Books – G. S. Banks

5 Nasty Ladies In Fiction

February 1, 2017February 3, 2022Posted in Art, Books, Film, Inspiration, Life, Reading, WritingTagged art, author, badasses, book, Books, film, films, inspiration, life, literature, love, story, villains

Everyone loves an evil female character, right? I do! Whether it’s uber glam wrong-doing or just plain old nasty stuff… I’m loving it. Along with my fellow awesome writer E.Latimer, we both decided to compile our top 5 female villains list. Here is mine. To see Erin’s please go here.

1. Cersei Lannister, Song of Ice and Fire Series

She is one of the best female dirty-doers I’ve read in years! She’s immoral and bad on so many levels… She sleeps with her brother and her cousin, she’s ordered the murders of thousands, she’s cold-blooded, icky and power mad. But then, on the other hand she’s also creepily relatable – she’s very much a woman in a man’s world and why should her brothers get all the power whilst she gets married off to an overweight boar-hunter? And she loves nothing more than her ‘sweet’ children… Who would begrudge her that? Cersei is world class female villainy at its best.

2. Annie Wilkes, Misery

This bad girl has none of the glamour of Cersei, but all of the devilishness, and more. She is a full on creep fest of a character. The one person you do not want to meet if you’ve had an accident and there is no one else around to take care of you. The scene where she clubs her captive, Paul Sheldon’s feet still haunts me to this day. A terrible and brilliant example of a ‘fangirl’ gone horrendously wrong.

I dread to to think what she is about to do with that thing in her hand. — I dread to to think what she is about to do with that thing in her hand

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Interview With a Book Lover

November 2, 2016February 3, 2022Posted in Art, Books, Inspiration, Life, Reading, WritingTagged adventure, author, Books, inspiration, life, literature, love, passion, young adult

I love it when you find a great blog to read. And that’s exactly what I did a few months ago when I started following Polyliteramore. Written by 19 year old Gillian Ebersole, the blog includes regular insights into her life and her loves, which include books, dancing, travel and more.

The posts are composed in such an honest and eloquent way, they really caught my attention. I just had to reach out to Gillian, to ask a few questions of my own. So, here we go…

1. What are your top 3 books and why?

My all time favorite book is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. I also love The Book Thief and Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. In general, I love historical fiction and watching a character triumph despite incredible hardship. To me, the best books are ones that encompass both the joy and the pain of the simple moments of everyday life, and these three books capture this perfectly.

2. I noticed you did a series of posts ’52 Weeks of Gratitude Challenge’ – what things are you most grateful for in your life?

I am so grateful for so much, but it truly is the little things that make me stop and take a moment to wonder at the world around me. Light rain, good books, bustling coffee shops, summer sunsets, the thrill of dancing – all of these are the most precious aspects of life I give thanks for every day.

3. What is your favourite thing to bake?

Pumpkin muffins. Or any kind of cupcake really. I read this book called The Cupcake Queen in middle school, and I have been in love with baking cupcakes ever since. They are just so fun!

4. What is your favourite place in the world, and why?

Over the summer, I travelled to Amsterdam, and I fell in love with the city and the culture. The lifestyle there focuses so much on living in the moment and enjoying everything from food to biking and walking to art and architecture. If I could, I would move there in a heartbeat.

5. If you could give a few words of advise to your younger teen self, what would they be?

I would tell myself to stop doubting the worth of my own thoughts. Older generations tend to pick apart the thoughts and arguments of the teenage generation, and I think this age range holds some of the most powerful ideas. Society is stifling six years of valuable and unprecedented creativity when teenagers are told to grow up and be adults.

6. What do you most want for your life?

I want my job to be my life’s work and passion. It is a lot to ask, I know, but I am determined to combine my love for art and dance with my love for writing and thinking. While I would love to perform as a dancer, I also am drawn to using dance as a form of social action to bring art to those who lack the access to it.

7. Who has helped you most in your life so far?

I have been blessed with many excellent teachers, both in school as well as in the arts, who encouraged me to follow my dreams. When a teacher tells a young student that anything is possible, it has a massive impact on the formation of that student. My accomplishments rest upon the words of the teachers who believed in me; I owe everything to them.

8. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you like to go the most?

Right now, I am dying to go to Spain. I speak a little Spanish, and I love the language and culture. One of my life goals is to hike the Camino de Santiago, from France across the northern border of Spain, and enjoy the art and journey along the way.

9. What do you think is the most important thing that needs to happen to make a better world?

People need to care for each other more. Today, so much focus is placed on numbers and data, and we lose the sense of humanity in these numbers. I truly believe that the world would change overnight if people looked around and gave a little more love to everyone they met. And, I think art, in all its forms, is a vehicle for this change, for it counters the data-obsessed nature of current society, encouraging open-mindedness and the need for appreciation of all people.

10. Who inspires you the most and why?

My hero is Anne Frank, and I had the privilege of visiting her hiding place in Amsterdam over the summer. Here is the message I left in the guestbook, “As a teenage writer myself, I can only aspire to convey the truth as Anne did. Her striking honesty and faithful optimism shine even today as an example of the human power to persevere and to thrive, even in the darkest moments of history. Anne’s voice will live on, fulfilling her dream to become a renowned writer and proving the potency of the thoughts of the teenage generation.”

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10 Top Notch Literary Heroines

July 9, 2016February 3, 2022Posted in Books, Inspiration, Life, Reading, WritingTagged author, book, Books, girls, inspiration, Jane Austen, literature, love, passion, writing, young adult

You may well be thinking I am being ridiculous, trying to whittle down the vast array of heroines into one measly “top ten” list. And you would be right, it is ridiculous. But let’s have a go anyway… I’ve tried to be unpredictable here and there… (in no order of importance)

Jennifer Jones, Looking for JJ

This girl isn’t what you would call a conventional heroine. Basically she killed her friend when she was ten and we see her life six years later as she attempts to integrate back into society under a false identity. Needless to say things are not easy for Jennifer however I loved the way that even though she did this beyond horrible thing I still empathised with her. She actually seemed like quite a nice person.

2. Minny Jackson, The Help

This is my favorite character in The Help. Every time she is on the page it glows with humour, passion, bravery and rebellion. She tells everyone how things are and makes no apologies for that. I wish she could be my BFF.

3. Artemis, Greek Mythology

My favorite goddess by a country mile. She’s the best in all of mythology with a bow and arrow, she’s a full on virgin and only hangs out with other virgins, in woods, surrounded by deer. How cool is she? (P.S. there is no actual such thing a ‘full on virgin’).

4. Elizabeth Bennett, Pride and Prejudice

The predictability of this choice makes it no less worthy, I tell thee! Elizabeth is sparky in all the right places. That sounds a bit rude but what I mean is she gives as good as she gets and can play verbal tennis with the best of them – all done politely of course – and she can win. She’s also a bookworm and writes fabulous letters.

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I Love Libraries

January 8, 2015February 3, 2022Posted in Books, Life, Reading, WritingTagged authors, book, Books, inspiration, libraries, life, literature, love, passion, writing

Libraries are my favorite places. As a youngster I was more than happy to spend days within them pouring over the pages, eating up the words whilst visiting a thousand places and making hundreds of new friends all while sitting in a council owned chair in Lancashire.

I’ve noticed that writers always say this kind of thing when they talk about libraries and sometimes I wonder if we in fact are a slightly different species that originate from a planet covered in books, comfy chairs and reading lamps with cups of tea everywhere. That would be an amazing planet.

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Language & P.G. Wodehouse

December 23, 2014February 3, 2022Posted in Books, England, Life, Reading, WritingTagged author, Books, Comedy, Funny, Language, literature, P.G. Wodehouse, young adult

I am writing a Young Adult novel, a real world Fantasy with epic elements aplenty.

However.

As I am writing this book, who is my go-to guy for reference? Why, P.G. Wodehouse of course.

P.G. Wodehouse I hear you cry? But P.G is the Grandfather of 20th Century English Comedies… Light-hearted in the extreme… Jeeves and Wooster and all that 1920s silliness… What does a posh English cad and his over educated butler have to do with modern day YA Fantasy?

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