What Girls Really Want

Filmmakers, advertisers, publishers, and music producers are obsessed with the "youth market" and especially by that very special demographic teenage girls. What do they want? How do they think? What's going on in those beautiful heads?

You can find out in the new book, BEYOND WORDS the creative voices of more than 150 teen girls and the professional women who mentor them. They share their stories about family, friendship, love, loss, music and so much more. You'll find poignant poems, break-up lyrics, and an essay on discovering meaning in a shag carpet. The book concludes with a full chapter of writing activities and advice for aspiring writers of any level.

BEYOND WORDS is the Winner, London Book Festival, Anthologies and National Best Book Awards, USA BookNews, Poetry Anthology. It's published by WriteGirl a non-profit organization for high school girls, centered on creative writing and empowerment through self-expression. To find out more simply click on: http://www.writegirl.org/publications.html.

Hateful Speech

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but names can never hurt me." went the nursery rhyme of my youth. Reeling from the tragedy in Arizona we know, of course, that names can and do hurt. They can also inspire people to unspeakable acts. And those snarky, disparaging, mean-girl words whether voiced by the mean girl herself or her coterie of parrots who are now crying tyranny at the suggestion that their words could have inspired any action are being heard around the world.

Today, I received this quotation from a German friend. I especially like: "

Words can be like tiny doses of arsenic: they are swallowed unnoticed, appear to have no effect, and then after a little time the toxic reaction sets in after all."

Victor Klemperer on Nazi propaganda:

How "the language of a clique became the language of a people"

"No, the most powerful influence was exerted neither by individual speeches nor by articles or flyers, posters or flags; it was not achieved by things which one had to absorb by conscious thought or conscious emotions.

Instead Nazism permeated the flesh and blood of the people through single words, idioms and sentence structures which were imposed on them in a million repetitions and taken on board mechanically and unconsciously. . . language does not simply write and think for me, it also increasingly dictates my feelings and governs my entire spiritual being the more unquestioningly and unconsciously I abandon myself to it.

And what happens if the cultivated language is made up of poisonous elements or has been made the bearer of poisons? Words can be like tiny doses of arsenic: they are swallowed unnoticed, appear to have no effect, and then after a little time the toxic reaction sets in after all.

The Third Reich coined only a very small number of the words in its language, perhaps - indeed probably - none at all. . . But it changes the value of words and the frequency of their occurrence, it makes common property out of what was previously the preserve of an individual or a tiny group, it commandeers for the party that which was previously common property and in the process steeps words and groups of words and sentence structures with its poison.

Victor Klemperer, The Language of the Third Reich: A Philologist's Notebook, trans. Martin Brady, London: Continuum, 2002, pp. 15–16

FOR THE LOVE

I want to recommend a wonderful blog for readers: FOR THE LOVE: http://forthelove-mb.blogspot.com/ Melissa, lawyer, homemaker, and avid reader lists her favorites for 2010.

I love that she said: "I've read by the pool, at the gym, in bed at night and in the hammock in the yard. I read the books I wanted to read. Not the book that would make me look like a cultured smarty-pants to passers-by at the hotel pool or the latest novel to receive a glowing review from the New York Times so I could chat about it at a cocktail party. (We've all done this, right?)"

A book is an investment of time. And that's all we have. How do you choose a book? Where do you like to read?

Boxing the Octopus

The excellent publishing blog: BOXING THE OCTOPUS posted a #BuyThisBook blog and the book they chose was The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc. http://www.boxocto.com/2010/12/buythisbook-scandalous-summer-of-sissy.html

What intelligent readers. I added a new quote to the Southern Belle's Handbook:

"Writing is easy. Only writing well is hard."

Cliff Hangers

Pop Eaters just published my post on cliff hangers. And the summer I wrote the episode that solved the greatest cliff hanger of all time: Who Shot J.R.?.

Check it out: http://www.popeater.com/2010/11/25/who-shot-JR-writer-reflects/

Cliff Hangers

A Literary Feast

Last week Carl and I went to New Orleans for the Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society Literary Festival Words and Music. There we danced and ate and listened to many learned discussions. I gave a master class on Creating Great Characters in the historic Cabildo in the center of the French Quarter. Carl was on a panel on translation and introduced classist Stanley Lombardo at a yummy lunch at Muriel's resterant.

I took the picture at left with my little cell phone, so the quality leaves something to be desired, but there are two National Book Award winners Tim O'Brien in the hat and Julia Glass sitting next to him talking to Stewart O'Nan. That's Simon Mawer laughing. He was short-listed for the Booker Prize. Attending to his lunch is moderator Randy Fertel whose foundation created the Truth Teller Awards.

Words and Music. On the dias at left is Rosemary James the organizer extraordinaire of the festival which this year was held in conjunction with the National World War II Museum.

But it wasn't all books and conversation. We found time to go to the gorgeous sculpture garden in City Park. Here I am with Julia Glass and short-story writer Maurice Ruffin. And at bottom Julie and I surround Botero's amazing scupture of a mother holding her child while standing on the prone body of the father.

The Southern Belle Sounds Off: Creating Great Characters for Film and Fiction

http://www.wordsandmusic.org/schedule.html

Creating Great Characters for Film and Fiction

Next week I'll be in New Orleans where I'm giving a master class on Creating Great Characters in Film and Fiction at the fabulous Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society's great literary festival: Word's and Music. http://www.wordsandmusic.org/schedule.html. Y'all come.

The Widower's Tale by Julia Glass

I just finished reading Julia Glass' new book and you should too. Here's the review I posted at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Shelfari, and Good Reads.

A TALE TOLD BY A MASTER

Open Julie Glass’ book The Widower’s Tale anywhere and you know you’re in good hands. The prose is always pitch perfect, from the description of a moonlit night as experienced by Robert, a Harvard student on cross country skis: “The moon stood out from the sky like a medal. It cruised along beside them, calm and vigilant, passing behind tree after tree as their skis hissed through snow on the path that skirted the pond and then branched away into acres of trails winding through Matlock’s fairy-tale forest.” Or the wonderful description of his female friends as seen by Ira, a gay nursery-school teacher: “The women around Ira were losing it. Their grip, their composure, their stamina, their footing—each falling out of balance in some essential way.” Julie Glass spins a sprawling tale of family and relationships with characters so true you feel you know them. This is a book you will take to your heart.

Musical Week

What a week. Thursday night we heard Dr. John at a free concert on the Santa Monica pier. We were jammed together, standing, dancing outside under the stars. The sweet smell of flannel cake and marajuana filling the air.

Then Friday night Randy Bachman scored a great box at the Hollywood Bowl for the Earth, Wind, and Fire concert. It was sold out for mere mortals. Didn't have my camera but snapped this photo with my trusty Droid. That's Randy and Denise McCann Bachman as the concert began. He's in town promoting his new Bachman Turner recording which is fabulous.

The Southern Belle says: Might as well have fun while you're on top of the ground. It'll be too late once you're under it.

Last Photos of Summer Party

"It's okay for a woman to know her place.
She just shouldn't stay there." Rule 59
The Southern Belle's Handbook

My wish for the beautiful and talented women who attended the Northwestern Council of 100 and NUEA summer party is they all find their place and carve out a brilliant future.

Northwestern Council of 100 & NUEA

More photos of the summer party hosted by NU's Council of 100 and NUEA. Do you see yourself in any of these photos? If so post a comment.

Uppity Women

" An uppity woman with a good good education will find a way."
Rule 59 of The Southern Belle's Handbook, Sissy LeBlanc's Rules to Live By.

The women in these pictures had an excellent education. They are recent graduates (and one or two not so recent) of Northwestern University.

Uppity? Not sure. But most of them are on track in their careers and lives. So I'm guessing uppity, but you all can let me know if I'm wrong.

We met for a summer get together and networking party in Beverly Hills at the end of July. I had a great time and met some exceptionally bright and beautiful women.

Looking Good

"A girl has to look her best while she's still young enough to look real good."
Rule #24, The Southern Belle's Handbook

Last month I helped the Council of 100, a mentoring organization made up of one hundred of the most successful women ever to graduate from Northwestern University, organize a party for co-eds and recent grads. And these young women were looking good. Real good. We were joined by the Northwestern Entertainment Alliance a fabulous networking group of NU grads working in the entertainment industry.

Boy do I wish these groups had been in existence when I came out to Hollywood. I was hopeless. I might not have leaped to fame and fortune, doors might not have opened for me, but with the Council of 100 and NUEA, at least I would have known what doors to beat my head against.

I wish I could have captioned every photo here, but I admit it I'm hopeless. Once when I had to introduce my fiance (now husband) I clutched and couldn't say his name, since then I've learned never to introduce anyone. So I encourage you to comment and tell the world who is in the photos.

I'll start-- in the top photo that's Candy Deemer on the left in the red and me on the right in the black and Northwestern purple.

In the coming days, I'll post more photos. I have 26 ready to go.

Who Says?

Who says music is only for the young? (I was going to say peurile, but scratch that.) Last night we saw the last concert of the Carol King/ James Taylor Reunion. Wow. They filled the Anaheim Honda Center --all 18,900 seats and when they finished the audience begged for more. How can they leave all that love? Yes, Carol, we still love you in the morning. And James, We always thought we'd see you again.

The Hard Life of the Writer Part II

This weekend celebrity food writers extraordinaire Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg http://www.becomingachef.com/blog.dwt.php (known to their fans as Kandrew--sort of like Brangelina) stayed at our house. We celebrated by opening a bottle of Louis de Sacy champagne which we were keeping for friends whom we knew would appreciate it.
Saturday night they took us to the spectacular Beverly Hills French Restaurant Bouchon where the chef gave us a tour of the kitchen and sent out delicious dish after dish including a fabulous beet tart and melon salad. My trout almondine with fresh string beans was cooked to perfection.
Sunday morning we ambled through the Beverly Hills Farmer's market before going home lunch by the pool of fresh corn (picked that morning), and an heirloom tomato salad Andrew made with Greek feta cheese, onions, and red peppers. For dessert we ate fresh strawberries and raspberries. We lazed around and swam (I told you writers have tough lives) until it was time to go to the Hollywood Bowl to see a sold out performance of "The Swell Season" --the duo of Glen Hansard and Marketa Irgova who won an Oscar for best song in their film, Once. We capped off the evening with a visit backstage and a long chat with the charming Marketa.
Andrew and Karen flew back to New York this morning leaving us to our regular lives, but they tell me they will bring out an app: "What to Drink with What you Eat" based on their book of the same name. Soon we'll be able to check our phones and learn the perfect wine to order whenever we're out for dinner. Cool huh?

Play Date or Don't Mess with the Muse

Sometimes my writing tickles me. That's when time flies and the writing is good. But today after about 3 hours, I'm boring myself! So I'm taking myself for a play date and going to look at the beautiful fresh fruit and flowers at the Westwood Farmer's market. No point messing with the Muse.

BellaChella's Summer Reading

I love to hear from readers and as you know I often post what they write to me. BellaChella in her blog Mic's Picks "Literature Lovers Unite" was kind enough to review THE SCANDALOUS SUMMER OF SISSY LEBLANC. Here are the first paragraphs of her blog:

I was hooked at the beginning by it's vaguely similar qualities to "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood," a very special book to me for sentimental reasons. It's reminiscent of my beloved Ya-Ya's in that it is set in a small town in Louisiana (near New Orleans) and takes place mostly during the early 1940's-1950's, and it is a story of a strong woman in a time when that was truly a novelty and even a threat.

On a very un-Ya-Ya note, there are some ***VERY "ADULT" SCENES*** in this delicious and entertaining tale. (It's wouldn't be a very "scandalous summer" without them, but be warned this gets graphic in spots and deals with some very mature issues!!!) You've been warned...

I like that Mrs. Despres deals with some very real and inflammatory issues of the time, such as desegregation, as well as some very provocative, age-old issues like adultery and murder. I know, sounds pretty heavy for summer chick lit, but there's plenty of brainless fluff and cute wit to keep it light.

For the full review see http://bellachella.blogspot.com/

I'm delighted she liked the book. But ***VERY ADULT***? I knew I wrote some sexy scenes, but I didn't think they were ***VERY "ADULT***-- Have you seen ABC Family's THE SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER? Oh well, once it's written, the story belongs to the reader.

The Hard Life of a Writer

I just got back from St. Croix where Ethlie Ann Vare and I broke story on a romantic comedy set in the islands. She has a villa there overlooking the Caribbean. That picture of sunset over the ocean at left was taken from her balcony. We found the crystal waters so inspiring. That's me on the right, Ethlie in the middle, and her friend Craig Torrey on the left. The final shot shows rain on the water to remind us that a writer's life is hard.