The Intruders: Joseph Cotten and Betsy Blair in A Delicate Balance (1973)

***This post, though a bit late, is part of The Joseph Cotten Blogathon, hosted by the In The Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood and the Maddy Loves Her Classic Films blogs. Thank you for letting me post late and still participate :-).*** ***Some spoilers*** “I find that joy and sorrow work their wonders on me.” - …

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Not So HAE (Happily Ever After)

The epitome of the happily-ever-after romance ending — the handsome couple off against the sunset with the calm waters and the palm tree. Photo Credit: Silhouette of a loving couple against a sunset, uploaded 25 April 2017 by 5187396: 5187396/Pixabay/CC0 1.0 “We are writers and we destroy lives and worlds and ideologies. And sometimes, we …

Adventurous Perception: The Individual Creative Process

Photo Credit: Photograph of Maurits (M.C.) Escher, around 23 Nov. 1971. Photograph probably made by Hans Peters (ANEFO), Ga het na (Nationall Archief NL): Vysotsky/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY SA 3.0 Many artists talk about the creative process. It’s one of those illusive ideas that fascinates non-artists and weighs heavily on the minds of artists because creativity …

The Emotional Badlands of Language, or, Language is Not Just Data

Photo Credit: Canadian singer Leonard Cohen in Trouville-sur-Mer (Normandy, France), taken 26 January 1988 by Roland Godefroy: Teddyyy/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 3.0 “If words are the arrow, we ourselves — our interior landscapes, our outward actions, the authenticity of our lives — are the bow.” (Popova, par. 1) As many of my blog readers know, I …

First Worlds: Writing and Blogging in New Directions

Photo Credit: The Blue Veil by Edmond Tarbell, oil painting, 1898: freeparking/Flickr/CC BY 2.0 “The creative personality never remains fixed on the first world it discovers. It never resigns itself to anything ... “ (Nin, location 3587) I love this quote from Nin because it’s so true of many creative people. The nature of creativity …

Thinking of a Home: Katharine Hepburn in Long Day’s Journey Into Night (1962)

***This post is part of the Spencer Tracy & Katharine Hepburn Blogathon, hosted by Crystal of the In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood blog. *** ***Some spoilers*** James (Ralph Richardson): “I’m not you’re jailor. This isn’t a prison.” Mary (Katharine Hepburn): “No. I know you can’t help thinking it’s a home.” In my …

Wild and Knotty Worlds: The Psychological Crucible

Photo Credit: a crucible used in the Czochralski method (a method of extracting crystals), taken by Twisp on August 25, 2005: Twisp/Wikimedia Commons/PD self "[T]he writer who possesses the creative gift owns something of which he is not always master—something that, at times, strangely wills and works for itself." (Bronte, “Editor’s Preface”, location 561) One …

Taught By Masters: Olivia De Havilland in The Heiress (1949)

***This post is part of The 2nd Annual Olivia De Havilland Blogathon, hosted by Crystal of In The Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood and Phyl at Phyllis Loves Classic Films blogs. *** ***Some spoilers*** As a fiction writer and lover of classic literature, I usually come to watch a film based on a book …

Transposing Fiction

       Photo Credit: Young Girl Writing a Love Letter, Pietro Antonio Rotari, 1755, oil on canvas, Norton Simon Museum: Wmpearl/ Wikimedia Commons/CC PD Mark 1.0 Photo Credit: The Man Writing a Letter, Casper Netscher, 1665, oil on canvas, Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden, Germany: Mattes/Wikimedia Commons/PD Art (PD Old 100)   “Write immediately, yes! But …

Radio Interview on KPFA Radio

Photo Credit: Vintage retro antique radio photo, created February 26, 2016 by Lubos Houska: LubosHouska/ Pixabay/CC0 1.0 I am so excited to post my first radio interview! A friend of mine, author/performer/radio host Jovelyn Richards chatted with me for KPFA’s Cover to Cover Open Book about my new release Gnarled Bones and Other Stories. You …