It happened when I was listening to NPR one day in the car on the way home from Kroger, and the announcer mentioned something about some new British show that was supposedly taking America by storm. Ahem...
It happened one day on Facebook when I had posted something about Sense & Sensibility (and how I love that movie), and a reader asked if I'd seen North & South. What's not to love?
Then it happened for me again most recently a couple of weeks ago with a series set in the old West. I remember seeing the previews of the show when it first debuted in 2011 but I was on a frienzied writing deadline and the recordings on my DVR came and went.
Then week before last when I was searching Netflix for something new to watch instantly on my iPad, up popped Hell on Wheels, and oh, I was quickly in series love again.
The setting? 1865, just after the Civil War when the Transcontinental Railroad was being built. Hell on wheels refers to the settlement that accompanied the construction of the railroad, along with the variety of company men, surveyors, support workers, laborers, and prostitutes who populated it. The show centers around "the race" between the Union Pacific Railroad of the East and Central Pacific Railroad of California to build a railroad that would ultimately connect the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States by rail for the first time.
The show's main character is Cullen Bohannon (isn't that a great Southern name?), a former Confederate soldier who works as a foreman while also working to track down the Union soldiers who murdered his wife and child. Let's just say this character was created for Anson Mount (the guy who plays Cullen). Oh my goodness, in so many ways. I'm just sayin'...
Granted, this show isn't for the faint of heart in regard to violence or "brothel behavior" of the day, but this western-lovin'-gal-at-heart is eating up the first two seasons. Season 3 premieres later this year. The characters are great, the writing is spot on, and the costumes are deliciously detailed and authentic. In fact, I just got the inspiration for my next "cover dress" from one of the episodes. Love it when that happens.
Tell me, have you experienced "series love" anytime recently? I watch a show every day as I walk on the treadmill, so I'll be needing a new series soon. Please share!
And now…a really fun introduction!
Each day this week, we will be revealing one of our new authors. And it's my pleasure to welcome the warm and wonderful Julie Klassen to Writes of Passage. . .
Julie worked in publishing
for sixteen years (first in advertising, then as a fiction editor for Bethany House Publishers), and now she writes
full time. She loves romance, English accents, and everything Jane Austen,
which explains why she writes what she writes. And she writes fabulously!
Three of her books, The
Maid of Fairbourne Hall, The Girl in the Gatehouse, and The Silent
Governess have won the Christy Award for Historical Romance. The Maid of
Fairbourne Hall and The Girl in the Gatehouse also won a Midwest
Book Award, and The Silent Governess was a finalist in Romance Writers
of America's RITA awards.
She graduated from the University
of Illinois and enjoys travel, research, BBC period dramas, long hikes, short
naps, and coffee with friends. She and her husband have two sons and live near
St. Paul, Minnesota.
Please join me in welcoming Julie. And yes, she's snarky, so don't let that sweet smile fool you for a minute. And don't forget to tell me your most recent "series love."
Blessings on your Tuesday,
Tammy
Blogger ate my first comment...
ReplyDeleteOh yay!! So glad Julie is joining us. She's just another WoP author whose books I buy the moment they come out. It is fitting you introduce her, Tammy, because I get the feeling she is just as snarky as you...and that's a good thing!!
Oh, I have committed a grave sin. I have yet to watch season 3 if DA. We had company the first two weeks and due to not grabbing time during the week to do ANYTHING, I have yet to catch up *sigh*
Enjoyed your post sweet Tammy--and I have to say I'm one of the zillions of Downton Abbey fans (although unhappy with how the season ended *sigh*). ~ YAY!!! I am thrilled that Julie Klassen will be joining us! I met Julie at the ACFW conference in St. Louis when I introduced myself. I then proceeded to tell her that the evening I began reading THE GIRL IN THE GATEHOUSE, I was hooked. However, due to a really bad storm, our lights went out. Not wanting to stop reading, I lit 9 candles and set them all around the book at my kitchen table so I could keep reading. Of course when my husband came downstairs to see what I was doing, I think at first he thought I was having a seance or something, LOL. Anyway, THAT'S how much I loved her writing! ~ Hugs, Patti Jo
ReplyDeleteHi Tam! I am DEVASTATED! We have just begun series 3 of DA and we watched the first episode of that seies just before we left for the US AND NOW I find it is all FINISHED over here ! What am I going to do? It will be finished by the time we return to Aus,I think. I'm positively MORTIFIED at the mere thought!! AH well..guess I'll just have to dwell on the thought that meeting some of you ladies while we are here, will MORE than COMPENSATE!:)I am so EXCITED!!!LOL!!
ReplyDelete@ Julie? Tammy says you're snarky..are you? I think she's leading us on myself..but really we do have to watch her too(love you Tam!) ROFLOL!!
Great to have you on board Julie. My favourite "show" in Aus is of course, WoP! Am looking forward to reading your posts.:)
Cheers
Rosie
Catherine, I'm praying for you and your grave sin, and honestly am wondering if grace truly extends this far.???? : ) LOL at your "confession." DA3 will be there waiting when you're ready, and we'll try to be careful not to list any spoilers here! Enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteCool on your intro with Julie, Patti Jo. You're both wonderful women of God, and I've no doubt you're going to love getting to know each other better. Julie has a great sense of humor and writes a mean Regency read, as you well know. So glad you've already "found" her writing. But yikes on those candles. Read safely!
Rosie, perhaps you could pick up the DVDs of DA3 at WalMart and you could watch them once you get to Judy's house. ?? She's heavy on deadline, needing to write, write, write, so that would give you and Pete time to catch up on the show. Oh, Season 3 is good! Just you wait! And you're an astute woman, Rosie. Julie is wickedly snarky. Hold on to your down unders! : )
NOTE ON COMMENTS BEING EATEN BY BLOGGER:
This has happened to me before too. So frustrating and I don't know of anything that can be one to prevent it. But! One thing I do routinely now (especially when having typed a long response like this one), is:
* I do a Control A (to highlight my typed comment)
* then I do a Control C (to copy my comment), just in case it's eaten.
If it is, then all I have to do is simply Control V in a new comment box (to paste my copied comment in without having to type it again).
Can you tell I'm into prevention? And yes, I also walk almost everyday and take vitamins too. : )
I'm so excited that Julie Klassen will be joining Writes of Passage. I love her books and can't wait to get to know her better.
ReplyDeleteOkay, true confession: I'm addicted to NCIS. Up until a month ago, we'd not owned a TV in five years. But during that time, I made a point to watch NCIS each week on my computer. Well, now that we have TV/cable again, I've discovered that on the USA network they have an NCIS marathon several times a week. I'm ashamed to admit how difficult it is for me on those days to turn the TV off so I can do the other things I'm supposed to be doing.
I'm excited about Julie Klassen and Lynn Austin joining up here! I've read several of Lynn's books and one of Julie's, and want to read more of each.
ReplyDeleteI'm late to the Downtown Abbey bandwagon as well. When so many people I knew liked it, I figured I was too far behind t start, but then saw that each season was only 7 or so episodes long, and that seemed doable. Now I am caught up.
I liked North and South as well, and Colin Firth's Pride and Prejudice. I'm also a fan of White Collar, NCIs, Touch, Person of Interest, and Elementary. Funny how so many of those are detective-type shows: I don't read that kind of thing often but I guess I like to watch them! We also watched 24 and LOST when they were on.
Welcome, Julie! So wonderful to have you join us on the blog. I know our readers are going to be delighted to hear from you. I look forward to all your "snarky" remarks as the days carry on. It's difficult to keep up with Tammy--she's the reighing queen of snark. :)
ReplyDeleteOh Tammy I'm excited to check out that railroad series. I LOVE railroads - which is why I've so often had books about them. I loved the complications and problems that arose building the transcontinental. It was an amazing time in history. Thanks for the heads up. Waving to snarky Julie whom I adore and am currently deeply ensconced in her The Tudor's Daughter. Yikes and away I can hardly put it down to meet my own Friday deadline. If I'm late with the manuscript - I'm sending Dave Horton after you Julie.
ReplyDeleteOh, great series recommendations! Have you seen Lark Rise to Candleford? I adore it. I consider it DA's sort of bucolic predecessor. You'll recognize tons of familiar BBC period-actors, including Nicholas Higgins (from North and South)/Bates (DA) in another strong role... before his days as Bates.
ReplyDeleteAnd what a wonderful addition to the blog-- Julie is one of my favorite authors! Such a spectacular gathering if authors here. Thanks, ladies!
About the blogger eating my comment from earlier. I'm not sure we can TOTALLY blame Blogger this time around. I was trying to type the comment on the iPad (yes, I actually read the blog this morning before getting out of bed!), and it wanted me to log in. It tried redirecting me to log in, but something went wrong and bye-bye went my comment.
ReplyDeleteI guess I should mention something about series love. Erik and I watch VERY little TV. We have found that with both of our crazy work schedules (me being gone 11+ hours a day including my hour commute each way, and he never knowing until the day of if he has to work evenings), we prefer our down time together instead of in front of the TV. However, we have definitely enjoyed watching Murder, She Wrote together. I grew up with it, and when Mom DaCosta was so sick, she and Dad D would pick out a series, order every season, and watch them back-to-back, since she spent so much time on the couch. We borrowed M,SW from Dad the last time we were in Texas :-)
I'm a Julie Klassen fan! Loved The Tutor's Daughter and The Maid of Fairbourne Hall.
ReplyDeleteFriday Night Lights was one of my all-time favorite series ever! Right now, I'm anxiously awaiting the return of the HBO series, Game of Thrones. It's based on fantasy series of books by George R.R. Martin. It's so good (definitely R rated, though).
Yay! So excited that Julie is joining the group- I enjoy her books so much & I'm sure she'll contribute good things here, as well.
ReplyDeleteOh.....It would take entirely too long to repent for all the series addictions I have. :)
Fist bump to all the NCIS-aholics out there- I stand with you. I looooooove that show.
One at haven't seen on here yet is BBC's Sherlock- Benedict Cumberbatch & Martin Freeman- with the exception of the episode 'Scandal in Belgravia' (which requires skipping a large chunk due to content) - I am in love with that series. My biggest complaint is the 'episodes' are entirely too short and WHEN oh when is season 3 coming out? The cliff-hanger ending is killing me.
Also- I will confess my inner geek here (and possibly cause some of you to think less of me- oh well!) but I sereiously series love Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. Watching the series again (and again) as a writer, I find myself appreciating the character arcs and especially the complex baddies. :)
Oh, and Tamera- lover of westerns- pleeeeeeaaaase tell me you've watched the old TNT series 'The Magnificent Seven'? It is such a crime there were only 2 seasons of that show- it still has a special place in my heart.
Welcome, Julie!
ReplyDeleteAs for TV series that keep me walking on the treadmill for the full 45 to 50 minutes, I haven't seen anyone mention the BBC version of Robin Hood. It was three seasons long, and I loved it. It's kind of anachronistic, like one of my favorite movies, A Knight's Tale. I will also confess that another series I streamed that held me captive and even made me want to get on the treadmill so I could see another episode was the first year of Revenge. I heard that Season 2 "jumped the shark" when it came to believability, so I'm not sure I will watch that when it is available for streaming. Depends what else sounds better, I guess.
Robin
Hey Tammy!
ReplyDeleteThe shows I watch are not dramas at the current time, though I've been quite obsessed with Criminal Minds, Prison Break, The Closer, and others over the years. Right now, I'm watching the Dallas Mavericks and OKC Thunder basketball games, Animal Planet's Gator Boys (Sundays), HGTV's Love It Or List It (Mondays), HGTV's Income Property (Tuesdays), and HGTV's Property Brothers (Wednesdays). I love interior decorating shows; can you tell?
Welcome, Julie! I can't tell you how excited I am to have you join WoP. Like Catherine, I typically buy your books as soon as they come out. (Hello. My name is Andrea, and I'm a Regency-era addict.) I know you're going to bring buckets of extra fun along with you, which just adds to the crazy-coolness of this awesome blog.
Blessings, Ladies!
Andrea
Hey Tam!! I forgot to ask you..What are "GRITS?" :)
ReplyDeleteHow fun!! I go away to write and come back to this! LOVE your conversation, gals! You make me smile, plus you've given me TONS to look forward to watching. Bless you!!
ReplyDeleteRosie, GRITS are a delicious breakfast food that I'm sure you'll taste somewhere along the way while you're here. I bet Kim will make you some at her lovely B&B. Or not. LOL.
Love the NCIS fan base among us! I haven't gotten into that yet. Might have to check that out too!
ReplyDeleteAnd just a caution on Hell on Wheels, Tracie & all. It's not for the faint of heart, as I said in the post, nor for the easily offended. It's a pretty "realistic" portrayal. But then, anyone who has studied the old west (and I know you have, Tracie, a lot) won't be shocked. Personally, I love the characters and their plights, their extreme weaknesses and tiny, momentary triumphs.
So appreciate this community!
Okay here I come all late, but here nevertheless! Ha! Ha!
ReplyDeleteI love the series that the BBC made several years ago based on the books of author Catherine Cookson. Titles are "The Girl, "The Black Velvet Gown", "The Tide of Life" and so many more. Most of them are about England during the mid to late 1800's and she also wrote a few early 1900 ones, a lot about the hardships during that time but always with someone that was able to rise above the trials. You can find a lot of them at the public Library. I also like "Law and Order: Special Victims unit" and also the Criminal Intent one too, but had to stop watching them because I started having bad dreams...scary ones! LOL! Am I a wimp or what? And of course the beloved "Downton Abbey" is a favorite one! Or and have you ever seen "The Jewel in the Crown " Series? Also BBC, it is about British rule and influence in India during WWII...great acting and interesting...PG-13 though.
Welcome to Julia ! It will be so nice to Meet " you! Looking forward to it!
Sorry, I meant to write Welcome JULIE not Julia. There I go messing up already. I promise to be on my best behavior ladies, I don't want to scare the new ladies! LOL!
ReplyDeleteWelcome Julie! I look forward to reading your posts! I love seeing updates in my email.
ReplyDeleteAs for series I love: NCIS, JAG, Bones, and my 2 absolute love are: Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. I love them.
I mentioned Elementary in my list of TV favorites above -- I may have to strike that one off the list. The last episode I saw had a couple of objectionable elements, but the show hasn't really had much besides that. I'll have to see which way it goes in the future. It's about a modern-day Sherlock Holmes, with a woman as Watson, which I thought I'd hate, but is not actually bad. I'd also like to see the new British series with Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes some time.
ReplyDeleteLOVE these suggestions for series and shows, friends. Y'all are the BEST! My queue runneth over. Now to get walking so I can watch them all. Appreciate you, friends.
ReplyDeleteThanks, everyone, for the warm welcome!
ReplyDelete