Another Epic Movie

I was lucky enough to see the new movie with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, called Australia. It was quite wonderful. Especially engaging was the little Aboriginal boy who played Nallah(sp?).

The scenery, the romance, the sweeping countryside, everything made this story a modern epic along the lines of Gone With the Wind. Extremely enjoyable.

Also, as an aside, I went to see Twilight for the second time and liked it even better the second time.

Hope you all found some time over the holidays to sneak in a movie or two (as well as the books we all love). If any really stood out, please let us know!

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!

Cheers,

Sue

Twilight didn't disappoint!

Went to see Twilight last week, along with seven thousand giggling teenagers! It did not disappoint me.

Robert Pattinson played an excellent Edward. What teenage girl wouldn't fall for him? (Although he is slightly 'geeky' in real life interviews!)

Kirstin Steward did a great job as Bella. I loved that she seemed so small-town normal wearing work boots and big mitts. Very romantic yet thrilling movie. And the scenery was great too. Want to see it again!

Four star rating from me!

Twilight almost here!

For all you Twilight (Stephanie Meyers) fans - 2 more sleeps until the movie opens! My daughter and her friends have already bought their tickets and are having a sleep over afterwards. They even went downtown Toronto last weekend and got to see the stars of the movie. Withstood rain storms just to catch a glimpse. Oh to be young again!

Bella & Edward, here we come! (But I'm doing the sane thing and waiting for the uproar to die down.)

PS. A big happy birthday to my brother, Greg. Yesterday was his day! Hope it was a good one.

Your Civic Duty

What is it about our judicial system that they make doing your civic duty such a HORRIBLE experience?

Almost everyone called to jury duty dreads going into that room. Why? Maybe because you are treated as less than human. Actually more like a criminal instead of a potential judge on the case.

No, really. They heard over 200 people into one room, take your name, tell you to sit down (in totally uncomfortable chairs) and then - LEAVE YOU THERE FOR HOURS WITH NO INFORMATION! Sometimes, an official with a uniform comes in and whispers to another official, never looks anyone in the eye and leaves. The people sit up in their chairs, waiting hopefully for one tiny tidbit of information. But nothing comes. Why can't they share something with all the people just sitting there? It would make us less hostile, that's for sure.

And they don't even provide coffee or water! The least they could do is give us a drink. Well, that's my rant for now. Luckily I wasn't picked for a case so I'm safe for another 3 years. Whew!

Follow up & Good News!

Well better late than never, I always say. My conference was already a month ago. Where does the time go?

I guess we had Thanksgiving in there and another full day seminar in Toronto, plus tickets to THE SOUND OF MUSIC (excellent production), so I've been a bit busy.

First the follow up:

Other than a few minor glitches, the Ottawa Writers' Conference went well. I learned something from every speaker. Some were more interesting than others but all in all, well worth the trip. I even made it through my pitch with Brenda Chin from Harlequin. She is so nice and gave me some advice which I may or may not take. Anyways, always interesting to hear what editors are looking for.

Now my news:

I am a finalist in the GOLDEN PEN contest!! All day on Monday, I waited for an email or the phone to ring. Finally in the evening I decided I didn't final. However, they are several hours behind us, so it was still afternoon there! And I finally got the email! So I spent the next 2 days madly reading the judges suggestions and revising my entry to send in again. This time my dream editor from Steeple Hill, Melissa Endlich, will be judging it. The worst I can come in is third which is still wonderful. I'll find out mid-December. So we wait again!

Conference fever

Okay, so it's not the Nationals. But this weekend I'm going to the Ottawa chapter's Sweet and Spicy 2 conference. (I think I may be the only non-spicy writer there!)

I still haven't decided if I'll pitch my latest book or not. I have an appointment with one of the Harlequin Blaze editors (again - spicy), but I know she can recommend me to the Steeple Hill editor. I am not good at verbal things, however. Just having to record my answering machine announcement makes my tongue tangle (and that's reading off a paper!) And if anyone's within hearing distance, I can't do it. So the only way I'll get through a pitch is probably to read off cue cards. And if madam editor asks me a question, my mind will be a blank. *Sigh*

The other option is to just go in and chat for 10 minutes about the business in general. I can do that! Guess I'll play it by ear.

Other than the pitch, I'm really looking forward to getting away. We (my CP & I) are going by train, so we can relax and read along the way. Maybe see some nice fall colours too!

Will let you know how it turned out next week!

Happy writing.

Sue

Random Musings

Hey everyone,

Hope you're all enjoying September!

Here are some random thoughts for the day: (plus a picture of my beautiful daughter who won't friend me on Facebook)

1) How come washing machines only last 4-5 years now? I had one Inglis washing machine, a used one I bought for $150 when I first got married, that was fantastic. It finally died at age 32 or so. It was pretty old when I got it. Then our next brand new machine died at age 4. The transmission went (who knew a washing machine had a transmission!?) and the repairman told me it wasn't worth fixing. So I got ANOTHER new machine. Now just past it's fourth birthday, it won't spin dry properly. I had a repairman in today. He couldn't figure out what was wrong but it could be the motor! I said "But it's only 4 years old." He just gave me a look like "Lady, what do you expect for such an old machine." He said a new motor would cost around $300 and I should probably get a new machine. IT'S A CONSPIRACY, folks.

2) I opened a FACEBOOK account today. Not really sure why, but apparently it's the thing to do. My teenage daughter looked at me with horror when I told her I sent her a message and asked to be her friend. I guess it would look very un-cool to have such an OLD person on her friend list. SIGH. Oh well, at least I have other people who are willing to be-friend me! Now if I can just figure the whole thing out, I'll be fine!

3) Daughter did want me to read her new favourite book series by Stephanie Meyers. So I have started reading "Twilight" and surprisingly, I really like it! That's the sign of a talented author - one who can appeal to 15 year olds and 40 somethings as well.

4) If you leave peaches and pears on your patio table, you will have the scene of a MASSACRE the next day!! It looks like the raccoons were fighting over them. All the pears are gone, but the deck is littered with peach carcasses! Fun!

Well, enough random musings for today. They say gas prices may drop a bit tomorrow. I sure hope so. 15 cents a litre increase in one day is a bit ridiculous to say the least.

TTYS! Sue