Thursday, September 20, 2007

Frankly, I'm too tired.

Someone please rip my hair out. I'd do it myself, but frankly, I'm just too tired.

Between packing lunches, running forgotten items to school, shopping for school clothes, shoes, backpacks and folders, helping with homework, filling out papers and writing endless checks to the bookclub and PTA, I've never been more exhausted.

There are piles of urgent school/parent correspondence cluttering up my kitchen counter. The calendar is full. And, really, it hasn't even begun. Chorus and band start next week. Basketball starts next month. Volunteering in the library? Kid Writing classes? Hospitality commitee? Check. Check. Check.

Whoever told me life would be quiet when the kids went off to school should be taken behind the woodshed for a thrashing. I'd do it myself, but frankly, I'm just too tired.

posted by Donna Birdsell at 2:35 PM 0 comments

Monday, September 10, 2007

'Twas the day school began...

'Twas the day school began, and all through the house,
not a creature was stirring, except for my mouse.

As I surfed the 'net and watched the soaps,
and outlined all my writing hopes.

The children were nestled all snug at their desks,
While teachers took roll call and talked about tests.

The stockings they sat in their hampers just waiting,
for someone to wash them but they weren't rating.

This day was for me, for writing and napping, and spending
uninterrupted time on the telephone yapping.

Before I knew it, the kids were returning,
telling me all about what they were learning.

But it's hard to be filled with too much sorrow
when I know it'll happen again, tomorrow!

posted by Donna Birdsell at 6:07 PM 0 comments

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Alternate endings

Okay, what's the deal with "alternate endings"? All the DVDs being released these days advertise alternate endings. Do we really want that?

Personally, I want to know how the story ends. Just tell me! If there are three different endings, how do I know which one is real? I remember when the movie Clue came out in 1985, and theaters were playing three different endings across the country. I felt cheated. How would I know if I got the "right" ending?!

That's the point of suspended disbelief, right? We, the readers (or viewers) are swept into an alternate reality for a brief period of time, where the characters are "real" and the events are "really happening."

Imagine if Margaret Mitchell gave an alternate ending for Gone with the Wind (Scarlett finds another guy?)? What if, in one version, the Great Gatsby turned out to just another rich guy? What if Thelma and Louise stopped at the edge of the cliff?

They may be fictional characters, but if a writer has gone to all the trouble to make them real to us, shouldn't their happy endings (or their demise) be "real" as well?

Call me old fashioned, but I want a beginning, a middle, and an end. Just one, thanks.

posted by Donna Birdsell at 7:30 PM 0 comments

Monday, August 06, 2007

Ruminations on Hairspray

If you haven't seen the new movie Hairspray, you've gotta go. The music is catchy (I've been singing it in my sleep for two weeks) and the cast is great (especially Queen Latifah, who I absolutely love in everything she's been in. Okay, maybe not Taxi, but everything else.). Nikki Blonsky, who plays the lead character Tracy Turnblad, is fantastic as well.

It's different from the original, which was written and directed by John Waters and starred Ricki Lake and Divine. That version was much edgier, with a definite freak factor that isn't present in the new one. I liked it for its subversive undertones and campy unpredictability.

But this version is much more innocent. I took my kids, who absolutely loved it, mostly because of Zac Efron of High School Musical fame. What?? You've never heard of High School Musical? Then you obviously live under a rock (or you don't have children between the ages of 6 and 16 living in the house). If you are this uncool and/or unlucky, let me fill you in.

High School Musical is a Disney Channel blockbuster that stars each and every teen actor from the Disney Teen Actor Factory. There's singing! There's dancing! There's a completely sweet and innocent love story! There's marketing out the wazoo! And to be honest, if you twisted my arm, I'd actually tell you it was good. The songs and dances were fun, and the message was great. Follow your dreams. That can never be bad, right?

That's much the same message as Hairspray, except that Hairspray is set in the '60s, against the backdrop of integration and the fight for racial equality. This message is toned down a bit in the new version, but it still served as a catalyst for conversation between the kids and me about the history of race relations in our country.

But mostly, it was just a lot of fun. John Travolta plays the role of Tracy's mother, Edna--the part played by Divine in the original version, and by Harvey Fierstein on Broadway. This was actually the only role I had a problem with. Travolta plays Edna straight--not as a man playing a woman, but as an actual woman. Which made me wonder why they didn't just get a woman who could sing to play the part. (Travolta's vocals are weak.) He can still dance, though.

Michele Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes and a gorgeous guy named Elijah Kelley round out the wonderful cast.

I defy you to see this movie, and not catch yourself singing "Good Morning Baltimore" for a week!

--DB

posted by Donna Birdsell at 6:08 PM 0 comments

Monday, July 09, 2007

My First Romance

I read my first historical romance novel at the age of 13, SHANNA by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, and from then on, I was hooked. I compared all my teenaged suitors to the dashing, steadfast Ruark Beauchamp. Too bad for them. No one could seem to live up to those standards.

Years later, inspired by Ms. Woodiwiss's works, as well as those by Johanna Lindsey and other greats who transformed the genre in the late 70s and early 80s, I started to write my own historical romance novels. And too bad for me, because my own writing could never seem to live up to their standards.

A few years ago, just before I was published, I had the honor of meeting Ms. Woodiwiss at a writing conference in New Jersey. I'm embarrassed to say, I cried. I blubbered to her that she was my inspiration, and yada yada yada. She was very sweet and gracious, and I must say, really embarrassed by my display. But she murmured some encouraging words and gave me a tissue, and it was one of my great writing-related moments.

Afterwards, I wished I would have said something else. Instead of telling her she inspired me to write, I should have told her how many hours of pleasure she'd given me as a reader--a gift I now know, as a writer, is no easy thing to give.

I learned yesterday that Ms. Woodiwiss passed away on July 6th. It was a sad day for romance, indeed.

I hope she is mentioned in tribute at the RWA National conference this week in Dallas, TX. I can't be there in body, but I will be there in spirit, and my guess is that Ms. Woodiwiss will be, too.

Because you simply can't have a gathering of romance writers without her.

posted by Donna Birdsell at 4:01 PM 1 comments

Friday, June 29, 2007

my favorite literary heroines

Wow, this is a tough one. It's like trying to name a favorite flavor of ice cream. They're all delicious in their own way. But here are some that have stuck in my mind.

There's Scarlett O'Hara, of course, who's wily, wild, and stunningly beautiful. How can you compare her in-your-face presence to the quiet strength of Jane Austen's Elinor Dashwood (so wonderfully played by Emma Thompson in the movie)?

And speaking of Jane Austen and Emmas, Emma Woodhouse is also one of my favorite female literary characters.

There's the mystery set: Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone, Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta. And let's not forget Millie Benson's Nancy Drew!

Then there's the mystery-suspense/comedy heroines, including Lori Avocato's Pauline Sokol, Stevi Mittman's Teddi Gallo, and of course, Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum.

On the romance side, Joy Nash's heroines are always strong and intelligent. My favorite was Rhiannon in Celtic Fire.

I loved Amy Tan's LuLing in The Bonesetter's Daughter, and Alice Walker's Celie in The Color Purple.

There are dozens--maybe hundreds--more. But as Dorothy Parker once said, "Brevity is the soul of lingerie."

DLW

posted by Donna Birdsell at 7:39 PM 1 comments

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

My favorite movies

I am a hard core movie junkie. There are many movies I've seen multiple times. Many, many, multiple times.

Gone With the Wind? At least thirty times. Casablanca, twenty or so. Pillow Talk with Rock Hudson and Doris Day, just about once a week when I worked the graveyard shift, and it was regularly the early morning movie on TBS. Grease? I lost count somewhere around fifty. And in high school and college, I saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show at least a hundred times.

I love the Merchant Ivory films, Remains of the Day, Howard's End, A Room With a View; and the Jane Austen adaptations, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Pride and Prejudice. Amadeus and Dangerous Liasons are two of the best costume dramas I've ever seen.

The Color Purple, Terms of Endearment and Schindler's List are my seven-hankie movies. Matchpoint and Thank You for Smoking are two recent favorites.

On the lighter end, I loved Raising Arizona, Groundhog Day, Harold and Maude, This is Spinal Tap, Best in Show, National Lampoon's Vacation, Pirates of the Caribbean, There's Something About Mary, and Four Weddings and a Funeral. Pierce Brosnan was brilliant in the underrated The Matador. That was a wonderful dark comedy and a really fascinating character study. I

I will watch anything with Johnny Depp or Mark Ruffalo. I would, in fact, watch them sit in a chair for two hours.

Since becoming a Mom, I've watched lots of kids' movies. Toy Story and Beauty and the Beast are two of my favorites, but Finding Nemo and Shrek come close. (I am looking forward to seeing more first-run grown-up movies, though!)

Dirty Dancing holds a special place in my heart, and so does the corny but hilarious Overboard with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell (which I consider my guiltiest guilty-pleasure movie.) I will also watch anything with John Travolta, even the unbelievably bad B movie (C movie?) The Experts. Never heard of it? You're not alone! (Disclaimer: Even I couldn't make it through the horrible Battlefield Earth.

But if I had to choose, I would say that Jaws is my all-time favorite. I know it backward and forward, inside and out. I love everything about it. The pacing is perfect, the dialogue fantastic. I loved the book, which I read numerous times as well, but in my opinion, the movie outshines it, which I rarely think is the case when it comes to adaptations.

When I give writing classes at my local library, I use Jaws to illustrate motivation and conflict, as well as the three-act structure. I literally can't watch anything else when I know it is on, even though I own two versions of the movie that I can play anytime. Is there anything better than hearing that music? Da dun. Da dun. Da dun da dun da dun dunnnnnnn!!!
Even after all this time, the special effects hold up pretty well.

Hmmm. I'm sure as soon as I post this I'll think of a dozen more I wish I would have included...

posted by Donna Birdsell at 1:21 PM 0 comments