Michael Little - A Little Romance
I write novels and short stories that take a comic look at romance and modern life. I'm a native Texan who landed in Hawaii and discovered that living on an island has many advantages. For example, you can put Jimmy Buffet on the car stereo, keep making left turns, and end up where you started, only happier.
Recent novel: Chasing Cowboys (2009), a contemporary romantic comedy set in Reno. Short stories appear in Bamboo Ridge's collections, including "Mango Lessons," "Walter! Walter!," "Walter and the Dream Girls," "Seven Ways to Tell If You Married a Cosmo Girl," and, most recently, "Pickles and Shawnilynn and Me at the Mall."
Embracing Dark Matter ...
January 27th, 2011
Astronomers believe in something they cannot see. In that belief, in their discovery, there are lessons for all fiction readers and writers.Based on the gravitational effects on "ordinary" matter (matter that we can see with telescopes), we now believe, we must believe, that there is Dark Matter in the universe. Dark Matter makes up a quarter of the universe. It is unseen, it is dark, but we have no doubt it is there.
Dark Matter, with its gravitational pull, drives the universe toward structure. Dark Energy, on the other h [...]
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Top 10 girls' names ...
January 15th, 2011
Queen IsabellaDid you see the recent list of the top 10 girls' names? Jennifer and Jessica have given way to Isabella and Emma. I always read these lists, not because I'm naming babies but because I'm naming characters for a new story.
My newest character is Stormy Lamour. Stormy's name came to me not from a list of baby names but while driving in one of Honolulu's recent rain storms. I settled on Stormy's last name because I decided she needed a French name, and most likely her mom in Arkansas had seen all of Dorothy Lamour's [...]
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Kindleology 101? Moi?
January 1st, 2011
Santa came early this Christmas and brought me a Kindle, even though I hadn't asked for one. So here I am, a month into my own e-reader experiment.I know, I know, I'm one of those who kept saying there's nothing like the look and feel of a real book. To cut to the Great E-reader Chase, however, I've decided that there is plenty of room in my book world for both traditional books (I love how they look on the shelves above my computer and circling my writing room) and also the portable e-reader that I carry around in [...]
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New children's marsupial fiction ...
November 23rd, 2010
Our guest writer this week is local children's writer Margaret Lonborg. I am delighted that Margaret is sharing her latest story, which we could place under the heading of marsupial fiction.A. A. Milne gave us the famous Kanga and her little joey, Roo, in the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. John Lithgow created Marsupial Sue. And now (drum roll, please) ...
Here's “The Plangaroo.” A second story by Margaret Lonborg, “Max the Plangaroo Moves to Florida,” will appear in a few days. Enjoy!
“The Plangaroo” [...]
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Books I will never write ...
November 17th, 2010
"Writers write." This should be engraved on every writer's computer keyboard and legal pad. Not only is this two-word sentence true, it's terse. "Writers write." Subject. Verb. It's a tight little sentence, a constant reminder that less is more.Writers also cook. Apparently. They talk about their writing projects as if they are pots on the stove. One writing project is on the front burner. It may be boiling. It may be simmering. It's cooking. And for every project on the front burner, there are several on the back [...]
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Great expectations ... is this you?
November 8th, 2010
Is this you? You've started a novel. The first page makes you want to read more. The first chapter has you settling into a comfortable chair, ready to go along for the full ride.Except that "going along" is not the best description of what you want. You find yourself wanting the story to go in a certain direction. You develop strong opinions, and strong emotions, about the characters.
What you have is great expectations. You expect great things from a novel that has begun with great promise. You expect the author to kee [...]
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From caveman to Kindle ...
October 26th, 2010
Lately I've been forced to consider where on the evolutionary scale I would feel most comfortable. I've suspected for a long time now that in the Paleolithic age, where I would find myself sitting around a fire with the other cavefolks, warm as toast (before toast), listening to someone tell a story, I could be happy.I would gladly take my turn and be the storyteller around that fire. My story would, no doubt, be fictional, but the cavemen and cavewomen would probably just roll their eyes and mutter, "There he goes again."
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"Outer islands?" ... really?
October 11th, 2010
My friend Richie from up the street insists on referring to the Hawaiian islands other than Oahu as the "outer islands." I used to tell him that the correct phrase is "neighbor islands," but lately I've given up the battle.Richie argues that Oahu is the undisputed population and commercial center of the islands, and therefore anything outside of the center is "outer." I once asked Richie if the sun revolves around the earth, just because the earth is the population and commercial center of our solar system. Richie's [...]
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Witness protection ... vital to any story
September 29th, 2010
I know it's a bit peculiar to be comparing Juliet Kono's new novel Anshū to an Agatha Christie mystery novel, but the two books kind of landed in my lap at the same time, so I'm going to compare them anyway and see how it turns out.The other night I woke up in the middle of the night and decided it was a good time to read. The nearest book at hand was Agatha Christie's classic What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw!
This Jane Marple novel was published first in England as 4:50 from Paddington (1957) and wa [...]
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Anshū: powerful novel launches this week
September 19th, 2010
This week and next, Bamboo Ridge will be launching Juliet Kono's novel Anshū:Wednesday, September 22, at Manoa Valley Theatre:
7:00 p.m. Reception, 7:30 p.m. Reading by Juliet S. Kono of Anshū; Wine & Words pre-launch party. Manoa Valley Theatre, 2833 East Manoa Road. Parking at Manoa Marketplace (Safeway). Donation at the door. For more information, go to bambooridge.com.
Tuesday, September 28, at UH Manoa:
7:00 p.m. Reception, 7:30 p.m. Book Launch and Reading by Juliet S. Kon [...]
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Do you know your sidekicks?
September 17th, 2010
Do you know your sidekicks? Sidekicks, in literature and real life, are those loyal assistants who don't get the glory, although they play vital roles. Detectives often have sidekicks, but not always. Most sidekicks are two-legged, but not all.Play eHarmonySidekicks.com (don't try to link to the site!) and select the name of the correct sidekick from the list at the bottom.
This list is my own, so it's personal and a little quirky. Feel free to comment and also add your own favorites.
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Sisters in Crime ... and detective sidekicks
September 14th, 2010
Detective sidekicks, anyone? For the past few weeks I've been preparing, off and on, for a workshop I'm leading this week for the Sisters in Crime chapter in Honolulu.
It's set for Wednesday, September 15, at Makiki Community Library (1527 Keeaumoku Street, Honolulu). The Sisters in Crime meeting begins at 6:30 p.m., and the workshop at 7:00 p.m. Visitors are welcome.
It's a moo point ...
August 30th, 2010
Like love and other things, writing lessons are where you find them. For example, want to read some good dialogue, and learn from it? Look no further than my favorite coffee mug.
The mug, which was my favorite Christmas present last year, features text from UrbanDictionary.com. To illustrate the phrase "moo point," there's this dialogue from an episode of Friends:
Joey: All right, Rach. The big question is, "does he like you?" All right? Because if he doesn't like you, this is all a moo point. Rachel: Huh. A moo point?Read the rest of this entry »
Fred and Ginger ...
August 24th, 2010
Fred Astaire. Ginger Rogers. 1935. The movie is Top Hat. Early in the film Fred and Ginger dance in a pavilion during a rain storm. I was about to say that the scene is just about perfect, but that's silly, it is absolutely perfect.Speaking of silly, before you watch the scene, take a look at how it fits into the light romantic comedy plot, as described in imdb.com:
While staying in a London hotel with his English theatrical backer, Horace Hardwick, American musical revue star Jerry [...]
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Miss Potter returns ...
August 10th, 2010
Perhaps you missed the 2006 film Miss Potter, as I did the first time around, but it's still here, of course, on DVD, waiting to delight and inspire us. Where do I begin? Take a look at my notes: "Beatrix Potter, Peter Rabbit, Renee Zellweger, Victorian England, conserving the Lake District, publishing, small book with millions of readers, creative fire, romance."Let's start with what we know. Renee Zellweger, that amazing actress who went from high school cheerleader and drama club member in little Katy, Texas, to big old Hollywood, [...]
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