My watchings, reviews, and the next great work…
It has been a busy, hot, and extreme summer. The temperature has finally abandoned its imitation of the tropics for a while, but I assume we’ll have more of that.
What has been happening? Well, I continue to promote “The Legend of The Black Swan” (on Sunbury Press Books, hint, hint) and carry forward with editing for the next novel. Again, a different tack, and a friend is watching closely for how this one will come about. Again, this is not until next year, but I think ahead.
I find myself reading, and yet, not feeling particularly thrilled about a fair amount of what passes for Literature in recent months. Genres to me are dying; the same stories over and over again, the same tropes, ideas, etc. I was asked what TROPES do I have in my books?
I have no idea! I want none, but creatively we dip into the areas that inspire us. I do see some potential ones, but I’m not of a mind to worry. The new ones look good; the next in the Sweet Dreams Series is better, albeit long, but I’m not complaining. The future ones also look good, and two new ideas are on the horizon. I must allow them to “cook” so they do not look/sound the same. The characters and their complexities will find themselves in good time.
A series of podcast interviews for the BookSpeak Network is coming, and the download and listen numbers are encouraging for our podcasts. People are getting into them, liking them, and hopefully buying for our numbers.
A period of exhaustion and tiredness over the weekend—I engaged in a retail therapy grab for two classic Studio Ghibli films, but not two you might expect: I’d had my eyes on “Porco Rosso” and another that I will spring on you in a moment.
The Great Miyazaki’s love of flying, aviation, and beautiful planes was seen in “The Wind Rises,” another film I quite love. So “Porco Rosso,” once a man, now cursed as a pig, who flies mercenary missions and navigates his scattered life, his feelings, and the question of what he really wants.
It’s a little silly, but imagination is key. The American counterpart is stereotypically stupid, speaks with an overdone Texas drawl, and is a total horndog. Porco has a great love, a powerful and tough femme fatale, plus a teenage engineering wizard who builds Porco his new plane. Then there’s a cast of inept ruffians, rivals, and assorted hopeless characters who fill out the cast, but who largely are not bad people.
The ending is no ending…you get to figure it out! I love it.
Then last night, I watched “My Neighbor Totoro.” Generally, “cute” doesn’t resonate much with me, but this one did. Imagination, using it, being open to the possibilities, even when you grow up. Childhood, being a kid, not always being right, but being curious, willing to venture…small town living, closeness, and those playful sprites, creatures, and those who populate the home that is the object of our tale.
It brings back memories of my childhood before things changed. I loved this film, and anyone, even the hardest-hearted, will admire the animation, the skill, and the hidden complexity of these characters.
Well…this does bring me back to mine…I’m finding the sameness, and kicking it out of the new ones; there’s so much to do, and I have to get at it. Sometimes, a “job,” while my career, holds me back or in check, but then, if I didn’t, I might do nothing.
I’m headed to the Book Fair @ Bel Air in Maryland in August, and it will be at Harford Community College, a nice place. I saw Joe Ely there years ago- what a show, and one of the coolest interviews I ever had.
So this plus all things…let us move on, but remember that it’s okay to be a kid again, even as an adult. Might loosen a few people up!
Peace, Out.