Ooh, I love this!

I love Mucha prints! He did alot of the posters for Sarah Bernhard's peformances during the Belle Epoque in Paris. Art Nouveau is one of my favorites along with Art Deco.




You are a Rose:

You are creative, sensual, passionate, and bold.
You pour your heart into everything that you
do. Alluring and gifted with strong sex appeal,
you very easily draw people in with your animal
magnetism.

Symbolsim: The rose has always been a flower
heavily loaded with symbolism. In general it
symbolizes desire, passion, beauty, and
enchantment.


Which Flower are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

My New Pretend Boyfriend

Yes, I've broken up with James. It had to happen. The distance was just too great. And although I loved having a British boyfriend, dating an actor is just too hard. They're in the tabloids all the time, not to mention the job insecurity. I'm going to miss his little boy Joseph, but my life is in New York right now. He just couldn't understand my devotion to my local RWA chapter either. So he had to go.

Meet my new pretend boyfriend, CNN host Anderson Cooper. Don't let the gray hair fool ya. I've roped me a younger man. Okay, he's not Ashton Kutcher younger, but he is three years younger than. Of course, everyone thinks he's older, tee-hee.

Yes, I know there are rumors that he's gay, but I for one refuse to believe them, until I have hard evidence like photos or videotape. He's very smart, funny as heck. Who knew the man who cried while covering Hurricane Katrina could be hysterical. He killed on Letterman, and he was a great host trading quips with Kelly Ripa last Friday on Live with Regis and Kelly.

Sure, he hosted The Mole on ABC, but he's a serious journalist! Even Geraldo had a few missteps in his career (anyone remember Al Capone's safe?)

How did we meet? Well, I was walking downtown when I saw this cute little spaniel. Who should be her owner, but Anderson Cooper! Don't you just love a man with a dog? We got to talking and he invited me out to dinner. Of course, since this is my fantasy, I'm also 30, 5 foot 6, and have never had a zit in my life. Plus I looked fabulous when we met.

Truthfully, I wasn't looking for someone in the media to date. I thought I would go find myself a ballet boy like Candace Bushnell, but finding a straight ballet dancer is like trying to find a pair of size 8 Manolo Blahniks at the Barney's Warehouse sale.

So I'm happy with Anderson. Plus, his mother is Gloria Vanderbilt, who made my favorite jeans of the 80's. Remember those jeans commercials, where the model declared GV jeans fit her 'like the skin on a grape'. God, I miss GV jeans. My favorites were a pair of fuschia velvet jeans. I haven't met his mother yet, we've only been dating a week, but I'm sure I'll meet her eventually. I'll try not to bring up that whole custody case from the 30's that was written about in Little Gloria, Happy at Last. Very tragic.

I don't know how long this relationship will last, but I'm nothing in not optimistic that it will last at least through the holidays. Who doesn't want a date on New Year's Eve?

If I were a Rich Girl

Thanks to Gwen Stefani and the composers of Fiddler on the Roof for the inspiration for this post.

Occasionally when the Lotto commercials announce a particularly big jackpot, I find myself thinking about what I would do if I actually won. Ex-sweetie pie used to hate it when I would talk out loud about what I would do. He didn't see the point since the chances of my actually winning were like one in one billion or something like that. Of course he missed the whole object of the exercise. I mean if you're going to play a rich person, or even write about one, you have to know how they think. Plus, I've always wanted to write a book about what would happen if an ordinary person won the lottery.

Of course it would end happier than the horror stories you sometimes see in people magazine where they interview lottery winners, like the guy who won the lottery twice and still ended up broke, or the friends who sue because they said they gave you the numbers that won, or they loaned you the dollar to buy the ticket. Or the relatives that come out the wordwork needing money.

So here's what I'd do if I won the lottery (in no particular order of importance).

1) Do an Extreme Makeover on my apartment. I bet you thought I was going to say buy a new apartment in some ritzy neighborhood in New York. First of all, the co-op boards in this city are an absolute nightmare. Second, my apartment is perfectly fine if a little small. I'd much rather spend the money to do a complete overhaul than run out and buy something new. And the only places that I would want to live are the village or near Gramercy Park, and it costs like a million dollars just for a one bedroom down there.

2) Set up scholarship funds at my old schools in my parents' names. This was a no brainer. My parents worked extremely hard so that I could go to private school instead of attending public. I would love to be able to give bright minority students the same chance that I had. Same with my university and the drama school I went too. Syracuse is fricking expensive (it was $10,000 a year when I attended back in the eighties), and everyone should have the opportunity to study drama in London.

3) Set up a foundation to give away money. Now when I say give away money, I'm talking about donating to things that have meaning for me. My father was a diabetic, so the American Diabetes foundation would be top of the list. American Lung Association since so many members of my family including my mother, brother and several aunts and uncles died of lung cancer. AIDS research, and Breast and Ovarian cancer would also top the list. Plus any charity that benefits children, like Ronald McDonald house.

4) Giving to the arts. Again, I'm limiting the donations to arts organizations that really need the money. Metropolitan Museum of Art doesn't need my money as much as The Lower East Side Tenement Museum or The Grange (Alexander Hamilton's house), and the New York Public Library (explain to me why publishers pulp books instead of donating them to libraries across the country?).

5) Payback all the money that I've borrowed from friends when I was in need, plus pay all my outstanding debts to creditors.

6) Travel, travel, travel. I've always wanted to visit Australia and the Far East, and I could fly first class instead of being cramped in coach for 24 hours. India would definitely be on the agenda, and Russia. Ah, to see St. Petersberg, and Moscow.

7) Adopt! I could afford to adopt a child from a foreign country like China. Ming-lee Mahon sounds great. I could be like Angelina Jolie or Josephine Baker and have a rainbow coalition of children (alright, just two), but I could certain go back to giving money to Save the Children every month. I used to do this many years ago, but it got to a point where it was either feed me or feed a child in another country.

8) Buy a flat in London. (You knew I'd get back to real estate somehow). My friend Chip and his partner have been saving for a flat. If I bought one, they could live there rent free, taking care of it for me, while saving beaucoup pounds to buy their own place.

9) Shop! Of course, I wouldn't go too crazy. No buying retail for me. Just because I have money, doesn't mean the girl who pinches pennies till they bleed is just going to disappear. I love sales, but I could actually afford to buy Dolce and Gabbana on sale. And a closet full of Manolos and Jimmy Choos. And I could indulge in the best vintage pieces.

10) Knowing that my retirement would be secure. Let's face it, by the time I'm eligible for Social Security, it could be gone. Thanks George W. Bush! Winning the lottery means that I would have options, and health insurance. If I were injured, I could actually afford the best care.

So those are the top ten things I would do if I won the lottery.

What would you do?

Review: Pride & Prejudice

I promised a review of the newest version of Jane Austen's classic Pride & Prejudice and I'm nothing if not a lady of my word. I went to see a four o'clock show this afternoon and the theatre was packed and not just with women but with men as well. It was gratifying to see so many people choose to see Pride & Prejudice as opposed to the 50 Cent movie that just opened.

So what did I think? Well I'm kind of thumbs up and thumbs down on this adaptation. For one thing, unlike the 1995 mini-series, the movie is only two hours long, so most of the Wickham plot line is lost. We barely see him with Elizabeth before he disappears only to reappear married to Lydia.

Keira Knightly is a splendid Elizabeth. In fact I much preferred her to Jennifer Ehle's Elizabeth in the 1995 mini-series. She's spirited and fun, although I'm not quite sure if Elizabeth is as much of a hoyden as they make her in this movie. She spends alot of time not wearing a bonnet, which wasn't at all period, and I can't imagine Mrs. Bennet allowing it. The NYTimes was accurate when they said how radiant and beautiful she was. I do give Jennifer Ehle points for being more handsome than beautiful. Matthew MacFadyen is not quite as dashing as Colin Firth, in fact he has a most unfortunate haircut during the movie, but he's much more accessible a character. You can feel his attraction to Lizzie, in fact during the proposal scene there was a moment when I thought he was going to grab her and have his way with her, the sexual tension was so palpable.

The one thing that really bothered me about the movie was that the Bennetts seem to live in genteel poverty in this film. Most of the time, I wanted to get a comb and brush their hair. The house was shabby in the extreme, as were the clothes. Now the Bennetts while not rich, are certainly not as bad off as this. At one point, you could see a pig wandering through the house. Even the attendees at the first assembly looked the worst for wear. It did however make a contrast when the Bingleys and Mr. Darcy showed up. Bingley in this version, seems to be a bit of a bumbling idiot, and Caroline and out and out shrew. I did however adore Tom Hollander as Mr. Collins, and Judi Dench stole every scene that she was in as Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Rosamund Pike was pretty as Jane but that's about it.

The scenes at the first assembly and at the ball at Netherfields, you really got a sense of what a crush was like back then. There's a wonderful moment during the Netherfield ball when Lizzie and Mr. Darcy are dancing and it's like they are the only people in the room, and then the camera pulls back and you see the rest of the people at the ball.

There were some strange moments in the film that made no sense. Darcy proposing to Elizabeth in the rain, Lady Catherine de Burgh showing up at the Bennetts in the middle of the night, Darcy and Elizabeth meeting again in their bedclothes when she tells him that she loves him. The scenes at Pemberly where Elizabeth wanders around a room full of half naked sculptures until she comes up on Darcy's head. It was just a little too obvious for words.

So if I had to give this adaptation a grade I would give it a B+. It's definitely worth a look without waiting for the DVD.

What were they thinking?

The cover of Nicole Richie's novel. I'm not sure what Harper Collins is trying to say with this cover. It's not partcularly flattering, and I'm not sure if it's supposed to be a biography, a coffee table book, or a novel.

Here's the alternative.


Apparently the book is about a pop princess named Chloe who was adopted as a small child by a famous pop star. Hmm! Who does that sound like.

The book is only 250 pages, and I've heard that Ms. Richie actually penned this novel herself, unlike Paris Hilton who had to have help with her little tome, or Fabio who had help from Wendy Markham to write his romance novels.

Far be it for me to scoff, since I don't have a book contract, and I'm sure they're trying to sell it off her fifteen minutes of fame, but if I were Nicole I"d sue the photographer and the publishers for these covers.

Pride and Prejudice

Interesting article in today's New York Daily News in the Gossip section concerning the lastest version of Austen's Pride & Prejudice. Apparently members of the Jane Austen Society of America are up in arms because they don't think the male lead, Matthew MacFadyen has sufficient matinee idol looks to play Darcy, not to mention that apparently there's some overt sexual energy in the film. Apparently that's not very Jane Austen, although it is pretty Regency, considering the raunchiness beneath the surface of that era.

Weren't they also upset when the Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle version came out because of Darcy's wet shirt scene? That's not in the book either.

Anyway, you can read the article here. The director certainly isn't going to win friends with his comments on the brouhaha.

I for one am anxious to see it just out of curiousity the same way I watched the Mormon version. Frankly when the Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle version came out, I compared it unfavorably with an earlier version with Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul. The 1995 version grew on me after repeated viewing, plus I'm a sucker for Colin Firth, always have been. I plan on seeing the film this weekend, so I'll try and post a review on Saturday and let you know what I think.

Writing by the seat of my pants

I have a confession to make, I am a total pantser.

What I mean by that is that I write by the seat of my pants. When I start a novel, I have a general idea of where I want it to go, how it ends, the characters and several scenes that I envision in the book, including the high and low points. But that's it. I don't write a synopsis generally under either half-way through the book or until I finish.

I would love to be plotter. I realize that when the time comes and I have an agent, and I'm just working on proposals, it might help to be more of a plotter, but I haven't gotten there yet. I've been thinking more and more about this since I've been doing NaNoWriMo. Chris Baty's book, No Plot, No Problem could have been written just for me.

I guess I love the uncertainty when I sit down at the computer of not knowing what is going to come out once I type. Watching the characters take shape and take over. At the moment, my characters are telling me who is important and who is just a minor player in the drama that I'm creating. Others are demanding more time. I don't know if I would know that if I had plotted the book out more beforehand.

I also have an untidy mind, constantly jumping from one thing to another, which leads to my untidy apartment, so of course I would be an untidy writer!

Of course writing by the seat of your pants means that it's alot more work in the revisions process, trying to shape a novel out of the morass of words on the page. I like to think of it as polishing a diamond in the rough. You prune, and prune, cutting away the detritus until you have a bright, shiny diamond.

I've tried to be more of a plotter. I once took a Romance Writing Course at Marymount Manhattan College with an editor from Harlequin. I ended up writing a thirty page synopsis for a potential Harlequin Temptation. Have I written it? No. Why? Because just the sheer act of writing this huge document, with all the plot points etc, I kind of felt like I'd written the book somehow. All it needed was dialogue and description. But I just felt like I was done. There were no discoveries to be made, every thing was lined up all nice and neat. I cringed.

Don't get me wrong. I admire writers who can plot out their novels from beginning to end. I have friends like that and I sometimes envy them for being able to do that. I took a workshop with Suzanne Brockmann at National a few years ago, where she said that, just for herself, she writes 80 page synopses for her books. But then she has multiple storylines in her books, while I have just one or two at the most.

At some point, I'll have to try the whole plotting thing again. I have a trilogy that I want to write, and that will involve actual planning and plotting, and keeping track of the three stories, but for right now, I'm happy being a pantser.

How many other people out there write by the seat of their pants? A show of hands please.

Evil Name Decoder

This and That

Can I just say the weather is postively freaky here in New York? It's supposed to be November, the leaves are turning, but the weather is so warm I saw people wearing sandals and flip-flops this weekend, not to mention one intrepid soul who wore shorts.

I remember the days when November meant chilly days, where all you wanted to do was go home, get under the covers with a warm drink and watch TV or read a book. Finding a bar with a fireplace to sit in front of. Playing in the leaves in the park. Drinking hot apple cider or a hot toddy with a cinnamon stick.

If I wanted warm weather all year round, I'd move to the West Coast or Florida even with the hurricanes. No, I live in the Northeast for the seasons, four of them, although because of sucky global warming, it looks like we only have two. Winter and Summer.

Read in the paper today, that more people are moving from California and the East Coast to the Midwest for a better quality of life. More power to them. I've often thought of moving somewhere I can actually think of saving some money. The only problem is that the cities that interest, London, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, are incredibly expensive. I need to sell alot of books!

I watched the first part of the debate last night on The West Wing. Kudos to TPTB for making it look so much like a real debate. If I hadn't known that it was two actors on stage, I would have believed that it was two politicians. I have to say though, from the little I watched, it looked like Alan Alda was kicking some serious Jimmy Smits butt. Even though he's playing a Republican, I'd vote for him, he was that good. I almost fell over when Jimmy Smits admitted that he didn't think that his healthcare plan would work! Can you imagine a real politician admitting that?

I gave away a great basket on Saturday to celebrate Thanksgiving and my birthday. Megan Frampton was the lucky winner. I actually liked the idea of giving away a basket to our members. I hope to do more of that in the New Year. Maybe work it around a seasonal theme. Lots of good ideas were bouncing around the meeting which I hope will come to fruition. It also means another extra board meeting where we can discuss them.

NaNoWriMo is chugging along. I'm ahead of where I had hoped to be by this time. The plot is coming along, and I'm already making notes of what needs to be done during the revision process. Also my brain is teeming to get started on a trilogy that I want to work, which will be my project for 2006.

Love it when my brain gets going!

Elizabeth

What I'm reading now

I'm one of those people who reads 2 or 3 or sometimes more books at a time. So I thought I'd share what I'm reading now.

The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Anne Brashares. I loved the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants when it first came out. I haven't seen the movie yet but I have it reserved at my local library, and if it's even 1/10 as good as the book I'll be happy. At least it has two of my favorite young actresses, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel.

Ghosts of Albion by Amber Benson and Christopher Golden. I love Christopher Golden's Jenna Blake series, and I think he wrote some of the better Buffy novelizations that have been published over the past few years, so I was excited to hear that the BBC animated series that he did with Amber Benson a few years back would also be done as a series of novels. Here's a partial description of the book:

'In 1838, William and Tamara Swift inherit a startling legacy from their dying grandfather, transforming them into the Protectors of Albion, mystical defenders of the soul of England. But the shocked, neophyte sorcerers also inherit unique allies in their battle against the dark forces. Fighting alongside them are the famous-even infamous-Ghosts of Albion: Lord Byron, Queen Bodicea, and Lord Admiral Nelson. '

Sounds cool doesn't it?

How to cook your daughter by Jessica Hendra. This book I just finished this afternoon. I must confess, I read this book primarily because I had met Jessica 18 years ago when we were on the same drama course in London. Back then, I thought she was beautiful, but somewhat unapproachable. Not quite aloof, but it was if she wasn't quite there. I got to know her better when I was stage managing a show in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, my impression of Jessica then was that of a self-absorbed drama queen. I had no idea of the demons that she was fighting. I should have looked beneath the surface, instead of just dealing with the surface impressions. I'm ashamed now of my lack of compassion towards her. I put down our lack of friendship down to simple fact that she was a Taurus, and I was a Scorpio, opposite signs that either liked or loathed each other. While we didn't exactly loathe each other, we didn't hit it off either.

Reading this book, I was struck by how courageous it was for Jessica to speak out about the abuse that she suffered at the hands of her father, Tony Hendra. The title of the book, How to Cook Your Daughter comes an article he wrote for the National Lampoon in the early seventies, which gives you a tiny hint to the type of man that he was.

When Jessica was asked why she was speaking out now, she said she was doing it for her daughters, so they could one day grow up knowing that there mother wasn't afraid to stand up for herself. I totally understand her reasons for allowing her father into her life, despite what he did. Tony Hendra was clearly a man that loomed large in their lives, who could be kind and funny at times, who seemed to have all the answers. Perhaps Jessica was trying to get back that moment in time, before he took her innocence away, when he was still just her daddy, or perhaps it was her own underserved guilt.

I've since come to know other victims of abuse, whether by a trusted family member or simply a family friend or an older teenager who took advantage of a young child who didn't know what they were doing was wrong. Jessica has given a voice to all those who have suffered abuse, to let them know that it's okay to come out of the darkness.

Three Things About Me

Three things about me...

Three screen names that you've had: kerri1102, bitsym, ekerrimahon

Three things you like about yourself: my hair, my creativity, my sense of responsibility

Three things you don't like about yourself: My perfectionism, oversensitivity, procrastination

Three parts of your heritage: American Indian, African-American, Caucasian

Three things that scare you: Right-wingers, religious fanatics, and Tom Cruise

Three of your everyday essentials: tea, chocolate, Internet access

Three things you are wearing right now: black skirt, maroon sweater, black boots

Three of your favorite songs: "Somebody to Love" (Queen), Every Breath You Take (The Police), Father Figure(George Michael)

Three things you want in a relationship: respect, love, humor

Three things you can't live without: friends, tea and books

Three places you want to go on vacation: India, Australlia, Barbados

Three things you just can't do: do math, put myself in a box, drive

Three kids names: Sebastian, Madeleine, Christian

Three things you want to do before you die: Write a bestseller, live in London again, play blackjack in Vegas.

Three celeb crushes: James Purefoy, David Walliams, Daniel Craig (LOL, I'm a total anglophile!)
Three of your favorite musicians: Michael Buble, Keith Urban, Sting

Three physical things about the opposite sex that appeals to you: eyes, hands, and a cute butt.

Three of your favorite hobbies: reading, eating, watching movies

Three things you really want to do badly right now: quit my day job, move abroad, finish my book

Three careers you're considering/you've considered: dancer, teacher, actress

Three ways that you are stereotypically a boy: I'm messy, I like computer games, I can be politically incorrect.

Three ways that you are stereotypically a girl: I am overly emotional, I love fluffy animals, and I'm obsessed with clothes and shoes.

"Baby, You can Drive My Car"

"Harlequin Enterprises is planning to add novels with storylines plucked from the NASCAR stock car racing circuit. 'The novels, by some of Harlequin's bestselling authors, will have plotlines centering on NASCAR and will bear the NASCAR brand on their covers,' the companies said in a joint statement. The first title in the NASCAR series, IN THE GROOVE by Pamela Britton, will be published in late January to coincide with February's Daytona 500 race in Florida - one of the biggest on the NASCAR circuit." (Via cbc.ca, November 2, 2005)

Okay, so Harlequin and NASCAR are doing deals? What next? Can I get a deal with Starbucks if I mention them in all my books?

Does anyone find this as frightening as I do?

Birthday Blues

Well, it's the day after my birthday, and it's always a let down after the euphoria of the day itself.

Here's a picture of the pretend boyfriend just before he presented me with a lovely necklace from Asprey, and a bracelet from Garrards, from the Jade Jagger collection.

Ah, if it were only true!

In real life, I had dinner with some friends at Ruby Foo's, which you can read about here. Unfortunately, they didn't have my favorite sushi roll, which is the real crabmeat california roll with spicy tuna on top. The only bummer about the whole evening was the fact that I actually had to pay for my dinner myself. We came up short on money, and since a few people had left, I had to come up with the rest including the tip. Happy Birthday to me!

Several friends called me to wish me a happy birthday, including ex-sweetie pie from LA, my friend Chip from London, and my friend SRN who took the time out from caring for her newborn to call me. I have such cool friends! I also received some cool gifts including the new George Michael CD, The Ghosts of Albion by Christopher Golden and Amber Benson (Tara on Buffy), and a really groovy pair of earrings. The Alias 2006 calendar so that I can stare at Michael Vartan, imagining him murmuring sweet nothings to me in French, and some cool soaps.

Unfortunately a few friends couldn't make it for various reasons, so that was a bummer. But I did have a great horoscope in the Daily News by Susan Miller, which left me feeling optimistic about the coming year. Of course, I'll have to see what my astrologer says when she comes to town again. (Yes, I have an astrologer).

Now it's back to the grindstone. As you can see by the word count, I am making some progress this week on my NaNoWriMo book. Of course, it's week one. We'll see how it goes next week. I've managed to turn down the internal editor whenever she kicks up a fuss.

One sour note to the day so far. I was told at work that I sound too professional and serious on the phone, and I'm not upbeat and enthusiastic enough. Okay, that's the first time I've ever gotten that criticism. Of course, they're not taking into account the fact that I still have a hard time recognizing voices on the phone, and it would help if internal people would just tell me who's calling instead of my having to ask each time.

Oy!

Have a good day everyone! Only 3 weeks till Turkey Day!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Scorpio: If today is your birthday...
Free your mind of self- imposed limits and promise yourself that you will follow your dream -- and keep following it until it becomes a reality. A new moon on your birthday guarantees that if your purpose is clear and your confidence is high you will accomplish something amazing over the coming 12 months. Make this the year your dreams come true. Visit Sally at www.sallybrompton.com

In 1964 (the year you were born)

Lyndon B. Johnson is president of the US After riots break out, Panama suspends relations with he US Cassius Clay becomes heavyweight champion when Sonny Liston throws in the towel in the sixth round in Miami Near Anchorage, the strongest earthquake ever to strike North America kills 117 Worst soccer disaster in history occurs when rioting and panic kills over 300 in Liverpool Hundreds of white college students work for civil rights in the south during "Freedom Summer" South Africa sentences Nelson Mandela to life in prison Kemeny and Kurtz create BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code), an easy to learn high level programming language Nicolas Cage, Jeff Bezos, Rob Lowe, Elle Macpherson, Courteney Cox Arquette, and Keanu Reeves are born St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series Cleveland Browns win the NFL championship Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles released in the US, sparking Beatlemania The Beatles appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, breaking television ratings records The game show Jeopardy! debuts on television Mary Poppins, starring Julie Andrews, is the top grossing film

What Happened the Year You Were Born?
More cool things for your blog at

You are 93% Scorpio

How much do you match your zodiac sign?

November 02
Birthdays
1978 Nelly (rapper, hip hop artist)
1969 Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu (bass player)
1967 Charlie 'Steele' Pennachio (singer)
1961 Bobby Dall (musician)
1961 K. D. Lang (singer)
1953 Alfre Woodard (actress)
1953 Maxine Nightingale (singer)
1942 Stefanie Powers (Federkievicz) (actress)
1942 Shere Hite (Shirley Gregory) (author)
1938 Jay Black (David Blatt) (singer)
1938 Pat Buchanan (politician)
1937 Earl "Speedoo" Carroll (singer)
1926 Charlie Walker (singer)
1920 Ann Rutherford (actress)
1914 Ray Walston (actor)
1913 Burt Lancaster (actor)
1901 Paul Ford (actor)
1865 Warren Harding (29th US President)
1795 James Polk (11th US President)
1755 Marie Antoinette ((Josèphe Jeanne) (queen of france)
1734 Daniel Boone (frontiersman, explorer)

The End of the Road

Life just gets more and more bizarre sometimes, doesn't it?

I arrived at work this morning, to find out that everyone thought I had called in sick. Apparently, there is another Elizabeth who works through my temp agency and she called in sick this morning, and nobody bothered to get the names straight. Thank god, they didnt' call in a temp to replace me today, or that would have really sucked. When I called my temp agency, the office manager actually said, 'Elizabeth, didn't you call in sick this morning?'

Uh, that would be no. I think that I would remember calling my temp agency unless I was sleepwalking, which would really have been something since I actually had to look up their number when I got to work this morning. Just another little corporate snafu. Plus they finally caught on to the fact that I was checking my outside email at work, and cut me off at the knees, so now I can no longer check either of my outside email accounts unless I'm at my night job.

I so need a new computer.

In other news, just in time for Halloween, I received a 'dear author' letter from TOR for my submission to their new chick-lit line. Despite the fact that I met Natasha Panza at our Golden Apple Awards reception, and I mentioned that in my letter, and wrote 'requested materia'l on the envelope. Somehow it's fitting that I get a rejection letter on Halloween for a manuscript with a straight to video horror movie queen as the protagonist. Maybe that's what I should have called the novel 'Straight to Video'!

So that's it for Nearly Famous. I've been rejected by about 25 agents now, some twice, and I just can't do it anymore with this manuscript. Four years of my life, on and off, I've spent writing, and revising, and rewriting. Maybe I just missed the boat with this plot, or I just don't know how to wrangle it down until it's manageable. I've gotten positive rejection letters but it's not enough right now to keep plugging away. Plus, I have too many other stories in my head that are waiting to get out that I need to write.

Perhaps one day, I'll revisit Julia, and Ryan. The characters are too viable not to do something with, if not precisely in this form. I just dont' know what to do anymore to fix the problems. Nora Roberts said that she never gives up on a manuscript, she wrestles with it until she wins. Well right now this manuscript is kicking my ass!

I hate to sound whiny, but this was the second manuscript that I wrote and it's near and dear to my heart. It combines two of my passions acting and reality TV.

I'll continue Julia's blog over at juliachamberlain.blogspot.com over the next couple of months intermittently as ideas come to me, but it's time to move on and to move forward.

So R.I.P. Nearly Famous 2001-2005. I'll miss you.

What Halloween Costume Should You Be?

Your Haloween Costume Should Be

A Sexy Bunny

What Should You Be For Halloween?

Hmm! I've never thougth of being a bunny. After seeing Bridget Jone's Diary, I'd thought it'd pretty much been done, but I might have to rethink that thought for next year. Maybe I can be a vampire bunny!

Halloween Treats

Happy Halloween everyone! I thought I'd share with y'all some of my favorite spooky movies and books in celebration of Halloween.

The Lair of the White Worm starring Hugh Grant, Catherine Oxenberg, and Amanda Donohoe. Based on the Bram Stoker novel. Yes, Bram Stoker wrote other horror stories other than Dracula, most of which are unknown. What can I say about this movie? You have to see it to believe it. It is probably one of the campiest horror films I have ever seen.

The Mummy by Anne Rice. The only Anne Rice book that I can tolerate. Read about Ramses and Cleopatra running around snapping necks in 19th century England. A hoot and a half.

Dracula by Bram Stoker. Ignore all the many movies based on the book (unless you watch the Frank Langella version) and read the original.

The Calling series by Caridad Pineiro: If you like your Vampires dark and brooding this is the series for you. I never thought a category romance series about Vampires could be so good. Kudos to the editors at Silhouette from taking a break on their babies, cowboys and amnesia, and publishing a sophisticated tale about modern day Vampires living in New York. So far, there are three books in the series, Temptation Calls, Darkness Calls, and Danger Calls.

Mary Janice Davidson's Undead series: The lighter side of the Vampire. Starring Elizabeth (Betsy) Taylor, the newly (and reluctant) Queen of the Undead. Gotta love a Vampire who adores shoes! And Erik her consort isn't half bad either. This series is so good, they're now publishing them in hardcover.

Gothic - A film by Ken Russell. This film is a retelling of how Mary Shelley came to write the novel Frankenstein. Mary, her new husband, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, Byron, Dr. John Polidori and her step-sister, Claire Clairmont are staying in a villa in Switzerland one dark and stormy night. To entertain themselves, they decide to tell ghost stories. Okay, like the Lair of the White Worm, this movie is campy in the extreme, but then it's a Ken Russell Film. Worth it just to see Julian Sands as Shelley standing out on the roof naked in the rain.

My final pick is Vincent Price in Theatre of Blood. In this movie, Vincent plays an actor who decides to kill off all the theatre critics who've given him bad reviews over the years one by one. But here's the kicker, he uses Shakespeare as his guide for their deaths. Diana Rigg plays his devoted daughter.

As you can see by my choices, I've gone for the lighter side for Halloween fare. Basically because I'm a wimp. Movies like Carrie, The Ring, The Grudge scare the absolute crap out of me. I already have to sleep with the TV set on, when I'm by myself. After watching one of those movies, I have to sleep with the light on as well. I could barely make through the Scream trilogy.

I do much better with books. Christopher Golden has a trilogy set in Sleepy Hollow, NY, that I'm dying to read (no pun intended), and I used to read John Saul all the time when I was younger, until I got too freaked out.

Even silly movies like Resident Evil (the first one) scare me to death.

What are your favorite horror movies and books?

Things that make you go hmmm!

This is a short blog today. I have a raging headache which I wish I could say was hangover related but I think might be the beginnings of a migraine. Yeah! Just what I need right now. And last night I came home from work to find out that my toilet had sprung a leak. I tried to plug up the leak by wrapping a plastic bag around it, but it's like trying to plug up a hole on the Titanic. A valiant effort but the ship is going down. Of course, the super was no where to be found on a Sunday, so I have to pray that the bags hold until I can call the management office tomorrow to get a plumber to come look at it. Thank god, I work two jobs. In fact, I'm working Halloween to make even more extra money.

In the meantime, I want to recommend a movie for y'all to see. It's called CAMP. It came out a few years ago. Basically it's one summer at performing arts camp in upstate New York, but you don't have to be a performer or have gone to a similar camp to appreciate it. If you've ever gone to sleepover camp, you can relate. I loved it, I can't believe that I've owned the video for two years, and just watched it for the first time.

I also ran into an old friend of mine recently. As we were catching up on each other's lives, he mentioned that he's thinking of running for state office. Now, I've known this guy for 12 years, and I never would have imagined that he had any interest in politics. Immediately, my little plot atenna went up, and never let down as he was telling me his plans. I, of course, instantly saw that this was a good opportunity for me to see what a campaign is like up close. Apparently, I'm also incapable of having any ordinary conversation without thinking about how I can use it in my writing.

And then yesterday, I'm watching I Love the 80's 3-D for I think 1989, when I learned some disturbing info about Disney's The Little Mermaid. It appears that the reverand who marries Ariel and Eric, has a boner during the ceremony. I'm not kidding, they freeze-framed the shot, so that you can see his little cartoon woody. Does Michael Eisner know about this? What other suprises are lurking in those innocent Disney cartoons?

I have to go lie down now and recover from the shock!

What kind of eyes do you have?

RAVEN EYES

You have Raven
Eyes!
Positive Traits: Intellectual,
Wise, Experienced, Honest,
Trustworthy
Negative Traits: Pompous,
Condescending, Withdrawn, Pessimistic,
Depressed

Your eyes are the windows to your soul. What type of eyes do you have?
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Embarrasing Moments

A friend sent me this in an email, and I thought it was cute:

Little David was in his fifth grade class when the teacher asked the children what their fathers did for a living. All the typical answers came up: doctor, policeman, salesman, etc.

David was being uncharacteristically quiet, and so the teacher asked him about his father.

"My father's an exotic dancer in a gay cabaret and takes off all his clothes in front of other men. Sometimes, if the offer's really good, he'll go out to the alley with some guy and have sex with him for money."

The teacher, shaken by this statement, hurriedly set the other children to work on some coloring, and then took Little David aside.

"Is that really true about your father?" she asked.

"No," said David. "Actually, he works for the Bush administration, but I was too embarrassed to say that in front of the other kids."


I laughed my head off when I read that. Out of the mouths of babes!