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Ann Marie's Blog
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| | Tags: | beatrix, books, cavities, cows, food, grass fed, immunity, nutrition, organic, pastured, probiotics, raw milk, tooth decay, weston price, whole wheat | | Subject: | The Town Without a Toothache | | Time: | 08:44 pm | | Current Mood: | ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/acedia/littlegent/curious.gif) curious |
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| Dr. George Heard was a dentist in the early part of the 20th century who first practiced in Alabama, where he had a majority of patients with tooth decay that required fillings and extractions -- ultimately resulting in false teeth. He later moved to a small town in Texas where he was stunned to find very few cavities (average of 1.2 decayed spots per child between the ages of 6-18).
No, it wasn't fluoride. There were other Texas towns that had just as much or more fluoride in the water -- and their incidence of tooth decay was greater.
Dr. Heard attributed the town's excellent dental health to diet. Particularly homegrown vegetables from beds rich in minerals, whole grain bread, and plenty of raw milk. And avoidance of white flour and refined sugar.
I asked every patient who came to me: "How much milk do you drink every day. Do you drink raw milk? Do you drink buttermilk and clabber?"
For years I made inquiry of my patients as to their milk habits. Almost invariably I found that the possessor of a mouth full of sound teeth had been a consistent milk drinker from early childhood. A surprisingly large number liked either buttermilk, clabber or both.
The significant fact is that the milk those patients drank came from cows that had grazed on native grass in Deaf Smith County pastures. In winter, as a rule, the cows had grazed on green wheat.
from "Man Versus Toothache" by Dr. George W. Heard, copyright 1952
Why in the world are we drinking skim milk from GRAIN-fed cows? Not to mention cows that are fed corn, soy, dead animals, day-old pastries, etc. Skim, pasteurized milk is completely devoid of nutrition. You may as well drink water.
And cows that are forced to eat grain and other things are not healthy. Grain makes them sick. Which requires more antibiotics, etc. Which is why you don't want to drink pasteurized milk. Not only is it devoid of nutrition, it is from sick cows that are pumped to the gills with antibiotics (and hormones in many cases).
And just what are all those antibiotics doing to the delicate balance of flora in your intestinal tract, the very seat of your immunity?
Do you think the antibiotics are killed or inactivated by the pasteurization process? Does anyone know? I don't know -- I'm not a microbiologist, for godsakes.
But I do know that it can't be good to drink milk from sick cows who are pumped with antibiotics. I don't know how you can dispute that logic.
Cows are meant to eat grass in spring and summer, and hay in fall and winter. They are not meant to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in cramped factories eating grain and other abnormal things out of troughs.
Where are you getting your milk? Do you know the dairy? Do you know what they feed the cows?
If you like to drink milk (I hope you do, it's very good for you and delicious), not to mention eat cheese, ice cream, and butter, here are some good posts to read on my friend Beatrix's blog. These two posts illustrate the difference between real, healthy grass-fed-cow-produced raw milk and factory farm swill.
Please educate yourself:
The Sweet Sound of Cowbells Ringing Out in the Fields:
http://constantstateofflux.wordpress.com/2007/10/24/the-sweet-tone-of-cowbells-ringing-out-in-the-fields/
STOP DOING IT NOW:
http://constantstateofflux.wordpress.com/2007/09/21/stop-doing-it-now/
Think you can't get raw milk, pastured eggs, and grass-fed meat? Well you're probably right that you won't find it at Safeway. You might not even find it at Whole Foods (unless you live in California which does sell raw milk -- for now...).
Here are some resources to help you find good real milk and grass-fed animal food:
http://www.realmilk.com/ (click on WHERE to find sources for real raw milk)
http://www.eatwild.com/ | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment   |
| I read Jenny McCarthy's book, "Louder Than Words" last night.
It totally blew me away.
So moving and absolutely gripping. What I love about Jenny McCarthy is how forthright and honest she is. She calls it like she sees it. And she's not afraid to be herself. I really love and admire that in a person.
What she went through with her son's autism was so horrendous -- and it makes you so sad to realize that one out every 150 people in America are going through the same thing. I can't even imagine how hard it would be.
And yet it is becoming commonplace in America. How can this be? How can something so horrendous become commonplace?
We think we've got it so good here in America. We're nothing like the poor slobs living in Beirut, sleeping to the sound of bombs going off. We're so lucky to live in America.
Meanwhile one out of every 150 parents is going through a living hell. Seizures, (SIDS? -- there is speculation), tantrums and screaming all night long, loss of language and socialization, total inability to function.
I, like Jenny McCarthy, am absolutely convinced that this hell is avoidable and reversible. Not for everybody -- some kids can't recover. But I think most or at least many can. They may not be able to cure it completely but they can reverse it. And I think most or many people absolutely can avoid this nightmare.
The thing I loved the best about her book was her sentence (I'm paraphrasing), "This is not a book about autism. This is a book about faith."
Faith is believing when you have no evidence. Seeing in the dark. Faith is something I have worked on building in myself over the years. I am now an extremely faith-full person. Full of faith. I have total knowing (not just belief -- but knowing) that the Universe is conspiring in my favor. Pulling out all the stops for my good. I always know things will work out. And guess what, they always do. It's not always instant (in fact it rarely is), but it is always consistent.
And how cool is it that Jenny McCarthy (a very faith-full person herself) ended up with a guy like Jim Carrey? He strikes me as a pretty spiritual guy. Yes, they are celebrities and what do we really know, but I do know that he wrote a song called "Heaven Down Here" which was recorded by Tuck & Patti. It goes like this:
"Let's bring Heaven down here
I don't want to wait for the angels
Let's bring Heaven down here"
Yes, he really wrote that. I heard Patti say so herself on a local San Francisco talk show. (http://www.tuckandpatti.com/song_lear.html)
The other really cool thing about the book is how much diet and nutrition impacted Jenny's boy. The story she tells is nothing short of staggering.
Within TWO WEEKS of starting her son on a gluten-free, casein-free (wheat/dairy) diet, he said his first sentence. He had been able to say single words before the seizures happened at around the age of two. Words like "juice" and "milk" and "mama". And after doing some testing, they realized that he didn't even know what those words meant; he was just repeating his mother. Like she would say, "You want some juice?" and he would say, "Juice."
Then he had the MMR shot and had constant seizures. After the vaccine and subsequent seizures, he lost all language (this is a common pattern).
After just two weeks of being on the diet, he came up to his mom, tugged on her leg and said, "Want to go swimming".
Aside: Another diet story was in the introduction -- a doctor with an autistic son said that two weeks after giving him a daily supplement of cod liver oil, he regained eye contact and language.
After she got her son on the GFCF diet, Jenny learned about candida (an overgrowth of yeast in the gut, the same thing BTW that caused my arthritis and allergies when I was in my mid-twenties) which is common among autistic kids. She started him on Difulcan, which is a drug that kills the yeast. After that he went on massive doses of probiotics (they also kill off the yeast).
Jenny believes that her son was born with a weakened immune system, and the vaccines weakened it even more. Because his immune system was so weak (they found a doctor who had it tested and it was weaker than that of an AIDS patient), he continually got sick and had to take antibiotics, which killed off the good bacteria in his gut. The good bacteria is what kills off the yeast. When you don't have enough good bacteria, you get a yeast overgrowth. Which she believes is what causes the autism in many kids. (I agree with her.)
Anyhow, TWO WEEKS after he started on the Difulcan and was excreting massive amounts of yeast, they were watching a show on TV and he laughed at a joke. He had never done this before. Autistic kids don't "get" jokes.
Then he laughed again. This was the moment she knew she had saved her child. This was the first time, she said, that she had ever seen the real him.
Heartbreaking but joyous. I cried. Because she saved him. She loved him more than anything -- and most of all she believed. She had faith. She saw, even in the darkness.
What an amazing woman she is. I think she is going to help many, many people with this book. I think every parent and every aspiring parent should read this book. Everyone who is close to someone with an autistic child should read this book.
Anyone going through a tough time and needs a shot of faith should read this book.
Hurrah, Jenny McCarthy! I'm glad you are alive on this planet with us and I'm glad you are brave enough to be you. You are a wonderful spirit. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I just got my leaf lard. It was sitting on the front porch in a styrofoam box, along with the bacon and sausage and bratwurst I ordered. Woo hoo! All pesticide- and antibiotic- and hormone-free.
I also got a book in the mail from Amazon: "Wild Fermentation" by Sandor Ellix Katz. It has recipes for kombucha and sourdough bread and hard cider and ginger beer -- etc.
You can't call me a hippie because, although I do not vaccinate my child and I make kombucha and I happen to brush my teeth with soap, I do order LEAF LARD and SAUSAGE on the internet and have it shipped in STYROFOAM (evil styrofoam) to my house. Hippies don't eat leaf lard and they do not buy things packed in styrofoam! So there!
Oops. I forgot to mention the Tooth Soap.
Tooth Soap is another crazy hippie thing I found online. It's essentially an amber glass jar full of what looks like grated cheese -- only it's grated saponified coconut, palm, and olive oil -- perfumed with a dash of essential oil.
The thing is this -- they say that the glycerin in toothpaste (ALL toothpaste -- even the fancy natural stuff like Tom's) is counterproductive when it comes to helping your teeth remineralize.
Have I mentioned the remineralization of teeth? No? OK I promise to post about that later. Right now I gotta go to bed. | | comments: 5 comments or Leave a comment |
| I made a good dinner tonight:
Organic artichokes (from the farmer's market) with melted Kerry Gold butter and lemon (Kerry Gold is an Irish butter which is extremely nutritious -- made from grass-fed cows -- http://www.kerrygold.com/index.jsp?1nID=93&pID=98&nID=104)
Organic heirloom tomatoes (from the farmer's market) raw, sliced, sprinkled with sea salt
Organic broccoli (from my CSA subscription), steamed and sprinkled with sea salt and fresh lemon juice
Organic free-range chicken cooked in coconut oil and served with coconut peanut butter sauce (coconut milk, all-natural peanut butter from the health food store, cilantro, garlic, and some other stuff I can't remember)
Organic rose wine (from Whole Foods -- really good and only $10/bottle -- it's called Domaine des Coccinelles and it has a ladybug on the label)
It's incredible how GOOD food comes alive on your plate. It's no comparison to the crap you normally eat. We didn't eat anything processed and had no grains tonight -- and yet we feel full and satiated and the food was really good. Maybe I'm speaking for Seth but he said several times how much he loved it.
The weird thing is, now that I've been eating this way, I don't crave bad stuff. I just don't.
You may think I'm crazy for becoming so health-oriented. I suppose a large part of it is the fact that I am nursing Kate. I want to make my milk as good as it can possibly be! I didn't care so much before -- when it was just me. But when you are responsible for another human being, you want to do the best you can.
I was listening to Kevin Trudeau's audio book today, "Natural Cures They Don't Want You to Know About". He is so funny. Especially the part where he talks about food labeling. He gets so worked up about high fructose corn syrup and all these things he can't pronounce. It's funny to listen to. He gets all fired up. And I totally agree with him.
He may be off the mark on some things (he says Scientology is good) but a lot of his information is right on the money. He basically says that you should not eat anything you cannot pronounce. I agree with that.
I'm going to have a big glass of milk now and go to bed. (It's amazing how much milk I drink now that we buy raw milk. It's just so good!) | | comments: 7 comments or Leave a comment |
| Picked up a copy of Michael Pollan's book, "The Omnivore's Dilemma" in the airport today. It's SO GOOD. Seriously, everyone in America should read this book.
I've only read the first 50 pages or so, but it's all about how dramatically the agricultural landscape has changed in America in the past several decades. We went from a large number of small family-owned farms growing a wide variety of crops to the current situation of mono-cropping soy and corn.
If you've been to the midwest lately, you've probably noticed that that is pretty much all that's growing there these days -- soy and corn. For corn and soy-based livestock feeds and other lovely things like high fructose corn syrup and soy lecithin (Soy lecithin is the sludge leftover from the processing of soy -- which I noticed is even added to my Alvarado St. sprouted whole grain bread!!! I won't be buying that product anymore.).
Oh, and I should mention... corn is not a natural food of cows. Nor is soy. They are meant to eat GRASS. Cows that eat soy and corn feed (and most all cows in factory farms do) become very sick, require a lot more antibiotics, and, when slaughtered, produce meat that is nutritionally inferior to the meat from cows grazing on pasture. More on pastured animals: http://www.eatwild.com/basics.html
There's a movie that just came out on this topic of the overgrowth of corn in America, "King Corn". http://www.kingcorn.net/ Looks very interesting -- I am going to go see it ASAP.
Back to the topic of milk... I happened upon the Milk is Milk website again. I don't know why... I guess reading Pollan's book and thinking about the politics of food made me curious to check it out again.
Just look at this page:
http://www.milkismilk.com/take_action.html
If that is not upsetting to you, it should be. They're basically providing you with a little kit to take to your local grocery store and petition them to stop putting "misleading" claims on milk products.
They even give you a handy PDF poster to ask your grocer to hang up in the store: http://www.milkismilk.com/upload/PDF/MilkisMilkposter.pdf
Read that poster and tell me if you think it is full of shit or not. Saying that "all milk is the same" and "all milk contains hormones". We know that's not true.
Here's a cancer prevention website that discusses hormones in milk: http://www.preventcancer.com/consumers/general/milk.htm
There are lots of other sites that talk about it. rBGH, Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone, is produced by Monsanto under the brand name Posilac. Google it.
Anyway, isn't it interesting that this Milk is Milk website is asking consumers to campaign FOR hormones and pesticides in cows? Why would they do that?
Well, gee, maybe it's because they are a tool of Monsanto and other corporate interests. It's a project of The Hudson Institute and The Center for Global Food Issues: http://www.cgfi.org/ The guy who runs the CGFI website, Dennis Avery, is the father of Alex Avery, who runs Milk is Milk. Dennis Avery wrote a book called "Saving the Planet with Plastics and Pesticides": http://www.cgfi.org/store/plastics_pesticides.htm
According to GM Watch (http://www.gmwatch.org/profile1.asp?PrId=15):
"The Hudson Institute is funded by many firms whose products are excluded from organic agriculture: eg, AgrEvo, Dow AgroSciences, Monsanto, Novartis Crop Protection, Zeneca, Du Pont, DowElanco, ConAgra, and Cargill.
Before joining Hudson, Avery served from 1980-88 as the senior agricultural analyst for the U.S. State Department where he was involved in assessing the foreign policy implications of food and farming developments."
Gee. He worked at the US State Department. And the Hudson Institute is funded by Monsanto. Makers of Agent Orange and Round Up.
I know I talked about this Milk is Milk website before on my blog, but I'm just so stunned and amazed by it. I can't believe these people -- Dennis and his son -- actually make a living writing propaganda for these huge toxic chemical companies. Doesn't that make you question the milk you are drinking?
Milk is milk. Yeah, right! | | comments: 7 comments or Leave a comment |
| Natalie Collins's latest novel, WIVES AND SISTERS, is in stores!
About the book:
Set in the closed world of the Mormon Church, a world scrutinized because of the Elizabeth Smart case and covered in nonfiction bestsellers like Secret Ceremonies and Under the Banner of Heaven, WIVES AND SISTERS is the gripping story of a young woman on the run from evil, powerful men. When Lori Hacking disappeared last July, the nationwide spotlight turned to Salt Lake City once again, just as it had with the disappearance of Elizabeth Smart. But tragically, Lori did not come home alive. Lori’s husband, Mark Hacking, pled guilty to the crime. Although written well before the Hacking case became know, Collins’s WIVES AND SISTERS portrays a world eerily similar to that of Mark Hacking. The parallels between the deception Mark Hacking built around his education and the lies perpetrated by the character Mark in WIVES AND SISTERS are uncanny, right down to the same first name.
WIVES AND SISTERS opens with a look back at the sudden disappearance of Allison Jensen’s best friend, who was kidnapped while playing in the woods near home. One moment her friend was beside her; then she was gone. When no leads emerged, she was given up for dead. Now, years later, trying to fill in the gaps of a patchwork memory, Allison still gets no answers from the Mormon community in which she lives. She is stuck in a world where she does not fit with a father who tyrannizes and torments heras the self-appointed messenger of God. Why is she being fed half-truths? When a brutal attack makes her desperate to escape Mormon bonds, Allison finds herself on a collision course with community leaders as they cover up the steps of a sexual predator.
Like Mark Hacking, Collins’ character Mark Peterson is trying to live a life of impeccable standards, dictated by Mormon tenets, and when he fails, the consequences are deadly, as he will do almost anything to protect his standing in the community of Saints. Allison is determined to bring Mark and those who didn’t stop him to justice, before they stop her from piecing together the tragic past that has haunted her for so many years.
As a former member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and lifelong resident of Utah, Natalie R. Collins brings authentic color and voice to Allison. In her extensive research of the history and teachings of Mormonism, she has discovered that it is a very large organization with a violent and colorful past. WIVES AND SISTERS is a story familiar to many young men and women raised inside the strictures of fundamental religions. Many times there is a “protect the Church at all costs” mentality among Church leaders, which leads to a sheltering system that enables offenders to abuse their victims over and over again without consequence. Heartbreaking and thrilling, WIVES AND SISTERS will keep readers firmly on the edge of their seat.
About Natalie Collins:
Natalie R. Collins is an author and journalist with over 20 years of writing experience. She was also an editor for the 2001 and 2002 Sundance Film Festivals. A lifelong resident of Utah, raised a member of the Mormon Church, Natalie lives there with her husband and two daughters. Wives and Sisters will be available in paperback in March of 2006 and her next book, BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, will be out in hardback in 2006.
Reviews:
“It's a white-knuckles ride all the way. Expert depiction of a young woman's struggle with the oppressive "family values" of one kind of fundamentalism. Newcomer Collins is a talent to watch."-- Kirkus Reviews
“Startling and compelling--I could not stop turning the pages. Natalie Collins weaves an absolutely riveting tale." -- Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of THE SINNER
“A dark, powerful debut novel. Natalie Collins pulls no emotional punches crafting this searing tale of one woman's search for justice.” -- Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of THE KILLING HOUR
My questions:
1. Have you always wanted to be a novelist? I have always been a writer, and of course I dreamed of writing a book, but it wasn't until about six years ago that I really felt like I was capable of doing it. I still had a LOT to learn, of course.
2. Is this your first book? If not, what else have you written? No, this is my second. I have actually written five manuscripts, but only this one and my first, SISTERWIFE, are published.
3. What inspired you to write this book? Parts of my life and upbringing, and stories I heard from other people. I wanted to share what I saw as a problem, in a way that was enthralling and interesting.
4. What do you do to feel inspired/motivated in order to write? I need a good subject, either intense, suspenseful, or heart wrenching, or something funny.
5. What are you reading now? THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, and ROLL OF THUNDER HEAR MY CRY (yes, I am teaching middle school students).
6. What are some of your favorite books? I loved THE POISONWOOD BIBLE by Barbara Kingsolver, MYSTIC RIVER by Dennis Lehane, THE STAND by Stephen King, THE HALO EFFECT by M.J. Rose, and ANYTHING by Tess Gerritsen and Lisa Gardner, who are BOTH masters of suspense.
7. What else do you do besides writing (i.e. do you have a day job)? I teach middle school students grammar and writing. They love it. Really. REALLY, they do. They WANT to learn this?
8. Where do you live? Just outside of Salt Lake City, Utah.
9. How does where you live impact (help/hurt) your writing? Greatly, since I write about Mormons, Jack-Mormons, non-Mormons and former Mormons in Utah. Living here helps.
10. What words of wisdom would you impart to an aspiring novelist? You must not be easily wounded or prone to give up. You MUST be determined.
11. What is your favorite word? Anarchy!
12. What is your least favorite word? Taxes!
13. What turns you on? Beaches, umbrella drinks, and waves crashing on rocks.
14. What turns you off? Nose hair.
15. What sound do you love? The sound of the ocean.
16. What sound do you hate? Whining teenage voices.
17. What is your favorite curse word? Can I WRITE that here? Nope, better not.
18. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? Professional tanner.
19. What profession would you not like to participate in? Professional French fry maker.
20. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Go down the hall, take the next right and you'll find the spa, where your masseuse is waiting. | | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
| The fabulous -- and fellow Texan (hook 'em horns!) -- Julie Kenner's latest novel, CARPE DEMON: ADVENTURES OF A DEMON-HUNTING SOCCER MOM is in stores!
About the book:
"This book, as crammed with events as any suburban mom's calendar, shows you what would happen if Buffy got married and kept her past a secret.
It's a hoot." -- Charlaine Harris, USA Today bestselling author of DEAD TO THE WORLD
Julie Kenner's CARPE DEMON: ADVENTURES OF A DEMON-HUNTING SOCCER MOM, a combination of mommy lit and fantasy, has been receiving praise since even before its release when Booksense honored it by selecting CARPE DEMON as one of its Top Ten Summer Paperback Picks for 2005. The book was also selected as a Target "Breakout Book" and has held the Number One slot on Barnes & Noble's SF/Fantasy trade overall bestseller list for seven weeks (and counting!).
CARPE DEMON has also been optioned for film, and is currently in development at Warner Brothers, with 1492 Pictures (Chris Columbus, HARRY POTTER) producing.
Carpools. Crabgrass. Creatures from the depths of hell. Suburbia has its problems too ... Lots of women put their careers aside once the kids come along. Kate Connor, for instance, hasn't hunted a demon in ages... That must be why she missed the one wandering through the pet food aisle of the San Diablo Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, he managed to catch her attention an hour later-when he crashed into the Connor house, intent on killing her. Now Kate has to clean up the mess in her kitchen, dispose of a dead demon, and pull together a dinner party that will get her husband elected to County Attorney -- all without arousing her family's suspicion. Worse yet, it seems the dead demon didn't come alone. He was accompanied by a High Demon named Goramesh who, for some unknown reason, intends to kill off the entire population of San Diablo. It's time for Kate Connor to go back to work.
About Julie Kenner:
Julie Kenner's first book hit the stores in February of 2000, and she has since seen over 20 books hit the shelves. A USA Today and Waldenbooks bestselling author, Julie spent several years mainlining venti nonfat lattes in order to work fulltime as an attorney, write books, and be a mommy. In 2004 she finally wised up, decided that sleep was a good thing, and left the practice of law to write full time. She now lives and writes in Georgetown, Texas, with her husband, daughter and a variety of cats. She still doesn't sleep all that much, though. Julie is also the author of The Givenchy Code (http://www.givenchycode.com), a chicklit thriller released earlier this summer.
Read more about Julie at http://www.juliekenner.com (and if you're interested in slaying a few demons of your own pop over to http://www.slayyourdemons.com, Julie's guest-blogging site!)
Read an excerpt: http://www.juliekenner.com/CarpeDemon.htm#excerpt
Reviews:
"I loved CARPE DEMON! It was great fun; wonderfully clever ... ninety-nine percent of the wives and moms in the country will identify with this heroine. I mean,
like who hasn't had to battle demons between car-pools and play-dates?" -- Jayne Ann Krentz, New York Times bestselling author of Falling Awake
"Advance praise compares Kate to a domesticized Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which seems accurate. Throw in a bit of Teri Hatcher from Desperate Housewives while dropping pop culture references. Whomever you picture as Kate, she's hilarious, and so is this book. Toss this one in your beach bag, and don't forget the sunscreen." -- Kat Lively's Book Picks
"Smart, fast-paced, unique--a blend of sophistication and wit that has you laughing outloud!" -- Christine Feehan, New York Times bestselling author of Oceans of Fire
"What would happen if Buffy the Vampire Slayer got married, moved to the suburbs and became a stay-at-home mom? She'd be a lot like Kate Connor, once a
demon/vampire/zombie killer and now "a glorified chauffeur for drill-team practice and Gymboree play dates" in San Diablo, Calif., that's what. But in Kenner's sprightly, fast-paced ode to kick-ass housewives, Kate finds herself battling evil once again." -- Publishers Weekly
My questions:
1. Have you always wanted to be a novelist? For as long as I can remember! Of course, I took the roundabout-be-a-lawyer-first route.
2. Is this your first book? If not, what else have you written? Nope. I think it's number 22. I've written a lot of romances (contemporary, paranormal, action-adventure, romantic comedy). I also had a chick lit suspense book out last month, THE GIVENCHY CODE.
3. What inspired you to write this book? Ah, that would be the mortgage, LOL! Seriously, I was brainstorming a new romance series, and just sort of stumbled across it. I was trying to come up with a series w/ mega-alpha males. At the same time, I had in my head the idea that I wanted to write mommy lit because, at the time, I was a relatively new mommy. Anyway, I had an idea about a team of hunters (guys) chase after demons, and in the course of that somehow my critique partner (Kathleen O'Reilly, also a GCC'er) and I twisted it around until suddenly I had a demon-hunting soccer mom. It was one of those, oh my, yes, moments. I wrote the first chapter that evening and, honestly, it didn't change all that much. Kate just sort of came to me!
4. What do you do to feel inspired/motivated in order to write? Honestly, I just sit down and do it. (Somedays I'm more productive than others, but I always work). I'll usually read through what I wrote the day before to "get back into it," but that's about it. My writing is my job, my career. I used to be a lawyer. I couldn't not represent my client one day because the advocacy muse wasn't there. Similarly, I can't not write because the "writer muse" isn't there. I was at a conference recently with an editor from Del Rey, and he quoted Calvin Coolidge. I looked it up because I liked the quote so much, and so I'll share:
"Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."
So there you go: Press On. Words to live (and write!) by.
5. What are you reading now? I'm listening to "Tuck Everlasting" on audiobook when I'm in the car. I'm trying to finish up a book by Labor Day, so I'm actually not reading anything at the moment. Next up, though, are a couple of fab sounding books that I have advance copies of for quotes, and then I'm going to read some a recent book by Sharon Shinn, a fantasy author I recently met (and her books look awesome)!
6. What are some of your favorite books? Ah, such a list! OK, in no particular order: Sheila Levine is Dead and Living in New York; Harry Potter (all of 'em); A Wrinkle In Time; Half-Magic; Gods in Alabama; One for the Money; The Princess Bride; The Diva's Guide To Selling Your Soul; The Hunt For Red October; Pillars of the Earth; The Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy; Can You Keep A Secret; Jill Churchill's Jane Jeffry series; Sue Grafton's alphabet series; the early Patricia Cornwell/Scarpetta books. Man, I could just keep going ...
7. What else do you do besides writing (i.e. do you have a day job)? As of June 15, 2004, I'm a writer and a mommy. Before that, I was a writer, mommy and an attorney.
8. Where do you live? Central Texas (Georgetown, specifically)
9. How does where you live impact (help/hurt) your writing? Honestly, I haven't thought about it. Let's go with neutral. Of course, we're building a pool. That will help bunches. Or, at least that's what I'll tell my husband when I spend the afternoon writing poolside ...
10. What words of wisdom would you impart to an aspiring novelist? Read, read, read and write, write, write. And don't keep rewriting the same project. Move on to the next one.
11. What is your favorite word? I'm rather fond of "frazzle"
12. What is your least favorite word? (Is there a theme song for Inside the Actor's Studio? I'm hearing it now ) No
13. What turns you on? Flowers
14. What turns you off? Violent tempers
15. What sound do you love? My little girl's laugh.
16. What sound do you hate? Fingernails on a chalkboard
17. What is your favorite curse word? Fuck
18. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? Musical theater (except I can't sing)
19. What profession would you not like to participate in? The Sanitation arts
20. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Welcome. | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| Karin Gillespie's latest novel, A DOLLAR SHORT is in stores!
About the book:
It isn't every day a movie star steals your husband. Former beauty queen Chiffon Butrell faces that dilemma when her husband Lonnie wins a trip to Hollywood. Lonnie meets mega movie star, Janie Lynn Lauren -- known as Jay-Li to her elite circle -- and leaves Chiffon behind in Cayboo Creek, S.C., with three kids and no money.
Chiffon's manages to lose her temper and her job in quick succession -- only to discover that Lonnie's paycheck from the Nutra-Sweet plant has been forwarded to a California address. With three kids to feed, Chiffon comes up more than a dollar short.
Her good friends, the Bottom Dollar Girls, try their best to pitch in. But there are too few hands to lend, what with Elizabeth and her husband Timothy expecting their first baby any day, and the rest of the Bottom Dollar Girls knee-deep in their secret-and possibly scandalous -- plan to raise money for the Cayboo Creek Senior Center.
When a slick of Wesson Oil at the Winn Dixie gets the better of Chiffon's ankle, there's just one thing to be done -- call on estranged older sister Chenille, who hails from Bible Grove, S.C. A prissy, fussy spinster prone to dressing her dog Walter in matching plaid "mother-son" outfits, Chenille is everything Chiffon detests.
Chiffon's little house is soon overrun with buzzing paparazzi, and the tabloids are having a field day with the starlet's affair with a down-home country boy. Jay-Li declares war when she appears on national television to assassinate Chiffon's character and to declare her intentions for Lonnie by wearing a t-shirt that says, "Chiffon, Be Gone!" Things get ugly in a hurry in the battle of wills between the mother of three and the world's greatest movie star.
Through all their trials, the Grace girls find solace in the centerpiece of the series, the Bottom Dollar Emporium. Whether it's the straightforward advice of eighty-five year old Attalee, or the helpful ministrations of Elizabeth, the women of the Bottom Dollar stick together.
Not to be missed, A DOLLAR SHORT (Simon and Schuster, August 2005) sparkles with energy and wit, as well as the compelling story of emotional loss and the strength to endure. It is a hilarious saga of loss, sisterhood, and the will to survive in small town Cayboo Creek, South Carolina.
About Karin Gillespie:
Before coming a novelist, Karin Gillespie was a special education teacher at an inner-city school and an editor of a regional parenting magazine. She's also a bi-monthly columnist for the Augusta Chronicle.
Her first novel Bet Your Bottom Dollar is in the process of being optioned by James Woods for film.
She travels the Southeast with three other Southern authors, and they call themselves the Dixie Divas.
Read an excerpt:
http://www.simonsays.com/content/content.cfm?sid=33&pid=508546&agid=2
Reviews:
"As tart and delectable as lemon meringue pie... a pure delight!" -- Jennifer Weiner, author of Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, and Little Earthquakes
"Never a dull moment. this fast-paced screamer of a romance begs a giggle, if not a guffaw. -- Booklist
My questions:
1. Have you always wanted to be a novelist? No. I wanted to be an actress. I remember being eight years old and demanding that my mother take me to Hollywood! I continued to act as a hobby
all through my 20s but then I gave birth to my son and had to nose around for another creative outlet. Writing seemed like a good choice since I was such an avid reader.
2. Is this your first book? If not, what else have you written? A DOLLAR SHORT: BOTTOM DOLLAR GIRLS GO HOLLYWOOD is my second book. My first is BET YOUR BOTTOM DOLLAR. They are both part of a series.
3. What inspired you to write this book? Julia Roberts! A few years ago Julia Roberts started dating a cameraman named Danny Moder. The only trouble was that Danny was already married to a hairdresser named Vera, which did not please Julia. In fact, when Vera wasn't quick enough about signing the divorce papers Julia sent her a strong message. The celeb was photographed wearing a t-shirt that read, "A Low Vera" which was supposed to be a word play on Aloe Vera. Meow!
I thought to myself, "What would it be like to an everyday woman married to an ordinary (but fairly hot) guy and then all of the sudden have this rich, beautiful move star swoop in and steal your husband? How would you possibly compete?
4. What do you do to feel inspired/motivated in order to write? I have a journalist background so I'm used to writing whether I feel like it or not. But sometimes I'm inspired by bill collectors (I'm a full-time writer). Great writing also inspires me.
5. What are you reading now? SNOBS by Julian Fellowes. I'm enjoying it
6. What are some of your favorite books? My favorite book is DINNER AT THE HOMESICK RESTAURANT by Anne Tyler. It's like a textbook for characterization. I also love A SECRET HISTORY by Donna Tart.
7. What else do you do besides writing (i.e. do you have a day job)? No day job, but I tour almost constantly with two other authors, and we call ourselves the Dixie Divas.
8. Where do you live? Augusta, Georgia.
9. How does where you live impact (help/hurt) your writing? It definitely impacts my writing because I'm a Southern writer and my books are all set in small Southern towns. I love traveling to and exploring all the wonderful towns around me.
10. What words of wisdom would you impart to an aspiring novelist? Learn the publishing business! Read Publishers Weekly and subscribe to Publisher's Lunch. (It's free!) Learn all the ins and outs of the genre you're writing in and join associations related to your genre. There are all kinds of forums out there that discuss what editors are looking for. Immerse yourself in your writing genre and you'll have a true advantage when you start querying agents to sell your work.
11. What is your favorite word? Inspiration.
12. What is your least favorite word? Never.
13. What turns you on? Anything natural and green
14. What turns you off? Television and crowds.
15. What sound do you love? Rain on a roof.
16. What sound do you hate? Coughing.
17. What is your favorite curse word? Darn. (I'm not much of a cusser!)
18. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? Rock star.
19. What profession would you not like to participate in? An assembly line worker.
20. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Here's your laptop!
Visit Karen's web site, http://www.karingillespie.com/ which includes her tour schedule (visiting 35 cities!) and Q & A with author and praise for the noel.
For the release of A DOLLAR SHORT: THE BOTTOM DOLLAR GIRLS GO HOLLYWOOD, Karin will be embarking on the "Take Back the Tiara Tour" which will feature a red carpet, dime-store tiaras, and an essay contest for women.
Buy the book on Amazon | | comments: Leave a comment |
| I went to my dear friend, Poonam's going away party last night. She is leaving on Monday to get her MBA at Wharton. That's in Phillie. I haven't been to Philadelphia since I was a little kid. Now I have an excuse to go. Plus I can't live without Poonam for very long. I'll wither up and die.
Poonam also had very exciting news. Her agent called on Friday. Red Dress Ink is going to make her an offer on her first novel. Isn't that SO WONDERFUL and AMAZING?! She's going to get the call on Monday -- tomorrow! -- the same day she flies to grad school.
I am SO thrilled for her. It was just a year ago that we were meeting in restaurants and coffee shops, editing each other's manuscripts. I can't wait to read her book. Poonam Sharma. Remember that name. She is going to be HUGE! A famous bestselling author!
We also said goodbye to JP this week. He is moving to Manhattan. We will miss him here, but I'm sure he's gonna love it.
In other news, they gave me a Powerbook at work on Friday so I was finally able to download all my photos from my camera.
So here are my latest photo albums:
My Garden
My Birthday (4th of July) in NYC
I'm off to Chicago this afternoon, for a quick business trip. It's a really, really exciting project. (I'll tell you more about it later.) Plus I just love business trips. Did I mention how much I LOVE my new job? Gotta go water the garden and pack now! | | comments: 4 comments or Leave a comment |
| Alesia Holliday’s second novel, NICE GIRLS FINISH FIRST is in stores!
About the book:
Following her triumphant debut with AMERICAN IDLE, double Rita finalist for Best First Book and Best Novel with Romantic Elements Alesia Holliday explores the definition of "nice" in this engaging, contemporary romance.
A tough-talking executive at a company that sells sex toys, Kirby Green thinks of "nice" as a four-letter word; her assistant, Brianna, translates "nice" differently -- as in, frequently, "walk all over me." In her position as vice president of marketing, Kirby finds it hard to meet guys; but she's determined to prove to everyone at work just how tough she is. After she fires almost the entire marketing staff abruptly, her cute boss, Banning Stuart, makes a bet: If Kirby can get anyone to call her nice, she can take a long-planned three-week vacation in Italy. Otherwise…
How Kirby loses the chip off her shoulder and Brianna finds her backbone (each one finding love and a different career in the process) makes for an appealing story. Kirby's adventures with speed dating are very funny, and her developing relationship with a Little Sister, touching. -- Ginger Curwen, Barnes & Noble review
What Alesia has to say about the book:
So one day I was thinking about today’s woman, as I often do, considering that I write funny books about the everyday (and not so everyday!) things we all go through, and I was wondering about that perpetual dilemma – the Myth of the Nice Girl.
Somehow, through a peculiar evolution of the professional environment, women today are finally recognized (mostly) as equally competent, ambitious, and dedicated as men in the workforce. (We’ll leave the “we have to work smarter and harder” argument aside for now.) But yet, we have an added burden: we have to be NICE.
Now, this isn’t really tough for most women, most of the time. We were raised to be nice. That’s what little girls do, right? “Play nice!” “Be nice!” Except, well, there are times when you can’t be all that nice . . . Boyfriend cheating? Kick him to the curb! Um, in a nice way? Opposing counsel trying underhanded tactics? Notify the judge and get him sanctioned! Er, nicely?
The idea of a character who is very ambitious and a great person, but a little bit of a tough chick on the surface, really intrigued me. And I had the perfect character in Kirby Green, newly-hired exec at the Whips and Lace Co. She’d pretty much stolen every scene she was in in AMERICAN IDLE (Double RITA finalist, how cool is that??). Then I wanted to compare and contrast Kirby with a character who was so nice that she was in danger of becoming a doormat. Brianna sprang to life. My good friend who is an opera singer (no, really!) provided some great background for her. Then I set the two of them loose to play on the pages – each helping the other learn something about life, and about herself. That’s how NICE GIRLS FINISH FIRST was born.
Can we be successful as women today and still retain some of that niceness that was so valued in earlier years? I think so. But nice doesn’t mean dumb, and today’s nice girls DO finish first. They might just have to kick a little ass along the way.
Nicely.
Thanks for helping me celebrate the release of my second novel!! – Alesia Holliday
About Alesia Holliday
http://www.alesiaholliday.com/biography.cfm
Read an excerpt:
http://www.alesiaholliday.com/excerpt-NiceGirls.cfm
Reviews:
"With the quirky characters and sometimes laugh-out-loud madcap moments that Holliday is known for, NICE GIRLS FINISH FIRST is a completely enjoyable read. It's intriguing to be able to see both sides of the coin: a girl who is too nice and a girl who is too mean. There is also a romantic side plot to both girls' stories that I loved... I really couldn't find anything about this novel I didn't enjoy. Overall, I highly recommend this novel for some good, solid, romantic summer reading... I'm looking forward to seeing what this author comes up with next!" -- Rian Montgomery, www.chicklitbooks.com
"NICE GIRLS FINISH FIRST is a hoot! This book is funny, entertaining, and heartwarming -- a well-written, fast-paced story all wrapped inside one little bookcover... NICE GIRLS FINISH FIRST is a top-notch story for a summer beach read, and one not to be missed." -- Diana Risso, Romance Reviews Today
"Readers will need to adapt to the changing first person perspective, but once accomplished will appreciate this fine insightful look at two women trying to make it. Interestingly, Kirby’s bullying management style sounds much like the Bolden school of supervision. Both females seem real especially their ambitions, goals, and concerns. Alesia Holliday provides a refreshing reading experience in NICE GIRLS FINISH FIRST -- just ask Kirby." -- Harriet Klausner, Amazon.com Top Reviewer
"NICE GIRLS FINISH FIRST is the perfect story for you to toss into your beach bag and enjoy on a lazy summer day. Alesia Holliday draws you in to the lives of madcap characters and makes you laugh as Kirby finds out that you don’t have to be on guard all the time, and Brianna finds out that saying “NO” once in a while doesn’t make you a bad person. Will Kirby win the double dog dare? Will Brianna find her natural diva within? Pick up a copy of Nice Girls Finish First and find out if they do." -- Lydia Funneman, Writers Unlimited
My questions:
1. Have you always wanted to be a novelist? Yes, but it wasn't "practical," so I went to law school. I'm the first person on either side of my family to go to college. :-)
2. Is this your first book? If not, what else have you written? No, it's my seventh, counting collections! (Wow! How did THAT happen?)
NICE GIRLS FINISH FIRST is my second novel for adults. My first was AMERICAN IDLE, a connected book to NICE GIRLS, which will be re-issued in mass market paperback in August. I've written two novels for teens under my pen name, Jax Abbott - SUPER WHAT? and SUPER 16, about a teenaged superhero. I'm also in two anthologies, SHOP 'TIL YULE DROP, and the wonderful collection BEWITCHED, BOTHERED & BEVAMPYRED, for which all of the authors donated our chapters and all proceeds will go to the International Red Cross for tsunami and other relief. My very first book was autobiographical nonfiction, E-MAIL TO THE FRONT, a true story of what it's like to be a military family when your spouse goes to war. The full list, plus my upcoming collection with Jenny Crusie and a host of other chick lit authors, is at my website at www.alesiaholliday.com.
3. What inspired you to write this book? I wanted to explore a character who worked so hard to be successful that she was never very nice, and the pressures that put on her at work and in her personal relationships -- and then I took a character who was always so nice that she was practically a doormat, and threw them together. Trust me, the sparks flew!
4. What do you do to feel inspired/motivated in order to write? Look at my deadlines!! :-) Seriously, I'm writing in three different genres, so if I don't keep up, it's a terrible domino effect. On a daily basis, I like to listen to music while I write - often the same CD over and over for an entire book. When I hear the opening notes, my brain says: Go!
5. What are you reading now? I just finished the new Harry Potter (me and a few other people!), Terry Pratchett's THE TRUTH and a few of my friends' new books: Suz Brockmann's BREAKING POINT, Chris Feehan's OCEANS OF FIRE, Lani Diane Rich's MAYBE BABY, and an ARC of Michelle Cunnah's CONFESSIONS OF A SERIAL DATER. Also, I've got several books from the Girlfriends Cyber Circuit in my TBR pile for as soon as the big move to Virginia is done!
6. What are some of your favorite books? I have far far too many to list. I inhale books. I probably read 350 or more books in a year.
7. What else do you do besides writing (i.e. do you have a day job)? Writing is my day job! I have 6 books (counting collections and one reissue) out this year alone. It's crazy! I used to be a practicing trial lawyer in mass tort and class action litigation, and my first legal thriller will be released in March 2006.
8. Where do you live? Out of a suitcase! We're in Jacksonville, Florida, now, packing up our house for a move to Chesapeake Virginia in 28 days. Urk.
9. How does where you live impact (help/hurt) your writing? I love warm weather and the sunshine cheers me up hugely and makes me productive. I set my legal thriller series here. NICE GIRLS is set in Seattle, where I lived two years ago, and I have an idea for a series set in Virginia...
10. What words of wisdom would you impart to an aspiring novelist? Write. Then write more. Join a writer's group to meet crazy people just like you, and never, ever give up.
11. What is your favorite word? Sleep. (Probably only because I never get any.)
12. What is your least favorite word? "Actually." Because my children use it whenever they're disagreeing/correcting/annoying me: "ACTUALLY, Mommy, I did not push my sister's head into that wall. The wall jumped out and hit her."
13. What turns you on? New car smell, but only if it's a sports car with leather interior.
14. What turns you off? Tuna fish casserole. It's just wrong on so many levels.
15. What sound do you love? The ocean. Lucky I married that Navy guy, hmmm?
16. What sound do you hate? My dog slurping her stuffed hedgehog. It's ENORMOUSLY annoying and she INSISTS on doing it under my desk while I write. (For a pic of my cutie pug, see www.jaxabbott.com).
17. What is your favorite curse word? It's archaic -- and too nasty to put in print. :-)
18. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? International jewel thief.
19. What profession would you not like to participate in? Coyote urine collector. (This is an actual profession and shows up in Nice Girls . . .)
20. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Thanks for making people laugh. You done good.
Visit Alesia’s website at http://www.alesiaholliday.com/.
Buy the book on Amazon | | comments: Leave a comment |
| M.J. Rose Pledges Literacy Donation for Each Link to THE HALO EFFECT as part of the first "Good Books/Good Cause" Campaign
NEW YORK, July 5 – M.J. Rose, nearly as well known in some circles for the wildly creative strategies she advocates to a growing audience on her marketing blog, "Buzz, Balls, and Hype", as she is for her feverishly paced thrillers, has come up with the perfect strategy to capture overwhelmed consumers' attention in an overloaded marketplace for her newest release THE HALO EFFECT (Mira Books; Mass Market Paperback, July 2005).
The two-week "blog-a-thon" for the Anthony Award-nominated novel aims to connect book lovers with a good cause and a great summer read.
On July 5th, coinciding with the release of THE HALO EFFECT, Mira Books has teamed up with "VidLit" to produce a short film that uses animation and the latest in digital multimedia illuminate the world within the novel. Rose has secured pledges from real-life supporters - her publisher, agent, family and friends – who will collectively donate $5 to the nonprofit literacy organization, Reading Is Fundamental, for each website or blog that links to Rose's THE HALO EFFECT VidLit before July 19.
Rose's goal is to get 500 blogs to link to the VidLit and raise $2500+ for the charity.
About the book:
THE HALO EFFECT is the first book in the Butterfield Institute series, featuring sex therapist, Dr. Morgan Snow. In each book she struggles with the conflict of preserving her patient's privacy and the dangerous and sometimes criminal things she hears. She sees everything from the abused to the depraved, from the couples grappling with sexual boredom to twisted sociopaths with dark, erotic fetishes and the Butterfield institute is the sanctuary where she helps soothe and heal these battered souls.
About M.J. Rose:
M.J. Rose, is the author of five novels, Lip Service, In Fidelity, Flesh Tones, Sheet Music and The Halo Effect. She also is a contributor to Poets and Writers, Oprah Magazine, The Writer Magazine, Pages Magazine. Her short fiction has appeared in Pages Magazine, The Vestal Review and several anthologies including Best American Erotica and The Auntie's Book. Rose is also the co-author with Angela Adair Hoy of How to Publish and Promote Online, and with Doug Clegg of Buzz Your Book. With a background in advertising (She was the Creative Director of Rosenfeld Sirowitz and Lawson and she has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art), Rose used her business smarts and entrepreneurial acumen to become what Time magazine would call the "poster girl" of e-publishing. Signed to a major New York publishing house in 1999, Rose has gone on to help other authors creatively market their work through both of her popular and well-read blogs, Buzz, Balls & Hype and Backstory. </i>
Reviews:
"Potentially explosive… Rose's latest is not for the squeamish... [Dr. Morgan Snow] is an engaging guide to the world of dysfunction that Rose painstakingly constructs." – Publisher's Weekly
"THE HALO EFFECT is tense, engrossing, and sometimes so real it's frightening." - Linda Richards, editor of January Magazine
"Dr. Morgan Snow is a refreshingly vulnerable character whose spunky decision to go undercover in the demimonde is both believable and hair-raising. THE HALO EFFECT will have you on the edge of your seat from page one" - Katherine Neville, New York Times bestselling author of The Eight
My questions:
1. Have you always wanted to be a novelist? No, I wanted to be a painter. But I really wasn't very good.
2. Is this your first book? If not, what else have you written? It's my fifth. My first was LIP SERVICE (1999) and since then there was IN FIDELITY, FLESH TONES, SHEET MUSIC and now THE HALO EFFECT.
3. What inspired you to write this book? I've written an entire story about that - me and the sex therapist. You can read it here. http://mjroseblog.typepad.com/backstory/2005/07/mj_roses_backst_1.html
4. What do you do to feel inspired/motivated in order to write?
Once I started writing full time, I had to learn not to wait for inspiration. I just get up every day and write. (Happily, I might add.)
5. What are you reading now? Laura Lippman's newest, TO THE POWER OF THREE.
6. What are some of your favorite books?
REBECCA by Daphne Du Maurier
THE FOUNTAINHEAD by Ayn Rand
POSSESSION by A.S. Byatt
Anything by Paul Auster
Everything by Carol O'Connell
7. What else do you do besides writing (i.e. do you have a day job)? I do teach marketing a few times a year, in an online class for other authors. http://www.writersweekly.com/wwu/courses/marketing.html
8. Where do you live? Greenwich, CT.
9. How does where you live impact (help/hurt) your writing? It's been great for it, there are a lot of parks where I can walk for hours and figure out my plots. And it's close enough to NYC to still get in whenever I need to. (New York City being the center of my universe.)
10. What words of wisdom would you impart to an aspiring novelist? Write because you love it, because you would be miserable if you weren't writing. Don't write for fame of money. Most of us never get either.
11. What is your favorite word? NO. It's a challenge.
12. What is your least favorite word? I'm sorry. I just wish people wouldn't do it in the first place.
13. What turns you on? Anyone who is passionate about something.
14. What turns you off? People who talk about themselves all the time and never notice anyone else is out there too.
15. What sound do you love? The man I live with's music.
16. What sound do you hate? An ambulance siren.
17. What is your favorite curse word? I use them all.
18. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?
I have always wanted to be (in no order):
A therapist
A painter
A sculptor
A singer
An archeologist
A nun
19. What profession would you not like to participate in? Being a doctor
20. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Your mom and all your dogs are waiting for you right over there. And by the way, I really liked your last novel.
THE HALO EFFECT BY M.J. Rose, AT VIDLIT: http://www.vidlit.com/mj/
Buzz, Balls & Hype:
http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/BkDoctorSin/
Backstory:
http://mjroseblog.typepad.com/backstory/
M.J.’s website:
http://www.MJRose.com
About VidLit:
VidLit celebrates storytelling in a new and entertaining way. Noted for their impact on book promotion as "a new way to reach online readers" by Wired magazine (online: http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,67076,00.html), VidLitfilms are changing the way that audiences see books. For more information, visit http://www.vidlit.com. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Deborah LeBlanc’s latest novel, Grave Intent is in stores!
About the book:
In all their years at the funeral home, Janet and Michael Savoy had never seen anything like the viewing for nineteen-year-old Thalia Stevenson. That's because they had never witnessed a Gypsy funeral before, complete with rituals, incantations, and a very special gold coin placed beneath the dead girl's hands ...
When that coin is stolen, a horror is unleashed. If the Savoys don't find the coin and return it to Thalia's grave before the rising of the second sun, someone in their family--perhaps their little daughter -- will die a merciless death. The ticking away of each hour brings the Savoy family closer to a gruesome, inescapable nightmare. Only one thing is certain -- gypsies always have their revenge … even the dead ones.
About Deborah LeBlanc
Deborah LeBlanc was born in Lafayette, Louisiana, the oldest of three children. She grew up in Scott, a small town west of Lafayette, where she developed her earliest aspiration in life; to read every book in the town library. Her first short story was written in the second grade, a tale about a misfit mermaid who grew legs. Admonished for writing the story instead of doing an assigned arithmetic lesson, Deborah's teacher confiscated the pages, and as recompense for not following instructions, gave her an additional math lesson to complete. At the end of the school day, the teacher pulled Deborah aside. Fearing that she might be forced to do additional math, Deborah listened in amazement as the teacher told her she'd read the mermaid story, thought she was a wonderful storyteller, and encouraged her to continue writing. Though the pages of that story were never returned, Deborah has been writing ever since. And she still hates math.
After her school stints, Deborah married young to her childhood sweetheart. They chose to keep south-central Louisiana their home, wanting to surround their three daughters with the wonderful people and traditions so unique to their Cajun heritage.
Always drawn to a challenge, Deborah's work career revolved around male dominated industries. She served as a sales representative for an oil company, an executive vice-president for a transportation company, and eventually created two corporations of her own. One involving fuel, the other management consultation for funeral service.
Through the years, Deborah maintained an insatiable appetite for reading and writing. She is an active member of several writers groups and has won numerous awards from her colleagues and national writing associations.
Read an excerpt:
http://www.deborahleblanc.com/giexc.html
Reviews:
"A powerful, haunting tale." --Tim Lebbon, author of Desolation
"Grave Intent is a first-rate novel, filled with genuine dread. I defy you to put this down after the first two pages--it can't be done!" --Gary A. Braunbeck, author of In Silent Graves
"Iconic writers like Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Peter Straub who have sold millions penning psychological thrillers designed to scare the living daylights out of readers had better beware—they’ve all just met their match and her name is Deborah LeBlanc. An irresistible blend of horror, mystery and dark fantasy, Grave Intent is like a wild roller coaster ride through the seven levels of Hell that doesn’t stop until readers are all suitably slack jawed in shock and delirious with all-consuming fear. In a word: Awesome!" -- Paul Goat Allen- Ransom Notes- B&N.Com
My questions:
1. Have you always wanted to be a novelist? I've always wanted to be a story teller. :)
2. Is this your first book? If not, what else have you written? No, GRAVE INTENT is my second book. My first, FAMILY INHERITANCE, was released Aug. 4th of '04. I'm currently completing the final draft on my fourth (third already completed and due out in '06) and scrambling to finish the final first draft of a new mystery series.
3. What inspired you to write this book? As a management consultant, I happened upon funeral service about ten years ago in a business capacity and wound up falling in love with this unique and fascinating industry. Death of a loved one is certainly one of the most tragic events we experience as human beings. The weight of that loss can be so profound, we’re often blinded to the lengths some funeral professionals go to in order to ease our suffering. True, there are some funeral directors I’ve met who may have better served society as a diesel mechanic or taxidermist, but overall they work with diligence and compassion.
Funeral directors, embalmers, and funeral home hostesses normally have a strong passion, or ‘calling’ if you will, for helping the bereaved. I admire them immensely, for some of the issues many of them have to deal with regarding unruly family members, drunken clergy, and horrid conditions of the deceased, would cause the rest of us to run for cover. What truly goes on behind funeral home doors and the stories funeral directors never tell to outsiders, would keep bookshelves stocked for years. Grave Intent is, in part, one of those stories …
4. What do you do to feel inspired/motivated in order to write? The story I'm mentally linked into at the time is my motivation. I get caught up in the lives of the characters and am anxious to see what happens to them next!
5. What are you reading now? VELOCITY- By Dean Koontz, VANISHING ACT, By Jodi Picoult, MEMORY OF RUNNING, By Ron McLarty.
6. What are some of your favorite books? I don't know that I have a favorite book. If a story is told well, my favorite book is usually the one I'm reading at that time.
7. What else do you do besides writing (i.e. do you have a day job)? I own two companies. One deals with fuel inventories throughout the U.S. and Canada, and the other is a management consulting firm that specializes in the funeral service industry.
8. Where do you live? In the heart of Cajun country! Lafayette, Louisiana.
9. How does where you live impact (help/hurt) your writing? My Cajun culture and heritage have a strong impact on my writing. The people and traditions make for unique story ideas and one-of-a-kind characters.
10. What words of wisdom would you impart to an aspiring novelist? Read, read, read. Write ,write, write. AND NEVER GIVE UP!
11. What is your favorite word? My favorite word is the exact one I need at any given moment that will perfectly convey what I meant to say. :)
12. What is your least favorite word? Suddenly.
13. What turns you on? Antonio Banderas? Hehe. Okay, being serious now...life turns me on.
14. What turns you off? Liars.
15. What sound do you love? The laughter of children.
16. What sound do you hate? A dentist's drill!
17. What is your favorite curse word? LOL, don't know that I have a favorite one, but the one that has a tendency to slip out most often is sonofa****!
18. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? Hmm, I was the first female executive vice president of a transportation company in the U.S., started the first liquid logistics company in the U.S., help embalm bodies, am a licensed death scene investigator, ghost hunt for a hobby with professional psychics, do public speaking engagements throughout the U.S, and, of course, write. With all that going on, who has time to think of a new profession?? :)
19. What profession would you not like to participate in? Politics.
20. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? "Good job, kid." :)
Visit Deborah’s website at http://www.deborahleblanc.com.
Buy the book on Amazon | | comments: 3 comments or Leave a comment |
| OK, I'll admit it. Right now I'm watching Runaway Bride. Just because it happens to be on TBS. Not a great movie. But I got sucked in.
I didn't do too much today. Or yesterday for that matter. I worked, mostly. And read. Tonight my friend Marcello is coming over to cook dinner with me. We're going to make pork tenderloin stuffed with figs, and fresh steamed carrots and green beans from the farmer's market, roasted new potatoes, and for dessert: apricot tart. And we're gonna drink Prosecco in the hot tub. And I will try to convince him to watch Gilmore Girls with me.
Oh, and I posted some new reviews on my website:
Books - Fiction
Books - Non-fiction
Movies - in the Theater
Movies - on DVD/TV
My neighbors are having a party. They are playing very bad rap/R&B. The good news is, they are moving. I guess they sold their house last week. This is the girl who put her horrible evil dog in my backyard a few months ago. The dog who attacked Maude and gave her 10+ puncture wounds in her neck. And no, the girl never did pay the vet bill. I haven't spoken to her since it happened and she was such a bitch about it. Now I can celebrate the fact that she is moving very far away. To Portland. Yay!
Oh, one more thing -- this is a fun site: http://galleryoftheabsurd.typepad.com/
| | comments: 4 comments or Leave a comment |
| I'm printing my novel out today! Well, actually Sarah is doing it at her office. (Don't tell anyone at Fox.) I am so excited about the idea of actually holding 300 pages in my hands.
Oh, it's a ways from being finished, lots of editing to do still. But not that much. I've edited over half of it. And I think it's gonna be a lot easier doing it with a red pen then on the computer. The point is, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am very, very close to being done. You know when you're baking something, and the smell of whatever it is wafts through the house, letting you know it's done?
I have a very good feeling about it. Just like I knew my cookbook would sell, I know this book will, too. I have 3 or 4 agents who have asked to read it. Soon I will be not just a published author, but a published novelist. And that's something I've wanted for as long as I can remember. I don't know how I'm going to pay my bills the next few months -- but you know, that will work itself out. I keep getting freelance work and the money always comes when you need it. The point is, I am finishing my first novel, and that is huge.
I cannot tell you what a relief this is to me. I mean, I have been working on this particular draft on and off for 2 years. And I have been writing novels for 10 years now. I have 2 more in addition to this one, partially written, and an idea for a fourth. (Granted, I am glad I didn't publish a novel before now. I wasn't ready. I didn't have the honed sense of humor. And I didn't have the life experience. As my friend Kyle said once, "Just be glad you never got published when you were in your twenties. Because then you'd have to live the rest of your life with a book out there that you wrote when you were in your twenties.")
Here's the thing: when you have something really really big like this hanging over your head, you can't really do anything. I don't know -- for the past 2 years, I've felt like I've been in limbo. I'm always feeling like I needed to work on the novel, and I can't tackle other things, like going to the dentist or doing my taxes or starting a family. Or just hanging out and enjoying a weekend. It's like being in school -- whenever you're not studying, you feel like you should be.
So when I cross my last T and package this thing up and ship it off to those agents, it's going to be like I get to restart my life. I can finally go through those 2 years of tax receipts and go to the dentist. And work on the quilts I've been wanting to make for my nieces and nephew. And yeah! Have a baby. Now I can. Of course, I'll have to start editing the 200-page-shitty-first-draft-that-is-my-second-novel soon enough, but I don't know. It just seems like the second one is going to be five thousand million times easier.
The only thing I worry about a tiny bit, I mean about publishing this book, is that it is a bit raunchy. I guess I never got over the "toilet talk" phase of humor. My mother used to say that to us when we were kids, "Stop with all that toilet talk!" Because we'd be laughing hysterically over poop jokes and butt jokes, one after another.
And look, I'm still doing it (an excerpt):
"We didn't do it. We just had pope sex."
"What's pope sex?" Annie asked.
"You know, Catholic sex. Everything but."
"Everything in the butt? No, that's anal, darling."
Ah, well. It is what it is. You gotta let what's in you out. Oops, a poop joke! Sorry, Mom.
| | comments: 14 comments or Leave a comment |
| Alison Kent’s latest novel, all about rescuing young girls from child prostitution in polygamous cults, Larger Than Life, is in stores!
About the book:
Mick Savin is discovered, beaten and bloody, along the side of the road by a woman with even more secrets than he has. Neva Case is an attorney, but she also runs the Big Brown Barn, where young girls fleeing from marriages arranged by their cult-member parents to middle-aged men, and willing to pay for the privilege, can hide before being spirited out of the area. Neva takes Mick in, patches him up, and in return he offers to help her out. This one won't win Kent too many fans among romance readers, although admirers of her original Bond and Gor adventures may enjoy it. It starts out with two teens running for their lives, then gunshots. Next a dog is beaten, and Mick is hogtied and sadistically dragged along rocky ground by two thugs on ATVs. And that's just the introduction to the story, which crams cult practices, abuse, and child prostitution into another graphic tale of sex and organized crime featuring one of the SG-5 team. -- Lynne Welch, Booklist.
About Alison Kent
Alison sold her first book to Harlequin on national television. The sale was a featured segment on the “Isn’t It Romantic” episode of CBS 48 Hours. Since then, she has sold eighteen series romances, eight novellas, one non-fiction pop culture essay, and four single title trade releases to four different publishers. Alison lives in Texas with her husband, four vagabond kids, and a dog named Smith. And she actually manages to write in the midst of all that madness.
Read an excerpt:
http://www.alisonkent.com/largerthanlife.html
Reviews:
Praise for Alison Kent and Larger Than Life:
"Hold on for a sizzling, heart-grabbing ride!" -- NYT bestselling author Nicole Jordan
"A larger-than-life hero and nonstop action keep the suspense high in Kent’s latest SG-5 adventure. A heart-wrenching secondary romance adds emotional intensity and depth to this compelling tale." -- RT Bookclub Magazine
My questions:
1. Have you always wanted to be a novelist? No. In fact, one of the bios I use states that I was thirty years old when I finally decided what to be when I grew up!
2. Is this your first book? If not, what else have you written? I've written eighteen series romances, eight novellas, one non-fiction pop culture essay, and two single title trade releases - for four different publishers -- so far. *g*
3. What inspired you to write this book? The idea came from a primetime news program about a woman who at sixteen fled a forced marriage to her cousin in the community of Colorado City in northern Arizona. She now helps other girls escape life under polygamous strongholds. I watched the show with the words "what if" swirling, and I knew I wanted to write a heroine who had taken up a similar cause. Strangely enough, I set my story in far West Texas never knowing a sect of the same polygamous community had moved into an area not too far from my fictional location.
4. What do you do to feel inspired/motivated in order to write? Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of being inspired. It's more a case of "butt in chair, hands on keyboard" every day! That said, I'm always inspired by good movies and good books. It's all about refilling the creative well.
5. What are you reading now? Ghosts in the Snow by Tamara Siler Jones.
6. What are some of your favorite books?
To Say Nothing Of The Dog by Connie Willis
The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
Bad Girl by Michelle Jaffe
Heart of the West by Penelope Williamson
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Anything by Harlan Coben or Tess Gerritsen
7. What else do you do besides writing (i.e. do you have a day job)? I've been writing full-time for the last year and a half. Before that, I wrote while working in the accounting department of an oil company.
8. Where do you live? Houston.
9. How does where you live impact (help/hurt) your writing? I do most of my writing outside by hand or on my laptop, which means my summers are shot!
10. What words of wisdom would you impart to an aspiring novelist? Something that I've only put into practice recently. Protect the work. This is from the fabulous Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Too many times we ask for input on our work way too soon, and it ends up being a committee project or ends up diluted with nothing left of our original voice. I've learned to write through, and ask for help only when all hope is lost. *g*
11. What is your favorite word? Defenestration
12. What is your least favorite word? Deadline
13. What turns you on? Laughter
14. What turns you off? Proselytizing
15. What sound do you love? The hubby's clothes hitting the floor before he climbs into bed
16. What sound do you hate? Alarm clock
17. What is your favorite curse word? I'm not proud to say, Jesus H. Christ. *g*
18. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? Pianist
19. What profession would you not like to participate in? Anything involving blood and guts
20. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? You did good.
Visit Alison’s website at http://www.alisonkent.com for more information on her books and the writing life, and check out http://www.largerthanlife-thebook.com.
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0758211120/qid=1119455928/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-8640044-3023328?v=glance&s=books&n=507846”>Buy the book on Amazon</a> | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Mmm ... coffee and chocolate-hazelnut biscotti. So nice on a Sunday evening. I have more some work to do tonight so I'm caffeinating myself.
Friday night we went over to Diane and Felippe's (sp?) house for an amazing Brazilian meal. They just got back from a 3-week long holiday to visit his family. (And they brought me the cutest pair of pink havaianas!) Felippe made caipirinhas (the traditional Brazilian drink prepared with cachaça) and for dinner we ate Bobó de Camarão -- shrimp with ground yucca, served over rice. So delicious. Like nothing I've ever tasted before. For dessert, I think it's called Pudim de Leite -- a Brazilian carmel flan.
Saturday night there were two parties -- a technology/entertainment industry mixer at a friend's loft downtown (open bar/luxy spread of food), and my friend Megan Crane's birthday party. Finally I got a copy of Megan's book, English As A Second Language. I'm really looking forward to reading it. She is so witty with such a dry, droll sense of humor, I am sure I will love it. PS: Staci, she beats you on the book collection. She actually owns more books than you. I felt like I was in a library instead of a West Hollywood apartment.
Today was a shopping extravaganza. We got up and went to the Hollywood farmer's market with Marcello and Sarah and Ted. I got lots of fresh, organic fruit (peaches, apricots, blackberries, yellow plums that are like giant grapes), as well as fennel, carrots, garlic, and some fantastic aged Gouda (aged one year). Oh, and some English lavender to put in my garden.
Then we went to the Fitzu sale. Fitzu (http://www.fitzsu.com/) is a fantastic designery store in LA and they have a regular sale. As much as I really wanted that beautiful, museum-worthy Arne Jacobson cocktail shaker marked half-off, $100 is still a lot of money for a cocktail shaker, especially since I already have one. Sigh. One day.
After Fitzu, we went to Buddha Vibe, a treasure trove of Indonesian and Chinese furniture just north of Melrose on La Brea. They have unbelievably low prices. You know those big Chinese armoires you can put a big TV in? They had 'em for $200-400. Yeah! I'll definitely be going back there whenver I move out of this place (my Craftsman is stuffed to the gills). Then we went to Jet Rag, one the coolest/fanciest thrift stores in Hollywood.
Mmm ... shoes, shopping, food, parties ... what more can you ask for in a weekend?
Gotta work now. | | comments: 7 comments or Leave a comment |
| Can I just say how much I love the name Mindy Friddle? I like the assonance of it. (And no, I'm not talking about her ass.) I also love the name Friddle. It reminds me of that peanut brittle candy my mom used to love, Fiddle Faddle. I haven't read the book yet, but based on the description and these glowing reviews, it is immediately going on my To Read stack. I already added it to my Amazon wishlist.
Mindy Friddle's debut novel, The Garden Angel, is in stores!
About the book:
Just out in paperback from Picador (Trade Paperback; ISBN: 0-312-42496-5 June 1, 2005)
-- A Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, Fall 2004
-- A Southeastern Bookseller's Associations (SEBA) Bestseller
-- A Pulpwood Queens Book Club Selection
In Sans Souci, South Carolina, talk is cheap, real estate even more so. No one knows this better than Cutter Johanson, a gruff tomboy who waits tables, writes obits, and makes every effort, however comical and in the face of her mercenary relatives, to avert the sale of the dilapidated ancestral home. And despite her plucky resolve, all appears to be lost -- until she strikes up an unlikely friendship with Elizabeth, a shy and fragile academic who puts both their fates on the mend.
About Mindy Friddle
Mindy Friddle is a former newspaper reporter. She received the 2003 South Carolina Fiction Prize and a Fellowship in Fiction from the South Carolina Academy of Authors. Visit her Web site at http://www.mindyfriddle.com.
Read an excerpt:
http://www.mindyfriddle.com/excerpts.html
Reviews:
Praise for Mindy Friddle and The Garden Angel:
"Mindy Friddle has a great comic touch, and her novel is a touching, heartfelt debut." -- Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire Falls
"Friddle has a way with the comic yet apt image ... funny, down-to-earth and steeped in a sense of place." -- The Washington Post
"The glory of a past that may never be reclaimed is the theme of this unique and satisfying novel ... At times wonderfully comic and sad enough to provoke tears, The Garden Angel is an addictive read, and an enthralling story filled with both loss and hope." -- The Barnes & Noble Review from Discover Great New Writers
"The southern novel is still alive and kicking, thank heavens, and Friddle gives the genre its due...with comic grace. In the tradition of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, Friddle's novel celebrates the power of women's friendship. The story is soulful and satisfying, as southern as a slice of watermelon on a hot summer's day." -- The Charlotte Observer
"A beguiling debut novel. Friddle...handles the juxtaposition of two highly eccentric cultures-small-town Southern society and small-college English department-with a light, quirky touch that keeps the story moving along and steadily entertaining." -- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"A comic delight ... Winning characters and piquant wit, with an underpinning of graciousness: a standout." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"This debut novel is atmospheric in the way of Southern fiction, but it's also brand new. With casual skill, Friddle makes the case that who we like in life may be as critical as who we love." -- Publishers Weekly
"[The] writing is as beautiful as a stained glass window ... Like Flannery O'Connor and Eudora Welty, Friddle reveres the majesty of Southern homes and Southern women, zany or not." -- The News & Record (Greensboro)
"Friddle has a great flair for comic relief, and in a novel filled with tragedy ... there is also much laughter." -- Oxford Town (Oxford, Mississippi)
My questions:
1. Have you always wanted to be a novelist? Well, I once I wanted to be a rock star. Or maybe just a blues singer. From the Linda Ronstadt/Pat Benatar/Heart school. Alas, I couldn't even cut it as a groupie.
2. Is this your first book? If not, what else have you written? This is the first book I've written and published.
3. What inspired you to write this book? An old decaying mansion beside a Taco Bell that was boarded up and for sale.
4. What do you do to feel inspired/motivated in order to write? Drink lots of caffeine or alcohol, depending on the time of day. Reading a fantastic book or short story from an unforgettable writer also inspires. It makes you remember why you've chosen to write.
5. What are you reading now? I'm re-reading Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye for a class I'll be attending this summer. Just finished Gilead by Marilynn Robinson.
6. What are some of your favorite books?
Oh, gosh this just always freezes me up. There are so many. But here goes: Marilynn Robinson's Housekeeping, Richard Russo's Empire Falls and Nobody's Fool, anything by Ann Tyler, Jill McCorkle, Lee Smith. Just finished Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathon Lemen, and it was terrific. Carson McCullers's novels. Fannie's Flag's Fried Green Tomatoes. Don Delillo's White Noise. Tom Perrotta's Little Children. Anything by Mona Simpson. I could go on and on ...
7. What else do you do besides writing (i.e. do you have a day job)? I'm between day jobs...working on my next novel.
8. Where do you live? I llive in Greenville, South Carolina.
9. How does where you live impact (help/hurt) your writing? Helps the sense of place in my writing, but the literary community and opportunties are a bit more limited than, say, San Francisco and New York.
10. What words of wisdom would you impart to an aspiring novelist? Read, read, read. Write a lot, too.
11. What is your favorite word? Chocolate.
12. What is your least favorite word? Smarmy.
13. What turns you on? Sincere people. And animals (who are always sincere).
14. What turns you off? Uptight, judgemental people, cruelty.
15. What sound do you love? U-2.
16. What sound do you hate? Buzz saw.
17. What is your favorite curse word? Hellfire.
18. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? Gardening designer, public relations, or foreign disaster relief.
19. What profession would you not like to participate in? Anything involving a cube and a timesheet.
20. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Welcome, my dear. Margaritas at 6.
Visit Mindy's website: http://www.mindyfriddle.com
Her blog, "Novel Thoughts," is on the publishers marketplace website: http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/friddmi/
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312326742/qid=1118772107/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/102-8640044-3023328?v=glance&s=books&n=507846>Buy the book on Amazon</a> | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Some things I noted upon waking this morning:
1. Bodum French press coffee pots really are better than any other French press coffee pots. Using a French press is the way to make the best coffee, and Bodum is the very best brand. Not only does the coffee taste better, but the plunger goes down smoothly. I had a cheap one before, and it used to randomly, sporadically splurt coffee all over me, sometimes in my face. Not a good thing in the morning.
2. I need a lot more money than I currently have. Because I am one of those people who appreciates the very best. Bodum is not expensive, but building a home on the Venice Beach canals (or at the very least, a Venice walk street) and having a second home in London, these things are not cheap. And I want these things.
3. While it may be cleaner and simpler, I do not like living without a dog. I like the way they smell, the way they cuddle on the couch, the excitement they exude over the idea of just going outside.
4. Augusten Burroughs's second book (Dry) is better than his first (Running With Scissors). They are both good -- great, really. But I can't stop reading Dry. I was lying in bed, the snooze alarm in my brain repeatedly going off and I kept saying to myself, just 5 more pages! I'm beginning to feel desperate because I'm 80-some-odd pages to the end. But I still haven't read Sellevision and Magical Thinking, so I can relax. For a little while at least.
5. I love my Celebrity Hate Parade user icons (I stole that term, Celebrity Hate Parade, from my friend Shannon O., but she hasn't trademarked it yet so too bad for her), however, I realize that, as much as I love the ones where they are flipping off the paparazzi, I can't use those particular ones as often as I'd like. Too angry. So I think I'll get rid of some of those.
6. I need to drink a lot more water and read a lot more than I currently do. The water keeps me healthy and the reading keeps me inspired. Feeling inspired is very, very important to me. Probably the most important thing in my life. Because when I'm inspired, I feel like writing. The reason I don't drink more water is I don't like the way it tastes. But I love Gerolsteiner water. I have decided that it is the very best. So I'm going to start buying it by the case. I always rejected buying water because it seems like a thing you shouldn't have to pay for. But you buy Diet Coke so why shouldn't you buy the best-tasting water? Especially when water is much better for you than Diet Coke.
7. I want to have a baby. Probably in a year or two. Actually I want to have two babies, so I need to have the first one in a year or two. Yeah, that's soon. But I'm ready. I even have the car for it.
8. I'm going to keep smoking until I decide to get pregnant. I love smoking. It's in vogue to hate smoking now, but it used to be a very cosmopolitan thing to do, back in the '40s and '50s. I'd rather smoke than wear ugly biker shorts any day. Plus everyone's going to die -- it's no big surprise. And I don't smoke excessively.
9. I need to subscribe to Vogue so I can get my monthly fix of Jeffrey Steingarten. I also need to subscribe to Dwell so I can plan the home I am going to build. This will require even more daily reading time. For practically my whole life, I have felt guilty because of my need to spend excessive amounts of time lying around reading. I'm letting go of that now. I am learning to let myself read as much as I want to. Time is the real luxury, the thing everyone wants, and I want to milk every last drop of it I can for reading. | | comments: 4 comments or Leave a comment |
| I was just going through the girl swap booty. Here's what I got:
45 tops
4 sweaters
6 skirts
3 jackets
2 pairs of pants
1 dress
1 pair of really long brown cableknit socks that will go great with a miniskirt in the winter
Can you believe that?! All for free. Some of the acquisitions:
Black Adidas old school Run DMC style track pants (now I need to get some gold chains)
Almost new off-white cotton Jil Sander jacket
Camo capris
White tuxedo shirt
Black tank top with lace and spaghetti straps from the Gap
Long-sleeved off-black thermal underwear top, a la Nirvana (according to Cecil, "Grunge is coming back!")
I'm going to be offline for the next few days (Okay, not actually offline. I am never offline. I have a Treo 650 phone. I can even post on my blog on that thing. I just won't be posting as much.).
My "Mama Ba-mama", A.K.A. Babsie (my mom), is coming to town, along with my sister and her little toddler, Sophers. We're all going to stay at a fancy spa hotel and have massages (well, Sophers probably won't actually get a massage). Tomorrow night we're having dinner at Grace and Friday night it's A.O.C. (we will have a babysitter).
Tonight I need to find a kid-friendly place so we can bring Sopha-Mia-Mia-Mia-Mia (That really is her nickname. Welcome to my family. One of my actual nicknames is Nit-Nat-Nit-Naronie-Oh-Yeah-Oh.). I was thinking maybe Ubon, Nobu's more downscale Japanese place near the Beverly Center. I'll think on it. Must go attempt the dreaded housework now. I think it's HIGH TIME I hired a housekeeper.
PS: I just started reading Augusten Burroughs's book, Dry, and I am loving it. So far, I like it even better than Running with Scissors, which was also great. Read my review: http://www.annmariemichaels.com/books_nonfiction.html
PS2: I'm sorry, Chris (said in the HAL voice), but I won't be able to stop using these Tom Cruise avatars for a while. I love them too much. Just be glad it's not Michael Jackson, or stuff I find on http://www.awfulplasticsurgery.com.
PS3: I love the word "proceed" (That is what the button says when you wanna update your journal. I love that.).
| | comments: 4 comments or Leave a comment |
| Today is Allen Ginsberg's birthday. One of my favorite poets.
I can't stop listening to this Fresh Air interview with Wes Anderson:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1147267
This was the interview I heard 3 years ago that made me fall in love with him. I've listened to it twice already. Lemme pause the music. Just once more.
I love how he describes his imaginary, idealized version of New York City in The Royal Tenenbaums as a cross between Scott Fitzgerald and The Velvet Underground. Inspired by the New Yorker magazine. In the interview with Wes on the DVD special features, he said that the relationship between Margot and Richie Tenenbaum was inspired by that book by E.L. Konigsburg, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. My very favorite book from childhood.
It's funny, too, how Wes is so obsessed with New York. He even has a New York accent, but he didn't grow up there. He grew up in Texas. I also love how he says that he is embarassed to admit that when he was growing up, he was obsessed with being rich -- how he was obsessed with limousines and wanted to learn how to play Baccarat. That is one of things I love about Wes. I love how he uses the word "obsessed" so much. I love passionate, obsessed people.
Maybe I should try to take that trip to New York for my birthday to see Yo La Tengo play at Battery Park. I'm going to look into it. I betcha I can find a cheap ticket.
I'm going to do some writing now. This interview inspires me so much.
Oh, PS: I just went out to look at the garden. I have gladiolas! Gladiolas!!! Purple and red. The leaves are shooting out of the soil. I planted some bulbs a few weeks ago -- maybe it was a month ago. I need to get cracking on the vegetable garden because damn, it's already June. I'll do some planting this afternoon. | | comments: 12 comments or Leave a comment |
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