Leg-Up on the Competition

Watching the Oscars this past Sunday had me asking many important questions, such as: How hilarious would the Oscars be if Sacha Baron Cohen hosted next year? And why didn’t Hugo win best picture over The Artist?

Now don’t get me wrong, I loved The Artist. Throwback pics are right up my alley, along with tap dancing and appreciating the bliss of non-verbal communication. But, for me, Hugo was an unmitigated masterpiece that perfectly blended 3-D with the art of a great film—derived, first and foremost, from a book! So, why didn’t it take the big prize?

And then as I watched in delighted glee as Angelina Jolie struck the pose twittered around the world, it dawned on me that the key to success is getting a leg-up (shameless pun intended) on the competition.

“Throwback pics are right up my alley, along with tap dancing and appreciating the bliss of non-verbal communication.”

Hugo whimsically hit the theatres, striking a chord with viewers and critics alike, but it failed to show its gams and stop traffic in the way, for instance, It Happened one Night did—which incidentally won for Best Pic and made Claudette Colbert’s leg just as famous as Jolie’s, in her day.

The Artist, though technically silent, packed a loud wallop with its glitz and old Hollywood glamour, gaining a leg-up on the competition by bringing black and white back in vogue.

I’ve noticed the book publishing world has even taken hold of this trend, fashioning many striking YA covers, of late, using black and white, with a dash of Hollywood red to give it some pop.

So, as I sit down to edit my new YA novel, I wonder will it have a leg-up on the competition to establish myself as The Artist, or may it perhaps win a Hugo, instead? Only time and a good pair or stockings will tell!

:) Tracey

Swift Inspiration

You’ll often hear about music inspiring the writer. Stephanie Meyers wrote Twilight with the help of a steady stream of musical tracks that accompanied not only her books, but the movies too.

My teen daughter is the same way, musically shuffling her way through mountains of daily homework with the help of her ipod. I tried it myself, but found I’m just not hard-wired that way. My music is silence, and through it I hear my muse best. All else is simply a distraction for me. But I do so admire those artists who can absorb every note and give back to the world something equally artistic in return.

Taylor Swift, a gifted young singer who writes her own music, recently accomplished the reverse. She was asked to write a song for the upcoming movie, Hunger Games, so she voraciously read the novel in only a few short days. Swift grew inspired by Collins’ words, much in the same way that Meyers’ literary efforts were inspired through song, and the result has produced a new single of exquisite ethereal quality never achieved by Swift before. Safe & Sound sounds nothing like Swift’s previous tunes, and that’s what I love best about it. She nails the paranormal vibe like she was born in a graveyard and her video mirrors her song perfectly too.

In a recent interview Swift said she sat on the gravesite of a couple who lived and died in 1853 and began thinking, “What were their lives like?”

I’m not Swift’s mom, and yet I feel proud of the way her career is evolving. To give yourself over to the muse and bravely create something out of your comfort zone is an act of courage to be admired. Kudos to Swift on her eerie new song. Hope the movie will live up to its soundtrack.

A New Kind of Diva

I’ve noticed in the many YA books I skim through, there’s
the same sort of mean girl character who visits every one of them—no matter the genre. You know, the head cheerleader, built like a Victoria Secret Android, who lives to make the likeable girl-next-door’s life a living hell, just because her Ex starts sniffing at her?

Cliches can be fun, when done in a campy sort of way, but when overdone, they’re just plain one-dimensional and boring, only because we’re tired of seeing the same character play the same part. Why not give the understudy a chance at being a new kind of diva?

So, I started thinking how would an author fashion the new diva and make her more palatable for today’s reader who’s bored of Evil Barbie trying to take over high school. Then, as synchronicity would have it, I read the same Yahoo article I’m sure all of you have been reading ad nauseum, by now. The one about Beyonce and Jay-Z taking over the hospital to have their baby event.

"Her baby Diva couldn't come into this world inhaling cheap hospital air, could she?"

I was glued to the melodrama and BAM…the bells and whistles went off in my head. Beyoncee is loveable, gorgeous and uber talented. Everyone, including Obama, is enamored of her. And yet, here she is on her maternity day, showing up with her militia of bodyguards, demanding all cell phones be banned and covering up security camera lenses on HER wing! And let's not forget the million dollar suite she reserved. Her baby Diva couldn't come into this world inhaling cheap hospital air, could she?

A new dad, visiting his premature baby in the intensive care unit was stopped three times because Beyonce’s peeps were walking through the corridor. So here we have the good girl gone bad. But, what’s really interesting is, she’s not REALLY bad. She’s just a little polluted by the uncontrollable machine that is Hollywood.

What’s interesting is I’m certain Jay-Z and Beyonce don’t believe they acted inappropriately, or perhaps they didn’t see any alternative to dealing with the potentially lethal intrusiveness of paparazzi. From their point of view, they’re just reacting to the unmanageable zoo that has become their lives. But from our perspective, we see their behavior as quintessential diva.

I don't know about you, but I'd really love to see a YA author explore such diva-layered complexities. Or…perhaps I'll one day take a page out of my own blog and create her, myself!