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.

Halloween Memories Giveaway -- WINNER

I can't express how much I enjoyed reading all your Halloween memories! They were funny and poignant, and your photos made my day.

I used Random.org as usual and this time around Angel's number came up. Congratulations, Angel!

Stay tuned for future giveaways! And thanks so much for participating. :D

Haunted Seminary Tour

This past Friday I met up with pals Brandi, Martha and Karen for the Haunted Seminary Tours in Tahlequah. I was scheduled to do a reading, accompany the first tour and sign books, but it felt more like a visit to an old friend than an "author appearance." Now that it's behind me, I can tell you that returning to the setting of The Revenant on a dark and chilly October night was the perfect way to celebrate Halloween!


How can you not love Seminary Hall in all her spooktacular evening glory? To those familiar with the book -- Willie's room is in the right turret, second floor. We had to laugh because the lights were on, but on the wrong side. And yet, do you notice a funky light in Willie's window? Or is that just me? (Click to embiggen) I know the right turret was completely dark when I took this picture.


Karen, Brandi and Martha admire Seminary Hall at night. So atmospheric! (Notice statue of Sequoyah behind them.)


Posing with Martha and Karen (& the book!).


Marie Madison, graduate student in English at Northeastern State University, was my contact for this event. Proceeds from the Haunted Seminary Tours enable NSU grad students to attend professional conferences and present papers. As a former starving grad student, I'm all for that!


You guys, I PHOTOGRAPHED AN ORB! A GHOSTLY ORB!

Okay, maybe it was just a flash effect, but Brandi (& others) heard ghostly typewriter sounds on the third floor. Apparently, many of the hauntings at Seminary Hall are auditory.


This is my favorite part -- I remembered it well from the first tour I attended over 2 years ago. Our guide shared the story of a professor who was alone on the third floor and heard someone running up and down the hall, but she could never catch the offender. Apparently, this is one of the most common auditory hauntings. Years ago, when the wiring above the drop ceiling was getting an upgrade, these footprints were discovered on the original plaster ceiling. Aren't they creepy? Is this a ghostly residue of the primaries who once ran up and down the halls?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, EVERYONE!

(I will announce the winner of the signed copies of BLOOD MAGIC, HEREAFTER, and THE REVENANT later today!)