Margaret Finnegan: Goddess of Inspiration

Today is release day! You can now buy a brand spankin' new copy of the brand spankin' new novel, The Goddess Lounge (paperback here), by South Pasadena's Margaret Finnegan. That is a beautiful thing, partly because I love Margaret and partly because I love The Goddess Lounge (ebook here). Also partly because Margaret inspires me.

Margaret's blog, Finnegan Begin Again, would be inspiration enough to read her novel because one always wants more of her unique writer's voice. But she's gone further by involving her readers in the processes of publication and promotion. We've been reading about goddesses, we voted on the book cover, and when it was time to make book trailers we contributed photos of ourselves being goddesses.

Margaret has created two (two!) book trailers. Here's one:


Here's the other:


I'm in the second one twice! The first photo you see is one John took of me. Plus, that's my voice, reading from Chapter Two. I'm honored to be included.

The publishing industry has changed so much in the past few years that publishing the book yourself has become the way to go, or it's certainly at least as viable as the traditional way.  I love what Margaret's doing. Her energy and innovative ideas inspire me, and I can't wait to get my copy of The Goddess Lounge.

The Writer's Voice entry, "Camelot & Vine"

When Casey Clemens slams up against her 40th birthday her Hollywood acting career is floundering, her married boyfriend is cheating on her with his wife and she doesn't like herself any more than anyone else does. Then a freak accident lands Casey in the sixth century and she inadvertently saves the life of her hero, King Arthur. To protect herself, she tells the king she's a magical wizard from the future. (At least it's partly true.) King Arthur's thrilled. Britain is being attacked from all sides by invaders and he could use a good wizard. He's got Myrddin, but Myrddin's more scientist than sorcerer. Casey learns from Myrddin, makes friends and begins to like her new life. She's a good actor; for a while, her lie is her secret.

King Arthur's powerful ally Lancelot harbors his own secret: his affair with the king's wife, Guinevere. A wizard who knows and sees all is inconvenient, to say the least. Lancelot gives Casey a choice: leave or die. But Casey's stuck in the Dark Ages, unable to leave, surrounded by enemies and struck by a realization: she's in love with King Arthur and she's not going anywhere--not yet.

Camelot & Vine

 The day before my fortieth birthday was my last day as Mrs. Gone. For nine years, every American who turned on a television knew me as their wacky neighbor with the solution to their household cleaning problems. They're Gone! That's right! Gone! cleans everything! Which it didn't. I bought it once (not that the Gone! company would give me a free bottle) and never bought it again. That didn't mean I wouldn't endorse it on national television for a cut above union scale.

Being a product spokesperson was good work. I owned a sunny condo in the fashionable Los Angeles suburb of Toluca Lake. I drove a relatively new BMW coupe. The cleaning lady came on Tuesdays. I ate take-out and never cooked. I went to yoga occasionally, and occasionally showed up at acting class. I auditioned for and sometimes got parts in low-budget films.

I thought of it as an acting career until the day before my fortieth birthday when, on the set of my latest Gone! commercial, the director shouted, "That's a wrap!"

As usual, I handed over the product bottle to the props guy, returned my earrings to the costume girl and, avoiding the candy at the craft services table, strode directly out the studio doors.

The director followed me to my trailer. "Casey," he said.

"Bill. What?"

He dug his Nike toe into the studio lot asphalt. I waited. He cleared his throat and stared at his feet, like a kid who's afraid to tell his mom he got a bad report card.

Don't Bring Around a Cloud

UPDATE:
LITFEST PASADENA POSTPONED UNTIL MAY 12th.
With what's being called "100% chance of rain" Saturday, I guess it had to happen.
The links are still good! However, I promise to keep you informed.


John and I have a two bedroom house with a den. The den is my office, the extra bedroom is John's office and we share the master bedroom. (The dining room is Boz's bedroom. He keeps office hours on the front porch.)

I tell you this not to give you a home tour but to give you an idea of how many places we have for stashing and stacking books: shelves in the offices; the coffee table as well as built-in shelves (okay, we have some DVDs, too) in the living room; matching nightstands in the bedroom, each with a shelf for books, not to mention--okay, I'm mentioning--the books lining the tops of the dressers; plus the boxes in the garage full of books we haven't found shelves for. But we will, because we need to make room for more books.

Which brings me to the first annual LitFest Pasadena, Saturday, 9am to 5:30pm at Central Park, just south of Castle Green. Come on down! Admission is free. There'll be writers, panels, booksellers, booths, a children's area, fabulous food trucks and more. The full LitFest panel schedule is here.

Can't wait to see you!

Rain, you say? Yes, well. Ahem. There's a chance of rain.

Oh no! Wait. No. Oh joy! Wait.

Well, I hope the rain waits 'til Sunday because everyone's worked so hard. But we need our rain around here and we take it when we can get it. If rain happens, check the Pasadena Star-News online for contingency plans.

Twas The Week Before Christmas

I like to go and support my local bookstore this time every year. Quincy doesn't have a general bookstore and it concerns me that Barnes & Noble is the only remaining bookstore close by.

Watching the English here in Polska!

Am currently reading the book 'Watching the English' by Kate Fox. Barely into the first few pages she makes a point of saying how bad Polish drivers are!! That says a lot when Polish drivers get a mention in a book that is actually about English culture!

Pic of a Twit

When I was a kid, my nickname was Tweeter.

Please don't laugh, but yesterday I finally figured out how to upload a photo to Twitter using Twitpic. The first time I looked at Twitpic I must have been distracted or upside-down or sleep-walking, because it's about as easy as an application can be. Yesterday I cleared my desk and sat down with a cup of coffee, determined to figure it out, and it was like figuring out how to open an envelope.

This is the photo I posted. I hope you don't mind me posting it again here. I don't know if most of you follow me on Twitter. (There's a little birdie button over there on the upper left if you should choose to do so.) Even if you follow me, the chances that you were on at the moment I posted the picture are so slim that I don't mind posting it again.

I took the shot from my antique iPhone. My thought when I saw this was, I hope I never have to choose between natural light and bookshelves.

You know, when I was a kid, besides the fact that we
had no windows
or bookshelves,
walked to school ten miles in the snow,
made our own toys,
slaughtered our own chickens,
churned our own butter
and
made our own clothes out of burlap bags,
"twit" was something you called someone you thought very little of.

But I was Tweeter which, as I remember it, was quite another thing.

Family history by the book

Charleston, S.C.

I moved a bookshelf this weekend, emptying the dusty shelves onto a bed, throwing out Budget Travel magazines from ten years ago saved "just in case".

It's almost as good as reading a diary going through old books. The pile on the bed was a snapshot of interests that took me so far back into my childhood I tumbled down a rabbit hole of memories.

I shared common interests with my grandfather and have some of his old books. He loved art, music, birds and magic. I spent many an hour in his library drawing from sketchbooks, learning the escape secrets of Houdini and pondering hypnotizing my siblings to my advantage. I still have his books on British witchcraft, figure drawing and water colours of ships at sea.

I spent time as a kid, studying the faces in the "Beautiful Children" prints by the old masters, fascinated that the odd little people in the paintings were considered beautiful in their time. Through the years I added calligraphy and bird carving books which he would have liked, and I know he'd be proud of the magic and science tricks for kids from when my children were little.

My grandfather came from Scotland as Alexander Cameron Auchinachie. When no one in Canada could pronounce his Gaelic name without it sounding like a double sneeze he finally legally dropped it and went by his clan name Cameron. I am pleased to have at least one book signed before the name change.

Author Visit

After reading the novel,"The Good Thief", English classes at North Quincy High School were treated to a visit from the award-winning author, Hannah Tinti. What a great opportunity for students to meet an emerging new American author. Even the mayor found time to stop by for this special event.

Best Sellers

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President Obama and the "Twilight" book series are some of the best selling books in Quincy at this time. I bought the first "Twilight" book to see what the great attraction is all about. What books are selling well in your part of the world? What are you reading, beside blogs ;)?

You've Got To Have Friends

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Twice a year the Friends of the Thomas Crane Library sell used books. It's the best book sale in town. The money they make from these events goes towards some excellent programs held at the library for both children and adults.

"The love of learning, the sequestered nooks,
And all the sweet serenity of books." -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Writers of Note

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These books reside in the Quincy Room at the Thomas Crane Library because noteworthy authors like John Cheever, Robert Rimmer and Elisabeth Ogilvie, to name a few, resided in Quincy. Do you have any noteworthy authors from your city or town?

The First Cut Contest: The Fun Begins

In Dianne Emley's thriller The First Cut, the body of LAPD Officer Frankie Lynde is found beneath the Colorado Street Bridge. And no, she didn't jump.

A job for the LAPD? Nope. The bridge is Pasadena territory.

It's the first day back on the job for Emley's heroine, PPD Detective Nan Vining. Vining's had some time off after a close call of her own and her attacker is still out there, waiting. In tracking down Frankie's killer Nan feels more than sympathy for the dead officer. She can almost hear Frankie's voice. Or maybe what she hears is real.

Today The First Cut is released in paperback. So I'm trying something new: A CONTEST! And you don't have to be in Pasadena to play.

Here are the rules:
1. Read The First Cut (available at Vroman's or your favorite book store). You can read a description of the book on Dianne's website.
2. Answer four easy questions about the book, which I'll post January 6th.
3. Email your answers to me (link at upper left of blog) by the January 27th deadline.
4. Feel free to email me any questions you have about the contest, or post them in the comments section.

Three winners will be drawn from the correct entries. Each will win a copy of the second book in the Nan Vining Thrillogy! It's called Cut to the Quick, and it'll be released as a paperback original on January 27th.

Just for fun, throughout the month of January I'll post photos from Pasadena locations mentioned in the book. I'll even take requests (or make the attempt) as long as you send me the page number. (Enlarge the photo above to see where the body was found in The First Cut.)

I plan to do more features with other local writers in 2009. If you're a Pasadena author who'd like to try an interactive something on the blog, let's talk.

I love writers, writing, books and Pasadena, so what could be better than a Pasadena writer who set her story in Pasadena? Many thanks to Dianne for her participation and support!

This Contest Can Be Won

Pasadena's police headquarters is a dramatic building, with high arches and fancy scroll work that would fit right in on the Walt Disney Studios lot. But there's no funny business here. Whether you like the Pasadena cops or not, they're serious about what they do. Mess with the law in Pasadena and they don't just send a squad car, they send helicopters.

Call it overkill, but it seems to be working. I was able to find a few statistics on the web that show a dramatic drop in crime in Pasadena from 2005 to 2006. I'd like to know how we've been doing since then but wasn't able to find statistics for 2007. Could be it takes a while to compile them. PIO? Anyone?*

Pasadena's finest are featured along with their headquarters in The First Cut, a novel by Pasadena novelist and crime writer Dianne Emley. I introduced the soft-looking but tough-as-nails author here on PDP November 1st. Emley's Nan Vining Trilogy is finished. The First Cut comes out in paperback December 30th, to be followed in rapid succession by Cut to the Quick and The Deepest Cut.

So heads up, book lovers, especially those who love a scary, gritty, down and dirty read. Get ready to get your copy of The First Cut, because we're going to have a contest here on Pasadena Daily Photo. Watch for the official announcement here on December 30th.

*Vanda contributed three crime maps including this one from Realtor.com, with a 2008 copyright on it. (Click her links in the comments.)

There's now an ongoing art exhibit in the lobby of the building.

A .pdf about the building's design and architects here.

November Theme Day Is "Books"

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Thomas Crane was a wealthy stone contractor who got his start in the Quincy quarries. This portrait of him is hanging in the Quincy Room of my favorite library that not only bears his name, Thomas Crane Public Library, but was funded by his family as a lasting memorial to him. This architectural gem is also my favorite book source!
Happy "theme day" everyone. Enjoy visiting other interpretations of City Daily Photo Bloggers theme of "books" by Clicking here to view thumbnails for all participants