My Favorite Things with Genevieve Iseult Eldredge

They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, the weekly column where we grab someone in speculative circles to gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we sit down with Genevieve Iseult Eldredge, whose latest installment of The Circuit Fae series, Nemesis, comes out tomorrow, September 10th, from Firefly Hill Press!

What does GIE love when she’s not writing books that are perfect for readers of romance, urban fantasy, fairy stories and LGBT? Spoiler alert: a woman who TRULY breaks the wheel, a musical comedy that manages to hit a certain sweet spot, and a show about a bunch of kids who are just trying to find time for their weekly D&D game. Seriously. Curious? Read on to learn more!

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I’ll admit it, I’m not a binger. When I consume media, especially TV, it’s in small increments, mostly later in the evening after the day’s writing work is done. Translation: I’m super picky about the TV I do watch.

I’m also not a personal fan of instant gratification. I enjoy the anticipation. When I find a show I like, I stretch it out, watching only one or two eps a night to make it last longer. It gives me a little something to look forward to, especially on those days when the writing is grueling.

But if I could, here are my three current Netflix faves to binge:

Into the Badlands

Into the Badlands is a dystopian kung-fu western (you heard me) set in a near post-apocalyptic future, where guns are outlawed, and seven Barons rule over all. It’s the story of a teen boy with mysterious, dark powers named MK and his erstwhile protector, Sunny who —

Nope. Don’t believe the synopsis because even though Sunny (Daniel Wu) and MK (Aramis Knight) are important, it’s really the Widow (awesomely portrayed by Emily Beecham) who steals the show.

Basically, the story begins when the Widow murders her abusive Baron husband and takes over his oil fields. She then becomes a revolutionary, waging an all-out war (a la Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) on the rest of the Barons to free everyone from their oppression and greed and smash the unfair class system that keeps people in poverty.

You want to see a woman break the wheel? This show’s for you.

She pretty much outmaneuvers, outsmarts, and outfights every man she ever faces, and with her body count?

She literally kills the patriarchy.

According to the showrunners, the Widow was originally cast as the show’s villain, but then found viewers related strongly to her revolutionary character, and so the focus shifted. She became a main character and got a super badass redemption arc, including a mirror match battle.

She pretty much becomes a samurai Jedi. Wait. Is that redundant?

Reader, I LOVED watching her arc. It was satisfying in a way that typical “strong female characters” rarely are. What I like best about the Widow is she’s not perfect. She makes mistakes, she hurts those she loves, she nearly becomes the evil she strives to overcome. But she’s clever, competent, both mentally and physically powerful, and she’s chillingly self-aware.

In the end, this villainess-turned-heroine is the only hope for the heroes.

Plus, Emily Beecham just nails it in every scene and every badass fight. You can’t look away from this woman as she wages bloody battle against the patriarchy. And, really, why would you?

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Okay, I thought the same thing when I saw the setup (flighty girl pursues old boyfriend) but oh, how wrong I was! If you’re looking for some sly, subtly layered content that tackles some true-to-life issues, this show is for you.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend follows Rebecca Bunch, a super successful high-powered attorney who quits her job to move to small-town West Covina, California, because her high school squeeze said hello to her, and she becomes obsessed with him.

It sounds, well, to use the showrunner’s word — crazy.

And that’s the point — to break down the stigma of mental illness, which the show tackles in a completely unorthodox but somehow also sensitive and hilarious way. It’s like they found the sweet spot between fart jokes and high comedy.

PLUS, IT’S ALSO A MUSICAL! I know what you’re thinking: c’mon, every song can’t be amazing, but no, for real. With songs like the “It’s Rainin’ Men” spoof called “Let’s Generalize About Men” and the hilarious Patrick Swayze-esque number “Angry Mad,” which around my house we just call “Karate Feelings,” this show’s a winner.

What I really like, though, is the clever way they tackle diversity, by simply making their casting choices and story choices diverse in every way from queerness to race to body type. It’s clear they’re not just trying to slot people and characters in for tokenism.

And although the show tackles difficult subjects, there’s always a kernel of hope. Reader, I think we desperately need that in these dark days.

Stranger Things

It’s a no-brainer. A YA horror/thriller/science fiction that casts actual kid actors (and not twentysomethings) as kids, Stranger Things has some of the best animatronics and CGI, but its true strength is that it doesn’t rely on its effects or on cheap gimmicks.

It relies on its worldbuilding and the goals, motivations, and conflicts of its main characters.

In fact, I’d argue that it’s not really even about an alien invasion.

It’s about a group of richly drawn characters who just happen to be fighting off an alien invasion. I’m just as interested in whether Suzie is really real or if Hopper is going to get his act together or if Eleven is EVER going to just stroke out from all those brain hemorrhages — er, I mean, harmless nosebleeds — as I am about whether they’ll defeat the Mind Flayer. Seriously, though, these kids are just trying to save the world while also trying not to get kicked out of the town pool while ALSO trying to make time for their weekly D&D game.

Reader, I RELATE.

And speaking of D&D, the writers successfully did what few D&D parties ever do successfully: they split the party. O.O And they didn’t die. Double O.O Each group’s story interweaves with the others’. At first, the pattern is tough to see, but as the story progresses and the reveals start piling up, it all pulls together nicely.

Plus, where earlier seasons really leaned hard on Eleven to save everyone, Season Three lets the other kids have a turn, with each having a signature moment in the finale (except, really, for Max, which is a shame).

Add to that the nostalgic ’80s setting and the fact that the show is laid out like a classic D&D campaign, and you have a perfectly bingeable show complete with high-stakes scenes featuring big-creature damage in cool settings.

I mean, as a kid who didn’t want to run around a mall fighting aliens and wrecking the place?

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Raised by witches and dragons in the northern wilds, GIE writes angsty urban fantasy YA romance — where girls who are mortal enemies kick butt, take names, and fall in love against all odds.

She enjoys long hikes in the woods (where better to find the fair folk?), believing in fairies (in fact, she’s clapping right now), dancing with dark elves (always wear your best shoes), being a self-rescuing princess (hello, black belt!), and writing diverse books about teenage girls finding love, romance, and their own inner power.

She might be planning high tea at the Fae Court right now.

GIE is multi-published, and in her role as an editor has helped hundreds of authors make their dream of being published a reality.

See why GIE’s fans say she does “a fabulous job bringing the story to life” as a “master of world building,” who is “well-versed in the craft of writing,” and “stellar” at “writing for the broader community.”

Visit her author site at www.girlyengine.com

Photo credit to Coelynn McIninch

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