What Start Trek Did for Girls…at least for this one.
Star Trek turned fifty this week! As a diehard trekkie from the age of twelve, I couldn’t let this anniversary go by without trying to put into words what Star Trek (still) means to me after all these years. 
I was just a young geeky teen when reruns from the 60’s show were on TV every Saturday night. I soon found myself completely mesmerized. Kirk and Spock, yin and yang, camaraderie, friendship to the death. They were opposites in so many ways and yet they weren’t at all. In fact, I had crushes on both of them—I could never decide which one I liked best. (Well, okay, Bill Shatner…what can I say!)
Some might think that in the 70’s, with the women’s movement just gaining momentum, there was not a plethora of strong women role models for girls. I would have to agree. Even the female characters in the show, with a few exceptions, often tended to be more sexy than smart.
But the crew of the Enterprise was endlessly brave. They were courageous beyond belief. They literally boldly went where no man has gone before. (And yes, it says “man” not women” but hey, again, it was the 1960’s.)
They were problem solvers. They didn’t shrink back when confronted with something terrifying. Great life lesson there! (And so useful in the cutthroat world of publishing, lol.)
Uh oh! Trouble ahead!
They had a sense of humor even in the midst of some really bad stuff going down. Another survival skill.
The subtext in this show, for me anyway, was—it was okay to be smart. It was okay to be different. It was okay to be exactly who you are. Spock, despite all his internal conflict with the two halves of his seemingly irreconcilable personality, was who he was. He didn’t try to become someone else. Message: okay, so you’re a geeky teenager. Life will get better!
Lastly, this series fired my fledgling writers’ imagination. I was so overcome by it, I started to write my own Star Trek stories (I hate to call it fan fiction, as I was in the sixth grade. More like a hot mess, but hey, it was stories!)
I admit, skipped the latter-generation television series (I’m a purist) but I’ve seen every Star Trek movie, including the last (I cried when the Enterprise broke into bits). I consider myself so, so lucky to have loved this show which taught me so much about bravery, courage, diversity, and just being yourself. Star Trek, live long and prosper! I <3 you!
Pride and Prejudice
I love reading historical romances and novels. Actually, I wrote four historical romances (two Regency and two Victorian) and a Jane Austen short story before I got published. But I was not a natural at it for sure! I spent so many hours stopping the writing and then researching everything from the types of teacups my heroine would pick up to whether she had buttons or ties on her clothing that in a state of exhaustion, I decided to try a contemporary romance, something rather lighthearted and fun…and my life was changed forever. Something about writing in the contemporary romance genre “clicked”–my voice or whatever–and I got published!
But I love historical romances and I will always love Jane Austen. I share this love with my oldest daughter, who is in grad school. We are both the kind of people who laugh hysterically when Mrs. Bennett talks about Lydia running away with “the perfidious Mr. Wickham”…so I suppose you can say that language “does” something for us. My other daughter doesn’t exactly share this appreciation for the older English language. We try not to hold it against her (although we do try in vain to convert her, but she runs for the hills every time we turn a period movie on)!
I know there is much discussion in the Jane Austen community about which Pride and Prejudice on film is better, the Colin Firth PBS miniseries from the 80’s or the Keira Knightley-Matthew MacFayden one from 2005.
And I do love Colin Firth, but my oldest daughter and I have a particular affection for the 2005 version. In fact, we love it! It’s become a tradition for us to watch it together whenever she’s home for a long weekend, as we did this past week. If you’ve never seen it, you must know that the romantic chemistry is off the charts, even though the most Elizabeth and Darcy do throughout the entire movie is one (quite wonderful) kiss. The soundtrack is spectacular and the scenery is…gorgeous. And the story…with all its twists and turns–is still so brilliant even after all these years.
Anyway, we both love everything about this movie. It leaves us happy and sighing and believing that true love can conquer all, exactly what a good love story should do.
A few years ago, my daughter made me this plaque, on which she painted the first line of the book, which I keep right on my desk. It’s a lovely inspiration as I write my own love stories.
So I mostly prefer books over movies, but there’s something to be said about sharing a great love story with someone else, especially a beloved daughter. And as the soundtrack fades, and we turn it off and tuck it away for her next visit home, we know, like any good book, it will make us feel just as good the next time around 🙂
What’s going on this week: I invite you to check out my Facebook Author Page (and I always appreciate the likes if you’re so inclined) as I’m taking part in a huge multi-author giveaway starting Friday, September 2nd and running through Labor Day weekend. Prizes include multiple gift cards and a Kindle jam packed with books. So stay tuned for that and have a happy week!
Summer Recap
It’s been a terrific summer, but there are signs that it’s coming to an end. Kids are heading back to school and my grocery store is already selling everything with pumpkin in it and making orange, yellow, and brown icing for the cakes. (Not complaining–I love pumpkin!)
Summer started officially with my daughter graduating from college. It ended last weekend when we moved her into her tiny apartment in Chicago for grad school. In the pic, you can see my son photobombing. And also note the necklace, which my older daughter bought her–it’s the state of Illinois, but with Ohio inside it. This gift was a huge hit!
The cicadas came and went, as this was year 17 of their cycle, so 
they crawled out of the ground to be very noisy and fly around everywhere. They went back underground in July, but left behind brown leaves at branch tips, something I learned is called “flagging,” caused by them piercing the branches to lay their eggs.
I got to go to the Romance Writers of America conference in San Diego. Here’s me at the Montlake book signing with my friend, fellow author Sandra Owens, holding her newest book (which is sensational, by the way).
We went shopping in San Diego and I was struck by this display of Mexican Talavera pottery–so colorful and pretty.
We spent a brief time in the South Carolina Lowcountry, one of my favorite places anywhere. Those puffy little clouds look like popcorn!
And lastly, this is what happens on a ride on a boat called the Bad Kitty. (I swear, liquor was not involved.)
Hope you enjoy every drop of the rest of your summer!
Stop by my Facebook author page for weekly giveaways–including a big multi-author giveaway taking place now and a chance to win an Advanced Reader Copy of Rachel Lacey’s new book!
A Personal Assistant
Every summer I think about how trying to work with kids around the house is like continually stabbing yourself in the eye with a pen.
I still feel that way, even though my children are nineteen and above now, and have been in and out this summer as their lives have dictated. But for a couple of weeks, I had the awesome experience of having a Personal Assistant.
My daughter, just graduated from college, had a brief period of time when she was home and not working and not going to school.
I can put you to work, I said with an evil laugh, rubbing my hands together gleefully.
Truthfully, after a series of back-to-back deadlines, I was sort of drowning. Oh, not drowning-drowning, but the sort of just-keep-your-head-above-water type of thing that we parents do every day, juggling everything and always seeing a ton more things that you really want to get to but–not enough hours in the day.
So Daughter #2 planted flowers. Hosed out the garage. Returned stuff that needed returned. Drove the dry cleaning to the cleaners. Grocery shopped! Took mailings to the post office. Weeded. Taught me how to crop photos and use a graphics program better. Freed me up so I could organize a closet for my boxes of books which were starting to take over a small room in our house.
Now we must end the summer by taking Daughter #2 to a big city where she will start grad school. We’ve been piling up everything she’ll need for her tiny apartment. We’ve scavenged the attic for old furniture and kitchen supplies. She’s about ready to go, and we’ve got her just about all squared away with everything she needs. She was appropriately thankful–but I was thinking, she just has no idea how much of a better shape I’m in than when the summer began.
We love our children, we sometimes wish they would leave, they often should leave at a certain age and go start their own lives. But it’s always a bittersweet leaving. At the end of every summer, I always think about how the kids leaving is like stabbing your heart with a pen.
Those darn kids, anyway.
This upcoming week: please join me and the very talented authors below on Tuesday, August 9th as we help fellow contemporary romance author Laura Trentham celebrate her newest small town romance release (all times are EST):
8:00 PM- Rachel Lacey
8:20 PM- RaeAnne Thayne
8:40 PM- Laura Trentham
9:00 PM- Heather McGovern
9:20 PM- Shelly Alexander
9:40 PM- Miranda Liasson
There will be fun, excerpts, and plenty of giveaways! Join the party here!
A Real Atmospheric Theater
The proscenium arch of the theater. See the stars?
In my latest Mirror Lake small-town romance that released this week, This Loving Feeling, there is a fabulous old theater from the 1920’s that’s in need of restoration. It’s a big, splendid “Movie Palace” from the 1920’s, and it’s modeled after one in my very own hometown.
Better view of the stars and carvings.
This theater, smack in the middle of Main Street, is spectacular! It’s built to look like a Moorish Castle, complete with intricate plasterwork, European antiques and alabaster sculptures. The grand staircase is modeled after one in a French opera house. If you love old historic things and you’re ever in Akron, Ohio, go on the backstage tour! It’s a feast for the eyes…and heart.
The feature about this theater that most captured my imagination
was its ceiling–called an “atmospheric theater,” it’s one of 16 designed by famed theater architect John Eberson in the 1920’s. Only 5 of these remarkable ceilings survive today: the entire theater has an overhead dome covered with fiberoptic stars and clouds that lazily drift by. You can literally spend the entire time you’re there staring up at the gorgeous “sky” which creates the illusion of being outdoors in a Moorish garden on a clear, starry night. Completely awesome!
Very romantic, yes? Well, I did take advantage of that in my book, but I’m not going to tell you how. You’ll have to read it to find out 🙂
Loretta the macaw.
For most of my life as a mom, the theater was home to my daughters’ yearly dance recitals. Big events came there, like the Nutcracker at Christmas and intriguing speakers like David Sedaris. Today, it continues to be a community anchor, home of many wonderful events–musicals, bands, workshops, etc. My city does indeed think of it as “The Jewel on Main Street,” which is how Marcus Loew, (the founder of Loew’s theaters and the one who opened it) referred to it.
Loretta lives on in the carpet. See the feathers?
My photos are paltry compared to the ones in this article, which tells amusing anecdotes and interesting history about the theater, like about Loretta the ornery macaw, who lives on in taxidermy and in the fantastic pattern on the carpet.
I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed researching this theater. I hope these pics give you a better idea of what a gem it is and how proud my city is to be home to this gorgeous building!
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For more about This Loving Feeling, visit the Harlequin Junkie blog, where this past week I did a fun in-depth interview with excerpts.
Want more news and updates about giveaways? I hang out frequently at my Facebook author page or on Twitter. Thanks for stopping and see you around!