After a Fashion–Oscars 2013

Hey there, Scribelings. Suze here. It’s the first Thursday after the Oscars and you know what that means–it’s time for Suze’s picks for best dressed! I wish I could post actual pictures here, but I can’t because of copyright issues. So I’ve provided a link in each entry below–they’re in no particular order:

Nicole Kidman. (Click here) This dress is gorgeous. I love the metallic accents at hem, neckline and waist, and I love the sleek and simple lines of the silhouette. It’s gorgeous, classy, but with a bit of an edge. I love her hair too–so soft and feminine.

Jennifer Garner.  (Click here) Will you look at this color? Beautiful. Again, a classic silhouette, but with the unexpected addition of a frou-frou bustle/train. And check out the lovely jewels at throat and wrist. Another soft, wavy hairdo makes this a pretty much perfect look.

Maria Menounos. (Click here) Again, a beautiful color in a classic va-va-va-voom gown. Note the retro-80s high bouffant–love it! (Am I showing my age? I just want to turn on the Talking Heads and dance!)

Jenna Dewan-Tatum. (Click here) I have to include this one because, for Pete’s sake, that’s Channing Tatum’s baby in there. Sigh.

Kerry Washington. (Click here) I love, love, love everything about this gown, especially the little Jackie-O-like bow at the waist.

Now, I haven’t forgotten the guys (puhleeez!). I gave you Channing Tatum (you’re welcome) above, but here are a few more:

Bradley Cooper. (Click here). The suit is classic and perfectly fitted; the hair and scruffy beard are pure romance hero. He might be my new celebrity crush because he took his mother as his date to the Oscars.

The Avengers. (Click here). The Avenger guys. In tuxes. And you just know they all smell yummy and will always pick up the check.  {Thud} That’s the sound of me hitting the floor. No, don’t bother to wake me up. I’m having a beautiful dream.

Did you watch the Oscars? Do you care about the fashion? What was your favorite (or least favorite) look of the night?

Shaken, Not Stirred

Happy Friday everyone! Casey here. It’s Skyfall day!

Image from Skyfall – Official Movie site – http://www.skyfall-movie.com/site/

If you’ve hung around the Scribes blog long enough then you know we are movie fans. I’m sure I’m not the only James Bond aficionado around here. I started my 007 love affair at a young age, first watching Sean Connery, George Lazeby and Roger Moore on ABC with my family. At the time, I had no idea they were heavily edited. And, of course, all the double entendres went right over my head (Pussy Galore!).

The first James Bond movie I ever saw in a theater was Moonraker. One of the more campier offerings, but I distinctly remember everyone loving the metal-mouthed bad guy Jaws, played by Richard Kiel. I was probably in my early teens and still pretty naive about all the innuendo!

Over the years, I faithfully followed all the Bonds as they changed over time. I was thrilled when Pierce Brosnan finally got his chance with the Astin Martin. And while, I was sad to see him go, I loved Daniel Craig in Casino Royale. The harder edged story and the intensity really made me fall in love with the franchise all over again.

As writers there are some lessons to take away from the Bond movies. Part of Bond’s enduring success is a formula that’s stood the test of time and multiple actors playing our hero.

1. Action – I can’t think of a single Bond flick without several pulse pounding action sequences. And they aren’t there just for the thrill value either. They have a purpose and serve to move the plot along (although sometimes you have to wait until the end of the movie to see all the connections).

2. Babes. Lots and lots of babes – skimpy outfits required – Aside from our favorite secret agent, there are always at least two sexy women. One could be loosely considered to be the “love interest” (at least for the duration of the movie). The other (mostly in the earlier movies), slept with Bond then ended up dead later. Who could forget Goldfinger? Jill Eaton dead on the bed, clad only in gold paint. Or in Moonraker, when the sexpot is eaten by dogs. After a while, the first woman to have sex with Bond had the life expectancy of a red-shirted ensign on Star Trek.

3. Villains – no one has more fascinating, campy villains than Mr. Bond. Granted they have stepped away from some of the more cornball aspects of the series (Man with the Golden Gun – extra nipple anyone!). 007 always shines best when the villains are a match for him . Who can forget Sean Connery strapped to a table with Goldfinger cackling overhead – “No. Mr. Bond. I expect you to die!” Classic.

4. Gadgets – Bond has done it all and with the most amazing gadgets. Explosive pens, cars that morph into submarines, even a rocket jetpack. And the cars. So many beautiful and classic Astin Martins. I know, they strayed away from the AM in some of the films, but I hear it’s back and more awesome than ever in Skyfall.

5. Super sidekicks/happening henchmen- Q, Miss Moneypenny and Felix Lightner. They’ve all helped anchor James Bond and provide a sense of continuity no matter which actors have played them. And those henchmen – Jaws, Oddjob, Xenia Onatop (the fabulous Famke Jensen) and May Day (Grace Slick). There are way too many to name, but for a complete list – click here.

6. Exotic Locales – the locations are characters in their own right. I’m pretty sure Mr. Bond has been just about everywhere – including space.

7. Awesome catchphrases – Nothing says Bond like – “Bond, James Bond.” Or “Shaken, not stirred.” No one can quip like 007. There is always some humor. Depending on the actor and the decade, it’s dry or downright corny, but we fans love it all the same!

8. The Opening Credits – Nobody does it better. The classic theme song.That gun barrel eye view often followed by an amazing action sequence which culminates in opening credits (silhouettes of nude models, weapons – you name it) often sung by the pop star du jour.

Okay, back to writing. Yes, I know I got a bit carried away. Watch any Bond film and you’ll find all or most of these elements. And if you’re wearing your writer goggles, you will find the basics elements – the call to action, GMC, twists, black moments, love (okay, sex) scenes, and final victory.

I’m sure Ian Fleming, when he was writing his books in his hideaway Goldeneye, had no idea that fifty years of movies later, his characters would still be alive and thriving. Something most of us can only dream about.

I’m looking forward to seeing Skyfall. Anyone else? Favorite Bond actor? Favorite movie? Bond moment? Bond girl, villain, location?

The Men Who Make My Heart Beat…

I saw Magic Mike today for um… research purposes. Was it well written? No. Did the male and female lead have any chemistry whatsoever? No. Did it have a satisfactory ending? No. Did I like it?

Hell yes!

There was man booty in it.  And Channing Tatum is probably one of the most physically perfect men I have ever seen. He’s got beautiful lips, and eyes and …. sigh… everything. But as yummy as he is he just doesn’t do it for me.

So in honor of Gratuitous Man Monday I’m going to share with you my list of men that I would sell my mama for.

1 The Rock. AKA Dwayne Johnson.  I fell in love with this man when I was fourteen years old. Not a girly crush. Not an ‘Oh I think he’s hot.’ But in total absolute LOVE LURVE LOOVVEE. Up until that point boys had merely existed. I had crushes on some, even liked others but when I saw The Rock on Smackdown asking the world if they could smell what he was cooking I was a goner. He was a man. A thick muscular man with pretty brown skin and perfect white smile and calves. Gorgeous calves! (I hate men with chicken legs.) I didn’t even like wrestling but I watched every damn show just for a glimpse of him. I bought his poster and even read his biography cover to cover. I’d watch him talk and get all flushed. He was my first and only celebrity crush and if it came between saving him or my mother from a burning building I’d have to think about it for a little while.

Jamie and Dwayne sitting in a tree K I S S I N G!

2. Simon Baker. I’m not usually a fan of blond men. But this man is so DREAMY. He’s the kind of guy you want to wake up looking at for the rest of your life.

What would you like for breakfast? French Toast or Waffles?

3. Old School Hottie Marlon Brando. Because before he began a love affair with food he was pretty damn yummy himself.

4. Javier Bardem. Because everybody needs a latin lover in their life

5. I haven’t ever seen an episode of his show but Joe Manganiello has got it going on. The man has got a twelve pack and if he let me I would count every one.

What about you? What man makes your heart beat?

Falling Skies

Welcome to Tuesday’s Secrets of 7 Scribes. PJ, here. Have any of you seen the television series, FALLING SKIES?  Great cast, neat effects, and well written. It’s also research for my current WIP. This TNT sleeper series is a post-apocalyptic story of what happens after the world is invaded by aliens. Survivors band together in small militia groups and fight the invaders and their creepy multi-legged “Skitters” and hope to regain control of the world or will die trying.

The story follows one such group, made up of your average cross-section of Americans, including a former Army Captain (played by Will Patton), who the group has dubbed their leader, a woman doctor (played by the lovely and talented Moon Bloodgood—love that name), who can basically do field surgery under very unsterile conditions and not seem to worry about infection, and an ordinary history teacher, played by a handsome in a scruffy kind of “anti-Carter” way, Noah Wiley, who is the humble moral-compass of a hero for the show. Folks walk around armed, grubby, scavenging for food and supplies, and trying to protect their children from being taken over by the aliens who control them with a harness that is attached to their spinal columns, that if removed, will cause death…in most cases. One teen survives and is left with some extraordinary abilities, but we’re all waiting to see if the aliens will find a way to control him once again. If alien monsters aren’t enough, our survivors need to worry about enemies in their own camp. Have I piqued your interest?

I’m not usually a big fan of “aliens take over the Earth” type movies, but this one grabbed me last season and I anxiously awaited its return this summer. You see, I was already percolating the idea of writing a dystopian story. THE CHRONICLES OF LILY CARMICHAEL came to me all mapped out in trilogy form. I knew where book one began and ended, what would happen in book two, and how the saga would come together in book three. Writing a trilogy, let alone a dystopian, was a first for me, so I decided to do some research before diving in. After reading the Hunger Games, The Giver, How I Live Now, and a few other dystopian tales, I had an idea of what types of details I wanted to include. But I had trouble seeing the logistics of what a post-apocalyptic world might actually look like. FALLING SKIES has filled in some of those blanks for me. How people live with no electricity, how they work together to find and prepare food, and what the landscape might look like once no one is maintaining roads or neighborhoods. It’s amazing to think about how fast everything would be reclaimed by nature. My back yard is evidence of this if we don’t weed-whack for a while.

In addition to FALLING SKIES, I’ve taken to watching episodes of DOOMSDAY PREPPERS. I’m fascinated by all of the theories that people have regarding the fall of our society and what they plan to do about it. Whether financial collapse, natural disasters, or zombie apocalypse, some folks seem to be remarkably equipped. They have enough food and water stored up to last years. Most have weapons amassed. One woman was so touched by her husband’s gift of a massive shipping container that they planned to bury in their yard to store supplies, that she was brought to tears. These people are serious about surviving whatever future awaits them.

Perhaps it’s too much research, but the whole apocalypse thing is making me a bit squirrelly. Lily’s story will have elements of the doom and gloom that would likely be a part of a post-apocalyptic world, but there is an underlying hopefulness that our planet and our species can survive. Lily is a healer after all, and she is determined to share that gift with the world that she feels is worth saving. Me–I’m pretty much a “live in the moment” kind of girl, but I do like to be prepared. I used to tell my scout troop, “Expect the best, but prepare for the worst.” I’m not sure how that applies to an apocalyptic catastrophe, but I’m leaning toward “expecting the best.” On the “prepare for the worst” side, my research has me taking a gun safety course next weekend with my husband and making sure I have enough emergency supplies in my house, but if a plague hits, as is the case in my “dystopian world,” I hope Noah Wiley remembers his ER days and comes to my rescue.

How about you? Do you use television and movies to do your research? More importantly, are you prepared for the worst, or expecting the best?

 

Take a Walk on The Dark Side

TGIF! Casey Wyatt here. In case you missed it last week, all month long I’m participating in Night Owl’s summer fun web hunt, check out my latest post – Vampires in Space - for more details.

I don’t know about you, so far this summer, my favorite movie has been The Avengers. First off, my hat goes off to Joss Whedon for doing a great job anchoring the story to the previous films: Iron Man 1 & 2, Thor, and Captain America. To my knowledge, this kind of cross story has never been done before. Bravo to all the filmmakers and to Marvel as well.

I seldom see movies in the theater for a second time and I made a rare exception for The Avengers. Yup, I loved it just as much the second time around. As a writer, I can’t help admire that the bad guy (Loki) and the damaged guy (Bruce Banner/Hulk) turned out to be the most compelling characters in the film.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Thor (the yummy Chris Hemsworth), Tony (Snark) Stark (the incorrigible Robert Downey jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans) and The Black Widow (Scarlet Johanson). They are all awesome. But there is just something about a bad boy.

For example take Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner looking mighty buff). He was more fun when he was on the dark side. Lethal, deadly and focused. Also enjoyable, the simmering sexual tension between him and Natasha (which as Marvel fans know – they were lovers at one time).

Mark Ruffalo’s turn as Bruce Banner, is by far, the most human, tortured and heartfelt performance of the Hulk I’ve ever seen. The rumpled clothes, soft spoken manner and repressed anger made Hulk more believable and redeemable.

And there’s Tom Hiddleston’s electric return as Loki. There were a couple of times, when I felt like I was watching a young Hannibal Lechter. Yet, he never came across as totally evil. Just that he enjoyed stirring the pot and, thankfully, didn’t really care about eating anyone’s liver.

All these messed up, mischievous and morally ambiguous men reminded me of the characters that intrigued me most from my favorite romance novels. Right out of the gate – J.R. Ward’s Vishous and Zhadist. They are the two most screwed up vampires in the series and I love them for it. I also enjoy Charlaine Harris’ Eric. Especially when you didn’t know if he really cares or not. And more recently, Karen Marie Moning’s Jericho Barrons and V’Lane (trust me – she keeps you guessing the whole time).

There is something satisfying about watching and waiting to see which side of good or evil, or somewhere in between, the tortured hero or villain will end up. This could be why I’m totally bored by Superman. The guy is just too darned perfect, which in my book equals a big yawn!

So do tell. Who likes a “good” bad guy or a damaged hero? Come on . . . I know I’m not the only one!

 

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.

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

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?