Julia McDermott's Blog, page 6
June 24, 2016
Wine with Wendy on Wednesday, numéro neuf (9)
Despite the busy-ness of summer, Wendy and I were able to meet for lunch this month, and this time, a mutual, good friend joined us!
We went to a spot that was casual, not too much $, but good…and of course, we each had a glass of wine. Our friend had white, but Wendy and I chose a rosé. The three of us caught up, told stories, and shared our news with each other.
Three is a useful number in storytelling (of course, I thought of that): 3 details (and no more) to describe something; 3 sequences in an act; and 3 acts in a story. Three is also a good number of beats in a character’s arc, of images to choose from when deciding on a new book cover (or for choices for anything, for that matter), and the number of paragraphs in a blog post. No wonder they say, “Three’s a charm.”
Not the wine we had, but a bottle mon mari and I purchased at a Wine Tasting we went to with some very fun members of the Atlanta Toulouse Sister Cities Committee (a French cultural group). We bought more than three bottles, though.
June 2, 2016
List Post, juin 2016 (June)
Even though fall is my favorite season, I love May and June. It’s warm, but not too hot, and flowers are blooming…And this year, my wedding anniversary falls on Father’s Day, and last month, my son Jack’s birthday fell on Mother’s Day!
This month’s list:
I’ll soon be on the way to a very fun city out west to help celebrate my sis-in-law’s milestone birthday with a bunch of other members of the family. I’m told there will be T-shirts!
I’m appearing from 7pm to 9pm on June 15th at The Snug Gastro Pub in Canton, GA with 4 other local authors to do a book reading and sign books.
Publicity update: If you missed the Neighbor Newspapers/Marietta Daily Journal article about me and the Georgia Author of the Year Award nomination of ALL THE ABOVE, click here to read. Winners (and finalists) will be announced this Saturday night by the Georgia Writers Association.
There may be another article about it in a different Journal soon, so stay tuned…
May 26, 2016
Wine with Wendy on Wednesday, numéro huit (8)
For our May lunch together, Wendy and I chose a French Bistro/restaurant called Atmosphère.
I won’t be able to attend the Wine Tasting on June 1st, but we enjoyed a glass of rosé with our lunch. We had a leisurely, French déjeuner and chatted about a variety of sujets. She’s younger than me, has one more child than I do (and they’re all younger than my youngest), but we connect on so many things. I always learn things from her, too, and I love to find out what she’s doing.
She has a busy summer planned (and I have a fairly busy one ahead, too), so we may take a hiatus from our lunches until August. But we did pencil in late June as a possibility. I hope that works out, and if it does, of course I will write a post about it then
May 23, 2016
Pizza and a Movie: The Nice Guys
This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:
Artichoke Hearts
Capers
Pineapple
Movie:
The Nice Guys
I was all prepared to really like this Shane Black film, but I found it kind of disjointed and a bit of a mess, plot-wise. But because I prefer to talk about what I liked rather than criticize, here’s a (short) list of what I liked best:
Ryan Gosling
The actress who played his daughter (Angourie Rice)
I’m a fan of Russell Crowe, but I didn’t find him or his character very appealing. I did like Kim Basinger in it. I was okay with the movie being set in the late 1970s, too, and a kind of Lethal Weapon-ish redux (and Lethal Weapon is one of my all time favorite films), but this one just didn’t work for me.
Other films I’ve seen recently (sans the pizza) are Zootopia and The Money Monster. I thought the first was very entertaining, but I didn’t feel the same way about the second.
As for the pizza, I wanted only vegetables (and fruit), and he selected the artichoke hearts. You may have noticed we aren’t going every Friday anymore; sometimes we’ve been out of town, and other times, it didn’t fit into our weekend plans. For the next few months (at least), for the same reasons, we will probably only go once or twice a month.
And hopefully, the movies will get better!
May 2, 2016
List Post, mai 2016 (May)
Because I recently sent my bimonthly newletter* (and a previous announcement, about my new novel, DADDY’S GIRL), this monthly List Post is different.
I won’t list my upcoming events** and travel plans, but focus instead on this Sunday, May 8: Mother’s Day, my son Jack’s birthday, and the sixth anniversary of day Jack (and his dad and I) learned he had a brain tumor.*** Read ALL THE ABOVE for more about that.
Two things about Mother’s Day:
Something memorable happens on a Mother’s Day in DADDY’S GIRL. Be the first to comment, explaining what happens, to whom, and when – and win a free, signed copy of the book!
I have four children, and have celebrated many Mother’s Days. The photo below is of my absolute favorite Mother’s Day gift, ever. My daughter made it in school a long time ago, when she was very young. Her “9 Reasons” were spot on about me, and they melted my heart! (side note: this was when I was into scrapbooking, and I made one for each kid – her and her three older brothers).
In “List” format:
She always knows when to give a hug!
Knows how to break up a fight.
Can sometimes be a little pushy about what she wants!
Warning! Can get very emotional.
Loves to go to the movies!
Knows where to go shopping.
Can drive U Nuts! but is still as sweet as can be!!
Doesn’t yell unless needed to.
She’s the best scrapbooker I know!
*sign up to receive it, under FOR READERS and NEWSLETTER
**see EVENTS
***A friend recently told me she didn’t know that it was malignant – maybe because we were so private about it in the beginning, and we desperately hoped that it was benign. If you read ALL THE ABOVE, you’ll understand. One reason I wrote the book was to tell the true story; another reason was to try to touch others.
April 23, 2016
Pizza and a Movie: Eye in the Sky
This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:
Pineapple
Portobellos
Red Onions
Movie:
Eye in the Sky
I wanted a vegetarian pizza, and so this is what we chose. It was très bon.
As for the film…well, he picked it. I wanted to see Everybody Wants Some!! but he convinced me that it would be out for at least a few weeks, so we can see it next time, whereas as Eye in the Sky may be getting close to the end of its run.
(He later mentioned wanting to see The Jungle Book sometime too, which totally surprised me.)
Anyway, take Helen Mirren (wonderful), add a war movie of sorts (think: drone strike), add a little girl who just wants to sell bread (unfortunately, near the target), and…well, you get the idea. Oh, and throw in the British and Americans arguing about it.
I can’t say I loved it, but I did enjoy watching it, for the most part. A bonus for me was that Aaron Paul (who played Jesse in Breaking Bad) was in this movie. Jesse was my favorite character in BB, and in this, he almost seemed like he was still Jesse (in a good way). Two other notables: Alan Rickman, and Jeremy North. The latter was in a movie I LOVE called The Winslow Boy (think: England in the early 20th century – he was great in it).
I’m looking forward to something a little less serious and sad when we go see Everybody Wants Some!! ….The title alone has hooked me (!!)
April 22, 2016
Wine with Wendy on Wednesday, numéro sept
Hours before my new suspense novel DADDY’S GIRL was published, Wendy and I met for lunch at one of the (new) French restaurants we had been to once before. But this time, we sat outside.
Our table was to the left of the side window
Le restaurant? Le Bilboquet.
It’s always so much fun to catch up with Wendy, hear about her kids (side note: four out of the five have a “y” in their name), her travels, her adventures, and talk about art, books, and movies.
It was delightful sitting outside in this new Buckhead shops and restaurant enclave, unimaginatively dubbed The Shops of Buckhead Atlanta, on Peachtree Road. I had rosé, she had chardonnay, and we each ordered something très bon et très français.
(I just love how Wendy and I are both interested in French – although she is taking a needed break right now from French classes.)
De toute façon – anyway – our lunch lasted well over an hour an hour and a half, and we both felt at the end that time had flown. A talented artist, Wendy gave me some great feedback recently about the details on the cover of DADDY’S GIRL. I have learned so much about art from her (my all-time favorite course I ever took was Art History). We also talked books: the great, the good, the fair, and the I-don’t-recommend-you-read-this-but-somehow-I-finished it. And we discussed the publishing industry and talked a little about films.
Wendy has never been to Paris (!) and I told her that when she does, she must visit the Musée d’Orsay to see all the Impressionists’ works there. (I would love to go with her.)
Afterward, I’m sure we would find a lovely French restaurant or café for lunch.
April 21, 2016
Publication day for DADDY’S GIRL!
April 12, 2016
Pizza and a Movie: The Martian
This Last weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:
Arugula
Bacon
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Movie:
The Martian
Yes, I know this movie is no longer playing in theaters. We missed it when it was,* and since nothing at the cinema at the moment seemed interesting, we decided to go home and watch this film.
We had both recently read the book, and we both liked the movie. But, as is often the case, the book was better, and there were some things left out of the film
April 11, 2016
Cover Reveal: Daddy’s Girl
After rejecting 2 earlier (working) titles, and 3 other (very different) cover images, the cover for my new suspense novel, DADDY’S GIRL, is set in stone! I can’t wait until it’s published, only days from now!
What’s it about?
A spoiled, entitled princess risks it all to join a technology startup, loses it all, and then embarks on a mission of revenge and retribution…
