Drowning in Bookland

Some of you have been really patient for my book reviews [backdated to March] and I admit I'm still not done with them. Many are in form of rough notes. For the record, here is the 2005 list of novels I read:

• Houston, We Have a Problem - Erin McCarthy
• Mouth to Mouth - Erin McCarthy
• Smart Mouth - Erin McCarthy
• The Marriage Bed - Laura Lee Guhrke
• Prelude to Heaven - Laura Lee Guhrke
• The Pleasure Bot - Delilah Devlin
• Alien Taste - Wen Spencer
• Tell Me No Lies - Annie Solomon
• Ill Wind - Rachel Caine
• Indiscreet - Catherine Judd
• My Demon's Kiss - Lucy Blue
• Mr. Impossible - Loretta Chase
• The Bane Affair - Alison Kent
• The Samms Agenda - Alison Kent
• The Shaughnessey Accord - Alison Kent
• The Beach Alibi - Alison Kent
• The McKenzie Artifact - Alison Kent
• Finders Keepers - Linnea Sinclair
• Intergalactic Bad Boys - Jaide Fox
• Revenge Gifts - Cindy Cruciger
• If Angels Burn - Lynn Viehl
• Secrets, Volume 12 - Saskia Walker, Dominique Sinclair, Jess Michaels, Leigh Wyndfield
• When the Storm Breaks - Heather Lowell
• Lords of the Var: The Savage King - Michelle Pillow
• Sleep Tight - Anne Frasier
• Play Dead - Anne Frasier
• Chesapeake Bay - Nora Roberts
• Crimson City - Liz Maverick
• Carved in Stone - Vickie Taylor
• What Do You Say to a Naked Elf? - Cheryl Sterling
• The Demon's Daughter - Emma Holly
• White Hot - Sandra Brown
• Envy - Sandra Brown
• Devil Takes a Bride - Gaelen Foley
• Sex in the Suburbs: vol. 1 - Jennifer Skully [U.S. title: Sex and the Serial Killer]
• The Seducer - Madeline Hunter
• The Saint - Madeline Hunter
• The Charmer - Madeline Hunter
• The Sinner - Madeline Hunter
• Into the Fire - Jessica Hall
• Public Displays of Affection - Susan Donovan
• Ravenous - Sherri L. King
• Ms. Simon Says - Mary Mc Bride
• The Love of a Cowboy - Anna Jeffrey
• Confessions of a Lingerie Addict - Jennifer Ashley
• Fangs for the Memories - Kathy Love
• Slightly Tempted - Mary Balogh
• Cajun Hot - Nikita Black
• The Thing About Men - Elizabeth Bevarly
• Again the Magic - Lisa Kleypas
• The Perfect Lover - Stephanie Laurens
• Anything, Anywhere, Anytime - Catherine Mann
• Cold Feet - Brenda Novak
• Tales from the Temple I - Sahara Kelly, Kate Douglas, Lani Aames, Ravyn Wilde, Doreen DeSalvo and Lora Leigh
• Decoy - Jasmine Cresswell

And what makes it worse, that is just half of the current list. Hm, perhaps I should cut down on reading or, at least, stop promising to friends I'd write my views for this blog. :D The problem is I tend to ramble, which usually requires a heavy dose of my internal editing scissors. I think one way of grappling with this mountain is ... uh, I don't know. Any suggestions? :D I'm hearing my gran's dark-toned motto circling in my left ear, "Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today". *headwall* Whoever came up with that ought to be shot. Link of the Day: Kitten War Be good, be bad & be safe.

Men in Kilts

Short story: I gambled on a bet, and lost. My "reward": twenty photos of men in kilts on my blog and I am not allowed to be nasty nor put the kilt in bad light. Huh. I found almost all these through Google, so none is mine. My apologies to owners/copyright holders for borrowing these without permission. A word of protest in my ear, I promise I'll take it down instantly. [And happily.] Click on an image to enlarge. Kill me now. Be good, be a bad loser and be safe.

Remind Me

--not to drink and blog. I'm trying not to cringe over what I wrote last night. I wanted to delete it, but there are many nice responses, so it's staying up. Well, that teaches me a lesson for mixing blog with booze because when I'm mullered, I get sentimental. Will hasn't read it yet as he has to leave for work, so I have to think of a way to break the news to him that I went sentimental on him in front of this world. He'll probably be amused by my mortification. In fact I think he'll laugh at me. Ha. Lesson #4189: Booze + blog = bad idea. In case you're getting busy for the Labor weekend over there in the US, have a wonderful time and hope to see you around when you have the time. :) Be good, be bad & be safe.

New Blog

One of frustrating things about the internet and futuristic romances is it takes an effort to track down info on futuristic romances. I'm a lazy person and I want a site that operates as an info centrepoint that offers book covers, backblurbs and excerpts. There are many good SF romance web sites online, but I couldn't find any that specifically focuses on futuristic romances. So I created a new blog that could be used as an online reference guide for futuristic romance readers. It's also a community review blog where visitors could leave feedback on any books listed as well as offer details, corrections, and, perhaps, scans of book covers. Nicole of Blog Happy has agreed to help out by becoming a contributor. Yay! If you would like to be part of this ongoing community project by adding details of a print book or correct some info, please do email me for an invite. You don't need to have a blog to become a contributor. At present we are focusing on print books only, but once done we've listed all print books possible, we will turn our attention to ebooks. Until then if you could think of a futuristic romance that should be listed, give us a shot at this blog: http://romsf.blogspot.com Be good, be bad & be safe.

Goofy, Marriage & Mermaid Sex

Warning: a) this is a long, pointless ramble and b) it's a clumsy tribute to Will. If this doesn't interest you, may I direct you to this excellent site: Paperdoll Heaven. When we got home from a paint party, Will and I spent half an hour squabbling over an incredibly stupid question [what animal is Goofy?], which evolved into a squabble over the definition of 'humanoid', and then we fell into a squabble over whether it'd be possible to have sex with a mermaid. I don't quite remember what started this off, but somewhere along the line Will said Goofy is a "humanoid", not a dog as I thought it may be. I pointed out that he's basically agreed with me. That Goofy is a dog. He insisted that a humanoid is not what I think it means. He likes to think he is the Genius of this House, but I'm the Queen of Dictionaries in this house. Granted, I can't spell to save my life and I'm not an intellectual, but I understand the majority of what I read. I may be stupid enough not to be able to recall my birthdate and not being able to tell left from right, but by fuck, words are my world. He just wouldn't agree that a humanoid is basically a creature with human appearance and tendancies. Not even when I shoved a dictionary under his nose. It was painfully obvious that he was refusing to go down without a fight [he says it's the American way; huh, in Will's world, everything is the American way], so he clung on his [mistaken] belief like a woman on a good bargain during a January sale. Still, it ended without either of us mopping up blood, which is good. During this pointless exercise, I couldn't shake off this feeling that we were not behaving like a proper married couple. I don't really know why. I think it was because earlier one of our friends moaned about her husband's inability to be a - in her eyes - Good Husband, e.g. he won't share his activities with her. She has this idea that a married couple should share everything together, and her husband wasn't that prepared to go that far. She felt that a marriage is - and should be - a, basically, merger of two lives. Half of the room agreed with her, and another half of the room disagreed. That was when I realised Will and I don't share many activities together. I admit the idea of sharing everything with Will makes me feel uncomfortable. Is this unhealthy? Wrong? I love his company, yet there are times I need breathing space. I think Will feels the same way. I think I like having three levels in our lives: one for him, one for me, and one for us together. When we get together, it's usually sharing senseless conversations, bouts of comfortable silence, days of lazing around, travels around the country while squabbling over the control of the steering wheel, and a lot of silly bets. Sometimes, I admit, I thought that I should be in the kitchen doing the washing up or slaving over an oven and he should be in the living room, snoring in his chair while he has a beer can in one hand and a well-thumbed remote control in another. An ordinary scene of a marriage. That scene rarely appears in our lives. Usually, Will is off to sailing and I'm cackling over a hilarious blog post. Or him at home with his friends while I do my best not to crash his car into a car as my friend next to me does her best not to scream in terror. When we are home together, I think we don't behave like a proper married couple. We do stupid things, such as dealing with his shouting at me for screwing up the alphabetical order of his record collection; me throwing his dirty socks out of a window [I threatened to do this for weeks, so he expected it. Sort of.]; discussing Tom Cruise's height [he said 5' 6" and I said 5' 8", but IMDB.com says it's 5' 7"]; trying to spell xenodocheionology, and on it goes. I don't know what a marriage is supposed to be. Or should be. Is it supposed to be the kind a couple shares everything together - cook together, smile at each other every day, shag every night, socialise together, sleep at same time always, and the like? What does it means when a marriage goes through phases, ups, downs and bouts of a flatline? When I was growing up, I had this fixed idea that there were only three types of marriage: Hilariously Happy, Screamingly Miserable, and Achingly Dull. My marriage doesn't fit any of those three things, yet did experience all three at least once. Then it came to me that Will's developed a habit of putting a Post It note on my mobile phone, every year on my birthday, to remind me how old I am, in case anyone would ask for my age. He never complains when I get him to type numbers in a spam filter box, and he doesn't mock me when I ask a stupid question, such as whether Goofy is a dog. He doesn't give me the Look when I spent too long on a AIM conversation, and he knows how to cheer me up when I'm down. No matter how far away he is, he'll come home if I asked. Granted, I fight with Will now and then, usually over stupid issues, such as whose turn is it to do the washing up, his tendency to leave his dirty socks all over the house, and his hatred for my habit of leaving the top off our toothpaste tube. I admit I have a bad habit of forgetting to take washing out of our washing machine. To the point where Will would put a Post It note on our bathroom mirror to remind me. Once he was so annoyed that I woke up to a Post It note stuck on my forehead. But there was a time when I crashed his precious car into back of a neighbour's electric wheelchair, I had flash visions of Will falling onto his knees to sob over his now-wrecked car and then kill me. His actual reaction took me by surprise; he didn't run to the car as I expected. He ran to check if I was all right. If you knew Will, you'd know this is incredible. He loves his car. So much that it sometimes felt like his car was the Other Woman. It's good to know that when when it comes to the worst, that precious car loses. He is quite phobic of hospitals [he blamed it on Coma] yet he spent every minute at hospital when I had an operation to chop a massive ovarian cyst out of my body and spent ages assuring me that my war scar [the surgical scar from that operation] won't have him running for the hills. I may have no idea what makes a good marriage, but I've decided that Will's my idea of a Very Good Husband. OK, he pulled a few stupid stunts, but overall, he's fabulous. I realised this earlier when we were in the back garden, picking teal-coloured paint dots off our hands, forearms and hair, and having our discussion about physical possibilies of shagging a mermaid while doing our best to ignore our cat who, with his hind leg sticking straight in the air, licked his nether regions in presence of a fanged dog next door. Will is likely to kill me when he read this post in the morning. I hope not. If he comes to me with a murderous gleam in his eye, I will ask him to wait until I read Angie's copy of Tara Janzen's Crazy Hot. I know he'd not let me go to my grave without reading Crazy Hot. Heck, he knows 'Tara Janzen' is an anagram of Tarzen and Jane. Give him a pop quiz on romance novels and the like, he'd ace it. Not that he'd admit this to his friends, but I chewed his ear long enough to make him a Mr. KnowItAll when comes to the romance genre. Oh, that is another reason why he's a Good Husband. OK, I'll shut up as I've rambled long enough. If you don't hear from me this week, this could mean:

a) Will went Rochester and locked me in the attic for writing this blog post b) we've left for Scotland to be roasted alive in Hell, a.k.a. Dundee c) I'm lost in the internet jungle, trying to remember where I found that photo of a dog with its hair comb-over because I want to answer Robin's question. d) aliens took me out for a tour in their galaxy ore) a bunch of authors kidnapped me to brainwash me into believing that Scottish historical romances are the greatest thing since sliced bread.

If I were a betting woman, I'd bet on e). Be good, be bad & be safe.

Reader interview: Angie

Angie, a stay-at-home mom and a former psychiatric Occupational Therapist, lives in Maryland, USA, and has a blog, Brianna's Mommy When you were a child, what did you usually read? I read everything I could get my hands on. I think I walked around with a book in one hand. At breakfast, I'd read the back of the cereal box since I wasn't allowed to have a book at the table. I think I always loved romance, suspense, and fantasy. I was a big fan of Nancy Drew, but I really loved Trixie Belden. And for those who read Trixie, I always wanted to be her, not Honey. I read a lot of the normal kid things: Judy Blume, Madeline L’Engle and many of the classics like Little Women, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Johnny Tremain as well as others. My love of fantasy started with a book called Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews-Edwards. My fascination with mysteries, I believe started with The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. I was a precocious child, though, and started reading my mom’s romance novels in the 4th grade. And that included books by Sidney Sheldon, Judith Krantz, and Jackie Collins. Books such as If Tomorrow Never Comes that I probably had no business reading at that age and definitely wouldn’t want my daughter reading when she gets to the same stage. But at the time, I inhaled everything I could get my hands on and I don’t think it warped me too terribly much. Apart from romance novels, what do you usually read? Mystery, fantasy, science fiction. I don't read a lot of "women's fiction" or chick-lit but will if the book strikes my interest. I also read a ton of magazines of every type - parenting, cooking, news, sports, fashion and even men's magazines. The one thing I don't read a lot of is non-fiction or biographies. The only exception is the occasional true-crime book I'll read like Helter Skelter (which I actually read when I was a teen) or Mindhunter. And right now I'm reading Jenna Jameson's autobiography, How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale. And as a romance reader? I used to read a ton of historicals, but in the past five years, my tastes have changed and I read more fantasy/paranormal, contemp, and romantic suspense. Name top five favourite romance authors if any.

• J.D. Robb She is one of the few authors who has managed to hold my interest in a long running series.
• Julie Garwood (stop cringing Maili) I love those older historicals she wrote. I'm not that crazy about her romantic suspense and wish she'd write just one more historical (and then another and another...)
• Dara Joy I like her books despite some of the world-building issues. I’m the type of reader that can (sometimes) look beyond that.
• Karen Marie Moning Her books are easy to recommend to people because they fall into several different genres, they’re fun, and well-written
• Jayne Ann Krentz In all her incarnations. If I go simply by sheer volume of books by one author on my bookshelf, she and Nora Roberts look like my favorite authors. I don’t think that’s true, but I had to mention it.

Do you have any weaknesses for certain themes, storylines, settings or such in romances? If so, what are they? Yes, I love when the hero does the heroine wrong in some way, by doubting her usually, and has to grovel. I LOVE an alpha male having to grovel. But it can’t be just an “I’m sorry, I love you grovel” it has to be an on his knees, several pages of torturing him grovel. And if the heroine’s life is in danger- she’s horribly ill, gets shot, kidnapped, or otherwise incurs life-threatening bodily harm- and this makes the hero suddenly realize what an ass he’s been, so much the better. I tell you, I’m sick. What are your pet hates with romance novels? Like a lot of others, I don’t like secret baby plots. I’m not actually big on babies/children in my books at all. There are exceptions but rare. I also don’t much care for the “second chance” plot where a couple who has previously married and divorced reunite. Maybe it’s because I’m divorced and would rather be staked naked on an ant hill than even contemplate ever having to live with him again, but I have a hard time buying into this theme. And I also really dislike the Big MisUnderstanding (which seems at odds with my love of a good grovel but no one said I had to be consistent) and I usually end up wanting to bitch-slap the hero/heroine involved in the Big Mis. I mean, generally all it takes is one question- Is that guy I saw you with your lover? No, it’s my brother, dumbass. Of course, then the book would be over, but that would be just fine with me. Maybe it’s because I think communication is so important and a big foundation for any good relationship that makes me hate that theme so! When discussing romance novels and/or the romance genre with fellow readers, which issues interest you most? You know, I just enjoy discussing book reviews and authors, upcoming books and general things involved in reading. It’s nice to have a community of bloggers to visit to get reviews and opinions from because you learn who has similar tastes and who you can trust. Plus, I hear about books that I normally wouldn’t know about. And, of course, I always love to follow the drama du jour. I’m not ashamed to admit it, LOL. The one other thing that I love talking about when discussing romance, is the value they have to society. So many people refute their appeal, declaring them “trash” or “smut”, but I think those people have also never read a romance novel. I have a story of being in the sixth grade and visiting the seventh grade classes in prep for transition to junior high. While sitting in their history class during our visit, I was the only student who knew the answer to a historical question. Where did I learn it? From reading romance. I think romance readers are probably very knowledgeable in regards to general trivia, facts, and history in comparison to others. I also argue their value when it comes to simply appealing to the average reader and encouraging literacy. If an influential romance editor asked you for an opinion on the romance genre, what would you say? I would love to have an articulate, stunning response to this question that impresses everyone with my insight into the industry but that is just not ever going to happen. I have nothing. Clearly, I’m no Smart Bitch. Name up to five romance novels that left you lasting impressions. This is really difficult because all of my books are still packed in boxes, so I’m going from memory, which is bad because I have mommy brain. And I’m sifting through, trying to think of romances, not books from other genres that I love a ridiculous amount.

• Naked in Death - J.D. Robb The first In Death book and still my favorite, I adore Eve and Roarke, their relationship with each other and with the secondary characters. It’s been the only series that has kept my love through many books, unlike many that usually veer in a direction I hate.
• Beyond the Highland Mist - Karen Marie Moning It combined two genres that I love – Scottish historicals (there goes Maili cringing again) and time travel/paranormal. The whole series is fabulous and this is the first book.
• Elizabeth’s Wolf - Lora Leigh An erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave and a wonderful example of how erotic romance can be emotionally powerful.
• The Secret - Julie Garwood I just love this book, I could have picked several of Julie Garwood’s but this is probably the most re-read. Something about these Garwood books- I love the relationships, the writing, the stories. I don’t care what anyone says about them, they’re comfort reads!
• The Richard and Rose novels - Lynne Connolly This is a bit of a strange choice, because there are other books that I re-read and love more, but I thoroughly enjoyed all of these books and recommend them frequently. What’s interesting about them is that they were first published by a very small epub and Lynne pulled them. They’re not currently available but will be next year from another pub. They are historical romances following Richard and Rose, have fabulous attention to detail and characterization, and also have wonderful secondary characters. (And in case anyone is wondering, I don’t know Lynne personally so have no reason to plug them other than I think they’re great books.)

Note to Maili: it really sucked choosing only five. But I’m not going to cheat. I was tempted, but I didn’t! I do know that I’m going to kick myself in the middle of the night when I wake up and think of five other books I love just as much! Note to Angie: I know it sucked, but look on the bright side, you're the first reader who's managed to meet the five-only challenge. Congratulations, mite! What do you think of romance novel covers in general? I was never someone who felt like I had to hide what I was reading and rarely thought about the covers, mostly because I was used to the clinch covers and thought they were all pretty horrible. But it seems as though publishers are attempting to change the perception of romance through some of their covers. As we've seen on your blog, the covers are younger, hipper, more mysterious, and eye-catching in a completely different way. I think that's cool. And yes, I do judge a book by its cover and I will look twice at a book whose cover intrigues me. I'm shallow that way. But I still love my man-titty covers because sometimes they're just plain fun! Do you have any favourite romance covers? If so, which are they? I have a horrible memory for this type of thing, so this is a hard question for me to answer. Unless it's something I've seen recently, it doesn't stick with me. I do agree with people who say that e-book/erotic romance covers can be pretty horrible sometimes but I saw one recently that I would love to see on a print cover. It's Out of the Darkness by Jaci Burton at Ellora's Cave. Other than that one, I can't think of a particular title, but I do love the newer covers that have a darker edge to them, more of an abstract feel, suspenseful and romantic and mysterious. I wonder if that made any sense at all? Name top five favourite romantic films.

• Grease Is there anyone who doesn't love this movie? I wanted to BE Sandy. Olivia Newton-John was my idol for a good many years. Good girl turned bad. Happens to the best of us.
• Top Gun I can still remember watching this movie with my parents and blushing through Tom and Kelly's love making. And as a side bonus to the romance, men in uniform. Yummy.
• Save the Last Dance This movie, with tones of West Side Story, is just... feel good. And it has good hip-hop music. And Sean Patrick Thomas ain't too hard on the eyes either!
• Dirty Dancing I was in sixth grade when this movie was released and what young girl didn't have love in her heart for Patrick Swayze when he said "Nobody puts Baby in the corner." *swoon* Add in great music and sexy dance scenes and my heart still thumps double time when I watch!
• Romancing The Stone This movie makes me laugh and I love the portrayal of the romance author (Kathleen Turner) as the heroine and Michael Douglas as the less than perfect, but oh-so perfect hero. It was fun, it had a HEA, AND it had a sequel (I love romance sequels)

What was the last romance novel you bought? The last one I bought? Ummm, I got Cast in Shadows by Michelle Sagara in the mail from Luna. I loved it. I’m not sure, though, if it counts as a romance, it’s more fantasy. So, other than that, I also bought Carved in Stone by Vickie Taylor and How to Marry a Millionare Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks. I haven’t read the first yet and I didn’t care for the Kerrelyn Sparks book as I explained on my blog. It wasn’t to my taste although I know other people enjoyed it very much. That happens! Those are the last I bought - now, if you’d asked me the last I got, that would be different because I’ve gotten quite a few in trade and a wonderful friend sent me a box of books she got at RWA. My TBR pile(s) are toppling over. Thanks, Angie. :)

Interracial romances / TV series on DVD

I was scrolling through an Amazon.com list of interracial romances when it occurred to me I have never read a romance that features the black hero and white heroine pairing. Usually if the hero is not white, then he's Native American, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, or the like, but very rarely black. From what I read so far, it's usually white hero and black heroine, but not the other way round. Can you think of any romances that feature this? Thanks. On a different note, Will and I recently finished watching the fourth season of C.S.I. on DVD and now I'm toying with the idea of purchasing a DVD copy of C.S.I.: Miami or C.S.I.: New York City, but I have been hearing some negative feedback about both branches. Is either worth getting? If not, what other TV series would you recommend? I'm looking for something similar to C.S.I. or something SF-ish. So far, we enjoyed Firefly, Millennium, Battlestar Galatica [is season two out yet?], Dune, Children of Dune, Farscape, Carnivale, Taken, Buffy the Vampire Slayer [Will enjoyed it more than I did], and Deadwood, which Will also enjoyed more than I did. How about Tru Calling? The 4400? Sliders? Crusade? Due to Will's chaotic work schedule, a TV series has to be available on DVD, so with this in mind, all suggestions are welcome. Thanks. BTW, are we the only ones who use TV for DVDs alone? I feel guilty, sometimes, seeing our TV sitting there for no reason than being used for DVDs. It seems such a waste. :P To come to think of it, it's a waste to have a TV licence as well. Ha! Be good, be bad & be safe.

Revision 14 Interview is up

*gulp* Revision 14's interview with me is up online today. Be good, be bad & be safe.

Lazy Saturday

Most of this morning I worked hard on finalising my list of book reviews. I spent my morning gaping and/or laughing at Snopes.com God, I really do love this site. Here's an example: Unanswerables

I've heard that it is impossible to take a lightbulb out of your mouth once one puts it in, without either breaking the bulb or dislocating the jaw. Do you know if this is true? I'm counting on you - my husband is really curious, and I don't want to have to drive him to the hospital.

Snope.com does offer truly touching articles, e.g. A Soldier's Funeral, and the horrific ones, such as Under Construction [I strongly advise you not to look at the last two]. Be good, be bad & be safe.

Reader interviews at Revision 14

I thought this week-long online event wasn't due to be launched until next week, but I belatedly realised that I cocked dates up. Ack. Better late than never, eh? *weak grin* My apologies. Revision14 interviews a few fellow reader bloggers as part of their One-Year Anniversary Celebration, from 23 August to 28 August, and a bonus for readers, every day there are at least two books to be given away. Here's the schedule of Revision 14's week-long celebration: Tuesday: Interview with Candy of Smart Bitches Love Trashy Books, USA. Wednesday: Interview with Sarah of Smart Bitches Love Trashy Books, USA. Thursday: Interview with Rosario of Rosario's Reading Journal, Uruguay. Tomorrow: British historical romance author Nicola Cornick talks with Lindsay Randall about Creating the Historical Hero Saturday: Interview with yours truly of McVane, UK. *whimpers* I think I'm going to throw up. Sunday: Revision14 will announce the lucky recipient of all five books of multi-author futuristic romance series 2176. You still have a chance to win by signing up at this page. One interesting thing about reader interviews is Lindsay varies some questions for each of us. One of her questions for me had me screaming in terror, and it shows. Oh, God. *headdesk* It was a wickedly funny question, though. Sort of. Good luck to all those who signed up to win a book or two. :) Be good, be bad & be safe.

In the Mood for a Mystery

I tried to get into Somoza's The Art of Murder and Garcia-Roza's December Heat, but I wasn't in the mood for either. I'd love book recommendations, especially those of the 'locked room' type. According to this article, what I may be looking for is the Grand Rigmarole type. I read and enjoyed almost all stories mentioned under this category. Any recs? Also, is The Mammoth Book of Locked-Room Mysteries and Impossible Crimes any good? Worth getting? Huh. I've just discovered that the correct term for the kind I like is 'howdunnit'. Can you tell that I don't know the mystery genre very well? Not as well as the romance genre and its sub-genres. :) What's the correct term for a novel that models on a series of literary-based puzzles and literary detection, e.g. investigating through books and papers? I also love mysteries that have a leading present-day protagonist attempting to solve a century-old murder. Good examples would be Josephine Tey's Daughter of Time, Kathy Reichs's Death Du Jour, Margaret Cole's Wife of Moon and Colin Dexter's The Wench is Dead. Whatever the correct term is, I'd love book recommendations of this type, please. Especially if it's time-based, e.g. racing against the clock. Romantic suspense novels that contains this type of mystery is very much welcome. :) I'd love romantic capers as well. Think of How to Steal a Million. Recommendations and suggestions welcome. That includes books and films. Thanks. Be good, be bad & be safe.

More old McVane posts

Reformatted and posted:

• Demonising Thin Women
• Action Heroines
• Knickknackery
• Romance reviews / the online romance readers community
• Something in the air
• For Trivia Geeks
• Love on the Silver Screen
• Swimming in a Barrel
• ID this illustration, please
• 20th Century Historicals / Racial diversity in Romances
• The Curtain Twitcher

Again, please ignore the 'Read more!' note that can be found on almost every post. Thanks. Link of the Day: iPod my Baby Link of the Day #2: Painted Hands Be good, be bad & be safe.

A Bitch Kitty Rant

I've just had a horrible phone call: Me: Hello? Auntie: Halò! Me: Oh. Halò. Auntie: Charming. How are you? Me: I was fine. Auntie: Don't be so snotty. Me: I - Auntie: Are you busy next Thursday? Me: No, but - Auntie: Good! I've organised for all of us to meet in Dundee -- Me: Oh, no, no - Auntie: You will be there. And William. Me: No. Auntie: Yes. Me: No. Auntie: I'm your elder. Me: I don't care. Auntie: I'll have a word with your father - Me: *sigh* When? Auntie: Write this down: next Thursday at 10am. Sharp. And for what? A studio photo session with the whole family. Which isn't a good thing because:

1. the whole family = nine aunts, three uncles, and their children; their children's spouses and their children; my siblings, their spouses and their children; great aunts and uncles, and their spouses; and a smatter of relatives like cousin Grant. I'm not sure how he's related to us, but he's been with us since I was born.
2. a plan to get the family to sit in a studio photo session is insane. It's like trying to herd a bunch of hyperactive drunken sheep into a tiny pen. I know this because it happened every year.
3. I'm not photogenic at all. In fact, When Will found one family photo which was taken when I was twenty-four, he said I looked like a 13-year-old on crack. What makes it worse is he was right.
4. a certain uncle will be there, which means a) he'll piss my aunt off for turning up drunk, and b) he'll piss my aunt no. 3 off for turning up at all. His presence will also work his estranged wife of sixteen years into a frenzy, which will result with a verbal squabble between them. It's always a drama with them.
5. Dundee is not exactly one of my favourite places
6. some members of the family still find Will a novelty and their questions made me cringe, "Why don't you talk like John Wayne, William?" and "How can you live with it? With people shooting everybody dead?"
7. Bless my aunt, but she drives me batty with her bossiness, e.g. "Don't slouch! Shift over, nearer to Uncle Frazier! Rod! Stop pulling his toupee! Sit down - eh! Roisin, you're showing too much there! This is a family photograph! Pull your top up! Excuse me, sir, could you move your camera over there? I'm trying to do my job here ... oh, Fia, why are you looking like that? Smile. *gesture at mouth* Smile! Smile!"

I truly love my family [including my bossy aunt], but a day with them for a studio photo? It's my idea of Hell. Actually, the whole thing with studio family photography? It's a bizarre practice, methinks. Fake smile, cocked head, hands in an artistic pose [I still refuse to put my finger under my chin] and when the flash goes, try not to blink madly. I mean, honestly? A studio photo session? Who actually enjoys this sort? My aunt does, definitely. She'd organised this every f. year. EVERY YEAR! I tried my damn best to get out of it every time and I managed three times, but that is only because, those three times, I was living abroad. When I told Will about my aunt's phone call, he blanched. Then he tried to claim that he has a work trip on that day. I had to talk him into agreeing to go up to Dundee, but he's not happy about it at all. In fact he almost said, "I'm not spending an hour with your family", but he held his tongue because I think he knew that I'd break his neck for stating the obvious. Be good, be bad & be safe.

McVane the Zombie

Astrid: Karen will get plane tickets, just give her your credit card number. Ray: I don't know my credit card number. Astrid: It's on your credit card, Ray.

-- Still Crazy

I almost knocked myself out reformatting some old McVane posts almost all afternoon. Urgh. It seems that to have the entire old blog back online would take a month or more. Ha ha ha, how fun. Here are some old blog posts from February 2005:

• Red Heart & Misc.
• Readers from Hell
• Burn, Celluloid, Burn! [& A Bit of Romance]
• Book Gibberish
• Another Sun Ray From a Shallow Mind
• Run, Chick, Run!
• Fantasy Games
• The Zen of Organising Books

I'll do the rest of February tomorrow because laziness is starting to steep into my bones. That and I'm in the mood to watch a film. Probably an old favourite, such as Still Crazy. Btw, I don't know how to resolve the post expansion trick issue that appears on every old post. I think I cocked up the codes somehow. When you see 'Read more!' in those posts, please ignore it. The only time I used it was for the post about text adventure games. Blog of the Day Literally, A Web Log Be good, be bad & be safe.

Text Adventure Game Hell

I was trying to track down a half-forgotten computer adventure game when I stumbled across this interview with Amy Briggs who was responsible for probably the world's first romance-oriented text adventure: Plundered Hearts. The interviewer was a bit iffy, but Amy Briggs held out well, defending romance novels and her decision to create a romance adventure game. I never had a chance to play Plundered Hearts as it was notoriously difficult to find, even when it was on current release. Having read this review, I think I'm going to track down a copy of Plundered Hearts, which I discovered to be part of The Lost Treasures of Infocom II. To be honest, I don't know why I'm keen on obtaining a copy when I consider the fact that I hated playing text adventures. Every time I tried, I ended up frustrated and pissed off over a game's limitations. To show how it'd been for me, see the pix below to get the idea of what a text adventure game looks like:

Now click on 'Read more' below to see my amended version [based on the original version from the Plundered Hearts manual] to show why text adventures have a tendency of turning me into a foaming-at-mouth lunatic. MISS SOPHIA'S WONDEROUS ADVENTURE [Map, five rooms, one object.] Ah, your first ball! For years you have dreamed of this night, begging dear Mama to let you put up your hair and lower the hem of your skirts. And now, here it is, your 17th birthday and your coming-out party. What beau might you meet? Who will steal away your heart? Will you be forced to spurn your father's massive fortune, in order to marry against his wishes, to elope with your true love, whoever he may turn out to be? Ballroom You are in the crowded ballroom of your parent's London house. The dance floor, twirling and swirling with finely dressed maidens and stalwart men, lies to the north. Near a grandfather clock to the south, French windows lead to a cool balcony overlooking the formal gardens. The butler stands nearby. The grandfather clock chimes the quarter hour. What do you want to do? [You type] >DANCE But you haven't been asked! The butler clears his throat, "Miss Sophie?" He holds out a screw of paper. "A gentleman asked me to deliver this." >ASK BUTLER ABOUT GENTLEMAN "A gentleman handed it to me, Miss. Dressed all in black, he was, and quite handsome, too." >ASK BUTLER ABOUT PAPER "A gentleman handed it to me, Miss. Dressed all in black, he was, and quite handsome, too." >TAKE PAPER Taken. The butler bows and moves away. >READ LETTER There is no letter! >READ PAPER On the paper is written, in an educated hand: "The first moment I saw you, I knew I had met my destiny. Your violet eyes, misty with youth and beauty, your fair skin, your golden tresses -- all these I knew I could not live without. I love you fair Sophia, I must be with you. Meet me on the balcony as the clock strikes midnight. With undying love." >LOOK Ballroom You are in the crowded ballroom of your parents' London house. The dance floor, twirling and swirling with finely dressed maidens and stalwart men, lies to the north. Near a grandfather clock to the south, French windows lead to a cool balcony overlooking the formal gardens. >LOOK AT CLOCK The clock shows 24 minutes after 11:00. >GO NORTH Dancers are blocking your way! >GO WEST Dancers are blocking your way! >GO EAST Dancers are blocking your way! >OH FUCK OFF! I don't understand "oh fuck off!" >SOUT I don't understand "sout" >LOOK SOUTH Near a grandfather clock to the south, French windows lead to a cool balcony overlooking the formal gardens. >GO LOOK Ballroom You are in the crowded ballroom of your parent's London house. The dance floor, twirling and swirling with finely dressed maidens and stalwart men, lies to the north. Near a grandfather clock to the south, French windows lead to a cool balcony overlooking the formal gardens. >GO SOUTH As you turn to go, a young man sidles next to you, shyly. "Miss S-sophia, um, would you, um, care to dance? W-with me, that is?" The clock chimes the half hour. >LOOK AT YOUNG MAN Although he looks rather uncomfortable in his rich velvets, the young man has large brown eyes framed with a mop of curly yellow hair. "Um, Miss Sophia?" he asks again, painfully shy. >YES An amazed smile of relief opens his face as he leads you onto the floor. Together you dance a quadrille. You discover that, despite his shyness, he is a masterful dancer. He tells you his name is George. >LOOK AT CLOOK I don't understand "clook". >LOOK AT CLOCK The clock shows 12 minutes to midnight. George leads you to the side of the dance floor. "Would you care for a c-cup of lemonade?" >YES He smiles, amazed again, and rushes off. >LOOK AT ME You look marvelous in a pink watered-silk gown. The thick strand of pearls around your neck sets off your creamy skin. >SOUTH Balcony You stand on the balcony overlooking the formal gardens, south. The scent of roses wafts up toward the full moon high above. Music floats through the french windows from the ballroom to the north. There are no other people here. >WAIT Time passes... In the ballroom, the clock chimes midnight. Suddenly, the moonlight is blocked by a tall broad-shouldered form. "Ah, Mistress Sophia. I expected you to answer my note." >KISS MAN You close your eyes and pucker up. Instead of the fiery touch of his lips pressing against yours, a rough sack is cast over your head. You open your eyes to total darkness. "Pretty you are, my dear" comes the man's chuckle. "But prettier still is the dowry that will be mine when we are wed." >KICKK! I don't understand "kickk!" >KICK!! I don't understand "kick!!" >I WANT TO KICK HIM YOU FUCKINGSTUPID MACHINE! I don't understand "I want to kick him you fuckingstupid machine!" >SAVE Saving game ... Saved. >KICK You can't kick. >SCREAM Your scream is muffled by the sack, but you hope someone may hear you. The wind is driven out of you as you are dropped several feet -- presumably from the balcony to the garden below. Moments later, you are slung over a shoulder, carried through bushes, and thrown onto some cushions. You hear a "giddyap!" and the crack of a whip. The carriage you have been put into moves forward. >LOOK Carriage, in the sack Dimly, through the rough weave of the sack, you can see that you are in a cushioned, empty carriage. Moonlight streams in one partly closed window. >INVENTORY You are carrying a screw of paper and your reticule (hanging from your wrist). Inside the reticule are a small needle, a small pair of scissors, a loop of elastic, a ball of beeswax, and one length of pink silk thread. Your mother always says to carry a repair kit in case you tear your ballgown. You bounce around on the floor of the carriage. >TAKE THE SHEARS. Taken. >CUT THE SACK. The tiny shears slowly cut a long rip in the sack. >GET OUT OF SACK You slip out of the sack. Countryside flies past the partly open window. >LOOK Carriage You are in a small, cushioned carriage. There is a door to the east. >OPEN DOOR But the carriage is moving so fast! You would fall to your death! Just then, the carriage lurches to a halt. Someone climbs from the driver's seat above you. >JUMP The door is blocking you! >SAVE Saving game ... Saved. >OPEN DOOR You open the door. Through it you can see a dark ruin of a house, one light burning at the door. Someone is walking towards the door to the carriage. >EAST You dash out of the carriage, into the darkness near the house. Wild Garden You stand panting in a clearing of a garden gone wild, behind a dark ruin of a house. One light shines from the doorway south of you. There is a lessening of the bushes to the north, away from the house and your pursuer. A carriage is stopped here, the horses stamping in the night. The man calls out, "Stop! Come back!" and starts in your direction. >RUN WEST You can't go that way! >RUN SOUTH You run into the man's arms. He smiles as you frantically struggle. He stabs you with a dagger. You are sweet seventeen and dead. Very dead. CREDITS ROLL. *headpalm* Hm. I just discovered that you can download a free copy of Plundered Hearts. Actually, I'm seriously tempted to think about creating one that allows players to take part in a romantic adventure. How would it go? A fast-paced Indiana Jones-style adventure romance that would have the h/h hunting for a relic while falling in love? A historical romance in 16th century Venice? A Regency-era romance that would have the heroine [e.g. you] flutters her eyelashes at a dashing-yet-very-aloof berk? A Medieval romance with a veddy handsome warrior chasing the heroine around the castle while fighting off an eevil sheriff? Romantic suspense? Nah, there are too many of those. We should have a pure romance game. Definitely not like Leisure Suit Larry, mind. :) Be good, be bad & be safe.

Blogger.com & Spam

I left a message in some bloggers' comments section about resolving the problem with spammers hitting users of blogger.com, but the spam problem seems to be getting worse. So I think it'd save time to have the possible solution here. It took me a while to figure out why some bloggers have the spam problem while the others don't, and I came to believe that the front page of blogger.com is the source of the spam problem. I think those who has 'Yes' set to this question "Add your Blog to our listings?" are most likely to get hit with the spam problem. So I think the issue lies with each blogger.com user's blog settings. If it's set to 'yes', this means every time you make a new blog post, it'll show up on the front page of blogger.com, which may attract spammers.

Click on image to enlarge To prevent your blog from showing up on the 'Blogs of Note' listing: Click on the SETTINGS tab Click on the BASIC tab Scroll down until you see 'Add your Blog to our listings?' If it's 'Yes', amend to 'No'. Once done, scroll down and click on the SAVE SETTINGS button Click on the REPUBLISH button The job is done! Click on image to enlarge With this in place, your blog posts will no longer show up on that front page and, I think, this will stop the others spamming your blog. I'd love to hear from anyone who's already had it set to 'No', yet still have the spam problem. Otherwise, go over to Cranky Reader's blog post - Eat Spam and Die - for a link to blogger hacks. That's if you want to have fun customising your blog. :) Be good, be bad & be safe.

Net Search & Health Question

Today I received news that our local doctor has finally determined that one of our cousins suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which is good because her illness puzzled our family for a long time. We thought she was having a long run of a bad cold, so it's good to know what's wrong. I know very little about this illness and the net isn't, surprisingly, helpful as I couldn't find anything simple and straightforward. I only want a simple factsheet that I can print out copies for our older relatives who would like more information. Those I found offer many vague statements and jargon-filled factsheets. Does anyone know a good site that offers a printable factsheet in plain English? Also, what is the significant difference between CFS and Myalgic Encephalitis [M.E.]? Thanks. P.S. Will gave Raymond Khoury's The Last Templar nine out of ten. According to him, it's a fast-paced thriller; a combination of The Da Vinci Code and Indiana Jones. It's perfect for anyone who wants a fast and easy read. Nice. Be good, be bad & be safe.

The Ultimate Chicken Kick

Last night Will cooked us a meal and it had me so light-headed that I rested my head on our dining table and - well, that was my last recollection. I woke up about half an hour ago, feeling a bit groggy and confused. It took me a while to figure out what happened. For a moment I thought I was in an Alias episode. From what I see, my gallant knight dragged me to bed and tucked me in, but he didn't get me out of my outfit, so I have lovely impressions of my clothes all over my body. An impression of a shirt collar on my face cheek, jeans button on my stomach, and bra straps on my shoulders. Lurvely. I still can't figure out how a bloody meal managed to knock me out. I think he added something to give it a "kick". [Remind me to tell you how he once managed to set everyone's mouth on fire with his "Curry, the American way" meal.] In our kitchen I found the print-out of a recipe he got off a TV cookery programme for men: Spanish-styled Chicken Janet Street-Porter Preparation time: less than 30 mins Cooking time: 30 mins to 1 hour Ingredients 3 tbsp olive oil 1.8 kg/4lb free range chicken, jointed 1 large onion, thinly sliced salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 stick celery, chopped 250ml/5¼ fl oz pale ale or Spanish beer 1 tsp tomato purée 1 bay leaf water or chicken stock 15 or 20 wild garlic leaves or fresh spinach leaves smoked paprika, to garnish To serve crusty bread or boiled rice Method 1. Preheat the oven to 175C/340F/Gas 3. 2. Heat the oil in a heavy casserole. Add the chicken pieces and fry, on both sides, until brown. Remove from the casserole and set aside. Toss in the onions, season, then fry on a low heat until transparent. 2. Return the chicken to the pot, add the celery, beer, tomato purée and bay leaf and simmer for a few minutes. Add enough water or stock to just cover the chicken and bring back to a simmer. 3. Transfer to the oven and cook for about 45 minutes or until the chicken is very tender. 4. Line your serving bowls with wild garlic leaves or spinach. Divide the chicken and broth between the bowls. 5. Garnish with a sprinkling of paprika and serve with some crusty bread or boiled rice. Source: this recipe was copied from Full on Food. Hm, by the look of the recipe, it may be the Spanish beer that knocked me out. I don't see how this could be possible. Admittedly, I never tried Spanish beer, but it usually takes a lot to get me that plastered. Perhaps it was the combination of booze, fatigue and room warmth that did it? Who knows? I'm glad that I don't have a hangover. According to my best recollection, the meal was very tasty. Right then, I'll go and have a cuppa, and sit in a bedroom chair and stare at Will. Maybe the stare will wake him up, just long enough to give me the answer. Update: Will marinated raw chicken pieces in Spanish beer, which apparently made it very kicky. Be good, be bad & be safe.

the Reconstruction of McVane Begins

Yay to the visitor [who doesn't want to be named] for sending the old blog. I have transferred some reader interviews, but it's still largely a mess, which needs to be tidied up. I will transfer as many reader interviews as possible, and spend this week tidying all up. So far I have some May entries up:

• Reader interview: Candy
• Reader interview: Kristie J.
• Reader interview: Jen
• Reader interview: Màili
• Reader Interview: Keishon

ADDITION:

• Reader interview: Jorie
• Reader interview: Jenny
• Reader interview: Rosario
• Reader interview: Nicole
• Reader interview: Karen

I'll take a break and get back to transferring the rest of reader interviews later this afternoon. Thanks. Be good, be bad & be safe.

Decisions, decisions ...

"Jennifer stood there, quiety ovulating."

-- an opening line from the Lyttle Lytton Contest

Today has been a day of see-sawing between lows and a high. Lows:

• I fell asleep in middle of a chat session last night, missing out on the fun.
• while I was asleep, Will closed the laptop, not realising that I hadn't saved an email draft I was composing. *cries*
• this morning I woke up to Will reading Raymond Khoury's The Last Templar and I pointed out I was reading that book. He said he'll give it back to me when he's done with it. We squabbled and ended up agreeing to a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. As I type this, he's reading the damn book.
• I have no reader interview lined up. This week I'll look around for more readers, just enough to start again from September onwards. [If you are a reader and interested in giving this lark a try, please email me on applecross @ gmail.com]
• One of my cats decided to express his displeasure to me for locking him out in the rain by throwing up in middle of the living room floor.

High: A visitor emailed me recently to say that she thought she may have the back-up of my blog as she, from time to time, downloaded my blog for offline reading. I was pretty much overjoyed to hear this. I wrote back, asking if she has all reader interviews as I'd love to have them back online. This morning she sent a reply to say that she has the entire blog in her hard drive after all and she'd be happy to email the lot to me if I'd like it. Holy Jesus! That's fantastic! Of course I wrote back, saying I'd love to have it. I think I gibberished a bit, too, but still, I was really pleased that my old blog is still alive. Now the question is how much of the old blog should be returned to this blog? I think for the time being I'll focus on getting reader interviews back online, and then decide whether to have the entire old blog back online. Or just make a selection? If I went with the selection, on what basis should I choose? Decisions, decisions ... Speaking of decisions! I'm trying to decide what to write about in place of a reader interview tomorrow:

• a round-up of good published/aspiring authors' blogs I think it'd be interesting to visit some lesser known writer blogs, particularly those who make a lot of efforts to make their blogs interesting and lively.
• write a mini review for each romance that features deaf character[s] So far I read twelve romances out of fifty-nine novels that feature a deaf character. I still think Mary Balogh's Silent Melody has the worst portrayal of a deaf character, and Lyn Stone's The Highland Wife is not that far behind.
• another round of link slutage I found quite a few interesting - and some bizarre - links.
• a Bitch Kitty rant It was written originally for a RTB column, but I decided that it'd be better off here because a) this blog has a much smaller number of people and b) I have the control over comments. Me and my Delete button. Hur hur!
• another round-up of authors' web sites Enuff said.
• dissect a historical romance I was thinking of doing something similiar to History Spork, but for a historical romance. FWIW, I refuse to touch a Scottish-setting historical. I mean, I recently spotted an absolutely insane geographical error in Patricia Cabot's Kiss the Bride and ... oh, I'll shut up. For the sake of my blood pressure, it'll have to be an English-setting historical romance.
• Top 20 Favourite Romance Covers I have my favourites, oh, yes. There is quite a few that I bought for covers alone. Tragic? Hey, I don't collect stamps like a certain cousin does.

Link of the Day: Googlism Be good, be bad & be safe.

Mind Your Manners

"You didn't tell me why you were screwing me." Lianne said. "I was screwing you because you got me so hot I didn't know which end was up. I'm still picking splinters out of my butt from the dock. Wasn't I a gentleman, sweetheart? You only got splinters in your knees."

-- Jade Island Elizabeth Lowell

Anne Weale has an interesting commentary about lack of courtesy in book publishing for book titles at her blog, How many authors can share a book title?

Bernardine Kennedy, a member of one of the writers' forums I belong to, happened to mention one of her books My Sisters' Keeper. [I haven't misplaced the apostrophe.] I went to Amazon UK to read the reviews and when I keyed in the title, the first book that came up was by Jodi Picoult, followed by books given the same title [not necessarily with the apostrophe in the same place] by Mavis Applewater, Rachel Lindsay, Beverley Butler, Nora Kelly, Shirley Lord, Kerry Duke, Don Merritt and possibly even more authors had I continued to click on the Next button. Using another author's title seems unforgivable, particularly now that it's so easy to check titles at the two Amazons.

more

Many thanks to Wendy Woo for putting up a link to Anna Weale's blog. Is Anne Weale the same Anne Weale who wrote a few contemporary romances during the 1980s? I recall reading one of AW's books Flora. Link of the Day: I dig through the Garbage! Be good, be bad & be safe.

Movie Meme

Always and never are two words you should always remember never to use.

-- Wendell Johnson

AngieW tagged me with her movie meme a couple of weeks ago, and this is my second attempt. :D Last film I watched: I wish I did this meme yesterday, but *sigh* I've just finished watching a Demi Moore film, Striptease, based on Carl Hiaasen's novel. Utterly crap. Five favorite films I either watch frequently or that mean a lot to me: This is very difficult because I have seen too many films. Well, take AFI Top 100 Greatest Films, for instance. Of all films listed, I haven't seen Dance With the Wolves and Singin' in the Rain [and have no intention to see them during my lifetime]. So I have seen quite a few films, which makes it a tough job, but I decided to create a criteria for this time: a) it has to be made in 1997 and/or 1998, b) it has to be American, and c) it has to be those I watch regularly. Here's my list in no particular order.

1. L.A. Confidential [1997] It's quite funny because I'm not keen on almost all actors in this film and its director, but they did well enough to make it highly watchable. Every time I stumbled across this on TV, I ended up watching it. A fabulous film.
2. The Fifth Element [1997] IMO, the best thing about The Fifth Element is film editor Sylvie Landra. Her work for this film seriously blew my mind. That opera/fight scene? Fanfuckingtastic. It's poetry in motion.
3. Eve's Bayou [1997] Perfect for a late Sunday afternoon viewing, especially during summer. I still can't believe that this is largely [and undeservedly] forgotten. I don't think I'd ever get tired of it.
4. Practical Magic [1998] I'm not a fan of Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, but I decided to watch this film because I like Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing. Although it has its flaws, I liked it enough to watch it whenever I'm in the mood for an uplifting film.
5. Out of Sight [1998] In spite of its flaws, it's a well-written piece with rich black humour, punchy dialogue and great chemistry between Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney. I also think it's a good improvement on Elmore Leonard's novel.

Worst film you've ever had to endure: I have seen so many terrible films that I sometimes questioned my sanity for being part of this world, but I choose The Garbage Pail Kids Movie because it's the only film that managed to make me throw up. I'd vote 2001: A Space Odyssey in, but if I did, Will would divorce me on the spot as it's one of Will's all time favourite films. Every time I watched this film, my eyeballs threatened to pack their bags and leave while my ears bled and my teeth screamed for freedom. It's so achingly boring. Also, Forrest Gump. Favorite movie quote: "Attention! Attention! Ladies and gentlemen, attention! There is a herd of killer rabbits headed this way and we desperately need your help!"

-- Night of the Lepus

Favorite movie adapted from a book: *laugh* That's almost impossible as 80% of the entire film history are based on novels. :D OK, off my head: The Picture of Dorian Gray, based on Oscar Wilde's novel. Also, Smoke Signals, based on various short stories from Sherman Alexie's The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. Both are criminally underrated. One book I'd like to see made into a movie: I'm not convinced that a traditional romance novel can be made into a feature film. Novels of other genres, yes, but traditional romance novels? I don't think so. People to tag with this meme: Everyone and anyone listed in the sidebar on the right. :) Be good, be bad & be safe.

Not So Unusual!

"A nice guy? He belongs to the country club, the tennis club and probably even the damn yacht club. I'll bet he doesn't know a ball stat from a schedule. This is your sister we are talking about. You want her involved with some flashy, sweet-talking, Southern hick who fixes teeth for a living?"

-- from the hero to the heroine's sister Indiscreet Catherine Judd

An online friend said she's never seen my name before and she travelled a lot. [Emphasis is hers.] I pointed out that for every 'unusual' name, there is at least ten other people around the world who have that name. The average number would be roughly one hundred. She laughed at my face, and challenged me to bring her a list of ten people who share my name. Ooh, I love challenges. Read and weep, baby.

• Maili Montgomery
• DJ Maili
• Maili Poag
• Maili from Brazil
• Maili Langstrumpf
• Maili Lama
• Maili Yardley
• Maili Bailey
• Maili the Mini Snowboarder
• Actor David Anders's sister

Buwahahahaha! Bu-wahahahahaha! OK, I cheated. All these are without the grave accent, e.g. Màili. Admittedly, it'd be extremely difficult if I were to expect to track down other Màilies because most web search engines don't recognise accents. Still, I'm quite chuffed that I managed to win the challenge. :D Right. That's me back to do the film meme that I started a week ago. I was grappling with it when Will asked what I was doing. I explained what a film meme is and la la, and he asked, "Why are you taking it so seriously?" I said that I wasn't. He gave me the "This is me you're talking to" look. We held a staring contest for a few seconds, and I backed down because I knew he was right. Hm. I'm swiping it clean and start again, but with a much shorter list [the original list is so long that it's not funny] and I'll try not to be so serious. The listmaker in me will be locked somewhere deep inside. My film meme should be up in an hour or so. :> Link of the Day: Top 15 Bad Romance Novel Opening Lines Be good, be bad & be safe.

Associating With Romantic Bitches

A new addition to the sidebar: The Romantic Bitches Association

Founded by Lilith Saintcrow, the RBA is a non-profit organisation for readers, aspiring writers, writers, and publishers of romance. It was set up only last, I think, June, so it's all shiny bright and new. At present, the web site is slowly but surely building itself up, so you will see some skinny sections, but this doesn't mean you can't join now. You can and it's free. Once registered, some sections will open up, along with polls and such. I'm very willing to bet that this time next year, it'll be a hopping community. For more info about the RBA, here's the FAQ. Be good, be bad & be safe.