TGIF

It's been a busy week. As I told you all, my daughter Alexis turned 21 and we went to PF Changs for dinner, and she ordered a fancy cocktail. I'm afraid it was dark in the restaurant but you can still kind of make out her face, glass in hand. My oldest daughter came and stayed for a few days, so I got a shot of Brynn eating her first bit of rice cereal, and in her outfit that she wore to dinner one night. Have a stupendous weekend everyone. We're off to L.A. to handle some business today.

All Rights Reserved. © 2009 by Elizabeth Bradley.

Pssst...

Karen keeps a secret. Not a dirty little secret. Not one of those garden-variety-I-fooled-around-on-my-husband secrets. Not an I-had-an-abortion-and-never-told-anybody-and-live-with-the-guilt secret. No, her secret is vile and deep-rooted. The dank subterranean pull of the lie bleeds heavier with each passing year. Karen lives on borrowed time because it’s impossible to keep something buried forever. There’s no way around it, someday the past will show up unannounced. Morning after morning comes the light and she wonders if the truth will visit that day. Her ugly deeds exposed—on display—out in the open. Karen plays the good wife and mother beneath the shade provided by a seed planted long ago, she feigns bliss in a make believe world under a tree rooted in hell.


You just read the first paragraph from a WIP about a woman with a terrible secret. I thought I was writing a short story, but it may be better suited to a novel format. I’m fascinated by secrets. When we’re younger we tend to keep more secrets. But, as we get older we tend to think—oh who cares anymore! Who gives a rat's ass about what people think? The truth will set you free. At least that’s how I feel about it. When someone says to me, “I have something to tell you, but you can’t tell anyone I told you.” I respond with, “Stop. No way. Don’t tell me. I don’t want the responsibility. If you don’t want anyone to know, keep it to yourself.” I truly feel, that if a person doesn’t want something out in the world, then they shouldn’t put it out there.

Here’s another wrinkle. Do sociopaths keep secrets? Or do they possess the ability to just eliminate past horrible deeds from their memory banks? Their minds become a chalkboard wiped clean. After such maniacs are captured, they’re questioned extensively, and still they won’t come clean with the truth. I’ve heard them described as being totally void of guilt. They claim that sociopaths don’t possess a conscience.

I suppose anyone that keeps the truth hidden from view could be considered a con artist of sorts. Why don’t liars come clean? Teenagers are really bad for this; they just won’t confess all that easily. They can really get themselves into a jam by sneaking around and lying. I read that teen-agers brains aren’t fully developed, so they quite often lack proper judgment. Grown-ups often fall into that category as well. We know better but act atrociously anyway.

Families often have secrets, like the Kennedy’s with poor unfortunate Rosemary. Do you keep secrets? What’s your favorite story featuring a secret, or secrets? Remember Chinatown? What Happened to Baby Jane? How about Jane Eyre? That Mr. Rochester, did he have a secret!


All Rights Reserved. © 2009 by Elizabeth Bradley.

Happy Birthday Alexis!

Today is my youngest daughter's 21st birthday! We're going out to celebrate. It's all about cake and champagne. Her real party will be next weekend; tonight's just for the family. We're very proud of our recently graduated fashion designer. She's already working on TV shows and commercials! (That's her in her Day of the Dead Makeup!)

All Rights Reserved. © 2009 by Elizabeth Bradley.

In Praise of Bookstores

No big surprise, I love to hang out in bookstores. Luckily, the Husband does too. The picture of the tree is one we took right outside Barnes & Noble the other night. The streetlight made it pop, I'm not so sure the photo does the glowing tree justice. When I visit cities I love to check out bookstores, such as: Powell's Books in Portland Oregon, (my hometown), City Lights in San Francisco, and Munro books in Victoria B.C. (my sister lives up there.) What's your favorite bookstore? Is it a plus when they serve coffee, cookies, cheesecake?

All Rights Reserved. © 2009 by Elizabeth Bradley.