In Anticipation of The Mortal Instruments

I'll admit to being just as much of a cinephile as I am a bibliophile. Accordingly, I get extremely pumped for the release of movies to the point I'm like a school girl awaiting Justin Bieber's next tattoo. Lately the list of movies I've been dying to see have included a few screenplays based off books I was less than enthused about (i.e. World War Z, Beautiful Creatures, and The Mortal Instruments). As a writer, I've come to accept that everyone has different tastes when it comes to reading, and for some reason those three books were unable to hold my interest, even though by all means they should've as their subjects were right up my alley (well, technically gravel road since I live in the country). While the World War Z movie completely hit the mark I was hoping for, Beautiful Creatures completely missed it by lightyears, disappointing me to astronomical levels.

The Mortal Instruments seems to have the biggest built-in fan base of the three, leading me to believe it will achieve the biggest success. They're already filming the second book in the series (and p.s. I just stumbled across a major spoiler upon reading the storyline for movie #2 on IMDB, so if you're not familiar with the series, don't go there). I'm already a fan of Lily Collins (playing Clary), and Jamie Campbell Bower as Jace isn't so hard on the eyes (unless you're watching his stiff performance in Twilight). But it all comes down to the screenplay writing, and TMI's writer, Jessica Postigo, has virtually no resume in the cinematic world for us to consider.

Therefore, being the major audiophile that I also am (wow I have a lot of addictions), I go to the soundtrack. Many times I'm able to tell just how a good a movie will be just by considering how much time and money the movie spent on finding its musical talent, even though you don't always hear the songs in the actual movie itself (has anyone figured out this strange phenomenon?). To my dismay, the list of performers on this soundtrack is less than stellar, and the songs don't do much for me, which makes me extremely nervous. Add the fact that the trailer uses as great song, just as Mortal Instruments did (Florence + The Machine's Seven Devils), and I'm downright paranoid. BUT, after listening to the beautiful musical score by Atli Orvarsson, there's still hope.

RIP Cory :(

As a last resort, I looked into some of the comments on YouTube. Those who have seen the movie have really good things to say, with the exception of "they didn't follow the book", which obviously won't bother me one bit. So I still hold on to hope that this flick, with a vibe of Constantine meets Flowers in the Attic (if you don't get this reference, don't go looking into it unless you've read TMI), will end up being my favorite movie of the summer.

Finally, I leave you with the trailer. No only does the movie look crazy good, but it would appear they've spent a healthy amount of money on special effects (another sign of good things to come). Unfortunately, I won't get to the theatre until next Tuesday, but you can expect a review as soon as I form my completely biased opinion.

This Week's Video Blog

This week I review the Beautiful Creatures movie I was finally able to see as well as my final thoughts on the third book in Lauren Oliver's Delirium series (Requiem). I also share my 2.5 seconds of fame.

The Small Things Blog Hop

Happy Friday! Once again I'm posting as part of VikLit's blog hop. You can sign up to participate on the link at the bottom. It's a great way to remember accomplishments don't have to be anything major in order to celebrate them and to pick your spirits up if you're feeling a bit down.

There are all kinds of awesome things to celebrate this week. Not only did I post a more successful, calmer, less eye-rolling video blog, but I finished the first draft of my fifth book! Oh yeah, I'm doing "virtual" cartwheels (because I'm too old and out of shape to do real ones). The book deals with mind control and is something I started back in November, but hit a major writer's block on for months. One of the best parts is that the first draft sits at 80k words, which is much heftier than my other books usually start out being. And as if it was meant to be, I got the edits back on my fourth book the very next day!

To celebrate, I went with a friend to see the Beautiful Creatures movie. FINALLY. I'll share my thoughts on the movie in next week's video blog.

Yesterday we bought my son-in-law's old Mustang as my commuter car (the Tahoe is a gas guzzler but a necessity for living on a road that doesn't always get plowed in the winter). The car may be an older model, but it's my very first Mustang and I've wanted one for as long as I can remember!

I finished reading two books this week (it's an amazing feeling to find time for this once again). On my second vlog I reviewed Beautiful Darkness (the sequel to Beautiful Creatures). I plan to review Lauren Oliver's Requiem (that I devoured in a little over 24 hours) also on next week's vlog.

We also finished my son's science fair project, which means we are DONE WITH SCIENCE FAIR FOREVER!

Oh man, that is such an amazing feeling. And not to beat a dead, overweight horse, but there were those five pounds I lost on the first week of my diet that has me doing a happy dance. It won't be long before I'm allowed to have an ice cold beer...I can taste it already!

Video Blog, Take Two

Personally, I think I came off as a bit of a nut job in my first video last week. So I cleaned up and tried again, this time even reviewing a book and discussing my thoughts on sequels.

Celebrating the Small Things

Wow, these Fridays really creep up on me; it reminds me just how out of touch I am with reality at times. Anyway, I'm here again as part of a blog hop created by one of my fabulous blog partners, Vikki. This time I included a link below so that you may sign up from my page if you're interested. It's a great way to cheer on your fellow bloggers for their accomplishments, no matter the size!

I obviously missed last Friday's because I was in Mexico, but believe me, there were a lot of small things I had to celebrate. Sun. Friends. Daiquiris. Good Food. Cantinas. Music. You get the picture. Cabo is gorgeous and was a ton of fun. I just wish I could've brought the warmth back with me.

This week I really don't have a lot of things to celebrate career-wise, except for that fact that I did get my fourth book off to the editor before we left on vacation and I know it's in good hands as we speak. Otherwise, I've been taking it easy, beta reading for a friend and trying to catch up on things that were neglected during my last major rewrite process. I signed up to take an online refresher course in grammar since I have come to rely so heavily on my editors. And I may have found my first writer's conference to attend in Madison, Wisconsin, where hopefully *fingers crossed* I will get to meet one of my blog partners for the first time!

In my personal life, I'm celebrating the fact that my daughter, who had a high fever for nearly six days, tested negative for mono, the flu and strep, and was miraculously better after a dose of antibiotics. For a while there I was worried she would be spending time in the ER. Whatever it was, she seems to have kicked it as she's obnoxiously running around and yelling as I write this (keep in mind she's thirteen).

Also, I picked up Beautiful Creatures to give it another try. I first started it last year and couldn't get into the story for some reason. After seeing the amazing movie trailers, I know it's something right up my alley, so I should love it, right? I'm happy to report that round two (or is it three?) is going much better and the story has really grabbed my attention this time.

So there you have it, my things to celebrate aren't so big this time, but they're still mine. Hope this Friday finds all of you having something to celebrate!