The Boat Always Sinks at the End; Somebody Please Tell Me, Why Do We Watch It?

I watched Titanic again last Friday. All. Four. Hours. Of it. And I kid you not, I shook my head at myself at the end and asked, “Why????” But it sort of was worth it. It is a well-crafted story–but if I am honest, if I watch any of it, I do so because the set design is incredible and I can’t help it. I just love watching Victor Garber in that movie. Okay, and just a little bit, the romance draws me into it, too.

The thought occurred to me, however, that we do this with a lot of the entertainment in our lives. We watch movies over and over again. Read books over and over again. And even listen to the same albums over and over again. Because there’s something to them that we love so much that the story never grows old. Or if it does, it rarely takes long to renew our interest.

Of course, I know Titanic is an extreme(ly long) example. But there are so many movies that have made it into my own private movie collection (no seriously, just ask Manda about this…) that are those keepers I pull out frequently to enjoy all over again.

But there’s something more to these movies, books, music albums. There is some compelling reason that we will commit hours upon hours to watching, reading, and listening to them. I’m still pondering the reasons why I watched a movie for four hours through far too many commercial breaks (every 7 minutes). If it was just for the fascinating scenery, I could have gotten that in the first 15 minutes. And yet, I didn’t change the channel even for 5 minutes.

How about you, dear reader? Are there any forms of entertainment to which you repeatedly listen, watch, or read? Why? What do they do for you?

And the Nominees Are…

Award season is in full swing. We just passed the Golden Globes and already the Oscars are upon us. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominations for the 81st Annual Academy Awards  yesterday. And I must admit that with much of my familiarity with media, I was not terribly surprised by many of the nominations, but there also were others that I could not pick out from a line-up if I tried.

I love mass media–films, television, books, newspapers, Internet. I introduced myself to a whole new batch of students on Tuesday telling them that I am a media junkie. It is why I teach it. It is why I research it. And it is why, although I may not watch every second of the Academy Awards, I still am excited every year when the nominees are announced and cannot wait to see who wins the award. So, without further ado, the list of nominees is:

YAHOO! already has posted a poll to see subscribers’ picks for the Oscar faves. And of course, there are any number of forums where film buffs will be conjecturing on the possible winners over the coming weeks.

So, how about you, Vagabonds? Who are your Oscar picks from the list for this year? For whom will you be rooting?

Country Art

I’m not much of a TV viewer. I sometimes go weeks at a time without even turning my TV on. I haven’t watched a show on a weekly basis since West Wing went off the air. But I broke my pattern last night when from 8:00-11:00, I watched the 42nd Country Music Association Awards. I watched because I’m an art lover. I loved the art of Martina McBride’s performance of “Ride,” a terrific song delivered superlatively well. I loved the costume art of Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” number, dreamy and evocative. I loved the designer art of Carrie Underwood’s gowns. I lost count of how many she wore. The pink was my favorite.

But the art that I found most inspiring, the art that gave me a treasure trove of images for future heroes was the parade of masculine pulchritude. Like Trisha Yearwood, I can truly say, “Cowboys are my weakness. / Gimme some down home, rugged sweetness.”

Since I’m sure some of you missed the show, I thought I would share with you my choice for the best of country art (in alphabetical order since I kept changing my mind when I tried to order them from most to least—ahem—inspiring).

Alan Jackson, for whom 2008 has been a golden year: he turned fifty and celebrated the sale of fifty million albums and fifty singles that reached the Top Forty (almost half of them at #1). An unabashed sentimentalist who recorded a gospel album for his mama and chose his wife and daughters as video co-stars, he proves betas are alive and well and hero material.

Brad Paisley, who excels at witty commentary on popular culture and love songs that melt a woman’s heart: his latest hit “Waiting’ on a Woman” made him the artist with the most consecutive Number One country hits since the inception of Nielsen SoundScan in 1990. And he’s got a smile better than any prince charming’s.

George Strait, the fine wine of the group: only Elvis and the Beatles have more hit albums and his fifty-six and counting #1 singles hold the record. King George is still a winner of hearts, and “The Chair” is still the best pick-up-line song ever.

Josh Turner, the youngest of the group and the rising star: his rich bass voice and songs about life as he lives it made his first album a platinum seller, and he just gets better. When he sings “Baby, lock the door and turn the lights down low. / Put some music on that’s soft and slow. / Baby, we ain’t got no place to go . . . ,” I’m definitely inspired—to write, of course

Keith Urban, the bad boy/tortured soul of the group: the Australian singer and songwriter is also a sessions-level musician who plays acoustic and electric guitar, as well as ganjo, bass guitar, mandolin, piano, and bouzouki. One look should tell you why he’s been named the sexiest man in country music. And for romance writers looking for a soundtrack, I highly recommend his album Golden Road, especially “Raining on Sunday”: “And pray that it’s raining on Sunday, / Stormin’ like crazy, / And we’ll hide under the covers all afternoon.” Sounds like a great idea to me, for my novel, that is.

Tell me, gypsies, do you find my country art inspiring? What’s your art of choice?

Extra! Extra!

ALERT!!! Join us Friday when Vagabond Faves Christine Merrill and Lisa Plumley, along with newcomer Denise Lynn, visit us to celebrate their Hallowe’en Husbands Anthology! Get your virtual costume ready and don’t forget to bring the candy apples!

Hey all, looks like October is winding to a close in a burst of cold Arctic air! It’s even chilly down here on the Gulf Coast. (We don’t expect that to happen until at least December!) So, settle back with a warm beverage and check out some news.

First off, former Visiting Vagabond and all around favorite Anne Gracie has joined the Word Wenches! We say it couldn’t have happened to a nicer lady! And we’re oh so glad to know that there will be a place now where we can visit La Gracie!

Next, another former VV, Cynthia Eden has received her first ever review from Publisher’s Weekly for her upcoming book Midnight Sins! PW calls it a “romp that all but vibrates with sexual energy.” WTG, Cindy! I can’t wait to read this one y’all. It’s the sequel to Hotter After Midnight, which I lurved and features sexy Detective Todd Brooks who also made an appearance in HaM.

In other VV news, Vagabond favorite Madeline Hunter has changed publishers. She’s gone from Bantam Dell to Berkley in an impressive deal. Much luck to Madeline in her new literary home!

Vagabond Homegirl Julia Quinn is riding high on the news that the second in her Lost Dukes pair has hit #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list! Woohooo, Julia! And can I just say that I ADORED Mr. Cavendish I Presume? It couldn’t have happened to a nicer book

Got news? Wanna spread it to the masses (or the three people who read this blog?) Let me know!

The Death of a Hero

When I was twelve, I fell in love with a pair of blue eyes and a voice that gave me shivers. At that age I didn’t notice that there was nothing heroic about the role he was playing. Later I came to admire his penchant for playing the antihero, but in those early years I went to see his movies just to see him larger than life with those famous eyes bluer than October skies and that grin that made my heart turn over. My best friend and I used to see every movie at least twice, the second time just to sigh over him. Even during my teen years when pop music icons filled our walls, there was always room for his picture. From what I’ve read about him, I imagine he would not have been pleased with our worship. Perhaps he would have been more pleased to know that Cool Hand Luke changed my mind forever about how winning is defined.

For my generation of women, he epitomized male beauty and grace. When I hear his name, I will always see him bare-chested watching Joanne Woodward in The Long Hot Summer, on that bicycle with Katharine Ross in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and with Billie Burke in The Young Philadelphians in a kissing scene that defined “steamy” for me. But I will also remember the integrity and generosity that was the man. His commitment to his marriage, his self-deprecating humor, his involvement with the charities he established, and myriad other qualities made him a worthy hero rather than just a sexy image.

Paul Newman died today. The world is poorer for his loss.

We’re Loving It

When we are not (and sometimes when we are) working on our WIPs, brainstorming blog topics, editing manuscripts, grading exams, conducting library instruction sessions, creating videos, babysitting rugrats, writing academic papers, and exchanging emails about any or all of the above, the Vagabonds are reading, listening, and viewing—and we’re lovin’ it.

What We’re Reading

Élodie
I’m spending way too much time deciphering learned treatises on communication theory. When I can steal the time from such weighty tomes, I am reading Killer Charms, Marianne Stillings’s third Darling book. KC has the blend of humor, suspense, and sensuality that makes me love Stillings’s books.

Janga
I’m reading Elizabeth Boyle’s Tempted by the Night. It’s wonderful when a book turns out even better than expected. I’m a Boyle fan generally and a fan of His Mistress by Morning particularly, and I have been eagerly awaiting the continuation of the Marlowe stories. I’m loving the humor and magic of this one. It wins my vote for the most original romance of the year. Next up is The Rebel and the Lady by this week’s Visiting Vagabond, Kathryn Albright. I was excited to find TRATL at Wal-Mart yesterday. That Zorro comparison hooked me!

Manda
I’m loving Louise Allen’s The Shocking Lord Standen and Anne Gracie’s His Captive Lady. I read both books over the weekend and though they are very different books, both were wonderful in their own way. Allen’s because she expertly blends the old school Regency Trad with the sexiness of a historical. And she’s great at creating complex, interesting characters in a limited word count. Can’t wait to go back and read the first two in this series. His Captive Lady was wonderful in that way that only Anne Gracie can pull off. It’s sweet and funny and sexy and sad and ultimately historical romance as it should be. I can’t wait for the next installment in the Devil Rider’s series.

Lindsey
I don’t need a psychic gypsy to tell me that Diana Holquist is my One True Love. I cannot get enough of her books. After falling for Sexiest Man Alive earlier this summer, I finally caught up on the previous book in the series, Make Me a Match, over this weekend. In the dark. By book light. Because I had no power. But it didn’t even matter because I was so immersed in the book – and because the chemistry between the characters was generating more than enough electricity. Now I’m finishing up the series with her newest release, Hungry for More (which is what I’m gonna be when I finish, and darn it, there are no more Diana books for me to read). I also have to admit I have the biggest fangirl crush on Larissa Ione. I know I’ve already mentioned I love Pleasure Unbound. I know I keep mentioning every time someone asks on a blog or message board “What have you read lately that you liked?” I swear I’m going to shut up about it soon. Not today, but soon.

What We’re Listening To

Élodie
The current resident of my CD player in the car is the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Mamma Mia! Gotta love the original; it trumps the movie any day! (Élodie, what we want to know is whether you are singing along with “Dancing Queen” and “The Winner Takes It All”? Come on now, everybody join in: “You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life . . .”)

Janga
I’m listening to Trisha Yearwood’s CD Heaven, Heartache, and the Power of Love. It’s perfect as inspiration for my new WIP. Nobody does lost love songs better than Trisha, and this album has such emotional range. It offers poignancy with “Sing You Back to Me”: A miracle of page and pen / You’d hear it and be here again / And always and forever there would be / A song that I could sing you back to me”; wry honesty with “Nothin’ Bout You Is Good for Me”: You ain’t nothin’ but a reason to run / You ain’t got nothin’ good for no one / No heart, no class, no job, no clue / Ain’t nothin’ about you good for me baby”; and the heart-punching honesty of “This Is Me You’re Talking To”: “Me, the one who really knows you / Me, the one whose heart you’ve broken / Me, the one who was still hopin’ / You might be missing me.” I have a dozen scenes as a result of listening and listening again to these songs. My characters are loving them.

Manda
This week I am particularly enjoying NPR’s Day to Day. Hosted by Alex Chadwick, Alex Cohen, and Melissa Block, Day to Day comes on during my lunch hour and I usually listen while running errands or catching a quick bite. It’s got just the right blend of news, lifestyle pieces and quirky bits and when I miss it I get a little sad. And it’s produced by NPR and Slate.com (which is one of my favorite online magazines) so I get to both read and listen to some of my favorite journalists. What’s not to love?

Lindsey
“I’m against picketing, but I don’t know how to show it.” I’ll never stop loving the hilarious surreal humor and non-sequiturs of comedian Mitch Hedberg, in spite of his death by drug overdose a few years ago. So it’s super exciting that Comedy Central has just put out a new album of his comedy, Do You Believe in Gosh?, including a lot of never-before- released material.

What We’re Watching

Élodie
Eli Stone. I played through the episodes while reading and preparing lessons, writing papers for the week. It’s a fabulous show on ABC about this lawyer, Eli, who learns he has an inoperable
aneurysm in his brain. At the same time, he begins seeing visions–frequently involving George Michael–and from this he decides to take on particular clients based upon these visions. Naturally, these visions most often involve the proverbial underdog. I love that the next season premieres soon–October 1. I cannot wait!

Janga
I rarely watch TV, but my sister has been nagging me since the first season to watch Monk, the series starring Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk, a private detective who suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder. I never watched the TV show, so she bought the DVDs and practically forced me to watch them. Now I am addicted. I watch them not only to be entertained and to delight in the show’s humor and humanness but also to study Shalhoub’s pitch-perfect creation of character. I’m loving all I learn as a writer from watching Monk.

Manda
So, I still haven’t broken my addiction to Ghost Hunters on the SciFi Channel. Finally, after a long summer of Ghost Hunters International (which features former ghost hunting sidekicks from the original show gallivanting across the world searching for International Ghosts) Jay and Grant are back! Yay! I missed those guys. Well, perhaps I missed Grant a little more than Jay. But don’t tell Jay that…Anyhow, the originals are back and I’m glad. I don’t hold with foreign ghosts! I mean, how can we believe that a German ghost is able to speak English to the English-speaking Ghost Hunters? Well, most Germans can speak English, but not fourteenth-century Germans! Are we honestly supposed to believe that ghosts are able to translate their native tongue into the tongue of the person they are trying to communicate with? Like a ghostly United Nations headset? Pshaw. I don’t think so. And besides. Those GHI guys are a little too eager. I prefer the debunk first, ask questions later approach of the Roto-Rooter guys. If nothing else, they can fix a leaky faucet. I like that in a Ghost Hunter.

Lindsey
With the Fall TV season imminent – or just because of my general lack of cable – I’ve been all about catching up on TV series. I’m digging the pop-culture- referencing banter on the first couple seasons of Psych, but what I’m really psyched about is the second season of Torchwood coming to DVD. I also made it out to an actual theater to see Frozen River, one of the picks of this year’s Sundance Film Festival and probably one of the best independent films I’ve seen in some time. In spite of its cold, desolate landscape and heavily dramatic story, I found the film both compelling and satisfying – and so absorbing I couldn’t decide if I was cold because I was sitting under an a/c vent or just that viscerally engaged by its setting

So, vagabonds, what are you lovin’ these days? What are you reading, listening to, watching as you multitask or veg out?

I Love the 80s

Last weekend I recorded *gasp* Adventures in Babysitting. Yeah, I couldn’t believe it, either. It really was a cheesy movie, but *so* 1980s. And a guilty pleasure. Truthfully, I didn’t watch much of it as I was replaying it later, but the bits I did see made me grin at all the references. The poofy hair, enormous station wagon, shoulder pads, not to mention the music. My goodness, it was hilarious!

And anybody who knows me dear knows I have a clear and intimate knowledge of the film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. It’s disturbing that this movie has ranked up among the top movies from which I can quote most lines and pick out random actors from the movie that we might see in a film (or television program) over 20 years later.

Naturally, my movie viewing experience made me think of the millions of times I’ve received the email telling about how I must be a child of the 80s if I can answer most of the questions. Admittedly, I cannot answer 100% of the questions on many of the quizzes, but I darned sure can answer most of them. I don’t know if I should find this more or less disturbing, but it is the truth, nonetheless.

Sadly, however, I can answer affirmatively to all the questions in the following list. This is just one of various 80s lists I have received throughout the ages.

So, in the interest of Friday fun,

You Know You Grew Up In The 80’s if:

1. You’ve ever ended a sentence with the word SIKE.
2. You watched the Pound Puppies.
3. You can sing the rap to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and can do the Carlton.
4. Girls wore biker shorts under their skirts and felt stylishly sexy.
5. You yearned to be a member of the Baby-sitters club and tried to start a club of your own.
6. You owned those lil’ Strawberry Shortcake pals scented dolls.
7. You know that “WOAH” comes from Joey on Blossom.
8. Two words: Hammer Pants.
9. If you ever watched “Fraggle Rock.”
10. You had plastic streamers on your handle bars…and spokey-dokes or playing cards on your spokes for that incredible sound effect.
11. You can sing the entire theme song to “Duck Tales” (Woo oh!)
12. It was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
13. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.
14. You saw the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the big screen..and still know the turtles names.
15. You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.
16. You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side.
17. You played the game “MASH” (Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House).
18. You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.
19. L.A. Gear….need I say more?
20. You wanted to change your name to “JEM” in Kindergarten. (She’s Truly Outrageous.)
21. You remember reading Tales of a fourth grade nothing and all The Ramona books.
22. You know the profound meaning of “WAX ON, WAX OFF.”
23. You wanted to be a Goonie.
24. You ever wore fluorescent clothing. (some of us…head-to-toe)
25. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and his cheeks shifted.
26. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female Smurf.
27. You took lunch boxes to school…and traded Garbagepail Kids in the schoolyard.
28. You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets.
29. You still get the urge to say “NOT” after every sentence.
30. You remember Hypercolor t-shirts.
31. Barbie and the Rockers was your favorite band.
32. You thought She-ra (Princess of Power!) and He-Man should hook up.
33. You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you exchanged handmade friendship bracelets.
34. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes.
35. After you saw Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure you kept saying “I know you are, but what am I?”
36. You remember “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.”
37. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.
38. You ever got seriously injured on a Slip and Slide.
39. You have ever played with a Skip-It.
40. You had or attended a birthday party at McDonalds.
41. You’ve gone through this nodding your head in agreement.
42. You remember Popples.
43. Don’t worry, be happy.
44. You wore like, EIGHT pairs of socks over tights with high top Reeboks.
45. You wore socks scrunched down (and sometimes still do…getting yelled at by younger hip members of the family).
46. You remember boom boxes and walking around with one on your shoulder like you were all that.
47. You remember watching both Gremlins movies.
48. You know what it meant to say “Care Bear Stare!!”
49 You remember watching Rainbow Bright and & My Little Pony Tales.
50. You thought Doogie Howser/Samantha Micelli was hot.
51. You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac.
52. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool…and don’t even flinch when people refer to them as “NKOTB.”
53. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on “Saved By The Bell,” The ORIGINAL class.
54. You know all the words to Bon Jovi – SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.
55. You just sang those words to yourself.
56. You remember watching Magic vs. Bird.
57. Homemade Levi shorts (the shorter the better).
58. You remember when mullets were cool!
59. You had a mullet!
60. You still sing “We are the World.”
61. You tight rolled your jeans.
62. You owned a bannana clip.
63. You remember “Where’s the Beef?”
64. You used to (and probably still do) say “What you talkin’ ’bout Willis?”
65 You had big hair and you knew how to use it.
66. You’re still singing “shot through the heart” in your head, aren’t you?!

Personally, I believe there should be a reference to Silver Spoons and Alvin and the Chipmunks. So, are you a child of the 80s? Or close?

What are your favourite 80s (or another decade) reference? Can you answer the quiz? Go on. Admit it. You know you want to.

Gone Country

A song ain’t nothin’ in the world but a story just wrote with music to it.
                                          Hank Williams, Sr. (1923 – 1953)

I am a child of rock & roll. Paying a visit to the local record shop and deciding which two 45 RPMs I would buy was a Saturday ritual of my preteen years. It wasn’t easy to choose from among the latest hits by Chuck Berry and Elvis and Fats Domino, and I confess that part of my love for rock & roll was rooted in my parents’ hatred of the music. My parents loved big band music, Southern gospel, and country–especially country. I hated country on general principles; it was my parents’ music. But my prejudice against country music persisted long after my teens. My cherished vinyl had been replaced by four-track tapes, which in turn had been replaced by cassette tapes, which had been replaced by CDs before I could bring myself to admit that country was worth my attention and my dollars.

The two qualities that converted a first-generation rock & roller to country music fandom are the genre’s strong narrative and its unabashed emotional appeal.

Pick the top country songs of any year, and you will find an abundance of story songs. I don’t use the term “story” loosely either. These songs have a definite narrative arc, clearly delineated characters, and real conflict that is resolved, although not always happily. For example, Mac Davis covered a lifetime and made a social statement in his song “In the Ghetto”:

As her young man dies,
on a cold and grey Chicago mornin’,
another little baby child is born
In the ghetto.
And his mama cries.

Martina McBride, who told a USA Today reporter that country music is “like a great novel,” created controversy and raised awareness of domestic abuse when she recorded Gretchen Peters’s “Independence Day”:

Well, word gets around in a small, small town.
They said he was a dangerous man,
But Momma was proud, and she stood her ground.
She knew she was on the losin’ end.
Some folks whispered, some folks talked,
But everybody looked the other way.
And when time ran out there was no one about
On Independence Day…

On a lighter note, Tom T. Hall’s “Harper Valley PTA” made Jeannie C. Riley the first female country singer to have the same song top both country and pop charts. Evidently a great many people found appealing the story of a single mother “socking it to” a bunch of small-town hypocrites.

Matraca Berg and Gary Harrison’s “Strawberry Wine” (recorded by Deana Carter) evoked youthful memories for thousands of women.

He was working through college on my grandpa’s farm;
I was thirsting for knowledge and he had a car.
I was caught somewhere between a woman and a child,
When one restless summer we found love growing wild
On the banks of the river on a well beaten path.
Funny how those memories they last

Like strawberry wine and seventeen.
The hot july moon saw everything;
My first taste of love, oh bittersweet,
Green on the vine
Like strawberry wine.

And Carter’s revelation that James Denton (Mike on Desperate Housewives) was her first love and her touchstone for the song, offered a lucious image for the “hero.”

Even the country songs that are not pure story songs have a strong narrative line. I am amazed by how much country lyricists can reveal about characters in just a few words. Consider how much these lines from legendary songwriter Bob McDill’s “Amanda” (made famous by Waylon Jennings) reveal about the singer’s disappointment with his life: “I got my first guitar when I was fourteen. / Well, I finally made forty, still wearing jeans.” Then there’s Brad Paisley and Kelly Lovelace’s touching tribute to stepfathers in which the singer, looks at his own newborn and remembers the man who became his father:

Lookin’ through the glass, I think about the man
That’s standin’ next to me,
And I hope I’m at least half the dad
That he didn’t have to be.

Just as important as the story is country music’s emotional punch. One critic, who argues that reporters could learn something about storytelling from country music, notes that unlike hormonal-driven pop music, country music “goes straight for the heart.” Sometimes the emotion can be manipulative, but at its best, country music reminds us in a cynical age that it’s OK to love our country, admit our heartbreaks, and share our big dreams. The reminder matters. The honest feelings of Alan Jackson’s post 9/11 song, “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning,” earned praise from EW.com for accomplishing “something normally reserved for poetry: It describes a vivid variety of the manifestations of grief, from sorrow to rage to depression to political activism.”

Only in country music with its fearless celebration of themes that touch the heart could a song like “Where Have You Been?” become #1. The song, recorded by Kathy Mattea and written by her husband, Jon Vezner, and Don Henry, tells the love story of Claire and Edwin, who for sixty years “never spent a night apart” until they ended up in a hospital “in separate beds on different floors.” That last stanza grabs me by the heart every time:

Claire soon lost her memory
Forgot the names of family
She never spoke a word again
Then one day, they wheeled him in
He held her hand and stroked her hair
In a fragile voice she said,
“Where’ve you been?
I’ve looked for you forever and a day
Where’ve you been?
I’m just not myself when you’re away.
No, I’m just not myself when you’re away.”

My rambling tribute actually does connect to romance writing. When I reach a dead end in my writing, I find in country music a frequent source of inspiration. Once I needed a scene to move my H/H from the bedroom back to the outside world where unresolved conflicts awaited them, I had trashed a dozen attempts at the scene when I gave up. I took a break and listened to Keith Urban’s Golden Road CD. I was particularly struck by these words from “You Look Good in My Shirt”: “And maybe it’s a little too early / To know if this is gonna work. /All I know is you’re sure looking / Good in my shirt.”

A scene unrolled in my head. I could hear Max (my hero) speaking. I started writing furiously and ended up with exactly the scene and the words I needed. One paragraph I especially like:

“Morning kisses, he thought, were in a class of their own. Their promise was different from the hot rush of moonlight passion, gentler somehow, less dreamlike, anchored in a reality as warm and sustaining as the sunlight that caressed their bodies.”

Thanks, Keith!

There is a Kris Kristofferson song that seems to me the perfect opening scene for a romance. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. It’s a book just waiting to be written.

Here Comes That Rainbow Again

The scene was a small roadside café:
the waitress was sweepin’ the floor,
two truck-drivers drinkin’ their coffee,
and two okie-kids by the door.
“How much are them candies?” they asked her.
“How much have you got?” she replied.
“We’ve only a penny between us.”
“Them’s two for a penny”, she lied.

And the daylight grew heavy with thunder
and the smell of the rain on the wind.
Ain’t it just like a human?
Here comes that rainbow again.

One truck driver called to the waitress
after the kids went outside,
“Them candies ain’t two for a penny.”
“So what’s it to you?” she replied.
In silence they finished their coffee,
got up and nodded goodbye.
She called, “Hey, you left too much money.”
“So what’s it to you?” they replied.

And the daylight grew heavy with thunder
and the smell of the rain on the wind.
Ain’t it just like a human?
Here comes that rainbow again.

So, gypsies, are there any country music fans among you? Do country music lyrics remind you of romance novels? For you writers, have you ever been inspired by a country song? For you readers, would you read a book with a country singer/songwriter hero?

“No! Communism was just a Red Herring!”

Best movie line—ever! I kid you not. It makes me laugh everytime I hear it in the movie or even have an opportunity to drop that line casually (pfft, like it is ever casual with me) into everyday conversation. Of course, this is one of my favourite movies lines—Clue, to be exact—and one that I frequently annoy those near and dear to me by repeating at random times. I have had this line running through my head for about half the week. Although, there often are times where randomness of this sort occurs completely, uh, random. But this week there was a purpose. My students are preparing for their persuasive speeches and among their lessons includes understanding a variety of fallacies speakers commit in their public speeches.

Among them Stephen Lucas identifies the red herring fallacy: incorporating completely irrelevant information to the speech. I jokingly referenced the red herring fallacy in Clue to my students, but this particular plot element from the movie is an error often made in constructing a storyline “just right.” How many times have we read stories that introduce a completely unexpected and sometimes unnecessary element to a story. Maybe the apparent purpose is to introduce a characterization or even a new character to the story. Maybe it is intended to throw us off the scent of the trail. I have seen this trick used often in mysteries, both effectively and ineffectively.

Even more interesting, I have seen this trick used romance—and for me, this is where it takes on that fallacy nature of which Lucas warns. Because so many use the red herring trick incorrectly. They launch in elements that do not quite make sense to a story and it is a bit difficult to follow. I have had many friends comment that this is a critique they have received from editors on their manuscripts and it is one which I struggle to avoid making in my own writing adventures. But it often is a misstep that I have seen even the most accomplished writers make.

I cannot help but wonder when I encounter red herring in a story if it is an attempt at including a secondary storyline or previewing a sequel to the novel. And when I do not receive the gratification of seeing where an author was going with this, I get discouraged, disappointed and sometimes downright disgusted—particularly when it is an author that I am trying for the very first time. Clearly, I have invested money in trying out this new author and I do not want to be tricked by unnecessary information.

As a fairly new reader to the romance genre, I spend a lot of time in bookstores digging through backlists. I am sometimes meticulous about finding backlists of books. I don’t just want previous books to one I have purchased and read. I want the entire backlist in the correct order of books to read, as well. And it is genuinely discouraging when I read a book by an author and s/he does not address a particularly intriguing element/character in a subsequent story. I check the website for future releases in the hopes that something will touch on that element and sigh in disappointment when my search bears no fruit.

That said, as I previously noted, red herring can be a particularly effective means for catching an audience off guard and really making a story interesting. It draws us in, intrigues us and keeps us wondering just what will happen next. It makes us seek out subsequent releases by an author or even backlists to see if s/he has used this technique before to the same effect.

And in the event that you never have seen Clue, go out and rent it (or heck, you even can buy it for $5 at the local Wallyworld). It is hilarious and one of the best examples for hilarious one-liners and puns.

So, now that I have pontificated on the (in)effectiveness of red herring, where have you seen this used in stories, romance, mystery, or otherwise? Has it been done well or poorly? Does this affect your willingness to pick up more by an author? If you write, have you ever tried this or discovered it in your own manuscript and had to tear apart a section to remove unnecessary elements/character(ization)s?

Oh, I Like Mushy Stuff!

 

“Oh, I like mushy stuff!” So says Ellen “Ellie” Andrews in my favorite romantic comedy, It Happened One Night. Directed and co-written (uncredited) by Frank Capra, who also gave us It’s A Wonderful Life. IHON won all five major Academy Awards (Best Picture, Actor—Clark Gable, Actress—Claudette Colbert, Director, and Screenplay) in 1934. Nearly 75 years after its release, the movie continues to delight the hearts of those who agree with Ellie’s taste for the “mushy stuff.” I am proud to number myself among them.

IHON has every thing to capture the hearts of romance lovers. First, most of us love the Cinderella motif, and IHON is a reverse Cinderella tale. Ellie Andrews, a spoiled heiress runs away from her privileged life when her father is determined to annul her marriage to a fortune-hunting rake. She finds herself living a life of 10-cent hamburgers, grungy bus rides, and cheap cabins. Her “prince” is the smart-mouthed, recently jobless newspaper reporter, Peter Warne.

IHON combines two other favorite themes of our genre, the road romance and the cabin romance. Ellie and Peter’s adventures take them on the road via bus, foot, and automobile. One of the most famous scenes in the movie has them hitchhiking. Peter, manlike, is convinced that he knows all there is to know about proper hitchhiking techniques. After lecturing Ellie, he proposes to demonstrate his skill. But the cars keep whizzing by them. Ellie then takes a turn, lifts her skirt, exposing a shapely leg, and a car stops immediately. Her victory gives her the opportunity for a great line: “Well, I proved once and for all that the limb is mightier than the thumb.”

The cabin part comes in when Ellie and Peter are forced to share a cabin. Peter assures the unhappy Ellie that she is safe from his attentions. He divides the twin beds by a clothesline with a blanket over it and tells Ellie that it is the “walls of Jericho,” an impregnable fortress since he has no trumpet. He also does a partial strip in a chest-bearing scene that rivals current romance covers. In face, the bare-chested Gable was so sexy that he supposedly put a huge dent in undershirt sales with this scene. When he gets to the belt, Ellie retreats to her side of the “walls,” but she has her sexy moment too as the camera captures her silhouette and the lingerie she casts over the clothesline. The split-frame scene that follows with the two in their separate twin beds is a classic shot.

We romance readers fall in love with writers who excel at witty banter and emotionally charged exchanges. In this area too IHON is designed to charm us. Even early scenes between Ellie and her father are sure to evoke a smile.

Ellie You’ve been telling me what not to do ever since I can remember.
Mr. Andrews: That’s because you’ve always been a stubborn idiot.
Ellie: I come from a long line of stubborn idiots.

The best banter, of course, is between Ellie and Peter. I love their exchange after Ellie has picked up on Peter’s cues and thrown detectives searching for her off course. I took my blog title from that scene.

Peter: Hey, you know, you weren’t bad jumping in like that. You’ve got a brain, haven’t you!
Ellie: Well, you’re not so bad yourself.
Peter: You know, we could start a two-people stock company. If things get tough, we’ll play the small-town auditoriums…
Ellie: What about Cinderella or a real hot love story?
Peter: Oh no, no, no. That’s too mushy.
Ellie: Oh I like mushy stuff.

As for the emotional charge, there is a tender moment when Peter shares his dream of escape to a Pacific island: “That’s where I’d like to take her. She’d have to be the sort of a girl who’d jump in the surf with me and love it as much as I did. Nights when you and the moon and the water all become one. You feel you’re part of something big and marvelous. That’s the only place to live. The stars are so close over your head you feel you could reach up and stir them around. Certainly, I’ve been thinking about it. Boy, if I could ever find a girl who was hungry for those things…”

IHON has its black moment too when Ellie and Peter misunderstand one another. We see her dressed in a wedding dress with guests assembled for a second ceremony with her playboy aviator, and it seems that this wealthy Cinderella and her ordinary-world prince will never be together. But this is a romance. We can count on the HEA, and we get one with sweetness and humor. The lovers are reunited, a trumpet sounds, a blanket falls to the floor, and the screen goes dark.

If you need an excuse to see it, IHON is significant in film history. It became a pattern for the successful “screwball comedies” of the 1930s and 40s. The American Film Institute places it #8 on their 100 Funniest Movies list, #38 on their 100 Greatest Love Stories list, and #35 on their 100 Gretest Movies list . But I suggest you watch for the first time or the fifteenth because it is a perfect film for those of us who “like the mushy stuff.”