Marilyn's Room

Oddly brain-dead today!!

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Sat, 19 May 2012 13:52:52 GMT

I watched American Graffiti for the first time in decades last night, but I don't think that's why I am oddly brain-dead this morning... (for some reason, I am super tired today.)

One thing I discovered by watching that film last night, though, is that I know the words to every single song in that film because the songs all became really popular again when that movie wound up being a smash hit in 1973. So, even while the film is a nostalgic look at 1962, here in Marilyn's World of 2012, it is now also a nostalgic look at 1973 since all those popular songs from 1962 were popular once again in 1973, when I was 13 years old...

The age of 13 is perfect fodder for creating nostalgia, btw. Even if you didn't exactly appreciate being 13...

Aside from the fact that I phrased that thought really weirdly (not the thought about 13 being perfect fodder, but the thought above it), if you really consider it for a moment, don't you find that 1962 vs. 1973 thing really weird? In 1973, when I was 13, the era of 1962 seemed millions of years earlier. So it seemed like all those songs were from a million years before -- and not just 11 years, okay? And now here it is almost 40 years later, and I'm watching a nostalgic film about an era that was 50 years ago, and suddenly that 11 year span seems quite paltry indeed! It was almost as if the film had brought back songs that had been popular 5 minutes prior... but, as I said, at age 13, that time-perspective thing is seriously out of whack.

In fact, what brought all this on in my head last night, was looking at all these actors who later became very famous -- seeing them again when they were so young & unknown. Most of them have grey hair now, etc. And I thought, Wow, these actors are so old now -- I guess because this movie was made 40 years ago... Then of course I realized, Oh no!! I'm really old and grey now, too, because this movie was made 40 years ago!!

Ha ha ha. Life's really funny that way, isn't it, gang? It suddenly makes you really old...

One thing I enjoy thinking about is that "time-perspective thing" and how it changes as we get older. I love that shift in perspective: from "forever" to a "heartbeat." I like to think about historical events that seemed like ancient history when I was little, and see now that it hadn't really been that long a time between the event and my coming here. For instance, Hitler being dead only 15 years before I was born. When I was little, not only did it seem like Hitler had lived in some long ago century, but also on some other distant planet that was all in black & white. Now I can see that 15 years is really just a heartbeat ago. And, of course, Germany is a country that thrives in full color, here on planet Earth.

(You'll notice I tend to bring up Hitler a lot when I am talking about the nature of Time. I am basically a WWII fanatic, but only the European theater, not the Pacific one. When I was little, I was never afraid of "monsters" or that type of vague thing; I was in fact terrified of Nazis. I was afraid that Nazis were hiding in my closet and it was really, really terrifying to me. I would be so scared that I couldn't even speak or move. I would just lie in my bed in the dark, in my perfect little pink & white Ohio-American bedroom, frozen in complete terror, certain that there was a Nazi in my closet.)

Ain't girlhood grand, gang??

Okay, well, here it is: Saturday morning!! Sunny, gorgeous, peaceful, blissful!! And all I have to do today is ... Yes! Sit at my computer and work!! So I'm going to get crackin' on that. Thanks for visiting, gang. I hope you have something really fun planned for today. TGIS, right??? Okay. See ya!

OMG, People!!

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Fri, 18 May 2012 11:34:21 GMT

What gives with this endlessly breathtaking weather????

Wow, yet another amazing day -- and, on top of the spiritual gloriousness of it (some people might just say "glory" but why do that when you can make up a new word that sounds way more important and uses a ton of unnecessary letters??!!) -- it's FRIDAY!! Yay!!

Sorry that I've been absent from here again this week, gang. I am just so busy these days that I am not finding enough time in the day to get everything done and do yoga, so I've been trying to focus on squeezing the yoga in there somehow. Then -- poof! -- the days really disappear!

An urgent update on my patio furniture: I no longer need just one fake wicker patio chair, I now need the whole set. The loveseat-thingie has a wobbly leg now, too. What is left of the current fake wicker patio set has been moved back into the sun room, where the cats are happily luxuriating on it in the ceaselessly happy sunshine... However, this leaves my patio "furniture-less"!! (No, I don't count my seriously pretty white mosaic bistro set as "patio" furniture because it cannot be left out in the rain, nor do I count the blue plastic fake Adirondack chairs as "patio" furniture because they remain out in the yard, far from the actual patio -- a significant difference! And of course my picnic table is not "patio" furniture because it is a picnic table!! It doesn't matter that, technically, it is kind of sitting on my patio even as I type...)

The good news is that when I happened to mention to my stalwart cousin that I needed to make a trip out to Garden Ridge (see post from May 6th-- unless, of course, you have it memorized!!) (You never know!!), she said, "Oh, I want to go with you! Let's go together!!" I was so psyched to have company for such a fun outing (Garden Ridge can easily take all afternoon, seriously). However, she promptly left for a week in Las Vegas and when she returns -- dare I say, the MOMENT she returns?? -- we must go see Dark Shadows again but this time in IMAX!

For someone who can barely find time to blog anymore, an all-day outing at a store clear in another town, as well as a return trip to the movie theater become oddly unmanageable. In fact, a very old friend (well, she's not actually all that old, we've just been friends for a very long time -- since my wee bonny girlhood) is moving to Texas and has been trying to get together with me for months now. She finally said, "How about I take you to breakfast really early Sunday morning?" Privately, I was thinking, Oh no, very early Sunday morning is my time for sitting peacefully and staring at the world!! However, I said, "Sure!! I'd so love that!! Let's do it!!"

I guess I will move "sitting peacefully and staring at the world" to tomorrow morning, instead.

Meanwhile, I hope you have a really swell Friday planned, wherever you are, gang. I also hope you're having the same kind of unspeakably beautiful weather. I leave you with this video -- a favorite of mine for when I want to celebrate the awesomeness of creation.

See ya, gang, and thanks for visiting!!

Dark Shadows!! Yay!!

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Sat, 12 May 2012 13:38:53 GMT

Well, we loved it -- of course! And we will be seeing it again because we couldn't see it in IMAX yesterday and we really want to go back and see it in IMAX. (Luckily, we are armed to the teeth with gift cards, pre-paid passes, etc., etc. for AMC theaters! Whew.)

I don't really know how someone who is unfamiliar with the Dark Shadows TV show will react to this movie. It seemed like a fun story, regardless of the Dark Shadows elements, but I can't be impartial. However, if you ARE a fan of Dark Shadows -- as my stalwart cousin and I are -- then I think you are really going to appreciate this movie.

You know, it is not some sort of side-splitting laugh-a-thon. There were many moments that were funny. But mostly what this movie does is capture what was so belovedly corny and perhaps a bit campy and "self-serious" about the original version. I don't know how they did that, but they did. Michelle Pfeiffer was fucking phenomenal. It was like she walked straight out of the original cast. That weird, almost wooden, self-conscious aura that those original actors had in that show. But she also transcended it.

Eva Green was -- I don't know what. Stupefyingly watchable? God's gift to lip gloss? Evil?? All three, perhaps???

And Helena Bonham Carter is her usual, utterly insane self. She is so fucking hilarious. I don't know how she does it. You know, in the early days, she and her breasts were cast in those never-endingly straight-laced types of serious-acting roles. I absolutely never cared for her. But now that she does all these Tim Burton films, she is able to be so fucking brilliant. She chews up the fucking screen (but in the best possible way). I just love her.

I'm not sure what to say, yet, about Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins. Maybe I am still trying to process it. I don't know how he manages to get so totally inside a character and become it with so much compassion, you know? Sustain it, even though the character might be ridiculous. Obviously, there are elements to this character that are just inherently silly and ridiculous, and as usual, he nailed those. But there is this other element going on that I haven't processed yet. But I will because we're going to go see it again in IMAX!!

Rest assured, I will regale you with my full-fledged opinion then!! Okay! Go see it, gang -- before everybody ruins it by telling you all about it!!

Geniuses Not Needed Today

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:00:09 GMT

That's right, even the simplest simpleton can deduce where I will be tonight!!

Here!!!

Oops! Wait!! How did that get there?? Apparently, we DO need geniuses today!!

I will, of course, be here!!

Although, I do actually want to see The Avengers, as well as Cabin in the Woods, because I am a huge Joss Whedon fan, however... My stalwart cousin and I have been waiting 17 years for Dark Shadows to finally open -- I don't think I am going to suddenly just walk away, do you???

And I have stuck to my guns and have not watched any of the pre-opening-day promotional stuff -- none of the interviews, etc. -- because I don't want anyone spoiling this movie for me.

I do have to say, though, that in the news online, I saw some photos of Johnny Depp at the London premiere from the other day and he looked BEYOND exhausted. It was kind of scary. And I don't think it was the type of "scary" intended as a precursor to his role as a vampire in the movie. It made me think that, you know, this parading of stars from one coast to another in nano-seconds is kind of abusive.

I know, I know -- it's part of the job-description of "famous movie star" (or "famous director," in the case of Tim Burton), and that the job comes with a huge paycheck and with various perks that might make the abuse feel worth it, but honestly I think sled dogs are treated better. Just generally speaking. Not that sled dogs are used to open movies or anything...

In fact, why not judge for yourselves?? That's right: Contrast and compare, gang!!

Glamorous Movie Star at his own movie premiere:

Sled Dogs:

Me thinks a picture speaks a thousand words!!

Well, all righty!! I will get this gorgeous Friday underway around here. It is another sunny, chilly morning here and it is only expected to reach a high of 73 degrees Fahrenheit. Perfect Friday weather!! Well, thanks for visiting, gang. Make it a great one, wherever you are. See ya!!

Okay, I am at last truly jaded!

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:29:29 GMT

I am trying not to get too political on this blog this year only because I am so disgusted with everything about this Administration and appalled by the agendas of those who are ideologically opposed to it.

While it seems like an encouraging step for Obama to be pro-Gay Marriage (although, as usual, I'm thinking that more of us should take a stand against the political institution of legal marriages all across the board, so that gay or straight marriage becomes a non-issue in and of itself), I can only see his proclamation as a political strategy -- as a way to ensure a polarization between Democrats and Republicans in an election year -- and nothing more. And I can only view the editorials by gay Democrat pundits as a soapbox to proclaim from. Just a soapbox, you know? These are all just fucking soapboxes.

It's similar to how I feel about ObamaCare -- it does almost nothing to address the legal robbery that is healthcare in this country. The only truly imperative issue it seems to address is not allowing insurance agencies to penalize people for pre-existing health conditions. The rest of it, in my opinion, is convoluted hogwash. And now this momentous decision to formally declare that Obama is in favor of gay marriages! Nothing but an occasion for newscasters to have a bunch of "news" to spew at us. (Too bad Obama isn't also saying that by "gay" he means "happy" !! Ha ha. Okay. I know a lot of people in the LGBT community take this very seriously. But it is only because there is legal power in being legally married. And I am, of course, saying that legal marriage is kind of a bizarre somewhat draconian institution to begin with and we should be putting THAT issue under a microscope, instead.)

Beyond that, what an incredibly gorgeous morning here today, gang!! It is so crisp and cool and clear out there today. And the flowers are blooming and the birds are dinging like mad. Well, they are also SINGING like mad!! But nothing beats a dinging bird...

This is where the true power lies, gang: In these moments of silly bliss. Grab them up whenever you can.

So, is anyone else exhausted??

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:07:45 GMT

Was it that intense Supermoon? I don't know. All I know is that I feel incredibly EXHAUSTED today. I'm not even sure how I'm managing to stay propped up here in front of the computer. (I'm thinking that if I go get ice cream from the freezer and eat it right this minute, it could give me the sustenance I so dearly need in order to write to you guys right now... However, I'm not sure that I'm willing to add "eating ice cream at 6:40 AM" to my already-long list of vices. Even for you guys!)

Do you ever feel that even coffee becomes useless?? What is happening today? Plus, it's raining, which always kind of makes the early morning feel slow and drowsy.

But speaking of rain... my flowers are doing so great this year! I have roses blooming now and peonies getting underway. And I bought several hanging baskets on clearance -- the poor things were really dying. The store was unloading them for 99 cents a basket! Of course I wanted to buy ALL of them and rescue them, but I bought 7 of them. And so far they are doing just magnificently well. And I'm sure they are appreciating all this rain.

Okay, well, oddly enough I just this moment remembered that I have to be somewhere at 8:30 today!! Wow. Good thing I remembered now instead of at 8:30, isn't it?? This means I seriously gotta scoot, though, gang. Have a wonderful Tuesday, wherever you are and whatever you wind up eating, okay??? Thanks for visiting. See ya!

[What I won't do for sustenance...]

Now that it's still fresh in my mind...

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:10:13 GMT

That's kind of a weird statement, isn't it? "Now that it's still fresh" ?

Well, what I am referring to is the current season of Mad Men. Astounding. I was under a deadline through most of the current season, so I haven't been able to comment about it until now.

Super-duper loyal readers of this lofty blog (or at least readers who have been hanging out here since the summer of 2007) know I am a die-hard fan of Mad Men and have been ever since I saw the very first promos for it on AMC. But I have to say, this current season is just flooring me, gang! Wow. Even though we never get to see Betty anymore (I guess she is off in her real life, having a baby), and even though I didn't think I was going to like Megan at all, I am totally fucking LOVING it!! OMG.

And Pete Campbell -- Jesus! The guy we love to hate!! -- it turns out he's totally human. Wow. Last night's episode was unreal.

Okay, for those of you who don't watch the show, I won't bore you and will move on...

I am still working on my SomethingDark stuff for the upcoming Issue 3, then I already have some editing and stuff to do for Issue 4, but within that mix, I will begin working on my next project(s). Not sure which one it will be, but it feels kind of great to have the luxury to choose, do you know what I mean? Somewhere in the last several months, I decided that I was only going to write stuff that really excited me, that really captured my interest and my heart and my imagination. In a way, life got really wonderful because of that.

I'm not saying that I regret any part of my career that came before. But I am saying that now all I want to do is write things that I feel are an extension of my mind and/or soul in some significant way. I don't want to just write things to get a paycheck. (Um, btw, if you have any innate desire to follow me down this path, keep in mind that once you decide to no longer write "just for the paycheck" a lot of the paychecks disappear.) That said, though, it just feels really exciting.

I truly LOVE the project I just finished (the teleplay, Tell My Bones). I loved creating it, I loved being the vehicle for its emergence into "here." And those are the feelings I want to encourage in me. I no longer want to say, "Okay, I'll write this because I need the money; then I'll work on my next book" or whatever versions that idea has taken over the last decade. (The decades before that, I only wrote what made me happy because so few people were buying it anyway.)

Well, I loved writing Freak Parade and I loved writing Twilight of the Immortal, but the difference now is that I didn't realize how much I loved what I was doing because I was always stressing out about something or other at the same time. Now, I don't respond to stress in the same way and I find I am coming full circle in how I feel about the creative process. I have several projects on the many burners of the proverbial stove, and now I can say, "I want to do this project," or "I want to work on that project now" and not feel anything but happy about the prospects of creating it, whatever "it" is.

I don't feel any pressure to get stuff done and out into the world. I just want to enjoy the creative process.

Well, I guess those are my Happy Monday Morning Thoughts for this week. I'm gonna get crackin' around here. I hope you guys have a great Monday underway wherever you are. And thanks for visiting!! See ya, gang!

Beautiful Moon!

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Sun, 06 May 2012 12:16:39 GMT

Wasn't that moon gorgeous last night, gang??? Kinda breathtaking. I took a picture of it but of course -- as loyal readers of this lofty, and oft times sporadic, blog know so well by now -- my camera is not a very good one. It didn't even come close to capturing how splendid it was. Instead, it rather made the enormous yellow moon look about as bright as the street lamp, didn't it? And for some reason, the camera made the moon look white, whereas it looked golden yellow in real life.

Luckily, you guys had your own moon to regale you with its splendor last night, so you don't really need my camera to be any better than it is. (Wow, something else to be grateful for! I don't have to go out and buy a really expensive camera!)

Okay, I don't know about you, gang, but I honest and truly had a relaxing day yesterday. I even did yoga for the first time in about a week and a half. I went out to look at all my gardens and the various little buds that are blooming, and I didn't pick a single weed. And there were many weeds that could have used picking. But I'm no dummy (anymore)! Pick just one weed and it starts the whole ball rolling. The next thing you know, it would have been 4 hours later and I would have been out there working the entire time. And Saturday would have been as good as over!

I did hose down the infamous blue plastic fake Adirondack chairs. It's not like I was on some mission to remain motionless, or anything like that. So the chairs are ready and waiting for summer. And I took the other patio furniture out and put it on my little deck. Well, the deck itself isn't little, it's just that it's not very high up off the ground. However, my patio set is now missing one chair, so I am now on a mission to get a fake-wicker rocking chair to go out on my deck. But I don't want to pay very much for it. So we'll see. My plan is to go to Garden Ridge and see what they have available. If you have a Garden Ridge anywhere near you and you've never been there yet, you must check it out! It is such a cool store!! (Ours is kind of far away. I need to take out a small bank loan in order to afford the gasoline, but once I get to Garden Ridge, the prices are worth every penny I had to procure in order to get the gas to get there!!)

Yes, yes, yes. I am a professional writer. You, too, could craft sentences like those above if you'd been lucky enough to be born "A Writer" !! (You'd also know how to use punctuation in interesting ways. In fact, I can't stress enough how awesome life is when you are born "A Writer" !!)

Which reminds me, I watched the movie Adaptation while doing yoga yesterday. What a great movie that is. Most writers already know what a great movie that is and don't need me to tell them. However, if you're a writer and you haven't seen Adaptation yet, you should see it! (Right after you come home from your trip to Garden Ridge!)

All in all, I really had a splendid day yesterday. I hope it was the same for you guys, wherever you were and whatever you wound up doing. Today I will do some editing, and also some quick errands ( that hopefully won't turn into some sort of elaborate "outing." We shall see.).

Okay, well, the plumber is here to look at my kitchen sink, which suddenly started spewing at me alarmingly this morning and then backing up like mad. So here's hoping this won't take long and then Sunday will get underway around here. Thanks for visiting, gang. I hope you enjoy yourselves whatever you do today!! See ya!!

OMG!! You know???

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Sat, 05 May 2012 13:24:03 GMT

Well, let's look at it this way: The Universe decided it was time for me to take an enforced break from the computer.

All I can say is, thank god I had finally completed the teleplay and turned it in or I would have lost what was left of my mind.

Sunday, while I was pretending to take the day off and just relax, but instead was back into overdrive like I always am -- puttering and cleaning and running errands and working in the garden and suddenly tearing up carpeting from the stairway while in the middle of making dinner, etc., etc. (yes, I know: what is it about any of that that even remotely resembles relaxing? ) -- I knocked over a glass of iced coffee on my desk. The iced coffee aimed straight for the underside of the laptop at breakneck speed. I then (too late!) tried to whisk the laptop out of danger but immediately dropped it on the floor.

Then the view on the monitor looked like the beginning of the old Outer Limits TV show ("Do not attempt to adjust your TV set" for all you old fogeys out there!!), and something inside me knew it simply couldn't be good. Not a good sign at all. And you know what? I was right! So off the computer went to the repair guy's and there it remained for nearly a week!

[Reasonable facsimile of my monitor last Sunday.]

Well, I still had a really busy week, it just didn't involve being on the computer at all. And I knew you were all thinking I was some sort of charlatan -- saying I was back to blogging everyday and then disappearing for a week. But sometimes you just gotta go with whatever the Universe serves up, unbelievable as it often seems...

So, how about that SUPER MOON???? For those of you who don't know, the "supermoon" is happening because the moon is closer to the earth than it's been in 100 years plus it happens to be full. So be sure to get a look at it at sundown this weekend because it should be splendid. Then next week or the week after, I can't remember, we have a lunar eclipse. So -- quite auspicious if you are into that sort of thing. I am, actually. Might as well be, you know? If you can't regard the world as magical then I don't really know how else to get through any given day. Do you know what I mean, gang? If you simply face reality instead of creating it, whew. Not a lot of joyfulness in that, is there?

Okay!! Well. Yes, my life does indeed involve more than going to see Dark Shadows this coming Friday, but it is quite a little bright spot on the horizon, nonetheless. (Interesting achievement, isn't it? "Dark Shadows" and "bright spot"?) (You know what else occurred to me? Ever since I was little, "Dark Shadows" was conceptual: "Dark Shadows" was not a title; it was the whole concept of the TV show. And the other night, I finally thought of it as two separate words: "dark" and "shadows." And I thought to myself: What the fuck is that supposed to mean??? What are dark shadows, anyway?? It doesn't make any sense. If it's dark out, you won't see shadows. And shadows in and of themselves are always dark...)

I know, gang. There are way more important things in life that don't make sense that perhaps I should lend my lofty mind to trying to sort out, however...

All right. I really am going to try to take it kind of easy this weekend. I have some more deadlines now that I am eager to start tackling. (Who was it who called them "lifelines" instead of "deadlines"??? I don't remember but isn't that a cool concept?) And then I am going to try to just take it easy. We'll see how it goes.

Thanks for visiting, folks!! Have a great one, wherever you are, and take it super easy!! See ya!!

I cannot fucking believe it!

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 12:47:43 GMT

Not a single one of you could be bothered to pick up a rag and do a little dusting around here while I was gone????? Thank you so much. This room is a complete disaster!!

Oh -- ha ha ha. (The inspiration behind that remark? I woke this morning to discover that a friend of my housemate's was stranded last night and so is now sleeping down in our family room. I can only pray that he isn't allergic to cat hair because I haven't dusted or vacuumed down there since Easter weekend!!)

Okay, well, life has finally resumed around here. I "met" my deadline, as it were. Two weeks late, but at least it is finally done and off to L.A. and now all I have is a ton of other stuff to do. Yay!! But what a relief. I am really happy with the results of the teleplay, but it is also nice to get a breather now.

I actually even took a tiny road trip this weekend. I got in the old trusty, rusty '97 Camry and drove down to that bastion of conservatism on the mighty Ohio River: Cincinnati!! Yay.

You know, in the old days -- and by "old" I am speaking of the Underground Railroad in the days of slavery -- when a runaway slave made it across the Ohio River into Cincinnati it was almost like reaching the Promised Land. It doesn't quite feel like that today, but it is still an interesting thing to consider: What Cincinnati might feel like were it still a place of salvation instead of -- I don't know -- damnation???

Okay, moving along!! How many more days until Dark Shadows opens in theaters nationwide??? Something like 12 or 13. Something like that. At this point, I've stopped reading any news whatsoever about it because all that upfront PR stuff tends to spoil a movie for me, so now I have to heavily block it all out. But rest assured, plans are underway to spirit me to the box office early on Friday, May 11th, to secure 2 tickets pour moi and my stalwart cousin. Then I will return to the theater many hours later to actually have dinner with her somewhere as close to the theater as possible, since every place will be stupidly busy at that point, and see the film with her. (She actually has to do this thing called "work" on Friday so we won't be able to go see the film early in the day. We have to go at the prime time slot, instead; the time when everyone on Earth goes to the movie at the same time. I hate that. But, alas, that's what we have to do since we MUST see this on opening night. She and I, sadly enough, are both old enough to have been HUGE fans of the Dark Shadows TV show. And, of course, we are both huge fans of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp [try hard not to look at the icky picture at that last link!! -- Ed.] so we have both been eagerly awaiting this movie for a lifetime, it seems!!)

Oh, wow, I sense a digression up there, or perhaps a tangent. Not sure which....

New topic.

I have been wanting to blog about this for days, gang, but was seriously too busy to allow myself to get sidetracked. But now here I am, so here we go: Thank God I did not have a work of fiction nominated for a Pulitzer Prize this year!!!!!! My god, how demoralizing was that, gang??? None of the nominees were good enough this year, and so they did not award a Pulitzer for fiction for the first time in 35 years. It's one thing to be nominated and then not win in your category. At least you were nominated, right? But to have nobody win kind of makes it look like you all sucked!! Big time. Jeez.

Title: Great Moments in History and You Were There, Sucking Big Time

Author [standing somewhere]: "Oh, yes, I was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize once."

Other Person Standing There: "Really?"

Author: "Yes, it was the year that nobody won because we all sucked."

All righty!! See? There are all kinds of reasons to be grateful every single darn day, gang. And you just never know when you're going to be grateful that you weren't nominated for a Pulitzer Prize...

Okay, so what other great news has been going on??? Well, the publishers of the Mammoth Book Series, Constable Robinson publishing house in the UK, is bringing out the first complete, unexpurgated digital edition of Neptune & Surf, as part of their new "classics of erotica" series. Yay!! They are also releasing a digital collection of the short stories of mine that they've published over the last ten years. (Included in this particular Mammoth series will be authors like Alison Tyler, M. Christian, Kristina Wright, Michael Hemmingson, Donna Storey, Thomas S. Roche, and others.) It should be very, very cool, gang!! I will keep you posted.

This is not to be confused with The Muse Revisited Series that I am publishing on my own. And just FYI: Volume Two in the series, The Erotic Novellas, will be coming out soon. This is the cover we are planning on but God knows (!!), some sort of censorship issue is likely to be involved since we can clearly see this woman's breasts, even though she is a painting from well over one hundred years ago:

And in keeping with the censorship topic, be sure to watch for the upcoming 3rd issue of SomethingDark.eu-- as I will have a piece in there about the recent digital censorship fracas. And even if I say so myself (as part of their lofty staff, that is) the 3rd issue of SDk is going to blow you away, gang. Seriously. I couldn't be more serious, in fact. You won't believe it.

Jeez. Okay, well, I guess I've rattled on long enough here, gang. I will close now and let you enjoy your Sunday!! Make it a great one, wherever you are!! Thanks for visiting, gang!! See ya!!

Why must people suck?

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 11:02:52 GMT

Well, who knew that sign language was different in American English and British English? Jeez, I guess we all know NOW...

But why does everybody have to go off on this stupid feeding frenzy and try to spoil something that was so beautiful??

Just FYI: The answer is because people suck...

Interesting...

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:24:17 GMT

Sorry, try this link instead:

http://publishingperspectives.com/2012/04/publishers-beware-more-creative-destruction-on-the-way/

Too Beautiful!!

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 15:44:08 GMT

Yes, I am still under an insane (extended) deadline here that I am just barely staying on top of...

That said, I wanted to take a moment out from my madness to regale you with this gem!! Enjoy, gang!!

Still under a crushing deadline here, gang!

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:21:07 GMT

But the end is in sight!! I will be here to regale you once more, sometime later next week. Meanwhile, check out the adorable new baby in the family and talk quietly amongst yourselves!!

See ya! Thanks for visiting!!

Cutest baby in the known history of the world

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:33:45 GMT

My stalwart cousin's first grandchild!! (I'm only 52 years older than him, but I'm sure we will get along splendidly!!)

This one looks really good!

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:48:46 GMT

The official 2012 trailer for the Norwegian film, Turn Me On, Dammit!

R.I.P. Richard Kasak

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:08:22 GMT

Richard Kasak, founder of Masquerade Books, my first publisher in New York, died on Friday, March 23rd. He was 79 years old.

There will be a memorial for him on Saturday at his home in Connecticut. If you knew Richard and would like that information, please email me.

Vaya con dios, amigo!

Something else to consider about Amazon, gang!

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 23:47:02 GMT

This comes on the heels of yesterday's post re: Amazon's charitable donations and what might be the hidden high cost of that donation to the non-profit recipients. (For instance, freedom of speech?)

Please read this latest assault on the publishing world by Amazon and sign the petition! We just need 1000 signatures, gang, and we are halfway there!

Stop Amazon's assault on independent publishers and distributors

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Amazon’s Assault on Intellectual Freedom

Bryce Milligan

There is an undeclared war going on in the United States that threatens the lynchpins of American intellectual freedom. In a statement worthy of Cassandra, Noah Davis wrote in a Business Insider post last October, “Amazon is coming for the book publishing industry. And not just the e-book world, either.” When titans battle, it is tempting to think that there will be no local impact. In this case, that’s dead wrong. Amazon’s recent actions have already cut the sales of the small press I run by 40 percent. Jeff Bezos could not care less.

One recent battle in Amazon’s larger war has pitted it against a diverse group of writers, small publishers, university presses, and independent distributors. It is a classic David-and-Goliath encounter. As in that story, however, this is more than just pitting the powerful against the powerless. In this case, the underdogs have the ideas, and ideas are always where the ultimate power lies.

Wings Press (San Antonio, Texas) is one of the several hundred independent publishers and university presses distributed by the Independent Publishers Group (IPG), the second largest book distributor in the country, but still only a medium-sized dolphin in a sea of killer whales. In late February, IPG’s contract with Amazon.com was due to be renegotiated. Terms that had been generally accepted across the industry were suddenly not good enough for Amazon, which demanded discounts and practices that IPG—and all of its client publishers—could only have accepted at a loss. Yes, that does mean what it sounds like: To do business with Amazon would mean reducing the profit margin to the point of often losing money on every book or ebook sold.

IPG refused to accept the draconian terms and sought to negotiate further. In what can only be seen as a move to punish IPG for its desire to remain relevant and healthy, Amazon refused to negotiat and pulled the plug on all the Kindle ebooks distributed by IPG, marking them as “unavailable.”

Not a big deal? Imagine that Walmart controls everything you eat, and Walmart decides to stop selling fish because it thinks that fishermen are making too much profit. Amazon is the Walmart of online bookselling. The dispute between Amazon and IPG will affect every literate person in America. It is a matter that goes to the heart of what librarians have termed “intellectual freedom.” In other words, the resolution of this dispute, one way or the other, will affect every individual American’s access to certain books. It will affect your ability to choose what you read.

Restrictions on access to literature generally have more politically motivated origins. The banning of certain Native American and Mexican American authors and books in Arizona, for example, is purely political. Attempts in the past to ban literature based on its “moral content” were largely political in nature. This dispute is purely capitalistic, and is much more difficult to fight.

A single practical example. Wings Press had offered up one of its Kindle titles, Vienna Triangle by California novelist Brenda Webster, for the Amazon daily deal— a limited time offer of 99 cents per download. The book zoomed to the top ten of one of Amazon’s several bestseller lists. While it was still listed as a bestseller, Amazon suddenly marked the title as “unavailable.” The trail of loss increases in impact as it descends the food chain: Amazon doesn’t notice the loss at all. IPG sees it as one of its 5,000 Kindle titles that vanished. Wings Press sees it as one of its 100 Kindle titles that vanished. The author sees it as the loss of her book, period.

Lest one think that eliminating a single ebook novel is a loss of little consequence, Wings Press also publishes the works of John Howard Griffin, including Black Like Me, one of the most important works of the civil rights movement and widely considered an American classic. Amazon’s refusal to sell the ebook of Black Like Me should be of serious concern to every American.

Ebook sales have been a highly addictive drug to many smaller publishers. For one thing, there are no “returns.” Traditionally, profit margins for publishers are so low because books that remain on shelves too long can be returned for credit—too often in unsalable condition. No one returns an ebook. Further, ebook sales allowed smaller presses to get a taste of the kind of money that online impulse buying can produce. Already ebook sales were underwriting the publication of paper-and-ink books at Wings Press.

It has been increasingly obvious to independent publishers for the last two years that Amazon intends to put all independents out of business—publishers, distributors, and bookstores. Under the guise of providing greater access, Amazon seemingly wants to kill off the distributors, then kill off the independent publishers and bookstores, and become the only link between the reader and the author. The attack on distributors like IPG and on some larger independent presses is only part of the plan. Amazon has also been going after the ultimate source of literature, the authors.

Having created numerous (seven or more) imprints of its own, Amazon has begun courting authors directly by offering exorbitant royalties if the authors will publish directly with Amazon. Among the financial upper echelon of authors, Amazon is paying huge advances. Among rank-and-file authors, not so. Here they are offering what amounts to glorified self-publication. The effect is to lure authors away from the editors who would have helped them perfect their work, away from the publishers and designers and publicists and booksellers who have dedicated their lives to building the careers of authors, while themselves making a living from the books they love. Even the lowly book reviewer has been replaced by semi-anonymous reader-reviewers. All these are the people who sustain literary culture.

For Amazon to rip ebook sales away from independent publishers now seems a classic bait-and-switch tactic guaranteed to kill small presses by the hundreds. Ah, but predatory business practices are so very American these days. There was a time not so long ago when "competition" was a healthy thing, not a synonym for corporate "murder." Amazon could have been a bright and shining star, lighting the way to increased literacy and improved access to alternative literatures. Alas, it looks more likely to be a large and deadly asteroid. We, the literary dinosaurs, are watching closely to see if this is a near miss or the beginning of extinction. Fortunately, this generation of dinosaurs is a little better equipped than the last one to take measures to avoid such a fate.

One can choose to buy ebooks from bn.com or from almost any independent bookstore rather than Amazon. One can buy directly from IPG. A free app will allow one to read those books on a Kindle. The resistance has already begun, and it starts with choice.
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Bryce Milligan is the publisher/editor of Wings Press. He is an award-winning poet and author of books for children and young adults.
sign the petition

Publishing Perspectives

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 11:05:13 GMT

I subscribe to Publishing Perspectives, a daily e-newsletter that focuses on international publishing, because my writing career has always, from the get-go, been international. (And, might I add, along with all the other truly great literary geniuses from throughout all time, my work has always been better received in England, France, Denmark, Australia, India, the Philippines, China, etc., etc., than it has been over here.)

Yay.

Anyway. Here in America, the main publishing conversation these days is always electronic publishing. In the rest of the world, however, the conversation still includes traditional publishing to a very large degree. But it also includes a significant amount of negative opinions and prognostications about Amazon.com.

Yes, that same behemoth that I struggled with regarding censorship throughout the month of February, basically.

And it's interesting to note that while the Paypal brouhaha was really, really a serious issue, Amazon does, in effect, own the whole world and their censorship policies are not really causing a similar outcry (except, of course, from my lone little voice in the wilderness -- as always. I'm always that lone little voice in the wildness -- why is that? I'd much rather have this great big fat voice right smack in the middle of civilization. I hear it pays better.).

Anyway. Quite a few recent editorials in Publishing Perspectives have been about Amazon.com. Today's post comes from an American publisher, Bryce Milligan, of Wings Press.

He examines Amazon's unusual policy of gifting $25,000 grants to "derserving" non-profit organizations and what might really be behind that whole strategy. While you read Milligan's editorial, keep in mind that Lambda -- home of the Lammy awards for Best GLBT Books of the Year, has received yet another one of those $25,000 grants this year...

I am re-printing the Milligan piece right here, so that you don't have to save "clicking the link" for some time later. I am re-printing it verbatim without permission from Publishing Perspectives, just fyi.

Amazon's Trojan Horse
Amazon’s business history indicates that pure philanthropy is not a natural rung of their DNA.
By Bryce Milligan, 3-22-2012

As the author of a well-circulated essay suggesting that Amazon.com’s business practices may pose a threat to American intellectual freedom, I was asked recently what I thought of Amazon’s “charitable giving.” Admittedly, “charity” is not the first word that crops up when I consider the 70% nosedive my press’s e-book sales took after Amazon decided to deny readers access to them.

Wings Press, an independent, multicultural publishing company I have run since 1995 is one of those affected by the dispute between Amazon and the Independent Publishers Group. Not even a pawn worth taking in the winner-take-all game Amazon is pursuing, for Wings Press to even to be asked for an opinion in this matter would be vastly amusing were the stakes not so high. I have little desire to become a footnote in a cautionary tale. On the other hand, as Dylan put it, “In ceremonies of the horsemen, even the pawn must hold a grudge.”

Amazon’s “charitable” giving is an interesting topic, not so much for the good it has done but for the strategy of which it is a part. We in the indie press world were mostly delighted when, in 2009, Amazon began giving fairly large grants, generally around $25,000, to nonprofit organizations involved in literature and literacy. Fabulous! But Amazon’s business history indicates that pure philanthropy is not a natural rung of their DNA. Remember that within two years of its founding in 1995, Amazon began hiring executives away from Walmart, a company known for proclaiming its good intentions while dismembering its competition.

Amazon’s grant program seems to an outside observer to be a gambit played in advance of a frontal assault. If that sounds cynical, notice that there is no application process at all. Instead, Amazon asks for “nominations” while also stating clearly that they will not “respond individually.” Amazon says upfront that it is looking for ”innovative groups with a proven track record of success; an ability to work effectively with us to execute on the organization’s goals, including appropriate public outreach; and an established presence and voice in the publishing community.” So far, these grants have basically landed like cash-laden storks on the doorsteps of otherwise unsuspecting organizations.

So what is Amazon doing? It is difficult to say since Amazon’s contracts are notoriously limiting regarding what one can and cannot say about either Amazon itself or their contracts. Still, there is clearly a case to be made that this is marketing masquerading as philanthropy — not unusual — but with the double intent of encouraging silence from the very organizations most likely to be vociferous in objecting to Amazon’s predatory actions against independent publishers, distributors and bookstores. In short, a Trojan Horse?

Far be it from me to suggest that honorable organizations like PEN American Center or CLMP or Poets & Writers or AWP have been “bought off.” I’m sure that they have not! I am equally certain that many of them are beginning to wonder about the motivation behind the grants — and about the ultimate price to be paid for having accepted them.

Before 2009, Amazon was criticized for its lack of philanthropic giving. Suddenly Amazon began giving money away, but only to specific organizations of its choosing. Many worthy organizations have benefited from these grants. Unlike any reputable foundation or other grant-giving organization in the country, however, Amazon apparently sees no need to involve panels of objective experts to help select the recipients of Amazon’s largesse — only Amazon employees with Amazon’s interests in mind.

Wings Press is a “for-profit” business, and thus is not eligible for grants from Amazon or anyone else. The fact that most of what Wings Press publishes is poetry — most of it by authors ignored by the mainstream publishers and even banned in states like Arizona — is evidence that the press exists for the sake of the literature, not to reap significant financial profits. The advent of the e-book, however, leveled the playing field for a brief moment and allowed this press and others like it to begin benefiting from increased visibility for our titles and thus increased e-book sales, mainly by playing along with Amazon’s mega-discounted offerings. But then Amazon pulled the rug out, first by presenting terms to distributors that would, according to the Independent Publishers Group, clearly remove the possibility of continuing that trend, and then by simply removing access to our titles when those terms were rejected.

No one expects Amazon or Walmart or any other large retailer, or distributor for that matter, to “play fair.” That is not in the nature of American capitalism. But when Amazon succeeds — and it will — in becoming one of the world’s largest publishers, when it succeeds in eliminating most of the publishers, distributors and bookstores that it sees as its competition, including some of those that have accepted its largesse, how will we control the beast? It will dominate the means of production and control both distribution and retail availability; it will set prices as it already does that make it not only impossible to compete, but difficult to conduct business at all.

Wings Press is merely one of many motes the winds of change that have blown into the eyes of an angry god. Chance, not choice, lodged us here. The motes will be removed, of course, but it is readers who will suffer. At some point readers will begin to suspect the Amazonian juggernaut of making business decisions that determine what will and will not reach the reading public. If history is any guide here, attempted monopolies on access to information have never turned out well. Amazon could have so easily encouraged increased literacy, a better educated citizenry, and more inventive writing by encouraging independent presses to thrive. Instead, they have adopted an extremely cynical set of tactics drawn directly from Machiavelli and Sun Tzu, if not from the Borg. Let us hope that resistance is not futile.

-END-

21 Jump Street

Marilyn Jaye Lewis — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 21:13:51 GMT

You know, I wasn't sure I was going to see this movie.

I was way too old for 21 Jump Street the TV series -- although, I have seen a lot of the episodes in re-runs and I don't think they were horrible, or anything. Just not really my taste.

And I am way too old for 21 Jump Street, the movie, but it got such great reviews over the weekend that I finally thought, you know what? I think I'll use one of my AMC movie gift cards and go. That way, I wouldn't be out any real cash if I wound up not liking it...

Well, it was actually quite funny. A little over the top, in places, as you can only guess. But overall, I enjoyed it. It wasn't totally predictable.There are elements to the characters that are actually kind of surprising, in a good way, and some stuff that is just plain funny.

And, even though Johnny Depp is only on the screen for about 2 minutes, tops, he was really really GOOD. Dead pan funny -- totally on key. So fucking watchable, even with blood gurgling out of his neck. And I am not just saying that. (I know, you find that hard to believe.)

And the fact that Peter DeLuise was in it, too, kind of floored me. I wasn't expecting that. It made that scene even funnier. I won't say more, because I don't want to spoil it for you, if you're planning on seeing it.

So, all in all, I was really glad I went!