Oct27

Vincent Price

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I’ve had Vincent Price on my mind the last few days. I loved that man. He was such a great actor and his voice was awesomely wicked.  I’ve been hearing Thriller on the radio a  lot the last few days and I just adore the part where Vincent recites the poem. When he says, “the foulest stench is in the air, the funk of 40,00o years…” I can almost smell of whence he speaks. 

I was watching Laura the other day and was surprised to see him. It had been so long since I’d seen  it, I forgot he played one of the characters. It’s a great story. A cop falls in love with a murder victim. 

Vincent in "Laura"

Who could forget him in House of Wax? If you never saw that one, it is particularly creepy. Check it out. He was also a great villain- Professor Ratigan- in The Great Mouse Detective– my Number One son’s second favorite animated movie (right behind The Sword and the Stone).

Betcha didn’t know this- Vincent Price was a gourmet cook and wrote several cook books. He also appeared on television cooking shows.  I think  that’s pretty cool.

Vincent as chef? Or serial killer? Or both?

Oct25

All Hallow’s Eve

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Beware of Hitchhiking Ghosts

I love Halloween. I always have liked the freedom of the holiday. Dressing up as someone else one night a year and acting silly is something I enjoy. I usually keep a tight rein on myself and like to be in control so that one night a year of being different is always fun.

I used to have a party every year but stopped about four years ago. Attendance started to drop and I got tired of all the work (in the south, we COOK for parties). So, I stopped doing it. We do still decorate and we have a full size coffin, smoke machine and tombstones. I miss having kids young enough to celebrate with so I usually watch scary movies or haunted live shows.

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Oct24

John Sandford Does It Again

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Just rewarded myself for finishing my WIP and submitting it to an agent and a publishing house by reading the latest in the Prey series of books by John Sandford. This one is called Storm Prey and is the 20th in the series. The best thing about this one was that we got Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers both in this one. I love both of these characters.  I was thrilled when Sandford started to write novels with Virgil as the protagonist, but I do like them together. They play off each other in a witty manner which sometimes makes me laugh out loud.

One thing that I catch in all of these books released in the last few years is a passage where someone is either called by the wrong name or the wrong character is in the “said” tag (see bottom page 213). It’s weird. Almost like the Amish custom of making a mistake on the quilts they sew because only God is perfect. Is John Sandford a member of the Amish sect?  I would guess not based on the language his books contain (which fits cops and works for the type books he writes). The real question is why doesn’t his copy editor catch it?

I love these books and this one was no different. It has a great plot, a good group of cops, bad guys that are believeable and lots of fast paced action.  There were a couple of deaths that bothered me in this one, but I recommend the read. Enjoy these and if you haven’t read any of them, start. You won’t regret it.

Oct21

Optimist or Pessimist?

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I am a realist. For sure. I definitely try to look on the bright side and I try to laugh at the world and myself at least twice a day but I also tend to fret and worry needlessly. I think it’s human nature to have a little of both, right?

Truth be known, though, I’m a realist. I call ’em like I see ’em. That doesn’t make me less hopeful for the future, though.

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Oct20

Sherlock Holmes Part II

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I follow Stephen Fry on Twitter. Or, I should say, my alter ego does.  Love him- he is so witty. Have loved him since his Jeeves and Wooster days with Hugh Laurie.  He’s been tweeting today about filming part two of the new Sherlock Holmes movies by Guy Ritchie. It’s the first day of filming and they’re working at night – he’s cold.  So, we know there’s a night scene and it’s cold. What does that get us? Nothing.

Seems Mr. Fry is playing Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft.  AND Robert Downey, Jr and Jude Law are reprising their roles. 

I loved the first one, except for the chick that played Irene Adler- let’s hope they re-cast her or that she can tone down her modernism for the role better than she did before.  Or maybe Irene won’t be in this one.

Can’t wait. Adore the charming Robert Downey, Jr. and the first movie was a fun romp.

Oct20

If I Could Go Back in Time

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Back Stabbers Beware

Knife 1

I would change the way I handled a situation in high school with a former friend. I wouldn’t stand for the way this person treated me and I would clear the air between us and let the chips fall where they may. I trusted this person and was stabbed in the back. I wouldn’t let it unfold the way it did in the past this time around.

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Oct16

Deadly Promises

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Treated myself to a read today since I needed a bit of a break. I love the BAD Agency books by Dianna Love and Sherrilyn Kenyon so I bought this book of novellas since one of the stories was a BAD Agency story. It was great. Just like always, these two ladies nailed it. They just go from strength to strength.

I was happy to discover two new authors I hadn’t read. I guess that’s a reason for publishers to put out such books. The other two writers are Cindy Gerard and Laura Griffin.  Both have hot law enforcement types as the heros.  One has an agency called Black Ops, Inc. but the hero in the story was CIA and the other had a Navy Seal as the hero.  I recommend you pick up this book and enjoy three great stories.

The only complaint I had was the boneheaded thing one of the heroines in one of the stories did. I almost decided to stop reading when she made that move because it seemed as if the writer put the heroine in a dangerous situation in a manipulative way. The heroine was written as a very intelligent person and this move was out of character in my opinion. She was safe and then interfered in an operation where she had no business being. I didn’t think the author was true to the character she’d created. I was disappointed in that part of the story.

Oct15

Long Week

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Had a long week this week.  I’m worn out. Planned to read a while tonight but am just putzing around on the computer. I can’t seem to focus for longer than a few minutes at a time. I woke up this morning needing a nap and I felt that way all day. My staff gave me some great bosses’ day goodies and I even got a cake. It was nice.

I’m watching a movie called Circle of Friends from 2006. Not the one from 1995 with Chris O’Donnell, Minnie Driver and Colin Firth.  This one has a guy named Chris Kramer. Funny how the hero in each one played by a Chris.  Totally different plots, though.  The Chris in this one is very handsome. I like the scruffy look. Check him out.

Oct13

Why do we let rejections bother us?

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That’s the question of the day for me. I am a writer. Part of that process is rejection. Duh. I know that. But each one I get makes me think I’m a hack. Why is that? The funny thing is, I know I’m competent and capable. But send me a rejection and I think I’m horrid and worthless.  I’ve sold numerous short stories and two novels and just started a quest for an agent about a month ago. I got two agent rejections yesterday.  And on Monday, I got two short story rejections.  It was like a quadruple whammy.

And no, I wasn’t arrogant enough to think that the first agent I queried would fall in love with me but I did at least think I’d get a request for more pages. One of the agents said my writing was very strong but she wasn’t captivated by the first 5 pages, which was all she had.  The other one blew me off completely. Short, terse, nothing.

So, determined not to give up, I sent out two more agent letters and I sent the short stories out again. This morning I woke up to a contract in my email for one of the short stories- It was accepted by a children’s magazine (for ages 14 and up).  So, what a difference 14 hours makes.   I went from Gloomy Gus who thinks she can’t write to Delighted Debbie, the master story teller!  Until the next rejection, that is.

What a crazy industry this is. And me, too. Crazy, that is. 

Oct12

Ghost Encounters

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Haunted Grimm House of Old Town

Ghosts are definitely real. I’ve had enough of my own spiritual experiences to know that to be true, starting at age 16 and no, it was not a poltergeist. It was my grandmother’s spirit coming to comfort me like she always did when she was alive. It was not scary at all.

Other experiences have not been as comforting as that first one but I’m still not afraid. I believe there are lots of wonders in this world we can not see. Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not out there.

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