A Pirate's Life for Me!

In the 1980's pirate historical romances were quite the rage. Then someone killed them! Argh!  With the success of Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean series, I am sure we are to see many pirate historicals return to the shelves in the next few months.  Which makes me wonder, can I can put a modern girl on an 18th century pirate ship?  I have seen time travel romance done dozens of times in medieval Scotland, why not in the Caribbean?  And why not a girl who has nothing to loose and nowhere to go? One whose heart has been broken and lost forever?  This is what I am working on now.  Ian and Isobell have been set aside.  After two years of wandering in circles with them, I am ready to move on.  Maybe they will decide to stop lounging about in my head and actually do something with their lives.  Until then, I am moving forward.  

Dread Pirate JM

Your Pirate Name Is...

Mad Hairy Legs

What's Your Pirate Name?

Basil for me......mmmm I do smell good

You Are Basil

You are quite popular and loved by post people. You have a mild temperament, but your style is definitely distinctive. You are sweet, attractive, and you often smell good.

What Spice Are You?

The first time I took this test I was cilantro, but so was Alyson. Since She did the test first, I figured I better try again so not to be a copy cat! :o)

Dreaming of Conference...can I fit it in?

What I am reading: Breaking Point by Susan Brockman

What I am working on:  New Contemporary 

I have waisted my writing hour this morning by day dreaming about RWA conference.  I desperately want to go this year, and I may get to go still, but this is a fast and furious six months I have ahead of me.   In about 10 days we will learn of my hubby's promotion status and then we have a few short weeks to research possible jobs, talk to the different commanders who are needing personnel, and get our assignment preference worksheet in to the chain of command.   After that....we wait.  Sometimes you are sent to a place or type of job you requested, sometimes you are not.  In June or July we should receive what is called a Rip Sheet, these are preliminary orders telling us where we may be going.  In late August or early September we will get our final orders with the actual assignment.  As soon as we have orders we can set up the movers and make arrangements to out-process from the base.  It is much more involved than just packing up to go.  The time from when you receive the orders until the Report No Later Date (the date the military member must sign in to the new job) can be the most stressful and most fun time for a military family.   

Now imagine squeezing into this timeline: a Memorial for my Grandfather in Florida,  two high school 20th reunions, time needed to prep my mother's lake house to be used as a rental,  and a 5 week visit from 7 members of my husband's family, and the RWA conference.  Whew!  Oh, and did I mention that other than the in-law visit, all of these activities are on the mainland?  Remember that I live  in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  Can I make 5 trips to the mainland in 4 months?  Plus my hubby wants to squeeze in trips to each of the Hawaiian Islands before we leave.  Oh My. 

OK, now I have waisted Friday's blog by rambling and whining.  It will all work out, I just need to figure out how to arrange the pieces of the puzzle.   BTW- In-laws arrive Tuesday.  Wish me luck.  A 5 day visit is fun, but 5 weeks?

JM

P.S.  In case you are curious, our top choices for the move are: Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, and Australia.  (Greece, Turkey, England, and Spain are also high on the list.) 

I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free...aren't I

You Are 67% American

Most times you are proud to be an American. Though sometimes the good ole US of A makes you cringe Still, you know there's no place better suited to be your home. You love your freedom and no one's going to take it away from you!

How American Are You?

Films that Shape My Writing Voice

What I am reading: Poison Study by Maria Snyder
Word Count for today: 504

I am a bit behind on Macy's Challenge, I thought I would do double the writing, but I spent three hours moving my AOTP Blogs over here to Cinderwriter. If you want to read my whole blogging history, it is quite profound, just go to the Archives at the bottom of the page. One of the AOTP members would like to use the AOTP name for her personal blog, so I packed up and moved out. I can't wait to see what she does with her own blog, I am sure it will be fantastic.

I believe that film, as well as books, leave a imprint on our psyche and shape our mores and world views. This also shapes our voice and our writing. A while back several of us at AOTP jotted down our favorite movies to see how this defined ourselves. Here are my choices:

20 favorite Movies:

1. Braveheart
2. The Brother's Grimm
3. King Aurthur
4. Phantom of the Opera
5. Pirates of the Caribbean - Curse of the Black Pearl
6. Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Ma's Chest
7. Ever After
   
8. A Knight's Tale
   
9. Titanic
10. Stardust
    
11. Nanny McPhee
12. Love Actually
13. Ella Enchanted
14. Shakespeare in Love
    
15. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
    
16. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
17. Casanova
18. Emma
19. Clueless (same story)
20. Bridget Jones' Diary
    

Hmm...Is Cinderwriter living in a Fairytale?



BTW- I noticed how many of my favorites included Heath Ledger - he will be greatly missed, by not only his family but all his adoring fans, including myself. Rest peacefully our dear thespian. You will remain in my heart for a very long time.

How the heck did this get published?!?!?!

I am reading a book right now which is driving me CRAZY. I will not divulge the author or title, as I would never publicly humiliate another author. All I will leave you with is the genre and the reasons why I HATE this book.

1. Genre: It is a historical romance.

2. Reasons to throw it against the wall: I usually finish a book in one to two days, unless it is very heady - then I can give it at least a week. Well, after three weeks I am only half way through. I fall asleep reading. I get so bored that I day dream whilst reading. I get so frustrated with the characters, I throw it across the room. The main conflict was resolved by then end of Chapter 3. The Hero and Heroine Happily married each other and have a relationship so sweet, they make the "Waltons" look like serial killers. She head-hops so much I am forced to reread passages to figure out what the hell is going on. POV has even switched mid paragraph! And the worst crime is her "info dumps". I LOVE HISTORY, but when you give me 50 years worth in one character's two page dialog and expect me to believe this is casual conversation, it will not work for me. This is oft repeated offense in this book.

So, "Why," do you ask, "are you still reading it?". Good Question. Because this writer has published over thirty books. Because millions of her books are in print. Because I want to find out what she is doing right, what has made her so successful. Perhaps her readers have not read anyone else. I will let you know if something changes, for now I am headed back to doldrums between the covers.