Character - In Life and In Fiction

Character is one of the writer's most important tools. Let's take Kelly Quinn for example. We experience her story through her eyes, and as such, we get to know her and the characters around her ie: Darbie, Hannah, Senora Perez, and the Rusamano Twins, who add flavor (ie: Rocket Launching Rainbow), to the adventure.
But, character is also vitally important in life's relationships. In life, character is seen in the way people behave, and how they react to situations, particularly unexpected situations. One's words help define their character, but, as the saying goes, actions speak louder... We witness examples of both good and bad character all the time: At the grocery store, on the soccer field, at work, and in our families. I'm often amazed at the spectrum of character, ranging from random acts of kindness to complete insensitivity. You probably are too. It's said that true character is what one does when no one is watching, then what we witness may not be reality. Hmmmm...confusing?
A big difference between fiction and life is that we writers control what our characters do whether it's something seen or unseen. In life we have no control over other's character, only over our reactions to it.

Fortune Cookie Blunder

Whose favorite part of Chineese take-out isn't the fortune cookie? So, the other day my son eagerly cracked open his cookie. It said: "Wrong Cookie."
HA!

Last Installment of Awesome TV Detectives

Our last category is SOOOOOO COOOL.

Ed Lane, the bald guy from Flashpoint, is played by Hugh Dillon. Ed can talk anyone off a ledge at gun point with only four minutes left in the show. (Actually, I love the whole cast of FP.)

Seeley Booth played by David Borearaz (Bones) - What kind of name is Seeley, but who cares? The chemistry of the whole cast of this show is awesome.

Let's face it, David Caruso (above) is the King of Coolsville. He can't be left off my list because my girls love him as Heratio Caine. They don't know him as John Kelly from NYPD Blue. Check out this NYPD picture. I chose it because of Rick(y) Schroeder who I sat next to at a NY Yankees game in 1977. (That was the same game that Dave Winfield gave me a ball.)

Arron Hotchner: Thomas Gibson from Criminal Minds. More serious character, more serious show.

Anthony DiNozzo: Michael Weatherly from NCIS. You've gotta admit, as crass as he is, he is very funny. (No, Mark Harmon is not cooler.)

Hands Down, The Coolest TV Cop EVER is Elliot Stabler, Christopher Meloni from Law and Order SVU. I have Chris pegged to play Kelly Quinn's father in the movie...not that one is being made, but IF one were being made, it would be him....of course, he would play opposite moi as Mrs. Quinn.

Moose

We have many pets that are alive and well, and fat and lazy. But, we also have a very special moose. The unnamed moose was bought on an awesome family vacation at Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos three years ago. (If you haven't been , I highly recommend.) We had such a ball we got this little trinket to remember the weekend.Well, this moose has become a favorite fixture on our dinner table.This is what we do: Four or five out of seven nights we sit down for dinner together, even if it's fast food or PB&J. (It's usually fast food or PB&J). The moose gets passed from around the table. The holder tells the rest of us about their day, without interruption. This has proven a great way for us to keep in touch. We do it with guests also. The kids' friends love it.
Homes are filled with beautiful trinkets and our moose is no exception. Standing alone on his shelf he's a reminder of cherished family time which is easy to forget amongst work, school, the house, the pets, appliance maintenance, cleaning, organizing, visiting, BBQ-ing, and sports schedules. But, put in motion, beloved Moose plays an role in our family.

My Favorite TV Detectives: Part 3 of 4

In the Oldies, But Goodies category:
Tom Hanson from 21 Jump Street played by Johnny Depp. Maybe this is what got me started on TV cops. This was an awesome TV show.
Christopher Lorenzo from Silk Stalkings played by Rob Estes. This show was on USA at like 10pm because it was racy. I saw Estes in the Women's Murder Club (from the James Paterson novels), and most recently on the new 90210.

What is very interesting about these two is that they look almost exactly the same today.

Stay tuned for the fourth and last installment of TV Detectives coming soon.

Review of The Melting of Maggie Bean

So, if you can't tell, I've been on a reading binge. The great thing about reading these tween and YA books is that they are super quick, easy reads. On my quest to seek out an understand the Aladdin-Mix authors I also read The Melting Of Maggie Bean, by Tricia Rayburn.

Maggie looked down and barely saw her toenails peeking out from the shadow of her stomach. She closed her eyes and slowly stepped onto the scale. Once she finally opened her eyes, Maggie almost fell off the scale.
Maggie Bean's having a tough year. Since her dad lost his job he spends more time watching TV than talking to his family, and her mom's totally stressed about money. So Maggie focuses on what she does best: keeping up her straight-A average and eating chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate.
But everything changes when Maggie gets a chance to try out for the synchronized swim team. Becoming a Water Wing has always been Maggie's dream -- who wouldn't want to have an instant circle of friends and wear that cute silver bathing suit? As a Water Wing, maybe she'll start believing she's more than just a socially awkward bookworm. Maybe people will see past the extra weight she's recently gained to the funny, cool girl hiding underneath. And maybe, just maybe, Peter Applewood will finally notice her.

This book was so cute. Maggie is an endearing character that I want to befriend and the struggle she faces broke my heart, at the same time her maturity is inspiring.

This is perfect for all ages. (nothing edgy to worry about.)

My Favorite TV Detectives Part 2 of 4

And in the category of TV Detectives that make Ultra-Geeky Things Look Cool we have:

Nick Stokes played by George Eads on CSI (Las Vegas). He's consistent and shows that you don't have to be a geek to be a scientist which is a good lesson for kids of all ages. It seems like he wants to be the "bug guy" to replace Grissom, which will now make bugs cool too. He's like one stop shopping.

Don Epps from Numb3rs: I remember reading that they originally had Rob Lowe ear-marked for this role. This show is so clever. It makes math cool. You can't say that about too many things. (Epps isn't actually the mathematician, but he'll accept this reward on the nerd's behalf.)

Tomorrow's category will be: Oldies, But Goodies:

List of My Favorite Detectives Part 1 of 4

I'm type A and I love crime drama. We type As love lists. As a writer I like characters. These many loves have driven me to make a list of some of my favorite TV detectives.
Since there are so many this may take several installments, which I'll do by category. Today's grouping is "TV Detectives Who Aren't Really Detectives".

Richard Castle from Castle. A new comer to the TV Detective block, but he's made an impressive start. One of the many things I love about him is that he's a writer...he's a writer doing field research with the cops and he gets to help solve the crimes. Move over Miley Sirus, because that's 'the best of both worlds.'


Shawn Spencer played by James Roday from Psych. This show was original, but now has many copy cats ie: Mentalist. Spencer is not a detective...actually, he's not even really a psychic, but he investigates crimes...really well.

Harm Rob from JAG, played by David James Elliott. Another show with really good chemistry. He's technically a lawyer, but he makes the list because in these shows lawyers have to do a lot of investigating.

Tomorrow's category will be: Detectives That Make Ultra-Geeky Things Look Cool.

Introducing the Super Swirley

Super Swirleys are a very important ingredient of KELLY QUINN'S SECRET COOKING CLUB. Ever since visiting 3B, the kids have been dying to know what's in them.

So, what is a Super Swirley?

Let's ask Kelly Quinn herself. "OMG. Super Swirleys were the best milkshakes in Delaware, and possibly the world. They were ice cream and all kinds of other stuff blended into a heavenly frozen concoction. I couldn’t live without them. They’re made at Sam’s Super iScream, which luckily, was within walking distance from my house."

Each of the girls in the story (Kelly, Hannah and Darbie) has their favorite Swirley. Darbie loves the Rocket Launching Rainbow Super Swirley. Here is a recipe:

Rocket Launching Rainbow Super Swirley
When you can’t make up your mind enjoy this three-layered concoction.
Layer 1: Strawberry ice cream blended with colorful Skittles.
Layer 2: Banana ice cream with ribbons of golden caramel.
Layer 3: Bright green pistachio ice cream peppered with Nerd candies.
Topped with whipped-cream and rainbow sprinkles.

There you have it. If you try it, let me know how you make out, or email a picture of it to me.

The 411 on writing Kelly Quinn

It's exciting to have so much interest in KELLY QUINN'S SECRET COOKING CLUB, and I thank you all for asking and for caring. .

I get lots of questions about the process of writing a book. I thought I'd capture a TOP TEN.

10. How long did it take you?
I wrote the initial rough draft of KELLY in about six weeks. But, I revised and edited it for almost two years.

9. That's a lot of revising. Where did you get all the comments from?
I'm part of a fabulous writing critique group called the Works In Progress (WIPs). The WIPs read and reviewed KELLY over and over. I also paid a professional editor to read the entire manuscript. Lastly, my dad read the book about ten times and gave me comments. At seventy-something, he's more a 'tween than most 'tweens.

8. How long is it? (Kids always ask this.)
It's about 190 double-spaced, new Times Roman sized 12-font. But, that doesn't mean that's exactly how long it will be when it's printed, as page and font sizes vary.

7. Will there be pictures?
There will be cover art, but since it's a middle-grade (aka "Tween") book, it probably won't have any art within the text.

6. Who's doing the illustration/cover? Because I know a guy.... (This is a very popular adult question.)
I don't know. The publisher will take care of all this, but I'll get to see the options (I think).

5. Do you have a literary agent?
Yes, I'm the luckiest person in the world to work with Sarah Davies of The Greenhouse Literary Agency. She is a complete gem. If you want to know more about Sarah or The Greenhouse visit www.greenhouseliterary.com.

4. How did you find a literary agent?
It wasn't easy. I researched (thank goodness for the internet) agents interested in the age range and themes of my book. Then I read lots about each of them to assess if they would be a good fit for my project.

3. How did you query agents?
I attended a few SCBWI conferences to understand how to approach an agent. I wrote a cover letter and synopsis, (which I revised repeatedly). I made electronic and snail mail packages pursuant to the agent's submissions guidelines and sent them in.

2. Are you going to quit your other job?
No. I have a full-time job that I like very much. Writing is my second job and a passion. I intend to continue to do both for as long as I can.

And the number one question that people ask me....kids and adults alike: Can I be in the movie when/if it's made?
Sure......But, I have dibs on Mrs. Quinn. If my husband doesn't land the part of Kelly's dad, I'll approach Christopher Meloni (Eliot Stabler from Law and Order SVU.)