Stranded with Bette Davis

My girl's car is making a "funny" noise. ("Funny" to us. I doubt the beloved, our first-line car guy is amused.) Anyway, he's busy this week, so she's taken my car, and I'm somewhat stranded till Friday. Perfect writing time, you suggest?

It should be, but I had myself a Bette Davis marathon. Not her more well-known stuff. A Stolen Life, where a "good" twin takes over a "bad" twin's life, and Glenn Ford turns out to be surprisingly attractive (though one must suspend disbelief to think he wouldn't catch on). The Letter, which is just an amazing movie. Woman shoots in self-defense, although I don't ever remember believing her self-defense story, so I'm not sure you're supposed to. And The Great Lie, in which Mary Astor has Bette's husband's baby, but Bette becomes his mother. This may be my favorite. It's a good story, but also, it feels like a slice of 1941 life.

What an actress. These are definitely not all a-list movies, but there are moments in each of them where I forget Bette's acting or someone's telling a story. That's the funny thing about telling stories for a living. Forgetting you're watching/reading/hearing one grows ever more difficult--even though that's any storyteller's goal.

To get out of the way and let the story live its own life.

I put that on its own line so I'd remember. "Pretty" writing can be so seductive! ;-)

Note to self: No movie marathons today!

Got a little distracted

I've been writing like crazy. I'm just supposed to be doing proposals, but I fell in love with my hero and couldn't stop! What a lovely feeling. It's the best thing about writing.

We've had a busy week. Uncovered the pool. Had pool trespassers. Learned how to take a padlock apart to change its combination. (I couldn't believe that actually worked!)

Someone has been impersonating me around the web. Very annoying. If I suddenly send someone a nutty/cranky or nutty and cranky email, please come here first and ask if I actually sent it. (What kind of person does stuff like that?)

Have been dodging tornadoes. (Must learn to spell the plural of tornado.)

And I finally broke down and bought the new laptop. It's beautiful and fast (and it waits for me to ask it to do stuff--and it's not trying to self-combust) and I'm totally in love. All writers should use a MacBook.

So--back to my distraction! :-)

Company for Breakfast

The beloved, who's an amazing cook, is doing breakfast for our friends up the street. We've fallen into the habit of going out for breakfast at least once a week with them. (Getting to know them has been one of the best parts of this move back home!) But today, the beloved is showing off his skills with the kitchen stuff.

I could never cook breakfast for anyone except our family, and frankly they prefer the beloved's cooking. (Wise, wise family.) I need recipes, time--plenty of time, and a plan. How do you manage all that before at least six in the evening?

Then again, the beloved knows he can yank a few things out of the fridge, weave some magic with the spice cabinet, add some heat, and there you go--deliciousness!

I have access to all the same stuff, but oops, there you go--a fire!

A Review

I never remember to put up reviews, but I'm gonna this time. Romantic Times gave Her Reason to Stay a 4. Yay! And here's the text:

Raised in foster care, Daphne Soder is thrilled to find the twin sister she never knew she had. But when she meets Raina Abernathy, she learns Raina was raised wealthy and isn't sure she needs a sister in her life. With attorney Patrick Gannon's help, Daphne soon convinces her sister that the only thing she wants from her is a relationship. Anna Adam's HER REASON TO STAY (4) is a heartwarming tale about finding family, even when you're sure there's no one left for you.

I believe the reviewer is Alexandra Kay, and I'm so glad she liked Daphne and Patrick!

DVD's are Wonderful, Wonderful!

I'm watching a movie I love, that I haven't seen in about a year. Are you also one of those folks who can watch a movie over and over and over? It's called Undercurrent. Robert Taylor and Katharine Hepburn, and not beloved of all critics, but my friend, Kath and I have shared many excellent Undercurrent hours. Don't you love the people best who love the things you love?

Our VHS players stopped working when we moved, and I didn't want to spend the bucks to buy this movie in a collection of which I only really love one other movie. However, I finally realized I'd have paid for it many times over as often as I watch it. So, today I bit the bullet. It's actually going to be my Mother's Day gift, but I couldn't resist opening it early.

I had to report to Kath that I finally undertook the purchase, and she sent back the image in her head, Robert Mitchum (also in the movie) at the piano, looking so gorgeous. And he does! I suggested to her that I might have to skip ahead to that scene. Except I'm savoring!

Confessions and Wierd Hotel Doings

I'm on a little road trip right now, working from the lobby of a hotel (huge hotel) where wifi is free. However, from the room, you can't reach the wifi and Internet access is $12 a day. Odd.

And my Starbuck's is cold. They slammed down the cage over the counter just after I haplessly bought my cup so I can't go whine about it there. Hence the whining here. Still, in the spirit of looking at my tepid cup o' coffee in a hopeful way, it's far more than half full! :-)

How peaceful it is to sit here while most folks staying are at conferences, doing courses, out working at their borrowed offices. I'm just working on a proposal, checking email, checking out the episodes of Another World Aol Video has posted. (Too bad I'm caught up!) Wouldn't you think a woman would be reluctant to just blurt out her Another World habit? Nope--I'm content enough to confess. Besides, I can't be the only woman in the world who's still half in love with Mac though I was about 40 years younger than he when I first fell.

Enough with the Vacation Time!

I've been taking it, sort of. I'm working like crazy on proposals, and I hope my editor loves them as much as I am. Also preparing for some time in the mountains. Yay! Reading tons of Christina Dodd! I loved her historicals, but I'm an even bigger fan of her contemporaries.

Reading is the one thing that suffers after you become a writer. You start editing. Books. Movies. (Some people refuse to accompany you to movies unless you vow not to speak.) I've longed for those golden days of just grabbing any book and not surfacing until I finish, replete. :-) Trouble in High Heels provided that experience. I'm reading Tongue in Chic now and feeling most lucky to have discovered the series!

Better get back to proposing. Can't read till I meet my own deadlines!