A Game of Thrones

Just finished re-reading Kathleen Woodiwiss's Shanna, a delightfully long book, rich in pre-American Revolution historical detail that convinces the reader she was born in the wrong era. Usually I get panicky when I finish a book, not sure where from where my next fix is coming, and if I do not have a stack of books waiting, I'm in danger of a panic attack. Hey, at least it is not heroin.

So after satisfying my need for all things colonial by dining at the Colonial Inn in Concord, which is less time consuming than delving into a Jeff Shaara novels or re-reading Diana Gabaldon for the millionth time, I finally picked up A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin.

Now, my husband has been reading this series for months on his journey to and from work. Usually, his reading time ends when the train stops, but with this series, he reads during his entire walk home. He walks through the door, swoops down to kiss our nine month old son, waves to me, muttering, "I just gotta finish this chapter," and disappears into the other room. While he cooks dinner (yes, I am a lucky woman), instead of relating tales of his day, I hear about Ned and Catelyn and the dwarf and some wedding that left him depressed for days. Luckily, my parents visit once a week and I disappear into another room while they bear the brunt of his enthusiasm for these damn books. "You gotta read them, D," he urges. "Uh-huh," I say.

Last night, I gave in. I read three pages and became intrigued. After fifty, I was hooked and when little Bran took his tumble before the first hundred pages was up, I cried. It may be months before I get back to my own writing. Poor Avery and her hero will be stck in that rainstorm until George finishes the series.

Blogs from MySpace, Autumn 2006

Stepside
Posting 11/15/2006

Favorite song lyric of the moment: "I was puzzlin' the heavens and wandering around." From "Stepside," an old Jethro tune. One of those poetic lyrics that describes a physical moment and emotionally fits a mood or an entire stage of life.


On Cake
Posted 11/11/2006

Just got a contract from my publisher for my next book. It is called Cake, A Fairy Tale and it is slated for release in May 2007. I am psyched as I have a fondness for this one. I had a lot of fun writing it (except for the revisions, and there were many!)

Cake is a borderland between the Faerie Realm and the World, the former playground of King Arthur. One of the portals into Cake from the World is the Apollo Cake Factory, a real building in Somerville, Massachusetts. So when I was deciding upon a name for my imaginary world, I could not get the word cake out of my head. It just fit.

Plus, cake is my favorite word. A perfect word. Hard, succinct, catchy. The word conjures up all sorts of pleasant images (and not so lovely connotations, but I will ignore those). There is Cakebread wine. Yum. And a homemade cake of rosemary soap. Then my favorite...Mississippi Mud Cake from the now defunct El Morocco Restaurant in Worcester, Massachusetts.

The word is pure magic and that is just what I am striving to create in the book. Magic. Makes life just a little more interesting, do you agree?


Lucy Keyes
Posting 10/27/2006

I NetFlixed The Legend of Lucy Keyes mainly because I grew up next to Princeton, MA and although spent a good amont of time searching for ghosts in that quaint little village, I never once heard of Lucy Keyes. Since it was filmed on site and a ghost story to boot, I figured it was a good way to pass an October night, although I wasn't expecting much from the film. To my surprise, it was pretty good. Edgy enough to keep your senses tingling but not outright gore, it was well shot and well acted. And sort of sad. Reminded me of The Uninvited but thankfully had no "Stella by Starlight" type song running through it.

October
Posted 10/1/2006

Finally! Not one for humidity, I am relieved summer is over and October is finally here. My favorite month and better nowhere than here in New England...the smells, colors, mood, crisp air... The season may be symbolic of death, but it has always signaled rebirth to me, probably because I am more comfortable hidden in my cocoon than out in the bright sun.

Time to clean the house, get out the velvets and candles, and visit Salem for some tourist variety spells. Get the movies out...Arsenic and Old Lace, Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, Disney's Legend of Sleepy Hollow and my favorite horror, Pumpkinhead, curl up on the couch and eat pumpkin ice cream.

One of my favorite memories is Halloween 2001. My husband and I had just married and he spirited me away to a surprise destination for our mini-honeymoon before the larger, planned trip to Scotland later that year. After four hours in the car (five if you count getting lost), we arrived Sleepy Hollow. We spent Halloween visiting Washington Irving's idyllic cottage then wandered the graveyard, looking for the unmarked grave of the mad Hessian who was not so mad after all. That evening, we drove down Old Sleepy Hollow Lane with the headlights off (immature and dangerous, true, but terrifying) then went back to our bed and breakfast, built a roaring fire and watched, yup, Sleepy Hollow. Very peaceful. No Horseman sightings, however.


O, Discordia!
Posted 9/20/2006

Well not completely. Sunday ended on a great note with a stellar review for Kicking Sideways, which more than made up for the mediocre label in my previous post. Still, experts say not to take any reviews, good or bad, to heart. Just ignore them and move on with your writing. Good advice but theres nothing like having your work praised.

I also finally finished the last book in the Dark Tower series. It was really a perfect ending. But oh man. Its pretty soul wrenching. It doesn't leave you happy or sad or even in limbo, just sort of weary way down inside where it counts. It's great writing in that King succeeds, by the end of his tale, in making the reader feel exactly what Roland is feeling and that ain't a pretty place to be. And the twist is that King gives the reader exactly what a reader wants.

The subtext of the series, for me, was the writer-reader relationship. Stephen King is a character in the books, appearing as himself, the storyteller and sometimes creator of the tale (if you write, youll know what I mean; if you dont, King explains it pretty well).

And he understands that as a reader, the first thing you want to do when you finish a great series is to relive the journey and capture that ending again, the one that left you all a-tingle. Not so this ending. Its a real ending. Too real. And it hurts. Oh well, Ill read it again. And again...

Mediocrity and the Joys of Writing
Posted 9/12/2006

On a major publisher's website, there is a discussion group for a particular author that asks a monthly poll--best book, suckiest book, and mediocre read of the month. One partcipant labeled Kicking Sideways her pick for mediocre book of the month. I was bummed at first; who wants to be mediocre? It's like being middle aged.

I cheered myself by telling myself 1) at least it didn't get a sucky rating, 2) my e-book was mentioned on one of my favorite author's discussion boards and finally 3) of all the mediocre books of the month, mine was top rated. By the end of the day, I was calling myself Queen of Mediocrity and celebrating with a pint of M&M ice cream from Louie's.

Something that is definitely not mediocre is Nine Inch Nails's Pretty Hate Machine, which I've rediscovered. "Sin" is such a great song and one of my favorites. It's one of those songs that if you close your eyes and listen to it, you are transported out of this world -- no drugs needed.

On My Bookshelf
Posted 8/30/2006

Just finished reading Stephen King's Song of Susannah. I know, I know, I'm late in the game and had never intended to read this series; figured I'd have no interest. Then I heard that Father Callahan from 'Salem's Lot had made his way into the series and so I was hooked as I've never been able to get that book out of my head since reading it as a kid. I think I slept with the lights on for a week after reading that one.

Anyway, I am completely blown away by The Dark Tower series. The man is a genius at turning the meaning of life into great entertainment while still keeping the sacred intact.

Am also reading Jen Trynin's Everything I'm Cracked Up to Be. Good tale for anyone struggling in the arts and she's a competent writer, which probably isn't surprising since she's a great songwriter, so it makes for an entertaining read, which is what I look for these days.