I have a startling confession to make — I’ve never read Jacqueline Susann’s Valley of the Dolls. Movie yes, book no. I did, however, read Every Night, Josephine! It was something about her poodle, meeting Garbo while walking perfectly groomed, restaurant fed, Josephine in Manhattan, and I remember thinking when…
Tag: writing
What kinds of characters draw you in as a reader? And as a writer? Like most people, I’m fascinated by characters who are completely flawed personalities, riven by anguish and doubt, and are psychologically suspect. Wait a minute — basically that’s everybody, isn’t it, in life and on the page?…
As per the traditions of Hollywood, and my habit of turning conversations my way here’s the preface: Oh! Talk about me? Of course! Spoiled and sheltered, and can go Sicilian in an instant. On the other hand. There are people who restore, regenerate, thrive in self-invention, and don’t have a…
Another captivating voice, I like — strike that — love, the narrative drive of her poetry: Amy Dryansky: No Birds Were Harmed in the Making of this Poem Language is fossil poetry, Emerson said, in reference to I know not what, possibly an aster in stony clay, a theory of…
I, Vickie Lester, am writing this semi-confessional in a place whose inhabitants are often thought to exist in bubble; living in a state of dreamy incomprehension brought about by mild weather and consistently brilliant blue skies, denizens of La-La Land… If this is a bubble, it’s clearly made of titanium.…
You really shouldn’t write under the influence of cold medicine, but what the hey? Beguiling Hollywood’s New Year’s Missive
Hello sweetest babies, dearest darlings, friends beyond compare (yes, I’m in a flamboyant mood but humor me!) I could say I hope you all stay well-hydrated and virus-free but that might be too reflective of how I’m feeling at the moment… So – here’s something more appropriate instead: the real…