The Knitted Curiosity Cabinet
Word-weaving
Taming the Tango Champion
by yvonnemarjot in books, contemporary fiction, CrookedCat, fiction, film, romance, Uncategorized Tags: Argentinian Tango, Dance, romance, Tango
retouch under chin and neck(A.B.) -helenec DF-06378 Take the Lead , May 11, 2000 Photo by Kerry Hayes/newline.wireimage.com To license this image (5183336), contact NewLine: U.S. +1-212-686-8900 / U.K. +44-207 659 2815 / Australia +61-2-8262-9222 / Japan: +81-3-5464-7020 +1 212-686-8901 (fax) info@wireimage.com (e-mail) NewLine.wireimage.com (web site)
What is it about the tango?
That's a rhetorical question, by the way. As any of you who know anything about tango already know, it's all about sultry chords, throbbing rhythms, latin passion, and highly suggestive movements which are (barely) held in check, the male half of the tango pair being, of course, a perfect gentleman, maintaining an air of manly restraint no matter how much the lady (or so it is implied) wishes he would come in close and possess her, right there on the dance floor.
Oof. Sorry, just needed a moment to catch my breath.
Anyway, you don't need me to tell you anything. There are any number of great renditions online, both from professional dancers and in films. Here's one of my favourites, starring one of the screen's great hotties – Antonio Banderas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lAKlYTQVKY And if you really want an insight into just how sexy tango can be, I'd recommend the wonderful Al Pacino film 'Scent of a Woman'. In fact, I might treat myself to it tonight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCnB05GrUgc
Cait O'Sullivan's Taming the Tango Champion https://www.amazon.co.uk/Taming-Tango-Champion-Wicked-Romance-ebook/dp/B06XC4VKRD/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498398858&sr=8-1&keywords=taming+the+tango+champion) is tango-in-words. It comes in hot and steamy and full of passion, and just keeps ramping it up from there. The tango champion himself, Argentinian Matthias, horse trainer (mm, those thighs…) and dance master, is a barely-contained maelstrom of passionate emotions. He strides onto the first page and takes control, and hardly lets go of it long enough for our heroine, Ava, to tell her story.
Will she fall in love all over again with the completely unsuitable man who fathered her child two years ago? Will she admit to him that he is Bella's father – and how will he react when he finds out? Most importantly of all, will they finally dance together in front of an audience? Although one suspects that if they do standards of public decency will be not only flouted, but will go up in flames and possibly bring the house down with them.
I first read Taming the Tango Champion in April and enjoyed it very much, but I wasn't sure I really believed that two people were capable of feeling quite as much as Matthias and Ava manage to express over the course of their story. But they've stuck with me, their problems feel very real and the solutions just as difficult to find. Today as I read the book again I'm feeling the truth of this quote from Scent of a Woman.
"No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life, simple, that's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, get all tangled up, you just tango on."
Matthias and Ava are going to have to sort out their differences, both on and off the dance floor, and the journey this book takes us on describes that very enjoyable process. Tango on down to the good old interweb and get yourself a copy. See if you can handle the Tango Champion. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Taming-Tango-Champion-Wicked-Romance-ebook/dp/B06XC4VKRD/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498398858&sr=8-1&keywords=taming+the+tango+champion
Five Scariest Screen Psychos Of All Time
by yvonnemarjot in author, book, books, contemporary fiction, crooked cat, CrookedCat, fiction, film, novel, published, Thriller, Uncategorized Tags: Crooked Cat, Psychological thriller, Psychopath, Thriller
While writing my crime thriller The Watcher, and forming the make-up of my lead antagonist, I made a study of various infamous psychopaths. I did this both from real life psychopaths, and from fictional psychopaths depicted in novels and on screen. What I was attempting to do was to build up a composite, a unique character who possessed his own, individual motivations, but would feel authentic to readers by carrying on the long tradition of the fictional and cinematic psychopath.
The true psychopath is probably one of the most interesting and yet possibly one of the hardest characters to write, as although he (or she) might be superficially charming, the psychopath has absolutely zero good intention once you get down to the bottom line. No empathy, zilch, none.
Unlike most villains, who might at least have a redeeming feature or two, a psychopath is defined by their distinct lack of empathy. It's hard to find redeeming features in someone who lacks this essential quality.
After all, people can be flawed, they can even do bad things, but someone who can't identify with people's pain, who might even enjoy causing harm and seeing others suffer is naturally abhorrent to us.
Quite rightly too, for that lack of empathy, that sadistic streak, is what makes them a psychopath after all, and not just someone's who's merely antisocial or has behavioural problems or violent tendencies.
With that in mind, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at how psychopaths have been portrayed on the big screen. I selected five screen psychopaths, who I feel have made the most impact on viewers and on movie depictions of psychopathy in general, each selected for their own particular brand of psychosis.
So here it is, my round up of the five all time scariest screen psychos – ever. Feel free to comment if you agree, or disagree, and mention your fave screen psychopaths in comments, if they haven't been included.
Max Cady in Cape Fear (Robert De Niro) 1991 Directed by Martin Scorsese
Cape Fear was one of the first films I remember watching that scared the hell out of me, which was mostly due to Robert De Niro's sinister portrayal of convicted rapist Max Cady. Cady is a menacing, violent and revengeful psychopath, who's determined to seek revenge on the lawyer he sees as having betrayed him.
The Scorsese directed film also stars Nick Nolte as Sam Bowden, the aforementioned lawyer, and introduced me to one of my favourite actresses ever, Juliette Lewis, who went on to star in another psycho flick, with Oliver Stone's bloodsoaked Natural Born Killers.
Cady is manipulative, a master at getting his own way, but he's also predatorial, as evidenced by the way he expertly works his way into Nolte's family, via his grooming of Lewis. There are many points during this movie where I felt the suspense grab me by the gut and the end scene is particularly tense; the first time I saw it I was, literally, on the edge of my seat.
This film is important in the hisroty of fictional psychopaths because it emphasises a common trait many who possess the psychopathic personality have and that's being unable to rest until perceived injustices are righted. In Cady's mind, that's his rape conviction, and in the movie, his mission number one is to cause maximum damage for the person he perceives as responsible for that conviction, Nolte's Bowden.
Annie Wilkes in Misery (Kathy Bates) 1990 Directed by Rob Reiner
A truly chilling depiction of a screen psychopath, the sinister yet chillingly everyday Annie Wilkes, brilliantly portrayed by Kathy Bates in Rob Reiner's adaptation of the Steven King novel. Annie's psychopathy unfolds slowly, which only prolongs the intensity and suspense for the viewer, as we all suspect what's coming for James Caan's poor writer Paul Sheldon, but we have to wait to have our worst fears confirmed.
When I watched Misery for the first time, it struck me that a claustrophobic domestic setting such as Annie's cabin can be just as scary, if not more so, than any scenario involving high octane chase or outright kidnap or abduction.
Often it's the ordinary things, mundane situations carrying a hint of the sinister, that have the power to elicit more creepiness out of us than any amount of over-the-top outright psychotic displays. What could be more ordinary than the stereotypical middle-America character of Annie Wilkes, at first glance? Though of course Annie does go on to unleash the full power of her terrifying psychosis in Reiner's film, at first it's this subtle undercurrent of menace that grips us and makes us watch on.
Patrick Bateman in American Psycho (Christian Bale) Adapted from the Bret Easton Ellis Novel
As well as being a brilliant satire on corporate America's culture of greed, and more, more, more, American Psycho introduces us to one of the most chilling psychos I have ever seen depicted on screen, or in fiction for that matter.
Bateman exudes danger, and unpredictable menace, and what's more he inflicts the most brutal carnage without showing one shred of remorse. The film, adapted from the excellent novel by Bret Easton Ellis, is more than just a slasher fest, but is also a fusion of bitingly acerbic social commentary, horror movie, and sly observation on just what happens when a character with no soul like Bateman is enabled by a society committed to some truly selfish mores.
American Psycho features some bizarre and disturbing scenes that perfectly depict the senseless violence of a psychopathic and damaged mind. More than that though, I think it goes further, and forces us to take a long hard look in the mirror, at our society, and some of the values we currently embrace.
Norman Bates in Psycho (Anthony Perkins) Directed By Alfred Hitchcock 1960
Norman is the classic movie psycho, the gold standard of terrifying madness depicted on the silver screen. Influenced by his bullying, sadistic mother, Norman goes on to become a psycho of utterly horrifying proportions, butchering seemingly randomly selected hapless guests who've had the misfortune to book a stay at the Bates Motel with merciless frenzy.
Norman though, is unlike our other screen psychopaths. In fact I would argue he is a psychopath made not born, as we the viewers are shown that while indeed he is under the grip of a psychosis of biblical proportions, his madness is at least in part someone else's fault aka his mothers.
Hitchcock, of course, was one of the masters of suspense, and in this movie he peaks, with a chilling portrayal of a disturbed and abused mind. Norman is important in the pantheon of movie psychosis because twisted and depraved as he might be, because of what he has had to endure, viewers can even find some empathy with him.
Hannibal Lector in Silence Of The Lambs (Anthony Hopkins) Directed by Jonathon Demme (Academy Award Winning)
Ah, Hannibal Lector, the menacingly muzzled psychotic, first introduced to us on the silver screen in Jonathon Demme's dark psychological cinematic foray, The Silence Of The Lambs. The movie, starring Jodie Foster as FBI agent with a troubled side Clarice Starling, and Anthony Hopkins as the charming but psychotic Hannibal, dares to probe beneath the typical trappings of the big screen psychopath and lets us glimpse at the even more horrifying psyche beneath.
Silence Of The Lambs is particularly scary because Hopkin's Hannibal knows no bounds. In his world, everything can be justified, and morality is all relative, held in thrall to a madman's slanted perspective. Everything Hannibal does, he can justify, at least in his own mind, and frequently, extremely eloquently to others.
Lector is such an expert manipulator, and so adept at getting under other's skin, that even Foster's tough-as-nails FBI Agent Starling starts to unravel. Even in Lector's most brutal killings there is a chilling restraint and meticulous execution, unlike Bateman, or Bate's frenzied violence.
Who's your favourite big screen psycho and why? Leave a comment below and tell us why you agree or disagree with the top five cinematic psychos featured in this article.
If you enjoy probing the recesses of a psychopathic mind, you'll love THE WATCHER, a terrifying journey into the twisted mind of a master predator. The novel is released on June 21st by Crooked Cat Books, and you can pick up a paperback copy at special discount price ahead of the official release, or pre-order your e-copy
GET YOUR COPY OF THE WATCHER AT PRE-ORDER PRICE HERE!
Eli Carros is published by Crooked Cat
Telling Tales Slant – Something Wicked
by yvonnemarjot in fairytales, fiction, Folk Tales, short story, Uncategorized Tags: fairytales, Folk Tales, short stories, writing
This one's not so much twisted as updated, and brought back to the level of nastiness I remember from reading translations of Grimm. By name and by nature – the endings of folk and fairy tales were once much darker. For this one I have in mind the wonderful Cloris Leachmann (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001458/) , who is currently owning the small screen in 'American Gods'. Who would you cast in the role of Malva?
Something Wicked, Something Pink
So many people. They must have invited everyone. Malva inserted herself into the stream of partygoers pouring in through the great doors, flung open to the cool air of early evening, and peered through the throng. Everyone except me, that is. She stamped her foot. A startled footman glanced in her direction and she plastered a pleasant smile on her face and accepted a vol-au-vent from the tray he proffered. Now, where is that blasted baby?
She shouldered through the crowds, working her way into the heart of the building. Security was easy to spot – black suits, mirror shades, the whole stone-faced thing – but she had nothing to fear from them. Out here no-one was checking invitations (after all, everybody had one) and a little sleight of hand and misdirection should see her past anyone who took more than a casual interest. As for getting into the christening party itself… "Hello, dear."
The sharp-suited man startled as the frail elderly woman greeted him. He drew himself up, preparing to send her on her way, but she grasped his elbow with surprisingly strong fingers. "I don't…"
The words died in his throat as she administered three brisk taps to his wrist, neck and temple. All intelligence drained from his face and he gazed at her, open-mouthed, as she took charge and led him away. "There's a good boy. Just keep walking. Now, take me to the family."
He nodded, and escorted her through the crowds, all the way to the golden cradle. Malva relinquished her hostage as soon as she passed through the security cordon (her sibyllic ID – slightly psychic – and a pet security agent were all she needed to baffle the guards) and he wandered back to his post, none the worse for his experience, apart from a baffling tendency to scream whenever small, elderly ladies approached him.
The cradle was mobbed. All the invited bigwigs were offering their well wishes to the family. Malva wormed her way to the edge of the cradle. Some simpering fairy was offering up a pitiful wish. "May your days be merry, and your heart full of cheer.
Pathetic. The parents were lapping it up. The father stood grasping a glass of fizz, while the mother was practically festooned in ribbons and shiny paper from the gifts she was unwrapping. A teddy bear. Pink. A doll's house. Pink. A satin dress with three layers of frills. Pink, what else? It was enough to make you sick.
"Darling child, your lips are like rosebuds, your eyes as bright as stars. May you marry the handsomest man in the land and live happily ever after."
For heaven's sake, is that what it's come to? A chubby ball of fat, barely out of the womb, and it's already being wished into a life of painted boredom? It had better hope it didn't have much of an intellect, because otherwise this promised life was going to be nothing but a disappointment. Malva could stand it no longer. She stepped forward, sharp elbows at the ready.
"If you exchange your identity for invisibility in a pink shroud, you might as well be dead. So be it. At sixteen, you will come of age and die."
by yvonnemarjot in Uncategorized
Lynn Forth
I was blown away by Hilary Mantel's Reith Lecture this morning. So much insight, wisdom and humour, especially about the intertwining of history and fiction Please listen if you can. I had goose pimples at the end.
So… why Treacle?
by yvonnemarjot in author, book, books, Christmas, contemporary fiction, crooked cat, CrookedCat, dog, fairytales, Fantasy, fiction, flashfiction, Folk Tales, Mythology, poem, Poetry, published, Russia, Russian folk tales, seasons, short story, spring, Uncategorized, words, wordweaving Tags: Fantasy, Folk Tales, imagination, short stories, spring, twisted tales, winter
Treacle ˈtriːk(ə)l
noun: treacle; plural noun: treacles
a. British: a thick, sticky dark syrup made from partly refined sugar; molasses.
b. syrup of a golden-yellow colour; golden syrup.
cloying sentimentality or flattery.
"enough of this treacle—let's get back to business"
Origin: Middle English (originally denoting an antidote against venom): from Old French triacle, via Latin from Greek thēriakē 'antidote against venom', feminine of thēriakos (adjective), from thērion 'wild beast'. Current senses date from the late 17th century.
According to various online sources, the word treacle goes back to a borrowing from Old French triacle, a word referring to the sugar-syrup base into which apothecaries would decant whatever nasty-tasting cures they wished their patient to take. The word derives ultimately from a Greek word thēriakē, meaning an antidote against venom, which suggests that its early applications were topical (i.e. slather it on the outside, rather than apply it to the inside).
This dark, viscous product of sugar refining thus gained its name due to its association with apothecaries and their products. All the syrupy by-products of sugar refinement were known as treacle, but later the British firm Lyle perfected the refining process to produce that other, more popular, sugar syrup known as golden syrup. You can still buy treacle – these days it's often called black treacle (or, in the US, molasses), to distinguish it from its golden cousin.
While sugar can be produced from beets as well as sugar cane, only the latter produces a pleasant tasting treacle.
The 17th century seems to mark the time when treacle made the jump from a medicine to a foodstuff. https://britishfoodhistory.wordpress.com/tag/treacle/ suggests 'bread tart' and 'sweetmeat cake' as early recipes using treacle, and the earliest recipes for 'treacle tart' in the 1870s precede Lyle's development of golden syrup, even though most modern recipes call for golden syrup rather than black treacle. Gingerbread, which has been around at least since the 1400s, switched to using treacle as an ingredient during the 18th century. But the popularity of 'Mary Poppins' suggests that the association of sugar syrup with medicines remains as strong as ever.
I'm rather drawn to the idea that a substance famed for being sickly sweet (as in the famous treacle tart of my story – the favourite dessert of Harry Potter – and the treacle wells mentioned by the dormouse in Alice in Wonderland) ultimately derives its name from medicines which were so bitter that they required a sweet coating. That seems a good metaphor for this story collection.
In Treacle and Other Twisted Tales I take some well-known tales and retell them with a twist, a difference, or a wee flicker of darkness. There are new stories, too, some drawn from imagination and others from experience. There are no entirely happy endings – I don't really believe in them – but some at least come to satisfactory conclusions. If there's a moral in the story, it's that beneath sweetness there is always a small, sharp tang of bitterness, and sometimes the sugar coating is very thin indeed. Life isn't fair, and nothing ever turns out exactly the way we want it to. These aren't fairy stories, you know.
As for the second meaning – sentimentality or flattery – isn't that the business of we fiction writers? I employ my words as the appetising coating to encourage some unpalatable suggestions to go down. Did I sweeten the mixture enough?
And am I genuinely channelling my East End ancestors, or merely mocking Eastenders the soap, when I say to you, "Don't worry, treacle* – if you don't like this story, maybe the next one'll suit you better"?
*Treacle (tart) = sweetheart
mybook.to/treacle
https://www.facebook.com/events/1986209328266203/?active_tab=discussion
https://www.facebook.com/TheCalgaryChessman/
Tweets by Alayanabeth
The Squirrel with the Marvellous Tail, or the importance of minor characters.
Behind the Book: Heathcliff
On the Shoulders of Giants: in memory of Ursula Kroeber Le Guin
Little Red is coming home
"The icing on the cake!…"
yvonnemarjot on The Squirrel with the Marvello…
yvonnemarjot on Serendipity – and s…
yvonnemarjot on Treacle, and other Twisted…
T E Taylor on Nevil Shute: a Study in Impecc…
yvonnemarjot on Olga Swan: French Notes from a…
Baltic Convoys
crooked cat
CrookedCat
flashfiction
Le Guin
London Blitz
micropoetry
Russian folk tales
springwatch
thecalgarychessman
V E Day
Victory in Europe Day
wordweaving