Yes, I forgot it was Thursday and therefore forgot I had a post due up. You’ll have to pardon my negligence:
* Daughter #1 graduated Tuesday night from 8th grade. I feel old. But not as old as Karin who just graduated Tabke #4 from high school. Bawhahahaha!
* Drama with said graduation party where Daughter #1 didn’t not want me to chaperone. Me thinks she protests too much . . . so I rode in the limo with the kids, which brings up the question: Why do 14 year olds need a limo? Said party had one parent for every four kids, so I was comfortable leaving after the initial limo ride!
* At the graduation, the Dean of Students gave every student a character trait that their teachers agreed best exemplified them. Daughter #1 was “respectful.” Ha! They didn’t see her through a cow when I said I was riding in the limo! But it IS nice to know that she’s respectful to everyone else.
* Daughter #2 is looking at other schools for next year, so this morning we toured a local Catholic school. While Daughter #1 thrived in their school, Daughter #2 has had a more difficult time. I want her to be happy and learn, and realized when everything bad is going on personally, learning doesn’t happen easily. So we’re considering a move for junior high.
* The new house is still pretty empty and needs stuff, and the old house is a mess and needs not only cleaning, but, well, I still have tons of paper, books, toys, and stuff to go through and everything needs a decision. “Burn it down” doesn’t work and would probably land me in jail, so that’s out as an option . . .
* School has been out for 24 hours and already I’ve heard “I’m bored” five times out of the mouths of three kids. “It is not my job to entertain you” doesn’t seem to be a good enough answer for them, so I’ve suggested doing laundry and dishes . . . and they miraculously disappear.
* I have the page proofs for PLAYING DEAD and that’s what I’ve started this morning; SUDDEN DEATH is on hold for a week. A shame, really, as I was finally really getting into the story . . .
* TEMPTING EVIL is a first–the first time one of my books has been on the NYT print list (#12 and now #18) two weeks in a row. Yeah!
* I’m giving a class over at Ask an Author All about Breaking Rules to Break In or Break Out and the questions are HARD! But very insightful, and I’m looking forward to answering them next week; then I’ll write a blog on the topic, so stay tuned!
* FEAR NO EVIL finaled in the Daphne, which thrilled me because it didn’t final in the Ritas.
* I’ll be in Denver speaking to the Heart of Denver Romance Writers on “No Plotters Allowed” which is one of my favorite workshops to give, on Saturday June 21. So if you’re in the Denver area, hope you can join us!
* Yesterday, while Daughter #1 was at an 8th grade party (yeah, they have WAY too many parties!) I took Brennan #2 and #3 to see IRON MAN. Brennan #3 is 7 and he didn’t want to see it. One of his friends thought it was stupid, so he didn’t want to go. I heard great things about it, so I basically said, we’re going. He ended up liking it SO much that he wants to see it again. It’s a little violent (PG-13) but the story is fabulous and Robert Downey Jr was GREAT as Tony Stark. I’m thinking about taking him again because I want to dissect this movie for writer discussions. It hits all the beats perfectly, the acting is right on, and I think it adds something to the superhero genre–primarily because Tony Stark is a superhero because he’s SMART. A genius. And he has strong and compelling motivations and backstory, and while we learned a lot about it in the first movie, there’s enough left unsaid that I can see at least one more movie. The big question is, can they keep the quality of movie one?
SOOOOO, I leave you with this question. Some franchises have sequels that are as good as the original movie (STAR WARS, INDIANA JONES–though not #2, SPIDERMAN) and some sequels that just didn’t cut it (PIRATES, THE MATRIX.) What was your favorite sequel and why? What was your big disappointment? What movie are you really looking forward to this summer?