Three Dogs + Squirrel + My Garage = Long Day

chillwindmedia — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 12:40:54 +0000

So, a few hours ago, I was sitting outside on a beautiful California day, wondering what I should write for you guys when I noticed one of my dachshunds lying in the grass, perfectly still, watching a gray squirrel moving closer and closer to her. Because I’m an animal lover, I’ve never encouraged my dogs to kill squirrels. I thought about getting up to scare the squirrel away, because it obviously was clueless and needed my intervention, but then, I saw how excited my dog was. She was visibly trembling, no doubt thinking how, any minute, she’d have her first kill. The squirrel was still a good 6 feet away, and I knew my doxie would still have to get up in order to chase the squirrel, which would give the squirrel plenty of time to get away. But as the squirrel moved another six inches toward her, my dachshund-terrier mix who was at the fence, turned around, saw the squirrel, and immediately went after him.

The poor squirrel was in a total jam since he had two dogs descending on him from two different directions, so he did the only thing he could. He ran into our garage. I ran after him and my now three dogs taking chase. The poor thing had climbed one of our shelves and was hiding in a open box with paint supplies. By the time I ran across the yard and into the garage, my smallest dachshund had already climbed two rungs on the ladder that was leaning against the very shelf where the squirrel was hiding. The squirrel was chattering with anger, fear, and disgust as I rounded up my dogs and put them inside the house, so he could leave.

I waited for the squirrel to come out on his own, but after thirty minutes of him not moving, and my worrying that my dogs were doing serious damage to the door by trying to get out, I had no choice but to go up the ladder and get him. As I tried to put the lid on the box he was in, he jumped out and ran behind metal cabinets. It then took me another hour to find him, block off any direction he could go besides out, and then I actually had to push him out of the hiding space he wedged himself into with a feather duster!

By the time I got the back door to the garage closed and the dogs calmed down, it was two hours later. I guess I should have gone with my first instinct and scared off the squirrel when I had a chance. Then again, I might still be sitting in front of my computer, wondering what I should share with you today.

St. Patrick’s Day

chillwindmedia — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 12:39:01 +0000

I’d like to wish everyone a very Happy St. Patrick’s Day. I hope you will be enjoying it with your family and friends. In honor of the day and everyone Irish, and everyone who’d like to be Irish, here are a few of my favorite Irish Blessings:

“May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.”

“May God grant you always…
A sunbeam to warm you,
A moonbeam to charm you,
A sheltering Angel so nothing can harm you.
Laughter to cheer you.
Faithful friends near you.
And whenever you pray,
Heaven to hear you.”

“May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day.
May songbirds serenade you every step along the way.
May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that’s always blue.
And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through.”

Happy New Year!

chillwindmedia — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 17:16:02 +0000

Happy New Year, Everyone! I hope 2012 is starting out well for all of you. I seem to be off and running and am already behind schedule on a few things. Some of you have been asking me when my next novel, Manifesting Mr. Right will go on sale. I’m aiming for the beginning of summer. I’d like to say it will be out sooner, but unfortunately, I’m in the busy time of year for my voiceover work, which means my writing time often gets hijacked.

It does become a little challenging, bouncing between two time-consuming careers, especially since I’m the type of writer who does not work from an outline. I write stream of consciousness, which is great when I’m outside on my laptop, pecking away at the keyboard for several hours at a time. Not so great when I get interrupted and have to stop writing for a couple of weeks. It would be much easier to pick up where I left off if I worked from an outline. But I just can’t.

I remember when my screenwriting professor in college told the class that every writer worked from an outline. No exceptions. Naturally, our assignment was to write an outline for our screenplay over the following 3 weeks. After our outlines were approved, we’d spend the rest of the semester writing the screenplay. Sounds simple, right?

I tried to write an outline, honestly I did, but it didn’t feel organic to me, and it came out predictable and contrived. After a week of struggling and with my deadline looming, I remember sitting down with my hands positioned over the keys and I just began typing. I knew what my story was about and I knew the ending, but that was it. I kept my mind open and I soon heard my characters speaking to me. I wrote the screenplay in twelve

days, then quickly put an outline together from that, which ended up being so much better than my first attempt. Not only did I get an “A,” but doing it backwards taught me how to

write a synopsis.

I guess it just goes to show that there is no one way to do things. Everyone is different, so why wouldn’t we all have different ways of working? It’s all about process and what works for you. To me, my way of writing is exciting—not knowing where my characters are taking me. Kind of like life.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson wisely stated, “Life is a journey, not a destination.” Enjoy the ride.

BREAKING THE RULES AND INDUSTRY STANDARDS IN THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY

chillwindmedia — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 05:20:45 +0000

I know I broke the rules. But really, who follows them anymore? And who doesn’t get tired of hearing the phrase, “industry standard?” Okay, so maybe it is industry standard to have a pen name if you’re going to write in more than one genre. Best-selling romance writer, Nora Roberts writes under J. D. Robb for her futuristic suspense novels. But in a world where branding has become a big deal and one’s name needs to be attached to a lengthy resume in order to be picked up by search engines, can you blame me for not wanting to write under a pseudonym?

The publishing industry says that a writer must stick with one genre, otherwise it will confuse the reader. But how can that be when a book cover on a romance novel is completely different than one on a thriller? My Big Fake Irish Life, my romantic comedy, doesn’t look a thing like my dystopian novel, Logging Off. Besides, readers tend to read the synopsis of a book before buying it.

Lucky for me, times seem to be slowly changing. Thriller writer, James Patterson didn’t choose a non de plume for his romance Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas, nor did John Grisham when he strayed away from his legal suspense genre to pen A Painted House.

I really do hope these two amazing writers have started a new trend, and perhaps a better one. What better way to sample a genre that normally doesn’t interest you than by having one of your favorite authors get you hooked on it?

Trying something new can be surprisingly delightful and maybe even a little addictive.

-Caitlin

Taking my career into my own hands

chillwindmedia — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:18:37 +0000

As you know, I currently make my living as a voice actor and voice casting director, but I didn’t come out to Hollywood to pursue a voice acting career. I came out to be an on-camera actor. Unfortunately, the be-yourself-and-you’ll-do-well advice I received from my acting coach was the worst advice I could have received. I may have been given a four-year college scholarship for my portrayal of Emily in Our Town, but my sweet-girl-next-door persona would do nothing for my acting career.

I soon learned that all casting directors and agents put every actor in a category, and the girl-next-door category, which I was occupying, was oversaturated with cute girls from the Midwest. Hollywood, when I arrived, was already looking for the next best thing.

Of course, being new, just like the whole internet not catching on thing, I hadn’t yet figured this out. I, at least, knew something wasn’t working. In my first year, I changed agents three times, paid good money to get new headshots four times, and I still only managed to get 6 auditions all year. I still wasn’t standing out for whatever reason. Refusing to give up and go home, I decided to brand myself. I gave myself a makeover, placed myself in a very specific category, and suddenly the doors opened and the work came pouring in.

Naturally, I had to write about this crazy idea and even crazier experience in my new novel titled, My Big Fake Irish Life. Even though My Big Fake Irish Life is fiction, it is based on my own true story—one that had me leading a double life, and, um…well…still has me leading a double life (gasp) with some friends and some work situations.

Kind of bold, kind of daring, and maybe a little crazy, I know, but what do you expect from someone who works 14 hours a day in the film industry—an industry where reality is relative? At least I try to make reality fun.

This whole internet thing. It’s never going to catch on.

chillwindmedia — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 22:21:51 +0000

Do you recall those early days of the Internet and learning how to use it? I remember I had been on-line a mere three hours when my brother-in-law gave me a URL over the phone.

“It’s http…colon…backslash…backslash…www…dot—”

“Wait,” I interrupted. “How much more?”

“I haven’t even given you the address yet.”

Ten minutes later, and after it took me three attempts to enter NINETY-SIX characters correctly, I thought to myself, This whole Internet thing. It’s never going to catch on.

Needless to say, I missed the mark on that one. And now we have Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Skype, RSS, Kindles, Nooks, iPads, iPhones, blogs… Being tech-challenged, I sometimes feel like my head is going to explode.

Is it any wonder that I ended up having a very detailed dream about the dangers of technology and where it’s leading us as a society? This dream of mine pretty much gave me the entire plot of Logging Off, and if you read it, you will see just how much of it is well on the way to becoming reality.

Not in the book is something I really wish existed: teleportation. Who out there isn’t sick of the airport lines and the constant security screenings? It would be so nice to transport quickly and easily anywhere in the world, to be beamed up or down like they do in Star Trek.

Did you see the latest Star Trek movie? I’m the voice of the Kelvin Computer in the beginning. My voice is elsewhere in the movie, but not so prominent. I own a loop group and we create the walla for movies and television shows. Depending on the needs of the show, I hire other actors to work with me to fill in all the background voices for every scene.

I just finished working on Garry Marshall’s movie, New Year’s Eve. I’m finishing This Means War starring Reese Witherspoon, and I’m currently working on Rock of Ages, Red Lights, Prometheus, Underworld 4, Jack the Giant Killer, and Battleship.

Talk about working in a tech-laden industry. I guess I shouldn’t complain so much about all the advancements. If we didn’t have them, I wouldn’t be talking to you. 

-Caitlin