BOM: The Novelist, results and reader reaction

Most reviews of THE NOVELIST have been encouraging. But occasionally I get one like this one, which I found on Amazon:

"Everyone says this book is so good but I struggled and struggled and finally gave up. Maybe I missed a great ending but I'll never know. I though the whole story was a bit weird!"

The reviewers I respect the most, however, (PW and Library Journal), had this to say:

From Publishers Weekly:

In a novel her publisher is touting as "a glimpse into her own life," Hunt,
a grandmother and prolific writer (more than 70 books), pens a novel about a
prolific writer and grandmother. Jordan Casey is the pen name for Jordan Casey
Kerrigan, grandmother and author of a bestselling adventure series. She agrees
to teach a college night class on writing fiction and is challenged by an
irksome student to ditch her formulaic approach and try writing something from
the heart. Stung by the criticism, Kerrigan turns down a lucrative contract for
another adventure novel and writes an allegory of paradise, sin, the fall and
redemption as played out in an otherworldly casino. As she writes, her desire to
change her 21-year-old son Zachary's chaotic life as a suicidal addict becomes
an impetus for a story she wants to communicate about life, loss and second
chances (told alongside mother and son's actual plight). God, she believes, is
the ultimate writer, complete with an outline for one's life story—yet even the
characters in the hands of a novelist have choices. Jordan's reality and fiction
alternate and finally converge as Hunt spins her tale, with flashbacks to
Zachary's innocent childhood that are guaranteed to wring tears from even the
hardest-hearted reader. Although Hunt is known for her competency, this novel
also shows poignancy and imagination. (Jan.) Copyright © Reed Business
Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

I have also received letters from readers like this one:

And kudos to you for using bipolar disorder as a trait for one of your characters. As one who has suffered with the disorder my entire life (40+), yours is the first novel (The Novelist) that I have ever read that uses bipolar as a trait rather than the central theme of the story. Zack could have easily suffered from any other type of disorder or addiction, yet you portrayed him as bipolar. Thus, you have helped to "break the silence" regarding an illness that is so often misunderstood. Many thanks and blessings.

And this one:

Yesterday my husband was so depressed...we've been going through a very tough time the last few months and yesterday was one of the harder days we've tackled. I quoted to him "I know the plans I have for you....good and not evil...future and a hope" and "In our weakness, He is strong" and how he needs to give himself credit for being stronger than he thinks he is...and how God knows his strength and won't give him more than he can bear but I believe it's more than he thinks....etc etc. Anyway, last night as I was reading the last few chapters of the Novelist, you QUOTE back to me...almost exactly everything I told Joe...even the same scriptures! I, of course, read it aloud to Joe. It's neat how God goes out of His way to confirm things to us...and neat how God uses your writing again and again.

So even though THE NOVELIST is not everyone's cup of tea, I am glad the Lord led me to write it as he did. Like so many things in life, it wasn't easy . . . but it was worth it.

Tomorow: your questions and answers. You can post them below. ~~Angie

For My Friends who were with me in Denver . . .

BOM: The Novelist, the editing

As I recall, I handed in the manuscript for The Novelist on October 1st. Then I settled back for a few months to do odds and ends types of things . . . and then our family began to go through some very rough stuff. I'd say it was some of the roughest stuff a family can go through, but I've discovered there's always someone who's had it rougher.

In any case, we went through Christmas, and in January, I heard from my editor--two of them, in fact. They told me that the manuscript I'd handed in was unpublishable.

I had never heard that in all my years of novel writing. Not once. My editors, in agreement, said I could either shelve it and start from scratch, or do a major reworking. The problems? The first was that Jordan Casey, the male novelist, was too perfect. He had no problems, no conflict, and, as TBS regularly informs us, Drama is Conflict.

"But he's God," I moaned to myself. Apparently God does not a good protagonist make.

So, after licking my wounds for a couple of days, I threw out the male Jordan Casey and created a woman much like myself--except that Jordan Casey Kerrigan is older, wiser, much wealthier, and much more successful. (She's also a better writer. And probably better looking.)

And because I only had one story to tell--the story of what my family had just endured--I slit a vein and let it all pour out. Now--I'll have you know that the boy in the story, Zack, is not my son and his problems are not ours. But the things that Jordan feels--I've felt all of those feelings. (And, for the record, I am NOT a grandmother. Yet.) I happen to have a close friend who's dealt with a bi-polar son, so I used her experiences to flesh out Zack's story.

And so I began rewriting. I had to trim the allegory story, change Adam (too obvious) to William, and create an entirely new "outer story" for Jordan and her family. I set her in Reno, NV, so I had to research Reno and its environs. The emotional research, I had a handle on.

And so I rewrote it. And my patient editors guided me through the process, and when it was all finished, I rose up and called them blessed. THE NOVELIST is different from anything I've ever done, but it's honest, it's bold, I think, and the emotions in it are gut-wrenchingly true.

And my excellent editors were absolutely right.

Tomorrow: the results and reader reaction

~~Angie

BOM: The Novelist, the Writing

I set out to write two story lines: the allegory story of Adam in his fictional, surreal world, plus the story of the very wealthy, very successful novelist, Jordan Casey. Since Jordan was supposed to represent God, I gave him a nice house, a nice life, a comfortable existence. After all, he was representing God, so he needed to be at peace.

Adam, on the other hand, had to be shaped, created, reasoned through. I had to give him a language, an existence, a vocabulary. His world was not "earth," so, because it was surreal, I had to come up with rules for his world (which is why I don't write science fiction.)

I wrote everything, polished, polished again, and submitted the manuscript before the deadline date. Everything had gone smoothly.

Like the calm before a storm.

Tomorrow: the editing

~~Angie

Breaking News

Quick update:

This morning I was privileged to share a half hour on Family Net Radio with my pal Randy Singer. (If you haven’t read Randy’s novels, you’re missing a real treat!) You can hear us chat about the importance of Christian fiction after 12:00 p.m. today at this link: http://www.familynetradio.com/mornings/guest.asp?id=487 We chatted about The Nativity Story, Uncharted, The Cross-Examination of Oliver Finney (Randy's book) and the importance of Christian fiction.

Randy will be having a regular time slot on Thursday mornings, 8:30 a.m. EST to talk about Christian fiction, so tune in whenever you can!

~~Angie, who loves radio because she can do an interview in her jammies

BOM: The Novelist: the research

Because THE NOVELIST would be dealing with theological issues, I spent a lot of time studying the problem of evil. Not everyone will agree with my conclusions--in fact, if you look in my "reader mailbag" on my web page, you'll see that I was unconsciously addresssing this even in THE PEARL, and at least one reader took exception to my conclusion.

I also had to research casinos and slot machines, and that research was fascinating. Did you know that games are designed to take your money? The designers of slot machines are always coming up with new ways to make you think you've *almost* won, so you'll insert another coin or another token and try again. There's a psychology to the placement of games on the game room floor, too.

Anyway, I was fascinated by this study and read several books on slots. Theology and slots--what a combination! But those were my two chief areas of research.

Tomorrow: the writing

~~Angie

BOM: The Novelist: How the Idea Germinated

The germination of THE NOVELIST was more involved than most. It began with my theology study. I was studying the concept of God's sovereignty--something I'd always accepted (to a point) but never fully understood. I was reading Wayne Grudem's book on theology and he posed the question: "In the play MacBeth, who killed King Duncan?"

Well . . . if memory serves, it was Lady MacBeth and MacBeth, right? True, but could we not also say that Shakespeare killed MacBeth? After all, he wrote the play in which the characters committed their murderous acts.

The idea of God as playwright intrigued me. Grudem goes on to explain: "It would not be correct to say that because Macbeth killed Duncan, William Shakespeare did not kill him. Nor would it be correct to say that because William Shakespeare killed King Duncan, Macbeth did not kill him. Both are true. . . . In similar fashion, we can understand that God fully causes things in one way (as Creator) and we fully cause things in another way (as creatures.)

I found in this the answer to several Scriptures that seem to indicate that God can cause evil events. Here's Grudem again: "But we must remember that in all these passages it is very clear that Scripture nowhere shows God as directly doing anything evil, but rather as bringing about evil deeds through the willing actions of moral creatures. Moreover, Scripture never blames God for evil or shows God as taking pleasure in evil." (Systematic theology, pps. 322-323).

So . . . as I was mulling on this VERY deep topic of evil and God's relationship to it, I thought it might be fun to try an allegory that would attempt to explain why God put a forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden in the first place. So I wrote a story about a successful male novelist (who represented God), and concentrated most of my efforts on the allegory: a character named Adam who lived in a town called Paradise and worked at a game room. But there was one room declared off limits to everyone, and Adam eventually enters the room . . .

And that's how the story started. From a theology study.

Tomorrow: the research

~~Angie

Book of the Month: The Novelist

By request, this month's BOM is THE NOVELIST, which released in January of this year.

Synopsis: From the author who taught you to expect the unexpected...an intriguing tale about families, fiction, and what to do when life veers wildly off script.

It begins...when a smug college student challenges a best-selling novelist to write something "more personal." It begins...when a mother finds her troubled son slumped unconscious outside her house. It begins...when fiction and reality blur, and the novelist finds herself caught somewhere in the middle of it all. Where does it end? That all depends on who is telling the story...

I've discovered that people either love THE NOVELIST or hate it. Depends upon whether or not they "get" allegory. But I'll explain the hows and whys and results in the next few days.

Thanks for coming along on another BOM journey!

~~Angie

More Movie News

Though I'm excited about some of my stories being optioned for film, I've learned that LOTS of films are optioned and don't ever get made into movies. So I've learned not to hold my breath.

One of my pals, however, is not only seeing his novel, THE WAGER , made into a movie, but he's playing a part! Bill Myers has grown a beard to play the role of a homeless man who holds up signs in various scenes in the film. (He looks grumpy in the photo, but grumpy is one thing Bill's not.)

THE WAGER, which is currently in production, stars Randy Travis, Jude Ciccolella, Bronson Pinchot, Nancy Valen, and Candace Cameron. (For you 24 fans, Jude Ciccolella played the part of Mike Novick, the president's aide.)

Story synopsis: Michael T. Steel (played by Randy Travis) becomes the participant in a wager between heaven and hell. As a man on top of the world, he has ten days to live every truth in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. Destined to become a classic, The Wager is a Bible study tool in parable form that probes the depths of the Sermon on the Mount and demonstrates how it can be lived.

Before becoming a novelist, Bill majored in filmmaking and has received several awards for his films. Among kids, he's probably best known for his Wally McDoogle series, but he writes adult novels with heart and a passion for ministry. If you've never read his stuff, you're missing out. My faves? Eli, When the Last Leaf Falls, and The Face of God.

When the movie is released, I'll be sure to let you know how you can see it.

~~Angie

Paper Clips--a MUST SEE movie!

Sunday afternoon I watched PAPER CLIPS, a movie I'd received from Netflix. (Terri G., did you tell me about this one?) I don't remember exactly how it got in my queue, but there it was, so I watched it.

And I will never forget it. Run to your computer or to your movie rental place and get this one. Watch it with your family. Tell your friends.

Paper Clips is a documentary; the true story of students from the tiny town of Whitwell, TN, who wanted to learn about the Holocaust. So they decided to collect six million paper clips to illustrate the death of six million Jews at Hitler's hand.

The result changed the school, the town, and a good many people beyond Tennessee. I don't think you can watch this movie without weeping, but it's extremely motivational and positive.

Paper Clips was named one of the top films of 2004 by the National Board of Review of Motion pictures.

I was also haunted by a song that plays in the movie. After waiting through all the end credits, I discovered that it was called "Jubilee" and was sung by Alison Krauss. It is ONLY available through itunes, so I had to download a copy. Amazing!

If you haven't watched this, it may be the most important hour and 22 minutes you spend this week.

~~Angie

A Moral Reasoning P.S.

About Rahab--

Let's think about Corrie ten Boom, who gave sanctuary to Jews in her home during World War II. She was often asked by the authorities if she had Jews, and she said no. Ultimately, she was turned in and went to the concentration camps, where God worked many miracles for her (if you haven't read THE HIDING PLACE, you really must.)

Rahab, who lied about hiding the Israelite spies, is included in God's "hall of faith" in Hebrews 11. So, indirectly at least, God blessed her for her act.

When divine commands conflict, there are three ways we can try to resolve the conflict. First, deny the conflict. There are some folks (the "truthful Baptists," if you've read THE TRUTH TELLER), who would refuse to lie, period. They would appeal to God to work a miracle or accept his sovereign will, should the worst happen. The example of Rahab and the Egyptian midwives, however, would seem to suggest that God can bless folks who choose another approach.

Second, you can admit that conflicts do exist because we live in a fallen world. Sometimes we have to choose between the lesser of two evils. Corrie Ten Boom should lie to the Nazis because it is a lesser evil than surrendering innocent people to be killed. After lying, Corrie should have asked God's forgiveness for lying.

Third choice? Turn the argument on its head and recognize that a person has the obligation to do the greater good. Recognize that there is a hierarchy within God's laws. For example, God's command to preach the gospel is over his command to be in submission to the state. (Otherwise, we'd never preach in communist countries.) Jesus referred to the "weightier matters of the law (Matt. 23:23-24) and said that justice, mercy, and compassion are more important than the law of tithing, for instance.

(The above points and approach comes from MORAL CHOICES by Scott B. Rae, an excellent book. )

As for me, if I found myself in such a situation, I think I would pray and do as the Spirit led.

I've often wondered what I would have said were I at Columbine High School on that horriffic day. If asked if I believed in God, would I have been justified in lying and saying "No?" A lie might have saved my life . . . and did I owe truth to such an enemy? But those teenagers didn't have time to think, and those who answered "yes" and were killed--think about how God has used their testimony.

So . . . I think all three options above are viable, depending upon how the Spirit leads you at the moment of crisis. Sometimes God wants us to uplift truth and trust Him for the result. Sometimes he may want us to choose between the evils of our fallen world. And sometimes he may want us to choose the greater good. Perhaps we cannot know until we arrive at that moment of choice.

I am confident of this--our sovereign God will use whatever we do to work his will. Scripture is filled with people who chose A, B, and C, and God worked through all of them: Stephen, who died because of his fervent testimony, Rahab, the Egyptian midwives, even Peter, who denied Christ but then learned so much through his personal humiliation.

~~Angie

Moral Reasoning

I may have mentioned that I’m working on my doctorate. It’s an inter-disciplinary study, which basically means that I was able to choose the courses that I think I’ll best be able to use in my work.

Last week I handed in my coursework for “The Problem of Evil,” and for the next couple of months I’ll be studying bioethics—I thought the topic would give me good fodder for my novels.

Yesterday I read a chapter in my textbook on ethical systems and ways of moral reasoning. It applied names to all the ways people reason, and yesterday afternoon, since I was taking some time off, I watched a movie I’d recorded off the TV: “A Bronx Tale.”

Then I found myself floored as ways of ethical reasoning announced themselves with flashing lights. No, not really, but once I learned the buzzwords, I was able to see how characters in the movie justified their actions using weak ethical methods.

For instance: in one scene, a nine-year-old boy witnesses a murder. When the cops come knocking, the boy’s father tells them the boy “didn’t see nothing.” The boy, however, tells them he saw everything, so the cops take him downstairs for an impromptu lineup.

The father lied out of fear. The boy, however, lies because he thinks the gunman is the coolest guy in the world, and he wants to protect him. The end result is the same—the killer gets off—and the boy asks his dad, “Did I do the right thing?” The dad says, “Yeah, you did a good thing for a bad man. But you had to do what was best for us, so yeah, you did the right thing. But I don’t want you hanging around that man ever again.”

Immediately, I recognized the moral reasoning involved: UTILITARIANISM, that which says morality is determined by the end result. If telling a lie and covering for a killer keeps the family out of trouble with the mob, then it was the right thing to do. Trouble is, nobody thought about the dead guy in the street . . . . who was looking out for his interests?

In a later scene, the kid is grown up, a teenager, and he’s asking the mob guy (who’s become a second father to him), if he should date a black girl. “You gotta do what’s right for you,” the thug says. “You gotta follow your heart.”

Again, lights flashed in my head. That’s ETHICAL EGOISM, and even Scripture indicates that a degree of ethical egoism is valid. God motivates his people by promising blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. The weakness of ethical obedience is that it must be balanced with a concern for others—you can’t live in a world that runs only by your reasoning and your desires.

The kid goes on, loving this slick hood, and I realize I’m seeing the embodiment of VIRTUE THEORY: we choose an “ideal person” and model our morality after his/her example. Christians, of course, model their morality around Christ (Example: what would Jesus do?), but this kid was modeling himself after a street-smart thug.

Now . . . it’d be nice if I had a point, wouldn’t it? I find all of this very interesting, and I know it’ll be useful as I get ready to write columns for my local newspaper and for my books. As Christians, we use a combination of divine command, natural law, and virtue theory to conduct our moral reasoning. I’m looking forward to being able to deconstruct some arguments and build others that will stand up against faulty systems.

Onward!

~~Angie

How Long will You Live?

Take the quiz here -- http://www.deathforecast.com/ --and then come back and tell me about it.

Okay, I have to say I HATE the name of the link and the quiz--I'd prefer the opposite approach, as you can tell from my post title. But this little quiz is based on statistics, and can give you a fairly good estimate of how long you can expect to live--unless you meet with an unexpected accident or incident, of course.

According to that quiz, I should live to the ripe old age of 88 . . . and I really was planning on getting to ninety, if the Lord tarries. My grandmother lived to 94, so maybe if I lose a few of these extra pounds, I can go as long as she did. Then again, she suffered from dementia at the end, so I'm not sure I'd want to live that long if I couldn't write or recognize my loved ones.

Thinking about this makes me very glad that the Lord controls our lives. Scripture tells us that he has recorded every day of our lives in his book, so He knows far better than any quiz exactly how many days I have remaining. And as his child, it's my job simply to live each day in obedience.

I think we're supposed to be good stewards of our time and our bodies--doing what we can to remain healthy and refraining from stepping out into moving traffic. But God is also sovereign, so he holds my life in the palm of his hand, particularly in regard to events I cannot control.

All of this reminds me that I need to order Nora Ephron's new book about aging . . . the title is something like "Sorry About My Neck" or "I Wish I had My Neck." I hear that in it she tells young women to put on a bikini and not take it off until they hit thirty-four . . . LOL!

Aging with humor. I love it. Aging with grace is even better.

~~Angie

On a Clear Day (no, not Striesand)

Life is good. THE NATIVITY STORY is handed in, the house is clean, I'm ahead of schedule. God is good.

Hubby and son are at camp . . . which means Charley Gansky and I have the house to ourselves for a few days. Now, please understand that I love my family . . . but I also LOVE solitude. I feel like I'm on vacation! (even though I'm technically on deadline).

An aside: a group of very special friends sent me a surprise--a huge box of bubble gum! (They know I love it.) And I learned something--you remember those almost-square Bazooka bubble gum pieces we used to chew? The ones you unwrap and then read the cartoon as you chew the gum? Well, now I know how old I am. My bubble gum surprise box held lots of Bazooka gum . . . and sure enough, I unwrapped and found the cartoon inside. But now I can't read it without my glasses! Ah, the joys of aging. Then again, I think my eyes have more reading miles on them than most.

In any case, I wanted to be sure to mention a little known movie that is definitely worth the rent. It's "On a Clear Day", and no, it's not that ditzy reincarnation movie with Barbra Striesand. It's a new English (I think) flick starring Brenda Blythyn (sp?), whom I adore. It's a sort of change-of-life theme, and though the hubby began to watch it with me as an act of charity, he soon got into it--and my hubby isn't the type to "get into" foreign films, if you know what I mean.

In some ways, the movie reminded us of "Waking Ned Devine," which hubby and I also loved. In any case, it's warm and funny and inspirational, and you can't say that about many movies these days. Enjoy!

~~Angie

Movie Update

Deadline: a word that originated in the American Civil War, where a prisoner would be shot if they crossed a line around the prison or prison camp.

I'd better get to work, but I thought I'd take a minute to update you on some theatrical happenings . . . maybe.

Good news! Have heard that "The Note" should begin filming this fall. For more information (and to see a short film featuring Lisa Anderson, who is to star in the movie), visit http://www.thenotefilm.com).

Good news! UNCHARTED is being optioned by Namesake Entertainment, the same company that produced "The Visitation" and is filming "House." More news to come as it trickles in.

Good news! Work is proceeding on my novelization of THE NATIVITY STORY, which opens in December. The book will be available in early November, which reminds me of that deadline . . . back to work!

~~Angie, who should hand in THE NATIVITY STORY today! Five days EARLY! Whoo-hoo!

P.S. I finally got around to watching THE END OF THE SPEAR on Wednesday night. Oh, my. I'm actually glad I didn't make it to the theater, because I bawled like a baby. It's so moving, so powerful, and so true. You have to rent that movie!

Grizzly Man

Did any of you see the “Grizzly Man” movie that was on Discovery Sunday night? Maybe they’ll replay it. In any case, I’m sure you heard about this guy—a vagabond type who spent his summers in the Alaskan wilderness, loving and protecting the grizzlies. (Dean Koontz even referenced him in one of his latest novels). Tim Treadwell was his name.

Anyway, a grizzly ate him. And his girlfriend.

As I watched the movie —and heard the coroner give grisly (no pun intended) details about how the autopsied bear was . . . never mind, the metaphor just kept hitting me. So many people delude themselves about evil, or drugs, or alcohol, or name-your-sin. I mean, this guy would walk up to the bears and say, “I love you! I love you!” He thought he had some kind of special rapport . . . until the bear ate him.

Man. This reminds me of something--maybe Frankenstein? It's one of the classic motifs of horror stories . . . the evil we try to tame destroys us in the end. In any case, it's a haunting movie and a parable for those who have ears to hear.

~~Angie

Monthly Book Club Meeting

It's so HOT!

I love my neighbhood book club. Tonight the ladies met to discuss a new NYT bestseller, and I have to admit, I gave the book a higher rating than anyone in the room . . . and afterward, I felt like one of those sychophants who praised the naked king in "The Emperor's New Clothes." After listening to everyone go around the circle and talk about how they found no redeeming value, no sympathetic characters, and a plot that turned on an unbelievable coincidence, I wanted to say, "Yeah, but it's so-and-so, and he once won a Pulitzer Prize."

But you know what? They were right. And I love these women, because they constantly remind me that I'm not writing for prizes or the literati; I'm writing for real, intelligent women who love to read and know what makes a story work. Yes, some of the writing was beautiful, but the author's existential bent shone through, and we were left with a feeling of hopelessness.

Not exactly why we'd wanted to read the book. (And no, I'm not going to mention the title in public.)

In any case, we're looking forward to next month. We'll be reading another favorite author, Anita Shreve. We almost chose to read "Marley and Me," but someone realized the dog dies at the end, and that settled that . . .

~~Angie

This is Really Cool!

Though my friend Eva will be happy to hear this, I am sorry to report that Herman the snake has not been in his chair for the last three or four days. Since the lawn guys came the other day, I am desperately afraid that Herman got weed-whacked.

I'll let you know if he shows up again.



http://www.ospenterprises.com/phone/ is the coolest link! On this website you can enter a phone number to call, the number that should appear in the caller ID, the name for the Caller ID, and then you enter a message which will be read by any voice you choose.

From my laptop, I called my house, put HEAVEN in the caller ID, gave a number of 777-777-7777, and told my husband that Heaven was calling to confirm his reservation. (VBG).

What a fun way to send a birthday message! To tell someone you're thinking of them! To remind your children to get home before their curfew!

Hat Tip to Brad Wunderfool's Quirky blog for this tip. How ingenious!

~~Angie

Lady in the Water

Last night hubby and I went to see LADY IN THE WATER (a title I keep having trouble with. I want to say LADY IN THE LAKE because of the alliteration, then I remember it wasn't a lake, so I want to call it LADY IN THE SWIMMING POOL, but that's definitely verbose, so then I remember "water," but then I can't remember if it's THE LADY or just LADY . . . )

But I digress. I enjoyed it--would give it four out of five stars, but that's probably because I'm a writer and it seemed fairly literary--I mean you have a woman named STORY who's looking for a writer. How much more literary can you get? It's a fantasy, so you have to suspend your disbelief from the get go, and obviously, some of the critics I've read had trouble with that. We went despite some truly terrible reviews because we like M. Night Shamalan's movies.

I love his films in this order: THE SIXTH SENSE was brilliant; ditto for SIGNS (which I'd rate as one of the most theologically correct films I've ever seen); LADY IN THE WATER, UNBREAKABLE, and THE VILLAGE.

The latter film was a disappointment. He had us in the palm of his hand until the ending, then I felt cheated. Worse, I felt that the film could be interpreted as a slam against religion/belief. He seemed to be saying that everything we've been taught/told is nothing but lies to keep us penned up in ignorance and fear. (I doubt that's what the man meant to say, but that's what I took away from the film.)

In any case, LADY IN THE WATER had some lovely "eeek!" moments, a fair bit of humor, and a lot of fantasy elements. Like I said, it requires a quick willing suspension of disbelief, but if you go with him, you'll be okay. The theme? Everyone has a purpose, and sometimes our first guess is the wrong guess . . .

There's also a bit about how the power of the printed word can change lives . . . any writer would find that inspirational and challenging.

An aside: I read that some folks tried to dissuade Night from playing the part of the writer--a fairly major part. I have to agree with them. He did a fair job, but I think the part would have been better served by a better actor. There's a place where someone gives him a bit of distressing news--and Night just accepts it. I think he would have shown more emotion if someone had told him he needed a new carburetor, but that's just my non-professional opinion.

In any case, I would give it four out of five stars. Not his best, not brilliant, but enjoyable and a sight better than THE VILLAGE. The red-haired actress, BTW, is Ron Howard's daughter. She's lovely. An all-around great supporting cast, too.

~~Angie

Jack Smink: ETA

The other day I had to pinch myself--I had the feeling I'd become a character in one of my novels.

I learned, you see, that one of my good friends from high school had become a genuine, bona-fide, nationally-renown Elvis Impersonator. Not just any Elvis impersonator, mind you, but a certified ETA, or Elvis Tribute Artist.

According to Jack's web page, http://www.lstproductions.com/
ETAs don't try to make you think you're seeing Elvis. They want to perform his music as a tribute to him.

I've always known that Jack could sing like Elvis. We were in choir together in high school, plus Jack used to (and still does) live around the corner from my parents. For a while there he'd drive past my house every night and honk the horn as he turned the corner--always made me smile to look up from the book I was reading and know that Jack was driving by.

Jack used to sit behind me on the school bus and tease me--about what, I don't remember. I do remember that he called me "Well Well" (my maiden name was "Elwell"), and that he, like me, was a believer, but he went to the Pentecostal church while I was a born and bred Baptist. Such differences seemed huge then, though they matter not a whit to me now.

Anyway, Jack and I were good buddies, and I'm delighted that he's found something he loves to do and is having good success in his field. He's coming to Largo for a concert on September 2nd, so I'm going to get tickets. Hubby is up for it, and so am I, even though Elvis was more of my mother's generation than mine. (I fell in love with the Monkeys and the Partridge Family.)

But when he comes to town, I won't be going to the concert hall to honor Elvis. I'll be going to see Jack. For old times sake.

~~Angie