter Mood Board

by

I had fun looking for pictures that made me think of the secondary protagonist of Crushing It, Carter Batudev.

And I thought, why not share it with you?

Mood board of Carter Batudev. Pictures of bread, a target, a throwing knife, a sillhouette of a martial artist, a rock, STEM image, a lightbulb outside of a box, and a heart in the bisexual flag colours surround a drawn image of a brown haired boy.

Carter Batudev

Age: 15

Date of Birth: March 5, 1988

Appearance: Curly brown hair, grey eyes, tall, bronze skin

Grade: 9

Favourite class: Science

Parents: Sam and William Batudev own a bakery in Westmeath, Ontario

Siblings: None

Cover art by @pinkpiggy93 on Tumblr and @flowerraven93 on Instagram

Pre-order Crushing It by Jen Desmarais now!

Physical version, electronic version (Coming Soon)

Introducing Protagonists

by

The two protagonists of Crushing It are Tommy Fairfield and Carter Batudev.

Tommy Fairfield

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Maxwell-Jenkins-as-Tommy-1-1024x819.jpg
Appearance inspired by Maxwell Jenkins
Appearance inspired by Maxwell Jenkins

Age: 14

Date of Birth: May 11, 1988

Appearance: Short blond hair, green eyes, tall, white

Grade: 9

Favourite class: Math or Science or Music

Parents: Lilah and Gerard Fairfield live on a farm in Parry Sound, Ontario

Siblings: Older brother Phillip, married and has one son (15 months old). Twin older sisters Eliza and MacKenzie. Older sister Kennedy, engaged to Jason Johnson and lives in Westmeath (seen here).

Carter Batudev

Appearance inspired by Max Torina

Age: 15

Date of Birth: March 5, 1988

Appearance: Curly brown hair, grey eyes, tall, bronze skin

Grade: 9

Favourite class: Science

Parents: Sam and William Batudev own a bakery in Westmeath, Ontario

Siblings: None

Cover art by @pinkpiggy93 on Tumblr and @flowerraven93 on Instagram

Pre-order Crushing It by Jen Desmarais now!

Physical version, electronic version (Coming Soon)

Tommy Mood Board

by

If you missed the cover reveal video post last Friday, due to the email mess up, you can go see it here!

I had fun looking for pictures that made me think of the main protagonist of Crushing It, Tommy Fairfield.

And I thought, why not share it with you?

Mood board of Tommy Fairfield. Pictures of a guitar, torn pieces of sheet music, STEM image, a rainbow heart, an icon reading ‘Best Leader’, and the interior of a bedroom surround a drawn image of a young blond boy. Art of the bedroom and boy are drawn by pinkpiggy93.

Tommy Fairfield

Age: 14

Date of Birth: May 11, 1988

Appearance: Short blond hair, green eyes, tall, white

Grade: 9

Favourite class: Math or Science or Music

Parents: Lilah and Gerard Fairfield live on a farm in Parry Sound, Ontario

Siblings: Older brother Phillip (who lives in Parry Sound), married and has one son (15 months old). Twin older sisters Eliza (who lives in Toronto) and MacKenzie (who lives in Ottawa). Older sister Kennedy, engaged to Jason Johnson and lives in Westmeath (seen here).

Cover art by @pinkpiggy93 on Tumblr and @flowerraven93 on Instagram

Pre-order Crushing It by Jen Desmarais now!

Physical version, electronic version (Coming Soon)

Crushing It cover reveal video

by

OMG I CAN FINALLY SHARE THIS!

Seriously, the first time I saw this cover was in SEPTEMBER.

On to the cover reveal:

The actors in this film are Dragon and Dragon’s friend. Pegasus attempted to assist.

They were given the task of completing an obstacle course similar to the one in the book. (Simplified, obviously, as these are not 14-15 year olds.)

The music was written by me (with heavy assistance from Bruce Gordon for the chords! I was so lost as to how to put chords to the tune in my head!), sung by me, and recorded by Éric.

Cover art by @pinkpiggy93 on Tumblr and @flowerraven93 on Instagram

Pre-order Crushing It by Jen Desmarais now!

Physical version, electronic version (Coming Soon)

The Mummy (1999) – JenEric Movie Review

by

How This Works – Read Other Reviews

Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 1999 film The Mummy.

Story

A very loose remake of the 1932 movie with Boris Karloff. Its story, although very similar in spirit, is very different.

I liked the symmetry and the balance of horror and humour.

Score: 1

Characters

It’s rare to have two “scaredy” characters in the same movie but they did a great job in deferentiating them. I like the Indiana Jones-style character and the love story was fun. I like the confidence and strength that Evelyn gains through the movie.

Score: 1

Dialogue

The dialogue is impressively funny for such a serious movie. I like the banter between the main characters and between the siblings.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

What a beautiful movie. The cinematagraphy was stunning while still obviously influenced by classic horror and adventure movies. The CGI looked a little dated, but there wasn’t that much.

The music was beautiful and fit perfectly. I want the soundtrack for my D&D games.

Score: 1

Fun

Seeing the influence of older movies on this one and then the influence this had on future films is so cool. I saw it in theatres when it first came out and loved it, but I appreciated its details more now.

My six year old was nervous throughout, but the three year old loved it. Jen found it scary, but fun (it was her first time watching it).

Fun and exciting for the whole family.

Score: 1

Overall

A classic action adventure with a touch of horror and romance. The characters are great and the movie is absolutely beautiful. A must-watch for anyone who loves archeology or action adventure movies.

Final Score: 5 Stars out of 5*

*A 5 star review doesn’t mean the movie was perfect nor that it is perfect for everyone but it is a movie I believe is as close to perfect as possible.

The Swoonie Awards are open!!

by

But only until January 30th!

If anyone would like to nominate our book:

Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers by Jen and Éric Desmarais

It is eligible in the following categories:

  • Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Romance
  • Best Cover (add “art by @pinkpiggy93 ” to your nomination in this category)

Please and thank you!

Happy nominating, everyone!

https://www.theswoonawards.com/2023/01/16/the-2022-swoon-awards-nominations-round/

Christmas With You – JenEric Movie Review

by

How This Works – Read Other Reviews

Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2022 film Christmas With You.

Story

This falls into the category of “Rich out of touch city person” is shown the joys of a modest Christmas category of movies. That being said, there’s a little more heart to it with the way the main character has missed out on a lot of Latinx traditions. So it feels less like she’s learning about the joys of being middle class and more like she’s re-learning her culture and how to have a family.

There’s also a wonderful level of respect and collaboration between the two leads. Made me think of writing with my wife.

Score: 1

Characters

The two mains were great. I loved the amount of emotion in their expressions. I liked the solid, priorities in the right place, dad. I also liked the vulnerable and genuinely nice pop star.

The main girl was great for the early hook, but sort of fell back after that.

The manager / best friend was amazing.

Score: 1

Dialogue

There’s a lot of cheese in this movie, but most of it is the right kind. The Abuela’s thirsty comments are hilarious and the small snarky comments throughout are great.

My only gripe was the teens. What little dialogue they had felt forced, like the movie was written by someone who’s only seen teens in the movies.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The visuals were good. The cinematography was acceptable and the sets were awesomely Christmas.

The music was mostly great, but I didn’t really like the final song. It was nice, but missing something.

Score: 0.5

Fun

It could have been very awkward and angsty, but the movie is a lot of fun. Mostly everyone enjoyed it. The three year old was restless, though.

Score: 1

Overall

A sweet and adorable Christmas romance. The leads are solid, but what makes the movie is the warmth of a loving family Christmas.

Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5

Book Mood Board

by

I had fun looking for pictures that made me think of the book Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers.

And I thought, why not share it with you?

Mood board of Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers. Pictures of a black motorcycle, a stargate from Stargate SG1, a metal pineapple, a cottage, a street sign indicating Westmeath is to the right, a fun-looking mushroom, a stuffed bear, two croissants and a coffee, and a dessert pizza surround the front cover of the book, art by pinkpiggy93, layout by Nathan and Mackenzie.

Summary

Kennedy Fairfield just graduated in the class of 2002, and is now trying to find her purpose in life, or at least a job in her field. When she saves Jason Johnson, the leader of a secret Community of supernatural people called Aetherborn, from an attempted assassination, they embark on a whirlwind epic romance and adventure.

For Kennedy and Jason to discover why people are disappearing in time to save her friends, they’ll have to face teleporting assassins, grumpy wizards, gossiping hags, mafia robots, and secret military groups, all in the city of Westmeath, Ontario, which has more secrets than residents.

The first book of four in The Gates of Westmeath series.

Pre-order Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers now!

Jason Mood Board

by

I had fun looking for pictures that made me think of the main male protagonist of Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers, Jason Johnson.

And I thought, why not share it with you?

Jason Johnson mood board. Pictures of a black domino mask, a black figure in a martial arts pose, a black and silver motorcycle, a hungry man’s breakfast, a Hawaiian pizza, a black suit and tie, and a raw peridot as a pendant on a necklace all surround two images of Jason, one in profile and one as The Phantom, drawn by pinkpiggy93.

Jason Johnson

Age: 25

Date of Birth: November 8, 1976

Appearance: Shaggy dark hair, hazel eyes, tall, golden brown skin

Job: Owner and operator of a pizza restaurant The Hawaiian. Head of the Oldtown Council. Aka the Westmeath Phantom, a vigilante with the power to manipulate and control shadows

Parents: Hammond and Monique Johnson, deceased.

Sibling: Younger sister Zoe is married to Gabrielle and they have one daughter Brooke (15 months old)

Pre-order Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers now!