Monthly Archives: December 2009

Soundtracks

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Does anyone else make a soundtrack for their work in progress?  I do.  One of the things I like to do is brain storm songs that would fit my story line and make a cd to listen to get me in the mood to write.  I know, I could be spending that time to actually write but I think it helps me make the story come alive.   I’m gonna share three soundtracks with the old blog over three posts.  The first one is for the novel Doctor, Lover, Baronet: 

1. John Parr:  St. Elmo’s Fire;  2.  Kool and the Gang: Celebration;  3.  Club Nouveau: Lean on Me;  4.  Cyndi Lauper: Girls Wanna Have Fun;  5.  Billy Idol: White Wedding;  6.  Duran Duran: Is There Something I Should Know;  7.  Dionne Warwick: That’s What Friends Are For;  8.  The Cars: Shake it Up;  9.   Journey: Open Arms;  10.  Madonna: Open Your Heart; 11.  Robert Palmer: Simply Irresistible;  12.  George Harrison: I’ve Got My Mind Set On You;  13.  OMD: If You Leave;  14.  Prince: When Doves Cry;  15.  Fine Young Cannibals: She Drives Me Crazy;  16.  The Human League: Don’t You Want Me;  17.  Modern English: I Melt With You.

So, there you have it.  The soundtrack to Doctor, Lover, Baronet.   I chose 1980s songs for it as the hero is a pop culture fanatic and quotes lots of 1970s and 1980s pop culture references.   #2 son asked me if I was going to sell cds with my books and my response was that I need to find a book publisher first and not worry about the music so much!  

  one of the scenes in this novel takes place on the grounds of Rockingham Castle.  Lovely spot.  Dickens even wrote some of Bleak House there.  So, it is a writer’s place, after all.

Sherlock Holmes; the Guy Ritchie version

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So, I went with #1 son to see Sherlock Holmes.  It was awesome.  Now, I am a MAJOR fan of the Arthur Conan Doyle stories.  Read them all over and over as a kid.  Love Basil Rathbone as Sherlock- to me he was the epitome of the character-  No Jeremy Brett for  this gal-  now, I DID watch the Jeremy Brett ones and they were ok but he  just wasn’t Rathbone.   I also enjoyed the one that was called The Young Sherlock Holmes.  He was a teen in that one and it was an action adventure almost reminiscent of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom at the end.   AND who could forget Gene Wilder in the crazy Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother.  

I say all this because I have read some of the on line reviews that talk about how unrealistic this new adaptation is.  Seems to me that the “Sherlock snobs” didn’t realize that they were going to see a GUY RITCHIE film.   If they wanted a true adaptation, they should have rented a Basil Rathbone or Jeremy Brett movie.  THIS WAS GUY RITCHIE, People!   You won’t get a staid drawing room flick from this man-  Know your director before you go and then grouse all over the internet that you didn’t like it.  Please!   Geez.   Anyway, the only thing I didn’t really care for was the casting of Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler.  She just didn’t fit.  The actress that played Mary, Watson’s future wife, was spot on.   All in all, a good, fun picture. 

When Holmes meets Mary, she talks about liking detective stories.  She mentions Wilkie Collins and Poe.   The detective story was new in that era and Edgar Allen Poe actually wrote the first-  The Murders in the Rue Morgue.  The Moonstone was by Wilkie Collins and was one of the first, if not the first, to be written in London.  My son said I was probably the only one to catch that line in the film.   I hope not.   But, after all, I am the queen of arcane facts.  

Here’s a pic of our boy:  The  irrepressible Robert Downey Jr as Sherlock Holmes,  a fun romp of a flick. 

Wally Lamb

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I’ve read some of his books that were mildly disturbing and dark.  He is a wonderful writer and I’m thrilled that he has chosen lighter fare for his latest release.   I have bought the crap out of it for Christmas gifts this year.  His royalty check is going to be significantly higher this quarter due to my purchases alone.  This is a wonderful story, very well crafted and written.  Run, don’t walk, to your nearest store and grab one or twelve.   

Neglect

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I’ve been neglecting this little blog a bit.  I’m sorry.  Life has gotten away from me lately.  Am in the throes of year end reporting for the day job and have had no energy for anything else.  Shamed to say that I have not gotten back to my NaNo work since I hit the word count.   I’m falling down on the job here!  My characters have probably moved across the country in a land grab and I dont even know it.   Ah.  The 1920s, so much opportunity for trouble.  Even in the midst of prohibition!

Leaving you with some eye candy for the time being-  Yes.  Liam From my NaNo book is Irish but here is a guy in a kilt for you (Still on the British Isles)