To Each His Own

Yesterday's meme, created by moi, was a bit of silly fun, but what I enjoyed most was what other blogger's answered. The lists from Amy, T.L. (Christine, I'm waiting) and I are so vastly different, I was amazed.
You know what I find interesting... how three writers can have such vastly different favorites. It's wonderful - the diversity - and goes to show that there MUST be room for all types of authors in every different genre imagined (and unimagined!); that different books speak to us in different ways at different times in our lives. (wow - for a writer, you'd think I could come up with a different word for 'different') Anyway - back to my point:
I wonder, for instance, if Anne Shirley would still make my list of favorite characters if I were to read Anne of Green Gables again as an adult. I listed Anne, having read that series of books when I was about 8 or 9.
Would Memoirs of a Geisha or Knight in Shining Armor mean as much to me in an emotional sense today as they did five and fifteen years ago.
As a writer, would I now look for deeper meaing, find fault with grammatical style, plot points, narrative and dialogue tags?

This poses another question: What makes a classic, 'a classic'? Does it stand the test of time, appeal to broad audiences, brag perfect structure? Will The DaVinci Code, despite it's faults, be considered a classic one day based on sales and mass appeal alone, or will the copycats have diluted it's power?

Funny how TL, Amy and I, all who write/wrote romances, haven't really identified any of the 'romance classics' (in the vein of Wuthering Heights, or anything by Daniel Steele or Queen Nora) among our favorites, or our favorite authors. Curious, this.

Any feedback?

Countdown from SIX meme

Where do these meme's come from? I've been wondering. Someone must be sitting around with nothing to do...
So I had some time on my hands this morning and came up with my own. Here it is and I'm tagging TL, Christine & Amy. Can I do that with my own meme???

SIX - List 6 all-time favorite books:

1. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
2. DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
3. Harry Potter – all of them!
4. Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
5. A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux
6. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

FIVE - last 5 books read:

1. Wildfire by Nelson Demille
2. Northwolf by MA Everaux
3. No Second Chance by Harlan Coben
4. Occam’s Razors by TL Grindstaff
5. The Claiming of Moira Shine by MA Everaux

FOUR – list 4 favorite authors:

1. Nelson DeMille
2. Margaret Atwood
3. Michael Crighton
4. Harlen Coben & Minette Walters (I'm cheating, but it's my meme so I can if I want to ;D)

THREE - favorite literary characters (male & female if you like):

1. Bridget Jones from Bridget Jones' Diary & Jason Bourne from The Bourne Identity (book, not movie)
2. Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables & Robin Hood
   
3. Scarlett O'Hara & Mr. Darcy
   

TWO – share 2 of your writing rituals:

1. Quiet. Can’t write with background noise. Call me difficult. And don’t disturb me or I’ll bite.
2. Diet Pepsi by my right hand.

ONE – share 1 of your favorite quotes on reading/writing:

1. P.J. O’Rourke: “Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.” Cracks me up!

Stealing from Amy's Blog - here are my fave Christmas Songs:

5. Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt, meoooow!
4. Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer - the Gene Autry classic version
3. Tie between White Christmas - Bing Crosby & The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole.
2. O Holy Night - don't care who sings it, I love it.
1. Do They Know It's Christmas - always, always break down during Bono's impassioned line "tonight, thank God, it's them instead of you" - goodness, I'm choking up just typing it. Everyone reading this - go buy a goat!!

Tagged by Christine - FOURS

I was tagged by fellow blogger Christine. Here are my FOUR'S:

Four jobs I've had:
1. Bowling alley counter clerk
2. Front Office Manager, Elbow Beach Hotel, Bermuda
3. Development Officer for the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo
4. Mother/Writer (current)

Four places I've lived:
1. Thunder Bay, ON
2. Toronto, ON
3. Bermuda
4. Newmarket, ON

Four favorite foods:
1. Indian
2. Fresh tuna steaks on the Barbie
3. Cadbury’s Dairymilk Chocolate
4. Wahoo, but only at the Blackhorse Tavern in Bermuda

Four movies I could watch over and over:
1. The Red Violin
2. Moulin Rouge
3. Legends of the Fall
4. An Affair to Remember (I cry every time)

Four TV shows I enjoy:
1. Nip/Tuck
2. Sopranos
3. House
4. Lost

Four places I've traveled:
1. Western Europe – England, Scotland, France, Italy, Switzerland, etc...
2. Alaska
3. Canada – from the Pacific to the Atlantic and back again.
4. Caribbean & Mexico – too many islands to name individually

Four places I'd like to visit:
1. Greece
2. Russia
3. Iceland
4. Mars

Four websites I go to daily:
1. TMZ or DListed (because I need celebrity gossip)
2. Blogs: Tennessee Text Wrestling, Amy’s, Christine’s, Romancing the Blog…
3. For Better or For Worse - Comic Strip
4. Yahoo News

I'm tagging T.L.!

I'm totally getting into the Christmas season, though what little snow we had melted in the rain last night. It's just not right having temps warm enough to melt snow, revealing the GREEN grass underneath. It's absolutely f%#ked-up to be able to walk around jacket-less in the middle of a Canadian December!!
Al Gore - I'm listening, dude!

Got our Christmas tree yesterday and it's perfect. Absolutely the finest most asymetrical tree I've ever seen. Shame it had to be cut down, really. I'll post a pic once it's trimmed, though it's so dang flawless I almost don't want to decorate it!

I'm working on assignment one for my children's lit course. I have to write a story based on a picture (one of a few choices they offered) of bears in a bathtub. I've decided to go with 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears II: Revenge of the Bears". It will be a picture book for 3-5 year olds.
Hmmm.... I may have to change the title.

The pirate story is up to a whopping 479 words! Just 9,500 more to go. Needless to say, I have NO IDEA where I'm going with it. I've changed my mind on the plot so many times that I've actually gone backwards in productivity. Is there a word to describe this? T.L.? You're good with words.

Good News/Bad News -- I sent a query off to an agent (kid lit) and got a request for full manuscript. Then I went on Absolute Write and found out they're a bunch of scammers. OUCH! Just as I was about to run for the hills, I rec'd an email from them saying they want to represent me. DOUBLE OUCH!! Better lace up my sneakers. Meanwhile, I'd sent a query to another agent (this one, legitimate) and rec'd a request for full ms today. Yipee! I'm used to getting rejections in the query phase, so this is a very positive step, even if it goes no further.

Two weeks have dragged by and I still haven't heard from Dream Editor at Dream Publishers re 'Destiny By Design'. She said she was swamped and it would be two weeks minimum before she'd get back to me, but despite her warning, I've begun the obsessive habit of hitting my 'check mail' button. My finger is starting to blister.

Hey - I've just found these label thingies. Cool!

What Kind of Thinker Are YOU?

It's quiz day!
Actually, it's a regular Manic Monday and I've got lists of things to do so I'm copping-out with a silly 2-minute quiz. What kind of thinker are you? I'm an experimenter! Ooooh, make me sound all smart and scientific. Nothing could be further from the truth *LOL*!

Your Dominant Thinking Style: Experimenting

You're all about looking at the facts, and you could always use more of them. You see life as your lab - and you're always trying out new things, people, and ideas. The master of mix and match, you're always coming up with unique combinations. You are good at getting a group to reach consensus.

What's Your Thinking Style?

Addicted

I'm addicted to PostSecret. Have you seen it? People anonymously send in their deepest, darkest secrets to some dude named Frank, who posts it on the internet for the world to see. The secrets change every Sunday -- I now check the site before the Costco ritual!
Some of the secrets are so sad, I wish I could reach out and touch these troubled souls, while some make my laugh my ass off. It's a different mixed bag every week. Check it out.

Crazy weekend. Hate to say it, but I'm glad tomorrow's Monday. My oldest son had his birthday party on Friday night. I had 10 seven-year-olds running around a bowling alley for two hours. Normally this wouldn't be a bad thing, but Friday night is 'Glow-Bowl' which means they turn of all of the lights except for the black lights and strobes. A little hard to catch these little monsters in the dark! And did I mention the blaring rock music??
Wonder if Costco does birthday parties...

I'm so tired, my eyes are burning. I need to sleep, but I so love the quiet of the late-night, I'm fighting it like my 2 year-old fights peas. 'Course I'll regret it in the morning. Much like I regret not going to bed until 4am last night.
But alas - I've caught up reading my regular blogs (and plan to steal a few of those interesing memes for my post tomorrow), tried to post coherent comments on a few (just to let them know I'm around), checked my lottery tickets (yup, still poor), wrote my to-do list for the morning and now will say -
G'night.

PS - what the hell is a 'meme' anyway? Is it pronounced 'mem', or 'meem', or 'me-me'? Dumb word. Not going to make our list, TL.

PSS - couldn't find a picture of burning eyeballs so I put up my cat - Mortimer Tea Flash. (don't ask)

Come on in! It's safe!!

My buddy TL switched over to Blogger Beta, after having tested it with a secondary blog. Good thinking, I thought. Always a good to do trials, test the proverbial waters...
I, on the other hand, have no idea what Blogger Beta is, what it means, and why she changed over. But she's a smart one, that TL, so I thought - if she's switching, then damn it, so am I.
Perhaps I was a lemming in a previous life?
I went to the Blogger dashboard, and read "switch to beta by blawwaaaaahe;slkje;ljggggsdkllskdfja' -- that's how much sense it made to me, anyway. Perhaps being 1:17am didn't help. --
So I dutifully followed a few links, put in my email and password when it asked and voila!, 2 minutes later and I'm now on something I know nothing about. Why am I here, TL?
The doom message was very adamant about not being able to get back once you switched over. You'd think this would have frightened me. Nope. (probably will in the morning when I can't find my blog!)

Come on my fellow bloggies!! Unite with TL and me. Come over to the dark side...

This is NOT a book review site, blah, blah, blah...

Just put down Nelson DeMille's latest, 'Wildfire'. It's kept me up well past midnight these three nights running so in a sense I'm glad to be done. On the other hand, knowing there'll be another 1 or 2 year wait for his next book has me in the dumps.
Mr. DeMille has featured hero, John Corey, in his last four books and as a general rule, I don't enjoy carry-over characters if they've appeared in two or more books. This poses two problems for me: 1 - I hate starting in the middle, so if I know a character has been around for awhile, I won't pick up the 'latest' until I've read the author's previous works - as I did with Anita Blake, Laurell K Hamilton's main heroine, and 2 - if I did, perchance, start in the middle, I find the author's references to previous cases and situations distracting.
Here's the thing: I love John Corey. He's about as alpha as a male can be, but because it's written in the first person, most of his macho, bad-boy attitude is in his head. And his sarcastic wit would make Hugh Laurie's 'House' proud.
Back to the book. Remember the Cold War mentality: if they send nukes our way, we'll launch ours too, so we're both destroyed? Well, this latest caper concerns a US government iniative called Wildfire and basically states that if Islamic fundamentalists blow up a US city, the US gov't will retaliate by sending nuclear warheads towards every muslim country across the ocean. This ensures that the muslim countries police each other and keep their terrorists in check. Interesting premise. Is it true? John Corey, a member of the Anti-Terrorist Task Force has to stop an American billionaire before he ... OOPS! I can't go any farther because A) I would spoil the twisted plot and B) this is not a book review site!
I'm not one normally consumed with conspiracy theories (well, not really), but Mr. DeMille weaves so much fact into his fiction that one often wonders where the line really is. He does an incredible amount of research for all of his books making them all seem plausible, if not down right scary.
Read this book. No, wait. Read 'Plum Island', 'Lion's Game', 'Night Fall', then this book :)

Ho, Ho, Ho (nope, not about Britney or Paris!)

I have officially finished my Christmas shopping! Woo-hoo!!
Now y'all can stop shaking your head in wonder and amazement at my efficiency and forward planning because I did most of my shopping on-line.
My mother is getting a goat, my big sister gets 2 chickens and a rooster. Other relatives will be receiving rabbits, pigs and turkeys.

Thanks to World Vision, each of my family members is getting a farm animal or animals, donated in their name, to a needy family or village in a developing country. Along with the animal, they're given feed and appropriate guidance in animal husbandry.
In many cases, like with the rabbits, chickens and pigs, it offers the recipient a chance to start their own business - breeding and selling - then can use the money for clothes, food and education for their own family.
It's an amazing program, and perfect for my 'peeps' who truly have everything. EVERYTHING. My family is blessed with not-wanting-for-anything and any trinket or article of clothing I offered would be lost in their abundance of 'stuff'. Me included, btw.
I hope someone gets me a sheep!!

On a perfectly selfish note, the gifts are tax-deductable, and aside from the kid's toys and other little do-dads, I don't have a lot to wrap/bow/post, and I feel really really good about helping those who really need it.
If you like this idea - click the link above. Canadians have a different site: World Vision Canada
In addition to farm animals, you can also supply classrooms with much-needed materials, pay for antibiotics and immunizations and send care-packs to kids that include clothes, shoes and a toy for about $10 a pop. Not a bad deal!

~ Wylie the Benevolent

I'm Feelin' Orange!

Decided to go with a new look - what do you think?
I was searching for a cleaner looking page, but the templates on blogger are limited. I've always been a fan of orange, though it will undoubtably begin to wear out my eyes by February.

A little about the color orange (from my research on color psychology for my novella Destiny By Design): Orange combines the energy of red (but not the aggression) and the happiness of yellow. It represents enthusiasm, joy, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement and stimulation. It's a hot color - think sun and the tropics! Orange produces an invigorating effect, stimulates mental activity and inceases oxygen supply to the brain. It's citrusy, ao associated with healthy food and can stimulate the appetite. In heraldry, orange is symbolic of strength and endurance.
Here endeth the lesson. Now go paint something ORANGE!

29 with 11 years experience

DELIGHTED with my 29th+ birthday. It began with coffee and presents brought to me in bed. Sweetness and Light (aka my two boys) 'helped' me open the many, many generous prezzies: a gorgeous book on the life and works of Leonardo DaVinci (to match the Michaelangelo I rec'd last year), a new computer mouse, Nelson DeMille's latest - in hardcover!!, a waffle iron, a new red purse (actually, it's more burgandy and I love it), and... the grand prize: an overnight at a posh Toronto hotel, a day at a spa and a show! I'm so spoiled *cheshire cat grin*. The perfect day finished with a family dinner at Swiss Chalet (my kids like it, it's fast and it's NOT MacDonald's - hooray!) In other present news: my sister sent a huge box full of treasures and my mother paid for my writing course. It couldn't have been better.
Well, I didn't win the lottery that night, so I guess it could have...

No Second Chance, by Harlen Coben

You know I don't do book reviews... there are sites excellent at that sort of thing (continue disclaimer...)
But...
Every time I pick up one of Mr. Coben's novels, I miss a night of sleep. My goodness but his books are un-put-downable!
'No Second Chance' is about a doctor who wakes up in the hospital to find he'd been shot and left for dead, his wife is dead and his six-month old daughter is missing.
Non-stop action and intrigue; the twists and turns keep coming and just when you think you've nailed it, bam!, Mr. Coben throws another curve at you. 'No Second Chance' was almost as good as the first of book of his that I read - 'Gone for Good'. I recommend both. (Though personally, I'm not as enthused about his 'Myron Bolitar' series. Still good reads, but I wasn't compelled to run out and buy another.)

One of my absolute all-time fave authors, Nelson DeMille, has a new book out. He's one of two or three authors for whom I'll shell out the $$ for a hardcover, but this time I don't have to because 'Wild Fire' was waiting for me when I awoke (a year older) this morning, wrapped in pretty paper and a bow. Thanks kids!!!!

Tagged: My answers about blogging

I was tagged by TL - so here are my thoughts on blogging:

1 Do you like the look and the contents of your blog?
Nope, absolutely not, but I’m a victim of computer-dumbness and therefore a slave to Blogger templates.

2 Does your family know about your blog?
Yes, but none of them read it, except my hubby (sometimes)! My mother is in her 80’s and still hasn’t figured out the microwave so a computer isn’t a feature in her house, my in-laws are too busy for nonsense like this, and my sister barely knows how to work email.

3 Can you tell your friends about your blog? Do you consider it a private thing?
I tell some of my friends. Some read it, some don’t. Some just aren’t in to the whole blog thing!

4 Do you just read the blogs of those who comment on your blog? or you try to discover new blogs? Yes – I absolutely check out the blogs of commenters and I like to follow links on the blogs I read so I get all over the place!

5 Did your blog positively affect your mind? Give an example.
Yes, yes, yes!!! At the very least, it gets me writing, which is a good thing -- because I don’t always have the time and/or focus to work on my wip (like now – just sitting down for a few moments before Sweetness wakes from his nap). It’s also cathartic in some ways to just ramble about all things good, bad, beautiful and ugly.

6 What does the number of visitors to your blog mean? Do you use a traffic counter?
I don’t use a traffic counter and only have the ‘view profile’ feature to see how many folks have checked me out. Do I care? Not really… see answer #5.

7 Do you imagine how other bloggers look like?
Yes! But most bloggers are generous with pics on their profiles. Unlike me…

8 Do you think blogging has any real benefit?
Refer to answer #5. And… for others with solitary professions, like writers, it’s a great way to stay sane, share ideas and trade secrets, support each other and make friends *waving at TL!*

9 Do you think that the blogosphere is a stand alone community separated from the real world?
I hope so! The wonderful thing about the blogosphere is you get to choose what sites you want to read, choose whom to connect to, and socialize with those with similar ideas/interests – unlike other social situations like a work atmosphere, or family.

10 Do some political blogs scare you? Do you avoid them?
I don’t avoid them, but I don’t seek them out. I get my political and world news both from internet news sites and print media. That said, if I ever stumble upon a political site that is aligned with my ideals (and sense of sarcasm), I’ll visit often.

11 Do you think that criticizing your blog is useful?
Criticize my blog? I’m too busy criticizing my writing, my husband and my thighs!

12 Have you ever thought about what would happen to your blog in case you died?
Hmmm,… I’d better amend my will. I’d hate to cause a rift in my family.

13 Which blogger had the greatest impression on you?
I was intimidated by the blogosphere because I’d been reading only ‘topical’ blogs and couldn’t decide what subject mine should be about. There are lots of great book and movie review sites, writing tip sites, blah, blah, blah… Until I found TL’s Tennessee Text Wrestling. TL showed through example that you can have a blog about everything (in her case hawgs, writing, cats, science, etc…) I found I enjoyed reading snippets of her life and thought, ‘Hey – I could do this!’, so my blog is an eclectic mix of important nonsense.

14 Which blogger do you think is the most similar to you?
Aha! This is a trick question…. My site is as unique as I am. (okay… and I copy TL and Amy a lot)

15 Name a song you want to listen to?
At this moment, “Happy Birthday”

Drama Strikes Housewifedom

My minivan was in the shop the other day, so when we got the call that it was ready to be collected, my hubby, Baby Sweetness and I jumped in the car and headed to the Dodge dealership. We parked right in front of the building, with the nose of the car pointing towards the busy street (this is important). Hubby and I both got out of the car - he to go to the minivan, and me to get into the driver's seat. We pass each other at the trunk and hear a distinctive 'click'. Baby Sweetness hit the autolock button with Daddy and Mommy on the outside of the running car.
Panic ensued... two mechanics from the Dodge dealship quickly came, one with a slimjim. A crowd gathered as we tried to coax Sweetness to hit the button, UP, but alas, Sweetness, who was in a car seat, couldn't reach it to press up hard enough. It was only the angle that allowed him press DOWN in the first place. Sweetness's muffled voice kept saying, 'Me want to come out now'. He was getting upset, I was very upset (but trying to remain as calm as possible) and the Dodge dude wasn't having any luck with the slimjim. Some small part of me was comforted in knowing that a thief would have an equally difficult time!
Hubby managed to coax Sweetness out of his seatbelt, which was wrapped around him and the thought of him getting strangled with it was a reality at this point. He started getting upset, almost crying as his bulky jacket kept getting caught so he couldn't slip the belt over his head. EEKKS! When he does manage to wangle out, he goes right for the front, driver's seat. Now I'm completely freaking out (see comment above about the car facing a busy intersection). Dopey mechanic says - 'Don't worry, he won't be able to turn the key in the ignition'. I casually informed him that THE CAR WAS RUNNING! Duh. This was the man working on my minivan?? That explains a lot.
Hubby went around to the passenger window and coaxed Sweetness over to him. Standing on the seat, he laid his chubby little hand on the passenger door and depressed the window mechanism. YEAH!! Crowd clapping, baby smiling, heart restarting, Sweetness yelling "My did it! My press buttons!"
Me thinking - I SO need to blog about this!

Just a boring day in housewifedom... cleaned a bathroom, did two loads of laundry, went to a parent/teacher interview, grocery shopping, yawn *nod*
Time for a quiz!
What literary novel are you? Here are my results!

You're Catch-22!

by Joseph Heller

Incredibly witty and funny, you have a taste for irony in all that you
see. It seems that life has put you in perpetually untenable situations, and your sense
of humor is all that gets you through them. These experiences have also made you an
ardent pacifist, though you present your message with tongue sewn into cheek. You
could coin a phrase that replaces the word "paradox" for millions of
people.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Confession - I did the quiz twice. The first time I was 'Watership Down'. Lame. So I did it over. Now I've got to find a quiz "Are You A Cheater?"

Sad Times for Feminism...

What are we doing to our daughters? I was pretty amazed when the Bratz dolls came out, -- remember the hoopla over Barbie, who apparently spawned a body image crisis, -- but I was absolutely shocked to my core when I saw a BLING BLING doll for the first time. They look like miniature crack whores (or the Pussy cat dolls, take your pick). Oh no they don't! *ghetto accent* Oh yes, they do, and they're being marketed to little girls!! Oh no they ain't! They sit on the same shelves as Bratz, Barbies and My Little Ponies. Btw - the side pic doesn't do their blue eye shadow and glitter lipgloss and glitter costumes any justice!

True story: I was in Walmart with my two year old yesterday and The Sweetness requested french fries (he always does when he sees the golden arches). So mommy obliges and gets Sweetness a Happy Meal.
Due to the excess of lunchers, we needed to share a table with another woman and her two little girls. Requisite greetings and mutual adoration of children were exchanged, before we all proceeded to get on with the business of stuffing our hungry faces with ketchup dipped fries.
Mother of Girls says: "When we get home, Mommy's going to make you a CD of all your favorite music. Would you like that?"
Little girls (ages 3 & 5): "Yay!!" munch, munch, munch...
Mother: "What songs shall we put on our CD?"
(In my head, I'm choosing - When You Wish Upon a Star, Theme from Aladdin, Who Let the Dogs Out, maybe something poppish by Britney, etc...)
Little Girl: "Fergie! Yay!!!"
Both little girls then stand up, do that famous Beyonce move - you know the one - and begin singing "my humps, my humps, my lovely lady bumps", while Mommy Dearest clapped for them. Did I mention that these girls were THREE and FIVE!
Sick, sick, sick. Not right.
Just. Not. Right.

Ms rewrite off to publisher

Sent off the revised, sexed-up version of 'Destiny By Design' (formerly called The Color of Passion) to the epub this morning. Dream Editor has already contacted me to let me know it arrived through cyberspace in one piece. She was very kind to also give me a response window (2-3 weeks!!!) so that I wouldn't wear out my index finger hitting the 'check mail' button with religious fervor for the next few weeks. It feels as if an incredible weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I'm going to put writing on the backburner for the next few weeks and concentrate on Christmas. Except for the assignment I have due for my writing class, that is... (damn, just remembered!)
I'm also going to pick up a book or two, for pure enjoyment. I can't wait. I have quite the TBR list on the sidebar (although that barely scratches the surface of my bookshelf), but I keep getting distracted with other things, like '...Moira Shine', 'North Wolf, and my first Laurell K Hamiton - 'Guilty Pleasures'. I've heard a lot of buzz about her and finally picked up the first book in the Anita Blake series. It was interesting, but I'm not running out for more.
I'm also reading (and almost finished) my critique partner's wonderful novel, Occam's Razors. It's got me totally hooked and if she weren't sending it to me 5 chapters at a time, I probably wouldn't be getting too much sleep. Good books always keep me up, calling out to me at 3am "finish me, finish me!!" I got the final chapters a few days ago and am reluctant to read them because I seriously do not want to let go of these characters.
Okay - the clock just chimed 9 bells. Time to watch 'House'.

Another Day, Another Quiz

There are entire websites devoted to dopey quizzes: What Thanksgiving Dish Are You, What Is Your Sexiness Quotient, Which Deadly Sin Are You,...
I find myself glued to the computer, bent on unscientific self-analysis. I have a list of more important things to do (fold more laundry, bake cookies for the party this weekend, do my writing course assignment, Xmas cards, correct the typos in my ms, etc). The problem is, I have so many things to do, I'm feeling overwhelmed. So I took (another) break out to do this one, entitled:

Are You A Movie Buff?

Apparently, I am. (Wonder if there's a quiz How Overwhelmed Are You, or perhaps, Are You A Quizaholic)

Your Movie Buff Quotient: 84%

You are a movie buff of the most obsessive variety. If a movie exists, chances are that you've seen it. You're an expert on movie facts and trivia. It's hard to stump you with a question about film.

Are You a Movie Buff?

I was tagged by fellow TWR blogger, Amy. Thanks for putting Christmas on my brain!

Your Name: Wylie

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Egg Nog with a healthy tip of Bermuda’s Black Seal Rum
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa wraps, applies big beautiful bows, coordinated ribbon and tries to color-code the wrap for each person (Santa sounds a wee bit anal, doesn’t she he!)
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Outside – colors! Inside – white fairy lights.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nah. Who needs a ball of leaves to inspire kissing? We’re big smoochers in our family.
5. When do you put your decorations up? Not before December 2^nd. That’s my birthday and I REFUSE to acknowledge Christmas before then.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish? My mother’s stuffing and mushroom gravy.
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Going into the aromatic pine forest to hunt up the perfect Xmas tree with my stepdad (the only good memory that involves him, btw). The snow would be so deep we could barely walk through it! He always let me take a few swings with the little axe.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don’t remember exactly, but I must have been quite young - perhaps seven or eight.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? No. No peeking until Xmas morning.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? I like the traditional colors – red, green gold, white fairy lights, lots of tinsel and ornaments that range from Walmart bulk, to sentimental to kid-craft.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? LOVE IT! Spend 17 Christmases in snowless Bermuda and never really felt the spirit as I do in Canada – surrounded by a blanket of white.
12. Can you ice skate? Used to. Haven’t tried for probably 25 years.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? A Barbie head that you practiced make-up and hair-do’s on, a doll called Chrissy (my sister got Velvet, Chrissy’s sister) – you could make her hair long or short, and more recently, a beautiful diamond bracelet.
14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Family – specially making it wonderful for my kids, getting/feeling Christmas spirit (people are always friendlier around this time), and the food.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Love shortbreads, mini-butter tarts, and Terry’s chocolate oranges.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Ours keeps changing! My hubby’s parents have their traditions, my folks do something a bit different, my sister’s different again… We’ve spent so many years going to other folks, that we haven’t developed any of our own yet. This year…
17. What tops your tree? An angel. Must be an angel and she must light up.
18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? Totally a giver!! I enjoy buying, trying to find a gift that’s personal and meaningful. I’m an ungrateful receiver… If I get a gift (like another red freakin’ purse – 3 years running!!), I feel like the giver doesn’t know me, didn’t take the time to find out what I want/like. Don’t bother, really. I don’t mean to be snotty, but I’d rather have someone give a gift to charity in my name rather than a lame gift that has nothing to do with me.
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? *singing* Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose,…. Also, O Holy Night, Come All Ye Faithful, Do They Know It’s Christmas (Bono’s line always makes me cry) – who am I kidding – there isn’t any Xmas tunes I don’t like!!
20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Meh. I usually eat one mini and I’m done.

I'm tagging T.L.!

P.S. y'all -- I tried to put a nice pretty picture of a sprig of mistletoe and the darn thing wouldn't come up in the published post - though it worked fine in preview - so I said 'Hell with it' and posted the hunky Santa. He's comin' up just fine *wink*. HO! HO! HO!

I took a personality quiz, because I'm a sucker for this 'know thyself in twelve multiple choice questions' crap. Who needs Dr. Phil.
Sad to say, I'm 73% normal. This can be taken many ways: I'm too normal to be an interesting, envelope-pushing writer; I'm not normal enough to mix with genteel society or; 27% of my genetic make-up comes from lunatic Uncle Ed (eeks!)
But hey - I'm fun to be around. Whoopee!!

Here's what it says about me.... How 'bout you??

Your score on this personality test was 73%

Others see you as an exciting, highly volatile, rather impulsive personality; a natural lead, who's quick to make decisions, though not always the right ones. They see you as bold and adventuresome, someone who will try anything once; someone who takes chances and enjoys an adventure. They enjoy being in your company because of the excitement you radiate.

Personality Quiz
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Putting the hate in housework

I hate housework. My husband likes to remind me that 'hate' is a strong word (I use it alot, but I can't help it -- I'm passionate about things and when I say 'hate', I mean HATE!) but there is nothing appealing about the drudgery of floor washing. Nothing entertaining about pushing a vacuum cleaner back and forth. Nothing remotely satisfying about dusting, especially since the minute you finish, you realize more dust is accumulating. I don't feel the 'Martha' sense of accomplishment when I'm finished, because there is no end in sight, no light at the end of the tunnel, just more crumbs, more dust, more grime.
I make it much worse for myself because instead of just getting on with it, I procrastinate and then feel bad, procrastinate some more, then resent that I just didn't get on with it in the first place.
I'd rather be sitting at my computer writing,(hmmm, like I am now), or running errands, or baking, or reading, or going to the dentist. Now laundry, I can live with. Ironing? Forget it.
The only thing WORSE than housework, is stepping on a crumby kitchen floor, or looking at that scummy soap build-up on the bathroom sink. I do housework only because I hate (there's that word again) the alternative. I like a clean house, eschew a messy kitchen, loathe a grimy bathroom, therefore, I clean.
But seriously,... I'd rather have a root canal.

What kind of reader are you?

Grabbed this fun little quiz from T.L.'s blog. I'm a Literate Good Citizen. How bloody boring!!! I was striving for Decicated Reader, but alas... I continue to reside in average-land. Think I'll do the How Sexy Are You Quiz, or maybe the Are You Brad Pitt's True Mate Quiz, then there's the...

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Literate Good Citizen You read to inform or entertain yourself, but you're not nerdy about it. You've read most major classics (in school) and you have a favorite genre or two.
Dedicated Reader
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

Book Review - not from me!

Here's where I say my bit about not being a book review site: lots of sites in cyberland that do it far better than I, blah blah blah...

But I have to say, after having my socks knocked off with M.A. Everaux 'The Claiming of Moira Shine', I decided to check out the only other story she has in the Ellora's Cave catalogue. 'North Wolf' is about weres, so there is no chance I would have bought it had I just been browsing for a book to read. Creature stories really aren't my thing,... at least I thought they weren't! I must admit, I was hooked on it from page 1, perhaps to a lesser degree than 'Moria Shine', but her story had me intrigued enough to stay up way past my bedtime. Her characters are powerful and frightening, yet vulnerable and sweet. Apparently (according to my secret sources bwahahahah) it was her first story, had major edits/rewrites, but it paid off for her bigtime. And although a 'North Wolf' is an engagingly good story, you can see by comparison the polish and shine she applied to her sophmore effort.
I'm looking forward to a 'North Wolf' spinoff with the alpha wolf's brother as the hero. Are you listening M.A.??

PS - Meh! The cover just doesn't do the story justice, either.

Tagged by T.L.: 5 things about moi!

I've been tagged by my *bff* Thomma Lynn, aka Jenny Acey (I'm still holding my sides over that one, TL!) to post FIVE THINGS PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME. Here goes:

1. Wylie Kinson is not my real name.

2. No matter how much I advance plan, I'm always 10 minutes late... and I hate myself for it. I blame it on having lived in Bermuda for so long -- Bermudians are mostly always late.

3. I have a tattoo. A small Canadian maple leaf on my left hip -- my own little 'made in Canada' tag.

4. I have no patience for ignorance and truly believe that I am the smartest person in my extended family. My husband would disagree.

5. When I read, the voice in my head has a very snobby British accent. (Except when I read T.L.'s blog -- then I've got Dolly Parton up there *hee*)

Hmmm,... whom will I tag? How 'bout new visitor to my site, Christine!

Is you're inner writer MALE or FEMALE?

This is the coolest little thing - do try it. The Gender Genie analizes your blogpost, fiction or non-fiction writing samples and can tell if you're a male or female by the words used. (thanks to Thomma Lyn whose site I stole the link from - hee!)

According to their 'scientific methods', the blog I posted earlier today qualifies me as a male. Clearly, I wrote it with the right side of my brain (wtf?!) while the first chapter of my novella catagorizes me as a female writer. Aha! Got me. Then I got crafty and entered a scene from the novella that's supposed to be from the hero's point of view and the results indicated I'm still a female. Wow, that was a blow. I thought I wrote from a guy's pov pretty well. Guess I'm wrong. I need to get in touch with my maleness. Clearly, I need to see the Bond flick again *grinning*.

Dream E-Pub Shows 99.9% Interest - WooHoo

Dream e-publisher emailed me last week re 'The Color of Passion' and gave me a revise and resubmit. This is very good news. Dream editor said she's almost 99% sure of publishing the story if I make the changes. This is very very very good news. Dream editor also said wonderfully kind words about my writing which came on the heels of the very bad BAM review so my wounded ego has healed nicely.
Here's the challenge re the R&R: It needs more s.e.x. If I can throw in additional two or more sex scenes AND spice up the ones that are already in there, it will be published by their erotica line.
Option two is leave the sexy parts as they are then submit to their romance line, but the romance line doesn't do novella's so I would have to almost double the length of the ms to make the 50K word limit.
Now, you're probably thinking - 'This is a no-brainer... go with option one: more sex scenes!' But that my friends, is not easy. The kinky stuff must enhance the story, move the plot forward; gratutious sex just doesn't cut-it, especially if it compromises the characters.
The third option being, of course, go with another publisher. But I really really want to get in Dream Publisher's door for a few reasons (which I won't get into unless the story is sold and I can reveal who Dream Pub is). AND, they want me to change the title because the word 'Passion' is very overused. I'm very okay with this. I wasn't really married to the title. I've thrown around a few ideas and this is the top three:
Destiny by Design (or Designing Destiny), Wet Paint, Brush Strokes. Any of em grab you?

I rec'd the email last weekend but haven't blogged about the *GREAT NEWS* because I was undecided on my approach. This is what I've decided:
I've been making copious notes on how to add subplots, plot twists and incidental scenes that provide richness to the characters -- but I'm not rewriting the story just yet. I am, in fact, going with option one - throwing in more and longer steamy scenes. It's very difficult, but seemed the surest way to go. In the event that it compromises the integrity of the story, I'll make the decision to rewrite or send to another pub. In any case, I've had sex on the brain for a week and seeing Daniel Craig as James Bond certainly helped the creative process!!

Craig, Daniel Craig

Just saw Casino Royale and though I was sceptical about this new Daniel Craig fella, I must say he' s da bomb! (sorry, Sean)
He had me from the first scene - he's fierce, craggy and completely believable in the role. He makes Pierce and Roger look like spy parodies and imho, he even beats Sean on the role.
He's not a good looking man compared to the ilk of Brad, Matt D, etc... but he's got sex appeal to the nth degree and a body that took my breath away. He plays a convincing fight scene, is stellar to watch in the action bits and oh, did I mention sexy?
The opening credits were meh. The song was fine, but the classic Bond opening with the dancing nude silhouettes wasn't up to par.
As for the movie -- it's wins the 'Wylie Award' for best script, action, evil dudes, and femmes... because it wasn't over-the-top ridiculous and only one scene suffered from gaget-itis, and even that wasn't bad. No hokey names for the females, either. And only a few ridiculous one-liners, but because there were so few, those few worked. (did ya follow that?)
The audience was filled with teenagers, so naturally I expected unnessessary chatter, giggling and cell-phone ringing but I was proven so very wrong. You could have heard a pin drop in the theatre for the entire two and a half hours (except for the requisite 'oohs' and 'aahs'), and the theater exploded into applause at the end of the movie! I haven't seen that since,... since,... well, I can't remember because it's been so long.

Daniel Craig as Bond will surely give me days of inspiration for writing romance/erotica - yee haw!

"Moira Shine" Sizzles!

Oh, mama...
Just read M.A. Everaux's "The Claiming of Moira Shine" (Ellora's Cave) and yikes, it was sizzling.
I've said it many times before - this ain't a book review blog... there are too many out there doing it much better than I ever could, but trust me when I say: Read this book. And be prepared to take a cold shower when you're done. Ms. Everaux only has one other book on EC, which I fully intend to buy once I come down from "Moira Shine", but I'll look out for her in the future - for sure.

Damn it Ellis! Let me sleep!!

"Damn it, Ellis!" Simon shook his head in a mixture of longing and disgust...

It's 6:06 in the am and I barely slept a wink all night.
Last night, before I finally went to bed at midnight, the heroine of The Color of Passion (which I am currently revising for dream editor) told the hero that she didn't want to be involved, and the 'damn it, Ellis' line was the best I could come up with in response.
Lame.
I knew it was time to go to bed, knew that the inkwell of wonderful, witty, sexually-tense dialogue had dried up for the day. I yawned, stretched, fed the cat, and turned on the tv to catch the tail end of Leno (with the purpose of erasing any story thoughts from my mind).
Sadly, sleep didn't come. I tossed, turned, fluffed, got and extra pillow, had a sip of water, rubbed cream on my feet... but I couldn't get these characters out of my head. They remained locked in the room, staring each other down, searching for appropriate words to say to one another. They argued at 1:30, woke me up at 2:30 with their passionate, anger-driven kisses, sniped at each other at 4:00. When I looked at my clock again, it read 5:17 and he was feeling her up (where did that come from?)!!. Finally, at 6:00, my pussy cat woke me up (I mean this literally, of course) to be let out.
Oh, damn it. Who needs sleep, anyway?
The trouble is, I am now sitting at my computer, the house is quiet, kids are fast asleep, cat is outside and hubby's snoring has ceased (making me wonder if he is indeed dead), and I'm too bloody tired to write this scene! ARRGGG!

Come on in, we're OPEN

Ahhh, the wonderful ritual of a Sunday. Get out of bed, make a large batch of fluffy pancakes and smother them in maple syrup (the real stuff, not the Aunt Jemima crap), take a long hot shower and dress in my Sunday finest. Then it's off to meet the rest of the devotees in the congregation.... at Costco.
Yes, some folk go to church on Sundays; I take my kids (in matching outfits) to retail heaven. It's our ritual and we love it.
Costco opens at 10am sharp and if you're not there on time, (with the goal of getting in and out in an hour) it becomes so swamped with the after-church crowd that heaven turns quickly into hell. One time I overslept and didn't make it to Costco until 11:30. I could barely move my cart, the free-sample ladies couldn't keep up with the demand so I had to forego the ethereal pleasure of tasting the feta & spinach sausage AND the freshly baked short breads, then I was faced with the 25 minute pergatory of a check-out line, with my two and six year old boys (which is its own special form of hell).
So yesterday, with my visiting in-laws in tow, (I had been urging them to get dressed since 9am lest we arrive late and miss the sermon, *ahem*, samples), I made the weekly jaunt with mile long shopping list and applicable coupons. Headed straight to the office supply aisle for batteries (48 Kirkland double A's only $16.00!!!) and noticed an item that caught my eye; an 'OPEN' sign. It was beautiful. The letters were in bright red neon, encircled in a vibrant electric blue oval. I wanted it. I wanted it bad.
I couldn't believe that just anybody, ANYBODY, could waltz in a buy an OPEN sign. Would I have to prove I was a business owner to the check-out clerk? Would the manager come and question my intentions? "What will you do with it?" he/she would ask with furrowed brow. "An OPEN sign bears a significant amount of responsibility. You must turn it on only when you're open and remember to turn it off when you're closed. Do you understand? You mustn't mislead the public with such a powerful device. It's not fair to the general population to advertise OPEN when you are indeed CLOSED."
But alas, I'm not a business owner. Would it cause any harm if I just put it in my living room window and turned it on occassionally? Would people stop their cars and knock on my front door? Would I be obliged to keep my door unlocked?
I could offer tea. I could just listen to people's problems. I could present them with a bill. I could let them browse my eclectic collection of paperbacks. Would it offend them if I first made them take off their shoes?
I'm going to mull this over a bit -- before next Sunday when I'll be forced to look at the enticing OPEN sign once more. Maybe I should call Andy Rooney. He's good with stuff like this.

Small print for a small day.

I'm feeling very small today. Bam reviewed 'Bella Fiore' and was not kind. I truthfully did not expect the review to be THAT bad, but it was scathing and it really hurt my feelings. Foolish, I know. It's one person's opinion, blah blah blah... but quite honestly, I held back the tears and bit my lip til it bled while reading it. So I felt a bit bruised for a few days but in the end, had to admit she was quite correct about a few issues - which I hope to correct in future works. But she called my humour cheesy!! It was written very tongue-in-cheek and I guess it didn't come across that way to her, but...
I shall keep writing, and improving (hopefully).
I did get two favorable reviews from TwoLips and CoffeeTime so why am I dwelling?? The comments I got from Bam's readers were very nice and encouraging, so I thank those sensitive souls very much for their kind words (L.E. Bryce, Kate Rothwell, Jackie Kessler, K.D.), and my new critique partner, TL, who will hopefully slap my fingers for using too many outrageous dialogue tags in future!
On to other things:
Still waiting to hear back from e-publisher re 'The Color of Passion'. Though she stated it would take two to four weeks, that has not stopped me from checking my in-box everytime I pass my computer. I'm having an extra difficult time moving on to my pirate story knowing that TCOP is sitting on her desk!
My in-laws are visiting for the weekend and are shopping like mad. I'm sure the Canadian economy will flourish this quarter. They've bought out half of our mall, Toys R Us, Old Navy, Sears, etc...
Now I'm off to pretend to cook a fabulous meal for my house guests. I'm really going to open a few jars of sauce and call it my own ;D
Shhhh, no telling!

Pull the Trigger or Pass the Valium

There's a gun to my head and I wish she'd just pull the trigger already!!
My latest, 'Bella Fiore', has moved from the 'to be read' column to the 'to be reviewed' column on Bam's (it's not chick porn) book review site. I love reading Bam's reviews and cover snark. She's brutally honest and writes with equal parts sarcasm and candor that only a 20-something can get away with. She appeals to the nasty sarcastic side of me that I don't let out often ;D -- at least not in public.
Anyway - Bam's had my book on her shelf for awhile and I've dreaded this review for sometime now. She's a romance novel junkie, so she's seen it all - aliens, three-somes, m/m, f/f, sweet innocence, hardcore, paranormal, vampires, etc...
I'm nervous because the protagonist in 'Bella Fiore' is a bored housewife that I'm not sure Bam can relate to (or would even want to!).
I'm nervous because she reads everything from Mary Jo Putney to Laurell K Hamilton and next to these two professionals, my writing is like that of a third grader (albeit a sexually active one! bwahahahahah).
I'm nervous because if she slams my book, the immature side of me won't want to visit her site ever again and the mature part of me will miss it dearly!

I want my mommy!

I'm a sad girl today. Put my mom on a plane, back to her hometown, 1000 miles away. She's getting frailer (or should that be "more frail"?) everytime I see her, though she still has more spunk at 86 than half the 40 year olds I know. But for the past few years, everytime we part, I can't help wondering if it's the last time I'll see her. We talk almost every night on the phone and I'm scared to death of losing her, though it's inevitable.
Who will I gossip and shop with, or discuss old movies? Despite her age, my mom knows who's who: Christian Bale, Dan Brown, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Tony Blair, Borat, Wolf Blitzer, Belinda Stronach, Rick Mercer, Kelli Pickler and Eminem. She reads national newspapers, magazines, financial/business books. She doesn't have a university degree and is in awe of professionals, but my mother is sharper than anyone (ANYONE!) I've ever met.
She shares my love of books and we often mail each other our faves - even though it costs more to send than to pick up our own copy at the bookstore! It's nice to know that a person you love and esteem held the same pages, smiled or cried at the same passages and derived the same feelings of hope, joy, sadness or longing when the book was finished.

I want my mommy *sniff*

Good News, Bad News and a Case of Pinot

My Mom is still visiting, but I found a few minutes (between shopping, watching old movies and arguing about my weight) to jot a quick entry.
Update in the life of the wannabe-award-winning-novelist:

1. Got a critique partner, fellow blogger & Chippewa author, T.L. (Yeah!!) *happy dancing while putting on thick skin*
2. Send updated ms for The Color of Passion to epublisher. Fingers, toes and eyes crossed. Waiting patiently with a case of Pinot Grigio. (no, not for celebration... to get me through the next six weeks of waiting).
3. Saw The Prestige, starring Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Scarlett Johanssen. Excellent mind-bender of a movie. If I were Ebert or Roper, my thumbs would be up.
4. Ah, rejection... Nonsuch Beauty was rejected, but in a kind, helpful way. The editor was decent enough to point out my mistakes and tell me what she liked and disliked about the characterization. Comments for which I'm truly grateful. She also said, ahem, "you have an interesting voice". Big happy smile. See, it's not all bad. And as I've stated before, I'm not sure Nonsuch Beauty was ever meant to be published. I think it shall remain in my bottom drawer until such time I can incorporate either the idea or characters into a longer piece.
5. Inspired by T.L.'s latest blog about quotes, am offering one of my favorites ('specially in light of my previous erotic publications!!):

"Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it."
~ PJ O'Rourke

What's on your nightstand?

Zip a dee do da, zip a dee ay, ...

Just heard from the e-pub editor re my novella:

"I'm pleased to ask for the full manuscript of THE COLOR OF PASSION for further review."

W000-Hoooo and a whoop de do! *dance, dance, dance*

However (yes, there was a 'but'), she wasn't happy with the ending and suggested I change it. And you know what - I am. Frankly, I wasn't convinced it was a good ending either, but I didn't want to make it too 'pat', to 'Hollywood'. But Hollywood is what she wants so Hollywood is what she's going to get.

My mother is in town visiting so I'm officially on 'blog vacation'. (I'll leave the blog-every-day event to you, TL.)

'til November...

Poem - In the Wild

In the Wild
by Wylie Kinson

If you can’t find me, it's because I’m not there
I’ve gone to a wild place
where answers are found like plump grapes on a vine
where someone will tell me what it’s all about
explain the dark mazes of my mind

When you look into my eyes, what do you see
my soul, your dream, our destiny
If I could tell you what lurks in the mists
what monsters or flowers or music exists
where we embrace ourselves in luxury and riches
ride white elephants, and tame wild camels
and eat scones and cream like a social group of bitches.

I find myself in a predicament with no easy explanation
Keep looking
but the promises I give are like dandelion feathers in the wind
I know your fundamental being
You won’t give up on me
Striving
Forever striving for the inhuman state of monolithic morality.

Score card,.... good night

Getting my arm up on the desk to type isn't like having a dagger plunged into my shoulder repeatedly, so I guess it's safe to say the worst of the tendonitis is over. Percocet is evil. I say this on good authority, having been stoned for the better part of 5 days. My state of mind also explains the rather snotty rant I posted on the other day on the banality of television.

In other news. I've decided to keep a running score on my blog regarding my failures/success in writing. An affirmation of sorts, to remind myself that writing is a hard business, but at least I'm trying. So here's the first scorecard (and I must do this quickly before tonights Percocet kicks in):

Published works: two short erotic stories - Bella Fiore, The Cavern in the Green
Rejections: ALL of the children's stories I've ever written/sent (the list is very long)
Completed: The Color of Passion, Nonsuch Beauty
To Market: The Color of Passion, Nonsuch Beauty, one children's story My Scary Pet Snake
Agents: Two queries currently out
WIP: pirate story - 10%, novel 1- 15%, novel 2 - 10%

And so,... um,... z z z z z z z z z z z z z z zz z z z zz z zz zzz zzzz zz z zzz zz zzz zzz zz zzzz zzzzzzz

Studio 60 (Warning: this rant may offend...)

I was shocked to hear that ratings for Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip were poor. I've watched this new NBC show since it's premier last month and having nothing but praise. The story moves along very quickly, the acting is suburb and the writing SUPERIOR - at least next to most drivel on the boob-tube. Apparently - the demographics are wrong; they're missing the 18-35 year old coveted market and are instead getting the 'over 40's.
I find it a sad commentary that we as a nation/s (pointing accusing finger at both US & Canada) continue to give credit to brain-wasting shows like 'The Bachelor', 'Survivor', and 'Two and a Half Men', and that God aweful Tyra Banks show which doesn't deserve to be mentioned, while critically acclaimed, well-written, INTERSTING programs like Studio 60 and Friday Night Lights are facing early cancellation. And why don't the studio execs give these programs more than 2 or 3 weeks to find an audience? Why the rush to hit the delete button.
But here's my biggest peeve: studios purposely put a winner against another network's winner in effort to win the night. Can't NBC be satisfied with winning say... Wednesday and Monday, let CBS have Tuesday and Thursday? I hate that Grey's Anatomy is up against CSI. Who cares who wins? The audience doesn't, that's for sure. This isn't welter-weight boxing-- it's television. Entertain us! Let us have good programs on all the networks!! Stop duking it out and just find the BEST SHOWS for all the time slots. I don't give a toss which network is winning, I'm certainly not loyal to any one network, and I'm positive I won't watch a new program just BECAUSE it airs on a specific network.
Attention studio execs - get over yourselves. Let we-the-viewers have our Grey's AND our CSI. Let us 'sophisticated viewers' continue to watch WELL WRITTEN shows like Studio 60, Arrested Development, Friday Night Lights, and all those other Emmy winning shows y'all cancelled because of poor ratings. Just because they're not in the top 10, doesn't mean they're failures. Just because the 18-35's aren't watching, doesn't mean your advertisers aren't getting theirs money's worth. Hell - us over 40's have a hellava lot more discretionary cash to toss around, so perhaps you need to do your jobs and get better quality, more sophisticated sponsors. YEAH! The *trailer-park residencees might LOVE watching 'Hope and Faith', and the viewer numbers might be out of the park, but that crowd is hardly going to run out and buy the BMW being advertised. Or the expensive brand of cat mooch.
Rant complete. Thank you.
*No disrespect to anyone residing in a trailer park ;D

Oh, Woe is Me...

Calcific tendonitis. Ouch! It sounds painful because it is. And I have it. In my right shoulder. Makes typing, mousing, lifting arm on to desk veeeeery uncomfy. Can't write (much). Mousing with left hand - very awkward. Typing mostly with left hand - very slow.
But the blog must go on...
Saw Mary Jo Putney on Saturday at the Toronto Romance Writers meeting. She was absolutely terrific - great speaker, charasmatic, down to earth, interesting person. I won one of her older books in a raffle (The Bargain) and found myself completely tongue tied when she was autographing it for me. Oh - the things I wanted to say! I had a whole mini-speech in my head about her gift for Regency voice, how her long distinguished career serves as a role-model for us newbies and how I appreciated the opportunity to hear her speak at a 'chapter' meeting... Oh, I wanted to gush! But all that came out was "I really liked 'One Perfect Rose'. And 'The Wild Child'. You write really good. Um - thanks."
OMG - what a moron! I'm supposed to be a writer and I say the most inane, grammatically incorrect drivel EVER! Embarrassed!
'kay - it's taken me almost an hour to left-hand type this and my shoulder is screaming with pain for sitting in such an awkward position.
*swallowing percocet*

"Nonsuch Beauty" - to market, to market!

The manuscript for 'Nonsuch Beauty' was submitted to an e-publisher last night. This means obsessively checking my email for the next 4-6 weeks.
IMO, this is the absolute hardest part of being a writer; sending your hard work, heart-and-soul bared on paper (or in this case, an electronic file) to a stranger. Giving such power (they can make or break your spirit with one form letter) to an anonymous name in cyberspace is incredibly nerve-wracking. You promise yourself that a rejection won't hurt, won't get you down or stop you from writing, but it's a really nasty experience that can potentially throw you for a loop. I recently sent a ms to a good friend to critique and in her reply, she used the word 'ok'. I couldn't get past it. OK?! But 'ok' just isn't good enough! It ruined my day, made my stomach churn every time I thought about it. I wanted her to say it made her cry, that she understood my heroine's pain, completely bought into the emotional fragility of the situation, -- but she used the word 'ok'. Here's the irony - When I read her email again the following day, I realized she didn't use 'ok' to describe the story, but in reply to my nagging her about reading the storyLiked it!? NO!! I wanted her to LOVE it!! - as in "The story - ok!" Then she said she 'liked it'.

Score: two manuscripts out, zero replies.

Dude, please!

Compelled to share this little gem:
I was listening to the news on the radio the other day and the newscaster, reporting on North Korea's latest nuclear hijinx, refers to their fearless leader as Kim Jong TWO, instead of Kim Jong Il. I laughed my ass off. DUH!

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged by fellow Chippewa author Jose Bogran (sorry, no accents on the correct letters but I have NO idea how to apply them!)
Anyway - here are the questions I am now obliged to answer before tagging other unsuspecting folk:

1) One book that changed your life: This is REALLY hard because so many books influenced me at different times of my life. Going way back, I have to give props to Carolyn Keene because the Nancy Drew series was the beginning of my love affair with books. The first 'adult' book I ever read was Sydney Sheldon's 'Rage of Angels'. I was about 12 and absolutely fell in love with non-kid lit. There was no going back!
2) One book that you’d read more than once: I read 'Lord of the Rings' (and The Hobbit) when I was a teenager and again as a 30-something adult and I confess they were two profoundly different stories. The symbolism was completely lost on me as a 14 year old! In the romance genre, the only book I ever read twice was Jude Devereaux's 'Knight in Shining Armor'.
3) One book you’d want on a deserted island: Oh, this is easy. I would take the complete unabridged version of Encyclopedia Brittanica. Hmmm... technically, that's more than one book isn't it, but the question is vague so that's my answer and I'm sticking to it.
4) One book that made you laugh: Frank McCourt's 'Angela's Ashes' made me howl with laughter. The part when the boy gets sick after his first communion and is upset because he threw-up God? Hilarious!!
5) One book that made you cry: 'Angela's Ashes' again! Also, 'Knight in Shining Armor', Alex Hailey's 'Roots' and Danielle Steele's 'The Promise' (I read it when I was 16 and it was the first book that ever brought tears to my eyes).
6) One book you wish you’d written: Anything by Margaret Atwood. My God, she is brilliant.
7) One book you wish had never been written: Can't think of one out of any books that I've read. Sure, there are many books out there that stir up controversy, but hey, if you don't like the topic, don't read the book!
8) One book you're currently reading: Just finished Kate Mosse's 'Labyrinth' and Minette Walter's 'The Devil's Feather', so now I'll try *looking at sagging shelf behind me* Reay Tannahill's 'The Seventh Son', or maybe Sarah Dunant's 'In the Company of the Courtesan'. I like to mix up genre's, history vs contemp. etc...
9) One book you’ve been meaning to read: Anne-Marie MacDonald's 'Fall on Your Knees' and Ayn Rand's 'Atlas Shrugged' and 'The Fountainhead'. Someday...
10) Tag five people: Of all the busy busy busy people I know, I'm going to tag fellow author - TL, my fab editor at CP - Jana, incredibly hilarious Peter, and mysterious, generous, uber-popular Kay.

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Off the Bookshelf

Finished two books over the last week and these are my general thoughts:
Labyrinth by Kate Mosse - it's been compared to The Davinci Code but don't believe it. It's not better or worse, just very different in terms of it's presentation. TDC was so fast paced the reader barely had time to catch a breath. Lab took it's time, switching between two related stories taking place 800 years part. It was much fuller than TDC, but not as much fun. It was historically accurate, which in itself was frightening, because it addressed religious differences -- a disturbing parallel to today's killings 'in the name of God'. I highly recommend Labyrinth, but be prepared to be shocked at our own dark Christian/Catholic history. It's a story that won't leave your head quickly.
The Devil's Feather by Minette Walters - (it just occured to me that both of these authors are British. No deep meaning in this, just an observation.) I've always liked Minette Walters. Her books are classified as mysteries, but she offers a sophisticated level of human psychology, drama, and darkness that puts her far beyond the likes of Agatha Christie or Dick Francis. Her novels don't tend to get wrapped up in a final scene - there are no Hollywood endings, and The Devil's Feather is no different. This can be a wee bit frustrating (hey, who doesn't like the answer sheet?), but Minette Walters respects the intelligence of her audience enough to let us figure out our own conclussions based on the obvious and subtle clues she drops along the way. A very very good read.

Idle Musings, Thanksgiving

Why does Paris Hilton pose for every picture with her pelvis jutted forward? I always feel sorry for whomever she happens to be standing beside for having to put up with Paris's dirty hipbones poking them in the tummy. If it were me, I'd give her a little shove because you know she'd tip right over backwards. ROTFLMAO!!! Ahhh, the images running through my head...
And does anyone really care about Jennifer and Vince breaking up? Really??
And why is perfectly good newsprint wasting space on the supposed-upcoming-any-day-now nuptuals of Tom and his robot bride?
And going back to Paris, do we really need to know where she went clubbing over the weekend? Is this relevant? Is it news? Why do people give her so much attention? Do you think the residents of Paris, France will unite to change the name of their fabulous 'city of lights' to avoid association with that dirty, low-class, untalented chit?
They should.
Can you tell I just caught up on the weekend papers?

Thanksgiving (Canadian style) was an awesome event. We drove way way way up north, about 5 hours, to one of the most beautiful places on this earth. Vibrantly colored trees, mirror-surfaced lakes, craggy rock cuts with veins of quartz and granite glittering in the autumn sun, and the long empty stretches of nothingness reminded me how truly wondrous the Canadian landscape is. Made me wish I was a painter instead of a writer. I would have loved to commit those visions to canvas.

It was our first visit to Widgawa Lodge for Thanksgiving and though we knew our hosts and one other couple, the folks we met made for a truly memorable experience. Our new-found friends included the owner of a chocolate shop (my new bff!) and a gent who is currently running for mayor of his home town (I'd vote for him in a heartbeat!). Amongst the Canadians, there was a Scot, an Irishman, a Bermudian, and an Englishwoman. Though it sounds like the beginning of a joke (and they all walked into a bar...), it was a lovely international gathering of friends and family brought together to give thanks for our good fortune.
Of course, it goes without saying that it was a three-day cocktail hour punctuated with a healthy dose of laughter, games and fresh air (not necessarily in that order).
* Private message - Mel, we did miss you!! *

Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!

This Monday is Canadian Thanksgiving - my third fave holiday of the year. We're driving north to Widgawa Lodge to catch up with some old friends, eat lots of turkey and enjoy many cups of Bermuda Black Rum. I'm hungry thinking about it. The four-plus hour drive to get there, no so excited about. Just hope the children can't outscream the volume of my ipod. (Adding ipod to packing list). The colors are at their best - the maples are showing off their flaming reds and golden oranges - so it should be a scenic delight. Of course, the kids will miss the beauty of nature as they'll likely be staring zombie-like at the DVD player. Ahh, technology.

In writing: Lucy's Island, the short I just completed, has been retitled "Nonsuch Beauty". Puzzled? You won't be once you read the story. Of course, first I have to sell it, then wait for a publishing date, ... In other words, the title will remain a mystery for a good 2 years!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Lucy's Island - FINI !

Just wrote the final paragraph of "Lucy's Island" - finally. This story has been in my head for a looong time and I thought it would flow onto the paper without any problems, very quickly. As I stated in previous blog entries, "Lucy's Island" was supposed to be a short short (that means a really short story - about 3000 words), a simple exercise in dialogue between two people whose relationship is unclear. But ah, not so. The more I got to know these characters, the more I wanted to flesh them out, make them real, explore their backgrounds. I yearned for them to be able to reveal their motivations and inner feelings, something very difficult to do using dialogue alone -- at the risk of sounding contrived and unnatural. After many weeks (ok, months) of tweaking, rewriting and changing the storyline, I ultimately created an 11,000 word monster that I'm not sure has any relevance in the publishing world.
Now I've got to come up with a better title...