Gone Hunting

Hunting zombies, that is. I'm mid-revisions on JANE SLAYRE, finding creative new ways to save the world from zombies, vampyres, and werewolves. Awooooo! This is too much fun.

JANE SLAYRE, April 2010

Good news! JANE SLAYRE will be released on April 13, 2010. It's now available for pre-order at Amazon.com.

Pop Culture

One of the things Charlotte Bronte never had to contemplate: Reality TV. TV at all. I imagine she might have been one of those who claimed to never watch TV, but secretly caught every episode of Seinfeld. We might have shared a few laughs over reruns of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Charlotte seems very serious and studied, but she had a sly wit and I think she might have appreciated Joss Whedon's humor.

Still, I believe I can safely assume that we might have parted ways on the subject of Reality TV. I don't think she would have liked it.

Definitely not the shows I like to watch, my guilty pleasures: Survivor (I haven't missed a season), America's Next Top Model (a recent find, but I've caught up on all seasons, plus Britain's, Australia's and Canada's, thanks to YouTube), Rock of Love I, II, and Rock of Love Bus (I'm waiting for Rock of Love Boat), and Man vs Food (Adam Richman, adorable-- and hungry).

Survivor Samoa is proving to be more exciting than I anticipated after the first few episodes. Evil Russell "The biggest Survivor villain ever!" was kind of annoying to watch. He was smug, self-centered, deceptive, and making the bold and ridiculous error of sabotaging his own team. Plus, they showed him so much that we never got to see the other Survivor contestants. But then, something happened. We started to get to know the others and it turned out-- Russell was the only one really playing the game. Now I'm solidly on Team Russell. I find myself on his side, actually cheering for him to plant his evil Russell Seeds and run away with the game. And the past few weeks have been incredible with fun Tribal Councils and excellent blindsides. I don't think Russell can win, but maybe one of the original Foa Foas will pull it off. After Galu started with such a huge lead, it's really something to see them implode. It's enough to make me smize. (Smile with my eyes-- you'd have to watch ANTM to know).

I also enjoy scripted TV: House, Lie to Me, Fringe, Glee.

Do you watch Survivor? Any reality shows? What are your favorite new shows?

Whine Sisters

Pop in and check out my other blog, the one I share with bestselling authors Julia London, Kathleen Givens, Dee Davis, Kathleen O'Reilly, Jacquie D'Alessandro, and Julie Kenner. When I'm not musing here, I'm whining there, with The Whine Sisters. Join in the fun!

Refilling the Well

Took the weekend off from writing to refresh and recharge.

What I watched:

Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in The Proposal.

Boss from Hell forces engagement on assistant in order to avoid being deported, and to keep both of their jobs.

What worked-- Likable male lead, heroine's character development, witty lines, and comic situations distract from some implausibilities. Heroine remains strong and in charge while learning to open up to love. A little fluffy, but I think Charlotte would approve.

Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni in The Family Man.

Shallow, materialistic Wall Street investor gets in touch with his true values when he finds himself living the small town life that could have been.

What worked-- Strong characterization (and acting) add genuine warmth and depth to a plot that could have come off as preachy, trite, or contrived. Believable development of characters and plot. Probably just average for Charlotte due to lack of strong female lead.

Steve Carell and Juliet Binoche in Dan in Real Life.

A widower finds love again-- only it happens to be with his brother's girlfriend during a family reunion weekend.

What worked-- Good examination of Goal, Motivation, Conflict, with believable characters in warm, family setting. Charlotte might like this one best. Female characters are equal to the men and independent without having to compromise.

All movies had a central developing romance that led to a happy ending. All were character-driven, with well-drawn leads and secondaries that encouraged the viewer to overlook potential minor weaknesses in plot. Interesting. Have you seen any good movies lately?

Diving In

My favorite part of writing? Getting the first three chapters down and shaping a new project.

I love it when the characters are fresh and new and I'm getting to know them. That early shaping phase, when I'm not quite sure of the plot, but have a general idea, and I can still take it anywhere, is full of hope and inspiration. So much better than when I get in about seven chapters and start to panic and wonder if I'm really headed in the right direction, and if I shaped it the right way leading in. I always panic between chapters 7 and 11. It's my rethinking phase. But the beginning? Fun!

Today's for research and planning. Testing the water. Maybe getting some words on the page and playing around. Maybe I'll hear Charlotte's voice in my head even as I'm working on a new project that doesn't involve her. And I know what she'll be saying. "Not bad, but it needs more exclamation points." Charlotte really loved her exclamation points.

Clinging to Ideals

No doubt Charlotte and I would have our disagreements if she were alive today. The first might be on my choice to represent her with the idealized Duyckinick portrait completed in 1873, nearly twenty years after her death. It is based on a drawing by George Richmond, done in 1850 when Charlotte was about thirty-four years old (seen left).

But Charlotte looks so cross in the Richmond drawing. From reading JANE EYRE, I can gather she had a fine wit and probably a lively sense of humor, so I like to imagine she was not always so dire. The real Charlotte was probably somewhere between the two representations.

In fact, there is an actual portrait of Charlotte (found with thanks to the Bronte Society), to prove the case, in which she looks equally serious and pleasant. Quite lovely, actually (right). If her treatment of Jane is any indication of the way she felt about her own appearance, I can well imagine her instructing her portrait artist to be harsh and as accurate as possible. I was perhaps a little kinder to Jane Slayre, allowing her to feel pretty under Mr. Rochester's loving gaze, and to become a bit pretty as well. It's all about self-confidence, isn't it?

And let's not forget, I've written romance novels. I believe in fairy tales and happy endings, and also, apparently, in using pretty pictures to represent a woman I admire. So be it. Who really knows how Charlotte would have felt on the matter, or on the matter of my writing JANE SLAYRE? Or on her popularity over a hundred and fifty plus years after her death? She isn't here to say.

Welcome!

How did I end up writing with Charlotte Bronte?

I read JANE EYRE for the first time when I was thirteen, and again when I was sixteen. I decided to read it yet again, twenty-five years later, so I could discuss it with my daughter after she reads it for a school assignment later this year. What did I find? The same dramatic, thoughtful, persevering young heroine I remembered.

But why, dear reader, did I start imagining paranormal forces working against Jane? A bolder Jane? A fiercer Jane? A Jane who could occasionally laugh in the face of danger, and triumph over not only her own sorry circumstances, but over actual evil in the form of vampyres, zombies, and werewolves? The whole new story unfolded to me as if Charlotte were over my shoulder, re-imagining it with me. She was, in fact, the voice in my head as I wrote, my muse.

I know she wasn't really there. In 1855, she died from severe dehydration and perhaps typhus at age 39, only recently married and pregnant with her first child. But I consulted her, in my mind, as I worked (What would Charlotte do?), and I feel she would be satisfied and even amused with my retelling, which by no means intends to replace the original JANE EYRE, a celebrated and beloved work of English Literature. I only hope I can encourage some new readers to enjoy my version, JANE SLAYRE, and to go back and delight in JANE EYRE all over again, or for the first time. Check back to join in the fun and see what Sherri and Charlotte are up to next. Happy reading!

Look for JANE SLAYRE in Spring 2010 from Gallery Books.