I’m participating in a Blog Hop! I hope you’ll follow the links at the end of this post and HOP on over to other bloggers in this “Getting to Know You” Blog Hop. Hello, and welcome to the Getting to Know You Blog Hop. We have an eclectic choice of bloggers for this hop and it will run from January 29, 2013 to February 1, 2013. I’d like to thank Vicki M. Taylor. She’s the author and blogger who created this hop and made it happen for all of us. Let’s get started on getting to know me — Candy Korman
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Magic Words
Right now, our lives are saturated in Passwords and Pin Codes. I use them for so many things every day that I have to keep an old-fashioned address book as a handwritten backup. Sure, I remember most of them, most of the time but… Between Gmail, on-line banking, social media sites, Goodreads, Amazon and the rest, I often feel awash in MAGIC WORDS. “Open Sesame” from Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves, “Abracadabra” and other magical incantations were part of my childhood. Of course “Please” and “Thank You” were often referred to as “magic words” when I was kid. Words
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Conspiracy Theories
Americans seem to love conspiracy theories. Long discredited, and completely incredulous, stories get repeated or periodically revived. A friend who grew up in the Soviet Union shared a few over lunch last Saturday, leading me to believe that Russians love their conspiracy theories, too! One implicated Salvador Dali in the assassination of Trotsky. Maybe it’s simply human nature? Here goes —the moon landing was faked; the U.S. government is holding extraterrestrial remains and space ships in storage; Marilyn Monroe was murdered because of her romantic involvements with the Kennedys; Elvis Presley faked his death; the Holocaust didn’t really happen; Obama
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21st Century Gargoyles
I was walking down a familiar avenue — looking up and admiring the 19th century gargoyles perched above New York City. I found some good ones, gargoyles that had escaped me on previous walks, including two flanking the recently cleaned and gleaming copper roof of a 1889 loft building on Broadway. As I strolled downtown I began to wonder about new gargoyles. There are some wonderful Art Deco gargoyles uptown including the famous Chrysler Building (begun 1928, completed 1930). But new gargoyles all but disappeared in the later half of the 20th century. Now, in the second decade of the
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It was a Dark and Stormy Night
Nothing like a classic opening line to get the MONSTER juices flowing, so today my Monster Meditation is on the quality of darkness. Not all darkness is created equal — some darkness is simply scarier and it seems to hold the promise of mystery and mischief. Ambient light erodes the depth of darkness in cities. It also hides the stars. I love the night sky in the countryside. A few years ago I was in Umbria in the late spring, staying at a villa up in the hills above Lago Trasimeno. (Believe me, I daydream about La Rogaia, the herbs
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Crunch Time
It’s crunch time — time to make my resolutions. Since I make my resolutions on my birthday and my birthday is fast approaching, it’s time to do some serious thinking about my literary ambitions. One, I’m going to continue to post short stories every month on my freelance writing website —SweetCopy. Two, I’m going to do my best to get the fourth Candy’s Monsters novella e-published by the summer of 2013. Three, I’m going to put out an ebook with a few of my coziest, least monstrous, mini-mysteries. They feature the adventures of a sweet flapper, working for her family’s
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Following in the Footsteps of Dickens?
Recently, one of the bloggers I follow posted a mini rant about buying an ebook that turned out to be a first draft of the first segment in a serialized story. (Yes, that’s you Meeka!) I can’t blame her for feeling a bit exploited by the writer of that un-finished book. I know that ebooks are rarely edited to perfection and, honestly, I’ve found typos in hardcover editions from major publishers so there seems to be a lot of imperfect, not-quite-finished books out there. But I think there should be a difference between inviting readers to check out a draft
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Dreaming Inspirations
I was dreaming about walking on a beach. It wasn’t a “day at the beach” kind of dream; there was a definite undercurrent of foreboding. Something was about to happen. But what was it? I’ll never know. My phone pinged announcing a text message and that was the end of the story. My friends all know not to call or text me early in the morning, but they occasionally forget. It’s largely because for years I was a MORNING person — hitting the gym at 6am and running off to my office by 8:30. Now my office is in my
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Cat’s Cradle
I like cats! Yes, I even live with one. You can’t say you “own” a cat. If anything, they “own” you. There’s a joke about dogs having masters and cats having staff. So let’s just say, I’m on the staff of Chief Inspector Morse (named for the Colin Dexter detective). I’m in charge of cat toys, cat food, clean kitty litter boxes and other tasks that require opposable thumbs. He provides his own version of feline companionship. It’s a balance of attention and independence — the perfect mix for a writer’s pet. That’s why I jumped at the chance to
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