If your hometown newspaper is anything like my hometown newspaper, they are probably slamming this movie, but my cousin and I really liked it. And not just because Johnny Depp is great in it but because everyone in it was really good. I liked everybody -- Billy Crudup was great. And Lili Taylor is in it -- I love her. And the main female lead, Marion Cotillard, was wonderful and I especially loved that her teeth aren't perfect.

It is stressful to watch, though-- if you aren't into violence and relentless machine gun fire. More than once during the movie, I wished I had  some of that 101 proof Wild Turkey (see post below somewhere), or perhaps Old Grandad would have been better. But oh well. I survived without it -- however, I came out of the theater feeling like I was going to get shot by someone from out of nowhere. My nerves were really a little rattled. Because it isn't just gunfire, it's really loud gunfire.

The one thing that really, really upset me, though, is that the song that opens my Valentino novel -- Bye, Bye, Blackbird -- features prominently in this film. I think my exact comments to my cousin about it were: "Fuck!" (But I'm guessing we are not targetting the same market here.) I loved the music, though. An old C&W favorite of mine, The Last Round-Up, also features in it. I have had that record forever and I still play it a lot. It was weird to hear it in a Johnny Depp movie, that was for sure.

Another thing that absolutely broke my heart and made me long for any kind of top shelf bourbon... guess who else features prominently in the ending of this film??? William fucking Powell! It was really devastating to me. Especially in the way the footage was used -- it's set up to be very heartbreaking. But I love him so much. Do you ever feel like you love someone so much that when you suddenly see them in a place where you're not expecting to see them, your whole heart just gets sucked right in and it makes you feel isolated and cut-off and crazy? That's how I felt. Even though William Powell is an Old Hollywood icon -- he belongs to the ages, now -- I still feel like he's mine, you know? That he belongs to me. And it was very jarring to become once more acquainted with the fact that I am really wrong about that. I spend too much time alone watching old movies, I guess. Oh well.

Okay, speaking of the Valentino novel, word from the agent is that it will be on nine editors' desks before the 4th of July holiday weekend. And they are all editors at major houses so let's start doing some of that creative visualization, gang! Yippee-ki-yi-yay.

And on another happy note... I am so in love with my new publishers in France. They are so incredibly considerate of me and nice and excited to be working with me. Jesus. It's like, I don't know what, really, but it feels so incredibly good. Erotica writers everywhere will agree with me when I say that this is not usually how we are treated; we are usually treated like hacks who just bang shit out and get paid a flat fee for a set number of dirty words...

Okay!!! A Summer Place arrived in today's mail so all's right with the world!  Hope you guys have a great holiday weekend, if you're living state-side, that is. If not, have a great weekend anyway. I'm off to have a little wine. Thanks for visiting, gang. You're the greatest! See ya!