Here’s how my crush on Stephen King got started. Alys (Alys in Underland) wrote a review of The Shining. I had to read pieces of Shawshank Redemption in a film class I took forever ago, but I’d never read anything by Stephen King. Most of his books are creaky door scary and I don’t like to be scared.…
Hemingway called Paris a “movable feast.” I’m not really a Hemingway fan, but when he says, “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris … then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast,” I have to agree. There is something about…
Barb asked me to go on tour. I have never been on tour. I have been to a Rick Springfield concert and a few years ago I saw Dave Matthews, but our own tour sounded…well, righteous. I started thinking about the tour bus and my wardrobe. Barb studied at Julliard, she’s an accomplished composer and…
Silence. It is very quiet where I live. I have a clock in my office and there are days when all I hear is a light tick and the tapping of computer keys. I love those days. I like loud music, laughter, lively conversation, just as much as the next person, but silence is a…
We are What We Believe Ourselves to Be. I have these little quotes, word groups, prophetic prose, that I print and magnet up on the board behind my computer. I face a wall in my office, so I try to make it a pretty wall. These little statements usually change every week. Sometimes they are…
Characters. When I write, it starts with the characters. Some writers are inspired by places, or objects, or scenes. I need the characters first. I have to know them, all their wonderful qualities, what makes them tick, how they’re damaged, and their quirks. Quirks are my favorite, I actually collect them. They make a character…
Culturally Literate. I have to say I don’t recall ever hearing this phrase until a few days ago. I understand literacy to mean able to read and write. It could also encompass being knowledgable. In my mind, a person does not need to be formally educated to be literate. But then “culture” is added and…
Give me the thing that I love. Put your hands up, make them touch. When I was in college I used to go to this dinky theatre and watch performance artists. Lady Gaga is the queen of performance art. There is a difference between getting half naked and gyrating on stage for the sake of…
I did not know who Chet Baker was until yesterday. I think I may have heard his name before, it is a unique name, but I couldn’t tell you who he was or what he did. I’m pretty sure every jazz fan, or anyone really acquainted with music for that matter, just hit the floor.…