My January Intrigue, Texas Ransom, is part of the Ultimate Heroes series, which is getting a lot of great PR. In case you missed the video I posted last week, here's a link where you can watch a spot on Canada's Entertainment Tonight that featured all the January Intrigues. Very cool promotion.
If you pick up a copy of Texas Ransom, please check out the teaser for my upcoming thriller, The Devil's Footprints in the back. If you like what you read, be sure and take advantage of the dollar-off coupon.
I now have 2675 friends on MySpace! My goal is 3000 by the new year. Think I can make it? Want to help me out? Send me a friend request! Plus, you'll soon be able to get sneak peeks of the first few chapters of The Devil's Footprints.
This week, I've been scoping out locations for The Devil's Footprints trailer shoot with the director and my PR guru. We're hoping to use a house in Bastrop, Texas, which is featured in the upcoming horror movie All The Boys Love Mandy Lane. I'll post a pic if we're granted permission. The director, Lucas Amann, worked on that film. We also spent some time perusing shops in Tomball, Texas, for antique bells to use in the trailer. Again, I'll post some photos as soon as we start shooting (hopefully in the next couple of weeks).
The working title for the online prequel is Marked by Evil. It's scheduled to run from the first week of March through the middle of April. A new chapter will be put up every Tuesday and Thursday for six weeks. Here's a little teaser:
Sixteen-year-old Rachel DeLaune has harbored a dark secret for as long as she can remember. And now she has another: someone has been leaving her messages. Bells tied in the tree outside her window. A dead bird on her pillow. Satanic symbols drawn in the dirt beside her car.
Someone is warning her that her time on this earth is running short, but who would want her dead? A jealous boyfriend? An obsessed schoolmate? A deranged stranger?
Or is the threat coming from inside her own family?
This is the time of year when the publishing industry seems to slow down so there's not a lot to report this week. My agent finalized the deal for the online serial and I'm happy to report that it will be a true prequel to The Devil's Footprints. It's scheduled to run on e.Harlequin.com starting the first week in March. More details as I get them.
The Intrigue authors are blogging fast and furious at the Intrigue Blog. Lots of book giveaways so head on over and check it out. I'll be joining the fun in January to promote Texas Ransom, which is part of the Ultimate Heroes series.
My critique group had our annual breakfast/gift exchange this past Monday and it was a lot of fun. And I hauled in lots of great loot, including books, Christmas ornaments, and fresh, homemade scones. What more could a writer ask for? In case I haven't mentioned it before, I'm incredibly fortunate to be in a group of extremely talented writers--Kay David, Heather MacAllister and Barbara Dawson Smith. Right now, we're all embarking on new projects, so I think the new year is going to be very exciting indeed.
Sid News: For anyone who has been keeping up with the trials and tribulations of the little stray kitten we adopted, he's doing so much better. The ringworm is gone, and the other problems are starting to improve as well. We're actually able to let him out in the house now to mingle with our other cat, Lola, who is taking the new addition much better than I anticipated. Don't get me wrong, there's still some hissing and growling going on, but there's been some playtime as well, which is so great to see because I was always afraid my Lola was lonely. Now she has a new little companion that so far, hasn't made a pest of himself.
As I've mentioned before, I'm a big James Bond fan, and since the reboot of the franchise with Casino Royale, I've even started visiting some of the message boards. The latest buzz is that the upcoming Bond film (November, 2008) will be called 007. It's just a rumor at this point, but it makes a lot of sense in the context of the reboot. Casino Royale was all about Bond earning his license to kill and the next film will be about Bond becoming Bond, i.e. 007.
It some respects, it's a bold and controversial choice, much like the casting of Daniel Craig in the role, and I have to say, I love where the series seems to be headed. And that includes hiring Mark Forster (The Kite Runner, Finding Neverland, Stranger than Fiction) as the director. In an interview, he sited the exotic locales as one of the reasons he thinks Bond was so popular back in the 60s. But nowadays lots of people travel and so the setting is not quite the draw it once was. According to Forster, the most interesting place for Bond to go now is deep inside himself.
I agree, and I find that to be the case with the characters I create, especially my villains. I want to know what makes them tick. I want to know specific incidences in their childhood that made them become who and what they are today. Very little of their background may end up in the book, but that's not the point. I need to know. Because the most interesting--and often scariest--place for a writer to go is deep inside his character's head.
In the run up to Christmas Day, I love watching Christmas movies, even the cheesy made-for-TV ones. Here is my Top Ten List:
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Can I refill your eggnog for you? Get you something to eat? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere and leave you for dead?
Elf
We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.
Bad Santa
Things are ______ up at the North Pole. Mrs. Claus caught me _______ her sister, now I'm out on my ass.
A Christmas Story
My father worked in profanity the way other artists might work in oils or clay. It was his true medium, a master.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
There's children throwing snowballs / instead of throwing heads / they're busy building toys / and absolutely no one's dead!
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
What's that stench? It's fantastic.
The Simpson's Christmas Special
Marge: Okay, Kids, give me your letters and I'll mail them to Santa at the North Pole. Bart: Oh please, there's only one fat guy who brings us presents and his name ain't Santa.
Ernest Saves Christmas
Ahh, smell those Christmas trees. You can keep your 'Channel' Number 5, just give me a whiff of the old lonesome pine. That symbol of brotherly love, that centerpiece that all mankind gathers around to share the cranberry sauce shaped like a can.
Black Christmas
Listen to what I am about to tell you. Dont ask any questions Ms. Bradford, just do what I say. O.k Put down the phone, walk to the door and get out of the house.
While You Were Sleeping
I've had a really lousy Christmas, you've *just* managed to kill my New Year's, if you come back on Easter- you can burn down my apartment.
I think Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter are just about the coolest couple ever. I love what she had to say about the way Tim trims his Christmas tree:
"He decorates it with dead babies and slime balls and things. It looks lovely and glittery from afar, and then as you get closer, you realize it's rather gory."
So now I'm on a quest for photos of the scariest, creepiest, or just plain coolest Christmas decorations ever. If you want to join me in my quest, send photos through the email posted on my website and I'll hold a drawing the week after Christmas. Winner will receive copies of The Dollmaker and my January Intrigue, Texas Ransom.
My January Intrigue, Texas Ransom, has an excerpt of The Devil's Footprints(March, 2008), along with a one-page ad in the back. I'm especially psyched about the dollar-off coupon with the ad.
I just got word that the online prequel for The Devil's Footprintsis a go. I have to turn in the ten-thousand word manuscript by January 21. The serial will run in February (I think). More details to come as I get them.
Filmmaker Lucas Amann has given me the final draft of the script for The Devil's Footprints trailer and it's sensational, unlike any book trailer I've seen so far. I can't wait to see it come to life on the screen. Thanks to Leanne Amann for the initial concept and first draft of the script. Look for the world premiere right here on Blasphemous Rumours.
Find out what your Grinch name is here. My real Grinch name is Scroogeygrump Poutypants. My pseudonym Grinch name is Crabbywhiner Rascalshorts. I can't decide which I like more.
Since this is Parker Posey Week here on the blog, I'd like to talk about her new movie, The Eye, also starring Jessica Alba, who was in Sin City, which also starred Clive Owen (see how that works).
Blind since childhood, Sydney Wells, a beautiful young concert violinist (played by Jessica Alba) undergoes a corneal transplant in both eyes, a surgery she has waited her whole life to have. With the help of ophthalmologist Dr. Paul Faulkner (Nivola Alessandro) and her older sister Helen (Parker Posey), Sydney learns to adjust to her new 'sight'. But then she begins to see things -- freaky things. Is this a passing aftermath of her surgery, Sydney's mind adjusting to sight, a product of her imagination, or something horrifyingly real?
As Sydney's family and friends begin to doubt her sanity, Sydney is soon convinced that her anonymous eye donor has somehow opened the door to a terrifying world only she can now see.
This movie is a remake (as is everthing coming out of Hollywood lately), but I haven't seen the original and I have to admit, the story has me intrigued. But what really caught my attention was the poster. There are so many bad ones out there nowadays and this one is very clever and creepy. I'd love to have a book cover like this.
Continuing Parker Posey Week, here are my favorite Parker roles:
1. No contest. My favorite has got to be Darla Marks, Dazed and Confused. "What are you looking at? Wipe that face off your head, bitch." Tee!
2. Libby Mae Brown in Waiting for Guffman. "My aunt brought out her atlas that I look at a lot. This big blue book and opened up to New York and it's an island, is really what it is. It's this island full of people of different colors and different ideas and I can't- It sounds like a lot of fun to me. You know, we don't see much of that in Blaine. I'd like to maybe meet some guys, some Italian guys, you know... watch TV and stuff."
3. The neurotic Meg Swan in Best in Show. "We met at Starbucks. Not at the same Starbucks but we saw each other at different Starbucks across the street from each other."
4. Jo Malone in The Daytrippers.
5. Dorleen in Will and Grace.
6. Judy Adams in The Anniversary Party.
7. Mary in Party Girl. "I would like a nice, powerful, mind-altering substance. Preferably one that will make my unborn children grow gills. "
8. Jinger Heath in Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay.
I admit, I was skeptical when I heard Heath Ledger had been cast as The Joker in The Dark Knight. To be honest, I wasn't all that enamored with Christian Bale's portrayal of Batman in Batman Begins(as talented an actor as I think he is). To take my unpopular opinion even further, I thought the movie was a downer and it bored me. And Michael Caine was a terrible Alfred.
I liked Michael Keaton as Batman and he was even more awesome as Bruce Wayne ( Jack Nicholson as The Joker was just Jack Nicholson in a crazy costume).
So I really didn't have high hopes for The Dark Knight, in spite of all the hype. But maybe I was a bit hasty in my dismissal of Ledger if the new creepy pictures popping up on the Internet are any indication.
I'm not much of a sweet-eater or a baker, but I have to say these peanut butter and jelly cupcakes I've been reading so much about look pretty tasty. Here's a recipe I found at the Serious Eats blog. I haven't tried it yet so if someone beats me to it, let me know how it turns out.
PBJ Cupcakes- makes 12 to 14 cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup sugar 2 large eggs, room temperature 3/4 cup milk 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup grape jelly
Chunky Peanut Butter Frosting (recipe to follow)
Coarsely chopped peanuts or crushed peanut butter cups, for garnish
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 muffin tins with cupcake papers. 2. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside. 3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in two parts, alternating with the milk. Add the vanilla. 4. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups until each is about two-thirds full. Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly touched. Let cupcakes cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. 5. When cupcakes are thoroughly cool, fill a squeeze bottle with jelly, and then invert the tip of the bottle into the center of a cooled cupcake. Carefully squeeze about 1 tablespoon jelly into center of cupcake. Repeat with remaining cupcakes. Frost with Chunky Peanut Butter Frosting, and garnish with roasted salted peanuts or crushed peanut butter cups.
Chunky Peanut Butter Frosting- makes 2 1/2 cups (enough to frost 14 cupcakes)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened 3/4 cup chunky peanut butter 4 ounces cream cheese, softened 2 cups confectioners' sugar 1/2 tablespoon milk (a few drops more if needed)
1. In a large bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. 2. On low speed, slowly add 1 cup sugar, then a few drops milk. Increase mixer speed to medium-high, and mix thoroughly. Add remaining sugar and a few more drops milk if necessary. 3. Increase mixer speed to high, and mix until frosting is fluffy and reaches a good spreading consistency. Use immediately.
In one of the most brilliant ad campaigns I’ve ever seen, Martin Scorsese directs (and preserves) a film from a three-page, never-filmed, thought-to-be-lost Hitchcock script called The Key to Reserva (tee!). As he explains it,"It's one thing to preserve a film that's been made. It's another thing to preserve a film that's not been made."
On his approach to the film: “I’m obviously not going to shoot them (the three pages) as I would. But can I shoot them as Hitchcock? I don’t think so. So who will I shoot them as? This is the question.”
The whole thing is just brilliant and amazing how it captures the look and feel of a Hitchcock film. The music, the camera angles, even the Hitchcock blonde whose resemblance to Eva Marie Saint in North by Northwest is positively uncanny.
Some of the tributes I spotted were (highlight to read): the concert hall scene from The Man Who Knew Too Much, the key and the wine bottle MacGuffin from the wine-cellar scene in Notorious, the R.O.T. monogram from North By Northwest, the red flashbulb effect from Rear Window, the falling sequence in Vertigo, and of course, The Birds. Which ones can you spot?
The clock behind Scorsese near the end reads 6:01. Significance?
I like to write about the dusty back roads and murky bayous of the South. About unsolved murders and the kind of dark, simmering secrets that destroy souls.
My books have been described as creepy and disturbing. Stories to be read with the lights on.
But, honestly, I'm just an ordinary person. Quiet and unassuming. Someone who might live next door to you...
My January Intrigue, Texas Ransom, is part of the Ultimate Heroes series, which is getting a lot of great PR. In case you missed the video I posted last week, here's a link where you can watch a spot on Canada's Entertainment Tonight that featured all the January Intrigues. Very cool promotion.
People Magazine has named Matt Damon the sexiest man alive.
My January Intrigue, 
-780680.jpg)
