Boston

First thing -- I've heard from a couple of people that they've had trouble posting comments on this blog. And the other day I received an email notification of a comment that never actually appeared on the blog. (Maybe it was deleted?) So . . . if you have any suggestions on how to fix this, please let me know!

We had a great time in Boston, once Steve got his presentation out of the way. Met up with my friend Ellen Thursday morning and she kindly showed me around. I was jabbering so much that I didn't take many photos, and those I did take weren't that great, but it was SUCH a nice time.

Steve and I walked until we dropped Thursday afternoon. I offer you a random selection of photos:


I have to ask -- what's up with the obese squirrels in Boston Common?


The Revenant is shelved in YA Mystery at the Boston Public Library. So cool! Steve faced it out, probably to the great annoyance of the librarian who checked the shelves before closing.


Quincy Market was very festive! (We walked through after dinner in the North End)


I couldn't resist getting a photo in front of the tree. :)

Monday Miscellany

I've been MIA as far as blogging goes. I blame it on writing projects and holiday hoopla -- wonderful things, to be sure, but also crazy-making.

Let's see . . .

-- This week Steve is giving a presentation in Boston and I'm tagging along, so prepare to be spammed with travel photos. I'm very excited to stay at a haunted hotel, meet a friend for tea at the Boston Public Library, and generally soak up the beauty of this old city during the holidays.

-- Speaking of tea, a friend posted this video on my Facebook wall a few days ago. Why didn't I watch more Kids in the Hall back in the day? Tea lovers MUST watch; everyone else is strongly encouraged to do so:



-- More than 3 months after our return from Oxford, I FINALLY have photos online at Flickr. I posted some of them on the blog a while back, but if you're desperately in need of a distraction -- and want to see, among other things, photos from film locations for movies like Pride & Prejudice '05 and Jane Eyre '11 -- you should check out my Oxford 2011 photo collection.


Here's a little preview -- can you guess what this is?

-- As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been watching 1930s movies as research for a certain project, and I can highly recommend 1932's Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Grand Hotel.


Yes, the performances will seem quite broad by today's standards (and I confess to getting annoyed with Garbo's stagey wriggling and hand-fluttering), but the cinematography is pretty spectacular, the script -- which features a shocking twist I totally didn't see coming -- is nuanced, and Lionel Barrymore's penultimate scene with Joan Crawford brought me to tears.

Joan Crawford, seen above in a charming scene with John Barrymore, was SEXY. I vaguely remembered her as the "Mommy Dearest" psycho-lady, but watching her in this film was a revelation. I'd love to see more of her early work -- any recommendations?

[Next up on the 1930s film queue: Design for Living!]

Happy Monday, everyone!

Weekend discoveries

-- On Saturday Anjali Banerjee posted a link to this wonderful video on Facebook. Stick with it to the 30 second point and I promise you won't be disappointed. Oh, and please click the full screen icon for optimum viewing. :)

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

-- Yesterday I watched two 1935 films as research for a certain project. First up was Katherine Hepburn in Alice Adams, which I must confess I did not like at all. (And I'm a huge Hepburn fan.) Fortunately, the next selection was much better -- the original 39 Steps directed by Alfred Hitchcock. LOVED it! I was glued to the TV and even had to rewind a few times to fully admire Hitchcock's signature match cuts and quirky framing of shots. This film had a more credible script (in my opinion) than the recent TV adaptation starring Rupert Penry-Jones. (It definitely offered more roles for women -- I can think of at least 4 memorable female characters.)


Best of all was lovely Robert Donat, with his floppy hair and fetching guyliner -- my latest dead actor crush!

Revenant art!

A while back, I featured Audrey Eclectic as a Friday Favorite. I loved her Jane Eyre mug, and found inspiration for my writing in her painting, "An Old-Fashioned Romance." I nurtured a little fantasy that Heather, the artist behind Audrey Eclectic, might paint something for The Revenant. When I approached her with the idea, she was very enthusiastic. Hooray!

I was overjoyed by the results:


I love Willie's wispy hair and light smattering of freckles. You can see Seminary Hall and various students in the background (including a certain forbidden boy). Heather featured the painting on her blog, and you'll find a much better photo there.

Heather also created a postcard for me:


Here's the front with the lovely Victorian border.


And the back, featuring one of my photos of Seminary Hall.

*happy sigh*

To see more of Heather's work, including holiday-themed art and greeting cards, please visit the Audrey Eclectic page at Etsy. To learn more about her inspirations and latest projects, follow her blog. I'm so delighted that this talented Oklahoma artist enjoyed my book and was willing to create such a beautifully folksy piece for me!

Beach or Forest?

Steve travels a lot for work, and now that I have this full-time author gig (fingers crossed it lasts), I like to join him as much as possible. This past week we visited two very different places.


The first was Palm Beach, Florida. This view was steps away from the back entrance of the hotel.


Here you see the private beach. Can you also see the red flags near the center of the photo? (Click to enlarge) No swimming allowed that day. Too windy, I guess?

On the whole, I've decided I'm not a big fan of beaches or beach resorts. I'm actually rather repelled by the idea of reclining in a beach chair and baking in the sun all day. Walking along the shore is another matter, but at this location it just wasn't possible. I prefer a rocky Cornish beach or something like Half Moon Bay in early spring. Cool humidity and dramatic scenery (sans palm trees) for me, please.

We returned from Florida very late on Wednesday and left the next day for Fayetteville, Arkansas. Now this was more my style! Northwest Arkansas is gorgeous in the fall. The morning after Steve gave his talk at the U of A law school, we went in search of a park where we could get up close and personal with the fall foliage.


Devil's Den State Park fit the bill perfectly. If you know me at all, you know how much I love a wooded walk. If only I could bottle the true scent of a forest -- it's so lovely.


I long for color like this in central Oklahoma.


On our way back to the interstate I made Steve pull over so I could take this photo.

So how about you? Beach or forest?

P.S. Yes, we did have a 5.6 earthquake Saturday night. Very freaky, but our house seems to have held up okay. I had to laugh when I saw the footage of Kirk Herbstreit doing his College Gameday reporting from the OSU campus. Gotta love those bug eyes as the quake hits.