Pages

Friday, September 26, 2008

Poster Wild...
We're looking for that perfect photo that captures the story, the essence, and the mood of PLOWING UP A SNAKE for the upcoming reading.  
 Without more time, I probably won't find that PERFECT pic, but each of these is close.
Well, in that there are a couple on a farm, one on a river near a bridge, and the final one captures the ominous mood we need.
What we really need is a photo (or painting) of a foggy farm in winter with a snaking river and bridge beyond...and maybe a few dairy cows in the field.

I'd love to hear from you if you happen to have just such a picture.  And if you'd be willing to share it for the reading.  You'll get credit, naturally.  And perhaps even a warm fuzzy feeling, though there are no guarantees.

(Photos above by me hubby: of a Quaker District farm in Henniker, of Gleason Falls in Hillsborough, and of gnarly trees off of Depot Hill Road in Henniker.)

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Drag
"Drag" by Artist Lisa Rae Winant
Image used by permission of the Artist
11 x 17.5/oil on panel

It's an early-autumn day like any other in upstate New Hampshire: chilly, breezy, and fragrant.  Well, fragrant if you happen to enjoy the scent of wood smoke billowing from every chimney in the village.

"You don't smoke," Clay admonishes his cousin's widow.

"Not those stale, nasty cigarettes Hatch likes," Marjorie responds.  "But a smooth, carefully hand-rolled cigar..."  She pauses as she takes a drag, "...is like the gentle caress of an accomplished lover."

A corner of Clay's mouth rises, though in truth he's uncomfortable hearing a woman speak so bluntly, so seductively.  It is, after all, the mid 1950s and Clay's been a one-woman man in a small town all these years.  Until now.  But what’s adultery stacked up against the multiple murders that have recently plagued this sleepy hamlet?

He settles back into his chair and swallows his scotch--nearly choking on it.  As he struggles for air, he manages to sputter, "Soda...there's no soda in it."

"There's supposed to be soda in it?" Marjorie asks.

Clay wonders if she's hurt by his reaction.  Guessing she is, he says, "No, no.  Scotch this good doesn't need soda."  He sips gingerly the second time around.

And as he and Marjorie settle into their coy game, outside the razor-thin windows the first snow begins to fall, bringing with it an appearance of unearned innocence and silence echoing the eternal silence that has already frozen their river-bound valley town.

(A micro-fictionalized, recast excerpt of the screenplay PLOWING UP A SNAKE, an adaptation by Dana of Merle Drown's novel of the same name.)
 

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

I've added a new blog for you to check out sometime soon:


It tracks the progress of my latest screenplay adaptation of the novel by the same name, which was penned by Merle Drown.

Our little New Hampshire yarn of murder and a town-wide conspiracy to protect the self-appointed executioners will be stage read in an event presented by the New Hampshire Film and Television Office in partnership with Red River Theatres on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m.  

Tickets on sale now!  ORDER HERE.

Tuesday, September 02, 2008


Welcome Media Writing Students!

Today is the first day of  a semester of blogging; hope you all enjoy it...and that we don't need to resort to using life jackets to stay afloat this semester.

Cheers,
Dana