When the going gets tough, the tough IMPROVISE!

Love, love, love the Improv group. Helps so much with my writing ... even though I don't do a lick of writing with or for the group. We meet once a week and play for two hours. It's not a free-for-all. It just looks that way. The foundation of our success is teamwork. Listening and supporting each other is what it is about. 

So how does it help my writing? Keeps the ol' brain in shape. Makes me think on my feet. You know, a brain in motion tends to stay in motion ...

Hmmm ... maybe I need to start bringing pen and paper to Improv. Jot down all the million dollar ideas that pop into my head during all the fun. Hmmm ... stay tuned.

Pictured above, the Plaza Playhouse Improv Troupe members include, from left, Chuck-Hou Yee, Judy Sirianni, Amy Marie Orozco (that's me!), Juliet Rohde-Brown, Hope Zweig, Pauline Reyes, Sherri Mendenhall, and John Pagano. 

The Bet

Want to know what others are saying about you? Googling yourself is one way to start finding out. Doing a search on oneself is common advice in social media seminars and how-to articles. So, I thought I’d check myself out this morning, and imagine my surprise when I came across this: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5319779/.

Yes, I am in a movie. Can you believe it? The movie is "The Bet." I play a waitress. I think I have the fewest lines in the movie, which is the perfect way to approach your first role in a feature movie. "The Bet" is directed by Finola Hughes and is set in Santa Barbara. It is set to premier in March 2013.

I need to get cracking on filling in my IMBd page. Got to get a good headshot of myself. Maybe actually hire someone to take the picture, i.e. to make me look far better than I do in real life, rather than imposing on my friends or family.

Stay tuned!

That's a GOOD Problem!

Look closely at the picture and you'll see the window display for the "Solvang: A Guide to the Danish Capital of America" book signing.

About the Solvang book (again!)...

Kiona, the owner of the Curious Cup bookstore where I'm having the book signing on Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m., called me Tuesday concerned that we/she may not have enough book to sell for the book signing.

Isn't that great? Boy, my family and friends really have come through on this one. Thank you for all the pre-orders!

But back to the problem, sure, selling out of books is a good problem, but a problem nonetheless. So, dear reader, if you miss out on getting a book on Saturday, remember you can always order from The Curious Cup, Amazon, or the publisher at touristtown.com.

See you Saturday! It will be fun. We're having lots of good snacks. If you can't make Saturday, fear not, there is another book signing in Solvang, at The Book Loft -- 1680 Mission Drive, on March 16 from 4 to 6 p.m.

Isn't this bookstore the best? Every town should have such a place!

Reading in Bed

Below is my headlamp, a new favorite reading tool.

Common wisdom says that writers love to read. I'm not saying all writers love to read, but I am saying this writer loves to read. And, I particularly love to read in bed. Either before falling asleep or right after waking up, I love reading in bed.

And, (I know, I know, you're not supposed to start a sentence, much less a paragraph, with a conjunction)I found something even better than reading in bed with a flashlight, which really is a page from the reclaim-the-child-within-pop-psychology of an earlier decade. (The flashlight thing is only cool at night, though. There's no thrill to it in the morning -- even if you are reading a Nancy Drew book.)

For Christmas, I treated myself to a headlamp. It is kind of like a miner's helmet with the light centered between the eyebrows. The rubber headband on mine needs to loosen up a bit, but with my big head (I mean that literally -- in the physical sense -- my cranium is large) that shouldn't take any time. I can't believe I went this long wanting one and never got around to buying one. They only run around $10.

If you love reading in bed, I recommend the headlamp. It can be used for other things, too. Like, if there is a big windstorm and all the electricity goes out.