It's all Ilona's fault

It's no secret that I like to spend my downtime watching TV. After a day melting my brain at the keyboard, kicking back on the couch with the hubby and the furry children is my idea of a nice evening.  I also prefer TV series to movies, probably because I prefer reading/writing series books instead of stand-alone novels and movies kind of remind me of stand-alone novels (unless the movies are part of a series, of course).  Anyway, my friends and I chat about TV shows and swap recommendations much as we do with books. For months, Ilona Andrews has tried to get me to watch the show Castle. Since I don't have endless hours to bum around on the couch, I hadn't gotten to it yet, but earlier this week, I finally did.

Because I loved the TV show Firefly, I'm already a fan of Nathan Fillion. He plays the role of Richard Castle, a wildly successful mystery author who's pulled into a murder investigation after people are killed in the same manner that his books portray. Stana Katic plays Kate Beckett, the tough female detective who doesn't want a writer mucking up her murder investigation. I wasn't wild about the first episode - Castle was over-the-top egocentric (like signing fans' boobs instead of books) and Beckett was over-the-top I am tough and sexy but inwardly vulnerable! - but after the third episode, I was hooked. Their banter is hilarious and I like the cozy mystery aspect of the show. Plus, when the show gets something right about publishing, it makes this writer laugh out loud.

As mentioned, Castle is a charming, rich egomaniac who is so high up the Publishing Totem Pole that he plays a weekly poker game with Stephen J. Cannell, James Patterson, Dennis Lehane, and Michael Connelly. Yet in one episode, he's hanging around Beckett's desk watching her do paperwork because he wants to hide on his release day. Most everything portrayed on this show is not how "real writers" live (I have never been asked to sign boobs! ;)) but this was so reminiscent of what I feel on every release day that I howled laughing. So was the scene later in this episode where Castle's mother calls to worriedly tell him that she was in a book store and no one was buying his new book. I don't know about other authors, but this has happened to me and it went something like this:

Mom:  It's your release day so your father and I made a special trip to the book store! Oh, honey, they had your books but no one was buying them. Don't worry, though - I had your father buy ten.

Me: *headdesk* Mom, why did you do that? I can give you some books for free.

Mom: We wanted to help with your sales. Do you think we bought enough?

Me: *headdesk, headdesk, headdesk*

Mom: *in the background* Bill, go back to the store tomorrow and buy another five books!  Jeaniene sounds like she needs more help!

 

My husband, however, is not enchanted with the show. He says it's a little too fluffy for him. Maybe I'm in the mood for fluffy because I'm watching it every night after I finish my word count, and if he complains, I have an easy response: Blame Ilona. It is, after all, entirely her fault :).