So, what's new?

I feel strangely out of practice, sitting down to write a blog entry. Let's see what I can ramble about...

 

First, a quick reminder...

Tomorrow night at the Schaumburg Library at 7:00 p.m., I'm teaching "The Secret to a Good Query Letter." I'll be giving the same presentation at the Des Plaines Library on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. Come on over and see me! Learn a lot about query letters and improving (hopefully) your response rate.

 

I miss SCC.

It's only been a week or so, but I miss the Sarah Conner Chronicles already. It's the only show I made time for during my self-imposed hermit-dom. I realize that we're still suffering the effects of the strike and new episodes of some shows will be returning soon. But I'm going to have to wait until fall for more SCC, and that's if they renew it. There were some iffy episodes (the one where John gets locked in the warehouse with the Terminator who is in standby mode? Ugh.), but most of them were, in my opinion, pretty good. And actually as reluctant as I am to admit it, once I got past thinking "David Silver" every time Brian Austin Green showed up on screen, I kinda liked his portrayal of Derek Reese. The, um, shower scene may have helped.

 

The season finale--two eps run together--were actually two of my favorite. I loved Derek's birthday gift to John. John was not too horribly whiny. And the interaction between Cameron and John was intriguing and endearing at moments. Bring on more, please!

 

Of course, I've got less than a month now until BSG returns on April 4, and I'm beyond excited for that. Does anyone know if they will be running all the remaining episodes during this "season" or are they going to make us wait until '09 to get the last eight or ten or so? I know some of the eps weren't finished by the time the strike rolled around.

 

Books you must read!

Grimspace by Ann Aguirre: Fantastic SFR novel in my opinion. Interesting concept and well written. Can't wait for the sequel!

 

The Other Boelyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory: I don't typically read historical novels, but I got completely sucked into this one and couldn't stop. It was flat-out fascinating.

 

Good Girls by Laura Ruby: I read her collection of adult short stories and they didn't really speak to me, but I LOVED this YA book. Above all things, I liked how it took a different approach to the topic of teen sex and, in particular, the female view of it. Also shows how sex scenes can be emotional, moving, surprisingly detailed and NOT sleazy. Above all else, it is not overtly lesson-y. I SO appreciate that. : )

 

The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson: To be fair, I just started this one, but I love her books (I think they're technically considered either mainstream fiction or women's fiction, not sure. I consider them "good fiction" and that's enough for me!) If you haven't read Gods in Alabama, drop what you're doing and go out and buy it right now! Seriously. Any aspiring writers out there want to learn about the much-talked-about-but-difficult-to-describe concept of voice? That is the book to read.

 

RT

Just one month away! Anybody in the Pittsburgh area, please come out and see us!!!