Wednesday, June 29, 2011

I am not handsome or sexy. Of course, it's not like I am hopeless. Keanu Reeves


Ok so it's not part of my Quotes By Famous Women Series but I heart Keanu Reeves and you gotta to love a guy who eats a cupcake with such gusto! Here are some great quotes from Keanu (who by the way is very sweet - saw him at the WFF)

I'm Mickey Mouse. They don't know who's inside the suit.
Keanu Reeves

Kissing someone is pretty intimate, actually very intimate, and your heart always kind of skips a beat before you do that.
Keanu Reeves

The simple act of paying attention can take you a long way.
Keanu Reeves

...and you have to love a guy who has a sense of humor....

People were saying that David Geffen and I had gotten married and it just blew me away. Not that they thought I was gay, but that they thought I could land a guy that hot. Keanu Reeves

On a good night, I get underwear, bras, and hotel-room keys thrown onstage... You start to think that you're Tom Jones.
Keanu Reeves

Ok - I would not throw my bra at Keanu Reeves - 1) I very much need my bra 2) It's so big it might hurt him!
See I have a sense of humor too!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Six Sentence Sunday - 6/26/11




Another six from Love By Design. One of my favorite scenes from the book. The cast and crew are on a break eating cupcakes (celebrating a birthday) Russ declines but can't keep his eyes off of Victoria eating one and nearly slices off a finger - Victoria rushes over and tells him he should be more careful.


"Maybe, if you took your little tea party inside I wouldn’t be distracted.” He'd be just fine if cupcakes were banned from the set and while he was at it, he'd outlaw those tight, short skirts she paraded around in.
“Somebody’s cranky.” She offered her last bite up to Russ and added, “That’s what happens when you pass up cake.”
Instead of reaching for it with his hand, his mouth swooped down and took it from her fingers, licking the tips with his tongue. He relished the gasp of surprise on her face more than the rush of the sugary treat. “If I’d known you were going to hand feed me, I wouldn’t have said no.”

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Morning comes whether you set the alarm or not. Ursula K. Le Guin




Ursula K. Le Guin is one of my favorite writers. She makes me want to write - but at the same time makes me realize I'm woefully inadequate. Here are some fabulous quotes from her:

My imagination makes me human and makes me a fool; it gives me all the world and exiles me from it.
Ursula K. Le Guin

We are volcanoes. When we women offer our experience as our truth, as human truth, all the maps change. There are new mountains.
Ursula K. Le Guin

What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy?
Ursula K. Le Guin



The only questions that really matter are the ones you ask yourself.
Ursula K. Le Guin

The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next.
Ursula K. Le Guin

The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story.
Ursula K. Le Guin

There are no right answers to wrong questions.
Ursula K. Le Guin

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Act V - Famous Lines From Shakespeare


Act V – Shakespeare and the Art of Verbal Seduction by Hill and Ottchen

There are lots of great lines from Shakespeare in the chapter on Angling but I’m going to keep it to my ten favorites….

Othello
1. An unauthorized kiss!
2. In following {you} I follow but myself.

As You Like it
3. {Being in love} ‘tis a fault I will not change for your best virtue.
4. Imagine me {your} love, {your} mistress; and every day woo me.

Hamlet
5. Thou turns’t my eyes into very soul.

Much Ado About Nothing
6. But for which of my bad parts didst thou first suffer love for me?

Romeo and Juliet
7. Woo {me} gentle….get {my} heart.
8. Did my heart love till now?
9. I have an interest in your heart’s proceeding.

The Taming of the Shrew
10. Is it possible
That love should of a sudden take such hold?

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Six Sentence Sunday - 6/19/11


Six more from Love By Design... the cameras are rolling as Victoria is explaining to Russ what he has to build for the room make-over...


Russ didn’t take off his shirt as much as he stripped it off exposing a six-pack to rival any man on the cover of Men’s Health. Tan, taunt skin stretched tightly across his chest. As a child Victoria had been fascinated by colors and textures; always touching and exploring the world around her.
She was no different now.
She gripped the worktable so she wouldn’t reach out to glide her fingers over his glistening skin. If Michelangelo could travel though time he’d cry for a fresh block of marble, though she doubted even he could replicate the chiseled form of Russ’ body.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Don't spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door.
-- Coco Chanel





From Wikipedia: Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel (19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist philosophy, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important figure in 20th-century fashion. She was the founder of one of the most famous fashion brands, Chanel. Her extraordinary influence on fashion was such that she was the only person in the couturier field to be named on Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century.

Here are more awesome quotes from Coco Chanel:

Nature gives you the face you have at twenty; it is up to you to merit the face you have at fifty.
-- Coco Chanel


The best color in the whole world, is the one that looks good, on you!
-- Coco Chanel


Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.
-- Coco Chanel


In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.
-- Coco Chanel


Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman.
-- Coco Chanel


Fashion fades, only style remains the same.
-- Coco Chanel


Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Act IV - Shakespeare and the Art of Verbal Seduction


I'm continuing to enjoy Shakespeare and the Art of Verbal Seduction by Hill and Ottchen.

Here are some of my favorites from the chapter on Enticements and Inducements

Cymeline:

1. I dedicate myself to your sweet pleasure.

Love's Labour's Lost

2. Mistress, look on me,
Behold the window of my heart, mine eye,

Measure For Measure

3.All my life to come
I'll lend you all my life to do you service.

The Winter's Tale

4. Come! come buy! come buy!
Buy, lads, or else your lasses cry.

Two Gentlemen From Verona

5. A thousand oaths, an ocean of {my} tears,
And instances of infinite love,
Warrant {your} welcome

6. Upon the alter of {your} beauty
{I} sacrifice {my} tears, {my} sighs, {my} heart.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

7. Run through fire I will for thy sake!

Othello

8. {I have} devoted and given {my}self to the
contemplation, mark, and denotement of {your} parts
and graces.

9. I {am} nothing, but to please {your} fancy.

Romeo and Juliet

10. {I} shall happily make thee....a joyful bride.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

SIx Sentence Sunday - 6/12/11


Six more from Love By Design....

But the cowardly director knew better and had deserted the set leaving Russ to handle Victoria who was about to boil over like the Lady Knox Geyser in New Zealand. He’d seen it blow once and was awed by the power and beauty of the display. Russ stood transfixed now as Victoria’s eyes burned like ice on fire as she paced back and forth, building up steam as she mumbled obscenities. Beautiful, rare, and volatile - but still a brat.
Would it be sexual harassment if he laid her across his knees and gave his high-strung co-host a spanking? More than his hand itched to do it.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Free Short Story - It's a Doll's Life by Elizabeth Matis (me!)



There is no official Six Sentence Sunday this week so I thought I'd offer a free read!

It’s a Doll’s Life
by
Elizabeth Matis


Dusting the shelves of Laurel’s Playhouse was the worst part of owning a business. As if cleaning her house wasn’t enough.
The chimes rang cheerfully announcing her first customer of the day. Grateful for the interruption, she put on her best smile and made for door.
The man who entered towered over the dolls and miniature houses like Gulliver over the inhabitants of Lilliput. Blonde hair wisped out from underneath a cap. Wearing jeans, a blue work shirt and construction boots, he was dusty as he was big. He turned away from the row of shelves she stood behind and her gaze immediately lowered. Still, she wouldn’t mind wiping that bit of dirt off his rear and not with a feather duster. Such tasks required a hands-on approach.
He looked out of place among the frilly lace and ribbons. The expression ‘bull in a china shop’ came to mind. Except this bull was in her doll shop.
Laurel stole out of her hiding place. “Can I help you?”
He turned and smiled. “I’m looking for a gift for my sister’s birthday.”
His twinkling blue eyes were a pleasant relief to the lifeless stares of her collection. Standing next to him she felt like one of those dolls: petite and very feminine. “How old?” she managed to ask.
“Sixteen.”
“Ahh, sweet sixteen.”
“Darling, you haven’t met my sister.”
She laughed at his joke, but foolishly blushed at the endearment. “What are her interests?”
Laurel twisted her hands in an effort not to brush away the dirt on his shirt. Where had her aversion to cleaning gone?
“Boys,” he said, his tone exasperated.
Again she laughed. “And she still collects dolls?”
He nodded. “Not that she’ll admit to.”
Laurel ran the inventory in her head. “Come with me.” She led him over to a display by the front window praying he wouldn’t knock anything over. It was cute how careful he was not to. “I think she might appreciate one of these.”
He was looking directly at Laurel when he said, “Perfect.”
She smiled as she carefully picked up one of her favorites, a sophisticated Gibson Girl doll that was about a foot tall. The figurine reminded Laurel of a bygone era when men were gentlemen or at least pretended to be. “Do you want it wrapped?”
“Yes.” He held up his hands. “These can save a plant from the compost pile, but when it comes to wrapping I’m all thumbs.”
Good looking and a great sense of humor. It had been a long time since a man made her laugh. As she worked the ribbon around the box she wondered if he was married. He didn’t have a ring on his finger, but that didn’t mean anything. Who’d wear a ring if they were making mud pies, which is exactly what he’d looked like he’d been doing before he entered her shop. She took his credit card and shamelessly noted the name. Ethan Edwards.
Laurel slid the bill across the counter and held out a pen. “Please sign at the bottom.”
Ethan’s fingers brushed hers. Her breath hitched and the pen fell to the counter. It could’ve been static electricity except the feeling was pleasant. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Ethan picked up the pen and his hand hovered for a moment over the paper like he’d forgotten how to write his name. “Thanks for the help Laurel. It is Laurel, right?”
She hoped the surprise she felt did not show on her face. It seemed he took note of the name of her store. “Yes it is. Come again.”
She could have smacked herself. Sure, he had every reason to stop by and browse in her doll shop – unless he had more sisters. Or nieces. Please, please don’t let him have daughters. That meant at best an ex-wife, at worst, a wife.
“By the way, I’m Ethan. I’m opening a gardening center down the street.”
“That explains the dirt.” The comment was out of her mouth before she could stop the words. Her flirting skills obviously needed polishing. A year had passed since her ex-finance had broken her heart. Maybe, she needed a refresher course.
But he wasn’t offended and laughed. “Yeah, sorry about that.”
The chimes dimly sang out as he departed.

When Laurel drove by his store during the following week she noted how it sprung to life with the arrival of plants and flowers. As she inventoried the backroom she mentally planned out the changes she wanted to make to her own garden. Perhaps she could ask Ethan for advice. Lame, but it was a perfectly acceptable excuse to see him again.
. The chimes rang and by the force of the sound she knew it was Ethan.
She barely recognized the man holding the bouquet of sunflowers. He wore khakis and a pressed white shirt, his hair neatly combed back. Not a spot of dirt on him.
“Hi Ethan. Did your sister like the doll?”
“Bea loved it.” Ethan shuffled his feet. “These are for you.”
She took the flowers he offered and raised the bouquet to her nose to breathe in the scent. “Thank you, but you didn’t have to.”
“I’ve been busy with the opening but when I saw them I remembered your smile.”
“Oh. How sweet.” Laurel blushed.
“Will you have dinner with me tonight?”
Laurel said yes. After all, Ethan cleaned up real nice.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Act 3 - Shakespeare and the Art of Verbal Seduction


More from Shakespeare and the Verbal Art of Seduction by Wayne Hill and Cynthia Ottchen and these are listed under the section of Icebreaking.

From PERICLES:


1. Are you flesh and blood?
Have you a working pulse, and are no fairy
Motion? Well, speak on. Where were you born?

From ROMEO AND JUIET

2. One fairer than my love! The all-seeing sun
Ne'er saw {your} match since the world began

3. Heaven and earth...do meet in thee at once.

4. {You are} the dearest morsel of the earth.

From THE TEMPEST

5. Now I will believe there are unicorns.

Next time I'll share some of my favorites from the chapter on Enticements and Inducements...