"The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest"

You may or may not remember when I blogged about how I sometimes get my hackles up about some 'trend' or another and then, often - but not always - get around to that trend myself and then love it. Examples of trends I love - The DaVinci Code, Harry Potter, the Wii Game System, and Salt & Vinegar potato chips (this one may be a push to qualify as a trend). Examples of trends I loathe - 'reality' shows.

I'm pretty sure I sounded off about the Swedish films made of Steig Larsson's trilogy.. or at least the first one or two I had seen. Loved them both. Last night I finally got to see the third movie, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest. Loved it! I had just finished a three movie marathon with girlfriend, J, when we noticed we could watch this one too. It was already 11 pm. Couldn't wait. Got home around 2 am. Couldn't be happier!

Get on with the love fest, you say? Okay! Michael Nyqvist plays Mikael Blomkvist and is terrific. He's not a traditional hottie, but there is something undeniably attractive about him. Now, before you think I only think in terms of looks, sexiness, hot-levels.... I don't... mostly. It's just a factor that is on my mind, so get over it. Blomkvist is an interesting character to me because he's a lady's man who mostly manages to stay friendly with all the ladies after the fact. That takes skill and genuinely being a nice guy. And he has a firm moral code he follows, which is not true of everyone. The actor does a great job of portraying Micke as a complex character, flaws and all. They are making American versions of the films with Daniel Craig as Blomkvist. I can see this. Good call, Hollywood.

The biggest love fest is with the character, Lisbeth Salander, and the actress, Noomi Rapace, who plays her. I have a major lady-crush on Noomi Rapace. Major. I also think the character Lisbeth is the coolest female character of all time. Seriously, she's got mad skills, a bad attitude and a stringent moral code. Her code may not follow the law, but it makes damn good sense. And she's smart - smarter than most. And Noomi Rapace plays her to perfection. Every nuance of this complicated, difficult character is nailed. Nothing against the actress cast in the American version (I'm sure she'll be great), but I will have a hard time seeing anyone else in this role.

The American movies start coming out this year and I'm jazzed to get to see them again. I have also been reading the books which are so rich with detail. I've finished the first one, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and I'm almost done with the second, The Girl Who Played with Fire. The third is waiting on my coffee table. The movies really do justice to the books, but the books just have so much more in them that the movies could never manage. So, my recommendation is read the books and watch the movies (Swedish with subtitles if you can, troops). And in my humble opinion, I'm not sure it matters in which order. I have seen all the movies before I read their book counterpart, and it has not diminished my enjoyment of either. Okay - if you're a patient person who can wait for the big payoff - read the books first. If you are an impatient type - watch the movies first. BUT DO BOTH! They are mega best sellers for a reason.

TV

It's been a different week. On the sad side, I went to my friend's memorial service. His family was awesome. On the productive side, I'm making great progress with my book and sent out some partials. On the NFL side, the Superbowl has been saved because the Green Bay Packers made it. When three of the last four teams playing for a slot were teams I dislike, I was seriously worried the Superbowl would be a total write off. Gratefully, the Packers won and I have a team I like playing.

So, lets talk some TV show frivolity here.
I haven't had a new episode of Supernatural in way too long, but there should be a new one this week. I miss my J's (Jared and Jensen) YAY
I think I only have one more week of Lie to Me before it's the end the season. I loooove Tim Roth, loooove the show, loooove all the characters. Okay, less than love the cop chick.
Human Target is taking its sweet time in giving me some new hunky man action (I count all three guys here), but it's so worth the wait, I forgive. I like the young chick - Ames, but not a fan of Ms. Pucci.
Finally got to see Castle and Beckett kiss on Castle. Yummy! And how delicious is it that Esposito and the M.E. are involved?

On Chase, I love seeing Cole Hauser as a good guy. Seems like he's played his fair share of questionable types in the past. And the gal, Kelli Giddish... big fan. She's hot, gonzo, fearless and whenever the cute bounty hunter dude is around, she's so adorable. I'm holding off on my latest episode since it's a two-parter and I want to watch both back to back.
Enjoying the new NCIS and NCIS:LA episodes. Seriously, what's to say ...they rock.
Soon, the new season of Justified and Memphis Beat will start, something to look forward to: Timothy Olyphant and Jason Lee, respectively.
And the new season of White Collar recently began.

The evenings between me and my DVR and DVDs is what keeps me sane from the intensive mental workout I get writing during the day... Don't judge. : )

"Adam" and a note that Authors are Rock Stars!

I was just going to do a whole blog about how authors are rock stars, but then I watched Adam and now I have to talk about that. But before I rave about the amazingness that is Adam, I will explain why authors are rock stars. And, possibly why I am being amazingly, positively redundant.

I was sitting in a bar recently with some best selling authors and low and behold - who was working in the bar... readers, uber-fans. Me and the best-selling authors I was privileged to be partying with had been in this bar the day prior, so this particular night, the uber-fans had books, pens and cameras at the ready. Personally, in the past - I have been feet away from Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith on a Chicago street (I was giddy). Let me assure you, never have I been more geeky-fan crazed than when I got to meet Sherrilyn Kenyon this last weekend (hint: she's an author). Seriously, just take it from me - Authors are ROCK STARS!!!

Now, onto Adam. This is a romantic dramedy about Adam (Hugh Dancy) who has Asperger's Syndrome and a gal he meets, Beth (Rose Byrne). It is about their relationship. I learned a lot about being human, about understanding, and about the stuff between the obvious. But additionally, what I took away from it was how brilliant Hugh Dancy was in this role. Rose Byrne was wonderful too and the chemistry between them was so tangible. But, Hugh was deeply emotional while having to act emotionally shut off. He was funny and charming and adorable while acting incapable of understanding others emotions. He was brilliant. Really brilliant. I watched the movie, watched every smidge of bonus material, and then ordered it online, so I can forever own and watch this moving movie about a man unable to be moved like the rest of us.

I'd also like to give a shout out to Annette Benning for winning a Golden Globe for The Kids Are Alright. And for the film winning Best Movie. It was a terrific film with a terrific cast who acted terrifically!

In answer to my redundancy, sometimes you just need to say the same things in the same and different ways over and over and over and over again. : )

Business and networking

I just finished a grueling and wonderfully amazing three day seminar: The Superstars of Writing. I am wonderfully exhausted from an intense overload of information and networking. I loved every minute.

As a writer, I am constantly working to improve my craft through reading books, taking classes and workshops, attending conferences, and of course by writing. But one thing that is hard to find is other writers sharing with you the business of being a writer. How do you find successful people willing to give you hints, debunk myths, give you a behind the scenes view, and tell you the straight 411 on any business. That is what this seminar does. That is what five immensely successful, NY Times best-selling authors shares with you. I believe in this enough to endorse it.

The authors involved are Kevin J Anderson, Brandon Sanderson, David Farland/Wolverton, Eric Flint and Rebecca Moesta. They are all SciFi / Fantasy writers, but what they share is valuable to any writer, whether you write non-fiction or fiction in any genre. If you do not know who they are, I recommend checking them out - you'll be impressed.

Now, onto some general thoughts. There are professions in this world where networking is crucial. Writing is one of them. Yes, it is an art and you have to be able to craft an appealing product that people want to to read. But getting that writing published and in the readers' hands requires a lot of networking. Doing it without the networking is possible, but it makes your job about a thousand times harder. So, a writer needs to attend conferences and meet industry people.

Another type of networking is that with your peers. This is the kind also done at conferences, but done too at writing groups of a wide variety. Peer networking gives you new friends and new resources for specialized information in everything from legal to medical to puppetry advice. These will be your peers that come up through the ranks with you. Before CS Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia) and JRR Tolkein (Lord of the Rings) were the epic writers known the world round, they were peers sitting in a coffee shop talking writing with each other (fact).

I am talking writing, but this applies to life, my friends. Meet and be nice to one another, you never know when you have met someone who will play an important role in your journey through this world.

Regrets

Today I am unbelievably sad, so no movies, no books or actors, no perky Clancy. Today is for reflection. Yesterday, I called a dear friend of mine only to find out he had died the day before - very sudden, very tragic. He was only in his early forties.

We met several years ago under somewhat unusual circumstances , but quickly became friends. Over the years, we have dated on again/off again, but we were always friends. He was a kind and generous man valiantly fighting to correct health issues, and get his life on track in several areas. He wasn't perfect, but he was a really good guy. And now I feel a huge void in my life that he filled. Even when I hadn't talked to him or seen him for awhile, he was there and I thought of him.

On his behalf, I have regrets...little things, maybe even silly things. I regret that for the first year in a long time, his favorite NFL team, The Kansas City Chiefs, is in the playoffs and he won't get to see them play. He collected a certain author's books, but was saving them to read when he had them all and could read straight through - now he'll never get to read them. These things make me sad.

For me, I regret not spending more time with him and being a better friend... can't we all be better than we are? I have similar regrets about my dad's death two years ago - I wish I'd called more, visited more, and so on. I don't want to have regrets - they're so awful because no matter what you do in the present and future, you can't go back and change whatever it was you didn't do and now regret. You can do many things but the regrets are there forever.

I'm not much for New Year's resolutions, but I'm resolving to be better... and if I think I should do or say something, I will. I don't want to look back and think ...why? Why did I hold back? Why was I afraid to reach out? Why didn't I make time for this or that? Don't say - oh, I'll call tomorrow... I said 'tomorrow' for about four days and when I did get around to calling, it was too late. Embrace life, loved ones, friends and even strangers...for life is truly fleeting and unpredictable. Here's to my dear friend Jon - he is greatly missed.

Author Victoria Dahl

It is a lovely morning here in Salt Lake. Yes, it's cold and the ground is covered in snow, but I am huddled inside in comfy clothes writing and I have finally completed a challenging task that procrastination and illness have kept me from completing for several weeks - I wrote my fist synopsis. I am basking in the glow of this accomplishment. But thinking of things writerly, I want to share with anyone who enjoys romance an author that has quickly crept to the top of my list of favorite authors: Victoria Dahl.

I have now finished reading every book she has out (except the stories in anthologies - working on those next) and love them all - okay there is one I like a lot but don't love like I love the rest. But of her eight novels and one novella (not including the anthology stories), I think that's some pretty good stats. She writes both contemporary and historical. Her characters are rich and believable, the stories engrossing and funny, the sex steamy (sometimes uber steamy) and her voice is like wrapping yourself in a comfortable blanket you know and love. And since I've met her, I can tell you she is a genuinely nice person. She has a new trilogy coming out in 2011 I can hardly wait to buy and read as well a sequel in the wings I am eagerly awaiting.

If you like romance and great writing - do yourself a favor and check out Victoria Dahl at http://victoriadahl.com.

'TRON: Legacy' and a brief rant

I have been sick lately - the last three weeks have been a blur of cold, fever, bed, then my tooth getting pulled out (another story for when you're really bored) and then having a cold relapse. I feel very rested now that I only have a lingering cough and the grand canyon in my mouth. So, here we go - back on track.

I took my son and his girlfriend to see TRON: Legacy on it's opening day...in 3D...on the IMAX. Did you just think 'AWESOME'? I did! And I was there and thought that then too. I have mixed feelings about this moviethough. Let's start with the love. Love Garrett Hedlund. Love Jeff Bridges. Love, love, love the special effects and the stunning visuals of this movie. Love Michael Sheen, who kind of stole the movie for me with his flamboyant David Bowie homage inspired character. Love the main cute girl (Olivia Wilde) - she is stunning. What didn't I love? I didn't love that sometimes you couldn't understand what was being said because the 'programs' speaking were made to sound electronic. And this isn't a love/no love situation, and it could be I needed to see the original more recently than a decade ago or that my brain was fuzzy from being sick at the time (I'm siding with this one) or I really am slow sometimes, BUT Jeff Bridges' zen thing going on in the movie and the point of it all (I'm guessing) threw me and thus the story line didn't always track for me. It could be it was just too esoteric for my wee poor brain.... or not - who knows. I'll have to watch the original and then this one again when I'm feeling good and sharp and see if I still have the same problem. But I had fun and enjoyed the ride (pun intended).

Now on to the brief rant. I just want to say damn you Hallmark (and occasionally Lifetime) channel! During my convalescence, I have watched 15 to 20 Hallmark channel Holiday movies (with the occasional Lifetime movie as well). Every one meant to be a feel good, cheesy, sometimes love story, always family centered, holiday warmth extravaganza celebrating Santa, the holidays, family, relationships and all things good cheer with the express purpose of making me cry at least once during said film. And I hate crying. I kinda hate being all warm and fuzzy too. And yet I can't stop myself from watching them - year after year. I'm obviously a glutton for punishment. No one does these type of films better than Hallmark - let me say that. So, damn you Hallmark for making me soft and gooey inside when I hate being that way and have no resistance to your wily, emotional charms. And I still have a few on my DVR to watch... and I'll love them... and hate them for making me cry and feel warm inside. I'm having a bit of a Grinch identity crisis over here. You know - that moment when his heart grows three sizes that day.... it's painful troops - don't kid yourselves. Grrr ... and Happy Holidays!