People of Note

2007 - The Year of the Fire Pig has been incredibly chaotic just as predicted. There's been good and bad all over. One of the good things, though, has been my exposure to the works of an incredible amount of awesome actors and screen writers. I've watched more amazing episodes and acting than I have ever been exposed to before. (There have been some bombs, but I'm going to ignore those...told you there'd been good and bad this year! heh)

I figured this time out I would mention some of these in the hopes of getting them and theirs a little more exposure out in the world. (Okay, so they don't really need MY help. But it is fun talking about them.) :P

Thanks to a serendipitous conversation at Lazy Dragon Con I got to discover an incredible screen writer and two of his awesome shows, plus a plethora of amazing actors. And all of them from British TV! The screen writer's name is Steven Moffat He's done several episodes for the new Dr. Who (1 per season - "Blink" being the latest one shown in the states - and it was an all new kind of creepy) and is the driving force behind this summer's coolest Paranormal show called "Jekyll". (You can catch it on BBC America), which is about an ancestor of Hyde/Jekyll. He also did four seasons of a very funny show called "Coupling". (My hubby, who doesn't normally like British stuff, especially their comedies, adores this show!) Coupling basically follows three men and three women and their interlaced lives. Lots of truly creative things in this one, and the science fiction references that get thrown in out of nowhere on occasion are awesome. Like when Steve talks about the 3 main uses for a couch - #3 is a place to hide behind during Dalek attack. ROFL. Mr. Moffat does comedy and drama extremely well. Definitely a master of his craft!

From both Jekyll and Coupling you can view the work of actress Gina Bellman. When seeing her in Jekyll she is good, but you don't realize how good until you see her as Jane in Coupling. The difference between the two is so amazing that it is as if she too were Jekyll and Hyde! Which brings us to James Nesbitt, a northern Irish actor, who with very little physical change or makeup (like almost none), changes from mild mannered Dr. Jackman to the very powerful and disturbing Hyde. The transformation has to be seen to be believed. An utterly spectacular performance.

Heck, everyone in Coupling was awesome. The timing, the weird stuff they'd pull. I definitely recommend it and Jekyll! Way too much fun!

Oh and by the way, the helper for Dr. Jackman in Jekyll, is the very woman who is about to be Jamie Summers in this years remake of the Bionic Woman! (I told you I am a coincidence magnet!) Her name is Michelle Ryan. Liked her very much in Jekyll, so I think she will be a lot of fun as Jamie in the Bionic Woman as well.

Other screen writers I am definitely enjoying are Sera Gamble, Eric Kripke, John Shiban, Raelle Tucker, Ben Englund, and all the other writers in Supernatural (You knew I had to go there eventually, right?) Sera Gamble is responsible for tons of my utter favorite episodes, especially the one that took me over the edge - "Bloodlust". "Heart" just took my breath away - it's also one of the episodes I've heard is most responsible for winning converts from the female population - heh. John Shiban did the super impacting Croatoan (also one of the meanest cliffhanger episodes EVER!) Raelle Tucker will be loved forever for the episode "What is and What Should Never Be", which was also a great acting vehicle for Jensen Ackles! Ben Englund has a sick sense of humor which was a blast in "Hollywood Babylon". I swear this show has one of the best teams out there. I think only Boston Legal's team comes close!

And while you have heard me wax poetic on the virtues of Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, through Supernatural I have also discovered the amazing talents of Jim Beaver! In another series of coincidences, I've seen the man in several shows this very year, and the more I see of him, the more I am impressed! He played an FBI boss in the movie "Next" (Really weird seeing him dolled up compared to the other roles he's played! He turns out rather nice!), a prospect miner in "Deadwood", and an old Vet in the now canceled series "John from Cincinnati" (which has one episode that would make any weirdness he's had to face in Supernatural totally mild in comparison! lol!). He is one of those supporting actors that brings so much to his role, but in such a quiet, underhanded way you barely notice, yet without him, the atmosphere wouldn't be there - his is the sealing touch. (Not sure how to explains this exactly.) And his performance as Bobby in the episode "All Hell Breaks Loose pt2" shows his excellent range. I was very happy to hear he will definitely be a returning recurring character this new season. Go, Jim!

Another supporting actor that has very much impressed me is Garret Dillahunt. He played Dr. Michael Smith in "John from Cincinnati" but also played two very different characters in "Deadwood" - Jack McCall and then Francis Wolcott. They were like night and day. Very nice work.

I can't wait to see what new actors and writers I will discover in the blooming new season! Am I ever glad for my Tivo! heh

Happy Watching!

Perfume

I had originally planned to post something else this week, but fate had other plans.

This week, my daughter brought home a movie which I had seen the previews for at the theater. At the time I thought it had looked totally fascinating, despite the fact the second half of the preview made it look like a slasher film. My husband pooh pooh'ed it at the time, and I don't know if it was out long if at all at the theaters.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is far from a being a slasher film. They shot themselves in the foot with the advertising there. But what had caught my attention at the time when I saw the preview, it had in spades. More on that later...

As the title itself suggests, the movie is the story of a murderer, a biography actually, of the life of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille. His life was one of being different, obsession, and desperately wanting to preserve things that could be lost.

For an obscure film. it had some heavy hitters. Dustin Hoffman was a total delight as the aging perfumer Guisseppe Baldini. Even more fun was Alan Rickman (Better known as Snape by most) as Richis. I do not believe I have seen Mr. Ben Wishaw before (though his film credits are many), but I will tell you he made a great creepy/obsessed/innocent/eager/abnormal man.

Jean-Baptiste is unusual from other people in two things - 1) He has an uncanny , virtually superhuman sense of smell and 2) He has no actual scent of his own.

What I utterly loved about this film is how hard those who made the film worked at making the act of smelling something and turned it into a visual medium so though you could not smell what Jean-Baptiste smelled, you could very well imagine it. There is one scene with Dustin Huffman where he opens a vial of perfume Jean-Baptiste has made and you see him overwhelmed by the scent as the scene around him changes to a lush garden full of all sorts of flowers, even a gypsy woman who saunters by and tells him that she loves him. (I've seen this done for taste in a cooking anime show, so I thought the similarities hilarious, but never mind...)

The settings, the clothing, and all the little touches were wonderful in the film. They took you from the common filth to the elite and back. And they did some marvelous things with light and shadow. The very first scene was amazing in that way as they use light and shadow to highlight the one organ that meant everything for the film, Jean-Baptiste's nose. Another lovely scene was when he sneaks up on the fruit seller girl when she is home so he can smell her scent up close.

Even better, though Jean-Baptiste is so not normal, and at times it screams of his not fitting in, you still find yourself wanting him to succeed in his project, despite the fact that to complete his goal people must die. The writers have several unusual and clever things going on as well, as for some reason pretty much anyone who Jean-Baptiste gets close to end up dead, and through no doing of his. Just some clever plot of fate, as if making sure no one would remember this unusual man by getting rid of those who know him. Several plot twists work you up toward where you think you know where things are going and then go somewhere else. The ending, while totally apt, you will never see coming.

Definitely a must see movie, even weird as it was!:P

Book Review - Dark Lullaby

Dark Lullaby
by Mayra Calvani

Premise: Gabriel Diaz is an idealist. He loves debating about good and evil, justice versus murder. His relationship with his ex-girlfriend Liz is friendly, though he knows she would let it be more again if he wanted. But he doesn't think he loves her. Yet more fodder for moral discussions in his own mind. His childhood in Puerto Rico was not a happy one. Though he and his twin sister survived, it has colored his perceptions. The unusual bond he and his twin share hasn't failed to impart to him her fears of her current pregnancy, having lost a daughter hours after birth three years ago. Yet all these hanging issues and more get put on hold when he meets Kamilah. Foreign and beautiful, she drives him to distraction. And she seems as fascinated by the moral issues of justice and darkness as he is himself. Then little things start happening the closer the time for his trip to visit his sister for the impending birth comes. Is there a form of darkness at work here or is he only letting his imagination and worries run away with him?

Review: Filled with several exotic locals, Dark Lullaby makes for a plethora of the unusual and foreign. The Middle Eastern mythology used is also not one seen often, so it made for a very refreshing change and caused the horror aspects to be even more poignant. Gabriel has to face the very moral issues he's been battling in his mind, pushed and prodded toward an end that will affect the lives of more than just himself. While who the evil persona is was never in question, the goals and resolution weren't clear until the end, making the read much more exciting. If you like chills, foreign settings, and moral dilemmas, this book is for you! ***1/4!

The Curse of the Cover

Being a writer tends to involve a lot of time spent waiting. Waiting to get distant enough from a project to edit the manuscript, waiting to hear back on submissions, waiting to get a manuscript back from a beta reader or editor, waiting to actually move up the cue to get the book published. It's all part of the process, and you grin and bear it as much as possible. But no one ever told me I would have to deal with curses too!

My first book, In the Service of Samurai, actually went pretty smoothly from acceptance, editing, and print. No real problems. But, Vassal of El, on the other hand, was plagued after it went to print with odd category placements! On Fictionwise it got dumped into Dark Fantasy, something which it is definitely not. But on Amazon, by some fluke of nature, it got slated as a Scientific Experiment Text! Who knows what it got dumped under elsewhere. And let me tell you, after you get stuck in the wrong category, it is hard, very hard to get you put into the right spot! (The publisher and myself going at it, it still took more than a year to fix Amazon! Eek!)

I sold two other manuscripts, one to another publisher, and a new one to my main publisher. The new publisher got me edited right away, and it was awesome. But they got cursed with some truly terrible personal catastrophes (on multiple members of the staff!), which trickled down, so that book was delayed along with many others for over a year. I have my fingers crossed that Cross-eyed Dragon Troubles will see print sometime around Christmas, but who knows! (I don't think of this one as cursed per say, but then, I'll have to wait and see till it is released!)

I had much higher hopes for Willing Sacrifice. But little did I know! Back in 2006 the specs for the cover were sent off to an artist, and there was a proof by January 2007. I liked the proof a lot, and so did the publisher, and after compiling some minor changes to bring out a couple of aspects, the publisher contacted the artist and waited for the changes. And waited, and waited, and waited. Despite repeated attempts to get a hold of the artist, there was no response. Suddenly the release date is looming and the book has no cover! (Hadn't had an edit yet either, so all I could think was doom and gloom!) Publisher found another artist. The edit got done. I did the final manuscript pass through. We did miss the original publishing date, but the artist did get a first cover pass out. The cover was totally different from the first one, but was pretty good. Did need some changes, (I'm sorry, Dal doesn't have a goatee!) and the comet needed to be placed on the front rather than the spine (some weird placement issue thing), but once fixed I was sure it would kick!

I wait and wait and finally bug the publisher. Well, the proof got looked at by the partner, who is also the cover layout person, and she didn't like it. Decided she would take the project on herself. But she's swamped. So now I wait, and wait, and wait. Maybe 2007 just isn't my year to publish books...

Want to take bets on whether a fourth artist will have to take a crack at it?

The Curse of the Cover is here! :P

Psst!

Psst! You there. Yeah you! The one reading this blog. Answer me this...how do you do it? How do you find the time to go trolling around and read this stuff? Tell me, please! I really need to know! I can barely scrape the time to do an entry, and yet you somehow found time to be reading it!


Now, don't get me wrong. I REALLY appreciate you being here. Honest! I just don't have the faintest idea how you're able to do it. Share your SECRET! Pretty please?


I bet by now you're wondering why, if I have so little time, do I even do a blog? Necessity, kind reader, purely for necessity! As an author, I am more obligated than ever to market myself as well as my works. With business being what it is anymore, all marketing efforts are on the shoulders of the authors instead of on the publisher. Only the big names get a marketing budget and possibly professionals to do it for them. Little fishes like me are on our own!


With the World Wide Web, marketing possibilities have widened. But you can stretch yourself really thin that way, because there are just too many to pursue! A website is a must, gotta have it, no choice. A little changing content like news and whatnot is good too, so people have a reason to keep coming back. (Sample chapters are a must as well, so people can get a feel for your writing. If you can pitch in a free short story or too, even better!) Blogs allow for continuous new content, if you can get into the discipline of doing it at least a few times a month or more. I won't even get into the tons of groups in places like Yahoo, Yahoo 360, Ning, Beepo, Frapper, My Space, Live Journal, etc that are out there on the net where you can post info, links, blogs, forums, and who knows what not. Then you have your marketing groups, specific genre marketing groups, publisher marketing groups, newsletters, online interviews, guest blogging, the list is endless!


So maybe now you can see why I am asking how you find the time to read this! I need your Secret! I know I don't have any time to go read posts what with trying to do all this stuff, go to work, keep the family and pets happy, carve a little time for myself (Writers need relaxation too!), and heck, make time to WRITE! lol.


So if you would, take pity on me and tell me how to do it! Even better, if you have a formula by which I can either redo time, replicate myself, or get the powers of Superman, do share! I'll appreciate you forever!:P


Being an author is not the cakewalk people think it is! Eek!

P.S. If you still have time, come on over to the site. I have tons of sample chapters and some free reads too! :P

Book Review - Dead Girl's Dance

Dead Girl's Dance - Book 2 of the Morganville Vampire Series

by Rachel Caine



Premise: Shane's father is in town and he is out for blood. He won't let anyone or anything stand in his way, not even his son. Then Shane gets caught in the area of a vampire's murder and is sentenced to be put to death. His only hope is for Claire to prove he didn't do it and turn in his insane father, but this is way easier said than done.

Review: High tension is the name of the game for volume 2. After the horrid cliff hanger ending in volume 1, the stakes only get higher and higher in volume 2. As Claire frantically tries to find anyone she can to help her to save Shane, we learn more about Morganville's vampire society as well as background on Shane's family and how things degraded to their present course. Of course Claire still has all her old problems to deal with, going to classes, keeping herself from becoming vampire fodder, avoiding the psycho beauty from school. She is pushed to her limits and beyond. More trouble is seeded in for the future as well, as we learn that Eve's possibly serial killer brother has been freed and is roaming the streets of Morganville. And then there is the proposal from the vampire leader, which might end up being the only means to keep Claire's friends safe - but at what cost? Fast paced, filled with twists and turns, Dead Girl's dance is a fascinating, enjoyable read. ***3/4!!

Stress and Creativity

Creativity is a weird animal. Not only is it a muscle that must be used in order to hone it and get it to give you more, but it can also be very capricious. It can drive you to distraction, prove stubborn, or send you down avenues you don't want to go on because you were supposed to be going up. At times, it can feel like a living thing, which stares over your shoulder - sometimes laughing with you, sometimes at you.:P

Stress is another strange animal. Per the Farlex Free Dictionary, stress is a mentally or emotionally disruptive or upsetting condition occurring in response to adverse external influences and capable of affecting physical health, usually characterized by increased heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, muscular tension, irritability, and depression.

Stress can build in a person over time, or punch you in the gut all at once, depending on the circumstances. Symptoms, as might be inferred from the definition, can be far and wide. Almost as many as can be found for PMS! (Yes, there are hundreds if not thousands - believe it!)

And as different and varied as creativity may seem when compared to stress, you'd think one would have nothing to do with the other. Au contraire! Despite popular belief, they are not mutually exclusive! And though you might be able to have stress because you have no creativity - it is very possible to have a ton of creativity while drowning in stress! (Having the time to do something about the creativity spurt is something else altogether though! Ooo, more stress!)

Oh, I can feel your disbelief! Indeed I can. But it doesn't make it wrong. And to be honest, if you give it a shot, you might find that trying to be creative while stressed will not only yield results but will help you relax!

I can't count the number of times when after a long stressful day, I might be on my way home or about to go to sleep, when either some wild haired workable idea or a solution to some sticky plot point will just pop into my head seemingly out of nowhere and demand attention. These past few weeks, which have had me so stressed my whole body aches, have also been great for my writing (when I've been able to sneak some in that is - thank goodness for sticky notes!). It's also been something I could use to escape and forget about things I can do nothing about and actually CALM DOWN! Even better, I've been able to use the stress and its effects on me as an informational source! (Gotta use what you're given, you know?)

So the next time you're feeling the weight of responsibility, of things you can't control, or life in general is making you tense, exercise that creative muscle and reap in the benefits while you can! Even stress now has a silver lining. Spin it for all it's worth! Booyah!

Disclaimer - no drugs or stimulants were taken during the creation of this post. Results may vary. Create responsibly.

Book Review - Stargate Atlantis - Reliquary

Stargate Atlantis - Reliquary
by Martha Wells


Premise: Set late into Season 1, a room is found within the city of Atlantis that reveals a corrupted message with a new Stargate address. Sending a probe through, the site looks very similar to the set up of a knowledge repository uncovered by the original SG-1 team sometime before. Led on by the promise of possible new information or working ZPMs, Major John Sheppard leads a team once more into the unknown.

Review: Martha Wells had Rodney McKay and John Sheppard down. I kept laughing at a lot of the banter between the two. For the first time, John finds his Atlantean genes to be a detriment rather than a benefit. Wells follows a very neat premise having to do with technology making mental sounds and corrupted technology pushing the sensitive toward madness. Atlantean knowledge is abused and others made to pay. Even your friends can be made into your enemies, and there's nothing anhone can do to stop it. John and Rodney must come up with a way to safeguard Atlantis even as John battles to retain his sanity and life. ***3/4!!

August Madness

August has been HOT and just darn weird. And since part of that mess made me miss posting last week, this will be this week's topic! Bwahahaha

The temperatures have been trying to catch up from the below average temps we had in June due to all the unusual rain. The week so far has been cresting at around 104F with the humidity and pollution adding to the mix and making it feel like 110. We've also been having "Red Zone" days, which basically means if you go do anything outside in this heat, you're taking your life in your own hands. Definitely not something to do lightly. :P

With Lazy Dragon Con, Armadillo Con, and the upcoming Animefest, as well as my hubby's suddenly chaotic travel for work, my movie watching on Friday Nights has been pretty curtailed of late. So it was really frustrating when we made plans a couple of weeks ago to see the "Bourne Ultimatum" and it basically exploded in my face. Thanks to Paul Greengrass, the director of the film, I kissed $9 bucks goodbye and almost more than that.

Paul Greengrass directed the previous Bourne film as well and did something incredibly annoying which he then repeated with the Bourne Ultimatum, and decided to take to new heights of ridiculous. Seems he is incredibly fond of not using a steady cam to keep the picture straight. This was pretty sad in the last Bourne film as it pretty much ruined the action scenes (one has to wonder if they were so bad he uses this to hide the fact) as you can't see well as to who is doing what. But no, seemingly he got so enamored of the process he decided to do it one better for this new film. Yes, let's make even the static, people sitting at a table scenes move and shake all over the place!

Have no idea what the man was thinking, and don't know if I want to. At least in the previous Bourne film you had steady spots to get your equilibrium back. In this latest one, well, I was pretty much motion sick after the first half hour. It was an honestly close thing that my dinner did not get to decorate the floor - and I'd had caffeine too, which normally will gloss over any slight feelings of motion sickness. Not this time. This was so over the top it was insane. So I grinned and bared it by closing my eyes and blocking the filtering movie light with my hand so hubby wouldn't miss out. And even he felt a little woozy by the end and was thoroughly disappointed by the blurring of all the action. I won't even go into the weird trio sitting next to me who entertained me in strange ways when I had my eyes closed. Must admit, does make it harder to follow the plot when you can't see!

I spoke last time about the cursed hotel, so I won't go there again. But did have some similar issues with the one for Lazy Dragon Con. The hallway for the artist alley did not want to cooperate. Luckily the comcom fought to get us fans!!! So it was still a vast improvement. And while we had room door issues at the Double Tree for Armadillo Con (locked out of my own room - that was definitely different - even with the old cliched "call the engineer and when he gets there it opens first try" scenario. Proved to him real quick it was busted though as I closed it again and then showed him! He couldn't get it open except with much difficulty himself after that - bwahahaha):P at least the air conditioning worked in the dealer's room most of the time. By Sunday we were in an arctic circle. Sometimes you just can't win!:)

Work sent me into a total raging stress attack as my boss turned in his resignation. Scott has always been the shield to the rest of the company from the owners and in the accounting side, the one sweating it the most about meeting cash needs ever since we started having troubles. Well, now the buck stops with ME! AIIIIEEEE! So while I may not be picking up a lot of stuff to do, the responsibility is HUGE and I can feel it. (Heck just typing about it for this is tightening my shoulders with stress! lol!) I will be able to handle it, but dang! (As a writer, I found the whole stress thing, symptoms and whatnot, horribly fascinating. You can ache and feels things in places you never imagined. Stress is a weird, weird thing.)

Now this last bit of weirdness caught me totally off guard. Yesterday I got up, fed the cats, showered and dressed as normal, and went through part of the dark house to get to the kitchen. Normally this presents no real problems. Not so yesterday. Mr. Boots, our resident trouble maker, decided to splay himself out on the floor right in my way. You would think this would mean more trouble for him than me, but seemingly that was not the case. Even wearing shoes, when my foot came forward and whacked into him, it was like hitting a 16 pound brick. (He's lean and mean! Gets his exercise bugging the heck out of the other cats till they take off and he can chase them! But he is so cute!) Anyway, he barely grunts and gets up and out of the way, and I am hobbling in pain. After a few minutes though, I forgot about it and went about my morning routine before leaving for work. Didn't think about the incident again - till this morning.

Coming out of the shower and drying up, I touched my foot and felt...pain! My socks were already on, so I didn't look at it. My husband pipes in when I tell him this, and says I've probably broken the toe. When I looked at it later, the middle toe is swollen and keeps bugging me. I mean, who would ever think you could break a toe accidentally walking into the cat! Need to take an Advil to bring down the swelling and keep an eye on it. Not much you can do for broken toes except watch them and make sure they don't turn interesting colors. Still, I'd never broken a toe before! My husband is another matter entirely - him and the four poster bed have a strange relationship. :P

Hopefully life has now had its fill of madness. I need a BREAK! :P Have a good weekend!

TV's HIdden Components

I was watching some episodes of the Second Season of Dark Angel about a week ago when something struck me. While Jessica Alba, Michael Weatherly, and Jensen Ackles (YES! YES! *ahem*) are very good actors, it was still obvious as I watched why this season was its last.

A successful show has to have multiple components that jive and end becoming more when brought together. Also add in a little luck, a decent time slot (so it can be discovered), and hopefully minimal executive meddling.

Components going into the show would be the actors, the special effects crew, the filming crew, the support staff, the creator, the music (one ignored a lot), and the writers. If any one or two of these components have issues or don't mesh well with the others, what is filmed can turn out adequate or sub par, even if the other pieces are outstanding.

Of all these, probably the most critical are the actors and the writers. You can have the best actors in the world, but if the story bites, they won't be able to carry it. Inversely, you can have the greatest story ever, but if the actors can't bring it to life, it will come across as stale and boring.

Yet it seems like fans forget that shows are more than just the faces they see on the screen. That the very success of the series they love so much, is dependent on more than just those they can physically see.

Let's take Dark Angel's second season as an example of what can go wrong. The main character, Max, escapes Manticore and tries to go back to the life she had before the final showdown in season one. Unbeknown to her, she has been infected with a DNA specific virus which will attack Eyes Only when she comes into physical contact with him. She does, and he almost dies. Since they are the love couple of the show, this throws in a nice angsty dynamic for the writers to play with. Introduced into this season are Alec, another bio-engineered warrior like Max, whose morals tend to play on the loose side of life, and Joshua, one of the first successful DNA cross experiments.

While Jessica and Michael do very well with the brooding and downhearted expressions as they search fruitlessly for a cure for the virus, and Alec throws in some spice just by his general quirkiness and sex appeal, the stories that their efforts are put into, do not live up to the talents being evidenced. Several new side characters come across as caricatures rather than people to be taken seriously as threats, and tend to suck away from the show rather than add to it. The Halloween episode looks to have been intended to be comedic, but falls pretty much flat - in a society such as the one they live in, the comedic element takes away rather than adds. Then throw in some convenient hackneyed plots so we get the bio-engineered freak of the week, and no matter how much talent oozes from the main actors, nothing can save this. Which was a total pity, as the world, most of the character, the angst venues, and several plot threads had a lot of potential.

Luckily there are a lot of shows, Sci-fi and other, that do end up getting all the right ingredients together to where they sing to the audience. Firefly was one (doomed by those execs! Stay out of things!!!). The writing was crisp, the actors awesome, and there was a rapport between them and those they worked with on set that came through every episode. Boston Legal is much the same, and they take you from the ludicrous to dead weeping serious. Supernatural has top notch actors, incredibly sneaky and evil writers who beneath a monster of the week venue weave threads for season long plots almost to where you do not see them until the bigger plot hits, very good special effects, and one added thing this show does squeeze out to awesome effect is the music! 80's rock thrown in for effect and topic, giving an added layer of depth to the stories, something you just don't see much of in TV land.

Conestoga Convention Report

Every year, Tulsa, Ok holds a Science Fiction and Fantasy convention called Conestoga Con. One of my three publishers has always had a huge presence there and since I got included in attendee lists for the publisher two or three times last year when I was NOT going, I figured it was fate giving me a hint I should go. So I did!

The con was held on 7/20 thru 7/22/07. Guests of Honor were Laurell K Hamilton and Eric Flint. John Picacio was the Artist Guest of Honor (His stuff rocks!). Elizabeth Moon was the Toastmistress.(She sings!):P

The dealer's room is rather small, so no individual tables were being sold to authors. Luckily, Yard Dog Press buys two tables, one which they use to rent space to their authors to show other books by them, so I was able to squeeze a spot.

As I understand it, there were less programming tracks than in previous years, but the ones I was part of always had plenty of folks attending and looked to be well received.

Got to meet several people I know online but had not met face to face - Jim Burke, Robin Bailey, Glenn Sixbury, Mel Tatum, Allison Stein (All Yard Doggies!), as well as Carol Hightshoe (Who runs the Lorelei Signal and is also a fellow Broad from Broad Universe). (I have a story in their July-Sept issue! Go check it out! Plug Plug!):P

Yard Dog had a big party on Friday night. The Theme was Ho's Through the Ages - as in famous people who pushed their work or art. I did mine on Weird Al! Heh heh heh. Puns and jokes abounded as well as posters to all these Ho's. Hurtling Monkeys were the drink of the evening.

The hotel had all sorts of problems - I think it was their jinx weekend. Friday - their entire phone system was down. Friday thru Sunday - Major air conditioning issues down in the convention area - dealer's room was a sauna! (I've never been as grateful for a hand fan as I was during this thing! :P) Sunday the hot water went from hot to cold to hot again - the cold lasting a minute or more. (Was I surprised!) Then down in the breakfast buffet restaurant the lights in the seating area went out. Jinxed I tell ya! Luckily everything else seemed to work okay (aside from the elevator car that tried to eat me...)

Con Staff was very friendly and all seemed to have everything well in hand and running pretty smoothly. Utterly loved their guest packets. They had a program grid, a personalized paper just for my stuff, a sticker with room and times on the back of the badge, and the con program book, and not one but two name cards for the tables! Yay for organization!

Yard Dog Press released "Houston, We've Got Bubbas" at the convention and they flew off the shelves. Think Bubbas in SPACE! This is the 4th installment in the Bubba Comedy anthology series dealing with a post apocalyptic earth where the Yuppie 2025 virus wiped out all of mankind except for two types of people. Bubbas, as they proved immune due to their consumption of large quantities of BBQ sauce, and Yuppies, who due to their constant exposure to CRT screens, mutated the virus and got turned into zombies, known as Yumbies. Lots of fun!

I bailed on the con and all on Saturday evening after sitting in the sauna of the dealer's room most of the day. (Stupidly didn't look at the schedule to realize the masquerade and other things were on. Doh! You'd think I'd know better by now...sigh...) But to be honest I was not feeling too good and thought retiring early would be best. Felt loads better Sunday!

Got to ride with pilots on the way to the hotel and airport, so had some interesting conversations going on in the hotel shuttle. So that was fun too.

Trouble hit on the way home though. We're almost to Dallas on the short 45 min airplane ride when the plane is made to circle due to severe weather. Now, I've never had issues on a plane, but I almost had to avail myself of the handy dandy barf bag. Though we were circling in a big circle, it still got to me. I was so glad I had had that coke before! Made sure to locate the barf bag just in case. Luckily about the time I thought I could take no more, we were running out of fuel and so got sent on to Oklahoma City to refuel. When we got there, the weather had eased, so we were able to fill up and go back. A 45 minute flight turned into 3 hours. Felt bad for my daughter who sat at the airport for over 2 hours waiting for me! Eek!

Overall though, I had a good time, even sold a few books on Sunday (yay!), and it was fab to meet all those new peeps, both writers and fans. Hope to get invited again next year.

Weird Al Yankovik Concert

For those who may not know, Weird Al Yankovik is a parody song performer. He creates parody lyrics to popular songs as well as creates new songs of his own, all with a comedic slant. (If you've never heard any of his music, he has several free videos on his site, so you can get a taste of his music and showmanship!)

I've listened to his music for over twenty years. Never once did I ever think he either toured, or that he would do so in Dallas! (I've gotten to see so many people I never thought I ever would in the last couple of years, it's mind boggling.)

As most things tend to happen, where I am concerned, I only learned about the concert by accident. My daughter's fiance had been invited to go as part of a birthday party celebration and she happened to mention it offhand in a wistful tone. She, like my husband and I, really enjoy Weird Al's music. So I got to work! (Hubby has to coaxed to decide he wants to go out into the world.) And low and behold, Weird Al really was going to be in town and they still had tickets!

Originally, the venue was to be at the Myer's, an open air theater. The ticket website declared clearly that rain or shine, the show would occur, unless the weather was extreme. They suggested you check the weather before coming and bring raincoats or umbrellas if required. It being SUMMER in TEXAS, an open venue didn't sound great, even though it was at 8Pm, but this was Weird Al! We had to go!

For June 2007, Texas broke all sorts of records for rainfall. There were almost 20 straight days of not seeing signs of the sun. (Daystar? What's that?) Flash flooding, storms, we pretty much got it all in June. And I guess a lot of people weren't feeling too confident on July being any better as a week before the contest we got a notice of a venue change. Seems they tried to move it to McKinney first, but it clashed with something else going there that weekend, so instead we were moved to Garland, to a new student activities center - awesome for us, as it was closer, enclosed, and air conditioned!!!!

Being the paranoid and must be on time beings that my family and I are...we left to go grab something to eat in the car and make our way out to the show at 6pm, giving us a 2 hour window. When we got there about thirty to forty minutes later, the line was already forming and had a twist or two. Luckily we came prepared, so all three of us whipped out a book to read while we waited. The line got longer and longer.

At about 7:30PM I start wondering what is up as they've yet to let us go into the building. (Good thing it wasn't raining or we would have been soaked! It was hot, but thankfully not too hot.) They didn't actually open the doors till 8PM. Then you had to go through metal detectors, which made like a bottleneck in the hallway. Since all the seating #'s on the tickets got hosed, they pretty much sectioned off the areas by type of ticket, so first come first served within your area - we got way lucky as we were near the front of the line so seat choices weren't bad, unlike the fiance and his group! (Bwahahahaha)

Got some about halfway up and at the isle which ran down the center. Guy in front of me was tall, but not terribly so. (Hey, us short people have problems with tall peeps in front. :P) And with my binoculars handy, the seats were awesome!!!!

At 9Pm we finally got moving!

The stage held all the equipment for the band and also above it were three television screens. These came in way handy as they used them for all sorts of things, including to show AL TV to keep us occupied while they did costume changes.

We started out with one of the polka montages and it just got better from there. One song was like the video where you have someone with cards and the cards are the lyrics. Well, the guy with the cards was on the TV while Al sang the lines. The timing was amazing! There were pauses by the man on the video coinciding with a harmonica solo or two, also gestures and commentary. It was totally impressive! One little hiccup and it would have been totally off.

Got several of the Star Wars songs, for which all the crew changed for. So Al, the two guitarists, and the drummer all had Jedi Robes on and the pianist/organist had a purple cowled robe which was used to great effect as he played pieces of the Darth Vader theme then went into a quaint piano ditty. The two guitarists and Al also did a weird movement/sound routine that was bizarre yet super duper due to the timings involved!

The Al TV sequences were from all over the place and time, as you could tell by Al's different looks. Many were interviews with music people, changed so that it appeared Al was the one interviewing them, and hilarity ensued.

Several times, Weird Al dressed up as the original singers for the songs he was doing a parody on and the videos. And he looked just like them! AMAZING work!

'White & Nerdy' was accompanied by video with pics of the things he sang about. My husband was totally tickled when he saw the picture for Captain Kirk was of William Shatner as Denny Crane. (Love Boston Legal!)

The TV came into play again as they played the intro to "I'm FAT" as you got to see the confrontation in the subway and then the beginning of the dance sequence where Al starts to expand. Then he jumped on stage wearing the fat costume and gyrated all over the place!

One song about picking up women he actually went into the audience singing to females and a male or two. And his facial expressions were a total riot. A true showman!

People sang the songs they knew and danced in their seats (I know I did!:P), not that you could hear them as the volume was PUMPED UP. (Hubby said he was deaf for 2 days! Heh heh.)

Everyone clapped like mad at the end and they graced us with a twenty plus minute encore. One song was about cellphones, which tied into a joke he did on the AL TV sequences and then did the song 'Albuquerque' which had everyone doing the chorus.

The concert, despite changes and delays, was totally AWESOME!

If Weird Al does a concert anywhere near you, I would heartily recommend you go! You will have a BLAST.

Tags: Weird Al; Concerts; Garland

June and July Madness

2007 has proven so far to possibly be one of the weirdest years ever for me. Between the obsession, unexpected upsets on things that have been pretty straight forward for years, the weird rash of coincidences, and more, it's been pretty odd. And now there is more!

Over four weeks ago, the building where I work got hit by lighting at 4:44Pm on Friday. The lightning hit one of the numerous air conditioning units, and the sucker caught on fire. We got sent home about 10 minutes early so the fire department could come do their thing. On that Monday, the units were all off, so it was hotter than hey in there for 1/2 of the day, but there was an extra surprise - someone had come by the building and thrown a couple of raw eggs close to the windows by my boss's office - kind of like insult to injury.

Well, then we move on to two weeks later.

On this Friday, the credit group picked up the mail from the PO Boxes for out client's mail having to do with their products as they do daily. Normally included in the PO Box are checks with orders and also requests for refunds. One of the envelopes was opened in a hurry, and sprayed white dust all over the poor credit person. Inside the envelope was a threatening note. This got escalated and the police were called.

Once the police got there and surveyed the situation, they escalated the matter and called the fire department. Everyone got sent downstairs and away from that whole side of the building, and the air conditioning units were turned off to keep anything from being spread further. The fire department called in the hazmat team was. (Yep, I got to see the dudes in the laters of duds just like TV.)

Though no one felt there was anything to the stuff in the envelope, it was still safer to take no chances. And aside from giving everyone a very excitement filled hour, all was well. In the end it ended up just being corn starch. Still, even knowing it was probably nothing, just that 1% chance it could be something does eat away at the pit of your stomach as you sit and wait. The poor credit person got put in a room by herself and watched from afar, in case she showed symptoms of anything. Rather sad really that someone dissatisfied by a product could be so selfish as to put so many people (who have nothing to do with said product) to such worry and trouble. At least 50 people were affected by this one individual's actions. Yes, a sad thing indeed. (And the FBI will be looking for him too. Wonder if he considered the effect of his actions not just on us but on himself! His tasteless joke could get him messed up for a long time.)

Now for the weird parts...(Not that the whole thing wasn't weird enough, mind you!)

The first involves one of the two officers that came to the scene. Both were very nice, and actually quite comedic. Did a good job keeping people calm, even entertained, as the business went down. As I looked over at them, I realized I recognized one of them. After a few minutes of wracking my brain, I remembered from where! This man was one of two officers normally assigned at a specific intersection on Preston Road to direct traffic at rush hour. I had seen this man for 7 plus years when I worked on 635. Out of all the Dallas Police officers out there, what are the odds we would get someone (In a manner of speaking.) that I knew!

The second had to do with one of the men connected to the hazmat team. When he walked in I had to do a double take. The dude was a dead ringer for Jim Beaver! (Plays Bobby in Supernatural - yes, yes, the obsession again!) I was actually staring, he looked so much like him. Had the mustache, the low square cut hair in the back. His voice was totally different, and of course an actor wouldn't be able to hold a service full time job in Dallas when some of his gigs are for shows filming in Vancouver. But I decided to do a little research on Mr. Beaver later anyway... Though born in Wyoming, I found out he was raised in Irving, Texas!!!! So though I couldn't garner the courage to talk to the seeming clone, there is a high possibility he could be related to Jim Beaver's family. Weird weird weird!

On Monday, just like we had had the eggs on the same day two weeks before, we got an extra treat. The building has a kitchen and seemingly it overloaded a breaker which made the lights flicker, and also set off the ear piercing fire alarm. So while some people ignored it, others were packing up their stuff to get outside. Until we found the facility guy and he told us it was a false alarm. So we had two for two.

Now I am wondering what will happen two weeks from then. They do say things come in threes. (Luckily I will be out of town attending Conestoga! lol!) *meep*

Coincidence

Coincidence - Per Refdesk.com 1) The state or fact of occupying the same relative position or area in space. 2) A sequence of events that although accidental seems to have been planned or arranged.

Coincidences have followed me around for a long time. They occur so much in fact, my husband has ceased to be amazed by their frequency. For me, they cover all sorts of things. Seeing the same type of unusual car several times all in a few days. Looking at the clock and the time being all the same digits. 5:55 is my most prevalent, but I see a lot of 2:22, 11:11, 1:11, 3:33, and 4:44 (These are either coincidences or I have some weird innate time sense thing going on.) :P Heck I won't even mention the lightning strike at work 2 weeks ago that did happen at 4:44. Heh heh.

Some coincidence chains happen over a very short time, others over months. They don't normally have a rhyme or reason, at least not one I can see anyway. I've been told my great grandmother was somewhat of a psychic. I've often wondered if these weird coincidence streaks are but a super diluted version of her gifts.

Anyway, the last several strings of coincidences have had to do with (No, not again! Can't she stay away from this? What is she obsessed?) the show Supernatural.

The first one was incredibly fortuitous for me. It was back in the early part of the year when I got the idea that maybe I wanted to see if there were any Yahoo groups on the show. So on a lark, I went looking and sure enough, there was one. I joined. The first set of posts I laid eyes on were the guys talking about some play one of the actors was going to be on. I had to go back and find previous posts to get all the info, but when I did, I got to freak since it was Jensen Ackles and he was going to appear here in Texas! Ft Worth, even! My backyard! If not for these guys and my just timely entry into the group, I probably would not have ever heard about it.

The second set has had to do with Jim Beaver (Bobby). Over the last few months I've been running into this actor on shows all over the place! First time it was while on the cruise in April, when we watched an airing of the movie Deja Vu. And there, much to my surprise, was a very cleaned up Bobby. Once we got back, he showed up in an HBO show we were trying out called Deadwood (saw him just in time to watch his character get killed! Heh heh.) Then more recently, I learned he would be on a show called John in Cincinnati. And sure enough, there he was. Then out of nowhere Deadwood gets restarted from episode 1 and I get more Bobby.

The latest Supernatural encounter was this past Tuesday. Went to go see the movie Transformers. (Kick ass movie too by the way!) And within the first few minutes there is Samantha Smith (aka Mary Winchester) pretty much playing the very part she did in episodes 1, a young mother with a 6 month old child. Talk about unexpected!

Like I said, this type of thing happens to me all the time!

They say that there's no such thing as coincidence. Heck, if there's not, wish someone would tell me what this was! lol.



Tags: Coincidence

Book Review - Black Powder War

Black Powder War
by Naomi Novik


Premise: Now that the troubles with China have been mostly resolved, Laurence and Temeraire will get to go home. However, before they are able to leave, orders arrive that they must retrieve three eggs purchased from the Ottoman Empire. With their ship disabled, they have no choice but to take the more dangerous overland route, as time if of the essence.

Review: Deserts, marauders, and war are but a few of the things our intrepid heroes must face on their way to their goal. Not only is their path filled with peril but they find that one of their enemies, the albino dragon, Lien, has followed them from China and thrown her lot in with Napoleon. Things grow worse as when they reach Istanbul, and they are told the eggs will be denied them as payment was never made. As if things weren't complicated enough, Laurence is still having to deal with Temeraire's enthusiasm to find ways to liberate British dragons from servitude and makings things more like they found them in China. A feat, Laurence believes to be doomed to failure.

Once again Naomi Novik has created a fun work with intrigue, excitement, and woven history. Several cultures make the scene and we're made to feel the agony of encountering the onslaught of Napoleon's ever advancing army. ***1/2!


Tags: Book Review; Naomi Novik; Black Powder War

Book Review - Throne of Jade

Throne of Jade
by Naomi Novak

Premise: The Chinese have come to demand their stolen dragon back. And the British Empire seems inclined to kowtow to their demands. Laurence defies them when he refuses to lie to Temeraire just to make his kidnapping back to China any easier. In the end, there is no choice but to take him along as well.

Review: Still in the midst of the war with France, Laurence and Temeraire are forced to leave their friends and embark on a long ship voyage to China. Yet within days, there are problems, their ship is unexpectedly attacked, series of seeming accidents. And when they reach China itself, there is the issue of the totally unexpected and different treatment of dragon kind in the Asian country - here, dragons can own property, shop, walk the streets. They even are allowed to mature for a time before choosing their human companion. With Temeraire's exposure to the slave trade on the way there and then his education of how dragons are treated in China, Laurence finds himself in the midst of questions and moral issues he never had thought of or expected. Worse, he finds himself the continued target of assassination attempts. Will they be able to find a resolution to the dilemma of Temeraire keeping Laurence as his companion, or is the decision to be taken from their hands and made for them?

As with His Majesty's Dragon, Naomi Novik continues weaving a wonderful world mired in our historical past, but integrated with dragons as a norm. It was a lot of fun watching her show us the clashing of two distinct cultures not only on the human but also dragon level. Thoroughly enjoyed this second romp into this world. ***3/4.


Tags: Book Review; Naomi Novik; Throne of Jade

Book Review - Summerworld

Summerworld
by Serdar Yegulalp


Premise: Dr. Hirofumi Gô received a postcard from a patient who has been dead over three years. In the card, Masuda invites Gô to join him for a couple of days at a resort in Echino. Though totally impossible, Gô recognized the hand writing as legitimate. Masuda - Gô's one truly heartfelt failure as a psychiatrist. He feels he has no choice but to go find out what's going on.

Review: This is a fun psychological and action packed tale. When Gô goes to the resort, he finds that somehow he has managed to enter an unexpected world, one which can be shaped by the survivors into amalgamations of past and present. Gô gets pulled deeper into the mysteries, embroiled into politics and maneuverings for power as he seeks to find his friend and also learn more about what is happening to the world he knew now that the veil between realities has broken. Mr. Yegulalp does a wonderful job with descriptions and giving you a real sense of this new Japan. His characters live and breathe, and their sentiments come through as they and Gô unexpectedly shape each others lives. A neat look into expectations and what makes people tick, as well as things gone terribly wrong. Looking forward to where Mr. Yegulalp will decide to take us to next. ***1/2


Tags: Book Review; Serdar Yegulalp; Summerworld

Back to my roots - For the love of Writing

With my recent obsession with the TV Show Supernatural, my *ahem* current project got shoved to the side as an undeniable need to write some fan fiction came over me.

My roots go back to fan fiction. My first 100 to 200K words were fan fiction after I wrote the novel that shall not be named. Fan fiction, and the wonderful input of some very well versed fans, was where I cut my teeth on this whole writing thing. Where I had epiphanies, and gained understanding. Everything I am as a writer sprang from there first. And while I still dabble in it once a year or so to that first fan fic love Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman, it wasn't something I had ever planned to pursue again. I was trying to make a name for myself out in the "get paid for your writing" world, right?

I tried to fight it. I really did! I had some short stories that needed work. I was slowly but surely plodding forward on my latest fantasy novel. The last thing I needed was to be distracted by other things! Soon, however, I realized there was no putting it off. The Muse was on a roll and it would not be DENIED! Luckily for me, work had been a little slow, or I would have truly been in trouble. :P

So I tried to be somewhat good by splitting my time and make myself work on the possible money generating projects before giving in to the Muse's demands and working on the Supernatural bit. But it got harder and harder. The darn fic even absconded with the research material I was amassing for a possible short story idea and decided to use it for its own. I was doomed and I knew it. Pretty soon the ideas were slamming me so hard I was skipping scenes all over the place just trying to get the bits down so I could go back later and connect them. (This is NOT my usual mode of operandi, so it was freaking me out a little.)

I did toy with the idea of trying to see if I could get a contract for a TV tie-in book (still thinking about that making money thing), but after contacting one of the people who is doing one, I found out that that market is pretty much a "the editor knows me and assigns the work" type thing. So no go. But it was information I didn't have before. Even more strange, the tie-in books were contracted by DC (who is also doing the comic - which you do NOT want to ask me about - grrrr) through a book publisher, not the CW directly. But I digress...

So anyway, 25K words later, the first draft was done. Phew. I figured I could breathe again, get back to business. WRONG. Another idea hit that wants to be worked on NOW. heck I haven't even had the first one beta read and edited for the 3rd/4th time! So off again I go. Then it hit me...

I was smoking and having a total BLAST! Why did I ever fight against this in the first place? Yeah, I would have to use a pen name (too many contradictory things out there on how fan fic can help/hurt your career). And yeah, it's for no pay. But darn it, I was in the ZONE! I was working the craft! And not only that, there's a huge amount of fans of the show out there looking for good fiction to tie them over between seasons and episodes, and I could deliver. So not only could I have a ball writing the thing, I could possibly give someone else enjoyment for taking the trouble to read it. -- And so came my latest epiphany (hey, those of us who are a little slow tend to get these a lot when the bulb and electricity finally connect - it's a thing.) :P -- or perhaps it was a bit more like remembering -- This was why I got into writing in the first place! For the pure enjoyment of doing and sharing, entertaining others, whether I got paid for it or not.

Writing, and enjoying it, for writing's sake. What a concept! I was home again.

BOOYAH! Baby, let the Muse roll!

Tags: Fan Fiction; Gloria Oliver; Roots

The Dark side of Fandom or A Fan's Responsibility

This topic has been on my mind for several weeks. Been fighting with how to broach it and haven't had much success figuring out the best way. So I figured I'd just jump in with both feet and see where it took me.

Before I became a published author, I was fan. Still am a fan. Will probably always be a fan of something or other till the end of my days. Being a fan is an exilirating thing. Full of posibilities, excitement, drama, and agnst. Depending on how deeply something touches your heart, it can even make dreary days pass faster, giving you something to look forward to seeing or hearing when you get off work.

In our generation, the possibilities have never been so ripe for fandom. Shows, books, music, movies can touch people in the millions. All those people can then share with you the same thrill for the particular thing. The internet and email have opened up the virtual world so that no matter where you live, you can find people who love the same things as you. In mere moments, you can share news, gossip, rumors, ideas on your favorite episodes, actors, authors, plots. You can share homemade videos from clippings made from the shows, buy goods related to people or things, and have them sent to your very door in days.

Fan sites and news sites will have intimate details of every aspect of an author, model, actor's life all just a few keystrokes away.

So at what point is enough, enough? From talking to other authors, from hearing stories at or about conventions, there is a very dark side to fandom. A side that crosses the line from enjoyment and information of shows, books, actors, authors to invasion and madness.

Celebrities are expected, heck anymore, required, to have face time with their fans. Interaction with those who enjoy their work or product creates a feeling of closeness between all parties, and is normally a celebrity's way to give back to those who have supported them in their endeavors and at times even ways to get new supporters. It can be a healthy and mutually beneficial experience. They respect you for your patronage, you respect them for their work. But then things can also get ugly.

This may seem like something inane and rather obvious to state but...celebrities are people too! They have feelings, desires, frustrations, family. They covet time alone, want other to respect their space, want moments of peace and quiet. Heck, we all do! Yet respecting or even realizing they want and deserve these most common of things at times goes out the window.

To some, because a person is a celebrity, they suddenly aren't people anymore. They have become things -- property. As if the normal rules that are used for getting along and with everyone around you no longer apply - when nothing could be farther from the truth!

You're an actor or author and you go to a convention. People ask you if you'll take a photo with them, and doing your bit, you say sure. So far so good. But then as the individual poses for the picture, the fan reaches behind them and squeezes their bum! Goodness! While the fan has just received the thrill of a lifetime, what about the poor celebrity? If you were the fan and someone asked to take a picture with you, you'd scream bloody murder if they took such a liberty on your own behind. So then why are there fans that can't see they shouldn't do these things to others?

And what of people, who, due to the demands of fans and the fact money is a factor, will go out there and pursue celebrities when they aren't working, when they're trying to live their lives and invade their privacy so they can spill to the hungry masses every detail of all they see and do?

Stephen King was forced to buy the van of the man who ran him over just so it wouldn't be placed on eBay and bid on! The man was HIT, almost KILLED by this vehicle. Is buying it as a fan any real way to actually show you admire the author's work? How could anyone believe he would ever want you to do that? And that he would be happy about it?

Then there are the cases of stalking. Of fans telling others they are dating celebrity so and so, or married to them in secret, starting rumors and who knows what else. Some even seem to enjoy causing turbulence for the person they supposedly admire, bad mouthing them on the internet or in public. They don't even know the PERSON behind the character or writing they seemingly like. Yet it is as if they feel they OWN them.

As fans we must learn where the line is and not cross it. Let's respect them, respect their space, and who they actually are -- people. Just like you and me. :P

Tags: Fandom; Gloria Oliver; Responsibility

A Fangirl's Day Out - Casa Mañana's "A Few Good Men"

Earlier this year, once I realized I had an "obsession" with the CW's Supernatural, I joined a Yahoo group. On the very first day, they posted news that had my fangirl heart racing. The main actors in Superntarual are Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. Both are Texas boys! Booyah! One from San Antonio and the other from Richardson, my own backyard. Well, the news the group had to share was the fact that Casa Mañana, a small theater in the Fort Worth area, was putting on the play "A Few Good Men" and was staring Texan actors who made it big -- mainly Lou Diamond Phillips and Jensen Ackles!!! The play would run from 6/5 to 6/10/07.

Now, like I have stated before, I've never had an obsession before. I've had stuff I liked, stuff I've been excited about, but NEVER like this. The day I found out about Jensen Ackles playing here and that I would have the chance to see his work live, I was pretty much a total freak. I wouldn't have been surprised if I'd had a heart attack. I was basically emailing and telling anyone I could get my hands on about this. Heck, I even did a post to my main blog! lol. (This whole obsession thing really bothers me! I keep thinking I am insane. Yet everyone tells me people do this all the time. I am too old for this! lol!) I survived the day and after a week or so, I was able to put it in the back burner and not worry about it at all! I was even good, and despite reports of people who saw the play before me (booked it on the last day at 2pm to better fit hubby's schedule - since he was nice enough to go with me. :P) and kept myself mostly calm.

I was only a semi-basket case (was working really hard to restrain myself) on Sunday 6/10 as maps flew everywhere, the clothes I planned to wear turned out to be stained, my bladder was doing me no favors (TMI?), and who knows what else. (Last time I'd gone to a show we didn't know how to get to, which was for the Kodo Drummers years ago, we got so lost we only made it to the show in time to see the encore! Never again!)


Ticketmaster did not give me much choice (like NONE! Don't plan to go that route ever again) when I got my tickets, giving me what it called best seats. (Their systems definition on what is "best" seems a little off) I ended up with hubbins at Section 4, Row C, seats 7 and 8. They were both the best and worst seats ever! Let me explain.

Section 4 is by the stage but off to the right side so not great. But I was also only 3 rows from the edge of the stage - awesome. The stage itself was at different heights in different areas. So while I could see everything on the right very well (heck even better than well in a few cases!), anything on the far left, like several of the prisoner meetings and apartment meeting scenes I had a table in my way or a chair or the guy in front of me or the stage itself so I either saw little to nothing or had to contort to see. Not complaining though, the stuff I saw on my side more than made up for it! Jensen and later Lou were like 5 feet from me more times than I can count. And I got super lucky during the trial as even though Jensen was third in on the table, he pushed his chair back enough I had an unobstructed profile view of him and could watch the prosecutor at work and Jensen's reactions to his examinations at the same time. Also got the added treat that the prosecutor's table was on my side, so when Jensen's character upstaged him at the trial on a point, I got to hear the actor's cuss (done too low for anyone else but a nice touch for the character and probably the actor was doing it for flavor) as he shoves the papers into his briefcase in frustration. Plus I got to see Jensen's back, side, front, the back of the neck (which like a geisha's slightly exposed neck did for samurai, it did something to me! Don't ask, I don't understand....), the crease of his white uniform running down his leg, tons of detail - so I can't complain!

The play was AWESOME! Jensen was beyond awesome, but everyone else was also fantastic. This play had a huge amount of dialog, and a lot of it was technical at that, and unlike TV and movies, no second takes. Stage acting is a whole different ballgame from film. Yet they all pulled it off marvelously. And some of the other actors I had seen before! Ayal Miodovnik (Lt Jack Ross) has been on Sex in the City and As the World Turns (I have never watched either but maybe commercials or something because he was very familiar), also Ben Rauch (Lt Sam Weinberg) was in ED, shows on Comedy Central, and Sprint and Burger King commercials. So many seasoned actors from Texas came in for this one, which was a total treat. (Took pics of the theater and program book if you want more details http://s86.photobucket.com/albums/k95/gloriaoliver/A%20Few%20Good%20Men/ )

Weird stuff - On many scenes I could not see Ben Rauch (Sam), and the character of Kaffee (Jensen) teases him a lot, and every time he said "Sam" I kept thinking of the character "Sam" (played by Jared Padalecki in Supernatural) since I could not see the other actor! Now the whole "Sam" and "Jo" thing was weird enough, (Jo being a recurring character in season 2 but also the name of the female lead in the play) but there ended up being MORE! This was Kaffee's 40th case - we were just discussing the # 40 on a review of the episode Phantom Traveler plus I had just seen the episode last week myself - 40 minute flights, 40 days and nights, a number associated with death - and this was a murder case. As if that were not enough, Kaffee hates FLYING!!!!! I thought I was going to fall out of my chair when that came up! Just like Dean!(The chara Jensen plays in Supernatural.) Weird coincidences I am sure. (Or just my over active mind.) lol.

The stage production did some neat stuff too. Major kudos to the stage staff as they had to come on stage in the dark most of the time and move chairs and desks around. A big part of the set was two tall guard towers connected by a huge fence and barb wire. 15 minutes before the show started, two guys in marine uniforms with M-16's climbed into the towers and started a guard tower routine of looking out each direction for a minute or two as if they were on actual guard duty. Did the same thing at intermission. It was such a nice touch!!!! Then they added in a cricket track in the background (at least I hope it was a sound track! lol!) and that added even more to the atmosphere. Loved how Santiago's letters and the Major's final letter were all done on stage by the actual actor with a light on them alone. The theater is small in size so everything was very personal, almost intimate. During the bows, most of the actors only faced the front of the theater, but Jensen made sure to look in all three main directions so everyone got a look and Lou Diamond Phillips bodily moved himself to each side. Sweet!

Had tears in my eyes three different times (Yes, I am a weeper!) and I think a half sniffle from me got the fan girls behind me going. Heh heh heh. But I had come prepared with tissues so all was good. lol. (I played wall flower like I usually do, and got to overhear several conversations while at the theater. Bunches of people there were fans of the show and had come in from out of state just to see it! Some bought tickets for multiple showings! Not cheap tickets either. Dang!!!!)

My husband put up with me through all this mess so kudos to him too! The lunatic even suggested during lunch that I could buy tickets for the 7 o'clock too if I wanted. I told him he was MAD! (This was before I learned others actually did it!) But thanks for the thought. Heck he even volunteered to turn back around after we left the parking lot and we saw the awning in the back of the theater and the people waiting there. I told him no. Figured with only 2 hours between shows no one might bother to go outside. (What I don't know I missed won't hurt me?) Besides, I am big believer in not invading people's privacy or space - having been on both sides of the fence (and heard horror stories from compatriots) and how some people suddenly act like actors are their property instead of a person who has feelings and deserves space and privacy, I figured I would not add to the mess. I think I will definitely keep my hubby for another 25 years. lol. (I think he's actually glad I have an obsession now. He's had several over the years in low key ways, but this is my first so he now knows he has something over me if I say anything on his! lol!)

So, I had a GREAT time! I am hoping Casa Mañana does the same type of thing next year!



Gloria Oliver
www.gloriaoliver.com
Unveiling the Fantastic




Tags: Casa Mañana; Gloria Oliver; A Few Good Men; Lou Diamond Phillips; Jensen Ackles; Supernatural

Gestures and Body Language - the unspoken dialog

There are many critical pieces to writing. Some are immediately obvious - dialog, using the senses, good grammar and sentence structure. Other are more subtle, but as badly needed - pacing, the flow (or music) of the words themselves, and character gestures/body language.

In a visual medium, gestures and body language tend to be subconscious clues we see as part of the whole picture, which if the actor is worth anything, will convey or emphasize emotions and relationships. They can add flavor and meaning to dialog, or even impart dialog without a word ever needing to be said. The actors Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, from the show Supernatural (oh yeah, plug the obsession why don't you?), are masters at this. You can pick up just about any episode and watch these two communicate with gestures and glances, or see their body postures add to whatever is going on whether things are being said or not. One beautiful example is at the end of the second season episode called "Playthings", where Sam brings up a promise Dean made and had hoped Sam would not remember. As soon as the dialog is done, they both get in the car. Dean glances over at Sam, hoping to somehow argue against the promise and comes to a stop. On the other side of the car, Sam is sitting like a stiff board, staunchly not looking at his brother but out the front of the car. His face is tight, and a muscle is jumping at his jawline. Seeing this, Dean says nothing and starts the car. Sam's body language spoke volumes to his brother and the audience, yet never a word was said. That's the beauty of body language - speaking without saying anything.

This same visual use of gestures and body language can be applied to written text. It can add dimensions of meaning and information not necessarily available by dialog or general description alone.

Let's take the innocuous sentence of "What do you want?". It's not much of a phrase and pretty much imparts nothing aside from the fact it implies a conversation between two people. Now let's add a smattering of body language or gestures to this sentence and see what happens.

Example 1 - Gary's eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"

Example 2 - Bobby shot Ben the finger. "What do you want?"

Example 3 - Rita leaned forward, giving a better view of her cleavage, her hungry gaze never leaving his. "What do you want?"

Example 4 - Velina snapped her fingers in front of his face, then turned away to drop in a relaxed heap into the nearest chair. "What do you want?"

Example 5 - "What do you want?" Debbie wouldn't look at Bob directly as she spoke, her shoulders hunched and hands clasped in a white knuckled grip before her.

Example 6 - "What do you want?" Rita gave him a sideways grin, and with a sweeping gesture pointed at the wall of goods to her right.

Hopefully, as you read each example, the gestures and body language added a flavor/dimension to what was actually being said, giving each instance of "what do you want?" a different impetuous and even revealing bits about the relationships of those involved. (Did you find yourself putting inflections on the words just from the hints? Cool, isn't it!) Though you know nothing about the characters or their situations at this point, just these tiny bits imparted a wealth of information, which instantly enriched the situation and fed your imagination.

So on your next project, don't forget to add some unspoken dialog to the work.

Gloria Oliver
www.gloriaoliver.com
Unveiling the Fantastic


Tags: Unspoken Dialog; Gloria Oliver; writing; Supernatural

Youtube - the new time sink

Over the years we've all gotten links forwarded to us by friends to funny videos or homemade music videos and such. I always enjoyed these things when sent to me, but to be totally honest, I never much paid attention to the hosting site of Youtube...that is until recently...

About a month ago, some friends online, also infected by my very first obsession EVER, Supernatural, sent a link to a music video up on Youtube. Awesome work in integrating scenes of the show to angsty music. I enjoyed it so much, that for once, I actually looked at what else was on the page. And guess what! There were listings to the side of other videos on the same subject. So I clicked one. Ooooo! Another gorgeous video on the boys! And another! And another! There were hundreds of the things, on just this one show! I forced myself to close the browser. (Checked again today, search brings up 21,100 approximate matches. Eek.)

On another day, I went back to Youtube. I figured, how much stuff could they really have out here? How off the wall could the content be? So I decided to test that by doing a search on an old love from my teenage years - Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman - a 1970's Japanese anime (cartoon) that had been brought to the states in several incarnations, mainly Battle of the Planets, G-Force, and Eagle Riders. (You can't keep a good cartoon down?) So I put the name on the search feature and with little expectation hit enter... I got a whole page of stuff. Heck I got more than one whole page of stuff. WOW. I randomly clicked on a concert where the theme song was played by a Japanese group. I bopped, I grooved. As soon as it was done I quickly shut the browser down. *Danger, Danger, Will Robinson!" (Did a search today and got 300 hits on Gatchaman related videos - eek!!!!)

Holy smokes! I don't have time for anything now, let alone for watching videos. Going to this Youtube place could definitely be hazardous to my health if not sanity! I discussed this with my hubby, and to my surprise came to find out he's a frequent viewer of Youtube, and had been using the search features for a while himself, putting in random artists, viewing the videos out there on them or their songs. Eek!

Now writers have gotten into the act as well, creating book promo videos with pictures, text, voice, and music to use them as a way to get readers interested in their books.

Heck the place even lets you rate the videos and leave comments!

You could spend a lifetime at that place!!!! And they say TV is dangerous! I better just keep my browser closed... :P

Gloria Oliver
www.gloriaoliver.com
Unveiling the Fantastic


Tags: Youtube; Gloria Oliver; Addiction

Book Reviewing Course at The Long Short Story Schoo of Writing

One of my writer buds, Mayra Calvari, will be teaching a course on book reviewing at the Long Story Short School of Writing.

The course begins in September. Below is a description of the course taken from the site:



THE ART OF BOOK REVIEWING
Course Introduction
Are you passionate about books? Do you have a talent for easily capturing the essence of a book after having read it? Do you often feel the desire to share your thoughts about a book with readers? If you’ve answered "Yes" to these questions, then book reviewing can be one of the most satisfying, rewarding activities you’ll ever undertake. In fact, book reviewing can become addictive.

In this course you will learn how to write a well-written, honest, objective and professional book review, the different types of reviews, how to rate books, the signs of an amateur, what to do with terrible books, the legalities and ethics of reviews, how to publish your reviews and even make money while you’re at it. In sum, everything you’ll need to know about book reviewing, including hundreds of sites and publications where you’ll be able to publish your reviews.


Depending on the genre of your choice, you’ll get to choose a title, write a review and receive detailed feedback. There will be other exercises as well, such as recognizing what is wrong or amateurish about a specific review.

So why not check it out and see if it's for you?

Tags: Book Reviews; Mayra Calvari; class

To Outline or Not to Outline

This is a question that seems to come up all the time at panels and in general writing discussions. There are people on both sides of the camp and never a lot of agreement as to what to do.

To me though, Writing, like art, is one of those things were you can take lessons, read books, practice techniques, but in the end, you have to find the way to do it that feels the most comfortable to YOU. No one formula will work for everyone, no matter how much you try to force it. And sadly a lot of the classes out there try to fit the square peg into a round hole, even though it's not necessary.

Asking whether you should outline or not is like asking if you should write in the mornings or in the afternoons. Do whichever one feels right for you. If you have no idea, try each of them out and see which one gives you the best results.

If you're the type of person who likes to have a road map before beginning on a journey, outline. If you are more of a drive by the seat of your pants type of person, no outline.

Now for me, as with a lot of things having to do with writing, it all depends on the project! I've written stories and books with and without outlines. To me outlining is a tool. So if I need it I use it, if I don't I don't.

In the Service of Samurai was done without an outline. Vassal of El has certain scenes I knew I wanted, but pretty much was also done outline free. Cross-eyed Dragon Troubles, however, which came partially from the wellspring that is my hubby, was almost totally mapped out in outline form before I ever started. Willing Sacrifice, no outline - though in a way, since it was one sided when first written, then Dal's side added in afterward, there might be some argument there. Jewel of the Gods, my current Work-in-progress, started out outline free, but I found myself getting mired in details and loosing my way, so out came the paper and so far a partial outline has been jotted down so I know what I need to do and explain where so I can keep on course.

Outlines can also be useful when you're stuck. You can get so involved in trying to get that right feeling, or description, or turn of phrase that you can't think clearly about what needs to come next. Best thing to do then is to take a step back and outline. Because it is brief and you don't have to worry about grammar, syntax, etc, it's just the bare bones after all, your brain is then free to focus and think about only the plot instead!

So if you want a map, outline right off the bat. If you feel you have it all upstairs or just want to meander through it, go for it! The important part is to be productive and write! So do whatever works for you. Just don't forget if things go a little off kilter or slow, you can always use an outline as something to get your juices flowing in the right direction again.

Gloria Oliver
www.gloriaoliver.com
Unveiling the Fantastic


Tags: Outlines; Gloria Oliver; Writing

First Class

In many many many things I am a self acknowledged n00b (newbie - greenhorn - clueless! Online speak). And there are also many things in life I've yet to experience. Well, I can strike one of those off the list - going First Class on an airplane.

Honestly though, I avoided doing it for years, only because I had a horrible feeling I would like it and flying would never be the same again. And I wasn't wrong! (Those of you who've had the opportunity to fly first class know what I'm talking about. Booyah!)

By now, those of you who've never flown first class, are asking yourselves - "okay yeah, bigger seats, more space. So what?" So what?! Let me tell you! There is so much more to it than just those things! More than I thought there would be, that's for sure...

1) You board first. (Okay yeah, this might not be that big a perk, some might say, but if the plane boards past the first class area, you get more... see #2)

2) Pre-flight drinks! Yeppers, while everyone else is fighting the line, shoving their luggage in the overhead bins, and getting situated, you are asked about drink preferences and served. And no plastic cup for you either - an actual GLASS glass!!!!

3) Free headphones! You heard right--those pesky $2+ headphones come to you free of charge. 12 channels of music and more! And you get to keep them!

4) TV! With those free headphones, you can opt to watch the flight entertainment. (Years ago you got this regardless of class, but...that was in the time of the dinos! We're living in the here and now, baby!) Whether it be news or a semi-current movie.

5) Hot towel - you read right - you get a hot towel to clean your hands with! This is actually a Japanese tradition and I was surprised as heck to see it used on a plane! Quite lovely really.

6) The food comes in actual DISHES with actual SILVERWARE! You even get a fancy glass for wine! And a cloth napkin! Who knew! And refills on the drinks!!!! (Tray tables are tricky though, since they fold into the armrest.)

7) The food itself was yummy (definitely better than what you used to be able to get in coach, before it all went to premade box lunches you have to pay for...)

8) After lunch was served and taken away - we got - a - HOT - chocolate chip cookie and MILK!!!!! I couldn't have been more surprised and pleased!!!! (Yes, I am EASY.):P

It was an awesome experience. I almost felt like I was at a four star restaurant (or back on the ship!), everyone was so eager to see to our every need. It also helped that I had no idea what those tickets cost us either, otherwise I might have had to demand some champagne. lol.

Yet there is one issue with flying, which even First Class did not fix - I still had to bug the person next to me to get out of their seat so I could make a kidney run as my seat was the one by the window. :P

Gloria Oliver
www.gloriaoliver.com

Unveiling the Fantastic



Tags: First Class; Gloria Oliver

His Majesty's Dragon
by Naomi Novik









Premise: Will Laurence is a Captain in His Majesty's Navy. When he and his crew take over a French frigate, they find an unexpected prize - an unhatched dragon egg. Unfortunately, it looks like it is about to hatch, and so must be bound to a partner immediately. This spells doom for one of the officers of the crew, a lot effort Laurence includes himself in. And despite his not having drawn the lot, he still ends up being the one the dragon chooses. Life as he's known it is no more.

Review: While I had some issues with her heavy use of semi colons in the very beginning, once the egg shows up, I was caught and never looked back. Novik totally catches the wonderful flavor of the era she is covering and beautifully integrates the concept of dragons into the woven tapestry of the world. Prized by the government and at the same time shunned by society, Laurence gets immersed into the life of an aviator and learns why they are as they are first hand. It is fun watching Temerair's and Laurence's relationship blossom and grow, and seeing the hardships war and necessity thrusts upon them. The world as Laurence has envisioned it, will never be the same. Get ready for dragons, warfare, air and sea battles, politics and more. ***3/4!!!


Tags: Book Review; Gloria Oliver; His Majesty's Dragon; Naomi Novik