Perth Words… exploring possibilities.

you tried to cover up the smell of tobacco with mint.
sometimes rum, as well.
the thick smell of a lush lingers on the furniture.
the baseball caps are are still neatly lined up
though now,
they’re hidden away in the closet alongside laundry clips.
i have some sad news
there are no more birds,
they must have flown away..
i was lying in bed one morning
thinking about the beach
and i received a text.
that afternoon i bought a pack of cigarettes and a small white box of mints.

– sc

Kate Forsyth, Danielle Wood, Garth Nix & Wanda Wiltshire

I only went to one session today, but what a session! Myths, Fairy Tales and the Need to Believe with Danielle Wood, Garth Nix, and Wanda Wiltshire, chaired by Kate Forsyth. The panel aimed to address the question: Can fairy tales provide a cure for modern cynicism?

The writers began by talking a little bit about where the stories begin, with Wanda relating a wonderful tale of reaching the age of 40, still unsure what she was going to do with her life, and praying before bed one night that a story would come to her, only to wake with a 6-story series fully formed in her mind, complete with character names! Garth said that he never remembered his dreams, but was partial to the fugue state when one is half-asleep and said he once got an entire story—about toothache, no…

Many years ago, I worked in advertising –  making TV commercials, magazine ads and the like. While casting kids for a tv commercial, this little girl showed up with her sweater mis-buttoned, so I said, “she has more buttons than holes.” Then, of course, I did a doodle…

Which made me wonder if it could become a book…

which made me do more doodles…

My initial idea was that the book would be a collection of “more this than that” situations.

At the same time, I was experimenting with watercolors and created this random image by sprinkling salt onto wet, blue paint, which was clearly meant to be a snow-filled sky.

I liked many of the situations but there wasn’t much holding them together – no Big Idea to give them context. I had about 20 drawings, which I showed to my very smart friend Amy Krouse Rosenthal, asking…

Movie rights for Jessica’s Knoll’s upcoming novel, Luckiest Girl Alive, have been snapped up by Lionsgate, with the feature adapation to be produced by Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea through their Pacific Standard company. I’ve been lucky enough to see an advance copy of the book. This book’s going to get tongues wagging, that’s for sure. It’s dark, it’s riveting and it’s one of those books that’s hard to put down.

Here’s the teaser:

Sometimes I feel like a windup doll, like I have to reach behind and turn my golden key to produce a greeting, a laugh, whatever the socially acceptable reaction should be. I managed a tight farewell smile for Spencer. She wouldn’t mistake my name again, not once the documentary aired, not once the camera narrowed in on my aching, honest face, gently dissolving any last confusion about who I am and what I did. (p22)

Ray Charles

If I think back, I believe the first music I heard that could be classified as Blues would have been an old cassette tape of Ray Charles.  He was a giant in the world of music, with a musical voice all his own and became a foundational influence in the genres of Blues, R&B, and early Rock and Roll.  That old cassette had to be some sort of greatest hits compilation I’m sure, including such favorites as “Georgia On My Mind” and “What I’d Say”.  The one I remember as a straight up blues was a tune named “A Fool For You”.

Ray Charles, “ A Fool For You”

Robert Cray

I was coming of age in that transition period between vinyl records and the first compact discs.  Most new releases were available on record, cassette and CD all at the same time.  Stores were selling records for…