I’m a huge fan of GLEE (Fox TV). Jane Lynch plays Sue Sylvester, a cheerleading coach with an ax to grind about–well, everything that isn’t her. She does an opinion spot for a local television station and here is her latest on “sneaky gays.” Hilarious.

Sneaky Gays

Ran across an interesting idea today while reading The Practice of Creative Writing by Heather Sellers:

“Get in the habit of writing in images instead of putting down all your thoughts hoping to translate them into images later” (122).

I’m entranced by the thought of using this advice as a journaling project.  What would my journal be like if I wrote down only images instead of thoughts?  It reminds me of art journaling–in recent months I have done more drawing and painting in journals.  But what if I kept my journaling words focused only on images?  What would result?

Anyone ever tried anything like this?

So, as I re-enter my “real world” after my vacation on beautiful St. John, USVI, I’m wondering something:  can I take Lonnie Squires out of her humble home in Middelburg, Michigan, USA, and place her in a completely foreign setting for a book?

I know many mystery series do this, notably Nevada Barr’s Anna Pigeon series, but her series was set up that way.   The Lonnie Squires series is established (two books so far with the third under way) as a contemporary “cozy.”  One of the hallmarks of this subgenre is the “fish out of water” character living in a small, closed environment, usually a rural or isolated town of quirky ways and folks.   So, if several books in, the author uprooted the character and took her somewhere else, would that be a fun diversion for series fans?  Or an affront?

I think I’m remembering right that Agatha Christie took Miss Marple out of St. Mary Mead on occasion, but I’m not sure . . .

Ideas, anyone?

There isn’t much as cool as starting the new year–and the new decade– with a full moon, a blue moon, a clear Caribbean sky, temps in the 80s, sea air, family members nearby, and a ginger bush cat with an enormous sense of humor. I’m feeling pretty lucky.

I like to do a review of the year on New Year’s Day. I’m a bit late (blame vacation), but regarding writing, here’s what I’ve learned.

1. I’m a lousy blogger. It seems like something I would be terrific at. I love my computer. I love to talk. I love to write. But the truth is, when I’m done with my “real” job (mostly computer and writing) and then done with my “writing” job (mostly computer and writing) the last thing I want to do is spend another minute on the computer writing! I love answering emails, though.  That I do most any time!  I guess conversations with people are more fun for me than casting thoughts into the blogosphere.

2. Undisciplined ideas can wreck a novel draft the way an untrained German Shepherd can wreck a house. I’ve hadboth, so I know!  I think that’s why I’ve struggled so on Lonnie Squires novel # 3. Too many ideas full of energy running around tearing up the carpet. Gotta get that under control and soon.

3. You never know how your work will affect even the most unlikely people! I’m more mindful now than ever of the importance of writing “true.”

There’s more, of course, but I’m still on vacation on that Caribbean Island and don’t want to think about it all too hard!

Happy New Year to all! I’ll blog when I can. You can always contact me via email.

A friend sent me this quote today:

The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.

-Oscar Wilde, writer (1854-1900)

It has set me thinking.

I can think of many instances from my own life when I’m sure this is true.  Times when I’ve observed someone condemn as immoral a book or film or even an idea, when I know that  person is really trying to avoid facing their own shame, their own knowledge that they have done or thought or felt something that they consider “wrong.”   You probably can think of such instances too.

As a writer of fiction with a lesbian protagonist, I’m especially sensitive to it.  Just featuring such a character in a positive light can be viewed as “advocating” the “homosexual lifestyle”–which, I suppose, it is–which I know plenty of people find immoral.  So I like jumping up on my imaginary soapbox and pointing an imaginary finger at such people and shouting, “Yeah, you, buddy.  Calling me immoral, are you?  Well, have a good look at what you’re really ashamed of inside yourself!”

But I think the rich value of this quote comes in this: I wonder how often I do this as well?   It strikes me as a little suspicious that I can’t think of a single time when I’ve called something immoral just to deflect my own sense of shame.  This probably means I’ve done it for sure!  I mean, if you’re deep in the throes of denying your own shame as you toss about the word “immoral,” then you surely won’t realize it, right?

Hmmm . . . do any of us escape this?

Today I’m going to give that some thought.  What book or film do I find immoral?  Would I actually use that label?  What is it I do when I confront ideas that show me my own shame?

What do you think of all of this?

Maira Kalman is a “graphic” essayist/memoirist–her form isn’t standard comics, but a mixture of painting and photos.  I adore her work, her use of color, her upbeat ways of making meaning.

And if you want to feel good about ways to move forward with our communities–even when it comes to sewage in New York City–your time reading her latest blog couldn’t be better spent.

Thanks to the return of SNL’s Weekend Update Thursday last week, September 17, I’m reminded how much I just love “Really?! With Seth and Amy.”  Something about their angry indignation just appeals to my spirit.  They didn’t do it last night (September 24), and most of the earlier installments are out there on the web.  But if I did this right, this link should take you to the latest episode.

Sept 2009 Really

In the last week I found myself walking through life and writing “Really?!” scripts to everything that bugged me.  That made me laugh, which probably kept my blood pressure down.

“By being the curator of our images, we care for our souls.”  Thomas Moore

What a lovely quote for anyone who works with images.  Writers.  Painters.  Photographers.  Musicians.  Others.  The work we do is care for our souls, isn’t it?

This is why it is so important for lesbians (as well as gay men, African-Americans, Asian Americans, people with autism and so on, including everyone who isn’t the mainstream “norm), to represent and be represented in the literature, art, film, theatre, dance, music and other arts.  It’s not just about politics and justice.  It’s about souls.

Saw a lovely movie:  Imagine Me and You (2005).  It’s a light, delightful romantic comedy about two women who–in the typical romantic comedy sort of way–overcome the obstacles that indicate they can never be together and, you guessed it, get to be together.  Romantic comedy = happy ending, so no spoiler there.  And in terms of romantic comedy it was pitch perfect and fun to watch.

In my experience it’s rare to see a pitch perfect romantic comedy about a gay couple and this movie helped me see why I feel that way.  In Imagine Me and You, the lesbians and their relationship woes were presented as completely normal.  “Normal” as in not the focus of the movie; true to genre the film centered on two people trying to be together, family and friend entanglements, crazily comedic scenes, other relationship opportunities.  Never in the movie did the sexuality of the protagonists take over the story.  None of the characters had significant issues with anyone’s sexuality.  The film just focused on character and plot and genre.

No surprise to learn that the film was originally written as a heterosexual romantic comedy.  Wonderful.  Sort of like action movies written for male heroes and then ultimately featuring female kick-butt heroines!  That sort of thing points out:  gender roles simply don’t need to matter as much as we (as a culture) seem to want them to.

Of course, my own books don’t do that.  They focus on a lesbian character and the issues that surround that identity as Lonnie navigates her world and its prejudices.  I write this way because these are issues are very real in my life and the lives of most lesbians I know and I want my books, cozy comedic mystery “fantasies” that they are, to reflect that real world.   But when I want to spend the evening with a bowl of popcorn and a good old-fashioned romantic fantasy movie, well-written and well-acted that shows my kind of relationship as just “normal,” well, I usually can’t find one.  This film is perhaps the best I’ve ever seen.

I’d love to hear others’ recommendations if you have ‘em!

While I was in northern Michigan last week I visted the most fantastic bookstore in Gaylord:  Saturn Booksellers.  The staff eagerly chatted books with anyone who wanted to and left others alone to browse in silence.  I watched as several customers who didn’t know each other picked up a lively conversation over a “staff recommendation” display.  I sat in a comfy chair and browsed.  I visited the coffee shop.  I laughed over hilarious t-shirts and bumper stickers.  I loved the stellar selection of books and marveled at the impressive programs of visiting authors.  In fact, the author signing that night was Wade Rouse,whose memoir At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream chronicles his move with his partner from the city to the “wilds” near Saugatuck, Michigan.

So hear I am in Gaylord, a small town up north known for hunting and fishing and snow machines and the featured visiting author is and openly gay memoirist.  And they were expecting a big crowd!  Wow!  I fell in love with this town, with this bookstore.

I couldn’t find WHACKED on the shelves, not even in the Michigan author section, which was sort of a bummer.  But when I asked, it turned out they did have it, only mis-shelved.  I signed it, promoted TOASTED and then had a good time spending some money.  It’s the kind of place you want to buy stuff just to support them.

And then I noticed what I think is the best marketing approach I’ve ever seen for a bookstore:  “Helping to keep Gaylord interesting . . . “.  Not only do they claim their own value to the local community, but they also remind their customers of their own personal value to the community.  It made me think, “Yeah!  I as a smart, independent reader, am a natural resource for my hometown!”

Cool huh?

We discerning readers, who read beyond the stuff selected by the big chains’ corporate buyers, bring extra value to our worlds by keeping things interesting with our alive minds, the different things we know and have encountered, the unusual connections we can weave between ideas.  We are percolators.  In addition, we keep independent businesses alive– both local independent bookstores and specialty presses like Bella Books.  These are business, voices, and perspectives that could disappear if we weren’t spending our time and money enjoying what they have to offer.  Their presence keeps diverse possibilities open for ourselves and for those who come after us.

It’s a smart marketing campaign because it enlists buyers to be part of an effort to do well for their hometown by purchasing books, but it’s also smart because it’s true.