My mother called me at work today. My mother, who lives in Michigan, called me while I was at work in California.
Why?
Barbara Bel Geddes died. Miss Ellie!
Bel Geddes had one hell of a career before Dallas. However, as many actors will attest, TV has a way of changing your whole career. Sure, she was the original Maggie in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof and starred in Vertigo - but every Friday night she came into people's living rooms as Miss Ellie. The very definition of steel magnolia, she loved her husbands, doted on her grandsons, and was the only character on the entire show that could tell J.R. he was being an ass, and get away with it.
My mother called Miss Ellie my"surrogate grandmother," and in many ways she was. Every Friday night I would watch Dallas with her mother. To this day I can't believe my mother let me watch it - but she did. It's a shame my own grandmother passed away before the first seasons of Dallas were released on DVD. I think she would have gotten a kick out of that.
My favorite part of the article I linked to on Bel Geddes passing is the mention that RKO dropped her contract because she wasn't sexy enough. Oh sure, Bel Geddes was more of a girl next door type - but damn, check out some of her old publicity photos here. She could do glamour with the best of 'em.
About The Bat Cave
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Tuesday, August 9, 2005
Carpe Demon
I was finally able to wrap up Carpe Demon: Adventures Of A Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner this morning.
The verdict? Pretty good.
Kate Connor looks like your typical suburban housewife. She left behind her job, got married and is now a stay-at-home mom to her two kids. However Kate is anything but typical. That job she left behind was with the Vatican. She used to hunt demons for a living.
Her first husband was also a Hunter and they retired to San Diablo, California thinking it would be demon-free (the mission in town has a ton of religious relics). They have a baby girl they name Allie. Then the husband dies. Years later, Kate marries husband #2, a lawyer with political ambitions, Stuart. Allie is 14 and 2-year-old Timmy has arrived on the scene.
Kate's life is hectic. Allie is getting ready to start high school, Timmy is running her ragged, and Stuart keeps announcing impromptu dinner party plans. So it's not wonder that Kate misses the demon standing in the pet food aisle of the San Diablo Wal-Mart.
When Kate calls her former teacher, a priest, for help, he informs her there are no available non-retired Hunters to send. Kate's just going to have to handle the problem on her own. Out of shape, having let her demon hunting skills slide, Kate then learns that not only is San Diablo not demon free - it's been invaded by the biggest, baddest demon of all.
Sure no problem.
I liked this story a lot. It's quite imaginative, and while I'm not a stay-at-home mom (or mother period for that matter) I found it very funny in parts. It's a bit slow in places, but the last half picks up considerably and Kenner writes interesting characters.
My only problem with the story is the lack of exploration into Kate's past. You don't even find out how or why her first husband died. Also, Kate was an orphan raised by the Vatican. Sounds terribly interesting right? Well too bad, because Kenner doesn't explore this at all.
The good news is that the ending is very open-ended. Sure the conflict is resolved, but one gets the impression that it might not stay resolved indefinitely. Kenner turning this book into a series seems a likely possibility - but we'll see if it happens.
All in all, quite fun.
The verdict? Pretty good.
Kate Connor looks like your typical suburban housewife. She left behind her job, got married and is now a stay-at-home mom to her two kids. However Kate is anything but typical. That job she left behind was with the Vatican. She used to hunt demons for a living.
Her first husband was also a Hunter and they retired to San Diablo, California thinking it would be demon-free (the mission in town has a ton of religious relics). They have a baby girl they name Allie. Then the husband dies. Years later, Kate marries husband #2, a lawyer with political ambitions, Stuart. Allie is 14 and 2-year-old Timmy has arrived on the scene.
Kate's life is hectic. Allie is getting ready to start high school, Timmy is running her ragged, and Stuart keeps announcing impromptu dinner party plans. So it's not wonder that Kate misses the demon standing in the pet food aisle of the San Diablo Wal-Mart.
When Kate calls her former teacher, a priest, for help, he informs her there are no available non-retired Hunters to send. Kate's just going to have to handle the problem on her own. Out of shape, having let her demon hunting skills slide, Kate then learns that not only is San Diablo not demon free - it's been invaded by the biggest, baddest demon of all.
Sure no problem.
I liked this story a lot. It's quite imaginative, and while I'm not a stay-at-home mom (or mother period for that matter) I found it very funny in parts. It's a bit slow in places, but the last half picks up considerably and Kenner writes interesting characters.
My only problem with the story is the lack of exploration into Kate's past. You don't even find out how or why her first husband died. Also, Kate was an orphan raised by the Vatican. Sounds terribly interesting right? Well too bad, because Kenner doesn't explore this at all.
The good news is that the ending is very open-ended. Sure the conflict is resolved, but one gets the impression that it might not stay resolved indefinitely. Kenner turning this book into a series seems a likely possibility - but we'll see if it happens.
All in all, quite fun.
Monday, August 8, 2005
Glamorous Life
I'm still working on Carpe Demon by Julie Kenner. I'll admit it, I got lazy towards the end of last week and didn't get much reading done. That, and I'm now officially sucked into Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince on audio book. So my lunch break was spent listening to that instead of reading. Bad Wendy, bad.
The good news is, I should be able finish Carpe Demon sometime tomorrow - so a full report will be forthcoming.
And for the record - I'm on CD #8 out of #17 with Harry.
I came into work this morning to find garbage spilling out around my dumpster. What does this mean exactly? It means Wendy has to go pick it up. Why? Well besides my grossly over-inflated salary (in the library world we call that sarcasm) but also because the garbage men will not haul anything away that isn't firmly in the dumpster.
I put this off. I even resorted to shifting part of my reference collection - which is essentially hauling books from one shelf to the next. Never glamorous work, and I got sweaty (and not in a fun way either). Still it's infinitely better than garbage detail.
However, it had to be done. And being the totally kick-ass superhero babe that I am, I knew it was up to me to make my parking lot clean and garbage free! So I dug out a pair of gloves and headed for the back door.
What greeted me? Lo and behold - no more garbage! Someone beat me too it and picked it up for me! I wish I knew who - although I suspect it was the landscape guys who were here mowing the lawn.
Bless their hearts.
The good news is, I should be able finish Carpe Demon sometime tomorrow - so a full report will be forthcoming.
And for the record - I'm on CD #8 out of #17 with Harry.
I came into work this morning to find garbage spilling out around my dumpster. What does this mean exactly? It means Wendy has to go pick it up. Why? Well besides my grossly over-inflated salary (in the library world we call that sarcasm) but also because the garbage men will not haul anything away that isn't firmly in the dumpster.
I put this off. I even resorted to shifting part of my reference collection - which is essentially hauling books from one shelf to the next. Never glamorous work, and I got sweaty (and not in a fun way either). Still it's infinitely better than garbage detail.
However, it had to be done. And being the totally kick-ass superhero babe that I am, I knew it was up to me to make my parking lot clean and garbage free! So I dug out a pair of gloves and headed for the back door.
What greeted me? Lo and behold - no more garbage! Someone beat me too it and picked it up for me! I wish I knew who - although I suspect it was the landscape guys who were here mowing the lawn.
Bless their hearts.
Saturday, August 6, 2005
Rinse And Repeat
Regular visitors to my blog will know that Wendy whines a lot about the current state of American-set (including western) historical romances.
While the book is still in my TBR, I was quite hopeful when I learned that Susan Kay Law won a RITA this year for A Wanted Man. Surely publishers (specifically Avon) would take the hint, right?
Wrong.
Susie is guest blogging over at Squawk Radio - and while she's awfully nice about it - it appears she is with Avon no more.
In fact, she's currently with no one.
But good for her for not caving to Avon's "Why not write English-set historicals" nonsense. I'm still unhappy about Lorraine Heath. OK, I'm bitter - but I'm trying to work through it.
So who does this leave at Avon? The only author who has managed to get a western published in recent memory (in this case, May)? Beverly Jenkins. And even she has begun to branch out to romantic suspense. How long will it be before there is no one with a contract at Avon writing American-set historicals?
Heck, that time may have already come....
While the book is still in my TBR, I was quite hopeful when I learned that Susan Kay Law won a RITA this year for A Wanted Man. Surely publishers (specifically Avon) would take the hint, right?
Wrong.
Susie is guest blogging over at Squawk Radio - and while she's awfully nice about it - it appears she is with Avon no more.
In fact, she's currently with no one.
But good for her for not caving to Avon's "Why not write English-set historicals" nonsense. I'm still unhappy about Lorraine Heath. OK, I'm bitter - but I'm trying to work through it.
So who does this leave at Avon? The only author who has managed to get a western published in recent memory (in this case, May)? Beverly Jenkins. And even she has begun to branch out to romantic suspense. How long will it be before there is no one with a contract at Avon writing American-set historicals?
Heck, that time may have already come....
Wednesday, August 3, 2005
New Linkage And Good Book Alert
Just found out that Cheryl St. John has joined the Wide World Of Blogging. Check out her new home.
Also, I just finished my first RWA conference book. The author wasn't there to sign it, but they were giving out free copies and I'm glad I picked it up. It was very good!
Deadly Double by Adrianne Byrd is a romantic suspense featuring everyone's favorite cliche - The Evil Twin. But ya know, it was entertaining as all get out.
Josephine Ferrell finds herself in a mental hospital on more drugs than Keith Richards. Everyone is calling her "Michelle" and denying it only lands her on the wrong side of a hypodermic needle. There is someone who believes her though, even if she's too dopey to talk to him.
Dr. William Hayes is the guy she loved and lost one memorable summer in Paris. When Will sees "Michelle" he knows it's his long, lost love Josie. Unfortunately, the doctor in charge of "Michelle" swears it's "Michelle." Will must be mistaken.
So what does our boy do? He kidnaps a patient of course! Can they sort out this mess, and clear Josie's name before the real "Michelle" puts a bullet in them? Dead bodies are piling up.
I really liked the way Byrd wrote this story, because it took some guts. She drops the reader right in the middle of the action (Will spiriting Josie away from the hospital), and reveals her characters and story through real time action and flashbacks. This is a tricky technique to pull off, as it is easy to "lose" the reader.
I also loved all of the characters. Sure Josie, Will and the villain are great - but I was most struck by police detective Ming Delaney. Byrd makes her "human" by revealing glimpses into her marriage and how her work schedule and professional drive effect it.
The only problem this story has is the sex. I haven't read purple prose this bad in a while. A shame, since the love scenes are really well done. However every time I ran up against phrases like "moist cave" and "vortex of euphoria," it yanked me right out of the story.
Still, a very good read. It would make a great vacation book or beach read as it really zips along at a good clip. I easily would have polished it off in one sitting if I didn't have to work for a living. Drat that anyway.
Also, I just finished my first RWA conference book. The author wasn't there to sign it, but they were giving out free copies and I'm glad I picked it up. It was very good!
Deadly Double by Adrianne Byrd is a romantic suspense featuring everyone's favorite cliche - The Evil Twin. But ya know, it was entertaining as all get out.
Josephine Ferrell finds herself in a mental hospital on more drugs than Keith Richards. Everyone is calling her "Michelle" and denying it only lands her on the wrong side of a hypodermic needle. There is someone who believes her though, even if she's too dopey to talk to him.
Dr. William Hayes is the guy she loved and lost one memorable summer in Paris. When Will sees "Michelle" he knows it's his long, lost love Josie. Unfortunately, the doctor in charge of "Michelle" swears it's "Michelle." Will must be mistaken.
So what does our boy do? He kidnaps a patient of course! Can they sort out this mess, and clear Josie's name before the real "Michelle" puts a bullet in them? Dead bodies are piling up.
I really liked the way Byrd wrote this story, because it took some guts. She drops the reader right in the middle of the action (Will spiriting Josie away from the hospital), and reveals her characters and story through real time action and flashbacks. This is a tricky technique to pull off, as it is easy to "lose" the reader.
I also loved all of the characters. Sure Josie, Will and the villain are great - but I was most struck by police detective Ming Delaney. Byrd makes her "human" by revealing glimpses into her marriage and how her work schedule and professional drive effect it.
The only problem this story has is the sex. I haven't read purple prose this bad in a while. A shame, since the love scenes are really well done. However every time I ran up against phrases like "moist cave" and "vortex of euphoria," it yanked me right out of the story.
Still, a very good read. It would make a great vacation book or beach read as it really zips along at a good clip. I easily would have polished it off in one sitting if I didn't have to work for a living. Drat that anyway.
Tuesday, August 2, 2005
WTF?!
I left Reno on Friday - and it turns out I missed a train wreck moment on Saturday.
Not that it would have mattered, since I technically wasn't registered for the conference. That meant - Wendy goes to no luncheons and no award ceremonies. Dang, maybe I should have shelled out the extra cash?
Instead of rehashing it here, others have already covered the Rita/Golden Heart awards ceremony. Opinions do differ, but the majority of comment-leavers are aghast. Check out:
La Nora
Monica Jackson
The Smart Bitches
Sometimes I think the recent blog explosion provides me with a little too much information. It wasn't until very recently that I "gave up" on authors strictly for their attitudes and online presence. However the recent (and ever ongoing) brouhaha over erotica/romantica vs. romance has led me to dismiss several books and authors from my TBR.
Is this fair? Probably not. But let me clarify -
Authors are people. They are "allowed" to have strong opinions. There are many author's blogs I read that feature strong opinions (Alison Kent and Monica Jackson immediately leap to mind) - and while I don't always agree with them, I haven't banished them to my "Under No Circumstances" List. Why? Because they aren't stupid. Put more bluntly, I don't think they're talking out of their asses.
If you're going to go off half-cocked on a subject, at least be intelligent about it. That's just me though.
It's almost sad really. Author "bad behavior" never used to effect me, maybe because I had had nothing but good experiences. There are countless (I'm talking countless) authors I buy because they are so dang nice. Authors that landed on my "I Give Up" List after a couple of books failed me, end up back on the "Buy" List because I make the mistake of meeting them in person.
Heck, meeting a nice author in person even has me questioning my sanity. I heard Linda Howard speak at RWA this year, and I began questioning why I don't read her. Well, I don't read her because she generally "doesn't work" for me - but now I'm wondering if I shouldn't give her another chance.
Now before anyone slams me here - I will say that my "Never Buy Again" List does not effect my purchases for my library. Heck, if that were the case I wouldn't be buying Danielle Steel. How long do you think my patrons would put up with that? The answer? Not very long.
These are my personal opinions. The library should be an open market of sorts. And while there are certain authors I will never view through naive rose-colored glasses again - that doesn't mean I should go around raining on the parade of my library patrons.
But I probably should have just kept my mouth shut....
Not that it would have mattered, since I technically wasn't registered for the conference. That meant - Wendy goes to no luncheons and no award ceremonies. Dang, maybe I should have shelled out the extra cash?
Instead of rehashing it here, others have already covered the Rita/Golden Heart awards ceremony. Opinions do differ, but the majority of comment-leavers are aghast. Check out:
La Nora
Monica Jackson
The Smart Bitches
Sometimes I think the recent blog explosion provides me with a little too much information. It wasn't until very recently that I "gave up" on authors strictly for their attitudes and online presence. However the recent (and ever ongoing) brouhaha over erotica/romantica vs. romance has led me to dismiss several books and authors from my TBR.
Is this fair? Probably not. But let me clarify -
Authors are people. They are "allowed" to have strong opinions. There are many author's blogs I read that feature strong opinions (Alison Kent and Monica Jackson immediately leap to mind) - and while I don't always agree with them, I haven't banished them to my "Under No Circumstances" List. Why? Because they aren't stupid. Put more bluntly, I don't think they're talking out of their asses.
If you're going to go off half-cocked on a subject, at least be intelligent about it. That's just me though.
It's almost sad really. Author "bad behavior" never used to effect me, maybe because I had had nothing but good experiences. There are countless (I'm talking countless) authors I buy because they are so dang nice. Authors that landed on my "I Give Up" List after a couple of books failed me, end up back on the "Buy" List because I make the mistake of meeting them in person.
Heck, meeting a nice author in person even has me questioning my sanity. I heard Linda Howard speak at RWA this year, and I began questioning why I don't read her. Well, I don't read her because she generally "doesn't work" for me - but now I'm wondering if I shouldn't give her another chance.
Now before anyone slams me here - I will say that my "Never Buy Again" List does not effect my purchases for my library. Heck, if that were the case I wouldn't be buying Danielle Steel. How long do you think my patrons would put up with that? The answer? Not very long.
These are my personal opinions. The library should be an open market of sorts. And while there are certain authors I will never view through naive rose-colored glasses again - that doesn't mean I should go around raining on the parade of my library patrons.
But I probably should have just kept my mouth shut....
Monday, August 1, 2005
Viagra Boy And Back To Work
So Rafael Palmeiro has been suspended for using steroids.
I'm reminded of a famous line from the movie Gone With The Wind when Rhett Butler says to Scarlett, "You're like the thief who isn't the least bit sorry he stole, but he's terribly, terribly sorry he's going to jail."
I'm also reminded of my reaction to the news that Jason Giambi was a juicin' fool. Well duh. No wonder Palmeiro was so willing to endorse Viagra in a national ad campaign. Those 'roids effected more than his power hitting numbers me thinks.
There I go being snide again.
In library news, nothing blew up while I was in Reno last week. I always worry about that. Turns out nothing exciting happened outside of what has become "normal."
In other news, Alyssa posted my picture over on her blog. And here I was hoping to fool people into thinking I actually looked like Barbara Gordon. Damn. But do go read Alyssa's blog because she's been doing a very nice recap of her RWA conference experience.
I'm reminded of a famous line from the movie Gone With The Wind when Rhett Butler says to Scarlett, "You're like the thief who isn't the least bit sorry he stole, but he's terribly, terribly sorry he's going to jail."
I'm also reminded of my reaction to the news that Jason Giambi was a juicin' fool. Well duh. No wonder Palmeiro was so willing to endorse Viagra in a national ad campaign. Those 'roids effected more than his power hitting numbers me thinks.
There I go being snide again.
In library news, nothing blew up while I was in Reno last week. I always worry about that. Turns out nothing exciting happened outside of what has become "normal."
- Patrons bitching about fines
- Patrons with multiple cards
- Our regular crack pot patrons who don't realize they are completely insane just being themselves.
In other news, Alyssa posted my picture over on her blog. And here I was hoping to fool people into thinking I actually looked like Barbara Gordon. Damn. But do go read Alyssa's blog because she's been doing a very nice recap of her RWA conference experience.
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