I’ve been itching to do this little quiz for a while now. Was disbelieving when I saw the first set of results, so did it again varying some of the answers, and I’m still typecast as …..

You Should Be a Film Writer

You don’t just create compelling stories, you see them as clearly as a movie in your mind. You have a knack for details and dialogue. You can really make a character come to life. Chances are, you enjoy creating all types of stories. The joy is in the storytelling. And nothing would please you more than millions of people seeing your story on the big screen!

Lights, camera, action!

Yeah, I know I promised to talk about Kinley McGregor’s book in the next post, but while surfing the web Monday, I came across Sybil’s post on Flash ads and decided to pick up on where she left off. 

You see, one of my key projects this year involve rolling out the new corporate design for our region’s websites. Of course, being part of the project management team, we’re already privy to the many improvements of this new site vs current ones. The use of rich media elements (virtual tours, videos, flash enhanced photo gallery), flash enhanced page designs as well as social media features are some of the new tools that a girl in my position can only dream of working with. 

I recall some 3 to 4 years back, a lot of companies were shunning flash citing search engine friendliness as a key factor that’s made them decided against using flash in their sites. There were even some industry players who removed their flash movies for this reason. And in a bid to become more SE optimized, they traded sexiness for functionality and traffic ranking. Not anymore. Recent advancements have made marrying the two possible.

Besides Cast’s Goddess Summoning series, the other books that held me spellbound last week were Sarah Zettel’s Paths to Camelot series, specifically Camelot’s Honor and Under Camelot’s Banner, and Kinley McGregor’s Knight of Darkness (next post, I promise). 

If you have an inkling of my love of Arthurian saga and Greek myths, it wouldn’t be hard for you to imagine how loathed I’d be to tear myself from these novels until they are all concluded satisfactorily. Hence, the silence on this space. 

Ms Zettel is a powerful story-teller and Camelot’s Honor is her compelling sequel to In Camelot’s Shadow. Set in the untamed country of the Welsh borders, this tale of the valiant Sir Geraint’s adventure is a heady mixture of dark magic, deception, passion and courtly love. 

Sent as part of King Arthur’s emissary to Pont Cymryd to forge an alliance with the widow of its chieftain, Geraint was drawn to Lady Elen when they first met although they barely exchanged a word. Seeking to destroy the alliance and break the spirits of her people, local chieftain Urien, paramour to Morgaine (Arthur’s half sister), murdered her mother and razed her home while Elen was out one night attending a difficult birth for the fey folks. 

Having caught three episodes of Ugly Betty on local TV, I’m more than ready to put my stamp of approval on this quirky drama comedy about a plain-looking but intelligent, confident and resourceful young woman starting out on her career in the superficial world of high fashion publishing. 

What I dig about this show is the central character Betty Suarez’s big-hearted way of treating people, being nice to even those who’d hurt her deliberately with well-aimed remarks and snide insinuations at her fashion sense. She may not be coiffed and perfectly powdered, and dressed in haute couture, but I love her quirky and eclectic dress sense. It’s got her personality stamped all over it. The infectious thing about her is that she is passionate about what she believes in and when she’s brimming with ideas, she really goes out to champion them. Her indomitable spirit and optimism in the face of adversity (and trust me, there are plenty saboteurs out to see that she, and her boss, fails) are the stuff of human drama that I find lacking in some of today’s shows. 

First of all, I have to applaud P C Cast for standing up for romance writers and readers in this book with that paragraph that she had Mikki, the heroine, deliver to the myopic blind date. Bravo!! I say. 

That bit about romance novels outselling all other genres of writing, that statistic about one Nora Roberts book being bought every 60 seconds, and that argument about female authors being just as insightful and powerfully influential in their writing … wow, a stroke of pure genious. 

Now, about Goddess of the Rose itself, think Beauty of the Beast meet X-Men the Last Stand meet Sleeping Beauty and The Little Mermaid, and you’re not too far off. Mikki (Mikado) Empousai, the last in a line of Hecate’s blood priestess unknowingly invoked the Goddess of Night, Magick and the Ebony Moon, while standing in to read a part in the play Medea as she was on the way to a public rose garden at which she volunteers to check on her beloved roses one night. As the spell binding the Guardian was broken, the Beast awoke and whisked her off to an ancient realm where dreams of mortals are guarded closely, and where centuries old magick is still very much alive. 

As Mikki slowly integrates into the alternate civilization she’s been transported to, she grew to enjoy her role as priestess and the presence of the Beast. The Beast, Asterius, her initially belligerent personal bodyguard but eventual protector and lover, had suffered a betrayal in the past. However, being the ever hopeful romantic and caring person that he was, he couldn’t help behaving honourably towards her yet he has the undesired duty of sacrificing her come Beltane, a ritual that Mikki wasn’t privy to.

Congratulate me for being the proud owner of

Nalini Singh’s Slave to Sensation

Kinley MacGregor’s Knight of Darkness, which I’ve already finished,

Jessica Inclan’s Reason to Believe and Believe in Me (thanks so much, Jessica!! It arrived safely.)

Aren’t these covers eye-catching? I love Felix’s haunting turquoise eyes.

And (drumroll please ….) I made a reservation at the local bookstore for ……

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!!!!  July 21st …