Interview on The Fairytale Nerd

I was very kindly invited to do an author interview on The Fairytale Nerd.  Pop on over and take a look.

http://www.thefairytalenerd.com/2011/10/day-fifteen-of-31-days-giveaway-author.html#more

The Biggest Compliment

I just had to share this with everyone.  I walked into rehersals one night and had to do a double take when I walked past this young lady.  She is one of the young friends I have made this year while rehersing for The Wizard of Oz.  She was reading a copy of The Amulet when we started the rehersals.  It was a copy with the original cover (I have since changed it to the blue cover to run with the series).

She then took it upon herself to create a t-shirt of the book cover.  I was so flattered.  How cool is that?

This young lady is very creative and loves all things fantasy.  She even made a "Firebolt" from Harry Potter.  She did such a good job, she was asked to make the Witch's broomstick for our show.

Thanks for the compliment, Sydney!

Rhinestones and Lashes and Glue, Oh My!

I'm the one on the right :o)

Yesterday was the first full dress rehersal for the play I am in.  Anyone like to hazard a guess as to what it might be?  Anyway, I got to wear false eyelashes for the first time in my life.  Not only that, they were lined with rhinestones.  My eyelids have never looked so blingy!  You can't really see them in this pic, but I'm assured they look amazing under the stage lights.  My friend (standing next to me) was bound and determined that Glinda was going to sparkle, even on her eyelids. 

The best part is, I get to dress up like a fairy princess for several more dress rehersals and six performances.  Living in cattle country, I don't often get the chance to dress up really girlie and I'm lovin' it.

I'm an active member in our local theatre.  We are so lucky to have a real theatre in our tiny town.  I believe it was built in the 1920's.  But when I found out they were doing my favorite musical this year, I did everything, short of bribing the director, to get the part I was born to play.  Performances start next week and I'm so excited.

Being in the theatre surrounded by all that creative energy is something I relish.  I decided to give my writing a whirl during rehersals while not on stage. To my surprise the story just flowed with all that energy around me. I open up my laptop and my fingers just fly across the keyboard.

There's usually a fun anecdote or two to share during this time, also.  For example:

Something chuckle-worthy happened at rehersals on Monday.  I haven't lost any of my English accent, even after living in the States for 10 years, so playing the part of Glinda enables me to 'ham it up' a bit on stage.  Well, backstage I was talking to one of the Munchkin's mothers when a teenage lad (who obviously didn't know me) butted into our conversation with "You can stop talking like Glinda now, you're not on stage anymore."  When I told him "this is how I talk" he gave me a strange look and walked off.  I'm still not sure he believed me.

Do you have any all time favorite characters you would like to play?

Admission

Okay, I admit it, I'm a hopeless blogger!  It's been over a month since I shared anything with you.  But, in my defense I would like to state that in that time I have moved, been remodelling, having an addition built, rehearsing for the part of Glinda in The Wizard of Oz, been running my business, and, oh yes, let's not forget, writing the 3rd Custodian Novel.  Phew!  So I ask forgiveness if my blogging isn't up to par.  I'm not complaining, though.  I do admit all this stuff going on at once can get a little overwhelming but it's also very exciting.

But enough about my hectic life.  I would like to tell you the story of what happened when I was down in the dungeons of Norwich Castle (as promised).

To get to the dungeons you first have to walk through a room filled with all kinds of torture instruments *shudders*.  Then through a room where 'my' talking heads reside, along with a couple of cells with manequins in, just like I described in The Emerald Staff.

My guide was about to take me down into the actual dungeon when she noticed the lights were off.  I looked down the stairs leading to the god forsaken hole in the ground and it was black as pitch down there.  I really did shudder then.  My guide explained that the light switch was up in the guard's office and told me to stay where I was, while she went and turned them on. 

She left, leaving me all alone surrounded by cells and unsavory looking wax heads, which just got my imagination flowing.  After a moment I started to hear chains rattle and people moaning.  It was the most forlorn sound I'd ever heard.  Suffering and misery was apparent in the sounds resonating around the room.

The strange thing was I wasn't spooked.  My first thought was that the guide had turned on a CD while she was up in the guard's office to add to the atmosphere.  She had told me there would be a guided tour of the dungeons shortly after my private one. I just assumed they did that to give people a better idea of what it would have sounded like in the days where people were locked away and forgotten about.

A while later the guide returned and I mentioned to her how I thought the CD of moaning voices and rattling chains was an excellent idea.  She gave me a strange look and said, "We don't play any CDs down here."

Talking Heads

I thought you might like to meet Hardyman, Stafford, and Thomas from The Emerald Staff. If you look carefully, those aren't their real names but I chose names that were very close to actual. I decided against using their real names just in case a relative of their's is still living somewhere. These "unsavory looking characters" do actually reside in Norwich Castle. My friend, Lisa and I, decided over a cup of tea, that it would be a lot of fun to make them talk. I have to admit it was one of the most fun scenes to write.

I did do a little research on them, though, and found out some interesting stuff, provided what I found was actually linked to the persons to whom these heads belonged. You can never be 100% sure when they are so old.

Sorry I don't have a picture of Molly (not her real name, either) That would be something, to get a picture of her, but I'm assured her alter ego's ghost does roam the castle.

I'll have to tell you what happened to me when I was left in the dungeon room, where the heads are, (by myself, I might add) while the guide went to try and sort out the lights. It will probably give you goosebumps, so I'll leave that for my next post.

If You Can't Stand the Heat...

Actually, my kitchen is much cooler than outside, so I'll just stay there for now. This weather is something else. It has been 9 days now with temps in the 100's, with the heat index, and the humidity to match. To be honest with you I'm miserable! I hate this weather with a capital H. I'm a winter girl through and through. Well, okay, maybe not dead of Winter, digging yourself out of 2ft of snow, girl, but at the very least, Spring and Autumn. I want to be outside, I have fences to put up, and gardening to do and... and...

I'm the lucky one though. I can stay indoors with the A/C on full blast, but my poor animals can't and it's them who I feel for at the moment. Ollie, my goat, follows the shade around the tree throughout the day and mostly just stands there and pants. He hates being wet or I'd hose him down.

The horses stand with their heads over the water trough most of the day, I guess they must get some coolness from the water.

As for the chickens (I wish I'd had my camera with me). I opened up the coop door to get the eggs, and Daphne was sitting in the water bowl. It's actually just a dog bowl but she managed to fit her hiney in there perfectly and get her butt wet. And she wasn't about to move. This was new for me, I have never seen any of my chickens in the water, so I got a much bigger pan and filled it with water for them.

I am doing a lot of redecorating at the moment (hence why the blog is a bit sporadic) so I guess it's as good a time as any to stay inside and paint. I sure as heck am not doing anything outside until the temp drops at least 15-20 degrees. Roll on Autumn! Okay, that's my rant over with for now :-)

Careful, Or You'll End Up In My Novel

A friend bought me this t-shirt just after I had written The Amulet. I love it, and the wording is more true to life than you may think.

Ps. This is my other horse, Ruby, modelling with me here for a newspaper reporter who did a wonderful story on my sudden success with the Custodian series on Amazon Kindle.

Apart from it being a good conversation starter with people who don't know me, it also makes people laugh, sometimes a little nervously.

I guess the question remains, have I taken my revenge on any real life people who have made my life sheer misery in the past? Have I immortalised them for all eternity as the bad guys (or girls)? Hmm... now that would be telling.

Like I said in a previous post, inspiration for writing can come from everywhere.