Monthly Archives: October 2012
On the Sunny Side
It is easy to be negative at this time of year. The mornings are dark, the weather is unpredictable, and winter is just around the corner. The excuses are endless and, if we’re not careful, we’ll stop exercising and slip back into bad habits.
In their book, So Stressed, authors Stephanie McClellan and Beth Hamilton suggest countering the following negative thoughts with more positive messages:
I’m too exhausted even to think of moving.
I always have more energy after I exercise.
I’m just so slow.
When I started, I was out of breath very quickly. I may not be a speed demon, but I have really built up my endurance.
My whole body hurts from that last workout.
If I stretch well or take a hot bath, my muscles will be warmed up, and I’ll be feeling no pain once I start moving.
I had to skip three days because I had a virus. It’s impossible for me to stay with it. Something always gets in the way.
Each day is a new day, and I can pick up where I left off.
It’s miserable out, so I think I ‘ll just sleep in this morning.
It’s raining too hard for me to enjoy my walk. I think I’ll try that new yoga DVD.
This was the most stressful day at work in a long time. I think I’ll make myself a drink.
I haven’t been this stressed out in a long time. I bet a good workout will help me burn off this tension.
Movie Review: Argo
For the first time in decades, many of us are learning what really happened during the Iran hostage crisis of 1979. While the six Americans did find asylum in the residence of the Canadian ambassador, Ken Taylor (Victor Garber) did not act alone. C.I.A. staffer Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) stepped in to implement a risky, out-of-the-box plan to spirit the hostages out of Iran.
Mendez went to Hollywood to ask prosthetics guru John Chambers (John Goodman) to create a fake film using a script that required a Middle Eastern setting. With the help of producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin), they produce a script, posters, storyboards and enough buzz to generate international attention for Argo. Posing as an associate producer, Mendez flies to Iran and provides the hostages with fake Canadian identities. He sneaks out the six in plain sight and provides many nail-biting scenes as they scout locations for the fake film.
Affleck delivers Oscar-worthy performances as actor and director in what is probably one of the best movies of 2012.
A must-see movie…you will sit at the edge of your seat throughout the entire movie.
The Next Big Thing–Patricia Anderson
Last week, I tagged good friend and fellow writer, Patricia Anderson, in The Next Big Thing post. The idea comes from She Writes and is meant to help female authors promote their WIPs (Works in Progress). As per the rules, what follows are her answers to ten interview questions about her WIP.
What is the working title of your book?
Potholes in Paradise
Where did the idea come from for the book?
While house hunting, people seem to be more concerned with crown mouldings and counter tops, rather than who’s living in the house next door. Remodelling and renovating are easy fixes, but an inconsiderate or obnoxious neighbour can be an immovable source of misery. Yes, I’m speaking from experience. And I’m saddened by the loss of ‘neighbourhoods’. How many people actually know who their neighbours are, or even care? I realize that we can’t all live on Sesame Street, but I find modern subdivisions frightening.
What genre does your book fall under?
I’m not sure what shelf I would put it on. Spoiler alert: There are no dead bodies. That eliminates most of the genres. “Amusing Family Drama” sounds more like a TV sitcom. How about a four-day experiment with “Social Realism”?
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
The protagonist is an average 42-year old, hard-working wife and mother (me, only younger). And then there are half a dozen rebellious and troublesome teenagers, and add to that a sizable group of rebellious and troublesome senior citizens. There are no fancy costumes or even makeup, just a lot of dust, mud, sunburns, bug bites and hangovers. I’d cast the movie with unknowns, and they’d all be Canadian. Well, there might be small part for William Shatner.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Potholes in Paradise follows the antics of a dysfunctional group of seasonal residents in a trailer park in south-central Ontario.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Still sitting on that fence.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Three long years of part-time binge writing.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I haven’t yet come across such a thing. I’m flying over unfamiliar territory.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I’ve spent the last five summers in a similar place: a scenic paradise riddled with enormous potholes (intentional speed traps) and an infinite supply of problems. It has been an invaluable and rich source of inspiration for story lines and character studies.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
It deals with common themes and issues, like raising teenagers, family secrets, communities, addiction, and essentially, the meaning of life.
Now, it’s Patricia’s turn to tag some follow authors:
Cindy Carroll | Linda Johnston | Erica Williams
Message for the tagged authors and interested others
Rules of The Next Big Thing
Use this format for your post.
Answer the ten questions about your current WIP (Work In Progress).
Tag five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them.
Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big Thing
What is the working title of your book?
Where did the idea come from for the book?
What genre does your book fall under?
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Who or What inspired you to write this book?
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Include the link of who tagged you and this explanation for the people you have tagged.
Introducing Nadežda Rajčan
Last week, I met Nadežda Rajčan at a writing workshop. I offered to share her book, Contemporary Fairy Tales and Stories for all Ages, with all of you.
Here is the book which was envisioned in the heart and soul of our author, Dr Nadežda Rajčan, a long time before it was published. This book was created in a special part of her heart, as if with silk threads, and it now has its own myth and permanent dimension. The stories within this book needed to be told and as they came forth, they offered the listeners and readers a beautiful and imaginative revived world.
Contemporary Fairy Tales and Stories for all Ages is a collection of stories that allow the reader, or listener, to visualize the connection between the things which can be, or cannot be connected, in such a harmonious fashion. What I was especially impressed with, was the way Dr Nadežda Rajčan brought things, such as toys, computers and flowers to life. In this way, she succeeded in making everything interesting, and everybody around herself a goodhearted person.
As well, the professionally designed illustrations, and the carefully selected photographs, compliment the stories, thereby allowing children to develop their imagination. Dr Nadežda Rajčan wrote these modern fairy tales, which are full of wonders and positive emotions, as a spiritual gift to her grandchildren.
By dividing the stories into six chapters, according to certain topics, the writer leads the readers from her corner of former Yugoslavia, where she grew up, not only to many countries and continents, but also beyond – to other planets and the outer reaches of the universe. Therefore, before you start to read these fairy tales and stories, I would like to suggest that you…
Buckle your seat belts because we are taking off on a grand journey!
This review was written by Radovan Vlahović, a writer at the Banat Cultural Center in Serbia.
Contest Time
Last evening, I attended the Humorous and Table Topics Speech Contests for Toastmaster Areas 62 and 66 (Guelph, Ontario).
New Life Church, with its large altar and colorful autumn displays, provided the perfect backdrop for the contestants. We were all able to relax in the comfortable seats and listen to nine prepared speeches and seven impromptu talks.
Congratulations to the winners: Steve Noonan (Humorous Contest–Area 62), Blake Kurisko (Humorous Contest–Area 66), Rosalind Scantlebury (Table Topics–Area 62), Danve Castroverde (Table Topics–Area 66)
Movie Review: The Chaperone
Having supervised many high school dances and activities, I could easily empathize with Cora Carlisle as she tried to restrain the wild and rebellious fifteen-year-old Louise Brooks. But Cora faced an even greater challenge: she agreed to chaperone Louise for an entire month in New York City.
The two women could not be more different. While Cora’s childhood was tumultuous, she married well and led a comfortable life in Wichita, Kansas. An early “lady driver” and suffragette, she still espoused traditional values and dressed modestly, wearing high collars and constricting corsets. On the other hand, Louise defied convention by dressing provocatively and flirting with every man she met.
Often frustrated by her charge, Cora quickly realized she would have little, if any, impact on the younger woman. But that did not stop her from exploring her own orphan roots. Born in New York City at the turn of the century, Cora was placed in an orphanage run by nuns. As one of the healthier charges, she was sent off on trains throughout the Midwest. She was “part of an exodus, a mass migration that spanned over seventy years.”
While those five weeks did not change Louise, Cora underwent a major transformation and discovered new possibilities for her life. Upon her return to Wichita, she made dramatic changes to her domestic arrangement and became more involved with the social issues of her day: homosexuality, KKK, contraception, unwed mothers, Prohibition.
Author Laura Moriarty has skillfully combined fact and fiction to produce a compelling novel about two very different women in search of freedom and fulfillment.
Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction and women’s literature.
The Next Big Thing
Author Jenny Herrera tagged me in her The Next Big Thing post. The idea comes from She Writes and is meant to help female authors promote their WIPs (Works in Progress). As per the rules, what follows are my answers to ten interview questions about my WIP. At the end, I’ll tag five other writers to carry the banner.
What is the working title of your book?
A Season for Killing Blondes
Where did the idea come from for the book?
Eight years ago, I was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer. While receiving my treatments, I started reading murder mysteries. I must have read at least two a week for the entire ten months. I started to think about writing a murder mystery based in my hometown of Sudbury, Ontario. I considered the following scenario: What if a 50something woman wins a nineteen million dollar lottery and returns to her hometown. While reinventing herself as a career counselor for boomers, the woman encounters a number of obstacles, among them four dead blondes neatly arranged in dumpsters near her favorite haunts.
What genre does your book fall under?
It’s a cozy.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Since most of the characters are boomers, I would prefer to use actors in that particular age group. Lorraine Bracco would make a great Gilda Greco, the protagonist of the novel. For her love interest, I would go with Pierce Brosnan.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
It is a season for killing blondes and a brunette lottery winner never has an alibi when dead bodies turn up in dumpsters near her favorite haunts.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I would prefer the traditional route but am open to all options.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I started the novel eight years ago and took almost a year to finish it. This past January, I revisited the manuscript and rewrote it in first person. I added another sub-plot and more characters.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Cozies written by Denise Swanson (Murder of a Small Town Honey, Murder of a Sleeping Beauty, Murder of a Smart Cookie) and Mary Jane Maffini (Organize Your Corpses, The Cluttered Corpse, Death has a Messy Desk).
Who or what inspired you to write this book?
As I was going through my own difficult season, I started thinking about other people’s rough patches. I combined that with my new interest in reading murder mysteries and came up with a plot for A Season for Killing Blondes.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Not too many cozies are based in Northern Ontario. Also, the combination of fiftysomething Italian women, their mothers, their men, food and four dead blondes is an interesting one. I have included eight dessert recipes.
Now, it’s my turn to tag some follow authors:
Cindy Carroll | Linda Johnston | Jordanna East | Beth Verde | Patricia Anderson
Oprah and Deepak Chopra
Yesterday on Super Soul Sunday, Oprah went soul to soul with one of the greatest thought leaders of our time: Deepak Chopra. Together, they addressed some of life’s biggest questions and provided us with excellent advice on how to improve the quality of our lives.
A prolific writer, Deepak has penned nineteen best sellers and sold over twenty million books worldwide. It was interesting to learn that he wrote The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success on a plane ride from Singapore to Melbourne. He commented that readers struggle most with the Law of Least Effort. They have difficulty realizing that when they are rested and full of love and compassion, things will synchronistically fall in place.
Deepak’s greatest desire is to see a peaceful, just, sustainable and happier world—something that can only be accomplished if there is more love and compassion. But he is optimistic and believes that we are seeing acceleration in that direction.
When speaking with children, he encourages them to look in the mirror and repeat the following short, but powerful, statements: I am beneath no one. I am fearless. I am immune to criticism. He encourages all parents to follow that example and help build up their children’s self esteem.
I was most impressed by his comment—“I never react anymore.” While he did not handle criticism very well in his younger years, he is now able to watch himself and not get angry. In fact, he has not argued with any member of his family during the last thirty years. A glowing testimonial to forty years of daily meditation!
He hopes his legacy will be that of “a passing breeze, a pattern of behavior in the universe that came and is now gone but the fragrance lingers.”
So many wonderful quotations…
When you recognize the impermanence of your body, you enter the present moment.
You can change your biological age if you change your perception.
People don’t grow old. When they stop growing, they become old.
The best way to prepare for the future is to be totally present now.
Now is the moment that never ends.
Life is a field of infinite possibilities and an opportunity to evolve in the direction of truth, goodness, beauty and harmony.
My greatest teacher is my own inner silence. God is the evolutionary impulse of the universe. We are the consciousness that makes the universe manifest. Affirmation: Everyday and in every way, I am increasing my mental and physical capacity. Secret to a happy life: Recognize that no matter what the situation, there is a creative opportunity in it. Starting November 5, Deepak Chopra will offer a 21-day meditation challenge. It is free and open to everyone–worldwide.
Joanne Guidoccio 