C. Leigh Purtill's Blog, page 9
May 1, 2010
Renaissance woman or specialist?
St. Hildegard, a 12th C Renaissance womanI have never wanted to be limited in what I do or write. I have always prided myself on having pursued a number of careers, living in a bunch of cool cities, basically being what one of my students called a "Renaissance woman." I like setting goals for myself and then accomplishing them and moving on. Whether it was attending graduate film school, getting jobs in the film and television industries, or publishing two novels with a major publishing ho...
April 26, 2010
Trying on a character for size
Generally speaking, I'm a pretty nice person. A nice friend, teacher, daughter, wife...not to say I don't have my sparkling moments of snarkitude because we all do, but as a rule, I try to be nicer than not.
However, not all my characters are. Recently I was finishing a book whose protagonist was a queen bee type in her high school. She's the sort who is very competitive, even with her friends, and who expects that she will always get the prize. Always. And if she doesn't, she is NOT happ...
However, not all my characters are. Recently I was finishing a book whose protagonist was a queen bee type in her high school. She's the sort who is very competitive, even with her friends, and who expects that she will always get the prize. Always. And if she doesn't, she is NOT happ...
April 18, 2010
No fiction allowed
This is an appalling situation. Simply flabbergasting.
I can't read. Not literally, of course, but I can't seem to get my head around reading fiction. Last weekend I finally finished "Olive Kittredge" by Elizabeth Strout, a Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of short stories that are woven around a character named Olive. Wonderful book. Truly. But I started it months ago.
A few weeks ago I read "Hush, Hush" by Becca Fitzpatrick and "Elphame's Choice" by PC Cast, two books which had been lo...
I can't read. Not literally, of course, but I can't seem to get my head around reading fiction. Last weekend I finally finished "Olive Kittredge" by Elizabeth Strout, a Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of short stories that are woven around a character named Olive. Wonderful book. Truly. But I started it months ago.
A few weeks ago I read "Hush, Hush" by Becca Fitzpatrick and "Elphame's Choice" by PC Cast, two books which had been lo...
April 11, 2010
Wanted: personal chef with good imagination
I look in my cupboards and see capers. A box of arborio rice. A can of kidney beans. Crisco, flour and confectioner's sugar. Three boxes of pancake mix - two open and one closed, two plain and one blueberry.
I don't eat pancakes.
I look in my fridge and spot a jar of green olives with pimentos. Fresh, pink ginger. Pesto. Tahini. Several bottles of beer.
I don't drink alcohol.
I look in my freezer and find a bag of baby lima beans because adult-size ones apparently aren't tasty enough. ...
I don't eat pancakes.
I look in my fridge and spot a jar of green olives with pimentos. Fresh, pink ginger. Pesto. Tahini. Several bottles of beer.
I don't drink alcohol.
I look in my freezer and find a bag of baby lima beans because adult-size ones apparently aren't tasty enough. ...
April 7, 2010
Special birthdays
Do you have one of those friends who celebrates every "big" birthday in a major way? Like 18, 21, 30, 40, etc.? Or maybe you're one of those people yourself? Personally, I was never a fan of milestone birthday celebrations because it seemed like so much pressure: pressure on the people giving it to make it awesome, pressure on the people attending to come up with extra special gifts or cards, pressure on me to enjoy it by drinking/eating/laughing longer and harder than at every other birth...
April 2, 2010
Random Thoughts on a Friday
Cheesy random goodness
Did you know April is Grilled Cheese Month?
1. "Clash of the Titans" must remain cheesy, with crummy special effects, lots of horrendous overacting, and gives-you-splinters-it's-so-wooden dialogue. Any movie that attempts to rise above the original Harry Hamlin/stop-motion animation extravaganza should not be gifted with the title "Clash of the Titans."
2. Recent celebrity cheese is so boring. Jesse James cheated on Sandra Bullock? His name is Jesse. James. Why do his...
Did you know April is Grilled Cheese Month?
1. "Clash of the Titans" must remain cheesy, with crummy special effects, lots of horrendous overacting, and gives-you-splinters-it's-so-wooden dialogue. Any movie that attempts to rise above the original Harry Hamlin/stop-motion animation extravaganza should not be gifted with the title "Clash of the Titans."
2. Recent celebrity cheese is so boring. Jesse James cheated on Sandra Bullock? His name is Jesse. James. Why do his...
March 27, 2010
Fun with Google
When I review mywebsite stats, I love to see the many countries people are coming from. I also love to see how they found my site. Sometimes it's book related for either of my novels or celebrity-related because of my Celebrity Sightings page. Many come from links from other sites where I was mentioned.
And then there are the random Googlings...recently, I saw someone had Googled "do you smile in the mirror". Just like that, those 6 words together within quotation marks. And lo and behold...
March 19, 2010
Random Thoughts on a Friday
No time for random thoughts? Ha! All my thoughts have been random this week!
Actually, the biggest thing on my mind has been the future of publishing, not simply my own publishing, although that's there too, but the big picture as well. So many writers wonder about e-books, about digital publishing, about self-publishing...what will happen to us? Will we continue to publish? Will the internet be the Great Equalizer? Will there be publishing houses with marketing budgets and so on to supp...
Actually, the biggest thing on my mind has been the future of publishing, not simply my own publishing, although that's there too, but the big picture as well. So many writers wonder about e-books, about digital publishing, about self-publishing...what will happen to us? Will we continue to publish? Will the internet be the Great Equalizer? Will there be publishing houses with marketing budgets and so on to supp...
March 14, 2010
"Would you ever eat one of those cakes?"
"Oh heavens no..."
One of my favorite shows is The Simpsons, long may it reign on Sunday nights, and one of my very favorite episodes involved Bart sitting with Mrs. Skinner after he's done a chore for her and is waiting to be paid. I think she pays him in ribbon candy. Anyway, she's showing him an album of photos of cakes that she's cut out of magazines and cookbooks. He asks her if she ever ate any of those cakes and she replies, "Oh heavens no..."
This is a long way of saying that I looooo...
One of my favorite shows is The Simpsons, long may it reign on Sunday nights, and one of my very favorite episodes involved Bart sitting with Mrs. Skinner after he's done a chore for her and is waiting to be paid. I think she pays him in ribbon candy. Anyway, she's showing him an album of photos of cakes that she's cut out of magazines and cookbooks. He asks her if she ever ate any of those cakes and she replies, "Oh heavens no..."
This is a long way of saying that I looooo...
March 9, 2010
Any SoCal book bloggers out there?
Book fair Teen StageFirst things first...I'm on the planning committee for the West Hollywood Book Fair, which is an awesome gathering of writers, readers, and artists every September. I have attended each year since it started and watched it grow year after year. Great authors, great panels, great performances! And books books books!
This is my second year on the committee and I'm really excited because I have a terrific idea for the teen stage. I'd like to see a young adult book blogger ...
