Howl's Moving Castle 15th Anniversary

Fathom Events brought Howl's Moving Castle to theaters this afternoon, so I took myself to the movies. I've never seen this anime, but the premise intrigued me greatly. Wizard, lonely girl, witches...what's not to like, right?

I checked Rotten Tomatoes and the audience gave it a 92% - so another good thing going for it. I had my small bucket of popcorn, a medium Coke, reclining seat, and NO neighbors! Excellent.

And I fell asleep. For shame, I know! But honestly. I was expecting a little more wizarding...
The beginning started out well, the movie progressed. I loved all the side characters: jumping scarecrow, strange little dog with red feet that didn't exactly bark. Okay, Howl can turn into a bird. In the very beginning when he rescued Sophie from some soldiers he used magic to move them along. But no other magic was busted out really. Now, it was possible all the cool magic happened when I was sleeping. But I must say, the only other movie I fell asleep in was Groundhog Day and I've seen A LOT of movies.

I really liked Sophie's character. She was spunky. But Howl, um, he certainly wouldn't be my idea of a leading man. I wanted mysterious. Instead, I got whiner who complained about beauty.

I don't doubt this was a great movie in a lot of eyes and I was really disappointed that I didn't like it as much as everyone else. It's possible the Ghibli Studio just isn't right for me. I wasn't crazy about Spirited Away.

So stay tuned for next time, hopefully it'll be better (Dumbo or Shazaam!) and I'll let you know!
Stay paranormally weird!
Penny

Brought down by my annual case of the flu!

So for the 2nd year in a row (flu shots both seasons), I can claim to officially have the flu. Boo. Not exactly the record I was striving for.

Photo courtesy of clker

I'd like to think that is the reason I've pushed my bigger novels to the back burner. I've been really concentrating on a children's book line (Angie McPherson) and haven't devoted much time to getting my girl going in an alternate universe.

I've been running story ideas past my husband and there are some really exciting things that are getting imagined. Now I just need to open my file on the story and start typing. I'm trying not to get discouraged by the fact that my editor for the 2nd story in my Girl's Guide series has disappeared from the face of the earth. That's part of the business.

Pick up and move on. So, after my fever settles down, I will be starting on the Bermuda project. It's going to be fun, I just need to believe it.

Stay paranormally weird!
Penny

Stuck in a portal

 I started on my newest novel immediately after finishing my last one. Year after year, I finish one and start another. I had some downtime this Christmas, but was busy designing coloring books and getting my first children's book published (visit AngieMcP blog - if interested). But now that things have slowed down, I don't want to work on it. People are waiting for it and it's kind of needed to make my series better. Three books are better than two, and all that.

I have an outline (sort of) and I kind of know where it's going, but I still don't want to work on it. So for now, I'm hedging around it. I think once I get back into it, everything will fall into place. I hope so. I think it's because it takes an entire year to complete. That's so much time. I'm not saying it's not worth it, but I have been testing new writing styles. Some can be completed in a month (or even less).

I will continue to write full-length novels, also look to the future for different audiences.

Stay tuned and stay paranormally weird!
Penny

Why does KDP hate me and my ability to design book covers?

Oh, CreateSpace, how I wish you would come back!!! I miss you Cover Creator.  I cannot make a cover that doesn't get kicked out of KDP repeatedly to save my life. I download templates, re-download templates, pray to the gods... nothing seems to matter. My cover gets past the initial proof stage. It looks great. then I get the dreaded email from KDP stating my cover doesn't fit how it's supposed to.



I am ready to pull my hair out and not sure how to fix it going forward. Now I know why I'm happy to have some traditionally published work. Someone else can deal with this headache.

So here's to hoping for some good luck!
Stay paranormally weird!
Penny

My Fair Lady!

I went to see the Fathom Events My Fair Lady this weekend. I thought for sure I had seen the movie. I mean, who hasn't, right? Yeah. Apparently, I've never seen the movie. I knew some scenes and songs, but the movie was new to me. Crazy, I know! In the beginning, they related facts pertaining to the movie. I didn't know that Audrey Hepburn didn't sing the songs, and I didn't know that Julie Andrews was the lead in the Broadway play.  Andrews wasn't cast as the lead in the movie because she hadn't done any movies.

Which luckily that happened or we might not have gotten our beloved Mary Poppins! I did enjoy My Fair Lady and so glad I got to finally see it!

Ready for spring and ready for a sequel!

My sequel to A Girl's Guide to Time Travel will be out in the next few months. This story doesn't involve any characters previously met before. I realize people want sequels and publishers know this, but I wanted to create a series where the situations might be similar but each story contains completely different people. The pitch I could use would be: My main character finds themselves in strange situations.

Pretty simple, huh? Well, why did I pick something that requires so much research? I'm a glutton for punishment. The second story, A Girl's Guide to Purgatory, still needed research, but not as much. For purgatory, I could use my imagination and didn't have to rely on so much book work. And now that I'm working on the third installment, I'm back up to my neck in research.

I don't hate research, but it's hard for me to keep it all organized. Sometimes I find myself spending hours on background info, but in the end it will make the story more well-rounded.

Stay tuned for more Purgatory info!
Stay paranormally weird!
Penny

Surviving rejection letter after rejection letter... why do I go on?

The title does seem a bit melodramatic, doesn't it? At the moment, I feel that way. It might be twenty years I've done this, but every rejection cuts like a small knife. Now don't get me wrong, I know this comes with the territory. Even Stephen King got rejection letters. I tell that to all the authors I meet that relate their tales of woe.




It still doesn't make it any easier. I take a few hours to wallow in pity, while I wonder if I should just quit. But then I realize I write because I want to, not because I plan on getting rich. I write in hopes that a small number of people enjoy my adventures. I also write to keep my brain strong. With a chronic disease, I must keep my brain striving for more. I need more words, more phrases, and some days, it is just hard to think of simple words.

But that is why I continue. I write not just for potential fans. I write for my health. So, with every rejection letter, I grow stronger. I might not remember characters from my early books, but I strive to create more that will entertain my brain in the future.

This rejection letter was actually helpful and gave more information than the usual "Thanks, but no thanks" formality. I will go back to my manuscript and tweak. I can only do what I can do, but I will enjoy doing it.

And I will keep looking for something positive each day. I won't back down and maybe someday my work will end up in the hands of someone who loves it as much as me.

Write on!
Penny