Monday, October 26, 2009

Magic, Mayhem, Mary & McPhee


by Pam Ripling

I’m late. What else is new? Would that I was Samantha Stephens, and could twitch my nose and turn back the clock so that I’d be on time. Or Mary Poppins, just open my umbrella and lift myself right out of this predicament. One of my favorite magically-mayhemic characters is Nanny McPhee, who can create—or diminish—chaos by the slamming down her wooden walking stick. I could wield one of those lovely canes about now.

Yes, I’m talking about video magic when we are supposed (?) to be talking about books. But being a somewhat visual person, I cannot help but thrill to the enchantment of television and movies, and the incredible magic they create on the small—and silver—screens. It all starts out as an idea in a writer’s mind, right? Written into text, stories, novels, screenplays, television scripts. From Tolkien to Jackson, the magic of “the one ring” certainly creates dark, diabolical mayhem for Frodo and his band of hairy hobbits. I won’t even begin to touch on the super-natural, the paranormal, the other-worldly… and please don't forget dear Harry Potter.

Maybe I’m oversimplifying, but I equate fantasy and much of sci-fi with magic. I mean, flying dragons are definitely magic, but couldn’t you choose to believe that “the Force” used by Luke Skywalker is just a little bit of magic, too? I do. (But to me, even a cellular phone is magic.)

With Halloween just a few days off, I’d best go find my broom. Have a magical week!

Pam Ripling is the author of middle-grade mystery, LOCKER SHOCK! Buy it at Quake, Fictionwise or Amazon today! E-book version now available for your Kindle! Visit Pam at www.BeaconStreetBooks.com.

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