There is that Leviathan

Happy Friday the 13th. Casey Wyatt here.

As many of us know, this weekend marks that 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.  One hundred years ago today, it was a Saturday. I found this out at a cool website - timeanddate.com.

Of course, I could have looked the information up in one of the many Titanic books in my library. The sinking of the Titanic has long been one of my many historical obsessions (other “favorites” include: the Black Death, Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, Hartford Circus Fire, the Spanish Flu pandemic). My interest in the ship began long before the movie (which I’ll get to in a moment).

I’m not sure when I first learned about the Titanic. Like all “great” or tragic moments in history, I’d probably learned it in school. When I was a kid, all history was new to me. I didn’t know how the story ended and just had to know. (I don’t know why more people don’t love history!). 

The story about the “unsinkable” ship that foundered on its maiden voyage struck a chord. And I wondered, where was the ship? Would I be alive when they found it?

I remember being so astonished when I saw my mother’s copy of National Geographic in 1986 proclaiming the ship had been found. How could I have missed that moment? I was in my sophomore year in college and didn’t know! (I have that issue, by the way!)

No internet back then, folks (oh the horror!). In any case, the ship had been located. No longer was it among history’s unsolved mysteries like what happened to Amelia Earhart and Jimmy Hoffa.

When I first heard that James Cameron was making a movie about the Titanic, I remember looking at Hubby and saying -”it’s either going to be a huge success or the biggest flop of all time.”  My opinion was only reinforced by the trailers of the ship, vertical and ready to sink. I was terrified to go see it. Come on. I knew it didn’t end well!

The horror those people must have suffered through. Too much to bear. I avoided the movie until March 1998. I went alone to a Sunday matinée. The theater was packed. Packed! The movie had been out since December 1997. Remember – I used to work in a movie theater. This type of steady attendance – unheard of.

I managed to keep my dread at bay, until the early stages of the ship’s sinking. When Captain Smith shut himself into the wheelhouse, the people around me began to sniff. Then openly weep.  Other than E.T., I’ve never been so emotionally distraught at a movie. The ending – an arrow to my heart – nearly undid me.

Love story aside. My interest in Titanic reached new heights. I had to know everything!! I’m lucky enough to live very close to The Titanic Historical Society Museum in Massachusetts. So I went (several times). It’s still there in the back of Henry’s jewelry store.

So what does all this mean? Why are so many of us fascinated by this story? I can’t answer that for anyone but me.

For me, it’s always been about the people. The human element. Those could have been my relatives. Or yours. In 1918, my grandmother came to America at 18 months old on a steamship from Italy. I have that handwritten ticket tucked away. My mother gave it to me thinking it was a birth certificate, but I took one look at it and recognized the shipping company letterhead.

Violet Jessop survived the sinking of Titanic and her sister ship Britanic.

Back on Saturday night, April 13, 1912, none of the passengers or crew knew that they were about to become part of the most infamous maritime disaster of all time. They were biding their time, looking forward to the rest of their lives. No different from us.

There are many, many, many lessons to be taken from the Titanic tragedy. But this is the one that sticks with me the most – you never know when life as you know it will end. There is no preparation. No advance warning. We can only live in the moment.

Like, I’m living in this one unique moment right now, typing this blog. So whether you’re moved by historical events or not, unless someone discovers the

Milivina Dean - last survivor of Titanic - passed away in 2009.

secret to time travel, we can only go in one direction – forward!

What say you? Are you moved by history? Is there a tragedy that speaks to you?

Brushes With Greatness

Hello, my loves. Suze here. Welcome!

This weekend my extended writing posse, Connecticut Romance Writers of America (click here for more information!), is having a very special guest visit our monthly meeting: Historical Romance Goddess Julia Quinn! Woohoo! (If you live within driving distance of southern Connecticut, there’s still time to get a ticket)

The fan girl in me is salivating at this opportunity to meet JQ. And it got me thinking about other brushes with greatness I’ve had. Here’s my list:

1.  Janet Evanovich and her daughter Alex.  Sister Scribe J Monkeys and I drove out toward Beantown, had a long boozy lunch, then went to Janet’s book signing for Wicked Appetite. We visited with Alex while we waited in line for our turn to meet Janet. Awesome!  Still hoping we absorbed some of that magic …

2.  Doug Henning. The youngsters among us may not recognize the name, but back in the day he was quite a famous illusionist.  I was waiting to go up into the CN Tower in Toronto, and Doug and his very Bohemian girlfriend/wife — she actually wore a beret and a peasant skirt — were

Wish upon that star, baby!

in front of me.  I recall he had a HUGE head of long, black, curly hair, and kind of a bunny-like smile. He was extremely thin, and very short. I’m only five-three, and he was shorter than I if you subtracted the high eighties hair. Did not get free tickets to his show. Crap.

3.  Unknown 1950s/60s comic. Mr. Suze and I got married at a resort hotel in New York State. There was a gentleman getting some quietly special treatment when we went to breakfast the next morning. He looked familiar, and we knew he had to be some comedian from the Red Skelton era, but we never did figure out who he was. This is one of those things that will likely bug me forever!

4.  Richard Chamberlain. I went to NYC with my bestie from back home to see The Sound of Music. We were in a very small theater, and we had really great seats, right up front. Now, raise your hands. Who was in love with Father Ralph in The Thorn Birds? Every one of you, right? Well …. hang onto those memories because he didn’t look so great a few years ago as Captain Von Trapp. I mean, I know the man was getting up there in years, but he was wearing an inordinate amount of makeup that did NOT help the situation. Also guyliner.  Let’s just go back and think about Father Ralph again, shall we?

5. Katherine Hepburn. Mr. Suze and I used to keep a boat down at the shore, until I “made” him sell it (still a sore subject in our house). While we were out on Long Island Sound once, we were traveling behind a yacht. Up on the top deck sat an elderly woman, bundled up against the wind, all alone save for her captain at the helm. There was no mistaking her. She looked happy. She didn’t invite us back to her place for tea. Sigh.

So spill! What celebrities have you seen up close? Was the experience monumental? Or was it monumentally disappointing?

Dialogue That Made Me Swoon

 DIALOGUE THAT MADE ME SWOON

 Hi everyone.  Thea Devine here. It probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone who knows me that GWTW is among my favorite books.  I first read it when I was sixteen, and you can probably guess my teenaged reaction to the love story.  But, as I subsequently discovered, it’s wholly different book when you reread it when you‘re older (say, oh — thirty and forty), and as I did recently with my sister-in-law.  However there’s one thing in GWTW that never changes and that, for me, was always the whole key to anything about romance.

It’s the moment at Twelve Oaks before the picnic, when Scarlett — in the book — has just encountered Charles Hamilton on the staircase, and turns to see Rhett staring up her, and indignantly thinks, “he looks as if — as if he knows what I look like without my shimmy.” (sic — my edition).

I love that moment. I always thought it went beyond prurience, that he was not envisioning her naked, he was not thinking sex; rather he was seeing her whole, her beauty, her vanity, her greed, her flaws and phony flirtatiousness, and everything about her right there that made her “her” — and he decided in that moment, he wanted her, that he loved her.  Not just the body, but the whole person, just as she was.

Don’t we all?  Want the  guy who wants us just as we are?  Without lists, demands, requirements must-haves, guarantees?.  Don’t we want to say to him, “I love you,” and have him respond, as does Han Solo in a critical moment to Princess Leia in The Empire Strikes Back, “I know.”

Oh, be still my heart.  That he knew in his deepest core that she loved him.  That acknowledgement was more than him saying “I love you.”  It said that he’d always known and everything he’d ever done was colored by that, in spite of the bickering, the clashes, in spite of everything.

I love that.  Who wouldn’t love that?  But even better — a moment on House:  you can quibble about whether House and Cuddy belonged together (and I will, because I didn’t think they did), but when he said to her in a last year’s episode, “I always want to kiss you,” –   I melted into a puddle of swoon.  Always .. Are you imagining that?  Always … God, I wish I’d written that line.  Think what means. Always …

But then, I’m hopeless romantic. I love love.  I love being in love.  I think love is forever, in spite of all the recent public and humiliating break-ups in the news. I think those moments above expressed in dialogue are at the heart of romance — and that we all yearn for that deep visceral knowledge of the other person that transcends everything but the need and desire to be together because …

Because we love – and they know.   Always …

Do you have a favorite line of dialogue?  Or something amazing your husband ever said to you?  Or something else that made you swoon …?

Thea Devine is the author of twenty-five historical and contemporary novels and a dozen novellas.  She was honored as a Romance Pioneer by Romantic Times. She’s currently working on a sequel to her June 2011 release, The Darkest Heart.

If You Can Dodge A Wrench, You Can Dodge A Ball

Hi, friends! Suze here. Happy second day of spring. I hope you’re all having a fantabulous day!  First some business: the winner of a copy of Joan Swan’s novel FEVER is Pamela Mason. Congratulations! Joan will be contacting you.

Anybody recognize the title of this post? I’ll give you a hint: it’s about Dodgeball. Specifically, the Vince Vaughn-Ben Stiller movie Dodgeball. Yup, it’s stupid, but it’s hilarious. If you need some real belly laughs, and don’t want to think too hard, that’s your movie.

Remember the 5 Ds of dodgeball: dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge!

There’s a Yoda-like character called Patches O’Houlihan, a wheelchair-bound curmudgeon who takes a ragtag bunch of guys from a neighborhood gym and teaches them how to win at professional dodgeball. One of his training methods is to hurl huge wrenches at the team. He tells them, you guessed it, “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.”

As my teenage son was watching this movie for about the forty-seventh time, and I could hear it in the background as I made dinner, something struck me. No, not a wrench to the back of my head! But it had almost the same impact.

I’ve been struggling to get words on the page with my latest manuscript. And I find this hard to understand, because I have a pretty good handle on the big turning points, I’ve got a whole town full of suspects, and I think I know whodunnit and why. I like my main character. I think that’s my problem.

I like her too much. So much that I don’t want to be mean to her. For example, in the scene I just “finished,” I had my heroine, her uncle, and a love interest/suspect out in the north woods. The love interest/suspect emerges from the woods and tells the heroine not to come any closer, because there’s a dead body among the trees. She turns and runs. Then, somebody has to go to notify emergency personnel, and somebody has to stay with the body. The sun is setting and they’re in the middle of the woods, and there are animals in the woods. The kind that would tear chunks out of a person lying on the ground. So what did I do? I sent my heroine back to the house to call for help.

Well no wonder this story isn’t working. I should have thrown a sack of wrenches at her. I should have had her discover the body. I should have had her sitting out in the woods, inadequately dressed, in the dark, with only a small campfire and a dead guy between her and the coyotes. What was I thinking?

Have you heard the expression Nice Women Rarely Make History? Well, nice stories aren’t very interesting either, nor do they turn out to be blockbusters.

So I’m going back to the beginning, and this time I’m bringing the whole toolbox. If I run out of wrenches, there’s always a hammer.

Do you have trouble making trouble for your characters? Or do you gleefully mess with their lives?

Something Old, Something New

Hey, friends, it’s Thursday again. Suze here.  They say everything old becomes new again. I think they, whoever they are, might just be right.

Have you heard about the new Disney movie, John Carter? Let me tell you a little secret. It’s based on a hundred-year-old story by none other than Edgar Rice Burroughs of Tarzan fame.  The original story is called A Princess of Mars, and is the first of a series. When I heard about this, I just had to check it out on Project Gutenberg. (Click here if you want to read it).

Those of you who’ve been following the Scribes for a while may have heard me mention Project Gutenberg. (Click here to check it out) Thousands of books that are now in the public domain (copyrights expired) are available, free of charge, on the Gutenberg web site. There are books everyone knows, and there are some wonderfully obscure titles. How’s this for a great title? The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsene Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar. Most books are in several formats so you can read them on your computer, or load them onto your Nook, Kindle, iPad, or other device.

But let’s face it. The classics can be a little, um dry sometimes. OK, maybe most of the time. But there’s a wonderful solution. Many, many books on Gutenberg are also available as audiobooks, also in various formats. A project called LibriVox has brought together some extremely talented amateurs who will read these classic books to you. (LibriVox has its own site as well. Click here) I just finished listening to a book I studied in college, a Victorian thriller called Lady Audley’s Secret, and let me tell I was astounded by just how good the reading was.

The story was far more vibrant and engaging when read aloud.  Not only that, but as I paid attention to the structure of the story, I realized that my creative mind was working overtime imagining new “what ifs.” What if this story were set in the present? How would I change the ending? What if I made one of the minor characters the heroine? Just from this one not-well-known novel I had a couple dozen ideas that I might be able to use in my current WIP, or in future works.

So today’s Secret Unlocked? If you’re feeling short on inspiration and even shorter on plot and character ideas, why not take a cue from the classics? It’s legal, it’s not as intimidating as you might think, and you just might be surprised at what you come up with.

What was the last classic novel you read? Did you love it or hate it?

The Oscars — a Confession

Hi, everybody. Happy National Pig Day! (click here to learn more about this fascinating holiday) . Suze here on a fine and snowy Thursday in New England. Hope you’re all warm and comfy, wherever you are.

So — did you watch the Oscars last weekend? I’ll let you in on a little secret. I can never sit all the way through them. I always have to work the next day and, trust me, I’m not the friendliest puppy in the pet shop if I don’t get enough sleep.  So I just wait for the recaps the next day. Is that bad?

Let it happen, Cap’n!

I’m never all that interested in the winners, either. If Meryl Streep doesn’t win every year, she should, that’s a given. Who’s that French guy, the best actor? Didn’t see the The Artist, never heard of the actor. I read The Help  but still haven’t seen the movie. Christopher Plummer? Well, I’m happy for him, but I prefer to remember him as Captain von Trapp singing Edelweiss or dancing with Fraulein Maria in a moonlit garden.

What I really love are the gowns. Who was best dressed? Who was worst? I used to do quite a bit of sewing (before it got to be more expensive to make your own clothes than to buy them ready-made), and I still occasionally drag out the sewing machine if I want new curtains or throw pillows, so I know a bit about how gowns are constructed. Let me just tell you that there is a reason couture gowns are so expensive. There are hours and hours and hours of painstaking work that go into them.

I’m always amazed at how the designers make each gown unique. You’d think there would be only so many combinations out there: Start with your choice of strapless, spaghetti straps, cap sleeves, elbow-length sleeves, three-quarter sleeves, or long sleeves. Add a jewel neckline, sweetheart, or plunging vee.  Choose a peplum or no peplum (that’s the extra, longish ruffle that sits at the top of the hip — see Michelle Williams’s dress this year for that detail). Choose a fitted or full skirt, and skirt length (short, at the knee, tea length, or to the floor).

That’s pretty much it, right? Well, no. That’s only the framework. Leave out any of these items, and you don’t have a complete gown.  In fact, you’ve probably got a pretty serious wardrobe malfunction.  But once the basic choices are made, the artistry comes into play. The selection of a fabric or fabrics, the addition of embellishments such as beading or sequins, the way a gown is fitted to the individual wearer – it’s these details that make each creation unique.

Writing is a lot like that. All stories have a basic framework. But if you gave the same set of characters and circumstances to two different authors, each would come up with a completely different tale (now that I think of it, that might be fun!). That’s because each author brings her own beads and sequins and feathers to snazz up her own story.  How much fun is that? The sparklier, the better, I say.

Now, because I know you’re all just dying to know my opinions, here are a few of my Oscars fashion hits and misses. Click here to take another look.

1. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt – You’re both stunningly gorgeous, but what’s with Angie’s slutty pose?  Perhaps a few remedial lessons at a charm school would help. And Brad’s overgrown, shapeless hair borders on creepy – Get thee to a stylist immediately. Sorry, but thumbs down.

2.  Meryl Streep — Some people didn’t like the shiny bronze gown, and this made a lot of worst-dressed lists. Personally, I liked it, even though the top didn’t seem to be fitted properly.  Thumbs up.

3.  Octavia Spencer — I loved your simple gown, I loved your womanly curves, and I loved that you were so excited about your win. Thumbs up.

4.  Jennifer Lopez — You are also stunningly gorgeous, but why do you insist on such painful-looking, severe buns on the top of your beautiful head? And why do you so often choose gowns that look as though they weren’t quite finished? Or did a bodice-button pop off and roll under the limousine just before you were to go into the theater, with nary a safety pin to be found to hold the whole hot mess of a dress together? Whether or not there was nip-slip, or it really was just a shadow, this look was not daring or edgy. It was just distracting, like a twisted car wreck on the side of the road. Thumbs down.

5.  Gwyneth Paltrow — If her dress were gray, Gwyneth would look like an undernourished German prison matron. It’s both strange and severe. I might have liked it better if it had some color, or if Gwyneth had chosen a less awful hairdo. Although I dig the extra-large jeweled cuff bracelet, the overall look is a Thumbs Down.

Perfect!

Drum roll, please … my top pick …

6. Viola Davis– I absolutely adore this stunning green gown. I love the color, I love the style, I love the unusually funky earrings, and I love that Viola flaunted her hair in that cute, coppery style.  Way to rock your natural assets, Vi. Definitely thumbs up!

Your turn. What’s your favorite part of the Oscars? Which gown did you like best? Which did you hate?

Dystopian-In or Out?

Hey all you Scribes fans, PJ Sharon here on this lovely Tuesday morning in the Berkshires. We’ve had a fabulous stretch of weather in New England which, as much as we’re enjoying it, has got to mean Mother Nature is lurking around the corner waiting to clobber us. I hate to be negative, anticipating the worst, but aren’t we all thinking the same thing and remembering those dark days during the blackout in October when we weren’t sure if the apocalypse was perhaps rearing its ugly head?

I bring this up now because I’ve just started a new project that has been roaming around the recesses of my mind for some time and won’t leave me alone. It’s a Dystopian trilogy called “The Chronicles of Lilly Carmichael.” If you want to get a peek at the premise and offer any suggestions for the title of Book 1 in the series, stop over at my “Extraordinary Stories of an Average teenage Life” blog, and weigh in. If I choose your title, you’ll get signed copies of each of my books, including the March release of Savage Cinderella. (Click on the title and scroll down if you want to read chapter one of Savage Cinderella.)

What exactly is dystopian and why is it so hot, you ask? Dystopian YA literature, also known as YA dys-lit, is loosely defined as stories about “post-apocalyptic” societies in which misery and negative conditions prevail, or a seeming utopia is gained at horrifying cost. Scott Westerfeld, Author of “The Uglies” series, has this to say about what draws teens to this genre in droves. Click here for his insightful take on this topic. Since the arrival of Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy, dys-lit has taken off like wildfire with teens and adults alike, and shows no signs of slowing down. Everyone seems fascinated by the fate of our future and imaginations appear to be drawn to the idea of destruction and chaos.

It’s not like this is a new concept. Books like “Farenheit 451″ by Ray Bradbury, “The Time Machine” by HG Wells, “1984″ by George Orwell, and “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley were talking end of the world survival long before Westerfeld and Collins arrived on scene. Since then, however, hundreds of dystopian stories have hit the YA shelves. Some of my favorites are “The Giver” by Lois Lowry, “How I Live Now,” by Meg Rossoff, and obviously—the “Hunger Games” trilogy—can’t wait for the movie! If you haven’t seen the trailer, it’s a MUST see. Check it out here.

What does the publishing world have to say about all this? Is Dystopian on its way out? Or is it the “new paranormal”? Publisher’s Weekly has this to say.

According to some buzz in the publishing world, there is a glut in the market, but most of the articles I’ve read disagree. Read here for another article from PW that speaks of “paranormal fatigue” and calls dys-lit “the next big thing.” I’m thinking those that are saying that Dystopian is on its way out are agents and editors who are getting inundated with dys-lit submissions and are trying to tone down the frenzy. They only have so many slots to fill, and it takes them eighteen months to get the books out. Perhaps they are anticipating that in two years, maybe the market will be saturated. I personally don’t see that happening. As an indie author, I like the fact that I’m under no such pressure to follow market trends or worry that I won’t be able to sell my story to a publisher who is trying to assess an ever-changing and fickle market. But just in case, I plan to jump in now and ride the wave while it’s big and running wild. I plan to have the first book out in July. And true to my other books, there will be a boy-girl romance and a hopeful ending.

Shifting from contemporary to dystopian may seem a bit risky, but it should be clear to you all by now that I’m anything but traditional, and my heart and my muse are telling me that now is the right time for this story. Besides, I have to follow my muse since she and Lilly are keeping me up nights. If I’ve learned nothing else on this indie-pub journey, it is that I have to trust my gut and follow my instincts. So far, they haven’t steered me wrong.

For more information on what various publishers are looking for in YA, check out this article.

What do you think of Dystopian? Here to stay, or doomed to fizzle?

I Heart Ebenezer Scrooge

Happy Friday everyone! Casey here wishing you holiday cheer!

Gotta love the Muppets

One of my all time favorite novels is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. But, it wasn’t always.

As a kid, the whole story irritated me. It seemed like it was constantly on television and I would’ve rather  watched A Charlie Brown Christmas or Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.

The story about an old curmudgeon who hates Christmas, shrieking “humbug” was totally lost on me. And that annoying little kid lisping – “God Bless us everyone” - hated it!

Then something happened. I grew up. Around the same time, CBS broadcasted A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott.  I don’t know what it was about that version, but it resonated with me. From that point on a I was A Christmas Carol convert and an Ebenezer Scrooge fan.

How can you not love a story about a man who seemed doomed to spend eternity carrying a big long chain loaded with money boxes? The visitation of three spirits, each with a lesson about love, family, and sacrifice spoke to me. And it still does.

I went from hater to A Christmas Carol connoisseur. I watched the numerous film and television productions (too numerous to list here). And then I went to the source – Charles D himself.

Imagine my surprise when I learned the story had been written in the 1850s. I was shocked at how little times have changed. Each Christmas season I try to re-read the book. Last year I read it on my Nook (I wonder what Charles Dickens would have thought about e-books).

Make it so... Ebenezer

In the 1990′s, I discovered Patrick Stewart’s one man show. His rendition of A Christmas Carol is equally enchanting. Or maybe it’s that awesome english accent?

I admit my favorite film version is A Muppet Christmas Carol. My kids have long since stopped watching it with me. But I don’t care!!

The bottom line: I love Ebenezer because, even though he seemed entrenched in his ways, he changed his mind. He opened his heart and learned from his mistakes. He saw the error of his ways (the worship of money and success over all else) and transformed. He became a better person, capable of appreciating the value of others.

 How can you not love a story like that?

What about you? What is your favorite Christmas story? And for the record, I also love Jean Sheppard’s A Christmas Story, but I’ll have to save that for next year!

Reviews-The good, the bad, and the ugly.

 

Hello my Tuesday Scribe’s readers. PJ Sharon, here today talking about reviews.

Reviews come in many forms. You have the all-important “Big Name” endorsement or the Editorial review from some well-known source like RT or Publishers Weekly. And then you have consumer reviews. Summaries and quotes from wonderful readers who take time to go onto Amazon, B&N, Goodreads, etc, to leave starred reviews. These reviews are essential to leading others to find your books

 For some reason, I don’t always listen to movie reviews. I do, however, tend to look to reviews when it comes time to buy books. It matters to me if others have enjoyed the story and the writing. But what about a bad review? A bad review can potentially derail a young career by lowering the author’s starred average and keeping them from being able to advertise on certain sites.  Some book review blogs and promotional sites require as many as five, ten, or even twenty, 5 star reviews to advertise on their site.

Let me say I’m happy that so far Heaven Is For Heroes hasn’t had (to my knowledge) a bad review. I had a Publishers Weekly review that was average but neither stellar nor derogatory. I was just thrilled that they actually read and reviewed my book. I’ve been lucky. I know lots of authors who have had bad reviews, and it seems hard for them to get past it. My thinking is that you can’t take anything personally in life. You have to expect that at some point someone will have something negative to say about you or your work. It’s the risk we take when we put ourselves out there. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but just because you have one, doesn’t make it right. I have to believe that the positive can counteract any negative feedback you get if, indeed, you have a great book.

I’ve recently started to review books and my feeling is that I will only review a book if,

 1) I am dying to read it. I have VERY little time to read so I’d better be having a good time. I’m picky about how I spend my reading time.

 2) If I like it enough to give it at least four stars.

3) If I have only positive feedback to offer. I don’t want to be responsible for saying anything negative about anyone or their work. If I felt strongly that I could offer the person constructive feedback, I would e-mail them privately or not post a review at all.

I might note as a sidebar that I won’t take points off for typos as much as I’m tempted to. I learned on my first book how hard it is to catch them all. The perfectionist in me who recalls a time when I rarely found a typo, is sad to see the current production of books in the digital world of the flawed spell check and the pinch of having to pay for many layers of editing. There are typos in most books these days, indie and traditionally published.

For today, I wanted to share with you my latest book review. If you haven’t read Renee Pace’s OFF LEASH, you must. It is a wonderful contemporary YA.

PJ’s Review for OFF LEASH by Renee Pace

OFF LEASH is a story of life and death, dogfighting, and discovering that a best friend, in any form, can save a life. Renee Pace’s debut novel takes you inside the life of poverty in a truly heartrending account of Jay Walker, a fifteen year-old boy saddled with a drug addicted mother and a little sister who’s dying from cancer. Jay’s life is one of desperation and hopelessness until he meets Ollie, a selfless and endearing Boxer that Jay is paid to walk. I don’t want to give the whole story away, because you should definitely read this book for yourself. I fell in love with the characters and found myself rooting for them on every page.           

I loved the voice of Ollie in a first person perspective of what life is like for a dog. This sweet, rambunctious canine steals the story. And Jay’s nitty-gritty account of his life and the hard choices he is forced to face, are spot on in their depth and meaning. The way that Pace reveals Jay’s character in many layers throughout his personal journey from boy to man is commendable. I felt like I was at his side from beginning to end.

Speaking of endings, Ms. Pace offers alternate endings for her books which I think is brilliant and I wish I’d thought of it myself. For me, I always choose the Hollywood ending. Although I couldn’t stop myself reading both endings and finding them diverse and poignant. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read more from this author. I’m waiting patiently for her next book in the Nitty Gritty series, OFF LIMITS. To see more of Renee Pace’s books or buy information go to http://www.yabeyond.com/books/renee-pace/

 

How about you? Do you buy books based on reviews? Do you think it’s okay to trash a book if you don’t like it?

You’ve Got a Friend in Me…

Happy Friday everyone! Casey Wyatt here. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving day. And for those of you participating in Black Friday, good shopping!

Let's go to the movies!

All week, the Scribes have been sharing their thoughts on Thanksgiving.  I’ll let you in on a secret, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love a day that is focused on family and food, but not obsessed with gift giving. Can’t beat that combination.

One thing I love about Thanksgiving is the holiday movie season. My family loves movies. In fact, my husband and I met while employed at a movie theater.

Many studios love to release their big holiday films the day before Thanksgiving. And in 1999, Pixar released Toy Story 2. We were all huge fans of Woody, Buzz and the gang and because we wanted to beat the crowds, hubby and I decided to take the kids Thanksgiving morning.

Seriously, going to the movies on a major holiday is not big on people’s to do list. Trust me, as a former theater employee who used to work holidays, I speak the truth. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I called my mother and told her about my plan. We’d go to the very first show and get to her house in time for dinner. And then I waited for her reaction. I mean, who puts Toy Story 2 ahead of Thanksgiving?

Well, instead of balking, she was ecstatic. She and her best friend (also my kids’ Godmother) would meet us there. I don’t know why I was surprised. My mom is a card-toting member of the Woody fan club and there was no way she wanted to fight the crowds either.

That morning we arrived at the theater and the six of us camped out in prime seats: center aisle – not too far down and not too far up. As expected, there was barely anyone in the theater with us.  The kids were happy. They had popcorn, drinks, and candy my mother had snuck in for them. My youngest, only four at the time, was so light-weight my husband had to hold his seat down, otherwise, the poor kid would’ve been trapped like a human accordion.

The lights went out and we were all giddy with excitement. This was an “event” -  all of us watching the movie together. Right then and there, I was so grateful to have such a wonderful family. My mom is the coolest person in the world. She’s never lost her child-like sense of wonder and I should have known, out of everyone I knew, she’d be up for something different.

Disney - here we come!

The movie was an incredible story (Pixar has the best  writers in the world) and we all loved it. I don’t really remember the rest of the day. I know we had turkey and all the fixings. My brother probably laughed at us for going to a movie that morning.

But deviating off the traditional holiday path, got us all thinking. What if….?

So we made plans for Thanksgiving 2000. We would all travel to Walt Disney World on Thanksgiving morning.

And did we all go? You bet we did. But that is a post for another day!

What non-traditional ways have you spent the holidays? Have you ever wanted to ditch the normal routine and try something completely different? Enquiring Scribes want to know.