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| B.J. Sheldon |
I have met this fellow cat lover on Twitter (I've met most of our guests on Twitter. Have you noticed that?) and have come to appreciate the friendship of the self-proclaimed nerd, B.J. A great supporter of other people's dreams, she is willing to help out and share the spotlight. Whereas I had three sons, B.J. has three daughters. She grew up in Hull, Iowa, the daughter of a farmer, which is the setting for her YA Paranormal book, which received 23 five star reviews. Be sure to click over to Amazon and pick up your copy today. Also, be sure to visit her to find out more at her website.
Before turning it over to B.J., I wanted to just say thank you for participating. It is a pleasure to have you here at the Mess and I'm sure our readers are going to enjoy sharing their Saturday with you. I know I did.
And now, heeeeere's B.J.
Quick! Name
the last movie you went to see in the theater. Was it a huge, action packed
sequel? Was the main character a superhero, a robot, or a down and out dancer
that decided to up their game and pair up with someone from the other side of
the tracks? Was it a remake of a movie that had already been made 30 years ago
but is now full of special effects, nudity and gore?
Don’t get
me wrong. I love a good comic book movie. In fact, the last movie I watched was
“Man of Steel” with one of my teenage daughters. I’ve also been known to enjoy
many a monster robot sequel and can periodically be found enjoying a flick
involving young adults singing or dancing their way into my heart. But with so
many movies packed with high-priced special effects in theaters today, as well
as full-length carbon copies of the same movie over and over, I wonder at
times…does anyone have an original idea anymore?
I’m not
dogging the summer blockbuster. I love a good action packed movie as much as the
next person, and romantic comedies are always on my must-see list. But it seems
that the easiest thing for studios to do to bring in the big bucks is take an
old television show or movie, make it modern, throw in some cool visual
effects, sit back and wait for the money to roll in.
Now, I may
cause a bit of a stir here, (or maybe not) but I wasn’t a huge fan of the
“Twilight” series…the books or the films. However, with that being said I
actually watched all of the movies…and catch myself from time to time
rewatching them whenever they happen to air on television. Why? Because Stephenie
Meyer took an old monster myth, like vampires, and put an original spin on it.
It wasn’t anything I’d seen before. It wasn’t the same “Dracula” story we’ve
read…or watched…numerous times. Whether you loved the movies or hated them, you
can’t deny it was something different.
The same
can be said for the movie “Jack the Giant Slayer”, Isaac Marion’s “Warm Bodies”
and J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series. Each took the supernatural and made
it their own, creating something that was fun and unexpected in both writing
and on screen. Personally, I enjoy the aspect of discovering something new in
something that, throughout history, had been told only one way. Ghosts,
zombies, vampires, monsters, or even Big Foot generally have one story…one
beginning. But, it’s those writers and directors who take those topics and make
it their own that keep people like me coming back for more.
This basic
concept is what motivated me to write my debut novel, “Haunting”, a story about
a teenage girl who falls in love with the ghost haunting both her dreams and
her home. While ghosts have been written about numerous times and have been
featured in multiple television shows and horror movies, I wanted to create my
own mythology about why they’re stuck on earth, doomed to roam invisibly among
us. The character of Jack, the ghost in my book, takes us on his journey
through the afterlife and reveals the secrets that only those in the
supernatural realm would know. Rather than being unable to cross over due to
unfinished business, I wanted to come up with a completely different reason.
Ultimately, I wanted my readers to finish reading it and ask themselves, “Why
didn’t I think of that?”
Any movie,
or book for that matter, that can give me something I’ve never seen (or read) before…something
that catches me off guard…will ultimately keep me interested. Now, you may be
thinking to yourself, “What’s the difference between updating an old television
show and putting it on the big screen and updating monster mythology and doing
the same?” In the end, it’s the difference between watching a big screen remake
of “Land of the Lost” or watching Rick Riordan take Greek mythology and turning
it into something modern like “Percy Jackson”.
I know it’s
all a matter of preference. If you enjoy a good blockbuster and don’t mind all
the repetition, I’m not here to judge. As I’ve said before…I like a good
explosion and car chase scene as much as the next person. But for me, great
writing, a creative storyline and a plot twist I’ve never seen before will
forever keep my imagination flowing…as well as my money.
* * * * *
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