Artwork inspired by my novel
I was getting all ready to settle down and do some writing and now I’m so excited I can’t even sit still. An extremely talented Melbourne artist named Joi Murugavell was so inspired by my novel that she created three artworks based on the book. I gotta tell you, I’ve had a lot of really nice things happen since getting published, but this one is pretty damn special. Pretty, pretty, pretty damn special. Here’s one of the artworks, depicting the plight of Oscar the cat (if you’ve read the book you’ll know exactly who this sad, lovely little critter is):
Head over to Joi’s blog to see more amazing artworks inspired by the novel. You can also follow Joi on Twitter. Thanks again Joi – these really are stunning!
The Curse of Buddy Holly
Snap. You’re dead.
It was 51 years ago today that the music died. Buddy Holly, J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson and Richie Valens were killed in 1959 when their plane went down in an Iowa cornfield. Buddy Holly was a cool dude. He paved the way for “geek chic” and made thick black framed specs a staple of the hipster set. He was also, according to some, a harbinger of doom. The devastating fates that befell so many rock legends that were connected in some way with Buddy are too numerable for me to recount here, but try these on for size:
- Eddie Cochrane recorded a tribute single called “Three Stars” to honour the three dead music legends. The next year he was killed in a car crash in England.
- After Buddy’s death a singer called Ronnie Smith was hired to replace him on the bill of the tour Buddy had been on when he died. Two years later he went mad and committed suicide.
- Buddy Holly’s band The Crickets hired a singer called David Box to replace him in the group. A few years later Box was killed in a place crash at the age of 22 – the same age Buddy was when he died.
- In 1977 the rock star T-Rex was killed in a car crash. Found at the scene was a Buddy Holly button pin that read “Every Day is a Holly Day.”
- Musician Ricky Nelson performed the Buddy Holly song “Rave On” as the encore at a concert in 1985. He left the concert and boarded a DC 10 airplane which crashed, killing most on board, including Ricky.
- In 1990 singer Del Shannon performed a gig at The Surf Ballroom, the same venue as Buddy Holly’s last gig. That night he went home and shot himself. He was 55.
- Keith Moon, the drummer for The Who, went to a cinema to watch the recently released movie “The Buddy Holly Story.” That same night he returned to his apartment, overdosed on drugs, and died.
- Gary Busey played Buddy in “The Buddy Holly Story”, for which he was nominated for an Oscar. Just after filming wrapped Gary was involved in an horrific motorbike accident that nearly killed him and definitely left him, well, not quite right so to speak.
There’s a very comprehensive list of all the victims of the “Buddy Holly Curse” here, and R. Gary Patterson’s ‘Take A Walk On The Darkside’ , which I highly recommend, devotes an entire chapter to the curse. It’s the kind of story that makes the hairs on your arm stand up.
Dead Pop Stars
I’m really enjoying listening to “The Best of Altered Images“, a British band who were popular in the 80s and had their biggest hit with the song ‘Happy Birthday‘ which was used in the John Hughes movie ‘Sixteen Candles.’ Their career was slightly derailed in Britain when they released the single ‘Dead Pop Stars’ just a few weeks after John Lennon’s death. The single had of course been recorded weeks before the tragic event took place but the British media thought it made a more interesting story if the band was seen to be callously cashing in on the beloved icon’s death. The song is sung from the perspective of a has-been rock star and is pretty haunting. Their stuff is hard to get your hands on these days but well worth the purchase.
dead pop stars rotting in the studio
pretty bodies make the little girls scream
dead pop stars hear them on the radio
pretty bodies every little girls dream
hello hello i’m back again
you can touch me but only for a moment
testing testing 1,2,3
i am the poster on your wall
and now i’ve had my 15 minutes
i’m just another memory
an embarassing part of your youth
don’t leave me dying here
don’t leave me dying here
remember how much you used to love me?
you did love me didn’t you?
don’t leave me dying here
In praise of Griffin Dunne
Just before Christmas actor/producer/director Griffin Dunne, son of writer Dominick Dunne, confirmed his father’s carefully bisexuality to ABC News. While I sat there watching Griffin speak candidly and with great affection about his late father I was less concerned about the revelations regarding Dominick Dunne’s sexuality and more taken with the indisputable fact that Griffin Dunne is, and always will be, ace.
Dominick and Griffin
I am absolutely fascinated by the Dunne dynasty, and the fact that so many brilliant writers can exist in one family (Dominick Dunne, his brother John Gregory Dunne, and Joan Didion through her marriage to John). Then there’s Dominick’s daughter Dominique Dunne, the beautiful, talented actress whose life was taken under such tragic circumstances. And finally, there’s Griffin, Dominique’s older brother, son of Dominick and a talented actor/producer/director in his own right.
Dominick, Griffin, John, Joan
Griffin is probably best known for his role as the wise cracking corpse of Jack Goodman from An American Werewolf in London. You can watch him being mauled in the trailer below.
Griffin also produced and starred in a little-known gem of a film called After Hours, which was directed by Martin Scorsese. A searing black comedy, the film ultimately failed to find an audience, despite scoring Scorsese a Best Director award from the Cannes Film Festival. If you haven’t seen it you owe it to yourself to race out and track down a copy. It is one of Scorsese’s best and most underrated films.
Griffin also starred in the Madonna vehicle Who’s That Girl? as the romantic lead Loudon Trout, where he sported a fantastic yuppie hairstyle that defied gravity.
In the 90s he took up directing, helming the Bullock/Kidman starrer Practical Magic. This is the only chink in his ‘ace’ armour. Recently he returned to acting, playing small roles in quality indie films like Snow Angels. He was last seen signing autographs in Tribeca, still looking as cool as hell.
So there you have it. We may have sadly lost Dominick this year but Griffin is still here, and he’s ace. Oh, and yeah, Dominick hid his bi-sexuality his whole life and was largely celibate for twenty years. But when he wasn’t celibate he gave the world Griffin, and for that we should be truly thankful.
Come see me at Writers at the Convent
If you’re in Melbourne come see me and a host of amazing authors at Writers at the Convent, hosted by Reader’s Feast Bookstore at the beautiful Abbotsford Convent. The festival goes for three days and I’ll be there for one (and probably milling about for the other two, learning some stuff). Details for my sessions are below:
Saturday, February 13
2pm Not Waving, Laughing
A wry smile is never far from the lips of anyone reading Kathy Charles, Danny Katz or Brendan Gullifer; this afternoon they look at humour as one of the most effective weapons in the writer’s arsenal.
4pm Distinctive Debuts
Each year Writers at the Convent profiles some of the best first-time authors currently in print – 2010 will showcase the astonishing literary debuts of Tom Rachman, Kirsten Tranter, Vivienne Kelly, Kathy Charles, Claire Halliday and Brendan Gullifer.
To buy tickets and view the rest of the program head to www.writersattheconvent.com.
John Belushi is Dead
“John Belushi is Dead.” Not only a sad statement of fact, but also the new title for my debut novel when it’s released in the US in August 2010 by MTV Books. So if you’re in Australia, look for “Hollywood Ending”, and if you’re in the US, look for “John Belushi is Dead.” Hooray!
Do me a favour, would ya?
Hey all! I trust you’re all having a great 2010. To be honest my year started a little rocky but I’m quietly optimistic about what the future holds (you gotta be, don’t ya?).
Recently I’ve been trying to decide which online library to park my literary butt in, and I have settled on Goodreads. If you are already a member and have read ‘Hollywood Ending’ I would love and cherish our friendship forever if you’d go over there and give it a rating. Even if you didn’t like the book, it’s just nice to know that people are reading it. And if you aren’t on Goodreads.com I highly recommend it – I’ve discovered a veritable plethora of great recommendations that have now rendered my reading pile highly unmanageable. And because you’ve been nice enough to take the time to read this, I’m gonna share a photo someone just forwarded to me that gave me a good giggle. Don’t we all have a Chevy Chase in our lives? In the meantime, stay tuned for exciting updates on the release of the book in North America in 2010. Adios for now.
“The Life You Save Might Be Mine” – Warren N. Beath’s ‘The Death of James Dean’
‘The Death of James Dean‘ is one of those books that always appeared in my Amazon recommendations but for some reason I strangely passed over. I think it had to do with the fact that the crude cover made it look like it was self-published (not that that should have swayed my opinion, as many good books dealing with the macabre and taboo have failed to find support from traditional publishers). I placed a big order with Amazon just before Christmas and finally decided to give this book a go. I wish I hadn’t waited so long.
Half of the book is a meticulous retelling of the final ten hours of Dean’s life, and a detailed reconstruction of the crash itself (which normally only warrants mere paragraphs in most biographies of Dean). There are many unanswered questions concerning the crash, as well as contention surrounding whether Dean was in fact driving or whether it was his mechanic, and how fast they were actually going. The other half of the book chronicles the lives of Dean’s ardent fans whose obsession with the star and the details of his tragic accident catapult them into a new level of celebrity worship. It also recounts the many mythologies that sprung up around the Porsche Spyder that Dean was driving when he crashed, and the grisly fates suffered by those unwise enough to use the Spyder’s parts in their own vehicles. Beath examines the relationship between celebrity and death in hypnotic prose that is the greatest depiction of the seductiveness of the Hollywood Death trip that I have ever read. I can’t believe I was so late to this party. One of the best books about both James Dean and Death Hag-dom available today.
And just in case you haven’t seen it, here is the now legendary PSA Dean completed mere weeks before he died on the dangers of speeding.
Note: If you’re looking for a good overview of Dean’s life I also can’t recommend this book highly enough. For more details on Dean’s death, your best source is, of course, www.findadeath.com.
The Writer Action Figure
For Christmas my husband got me an action figure. Of me. That’s right – it’s a “Kathy – The Writer” action figure modeled after my author photo. The dress has been custom made and she comes with her own little laptop and cell phone that has her agent Wendy on speed dial. The doll was sculpted by an artist in America who has apparently also done one of Conan O’Brien, and I have to say she knocked my doll-likeness right on the head (the elbow resemblance is also uncanny).
The novel I’m writing on the laptop appears to be about vampires. And wizards. Smart move, Kathy Doll.
But the doll isn’t even the fun part. My husband took a Barbie box and made his own packaging, and it contains such gems as:
- Danger: Writer’s ego may be a choking hazard as it can vary in size depending on sales results.
- Package contains: Doll, cellphone, laptop, fragile sense of self esteem.
- 100+ poses including: Please buy my book, I’m a hack, The second book is soooo much harder, I don’t want to hear about ‘Twilight’.
- Additional bitter cynicism can be purchased separately.
- Also available as “Wine Stained Tracky Dacks Kathy”.
I’m beginning to think it’s actually my husband who has all the writing talent!
