After a little time off to take care of school, RL and that annoying, itchy rash (kidding) we're back with a brand new Author Spotlight. This time around we're going to take a look at another one of our early members. CathyNH is a writer from way back but with the discovery of House and its fandom has entered the world of FanFic writing.
Cathy is single, 40 and has just moved from NH to MA to start a new job and a new career. A former Army brat (her words folks, don't write me nasty letters) she is a Boston College graduate with a double major in English and Computer Science. She was a software engineer for 16 years before the layoffs in the high tech field finally caught up with her. She returned to school for an intense 10 months to gain a certificate in professional photography and is now helping a high school/college yearbook photography studio make the transition from film to digital. She also fills in when extra shooters are needed for proms, high school sports coverage, etc.
(Check out her photo site, very nice!) Cathy's photo site In her free time Cathy enjoys travel (inspired by her globe-hopping days as an army brat), her adorable 3 year old niece, reading, music, movies and TV. Her current listening list includes Carbon Leaf, Burlap to Cashmere, Crowded House, Afro Celt Sound System, Sonia Dada, Supertramp, Ellis Paul and Willy Porter. TV favorites, other than House of course, include 24, Smallville and CSI. And for those quiet moments in the reading room her tastes tend towards F & SF and she is currently reading "The Salmon of Doubt" by Douglas Adams with the new Terry Pratchett "A Hat Full of Sky" waiting in the wings.
After not writing much of anything except technical stuff for her work and some movie reviews for an internal message board Cathy rediscovered the joy of writing with House and its fandom. Her first contribution here is called "Vocabulary". Here is and excerpt.
"Good morning!"
Oh, hell ¡V she was perky, dammit.
"That depends on your point of view. My point of view is one where I don't have to actually see patients." He tried not to wince as he maneuvered himself and the chart he hadn't yet looked at onto the exam room's stool. Coffee and Vicodin had been more important than clinic prepwork.
She raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Oooh-kay! Who peed in your Wheaties this morning?"Our members enjoyed it and here are the comments to prove it.
I love the perky comment. That is a Houseism if I ever heard one!! Even if it was only in his head. I think it's neat that she takes him on and he's irritated, but you present it as a different kind of annoyance. Not his normal people are lying morons type of irritation. I get the impression he'd find her interesting in a different setting.
rtlemurs Nice little vignette/snippet. Looking forward to seeing more work from you. Sanlin I did like this much! Yay!Taruia Her next piece was written from a writers challenge put forth by our first Author Spotlight victim, I mean participant, Telegram Sam. It's called Menagerie, here's a small slice.
He saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and slowly turned his head from the IV bag to the door. Wilson leaned against the doorframe, dapper, arms crossed, looking amused. Smug sonofabitch wasn't the one lying in the damn hospital bed.
"Appendix?" Iron filings in his vocal chords.
"Ruptured. Peritonitis."
"Shit." Still rusty.
Wilson stood up straight and stepped in, smile edging toward a smirk. "You have an admirer." He nodded toward the effects closet and the shelves opposite the bed. "Is your eighty-two-year-old girlfriend back?"
Focus. "Get it outta here. Now."
"Oh, I don't know, I think he's kinda cute." Wilson picked up the chocolate brown teddy bear from the shelf where it sat, held it out, admiring it. There was a cheerful red bow tied around its neck.
"No note, huh? Whoever she is, she's got good taste."
He paused to consider the words that had just come out of his mouth. "In toys, if not in choice of invalid." And again some praise from our members.
ROTFLOL at the stuffed animals. I'm glad someone took in this bunny. But yes, someone needs to take a picture -- with House's own camera phone, if nothing else. Plus Sister Augustine gave Chase the 411 on which nurse owns a camera phone. Send someone down to the gift shop to get a disposable camera, if need be. tee hee at the Becker reference. I liked the line about the carpet too. Auditrix Funny stuff. LOL The Case of the Mysterious Stuffies... LOL. I think most doctors would make *terrible* patients, but, House above all... LOL Sanlin Loved the fic, very nice, and I don't care about the medical validity of it! I know nothing about anything so it's all good! *is now wanting more* More please!
Taruia And her latest work, posted just mere weeks ago, Fugue State is a wonderfully atmospheric piece which I am doing horribly at describing. Just go take a look you'll see what I mean. Here's a small sample.
On a certain street, in a certain residential neighborhood in a certain township in New Jersey, if you wander along the sidewalk at 3AM, you may hear something.
This is the hour that stretches longest and darkest on the clock, an hour when a man can forget that he saw the sun set, it happened so long ago, and have no hope that he'll see it rise again, the dawn so infinitely far away. This is a time when daylight seems a quaint conceit, and hope a foreign word. The world has always been cold and dark and empty, and Fimbulwinter is only a Norse hissy fit away.Our members left this glowing feedback
*bows* Very nicely done. French and a bit surreal to me almost, or that's what it suggests--two things I very much like, the French and the surrealists.
Two lines that clinch the deal:
This is what Orpheus played after he looked back.
*shudder*
Superman had the right idea, with that Fortress of Solitude thing.
That line fits almost too perfectly with this show & House's character. It should be a tag line. The parallelism and the timing of it are wonderful. I like the plays on voicing you do, too, and any reference to Norse mythology makes me smile.
The description of the houses and bricked sidewalk and the town are very vivid & place one snuggly in the space of the piece. Nicely done on that front as well.
The eternal solitude of the suffering soul - yep, this is it. I bow to you. sy Hey, Cathy! Superb work and congrats on your 100th post, too. Also being a fan of Greek mythology, I loved the Orpheus reference, as well. Orpheus was the best musician in all the world--so wonderful, his music could literally charm the birds from the trees. Permitted to go down into Hades to retrieve his dead wife, he was warned not to look back (which he did and, thus, was forced to leave his wife behind rather than rescuing her from the Underworld).
This is a heavily evocative 'mood' piece. Intelligent, stirring and leaves a few fingers of ice along the spine along with an accompanying shudder. Well done!
Sanlin Lady, you certainly can craft a fine sentence. Those two lines that sy mentioned are definitely stand-outs. I especially loved the Orpheus one. I like the subtlely erotic description of the hands playing the keys, too. A nice touch for all those House/piano fetishists out there, beyond being a lovely interpretation of a pianist with his instrument.
Very evocative. *Tingle.*
Flannelsaurus Now that you've been given a taste go... read... enjoy... leave glowing feedback so others can follow your trail... come back for the interview!!
Here are the links to CathyNH's Author Page where you can access all her work.
CathyNH's Author PageAnd here are individual links to each story.
VocabularyMenagerieFugue StateAnd of course the second most important link you'll ever use... FEEDBACK!
Feedback for VocabularyFeedback for MenagerieFeedback for Fugue StateHope you all came back for the interview, let's dig in!
rtlemursHow did you find us?cathyNHI joined Fox's House message board shortly after I started watching the show last fall. After things got loud there, I followed Taru's trail of breadcrumbs. I like this neighborhood a lot more there's a much better signal-to-noise ratio, although the Fox board has some interesting folks I'd love to see join us. I still browse over there for the episode discussions and character analysis, but sometimes the good stuff is a little tough to find amongst the alcohol and squeeing. (Not that there's anything wrong with that!)
I get a lot out of the discussions on both boards, because I'm not always very good at analyzing people and motivations and so forth! I tend to be more of an instinctive / intuitive sort, and watching and participating in some of the discussions is great for feeding the writing muses they've been dormant for a long time, and are glad to finally be let out!rtlemursHow very true, Muses love to be fed but it's usually chocolate! So how long have you been writing? cathyNHThe first story I remember writing was somewhere around 5th/6th grade. I wrote all the way through high school and beyond, but most of it was poetry and short stories for assignments and for the high school literary magazine I got involved with. In college, I double-majored in English and computer science the former, because I had ambitions about being either a novelist or screenwriter; the latter, because I knew that writers don't always make enough money to eat well. And I wanted more living space than a poet's garret!
After I got into the software engineering world, the writing faded, except for technical stuff I usually need assignments and deadlines to motivate me. I did post movie reviews and contribute to discussions on company-internal message boards, but that was about it for a long while.
Discovering House and fellow fans and fanfic has been tremendously inspiring! This is the first time I've really written anything without having some kind of deadline to get me moving!rtlemursKind of a silly question after the last answer but I just have to know for sure! Have you written for any other fandoms? cathyNHNope. I had no idea there was such a huge world of fandoms and fic out there, other than spotting Star Trek novels on the shelves at Barnes and Noble. But I never made the connection between those and ordinary folks like us actually writing for fandoms
I'm really happy to see the rise of technology and the internet helping people make connections within fandoms! Just look at the geography of House T&M east coast to midwest to Texas to Vancouver to the UK! Iluvit! rtlemursSo then you discovered all this fanfic stuff from becoming addicted to
House?cathyNHYup! And just in time too... It's occurred to me that, while I enjoy my new career (photography), it's not always as intellectually challenging as the old one (software engineering), so getting back to writing has been a fun outlet for the ol' brain....rtlemursIf House were a fruit what would he be and why? cathyNHI was going to answer this one pomegranate, coz I don't have a clue *what* a pomegranate *is* it's a total mystery to me. But Auditrix already used that Maybe a kumquat, for the same reason?
Can I say tomato? (not sure if it's technically veg or fruit)rtlemursSure, you can say tomato, it's a fruit. cathyNH They were initially thought to be poisonous, later turned out not to be. (So who was the first person brave enough to actually *try* one?) rtlemursProbably some one that was really, really hungry! So what inspired you to start writing? cathyNHStart writing in general, or start writing House fic? rtlemursI'd say in general but how you came to write House fanfic is good too. cathyNHI come from a family of readers (my father met my mother when he was researching his MBA at the library where she worked), so taking the next step just seemed to happen naturally. And I was encouraged all through school by some great English teachers and by my parents. Plus most teenagers have a lot of angst to work through, and writing was a good way of letting that out¡K
The character of Gregory House totally bowled me over there's so much mystery about him that just *begs* to be investigated, and I love the fact that he doesn't give a single damn about what anyone else thinks. But despite his ego and arrogance and all the "Posted" and "No trespassing signs" he has up all around him, he lives a fragile existence balanced on a razor-sharp knife edge. I keep thinking that it wouldn't take much for him to shatter completely. In fact, I think he already has, and I'm hoping we'll find out more about that tonight ("Three Stories")
When I saw people posting fanfic, I figured I'd give it a try.
I've made a start at it, and I'm reasonably pleased with what I've done so far, but there's a *lot* of room for improvement. I don't feel I've really gotten inside House's head yet, or effectively communicated what his moment-to-moment and day-to-day life is like. I'm nowhere *near* writing with the emotional impact I'd like to havertlemurs Do you think that because you enjoyed writing from an early age that you are hard on yourself when it comes to your writing?cathyNHNot really. Well... maybe. Depends. (Sorry...!:) )
I generally have a good idea of the impact I want to make and what I want the words to sound like... (not sure how much sense that second bit makes). I can tell when I've gotten it right. "Fugue State" is one of those... Once I had it all down, and smoothed it out a bit, I was very happy with it. I think it achieves exactly what I was trying to accomplish. But I have a lot more trouble getting it right with short fiction than I do with poetry or prose poems (which is what I consider "Fugue State" to be).
In "Vocabulary," I got the words right, but the story just doesn't seem all that interesting. "Menagerie" was better -- I think Sam's challenge was a great plot idea -- but to me, the final version of the story just doesn't seem to have the emotional impact I'd like it to have... (then again, maybe I shouldn't be looking for too much angst in a humor piece ;) ).rtlemursWhat or who influences your writing style and choice of storyline? cathyNHThe storyline has to be something that catches my interest enough, generally something that makes me think, "wow, what would I do if that happened to *me*?" If I can see myself getting stuck in a situation and having to get out of it, I'll make the leap to put someone *else* in the same predicament. Better them than me!
I subscribed to "Writer's Digest" magazine for a good fifteen years, and in one interview I read, the author's definition of plot was: "Put your hero up a tree, then throw rocks at him."
Or sometimes it starts with an intriguing idea what if? TelegramSam's challenges have been fun that way.
After that, the characters and the storyline define the style. So far, I've only been able to find a dry, hard-boiled "voice" for House. I'm hoping to try something in the first or second person, but I have to find the right situation and character for it first. I finally di it with Fugue State. yay!
Authors who've influenced me Ray Bradbury! A lot of my high school stuff was heavily influenced by Bradbury (poetry in paragraphs!) and Asimov.
Current influences anyone who's brave enough to post fanfic! Even if I don't read it right away, I have tremendous respect for anyone who sticks their neck out like that it takes a lot of guts to do, especially if you're new to writing. rtlemursWho is your favorite character on House and why? cathyNHAfter House, I'd have to say Wilson. He's got almost as much mystery to him, and, in some ways, almost as much pain. He stands up to what House dishes out, he dishes it out right back, and he's always there for his friend. I'm convinced House would eventually self-destruct without Wilson.
And notwithstanding what either of them thinks about Wilson's pathology, I think it's House himself who helps feed Wilson's "neediness" to some degree. And a bit of vice versa. I'd love to get more backstory on how they met and became friendsrtlemursWouldn't we all?! Well, I certainly would and I know a particular nocturnal feathered beastie that haunts these boards that would probably be just as happy. rtlemursFavorite House moment or House-ism? cathyNHOy. There are so many.
Favorite House-isms: the line in my sig about "Weird works for me" and the clinic rant. The trouble is that so many of the good House-isms are context-sensitive, and sometimes the lines don't come across nearly as well without the other character foils or Hugh Laurie's facial expressions to go with them!
Favorite moments: any scene where someone strikes home with something they've said to House, Wilson, John Henry Giles, the Senator, a few others. The smile on House's face when Georgia "took a cab" to see him again House walking out of the clinic, head held high, with the Who playing at the end of "Control."
And HL and RSL in the corsage scene!!! rtlemursHouse or Hugh Laurie? cathyNH*sighs* If I were my ideal fantasy self, I'd be quick-witted and strong-willed and intriguing enough to take on House and heal him but I'm realistic enough to know that my *real* self only thinks of the best snarky lines five hours (or months) *after* I needed to use them!
I'd be much better off with Hugh Laurie if he weren't so happily and inconveniently married! *sighs again* rtlemursI love reading the different answers and reasoning to that question! rtlemursWhen do you find is the best time to write? cathyNH1. Anytime I'm feeling inspired. 2. Anytime I'm *not* feeling inspired.
Mostly it's been the first, which doesn't happen very often, so I need to start doing more of the second. Generally I squeeze time into the evenings, and I steal time during lunch hours. I've also been doing a lot of driving on the job, and that's good thinking time about whys and wherefores of characters and plot lines.rtlemurs So what's up with Chase? cathyNHCrikey! poor Chase. I liked him pretty well up till the Vogler arc I didn't see him as quite the yes-boy that most everyone did and I especially liked him in "DIYD" and "Cursed."
Now he's got a lot to answer for, even if he was just trying to save his job. I can buy that in terms of motivation for what he did, especially given his past and his own "damage," but I'd really like to see the writers do a little more in terms of penance and redemption than House meting out the medical equivalent of copying lines (hmm... story idea here? she muses). He's much like Cameron in some respects they both have some growing up to do. rtlemurs Since you don't hate Chase (Neither do I really but he does need some attitude adjustment) How do you feel about the line I think it was in Heavy, maybe Role Model where he told House there was nothing he could do about it?cathyNH(Not sure I can say this here...) "Arrogant little pr*ck" were the words that came to mind. And, "cr*p, I wish the writers hadn't done this."
There's a certain part of me that wants to forget that the whole Vogler arc happened, so that Chase (and Cameron) can get back to being more consistent characters. They had flaws and damage before then, and those traits could easily have been explored without their personalities suddenly going off at right angles to what they'd been before... This is probably the one area where I feel let down by the writers... other than that, the writing has been stellar.rtlemurs Old school (pencil and paper) or New Wave (computer)? cathyNHTotal geek all the way! (But I'm a nerd anyway) Computers make it so much easier to rework the words until you get them just right although I sometimes find that gets in the way of actually cranking out the text. I've been working on four scenes of Sam's latest challenge for months now. They're just about as good as they're gonna get, which means now I have to get the *rest* of the story down on paper... err, phosphor. Umm. Whatever it is.
(To quote an email sig a park ranger friend uses, attributed to "Unknown": "No trees were harmed in the sending of this message. However, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.")rtlemursLOL! That's pretty funny; I may have to adopt that! And I totally agree with computers making it easier to rework things. I always hated that in school when you had to write a paper actually on paper (Didn't have computers back in my day so there was no choice.) I think computers are much more writer friendly. rtlemursFavorite author and book? cathyNH(Just one? she asked plaintively)
Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, hands-down first! After that, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels, and Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar stories. Plus loads more after those recently re-read some Orson Scott Card, Raymond Feist, and Katherine Kurtz New Donald Westlake, Tom Holt, and Tanya Huff are in the to-be-read pile. rtlemurs Pickles? cathyNHNO, THANKS! rtlemursWell at least you're polite about it. LOL! rtlemursWhich characters do you find hardest/easiest to write for? cathyNHI don't know how to answer this one, since I haven't written anything other than House's POV yet, except for brief bits with Wilson and Cameron in "Menagerie." House is difficult enough to write as it is
I think I do all right in terms of descriptive prose and internal dialog, but what I have the most trouble with is writing good snark! So far, there's almost *no* dialog in my latest piece. If anything, that's what's getting me hung up... Im feeling scared to start writing conversations between the characters.
Hmm... thanks for the idea! Maybe I'll have to work on a few short pieces spotlighting the other characters... I think Chase, Cuddy and Foreman have gotten the least attention rtlemursAbsolutely, the snark is the hardest part for me. I suppose if you are naturally snarky it might be a little easier but House definitely has his own special brand. rtlemursSince you've written one of each, which do you find is easier to write, a challenge or your own ideas and why? cathyNHThe challenges have been easier for me at this point. My "what if" muscles are way out of shape right now. That may change as I write more and as the next season unfolds with more character development.
The challenges give me a good framework to start with. Then I try to come up with ideas and motivations that will fit into the challenge storyline and still fit with the characters.
House fanfic (and, I presume, fanfic in general) involves some interesting trade-offs. It's easier, because the characters and their universe are already somewhat defined, but it's also harder than writing original work, because now you have to be true to the existing personalities and canon. I've had to think through a lot more "would he/she do that? why?" and "how can I *get* him/her to do that?" questions than I might if I were working with my own characters...
The few original ideas I have so far involve medical mysteries... which means research, which means... actual *work* which is one reason why I've been avoiding them! And they feel like they'll become longer pieces, and I'm still trying to get a short piece cranked out like, a page or two! Everything I've tried has grown longer than I wanted it to be, so I'm hoping to do something brief and less involved soon.rtlemursLOL, Me too. I just can't seem to trim things down. When I was in Ireland I was asked if I might have some Irish in my back ground because I have the gift of gab!! Fortunately the Guinness was flowing and I didn't take offense to that!! Long pieces are good. Good luck on the research! rtlemursWhat drew you to House and has that changed as the series has progressed? cathyNHI saw commercials on Fox while I was watching the Red Sox playoffs last fall,rtlemursRed Sox!!!! Boooooo (Indians fan, sorry!) At least you the didn't say it was the Yankees! cathyNHIt looked interesting enough that I thought I'd try it. I'm always attracted to bad-boy/rebel types (Han Solo, Indiana Jones, David Addison). The pilot got me addicted (obsessed!) immediately.
For me, it's always been about the characters and the writing. Yeah, the medical mysteries are interesting but the people are complex, they all have layered personalities, backgrounds I'm dying to find out more about, they've got warts, they're damaged, they're absolutely *fascinating*.
And every episode has *so* much going on again, layers on layers, and lots of things to think about between Tuesday 10PM and Tuesday 8:59PM. But once I found out one of the principals was the same guy responsible for "The Usual Suspects," I wasn't at all surprised
The thought has crossed my mind, more than once, that I personally might be better swearing off the show and waiting for the DVD release, just to keep my nerves in better shape. The poor guy needs to learn whatever that song lyric is about trees learning to bend or they'll break... but then the character and the show wouldn't be nearly as compelling, would they? rtlemursProbably not! If you could be anything in House's office what would you be and why? cathyNHOK I've been *reeeally* well-behaved up till now... can I say this here?
...his keyboard, so I could have his hands on me every day! rtlemursLMAO!!! That's good! You've obviously been thinking about this way too much!! LOL! rtlemursWhat's your favorite episode and why? cathyNHThe latest one. Whatever it is.
[ Edit: Wednesday morning after "Three Stories" DAMN, I *love* this show! ] rtlemursWhat advice would you give new writers? cathyNHWrite, write, write and then write some more.
Learn to be thick-skinned about constructive criticism (easy to say, hard to do!).
Be ruthless in editing your stuff... who was it that said "Murder your darlings"? (The best photographers, my other interest, are the ones who are ruthless editors of their images, same goes in writing, I think.)
And read, read, read! Everything you have time for, everything you can get your hands on, that's what feeds your muses.rtlemursDon't forget the chocolate too! Any new story ideas? cathyNHI had a one-scene piece in mind which has become Fugue State and I'm hoping to crank out something as an attempt to break the logjam I'm in with the House/Julie thing that's stopped going anywhere fast... although I've gotten some very good feedback from a beta on that one that may help me out of the dry spell. (Thanks flannelsaurus!)
And maybe I'll try the above-mentioned short pieces around other characters I'm determined to write something *short* soon. ("Soon" being a relative term... I'm not a *fast* writer by any means, nor especially prolific)rtlemursWhat you do want to be when you grow up? cathyNHDead. I don't intend to grow up *until* then.
There are pixels floating around somewhere that show me wearing a tie-dyed t-shirt at my 40th birthday party!
I just want to be the most fun and best "me" I can be! Still trying to figure out the specifics. My first career was solving problems in the computer world... I was good at it, but didn't especially like it... too much corporate baggage. Have now switched to photography I'm a visual person. If/when I ever move on to a third career, I think it'll be something to do with writing or music. Or healthcare.
Can you tell I'm not really a goal-oriented person, but more of a I'm-in-it-for-the-journey kind of person? rtlemursNothing wrong with that! It's a whole big world out there that most people will only experience a small slice of. Journey is good! rtlemursHow many monkeys with bottles of Motrin would it take to fix Wilson's love life? cathyNHOne. But only if its name is James Wilson. And I don't think thats gonna happen rtlemurs And now I'd like to add some questions about your photography because I'm kind of into that too.rtlemursWhat type of photography do you like to do? Portrait, scenic, weddings, sports)cathyNHI got started doing travel/scenic and nature work as a hobby. Bought my first 35mm Nikon in 1990, when I was getting ready for a month-long vacation to Australia (my first real trip by myself, after college graduation -- I finally had more than three digits in my bank account). I figured if I was going all that way for all that time, I was darn well going to bring back pictures.
You have to work reeeallly hard to take a bad picture in the outback -- I got my photos back and was hooked.... (Between House and chocolate and photography and... do you begin to get the feeling I might have an addictive personality? :) )
After that I found a camera club in my local area and joined up. Edited the club newsletter for a few years and helped with the monthly competitions. It's a great way to meet other enthusiasts and learn and get feedback!rtlemursSince I wasn't really sure from the answer up above (okay, I'm a little thick today) let's clarify .Do you now do this for a living or is it still just a hobby?cathyNHIt started as a hobby, but I'm now making my living at it. In January I started working for a company that does h.s. and college senior yearbook photography. I've done some h.s. spring sports work this season, I'll be photographing h.s. seniors at one of our satellite studios this summer, and I'm also handling the pilot testing for making our transition from film to digital. I'll be training all the photographers who work for us on how to use the digital cameras and laptops they'll be outfitted with when they're on the road.
I also did some training late last summer with some folks who have a wedding photography business, and I hope to start up with them again soon... And I'll happily do portraits for anyone who wants them....rtlemursBest picture you've ever taken. You know the one where you got it and said YESSSSSS!cathyNHHoo boy. I'd rather give you a pointer, but my signature pieces aren't scanned and online yet (shame on me...).... See the Travel Gallery on my website for what I consider to be a few of my best. The shot of the columns at the Vatican didn't win or place, but made it to the final round of a Natl Geo "Traveler" photography contest one year -- they sent me a letter telling me, and letting me know that they had over 17,000 entries that year... made my year, that did! :)
The one that makes people stop in their tracks is a shot I took in Florence. I was wandering around the plaza around the cathedral. There's this little museum affiliated with the church. You go in through a gate in a cement wall, into this little tiny courtyard, and then you pay your admission to go into the museum itself. It was half an hour before closing and I wasn't really interested in getting in, so I stood in the courtyard for a bit.
There were all these statues around the perimeter of this little circular courtyard; a lot of them had badly yellowed marble, and there were chips and chunks missing from them; they'd obviously seen better days. There was this one statue of an angel; it was on a knee-high pedestal, between that and the size of the angel herself, it was a good eight feet tall, great huge wings arching up behind her, and the most tranquil peaceful serene expression on her face.
I loaded some black and white film and came in really tight on the face. There were small barred windows in the building wall behind it, and I wanted to crop those out. It had been dripping rain all day, just those slow heavy drops that come and go, and nothing but greyness weighing down overhead. So the shot that came back best on that roll was a very tight view of the right side of her face, with a couple of raindrops rolling down her cheek. A friend titled it "Tears." The juxtaposition of her expression and the tears is something else -- I think I found that picture, rather than made it... *looks skyward and thanks Big Guy* :)rtlemursWow, National G.! I'm impressed. That sound like a really spectacular picture, you'll definitely have to scan and post it for use to oh and ah at! Okay, back to House and writing.rtlemursWhich story or other author on the site is your favorite? cathyNHI'm not sure I should answer this one... *hesitates*... because, umm, errmm, I haven't actually *read* everything that's on the site.
*ducks to avoid thrown fruits and vegetables*
I've been in the process of moving for the last few months, and have only just got broadband up and running at my new home. I'm hoping I'll have more non-work-time soon to catch up on reading and commenting. If I'm not using it to write.
I've also been hesitant to read some of what's posted because what I've read so far has intimidated the heck out of me! I don't feel my own stuff measures up to some of the talent we have here, and I've been scared to dip into more of what's there.
Of what I've read... sy's "Intervention" stands out very strongly, and Betz's "Old DeSoto" is a tour de force. And I read two of lapsus linguae's (sp?) recent pieces because they looked short... they depressed me because they were SO DAMN GOOD!rtlemursWhew, I'm glad I'm not the only one that has those types of feelings! They are intimidating in their talents but very embracing in their encouragement and advice so no fear!!!
Well that's it for this round, Thank you so much for letting us take a little closer look at you and your writing and most of all your patience in waiting for me to catch up and do it right. Thank You! cathyNH This was fun! Thanks for asking me to be part of it, and thanks for the continuing great job you do in keeping the board interesting and fun!Now just to whet you appetite and give you a little tease of a new, forthcoming writers challenge piece from Cathy.
The speaker was appallingly boring. Per his usual habit, House had taken a seat in the back to allow an easy escape, if, when, necessary, and to have easy access to the appetizers on the buffet table at the back of the hotel ballroom. He realized he was tapping his right foot against the chair leg, and stopped, annoyed with himself. He had better control than that. He stretched both legs out in front of him, crossed them at the ankles. He had plenty of space, only the first third of the rows of chairs were occupied, apparently the rest of the attendees knew something about this guy that he didn't.
Latin medical terminology spun with an Asian accent applied to English so badly broken it needed pins, fiberglass and traction... babbling out a case study he'd figured out ten minutes ago... he was glad the conference organizers had gone high-end on the catering, if not the caliber of their speakers. He unfolded himself from the chair and headed for the food.
"It's Dr. House, isn't it?" said a clear female voice behind him.
He turned away from the shrimp cocktail.
It was almost involuntary now... there was a stopwatch in his head that started ticking the instant he saw someone new, timing how long it took for him to gather data, assess, evaluate, summarize.
00:00.00. Click.
00:00.09. Tallish, slim.
00:00.17. Long, straight, medium-blond hair swept back in a loose ponytail.
00:00.34. Sun-browned skin, or a bronze complexion inherited from Mediterranean ancestors... hmm... the latter. A thin oval face, blue eyes, just a tiny hint of crow's feet betraying an extra half-dozen years the casual observer would miss.
00:00.52. Interesting... reassess... he'd almost missed the *very* discreet and tastefully applied make-up that smoothed and added to the golden glow.
00:00.74. Rangy runner's frame, not much chest, but it was nicely flattered by a well-tailored business jacket and skirt, one of those sandy earth tones that women had fancy names for, but guys just called "light brown." He decided she could easily convert him to a leg man.
00:00.90. Back to the eyes and the expression. Intelligent, serious, competent, confident. The good looks were California surfer girl, but the clothes and attitude were... New York sophisticate? No. ...worldly-wise? Still not right. Intriguing... What was it?
00:01.03. "Yes."
00:01.04. Decision time... was he the charming and brilliant Dr. House today, or the aloof and diamond-hard intellectual Dr. House?
00:01.05. For her? Pfff. Click.
He turned up the warmth on his smile. "And you are?"
"Dr. Julie Morgan." Mediterranean on her mother's side. "St. Elizabeth's Medical Center here in Philadelphia."
Her handshake was brief but firm, further evidence of that indefinable... poise.
He broadened his smile, nudged up the heat a tad more, decided not to do the arched eyebrow just yet. Too soon for overt flirting, and he hadn't seen any clues on her relationship status.
"What can I do for you, Dr. Julie Morgan?" She smiled back at him.
"I was wondering if you'd do a consult on a rather interesting case."Ha, ha, ha I love teasing you all and yes I know what they say about paybacks!! Thanks Cathy for the preview I can't wait for the finished story.
That's all this time around. I think we are back on schedule and ready to introduce you folks to all the wonderful writers that call House T&M home. Please stop and browse through our past Author Spotlights and check back in two weeks for the new one. Until then, FEED THE AUTHORS!!!!! Here are those links once again
CathyNH's Author PageAnd here are individual links to each story.
VocabularyMenagerieFugue StateAnd of course the second most important link you'll ever use... FEEDBACK!
Feedback for VocabularyFeedback for MenagerieFeedback for Fugue StateAnd last but certainly not least a link to visit Cathy's photography site and enjoy some of her incredible pictures!
Cathy's Photo site