It's no easy feat working with a scriptwriter, no matter how talented that person is, to turn your novel into a script. I'm finding that the young scriptwriter I chose from Craig's List http://www.craigslist.com/ has some great ideas on how to expand the sub-plot of Deadly Choices (http://www.jenniespallone.com/). Yet his dialogue is stilted because he is not from Chicago and finds it challenging to relate to the mannerisms and culture I describe.
How does one describe a city's vitality/? Mayor Daley's goal to provide safe passage to school for kids living in crime invested areas? To rid the city of gangs through http://www.chicagoneighborhoodwatchgroups.org/ Neighborhood Watch Groups in which communities and police share information. To educate all children by holding teachers acountable. To crack down on corrupt cops. To acknowledge paramedics, firefighters, police officers, http://www.chicagopolicedepartment.org/ and good samaritans who do so much for our city. To beautify our parks and lakefront, and offer terrific museums, http://www.chicagomuseums.org/, the Art Institute, http://www.artinstitute.com/ dance and theatre performances http://www.chicagotheatre.com/ , and musical events. To provide a multi-cultural setting in which people of all different races and religions comfortably co-exist. http://www.chicagolakefront.org/
Then there's the sleazy side of Chicago, with its homeless folks, drug addicts, alcoholics, gang members, killings, and corrupt politicians. Parts of the city where cops have no compunction about stopping a car because its driver or passengers are "driving while Black." How do you explain the dichotomy to someone from a more homogenous environment?
I suspect that the only way my scriptwriter will learn our ways is the hard way, through trial and error. That's the breaks. For Chicago, authenticity is the only game in town....
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Dumbest Obscene Phone Call!
A couple of days ago, I'm at the vet having my dog's anal glands expressed when I receive an obscene voicemail message. A professional-sounding man was seeking males or females interested in anal sex! I immediately turned the phone over to the receptionist who, unlike me, listened to the complete jaw-dropping message. On the way to the police station to file a report, I burst out laughing. The caller left his name and telephone number. I envisioned my response: "Only if you buy a house from me!" No such luck. The phone number had been cloned.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
September 21, 4pm ET: Join a Health Care Conference Call with President Obama - URJ
September 21, 4pm ET: Join a Health Care Conference Call with President Obama - URJ
We have a chance to influenece President Obama on Sept. 21 regarding affordable health care for all. If you don't want to participate in the conference call, send me your questions and I'll ask them!
We have a chance to influenece President Obama on Sept. 21 regarding affordable health care for all. If you don't want to participate in the conference call, send me your questions and I'll ask them!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
So Much for Psychics!
Turns out the psychic was wrong. The literary agent who wanted my second suspense novel was a quack, at least according to Absolute Write and Predators & Editors: two indispensible guides for authors seeking literary representation.
It's so difficult to know who to trust. Fiction is a striped cat. Authors get tired of sending out queries when the tantalizing aroma of self-publishing lies just around the corner. But just like pre-marital sex in the '50s, one must not give in until all other exploration has gone south.
All is not lost, however. Four scriptwriters of varying expertise currently compete to adapt my award-winning first suspense novel Deadly Choices, now five years old. And I shall continue to participate on mystery author panels at conferences throughout the country -- and tell myself: Get it together. Your time will come....
It's so difficult to know who to trust. Fiction is a striped cat. Authors get tired of sending out queries when the tantalizing aroma of self-publishing lies just around the corner. But just like pre-marital sex in the '50s, one must not give in until all other exploration has gone south.
All is not lost, however. Four scriptwriters of varying expertise currently compete to adapt my award-winning first suspense novel Deadly Choices, now five years old. And I shall continue to participate on mystery author panels at conferences throughout the country -- and tell myself: Get it together. Your time will come....
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Psychic's Good News
I just started working with a real estate client who says he runs everything through his "prophet" before he decides which property to buy. Turns out his prophet is Grandma Rose. In my vocabulary, "prophet" equals "psychic." I decided to give her a call -- not regarding my success in the real estate business but as an author!
Grandma Rose, who now resides in Mississippi, originally hails from Chicago. Thus her comments or revelations, depending on your level of spirituality at the time, are drop-dead blunt tinged with smatterings of southern .
For my second suspense novel Window of Guilt, Rose sees a Jewish or Italian bearded man with a broad smile and a sharp scissors cutting the red ribbon that encases my manuscript! She says it's an agent I've recently sent to, although she knows not his name.
My third novel Fatal Reaction only needs a bit more editing, according to Rose. True enough, it needs to be elongated another thirty pages. Then it's ready to go! Rose says agents will attempt to talk me out of the school setting but I should stay true to my beliefs, i.e. keep it! That novel will also find a home with a publisher.
Lastly, my fourth novel Psychobabble. Rose says this manuscript should be the easiest to sell because it's got lots of fascinating characters.
If this psychic is clued in on any of the above, I can look forward to an exciting future! I'm sending Rose a carton of books -- not my own -- as a Thank You. If you're interested in talking to Rose, shoot me an e-mail and I'll act as the conduit!
Grandma Rose, who now resides in Mississippi, originally hails from Chicago. Thus her comments or revelations, depending on your level of spirituality at the time, are drop-dead blunt tinged with smatterings of southern .
For my second suspense novel Window of Guilt, Rose sees a Jewish or Italian bearded man with a broad smile and a sharp scissors cutting the red ribbon that encases my manuscript! She says it's an agent I've recently sent to, although she knows not his name.
My third novel Fatal Reaction only needs a bit more editing, according to Rose. True enough, it needs to be elongated another thirty pages. Then it's ready to go! Rose says agents will attempt to talk me out of the school setting but I should stay true to my beliefs, i.e. keep it! That novel will also find a home with a publisher.
Lastly, my fourth novel Psychobabble. Rose says this manuscript should be the easiest to sell because it's got lots of fascinating characters.
If this psychic is clued in on any of the above, I can look forward to an exciting future! I'm sending Rose a carton of books -- not my own -- as a Thank You. If you're interested in talking to Rose, shoot me an e-mail and I'll act as the conduit!
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