Hallmark Christmas Movies

By Melissa Minners Okay, admit it: how many of you have already started watching Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel? Alright, I’ll go first – yes, I’m addicted to Hallmark Christmas movies, even though they all have a similar format. Boy and girl meet and have no real interest in each other…or had an interest

At the End of the Matinee

Written By: Keiichiro Hirano Translated By: Juliet Winters Carpenter Published By: Amazon Crossing Reviewed By: Melissa Minners                Last year, I was looking for something different to read.  Happily, Amazon was offering a bunch of books for free that I might want to check out.  They were by authors I had never heard of and

The Wonder Years (2021)

Airs On: ABC Reviewed By: Melissa Minners                First, I would like to go on record as someone who is not a fan of remakes or reboots.  In fact, when I heard that The Wonder Years, a show that I watched faithfully from the late 1980s into the early 1990s, was being “rebooted,” I was

Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!

Produced By: Warner Home Video Reviewed by Melissa Minners             Being a tremendous Peanuts fan, it was with much surprise that I had to admit having never seen the animated television special Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!   Based on a comic strip series that I read when I was much younger, the special first

I Still Believe in Santa Claus

A Christmas Season Reflection By Melissa Minners             The holiday season – a joyous time of year where peace and good will reign…unless you’re trying to get hold of a $399 laptop computer.  That’s when good passes out the window.  So what if I just knocked down some 70-year-old grandmother, causing her to be trampled

The Last Herald Mage Series

Author: Mercedes Lackey Published By: DAW Books Reviewed by Melissa Minners    Mercedes Lackey sees herself as a storyteller.  It’s her job, she states on her website, and a job well done in my opinion.  Fantasy novels aren’t the only forms of literature Lackey is interested in.  She has also received acclaim for the lyrics she

The Soles

A Rising Star Feature by Melissa Minners              My first introduction to music from the Canadian band known as The Soles came in the form of a promotional CD containing four songs.  I discovered that lead singer and songwriter Dean Jalonen (aka: D.I.N.) used very personal topics to create the lyrics found on this CD.