‘The House Across the Lake’ is Riley Sager’s new psychological/supernatural thriller. Photo: amazon
Riley Sager is The New York Times bestselling author of six novels, most recently “Home Before Dark” and “Survive the Night.” His first novel, “Final Girls,” has been published in 30 countries and won the ITW Thriller Award for Best Hardcover Novel. His latest book is “The House Across the Lake” was named a most anticipated summer book by USA Today, People, E! News, Cosmopolitan, PureWow, CNN.com, CrimeReads, POPSUGAR, The Nerd Daily, BookTrib, Mystery Writers of America, Bookish, and Distractify. (amazon, 2022)
“The House Across the Lake” – Casey Fletcher, a recently widowed actress trying to escape a streak of bad press, has retreated to the peace and quiet of her family’s lake house in Vermont. Armed with a pair of binoculars and several bottles of bourbon, she passes the time watching Tom and Katherine Royce, the glamorous couple living in the house across the lake. They make for good viewing—a tech innovator, Tom is powerful; and a former model, Katherine is gorgeous.
One day on the lake, Casey saves Katherine from drowning, and the two strike up a budding friendship. But the more they get to know each other—and the longer Casey watches—it becomes clear that Katherine and Tom’s marriage is not as perfect as it appears. When Katherine suddenly vanishes, Casey immediately suspects Tom of foul play. What she does not realize is that there is more to the story than meets the eye—and that shocking secrets can lurk beneath the most placid of surfaces.
Packed with sharp characters, psychological suspense, and gasp-worthy plot twists, Riley Sager’s “The House Across the Lake” is the ultimate escapist read . . . no lake house required.
Francesco Chen and Yu Chieh Chiu in Neysan Sobhani’s GUIDANCE. Photo, Good Deed Entertainment, used with permission.
The movie Guidance, directed by Neysan Sobhani and starring Sun Jia (Han Miao), Harry Song (Mai Zi Xuan) and Francesco Chen (Su Jie) was released in the US on VOD June 17 on all major platforms including Apple TV/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, XFinity Cable, and more. (Good Deed Entertainment, 2022)
Guidance – In the not-too-distant future, humanity slowly rebuilds itself a decade after The Great War. Believing that the ability to lie is the root cause of the devastating conflict, a tech entrepreneur creates a pill containing a nanotechnology app known as “Guidance” that allegedly will make everyone more enlightened. Once swallowed, an A.I. “installs” in the person’s nervous system and aids their ability to detect deception in other people among other enhancements. A young couple goes on a weekend retreat to the countryside and they begin to use Guidance. However, recent events have potentially compromised their trust in one another. With the tech in their bodies, the couple tries to subvert Guidance in the hopes of saving their relationship before it is too late.
This movie puts forth and examines the hypothetical question: can humanity truly ever be ready for absolute honesty? It sounds like an admirable quality for a society to have, especially one that is rebuilding after a war, but in reality, sometimes little white lies are necessary. Giving people the capability to detect deception in others is worthless if humanity itself does not wish to change. Even when the technology exists, people will still try to circumnavigate the system, similar to how some people can beat a lie detector. That is exactly what happens in this movie. As the young couple who initially try it discover, the quest for full honesty did more harm than a lie would have and their relationship remains on shaky ground. They were the initial Guidance testers and eventually it was also made available to the general public who apparently come to the same conclusion. To answer my initial question: it goes without saying that humanity is not ready for the repercussions of absolute honesty. It is mostly dialogue driven and the production value is excellent, particularly the visuals. Guidance is an excellent movie and like most science fiction movies, it explores the ethics of morality and controlling human behavior.
China, 2021, 93 minutes, in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles
*Thank you to Emma Griffiths PR for an advance screening.*
Photo: Good Deed Entertainment, used with permission.
The Bloody Man will premiere on digital on July 12 before releasing on physical formats later. Photo: google
Wild Eye Releasing has acquired the rights to director Daniel Benedict’s The Bloody Man, a supernatural horror film reuniting A Nightmare On Elm Street 4 : The Dream Master stars Lisa Wilcox and Tuesday Knight. (Wild Eye Releasing, 2022)
Penned by Daniel and Casi Benedict, and produced by Red Serial Films, the film tells of a young boy who, after the death of his mother, becomes obsessed with a comic book she gave him that ultimately summons the ancient monster found in its pages.
Mercedez Varble, Dan Eardley, Jason Crowe, Roni Jonah and KateLynn E. Newberry join Wilcox and Knight in the film, which is said to encompass high-end production values and plays like a cocktail of A Nightmare On Elm Street, The Goonies, and Stranger Things. Wild Eye will premiere the film on digital on July 12 before releasing on physical formats later.
Karmalink will be released in the US in major city theaters and on video on demand in the US and Canada on Friday July 15, 2022. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Conceived as a way to interrogate processes of neo-colonialism, and highlighting the alienating effects of technological progress, Jake Wachtel’s Karmalinkis a mind-bending tale of reincarnation, artificial consciousness, and the search for enlightenment. (Good Deed Entertainment, 2022)
In near-future Phnom Penh, the rich and privileged are augmented with nanotech and new skyscrapers crowd the skyline. In Tralop Bek, a tight-knit community threatened with forced eviction, 13-year-old Leng Heng is having vivid dreams of his past lives. He and his friends are convinced they are meant to find a buried Buddhist statue to save their homes, and they seek out help from a street-smart girl in the neighborhood, Srey Leak. Together they follow clues across town and into the past, uncovering a link with a genius neuroscientist on a quest for digital nirvana. As Leng Heng’s dreams converge on the present, his very sense of identity begins to unravel. When it becomes clear that the stakes are higher than they imagined, the two friends must decide how far they are willing to go to find their treasure and the truth.
American-born filmmaker Jake Wachtel began his career making short documentaries for nonprofits and social impact ventures working in the global south. His work has been featured on NYTimes.com, Wired, NPR, and MSNBC. In 2015, he moved to Cambodia to teach a year-long class in filmmaking to children as a part of the Filmmakers Without Borders initiative. His Phnom Penh-set short film The Foreigner Here premiered at the Cambodian International Film Festival, and he has gone on to collaborate with many of the growing new wave of young Cambodian filmmakers. He also served as on-set editor for Jimmy Henderson’s Cambodian-Chinese coproduction The Prey. Phnom Penh became his home base for several years as he developed his first feature Karmalink—Cambodia’s first sci-fi movie—set in the community where he taught and produced with a majority Cambodian cast and crew, including his former students.
Cambodia, 2021, 102 minutes, in Khmer with English subtitles
***OFFICIAL SELECTION: VENICE FILM CRITICS’ WEEK (OPENING NIGHT FILM), AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL, GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL, and many more.***
Karmalink will be released in the US Theatrically in major cities and on VOD in the US and Canada on Friday, July 15, 2022.
Theaters include: Lumiere Music Hall – Los Angeles, CA Rialto Lakeside Elmwood – Berkeley, CA Rialto Lakeside Sonoma – Sebastopol, CA SIFF Film Center – Seattle, WA
VOD Platforms include: US: Apple TV/iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, XFinity Cable, and more. Canada: Apple TV/iTunes, Google Play.
Good Deed Entertainment (GDE) is an Ohio based independent studio dedicated to producing, financing, and distributing quality entertainment for under-served audiences. Its distribution slate includes recent releases Summertime, Ma Belle, My Beauty, and Lucky Grandma, in addition to the Academy Award nominated, Loving Vincent, and Spirit Award nominated, To Dust.
Kelly Sokol is the author of “Breach” and “The Unprotected,” which was featured on NPR and named one of Book Riot’s 100 Must-Read Books of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood. She is a Pushcart Prize-nominated author and MFA creative writing graduate. Her work has appeared in Alpinist, UltraRunning Magazine, The Manifest-Station, Connotation Press, and more. She teaches creative writing at The Muse Writers Center. Her new book “Breach” is an unflinching and timely gaze into the marriage of an enlisted special operator and his wife.
“Breach”– Marleigh Mulcahy grew up in a boxing gym, the daughter of hard-drinking parents who did not keep a stable roof over her head. The story begins as she is working at her grandfather’s gym. In the cinder-block Box-n-Go, amidst the sweat and funk, she meets Explosive Ordnance Disposal specialist Jace Holt, a highly and expensively trained bomb diffuser with three successful deployments behind him. With a heady mix of hope, carelessness, and a ridiculous amount of courage, they begin a family. They have plenty in common because they both have unstable parents and they are determined to do better. In between the pressures of a growing family and responsibilities, their relationship grows strained. When Jace returns to active duty, a roadside bomb resurrects ghosts from the couple’s past and threatens the life they have built.
It is common knowledge that the life of a military wife is challenging but it is rare to read a book that chronicles these challenges. This is where ‘Breach’ comes in and not only fills the void but excels at shining the light on the ups and downs of a military family. This book is an unwavering look at the reality of what it means to be a military wife and struggling to keep it together. With down to earth language, it is fast paced and an easy read and will keep readers turning pages to find out what happens to Marleigh in the end as her life begins to unravel. The characters are relatable and well developed and the action is mostly dialogue driven. Although it contains a few graphic sex scenes, it serves to cement the couple’s relationship and does not take away from the focus of the overall story. Marleigh and Jace’s story may be heartbreaking but it ends on a hopeful note that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. ‘Breach’ by Kelly Sokol is a reminder that it takes a village to raise a family and that we all need the support of friends and family. It is easily this year’s beach read and is recommended for fans of military family life fiction as well as women’s fiction.
“Marleigh awoke in the dark, each night, a running tally of debt in her mind. Food, school for the boys, diapers for Max, gas for the car, car insurance. Did she have room on either of her credit cards? Health insurance cancellation notices.”
*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.
The new Twin Liquors location will feature a tasting bar and education room. Photo: google
Yesterday Twin Liquors announced the grand opening of its newest location in Alamo Heights. The store will be located in the same shopping center it is currently in, but will be moving into the old Stein Mart location at 99 E Basse Rd, San Antonio, TX 78209. With a bigger space, the new liquor store will boast a tasting bar and education center along with a fine wine room, expanded product selection and more. (Twin Liquors, 2022)
GRAND OPENING – Thursday, 6/23
Business Hours: Monday – Saturday 10a.m. – 9p.m.
Twin Liquors Alamo Heights 99 E Basse Rd San Antonio, TX 78209 *former Stein Mart location
Born and raised in downtown Austin, Texas, Twin Liquors began as one small store and has developed into a successful “home-grown” Texas family-owned company that has a unique and well-respected reputation throughout the United States for having impeccable team members, outstanding customer service, conveniently located stores, extensive selections of fine wines and premium spirits from around the world, and substantial community involvement. Twin Liquors currently operates 100+ neighborhood stores from Austin to San Antonio, the Hill Country to Houston and the DFW area with their Sigel’s branded stores.
The new limited time $4 Fireball Margarita will be available July 1-4, 2022. Photo: Taco Cabana, used with permission.
On Friday, July 1, 2022, Taco Cabana invites guests 21 years of age or older to try the all-new refreshing Watermelon Margarita, available at all Texas locations for just $4. At select participating locations throughout Texas, guests can spice up their Independence Day Weekend with a limited-time Fireball Margarita from Friday, July 1, 2022 through Monday, July 4, 2022 for just $4 as well. Guests can also enjoy a wide variety of Taco Cabana’s $3 classic frozen margarita flavors statewide including Lime, Strawberry, Mango, Mangonada and Strawberry/Mango. (Taco Cabana, 2022)
Pair these tantalizing summer margaritas with Taco Cabana favorites like the Dozen Taco or Flauta Boxes or TC’s Kickin’ Grande Nachos – all are a perfect addition to any 4th of July gathering. Beer lovers can also cool off with a bottled beer including Miller Lite ($3.25), Bud Lite ($3.25), Shiner Bock ($3.75) or Dos Equis XX ($3.75) and a three-pack of the newly-launched Carne Asada Street Tacos for $5.29 or one of the 16 new combinations of Smothered Burritos.
Watermelon margaritas available beginning Friday, July 1, 2022. *Fireball Margarita and dozen flauta boxes available Friday, July 1, 2022 – Monday, July 4, 2022. All other TC food offerings are available now.
*Fireball Margarita available only at select Texas locations.
TC food offerings and To-Go Margaritas are available through curbside pick-up, drive-thru, in-restaurant, and via mobile order through the MyTC! App.
Taco Cabana, a subsidiary of YTC Enterprises, LLC, was founded in 1978. The brand specializes in Tex-Mex-inspired food including enchiladas, fajitas, quesadillas, flautas, burritos, tacos, flour tortillas and a selection of made-from-scratch salsas and sauces. Restaurants feature open-display cooking, a selection of beer and tequila margaritas, patio dining, drive-thru windows, curbside pick-up and delivery. As of June 21, 2022, Taco Cabana operates 143 company-owned restaurants in Texas.
WonderSlice will serve pizza by the slice, full pies, subs, salads, and soft serve ice cream. Photo: WonderSlice, used with permission.
Potluck Hospitality and Chef Ben Schwartz are excited to announce that WonderSlice,the first pizza concept at Pearl, is opening at the Food Hall on Monday, June 27. WonderSlice pays tribute to the heyday of neighborhood pizza joints. The name conveys a sense of nostalgia, with a promise of “wonder by the slice.” The new restaurant is accessible and playful; its offerings include fresh pizza by the slice made onsite, full pies, homemade subs, salads, and soft serve ice cream. (WonderSlice, 2022)
Select menu items include the Ball Park pizza which includes Italian sausage, red onion, broccoli rabe, and chili flakes; the Green Monster pizza with parmesan cream, shredded zucchini, and pesto; and the Meatball or Chicken Parmesan sub with marinara sauce, fresh mozzarella, parmesan, and basil.
The Grand Opening will be on Monday, June 27, 2022. Business hours: 8a.m. to 9p.m. Sunday – Thursday 8a.m. to 10p.m. Friday and Saturday
Food Hall at Bottling Department Pearl 312 Pearl Pkwy Building 6 San Antonio, TX 78215
Founded in 2022, Potluck Hospitality conceives, operates, manages, and partners on culinary and experiential brands in San Antonio, TX. Potluck Hospitality concepts include Best Quality Daughter, Brasserie Mon Chou Chou, Carriqui, Food Hall at Bottling Dept., Ladino, and Stable Hall (coming 2023). Potluck’s team is made up of chefs, designers, strategists in culture-crafting, brand, and finance that all share a love of food and gathering. Potluck Hospitality’s name pays tribute to memorable experiences with great food, great music, and great company–where everyone has something to contribute. Being together, sharing meals, and communally experiencing music is elemental to what it means to be human.
Free fun and art making for families at Blue Star Contemporary’s Family Saturday. Photo: google
Blue Star Contemporary (BSC), San Antonio’s first and longest- running contemporary art nonprofit, welcomes the public on Saturday, June 25 for Free Family Saturday. From 1p.m. to 4p.m., families with children of all ages are invited to enjoy free hands-on art making activities, led by artists on view Jenn Hassin, Sarah Sudhoff, and Jill Ewing with Bihl Haus Arts. Also in attendance will be Vicki Johnson, who will be leading a letter writing activity with Operation Gratitude, a nation-wide nonprofit dedicated to providing people across our great country with opportunities for hands-on volunteerism to say ‘thank you’ to our Military, Veterans, and First Responders. (Blue Star Contemporary, 2022)
This free family event focuses on BSC’s current exhibitions and gives families an opportunity to interact with local artists and community organizations. The artworks on view inspire art making that encourages children to look deeply and understand contemporary art better through fun activities. Families are invited to enjoy BSC’s exhibitions as well as complimentary food and refreshments.
On View at Blue Star Contemporary BSC’s main gallery features Travel Distance, curated by independent curator and interdisciplinary artist Amber Zora. The exhibition features the work of Miridith Campbell (Kiowa), Joe Devera, Claudia Hare, Jenn Hassin, Gina Herrera, Monte Little (Diné), Jessica Putnam–Phillips, Daniel Rios Rodriguez, Renee Romero, and Sarah Sudhoff. The artworks featured represent how veterans and their families have processed, moved through, purged, and reclaimed their experience around military service.
The Learning Lab at BSC presents The Veterans Book Project, a library of books authored collaboratively by artist Monica Haller and dozens of people who have been affected by, and have archives of, the American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In their printed format, the books provide a place, or “container,” that slows down and materializes the great quantity of ephemeral image files that live on veterans’ hard drives and in their heads. Each book re-deploys volatile images with the aim of rearticulating and refashioning memories. It stands both independent of and in concert with the larger collection.
These exhibitions coincide with the Blue Star Museums program, a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 2,000 museums. Running from Memorial Day through Labor Day 2022, museums across the United States offer free general admission to active-duty military personnel and their families. BSC participates in this program in an effort to say “thank you” to our military community.
Opening on July 1, Andreas Till: De Ami, focuses on the influence of the presence of American troops in artist Andreas Till’s hometown Heidelberg, Germany and the relationship between Germans and Americans between 1945 and 2013 born out of this presence. The Other Side, is a selection of films referencing ideas of transitions and events that foundationally change someone, i.e. “to be on the other side of something.” The video works also allude to ideas of mortality and the spiritual concept of metaphysical selves entering a new plane. The films were selected from Darmstadt Sezession’s 2021 prize shortlist for our collaborative Projection/Projektion grants and screenings program, and feature the work of Faezeh Nikoozad, Aki Pao-Chen Chiu, Breech Asher Harani, and Fumiko Kikuchi. Fake Plastic Forest features the work of France Dubois, Annette Isham, Işık Kaya, and Leigh Merrill, contemporary photographers and lens-based artists dealing with themes of artifice, truth and fiction, and the theatricality of our interactions with nature.
BSC presents exhibitions with artists from San Antonio and around the world sharing their global perspectives that encourage understanding, empathy, change, and action, fulfilling our mission to inspire, nurture, and innovate. Like most non-collecting contemporary art spaces, BSC contributes fresh insight and perspective on larger issues affecting society and culture by highlighting trends, movements, and conversations happening in art.
BSC was founded for artists by artists in 1986 in a grassroots movement sparked by the cancellation of the first major museum exhibition of contemporary art in San Antonio. Six arts supporters and artists founded Contemporary Art for San Antonio to provide an exhibition venue for artists and the public. With the support of a handful of donors and property developers, the founders, artists, and volunteers converted an abandoned warehouse into a gallery for the first annual Blue Star Exhibition. Over the years, BSC has grown to encompass a professional staff, a robust calendar of onsite and offsite exhibitions, community collaborations, creative youth development programs, international exchange opportunities for artists, and public art projects.
Free Family Saturday at Blue Star Contemporary. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
For fans of Hayes Carll, Willie Nelson, and John Prine, Oh Me, Oh My will be out August 19, 2022. Photo: Forrest McCurren.
With a half-time back beat and a feel-good guitar twang, songwriter Forrest McCurren graciously marries a classic rock road song with a classic country love song on his new tune “Little Rock.” Sparked by how his messy motel room on the road was compared to the orderly and clean life he led back home, McCurren spun up this rocker that evokes the urgency of a road warrior like himself to make it on home, specifically to his wife Margaret—who sings and plays drums and fiddle on McCurren’s upcoming debut Oh Me, OhMy. The initial idea transformed into an ode to Margaret and getting home to her. (Forrest McCurren, 2022)
Last week, Wide Open Country premiered the music video for “Little Rock,” which follows Forrest and Margaret on a beautifully-shot mission from the fireworks store to the Piggly Wiggly and beyond. They noted, “You could consider Oh Me, Oh My a soundtrack to those moments of human connection that feel almost cosmic.” Fans can watch the “Little Rock” music video now at this link and stay up to date on all things Forrest and Oh Me, Oh My ahead of its August 19 release right here.
McCurren’s entertaining debut album Oh Me, Oh My showcases the energy of his live shows with songs that shimmer and rock with an ebullient warmth that is bound to reach into listeners’ hearts and souls and get them to reflect a little on the people and places that mean the most to them. He is always writing songs, but all the songs on this album are from a three-year period when McCurren was setting out on his own, between college and now. He is looking back at his life, looking at his life now, and looking forward to his life to come in the 10 songs on the album. “I was just setting out on my own,” McCurren laughs. “I spent a lot of time thinking about my grandparents, painting a picture of characters I knew growing up. In the songs there’s a sense of longing and place, and they evoke the transition from running wild as a kid to running wild as a man. The songs have a sense of movement and a sense of place and a sense of who I was gonna be.”
As soon as he learned three chords, McCurren started to write songs. In his early 20s he started accumulating songs. In his songwriting, he resembles Hemingway. “I always try to write one true sentence. Every song I have kept, the first line I wrote was the first line of the song. Words come first, then melodies get inspired by the words. I trust the quickness of the way I write. I am always jotting down rhymes. Songs have given me a way of understanding who I am and relating to people.” Music is McCurren’s favorite ways to connect with people. “My songs show them a little bit of who I am and when I show them a little of me they share a little bit of them, too.” He does not write sad songs, but songs that move us and celebrate, as he says, the “luckiness of life.” As his debut album shows, McCurren excels at making those connection and at celebrating life. Forrest McCurren has a reverence for the songs, and he sings, plays, and writes with a heart for bringing people together.
Catch Forrest McCurren on tour: June 23-26 – Slade, KY – Festival of the Red October 6-8 – Eldon, MO – Lake Ozark Music Festival
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