The good ol' days?

Spending the evening flicking through the huge variety of TV channels made me think back to my childhood. Growing up in Portugal in the 80s meant I was extremely limited to what I could watch. Back then, in Portugal, the choice of television shows was, well, pretty lame to say the least.

When I first arrived, aged ten, I think we had a choice of two channels. RTP1 and RTP2. Both were bad. Really bad. At a later stage, they were joined by SIC and TVi but they weren't a great deal better (except on weekend afternoons but their commercial breaks often lasted a good 20 minutes!).

It was so bad that my family and I would actually get excited at about 8pm certain weeknights when the few American shows were aired. The programs? The Twilight Zone (the original 1960s version) and All in the Family (remember Archie Bunker?).

After a year or so we were ecstatic when they were joined by Moonlighting and Family Ties! Needless to say, our video was used endlessly. I'm surprised it didn't wear out altogether. Whenever we were given a video tape, that video tape would be played hundreds if not, thousands of times. The movies? Well, at one point my younger brother and I could recite (literally word for word) Robocop, Police Academy, Beaches (ok...perhaps not my brother but I loved it) and Footloose. For some bizarre reason we also had rather a large selection of awful martial arts flicks like Enter the Dragon. We could do pretty bad impressions of dubbed Japanese actors though!
Fast forward 25 years and we are absolutely spoiled for choice. We have cable TV, which not only offers those dire original four channels, but 50 odd others! There is so much to choose from that we often end up spending most of the evening trying to decide what to watch!
What was it like for you? What did you grow up watching on TV?

Q&A with author Leanne Beattie

A very warm welcome to Cage of Bone author, Leanne Beattie...

Have you ever read a book that made you think 'wow'? If so, what book was it and why did it have such an effect on you?
That would be Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. It is a great example of the interior life of a teen as she goes through a traumatic time. It also showed the effect of stigmatism in high school—what happens when you don’t follow “the rules” and people hate you for it.

Who is your favourite author and why?
It’s hard to pick just one, so I won’t. I love Laurie Halse Anderson and John Green for their ability to capture the essence of teens so well. I also read anything by Alice Hoffman because she creates such beautiful imagery and adds magic to every story. The Ice Queen was amazing.

Who, or what, inspires you?
I am very influenced by music and get a lot of ideas from lyrics. Cage of Bone grew out of a phrase from the Jann Arden song Will You Remember Me? Whenever I need inspiration I go to my local bookstore and roam the aisles for an hour or so. Simply being surrounded by all those words, picking up books and seeing what’s new in the market makes me want to run home and start writing again.

 Where is your favourite place to write?
I need to be completely alone to write so I go to my bedroom and shut the door. I can listen to music while I write but I can’t concentrate if the TV is on.

What is your book about?
Cage of Bone is a young adult novel about a 16 year-old girl, Ronnie Campbell, as she tries to cope with her sister’s suicide. It’s an emotional story because Ronnie is very confused about the death. Her sister was the quintessential “golden girl” in high school: popular, smart and going places, so her suicide leaves Ronnie struggling to find answers. On top of everything, Ronnie’s parents are getting divorced and her father is starting a new family with another woman, so Ronnie feels abandoned and pushed aside. At an age when other kids are dating and going to parties, Ronnie is facing some pretty heavy burdens.
Once I had the basic story idea, I got an image of a girl who seems tough on the outside but is really hurting. Her toughness is all a façade. I think a lot of people can relate to that, that everybody is suffering in some way. Griffin McNay, her love interest, is the ideal boy for Ronnie: cute, creative and understanding. He shows her there is more to life than what she is experiencing right now. Her best friend, Danielle, accepts Ronnie as she is, flaws and all, and has great faith in her.

What is your favourite film that was based on a book?
I love The English Patient, based on the book by Michael Ondaatje. It has such sweeping cinematography and great actors. Ralph Fiennes is one of my favourites.

 If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the main characters? 

I had a cover of Teen Vogue posted above my desk while I was writing Cage of Bone because the model looked exactly how I had envisioned Ronnie. I found out later the model was Taylor Momsen (centre), an actress and singer. I would go with her or Dakota Fanning (left). I think Dakota would be able to pull off Ronnie’s bravado and sarcasm and Matt Dallas (right) from Kyle XY would be a perfect Griffin.


Tell us a random fact about yourself.
If I weren’t a writer I’d be a lawyer, someone who fights for the rights of women around the world. I am very passionate about improving the lives of women in developing countries.

To learn more about Leanne Beattie and her book, Cage of Bone, visit https://leanneardellebeattie.wordpress.com/

Guest Editor Ashley Kay

First I want to thank Suzy for having me as a guest. I have never done a guest blog before, so I am a virgin at this. I am not one for talking about myself really, never have been. So, I will start somewhere simple. My name is Ashley Kay, or A.L. Kay. A.L. Kay is my pen name for any and all stories I write. I am twenty-four years old, a mother of two girls, and a wife for five and a half years. I am also a college student, psychology major. I love my life, though at times I wish things would slow down, as I am sure many of you would like also. I love animals, just thought I would throw that in for you all. Oh, did I mention I am also an awesome unintentional flirt? Thought I would also throw that in there, (my recently new client, Margaret, told me to, hehe).
I began writing at the age of twelve. I wrote my first story, a children’s story. Sadly I had written it on my father’s laptop on an airplane, on our way to Germany. Well, my father’s computer ended up crashing months later, and being twelve years old, I didn’t know to back it up. I had shown it to one person, my English teacher. She told me it was really good, and that I actually might have a knack for writing. I never wrote a story again until I was about nineteen years old. I never finished it. I became ill with permanent writer’s block, hehe. Same thing happened with another story I began. Then, at 23 I started a short story called “Nightmares” that has ended up being published by Vamptasy Publishing. “Nightmares” is about a girl, Kristi, and dreams she begins having. What do they mean? Will they come true? Will she survive? Those are questions even she asks, and more. Though the more questions that are answered, the more new questions arise.
I stared working on the second installment of “Nightmares”, but then I realized something. I recently took the story back, because there seemed to be more to the story than I ever knew. I revised “Nightmares” and it is back up! Though, this is just the beginning of the story. The full length book will be titled “Kamela” when it is finished. For those that have bought, and read “Nightmares”, I am happy that it has gotten great reviews so far and people really seemed to enjoy it. I am hoping they, and others, will like the full story when I am finished with it. “Nightmares is available here http://www.vamptasypublishing.co.uk/#/nightmares/4552851092
Since I was young, my father always edited anything I said and wrote. This rubbed off on me, of course. I began doing that to others; to my friends, and even to strangers. I edited my friend’s papers, and even what they said in an instant message to others. I never was upset about editing my friend’s things, I actually enjoyed it. This added to my passion. I love editing, and working with people. I love getting to know my clients and their stories, aka babies. After working for a publishing company, that I did not care for how they were running their business and treating their authors, I started my own editing business; Ashley’s Freelance Editing http://freelance.mcconnell05.com. I love my clients, new and returning. I never get tired of them needing to ask me questions, or contacting me for whatever reason. My editing company is first in line, after my school and kids. My writing is mostly on the back burner. I only write when I get a chance to, or when I am taking a break from other things.
I want to thank Suzy again for having me. I did not know I could actually write five-hundred words about myself, let alone over that. Thank you all for reading, and being interested in little ole me.

Always a pleasure, Ashley!