I’m happy to welcome award-winning author Maree Anderson, our first Magical December Giveaway guest. I read her YA ebook, Freaks of Greenfield High, which is one of those books that surprise and delight, so was pleased that she joined us. She and I are posting scenes inspired by movies (in her case) and TV (in mine). She’s first, and mine will be below hers. Here’s Maree to tell you about her inspiration:
In my paranormal romance, The Crystal Warrior, the hero, Wulfenite (Wulf) is an alien warrior from another world, who’s been imprisoned in his namesake crystal; a piece of wulfenite. He’s a very alpha male, who’s all at sea in the strange new world, and he’s just had his first encounter with a modern-day woman. Chalcedony (also named after a crystal) is a dance instructor, and Wulf has never met a woman like her. But Chalcey’s had enough of men, so when Wulf grabs her and plants one on her, she doesn’t take it too well. Let’s just say she definitely gets the better of him. For now. *VBG*
The inspiration for this particular scene came from a scene in the movie Still Breathing, starring Brendan Fraser and Joanna Going. I haven’t seen the movie for years, but I vividly remember Brendon kneeling at Joanna’s feet and carefully blotting her bleeding knee with the tail of his shirt until the wound stops bleeding. He gently blows on her knee to ease the hurt, and then he looks up, into her eyes…. (Note to self: must buy that movie!)
Here’s the excerpt from The Crystal Warrior that was inspired by that scene:
He was still staring at her, head cocked to one side, when she turned back to him clutching disinfectant and cotton swabs. No man had ever looked at her with such single-minded concentration before, as though he was trying to see inside her, to know and understand every little thing about her. Warmth bloomed on her face, in the pit of her stomach. Lower down. He mesmerized her. It took all the will she possessed to break his spell and rip her gaze from his.
What was she supposed to be doing again? Oh, yeah. Playing nurse. Despite herself, her gaze flicked to his face. Her eyes rounded when she spotted the bruise blooming on his cheekbone. “Uh— Did I do that? To your cheek?”
“Indeed you did.”
“I’m, ah, sorry. I didn’t mean—” Liar. She really had meant it. And from the amused quirk of his eyebrow, he knew it, too. “If it hurts, I can get you an icepack.”
“I, too, am sorry.”
“Huh?”
“For dropping you on your rump. I did not wish to hurt you.” A pause and a gaze that glinted with amusement. “Too much.”
She opened her mouth and shut it again with a decided snap. He declined to comment. Smart man. “Sit there at the table and give me your hand,” she said.
Again, he did as he was told.
Nice! Chalcey resolved to practice that tone in front of the mirror. A girl never knew when instant obedience from the opposite sex might come in handy again. Pity she hadn’t made use of the same technique earlier. But then she wouldn’t have ended up with the best kiss of her life. Her face heated at that particular memory, and the blush crawled down her neckline. She ducked her head and concentrated on the task at hand.
Her teeth marks marred the tanned, callused skin of his hand. She tried not to feel too guilty for mauling him while she swabbed his palm with disinfectant. “Uh, bandage or plaster?”
He quirked a puzzled eyebrow then shrugged. “You are the Healer, not I.”
“Riiight. Whatever.” She opted for plaster because she’d never been that good with bandages. Whenever she had to do the Florence Nightingale thing her victim ended up looking like something from The Mummy. Without thinking, she kissed his palm before releasing it. “There, all better.”
“Is it your custom to bestow a kiss upon those you heal?” His voice was deep and husky. His odd accent rolled even commonplace words liquidly off his tongue, making them sound incredibly exotic.
Her face flamed again. Something about this guy really had the power to turn her insides all marshmallow-soft and gooey. “It’s, ah, something mothers do for small children when they’re hurt.”
“And you are likening me to a small child?” His blue eyes darkened and he eyed her in a purely masculine, let’s-get-naked-so-I-can-lick-you-all-over-and-prove-you-oh-so-wrong sort of way.
“Um…. No?” No way. Definitely not. Nyuh uh.
“Allow me to return the favor and banish your own hurts.” He took her hands in his, turned them both palm up and kissed the grazed skin on her left palm. Then the right.
Whoa.
If you’d like a chance to win an electronic copy of The Crystal Warrior, please leave a comment and if you’d like, please share the name of a movie that sticks in your mind—yanno, just ‘coz I’m insatiably curious. *g*
For excerpts, reviews, buy links, and more information, please visit:
1) Maree’s website: http://www.mareeanderson.com/books/the-crystal-warrior
2) The Crystal Warrior landing page: http://www.thecrystalwarrior.comhttp://www.mareeanderson.com/books/freaks-of-greenfield-high
Edie here. Regular readers of Magical Musings know that I based the personality of Noah Long, the dragon-turned-into-man in Dragon Blues, on Leonard Nimoy’s Spock in the early Star Trek series. I love so much about Spock – his calm, Zen-like presence, his deep voice, his “logicality” (where I’m more like Captain Kirk, driven by instinct – or maybe Gibbs in NCIS, who’s driven by his gut), and of course, there’s his low-pitched voice. (I’ve got a thing for men’s voices.)
Here’s a short excerpt from the first scene that shows Noah’s character:
The man entering Noah’s shop may as well have had THIEF carved into his forehead. He slunk in, back hunched, eyes darting, hunting for the most valuable items. Noah stood from behind his raised desk in the corner, the cool of the Chou Dynasty white jade dragon warming in his palms. Not worried, but watchful. He’d been robbed once.
Never again.
A shadow behind the thief quivered. The thief stepped aside, revealing a woman, slender and vulnerable as a rose in a snowstorm. He looked into her eyes and his breath hissed in.
He went cold. Numb. He’d never seen this woman before. Yet he recognized her in a way he couldn’t explain or understand. Looking at her, he saw another woman with a different shape and a different face from a different lifetime. A woman he’d never wanted to see again.
And he knew they were one and the same.
Beauty.
She looked at him, her eyes as big and frightened as ever. But not of him. Not this time. Not like all those years ago, jumbled together with revulsion and fascination. This time, her fear was reserved for her thief companion, peeking quick glances at him, her body shrinking. Like a beaten dog, making herself smaller, less of a target.
A meow cut through the air. Mystic arced off of the top of the bookshelves next to the window, a black streak. Her dismount deserved a perfect ten, but Beauty jumped and squealed, and the thief jumped and cursed.
“May I help you?” Noah asked, hearing his voice roll out like a low A on a tenor sax.
The two jumped again.
“Fuck,” the man said. “You scared me.”
Noah arched his left eyebrow and waited. The woman stared at him. He kept his gaze on the man, but he saw her, all right. The numbness still clamped hold of his body, his emotions in lockdown, his mind whirring like a super-computer.
She didn’t recognize him in this life. Didn’t remember what she had done, what he was. She didn’t have his advantage—or disadvantage. Unlike him, she’d always been human.
Besides, he was different now. After the last couple thousand years in this ungainly and unbeautiful body, he was almost wholly human. No longer the “other.” The Beast she’d once named him.
In Nashville, the Buckle of the Bible Belt and the Music Capital of the U.S., Noah was an anomaly with his sharp features, angular body and hair black with seal-like sleekness. But despite his unusual looks, he fit in. His shop, Dragon’s Lair, fit in. His cave in the middle of the pulsing city with his hoard of treasures and his music.
That’s why he’d returned for the third time in sixty years. The music called him. The one true love of his life.
It was the most he could hope for.
A short explanation: When I wrote this, I worked hard to show Noah’s character and even his looks in a way that didn’t seem “telling” or having him look in the mirror. Usually I don’t describe the character when the scene is in his point of view. I wait for a scene in which another character thinks about his looks. But in this case, I thought it was important to get this in early on. I wanted the reader to ‘see’ him and get a feel for his character. I also set up the action that will be coming shortly, the tone of the book, and even dribbled in bits of backstory. And it was important – paramount! – to do all this in a way that was entertaining and would make the reader want to read on.
I’ll give an e-copy of Dragon Blues to a commenter. I’ll announce the winners of both books here on Wednesday morning. Just tell us what movie stuck in your mind or a character from a movie or TV show that you’d like to see in a book. You never know, Maree or I might use your choice in our next book. 
We have winners! Florence Fois won an ecopy of The Crystal Warrior by Maree, and Pamk won an ecopy of Dragon Blues. Happy reading, Flo and Pam!
Very fun to read both your excerpts and what inspired them, Maree and Edie!
So many movies have imbedded scenes in my head. One of the first that really grabbed me was the shampoo scene in Out of Africa where Robert Redford’s character washes the hair of Meryl Streep’s character. I’ve always wanted to write a scene like this! http://youtu.be/iZ_ZZyNGYEQ
Misty, I saw Out of Africa, but it was long ago and I don’t remember that scene. I’m going to see if I can find it on You Tube.
It’s one of my all time favorites.
Oddly, I just remember the scenery. And Robert Redford, of course. lol
Misty, I haven’t seen Out of Africa *hangs head in shame* but that scene you described reminds me of my favorite scene from Sushi For Beginners by Marianne Keyes, where the hero, Jack, washes the heroine’s hair over a sink at work, because she has an ear infection, and was crying over her manky hair (she had a magazine launch party to go to that night). Gosh, it was such a tender scene, but so very hot, as Jack confronts how he really feels about her for the first time. Sigh….
Hi Edie and Maree,
Characters in movies that I’d like to see in a book? Now that’s an unusual question as so often the movies have been made FROM scenes in a book! I love movies – and watch them over and over again. Most of my favorites are action based or science fiction/fantasy. I think of Fifth Element and there are so many great scenes – like where the heroine falls out of the sky and lands inside a cab that’s flying through absolute crazy traffic on all dimensions of space – I can’t imagine trying to make that scene happen in words!
Love the excerpts!
Dale Mayer`s last blog was …Cynthia Eden is having a party! And you’re all invited!
Dale, I never saw the Fifth Element. Now I want to see it just for that scene. lol I’m going to see if I can rent it.
I think you’d enjoy it – it’s VERY quirky! LOl. It’s still one of my favorites. It has Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich (before her Resident Evil movies). We still toss quotes around the house all the time.
I never watched Resident Evil movies, either. lol I like quirky, so I probably will like it.
The Fifth Element is one of my favorite films, Dale! Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich…. OMG. The chemistry. And the secondary characters–awesome-sauce.And I totally agree. I have no idea how you’d write those scenes. It just works so well visually as a movie! (Please tell me it wasn’t based on a book. Because then I’d have to go read it, and I’d be bound to be disappointed *g*).
Now I have to see it. It’s funny that if I read a book first, I’m almost always disappointed by the movie. But if I see the movie first, I’m almost always disappointed by the book.
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Edie, I so loved both excerpts from you and Maree. If I had to pick one “ah” moment I would also go with Out of Africa, but not the shampoo scene. For me the scene that said all that needed to be said about both of them, and with NO dialogue, was the scene when he takes her in his plane over the Serengetti. That moment when she is overwhelmed by the sight of the herds, the birds flying ahead of the plane, the majesty of the landscape and the utter silence of each of them filled me with the love I knew they both felt for the country they loved more than they loved each other.
It was just that one gesture of her putting her hand on his shoulder and he reaching back to hold it that remains with me forever. A good friend saw that movie and this year fulfilled a twenty-five year old dream and took a hot air baloon over the Serengetti. If you go during the migration time in September (when that scene was shot) you see much of the same things. Her pictures made me cry as I cried when I saw the movie. I’ve watched it over a dozen times and I never can get over the power of the unspoken word (which works well in the film) … in the book, she describes what she saw
Edie, please do yourself a favor and watch the movie again … for the shampoo scene and then for the scene in the plain … and thanks to both you and Maree for giving us a short treat
florence fois`s last blog was …“Tis The Season …
Florence, it’s obvious I sooo need to watch this movie! Wow. I love it when a scene can be so powerful and evocative that even years later, something can trigger an emotional reaction based on that scene. Thanks so much for dropping in and sharing that with us!
Maree Anderson`s last blog was …SB Sarah and “Lessons In Seduction”
Flo, you are so sweet. I remember that scene in the plane, though I don’t remember the unspoken gestures. My husband and I have been planning to get the Bridesmaids DVD sometime and watch that. Guess I’ll be watching a completely different kind of show instead. lol
Maree and Edie, thanks for those wonderful excerpts, I really enjoyed them both.
Dale, I love The Fifth Element, too! I actually took it out from the video shop the other day to rewatch it, and enjoyed it just as much. I particularly like the opera scenes. And the fact that the most perfect being in the world is a woman really works for me. Big time.
A movie that I still think about and love: ENCHANTED APRIL – set in the 20s about four women who don’t know each other who rent a villa in Italy, all escaping something in their lives back in London and how they become almost family to each other and help one another find happiness. Love it! The cinematography, the acting, everything about this movie is wonderful.
Michelle Diener`s last blog was …Talking about Dangerous Sanctuary, a Susanna and Parker short story
Michelle, I never watched Enchanted April, either. Another movie I’ll have to see. I’m going to check my libraries and see if they have it.
Enchanted April sounds wonderful, Michelle! I think I’ll get that one to watch when DH heads off on a trip in a couple of weeks. Then I can lie on the couch with a glass of vino and dream of Italy…. bliss!
Maree Anderson`s last blog was …SB Sarah and “Lessons In Seduction”
I love recreating movie or tv scenes with a twist. some of my best scenes have been inspired that way.
Karin Tabke aka Harlow`s last blog was …National Bestseller
Karin, it’s amazing how a scene from a movie or tv program can kick-start the muse. I got the idea for my YA, Freaks of Greenfield High, after watching an episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and remembering a book I’d read about a decade ago about a sentient cyborg who sacrifices himself for the greater good. It must be an author thing *g*
Maree Anderson`s last blog was …SB Sarah and “Lessons In Seduction”
great excerpts and I think i’ve been watching too much football. The only scene I can remember right off is the scene the Replacements where Keanu Reeves comes back into the game and he says Pain fades, chicks dig scars and glory last forever. I laughed at that everytime i see it.
scrtsbpal at yahoo dot com
Keanu…. That man is definitely memorable IMO
What a great line, Pam!
Maree Anderson`s last blog was …SB Sarah and “Lessons In Seduction”
Pam, I swear, my husband watches the Replacements every time it’s on TV. I’ve got to admit that one of my favorite parts of the show is when the stripper cheerleaders dance sexy the first time, and the other team can’t stop watching them when they’re supposed to be playing. lol
Edie and Maree, just popping in here quick to say how wonderful it was to read both of your scenes and the inspirational ones behind them! I love movies and certain shows, some of which stayed with me for years. Watching a particular episode of “thirtysomething” many years back really stuck with me — it was a fairy tale/Cinderella story and I loved the way they played with those elements in the script
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Marilyn Brant`s last blog was …Join Me for a Virtual Grand Tour of Europe!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Marilyn. I really enjoy it when TV series writers do a completely out-of-the-box episode for one of my favorite shows. I can just imagine the writers sitting around a table and brainstorming ideas–would love to be a fly on the wall.
Maree Anderson`s last blog was …SB Sarah and “Lessons In Seduction”
Marilyn, this just reminded me of an episode from Sisters that stayed with me for all these years. In one episode, Sela, the family rebel, said she once had 28 orgasms. (I think it was 28.)
So now you know the kind of thing that sticks with me. lol
Coming in late here … great excerpts. Can totally get the visual from both.
Its been so many years since I’ve seen Out of Africa that I barely remember what it was about. Same with Fifth Element. Gonna have check ‘em both out in the very near future.
Liz, I’m guessing the Fifth Element is your kind of show. I think I might like it, too. I’m betting my husband already saw it.
Hi Liz! *waves from New Zealand* Thanks heaps for stopping by. And I’m thrilled you could “see” the scenes based on our excerpts–that’s The Best feedback!
Maree Anderson`s last blog was …SB Sarah and “Lessons In Seduction”