The Accidental Premiere

In honor of all things Harry Potter: I thought I'd share one of my favorite Potter moments, which came as a big surprise was I was in London on July 8, 2009.


Things I didn't expect to do yesterday:

1) Get battered by torrential wind and rain

2) See Daniel Radcliffe and Helena Bonham Carter up close

3) Willingly get battered by torrential wind and rain so I could see Daniel Radcliffe and Helena Bonham Carter up close

I was headed for the Leicester Square tube when I walked right into the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince world premiere. No joke. The square had been refitted to look like a quidditch field and crowds of teens were being managed by London police.

I've never seen a movie premiere and I'm not much of a celebrity follower. But I love Harry Potter and I thought, "Hey, how many times am I going to see movie stars walking down a red carpet?" Answer: Probably never again.

So I found a good vantage point and stayed put. Through wrath-of-god wind and rain and lightning directly above our heads. And it was completely worth it, though unlike Daniel Radcliffe I did not have some nice chap to hold an umbrella over me. I did not have an umbrella at all.

But Helena Bonham Carter didn't either.

It's my last night in London and to bring this trip to a memorable conclusion I went to see War Horse at the New London theater. While I had high hopes for this production, I have to say it absolutely blew me away. It could well be the best play I've ever seen. The story follows a boy and his horse as they are caught up in World War I. It is astonishing, the horses are unbelievably real, the story compelling, and the score, a combination of classical compositions and folk tunes, deeply moving. I was particularly inspired as the play was adapted from a children's novel by Michael Morpurgo.

Next post will be from Minnesota, so for the last time pip, pip and cheerio!

Note from the future: War Horse is currently being transformed to film by Steven Spielberg.

EPIC Contest

Banned Books Weeks is, in my opinion, one of the most important weeks of the year. The suppression of ideas and discussion runs counter to the growth and compassion that human society desperately needs.

Given how pivotal I think this week of anti-censorship awareness is I'm giving away some big prizes. Winners will be randomly drawn at the end of the week and details of how to enter will follow - but first: the prizes! These books constitute challenged and banned books that have had a profound impact on me as both reader and writer.

One winner will receive: The full box set of Harry Potter (the most challenged books of the decade!)

One winner will receive: Ellen Hopkins' Crank, Glass, and Fallout

One winner will receive: Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, Wintergirls, and Twisted

Here's how to enter:

Spread the word about Banned Books Week by mentioned a challenged or banned book you love (you can find lists of challenged books here) and link back to this post (don't worry if you don't have a blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc. are all fine). Share your link in the comments below. I'll draw the winners on Saturday!

Is There Such a Thing as Too Evil?

When I moved to Minneapolis, my soon-to-be-former colleagues gave me a lovely going away party. My favorite gift was a book (big surprise); its title: How To Be a Villain.

This book is hilarious. Replete with quizzes, name-building exercises, suggestions of what type of lair would best suit you as a villain, it keep you laughing from start to finish.

It's also a great commentary on the type of villains who work well in a Bond film, but won't hook your readers in a meaningful way. These villain are caricatures - they may have nasty-looking minions and terrifyingly giant electro-ray guns, but at the end of the day we know they won't win. We can't take them seriously.

Villains have to be seductive - and I don't mean in a romantic way. Evil focuses on the accumulation and retention of power for its own gains. It promises dreams fulfilled, goals achieved but with a price.

In order for a villain to be compelling, the reader has to understand what kind of allure the 'dark side' holds, even for our most pure-hearted MCs. The thought that our hero/heroine might indeed cross over at any point should be a constant, nagging worry.

A good example: Voldemort. Now you might be thinking - how could you get more evil than Voldemort? I agree. Voldemort is a super-duper big bad. But if you remember a key moment in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Voldemort is able to tempt even Harry - offering him power, the promise of parents restored. Harry resists, but the temptation of dark powers is clear. The reason Death Eaters exist stems from their desire to share in the power that Voldemort wields, to rule over others even if by wielding terror and pain.

What I think may be the best example of evil's true nature to this day is Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray. This story illuminates the double-edged sword of villainy. It has to allure, compel, always beckon. The risk of the hero or heroine falling into temptation must be ever-present, and his or her ability to overcome said temptation is as much of a triumph as the longest chase/explosive fight scene in any book.

And once that temptation is overcome, when evil has lost its chance at winning by seduction - that's when the facade of beauty crumbles away to reveal the villain for what he or she really is: EVIL.

Dorian Gray offers close to a literal exposition of such a moment. And hey, what do you know, they're remaking the movie.



Cannot wait (sidenote: if I could pick, Ben Barnes would play my character, Ren, in a film adaptation of Nightshade. Sigh.)

A Sidekick is Not Enough

Supporting characters (SCs) have a range of roles to fill in a novel. They can be the loyal best friend, the comic relief, the wise mentor. I'm sure we all have a favorite SC 'type' that we hope to find in the books we read, and recreate in the books we write.

Like MCs supporting characters must display that essential quality trademarked by the Transformers: they must be 'more than meets the eye.'

A pet peeve of mine in books are those narrative that offer intriguing, dynamic MCs (and possibly villains - they'll have their day tomorrow), but SCs who only serve as foils, fillers, and mechanisms by which to move the plot or just serve as another mirror through which to better understand aforementioned MCs.

The best books have SCs in whose lives, hopes, and dreams you're just as invested as what's happening on the main stage. They should be the opening act of show that leaves you breathless, wondering if they actually might upstage the main act. (Note: I had this experience when I saw Calexico open for The Shins a couple years ago.)

Harry Potter demonstrates the essential roles of well-developed SCs. As much as I love Harry, Ron, and Hermione (and yes I think all three are MCs not, SCs), my favorite characters from the series have supporting roles:

Hagrid. What would Harry Potter be without Hagrid. He's an interesting character who combines characteristics of bumbling comic relief with strong warrior protector, making him lovable and reliable at once.

Remus Lupin. Okay, who didn't see this one coming? Everyone knows I have a soft spot for wolves, and Remus is well, just wonderful. His character is compelling because like, Hagrid's, he has a mixture of traits. On the one hand he is a benevolent, witty mentor, but on the other his dark secret makes him edgy and dangerous.

Arthur and Molly Weasley. The parents that Harry never had; quirky, lovable and demonstrative of class conflict in the wizarding world. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley have their own problems to deal with (and we care about those problems) as much as they help with shepherding Harry through his perilous world.

While I've mentioned just a few of my favorites above, J.K. Rowling created an astounding number of SCs who populate Harry's world in substantial ways (I purposely didn't write about Fred and George above because I wouldn't have been able to stop they do so much for the books!) and I firmly believe it's the power of this amazing cast of characters that kept the series lively and enormously successful for its run (and beyond).

As you weave your tale don't forget the fine details of SC creation. Your SCs won't help you or your readers if they're cardboard cutouts. Give them breath and being, give them their due - and believe me, they'll give back.

The Little Books that Could...Despite All Attempts to Smoosh Them

Welcome to Banned Books Week at A Blurred History!

Each day of this week I'll be featuring a banned book (or a few) that shaped my own life and offer my two cents on the whys and wherefores of censorhip.

Today - Picture books!

It's still had for me to wrap my head around the idea that even picture books get banned - but considering that books written for children draw the most fire that makes picture books prime targets.

Two of my favorite banned picture books are:
Sendak's work made the list because of "nudity" in some illustrations. Sex and sexuality receive the most flak in terms of censorship, but even without going into that hornets' nest (don't worry, we'll get there later this week) nudity doesn't have to be about sex except for biological differentiation. We all have bodies and we should be comfortable in them.

Banned for "supernatural content." Witches can never catch a break. Not way back when, not today. I understand the source of anxiety about the occult but I've never been sympathetic to it. Not only because I love fantasy, but also - just as Harry Potter says Voldemort's name without fear - because not speaking about something gives it more power via ignorance and fear. Witch hunts always end badly, and not just for the witches. Oh wait - Harry Potter got banned too? Oops.

Let's All Breathe a Sigh of Relief

President Obama has a light saber, everything is going to be okay now.


Getting health care reformed and the finance industry fixed should be a piece of cake; he can just use Jedi mind tricks to defeat the Dark Side... except that I think Jabba the Hut might be heading up the opposition, along with Voldemort, Sauron, and the Woodland Critters from South Park.


Uh oh. May the force be with you, Mr. President!

The Good of a Book

Like every other person on the planet I recently viewed the latest installment of Harry Potter films (in IMAX, woot!)
J.K. Rowling's series has doubtless had an incredible impact on the literary and pop culture worlds, but last night I learned of another, and I think rather astonishing, effect.

I give you the Harry Potter Alliance.

This organization uses the ideas and values of the Harry Potter series, and specifically the courage of Dumbledore's Army, to encourage youth toward social activism. From their website:

"Did you ever wish that Harry Potter was real? Well it kind of is. After all, both our worlds face "dark and difficult times":

• Genocide, Poverty, AIDS, and Global Warming are ignored by our media and governments the way Voldemort's return is ignored by the Ministry and Daily Prophet.
• People are still discriminated against based on sexuality, race, class, religion, gender, ethnicity, and religion just as the Wizarding World continues to discriminate against Centaurs, Giants, House Elves, Half-Bloods, Muggle borns, Squibs, and Muggles
• Our governments continue to respond to terror by torturing prisoners (often without trial) just as Sirius Black was tortured by dementors with no trial
• A Muggle Mindset pervades over our culture-a mindset that values being "perfectly normal, thank you very much" over being interesting, original, loving, and creative

So Harry's world is not very different than ours. And just as in his world, Dumbledore will remain here as long as there are those that are loyal to him. As long as there are those that are aware that the weapon we have is love and that more than ever, it's time to use that weapon.

And so the HP Alliance is dedicated to bringing together Harry Potter fans from everywhere to spread love and fight the Dark Arts in the real world and we need your help!

Help us replace the Dark Arts with love. Help us build the real Dumbledore's Army. Help us create an Alliance in the name of Harry Potter."

How awesome is that!

I'd guess all readers of this blog would agree that books can do a world of good - but I usually think of it in terms of creating more readers and educating young minds. The Harry Potter Alliance takes the value of imagination and literary energy to an entirely new, and wonderful, level.

Plus, they have Wizard Rock Bands: