Typing With Wet Nails

Saturday at the Movies #81 - Cold Case

2012-01-28T11:52:00.001-05:00

This is going to be a tricky one, but in a way, that's fitting. Cold Case is not available on DVD, most likely due to copyright regarding the music that plays a heavy role in each episode, and I'm okay with that. I wouldn't want a single note changed. Reruns are currently on Ion Television and that's good enough for me.

Detective Lily Rush and her colleagues delve into unsolved homicide cases from the past, and it's the victims, perpetrators, and those they left behind who are the real stars here. What makes Cold Case work for me the most is that it's not only about solving crimes, but providing closure. Stories unfold over the course of each episode, with flashbacks to the events preceding the deaths. With these glimpses into the lives and worlds of the victims, accompanied by period-appropriate soundtracks, we not only find out what happened, but why.

Whether homicide, accident or even suicide, each case is comprised of multiple layers. Victims have their perspective, but so do witnesses, friends, family members and often the killers as well. Not everybody has all the pieces to any puzzle, and it's only years later, when there's been some distance to allow for new perspective -or for investigative techniques or technology to catch up- that everything can fit together. Witnesses who were children at the time can now see through more mature eyes. Detectives may have to dig hard to unearth memories from older witnesses with memory disorders. A formerly drug-addicted witness may now be thinking clearly, or a sober one might have spent the intervening years in an alcoholic fog from guilt or despair. Viewers get to see the characters involved in each case shift between their past and present selves, the change fluid and poignant.

Any drama filled with history and emotion is a no-brainer for me, and Cold Case fits the bill. With periods ranging from the early 20th century to the 1990s and all points in between, viewers get to engage in some vicarious time travel as past and present intermingle to weave the whole tale that could not be told until the time was right. All good on its own, but the angsty, sniffly bow that ties up every story is the closing montage. Without dialogue, we see the case close, the evildoers taken into custody, and the loved ones begin to heal. The crowning moment of closure comes when a vision of the deceased person appears to the one most affected by their passing, and with a wistful smile, they vanish, their business now complete.

If you haven't seen these episodes but plan to, SPOILERS are in the closing montage clips below, from my two favorite episodes.

Season One's "Lover's Lane" requires detectives to reopen the case of a teenage girl, beautifully played by Mae Whitman, when DNA evidence exonerates the man wrongly convicted for her death in 1986:

Season Two's "Revolution" stars Sarah Jones, now starring in Alcatraz, as a Vietnam-era small town girl torn bewteen caring for her disabled veteran brother and fleeing to Canada with the love of her life:

Being a romance writer, I want to reach into the episodes and grab these wounded characters out and make everything turn out better. They make me feel and invest in the lives of people with human wants and fallibilities, living out stories that could not have taken place if they had lived in any other time. I find Cold Case a wonderful lesson in how to marry the history to the emotional journey, and quite possibly that could turn into a springboard for an upcoming workshop lesson.

How about you? Do you have a favorite Cold Case episode? Know of any other shows or movies that use past and present to tell a single story? Ever rewrite endings in your own head to make them turn out the way you'd like?

Happy Dance Friday #81 - Happy Birthday, Maksim

2012-01-27T10:01:00.000-05:00

I'm going to give the powers that be the benefit of the doubt and say my invitation must have gotten lost in the mail. It was probably stuck to yours, which is why neither one of us found out about Maksim Chmerkovskiy's birthday bash until now. Still, this is much better on the wallet, and we don't have to deal with weekend NYC traffic (unless you already are in NYC) or the what to wear dilemma. It's the spirit that matters, and this week, we'll celebrate the birthday (okay, his actual birthday was on the 17th, but the party is today, so I still claim timeliness.)boy.

We can travel back in time to see Maks compete in 2004 at the World Masters semi-final:

No need to decide if Maks should celebrate with friends or brandy...er, Friends or Brandy. Since he's the birthday boy, he can have both.

Some Argentine Tango:

An elegant Waltz:

And when he gets tired (or outruns crazed admirers), there's another one like him at home, with brother Val:

Happy birthday, Maksim, and here's to many, many more.

Unquiet

2012-01-26T11:31:00.000-05:00

It's funny what a good night's sleep after a particularly sleepless night will do for a person.

A good friend once told me that she can tell when I'm not okay because then I get really quiet. Considering that A) this friend is very observant and B) she has known me well for many years, I think she's on to something.

As many have said, writers write. It's one thing to think about working on the book, the article or the blog post, but another altogether to have the confidence to put fingers to keys and get those words out there. Life happens. This should not come as a big surprise to any of us, and yet sometimes we scritch our heads and wonder how (insert thing that devours writing mojo) happened. The deadline got closer, BISW is in week number two, we're still on that same chapter, and time is not standing still.

Recognizing that is the first step. After that comes refilling the well. Getting back on the horse. Putting on one's big girl (or boy) panties and getting back in the game. The how, I've found, is different for every person and every instance, so there's no hard and fast rulebook for that, but what I can talk about is a few things that I have reminded myself work for me.

First, know yourself. Over the past year or so, I've come to accept that I am an extrovert. That means, among other things, I often process thought through talking. Lightbulb moment. Understanding this means that when I'm stumped, rather than going around and around and around in my own head, like a car on a rotary that can't find the exit, the best thing to do is corral a writer friend (or a reader friend if writer friends are busy) and start blabbing. Often, the answer I couldn't find no matter how hard I searched for it is right there when someone else asks me the right question. I come away feeling energized and bounce back to the keyboard, notebook or legal pad like Tigger on Red Bull.

Second, your process is okay. There is no one hard and fast rule on how to write. Whatever gets you to the end is what you need, and you should take it. Charge up on it with grabby hands, dig in deep and don't let go. Whatever works for Nora Roberts or Bertrice Small is absolutely the one true and perfect process...if you are Nora Roberts or Bertice Small. If in doubt, check your ID, look in the mirror or ask a family member. No part of your process is stupid. If it works for you, keep doing it. Whatever gets you to The End is what works, and it's none of anybody else's business if you write better wearing bunny slippers, give yourself an M&M after every completed page, or can only think straight if you type first drafts in Comic Sans. I personally write better if my nails are polished. So be it.

Third, mama needs her some strange. This comes from accepting the fact that I am a musical omnivore and no matter how deeply I love my elebenty billion favorite songs I already have on countless playlists, I always need more, more, more. Ditto with nail polish colors; see above note. There's a continual need to keep reaching for some new tool to add to the writer's toolbox, and those tools can come from anywhere; a new TV show to obsess over and let it plan its roots in the writerly subconscious, sticking one's toe into a new hobby, trying a new genre or subgenre to write or read, even sampling a treat heretofore undiscovered that sits on the shelf, crooking its finger and casting the come-hither look. Today, that's Elvis Costello's Poor Fractured Atlas album. Said album came out in 2001, but it's new to me, and with a title like that, how could I resist? New stuff in, new stuff out. It works.

My mother used to say "the more you do, the more you'll want to do," and she was right. What we're doing here, as writers, isn't the same as data entry or moving beads on an abacus. We're creating lives and relationships in our story worlds, and we know how to do that. It's what we did when the stories formed in an amorphous glob in the backs of our heads while we scooped out the litterbox or desperately wished for a way to get through an endless work meeting. These are the voices that live in our heads and won't shut up, demanding their stories be told. Since nobody else can tell my stories, my way, I need to get busy and fill my well with what's good for me and set off on the route I know that takes me and my characters to happily ever after. Which means a fresh coat of polish on my nails, the latest musical discovery on my headphones, and me at the keyboard, unquiet. Are you with me?

Saturday at the Movies #80 - Alcatraz

2012-01-22T09:46:00.001-05:00

Alcatraz, oh Alcatraz, where do I begin? With some shows, you know. With Moonlight, I knew. With Lost, I knew. With New Amsterdam, I knew. There were others: State of Grace; Cold Case, The Walking Dead, Hell on Wheels, even How I Met Your Mother.

I had that same feeling the first time I caught a glimpse of Alcatraz. No surprise to my regular readers that anything with that gloomy grunge aesthetic is going to catch my attention. There's the fact that we have a prison on an island, as in

...and there are spooky goings on and since this is on network TV, odds are that I will not have to watch every week through my splayed fingers (and I am still too chicken to watch Shutter Island, and yes, I do know it's also a book, but that's for another entry.) Bonus points to Alcatraz for being a real place, and the fact remains that since it still stands and I am still alive there is a chance that I might actually be able to go there at some unspecified place in the future and indulge my love of places-where-people-should-be-but-aren't.

What cemented my interest, though, is that the cast includes Jorge Garcia, who was amazing as Hurley on Lost. In Alcatraz, he's Dr. Diego Soto, Alcatraz expert and comic book writer. I am sold right there and would not have needed to hear more. Add in the bit about missing people from the past coming back to the present (okay, sure, they're all convicted crimnials...well, and the associated staff, so we do have a chance for some good guys) possibly for some greater purpose, though we don't know if that's a good purpose or a bad one, and I'm there. Cherry on top is Sarah Jones as Detective Rebecca Madsen, the homicide cop who has tragically lost a partner and has her own take on how the job should be done, and in certain shots, giving off a rather Sophia Myles-esque vibe. All we need now is a couple for me to ship. Jeffrey Pierce, as Jack Sylvane, the first inmate to reappear, is certainly equipped with the looks to qualify him as a possible love interest for Detective Madsen, and he has a sympathetic backstory, and I'm genre-savvy enough to know that a four-letter name ending in a consonant is code for hero material in such well favored gentlemen, but...

:happy sigh: Yeah. I could seriously go for these two, and since the first thing Dr. Soto says to Det. Madsen is "marry me," well, come on. I'm a romance writer. What do you expect? Granted, the proposal was an expression of admiration for Det. Madsen's knowledge of comics lore, but what male comic book aficionado wouldn't fall hard for a gorgeous blonde who also loves comics? Come, on, it's perfect. Nope, Dr. Soto doesn't have a rock-hard physique (pun intended) but he's got that geeky-suave charm, he's smart, enthusiastic, and he works what he's got, and I think this could work. What do you think, faithful readers? Am I barking up the wrong shipping tree, or am I on to something? Or does it not matter because of the great visuals, the history angle and super cool plots? Take a look at the trailer below. What do you think?

Combination post: Happy Dance Friday #80 and Saturday at the Movies #79

2012-01-20T09:26:00.000-05:00

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Random sleepy puppy, as Monweek wasn't quite done with me yet, though Saturday brought a wondrous repast with friends and Sunday's NECRWA meeting put a spring back in my writing step. Which is why you get last week's Saturday post along with today's happy dance post, because it irks me when the numbers don't line up for these entries.

Speaking of springs and steps, I don't think any happy dance could top this four legged fellow's:

Though my DH would likely urge me to post this next clip if he were looking over my shoulder, so I'll stick it up on his behalf.

No clip yet, but I'm very eager to see how Copper turns out. 1860s New York, Irish immgirant neighborhood and a police officer who wants to do right, but finds that a complicated task? Pop the corn, I'm there, and save all talking for the commercial breaks. I'll pretend John Amsterdam is in the office down the hall, because, well, he could have been, and I still miss that show.

In the can't-believe-I-Missed-It category, Smash. I love stories set in the theater world, love the audition process, and let's take a look at the cast - Debra Messing, Anjelica Huston, and Katharine McPhee, who made an impression on me back in her American Idol days. Definitely need to catch the premiere and remember to record this one. Extra points because in a show set on Broadway, there's got to be some dancing.

Also missed out on the premiere of The Fades (this is why there is On Demand, right?) I'm not as much interested in the undead/ghost aspect as I am the psychological/social issues - twins, social awkwardness, insider/outsider dynamics. What do you think, faithful readers?

All current on this front, and tomorrow, Alcatraz....

Happy Dance Friday #79 - Monweek Soundtrack

2012-01-13T09:59:00.000-05:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!Considering that Friday the thirteenth fell in a Monweek, the theme for this week's Happy Dance Friday is a natural. Clear some floor and prepare to strut your Monweek stuff through interpretive dance to some of these appropriate tunes:

Mary Chapin Carpenter's "The Bug" seems to capture things nicely.

No political statement on anything, but REM also has a pretty good handle on the theme of the day:

Daniel Powter continues the encouragement:

Still in need of choreography? Try one of these:

see more Gifs

see more Gifs

see more Gifs

Monweeks can't last forever, but Monkees can:
How are you planning to put some happy in your weekend?

Welcome to my Monweek

2012-01-12T15:26:00.000-05:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Monweek (noun) - a week that is comprised entirely of Mondays.

That should about say it all. In one week (and it's only Thursday, whimper) our family has had one car in the shop, one laptop with firewall issues (mine) and two blue screens of death (mine and mine) and mercurial moods depending on the type of internet connection, an exodus of non-ready-to-be-tossed socks at the most recent laundering, the temptation to rename my day planner "Schroedinger's Schedule," due to simultaneous planning of dates/plans that must be assumed to both work and not work at the same time and...well, you get the drift.

Hence the term "Monweek." Maybe it's seasonal, maybe it's something in the water, but I know I'm not the only one in my circle to be having a Monweek. We've all had them. Those weeks that invoke Murphy's Law, when everything that can go wrong, does, and at the worst possible moment. Still, unless said Monweek involves one's untimely demise, they don't last forever.

Even with the Monweekiness of the last few days, there have been good things. A good meeting with one of my writing friends helped talk me down from the ledge of writerly despair. My TBR shelf, at least the one I have planned to tackle first, has been whipped into shape. I have distinct plans for both reading and writing in the foreseeable future, and I like having those concrete goals written out, with accountability. DH surprised me with pizza (always a good thing) on the evening he came home to find me lying down on the bed with my laptop and Sims2 (the laying down was the key here, after wrangling baskets of laundry as well as other things after the second Monday-in-a-row.) Saturday will be spent with good friends and home cooked deliciousness. Sunday will be ticking a goal off my professional goals list for the year - join NECRWA. Internet wonkiness has combined with aformentioned meeting with writer friend to get me back into the meat of the current ms, and though perfectionism is bound to come trying to sneak in through the kitty door again, for now, it's off bothering someone else. Probably scared away by all the bad words hurled at high volume toward the blue screens of death.

Of course, after Sunday comes...you guessed it, the next Monday. We'll take that one when it gets here.

Saturday at the Movies #78 - What Took Me This Long?

2012-01-09T09:57:00.000-05:00

I wish I could say that no harm came to the Sim model in this image, but that would be lying. When setting up the shot, I'd forgotten that area rugs are flammable, and as it's not possible to control a Sim once they're on fire, well, events transpired. I was able to quit without saving once the fire had done its thing, and my model survived for many more shoots...until the game crashed and I had to uninstall/reinstall, but that's another story. All of this is my long winded way of getting around to a Saturday post on a Monday, as this was a CORW Saturday and I crashed on Sunday.

These meetings are always memorable, and when Corrina Lawson and I get a chance to gab, talk often turns to television. We have similar tastes, and she hasn't steered me wrong yet, so when I told her I'd finally gotten a chance to get into Mad Men, this opened up yet another avenue of conversation.

Given my penchant for gorgeous period detail, great acting and emotional drama, why didn't I jump on Mad Men the second it came out? Too close to home. My father was, for most of my childhood, an art director in advertising in New York, so the idea about a show set in basically my dad's office didn't sound like the most appealing of prospects. Now that AMC is re-airing the show, I have to re-evaluate that position. I'm coming late to this party, in the second season, but that's what DVDs are for, right? Hey, I came into Highlander in season three, and those who know me know how that turned out, so late arrival does not mean missing the party, by any means.

I do believe the DVDs are going to be a must, not only to get the subtext -Corrina's tip that lead character Don Draper is himself a construct is, I think, going to be key to getting the most out of this- of both characters and world, but to drink in every drop of the gorgeous midcentury set design and costuming. Okay, and John Slattery; I'm still not over his character being recast on Judging Amy. Punctuated frequently by observations of this or that being eerily close to the homes, clothing, posessions or patterns of speech I remember from when I was a wee sproglet looking up at the adults. I will admit to a bit of flashback in an episode where Don brings his young daughter, Sally, into the office, as I'd been in Sally's shoes a few times myself. While I'm expecting a few more moments like that, I'm ready and willing to dive into the world of Don, Peggy and company. In short, I'm sold.

Since it is not possible for me to have a conversation on current TV without mentioning The Walking Dead, Corrina pointed me toward the BBC series Survivors. Unlikely band of survivors banding together after the end of the world as we know it? Check. From mysterious circumstances? Check. Like The Walking Dead but with British people and no zombies? Looking for DVDs now. Definitely have to catch this one.

Boardwalk Empire's name also came up as something I might want to investigate, given my preferences. Intricate historical drama, gorgeous period detail, and bonus, Steve Buscemi, who is crazy talented.

What do you think? I don't have HBO, but am willing to hunt for DVDs, and suggestions for new (or new-to-me) period dramas are always welcome.

Happy Dance Friday #78 - Back in the saddle, with Quickstep

2012-01-06T09:56:00.001-05:00

January sixth means the holiday season is down for a long winter's nap, the new year is underway, and I know I could use a good dose of energy this morning, so we're going with the quickstep. This dance has been likened to a duck - smooth as glass on the top, paddling like mad underneath. I know that as a writer, I can relate to that. Hence writing quote in today's art piece.

First, straight out of Blackpool (2010 championships, to be exact) let's take a look at how it's done in competitive circles:

I think of that as the guidelines for one's genre. I'll use romance, since that's what I write. From RWA.org, the official definition is as follows:
A Central Love Story: The main plot centers around two individuals falling in love and struggling to make the relationship work. A writer can include as many subplots as he/she wants as long as the love story is the main focus of the novel.
An Emotionally-Satisfying and Optimistic Ending: In a romance, the lovers who risk and struggle for each other and their relationship are rewarded with emotional justice and unconditional love.

As long as those two requirements are met, the writer has a lot of room in which to move. In dance, there's competitive dance and show dance (please correct me on my terms, dance fans; I'm only working on one cup of tea here) and what entertains on TV won't always please the judges in Blackpool, but if entertaining is the whole point, I think the clips below do an admirable job. As long as the requirements of the dance are there, it's fun to see what the individual dancers and choreographers do with the same essentials.

Though I haven't seen a quickstep performed to Matchbox Twenty's "I'll Believe You When," I think it's a natural.

Why, yes, I do sometimes choreograph dance numbers in my head, usually for fictional characters...doesn't everyone? Eh, we writers are odd ducks; it's in the job description.

Happy New Year Rambling, Part The Third

2012-01-05T11:13:00.001-05:00

In the spirit of honesty and authenticity, I should probably mention that as I start this entry, I have no earthly idea what I'd originally meant to say here. Which means the new year is truly here, and back to work. Easily done, though I think I short circuited part of my brain by transcribing and tweaking seventeen pages on Tuesday.

Today's "voice" graphic is here because A) I vaguely remember that voice had something to do with the planned post that got nibbled to death by ducks, B) my brain fritzes out as soon as I open Photoshop Elements, and C) I can turn this around. Probably need more caffiene first, though.

Right now, I'm wrangling with convincing my laptop that it is signed into Rhapsody, and my brain that I do know how to do this writing thing. Or in today's case, re-writing. The scene I'm working on today wasn't there in the last draft of this ms, but it works better than what was there in the first draft, is truer to the characters, and heightens the impact of what is to happen next, so this is a good thing. I'll grumble and I'll wrangle and dear writer friends, you will probably hear me whine, but it's all part of the process. Life and love can both be problematic, so I can't see writing about either topic being without a few bumps in the road.

So. This voice thing. Ask a dozen writers what voice is and you might get a dozen different answers (or a dozen "I dunno" answers, possibly at the same time) but we know it when we encounter it. Give Meat Loaf, Weird Al, Luciano Pavarotti, Paul McCartney, Toby Keith and James Blunt the same song to sing, stick them all on the same playlist and hit shuffle. Doesn't matter if it's "Unchained Melody" or "I'm a Little Teapot" or anything else one might like. There's not the slightest chance that the playlist will sound like the same guy singing the same song. The words might be the same, the arrangements and melodies the same, but it's the unique voice of each singer that's going to make the difference. Not going to mistake Loretta Lynn for Lady Gaga, that's for sure, and if you bought an Osmonds CD and found HIM inside, (or vice versa) even if the song list were exactly the same, it would not be the same listening experience.

It's the same with writers. Bertrice Small and Lynn Kurland both write historical romance novels, for example. Ms. Small is known for her love scenes, while Ms. Kurland is known for leaving the bedroom door modestly closed. Personally, I'm somewhere in the middle, but I have read wonderful books by both, and by a wide variety of others. I've always known I was hardwired for historical romance; even as a wee little princess, I was drawn to fairy tales and anything that took place in a century prior to the 20th. Even then, I was predisposed to stories with a hero, a heroine, and a happily ever after, so it's no surprise where I landed as a writer. The harder the road the characters had to get to their HEA, the better, and I still hold to that today. A college friend, after reading my first ms (thankfully retired to the back of the closet, for the good of all mankind) dubbed it "How To Totally Screw Up A Character's Life in Five Hundred Pages or More." She wasn't that far off.

My favorite quote from the Dr. Who episode, "Blink," gets trotted out a lot when I talk about voice, but "sad is happy for deep people" resonates with me. If somebody's heart breaks, if the floor drops out from below one of my main characters, if they lose everything they've ever counted upon to get through their world, then there's a great story in how they get back from that. The lower the valley, the higher the mountaintop. I like the high drama, the heights and the depths, and as a favorite writing teacher used to tell us, if the stars are real, then the mud had better be as real. Bad things happen in life, even to good people, but it's possible to get through that and not only survive but triumph. That's going to come through in any story I tell, and I'm fine with that. Bring it on, New Year. I'm ready.

Happy New Year's Rambling, Part the Second

2012-01-02T11:31:00.000-05:00

First workday of 2012, and I'd say so far so good, but I've already done two hard reboots, wrangled an annoying firewall program, beat a suspicious popup into submission and discovered the hard way that the new power cord is not as long as the dearly departed one. This last bit, I should mention, requires me to scoot the comfy chair in Panera closer to the fireplace.

This last bit is not at all a bad thing, as it allows me to be both productive and comfortable. Fireplaces are something one wants to be as close as possible to during January in the northeast US. Hot chocolate may have to happen while Panera is still offering their peppermint version. Or I can smuggle in a mini candy cane and stick one in the regular stuff. I'm resourceful that way.

I'm counting this year as starting off on the right foot, as I spent yesterday at not one but two New Year gatherings; afternoon at the open house/book swap, and then the traditional non-traditional New Year's meeting at house church. Got a seat by the fire there, too, so I think I'm on a roll. Two gatherings in one day is like handing Tigger a Red Bull and an espresso, then putting him on roller skates. This is how extroverts recharge, so after all that, I'm good to go. Didn't hurt that DH had ordered in Chinese food by the time I got home, either.

So. New year of reading and writing ahead. While it took me a while to get into Christmas mode, I'm finding that New Year mode has arrived right on time, and I plan on making the most of that. I've learned that when the decluttering bug hits me, I need to let it do its thing; already, it's uncovered the missing longhand pages of a novella I'd been wanting to finish. Very much looking forward to getting back in the groove with that as well as throwing myself into the polish of the current front burner ms and making sure I keep up an ongoing dialog with writer friends. If I know that I process thought by talking, then keeping mum is kind of silly in the light of what I know works for me.

Similarly, the taming of the out of control TBR mountain range lies in organization. I have a short list of what I actually want to read most next out of my recent acquistions, in my current art notebook. I'm keeping track of title, author, setting and links or lack thereof to other books. Already have one book read from that, so I'm feeling rather accomplished there. I read better when I have some plan or structure, so I think things look good for reading more in 2012. No record of what I actually read in 2011, as I didn't keep track, only sporadic notes on Goodreads, but if I have something down in the art book, it's locked in.

Structure is needed for me in the writing as well. Without some sort of roadmap, it feels like I'm driving blindfolded on the Autobahn and the resulting billion car pileup can be seen from space. This does not make me more or less creative than those who plunk down at the keyboard with no idea what the day will bring; it only makes me, well, me. Which is a perfectly fine thing to be. What is not perfectly fine to be is constantly looking over my shoulder to see what anybody else thinks I ought to be doing instead of what comes naturally.

Getting wordy once again (oh big surprise) so that calls for a part three tomorrow, as I am now at the end of my alloted rambling time and must pound the grownup professional writer keys. Rambling is part of what I do, so I'm not fighting it anymore, but it does need to stay within certain boundaries. I think that's best for all involved.

Happy New Year Ramblings, part the first

2012-01-01T10:42:00.001-05:00

Happy 2012, faithful readers. The end of one year and the start of a new one always provide good excuse to ramble, and so I will. I still have a while before I need to make myself presentable for the traditional New Year's Day open house and book swap held by some friends. Not the most romance friendly environment, but the company is good, their dog is fun and I get to scarf free noms while meeting interesting people. Plus I've been to two UBSes and B&N this week, so I thnk I'm good for a while. More on that later, as the clock is ticking.

I think our Christmas decorations are trying to tell us something. A few years back, DH and I acquired a much-beloved lighted wreath, and shortly after that, a Christmas tree made of red tinsel, like so:

These two items have been mainstays of our Christmas decorating scheme, centered around the bedroom bookcase, since our apartment is what can best be termed "cozy." This year, they both went dark. I should also mention that the blinds have been replaced (the tear not being my fault, for those who keep track of these things) and same with the lamp, in favor of a nifty vintage 50s treasure. DH and I do have replacement bulbs and we are willing to do the work required to find the culprits in case our decorations are of the "if one goes down, they all go down" persuasion, which they well may be.

Due to a serious conversation we had at another of our holiday gatherings, the red tree will have to be saved, since when we are in a bigger place, we need to have a small tree in every window. We are willing to take heroic measures to save the wreath, as A) it was given to a dear friend by my dad on one of his final Christmases, B) said friend thinks it's one of the ugliest things she's ever seen, and C) DH and I recognize its inherent perfection. Our hearts will not break if the red tree can't be brought back to life; last night, I wound a spare string of clear lights around it and on with the show. That will do for now, and with the dying of the light (sorry, couldn't resist) coinciding with the January sales on all things Christmassy, this is the perfect time for me to snag a new mini tree, free of guilt.

The question then is, what kind of tree? I've seen black trees -though sadly, the last time I remember seeing one in the flesh as it were, was at dearly departed Borders- and would love to do a forest of different colored trees, but I'm getting the urge for a traditional green one as well. At lunch with writing friends, I nearly got as excited about a wayward evergreen snippet that had found its way into my gift bag as I did the gift itself. Driving around to peep at strangers' light displays always tears me in two directions; the classy all-white lights and the cacophany of colored ones. I have come to the conclusion I may eventually need two houses so I can indulge in both, but I'll need to sell a few (million?) more books first.

Though I recieved no new books at Christmas, many did come home, both novels and research tomes, over Christmas Week, and it's entirely possible more will come home today. Actually, it's a slam dunk that there will be at least one, as our hostess is extremely vigilant in that regard; all guests must leave with at least one book. Not sure at the moment what I'll be bringing to the swap (apologies to the one gal who has said she waits to see what I'll be bringing, as I don't know if I'll be hauling anything romancey in that direction, but will try) but I'm not going to sweat it. I have what I have and I'm donating what I'm donating and that's going to have to do.

All of this is a roundabout way of saying that this year is going to be the getting back to my roots/core/authentic self year, writing and otherwise. A few days ago, I sent off a paper letter to a writer friend, for the pure reason that it felt good to do so. Pretty pages are a good place to let my brain droppings spill, twirling around each other and combining into something I might not have expected when I first opened the file or put pen to paper. I do know that I owe some friends some long-promised mail art, and thanks for the patience; mail art is getting scheduled into my days, and since the most gorgeous day planner in the history of history is soon to arrive in my mailbox, sticking to my schedule is going to be a lot easier this year.

Well. No surprise here, I've taken the scenic route and time has not stopped, so I will leave this here for now and be back in the AM with part the second, wherein I ramble about reading, writing and other creative matters.

My Favorite Time of Year and Other Ramblings

2011-12-28T11:17:00.000-05:00

This is my favorite time of year, this tucked away week between Christmas and New Year's. Maybe it's a leftover from school vacations, but I'm more inclined to think it's part of my hardwired programming, one of those things that is me, always was, always will be. Best not to fight those things, as it's a losing battle; embrace them instead and steer into the skid, as it were.

Things like how I've always known historical romance is the genre of my heart, my artistic tastes lean strongly toward maximalism and the correct answer to "how many blank books does Anna really need?" being "all of them." Of course, none of those books stay blank for very long once I know what they're for - see above mentions of writing and art.

This year's tucked-away week has no less than three gatherings of friends for the sole purpose of celebration. Four, if I can count yesterday's write-in, which I will, and two of those will involve books to some degree. Tomorrow is a gathering of the clans, as my friend, Mary, and I call the mushing together of our two families en masse, and since everybody is a reader, there will be at least one bookstore involved. Also much discussion of books. On Friday, I meet with my longterm critique partners, Melva and Michele (I really do have friends whose names begin with letters other than M, I promise) for our annual holiday feast, and then will see them again on Sunday for Michele and her hubby's annual open house and book swap. Okay, that's three gatherings that will be book related. These gatherings will also involve nonwriters, but those nonwriters are readers, so it balances out.

In an ideal world, I would spend the tucked away week in a big house, decorated inside and out, open to friends and family. Dress of the day would alternate between elegant glitz and flannel pajamas - let's say pjs until noon, regular clothes for lunch (as this might involve leaving the house, especially if there is snow to walk and play in) and then treat dinner as a red carpet event. Suits for the gents, gowns for the gals, and everybody is encouraged to accessorize as they please. I maintain a version of this in my head, alongside the real life events; call it my own alternate universe. So far, it's working.

Mornings would begin with pancake breakfasts, everyone in pajamas and robes and then mornings may be spent in repose, lain out on couches, recliners, comfy chairs and convenient patches of floor as desired. Conversation and books abound, and the four-legged members of our party would have free run of the place. This part, I've found, is the most portable - it can come from its universe into the tangible one at any time. Okay, holidays and weekends, because I do need to be gently turned about and pointed back toward the computer at some point.

Which is perfectly fine - once the well is filled, there needs to be output to balance the input. Fof this week, I'll revel in the company, gobble a few good books, as I am most assuredly in a reading mood, but more on that later, and then it's time for a firm but gentle hand to point me back to the keyboard and let me ramble.

What about you? What are you taking away from this tucked away week? Do you have a different favorite week of the year?

Happy Holidays (dancing and otherwise)

2011-12-23T15:57:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again. Over here, that means last minute push to finish making gifts, one more store run for stocking stuffers, hashing out the schedule for The Day, which is subject to change until hm...about 12:01 on Dec. 26th.

Memories of Christmases past, with family members who are elsewhere or no longer with us, linger. Earlier today, I had to put away a packet of photos that started out with DH's now-traditional portraits of our stuffed animals because -kapow- the next one was the first from the roll we shot at what was my Dad's last Christmas. A few years back but yet too soon, so those go aside for a while. Emails and cards from friends bring the intimate warmth of being together even if there are miles between us, and I've had the great joy of putting up or helping to put up three trees this season. Two in friends' homes, one in my own. One traditional pine with heirloom ornaments with sentimental meanings, one silver fiber optic with brightly colored ornaments that all came together, and one mini tree made of red tinsel, self-lit and adorned with tiny red, gold and green balls as well as one giant red one emblazoned with the logo of DH's place of employment.

Holiday music gets frequent play over here: Neil Diamond's cover of Adam Sandler's Hanukkah Song; Coldplay's Christmas Lights, which put me in mind of a favorite blog that has not been updated for some time now -I wish the blogger well- and the Pogues' Fairytale of New York, which is a new discovery for me. Stephen Curtis Chapman's "O Come O Come, Emmanuel", the only version I've ever heard where the singer actually sounds like he wants Emmanuel to arrive; since I'm Christian myself, this is kind of a biggie.

Movies are Love Actually, About a Boy and The Holiday. I've already read Coming Home for Christmas by Carla Kelly, and Christmas Revels by Mary Jo Putney, and if I were able to hunt down some of the older Shillouette historical Christmas anthologies, I'd be up for a gorge on those, but if not, my TBR shelves overflow and there are untapped treasures on my ereader. I have yet to view Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol (or any version of Mr. Dickens' masterpiece, for that matter) this year, but there's time for that. We count the twelve days of Christmas in our family starting on the 25th, not ending on it, and the week between Christmas and New Year's is my favorite week out of the entire year, that tucked away time.

Since I'm not sure when I'll have computer time over the holiday itself -power cord on the laptop blew; I'm borrowing a friend's, and a new one is on the way (thanks, Kara!)this will stand as the "official" weekend post. It's all too easy for me to blabber, especially about my favorite holiday - some sad, some happy, some silly, some holy, old friends and new favorites, the ghosts of Christmases past, present and future all welcome guests- but the only appropriate happy dance for today is obvious:

Happy holidays, whatever you celebrate.

Saturday at the Movies #77 - Hell on Wheels

2011-12-17T15:46:00.001-05:00

I did not see this one coming. Normally, I don't have much interest in westerns, novels by Maggie Osborne excepted. Still, the lure of a historical drama on television is strong, rare birds that they are. Two things drew me in, though.

First, the grit. If I'm going to do a western, then give me something raw, something harsh, a trek into the unknown, undertaken by the adventurous and the desperate. In short, don't give me a nice, mannerly story here. I expect something that's still finding its way, tension between characters who might not otherwise ever breathe the same air, and I am fully aware words and actions are going to get ugly at times. That, for me, comes with the territory. Aforementioned Maggie Osborne novels are good examples, or for those who aren't opposed to some very gritty spiritual content, Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.

Second, Colm Meany, who plays a New York senator and entrepreneur here. I first noticed him in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and was beyond pleased with his performance in The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain, so anything with Mr. Meany in it automatically has my interest.

Okay, two and a half if we count the visuals. :points to title card above:

This may not be the most romance-rich program out there, though we do have some characters who would be right at home in a western romance novel. There's the recently widowed Lily, a woman alone in the rapidly changing world as the birth of the railroad means the death of the unspoiled frontier. Confederate veteran Cullen Bohannon, a man now without a country, bent on avenging the assault and murder of his wife at the hands of his Union counterparts. Elam Ferguson, a freed slave who rises to a position of power amongst the railroad crew...and may be having more than merely physical grownup fun time with one of the local working girls. Then there's the man known as "The Swede," who isn't Swedish, but will get the job done, by whatever means neccessary.

There's preachers, Indians, immigrants, former slaves and survivors of Indian captivity, jockeying for position in this rapidly changing world. This is the birthing pangs of a new era and the death throes of an old one, happening at the same time. Colm Meany's "Doc" Durant is a nineteenth century spin doctor, keenly aware of not only what he is actually doing, but how his actions will be perceived, though his motives are far from altruistic.

Hell on Wheels delivers everything I want in a historical drama, even if it is outside my comfort zone, setting wise, and I'm okay with that. I can already tell this is one I'm going to want to watch multiple times to catch bits I've missed on the first viewing. How about you? How gritty is too gritty for a historical drama, or is there no such thing as long as it stays true to the times?

Happy Dance Friday #77 - Preston Leatherman

2011-12-16T10:26:00.000-05:00

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Sometimes, when I open Blogger to start a post, I have no idea what's going to come out. Today is one of them. Open Blogger, open YouTube, chide self for not posting anything writing-related during the week (but I've been writing, does that count?) and the phrase, "dance like nobody's watching" popped into my head, and so the search began.

Thankfully, the timing was right, and I happened upon a young gentleman named Preston Leatherman (whom I induct into my Awesome Cool Names Hall of Fame here and now. Yes, I do have such a thing, but that's for another time.) embodying the very spirit of a happy dance here:

I must confess I've had the same idea, but being without camera crew at present, have not actually indulged. Yet.

Imagine my delight when I found there's also a holiday edition, and bonus points for using a song also used in Love Actually.

Bonus Christmas music video:

Very creative, sticking Taylor Swift song titles into a song titled "Taylor Swift." I now have the mad urge to decoupage a guitar...and I don't even play.

As well as proof positive that the world would be a better place with free-range pianos available for public use.

All of the above certainly gets my Friday started on the right note. How about you?

Saturday at the Movies #76 - Neverland and beyond (or run, idea hamster, run)

2011-12-10T09:33:00.000-05:00

Pretty much my reaction to watching BBC America's Neverland, billed as a prequel to the story of Peter Pan. First off, 18th century pirates, and the slums of Edwardian London? I am there, corn popped, notebook in hand and anybody who touches me while this is on will pull back a stump. Seriously. There's also a female pirate named Bonny (and only Bonny, buuuuut being the pirate geek that I am, I know darned well that the historical figure, Anne Bonny, was a pirate who disappeared from a prison in Port Royal in 1720, so I see what you did there, writers, and I approve) and a gang of child thieves; two more points in Neverland's favor. Then there's Peter, signalling his fellows by playing tunes on his pipe from the rooftops above, and the adult leader of the group, the magnetic, enigmatic James "Jimmy" Hook, oh swoon. Then we have the relationship between Jimmy and Peter, who has plans to become Jimmy's partner in crime as adulthood approaches, so life can always, always be the same.

Life doesn't work like that, though, and we have the promise, foreshadowed by one of Peter's friends planning for a future Peter finds downright abhorrent, that things are about to get very, very different. Peter gets a wee bit ahead of himself and takes on a job for which he is far from ready, and Jimmy isn't at all pleased. Events transpire.

Corinna Lawson remarked at last week's CORW meeting, where I'd given highlights from my From Fanfiction to Fantastic Fiction workshop, that she found it interesting how I liked to watch fantasy movies and then file off all the speculative elements to get historical ideas. It's not a conscious thing, but that's how my mind works.

Sure, there's the travel to a magical dimension where pirates and Indians (that's the term used in the film, and the term a former co-worker preferred, so that's what I'm using)coexist and there's tree spirits who can fly and curses and, well, we all know how Peter Pan turns out. For me, it's not about any of that.

Okay, the time travel, I like, and since 18th century and Edwardian are both among my favorite historical eras, that part is right up my alley. The chemistry between Jimmy and Bonny leaps off the screen, so major, major props to Rhys Ifans and Anna Friel. Especially since Mr. Ifans has previously appeared in another film in my collection:

Yep, mind blown.

What gets me here is the relationships. Peter's coming of age (or not) story, the past relationship Jimmy had with Peter's parents, and Jimmy and Bonny could make a truly spectacular partnership. There's betrayal, loss,love, secrets, tough decisions, and life altering consequences. While my creative plate is full at the moment, that doesn't mean I don't stuff some of this in the idea crock pot and let it simmer to see what rises to the surface. There's time for that yet, and more ingredients needed to cook the idea soup. For instance, though I know Steve Valentine isn't in this movie, Bonny's first mate bears a strong similarity, and really, could any movie be made worse with Steve Valentine in it? Not from where I'm sitting. I'll have what I need when I need it, and in the meantime, a few dozen more viewings can't hurt.

Happy Dance Friday #76/Post #500 - Happy Blogiversary

2011-12-09T09:33:00.000-05:00

Okay, not an actual annniversary, but close enough. Besides being Happy Dance Friday #76, my stats page also tells me this will be post #500. Writing and dancing may not seem to have much in common on the surface, but when it works, it works. When done right, both tell a story and touch the emotions, and creativity feeds creativity. Story in, story out, I always say, and after the ups and downs of the work week, we could all use a happy dance or two.

I wasn't sure at first if I'd be able to find enough dance clips to make Happy Dance Friday a regular feature, but the internet is a big, big place, the good ol' USA isn't the only place with televised dancing competitions that provide both delightful and heartrending performances that get my idea hamsters running...

...and a little Google-fu turns up old and new favorites in exciting new venues...

Best of all, though, is the chance to be able to share all of the above with my readers. Without you, I'm only talking to myself...well, okay, I'd be doing that anyway, but you all make it a lot more fun. On to the next five hundred.

Saturday at the Movies #75 - The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone

2011-12-04T14:18:00.001-05:00

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Sunday edition this week, as yesterday found me giving my very first live and in person version of my From Fanfiction to Fantastic Fiction workshop at Charter Oak Romance Writers, where a wonderful time was had by all, but we're here for the movies today, and once again, I have stumbled upon a remake, so now the search begins for another movie and the novella from which it sprang.

I first spotted The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone at a library book sale, and couldn't at the time remember why the title jogged the "out of my way, I must have this movie" urge, but it did, and I snagged it. Quick glance at the cover - aha, Helen Mirren spotting, so that had to be part of it. Midcentury setting? Also good. Still, the title, where did I know that from? Flip case over...aha, adapted from Tennessee Williams novella (what, he wrote novellas? Apparently so.) Scan cast list. Rodrigo Santoro's name jumped right out at me, as he was in Love Actually, my favorite comedy ever ever ever. Also this visually gorgeous bit of commercial indulgence:

Yep, okay, I can tell already that this is going to be good. Now for the plot. Retired actress moves to Rome after the death of her husband and becomes involved with a...with a what, now? :ahem: A gigolo. As in male prostitute. Played by Mr. Santoro? Nope, he plays likely the most gorgeous homeless person in the history of history, and it's not even a speaking role, but essential and pivotal. Instead, the intriguing and dangerous Paolo is played by Olivier Martinez, who also has a fragrance ad to his credit:

Add in Anne Bancroft as "the Contessa" (aka madam) and Brian Dennehy as the soon to be deceased Mr. Stone and send the under eighteens out of the room because this is a movie for grownups.

If I had to sum up this movie in one word, it would be "gorgeous." Helen Mirren was gorgeous, in acting and appearance, even though her character's arc was one of an actress with more beauty than talent, who found even the beauty beginning to fade. Anne Bancroft was gorgeous in the Contessa's shrewd, shabby elegance that masked a brittle and desperate soul. Italy was, well, Italy; gorgeous scenery, gorgeous sets, gorgeous atmosphere. Olivier Martinez and Rodrigo Santoro both provided their share of the pulchritude, but more importantly, both men can act. Mr. Martinez' Paolo is one complex character, cunning manipulator, vulnerable boy, suave seducer and ruined aristocrat all at once, and his relationship with the titular Mrs. Stone is as volatile as Vesuvius, with equally disastrous results. The final scene is a giant, intriguing question mark that I'll have to mull over for a while. Definitely have to watch this again to get the most out of it; I can tell there are layers yet to be found.

Also yet to be found is the previous version of this movie, filmed in 1961 with Vivien Leigh in the lead.

In the meantime, I have a sudden urge to re-read Broken Wing by Judith James, to help me figure out what happens to Mrs. Stone's Young Man (Mr. Santoro's character is credited thus)after the cameras stop rolling. Have you ever had the need to fill in the gaps left by a favorite film?

Happy Dance Friday #75 - Happy for Deep People

2011-12-02T08:59:00.000-05:00

Kathy Nightingale: What did you come here for anyway?
Sally Sparrow: I love old things. They make me feel sad.
Kathy Nightingale: What's good about sad?
Sally Sparrow: It's happy for deep people.

"Blink" - Dr. Who

This quote pretty much sums it up for me. Even though my DH had some fancy talking to do to keep me from doing the television physical harm during the "Blink" episode of Doctor Who (I am sure his ears still ring with my outraged shrieks of "that is not romantic!")I connected strongly with Sally's character. Old things, old places, abandoned yet full of the ghosts of what ifs and might have beens, always give me a delicious shiver - what seeds of stories could be found in what looks to others like a lost cause? For a historical romance writer, ruins are a treasure trove.

I must have watched the video for Adele's "Someone Like You" at least a dozen times already, and there has to be a story in there somewhere. The black and white film takes us into both the bleakness of a lost love, the scenery is gorgeously old world and Adele herself is utterly stunning. Pay special attention to her expression in the sequence that begins at 4:09, and the slow, heartbreaking reveal in the background.

I have mad, crazy love for Christina Perri's "Jar of Hearts," which has been beautifully interpreted on So You Think You Can Dance, but it was Josh Krajcik's performance on X Factor that made me stop in my tracks. Give this song to a male, and the impact, at least for me, heightens. Shivers, absolute shivers.

Pop star accompanied by a symphony orchestra? I am there. Since "Evaporated" by Ben Folds perfectly encapsulates where the hero of my postapocalyptic medieval ms enters the story, imagine my delight at finding a version where Mr. Folds' backup musicians happen to be the West Australian Symphony Orchestra:

What about you? Do you find beauty in the dark places to get your idea hamster running?

After NaNo, Now What?

2011-12-01T08:53:00.000-05:00

I did it. NaNo 2011 has been conquered, and I am ready for National Napping Month. However, that event has not yet been organized, and the holiday season approaches, and I make most of the gifts I give, and then there's that bit about writing being my, umm, job. I was asked recently how one knows when one is a writer. For me, the answer is, "one writes."

That's the easy part. Not that writing is always easy. It isn't. Ask any writer who has been doing this for a while. Though I must put in a caveat; they may give you the stink eye, snarl and return attention to keyboard or paper. In cases like that, put the caffienated beverage down and back away slowly. It's best for all involved.

After a solid month of showing up on time and blundering my way through Tamsen and Alec's world, it's odd to think of not doing that, but time for all of us to take a small breather. I'll go through and make my bullet point lists so that I know where I left off, but now is their time to simmer, and when I know more about this story, I can go farther. This morning, I spent some time with my notebook for last year's NaNo, Nothing Short of Heaven, and it felt like I was never gone. There's also the time travel ms that needs only some polish to wing off to potential agents/editors, and the postapocalyptic medieval needs the romance heightened before it can go out and earn its keep.

The showing up on time and pounding keys, though, that's staying. This rate of output feels like a doable pace for the discovery and first draft stages and blogging about writing feeds writing, so that's going to stay as well. Receiving the most recent issue of Romance Writer's Report gave me some good encouragement and ideas for career planning, so time to strategize there.

For any of you who are in the CT/MA area, I'll be here on Saturday, December 4th, speaking on how to go From Fanfiction to Fantastic Fiction, so time to get handouts and wrangle visual aids for that. After that? Nap. Reading. Gummi bears. Well, maybe after I go over some story notes...

Last Day of NaNo...with Goo Goo Dolls?

2011-11-30T09:24:00.001-05:00

Last day of NaNo today, and by their count I need 1985 words to get the 50k. I'm going for it. Will I get it? That's the plan, but if I don't, it's not the end of the world. I played with pirates for a month, learned I can produce at this rate and as an added bonus (or two) I'm blogging more and stretching my graphic art muscles. All good stuff right there.

Text in today's art comes from "Still Your Song" by Goo Goo Dolls. I've been listening to this song on pretty much a continuous loop lately, and there's a story in there somewhere. Lyrics here and listen here:

Honestly, start a song with "Called you up ten years too late" and play it to a romance writer, and you know you're starting something. Music is often a point of entry into the creative quagmire area of my story brain, so this does not surprise me at all. Never mind that I write historicals - it's even better that way, as communications that can only travel by written word via foot, hoof or sail make for some tremendous drama. This song touches a lot for me, as I'm of the firm belief that the lower the valley, the higher the mountain, and I love putting my characters through all of that. Which is exactly where this song and NaNo dovetail rather nicely for me

The lines in the graphic leapt out at me when thinking of what NaNo has been this year. Worn down? Yep. Not gonna lie about that. Are Alec and Tamsen real people? Yep again. Sure, they live in my head, and they need more time to marinate before they trust me with something as intimate as their love story. Still, we felt each other out this month and when the time is right, we will complete our journey together.

Do I know when that will be? Not right now, but this is still their song...er, story.

One (NaNo) Day More

2011-11-29T07:57:00.001-05:00

Some days have theme songs. Those that don't probably should, but then again I'm the type who generally has one running in my head anyway. For those participating in National Novel Writing Month, I suggest this:

This is the last full day of NaNo and according to their counter, I have 1978 words per day for today and tomorrow to make it. Since I did make over 2k yesterday, it is possible I could do the same today and tomorrow, but at the same time it's possible that I won't. I'm okay either way.

I've been asked if I'll be working on this story during December and the answer as I see it right now is 'no.' My intent is to put this away, focus on editing and polishing other mss that are ready to go out and earn their keep and let this one marinate for a while. What I have in this file isn't so much a book as background material, and an object lesson in knowing what my process is and how well it works for me. All good stuff. I like pirates and Port Royal and Alec and Tamsen and Cornelis and Lydia, and when we all have a chance to get to know each other in more depth, then maybe we can get together and make this happen.

Being an extrovert, talking my story out doesn't detract from ability to write it; it's more likely to unlock things the more I go over it with trusted writer friends. I need to know far more than will ever make it into the actual manuscript. Rushing the process, like trying to microwave a whole turkey half an hour before Thanksgiving dinner, is not something that's good for me, but when I embrace what works for me, as I did with last year's NaNo, the whole journey is a lot smoother. Lesson learned, and on we go.

I'm looking forward to closing out November and returning to other projects, and the new idea slot will be open for other characters to come find me. When they do, we'll take our time and get to know each other and wherever the story takes us, we'll get there together.

There's a PE teacher in my head, and it's writing related.

2011-11-28T09:20:00.001-05:00

Only three days left in NaNo, and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to make the goal. This is not a whine, but an observation. Right now, before today's session, I am at 43833 words, and if I write 2056 words per day for the next three days, I'll sneak in under the wire. Do I see that happening? To be totally honest, no, I don't. What I've learned the most from this year's NaNo is that I do best when I keep to my process. Blorch first, then highlighters, sticky notes and numbered scenes, then outline, then flesh. Assemble story notebook with sections for hero, heroine, villain if needed, history and plot. Images of important things. Soundtracks.

That's what I did last year, and I won. That month spent in Georgian England with Slate and Melanie, two wounded souls with tragic pasts, who find wholeness and healing in each other, and Master, the only villain I've created so far who made me have to get up and walk away from the keyboard because he creeped me out too much, flew by. I still have the notebook at the ready, and as soon as I get the current ms polished and making its rounds, they're up next for front burner treatment.

This year, well, not so much. It's not that I don't like Tamsen and Alec, because I do. It's that I don't know them well enough to tell their story yet, so it's like trying to give a guided tour of a place I've never been to myself. Sure, I had a quick look at the brochure; I know that Tamsen tells far more than she thinks she does by the rings she wears on all fingers, I can see the rolling swagger of her walk and I know that she and Alec are destined to spend their lives together on the high seas in a matter more lawful than she might choose and more risky than he might pick on his own. I do know that they are each other's perfect mate in the nautical as well as romantic sense. I know Tamsen's parents, Cornelis and Lydia, are what I envision as living their happily ever after...and after. I know what a pirate ship is. I know what Port Royal is, and the events of the climactic earthquake...keep eyes peeled for an Unusual Historicals blog post on that for November 30th.

I know the events of the story, and I can pound out the plot points (and dear bullet points, how I miss you with the heat of a thousand suns) but how the romance develops? No, I don't know that yet. I have to live it along with them. With the large amount of words (and I will be thrilled to go back to counting pages in December) left to write and the short amount of time, what keeps me from throwing in the towel and sparing myself the misery? My high school PE teacher, Diane Nappier.

High school was not my favorite part of life, and PE was pretty much tied with math as most dreaded course, as I was not built for either one. Ms. Nappier came at her job with all the passion of someone who's found their calling, and I admired her for that. Though I lagged badly at the lone cross country run our class attempted, I still remember Ms. Nappier pointing something important out to the miserable group of us struggling in the back; the finish line was in sight, and we weren't allowed to quit if we could see the finish line. We could pace ourselves, we could walk if we had to -I did- but once we could see the finish line, quitting was no longer an option.

Every time I think about hitting the delete key and settling into a comfy chair with my e-reader or selections from my TBR shelf, it's Ms. Nappier's voice I hear in my head, and I keep on going. Can't quit when the finish line is right in front of me, no matter how far it seems.

Saturday at the Movies #74 - There's Always Next Year

2011-11-26T09:37:00.001-05:00

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Climbing back into consciousness after Second Thanksgiving and tree trimming with friends, which acutally, wonder of wonders, included movie viewing. Love Actually, which has to be my favorite Christmas movie and favorite comedy at the same time. As one can expect, discussion of movies ensused. During an ideal holiday season, I'd get in a few good movies, but this year, I'm not seeing too much in theaters that appeals. Next year, though, looks very promising. YouTube still not cooperating, so apologies for flubs in advance.

Let's start out with Sean Bean in a historical horror story that adds a supernatural twist to the Black Death (because the plague wasn't horriffic enough?)

For those who can't get enough winter adventures, follow Liam Neeson to Alaska in The Grey

The Woman in Black looks spooky and gorgeous, with an adult Daniel Radcliffe in the lead.

Tanner Hall's release date seems elusive, but coming of age story at a private school? I am there, whenever it's available.

What movies are you looking forward to this holiday season or into 2012?

Happy Dance Friday #74 - Ricky Martin on Black Friday

2011-11-25T10:48:00.001-05:00

Happy Black Friday, the high holiday for extroverts. I'm one of those obnoxious people who can't wait to get into the crowds and snatch the insane bargains. If that means getting up at 4AM to bang out my daily NaNo words, then so be it. I have a gingerbread man and a home office, so lock and load. Done and done.

Taking it on faith that I'm posting the right links again, since my poor abused laptop is in need of defragging and videos are taking a long time to load, and I have minutes before I'm out the door to a friend's post-Thanksgiving leftovers and tree trimming, but couldn't go without posting here. Random bit of my graphic art -must do a resource post soon- as Icanhascheezburger isn't loading either. Possible chance of NSFW images in videos, if that matters to anyone.

When I thought about what to share for a Black Friday happy dance, the insane energy of Latin dance music came to mind right away. Is it crazy to go shopping on Black Friday? Maybe, but friends and family won't be complaining when they unwrap gifts next month, now, will they? Didn't think so.

Ohhhkay, preivew function isn't working either, so I'm trusting things look okay. Some have compared Black Friday shopping to a contact sport, so this high energy classic, once used for the World Cup seemed appropriate:

For those who prefer to stay home and get first dibs on the leftovers instead of fighting the crowds, but will cheer on the more bloodthirsty shoppers, perhaps something like this would work to express your virtual support:

What about you? Are you out there on Black Friday, or do you prefer to wait for things to calm down? If you're one of those who has been sitting on a pile of everything purchased last December 26th, you get extra points. Maybe this year.

Heroines Don't Get To Quit

2011-11-23T10:06:00.001-05:00

It's after ten, and I am only now opening my NaNo file. First, I had to make some art. Having one of those days over here, and it started last night, so things are bound to improve, but my goal in talking about writing in this blog, and the creative process in general, is to be honest. Lay it all out, the good, the bad, and the ugly, because it's all needed to make the end product.

We are now in the last official week of NaNo, and even though some days have a rocky start, each day does find my bottom in the chair and fingers on the keyboard. Normally, I'm beyond excited to get to a project like this, but here's something I've been struggling with whether or not to share. Every single day in this year's NaNo, I've wanted to quit. Every one. I see others zooming on by with higher word counts while my goal is re-teaching myself to produce a certain amount a day, weekends included, and so far, I've been successful. I've also been successful in learning that, for best results, I need to follow my process and come to exercises like NaNo and BISW with my story notebook ready for reference, having ample time to spend following my hero and heroine through the mist and then shaping things into a blorch, and then I'm good to go. Not better or worse than anybody else, but what works for me.

I have also learned that comparison to others is bad and best avoided. Anybody else's goal is not my goal, so if I'm doing what I set out to do, yay me. They're not writing my book, I'm not writing their book, and everybody's life is different. While it's true that at some point during every day this month, I've thought about quitting NaNo, I'm competitive. I need the bragging rights. I get a graphic badge if I finish? Allrighty, then. Lock and load. It's on, baby.

There may come a point in every NaNo writing day when I want to cash in my chips, say 'good enough, this is as far as I go' but writing isn't a matter of want to. It's a matter of have to. Trust me, I've tried not writing and it doesn't work. I'm going to be doing this for the rest of my life. November is one month. One month. When I let Alec and Tamsen rest for at least December, there's still Angus and Summer who need my attention so they can get all sparkly shiny polished to go see agents. John and Aline who need their romance emphasized so the wake of the Black Plague doesn't overtake the love story. Last year's couple, Slate and Melanie, are quite insistent that they're ready for me to pay them some attention again, and I am excited for all of the above. Tired from heading into NaNo with insufficient-for-me ammunition, but hey, that's how we learn.

So, is there likely going to be some point in today's writing where toy with flipping over the metaphorical table, muttering an epithet and spending the rest of the day looking for graphic art resources and playing Sims 3? I'm counting on it. I'm also counting on hitting the magic number of words for the day, announcing "Done!" and collecting my Awesome Writer Chocolate Truffle that is reserved only for days that goals are made, and then sticking my nose in a good book.

Week three of NaNo -where's my brain?

2011-11-21T08:21:00.001-05:00

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Normally, I love Mondays. Seriously. Specifically Monday Mornings. Sure, Monday evening brings How I Met Your Mother, but it's the mornings that get me going. I am the dreaded morning person, up and doing stuff before the sun, so by the time evening rolls around, it's not uncommon for me to turn into a pumpkin somewhere in the middle of dinner, fighting valiantly to stay awake until the end of a favorite program, and then crash. Mornings, though, I can spring out of bed, head to a local coffee shop, obtain beverage and bagel and start pounding keys.

The difference here is that we're in week three (or four? Are there five weeks in November? Is it really Monday?) of NaNoWriMo. Although my stats page says that if I stick with my current pace, I will finish on time, there's still the anxiety of chipper posts from people announcing they wrote the entire fifty thousand words on their lunch break and want to keep going. New ideas are exploding everywhere and it's oh so fun and oh so fabulous and...yeeeah, about that.

Honestly, if you're reading this and the above applies to you, I will shake pompoms for you with great enthusiasm and if you catch me at the right moment, I will even include a marching band. I greatly admire the super productive and they deserve every bit of acclaim. Maybe some other year, that will be me, but this year, I'm the kitty above. Today, for example (or more specifically yesterday) I left my travel mug in a friend's car, which meant this morning found me rifling through conference tote bags because I thought I remembered a promotional sport bottle in there somewhere. The staff at the coffee shop have my traditional bagel and travel refill order down to a science and I am a creature of routine when it comes to starting the morning's work.

There have been days when I've found myself looking blankly at a friend, only to be told with a fond chuckle that it's okay; I've obviously used all my words for the day. Not, I should mention, because my head is that deep in the book -I love when that happens, though- but because pounding out my daily word quota (and note, I normally count pages, not words) is sucking my brain. I will admit that the discipline is my main reason for doing NaNo this year. Will the NaNo story live past December? Maybe. Too soon to say at this point, but I'm in it for the discipline, so I will do today's words today and deal with tomorrow when tomorrow comes. I have learned that I need to do my blorch first, then make my outline, then it's time for actual readable writing. I need to be able to talk to other writers, online and in person, about my characters and story the same as I talk about people we know in real life. My characters are real; they may live in my head, but they are alive, and I need to talk about them. None of this is better or worse than anybody else's process, but it's mine and I embrace it and dance with it, even if it does end up looking like Victor Frankenstein dancing with the reanimated corpse of his beloved in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Saturday at the Movies #73 - Reading the Movies

2011-11-19T13:40:00.001-05:00

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We've all seen books adapted for the big screen, some successfully, sometimes not, but this week, we're looking at something different here. Namely, reading scripts or screenplay. When I was in high school and college, I did a lot of theater, so reading in the script format is very natural for me. I have had plays of my own performed, and it's something special to see the written word come to life through the interpretations of actors and director. Give two different actors the same script, or the same actor and the same script with a different director, and you'll come away with two totally different results. For that matter, different set design or costume choices will create yet different environments for the actors and spur the director to steer his/her ship in an entirely different direction. So, for me, reading a script or screenplay shows me the writer's vision at a purer form, like an acoustic performance of a song with an elaborate music video.

I spent the morning at a library book sale, where I picked up, among other items, a book covering the Kenneth Branagh film adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

While this dovetails nicely with my acquisition of Rowing Into the Wind, a film about Mrs. Shelley's writing of her famous work, and there will be a post on that later, but since the book includes the actual screenplay, I'll need to read that first. It got me thinking, though. I have the screenplay for my all time favorite romantic comedy, Love Actually, and read it about as frequently as I watch the movie.

During the time I spent in Star Trek: The Next Generation fandom, I bought several fanzines, many of the licensed novels, but only two scripts, and they are parts of my collection that I will not be parting with anytime soon. Both have romantic plots. but since they are main character/guest character pairings, neither can end well.

"The Outcast" provides, hands down, my favorite canonical relationship for the dashing Commander Riker.

While the complex romantic geometry of "The Host" means beautifully written heartbreak for all involved:

I do reread the scripts that I have, and have found that when I write my blorches (first very rough drafts)they follow screenplay format very closely. Since I always made notes in the margins on the scripts that I used, I'd love to have a peek at a script used by one of my favorite actors - what stood out to them, and what did they question? What did they want to change? Where did they need to give themselves reminders and why?

What about you? Have you read any scripts or screenplays? If you could have any script used by a favorite actor in a tv or movie productions, which one would you choose?

Happy Dance Friday #73 - All in The Family

2011-11-18T09:06:00.001-05:00

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Here in the USA, we're only days away from Thanksgiving, when families gather from far and wide to partake of culinary bounty and spend time in (or avoiding) each other's company. When I was growing up, such gatherings with more than one person under the age of twelve invoked the time honored tradition of putting on a show for the grownups. In some cases, to the extent of certain adults informing certain combinations of children that there will be no shows this time. Harumph. No, I am not over that, thank you for asking. Perhaps with the proper encouragement, my cousins and I could have followed in the footsteps of some of these famous families.

There's the brother/sister act of Derek and Julianne Hough:

More sibling action with Benji and Lacey Schwimmer:

Or Benji with cousin Heidi Groskreutz:

Who's their daddy? (or uncle?) This guy:

It's like father, like son when it comes to talent in the Ballas family with Corky and Mark:

Since I can name family members of mine who would do me bodily harm if I left out the Chmerkovskiy brothers, here they are:

I know I'm thankful for all of the families above. How about you?

Saturday at the Movies #72 - Four Historical Hugh Grant Films...I think

2011-11-12T14:53:00.001-05:00

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My husband sums up 'every movie Anna loves' as "Blah, blah, blah. This horrible war is ruining my love life. Oh look, here comes Hugh Grant. Let's have tea." He is not that far off. Which is why it was a very pleasant surprise to find the Miramax Critic's Choice four in one edition of four Hugh Grant films, all historical.

The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain has been on my to-be-purchased list for quite some time now, so that would have been worth the price of admission alone, and I'd actually forgotten exactly who was in Restoration, but Hugh Grant and the court of Charles II? Pop the corn, dim the lights and no talking during the movie, please. Rowing With the Wind has Hugh Grant as Byron (hey, he played Chopin, so he can play Byron)in a story set during the conception of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Rounding out the collection is Sirens, which A) I had not known Hugh Grant was even in, B)I did know had Portia DiRossi in it, and C)is set in Australia in the 1920s, so bonus points for unusual setting.

Today's technical difficulties are brought to us by the internet and YouTube, possibly my laptop as well, so I can't vouch for the trailers embedded below, and Blogger doesn't think I need to see previews of my post. I do have popcorn at the ready, DH's schedule says he's working tonight, and four historical movies are at my disposal, so how -especially when trailers refuse to cooperate- does a person choose? I'll see a performance from a favorite actor no matter which I pick, and I'm interested in all four different settings. Old favorite first, or new discovery? Historical chronological order? Supporting role to starring role? Order in which films were, well, filmed? Alphabetical by title? Costumes? Atmospheres?

Sirens trailer:

Restoration:

Probably trailer or scenes from Rowing with the Wind...I think...

No trailer could be found for The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain, but click here for Wikipedia page.

How do you pick when faced with multiple films you want to see equally?

Happy Dance Friday #72 -It's Electric

2011-11-11T10:16:00.001-05:00

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For those of us who lost power during Octsnowber/Snowtober/Winter Storm Alfred/other words not printable here but referring to the giant amount of snow that descended upon the northeast US in the last week of October, there was a great deal of happy dancing when our power came back on.

I will admit that Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue" did indeed pop into my head when power was restored in our neck of the woods, and for a bit of Sims trivia, if I make an electronics store in my game, it is always called Electric Avenue. Always.

I don't remember being much into this song when it first came out (too busy walking my dinosaur) but I do love the lead singer's optimistic attitude:

To keep with the theme, there's Electric Light Orchestra:

and Electric Mayhem:

And dancers of electric boogie have some impressive moves:

IHere's hoping the winter will be warm and bright inside our house and all others.

Of Nor'easters and NaNo

2011-11-10T16:32:00.001-05:00

The last couple of weeks have been interesting. Storm, aftermath of storm, recovery from storm, all in time for the month long exercise in creative insanity known as National Novel Writing Month. Last year was my first, and because of reasons above -and others- I had debated sitting this one out.

Normally, I like to have my story notebook all planned out, a detailed outline, sections for hero, heroine, villain if applicable, history, research notes, pertinent pictures, etc. This year? That didn't happen, and in many ways, it feels like I'm doing the detailed outline for my daily words. I miss my blorch.

Blorch is a word of my own creation, and it means the basic slapping of jumbly words on a page, exactly as it comes to me in my mind. Present tense, hither and yon, jumping around in the story timeline, in and out of POV, talking to myself, referencing TVTropes.org (warning, do not click if you expect to get anything done for the next several hours)A blorch comes before an actual draft and allows me to then go through it with my collection of highlighters, sticky notes and define and number scenes, which then becomes my outline, and then I write. Life is funny sometimes and this year, all I came to NaNo with was a large spiral bound sketchbook with random notes scrawled freeform in multiple colors of Sharpie.

Hence the image you see above. That's a rough concept design of one of a pair of handwarmers (aka mitts, aka fingerless gloves) and it's appropriate for a number of reasons. I am tackling a pirate story this year, so the skull and crossbones is appropriate. The "Deal," though, that's a reminder that no matter how crazy things may seem, we get through them. Appropriate for this fumbling about in the mist of NaNo and recovering from a whomping nor'easter. So far, I'm making my daily word goal and should hit the requisite fifty thousand words by December 1st. Taking this one day at a time and seeing how it goes. If I end up turning out fifty thousand words of horrible trash, well, nobody has to see it but me, and I'll have done the equivalant of half a manuscript in one month. Pretty nifty right there.

So, the whole "deal" part...yeah, that's the thing. Show up at the keyboard. Open the document. Pound keys until the daily goal has been reached (to get 50k by the end of the month, I'm shooting for about 1660ish words per day, which is again different, since I normally count pages instead of words)- then I get a reward. I have found that I am eminently self-bribable. This time of year, cocoa is good. I don't know exactly where I'm going when I start the day's journey, but I have somewhat of an idea. Most likely, this will turn into the blorch, if I can convince myself it's okay to do that here - yes, I know nobody but me is going to see this, but head knowledge vs heart knowledge, mmkay? I'm getting there.

Are you NaNoing? Would you? Have you?

Saturday at the Movies #71 - More to be viewed

2011-10-29T11:14:00.000-04:00

As I've said, I can walk to a multiplex in five minutes and I can't remember the last time I was there. This is often the case; visits to the cinema are few and far between, but I love movies. While I do like going with friends, my favorite way to watch a movie in the theater is solo. My choice of snack (and it's different depending on the movie -popcorn is a classic, but if I'm with a friend who does not do popcorn and likes to share the snack they chose, you can see my dilemma) and zero interruptions, no other voices in my head. For me, that's sitting in the dark and having someone tell me a story at its best. I am perfectly content to sit next to someone I love dearly, in the dark, and have no interpersonal communication whatsoever for the course of the story, then go somewhere to have an actual meal and analyze the film in detail afterwards. Since there is a pizza place directly across from said cinema, it's not a long walk.

Three new additions to my to be viewed list this week, and one substitution.

I have never seen Justin Timberlake act before, but In Time takes a literal spin on the "time is money" concept and the visuals are sharp and distinctive, so that's enough to catch my interest.

Anonymous gave me a little hesitation -I'm not big on fictionalized biographies or speculation of this sort- but the visuals, again, are what sold me. There's a distinct mood here, and the taut, dramatic tone adds to the Anna-bait. Elizabethan England? Check. Drama? Check. Writerly angst? Check. Gorgeous costumes and cinematography? Check and check. Pass the popcorn.

Immortals is aimed directly at the mythology-obsessed kiddo I was, or rather the adult that kid grew into .-sprawling epic myth with drama and adventure.

Which brings us to the substitution. When I'd first heard that there would be a new Three Musketeers movie, I was excited. With Orlando Bloom? Double excited. 3D? Well, okay, I guess. Wait, airship? Milady DeWinter doing a limbo slide underneath daggers flying out from the walls? Ummmm....yeah, about that. Visuals are lovely, but no, Orlando, not even for you. I would love to see a great steampunk romantic adventure on the big screen, but this isn't it. Alexandre Dumas does not need the help.

Instead, I'll be hunting down the 1974 version. Richard Chamberlain, Michael York, Faye Dunaway, Raquel Welch, the sheer gorgeosity that is the all-white ball...right now, this rings my chimes much more than what I've seen of the reimagined version. Yes, I know this version took liberties with the original text as well, and YMMV, but this is my blog, and that's my pick.

What are you planning on viewing in the near future?

Happy Dance Friday #71 -Thriller

2011-10-28T10:15:00.001-04:00

Some dances are iconic. I remember the first time I encountered Michael Jackson's Thriller. I was a young teen, visiting family, and my cousin, who shares my penchant for unusual creative endeavors, took me into his room, turned off all the lights and cued a song on his newest tape (the ancestors of CDs for all you younguns) - Vincent Price narrated in his distinctive voice, and the music kicked in, and I knew I was experiencing something special.

At the time, I was more impressed with the Paul McCartney duet on "The Girl is Mine" but which song had the iconic video? "Thriller."

10 minutes long, actual dancing doesn't come in until about 8 minutes in, but what gets packed into those remaining minutes is pure genius. Not commenting about anything else regarding Mr. Jackson, but his dancing and his choreography and this piece in particular, well, it's still readily identifiable how many years later? Exactly my point. We've seen Thriller flash mobs, Thriller proms, Thriller wedding dances, Thriller prison inmates, and there's even a website, www.ThrillTheWorld.com, which annually strives to break a world record for largest number of people simultaneously dancing this specific routine.

Google "Thriller Choreography" and you'll find endless interpretations of this iconic piece by dancers/choreographers,

It's been incorporated into ballroom routines

and adapted for kids of all ages and even for dancers on wheels. For a dance where the cast of characters is largely comprised of the undead, Thriller's choreography is still alive and kicking. For me, that's the sign of a true classic, and we've only addressed the choreography. That's a whole mini movie packed into ten minutes, with a twist at the end that still sends shivers down viewers' spines.

Saturday at the Movies #70 - The Walking Dead TV vs Graphic Novel

2011-10-22T10:04:00.000-04:00

Last week, I mentioned dipping my toe in the zombie waters and maybe possibly checking out season one of The Walking Dead. Well. Since AMC had a marathon of season one shortly thereafter, clearly, it was meant to be. I am now current with seasons one and two, am on volume nine of the graphic novel, and have the official companion book and the first hardcover in-universe novel, The Rise of the Governor, waiting for when I've finished volume ten.

It's safe to say, the zombies got me and they got me good. Normally, I'm not a horror person, I don't do well with gore on screen, and bad things happening to anything with fur is a dealbreaker for me. This is different. For me, The Walking Dead is a character study rather than a horror story - it's not as much about the zombie outbreak/apocalypse, but how the surivivors, especially our viewpoint character, Rick, handle it. How do these extraordinary circumstances affect the choices he makes, and who is he at his core? While I do expect there to be some resolution to and explanation for the zombie thing by the end of the series, that's not the main point.

When I'm in a series, it's for the characters and the relationships. In a departure from the graphic novel, we get to see a lot more of the Rick/Lori/Shane triangle. Our hero, Rick, is thrilled to be reunited with wife Lori and young son, Carl:

but while Lori and Rick's best friend, Shane, believed Rick to be dead, they turned to each other. Now that he's back, Lori seems to have made her choice, but is Shane going to let things go that easily?

I'd already put myself in the Rick/Lori camp before delving into the graphic novels, and reading those has only cemented my alliance to this ship, but at the same time, I'm aware that the differences between tv series and graphic novel may crop up here as well. We've already seen one large departure on this front, so I'm going to be cautiously optimistic for Rick and Lori, while at the same time knowing anything can happen.

Normally, adaptations can be hard sells for me - I have a firm lifetime boycott on the Emma Thompson version of Brideshead Revisited, because of needed liberties trimming things down to fit the medium of a theatrical movie, but that cut out too much of what I love about the novel and miniseries. I did not have that reservation with The Walking Dead. Granted, I came to the tv series before the graphic novel and debated reading the original format. Would it confuse me? Throw me off? True answer - not in the least. I'm able to keep things straight in my mind, as the two formats are unique enough to remain distinct, while at the same time having a cohesive flavor. It's actually fun to figure out what characters have been added, deleted or combined for the series.

While the stark graphic black and white artwork of the graphic novel is perfect for that medium, the televised version adds other dimensions - sound, including Andrew Lincoln's Southern US accent, the subdued, washed out colors of a world that has been through a major catastrophe, motion, and the use of deftly chosen music, as in the Bob Dylan piece played at the end of the first season finale:

Postapocalyptic stories are in vogue at the moment -I'm shopping around a postapocalyptic medieval romance novella of my own- and zombies even find their way into romance novels these days, but what makes The Walking Dead must-view for me is the very human drama of it all. Who are we, at our very core, and what do we do when the worst gets worse? Since it's early days in both the series and the graphic novel (as I'm only on volume nine and I've seen issues in the 90s) I'm going to have to call this one a draw...and I'm okay with that, even to the point of eating, without squeamishness, while viewing.

New episode Sunday night - will you be watching?

Happy Dance Friday #70 - Derek Hough and Stuff

2011-10-21T09:14:00.000-04:00

This one's for Gerri. Derek! Julianne! What are you doing down there in the basement? Knock it off. You're never going to get anywhere in life carrying on like that!

Okay, that phrase was probably not uttered in the Hough household, as both parents and all four grandparents were dancers, but I'm still going to imagine it that way. Whichever hypothetical parent yelled that down the stairs was, I am happy to say, dead wrong. Last week, we saw what Julianne's been up to, so this week it's her brother's turn.

Besides being a three time Dancing With the Stars champion,

Derek is an Emmy-nominated choreographer:

as well as an actor and musician:

Performers who are gracious and appreciative of their fans are always worth a happy dance. Manners count, people. Which is a lesson that would have been right at home on Full House - give this acapella version of the theme song a listen and try to resist the bouncy mood. Can't? Nope, me neither. Happy Friday.

Saturday at the Movies #69 -Luther, Bedlam, zombies and kittens

2011-10-15T13:07:00.000-04:00

Oh, BBC America, you know you have me. You know I love you, and nobody feeds my inner Briton like you do. I can even forgive you for what happened to Jamie Bamber's character in Law and Order UK, because then you go and give me Luther.

No, not Martin, but a taut, gritty, psychological crime drama starring Idris Elba.

I blame author Zoe Archer for bringing Luther to my attention, as she cites Mr. Elba as partial inspiration for the character of Catullus Graves in her Blades of the Rose novels. That's Catullus on the cover of the fourth title, Stranger. Personally, I've always imagined Catullus along the lines of this gent, but Luther is Luther, dedicated detective with more than a bit of an edge, and apparently a very interesting relationship with the murderous Alice. I won't pretend to understand that, as I'm new to the Lutherverse, but not to worry, I'm sure all will be revealed in time, or at least the season one DVDs.

As if that weren't enough, BBC America also brings me Bedlam. I've always had a thing for two of the less savory historical sites in England - Bethlehem Royal Hospital, aka Bedlam, and Newgate Prison. Show me a historical romance with at least one scene set in either place, and I must have it. Natural settings for drama if ever there were such a thing. So of course, when I found out there would be a drama set in the famed hospital, turned into apartment units for the up and coming, I had to investigate. Seems like not all of the patients have entirely left the building, if one catches the drift.

Not on BBC America, but another cable series I'm arrving at fashionably late is The Walking Dead. I haven't dipped my toes in the water (or should I say ichor?) yet - advice appreciated if I need to find the season one DVDs first or if it's okay to jump in at season two- but we have Andrew Lincoln from Love Actually (my favorite comedy ever) as a sherriff determined to do good in the wake of a zombie apocalypse. I. Am. So. There. Yes, I know it will be gory, but once I saw our hero riding a horse into postapocalyptic Atlanta, it started the push and pull in my mind and the intrigue has prevailed over trepidation. Cover me, I'm going in.

Then there's Puss In Boots. I have not seen any of the Shrek franchise and don't plan to change that, but if Puss' adventure can be viewed on its own, I loved the original fairy tale, love the mixture of bold adventurer who is still a very catly cat (true, it's been done before) but I would listen to Antonio Banderas read the phone book, and his films bring back fond memories of a dearly loved and much-missed aunt. Puss may seem like a departure from the above three, but he does have the total committment to what he's doing, and that's always going to catch my interest.

Happy Dance Friday #69 - Julianne Hough and Stuff

2011-10-14T09:16:00.001-04:00

First, a confession: A) I did not see the original Footloose movie. B) I would gladly pay good money to watch Julianne Hough do the hokey-pokey because she is my favorite female DWTS pro, which leads to C) I am definitely planning on catching the new version of Footloose, which releases today. So likely a Saturday at the Movies post on that after I view, though not sure when that will be.

It's Friday, though, not Saturday, so this isn't about the movie, this is about the dancer, and the inherent happy dancing when multiple things I love collide in a big mess of awesome. Still not able to work out how to fit DWTS into the regular viewing schedule, so I'm catching as catch can on that one, but with Julianne making a return to the show as a guest performer, I had to hie myself over to YouTube right quick. Julianne on her own is enough (yes, a girl dance crush, what of it?) but then make the song a new arrangement of "Holding Out For A Hero" (originally recorded by Bonnie Tyler, written by Jim Steinman and Dean Pitchford, and I have a huge, huge music crush on Jim Steinman, aka the guy who writes Meat Loaf's songs) - that makes it positively covered in Anna-bait, and perfect romance writer inspiration:

One of the reasons I like ballroom dance as much as I do is the challenge for the dancer, much like the challenge for a writer who writes within a genre, is to exercise their creativity within the requirements of the particular dance.:

Then there's the art of dance in the movies, where the movements are choreographed to develop character and/or story:

Anybody who can pull off both, and do it that well, has my immediate respect. If that's not enough, the gal can sing, and she's making waves in style circles.

While I have absolutely no idea if the Brothers Fairbrass are even aware Ms. Hough exists, the bouncy optimism of the Right Said Fred song, "Julianne" certainly fits. Okay, and watching the audience is fun, too.

Speaking of RSF, their official YouTube channel now includes footage from their live acoustic Night of the Living Fred shows. I would be willing to write the script myself if ""Stop The World" could be played over the opening sequence of a Richard Curtis-directed film about eccentric British people with relationship problems. Is Hugh Grant busy? For the record, I would be fine with collaborating with Nick Hornby. (Yes, I do often come up with hypothetical collaborations like that. Doesn't everybody?)

Reading Romance on the Bathroom Floor

2011-10-11T10:20:00.000-04:00

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My mother had passed on when I was fourteen, but I had some awesome aunts to see me through the turbulent teen years. One of them introduced me to the wonderful world of romance novels, by dint of writing them herself. Another story there, but the other night, while going through my TBR bookshelves (yes, plural) I had a visit with my teenage self, back when I stashed historical romance novels in the cabinet under the bathroom sink.

The bathroom was a sanctum for teen-me, the one room I knew nobody would disturb me, and thus the room I always volunteered to clean when it was housework time. I could take care of tile and fixtures lickety split, but I'd stay in there as long as I could, thanks to my secret stash.

I still remember specific books I read there, Spanish Rose by Shirlee Busbee, and Heartland by Rebecca Brandewyne, to name two. It's not only the titles I remember, but the books themselves, the smell and feel of the pages, the heft of the four hundred plus pages in my hands, the gorgeous Elaine Duillo covers - I collect those now- and the pink cardstock bookmarks with "Jan's Paperbacks" in black script on them. That UBS is long gone, and I have twice had to replace large portions of my keeper stash, but it's times like this that adult-me can make teen-me scootch over on the white and yellow tiles and I'm there again.

The world outside the bathroom door still existed, so I don't term this an 'escape,' but a respite. Time and again, no matter the setting or era, I read about strong, resourceful women who refused to sit by and let life happen to them. These gals went to war, they captained pirate ships, they navigated Court intrigues and crossed the badlands, their femininity not a weakness but a strength. These books nourished me, both as a reader and as a writer. I knew that I would be the one writing making these heroines and their heroes come to life one day; it wasn't something I had to figure out, any more than I had to figure out having green eyes. This was right. This was me. The adventure, the characters and their relationships, all the highs and the lows on the way to HEA, that was home for me.

I loved the variety of settings; a favorite author might have taken me to Renaissance Italy this time, but next time, we'd have a date for Colonial New York, then go a-viking, then attend a glittering Edwardian soiree, then elsewhere, then elsewhere, then elsewhere. I still have that literary wanderlust, asking myself where I want to go and who I want to meet this time, in a new book read or a new story waiting to be born. Even with stories scattered over space and time, it was what was the same that resonated with me the most. The women always won. They got what they wanted, sometimes at great cost, but I always closed the covers that final time with a happy sigh and the feeling that yes, life will go on. Whatever the hero and heroine had to fight to find and keep each other, they made it, and they will make it through whatever life brings in the future.

For me, that is happily-ever-after, not that there will never be any bad times, but that we will make it through whatever comes, and we don't have to do it alone. Sorting through my shelves, I got a lot more than the chance to pick out what I wanted to read next. I got a chance to reach back through time and for a few minutes there, I was reading romance on the bathroom floor once again. It's the closest thing I can think of to a meeting of minds between teen-me and adult-me, and I have to say we had a fabulous time. We're meeting again tonight.

Happy Dance Friday #68 -DWTS pros

2011-10-08T17:00:00.001-04:00

Some things don't go exactly according to plan, hence the time delay and apology dance. Friday asploded into a twirly errandpalooza, but the beat goes on.
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Dancing With the Stars viewing in our house involves a complex interrelation of numbers of televisions in the famiily, the load of shows the DVR is able to handle without going kablooey and my DH's deep and abiding love of the Food Network. Still, there is You Tube, so I"ll be checking out the pros. For now, a quick look at a few pros worth watching:

Blonde Lacey Schwimmer is going to take some getting used to, but she caught my attention when she was on SYTYCD, and I've had the chance to see her live, so I'm definitely going to keep an eye on her.

The Brothers Chmerkovskiy: In case Maks wasn't enough, he has brought in reinforcement with brother Val. Kinda bold starting out in the bed, there, Val, and does the letterman jacket imply that the male in this dance story is a high school athelete? Where did he get his, um, companion, in that case?

Long clip for Maks' entry, because A) Viennese Waltz and B).well, Maks

Fun fact - Tony Dovolani and I actually have something in common; we have both lived in Bedford, NY. Not at the same time, but I'm going to call him my possible once upon a time neighbor anyway.

Out the door once more, but I plan on getting current and having a chance to see how the new kids on the DWTS pro block do. Should be fun.

On the dissipation of cold brain and the art of tai ming

2011-10-03T10:55:00.001-04:00

I still have cold brain. Waning, to be sure, but still cold brain. For those who play any of the Sims games, you'll understand an action dropping out of queue. For those who don't, well, we've all started to do something, forget what it is or why we're doing it. That happens a lot with cold brain. When cold brain starts to wane, it's not uncommon to have an action drop out of queue and then pop back in when one has started an entirely different action (Sims games don't do that - yet.)

The plan for this cold was to snuggle under some blankeys and make a dent in my TBR pile. Pause here for wild, demented laughter. Cold-influenced reading was more along the lines of A) carefully pick out book. B) Settle in for good reading session. C) Fall asleep in the middle of first page, or D) Read same page fifteen times and complain about book being repititious already. E) Give up and play Sims. F) Since laptop is on, open WIP and poke with metaphorical stick. G) Open Photoshop Elements and make inspirational graphics, as above (optional.)

All in all, not a lot of reading, when there are a heckuva lot of books. Paperbacks, both mass market and trade sized. Hardcovers. Ebooks. Novels. Research books. Other stuff. Even petted a fanzine in my search for reading material, but brain refused to latch on. Which is okay. It's a new TV season, as recent Saturday at the Movies posts detail. I caught most of Tristan and Isolde yesterday afternoon, which fulfilled some of my romance fiction yearning, but since things don't end exactly well for anybody in the Tristan/Isolde/Mark triangle, no HEA. Utterly gorgeous to watch, though, and atmosphere gets an A+++.

But reading. Yeah. I do have my default reads at the ready; Hannah Howell's Highland historicals this time. I know I'll like those, as I've read some of the earlier ones already, when they were first released, and likely out of order, so they will be like new to me again. Book three is on my desk, awaiting its call to duty, and that may be soon. Still, next to my bed, there is a small stack of started and put aside novels. Nothing wrong with them, only a brain that wouldn't track. I do believe that there is a right time to read a particular book, and something that's a "nice, but not right now" can, days or weeks (or longer) later, become "why did I wait so long to read this?"

Comedian Steve Martin once did a bit on the ancient art of Tai Ming, and I think he was onto something. Like the stack of books by my bed and the computer file of ideas that still need to simmer a while longer because I don't have all the ingredients yet, there is a right time to read or write a particular story, and forcing it isn't going to work. I've learned to embrace the "not right now" and focus on the now. Which is something that isn't that hard to do...and does not mean checking Twitter and Facebook like a maniac every five minutes. Nope, butt in chair, fingers on keyboard gets the job done.

Saturday at the Movies #68 - Sick Ramblings

2011-10-01T13:40:00.001-04:00

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This weekend, I am referring to my DH as 'Patient Zero.' Cold brain has set in, accounting for my not remembering yesterday was Friday, so today is dedicated to plopping myself in the relciner and getting current on DVR'd material. With the new season upon us, there's a lot. I had high hopes for X Factor, and what I've seen so far meets expectations. Sure, there are still some auditioners who have, shall we say, creative differences with the judges, but when they're good, they're amazing. Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul together again, and so far, I like what I see from L.A. Reid, Cheryl Cole and Nicole Scherzinger. Not that keen on those who come on talking about how they want to be famous and on the cover of this magazine and that tv show and oy, oy, oy. The ones who sing because they love to sing, though, remind me how much I love the audition process.

Unforgettable gives us Poppy Montgomery (with some seriously gorgeous red hair) as Carrie, a cop with an eidetic memory, the one piece of the puzzle she doesn't have being what happened on the day of her sister's murder. Love the creative cinematography as Carrie can revisit her memories and move about through them. I like the larger story arc and will be interested to see how Carrie's mother's dementia mirrors Carrie's gift.

A Gifted Man stars Patrick Wilson as a doctor with a high end private practice whose comfortable lifestyle gets pushed out off track by a visit from his charitable-minded ex-wife. It's obvious he still has feelings for her, so the first visit isn't entirely unwelcome...until he finds out she's dead. Ghostly visit or guilty conscience? Arguments could be made either way, and our hero's sister's goofy urban shaman boyfriend thinks he can clean up the tangled affair, which provides for some lighter moments. Jennifer Ehle (Pride and Predjudice, The King's Speech) is a nice surprise as the possibly ghostly, possibly hallucinatory ex-wife who hasn't given up on the man she possibly still loves. Possible shippy triangle with our hero, his ex, and the (uh oh) boyfriend she left behind.

Person of Interest and The New Girl are also very much living up to expectations and though I may have to duck a couple of rotten tomatoes for this, I'm going to hang in there with Terra Nova for the foreseeable future; dystopic beginning, time travel, interesting sociology, so we will see. Which of the year's new shows are catching your interest?

Happy Dance Friday #67 - Dancing with what, now?

2011-09-23T11:17:00.002-04:00

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Plans for heading to Pipes in the Valley fell through, so instead of live Celtic music, it will be getting current on season premieres in our household. Them's the breaks. I do have the Dancing With the Stars season premiere DVR'd, and probably will give it a gander so that I can talk about it with some degree of intelligence and hey, it could be good. Schroedinger's cat and all - can't say until I've seen. Plus my time travel's heroine likes to watch these things with the fervor of a Roman patrician in the coliseum.

If you think you heard a 'but' in the above, you're right. When DWTS first premiered, I loved the idea and was crazy excited about it. The last two seasons, we taped it, but I watched, hmm, yeah, maybe an episode and a half over that entire run. Not because I'd fallen out of love with ballroom (quite the opposite, and one of these days, ballroom studio within walking distance of my house, one of these days...) but because the name of the show promised me stars and I see...well, one could argue that the A-listers are too busy to participate, this is a great opportunity for those looking for publicity to get it, and if the whole idea is to pair professional dancers with amateurs, does it matter what the amateurs do when they aren't dancing?

Probably not, but I like to have some frame of reference when it comes to the stars and for the last couple years, I mostly haven't. Purely me, everyone else's experience will be different, and I'm sure there are those who squealed with delight at each and every star on the list this year.I recognize some names - Nancy Grace (DH watches a lot of news,) Chynna Phillips (Mamas and Papas daughter, Wilson Phillips,) Chaz Bono (Sonny and Cher's sprog; I have read part of one of his books,) apparently there's a Mr. Kardashian? I did not know that, as I had not been keeping up.
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For the rest of them - oh wait, Ricki Lake is also familiar, they will be new to me. What I've found helpful is a paradigm shift. Yes, the title of the show is accurate. These amateurs are dancing with the stars of the ballroom world. Makes perfect sense.

Yep, paradigm shift makes all the difference. I'll give it a go this year again, but this time, I'm watching the pros and yapping about them here.

Saturday at the Movies #67 Returning favorites

2011-09-17T16:47:00.000-04:00

Since we are within days of the new tv season, (and I haven't been to the cinema or touched my DVDs this week) well, you know the drill.
Squealing like a red panda dressed like a Japanese schoolgirl at finding the long form of the Psych video promo:Oh, where to start? Granted, a Psych-less summer was hard, I'm not denying that, but since the new season debuts in October, I will count it as a birthday present. Guest stars look fabulous this year as always, and are we finally, finally going to get some Shawn/Jules time? Gus can do whatever, because anything he does is entertaining but bonus points if there is a plausible reason for him to tap dance.

Bones, oh Bones! The show where love and death do embrace. I chimed in on a Heroes and Heartbreakers piece on returning shows with a shippy focus - of course Bones sprang directly to mind. This show is overflowing with romance, and Bones is having Booth's baby, oh shipper heaven. Do not drop the ball on this, writers. Do not.

Of course, How I Met Your Mother promises to be legen-wait-for-it-dary this year. Marshall and Lily baby! Barney's wedding! Barney/Robin fireworks! Kal Penn as Robin's therapist! Martin Short as Marshall's new boss! Um, yeah, and Ted does some stuff, too.
How I met your Mother - 7x01 The Best Man (Sneak... by Everything_TV

Not to leave without an actual movie reference, hop on over to Heroes and Heartbreakers (again) for Charli Mac's take on one of my favorites, Notting Hill.

Happy Dance Friday #66 - In Person Happy Dance

2011-09-16T10:03:00.000-04:00

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Chance for actual happy dancing next weekend, as I will more than likely (real life allowing) be spending next Saturday here:
http://www.pipesinthevalley.com/
Be still my Celtic-loving heart. I have been longing for the chance to attend a Celtic festival for years, years, I tell you. This falls under "about (expletive deleted) time." As if the fact that I can actually get to such a festival weren't enough, these guys are playing:

"Lowrider" on bagpipes? It exists:
Wonder if this will be in the live set:
Haunting and evocative, this one:
Looking forward to discovering the other bands as well; who knows, a new favorite may be awaiting.

Happy Dance Friday #65 - Filled With Glee

2011-09-09T11:04:00.002-04:00

One of my most lasting memories of high school was being booted out of chorus for having a bad voice. Instructor's words, and not in private. Mr. Schuster never would have done that, but I'm not holding a grudge. Since it was too late to drop the class, my requirements were that I show up and not sing, so I used the time to read. Still, high school me probably would have loved something like New Directions, and I wouldn't have minded going to their goofy fantasy version of high school that is often all too real...but at least it has a killer soundtrack. Looking forward to the new Glee season, and though a little part of me will curl into a ball and weep at the graduations of Rachel, Finn and Kurt, I'm sure new additions will add their own flavor.

I am less than entirely sure the world is ready for Rachel to leave the schoolroom.

Whether or not Rachel is in Finn's future, his sweet befuddlement and good heart will be missed.

Kurt's sense of style and unflagging self confidence are going to make me miss him most of all, even at his stubborn best, but I'm sure he'll be fine.

If there is any possible way to achieve it, I definitely want more Warblers.

Happy dancing, all!

Signs of the season

2011-09-07T10:02:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year again. I'm at my usual seat in Panera and strongly feeling the pull toward the comfy chairs. I know in my heart this is the last week I can get away with a cold beverage in the morning and may succumb to the lure of a cup of hot chai, though I am trying hard to be good. I spent far longer than I'm proud of in front of my closet this morning - short sleeves? Long sleeves? Three-quarter sleeves? Tank and a sweater? Shawl? Capelet? These are big questions for someone who loves clothes and has a best friend who is a fabulous knitter. I did not even mention the mitts, but it's still too early for that.

Pause to don sweater (went with short sleeved scoop neck tee and crocheted sweater for those curious about this sort of thing.) Still eyeing comfy chair. Still thinking about chai.

Last night, I turned off the TV and got into bed early. Flannel pjs, flannel sheets. Could not decide between paper book (By His Majesty's Grace by Jennifer Blake) and ebook (reread the end of a friend's ms and then dipped into In the Shadow of Midnight by Marsha Canham) - all that was missing was a hot cup of tea (do we see a theme here? No, not parentheses. Tea.) but no milk in the fridge and I didn't feel like getting dressed again to make the hike down the street to CVS. I made do with some sparkling water, and woke a couple hours later to amused husband informing me I was asleep. Thanks, hon.

This weekend, I have two catsitting gigs, Which means much time for writing, reading and art in between feedings and litterbox checks. While, of course, drinking tea and wearing sweaters and all that. Definitely fall, the time of year when I get my super powers back, making up for the long, sweaty, humid summer spent dodging the sun and seeking air conditioning.

When fall arrives, my brain kicks back into gear. There's something about the crispness in the air, the changing colors on the leaves, and the tastes and scents of the season that registers as "right" to my creative center, making up for summer doldrums. I've heard this referred to as reverse Seasonal Affective Disorder, and I do match the criteria for that very closely. It's a short jump from "blargh" to "whee!" Less listless websurfing (and no ice packs under my shirt) and if I'm at the keyboard, and not writing, then I'm teaching myself new techniques in graphic art (as above.)

Today, that special fall 'something' came in full force. Welcome back, old friend. Let's do stuff.

Saturday at the Movies #66 - Small Screen Previews

2011-09-03T15:50:00.000-04:00

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Okay, it's not the apocalypse, but it is the time when summer seasons end on tv and the fall season hasn't yet started. Which, in our house, results in complaining about the good old days when there was one season and summer was for reading books in the evening and avoiding grownups in the daytime. Thankfully, reading is timeless, but there is hope on the horizon for the times when nothing but the small screen will do. Here are a few of the fall shows I'm looking forward to. Speaking of postapocalyptic stuff, balm to my Lost-loving soul:

A chance to see if what Mrs. Deschanel fed her baby girls has the same effect on Zooey as it does Emily:

I do not care what Michael Emerson's character's name is; I am going to believe that this is Ben Linus using his powers for good:

aaaand for my midcentury retro fix:

Not that long at all to wait. In fact, it gives one time to plan appropriate snacks (peaunuts for PanAm are a natural, but what goes with Terra Nova?) and scheduling activities around the must-views. In the meantime, I'm planning to build a vacation cottage out of my TBR pile and read my way out. What new shows are you looking forward to this fall?

Happy Dance Friday #64 - September Songs

2011-09-02T09:14:00.001-04:00

I am well aware that the calendar says we still have a few weeks to go before it is no longer officially that three months of burny sweatiness that separates spring and autumn, but in my family, September first is regarded as the start of the new season. Rather like the below, with a triumphant cry of "in your face, Summer!"

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So it only seems natural that this week's happy dancing be themed around the end of summer and advent of autumn. The first choice was obvious:

While all of my children have four legs and fur and thus do not need to purchase school supplies at any time of year, at any nationally known chain of office supply stores, these next clips are holiday classics in our family:

According to me, the Rubberband Man here is spreading joy, gifting the kiddos with wonderful things:
September also means that much-anticipated season premieres are on the way on the small screen.
In honor of back to school and because this proves that Glee arrangements (because the original makes me want to stick pencils in my ears to stop the pain) can rescue pretty much any song:
Happy fall and happy Friday!

The Eight Goes All The Way To The Top

2011-09-01T10:16:00.000-04:00

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I currently have the current ms-in-polish-mode open, picking at it with metaphorical surgical tweezers...and I couldn't be happier. Call me odd, but I love this phase. It's like one of those small plastic travel puzzles I used to have as a kid. Once the spacer was removed, the pieces could be moved around to form a picture or series of numbers that had to be put in the right order. It generally took a lot of shuffling around to obtain the desired effect, but it kept me out of trouble and brought a sense of satisfaction that I still remember. It's like that now, but with stories.

One could argue that this is actually editing, and one would likely be right, but there's a different feeling to this process for me. More like getting to know a good friend on a deeper level. Only in this instance, it involves climbing inside their head.

This is the time to hear the dialog in my head. Does it sound in my head the way it does on the page? Or does the conversation take a different turn? Time for a gut check on my viewpoint character (heroine, in this case) and not only see how they feel, but how they feel about how they feel. Knee-knocking terror masked by a brave front? Or a brave but foolhardy one, but (expletive deleted) they've committed to this course of action and they are going to see it through. No matter the fallout, and there will be fallout.

That sound was my fiendish cackle. I may need to send my heroine cookie basket for putting her through this, but she's tough; she'll make it. She needs this scene. So does the book. So do I. I've called this scene "Son of the Scene From Hell" before, but somewhere, it did a turnaround, and that's one of the real happy places of writing, when something that seemed stuck suddenly unsticks. The mist clears, I get the right image in my head, and then it's obvious. Like with the travel puzzles, the eight has to go all the way to the top so that the two can go into the empty space, down two, over one, bring the eight back and that puts the twelve in the right place, et voila. Sure, this may require a pathetic pounding of the fifteen in the bottom left corner for an embarrassingly long amount of time, but when it clicks, it clicks.

Saturday at the Movies #65 - Seasonally appropriate

2011-08-27T13:35:00.002-04:00

Nope, not summer flicks; I'm on the east coast, so it's all about Irene. Realistically, I am more likely to be watching Moonlight or HIMYM episodes or Brideshead Revisited this weekend, but were I to theme a private film festival around the weather, I submit the following for consideration:

I know reviews of this one were all wet, but it's still on my to be viewed list:

The title alone begs inclusion:

A far reach back into the vaults for this one, but plot and title apply:

Absolutely cannot believe I have not yet seen Bogey and Bacall in this one, but soon:

Okay, my first exposure to the classic mentioned above was the song below, but it's also a good reminder that storms will pass. Be safe, East Coasters, and see you on the other side of Irene.

Happy Dance Friday #63 - singing in the rain

2011-08-26T09:45:00.003-04:00

Since Hurricane Irene has decided to come visit the east coast (may her visit be short and uneventful) the theme for this week seemed obvious. Okay, that and the fact that I've always thought dancing on a wet stage was both impressive for the audience and challenging for the dancers.

First, a modern take on a classic:

A SYTYCD classic:

and one filled with Glee.

Stay safe, East Coast people

Happy Dance Friday #62 - Love for Sasha

2011-08-19T08:26:00.003-04:00

If there were ever a year that I wanted SYTYCD to end in a tie, it was this one. Choosing between Melanie and Sasha is nigh on impossible, so even though the show had to pick, I'm giving Sasha her moment in the sun here.

Classical ballet training? Backup dancer for Adam Lambert's tour? Alvin Ailey training? No. Freaking. Surprise. For any of it.

Oh hedgehog-haired beauty, I sometimes forget my age, too, but I can only do Travis Wall choreography in my dreams.

On a semirelated note, I officially declare (since this has been the first entirely Mia Michaels-free season) the mantle of "contemporary choreographer who can rip my heart out every single time" has been passed from Mia Michaels to Travis Wall. :touches Mr Wall on shoulders with tip of scepter:

Back to Sasha. Christina Applegate was completely right. Sasha can put her finger on a wall and break the audience's heart. Whatever it was she went through (and if I were to later find out that Ms Mallory has Method training, I will not be at all surprised) that she drew on for this performance, I want to give her a standing ovation for surviving it with beauty, grace and strength. I know I've shared this one before, but it bears repeating. Sasha holds her own with Kent Boyd, which is a tall, tall order. This is one of the great ones. For the duration of this dance, we live in their world.

I could gush about how great it is to find a female dancer with such a strong sense of self, but it's better to show it with one of her solos.

What I love about her most, though, is that she has her head and heart in the right place with strong family ties. Her love for and friendship with sister and fellow dancer, Natalia, shines through bright and clear. Next year, I want to see Sasha superbusy, juggling duties as an All Star (I hope I hope I hope) and supporting Natalia when she gets her chance in the top twenty (more hope more hope more hope.)

NaNo is Coming!

2011-08-17T09:46:00.002-04:00

Yes, I know it's the middle of August, but trust me, the picture is appropriate.

A couple times a year, my RWA chapter does a Book In Six Weeks project. Think National Novel Writing Month, but without a set word/page count and it lasts two weeks longer. Normally, I start planning far in advance, and by the time the actual BISW starts, I have a fully loaded resource notebook with rough outline, character notes and any other guides I would need for flying into the mist. This time, I thought I could wing the whole thing. I was wrong. Oh so very wrong.

No mistakes here, the page counts I turned in for the official record are honest, but instead of coming out of this with a rough draft of a novella, which had been my plan, I worked on assortment of projects. All needed, all good, but what I wanted was to come out of this with a novella I could polish and send out before the end of the year, and that did not happen. Good stuff happened; I finally got out of that mire of polishing the same (expletive deleted) chapter in a finished ms and made significant headway into writing lesson plans for my level two Fanfiction To Fantastic Fiction course (privately called "Fred" until I think of a better name for it) and a rough idea for a possible future could-be-novel-could-be-novella. No novella draft, though, and that drives me nuts.

Which means that with November coming faster than one who is not intending to write fifty thousand words in thirty days might expect, it's idea time. At the moment, I got nothing. This makes me cranky. Currently polishing an ms that has been getting some nibbles, so that's where most of my attention goes, but I like the sprints like BISW and NaNo for getting a novella out. There's something special about getting from once upon a time to happily ever after in a short span of time. Because it's me, that's going to be a rocky, angsty road, but they get there, trust me.

So. It's now August, and I'll want/need time for character work and research before the NaNo starter's pistol sounds. Readers, what kinds of historical romances would you love to see but can't find on the shelves? Future characters, my door is open. You are invited. I'll leave a light on.

Happy Dance Friday #61 - Melanie Wins!

2011-08-12T09:27:00.002-04:00

My reaction to the verdict:

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I had an inkling from the first audition that Melanie had a good chance of taking the whole thing:

Melanie, performing at a Dancers Responding to AIDS benefit:

No surprise at all why she had multiple judge's favorite dances (as did runner up Sasha, who will get her love her next week because she is also awesome) but the one I wanted to see (and darnit, they didn't call *me* for a favorite dance pick, but then again, the gals did only perform it the night before) was Stacey Tookey's repressed housewives story - because that's what it was. I could read the whole story of two friends supporting each other in wanting something more than what they've been told they can have, but still held back by the fear of the unknown. I could read the "I want/but no, we can't/but I still want" fight within both characters together and separately, and again, when Melanie, in the dark, turns and looks back over her shoulder, beyond the fence, my heart, it breaks.

In the very nice coincidence department, a song from the playlist from one of my WIPs -where the heroine actually was named Melanie long before Ms. Moore auditioned-:

Happy Dance Friday #60 - one week to finale

2011-08-05T08:48:00.004-04:00

Can we be at the end already? Gah. No. Feels like we're only getting started, but it is exciting to know who our final four will be.

No doubt at all why Melanie and Tadd are both in the finale, and the Spencer Liff Broadway routine gets my idea hamster running:

Sasha absolutely cemented her place in the top four with this routine with all star Kent and one lucky wall:

Rounding out the final four, we have Marko, here with Caitlynn, who was thisclose, but when the other two females are Sasha and Melanie, um, yeah. But Marko:

I will miss Ricky's solos, which I liked better than his partner work, but, well, when the other two guys are Marko and Tadd, see above:

Lovely to see Christina Applegate as a guest judge, and extra points because she does have dance credentials as well as being flat out gorgeous and endearingly enthusiastic.

I am ashamed to say I had never heard of the Bad Boys of Dance before, but now that they're on my radar, I must investigate:

As for winner predictions, this year is going to be a tough one. My gut says either Sasha or Melanie, and it will be thisclosebetweenthem. Really no bad way to fall for this one. Is it bad of me to want it to be Melanie a leeeeetle more solely for her facial expressions when she receives good news?

Saturday at the Movies #45 Arthur

2011-07-30T10:50:00.004-04:00

Here's a sentence I never thought I would utter: Russell Brand made me cry. I did not see that coming,but there it is. I should state up front that I only have seen portions of the 1981 Dudley Moore original, so apart from knowing the general gist of the story, was able to take this remake on its own terms.

Same general story, richer than rich, eternally childlish, alcohol-soaked playboy must marry to repair the family reputation, but falls in love with poor but principled girl from the other side of the tracks. Will he do as he's always been told or man up and choose what's right? Classic plot right there, so the potential for originality is going to be in the interpretation and performances.

I have long had a soft spot for Englishman-in-New-York stories, so combine that with a lively, engaging performance by Russell Brand as the big little boy, with Dame Helen Mirren and Luis Guzman as his nanny and chauffer, only friends in the world and perfect foils, plus the new-to-me Greta Gerwig as Arthur's love interest, Naomi, an unlicensed tour guide with a passion for the little known sights of New York, and I found Arthur a fun, touching and pretty darned satisfying experience. Though I wouldn't count myself a Jennifer Garner fan, her character, Arthur's would-be wife, Susan, came across as clear and relentless as Susan's quest to nab Arthur's name for her own. Wind in the Willows references are a bonus. "She's my Toad," said in an earnest British accented male voice can be incredibly romantic.

Again, Russell Brand made me cry; that's worth saying twice. I'd expected the madcap insanity of Arthur's typical hijinx, taking the Batmobile out for a spin, outrageous partying, and depending on his lifelong nanny, Hobson to coddle him from the realities of grownup life. I hadn't expected the touching moments, like emptying Grand Central Station so he could give Naomi the fantasy date he'd fabricated earlier, or the love and care he puts into becoming Hobson's caregiver, reversing the roles in the most dependable relationship he'd ever known. The aborted wedding reminded me slightly of Four Weddings and a Funeral, a big favorite of mine, and Arthur and Naomi's next scene after that struck me as both tragic and hopeful that Arthur would accept the wakeup call for what it was.

The grand romantic gesture that is one of the conventions of the romantic comedy has its place here, and I was surprised to find it a more subdued version than I had expected. Then again, Russell Brand does really well when playing off children, so I'm not going to object on this one.

What I am going to object to is one of my pet peeves. Naomi may start out the movie as a tour guide, but what she really wants to do is write children's books. Publishing. Does. Not. Work. Like. That. Naomi's picture book goes from a haphazard bundle of notes, to fully illustrated manuscript popped off in a manila envelope, to Naomi telling Arthur she'd sold her book in such short order that the only explanation is that she sent it via Tardis. Sure, Arthur bought the publishing house and told them to publish the book, but my big question was, how did they find the ms in all that slush? Then again, if Naomi really can go from idea to publishable ms complete with her own illustrations that are professional quality in a couple of days, that's a smart business decision. Get her under a lifetime contract, pronto.

I also want Naomi's publicist, because they were able to get her a reading and signing at the New York Public Library less than six months after she first sent her book out into the world. I'll settle for the DVD of the movie instead.

Happy Dance Friday #59 - Let's Hear it for the Girls

2011-07-29T08:44:00.004-04:00

In our family, we have a custom of, when more than one good thing happens at the same time, of asking "is it Christmas?" That certainly applies here. Covering two weeks of awesome in one blog post is a tall order, so again, we'll hit some of the highlights. Have to say that Melanie and Sasha are still neck and neck for my favorite female, and I'm glad I'm not going to have to be the one to cast the deciding vote, especially after this:

How do you...I don't even... oh heck, girls rule.

My appreciation for the terpsichorial magnificence that is Pasha Kovalev only grows when each of my favorite gals from this season gets their turn with the gentleman.

Melanie and Pasha, performing my favorite ballroom dance, Viennese waltz, with an angsty theme and sparkly lights:

Sasha and Pasha, giving off the old Hollywood vibe with their quickstep. From the first shot of Sasha's opening stance, I immediately thought "Josephine Baker," and that certainly carried through the entire dance, with a deft touch of zombieriffic posturing here and there, which put me in mind of an art piece I saw last October and still drool over (that's for another time, but the theme for that piece was "Gatsby's Ghosts".) Best seen for oneself:

Also on my wish list was a Sasha/tWitch pairing, which certainly delivers. I don't know if Sasha has any acting training or experience, but I do know tWitch is a fine actor in his own right (usually credited as Stephen Boss) with a burgeoning movie career, so Sasha gets extra points for keeping up with a professional dancer and actor here, because we do see the story they play out. No words needed.

The "have you been reading my diary?" award, (phrase borrowed from comedian Gary Gulman)however, is going to have to go to Melanie and Neil's contemporary routine, because Bonnie Tyler's rendition of Jim Steinman's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (can only be beaten by Meat Loaf performing it live) never fails to get me, and if Melanie is dancing to it, partnered by Neil, even better. Then, when I think it can't get any better, (flying leap at 1:17) bam, they hit me right in the heart at 1:38. Spotlight on Melanie, on the floor, Neil stands in darkness but still in her line of sight, and they are acting the parts. Even in darkness, Neil is giving Melanie what she needs to play off to complete her character's story, and the audience feels it. Glorious.

Happy Dance Friday still to come

2011-07-22T15:58:00.002-04:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Top ten SYTYCD review still to come, but it's 102 degrees and our entire family has melted. Off to wipe down kitty with wet towel and infuse cold drinks into self. Blogging to resume when heat wave ends.

Saturday at the Movies #44 Red Riding Hood

2011-07-16T11:15:00.004-04:00

This movie came out the same time as Beastly, which I talked about last week, and my brain has always kept them linked. Both visually stunning, both fairy tale retellings with definite individual flavors, and both didn't quite do it for me.

Red Riding Hood is a difficult one to describe. Though there are differences, if you're familiar with the Brothers Grimm version and can reframe it as a werewolf story, that's pretty much the essentials. I can't fault the cast, though I can't remember most of the actors' names one week after viewing, and hadn't been sure until the closing credits if the heroine, Valerie, were played by Amanda Seyfried (which was correct) or Heather Graham (or was it somebody else I was suspecting?) and character names, apart from Valerie, her love interest, Peter (get it?) and antagonist Father Solomon. Which is about what I need, as it's pretty straightforward.

There's a werewolf attacking people in the town where our story takes place, a medievallish European burg. Usually, the animal sacrifices pacify the wolf, but apparently not this time. Something to do with the moon. Valerie has loved Peter from childhood but is promised to marry Some Other Dude, who was apparently her dead sister's beloved and sister may have done herself in over this prospect. At any rate, there is angst. Secrets involving paternity of someone no longer with us and the wolf is a constant threat when it's dark, which it usually appears to be.

The visuals and atmosphere are the real stars of this movie, the dark overall tone reinforcing the threat of the wolf attacks and the mounting paranoia amongst the villagers, and the stark black, white and gray tones are definitely inspiring for the artistically inclined, including my art crush, Michelle Ward. Which may make it fitting that my memories of this movie tend toward the sketchy. The visuals were gorgeous, and though there is violence, the gore is left to the imagination, which can be far more horrifying as it lets us imagine what isn't shown.

I find myself remembering more what I wish the movie had been. I did like Valerie and Peter's relationship but wanted more of it and the nice surprise that Valerie's fiance is a decent guy, willing to step aside when he accepts that Valerie truly loves Peter. Beyond that, he's the one who suggests he and Peter work together to rescue an imperiled Valerie. I would have liked to have seen that unlikely friendship develop and how the three of them would relate to each other as young adults. Also more of the issues with Valerie's family as well.

Unfortunately, other issues kept me from having the sort of experience I'd hoped with Red Riding Hood. The character of Father Solomon, the werewolf-catcher, came across as one dimensional. Priest in a horror movie? I called it right off that he'd turn out to be stupid or evil, and no surprises there, alas. By the time he departs the story, we've already heard him confess to killing a woman, seen him kill one of his African associates, and torture a mentally challenged person because obviously that person's condition meant they needed killing. Sorry, Father Solomon, I have no sympathy for you.

A festival scene could have been plucked right out of generic medieval burb and plopped into a modern night club, complete with girl on girl dirty dancing to attract the eye of a desired male, and did take me out of the story for its duration.

The identity of the werewolf could have been handled better, and more backstory on how that person became afflicted could have made for a richer experience, though I can't fault the acting in the scene where the wolf's motivations are disclosed. Valerie, as well, proved to be a strong heroine in the end, insisting on doing what was right no matter the cost, but again, I wanted more. I don't normally grade movies, but the best way I can describe my experience with this movie is to give the visuals an A+ and the content a C.

Happy Dance Friday #58 - Two Weeks of SYTYCD and Emmy stuff, with a plethora of clicky links

2011-07-15T08:15:00.006-04:00

see more Daily Squee

DH had control of the remote last week, so I didn' t get to see the top 14 perform until much later in the week, and Happy Dance Monday didn't have the same ring to it. Since my brain whimpers at the thought of trying to recap two weeks at once (bad idea, will not attempt that again) we will go with general impressions....and many, many links. You may want to grab a beverage and sit down for this one.

First, the guest judges. I like seeing different people on the panel and getting different input, but I also prefer when the guest judges have more dance cred. Carmen Electra may have had some valid comments to make, but I didn't hear them; I was thinking "Carmen Electra is a dancer? Really? How? When? I remember Baywatch." :headscritch: Don't watch Modern Family, so Jesse Tyler Ferguson is new to me (and congrats to him on his Emmy nomination, though I will use this space to protest the fact that Neil Patrick Harris was robbed. Basketball hoop scene, people. Gaaaaah. I can quote dialogue from that scene and it knots my gut. :flail: Reining this back onto topic, NPH is apparently slated as a guest judge at some point in the near future? Awesome.) I know Lady Gaga will be guest judge at some point as well, and I'd say she'd be appropriate, as her music has been used on the show, and she employs a fair number of dancers with whom she works, so she does know something. But stars with hidden dance backgrounds we may not have heard of at all? Ehhhh, not so much. If I'm asking myself why Judge X is a judge, that detracts from any merit their comments may have (and please, please, please, Guest Judges, do not let your comments contain the phrase "I don't know," especially when the next judge is Travis Wall, who breaks down the performance by specific moves and technical terms and offers constructive criticism as well as praise.)

Next, Emmy nominations. I did actually squee when I read that Cat Deely was nominated for best host in a reality show or competition. Since she is up against Jeff Probst from Survivor, among others, this will have me biting some nails. Congratulations also to Travis Wall, Mia Michaels, Mandy Moore (the choreographer, not the singer) Stacey Tookey, and the husband/wife team of Napoleon and Tabitha D'Uomo. Tight, tight competition there, and good review of everyone here. I find it interesting that the nominations this year are for the body of work instead of the individual routines, and any other year, I would have said Mia Michaels should win, no contest. This year, I'm putting my money on Travis Wall because he is freaking incredible and there are times when the student surpasses the teacher, blabbity blabbity blabbity. This may inspire me to do a favorite routines cage match after the finale is over.

On a semirelated note, Denise Wall needs to be named official dance mom of the century, because one of her other sons, Danny Tidwell, like his brother, a runner up for SYTYCD champion, is now a soloist with the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. If that's not enough, another son, Scott Ross, seems to be a pretty decent musician. I want to drop by on family entertaiment night because it would be the best night ever. (Yeah, HIMYM link, but I had to, and seriously, no Emmy nomination for Jason Segel either? Bah. :stomps off in a pique:)

But back on topic. They announced the all-stars, whom we will see next week. I am very sorry to hear Alex Wong sustained another injury, but fingers crossed he will take good care of himself and be able to serve as an all star another year. We get more Pasha, Stephen "tWitch" Boss, and get to see some other favorites return to partner with the current crop, so this is going to be a season to remember. Already scouting out venues for the upcoming tour, because I do not want to miss this one.

Since I probably should include something about the recent episodes, I am now declaring favorites.

Jess is the guy I'm watching (and very sorry to bid adieu to Alexander) most closely:

For the gals, it's a dead heat between Melanie:

and Sasha:

I know this is only scratching the surface, but what a surface it is. Phew!

Saturday at the Movies #43 Beastly

2011-07-09T08:14:00.005-04:00

No book vs movie on this one, so I'm sure I'm missing elements that are in the original novel by Alex Flinn that may have worked better for me, but I didn't find enough new in this retelling of Beauty and the Beast to make me seek out the book.

Though I've always liked fairytale retellings, it was the visuals that drew me to Beastly. One of my favorite horror comics from years ago was a haunted house story set in the penthouse of an abandoned NYC skyscraper (I really want to say it was a DC comic, and published before 1976) so when I saw the main character, Kyle, living on his own in an empty but well appointed apartment after his transformation, I was sold. Add in the rooftop greenhouse filled with roses and I am there. Extra points for the makeup artists who worked on this movie, but....

If the entire point of the story is for Kyle to be transformed from a traditionally handsome blond teen to something, well, beastly, what we see above does not qualify that. Kyle's search to find a young woman who found him appealing might have been easily solved by visiting an alternative club. A few piercings and tattoos do not a beast make, but it certainly is an intriguing image. Maybe it's my own taste or maybe Alex Pettyfer's bone structure, but I couldn't find Kyle's appearance beastly, which did affect my enjoyment of the story. Similarly, Mary-Kate Olsen's makeup as Kendra struck me as having more gothic flair than anything that would attract ridicule. Vanessa Hudgens' presentation as heroine, Lindy, doesn't strike me as a girl who would go unnoticed by someone who values physical beauty, but again, maybe this is my personal taste, and I'm certainly not a teenage boy, wealthy or otherwise.

The story is pretty straightforward to those familiar with Beauty and the Beast, and translates well to the modern setting, especially with the hero starting out as a prince of his world - the handsome, popular big man on his high school campus. Hubris is his downfall, and Kendra uses his beastly transformation to teach him a lesson about inner beauty, which he does learn, hitting expected story points along the way.

Neil Patrick Harris ran away with this movie with his portrayal of Will, the blind tutor hired to oversee Kyle's schooling. Paying a character with a physical challenge can be, well, challenging for an actor, but as always with Mr. Harris, well played. I would have happily watched another two hours of his character's story, which brings me to the ending.

While we have a classic story here, with certain elements the viewer is going to expect; Kyle's redemption, hero winning love of heroine, etc, and those all delivered, plus a chilling something extra of Kendra ending up as Kyle's snotty father's new assistant (we all know what's ahead for dad, in that case) other elements fell flat. The resolution between Kyle and Lindy felt rushed, and I wasn't sure what the future would hold for a couple this young. Are they each other's one true love or is this something that will play out and they go their separate ways when college begins? Will's regaining his sight, as well as the out of nowhere immigration status change for the housekeeper's entire family seemed tacked on and wouldn't have changed the rest of the story if those elements were removed.

All in all, I'm glad I watched Beastly, and I would consider watching it again, but most likely stick to the scenes that affected me most: Kyle's "embrace the suck" speech; the empty apartment montage and the visuals of the greenhouse. Okay, and scenes with Neil Patrick Harris or Mary-Kate Olsen. 80s child stars for the win. I would be interested in seeing Alex Pettyfer in something else, as I'd love to see what he does with different material. Recommendations welcome.

Saturday at the Movies #42 - Interview With The Vampire - Book vs Movie

2011-07-02T09:55:00.004-04:00

I hadn't planned to watch Interview With the Vampire at all, but there it was on BBC America while I was catsitting, so I hit record and let it sit for a while. Neither Brad Pitt nor Tom Cruise are actors whose work I seek out, and I will admit that it's difficult for me to watch either gentleman's performances without their tabloid exploits edging into the frame. So that may have colored my experience to some degree, and then there's the author's impressions of this casting choice. I'll give my standard response to the question of who I would have cast - have a cattle call audition and whoever gives the best reading gets the part. Character descriptions to be taken from the original manuscript, and please prepare a monologue from same. Best readings of each role go on to read a scene so we can get the right chemistry. At least that's how we do things at Hypothetical Studios.

Kirsten Dunst, though, kicked child actor tushie as Claudia, and I understand why Movie!Claudia was about double the age of Book!Claudia. The role looks to me like it would be too much for a younger actor, both in amount of work and content of the material. We at Hypothetical Studios do not intentionally traumatize our actors of any age. Though I read the book after watching the movie, I found it very easy to create my own images of Louis and Lestat as I read, and neither bore any resemblance to the film's actors.

For the actual book vs movie comparison, I 'll go straight to the heart of the matter: book. By about a mile. I do appreciate that Anne Rice adapted her own work from novel to screenplay, and if a novel is to be adapted, that's the way I prefer it to go. Let the one who told the story tell the story, but at the same time, transferring from one medium to another is going to require some changes.

I do think it says something, though, about the adaptation if a viewer who has not read the book can tell what was changed or left out of the movie version. While I do understand why Anne Rice made some of the changes she did - changing Louis' brother to wife and infant, for example, omitting Lestat's father entirely, or assigning one of Gabrielle's discoveries from The Vampire Lestat to Claudia in this film) for me, the original format gave me a deeper experience, which is what I'd hoped to find.

The film was gorgeous, and the use of light and dark fit the story beautifully. The fact that I had to sit down and write out several pages of notes afterwards does say something about the effectiveness of the movie version, but the clincher was that I had to find the book so that I could get the real story. For me, in both, Louis is the central figure, his humanity even in the face of his undeath making him a memorable and unique character.

For me, the book gave me a more intimate view into Louis' essence, and that's what tipped the scales. His conflicted nature, self doubt, and different attempts to come to terms with the changes in his life (and death) left an impression on me and I can see where this would be a role many actors would find challenging.

My favorite part of the movie were the opening and closing bits, with Louis and Daniel (again, the book wins here; I prefer Daniel being referred to as only "the boy.") I found Brad Pitt's performance very effective in those scenes, as though Louis were still weighing how much to share, and then ultimately his frustration that Daniel Did Not Get The Point.

While I've appreciated Sting's music for quite a while, I didn't connect "Moon Over Bourbon Street" to Interview With The Vampire until I'd discovered the story for myself, and have to add myself to the fans who think it should have been included in the movie. Still good, though, and I can play it before rereading the book, so all's well there.

Happy Dance Friday #53 SYTYCD season 8

2011-07-01T12:51:00.001-04:00

Well. Were it not for computer power issues, I would have addressed the Shocking Developments in the results show for episode one. Surprising choices for the bottom three - Jess? Really? Do the voters have eyes? Deadlocked judges. Repeated solos. Still deadlocked judges. NO ELIMINATION for that week, but double elimination the next. Oh. The. Dramaz.

Oh the outrage as well, as we had to say goodbye to Iveta, for crying out loud. Sure, world ten dance champion, who needs that? :snarl: The mere thought of there being no ballroom dancer in the competition from this point on makes me grumbly. Farewell as well to tap dancer Nick, jazz dancer Missy and breaker Wadi. They will all be missed, but this is the nature of the business and in the end, as in Highlander, there can be only one.

This week proved yet again that we're in for a spectacular season. Do not show Sasha and Alexander's contemporary to a romance writer and not expect a story seed to start germinating:

The hands at the end, oh they kill me. Beautiful.

This week was also amazing with the guest dancers on results night.

Eric Luna and Georgia Ambarian:

And Axis dance company, which had me speechless:

Really not much I can say after that, because I am rendered mute by the sheer beauty of the guest performances, so I will hush. I love when a dance tells a complete story without any language at all, and that is definitely true in all three above clips.

Miranda and Robert, we will miss you both, but it was lovely to have you when we did.

Writing Advice from Louis de Pointe du Lac

2011-06-28T09:03:00.007-04:00

"There's a simple answer to that. I don't believe I want to give simple answers," said the vampire. "I think I want to tell the real story." -- Anne Rice, Interview With The Vampire

This is not my book vs movie post for Interview With The Vampire (that's later) but the above quote is going in my inspiration notebook. I knew I would love this book right there, because those words, spoken by Louis, the book's narrator, neatly sum up my attitude toward writing. Louis begins as he means to go on, telling the real story of his life, death and undeath as opposed to the one the boy who interviews him might wish to hear.

We follow Louis from his human origins, along the complicated path he walks for nearly two centuries, until he informs the boy in matter of fact fashion, "And that's the end of it. There's nothing else. " The boy doesn't like this, but Louis returns " I tell you, and I have told you, that it could not have ended any other way."

I think Louis was on to something there. While Louis is fictional, Anne Rice still managed to make him real, and I say that qualifies him to give advice. What makes Louis real for me is the amount of detail we get about his life, seeing through his eyes, not only what is around him, but what Louis as an individual notices. Another character going through exactly the same events would notice different things, and we would have a different story.

Author Barbara Samuel O'Neal has this to say on the importance of detail, or as she phrases it, "layering in lusciousness." http://awriterafoot.typepad.com/a_writer_afoot/2007/10/layering-in-lus.html

Louis would have approved. While his story is one I want to let sit in my mind and ruminate for a while, I can tell Louis himself is going to stick around in my head (and my inspiration notebook) for quite some time. Even though the bulk of Louis' story deals with the particular concerns of his life as a vampire, he's intimately human throughout. If he'd like to come give lessons to the characters in my imagination's waiting room, he's welcome...but I'll make sure he's eaten first. One never can be too careful.

Some Days Are Like That

2011-06-26T11:26:00.005-04:00

Issue with battery may be manageable if I replace the power cord, so will be looking to take care of that in the near future. Tomorrow is back to work on book stuff, and as one must mention at this time of year, not preparing to go to RWA Nationals, this year in NYC, my favorite city anywhere. Still good, though, as there will likely be other NYC conferences and I'll have plenty of time to prepare for those.

Happy Dance Friday and Saturday at the Movies posts will come either during the week or next weekend, but I will say the double SYTYCD eliminations had me making noises of disgruntlement. More on that later. Also planning a book vs movie review of Interview With The Vampire. Here's a hint; neither Brad Pitt nor Tom Cruise rank among my favorite actors and if someone who hasn't read the book can tell where big chunks of things were skipped over and/or changed, that doesn't give any points to the adaptation. Still thought provoking, though.

New-ish venture in the works. I'm reviving the Lion and Thistle Yahoo group for discussion of all things historical romance, for readers and writers alike. Interesting conversations are in the works, so jump on in.

Taking the day for that all-important creative well filling and looking forward to the work week to come.

I have the power...kinda

2011-06-25T16:18:00.001-04:00

Happy Dance Friday and Saturday at the Movies posts still forthcoming. Having battery issues, but hope to have them sorted soon.

Rockstar

2011-06-23T09:34:00.003-04:00

I always wanted to be a rock star. Still do.

Never mind the fact that my musical skills are extremely limited. In high school, I got kicked out of chorus for having a bad voice. By the teacher. In front of the class. This did not phase me as much as I thought it would, and since it was too late to drop the course, the teacher gave me an A as long as I showed up and did not sing. He called the time ‘study hall.’ I used it to read historical romance novels.

I took piano for several years as a kid, and as a result, I used to be able to play 99% of the theme from MASH from memory. The missing one percent being the ending, which meant I would keep going until whatever adult was present lost their last nerve. I tried again as an adult, trading private lessons from a musician friend for dogsitting when she and her hubby had gigs out of town. I mastered scales. We will not mention the guitar incident.

None of this deterred me. I’m an extrovert. Put me in a bunch of people and I can run off the energy for days. Put me in front of a bunch of people and let me do my stuff and I can run off the energy for weeks. If I’m doing it right, it’s an even exchange and they take away something good as well. All of which means a career in the arts is probably a good thing.

While my high school musical aspirations came to naught (oh Glee, where were you in the 80s?)I did love theater, and if I had to do college again, I’d have majored in that instead of education. Still, the Tardis is broken, so I can only go forward. Theater and a middle school English teacher who consistently picked my assignments to read to the class pointed me towards the areas where I could excel.

Theater not only gave me the chance to experience the pure magic chemistry of a really good cast and the ability to jump into a character and walk about in somebody else’s skin for a couple of hours in front of people who paid to see it, but two moments unique to performance.

Nothing can compare to that moment in the wings right before taking the stage, the only thing between backstage and the audience being the curtain that is going to go up any second now. No more chances to get it right; this is do or die. It also leads to the other one, that skip of a heartbeat when the performer does take the stage, eyes adjusting to the footlights, and best of all, can see the audience. All those faces, focused on the stage. It’s perfect.

If I could distill the rock star ambition into one snapshot, it would be the opening frames of James Blunt’s “I’m Your Man” video, (coincidentally a song I’m playing a lot while revising a certain scene from my hero's POV.) Walking/running down the corridor on the way to the stage, right before the show is slated to begin, said corridor lined with well-wishers who all have a hand in what everybody's about to see...no energy drink can give that kind of rush.

So far, I have been less than successful in convincing my family members to reenact this on my way to the keyboard each morning, so I'll rely on knowing my cheering section is there in spirit. Then again, knowing my notoriously bad depth perception, any euphoric rush into the footlights would likely result in something perilously close to the true story behind Ben Folds' "Hiroshima" (aka "Benny Hit His Head.)

The attitude, though, that I can have. Nobody can tell my stories but me, and if I give each story my all and do it the way only I can do it, that's rockstar writing in my book. Pun intended. As long as I have the vision and the confidence and know that even if I do end up charging off the stage and doing a faceplant -and those days will come- I can get back up and with the right attitude, make that into something good.

For me, being a rockstar is about knowing my voice and finding the right platform to connect with the audience - since I'm a writer, that would be the readers. It's about dedication to doing the best job possible, to introduce the people who live in my head to the world at large in a way that connects and lets the readers into the story world. Knowing that a reader caught the writer's vision, visited the story world and met the people who live there, that's a rockstar moment for sure. Holding up homemade glittery signs for a favorite author isn't mandatory, but it couldn't hurt, either.

Another Kind of Successful Writer

2011-06-21T10:19:00.004-04:00

Forgot this image had a toddler in it before I added it to this entry, and had to give myself a headslap. I chose the picture because I'm talking about hobbies today and Sims, in its many incarnations (Sims1, Sims2, Sims3 and now Sims Medieval; this picture is from S3) is my hobby. It's fun. I can happily spend hours in it, even uninstalling and reinstalling the whole blasted game from the ground up if I think the end result will be more fun and let me go back to work and family recharged. Breeding my Sims is one of my favorite pastimes when I play, which is why I happen to have a lot of parent and baby pictures hanging in my folders. Hats off to professional gamers, and the creators of custom content, but I'm happy enough to play for fun and fun alone.

Which brings us to today's topic. I have several friends who write either entirely or primarily for their own pleasure and do not plan on marketing their work. This is a perfectly acceptable pursuit, and it’s a surefire way to become a successful writer. If you’re writing for your own pleasure and you’re having a good time, then congratulations, you’re doing it right.

Personally, I couldn’t do this. If I knew for a fact that I would never ever sell another piece, then yes, I would still write, because it’s not something I picked and not something I can turn off, but still a big part of me would curl into a ball and die. That’s because a professional writing career is hardwired in me. Having my books on shelves and in e-readers is part of the vision, so that’s the goal I move towards when I write.

I came to professional writing through fan fiction, and still have many friends I made in that venue. Most of them are writers, and most of those are indeed pursuing a profession as such. Others want to have fun and that’s that, which is perfectly fine. It doesn't make them less than a professiona; it's only different.

Let’s take a look at the hobbyist writer, who writes for themselves or fun only. Their goal is to tell a story that will amuse or entertain themselves, so if they’re having fun; goal achieved, well done. Format doesn’t matter, or genre, and the stories don’t have to end or even actually be written. If they want to complete a story, of any length, they can, and if they want to share the story, at any stage, they can, and even pick exactly whom they will share it with, but none of those is a requirement. In fact, there aren’t any. Market trends don’t matter, nor do publishing schedules, editors shifting from house to house, or any other publishing kerfluffles. As long as the hobby writer is having fun, he or she is already a success, because they are meeting the goals they set for themselves. If that's you, jump in, have fun, and dance like nobody's watching.

Writing the book of one’s heart is a classic piece of advice, and that’s one thing the writer of commercial fiction would do well to learn from those who write only to please themselves. We need to remember the love. Remember what it’s like to sneak off for a few stolen moments of dipping into the story world in the midst of day job, housework, or family wrangling and not care about anything else. Live with the characters and bleed when they bleed. Juggling the business and the art of writing can be tricky, well, business, but for those of us hardwired for a writing career, that’s all part of the process. A process, I have to remind myself, that can’t get started without a finished manuscript.

That’s where the discipline comes in. Nobody is going to pound my keys for me. Nobody knows my characters and their lives and trials and their story world like I do, and unless I write and share them, nobody ever will. That thought could absolutely suffocate me, and that’s why I haul my carcass down to a local coffee shop every day and get down to work. That’s why I am a member of Romance Writers of America and our local chapter, and have eyes to joining yet another, as well as special interest groups. This is the job I was created to do, and I want to do it all to the best of my ability. That’s what I love, the whole deal. Still, it’s that love of the story that has to be the root of it all, and I have to thank my hobbyist friends for reminding me of that.

Thinky think think

2011-06-20T10:22:00.003-04:00

Thoughtful Sim gent is thoughtful, which reflects a lot of writing/reading/related issues navel gazing over on this end recently.

Since I was fortunate enough to win my very first e-reader in a Danger:Women Writing giveaway (and hope I didn't break the blog, as I really like both blog and reader) the first thing I did was hie myself on over to Smashwords. See, my brain went to the most natural (for me) place as soon as the reader was in my hot little hands - Marsha Canham's backlist. Because I need, and I do mean need, the whole darned thing. Yes, I already have all (or at least most) of these books in paperback and I have read the vast majority of the ones that I do possess, but it's different on the e-reader. I can't explain it, at least not yet.

Let me back up a minute. The first-first book I read on my reader was The Mad Baron by Summer Devon, impressions to follow in a future post. I also have my own Orphans in the Storm on there, as well as an ms I'm critiquing for a longtime writer friend, and have added a select few other titles but right now, I'm all about the Canham, and with good reason.

I love the big stories the best, the ones outside the boundaries of the Regency drawing rooms (unless there's some serious angst going on in that drawing room. Anna Campbell, I'm looking at you. ) I'll take a pirate queen over a wallflower every time, and I get itchy feet if I spend too long in the same setting. Since that's what I want to put out, that's what I need to take in, easy as that. Old, new, traditional, indie, paperback, e-book, hardcover, as long as it's a big, meaty historical with loads of angst and emotion on the way to HEA, it's within my sights.

From the start of Typing With Wet Nails, I intended this blog to be mostly for writing and reading talk and that's the direction I'm steering back toward. Happy Dance Friday is staying and Saturday at the Movies coming back, but this blog is going to get a lot more bookish. Still thinking of exactly how, but that's what's on the brain for today.

Happy Dance Friday #52 - SYTYCD Season 8, episode 1

2011-06-17T09:08:00.002-04:00

...in which there is much awesomeness, Nigel predicts an Emmy nomination, and judges are stumped. This should be an extremely memorable year.

Oh dear mercy, this is going to be an interesting year, and I mean that in the very best way. Drama right from the start, as we learn Mitchell, one of the top twenty, was sidelined due to an injury sustained in rehearsal...though that did get us Surprise Bonus Robert Roldan from season seven as a substitute. I think they keep the all stars on deck in case someone's needed, and I can't call that a bad thing. Of course, Mitchell sitting the performance out meant he'd have to perform a solo on elimination night, so I had high expectations, but more on that later.

We had two Travis Wall routines, both amazing. Sasha and Alexander's performance was raw and poignant and angry and relatable

but it was the lovelorn statues coming to life and reforming themselves into a single sculpture that earned Nigel's prediction of an Emmy nomination for Mr. Wall, and I one thousand percent agree. It's performances like this that make me proud to be a romance writer:

Anytime Iveta and her partner draw ballroom as their genre, I expect it to be a slam dunk; after all, she is world ten dance champion, so I'm betting she could get a perfect score if her partner were a life sized Raggedy Andy doll. Fortunately, she gets tap dancer Nick instead, and the results more than satisfied me:

Jess and his partner, Clarice, drawing Broadway should also have been a slam-dunk. Seeing a dancer as young as Jess with such a firm grasp of his voice as a performer is rare and gorgeous and how they ended up in the bottom three...yeah, bottom three, what the firecracker? No. Flat. Out. Wrong. At least that meant Jess solo, so some consolation there.

Bottom three? Seriously, America? Seriously?

Then the drama started. Mitchell and Robert were called back to reprise their solos. My first thought = phew, Jess must be safe. My second thought = ack, we have to lose Mitchell or the Woo Man. Nooooo. Cat seemed both interested and a little off kilter by this first time ever development, so time for the girls to perform so the judges have more wiggle room on their decision about the gents. Girl solos, then back to judges to deliver verdict on boys.

Verdict was...there was no verdict. First time ever, nobody would be eliminated, which naturally means two couples go home next week, slicing the cast by four. Augh, the tension. Plus debut of a new Lady Gaga video, the promise of Guest Judge Gaga yet to come and I didn't catch the name, but someone in the music department having a stroke being rushed to the hospital. Yikes. Prayers for a full recovery, for sure.

What stood out the most for you for the start of season eight?

Happy Dance Friday #51 - SYTYCD Vegas and Top 20

2011-06-10T09:15:00.005-04:00

Ahem. Computer issues prevented me from getting the weekend's posts up, but let's try that again, shall we?

I love Vegas week. All the drama, all those different personalities and backgrounds stuck in a pressure cooker and heated to critical level, dancers pushed to their limits and asked to do things they may never have done before. Can a b-boy jive? Can a ballroom champion conquer Broadway? What is everybody going to do with the contemporary round? No pressure, only Travis Wall choreography this time.

For me, Vegas week is a chance to see how the dancers perform under intense pressure, but the pressure gets to peek-through-my-fingers-horror-movie-style when it comes down to that final walk when the dancers must face the judges and find out whether or not they've made it. To be that close and get cut, gaaaaah. Another area where the writer can identify with the dancer. Not right for us at this time; yeah, I've had that.

It was indeed (or indubitably) close but no cigar for several favorites, including Chyna Smith, Chase Thomas, Annie Gratton, Brian Henry, and Tatiana Mallory. I'll be hoping to see all of them again next year.

Writers also can identify with the "we want you" moment, and I was very happy to see Sasha Mallory, Jess Leprotto, Jordan Casanova, Melanie Moore, Wadi Jones and Robert Taylor Jr. among the chosen. I think we can work with this bunch.

Looked a little hairy for ballroom representation, as only two ballroom dancers made it to the green mile. Ballroom Gent Whom We Didn't See Much of And Whose Name I Think Is Something Like Lenny handled his cut with professionalism and class and I hope we see him next year. That cut did, however allow us to see Iveta (world ten dance champion, ahem) perform with Surprise Guest Pasha.

Can he be on every week? Well, maybe when we reach the top ten and the all stars come back.

Until then, we have a fine group for our top twenty.

The finger chewing may now commence, because we have to lose two of them next week.

Happy Dance Friday #50 SYTYCD season eight auditions pt 2

2011-06-03T07:58:00.003-04:00

We'll start with a leftover from Salt Lake City. I actually had a discussion with a friend about Chase Thomas' choice of costume - or lack thereof, from another perspective. I maintained that other males have auditioned or performed only in trunks before, and such costume does serve to showcase the muscle movement as the dancer expressed was his intent. It's nothing prurient (ooh, look, English major word!) but showing what the human body can do.

Okay, on to my favorite city - NYC.

Brian Henry impressed me in a few different ways. I have to agree with Mary Murphy; putting down other dancers is unprofessional and unkind. Would Mr. Henry like the dancers who come after him putting him down? I don't think so. Still, from what I saw, it looks like he took the correction in stride, so let's focus on his dancing. I get what he says about writing with the body and that certainly shows here. If he makes it through to the top 20, I would love to see him attempt a paso doble. All that raw power would make him a natural.

Samara Cohen (aka Princess Lockerooo) was my first exposure to wacking, and I'll be interested in seeing how she handles Vegas and the different styles she'll be asked to perform there. Really good control of her movements and props to anyone who picks "Flight of the Bumblebee" as their audition piece. If she could carry that precision over to an Argentine Tango, that would be something to see.

Jess LeProtto's Broadway style reminds me of the Kasprzak brothers, and I'd love to see him grow as a dancer. But braces are off, sir. Let's have some more facial expressions. Other than that, I am quite impressed.

Might be interesting to someday see the Kasprzak brothers dance with the Mason sisters. This thought brought to you by the ever-growing SYTYCD family and the audition of Alexis Mason, sister of season five winner Jeanine Mason.

Looks like we could be shaping up for a really good year, and we haven't even seen everybody yet. I appreciate that this year's auditions have focused on the good dancers rather than joke auditions (which irritate me) and those who aren't quite ready aren't humiliated on national TV.

Next week, Vegas, baby!

Happy Dance Friday #49 SYTYC Season Eight

2011-05-27T09:16:00.003-04:00

It's here, it's here, it's here, it's here, it's here! :fangirlly flail:

Season eight begins at last, with auditions in Atlanta and San Fransisco. Already some massive talent:

Melanie Moore was absolutely mesmerizing

Deon and Damon's friendship, teamwork and choreography are the very definition of a happy dance. While I loved their audition, I kind of don't want them split up...but if they can partner with others as individuals that well, we could all be in for a treat.

I've always loved the energy at an audition, and when it's a huge bunch of dancers, that energy feels ramped up to eleven.

My DH is, alas, not a dance fan, but he did happen to pass through the room last night during one of the final auditions of the evening and asked me if "the guy who did the floating moves" made it through. I told him no; the judges informed said gent that he needed to learn how to pick up choreography. DH agreed. Yeah. Not watching. Love you, hon.

I will let Mary Murphy (whom I am very happy to see back on the judging panel) close this one.

Going Medieval

2011-05-23T14:02:00.003-04:00

I'd planned to hold off on getting The Sims Medieval for a while, but when I stopped by Target to make my planned purchase of the Ambitions expansion pack for Sims 3, there was Medieval at a ridiculous discount. I still meant to be strong, but I didn't count on the generous friend who was with me. Said friend doesn't want to play, herself, but likes to hear what my Sims are up to, and so it came home.

Timesink. I'm glad I waited until the weekend, because as soon as I turned it on, it was like stepping into a slightly bizarre, oddly realistic, very painterly picture book. Monarchs! Bards! Knights! Several quests involving romance in some aspect. Plus the pit beast, kingdom building, gruel, sailing to far off lands to trade goods - haven't done that last one yet, but oh be still my heart. Historical romance fans who are also gamers have got to get a copy of this.

I am tempted to call this research. As soon as I got started, I had plans - I could marry my monarch to my knight and secure an heir, which will be useful in case one of the quests results in my monarch being um, not as alive as she currently is. That was the plan, but then other quests came up and my monarch and knight are cooling their heels while my physician (who is now courting my bard, so somebody's getting some love) and merchant race about to cooperate in attempting to cure a plague. My blacksmith, when last seen, was training a lovely female apprentice and completed a legendary quest to get rid of his flaw of uncouthness, replacing it with Herculean strength. My monk has been freely distributing sacred texts. I have yet to place a wizard's tower or spy headquarters, or for that matter, a kingball court, but any of those will add another layer to the unfolding story.

Because that's how I play any of the Sims games - they are stories, told in pixels rather than words, and because I am me, they are heavy on the romance. Doesn't matter in this case if my physician is gathering leeches or my blacksmith is making armor, my brain is always spinning things. When can I get back to some loving for my monarch and knight? Do I marry my physician and bard now or make them wait for one of the quests when I need a wedding? For that matter, what about the barmaid who keeps bringing my bard a tankard of ale every time he comes home? Sure, the fate of the kingdom is at stake, but for me, the love is the heart of it all.

All of which puts my mind in historical romance mode, which, being a historical romance writer, is a perfectly good place for it to be. Also makes me hungry for a great medieval read in the very near future.

Readers or writers who game, how does your gaming affect your story construction/consumption?

Happy Dance Friday #48 - SYTYCD Anticipation

2011-05-20T08:14:00.003-04:00

see more dog and puppy pictures

Only one more week now until the season premiere of So You Think You Can Dance, which will mean the return of my twice weekly bone-deep yearning to be a twentysomething professional dancer. Though my calendar tells me I would have to be two of them, the heroine of my time travel ms is right at home; this is the language she speaks.

This show never fails to reach right to my creative core, and I can't wait to see what we have coming our way this year. I'm hoping some great choreography from Mia Michaels or Travis Wall. Some Wade Robson would be a much needed shot of adrenaline and I will of course require some elegant ballroom.

Whether it's

Pairs,Groups,
or Solos

every year brings a new chance to "meet" dancers who will entertain, inspire, provide catharsis and even healing. Can't wait to see who this year's picks will be. In the meantime, more classics:

I can feel my toes tapping already. How about you?

Saturday at the Movies #40 - Jude Law times two

2011-05-14T08:35:00.003-04:00

Thanks to a recommendation from my friend, Carol, I jumped on The Holiday as soon as I saw it in the library's DVD section.

Carol, I owe you one. This was fantastic, and I am now the proud owner of a copy, planning some Christmas all year round double features with Love Actually. I've only had good experiences with Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet and the more recent Alfie had put me on a Jude Law kick anyway, so the big surprise here was how much I liked Jack Black's performance, as his type doesn't usually work for me. Here, it most definitely did. Give me pretty much anything with "England" and "Christmas" in the synopsis and I am there in a flash. Adding a good love story to the mix makes it even better. This one has two.

Both heroines, Amanda (Diaz) and Iris (Winslet) are at romantic lows when they switch houses for the holiday with a stranger halfway across the world, which puts them in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. Californian Amanda hopes to find refuge in an idyllic English cottage, while English Iris dives into the sun and glamour of Hollywood, to the surprise of Iris' brother, Graham (Law) and Amanda's colleague, Miles (Black.) The two unlikely couples find themselves perfectly suited, though not without realistic issues that must be dealt with before they can find their happy endings. The feel of old classic romance films is present here, with a modern flavor, and even the secondary characters are endearing. Iris and Miles' friend, a retired screenwriter, and two special young ladies in Graham's life provide exactly the right sort of support to further the love stories.

Moonlight fans may experience flashbacks, as the first few minutes include both Alex O'Loughlin and Shannyn Sossamon:

Continuing the Jude Law love, when I discovered that Alfie wasn't the only remake where Jude Law performed a role played by Michael Caine in the original, I had to find Sleuth.

Mr Law is now three for three with me. Loved this one. Taut, suspenseful, and while I've read some critics that called the film's look "claustrophobic," I count that as a plus, as it fits the story of two men locked in a battle of wills perfectly. I can easily see the roots of this story in its original play form and would love to see the play someday.

Andrew Wyke (Caine,) suspense novelist, and Milo Tindle (Law,) an actor and Andrew's wife's lover, meet at Andrew's high tech stately home so that Milo can persuade Andrew to give his wife, Maggie, a divorce so that Milo can be with her. It quickly escalates into something much more sinister when Andrew devises a plot for Milo to fake a jewel theft within the house, which will get Andrew a return on the insurance on the jewels and fund Milo and Maggie's new life abroad. From there, we get a game of cat and mouse, with cat and mouse switching roles more than once on the way to a chilling finish. Before long, Maggie isn't even the issue as the two men battle to see who will be the last man standing.

I am aware there are differences from the 1972 version where Michael Caine played Milo and will be on the lookout for that one. Would love to hear his take on having played both roles in different versions in the same story and if his former portrayal of Milo affected any of his choices in playing Andrew. I am grateful that the clown mask didn't make it into the remake. Never did like clowns, even before Stephen King and It.

What other Jude Law films would you guys recommend?

NEC RWA 2011, part the first

2011-05-03T11:24:00.003-04:00

No, I did not bring a camera, so you get random picture from my collection.

It's the Tuesday after the NEC RWA conference, and I am approaching humanity again. Comfortably ensconced in recliner, with lap desk and laptop, legal pad and Micron at the ready. Post-conference adjustment is always a process. No free books on my chair at meals, no Lindor truffles scattered randomly, no workshops and much smaller odds that random strangers, no matter how friendly, are other romance writers.

Disorganized, general thoughts first. The day after the conference is for sleeping, rising only for personal ablutions and filling nutritional needs. Conference food and my allegies are often not friends, so it's par for the course to come back a wee bit peckish. My roommate/crit partner, Melva, and I did discuss nipping out to a nearby restaurant a time or two but conference stuff kept us so busy it wasn't an option.

Good workshops, as always. My choices this year included workshops on psychopaths, writing hooks, word choice and worldbuilding. I pitched twice, the results 50/50. One very good no, and one request for a full ms, both with very useful comments, so I count both pitches as a success.

Networking and talking with other romance writers is always my favorite part of these gatherings, and there was plenty of that. This year saw the addition of a scavenger hunt, a card with a grid containing unique things about other attendees, the object being to find people who fit the descriptors and collect signatures. Ironically, I did not turn mine in because I was too busy talking to others to get all the squares signed. Still had fun, and I have the card as a keepsake. Not to mention free books, bookmarks, and various other promo stuff. I will share some of the books, bookmarks and such, but the chocolate is mine, mine, mine.

More details to follow, as I'm still getting back into the groove of being home, but I did get a good dose of support and inspiration. Now to pound keys.

Happy Dance Friday #47 Royal Wedding

2011-04-29T08:43:00.002-04:00

thanks, Twitpic, and thanks, William and Catherine for this iconic image.

Royal wedding watching while tending to own wardrobe regarding the Let Your Imagination Take Flight conference this afternoon. Both worthy of happy dances on their own, so abstaining from clips for this entry. Beautiful bride, beautiful groom, beautiful wedding. Lovely to see all that love between the royal couple and from the crowd. A long and happy life to William and Catherine.

Also worthy of happy dancing is the fact that A) there is definitely less of me than the last time I wore a certain article of clothing and B) quick fix makes item wearable. Conference excitement has set in.

Happy Dance Friday #46 Good Friday

2011-04-22T10:22:00.003-04:00

For Christians, like me, today is Good Friday, when we remember the sacrificial death of Jesus. When I was little, I had trouble understanding why the day was called "good" when it was all about betrayal, conspiracy, sorrow and death. Still, as with storytelling, we know that the black moment has to come before the happily ever after, and for those who believe like I do, this really is the Ultimate Black Moment...but hang in there, because it gets better. A LOT better. This takes going to hell and back literally, and Easter, also called Resurrection Day, is a day for celebration, so I'm going to celebrate here.

"Desert Lands" by Trading Yesterday fits this day beautifully for those of us who observe. Happy Good Friday.

Saturday at the Movies #39 - Dueling Alfies (long)

2011-04-16T09:00:00.003-04:00

Normally, I'm not in favor of remakes, especially of standout films, but once in a while, things do work that way. Case in point, this week's entry; dueling Alfies. The original, based on a play by Bill Naughton, starred Michael Caine, and made its debut in 1966, followed the exploits of one Alfie Elkins, working class playboy with a taste for the ladies. Not any one in particular, but the fairer sex at large; at least the services only that gender can provide. The Jude Law version, which came out in 2004, transplants Alfie to present day New York City, and makes other adjustments, such as Alfie's medical condition and reproductive track record, so one could argue the 2004 version is a reimagining rather than straight remake.

The essentials, though, are still in place with both - Alfie's opening encounter with a married woman who wants more from him, a later pickup with a lovely young thing, and both Alfies have to deal with an unexpected pregnancy from a one-time fling, where the mother is in another longterm relationship. Also a constant is Alfie's affair with a wealthy older woman (Shelley Winters in 1966, Susan Sarandon in 2004, and it's a draw here, as both women give wonderful performances)that plays a role in Alfie's willingness to examine the path of his life.

1966 trailer:

2004 trailer:

Both versions have a unique look that could be considered a character in itself; working class London versus glamorous Manhatten. Both have Alfie breaking the fourth wall to address the viewer directly and let us in on what's going on in his head, which isn't always what he lets on to the rest of the world. Both are beautifully acted, with memorable performances by both Caine and Law, but that's where the differences lie. While both performances struck me as very believable and in character, we have two varied interpretations of the character of Alfie. Though both actors were nearly the same age when they filmed (Caine was 33, Law, 32) the Caine version of Alfie struck me as being in his midthirties and the Law version, midtwenties. This added an extra punch for me in the final Alfie/older woman scene.

I went into this venture expecting to see the Alfie character as a charming rogue, shallow but not malicious, which may be why I have to declare the 2004 version as the winner for me. While I would watch both versions again, it's the Law version I would purchase, because I feel more convinced that his Alfie has learned from his experiences and may decide to make different choices from here on in, those lessons hard learned. The two scenes that stick with me the most from this version are echoes of scenes from the original; one, where Alfie sees the child born from his one night stand with his best friend's fiancee (variation on a scene from the original) and his final scene with his older lover, for whom he admits genuine feelings (consistent with original.)

My impression of Michael Caine's Alfie is that he's a sociopath. His character refers to women as "it," and exhibits controlling behavior that set off abuse flags for me. While he does exhibit some tender feelings for the toddler he shares with a former flame, it comes off as more of a playmate-playmate relationship than father-son. the most effective moment of the Caine version takes place when Alfie can't run from the consequences of one of his affairs, but I'm still not convinced at the end that he's going to do things differently in the future. Maybe, maybe not, and maybe that's what the intent is for the takeaway.

The final scenes/final speeches are quiet, intimate, Alfie addressing the viewer with some philosophical soul searching, and I could imagine either as an effective monologue on their own. The Caine version fades out with Alfie playing with a stray dog, while the Law version leaves Alfie on his own, each after a failed attempt to pick up where he left off with the married woman from the opening scene. Alfie can't go back to his old life, but the question is, where will he go from here? It's entirely up to the viewer, and for my money, that's exactly where we should be leaving Alfie.

Happy Dance Friday #45 -earworms

2011-04-15T16:15:00.002-04:00

Clear some space and put on something floaty, because this week's post is music only. Feel free to do your own interpretive dance...or stay seated and listen. Not the most exhuberant music, but these are the earworms I've had all week, and I'm happy to find them.

How did I never find Trading Yesterday aka The Age of Information until I got involved in HIMYM fandom?

"May I" - gorgeously romantic:

"Change My Name" -romantic or spiritual, your pick. Maybe both.

"Tell Her Something" - bittersweet melodic regret

"My Last Goodbye" - surprisingly bright for a sad song, but still with that ray of hope. The heart will go on.

"One Day" - there is so totally a story in this somewhere.

Now all I need are some floaty silk scarves and Mia Michaels choreography, hm?

Saturday at the Movies #38 -movie planning

2011-04-09T11:36:00.005-04:00

Alas, too late to catch Beastly in the local cinemas, so now will have to wait and snag a DVD when available. Ditto with Red Riding Hood. According to the offerings, unless I want to see The King's Speech again, I am out of luck.

This means two things. One, that I can happily muck about in my TBR bookcases. (Currently having a fine time with Kristi Astor's Upon a Midnight Clear, among others.)and two, it's time to go prowl the libraries for some DVDs. A few movies, a season or two of tv series either already beloved or those I've always been meaning to try.

Despite the fact that I live within walking distance of a theater with multiple offerings every single day, I only go maybe once or twice a year. I have good intentions, but actually getting there, eh, not so much. I do miss seeing certain things on the big screen, especially movies with interesting visuals, but on the whole, I like the DVD experience. I get to watch the movie at my own speed, hopping around scenes if I want to, rewatching especially memorable or complex ones, and if the movie doesn't seem to be a good match for me, all it takes is the eject button. Plus I get the popcorn all to myself, and DH purchased two boxes of microwave popcorn, so I consider this an omen.

If all goes as planned, I can scout the libraries sometime this weekend. Seasons of current favorites Bones and How I Met Your Mother are high on the list of beloved classics, and if I can find Law and Order UK, I will be quite content.

Other than that, I'm looking for period dramas, hopefully with romance, adventure a plus. It's been a while since I've hit the libraries, so there should be a few undiscovered gems -or old friends- waiting for me. Suggestions welcome.

Happy Dance Friday #44 - classical metal grunge

2011-04-08T10:43:00.003-04:00

I love finding stuff that shouldn't go together, so I literally squealed when I stumbled upon violinist David Garrett's work. Classical violin versions of grunge, rock and metal classics along with the expected Bach et al are right up my alley, so major happy dancing there, and instant addition of his Rock Symphonies CD to my mp3 player.

"Smells Like Teen Spirit"

"Thunderstruck"

"He's a Pirate" (PotC theme)

I tend to like stuff like this played reallyreallyreally loud. Which is not always in the cat's best interest, but it does enhance the whole happy dance experience, and I may have to start considering a musician hero in a future novel.

One of those days

2011-04-03T13:12:00.003-04:00

Sundays are hard, and this time of year gets an extra edge. I'm an extrovert in a family of introverts and I must confess one of my dire secrets...I don't like spring. Too bright, and the temperature fluctuates, not to mention it's higher asthma risk season, so a part of me is always in watch mode. Slap one of those on an extrovert surrounded by introverts...or really, not, as I have to hunt them down, and take away any sort of structure to the day, and yeah, somebody wake me at five. Because our church meets at night, the normal source of being-surrounded-by-like-minded-people one might think of is not available until late in the day. When I am about ready to cash in my chips for that twenty four hour period anyway.

Checked email, checked Twitter, checked Facebook, grumbled "where is everybody" a time or dozen and ended up browsing YouTube for long ago favorite songs. No embedding on this one, but it fits my mood, and hey, might spark a story somewhere. Michael Martin Murphey, you sure know how to do a song right.

So I'm grumbly. I do not do downtime well at all. Reading more historical romance is high on my priority list, but I'm not with my books at the moment and I'm coming off reading a much anticipated book (nope, not saying which one) that bellyflopped for me in a big way. Sure, I have a huge TBR mountain range, but once I get into the right book, I get grumbly when yanked out of it and that's not the right attitude to bring to church, even though it's an understanding bunch.

I'm having one of those where-do-I-fit moments. I have writer buddies I love dearly, and wouldn't trade for the world, but all have slightly different specialities. Historical and time travel (which when I do it, I consider historical because I know me and I know where/when the HEA will happen) romance are my passion, and that's where I need to put most of my focus. Going further, I like my romances darker rather than lighter, and the deeper I can get into the characters' emotions, the better I like it. This is a skill I'm admittedly relearning, along with refining my writer voice. Which is probably a good way to channel these floundery afternoons. Methinks I sniff a story in this classic from Dan Seals, for example:

What's your go-to resource when feeling creatively adrift?

Saturday at the Movies #37 - Caught between the moon and New York City

2011-04-02T08:37:00.007-04:00

I was too young to see Arthur when the Dudley Moore version came out in 1981, though I found the premise intriguing. Spoiled rich ne'er do well has an ultimatum; marry the woman chosen by his family or he's cut off to live a life he's never been prepared to lead, and let's not forget the iconic theme song, written by Burt Bacharach, Carol Bayer Sager, Peter Allen (a former Mr. Liza Minelli) and Christopher Cross, who performs it.

Though I've seen snatches of the original, notably Dudley Moore riding in a limousine, I think through Central Park, and some extremely brief bits with Liza Minelli, (Liza Minnelli isn't my favorite, but she does have a certain charm) I still haven't seen the whole thing. Since 1981 is close enough to the 70s to count, we're in NYC, there's a romance, and from the bits I've seen, Mr. Moore is in fine fettle, this is really a no-brainer and I must search for the DVD. While there is a sequel, Arthur 2: On The Rocks, I have a hunch that pretending it doesn't exist will make me happier than seeing it if I like the original.

The no-brainer gets a bit more complicated with the advent of -gasp- a remake. Normally, I'm not in favor of remakes, and Russell Brand isn't normally my thing, but my very first thought when my brain registered the combination of actor and role in this one was "of course!" The Arthur we see in this trailer strikes me as more childlike than alcoholic, which may put a different spin on things, and his unsuitable love interest is a tour guide instead of a waitress. Plus we get Helen Mirren as Hobson, this time Arthur's nanny instead of valet (as played by John Gielgud in the Moore version.)

Both look like different flavors of silliness with some deeper undercurrents, exactly the kind of comedies I like. Plus UK people in NYC always get my attention. No idea if the song will appear in the remake, but even if it isn't, I'll put it on my mp3 player when I go to the theater.

Which Arthur tempts you more?

Happy Dance Friday #43- Still Standing, dark romances and blond heroes

2011-04-01T09:01:00.009-04:00

April first and there is snow outside my window. I'd originally plopped the snowflake dance from the Nutcracker ballet in here, but then I reminded myself that this really is a writing blog and since two topics of interest came up in the blogosphere over the last 24 hours, you get a lesson on perseverance from Sir Elton John before I blather.

Warning: video contains interesting 80s costumes and makeup effects

Which fits in with the romance related ramblings. Smart Bitches and All About Romance both have had posts up about dark romance, and Heroes and Heartbreakers posted about blond heroes. As it happens, I love both. Give me a dark romance with a blond hero, and after I have been revived from my state of shock, I will be very happy.

Dark romances are my favorite. Give me some heavy hitting emotions, loads of angst and the hard road to the HEA every time, because the harder climb, the higher the mountaintop. Those are my favorites to read and to write as well. I started out with a hermit who gave himself a third degree burn on his dominant hand on purpose (about the only way to conceal that he was branded) and went on to a pair of lovers separated for decades before they could find their HEA far from home, another story starting with the heroine considering suicide and then another one with a hero who has night terrors, and the villain gets...well, that would be a spoiler. Suffice it to say light and fluffy isn't me.

Since then, I've written a post apocalyptic medieval novella still in search of a home, outlined another that starts with the hero being purchased from an orphanage to be raised by the villain for a twisted purpose, and am still putting together the pieces of the Regency era historical dealing with prolonged grief disorder, opium addiction and the hero's sister who loves big brother a little too much and not in the right way. All of which, I can guarantee, have HEAs for hero and heroine, alive, happy and together. For me, the darker romances actually feel more hopeful - if hero and heroine can get through all the crap they've been through up to this point, they can get through anything. Rock on.

Blond heroes...I do not get why blond heroes (or redheads, but that may be a different post) do not get the love, or why dark brown/black seems to be the default hair color for heroes. I have heard of readers who will not read a blond hero, period, or if they must (said with long suffering sigh) they will edit the hair color in their head back to dark brown/black. Maybe I'm guilty of the same thing in reverse, because my very first objection to the movie adaptation of Brideshead Revisited was "brunet Sebastian? Never!"

I like the appearance of any character to actually do something, tell me something special about them, rather than go to default. Yes, darker hair is genetically predominant, so it does make sense that there are more heroes with darker than lighter hair, but still, I like the variety, and seeing something different on a cover will make me stop in the bookstore aisle and pick the book up for a second look. Case in point, I very very very rarely read contemporaries (as in almost never) but the cover for Nicole Green's The Davis Years stopped me in my tracks. Click the link for some impact right there, and yeah, blond hero. The book may or may not make it into my basket eventually, but even if it doesn't, that picture did its job - it got my attention.

Blond heroes have always been able to catch my attention. Lighter colors reflect light, and since blonds are less common (though more so in countries I like for settings in historicals; UK, Netherlands, Vikings, etc) I'll zoom right in for a closer look. I will admit to a mad Bo Duke crush in my early teen years and as a more mature individual, am a squealing Barney/Robin shipper where How I Met Your Mother is concerned. DH was blond when we met, and he certainly caught and kept my attention, though blonds are not exactly an endangered species in California and he now keeps a smooth dome I like quite well. (Bald heroes are another thing we don't see often, though a shaved head would fit Georgian or modern times equally. Hm, time travel idea?)

What about you? I'd love to hear other opinions on dark romances and fair heroes (and if you can suggest any with both, bring them on.)

Saturday at the Movies #36 - Mahogany, still to be seen

2011-03-26T08:45:00.003-04:00

Yep, still have not seen Mahogany, though it stands to reason that I should have. Filmed in 1970s, check. World of fashion, check. Diana Ross strutting her stuff and Billy Dee Williams doing the same, check and check. Anthony Perkins, check. Iconic music, check. (I remember when our sixth grade gym class had the theme song playing when we had to improvise interpretive dance) Tumultuous and possibly triumphant, possibly tragic love story woven throughout? Check, but still I have yet to view its wonders.

I remember being dazzled by the images in the trailers and ads when the movie was new, but alas, I was too young to actually go see it. Couldn't keep me from hearing the song on the radio, though.

Girl from the projects in Chicago aspires to be a superstar in the fashion world, while her homegrown gentleman friend has concerns closer to home. Love? Ambition? Both? Wrap it all in a kaleidescope of costume and scenery and it's a perfect recipie for an Anna friendly movie, and scenes like this are only a teaser.

Do you know where you're going to?

Happy Dance Friday #42

2011-03-25T10:46:00.004-04:00

Some days, you're the windsheild, some days you're the bug. So far, it's not even noon, but everybody I've talked to via IM or email has been the bug either today or last night. I figured some Billy Idol would be appropriate. Zombies and shillouettes ensue, so skip if not your thing:

I haven't seen Billy Elliot yet, but I have to admire the kid's sticktoitiveness.

Since it's been one of those days, I will close today's post with the following:

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our

I'm doing it again.

2011-03-24T09:16:00.006-04:00

"It" in this case being the "From Fanfiction to Fantastic Fiction" workshop I presented at Savvy Authors last year. They asked me back this year, and since last year was such a blast, I jumped at the chance. Click on the link for more information.

My past life in the world of fanfic taught me a lot. One of the most important things is that we have to love what we're writing. Readers can tell if the author is invested in the story or phoning it in, and starting from a place of love (especially in romance) is the best possible foundation.

These days, I squeal in fangirlly glee over shippy moments in shows like How I Met Your Mother or Bones, and while it's probably only a coincidence, I prefer to consider that Bones' grad student, Vincent Nigel-Murray is a reference to Hannah Howell's Nigel Murray from Highland Honor, the second installment in her long running Highland historical romance series.

There's absolutely no reason for me to make any connection between the Bones character and the one in Hannah Howell's books, as they're very different characters but I am very fond of both, so the fact that they share a name gives me the happies. Similarly, when someone on Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior refers to Mick and Beth doing something, my brain goes right to Moonlight. My brain fills in that "my" Mick and Beth are off doing something related to the case somewhere in the background and will connect with the rest of the team later. Never mind how long it would take the profilers to figure out "my" Mick was a vampire and any name confusion. Moonlight Beth would fit in quite fine, to my thinking.

Yeeeah, once a fangirl, always a fangirl. What long time loves affect your current writing, reading or viewing?

Saturday at the Movies #35- To Be Seen/Oh The Pretties

2011-03-19T08:54:00.003-04:00

Most of this weekend will be spent either playing Sims3, reading or mushing paint around, but I do plan on actually getting to the theater in the near future, because there are some gorgeous films coming out. I know some haven't gotten the best reviews, but who cares? I can freely admit to going to some movies for the sheer visual factor and there's nothing at all wrong with that. Plus I have loved fairy tales since I was a wee princess myself and if they're darker edged, all the better.

Red Riding Hood caught my attention instantly, especially since my art crush, Michelle Ward, has also been inspired by the look of this one.

Beastly: I have loved the Beauty and the Beast story since I was that wee princess, a time which overlaps with my brief love affair of horror comics. Though I honestly can't remember titles, authors or artists, I do have two all time favorite entries from such readings, one of which takes place in an abandoned skyscraper. I think that was probably the start of my ongoing love affair with things that should be full but are empty (more on that later) so when that all gets mushed together, it's pure Anna-bait, and Neil Patrick Harris seals the deal (which of course requires a "what up" from his alter ego on HIMYM.)Enough blathering. I want to see this.

Water for Elephants: I had absolutely no interest in the book, but wow, the look of this movie drew me right in. 1930s, circus, Reese Witherspoon. Happy sigh. Though I'm genre savvy enough to go into this expecting the love story to Not End Well and will have to investigate to see about possible triggers (former caregiver here, and animals being hurt/killed) but other than that, oh the eye candy and story looks promising.

Pirates of the Carribbean 4: On Stranger Tides: I have no words that will not come out like an excited fangirl squee. No Will or Elizabeth in this one, but that's okay, they're living happily ever after. We get Jack, mermaids, zombies, Bluebeard. One seat in the front row, please, with popcorn and Hot Tamales.

Happy Dance Friday #41 - mostly rambling

2011-03-18T09:35:00.007-04:00

Mostly rambling this week, because A) YouTube is being pokey, B)my brain is mush from the last couple of days and I must reserve the two remaining brain cells for the query that must go out this weekend and that writing thing I keep hearing about. Still, I hate to miss a post, so a smattering of stuff.

I won't ask any of you to follow the convoluted trail that led me to "Rock Me Amadeus" making a return as an earworm, but I love the opulence and grandeur:

Nobody is ever too old for the alphabet song if accompanied by disco dancing Grover:

The remnants of my brain not dedicated to "must keep writing" and "I need a nap" go to the Sims3 game this week. While these are not my Sims and not footage from my game (still figuring out stuff on that front) I love how the Sims dance:

What random bits of fun give you a lift at the end of a difficult week?

Saturday At the Movies #34 - 70s To Be Seen

2011-03-12T08:10:00.003-05:00

Maybe the fact that I was a kid in the 1970s that gives this particular decade an aura of intrigue, wanting to know what it was like through adult eyes, (I know, probably a lot of the same stuff; taxes, housework, work-work, family stuff) but I have a soft spot for movies made during or set in that era. A few on my to be viewed list are here:

First up, The Summer of '42. My parents had some record with the theme song on it -with lyrics- and I fell madly in love with it, playing that song over and over and over again. I was eleven, and had no idea about the movie's plot, but I was also madly in love with the Wonder Woman tv show, which gave me a strong interest in WWII settings for dramas. I am a sucker for a good coming of age story, especially one with a bittersweet tinge to it. Add in the cinematography and the fact that Jennifer O'Neill is flat out gorgeous, and I'm there. As soon as I can find a copy on DVD, that is.

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore: Is that a great title or what? With Ellen Burstyn and Kris Kristofferson in the leads, I'm already interested, and a creative type trying to reconcile necessity with the urge to follow their calling, definitely want to see this one. Plus it has the first and original appearance of one Florence Jean Castleberry, whom I, as a youngun, thought was hysterical in the sticom, Alice, though I'm suspecting there are a lot of liberties taken in the adaptation. Compare and contrast movie:

annnnnd sitcom:

A Star Is Born: Barbra Streisand, more Kris Kristofferson, rising star, falling star, "Evergreen," tortured lovers...pure Anna bait here.

An Unmarried Woman: Jill Clayburgh's iconic performance; I could probably leave why I want to see this at that, but it's also a peek into what happens when a life crumbles and a woman gets thrown into the deep end and has to figure out how to swim. She will be missed.

Time to hunt down some of these now that I'm old enough, and maybe some Chuckles and a Charleston Chew to nibble whilst I watch. What 70s classics (filmed in or set during) should I add to this list? Share your favorites.

Happy Dance Friday #40 - what measure is a happy dance?

2011-03-11T15:51:00.004-05:00

When I first started with Happy Dance Fridays, the idea was to make myself blog more consistently. That's it. Slapping a couple of YouTube videos I'd found interesting made for an easy post, and while I may not be putting on dancing shoes myself every day, writing a heroine as a dancer lets me do that vicariously. Ballroom, Broadway, competition, exhibition, it's all good.

I'm still looking forward to the new season of So You Think You Can Dance and all the wonderful moments that will be captured there. New-to-me dancers to impress and dazzle and make me search the interwebs for more. All good stuff there as well.

I love seeing classic stuff reinterpreted for a fresh perspective, such as the mashups we see on Glee (plus rain is my second favorite weather after snow, and I love when there's water on the stage):

Music that makes me want to dance or puts a spring in my step counts:

Some of the dance pieces I love the most don't fall into the "happy" category as they aren't upbeat, but those that affect me on a deep and profound level that goes past entertainment and straight into that place where art and truth meld with emotion, such as this piece choreographed by Mia Michaels:

Then again, to quote Dr Who's Sally Sparrow, "Sad is happy for deep people" and I think that counts, too.

What constitutes a happy dance for you?

We have a default read for spring,huzzah

2011-03-10T09:59:00.004-05:00

Back when I had my most recent reading slump, the book that broke me out of it was The Immortal Highlander by Hannah Howell and Lynsay Sands. While I'm still not a vampire fan by any means (though Mick St. John, call me. Yes, you can bring Beth. In fact, I insist. Moonlight forever.)I am usually up for a good Highlander (while I'm on the topic, Duncan MacLeod, call me. Yes, you can bring Tessa. In fact, I insist.) story and the novella length means I can get from once upon a time to happily ever after sooner than with a full length novel. My immersion in the world of the MacNachtons and MacAdies began, and as I'm currently on the second to last book in the series to date, my eyes start drifting to the TBR shelves.

Hannah Howell has long been a staple in historical romance, and while I'd started her Highland series back when, well, back when, let's say, I hadn't been keeping current, so there's quite a few titles. Which I don't think is all the books covering the Cameron and Murray clans, and since it's the Highland part more than the vampire part (though I do find that handled well; normal people with a few wee differences) I think working my way though the Camerons and Murrays through the spring will be right up my alley. I really appreciate when linked books go through multiple generations rather than stay in only one, and this definitely applies here.

I'm starting at the beginning, once I'm done with the last Highland vampire installment I have on hand, which will be a trip down memory lane for the first few books. Which will be interesting, because I don't think I read them in order when I started and I'm pretty strict about that these days. Also looking forward to my perspective as a more mature reader and writer. Since Typing With Wet Nails was meant to be primarily a writing and reading blog, I'm planning on this being a step in the right direction.

I've found that picking a default read, be it theme, author, setting or something else goes a long way in staving off reading slumps. Have you ever set a default for those don't-know-what-to-read-next times? How did that work for you? Hannah Howell fans, chime in; which of her historicals (vampire or otherwise) are your favorites?

Happy Dance Friday #39 - Despicable Me (and the ms that eats me whole)

2011-03-04T08:27:00.004-05:00

Only one post away from the big 4-0 for Happy Dance Friday, and thanks to E. Catherine Tobler for suggesting Despicable Me as a clip source. I still have yet to see the actual movie, but if these aren't in the dictionary next to "happy dance" then I need a new dictionary. That and the fact that the edits I've been struggling with on the current ms have now given way to rewrites that are making the whole thing oh so much better that I have got to get my groove on here.

BeeGees music, a supervillain dancing with his little girls, and minions, oh mercy, the minions:

I want dancing boogie robots:

There may not be any dancing in this clip, but I sure do like Agnes' outlook on turning a disappointment into a win:

That about sums up my feelings with struggling to the point of writer insanity with a chapter that would not get in line with my edits...but turns out it wouldn't turn into a butterfly because it wasn't a caterpillar but a Cheeto, and as a Cheeto, turned out to be quite the tasty snack. I love when that happens.

Saturday at the Movies #33 -- Blackpool weekend, pt2

2011-02-26T08:45:00.003-05:00

Though I first saw this under the title Viva Blackpool, when broadcast on BBC America, the original title is Blackpool, and Viva Blackpool was the title of the one-off sequel (that I have no desire to see, no matter how much I love the original, but more on that later) so I'll be referring to Blackpool here. Gotta love the title confusion.

Some movies (or in this case, miniseries or serials) belong in the no remakes, no sequels category, and for my money (pun intended) Blackpool is one of them. From the very first previews, I knew this was going to be something different. While characters breaking into elaborate song and dance numbers seemingly at random is a staple of Bollywood (a genre I have yet to explore, outside of Bride and Predjudice,) we don't see it much in western media, so the promise of a musical detective story, with a strong focus on an engaging central character made me sit up and take notice.

David Morrissey playes Ripley Holden, a charismatic, optimistic arcade owner, determined to turn his piece of Blackpool's entertainment community into a Las Vegas style casino. Since Ripley generally gets what he wants by some means or another, there's only one thing standing in his way - money. Well, okay, two. Money and the body of a young man found in the arcade, and signs point to Ripley as the murderer, though Ripley denies it.

Enter Detective Inspector Peter Carlisle, played by Dr. Who's David Tennant, determined to ferret out the root of the crime...and win the heart of Ripley's wife, Natalie. Natalie finds herself torn between duty and desire, and Ripley's life, both personal and professional, goes into freefall.

Besides scheming to secure the funds he needs to keep his business afloat, Ripley struggles to keep his family together. Not only does he fear losing Natalie to the charming but manipulative Carlisle, but he must deal with daughter Shyanne's determination to wed a man of Ripley's own age. Put-upon son Danny may be closer to the crime than anyone thinks, and though he and Ripley have never had the easiest relationship, he finds they are more alike than he ever thought. All of these threads get the song and dance treatment, actors singing along to the original recordings.

Even with all the various threads woven throughout, this is very strongly Ripley's story, and the revelations of how Ripley came from where he started to where we find him, and where he ends up (which ranks in my best movie endings ever) is utterly fascinating to watch. I agonized over the romantic triangle, able to see things from all three sides, and wanted desperately for Ripley to achieve his goals, and he does, after a fashion, but at great cost. I love all the surprises in this serial, and how though things don't always turn out the way we want, there's usually a way to make things work out so we can live with them.

I decided not to see the sequel because the ending of the original is so flat out perfect for Ripley, who finds his own way to win at last, the any future other than him riding off into that particular sunset would be, for me, unbearably wrong. There was an American adaptation, Viva Laughlin, set in Laughlin, Nevada, which was cancelled after two episodes. The translation did not fare well. Stick with the original on this one.

Happy Dance Friday #38 - Blackpool Weekend pt 1

2011-02-25T09:07:00.003-05:00

Our first themed weekend (that I actually intended) and I have only myself to blame. After last week's inclusion of a clip from Blackpool, I've had "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side" stuck in my head all week long, and now have a burning desire to rewatch Blackpool. Preferably all in one big glob, so may have to hunt down the DVD.

In the meantime, dancing today and talking tomorrow.

We'll start with some time honored words of inspiration

This song often plays in the back of my mind when waiting for my turn at a pitch session:

An appropriate anthem for when the words are flowing and pages filling, likely a good addition to my "go to work" playlist

And because the heroine of my time travel would come straight out of the book and kick me while wearing stompy boots if I had a blog post about Blackpool (I tried to tell her I'm talking about the TV serial, not the town, but she insists) that did not include the ballroom championships, here we go:

She is now insisting I get back to work on her edits, so Happy Friday to all, and we'll be back to Blackpool tomorrow.

Happy Dance Friday #37 -Who's Dancing?

2011-02-18T08:20:00.006-05:00

Another Friday, another post closer to the fortieth happy dance post. A number that high strikes me as surreal this morning, and so the theme was born. I'm not a Dr. Who fan myself, but the DH is and I see another one on a daily basis, and yes, I do know what "dance" means in-universe on certain occasions. Make of that what one will.

I loved "The Dance" ever since I first heard Garth Brooks' version, Westlife does it proud, I wholeheartedly second the sentiment...and okay, Ten leaving Rose with Ten-clone ripped a piece of my heart out.

Not from Dr. Who itself, but David Tennant was in Viva Blackpool, a brilliant bit of a musical/detective/character study. Expect to see more of that some Saturday.

Knowing what "dance" is a euphemism for in-universe, I question the song choice, but the clips are fun: