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inFrequently Asked Questions
The questions I get asked most often are have you seen my...? and who made you Queen? But I don't think anyone besides close family members are interested in the answers to those. To remedy that, I've interviewed myself, asking those penetrating questions that perhaps should be asked more frequently.
What music do you write to?
The Raven's Revenge was written to everything Enya, Loreena McKennitt's The Mask & The Mirror and many soundtracks including my very favorite: Oscar And Lucinda (by the brilliant Thomas Newman). The fight scenes owe their drama to the Last of the Mohicans. In the early days of the book I listened to The Private Music of Susan Ciani over and over and over...so much that I can't listen to her much anymore.
What are your ten favorite movies?
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| Harold and Maude
This movie has often been my sanity. Maude is the most upbeat, positive character I've ever come across. I love the delightful quirky romance and deliciously dark humor. |
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| Mumford
Another quirky love story. Writer/Director Lawrence Kasdan has a loving touch with the characters. A bonus: you get to see Jason Lee on a skateboard. |
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| Billy Elliot
What makes this movie so special (besides Julie Walters and Jamie Bell who is a sensational dancer) is the father/son relationship. And how can you resist a story about following your passion? |
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| My Man Godfrey
One of the VERY BEST screwball comedies--and it's set against the Depression! This is ditzy Carol Lombard and the urbane William Powell at the top of their form. Don't see anything but the Criterion version because often a crucial scene is missing. |
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| Bringing Up Baby
Probably the definitive screwball comedy, this movie flopped at the box office. But this is madcap comedy at its sublime heights. No two characters are as mismatched and derve each other more than David Huxtable (Grant) and Susan Vance (Hepburn). |
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| Casablanca
All on it's own, the line "Here's looking at you kid" has the power to make my eyes tear up. This film is a study in powerful dialogue and backstory used to its best effect. |
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| The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming
Watch this movie to get a birds-eye view of the insanity that was the Cold War. I fell in love with a black leather clad Alan Arkin the first time I saw it (lo those many years ago). First rate cast, hilarious situations. You Must See This Film (again). |
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| Moonstruck
Cher had me at "snap out of it!" BTW, this film and "The Russians Are Coming" were both directed by Norman Jewison. |
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| The Horseman on the Roof
Set in 19c. France, during a cholera epidemic, a young officer (Olivier Martinez) aids a French woman (Juliette Binoche) in this romantic adventure. The cinematography is lush and beautiful, the relationship tender, and the denouement tres French. |
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| Benny and Joon
I love this film. It's not just because Johnny Depp does a fabulous Buster Keaton. It's not because it's set up in the area of Washington where we go every summer. Maybe it's the line "Aside from being a little mentally ill, she's pretty normal." |
What are some of your favorite writing quotes?
"Comedy is at heart an angry, antisocial art. To solve the problem of weak comedy, therefore, the writer first asks: What am I angry about? He finds that aspect of society that heats his blood and goes on an assault." -- Robert McKee
"I try to leave out the parts that people skip." -- Elmore Leonard
What are your favorite historical romances?
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| The Windflower, by Laura London (Tom and Sharon Curtis)
The best pirate romance of all times--arguably the best romance ever. This story was published in 1984, but there's nothing bodice rippy about it. The plot is intricate, the story deeply emotional, the characters will live with you always. Out-of-print and expensive. |
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| The Fire-Flower, by Edith Layton
Set in Restoration England, this book inspired me to write The Raven's Revenge. This story takes place three years later, after the plague and great fire that destroyed a good part of London. Do yourself a favor and track down this story which is out-of-print. |
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| Flowers from the Storm, by Laura Kinsale
Perhaps the most mismatched couple in historical romance: the Duke of Jervaulx is a rake who suffered a stroke and is in an insane asylum, and Maddy is the Quaker woman who tends him. I re-read this tender love story annually to remind myself what great storytelling and beautiful writing is. |
(I honestly think it's a coincidence they all have flower in the title.)
If you could go anywhere on the planet, where would that be?
Florence, Italy
Loon Lake, Washington
Disneyland
On a train . . .
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