My Favorite Rathersting

My favorite fierce fairy was on Laini Taylor's blog today!

You Can't Make This Stuff Up

True story. Not from The Onion.

Wind Tossed Chihuahua Found Safe; Owners Credit Pscyhic

Candice Williams and Christine Ferretti / The Detroit News

Waterford Township -- Two days after Tinker Bell, a six-pound chihuahua, blew away in high winds at the Dixieland Flea Market, her owners found her safe and sound about three-quarters of a mile away. The Rochester couple credits a pet psychic for the discovery.

"We were shocked when we found her," said Dorothy Utley, 72, Tinker Bell's mother. "You don't know how happy we were. We love her so much."

More than 50 volunteers helped Utley and her husband, Lavern, search for their dog, who blew away in 70 mph per hour winds Saturday.

After speaking with a pet psychic from Holly, Utley said she and her husband headed to a wooded field on the opposite side of Dixie Highway. There, they found Tinker Bell. The black and brown long-haired dog was very dirty and hungry.

"That dog was so happy," Utley said. "She just went wild. She was so hungry and we had to bathe her."

Market Manager Joe Goldberg said the whole event was phenomenal.

"It seems like (the dog) is her whole life," he said of Utley.

cstolarz@detnews.com (313) 222-2650

Build It...or Bend It?

My writing group pal, Juliette Dominguez posted yesterday on Pen Tales about world-building. She found some wonderful material from Guillermo del Toro.  I haven't seen Pan's Labyrinth yet, but I've just placed it at the top of my must-watch list. 

Her post made me think about how I built Malika's world in Mark of Courage (which, thanks to suggestions from a very generous agent is undergoing some exciting edits). I feel like I cheated a bit on the world-building process, since my characters inhabit Homer's ready-made universe of The Odyssey. It's more like world-bending than world-building.   The tricky part, of course, is to make familiar terrain new again, and seen from a unique perspective. 

Which got me to thinking about world-bending literature. I've always loved fantasy, but never consciously realized that a fair number of my favorite authors in the genre took well-trodden myths and reworked them in fabulous ways: Marion Zimmer Bradley (Mists of Avalon), Neil Gaiman (Anansi Boys), Esther Friesner (Nobody's Princess), and Anne Rice (Interview with the Vampire), and Elizabeth Bunce (A Curse as Dark as Gold).

Juliette's post also made me Google Arthur Rackham, who inspired Guillermo del Toro, and whose work has always intrigued me. Think of the wonderful prompts these pictures provide for recreating some well known stories!

Pandora's Box            The Three Bears        The Valkyries          

Little Miss Muffitt

Do you like world bending literature too? Tell me your favorites...

Missoula Children's Theatre

If you have kids, chances are you've heard of Missoula Children's Theatre. They tour the country (and Canada, Europe and Asia) helping grade schools put on stage plays. In four short days, with only after school rehearsals, two amazing Missoula theatre folks (and a small army of parent volunteers) prepare approximately 65 kids ranging from K-5 to put on a show. 

That's four days for auditions and rehearsals, with a performance (or two) on Saturday. 

The most amazing thing is, the shows are good. The kids know their lines, they sing songs, they get on and off stage smoothly, and most importantly they have a fantastic time. 

If your school hasn't availed themselves of this terrific program, you simply must check it out. 

My little stinker, from Missoula Children's Theatre production of Robin Hood.

Tweet, Tweet?

So, I'm tweeting now. But honestly, I'm not sure it's a productive effort. It's kind of cool to see what others are doing at any given moment, however I am hard-pressed to tweet about anything truly important or relevant. Kinda like this video I found on Current.com. 

Do you Tweet? How do you use it?