The Dawn is Breaking

This is perhaps the first time I'm not totally over-the-moon excited about seeing a Twilight movie premiere.

 It might be because the trailer for Breaking Dawn was blown away by the trailer for Hunger Games.
 Plus, I don't understand why, by the fourth movie, no one can put the right kind of make-up on the Cullens. Besides, the acting in the television series The Vampire Diaries is way more believable.

Just keeping it real.

Despite all of that, I will always *always* love those books, want to see the movies (after all, the wolves are pretty dang cool), and deeply admire Stephanie Meyer for influencing how I write romantic tension scenes. And hey, maybe I'll feel differently about this one.

In honor of seeing Breaking Dawn tonight, I thought I'd share a hilarious twitter trend started the other night by Rachel Hawkins (of HEX HALL series fame), called:  #Things Edward Googled.

Here are my favorite #things-edward-googled:

How to get the dog smell off your true love ( by @bookgoonie)

Does headboard breaking causes pregnancy?  (by @LadyHawkins)

How long will pregnancy boobs last if immortal? ( by@MyraMcEntire)

Nickelback tickets (@Kate_Hart)


Is sparkling hereditary?  (by @LadyHawkins)

How do I know if she's faking it since I can't read her mind? (by @BookaliciousPam)

Do babbys smell like freesia? (by @LadyHawkins)

Top 10 Vampire Myths: No protection needed (by @breedespain)

If babby shows fondness for jean shirts, should I worry?  (by @LadyHawkins)

SPF 1000 (by @stephandrea_ )

Getting girl pregnant when you have no blood flow (by @LadyHawkins)

How do I get abs like Jacobs? (by @ShutUpImReading)

How to deter werewolf pedophiles (by @LadyHawkins)

Will Stephanie ever finish MIDNIGHT SUN? (by @ME)

I'll let you know how the movie was! :D

(images: trailershut.com, newstrailers.info)

Beautifully Said, Severus

Have you seen this? Alan Rickman, who plays Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movies, shared a public thank you to J.K. Rowling in Empire Magazine.

Here it is:

And what can I say except, it brought tears to my eyes! *sniff*

ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!

(SOURCES: blog.zap2it.com, harrypotter.wikia.com)

Book to Movie: Water For Elephants

I ADORED this book when I read it a couple of years ago! Anyone else? FIRST LINE: I an ninety. Or ninety-three. One or the other.

From publishers weekly: With its spotlight on elephants, Gruen's romantic page-turner hinges on the human-animal bonds. The novel, told in flashback by nonagenarian Jacob Jankowski, recounts the wild and wonderful period he spent with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, a traveling circus he joined during the Great Depression.

When 23-year-old Jankowski learns that his parents have been killed in a car crash, leaving him penniless, he drops out of Cornell veterinary school and parlays his expertise with animals into a job with the circus, where he cares for a menagerie of exotic creatures.

He also falls in love with Marlena, one of the show's star performers—a romance complicated by Marlena's husband, the unbalanced, sadistic circus boss who beats both his wife and the animals Jankowski cares for. Can I see Reese Witherspoon as Marlena? Absolutely!

How about Robert Pattison as Jacob? YES! Not the sparkly Edward vampire of TWILIGHT, but the more sensitive and layered character he was in REMEMBER ME.

Cannot WAIT to see the movie this month.

In Honor of Le' Kiss (Le' Sigh)!

So today I thought I'd celebrate the art of KISSING!

But first, a reminder about Monday--the BIG day!

The Just Kiss Already Blogfest Stina and I hosting! We are starting at 7 am EST!

There are fifty of us now! Click HERE for the easy peasy rules!

*******

Now back to the KISSING!

The building tension, intense eye contact, the distance closing, and then BAM! Shiver me timbers. :D I love writing those scenes!

So here are (some of) my favorite KISSES. It was hard to choose!

From the movie ATONEMENT (in the library, with the green dress):

From the television series THE VAMPIRE DIARIES (last season in Stephan's driveway, right after Elena tells him she loves him):

And, in the book PERFECT CHEMISTRY, their first kiss in Alex's house from his POV!

HAVE A "LOVER"LY WEEKEND!

(sources: breakfastattiffany.livejournal.com, polyvore.com/yellow_flamingo, Amazon)

What Makes a Book Series GREAT?

You'd have to be living under a rock to not know that the movie, HARRY POTTER and the DEATHLY HOLLOWS, part I, opens today.

So it got me thinking about popular children's book series (like, HARRY POTTER, THE HUNGER GAMES and TWILIGHT) and what makes them universally loved and/or respected.

I think it's a whole mish-mash of things, including:

1) Fantastic World-Building. When I read the seven Harry Potter books, I was right there, at Hogwarts, with those characters. I could see, taste, touch, hear and smell all of it. THAT, my friends, is why J.K. Rowling is amazing.

2) Universal Themes. Everyone can relate to loss, love, rage, and redemption. You really felt for Harry when he returned to his aunt and uncle's home in the summer. And when Rowling killed off some of our beloved characters (how DARE she?), my heart was ripped open too.

3) Character Development. Harry Potter was written in third person, limited. So everything was told through Harry's eyes. But most of the time I never realized it. I grew to love all of those characters, because they were fully developed: Hermione, Ron, Snape, Dumbledore, Hagrid, etc.

4) Story-Weaving. Rowling knew how to tell a good story. Her ideas were completely captivating AND fascinating--the wizarding classes (Defense of the Dark Arts), the Death-Eaters, Gringott's, Diagon Alley, The Leaky Cauldron (butter beer), on and on. She ramped up the suspense and made you want more and more!

I cannot WAIT until my six-year-old can read them with me!

HAVE A FANTASTIC WEEKEND, MUGGLES!

EAT PRAY LOVE

Easily one of my favorite books.

And I look forward to seeing Julia Roberts play Elizabeth Gilbert in the movie version opening today. IMO, there is just something enchanting about Julia.

Also, as Cheslea Handler said in her monologue the other night (anyone else watch Chelsea Lately?), we'll finally stop seeing Julia stuffing her f*ing face with gelato everywhere we look. LOL. Beyond that, I think Elizabeth's writing is inspirational.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

"People tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will descend like fine weather if you're fortunate. But happiness is the result of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly.

"The only thing more unthinkable than leaving was staying; the only thing more impossible than staying was leaving."

"People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life."

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Tim + Lewis + Alice = A Perfect Fit?

I think it's fitting that Tim Burton directed the Alice In Wonderland movie coming to theatres March 5th. He'll offer that great blend of beauty and eccentricity.

And of course, he had to have his "posse" star in it--Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. LURVE you, Johnny!

Check out the giant mushrooms, below, in this still from the movie, and you'll get a hint where I'm going with this.

Due to my own nostalgia about the book, I went out and bought a pop up picture book version for my son.

You see, there was a period in my youth when I lived and breathed Alice in Wonderland. Me and my BFF at the time were very much into Alice, as well as the The Doors and Jim Morrison--notice a theme here?

Anyway, the book is very cool. Here's one of the pages:

It's very interactive and my son loves looking at all of the pictures and finding the hidden keys on each page.

But when it came down to reading him the story, I hesitated. Because re-reading it as an adult? It is a little WHACK, no question.

It is definitely dark and dreary, in my opinion. And is probably best for older kids.

There have been rumors over the years that author Lewis Carroll was tripped out on acid when he wrote the story.

Here is an article I found on-line about this very topic:

"The idea that Lewis Carroll's imaginative characters and stories are a product of drug stupor was first spread in the 1960's by adherents of the then new LSD subculture. The rumor is believed to have originated from the psychiatrists who introduced LSD into our society. But LSD was non-existent in England in the 1800's.

The Lewis Carroll rumors claimed that Carroll used drugs when he wrote his stories, suggesting that a drug, not Carroll's fertile imagination was responsible for these creative literary works."

(source:pazooter.com)

I'm a writer. I write stories for children (okay, teens). And it does take lots of imagination and creativity (and perseverance). I'm definitely much more creative and entertaining with that big 'ol glass of red wine sitting next to me while I type. JUST SAYIN'...

I can't wait to see the movie.

Your thoughts?

Corniest Romantic Lines

Last year, a reader of my first manuscript said that my line, "It just makes me... love you more," was over-used and corny.

And she was right.

Now I try to make romantic lines sound more original.

It got me thinking that it's the same for script lines in movies.

The top five corniest romantic lines I can think of are:

1. "Nobody puts Baby in a corner." From Dirty Dancing
2. "You had me at hello." and...
3."YOU… COMPLETE… ME." Both from Jerry McGuire.

4.“I love you.” “Ditto.” From Ghost.

5. and "Swoon. I'll catch you." From The English Patient.

HAVE YOU WRITTEN A CORNY LINE OR, CAN YOU ADD ANYTHING TO MY LIST?

(starpulse.com, cyber-cinema.com, thecarconnection.com,reneezelwegger-tribute.com)

The Golden Globes 2010

There are only two award shows I watch beginning to end every year, and The Golden Globes is one of them!

Yeah for Glee!! And for Michael C. Hall for his Dexter role!!

And now onto the dresses! I felt pretty picky this year!

I liked the short dresses worn by Kristen Bell and Ginnifer Goodwin: And the long gowns worn by Sandra Bullock (for the purple), Maggie Gylanhall, Zoe Saldana, Lea Michelle and Halle Berry (who blew Mariah out of the water as far as revealing dresses are concerned--she knows how to do it right. Mariah always looks too.... cheap):

Best dressed male, in my opinion? (aka Mr. *HAWT*) Chace Crawford:

Avatar got best director and best movie, but I'm not sure it should have won for best picture. It's sure to win for special effects or cinematography at the Oscars.(photo sources: Examiner and Just Jared)

THOUGHTS?

Avatar

I finally saw the movie over the weekend.

When I heard that it surpassed The Lord of the Rings (!!!) at the box office I knew I HAD TO see it!

Cinematically it was spectacular. I wanted to live on Pandora, be blue, have a tail and a magical braid that plugged into creatures.
The special effects were out of this world (no pun intended). The gorgeous colors and the floating mountains. WOW!
But the story-line was less spectacular and a little predictable. And it ran looong (2 hours and 40 minutes)! Even still I rooted for the good guys and the Navi people. And of course, for the love story!