It’s almost Christmas Time! If you don’t have a gift for your god-child, your niece, nephew, your best friend’s kids – or feel like reading a paranormal romance for young adults, just because you’re curious, check out A. J. Alexander’s ‘The Council Of Twelve’ series:
It’s been quite some time since I wrote about a great place to write. But a few weeks ago I found one. It was quite unexpected.
It’s getting cooler here… yes, even in Southern California autumn is visible and feelable. A couple weeks ago, I knew I’m going to be cool sitting outside and writing, and there was a breeze that can make writing on paper a bit uncomfortable at times. Besides, I hadn’t eaten that day and was a bit hungry.
I discovered ‘Mimi’s Bistro & Bakery’ in Thousand Oaks and found it inviting on the outside. I decided to go in and see if I could stay for a while, eat, and write.
It was homey and cozy inside as well, and I had a wonderful waitress, called Melissa. They have a quite attractive menu here:
I told Melissa who I am and what I planned, and she beamed like the sunshine and invited me to stay as long as I liked. She paid really good attention to me, did not constantly disturb me, and counted on me looking at her if I needed something.
I was in Mimi’s Bistro for about three and a half hours and loved it! The food is great, the staff was wonderful and polite, and since then, I had been back at ‘Mimi’s’ and enjoyed the ambiance and Melissa’s service again. Drop by and enjoy it!
That particular location of Mimi’s Bistro and Bakery can be found here:
Thousand Oaks
400 N Moorpark Rd.
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
Phone: (805) 373-6161
If you ever go there, to eat – or write – or both, and you see Melissa, please tell her I said hi. She’s amazing!
Leverage was an American TV show which aired from 2008 to 2012. The series was produced by executive producer and director Dean Devlin. Leverage was based on a five-person-team:
The Brain – -former insurance investigator Nathan Ford (Timothy Hutton)
A retrieval specialist Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane)
The team had decided to help people who cannot help themselves. Citizens who are not strong enough to fight corporate or governmental injustices. They say their team starts to work where the law stops.
Picture courtesy of Google.com
Story plot:
Most episodes follow a set story structure: After meeting the client, the Leverage team researches the villains to find a weakness to exploit. Each con, either as originally planned or as complications develop, typically requires the specialized skills of all the members of the group. Towards the end of each episode, the villains seem to get the upper hand, only to be outwitted by the team. Because most of the narrative has seemed to follow the team’s point of view, the audience is momentarily uninformed as to exactly how they have succeeded in their con. A flashback then reveals how a seeming complication was either anticipated by the Leverage team, or used in a clever improvisation. These flashbacks, which are featured in most episodes, excepting 113, sometimes reveal only in retrospect that an earlier scene was actually a clue to the Leverage team’s plan. More often, the flashbacks reveal new information to which the viewer has not been privy. This formula is followed by every episode in seasons one, two, and three. With the exception of the final season, each season ends with a two-part finale which involves a two-part, multi-stage con designed to bring down a major adversary, such as an international crime financier in season three, with an ending that advances the team’s story into the new season. (Source: Wikipedia)
But why am I telling you all this? It’s actually very simple: I watched that TV shows for years. After it was canceled I bought all five seasons on DVD and watched them until I had learned them by heart.
As simple and dray Wikipedia has described the story plot of the episodes and seasons, the pattern the episodes and seasons followed, is quite correctly shown.
The actors gave their hearts to the show and they visibly relaxed around each other and enjoyed working together.
No matter how well the episodes followed that pattern, each one was different and I could not tell two who were the same. Each one was thrilling and exciting.
More and more I admired the writers behind the Leverage show!
Leverage was written by show creators John Rogers and Chris Downey along with a team of writers. The team changed with the seasons, but there were never less than three or more than five writers, along with the season’s script editor.
Every single episode to me was an adventure. I saw the characters develop within the show. I saw the actors develop as well and grow as a group and as a team.
Apparently, I’m not the only one who loved the show. It had (and still has) fans all over the world.
We all admired Parker’s physical abilities, we all envied Sophie’s cleverness; also we all wished we had Hardison’s IT and technology knowledge, Nate’s masterful mind – I heard men hoped they had Eliot’s strength and strategic experience – and we girls were all a little bit in love with Eliot.
Let’s celebrate the group of writers who were able to create a TV show of such sophisticated finesse that they kept fans globally on their seats for 5 years.
To the readers of ‘Soul Taker,’ Nathan is a known character. He only shows up briefly at the beginning of the story. He takes Katie’s spot when she accepts her new tasks as a Guardian.
If you haven’t read ‘Soul Taker’ yet, it is time to read: I added the universal link where the book is available.
Below you will find an interview with Nathan. Read it and find out more about an Angel we only know by name – and by a perfectly tailored suit.
Excerpt from ‘Soul Taker’:
He looked over my shoulder, and I turned around, watching two beautiful looking men walking toward us. One of them was dressed in a suit and tie and looked elegant and chic like a businessman. The other one wore old jeans, cowboy boots, and a long-worn leather coat.
Joseph smiled. He introduced me to the business-like guy. “This is Nathaniel. He’s your replacement and will take your job over from here.”
The Guy shook my hand. “Please, call me Nate,” he said with a laugh.
Hello Nathan. It is great seeing you again. How are you doing?
Hello AJ. Nice to see you too. I’m doing okay. Unfortunately, I’m far too busy. Sometimes I wish I had more time off.
We know you took over from Katie when she wanted to become a Guardian and met Raphael.
Yes, I did. I was quite surprised to hear the two fell in love. I was invited to their wedding but unfortunately couldn’t go because of an emergency.
Why were you surprised? From what I hear, Katie is breathtakingly beautiful, and Raphael, from what I heard, has celebrated quite some success with the ladies.
Yes, but we were taught that it is almost impossible for an Archangel to find his consort. Raphael found his consort, and now we all are curious to see who of the Council Of Twelve is going to be next.
How about you? Is there someone special in your life?
I admit, there is someone I love. But I am not permitted to talk more about all that, remember? You told me to keep my mouth shut about that.
(Oh, yes. *AJ laughs* I forgot)
But now, tell us a little bit about you. Who is Nathan?
I am a Soul Taker, as you know. I have been one for about a millennium. I pick up souls and take them to their respective final destinations. Usually, it is Heaven, but occasionally I have to take them to the gates of Hell. Rarely we Soul Takers are attacked by the other side who try to steal the soul we are working with.
Now, we know Katie got tired of doing this job for three hundred years. Aren’t you tired out by that job?
Well, Katie and I are two completely different personalities. She is younger than I am, for one thing. Also, she is quite emotionally sensitive. I could easily imagine that a soul she takes to the portals of the Underworld is trashing, crying, regretting, screaming, is almost breaking her heart.
And we shouldn’t forget: We are taking all kinds of souls… not only bad ones, not only good ones, and in particular, we do have to pick up innocent souls too. That was very hard on Katie.
I had to harden my emotions and heart against this kind of compassion, or I could never have done that job to my satisfaction and the satisfaction of my bosses.
We met you briefly in Katie’s story. And now we learned a bit more about who you are. Are we going to meet you again?
Yes, you will meet me again. You will learn more about me. Just be a bit patient. I’ll be back.
Thank you so much for dropping in as my guest today, Nathan. We really appreciate it.
I told Melissa who I am and what I planned, and she beamed like the sunshine and invited me to stay as long as I liked. She paid really good attention to me, did not constantly disturb me, and counted on me looking at her if I needed something.
