Missing in Action...

I spent last week trying to finish up work, and do Kiss of Death's BIAW at the same time. I actually managed to write 23 pages in one day! A personal best. "Outside of the house work" is now officially done, and I can get back to communing with my Muse.

I've got all my new characters sketched out, my synopsis done (Thanks to Lethaladies at KOD), and am finally writing the new subplots and putting all the pieces together. Although I'm an outliner, I find I still discover great ideas as I go along.

This time, I don't have time to make a collage, or do the usual binder-thingy I usually do. I'm hard at it and just want to get the thing ready for submission.

How about you? Are you close to submitting something, have submitted something, or are you planning to take the summer off?

(Btw, the picture above was taken by my dh and shows the rippling highway going off to the horizon of Saskatchewan. We *do* have a few hills and valleys!)

So, What Movie Genre Are You?

This is a hoot, because I don't write erotica at all. Guess the quizz had different ideas! I do write suspense/thrillers - how much of a thriller my books are will be up to an agent/editor in the long run. I truly believe agents/editors also buy potential, as well as what they see on the page. If they can see that spark of real talent, they'll find a way to nurture it and you.

Erotic Thriller

You've made your own rules in life - and sometimes that catches up with you. Winding a web of deceit comes naturally, and no one really knows the true you. Your best movie matches: Swimming Pool, Unfaithful, The Crush

If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?

The World of Romance...

In honour of my DH's being away for the week, I thought I'd post something he brought home from work. Personally, I thought it was hilarious, considering a guy wrote it. Hopefully, it won't offend anybody!



In the world of romance, one single rule applies: Make the woman happy. Do something she likes, and you get points. Do something she dislikes and points are subtracted. You don't get any points for doing something she expects. Sorry, that's the way the game is played. Here is a guide to the points system:

SIMPLE DUTIES
• You make the bed ....................+1
* You make the bed, but forget to add the decorative pillows.... 0
* You throw the bedspread over rumpled sheets...................-1
* You leave the toilet seat up.............-5
* You replace the toilet paper roll when it is empty............ 0
* When the toilet paper roll is barren, you resort to Kleenex...-1
* When the Kleenex runs out you use the next bathroom...........-2
* You go out to buy her extra-light panty liners with wings.....+5
* in the snow...............+8
* but return with beer..........-5
* and no liners....................-25
* You check out a suspicious noise at night....... 0
* You check out a suspicious noise and it is nothing............ 0
* You check out a suspicious noise and it is something..........+5
* You pummel it with a six iron...........+10
* It's her cat.........................-40

HER BIRTHDAY
* You take her out to dinner................ 0
* You take her out to dinner and it's not a sports bar....+1
* Okay, it is a sports bar..........-2
* And it's all-you-can-eat night....-3
* It's a sports bar, it's all-you-can-eat night, and your face is painted the colors of your favorite team......-10

A NIGHT OUT WITH THE BOYS
* Go with a pal.........................+5
* The pal is happily married............+4
* Or frighteningly single...............-7
* And he drives a Ferrari...............-10
* With a personalized license plate (GR8 NBED)........-15

A NIGHT OUT WITH HER
* You take her to a movie...............+2
* You take her to a movie she likes.....+4
* You take her to a movie you hate......+6
* You take her to a movie you like......-2
* It's called Death Cop 3...............-3
* Which features Cyborgs that eat humans....-9
* You lied and said it was a foreign film about orphans.....-15

YOUR PHYSIQUE
* You develop a noticeable pot belly.............-15
* You develop a noticeable pot belly & exercise to get rid of it ...............................+10
* You develop a noticeable pot belly and resort to loose jeans and baggy Hawaiian shirts.......-30 *
*You say, "It doesn't matter, you have one too."......-800

THE BIG QUESTION (a no win question)
* She asks, "Do I look fat?" * You hesitate in responding.....-10
* You reply, "Where?"............-35
* Any other response.............-20

COMMUNICATION
When she wants to talk about a problem:
* You listen, displaying a concerned expression...... 0
* You listen, for over 30 minutes....................+5
* You listen for more than 30 minutes without looking at the TV..................................+100
* She realizes this is because you have fallen asleep....-200

Rewrite Inspiration...

He may not look like hero material to you, but he is if he's an undercover cop in an outlaw biker gang. Which he is...

I'm still busy reworking BA, but can't post a picture of my villain, because that would give too much away wouldn't it? I'm still looking for the old picture I have of one of JC Parker's antagonists. This book has villains galore, but only one killer.

And how's your writing going? Let me know if I'm the only one in rewrites, struggling to make her characters take the story in the right direction. I don't believe in *totally* letting your characters "take over" your story. I do have a couple of them shouting at me that they need their own books, though. One in particular, will star in the sister book BLACK WATER. Again, in rewrites! Lol!

This is why I need some daily inspiration from BA's hero, aka Johnny Depp. Johnny's played so many different characters and styles over his career, that not only does he have "the look" I want for JC, he's representative of JC's chameleon ability to stay alive in dangerous circumstances.

Ah, Those Royals! And What They Mean to We Canadians...

Prince Harry was caught in a wild bar in Calgary this past weekend, while on leave from Canadian Forces Base Suffield, where he's taking deployment training prior to leaving for Afghanistan. Our Harry actually paid attention to a waitress with the underwhelming achievement of a) having breast implants, and b) having won a title for Miss Barmaid, or something or other. Imagine! He kissed her cheek and the Calgary Sun had a hay day with it.

I love the Royal Family. I particularly loved Princess Diana, and the present day Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. (Who will unfortunately have to wait for the Queen to die before she's allowed to marry her beloved Prince Andrew again.)

I'm sure you're all aware that this August 31st is the 10th Anniversary of Princess Diana's death. For her July birthday, Princes William and Harry have engineered a huge concert in her memory, complete with Duran Duran and Sir Elton John. The proceeds will go to the Princess's favourite charities.

But back to her earthy son, Prince Harry. You've got to love a Royal who actually joins the military and is willing to take on active duty in Afghanistan. (His uncle, Prince Andrew did military duty as a helicopter pilot during the Falklands war as well) Have we seen any of President Bush's progeny signing up for Iraq? Any of Prime Minister Tony Blair's kids over in Iraq, or going to Afghanistan with Prince Harry?

Your Royal Highness, you may get down and dirty with our local barmaids before you ship off to war. For your sincere efforts as a "working Royal", I salute you! Thank goodness our Royal Family is now firmly in the 21st century, and you're continuing your mother's legacy - mixing with the common folk and actually enjoying them. Good on you! And for those small minded, petty pundits who want to make fun of you for having a party before you ship out - you could all take a page from his book and put in a little effort for your country. Nuff said.

A Very Talented Dog

You may have seen this on YouTube already, but I laughed and laughed as my golden retriever is quite smart, but not THIS smart!

Enjoy! DANCING DOG

Short On Time...

No time to blog today, but I had to share this gorgeous picture my DH took last weekend at the park in the center of our town. It's now my wallpaper and ensure serenity to start me day!

Hope you like it. :)

The Boys In The Basement...

If you want a hilarious read, check out ROMANCE WORTH KILLING FOR BLOG
for today's post. I won't spoil it for you...just check it out, it's written for all of us who're in revision hell right now, and showcases the wonderful talent these authors have for romantic suspense.

Way to go, ladies! I hope my readers follow the link and enjoy your latest offering. Some of you may even go so far as to buy their recent books!

Movie Review: THE PRESTIGE

I realize this movie was out awhile ago, but it's screenplay is an example of high suspense, plot twists, and characterization, that make it highly worthwhile seeing from a writer's point of view. Director Christopher Nolan has once again shot a movie rich in it's complexity of twists and turns, as well as exploring the age-old plot of "revenge". The film has a "Count of Monte Cristo" feel to it - it takes place during the same late-Victorian time period, and it's plot is based on the revenge one magician takes upon his former partner. Hugh Jackman & Christopher Bale are the obsessed, paranoid, and selfish anit-heroes who're incapable of forming lasting human relationships in their quest for the perfect "trick" - one that will be the most fantastic trick of all time.

Their search for the ending - "the Prestige" - of this trick is the basis for the Hero's Journey for both characters. And like all self-absorbed "crazed" inventors, they find their quest brings them nothing but self-sacrifice, lonliness, and death.

The movie has a Frankenstein character to it, as well; the main protaganist Angiers, hooks up with inventor Nikolas Tesla, who develops an electrical duplicating machine to give Angiers the leg-up on having the biggest magician's trick of all time. However, the layers of characterization, and plot twists, and the unusual and forbidding ending were what made the movie a "must see" (and probably "must own") for me.

David Bowie makes a cameo role as Nikolas Tesla - the Croatian turned American who invented alternate current devices, and who once worked with Thomas Edison until they parted ways in 1893 because his "alternate-current" inventions were outshining Edison's "direct current" discoveries. It could even be said that Tesla, not Edison, was the father of the light bulb.

If you want to read about the fantastic futuristic inventions Tesla patented, check out NIKOLA TESLA to learn more about how he invented some of the things we now take for granted: microwaves, email, radio telegraphs before Marconi, and how to run 200 lights from 25 feet away without the benefit of electrical lines.

This screenplay adapted from the novel of the same name, makes me wish I had the writer's skill to produce such a brooding, multi-layered drama. If you saw it in the theater, you may want to rewatch it on DVD in order to capture the nuances of the writer's techniques for weaving a tale of partners gone bad, revenge, and the inevitable ending of the karma of producing nothing in your life except destructive actions, over and over and over.