Saturday at the Movies #87 - The Decoy Bride

Pretty much my reaction when I saw the trailer for The Decoy Bride on the Heroes and Heartbreakers blog. How much do I love this? Let us count the ways.

One: David Tennant. I fell madly for him in Blackpool, referenced here, as well as here and though I'm not a regular follower of Doctor Who, I loved "The Girl in the Fireplace" and Ten will always be "my" Doctor. So of course, the chance to see Mr. Tennant in a straight romantic lead, especially in a role that looks like something Hugh Grant could also pull off, and tell me his character is an author? Say no more, but wait, that's not all....

Two: Kelly MacDonald. Loved her with Bill Nighy in The Girl in the Cafe, as well as in Gosford Park, and am looking forward to Brave and Anna Karenina.

Three: Inhabitants of a small UK locale band together to put one over on outsiders. In this case, a Hollywood actress and her fiance, a British writer played by Mr. Tennant, who apparently has set his books on this particular isle...without ever visiting it. Cue media frenzy, cue marketing people arriving to put a spin on things, part of which involves a decoy bride to attract attention away from the real nuptials. Add in one accidental actual wedding, and hijinx ensue. With, it would seem, love as a byproduct.

Four: The music in the trailer inspired me to hunt down the composer, Julian Nott, who has more musical samples available here. Gorgeous instrumentals, though still no clue who does the snippet of the bit with vocals. On with the hunt.

Five: Can you resist this trailer? Can you really?


So what do you think, faithful readers?

Happy Dance Friday #87 - Happy (Belated) Birthday, Micky Dolenz

With the sad passing of Davy Jones, Monkees fans could certainly use a real happy dance, and since this is the day after Micky Dolenz' birthday (and gives me the urge to make it Monkee Month) today's choice is a natural. If Davy was the song and dance man of the group, Micky was the clown, and no wonder; his first acting job was as the youthful lead of the tv series Circus Boy. An actor playing a drummer, who then became a drummer, Micky brought his own brand of delicious insanity to the Monkees antics, providing lead vocals on such upbeat classics as "I'm a Believer":


Even songs of social commentary, like "Pleasant Valley Sunday" or "Last Train to Clarksville" got the special Micky touch:


"That Was Then, This is Now" has got to be one of the bounciest second chance songs I've ever heard:


Though embedding is disabled on the official video (click here to see) of the Monkees' "Heart and Soul" video, which has the trademark Monkees hijinx as they tackle the 80s, Micky's optimistic attitude shines in this live version:


Remember, a truly heartfelt happy dance negates the calories of an extra helping of birthday cake, and "Tomorrow's Going to be Another Day." Happy Birthday, Micky!

The Tired and Cranky Writer Looks Forward to April, pt 1

Let's start with the basics. I don't like spring. DH has asthma, I'm sun and heat sensitive, so no, we're not full of sparkles and unicorns about warmer weather. I will freely admit to an extra dose of crankiness today, but sleep deprivation will do that to a gal. So if I'm extra abrasive today, that's it.

Please give me a blankey and a pillow and a quiet corner and all will be well. Extra points for a stuffed animal and white noise. Also some books. Considering the state of fatigue here, I may as likely lay my head on them and snooze as read, so maybe gently tuck the ereader, fully charged, into the crook of my arm.

Even with all of the above, there is one part of spring I do look forward to. April means a flurry of real writer person things. Of course every day writing is a real writer person thing, but in April, I will be at two conferences and teaching an online workshop. On April 21st, Charter Oak Romance Writers presents an all day workshop with Theresa Stevens on using fairy tale structure and theme here. Then on the 27th and 28th, NECRWA presents the annual Let Your Imagination Take Flight conference, here. Both of which overlap my From Fanfiction to Fantastic Fiction online workshop at Savvy Authors, here.

I live for these things. Even with the advent of social media (a lifesaver for the extroverted writer) there's nothing like being plopped down into a room, real or virtual, with other like minded souls. Extroverts do well here, and "what do you write?" is an accepted icebreaker in every encounter, from line for the bathroom to a crowded elevator. Staring at chests is considered normal here, as that's where the nametags are located, as the internet and a rabid reading habit may make names more recognizable than faces. Expect a few instances of "I didn't know you were you" after you've been to a few of these. Also expect to bring an extra suitcase or totebag with you because you will bring home more than you left the house with; free books at every meal and then there's the freebie table laden with shiny promo materials. I come home from these conferences exhausted but happy, like the time (possible TMI alert) the family dog stayed out all night, only to turn up on the front porch in the wee hours of the morning, tired smile and wagging tail. Multiple neighbors' female dogs had mystery litters a couple months later. :ahem:

Long travel times, the epic battle of hotel food and my allergies, the combination of churning stomach and rushing endorphins that accompany a pitch session, all mix with the chance to make new friends, get current with old ones, and best of all, answer "yes" when a hotel staffer asks if you're "one of the romance writers." The red heart sticker on a nametag that identifies one as a published author always puts a skip in my heart. Me. I did that. I can do that again. Free books make friends and family members who know the drill pounce on me upon my return, because if the books I bring home are not of my preferred genres, that means they have first dibs. Anything left over means UBS run on the first available weekend.

For me, these conferences are like getting my battery charged, and I'll be honest, it's been a tough writing year, so I'm looking forward to a good charge or two that much more. Since I've ventured into rambling territory, I'll stop here and blabber about the workshop in part two.

Saturday at the Movies #86 - Being Human (UK)

Confession: I haven't seen this yet. Not a bit apart from the few seconds I managed to see while we set up to record the two episodes that currently wait on the family DVR. Apart from my dearly beloved, dearly departed Moonlight I'm not that big on vampire shows. Still, as a CORW sister pointed out not that long ago, I do have a tendency to file the "para" off any paranormal dramas and study the human aspects of the supernatural characters. So it doesn't come as much of a surprise that when I can get my mitts on a program where that's kind of the whole point, well, yeah.

All flatmates George, Mitchell and Annie want is a normal life, only that's kind of a challenge when George is a werewolf, Mitchell is a vampire and Annie is a ghost. Which is pretty much all I know so far, but a show that "which deals more with the horror of living in modern Britain than the horror of the undead?" Sold. I do not need to hear more.



Normally, I don't jump into something like this, this far into the game. By my best guess, the episodes on the DVR are from series four (and big things are about to change, including most of the cast, I take it) so I expect I'll be doing a lot of "who's that" and "what are they talking about" and looking things up online while the show is on pause. Or it won't work for me after all, but that's why there are delete buttons.

Yes, I do know there is a US version, okay, more properly North American, as it's a US/Canadian endeavor, and I may peek at that in the future, as they're not trying to remake the UK version with different accents, but go more in the (pardon the pun) spirit of the thing:



Not to mention the UK's other offering, Becoming Human, which started as a web series, but apparently has moved to BBC3, but not yet found its way across the pond.


No time to dive into this new franchise today, so this was more of a preview post, so stay tuned for impressions of one who's come late to the party in a future entry. How about you, faithful readers? Have you had a taste of Being Human in any incarnation? What should a newbie know? Which side of the pond tickles your fancy?

Happy Dance Friday #86 - Hail and Farewell, Davy Jones

Normally, I don't blog about celebrity deaths. Davy Jones, however, is different. I first encountered The Monkees in the early 1970s, when I was but a wee little princess, and the show on one of its early reruns. Bright colors, happy music, funny jokes, silly costumes and a fast pace kept my attention then, and they still do. There was a real friendship amongst the four characters, but Davy was always my favorite.

Our family lived in suburban New York at the time, but our next door neighbors were from Scotland, and my mother's closest friend was British, so it might have been partly due to the accent that Davy caught my attention the most. Sure, he was the "cute" one, and even as a tiny sproglet, I had an eye for the heartthrobs, and Davy's character had an eye for the ladies. If pressed, though, I'd have to say it was Davy's limitless well of charisma that made him stand out for me. While I'm sure that he's had his share of rough times and bad days, when in front of the camera, his performing persona was a roll-with-the-punches, make the best of it, always looking towards something wonderful on the horizon sort of character, and he made it work.

Years later, I bonded with a favorite cousin over a shared love of the Monkees, and in college, a fellow student and I navigated the then-new frontier of electronic mail by creating a new class called "Davy Dancing," based upon the choreography of the classic "Daydream Believer." So it really is in part due to Davy that I can use email at all. A pair of dormmates who remain friends to this day were also Monkees fans and introduced me to Head, which was not merely the series on the big screen, but did give Davy a chance to show off his dancing chops, with choreography by Toni Basil, no less:



The late 80s release of Pool It delighted my Monkees-loving self and I remember taking lots of walks in Ventura, CA, with the cassette playing in my Walkman, and the Davy-fronted songs were among my favorites. I'm pretty sure the actual cassette met its end long ago in a series of moves, but I still have the cover and refuse to part with that. Too many good memories. "I'll Love You Forever" was written by Davy, and would make for a lovely wedding dance:


What sticks with me the most, though, is Davy's cameo in The Brady Bunch Movie, reprising his iconic guest role from the tv series, as Marcia's celebrity guest at the prom. Of course a prom in the harder edged world of the new millennium is a far cry from the Brady Bunch of the sixties, but Davy took it in good stride and did the job he came to do with his trademark aplomb, even as his bubblegum song, "Girl" turned into a headbanging power ballad.


I think Davy has a lesson for all of us, especially the creative types, in that clip. The world is going to change, but those who know who they are as an artist can roll with the punches and find a way to make it work. That's definitely worth a happy dance in my book.