Beyond the Beyond

My latest releases: Spectral Evidence and...

 

...the third book of my Navaho Code Talker series, All of Me

 

I don't see any boundaries between any of the art forms.

I think they all inter-relate completely.

~ David Bowie ~

 

BWL website

 

One of my favorite stories that my friend Juilene Osborne-McKnight tells is of a boy whose mother loves him "beyond the beyond." Ah, the musical way the phrase rolls off the tongue of this wonderful Irish-American shanachie! And what a boundary-breaking image it conjures.

It's good to have friends who help you venture "beyond the beyond..."

Creative people participate in many and appreciate all forms of creative expression. I thought of that when I was urged to sing by my grandson's piano teacher. 

Also when my fingers ache for a piece of chalk so I can make a sidewalk creation beside a treasured child.

Speaking of treasured children, has anyone seen my grandson among his troop of monkeys?

I pushed my own creative writing boundaries recently with two future book projects. After saying that my specialty in the long form of the novel, I decided to take on two (count 'em two!) collections of short stories. Me? Who never met a plot that couldn't be expanded to book length??? Well, here I go, with the blessings of my deeply missed co-writer, Jude Pittman. I hope you'll try both The Ghosts of Bell Island and Vermont Gothic, due out in 2027.

  

Another wonderful writer friend, Eileen O'Finlan, recently asked me to do a character voice for promotion of her series focused on an Irish-American immigrant family. Have you read them? Kelegeen was followed by Erin's Children and they are great, well-researched tales powered by unforgettable characters. I have not acted in a long time. But will I take the project on? Of course.

Creativity feeds creativity. What ways do you exercise your creative intelligence, friends? What takes you "beyond the beyond?"

Book to Screen Dreams by Eileen Charbonneau

 

                                                                Find my books here

What author doesn't dream of their work being interpreted by a great group of creative people and turned into a wonderful film or series? I sure do. When I see Tony Hillerman's Navajo policemen going about their duties and life strife as interpreted by the talented crew at Dark Winds, I wonder what they would do with my 1940s-set Navajo Code Talker Chronicles series.

I remember being thrilled by how John Jakes' North and South was turned into a miniseries featuring a young Patrick Swayze as an unforgettable Orry. Would I love for a great crew to tackle my Brides of the American Civil War series? You bet!

Why? Each interpretation is a love song to the original material. And it brings in new readers looking to delve further into the story. What bliss!

I love going to the movies and watching them on streaming devises. My favorites have always been historical dramas, where I learn some history (painlessly!) while engaged in compelling characters and plotlines. 

This year's Actors (formally SAG Award) went to the brilliant cast of American Historical Horror Movie Sinners.

What are your own nominations for Acting in American Historical movies...any era, any year?

Here are a few of my favorites to get you started. From this year: Ethan Hawke as lyricist Larry Hart in Blue Moon.

I'll add the various brilliant and brave women who have taken on Jo March in Little Women...

Laura Linney as Abigail Adams in the series John Adams..

And Tom Hanks in News of the World, which helped me get through the Covid years....

Who are some of your favorites?