St. George Reef Lighthouse

High points (and pun slightly intended) were the lighthouses. Sigh. First, Point Cabrillo, just north of Mendocino, California. Darlingest little beacon. No tours (the tower was chained off) and the main floor is now a gift shop. DD and I romped around taking photos and complained because I’d left my wallet with DH, down the road.

Next was Battery Point in Crescent City. We stayed at (where else?) The Lighthouse Inn. Lovely people, and a lobbyful

The Glamorous, Success Author at Battery Point

of lighthouse pictures and artifacts. INCLUDING a huge wall mural of St. George Reef Lighthouse, which figures prominently in my new book, CAPE SEDUCTION! How hauntingly apropos. Staff was lovely. They agreed to display my rack cards!

Battery Point is a beautiful lighthouse, accessed only at low tide. DD and I took a tour. The docents were volunteers who get a month of lighthouse keeping at a time, and the waiting list is LONG. I passed out bookmarks and postcards to two very giddy lighthouse loving ladies.

Last was one of my favorites, Heceta Head Lighthouse in Yachats, Oregon. One of the most photographed beacons in the U.S. Another tour, lots of good info.

The Astonishing Heceta Head

Great gift shop (had my wallet this time!!) Could have stayed here all day. This lighthouse is on the cover of POINT SURRENDER. Heceta Head, by the way, is on tap for a major facelift next year. Needs it, badly.

Couldn’t see them all. Passed several up on the way, hopefully to be visited another time. I’ll be traveling back to my brother’s house in late August, at which time we’ll visit Point No Point Lighthouse. Can’t wait!

St. George Reef inside The Lighthouse Inn!

Evidence of decay. Still beautiful

Friday night we joined fellow Echelon authors Beth Solheim, Mary Welk and Luisa Buehler for dinner, then grabbed LJ Sellers from O’Hare. Weather, to this point, was hot-hot and muggy. But Saturday morning dawned cloudy and cool. We kept one eye on the sky while organizing our ½ booth, staying optimistic as we squeezed into space meant for half as many people. Our tent-mates, “Drawn and Quarterly”, were actually quite accommodating when Karen suggested we cut the booth in half rather than diagonally.

Nick Valentino, Norm Cowie, Karen Syed

I was thrilled with the pre-release copies of CAPE SEDUCTION that arrived in time to show off to book-buying Chicagoans. Best sale of the day:  to an excited reader with LIGHTHOUSE EARRINGS! No brainer, that one! The interest, not the reader, LOL.

However, even the nicest books look a little dowdy when subjected to rainfall. By midday, the temp had dropped and so had the wet stuff from the sky, as our authors scrambled to cover everything with tarps and plastic drop cloths. Most of us had dressed for heat and humidity but not chilly rain. Sales dropped off when the umbrellas came out. We packed up a half hour early while it poured, then walked the block and a half to a wonderful Italian restaurant (Trattoria Caterina) for dinner where talk ranged from new manuscripts and industry news to the wine Norm brought to share…

Sam Morton and Yours Truly

Sunday was better, traffic was higher and sales were up. But by 4 pm, the rain returned, and because it was later in the day, most people just left and vendors began to break down early. The band was still playing across the way, so most of us danced—we were a happy sight to see! Around this time I joined Nick Valentino at the Old Towne Books & Tea table to sign books and chat with readers. Friendly booksellers from Oswego, IL!

Despite the weather and the cramped conditions, we did all right. Could’ve done much better, I think, with more space and less wet. Karen Syed has described the situation with the space in her blog at Echelon Press, and you can read my take on it there as well.

For me, one of the highlights is meeting and interacting with the other authors. Old friends Sam Morton, Luisa Buehler, Bob Goldsborough, Marc & son Jim Vun Kannon; new pals Nick & Stacey Valentino, Joel & Cydney Fox (Cydney could sell potatoes to Irishmen!), Beth Solheim, LJ Sellers, Kieryn Nicholas and her fab family, and funny guy Norm Cowie were all a delight to meet. And spending time with Karen is always, ALWAYS a lark.

Will I go back? Right now, I say probably not, but you never know!

Chicago 2007

It’s been three years since I last attended Printers Row in Chicago. It was hot but pleasant. Hoards of people. There I met fellow Echelon Press authors J.R. (Jenny) Turner, Luisa Buehler, Robert Goldsborough, Marc Vun Kannon, Margot Justes, Mary Welk and of course our fearless leader, Karen Syed. This year, we’ll be joined by Norm Cowie, Nick Valentino, Sam Morton, Joel Fox, L.J. Sellers, Beth Solheim, Kieryn Nicholas and Marlis Day.

Here’s the press release for my appearance this year.

I’m not packed. I’m leaving the house at around 6:30 AM tomorrow. Mentally, I have my list:  bookmarks, postcards, banner; stickers, pens, Altoids. My standard signing kit, which includes sunscreen, scissors, granola bars, change, lip balm, more pens. Bookstands—new ones this year.

Technology-wise, I’ll have my laptop. My Blackberry. My nook. My iPod. Numerous AC adapters. I’ll be wired for sound.

Also toting some new things. A very pretty necklace with a USB drive hanging from it. Some mini-coloring books with pictures of lighthouses. A hat. Yes, I am wearing a hat.

And I will be seeing my new release for the first time. CAPE SEDUCTION will “pre-release” in limited quantities at this event. I’m so excited about that! I love this book and can’t wait to see/hear the response. Official release will be in August. Ebook is a few days delayed, but should be online for purchase any day now.

Technology slows things down. Yes, that’s what I said – new formats take longer to prepare. We’ve waited this long, a few more days won’t matter!

Come by booth #FF if you’re in town. If not, hang out and read the excerpts while I’m gone.

Will report in when I return. This is going to be a great weekend, thunderstorms and all!

More about last year, and this.

Taking care. I lost 13 pounds in ’09, and resumed the wearing of contact lenses. How did I manage the weight loss? Stopped eating sweets, stopped eating seconds, started walking more. Dancing with iPod-clone.  2010: Will continue to pay attention.

Oh, Boy. Yes, Boy George (O’Dowd) has had a profoundly bizarre life (IMO), and has in some way inspired the writing of Paulie Bingham. As it turns out, Paulie is a completely different character (so no worries, George.)  But after reading George’s bio TAKE IT LIKE A MAN (not recommended reading for haters or homophobes) and researching other so-called androgynous entertainers of the 80’s, I was compelled to write a story. It’s done, it’s sitting, and I’m on to something else for awhile.

Singapore.  Incredible trip to attend my son’s wedding. Monumental. What a beautiful city/country. I blogged about it earlier, so no repeat info here, except to admonish: don’t eat the durians.

New business. Wasn’t looking for it, but a new account dropped into my lap via a mutual banking acquaintance. Nice company in Bev Hills. Seems to be a good fit. Extra income is very helpful!

Coming up: Won’t call them resolutions. Goals, perhaps.

Get organized. As I mentioned earlier, I am drowning in paperwork. The amount of mail we get is staggering. Because I am involved in so much, I have multitudes of files for my charitable organizations, my accounting clients, my book marketing campaigns, my school work, and just the day-to-day garbajjjjhe that lingers because it doesn’t quite fit anywhere. This has got to stop, because it’s dragging me down emotionally!

Lightening the load. Speaking of those charitable orgs, I need to quietly step away from some. Not looking forward to doing that, it’s not easy, but something’s gotta give!

Tasting life…and wine. The 4^th annual Relay For Life Wine Tasting is coming to my backyard on May 8^th. Am putting together a committee to ramp this thing up a bit this year. Despite the less-than-stellar economy, it might be our best year yet.

There’s more, a lot more, but I tire of windy blogs.  Back later.

(now I can’t think of the word) screenwriting jam session, I was hooked at the start. Problem is, the producers want to render Peter Appleton’s (Carrey) script unrecognizable with ludicrous alterations. Appleton storms out, has a car accident, loses his memory and ends up in small coastal town in Nor Cal. From there, a poignant, heart-warming story unfolds, centering around the resurrection of a local movie theater. Romance blossoms, and Appleton takes his lovely to Point Cabrillo Lighthouse.

Pt. Cabrillo in the rain

Oh! This is sweet.

I happened onto a wonderful production journal for this movie, and the shooting at the lighthouse is fun to read. Sorry, no production photos, but you can imagine it well. Most fans of this genre (romantic dramedy) will love this film, whether they like Carrey or not. It’s a feel-good, with great scenery (obviously!), and a variety of wonderful California shooting locations:  Union Station, Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Griffith Park, Fort Bragg, Trinidad State Beach, Santa Monica Pier and the gorgeous little town of Mendocino (and yes, cast & crew did a bit of wine tasting while in the area).

Parts were even filmed right here in my hometown, at the Golden Oak Ranch, owned by Disney and rented out to other production companies.  (See news about Golden Oak’s huge upcoming expansion here.)

If you’re interested in the production journal, get it here; lots of details about the filming and general fun shenanigans that go on during a location shoot. All of great interest to me, of course. Besides Carrey, “The Majestic” stars Laurie Holden, Martin Landau, James Whitmore, David Ogden Stiers, Hal Holbrook and voice cameos by famous film directors Carl and Robert Reiner, Garry Marshall, Paul Mazursky, and Sidney Pollack. A hoot!

Isn’t Point Cabrillo just the cutest lighthouse? If you find yourself traveling to Northern California, this is one not to miss. The docents and caretakers have many programs and opportunities for visitors, and the website has a calendar of events. This is not a lighthouse that shutters itself from lighthouse lovers!

I confess to not re-viewing this film lately. I couldn’t wait to see it when it came out, ten years ago, for two reasons. One, I was a huge Kevin Costner fan at the time, and two, I’d read the book by Nicholas Sparks (also available for Kindle, Sandy!). I bought the book in the airport as we were getting ready to board a vacation flight to Colorado. I read it in one day. I was disappointed in the book; the story was great, but the mechanics were poor. Not well edited, IMO. Head-hopping so often I couldn’t tell who was thinking what. Simple, but annoying habits like repeated use of the same adjectives. Sentence structure was uninspired. I mention this because it was that day that I got out my old, dusty manuscripts and decided I would one day be published. Thanks, Nick.

Aside from my then-schoolgirl-type-crush on Costner, I’ve had a life-long love affair with Paul Newman. I could watch him do a paper towel commercial and drop into a full swoon. Not that he ever did such a thing. He (and Costner, to some extent) was the inspiration for the character of Dane Pierce in STARCROSSED HEARTS. If you want to see Paul in one of his (IMO) sexiest early roles, see WINNING.

But I digress. Seguin Island Lighthouse is located in what is one of the foggiest places in the world, according to those wonderful Lighthouse Friends. It is Maine’s second lighthouse, and was authorized by George Washington. That’s old. The Fresnel lens is 13 feet high, and still operating, thanks to the Friends of Seguin Island, who also see to the volunteer keepers year after year.

For die-hard romantics and hanky twisters, the film is worth seeing. And you, lucky readers, got two movie recommendations for the price of one!

So what did you think of Forrest Gump? I haven’t seen it in years, and I think I’d like to watch it again. There are some big highs and some profound lows, but excellent acting all around. It was the first time I saw Gary Sinise. Sally Field is an all-time favorite of mine. And Tom Hanks? What can you say about him that hasn’t been said. Back-to-back Oscars for two very diverse roles. I don’t know if I could watch Philadelphia again.

Marshall Point. Port Clyde is a charming coastal Maine town, one I’d certainly like to visit. It’s been called an artist retreat–indeed, American painter Andrew Wyeth had a studio there. The lighthouse itself is a shortie – only 31 feet, but one of the more picturesque beacons around as you can see above. So picturesque, in fact, that apparently the area surrounding it is often congested with easels, tripods and budding artists. Built in 1823, automated in 1981. See Don Moore’s beautiful picture here.

I have never been to Maine and it’s on my ever-lengthening list. Marshall Point is a must-see!

Played by Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale, the characters in Pearl Harbor are completely fictional and written to create a commercially viable vehicle for the filmmakers. The proverbial love triangle is certainly soapy enough, predictable and efficiently enacted. For me, however, the best part of this film is the actual day of infamy, the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

If you go to IMDB.com and check out the reviews, you won’t want to watch this movie. I was surprised at the outrage, the vehemence with which these viewers expressed their opinions of this film. They hate it! Historically inaccurate, Sappy, too long, Views like a video game. Fighter pilots cannot become bomber pilots. No Army nurses died in real life. Okay, gimme a break!

The success of any film or book is its ability to allow the viewer/reader to suspend disbelief long enough to enjoy it. If you are going to sit there with a damn history book in your lap, forget it. I concur that it’s lengthy, and traverses a long period of time. But I feel the storytellers and filmmakers had a tale to tell. If one wants historical accuracy, go rent a documentary on WWII. Check out Tora! Tora! Tora!.

And yes, Diamond Head Lighthouse is in the film, and was an original star in the original, real-life day the Japanese attacked Pearl. I’ve been there, sneaked around on the cliff adjacent to the lighthouse(it’s actually built on the side of an extinct volcano!) trying to get this photo. Almost fell. Was worth it, of course!

Maybe the reason I like the film so much is that it brought to life an event I knew so little about. I think I was absent that day/week/month in school when we studied about this horrific event. Yeah, so, maybe it’s not nitpickingly accurate. But I believe it captures the terror, the feel of that horrible day in American history.

So rather than be counterfeit, I decided I should at least identify the section of the film where the lighthouse appears. I didn’t have time to watch the whole film as I’m busier than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. So I did the next best thing: scanned through it on double speed, watching for the lighthouse. The first half of the film takes place on Whidbey Island, in and around Vancouver Island, and in the prison where Judd’s character is incarcerated. I carefully scanned, then actually watched, all the water scenes to no avail. No lighthouse. The second half of the film centers on Colorado and New Orleans, but Sheringham would not be found there!

Out of time, I gave up, and just for safe measure, put the film in reverse one last time. Imagine my shock when I almost escaped noticing the VERY FIRST FRAME of the film, after the black screen that follows the “Paramount” logo, as  the music begins … a gorgeous landscape shot of Sheringham Point at dusk, on the south coast of Vancouver Island. The first time I started the DVD, the player on my laptop just skipped it. Started on the next frame, which is a beach scene with a fence traversing it.

Here is a link to a beautiful image: http://www.pbase.com/mgrove/image/87613912

Can’t believe the film is already ten years old. Great plot, great acting, wonderful “American” scenery. From the Washington ferries to the New Orleans Mardi Gras. Well worth a second viewing. And don’t miss the lighthouse!