Battle of the Blades

I nearly missed catching on to this show because of my ongoing love affair with Dancing with the Stars, but in one of my endless channel surfing sessions I stumbled on it. Since then my Monday nights have been fraught with tension as flipped back and forth between channels, trying not to miss any key moments in either show. Thank God, Battle of the Blades is finished now--I couldn't take the stress much longer! But I'm going to miss the show. There's something just so wonderfully Canadian about Battle of the Blades. Is it the Maple Leaf Gardens? The hockey players? The French accents? The politeness?

Whatever it was, it worked.

But mostly I LOVED the juxtaposition between these big, tough hockey players and their figure skating counterparts. Seeing the hockey players so far out of their comfort zone, but still giving it their all, just killed me. God, I love that stuff! I was developing crushes right left and center. Googling hockey stats on players I'd never heard of, quizzing husband on every detail of these players' careers, dodging his, "Ummmm...since when do you care about hockey?" comments with a, "Have you been working out? Because your arms look HUGE. "

All good heroes in books and movies have that perfect blend of tough but tender. Stephane Richer and Claude Lemieux in particular caught my attention. Stephane lifted his partner over his head and basically bench pressed her, then he'd flip her around his body and cradle her in his arms. Sigh.

Claude even sang--but he didn't just sing, he sang Leonard Cohen. OMG. By all accounts he was one of the roughest, toughest players out there in his day. Then Kurt Browning shared an anecdote about the first time Claude met his skating partner, Shae Lynne Bourne. She came over to give him a hug, then held his hand and Claude just froze because he couldn't believe a girl did that! But by the end of this process he was wearing satin shirts and gazing at his partner with a near-poetic smoldering passion as they gracefully spun around the rink. When he was performing his routines, I believed!

There are rumours going around that the show may get picked up for another season. If they do, I'll be singing, " Hallelujah."

To Russia With Love

I had some more great news today. STILL MISSING has now sold to Russia! This is especially meaningful to me as my grandfather and grandmother on my father's side were born in Russia. My grandfather was also a writer and published a book called The Red Pilot, Memoirs of a Soviet Airman. I have the English copy, which I bought off the internet years ago from an antique bookseller, on my shelf, and my dream has always been to place my book next to his. Now I can place the Russian copy there as well! I'm going to have to toast with some vodka tonight!

More Good News!

Wow! I have even more exciting news to share! Brilliance Audio has bought the rights for STILL MISSING and my next two books!!

Yes, I know the picture of the headphones I posted is kind of creepy, but these are thrillers! Can't wait to "hear" what you all think of the audio version! Get it? Okay, okay,..:)

What a Wonderful World!

This week I'm really excited to have two bits of great news to share with you! STILL MISSING has sold to Greece and Australia!

I was so excited when my book sold to the US, so now to have sold to Germany, Greece, and Australia is mind boggling. I can't wait to see all the different covers, and to hold in my hands a copy from each country. Even if I can't read it!

My New Cover!

One of the highlights of being a debut author is seeing your first cover, for the first time. But the moments leading up to it are full of apprehension.Will I like it? Will it capture the feeling of the book?

So I was just THRILLED when I was sent this yesterday! I'm totally in love with it and I couldn't wait to share it! Hope you like it!

Management

I've been having a hard time lately finding a movie that I'm really crazy about. So, last night I was scanning movies at the video store, thinking, Nope. Seen it. Don't want to see it. Another remake. Blah...blah...And I come across a new one with Jennifer Aniston called MANAGMENT that I'd never heard of, which didn't bode well. But I noticed one of the main characters was played by Steve Zahn. Not sure exactly what it is about this guy, but I've always enjoyed his acting. He usually plays the side-kick or the dumbass boyfriend ( RIDING IN CARS WITH BOYS), so I thought I'd give the movie a try.

Here's the thing. I generally need a fast-paced movie because I get bored easily, but a movie can be slow, if it's riveting. And that doesn't necessarily mean high-stakes drama. I just have to really, really care about a character. If something about that character connects with me, I will watch them eat french fries for an hour. I watched SUNSHINE CLEANING recently, hoping for the same thing--an off-beat beat movie with some emotional connection, but just found it sad.

MANAGMENT is not fast-paced ( it was actually slow in spots), not overtly funny, and no high-stakes drama. But Steve Zahn made this movie for me. He was so endearing, eager and real, that I just wanted to leap into the movie, take him for a beer, and help him out. He was a fantastic example of an underdog who you really, really want to see win the girl. He does some totally dumbass moves, which could be considered stalkerish but because of Steve's acting, and the writing, you believe in this character's innate goodnesss. And the writers did a fantastic job with his character arc, too.

Sue, the character played by Jennifer Anniston, wasn't as fleshed out for me. And I'm still not sure I buy into the motivation for her character growth, or whether there was any actual motivation. But I was able to forgive that because I was so impressed with Mike ( Steve Zahn).

For me, this movie is a perfect example of an actor making the words work. If I hadn't liked the actor, I'm not sure I would've believed the growth with the Mike character, either, or been so forgiving of some of his crazy moves. But Steven Zahn truly made this character come alive for me.

So, if you want to see a quirky movie, then check it out!

The Warm and Fuzzies

Fall has arrived on Vancouver Island, which means it's raining! But I don't mind. Perfect weather to be hunkered down inside with a hot cup of tea and a keyboard!

While I'm working I need to cut my scary with some cute, so in between writing disturbing scenes, that are, well, disturbing! I read Web sites devoted to cute animals. I know, I know, tough thriller writer, hey?

I want to share this one video with you that I just loved. It gave me the warm and fuzzies, so I hope it makes you smile!

Animal Friends :)