Archive for the 'The 4-1-1 on Me' Category

July 15, 2008 | Family Portrait, In the News, Life in General, Movie Queue, Must-See DVD, The 4-1-1 on Me, Weekend Wrap-Up

Saturday morning, I helped my parents out at an event for which they volunteered. The 2008 Backpack Giveaway Event was sponsored by ChildHelp, AZ Rod and Classic Car Club (of which my Dad is a member), M&I Bank and the City of Phoenix Parks and Rec Dept and gave away free backpacks to children of low-income families. They had free food, free water, local music entertainment and a mini-classic car show (my Dad is still looking to sell his ‘33 Ford if there are any SERIOUS takers out there). Several boxes of stuffed animals were donated by Kohl’s and me, my Mom and two other ladies helped pass them out. We were out there for 4 hrs and even though we were under the cover of tents, it was still hotter than Satan’s breath. I went straight home and took a shower.

Saturday night, the hubby and I attended a surprise birthday party for my brother-in-law. He had no idea about the party…until they pulled up to the house and saw all the cars. Duh! My sister said park whereever, but what she should’ve said was park around the corner. Or park in front of other houses. It was funny, truth be told. Eat and run. Typical black folk, y’know? Stay just long enough to exchange a few words (and hugs) with the birthday boy, eat (didn’t even wait for dessert!) and leave. LOL. Maybe it was the fact that my sister didn’t give an actual time they were bringing him home. She told people to come anytime after 3. Some people had probably gotten there right at 3 or 330 (like my BF) and they didn’t bring him around until 5 or 6-something! I shouldn’t have been surprised. My sister never was good at the time thing.

Must-See DVD pick:EASTERN PROMISES with Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts. We watched this Saturday night. If you have not seen this movie, rent it or watch it now playing on the movie channel (don’t remember which one). If you don’t like violent movies, then it’s not for you, but Viggo is fabulous in this movie. And he does a great Russian accent.

Sunday, the hubby and I had breakfast at our favorite place (the one we go to looks nothing like this, and is always crowded, but worth the wait) then went to see Hellboy II: The Golden Army. We liked it. It was directed by Guillermo Del Toro and the creatures he created in the Troll World were amazing. If you’ve ever seen Pan’s Labryinth, and then you see this movie, you’ll know what I mean. Oh, and that Prince Nuada dude? Very. Cool. Moves. Movies I’m looking forward to seeing:

THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR (have you noticed that Brendan Fraser’s hairdo never seems to change in these movies? )

THE DARK KNIGHT - I’ve heard Oscar nomination buzz for Heath’s role and apparently, around the time of his death, director Christopher Nolan wrote a eulogy to him in Newsweek. Did anyone catch that?)

MAMMA MIA - Love me some ABBA

SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2 - seeing the first one made me add Greece to my Places to Travel list.

DEATH RACE - I have a serious love jones for Jason Statham. Sorry babe.

BABYLON A.D. - Oh, how I’ve missed seeing Vin Diesel in an action flick.

THE SPIRIT - If you liked Sin City, then you’ll like this movie, too, because it’s from the same guy, Frank Miller. And it’s the sequel to Sin City.

QUANTUM OF SOLACE -I’m still reserving judgement about Daniel Craig as the new James Bond, but this one looks to be as good as the previous one. I still have no idea what it’s about, but I know it picks up from where Casino Royale left off.

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3 - yes, dammit, I’m a fan. Shut the hell up.

TWILIGHT - Stephenie Meyer is a hometown favorite–and she’s very nice in person, too. I haven’t read her series, but I’m interested in seeing this one.

So, what about you? How was your weekend? What movies are you looking forward to seeing this year?

Technorati Tags: 2008 Backpack Giveaway Event, ChildHelp, AZ Rod and Classic Car Club, M&I Bank, City of Phoenix Parks and Rec Dept, Kohl’s, EASTERN PROMISES, Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Guillermo Del Toro, Pan’s Labryinth, Prince Nuada, THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR, Brendan Fraser, THE DARK KNIGHT, Christopher Nolan, Newsweek, MAMMA MIA, ABBA, SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2, Greece, DEATH RACE, Jason Statham, BABYLON A.D, Vin Diesel, THE SPIRIT, Sin City, Frank Miller, QUANTUM OF SOLACE, Daniel Craig, Casino Royale , HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3, TWILIGHT, Stephenie Meyer

July 8, 2008 | Book One, Book Stuff, DA Series, Draven Atreides, Life in General, The 4-1-1 on Me, Weekend Wrap-Up

Hope you all had a great and safe July 4th holiday. In some parts of the valley here the fireworks were cancelled due to rain. I’m sure that was a major disappoint for some children, but what with it being so dry here right now, I’m thinking that was a good thing. I can just imagine all the fires that would’ve been started. And we really needed the rain. Last Thursday, the day before the holiday, me, the hubby, my sister and her husband went to The Improv to see Michael Winslow. Y’know, the dude from all those Police Academy movies who makes those sound effects? He was really, really fantastic. He does a great impression of Jimi Hendrix and he nearly brought down the house when he rolled a movie clip from Star Wars #4 and did the sound effects for EVERYTHING: explosions, gunfire, Chewbacca, interaction between Luke, Han Solo and Leia (he made her lines real funny)…OMG he was so great we gave him a standing ovation at the end. It’s just amazing all the sounds he can make.

Friday, I had a business breakfast with my BF at La Grande Orange. Their organic coffee was faboo. We talked a little about business, but we needed to be someplace quiet, with no distractions. I don’t think we wanted to cover half the stuff we wanted to, but we knocked out some ideas. After that, we went to go visit a mutual friend who’d had a baby. Deacon is now 5 months old and the cutest little boy. Saturday, the hubby and I went to see Hancock. It didn’t get really good reviews, but I usually trust what Roger Ebert has to say, and I agreed with him this time: B. It was an interesting take on the superhero thing (even when his costume resembled one borrowed from the X-Men set), but there was the whole “So, where are you from? Really?” I hate when I want to know more and they don’t give it to you. Or you’re left to figure it out for yourself. And, unlike all those other superhero type movies, the so-called villain really wasn’t much of a match for Hancock. It was good, but I think I’m ready for another action flick from him. Something along the lines of Bad Boys. He’s a good action hero.

Sunday, the hubby and I worked on the book cover again. I have the idea in my head, but for some reason, it’s not turning out the way I want it to. Something’s missing—or not working out right—so we’re letting it stew. I don’t plan to get outside opinions, so don’t get your hopes up about me asking you all. LOL. Speaking of input, I want to thank everyone for their opinions regarding the business site. It was all very much appreciated. I do plan to announce when it goes live, so you’ll be able to see the finished product.

As you all know by now, I’ve pushed back the Book One release date to April 2010, instead of next year. The program I was referring to yesterday is called Crafting the Character-Based Novel taught by Pamela Goodfellow of Goodfellow Publishing. It’s a 3-Level course (Crafting, Polishing, Publishing) that will take 78 weeks to complete. A former university professor, when Pamela taught this program, it was a 3 yr gig. Obviously, she’s either going to be cramming a lot into her sessions or she’s going to be leaving stuff out. Either way, I’m looking forward to honing my craft and making the DA series the best they can be. I might even have to go back to my first two books and do a little overhaul.

So, enough about me. How was your holiday weekend?

Technorati Tags: The Improv, Michael Winslow, Police Academy, Jimi Hendrix, Star Wars, La Grande Orange, Hancock, Roger Ebert, X-Men, Bad Boys, Crafting the Character-Based Novel, Pamela Goodfellow, Goodfellow Publishing

July 6, 2008 | Life in General, The 4-1-1 on Me, contests

Thanks to everyone for your honest opinions regarding the business layout. They were greatly appreciated. The winner of the $25 Barnes and Noble GC is…

SUZY

Keep a look out in your email for your gift certificate, Suzy, and thanks again for putting in your two cents.

Both me and the designer were feeling the creative pinch this time around. My author site and my online store were a whole lot easier to design. Truth be told, I was pretty anal in regards to the author site. I knew what every page was supposed to look like, from the image used right down to the text. I was trying to give her more creative license with the business site, and we got stuck, but I think we’re good now. I’ll be sure to announce when the site goes live.

Technorati Tags: Barnes and Noble

July 1, 2008 | Book One, Book Stuff, DA Series, Draven Atreides, Life in General, Miss Snitch Mondays, Movie Queue, The 4-1-1 on Me, Weekend Wrap-Up, writing workshops

Saturday, I attended a writing class taught by former university professor and indie pub owner, Pamela Goodfellow of Goodfellow Publishing. She teaches a 3-Level, 8-week program, Crafting the Character-based Novel out of her home. She likes her classrooms smaller nowadays. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to taking the program and her being my editor. Saturday’s session had to do with scenes. I learned so much that I’ve decided to share the highlights with all you writers out there:

1) Get rid of dialogue attributions. These are the words you tag when your characters are talking: she said, she beamed, she laughed, she cried out, she teased, etc. I had no idea those even had a name until I took her class. Unfortunately, I do that a lot. As I’m sure all you other writers out there do, too. Pam says “If you are writing in character, you do not need to use dialogue attributions because the reader already knows who is talking or thinking. To show the reader this you may use action, reaction or emotional responses. You can also set up gestures and tagged responses for the reader to get to know the style of dialogue for each character. It is not easy to do. The simple thing to do is to use and attribution. But, if you want to write in character you must force yourself to learn by never using them.”

2) The 3 stages of human emotional response are visceral (physical), behavioral (instintive and learned response) and chosen (where the story is)

3) Every scene has to have a hook.

4) Use place holders in your scenes. It’s basically explaining something that the reader should already know. Pam says “You use a place holder because you know the reader will understand it; usually a cliché’s or an explanation of something that had happened earlier in the character’s history. If you recognize this in your own work, when you go back to revise and edit, you can take that place holder out and write a scene to set up what you were trying to explain in the original scene. Then when the reader gets to the original scene he/she will already have the information needed and will feel so very smart to understand the emotions of the character he/she has become attached to. It is really a secret to “showing” and not “telling”.”

4) A character cannot have the same emotional curve at the beginning than they do at the end. Emotional Curve is the name given to describe the emotional development of a character throughout the story. For instance, a character who starts out cynical and untrusting of men at the beginning of a story can’t remain like that by the end. It doesn’t have to be a happy ending, but you have to show the character as growing and changing emotionally. Pam says, “It is the emotional changes that make the story real and relevant to the reader.”

One thing she did tell me was that I’d have to change it from present tense to past tense. That’s going to be a lot of work. Good thing I’m up for the challenge. Clearly, I myself need to grow as an author still–and as we all know, learning to be a better writer is a never-ending process–and I look forward to working with her.

Saturday night, the hubby and I went to see Wanted. Very. Cool. Movie. We loved it. It even had some supernatural undertones to it, which made it even more interesting. I mean, besides the fact that they were a secret society of assassins, they have this…unusual ability. The hero (James McAvoy) thought he was having anxiety attacks, only to find out it was nothing close. The one thing I’ve discovered lately is that–SPOILER AHEAD–I don’t like it when Morgan Freeman plays the bad guy. I haven’t seen his full repetoire of movies, but this is the third movie (Chain Reaction, Lucky Number Slevin being the first two) in which he’s been the bad guy and I don’t like it. I realize actors and actresses need to mix it up a bit, but he doesn’t appear evil to me. I can’t picture him torturing someone or being the mastermind behind a plot to do harm. Some people have it and some people don’t. He’s one of the people that doesn’t.

On Sunday… (more…)

Technorati Tags: Pamela Goodfellow, Goodfellow Publishing., Crafting the Character-based Novel, Wanted., James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Chain Reaction, Lucky Number Slevin

June 24, 2008 | Book One, Book Stuff, DA Series, Draven Atreides, Life in General, Miss Snitch Mondays, Movie Queue, Must-See DVD, The 4-1-1 on Me, Voracious Reader, Weekend Wrap-Up

Saturday morning, my BF and I attended a business mtg. I needed a consult and seeing as how my BF owns 20% of my company (she’s the V.P.), I thought she needed to be “in the know”. Afterwards, we were supposed to hit up a coffee shop and talk more business, but I wasn’t in the mood. So, instead we hit up Ross, where she bought me a most wonderful belated birthday gift: a Buxton Womens Laptop carrying case in Sage

sage.jpg

Isn’t it great? I love it. It’s to replace the one that got destroyed during a PMS moment.

Ahem

Moving on…we then moseyed on over to Chandler Fashion Mall to check out this new store called BareEscentuals. I wanted to check out their Bare Minerals line of make-up. All natural make-up. I’m all for natural. Their foundation even has SPF 15! That’s plus when you’re living in It’s-So-Damn-Hot-It-Feels-Like-A-Blow-Dryer, AZ. Seriously, I think they just need to change the name from Phoenix, AZ to Damn Hot, AZ. I just scoped it out, wanted to eyeball the products up close and personal. I didn’t buy anything, but I plan to.

We then hit up my other favorite place…The Body Shop, where I bought some Moringa Body Scrub.

Have you smelled this stuff? It’s absolutely wonderful. I happened to see it online and knew, without even smelling it, that I would like it. When I got a GC to this place for my birthday, I hotfooted it over there and bought the shea body butter. That was the first time I smelled it and I LOVE IT. My BF bought me some Perfume Oil in Sequin Sparkle as another birthday gift

It smells great. A very light floral scent. She thought the name sounded whimsical (my BF is pretty whimsical herself) and ended up liking the way it smelled. The fact that it was on sale for $2 (and I get a 10% discount with my card) was a bonus. Speaking of discounts…we came into the mall through Barnes and Noble. The plan was to hit up Starbucks and then check out that other store.

“As long as I don’t end up in the romance section, I’ll be fine,” I tell her.

We ended up sharing some kind of S’Mores treat (that really wasn’t all that good) and chatting for a little bit.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” she says.

And it was all over but the cryin’. I ended up in the romance section. Had no intention of buying any books because I’d just bought 7 books online at eHarlequin.

Until I saw these

And it was all over but the cryin’. Again.

I’ve read every book in Lynsay Sands’ Argeneau Vampire series except for Book One. I just got finished reading Books 7, 8 & 9. I hadn’t read these two yet. They were on my list. I couldn’t pass them up.

The next thing I know, I’m snapping them off the shelf and beating a hasty retreat to checkout.

“I really need to find my friend-” (lost in the New Age section, BTW) “—and get the hell outta here.”

That night, the hubby and I watched this movie

Breach, with Ryan Phillipe. Have you seen it? Very good movie. It’s based on a true story about an FBI agent wanna-be who was instrumental in getting his boss, Agent Robert Hanssen, convicted for selling secrets to the Soviet Union. Yeah. I know. Deep.

On Sunday, (more…)

Technorati Tags: Ross, Buxton, Chandler Fashion Mall, BareEscentuals, Bare Minerals, The Body Shop, Moringa Body Scrub., Sequin Sparkle, Barnes and Noble, Starbucks, eHarlequin, Lynsay Sands’ , Argeneau Vampire, Breach, Ryan Phillipe