More Pics!

Keep 'em coming!

Here we have the lovely Madeleine (don't you think she looks a bit Scarlett Johansson - ish), another AWer, MySpace buddy, and author in her own right!

Here she is reading thoughtfully.

Here she is stunned by something completely unexpected that has just happened in the book.

But what is it? You'll just have to buy the book and read it to find out! (oooh . . .burn! Hey look, I'm allowed to be a shill for my own book okay?)

Reviewers

Ah I know what you are thinking, I've been burned and feel the need to vent. Or I am over the moon at something someone wrote about me and just want to thank them in my blogging way.

Well you is wrong!! On both counts! Ha!

This is simply something I've been thinking about for a while, and something I find very interesting as well as ridiculously obvious. And I just thought I would write about it today.

And this is what it is:

Reviewers are people too.

Amazing discovery isn't it?

But this is what I mean. I had always understood this concept on a theoretical level. I had always gone to see the movies I was interested in and read reviews with a critical eye. I discovered which film reviewers I usually agreed with and therefore could read their articles with more faith in their observations (Richard Crouse here in Toronto, like he's totally awesome. I even met him once and I was actually star struck - he's one of my favourite film reviewers definitely). But it never really came to me just how subjective reviewing really was.

Yes yes, there are those films and books out there that get generally the same ratings across the board, but more often then not, I am finding that the difference between one review and another, well, is a matter of taste.

As an example I offer myself up on a silver platter. A few years ago I produced and directed A Weekend in the Country at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Two days into the run a reviewer came to see it. And he loved it. Not only did he love it, he was kind of obsessed with it. He happened to run into a few of my cast members at a club that night and was just gushing to them how much he loved the play, he was practically star struck in their presence. The next day he wrote a brilliant review and we had it for the full month to put on our posters and publicity materials. We got subsequently more great reviews, and one or two critical ones (which even then, concluded they still liked the play - yes okay I'm qualifying, I know), but none quite as wonderfully enthusiastic. We were lucky. We were lucky this guy had been assigned to our play, and not someone else from the same paper. We were lucky that for some reason our play was exactly to his taste. And because of such luck, we had been given the gift and ability to advertise ourselves using such a glowing review.

It could have easily happened the other way around.

But reviewing is not only dependent on personal taste, but the pre-conceived ideas that the reviewer may bring with them to the work even before they have experienced it.

I am reminded of a story my mom tells (okay and the details might not be perfect, but the idea remains the same), how at a dinner party once, everyone was served lemon sorbet for dessert. Right away people were making faces and looking at their bowls with suspicion, and someone asked, "Has it maybe gone off?" The hostess frowned and went into the kitchen. She returned moments later and said, "Would it taste better if it was banana?" Everyone tried again. And suddenly with the knowledge that the sorbet was not lemon as they had all thought, but banana, it was greatly enjoyed and I'm sure some even had seconds.

And such is the same with reviewing a book or a film or a piece of music etc. Sometimes, and it isn't an excuse, sometimes the reviewer simply was expecting something else. Again if you are lucky it turns out the same way as the sorbet scenario, them loving it despite at first being slightly disgusted. But sometimes you get the reviewer who neglects to go back into the kitchen to discover the sorbet is actually banana.

Of course this is doing a slight disservice to reviewers, in saying they are not able to see beyond their own taste or pre-conceived ideas. There are excellent reviewers out there who are able to appreciate a genre they do not like in general (my playwrighting teacher, Djanet Sears, was amazing at this. She was able to critique your piece, and work with it within the boundaries of your writing style and genre, and not try to turn it into her preferred style). And at the same time there are occasions when it doesn't matter what the genre, the work is pretty darn bad and deserves to be panned.

But I do think as artists we must remember these simple facts of taste and pre-conceived ideas. The reason is two fold.

The first is to stay sane. That is, if you have produced something you really care about, and have worked on it quite critically (usually with other people), and truly believe it is the best it could be, or at least feel proud of what you have produced, then there shouldn't be any reason a bad review can get to you. Because reviewers are just people too as we have now learned.

But it also teaches us how to be critical and good reviewers of our own creations. That when we look at what we have done, we ought to remember our taste versus that of our audience. And to attempt to wipe away the pre-conceived ideas we might have looking at our work. To see things with as fresh an eye as possible (it is impossible, I think, to be truly objective about something you create though, so don't go crazy trying to). To not get too precious about what we produce.

And to be honest with ourselves that sometimes, what we've done, eh it's not so good. It might be banana, but you know what? Banana sorbet? Personally? Not so much.

Honey! I'm Home!

Yes I have returned to the blogosphere! And I have to say, I don't know about you guys, but it feels really good to be home.

It also feels really good not to be in a lot of pain anymore.

Can I just say that when people tell you, "At least you've got your health" when really you are pissed off because you've just been dumped or there is no more cake or something, well it takes going through something like wisdom teeth removal to understand how true that phrase really is. But even more than that it makes you admire the people out there who are dealing with things ten times as worse, with medications that are ten times more intrusive, and man, props, serious props to all of them and for their ability to maintain sanity. I honestly don't know how they do it.

Let's just say, I'm not the best patient. For many many reasons, but mostly because I am not the one thing that the role requires. Patient.

Anyway. Back to the world of writing and the books and news etc. Today we'll start off slow as I do have a nice little rant I would like to do tomorrow. So for now, some pictures and a link:

Yes we have a couple more pictures of people and MY BOOK (please folks keep 'em coming) this time from Ireland (one of my wonderful and glamorous blog readers):


And Scotland (fellow blogger and AWer Nichola):




And next a link to the NY Post who this past Saturday listed Alex as a "Post Potter Pick" which I have to admit, is just a tiny bit kinda cool.

Anyway, hope you are all in good health, seriously I can't even tell you how much I mean that, and I gots to say, I really missed you guys! Thank you so much for all the well wishes and wisdom teeth empathy! Oh and I just had to repost my analogy that I wrote in the comments section comparing postpartum play depression and wisdom teeth removal because it is simply brilliant:

Doing a play is a bit like getting your wisdom teeth removed. There is a lot of pain and effort into the doing of it, but then it gets done, most often successfully, and then all that remains is a hollow emptiness.

Thank you, thank you.

Postpartum

It happens to almost all people involved in a play. It doesn't matter how much work the whole thing was, or how many things may have gone wrong in the lead up to the show, or how there were days you just wished it would all be over, in the end, it's all rather sad when it's done.

Yes Summerworks ended last night. And A Weekend in the Country had it's last show that afternoon. I have to say it was a rather brilliant run. Great houses, amazing audiences who just laughed and laughed (we can only as assume with, not at, us) and of course stellar performances from my amazing actors.

Oh and lots of blood getting all over the place!

Heck we even had a fan who wanted autographs from everyone after the show!

And then we celebrated with a very long party that went from the afternoon through to the wee hours of the morning.

All in all, a good thing.



I will miss it though.



Now it is all about focusing 100% on the writing! - but probably a bit of a hiatus with the blog entries as I am getting my wisdom teeth out tomorrow. Oh. Yay.

Hugs to you all!

What is the name of the deadly pirate ship that Alex chases?

I have been noticing in my "recent keyword activity" that strange phrase popping up every now and then.

Now what the devil was going on exactly? And why did all these people not want to read my book and find out the answer, as opposed to googling it? And darn it what was the incentive to find the answer anyway?

Well turns out this is: Competition

It is truly cool to be a part of a competition that you yourself didn't organise. A serious honour.

And so I thought I would help out, just a bit. The answer is easily found in my sidebar to the right, over there . . . a little further down. . . there you got it!

I will give one further hint:

Look at the American title.



Oh heck fine, the name of the ship is . . . oh and I am afraid we are all out of time here at Adrienne's blog! Please join us in a few days when she goes on for probably too long about what it is like to have a play go up in Summerworks! Until then, have a great day folks, and remember if it's not a blog it's probably someone's personal diary and you should put it down right now!

thetemptheactressandthewriterisbroughttoyoubuyfictionalproduct
placement:ifitisn'trealwe'llpromoteit

And we have a picture!

Courtesy of my amazing friend Heather Dann (who is also a character in the book)!


There she is standing in the book store in the Hammersmith Mall, London (right by the subway, the one I used to pass everyday and bought my copy of The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook at), isn't it just so cool!?

Keep 'em coming folks!

ALEX AND THE WIGPOWDER TREASURE IS OUT TODAY!! (in the UK)

Yes okay, maybe announcing that my book is out minutes after midnight is a bit eager but come on!! MY BOOK IS OFFICIALLY RELEASED TODAY! Like, that is so cool!! And amazing!!! And also a bit weird seeing as I can't actually see it in bookstores and stuff as it is all the way across the ocean (which is why I officially dub any of my fab blog readers in the UK my super secret spies to find said book, take super secret picture of book and send it to me so I may post it on my blog and have the world revel in its glory - I would prefer my super secret spies to be in the picture wearing dark sunglasses and/or a trench coat, but really any outfit will do!).

But seriously folks, how can someone really express the strange multi-layered emotional insaneness that is today. How can I even begin to understand it myself? To come to terms with being an "author"? See I even put author in quotes there. I have to stop doing that. I'm not an "author". I'm an author. Yes. I am. Never ever in a million years would I have predicted this. Life just does this sometimes, it is oddly predictable in its unpredictability. Well I hope it enjoyed the loop it through me for. And I hope the loop was more like a hula hoop cause those are fun.

Anyway, so today . . . okay here's my dad's pun and I apologise profusely for it. . . today my parents are taking me for "launch" at the Royal Ontario Museum (it was just renovated and evidently has an amazing new restaurant) to celebrate.

Oh and check out Scholastic UK, where I am featured as author of the month, with a just fabulous interview with yours truly.

Sigh.

This. Is. So. Cool.

Jon Weinberg's "A Calm Position"

No not child's pose in yoga, or lying in a soft bed, but the book he wrote and took photographs for that won him the Independent Publisher's Award for poetry this year.

Yes my dear friend, and very talented author/photographer Jon Weinberg (whom I blogged about hanging out with at BEA here) is having a book launch in LA August 9th, and while of course I unfortunately cannot attend (seeing as I am in Toronto and all that), I think those of your on that side of the continent simply must! Just must! Not only is he a great guy, but very talented, and it would so be worth your while, I promise!

So here is the info:


The official book launch party for A Calm Position will be happening on August 9th, 2007.

Featuring a reading from the book by Jon Weinberg and two live musical acts, Kate Micucci and Nor'wester.

Photographs from the book will also be on display and for sale at the gallery from August 8th-12th.

The party will start around 7:30 and go late

For info about the book visit www.induetimeprojects.com
Please also visit www.myspace.com/katemicucci and
www.myspace.com/norwesterband

A Quickie

First of all thank you to everyone for the well wishes for last night, it went really well! The actors were on top form, and the audience really seemed to love it (let's just say they laughed a lot)! It's such a crazy feeling being the director, sitting there in the audience with no control over anything that happens on stage. At one point I thought for sure they were going way too slow until I realised I was comparing their pace to my heartbeat. Needless to say my whole team, actors and stage management were awesome, now all we need is to fill the house! Anyway today I am taking off and just relaxing, and then I plan on getting really nervous for our next show at 9:30pm tomorrow. Yay!

Second I just wanted to remind everyone that Patricia Wood's book Lottery is now officially out, yay! Not that she needs my help with promotion, her book is already in the top 100 at Barnes and Noble and is at #375 at the moment on Amazon (plus she's been interviewed by USA Today for crying out loud!). Still, the book is great, as is the author so I thought I'd link you all back to the spoiler free review I made a few months ago after I'd read the ARC. Enjoy! (and congrats Pat as ever, you so deserve all of this wonderfulness!)

Opening Night!

Yup today is the day!! After much rehearsing and running about the city and making press packs and gathering props and burning CD's and just all that stuff . . . today is that day!!

A Weekend in the Country opens tonight at the Factory Theatre Mainspace at 11pm (www.summerworks.ca)! It's very exciting and also nerve wracking and oh so cool!

And here are some exciting little links from the media in Toronto about us:

An online mag (featuring our other press photo! The one based on the clue box!)

From NOW magazine, scroll down to the bottom where Julian DeZotti, one of my actors, is featured.


Wish us luck!! Or rather . . .break a leg!

(also chances are I'll be MIA again because of all this, still adore you all muchly!)

What do you guys think?

For those of you who are unaware there has been this strange debate going on in the romance writing world about these two young female authors who dressed in costume for a conference. The costumes were akin to school girl outfits and were worn to promote their latest works. (anyone interested in the debate itself can check out Pub Rants [scroll down to the July 18th entry]- where you will get yet more links on the topic.)

This debate has sort of fizzled recently, I'm a bit behind on the times, but I was thinking a bit more about it and wondering why the authors got such ire directed towards them. A lot of arguments centred around a 'lack of professionalism', and then the debate turned towards the reputation that romance novelists have within the industry, of the general stereotype of what a romance novelist is.

But I couldn't help but wonder if some of the anger was sparked by the fact that the young women in question were both rather pretty and had no qualms using said prettiness to promote their works. I don't think that this anger I'm referring to was directed even at them, (some people commented that it was awful the publishers making them do this, which so was not what happened) but rather at the fact that it seems like nowadays, even in the writing world, looks matter.

I'm an actor. And so I know what it feels like to be constantly judged on your appearance. In fact one of the things that I thought was so cool about submitting to literary agents as opposed to acting agents was that I didn't need to send a picture. That my letter was in fact an audition, an example of the quality of my writing, as opposed to my headshot which basically just told a prospective agent what I kind of looked like but said nothing to my acting ability (yes you send a CV as well, which can give some impression as to what you can do, but you still haven't actually done it in front of them). It was so freeing. It didn't matter that I had brown hair. Or that I wasn't skinny enough. Or fat enough. All that mattered was how I wrote.

And that I am sure is the draw to many many authors.

But things are changing, not hugely, but with the internet, and youtube and the world becoming far more visually oriented, an author these days has to appeal to many different kinds of media. The whole concept of author promotion gets many authors upset. I can kind of understand this. There was a time an author could be a recluse, in fact often the reason a person became an author was because they were such a thing. But now more and more is being demanded of an author, the amount of self-promotion, the 'thinking outside the box". Now add onto to that the pressure to look good! We know that looking good is the most important thing for any individual in society, the highest level of achievement to strive towards. So why should authors be left out of the mix?

Now all this is just a commentary, not even an editorial really. I personally do not take any issue with what those romance author women did, I think they look cute! I also think that if you have something going for you, use it! The reason certain non-fiction authors (who are not celebrities) have great success a platform. Well fiction writers have to find something that will sell their works too you know! I also always strongly believe in promoting yourself, especially if you are comfortable in doing such a thing. And if anyone wants any suggestions in that area may I link you to the fab JA Konrath who just seems to know all the right things to do.

My point is simply, with regards to that romance debate, I just think that possibly the fuss was maybe about something bigger. To quote myself from the comments section over at that Pub Rants post: "[I wonder if] in the end many people in looking at [the authors] may be seeing something symptomatic of a general trend in society, and it gets people more riled up."

I dunno.

What do you think?

Summerworks update

Just a quick update for those of you who may be interested in that sort of not so secret double life I lead.

Yes while attempting to complete book 2, I am also directing/producing/publicising my show A Weekend in the Country for the Summerworks theatre festival which starts, oh, you know, NEXT WEEK!!

Things are going rather well though I have to say. My actors, as I have already said are quite wonderful. And while rehearsing in my living room may not exactly be ideal, we manage admirably. Last weekend we took the rehearsal to one of the actor's houses for slightly more room and she has this adorable littler terrier named Ira, and Ira sat at my feet and watched rehearsal with me like a mini- stage manager. And in the scene when one of the characters gets a bit manhandled and then pushed off the couch and she starts to cry, Ira rushed over to make sure she was okay. Every single time we did that bit. It was very cute.

Anyway.

I also sent out press packs to . . . press. And have printed up posters and postcards. The front of the postcards look like this:



I am proud of our design (our tag line for those of you who can't read it is "Getting rid of the body is the easy part").

Props are slowly being accumulated, lines are being learned, and slowly but surely a show is coming together. Sunday hopefully we can do a stumble through of the whole play, to really get a sense of things. And Tuesday is our tech run. And then we open on next Thursday (August 2). Eek!!

I'm at the point now where I am really starting to get excited!

Anyway, since this is all kind of old hat for me, and I don't really know what specifically to write about, I was wondering if any of you had any questions about the rehearsal process or whathaveyou, anything you may have wondered about but never really asked. Here's your chance! Don't miss it! You'll totally regret it if you miss it! Yes, yes you will!

Harry Potter Party Madness!

Okay does the internet really need another post about Harry Potter? Probably not, but I just had to share with you my amazing time I had with my friend Michael at the party in downtown Toronto. So if you don't want to read, please don't. If you are curious, be assured that there will be no spoilers here (you could probably get the impression from the post before this one that I'd say that), just a happy party story.

So Michael and I decided to go see the movie Hairspray (which was a lot of fun - and does teach us the very important lesson that you can't stop the beat. You really can't. It stays with you. All the time. Running through your head over and over and over again) in the same complex as the party was taking place. So we got our movie tickets at around 6:15pm and wandered into the bookstore to ask what was what. There were going to be two lines, one for the pre-ordered books (me) and one for the people purchasing it that night (Michael) but fortunately since we came so early Michael was given number 199.

My wristband was blue, his was green, and we were told that if they were ripped they wouldn't count (they were just made of paper), so we were very paranoid when, for example, washing our hands, and at first I couldn't put my sweater on because I was scared it would rip the band as I put my arm through the sleeve (we eventually figured out how to do it, it was like a beautiful dance . . .)

Then we went and saw the movie.

Then we came back to the bookstore and it was packed!


They had balloons in a net hanging over everything in preparation to be released at midnight. They had Hogwarts house banners and a DJ, who was saying stuff like, "Come on everyone let's dance! . . . . or . . . you could all just stare at me . . . " because of course the kids were just standing in front of him, mouths slightly agape, staring. Really cute! There was a green screen thing where a kid could be put onto a computer as if he was flying. All pretty neat.




So Michael and I walked through the store and decided to check out outside. They had closed off the street! It was like a fun fair, bouncy castles, sport competition things, street performers (eg: fire eaters and stilt walkers, and tons of magicians), bands played on a stage . . . it was so cool.



And because Michael and I are technically grownups we went to a bar that overlooked the whole thing and had a drink before going back into the store at 11pm to line up where we were separated because he had to buy his book and I didn't.

Midnight came with a New Year's Eve like countdown, and I was right under the balloons when they fell!



And then the lines started to move really quite quickly and then Michael and I both had our books and we ran home fast so no one could yell out the ending or anything (but not before getting our picture taken first)!



It was such a great night, such a positive happy place, and all these cute kids in costume (the really little ones were heartbreakingly adorable) and also adults dressed up (a truly freaky Voldemort). I didn't have time to make a costume but you will note I did wear what I consider my Gryffindor sweater. And I then read the book over the weekend (I was too scared to go on the internet until I finished) and I won't say anything at all about it, except that I highly enjoyed it (and am feeling rather empty and sad now that the whole thing is over).

And that is my story.

Tonight . . .

So tonight at midnight (or rather technically tomorrow morning, but I just don't think like that) I will own a copy of the very last Harry Potter book. It makes me excited and sad, and all I have to say is thank goodness there are still 2 more movies to go otherwise I would be utterly inconsolable.

But ultimately this should be a happy day, and yet I am feeling frustrated.

Why?

I'm glad you asked!

What is really getting to me is all the spoilers and stuff that is out there on the net, even early reviews with spoilers in them published in major papers. I understand it is all very exciting and everything, but do we need this sort of instant gratification? Can't we just be patient? Wasn't it always, "the longer you wait the sweeter it will be" and isn't there something really special about sharing a particular experience with people all over the world at the same time?

It makes me sad that people have turned this event into a selfish race to the finish line.

Another thing that upsets me is that there is bound to be some jerk out there who will find it just oh so amusing to ruin the ending or something. I remember when I was in England when the sixth one came out and someone hung out over an overpass of the motorway a large poster that read (spoiler - highlight to read):

Dumbledore Dies

I never quite understand these people. Well I sort of do. They see a large mass of people going crazy over a kids' book, dressing up in costume and being, what they consider, stupid, and so they decide they are going to mess with them.

What they don't appreciate is that despite all the adults who love the book, it is still a series for CHILDREN. In ruining the ending or whathaveyou in your selfish attempt at a good time (for only them, but that's all that matters right?) they are ruining the moment for KIDS.

Why can't others can't let other people be? If a group of people are having a harmless good time, and you think it's stupid, what does it matter? They don't care what you think. Or is it that? Are you feeling left out, and therefore want to exert your personality by ruining the fun for everyone else?

So a plea, but honestly I just don't think it makes much sense as the people reading this blog aren't really the type of people to do this sort of thing, but nonetheless:

Please don't ruin it. If you don't like the Harry Potter craziness, stay home. If you are jealous of not being able to join in, don't take it out on those who can.

Or you know what? Maybe join in on the festivities! Who knows, instead of being a miserable sod, you might find a little participation could be enjoyable. Heck - dare I say it? - fun!

8 More Things You Didn't Know About Me

I've been tagged again over at Karen L. Alaniz's blog !

And since I am oh so fascinating I thought I might as well share yet 8 more interesting things you may or may not have known about me.

1. I wear odd coloured socks. I have since I was ten. My mom would buy me socks with the same pattern but different colours so I could mix and match. Then I just got lazy and would wear any sock with any other sock. If I wear matching socks now, it feels wrong.

2. I want to be in a Peter Jackson movie sooooooooooooooo much! (Dawn might already know that one)

3. For some reason I always felt a close connection with Jim Henson, like he was an uncle or something. When he died (I was 9), my friends cut out news clippings and gave them to me because they knew how sad I was.

4. On that note, Kermit is my ideal man (that and Hugh Jackman). Sensitive, but still a leader. Also very smart and creative. And a fabulous dancer. Actually I guess the same could be said of Hugh Jackman. OMG, Hugh Jackman is the human non-puppet Kermit!!





5. On that note note: When I was little I thought Loretta Swift (Hot Lips from MASH) and Miss Piggy were the same person.

6. I have just finished watching season 2 of Battlestar Gallactica and am suffering withdrawal symptoms now . . . must . . . see . . . season . . . three . . .

7. I'm pretty good with Photoshop.

8. If a big spider or something makes a home for itself right outside my door or window or something so that I can't really kill it because technically it's in nature and it would be wrong, I give it a name to pretend it is a pet, say hi to it when I pass it, and any fear of it I may have had goes away. Try it, it works!

When it rains it pours. . .

So I get an email from my editor informing me that Alex got a starred review in this week's Publishers Weekly (!!!) . . .

Can we just say, over the friggin moon!!

Here it is (warning minor spoilers):

Alex and the Ironic Gentleman
Adrienne Kress. Weinstein Books, $16.95 (320p) ISBN 978-1-60286-005-6

Kress’s debut is a wonderful blend of whimsy and moral, with winks at the reader on every page. Alex, who lives with her uncle in the flat above their doorknob shop, is dreading the sixth grade and the stern teacher who comes with it, but on the first day she learns that a new teacher has been installed—the young Mr. Underwood (“a marvelous teacher despite being ever so distinctly odd”). He turns out to be a descendant of a famous pirate, and soon three vicious men turn up in town, looking for a map to a fabled family treasure. The map is somewhere in a stately manor house, run by the vicious old ladies of the Daughters of the Founding Fathers’ Preservation Society; Alex finds the map and escapes, but returns home to find that her uncle has been killed and Mr. Underwood has been kidnapped by the pirates of the ship Ironic Gentleman. She sets off to find him and has some odd encounters along the way (at one point, she meets an enormous octopus, distraught over how computer animation has wrecked his movie career). Eventually, Alex ends up on the Ironic Gentleman, face to face with the dreaded Captain Steele the Inevitable, whose identity comes as a big surprise. Kress has a delightfully simple, observational prose style that recalls A.A. Milne, right down to the frequent capitalization of Good Things and Very Interesting Things and so on. This inspired book should hold up to many re-readings. Ages 10-up. (Sept.)

Just a little note inspired by thenovicewriter . . .

Hey all!

Quickie.

Some of you may have read in the comments section that thenovicewriter (who I just this second noticed, as I was preparing the link to her blog, has so sweetly mentioned my blog over there on hers - that was a weird and a lovely discovery, talk about kismet - thank you Novice so much!) mentioned attempting to read the first two pages of my book off of the picture I took, actually in fact she succeeded, and then expressed sadness at not being able to turn the page.

Well being the helpful Temp, Actress and Writer that I am, as well as being a notorious show off, I thought I would oblige by posting a link to Scholastic Canada's site where they have put my book as one of their "Sneak a Peek" authors. I should really have mentioned this earlier, as it is quite an honour to me for them to have done this for my book. It's really quite cool.

Anyway, if you are curious in reading the prologue and first chapter of Alex, do check it out here: Sneak a Peek

BABY'S FIRST . . . BOOK!!!!!!!!!!! (UK style)

Ta-da!!!!!!

Yes I am pleased/thrilled/agog to say that the other day I was sent the actual, as in actual, as in actual, version of Alex and the Wigpowder Treasure and it's friggin' glorious! And shiny!!

It's this nice little (as in height wise) chunky book, with little sketches at the start of each chapter of the characters within. It is so well put together, so thought out, it's obvious the people who were working on it love my story as much as I do. Thank you Scholastic UK so very much!

I can't tell you how exciting this is. I mean, I guess you can imagine, but it's seriously overwhelming to the point where all I can really do is stare at it in wonder. I think about all the people who put effort into putting my story into print and it just . . . it's just unbelievable to me. I am a published author. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought such a thing possible. I, Adrienne Kress, have a book. How did this happen? And why have I been so lucky? Well I won't question it, but embrace it (literally, having a hard time physically putting the book down), and show it off to anyone who asks, and really anyone who doesn't!

And now - pictures!!:

(from the front - note the shiny!)

(from the back - still note the shiny!)

To put things in perspective - and the only way I would ever presume to compare myself to Harry Potter:

Height

Depth
(well I mean physically, the actual content is so deep it's practically unfathomable)

And here is the inside of chapter one - note the great little character sketches at the top, and the little sort of dotted map lines that cross over both pages (and how the page numbers are framed by portholes)?
- so cool!!

Sigh.

I'm really happy.

Vacation Slides

So as most of you know I was in Newfoundland for a family wedding two weeks ago, but I haven't been able to post pics yet (camera issues). Anyway, now I can! Yay! We went sight seeing, saw puffins, icebergs and whales. I went to George Street St John's on Canada day and it was crazy! And of course the wedding was beautiful. All in all, a lovely time.

Anyway, this has nothing to do with writing or acting at all, but I like the pictures so I wanted to share.

Without further ado:

A room with a view (harbour of St John's).

Iceberg, dead ahead!

Me very cold on the sight seeing boat thingy.

My dad very cold on the sight seeing boat thingy.

Me and my mom (I may look a bit odd in this one, but she looks good!)

Artsy pictures:

Black and white photo inside The Rooms (a museum in St John's).

Ice berg photo pretending to be Group of Seven painting.

Small coastal town.

And there you go! Not too overwhelming I think, not too many pictures to sit through, simply a taste to whet your appetite. Isn't it beautiful there? You simply all must go, there is nothing more to it. Get thee to Newfoundland! To Newfoundland, go!

What's up with the posting every day?

Don't ask me. But suddenly I find myself having much I want to show and tell with you all.

Yesterday it was a tell, today a show.

I have been reviewed! It's very cool, very odd, and very flattering. So check it out here at SmartGirl!

I am also up on the Scholastic UK site as "Coming in August" which is also very cool!

And now to write a sequel!

Here's kind of a weird thing.

When I turn on the hot water in my kitchen it runs cold until I go into the washroom and turn on the hot water of my bathtub. Once that has run warm I turn it off and the water in the kitchen runs hot. I thought at first maybe it was just by the time I got back to the kitchen the water had heated up. So I played with the timing.

Nope. It's all about the bathtub.

It's kinda a weird thing.

My glamorous cast!

As many of you know, not only am I an author extraordinaire, I am also an actress/director of fabulous wonderfulness. If you don't know this, I suggest you re-read the name of my blog.

As you also may know from previous posts, I am directing a play I wrote a few years back for a theatre festival here in Toronto. The play is called A Weekend in the Country. The festival, SummerWorks (sounds very film noir those last two phrases).

Anyway, I thought you might be interested in a wee little update as to the goings on in that area of my life. And if you aren't, well, tough.

First of all I am happy to announce that I have a cast! This is very exciting because without a cast there would be no play. It is important to have actors when doing a play. Write that down for future reference.

My cast is awesome! We started rehearsals last week and they really are rather good. Intuitive and fun, and very hard working.

The day before I left for Newfoundland we did a photoshoot (as I may have mentioned briefly, can't remember) for photos for the press pack. A press pack is something you send out to reviewers and stuff in the hopes of enticing them to come to the show and spread the good word. I wanted all 7 of my actors in the shot, as it is very much an ensemble piece (unfortunately one of my actors was on the west coast, so I had to sit in for her - we have the same colouring and stuff, still it was too bad she couldn't be in the picture, though of course we will take others over the course of rehearsals). And I thought the best way to do it, since we didn't have any posh living room or anything, was to be very Vanity Fair about the whole thing and make it look like an obvious studio shot. I had a nice chat with the photographer about my vision (the brother of one of my actors, Ezra Teitel), and had a nice back and forth, and he totally came through for us.

So here is my very sexy, fabulous cast in what I call their post-hunt-in-the-English-countryside attire (and while she is not in the picture, I can assure you the missing actress, Lisa Warner, is incredibly sexy as well):

(left to right: Michael Leventis as the POET, Hannah Cheesman as the ACTRESS, Julian DeZotti as the BUSINESSMAN, Tim Chisholm as RICHARD, Darrah Teitel as the DIRECTOR, Philip Borg as the PROFESSOR, and me, though technically, Lisa Warner as the HOUSE WIFE)

It took a good 4 hours to get ready and take the photos, and I would like to point out that not only are the carpets from my living room, but many of the cast members are wearing my clothes (including Tim who is wearing my sweater and thankfully you can't tell how tight it is on him) - my apartment is still a bit of a disaster area, I haven't put everything away yet - I am lazy as we all know.

Now I must dash and finish writing the press release as well as schedule next week's rehearsals (can't do Wednesday night, Harry Potter tickets already purchased)!

Just thought y'all might find this kind of interesting!

Check out Ted's new Jacket!

At least his "made in the USA" jacket!

Just a quick post to show and tell really! You've already seen the UK jacket, it's only right . . . [ooh at this moment I should probably share with you that I've received the official UK jacket in the mail and it's totally shiny, kind of like aluminum - aluminium for our UK readers! So friggin cool!]

So the full thing:



And the thing in bits:

(synopsis - front flap)

(cover and spine)

(back cover with blurb [by Mr. Eoin Colfer - ehem])

(author bio and picture - back flap)

Isn't it just like so totally awesome!! The worn leather look! The octopus tentacles reaching round! The bar code! Yes a bar code!

Revel in the bar code my readers, revel in the bar code!

And sometimes I'm just a darn flaky artiste!

Hello all! I'm back from the furthest east you can go in North America (well I think there is actually still a jury out on that one, but I'm still saying it so there)!

It was a lovely trip and I shall regale you with details anon, but I can't hook up my camera to my computer yet, and the story requires pictures so you'll all just have to be patient. Thank you all so much for your well wishes on my birthday! It was a lovely day, and the wedding was so nice, but again . . . pictures.

Anyway, as such I thought I would go back to that blog entry I did ages ago where I asked for suggestions on what to write about here at The Temp, The Actress and The Writer and talk about one of those topics today. And I thought I would address something that has come up a few times in the comments section, and just really in life in general.

And that is: "What the heck are you up to now anyway, writing wise?"

The short answer is I am writing the sequel to Alex. In fact that tends to be the only answer as I haven't really answered the question in any great detail. The reason for that is that sometimes I'm just a darn flaky artiste.

Now what do I mean by that kind of insulting phrase? I mean that for the first time, I think really ever, I am surprisingly protective of my writing. You may have already got the sense from this blog that I'm pretty open about stuff, and have no issues showing off really cool stuff to do with me. Whenever I have written anything in the past I have been very happy to let anyone, heck everyone, read over my glorious prose. Even if I know it isn't quite right yet, it has never really been an issue for me as I've always assumed I'd be able to fix it up.

But this time. This time. I dunno. I feel . . . nervous. Now this isn't to say I don't like what I'm writing. I must confess there are several moments in this new book that amuse me highly. And heck I read the odd section to my parents over the phone, but no one has seen the lion's share of it. It's not finished true. But it's getting pretty close, and I still haven't shared it with anyone. Not even you, my sexy readers.

Why is this, is then the logical next question I must ask myself. Fear, I suppose. I mean I've never written to a deadline before. Expectations, no doubt. Lots of people seem to be enjoying Alex, will this one live up to it? Tradition. My agent says that the second book does tend to be the hardest. But I also think there is something truly artist diva about me right now, a part of me that wants to keep the story to myself, a part of me that likes the intimate relationship I am having with the characters, and doesn't want to share it just yet. And that totally freaks me out, because I have always tried to disassociate myself from such 'artiste' sounding things, to be, as a matter of fact, the anti-artiste.

So I am fighting not only a strange battle with actually sharing the work with someone, but an internal struggle too that is dealing with the pragmatic versus the creative.

It's all rather interesting.

Anyway . . . .

All that said, I am going to just brave it (I did say back at New Year's it was the year of being brave) and tell you a little bit about the sequel itself.

First of all it isn't really what you are going to expect as it doesn't start off with Alex at all. Instead we are introduced to Timothy Freshwater, a boy often told he is too smart for his own good. What happens is we follow his adventure until two thirds of the way into the book, where he meets up with Alex. So in a way it is a bit like both their adventures are running parallel to each other and then continue on together for the last third of Timothy's story. And I so can't tell you much more on that tract because then I'd be giving away the end of Alex's adventure.

. . . in fact . . .

. . . I don't want to give away too much about Timothy's adventure either. I do want to say it involves a dragon, but maybe I shouldn't as it isn't the kind of dragon one usually expects. Well maybe I won't mention it then. Just to be safe.

So there you go. A little inside scoop. A tiny taster in one of those ridiculously small pink plastic spoons from Ye Old Ice Cream Shoppe (interestingly did you know that back in the day "Ye" was not pronounced how we pronounce it, but rather the "Y" represented a "Th" sound so actually back in the day they just said the word as we do?) I hope you found it flavourful.

And I totally promise pictures next time!


It's good to be back.