Lost in Limbo

Hello, everyone! 

I'm not retired or kidnapped; I've simply been steaming away on an edit of The South Sea Bubble so I can send it off to my editor, the fabulous Carlie Cullen. (We call her Eagle-Eye Carlie.)

The edit has been completed at last, and now I'm ready to start a new book. 

But here's the deal: The South Sea Bubble is the final book in the Crown Phoenix series. I've been writing these books for ages, and to finish with them now is like being lost in the aethersphere.

I know that there is more to come. I have flashes of new books to write and hosts of ideas. The characters in them bump around in my mind, and eventually they'll become real people, as the ones in Lamplighter's, Devil's Kitchen, and the rest did in the end.

Still, it's just like that day at the end of the school year, when I used to teach. My classes and students were always so nice, and I hated to see them go at the end - especially when they were graduating high school.

I knew that a different class would come in and I would enjoy teaching them just as much (or even more!) but that moment of saying goodbye was always - strange. It left me lost for a moment.

Now my mind is wheeling like a compass in an airship caught in a windstorm. Eventually I'll find the correct path, and I'll be able to steer again.

For now, though, I have search for the map...

The French Disconnection

I've noticed a growing trend in television and films (such as Mad Men and Awake) lately, and one that occurs in some of the best written scripts. There  seems to be a strange disconnect between the characters, as though they are all speaking a different language and cannot understand each other.

I first saw it in Lost, when I was such a huge fan. Someone (usually Hurley) would say something that  was perfectly pleasant, and no one would respond with corresponding pleasantness. Then, when someone else would say something nice to Hurley, he would respond with a cutting remark or an incredulous scoff - there are loads of incredulous scoffs, if you begin to notice- and walk off, alone.

Of course Sawyer was a master at this, with his oft-repeated "Yeah, well, what do you know about it, doc?"

It happens in Twilight - in both the books and the movies - where Alice, as hard as she tries, just  can't seem to connect with Bella in true friendship. I see it in Awake, although there I give the writers a pass, since they are dealing with themes of  recent loss and devastating life changes. I do hope that  some connections begin to develop between Michael and his partners, however.

Mad Men is a repeat offender. The women in the office just can't find a footing for a friendship beyond bitching about the boss or snippy gossip. In fact, the one way the characters really connect is with sex. And I say all this with love - I am a Mad Men fiend.

It was particularly noticeable when Peggy defended  Joan, and that gorgeous redhead responded by biting back. Peggy's reaction to that was, "Excuse me?!" And I felt like applauding.

Is it  a mark of good writing to have constant loneliness and a lack of friendship between the characters? Has that become a hallmark of a well-written script? Perhaps that is why Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption stand out for me, since they showcase believable friendships and continuing, deepening connections.

Maybe, in a plot-driven show,  it is difficult to give time to a real human connection - but, no. I refuse to believe it. It  can be done. The writers are incredibly talented, and I hope that friendship does become a bigger theme in the future.