Upcoming stuff...

I’m sending out an email to everyone today to let them all know about the neat-o things I’ve got cooking.

(I think I will try to single-handedly return the word “neat-o” to the American lexicon.)

First of all, it’s just ten short days until ALL ABOUT VEE is available in your local indie or Borders bookstore! If they don’t have it, or plan to have it, ask them for it! Make your voices heard and your opinions known!

And on that very same day, the LOVE, MEG paperback will be released so you have two opportunities to add to your C. Leigh Purtill collection.

Now, keep in mind two very important things: both of these books are trade paperback, that beautiful thicker-covered paperback, same size as a hardcover, but much, much cheaper and more easily portable.

With Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and graduations and spring and summer birthdays coming up, you’ll need a copy or two for gifts, don’t you think? Well, if you’re in any of these following places, I will sign them for you!

--LA Times Festival of Books, Book Soup Booth #329, UCLA Westwood, CA on Sunday, April 27 at 2PM

--Chevalier’s Books, 126 N. Larchmont Boulevard, LA, CA on Saturday, May 10 from 2-4PM

--Borders Books, 1600 South East Road, Farmington, CT on Sunday, June 29 at 2PM

I’ve also got a whole bunch of awesome library, book club and school visits in April, May and June so there will be plenty of chances for us to catch up!

Crazy Love

Some documentaries make me feel smarter for watching them, especially those that deal with the environment or politics or big business.

Then there are others that make me feel stupid for Netflixing them, like the ones HH likes that are basically Tin Foil Hat Society stuff and usually involve UFOs, JFK, and vapor trails.

Now “Crazy Love” comes along and it…it…it confuses me. It’s the story of Burt Pugach and Linda Riss, a couple who fell in sort-of-love when she was just 20 and he was older and rich – and very married. Burt saw Linda one day while he was out driving and became obsessed with her. He had to have her, had to make her his girlfriend or whatever he called it. She was impressed and let him wine and dine her but was shocked to learn he was married. He lied all the time about how he was going to divorce his wife and she believed him until his wife Francine called her and said she would never divorce him.

So Linda left. And she found another man who loved her. Of course Burt was livid when he learned she was engaged to this man. He hired a man to throw lye in her face which blinded her and made her bald. Her engagement was off; her life was off. Burt was sentenced to prison for 30 years but was released on parole 15 years later…

…after giving Linda $4000 and promising the parole board he would continue to give her money! She never married, never felt confident in herself after he ruined her life and took away her sight. When he got out of prison, she agreed to meet him and eventually they married. This in itself is dumbfounding but then we learn that during their marriage Burt cheated on Linda for five years with a younger woman who later claimed he threatened her life. Remarkably Linda not only stood by her cheating man, she defended him!

Their relationship is bizarre. I don’t believe either of them knows what it means to love someone. Then again, who is to say what love really is? They have something that evidently works for them. They each came from very rough circumstances: Burt was beaten by his mother every day and Linda lived with friends from an early age and didn’t have much of a father in her life. Each time I thought I had a handle on who they were and why they acted as they did, something shifted.

So I may not be smarter or dumber by watching this, just more confused.

Doc Doc Doc Goose

This week Netflix delivered 3 documentaries from our queue: "Confessions of a Superhero," "The End of Suburbia," and "Crazy Love." We've already watched the first 2, both of which I recommend.

"Superhero" tells the story of 4 of the people who play "characters" on Hollywood Boulevard near the Hollywood and Highland complex. They dress up as famous movie or television characters (in this case, Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman and the Hulk) and pose with tourists for pictures. They work on tips but are not allowed to solicit. They can only suggest to people that they tip them. On a good day, they might make as much as $150 bucks an hour; on a not-so-good day, maybe just one buck.

Of the 4 actors interviewed, Superman really stands out: a former meth addict, he claims to be the son of the late Sandy Dennis although her family members say they never knew this guy or even that she was pregnant. He is obsessed with Superman! His small apartment, which he shares with his now-wife (they were married during the film), is crammed with all things Super.

Wonder Woman was also a sweet girl from the south who wanted to be an actress. She came out here, got married to a guy she knew for 2 weeks, and dressed up as WW while she was trying to audition. She's a very pretty girl and I hope this movie gets her some notice for roles. She and her husband were breaking up at the end of the film but she seemed to take strength from that.

Batman, also married, had/has an anger problem and also seems to watch a LOT of movies. Much of his past appears to be appropriated from action movies, gangster films, and George Clooney, whom he sort of resembles. His own wife says she only believes 50 percent of what he says.

And then there's the Hulk, a guy who was homeless for 4 years but still managed to take auditions (reminded me of the Will Smith movie, "The Pursuit of Happyness"). He's getting roles now in small movies but best of all, he has his own apartment and seems to have a bright future.

HH was worried the movie would make him feel sad, that these actors would have really depressing stories but in truth, they are not so different from anyone else. They all seem to have love in their lives and the support of others and even if a couple might be slightly delusional, they aren't dragging anyone else down with them.

A definite recommend.

It's Not Easy Being Chikezie

Again, the wrong person went home on Idol last night. Mister Chikezie has such a great voice, great personality and he really knows the right song choices for his style. He's a throwback to the days of Lionel Richie and Luther Vandross and you know what? There are millions of people who love that kind of R&B. I have no doubt that, once the tour is over, he will be making records.

As we heard Ryan say last night (and apparently he also mentioned this on Tuesday before David Cook sang) the "Billie Jean" arrangement was previously done by Chris Cornell. You may remember him best as the lead singer of Soundgarden which was a grunge band. I think he also writes movie soundtracks. Talented guy. I saw the clip of him singing the song on YouTube but I do think David Cook sounded better. Doesn't matter; just glad he was given credit (and why don't the judges mention that?).

Next week is country songs and we can pretty much guarantee that Kristy Lee, again, will not be going home. Country isn't for everyone - and I'll bet Chikezie would have done a great job with it. So who can't sing c&w? Carly? Aussie Michael? Can't you just see what David Cook will do with Garth Brooks? Perf!

David Cook Rules!

I think, to be ultra cool, I should have spelled "rules" with a "z" as in "DAVID COOK RULZ!!!!"

To quote my friend and fellow author Paula Yoo, I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE DAVID COOK! Seriously, I think I'm in love. I WAS in love with Jason Castro but that was only because he reminded me of all the guys I had crushes on in college who didn't like me back. I could never get the guys who looked like Jason to fall for me. But no matter, because now I have David Cook, who is the kind of guy most people underestimate who then KICKS BUTT!

I have mentioned this before but it's worth repeating: each week David Cook gets better and better and more impressive with his performances. His confidence is building not waning, as some others' are, and he is taking more chances with his arrangements. He was absolutely brilliant singing "Billie Jean" like that last night. I really really hope this was his own unique arrangement and not something he borrowed from someone else, like he did with Whitesnake and the Beatles.

I listened to his song twice, once with my eyes closed to see if it was something I would listen to on the radio. Yup. Oh yeah. I would download that in a heartbeat. In fact, I may just do that today if they have it up on iTunes.

One of the Cooks has got to go and it ain't gonna be this one.

Which Vee Are You?

My new book features three new characters that I hope to be able to tell you more about in books to come. Whether that means in actual book form or as part of my website, I don’t know yet. We’ll see if enough people like the first book about them!

They are The Vees: three girls whose names all begin with V.

Veronica May: the actress. Statuesque and beautiful, with a gorgeous smile and violet eyes. She’s super friendly, open and sincere. She has a big heart and a bubbly personality and wants all of her friends to be happy. But she’s uncertain about things sometimes; she worries what others will think of her. With love and success, she will begin to overcome that.

Virginia Cooper: the writer. Cute, quiet, introspective. No one ever really knows what Ginny is thinking. She always has a pad and pen in her pocket, ready to capture the moment in words. She’s a middle child in a huge family and has often been overlooked. She has a fierce love for her friends and would protect them at all costs.

Valeria Maria Carmellita Padilla y Lopez: the model. A stunning Latina, former teen pageant queen. She loves flash – spangly clothes and spiky heels. All the guys notice Val; she can’t help it! Although she’s aware of her beauty, she doesn’t flaunt it with the Vees and in fact, she sometimes feels inferior to them, as if she’s not as smart as they are.

There used to be a fourth Vee, Vivian Reed, who moved to LA and changed her name to just Reed. She was once a close friend to all of them but now she’s become hugely competitive with Veronica, going so far as to sabotage her auditions and her relationship with the cute guy at the coffee shop. It takes Veronica a while to realize just how toxic her old friend has become.

Of all the Vees, I hope you’re not a Vivian Reed. {shudder}

Pushy Characters

Talk to any writer and she’ll probably tell you her characters speak to her all the time, even when she’s not writing. Some writers insist they do nothing but listen to what their characters are saying or doing and just write it all down, sort of like transcription. Definitely, when I’m in the zone, I’ll hear them discussing things and I don’t feel like I’m forcing them to say or do what I want them to. It’s when I do force them that I run into problems and the writing is stiff and bland or plot-heavy.

I have to tell you about a current situation I am in, one which I haven’t ever experienced before. I do believe you can’t write a story before it’s ready to be told. I mean, you certainly can but it won’t be good. Sometimes I think I’m ready to tell a story, then I get about 100 pages in and I stop. I HATE that so much! This is why I will wait a good long while for the characters to form in my head, for situations to develop, for a beginning, middle and end to construct itself. That way, when I finally sit down to write, I have no question in my mind that it’s the story I want to tell. And I actually look forward to writing, to getting up every morning and attacking my computer.

So…a few weeks ago I started a new story. I had a solid outline, characters I loved whose voices I could hear, and I was excited to work on it, even though it was complex and somewhat difficult. I was eager to write my pages.

And then, something happened. Another character with her own story came waltzing into my head, tapped on my cerebellum and said, “Hey, write me.” I ignored her for a little while but she wouldn’t go away. So I said, fine, I’ll write your outline and some character names and when I have time I’ll come back to you.

And still, she wouldn’t go away. “Tell my story NOW,” she insisted. I sighed. Okay, I would write a couple pages, maybe a first chapter but no more. I had another story I was working on, after all, one that came first.

But oh no, that wasn’t good enough for her. She kept pushing herself into my writing time when I was with the other story. She’d poke at me with phrases and bits of dialogue and emotions that I just couldn’t ignore. So eventually, I caved. I put aside the other story and began work on hers. I hope she can tell me her story really quickly because I want to get back to the other story soon.

Sheesh! Don't you just hate pushy characters?