Edit Mode
On book to screen adaptations, the last bits of summer and synonyms for powerful
Occasionally, an adaptation can be better than the book it’s based on.
Take Little Fires Everywhere, for example, I prefer the show to the book. It brought more nuance to the story, and it doesn’t really get better than Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington.
I tried to read The Notebook at some point, but it’s very different from the movie, and I wasn’t into it (not knocking nicholas sparks, I loved the dear john book).
There is a series of books called The Discovery of Witches about a modern day witch and a vampire who fall in love against all odds, but their romance is forbidden, and the ruling creatures envy the witch’s magic at a time when magic is weakening, so they fight to change the rules, and possibly to save their kind.
With a few exceptions, I generally do not read fantasy, but I was talked into this one. The first book was addictive, set in Oxford and cozy in its fall vibes. The second book was not really for me, even though it was set in Elizabethan London, so I never read the third one.
I was, however, all in on the adaptation when it came out because it stars Matthew Goode (of chasing liberty fame– that’s right, we go way back). Not in enough to subscribe to Sundance, the channel it originated on, but enough to get a free week trial to binge season one.
After that season, the show switched to AMC, and now, for the next month or so, AMC shows are available to stream on HBO Max (an effort to try to get you to sign up for yet another streaming service). So I picked up with season two, and my friends, I am nothing if not a sucker for a period piece, and they spared no expense! I am once again all in.
Some books I’ve wanted to read after seeing their adaptations:
Dracula by Bram Stoker - Bram Stoker’s Dracula, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is, for lack of a better word, fabulous. I first watched it when I was probably too young at a friend’s house and have been obsessed with it ever since. Perhaps I am back in my vampire era? (remember when we were collectively obsessed with vampires as a society? that was fun)
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier - The Hitchcock film starring Laurence Olivier (my king) is simply a masterpiece (please don’t speak to me about the netflix adaptation). For years, I have heard nothing but praise and admiration for this book from other writers. This gothic thriller about a naive young woman who marries a widower she barely knows and finds his house claustrophobically full of reminders of his first wife, starts with one of the most iconic lines–
“Last night, I dreamt I went to Maderley again.”
Like isn’t your imagination just popping off from this? This is the year I will finally read it for myself.
What I’m Reading:
The Dane of My Existence by Jessica Martin - I was feeling ill last week and needed a read that was gentle and brain smoothing. This is the second in a series about three sisters from a town in New Hampshire called Bard’s Rest where they hold a large Shakespeare Festival every year.
This book follows the eldest sister, Portia (all of them are named for Shakespeare’s characters), a lawyer who moves home for the summer on a forced sabbatical, which is her worst nightmare. Because she can’t stop working, she takes on the legal troubles of the Festival and butts heads with an out of town developer, who she of course falls for. This book has… a lot of plot! It felt not unlike an episode of Suits.
Sea Wife by Amity Gaige - Would it surprise you to know that I get a lot of my book recommendations from Elin Hilderbrand’s Instagram? I’m about halfway through this one and loving it.
I’m obsessed with the structure of this book. It’s told from the POV of the titular Sea Wife, Juliet, who is readjusting to life back on land but also telling us what it was like to be at sea, but we also get the POV of her husband, Michael, through his captain’s logs from when they were living on the boat. The POVs are intertwined and speak to each other. It’s fascinating. I cannot wait to see where this goes and will report back!
Books for those of you not ready to let go of summer:
Meet Me at the Lake by Carly Fortune - I devoured most of Carly’s first book, Every Summer After, about first loves reuniting under less than ideal circumstances, at the beach and could not wait to read her follow up.
This book is split into two timelines. In the past, twenty-somethings Fern and Will spend one memorable day together exploring Toronto. In the present, ten years later, Fern is running her mother’s lakeside resort and floundering when Will shows up offering to help.
This is so swoony and made me feel so good that I wanted to immediately read it again when it was over.
The Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin - This honestly has nothing to do with summer other than the fact that the cover is blue and I read this three summers ago by a pool. Remember the peak of Grey’s Anatomy? I’m talking season two, “I cut the LVAD wire.” This book hits like that.
Another dual timeline narrative, Emma and Zadie have been friends since their residency program. Now that they each have their own families and full-fledged careers, they’re more entwined in each other’s lives than ever (they’re a little codependent like christina and meredith). That is, until their former chief resident shows up and prods old emotional wounds.
The book alternates between the points of view of Emma and Zadie in the present, and Zadie in the past during their pivotal third year of residency when she had a romantic entanglement with the aforementioned chief resident.
Like does this scream headline season of Grey’s Anatomy to you or what??
Also, have you noticed that I love books with multiple timelines??
What I’m Writing:
We’re in full edit mode now, friends!
Of course, I do need a specific set of conditions to slide into edit mode — much like George Costanza shifting into soup mode, it requires focus. This means putting my phone out of reach (and hearing range, if i can hear it vibrating, it’s game over…), lighting a candle, firing up a playlist (i call it a writing playlist because i make it before i’m ready to write to figure out the vibes, but i don’t actually listen to it until i’m editing) and selecting a beverage (since it was a holiday weekend, i treated myself with a beer).
As it stands, this draft is currently 220 pages — 35 chapters, 65,000 words. This, I know, will grow as I’m editing. For reference, Novel 1 is 331 pages — 66 chapters (i am a big fan of short chapters), 83,000 words.
I’m currently working out a scene where I wrote *TK restaurant description,* which means I’m googling hotels and restaurants in Palm Springs for inspiration. The thing about me being bad about descriptions means it’s difficult for me to make places up, so when I describe something, I pull from real places. I just don’t name them in case I need to change something about them.
Researching is one of my favorite parts of editing. I’ve always found research to be fun, and in this case it’s like a useful form of procrastination. As long as I’m researching, I’m not writing, but I’m researching in order to be able to write. Right? RIGHT? Yes, I swear.
Some things I Googled in Edit Mode:
stars who used to go to palm springs (marilyn, frank sinatra, cary grant, clark gable, lucille ball etc.)
nice hotel restaurants palm springs (this search is related to the first one)
what's july sign (astrology, obviously - tho i don’t really like to mention character’s birthdays because i don’t want to have to think about whether it is astrologically correct. i have never written a birthday scene! most of the time when i am writing i have not figured out exactly when in the year they are…)
homing beacon (sometimes you just have to double check that you are using a term correctly)
powerful synonym (it was NOT the right word so i found a better one)
blue dress with slit for wedding (who doesn’t love a good slit)
I made it through to Chapter 14 this weekend, here’s hoping I make it through to the end this week…
That’s all from me– stay tuned!