D is for Darcy

I met my husband Julio when I was 23. I tell everyone I fell in love with him after hearing his laugh over the phone. My boss at the time was interviewing him and I was the go-between in setting up the interview (yes, some would read that as I was a secretary and they would be right; picture me as Jane Fonda in 9-5).

Julio wasn't looking to fall in love. He told me he wanted to date casually.

I thought about this for about a minute and then I said, "No, I don't think so. If you aren't my Mr. Darcy, you need to get out of the way because he is looking for me and I don't want to be tied down to some casual dater when he shows up."

The next day, Julio decided to become my Mr. Darcy. I don't say this lightly. I am much more high maintenance than Elizabeth. (I know, you're shocked). And I have four parents, not just two although none of them are a Mrs. Bennett, thank the Lord. Still my Julio has the integrity, loyalty, and strength of character of Mr. Darcy. And there is no doubt in my mind that he would lay down in traffic for any member of our family. *Swoon*

Believe it or not, I hadn't read any Jane Austen until I lived in London as a 21 year old. I had taken tons of English classes in college but somehow, the Romantics sort of passed me by. (In the meantime, I managed to read EVERY play that Shakespeare wrote). But I happened to be in London when the BBC first released their epic Pride & Prejudice soap opera. I call it a soap opera because each part was aired once a week and we students got together and watched it with the voracity of the people who have American Idol parties these days. After the series was over, I read all of Jane Austen.

Here's why I love Darcy...it is his change that really drives the plot of P&P. Elizabeth, not so much. Darcy is the character that we all grow to love. He is the character whose evolution is the most riveting.

Plus, you know...the casting didn't suck either.

C is for Curious George!

I would like to take a moment to honor the brilliance of H.A. Rey. First, the premise of a curious monkey is Awesome and the device of using the man with the yellow hat to constantly save George from the shenanigans he gets himself into is completely brilliant.  Not to mention the ability to seamlessly throw George into a plethora of trouble in a mere thirty pages.  

To illustrate, let's take CURIOUS GEORGE GETS A MEDAL:

George starts off receiving a letter. He decides to write his own letter but makes a mess with the ink. In trying to clean up, he adds too many bubbles and ultimately, floods the room. He needs a pump to get the water out of the room. He decides to borrow the farmer's pump. He gets distracted by the animals and lets all the pigs out. He steals a cow but the farmer almost catches him so he hides on a clothesline. He jumps on a truck and ends up at a museum where he destroys the dinosaur exhibit. The museum curator is mad but luckily, the man with the yellow hat shows up and it turns out the curator wants George to be the first monkey to evacuate a rocket. 

George does it and earns a medal.  

All of this happens in one short book. It's completely brilliant. And I don't think I need to tell you how frequently I envision (or sadly experience) a Curious George scenario playing itself in my house with three small children.

Part of me wonders if I could pull off a YA book like this. The MG genre seems to have capitalized on the Curious George formula quite well.  Look at Percy Jackson.  Percy's quests are basically just a variation of George's curiosity. Ditto Mysterious Benedict Society.

But YA...hmmm...can you name any YA books that use the Curious George formula?  

B is for Buffy...Obv!

So in continuing my fictional characters Secret Life A-Z Blogfest, I can't help but turn to Joss Whedon's Buffy for my B.

I am of the school of thought that all roads lead to YA (okay, if I must, I will also include MG but only for Carrie's benefit).  There are few things that I can't make YA related.  I believe I mentioned my ability to turn a Langston Hughes civil rights story into a YA novel, yes?  Tip of the iceberg, my friends.

My YA passion started early but certainly rose to epic proportions when Buffy the Vampire Slayer became my weekly obsession.  (Not lying, I had just delivered my first baby and made everyone but my husband leave the hospital room so I could watch Buffy).

Buffy is a whole plate of Awesome with Awesomesauce on the side.  If you haven't watched the seven seasons of fun, I am sad for you and encourage you to immediately remedy this problem.

And if that's not enough, you need to grab Joss Whedon's Buffy Season 8 Graphic Novel series.  Holy cow!

There is another B who is involved with vampires who will NEVER live up to the Awesome of Buffy.  So she will have to remain in the wings, curling into herself, and lamenting how unworthy she is of vampire love while Buffy kicks A$% all over the screen (or pages of graphic novel) asserting herself as the perfect balance of vulnerability and awesome female strength.

Notable Buffy quotes:

"So are you going to kill me or are we just making small talk?"

"Come on, we fight monsters, this is what we do. They show up, they scare us, I beat them up, and they go away."

And my favorite...

"If the apocalypse comes, beep me."