Visual Bookshelf is nagging me

by | Mar 18, 2008 | Uncategorized

Dear Visual Bookshelf: Yes, I AM still reading Demon Night. Not that it’s any of your business how long it takes me to read a book, but Meljean sent it to me as a PDF and I can’t get the pages to scroll right on my Palm so I’m going to read the paperback, only I can’t do that right now because I am hip-deep in werewolves. If you continue to send me these nagging “not finished yet?” reminders, I will send the werewolves to explain the situation to you. Thank you. I knew you’d understand.

Motivating characters and March Madness

by | Mar 16, 2008 | Uncategorized

The Smart Bitches and Dear Author have teamed up for March Madness! 64 books competing in categories from YA to contemporary romance. Wild Wild West is among the nominees in the erotic category, and the list includes many amazing books I loved in 2007; Agnes and the Hitman, Magic Bites, The Sharing Knife. Go and vote your favorites! Or just pick up some reading recs on titles you may have missed.

Meanwhile, I am grappling with character motivation. I think my heroine’s is unclear in the first three chapters. Possibly even missing entirely. Yeah. I might want to fix that.

Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium

by | Mar 15, 2008 | Uncategorized

We needed something to distract the small people with until bedtime, and a hailstorm meant going to a park wasn’t an option. So the husband went to check out Red Box. Which, by the way, is nifty and convenient. Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium sounded like a good choice for kids – who wouldn’t love Dustin Hoffman and Jason Bateman with Natalie Portman?

It turned out to be far more of an adult movie than we ever expected, but they watched it anyway. I think the animals and magical toys enthralled them and probably the deeper themes went over their heads. This is a movie about growing up without forgetting what you believed and knew to be true as a kid. Wonderful stuff for everybody, especially writers who might be in the “what was I thinking to try to write a book” stage.

Best line: “Your life is an occasion. Rise to it.”