New Cover Art - A Soul Remembered

I got the cover art for my December release over the weekend:

This is my story for the General Hospital pax at Amber Allure, a story set in a futuristic Bay Area about lovers reuniting. Reunions have been a big theme for me lately, with more still to come. I haven't quite figured out why.

Mockingjay, Part 1

I went and saw the premiere of Mockingjay, Part 1 last night. If you want to remain unspoiled, don't read on.

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Ready?

When it comes to the books, Mockingjay is my least favorite of the trilogy. It's got nothing to do with the fact that it's bleakest - I love that it's not afraid to go to dark places - but that it's structurally the weakest of the three. It always felt like two different stories, and don't even get me started on how rushed the ending was (I love the author to death for her characterizations, but man, does she suck at endings).

So when they announced the book was getting split into two movies, I was thrilled. I didn't care that it was likely happening because of greed - Twilight and Harry Potter started the whole thing by making money this way - because it meant that if they were smart, they'd split the book up the way I thought it should've been in the first place.

Thank god I was right.

This movie is all about the construction of the mockingjay. Katniss is ever the reluctant hero, never more so than in the first half of Mockingjay. She's been broken by the second games, betrayed by the people she trusted the most, and thrust into the center of attention she loathes. That's where Jennifer Lawrence shines. This was probably the most emotionally resonant her character has been since the series started. It's only the prospect of saving Peeta that gets her to even consider agreeing to their plans for her, and thus the driving thrust of this movie is begun.

It's all about saving Peeta for her. Sure, there's the getting roused to anger by the reality of what Snow is doing to the districts, but ultimately, she is driven by her need to save Peeta. She failed to do that in the games and it haunts her, because she has always believed he deserved it more than anyone.

So while it's got its actiony moments, this is a much more somber, dramatic film than its predecessors. It succeeds in inciting the audience during the bombing of District 8 scenes - and the line I always felt was clunky in the book about if they burn, Snow burns, too is delivered with such conviction and pain by Lawrence that I was ready to follow her, too - but it also proves to resonate during the quiet moments, like the haunting Hanging Tree montage when she goes back to film in District 12.

One of the biggest changes from the book lies in Effie. She doesn't appear in the third book at all, but here, she's a political refugee brought in to be Katniss's stylist/escort while filming her propos. She provides confirmation of what happened to Cinna that we have to infer in the book, but more appropriately, she's a little bit of humorous light amidst the darkness (not to lose fact that she's also wonderful at the tragic bits).

Is it perfect? Definitely not. I always felt District 13 was a lot more claustrophobic than how it's portrayed in the film, and the tragedy of a broken Finnick is almost completely erased by keeping him in only a few scenes and jumping ahead past his problems. (He's still doing all his knots, though, which only served to remind me constantly of the missed opportunity there.) 

But it worked for me, and I think it's going to work for a lot of fans of the books (the audience erupted in applause when it was over). Just don't expect closure. The games aren't over yet.

This is me today

Mockingjay, Part 1 opens tonight, so this is me today:

Special Sale - Jamie Craig titles 50% off at Amber Quill

Through November 25, all Jamie Craig titles at Amber Quill are on a special sale - 50% off! That includes both m/m and het, as well as all the lengths.

So if you've ever wanted to check something out, now's the time!

The Past into the Future

The very first book I wrote, a 400-page western romance about a young girl who'd been rescued by William Bonney, was written on a machine that looked like this:

It was 1981. I was 12 years old, there wasn't an Internet for me to research Billy the Kid so most of what I picked up was basic information and I made up the rest, and the typewriter was a heavy, metal beast that my great-grandmother had used in college in the 1910s. The red and black ribbon was ancient and a little ragged, and the letter p tended to cut through the paper, but I loved it with all my heart. I got really good on it. By the time I took typing my freshman year of high school, I was typing 75 words a minute. I was faster than the teacher. That might've been one of my easiest As ever.

When computers came along, however, I was thrilled. No more ink on my fingers! No more white-out! No more wasted paper because I'd spent half a day writing a page that would now get cut! I can't say my productivity actually went up, but my efficiency sure did.

In the past fifteen years, however, I've started longing for a typewriter again. I love the way they look, and I love the way the keys feel under my fingertips. I'm so in love that I have been known to get a little shiver when I hear a bunch of them going all at once. It's my own little Mad Men porn.

You know what's funny? They're making a comeback. Some people never left them behind, but with all the security hacks in recent years, they're seen as unhackable. That's not actually true, but it's a matter of perspective. With digital publishing, it's not quite as viable as a way of streamlining work, but you know what? I'd get one. In a heartbeat. Maybe not this model, and maybe not for everything I produced, but I'd do it.

I still have that first novel, by the way. It's in a folder I've taped together twice over the years, tucked into the bottom of a box of keepsakes I can't bring myself to get rid of. It'll be one of those items my kids pull out after I die and wonder why I kept it. Then maybe they'll read it. Well, my daughter might. My son would reach the first kiss and walk out of the room. And I hope it makes her smile.

Call the Midwife

Netflix suggested Call the Midwife to me last weekend, so I caved and watched the first episode. I then stopped and ran to my husband to tell him, "You have to watch this show. You are going to love it."

So Friday night, he sat down with me to try it out. One episode became three. Saturday night, we watched four. Yesterday, we watched another two. We only stopped because he had to pack for the business trip he's on today and tomorrow.

We're both in love.

I know we're late, since there are three seasons already, but better late than never, right? My husband tends to be a sucker for period BBC drama (he LOVES Downton Abbey), especially when they have such real characters in them. We are both in love with Chummy, and he keeps complaining he needs more Sister Monica Joan. The detail is stunning, too. I've had to have my  husband explain a couple terms to me (for those who don't know, he's English), so that helps fill in a couple of the gaps, but otherwise, I'm utterly enthralled by the drama of these people.

Anyone else watch it?

Friday Fun Sales at Amber Quill

Today and tomorrow, Amber Quill is putting all mystery titles on sale for 50% off, whether they're Amber Allure, Amber Heat, or Amber Quill ! That includes a number of my solo titles as well as Jamie Craig stories, including:

Check them out!