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The Reaper's Daughter Book Trailer

10/27/2014

Another amazing book trailer by my talented sis. I'm happy to share the trailer for The Reaper's Daughter, slated for release on February 15, 2015.

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Catch a Q&A with Larry Wilson and find out more about his upcoming retelling, CINDY

10/21/2014

Larry Wilson, best known for his work co-writing and co-producing Beetlejuice and The Addams Family, has launched a Kickstarter campaign for a fabulous new web series that's near and dear to my heart. Why? Because it's fairytales, but with a twist. Just like I like them. In this new rendition of Cinderella set in contemporary times, you've got a mix of reality TV, a fairy godmother with a penchant for "the dust" and a handsome prince that's a bit past his ball-dancing prime. Check out this Q&A with Wilson to learn more about CINDY and the campaign, which has only eight days left. Scroll to the bottom for a sneak peek of CINDY. Or else check out the series' YouTube channel here.

Q: How did you get the idea to do a fairytale retelling in such a way? Why Cinderella, specifically?

LW: The idea came to me in one of those flash creative epiphanies; as simple as "Cinderella would make a good reality show." As CINDY developed it actually became about "What would happen if Cinderella was asked to do a reality show?" But the original idea was just all of a sudden there. It happens doesn't it? The idea for Beetlejuice came to myself and my writing partner, Michael McDowell, in three short phone calls over three days.

Q: Is this your favorite fairytale? Why or why not?

LW: Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are my favorites and I've now written scripts (both dark comedies) based on both of them. I have two daughters (Autry, of course, is the star of CINDY). I saw that both Cinderella and Snow White could be about girls getting empowered, rather than girls getting rescued.

Q: How long have you been working on filming? How many episodes are ready for broadcast?

LW: We shot 10 episodes of CINDY over 6 days. They run from about 5 to 10 minutes -- so we basically shot a feature length film! Six episodes are edited, all need music and post production -- hence the Kickstarter campaign. But I can say honestly, I think we've got something really good. We want to be broadcasting in time for Christmas!

Q: How has your experience as a producer with Beetlejuice, Adams Family, etc., colored subsequent work, including this one?

LW: I've always worked as a writer/producer and I've been privileged to work with some world-class producers (Scott Rudin, David Geffen among them). The lesson is always the same: it all starts with a good script.

Q: Why do dark comedies appeal to you?

LW: I grew up in some fairly dark circumstances and laughter became a survival mechanism. That's translated into writing dark comedy.

Q: How much money are you hoping to raise with the kickstarter? What will the money allow you to do with the show?

LW: We need to raise just over $18,000 and as I write this we've broken the $11,000 mark. Most of the money will go into post-production for CINDY with a bit left over for distribution and publicity.

Q: When will the first episode air?

LW: Like I said, "Merry Christmas from Cindy," is our goal!

Q: Tell me a bit about the 40-year-old prince, how did that idea come around?

LW: The forty-year-old Prince? As you can see from the CINDY trailer one of our guiding principals was to take all of the conventions of the Disney-ised Cinderella and subvert them in some way. All of the usual fairy tale answers for Cindy are the wrong answers. She's a girl who ultimately is going to have find her own way.

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Slices of Mommy's Life: Pirate Hearts

10/14/2014

When I first started this blog, all I knew was that I needed a platform to showcase my scribblings and to talk about my life as a writer. I started off with essays and short stories I'd written, small slices of my life re-purposed as fiction, although not far-removed from non-fiction. But as an author, my work is in fantasy. So I balanced the two, giving myself an outlet for my creative non-fiction, while also being able to promote and wax author-like on my newest projects and releases. But I've never been a fully focused blog, other than it being about my writing or books. The thing is, though, I feel to really engage with people you have to be willing to put up more, be vulnerable—share. And that's hard for me.

The thing is, promotional items are often the easiest and fastest way to put up content. Meanwhile, I don't want to just throw up any one thing and stamp it on my blog. I don't know if anyone reading is all that interested in my day-to-day life. Some authors write about their lives and I enjoy those, but I somehow don't feel comfortable doing it myself. Probably because I am a fairly private person. I look up to the writers who reveal the nitty-gritty of their lives and are able to help people by sharing painful past experiences. I just can't do that. Again, I'm too private. I'm the person who gets irritated when someone tags me in a Facebook post about future night plans. I don't want everyone to know what I'm doing. So as much as I'd like to be the sharing type, I just somehow can't be. And I just can't write about writing all the time because as much as I love to write and it's my passion outside my family, I have other thoughts.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I've been looking for a way to share something of who I am with my readers and anyone who happens to drop by, but I haven't really known how to except by talking about fairly safe topics. I have in the past shared more moments from my life through my creative non-fiction, but inspiration for those flashes don't hit me as often as I'd like, except for my many amazing moments being a mother. I don't define myself by motherhood, but I am a mom. My son is the brightest color in my world. So while I don't want to become a literary/author blog suddenly turned mommy blog, I do feel I need to share that part of my life in some way since I'm on the threshold of becoming a stay-at-home mom. So I've decided to share Slices of My Mommy Life, a feature that will be my creative flare on moments shared with my son and my family. The first one is short and sweet, but I hope you'll feel I've aptly shares something of my human self.

Slices of Mommy's Life
Pirate Hearts

He pointed to the old Valentine's Day card from earlier this year that he’d kept in his toy box like a cherished keepsake. I'd chosen the card specifically because his curious little fingers loved lift-the-flap books and the hidden secrets buried beneath. He lifted one paper square, tapping his fingers on the pirates holding pink and red glittery hearts. “Hearts?” he said, his soft, sweet little voice leaving off the “t" as he often did.
    "Hearts," I confirmed, glancing over at him sitting beside me on the couch. I stopped working for a moment, putting my laptop aside, and touched the card too, tracing the outline of a small heart with my fingertip. “You’re Mommy’s heart,” I said without much thought, but as the words left my mouth I knew them to be some of the truest words I’d ever spoken.
    “Mommy’s heart?” he asked, looking up at me and nestling closer, my lips drawn to his soft, plush little cheek by the serious set to his brow and the inquisitiveness sparkling in his large blue eyes.
    “Mommy’s heart,” I whispered and squeezed him that much closer, knowing that while the sentiment was probably lost on him verbally, he'd understood it all the same.

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The Reaper's Daughter Book Trailer

Catch a Q&A with Larry Wilson and find out more about his upcoming retelling, CINDY

Slices of Mommy's Life: Pirate Hearts

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