A.C. Crispin -18 Ghosts, Scammers and Harry Potter

Well, my two cents worth about the new Harry Potter film is that, while I understood why they did what they in concentrating on the MAIN HP plot (Harry vs. He Who Shall Not Be Named), I really missed the subplots and other characters that we've grown used to seeing. I missed Hermione and Ron a LOT. I also missed Snape. And Sirius.

I think the dropped subplot I missed most was the fleshed-out Rita Skeeter plot. I loved it in the book when Hermione triumphed over the journalist.

(Sorry if that's a spoiler, but I think most people know by now that most of that stuff got cut from this film.)

In retrospect, I'd have liked it if they had broken the film into two movies, as they apparently discussed doing.

I can't imagine how they will do The Order of the Phoenix as one movie. It doesn't have a TriWizard Tournament that they can just "lift" out of the book and present. It's a much more "intermeshed" book.

To: Harry Connolly, I hope I didn't sound as though I was making fun of people who believe in ghosts. I try to keep an open mind about these things. Personally, I've never encountered anything out of the ordinary. But the subject fascinates me. Can you tell us about your encounters? I'd love to hear some firsthand accounts of paranormal encounters!

On the scam front, I have to report that Martha Ivery's "change of plea" date in court has been pushed back to December 5th. This is getting monotonous!

I also have to report that both Agent B and Agent F, after being advised to contact Writer Beware's legal counsel, have done a disappearing act. It's been two weeks now, and not a peep out of either of them. I mean, they totally "disapparated" (to borrow a HP term). I guess they figured they could attempt to browbeat and threaten Victoria and me, but when faced with the prospect of taking on our attorney (whose internet nickname is "Jaws"), they suddenly found their courage evaporating.

We'll see if at some point they manage to grow some cojones.

Oh, one more thing. If anyone who reads this is a member of Aol, and is also an aspiring fiction writer, I host a "writing workshop chat" on Aol twice a month on Monday nights. If you're interested in joining up, write to NaiEldheni@aol.com and ask her how to join. We meet in a private room at 8:00 P.M. on the second and last Mondays of each month. The chat is free.

Okay, here's today's WRITING TIP:

Never, ever send anything to a prospective agent or editor other than paper...query letter, synopsis, sample chapters -- whatever they ask to see as given in your marketing guide. Do NOT send any of the following: nude pictures of yourself, pictures of yourself dressed as your character, large blocks of chocolate (particularly in summer), perfume, hand carved and jeweled manuscript boxes, cover mockups for your book, or posters adverting your book.

(To everyone who is rolling his or her eyes: ALL of the things I just mentioned have actually been sent to editors Victoria and I know.)

Have a great day!

-Ann C. Crispin
www.accrispin.com