I am finished with Don’t Look Back. I’m going to let it sit till the end of the week, since that’s the first I can mail it anyway, in case lightning strikes and I come up with something new. I’m still light on pages, am hoping my agent can come up with suggestions.

The rest of the month, I’m taking off (you can start making wagers now how long that will last.) I’m going to read and watch movies and TV and not feel guilty.

I’ve been slogging through The Hostage in the name of research. It’s…interesting to read outside the genre. I’m on page 60, I think, and good heavens, we have done everything but gone to the bathroom with the hero. I keep waiting for something to happen to disrupt his mission, but no. He gets on one plane. The stewardess makes him check his bag because there’s no room in the overhead compartment. So he’ll have to check it and then need it later, right?

Wrong.

He gets on another plane and starts watching Ransom with Mel Gibson and thinks of what a good job Mel did in We Were Soldiers, and how he’ll watch to see what choice Mel makes in the movie.

He falls asleep.

That’s not even mentioning the times the story has stopped dead still for backstory or to introduce a new character.

No wonder this book is over 450 pages.

Clearly the author has done his research, but can we please. Get. To the hostage rescue. Already.

Before this, I read A Demon’s Kiss, which, I hate to say, is a rotten title, and it has a crummy cover, but what a cool concept. The Grail as the cure for vampirism. It’s been forever since I’ve read a medieval, and it was awesome.

I also started Mr. Impossible by Loretta Chase, and it is set in Egypt, which is very cool. Has great characters – the hero is a bad, bad boy – and a bluestocking heroine, a kidnapped brother, exotic setting. I may just give up on The Hostage and indulge myself in this one.

I saw Casanova this weekend. Very fun little farce – I would have liked it to be longer. Not as sexy as one would think a movie about Casanova to be, just some ribald humor and one brief love scene. Surprising considering the R rating.

Saw Tristan and Isolde last night. Bleak. Blech. Crying James Franco. Rufus Sewell as a good guy for a switch. More love scenes than Casanova, yet PG13. I don’t get it.

Tonight, Aeon Flux. I know, I’m not holding out much hope.

We haven’t had a hunk picture in awhile.