Interview with Damaged Goods Author Alexandra Allred

We had the pleasure of doing both a review and interview with Alexandra. You can check out the review here, and read on for the interview.

It is quite a brave thing to open a novel with the appearance of a blood-soaked tampon. At any point did you worry that it would put readers off? Or did you feel that the right reader for this book would not be shaken by a bit of blood?

I still worry about it!! And, yes, I’ve had people tell me they were a bit shocked with that opening but it has a purpose.  There is a very specific reason for that opening. . . I mean, besides being disgusting.

Pollution and environmental issues are clearly very important to you and the book depicts some quite harrowing consequences of pollution. Do you think that Damaged Goods will be an eye-opener for many people and increase awareness?

This is my dream.  This is what I want more than anything.  When The Writer’s Coffee Shop accepted my manuscript, I sent them a note thanking them … not as an author but as a mother and concerned (scared) citizen.  It means so much to me to get this story out and make people realize what is happening to our own communities, our children!  It’s crazy.  I’ve lived all over the world and I would never have imagined that cranking out cancer causing chemicals, DNA changing agents would be allowable in this country.  It blows my mind.

The support of a strong group of women is very important for Joanna and Brianna in particular. Was this friendship an aim from the start, or did it develop as you started writing?

That is such a great question!  I knew that Joanna would find friends but I never imagined the kind of bond they would form.  These women love and adore each other.  I had so much fun with them and was actually sad when it was all over.

Rape and domestic abuse are among some of the issues that are covered. At any point did you worry that you were including too many difficult issues in the story and how did you fit them together so that they weren’t overwhelming?

Ohhhhh, baby!  Welcome to my town.  This is real life.  You know, I always tell people that when I read a book and there are only four or five characters and one theme, it doesn’t feel real to me.  Not real life.  Think about your own life.  You know so many different people with so many different issues going on in their lives.  Yes, it can be overwhelming.  LIFE can be overwhelming.  I have gay and straight friends, a family friend going through chemo, another friend who has an abusive husband (and I secretly plot when I can don my ninja suit and beat the crap out of him in a parking lot one day), teenager issues with one daughter and hormones kicking in for my son.  My horse is going through rehab and I have a starving kitten I’m trying to befriend and I’m only getting started. I think my life is pretty nutty until I go into town and one of my students (at the gym) tells me her mom was arrested last night.  What?!?  There is no other way to portray a small, kooky town but to expose all of its chaos and glory.

Each of the women in the friendship group has a very strong personality, but you didn’t write from the perspective of all of them. How did you choose which of the women to write through and why?

Ahh! Another great question.  Joanna was easy.  As the new person in town, she was used to highlight the chaos.  It was overwhelming for her.  To the others, it was just another day in Marcus but for Joanna, the beer-swilling emu, the health threat, the illegal immigrants and prejudice, the small town politics and the madness of Jeanie Archer were shocking.  Suzette’s character is very dear to me as she is a real person.  Much of what you read about Suzette is true and so when I began to write, she just popped out in the first person.  I knew of no other way to present her.  And Dixie is sort of the straight man – pardon the expression – to Jeanie.  These women balanced everyone and everything around them.

You’ve created a lot of complex and over-lapping conflicts in the book. Did you find it hard to write them without confusing the reader?

ALL PRAISE THE EDITING STAFF OF TWCS!! Yes!  I had to make notes to myself to keep track of people and even then I would get emails from the editors asking me what in the blue blazes I was doing.  I HAVE NO IDEA! ARGHHH! MARCUS IS A MADHOUSE! You can never have a doctor, a dentist or an editor that is too good.

Throughout the story I was keen to keep turning the page. What is your favourite technique for keeping the reader hooked?

Lots and lots of coffee.  No. Seriously, my characters just took over.  Because much is based on real life and real people, I was often just swept into their world.

Where do you find the inspiration for the wild characters you create, such as the one-legged big cat lover and the stripper-turned-Mormon?

I know them!!!

The ending of the story is left open. Will there be a sequel?

This is the best question ever.  Yes.  I would very much like there to be a sequel because, like in real life, this fight is far from over.  I would love for there to be a sequel in which my characters could live through a resolution.  But it is far more likely that my characters will be engaging in yet another battle.  And like the women I know in real life … they don’t give up easily.

Book Review: Damaged Goods by Alexandra Allred

Just because this book opens with a disgruntled wife forcing a bloody tampon into the hand of her husband, does not necessarily mean it is a book just for women, although some might be put off by the opening. Damaged Goods follows the life of Joanna Lucas, a well-spoken divorcee who moves to Marcus, Texas to begin a life she can finally be proud of. Unfortunately for her, this town full of possibilities is actually home to the worst case of pollution in the US and a whole host of other issues that are set to make life hard for her, including rape, arson, and a beer-guzzling emu named Eduardo. Amongst this mess she finds herself adopted by a group of outspoken and eternally youthful women who bring out the true feistiness of her nature.
This is not a book to gloss over topical issues in favour of a happy ending, but neither is it didactic in tone. All too often if an author chooses to tackle complex issues you find yourself feeling sometimes enlightened, but rarely entertained and quite often bored. Allred combines her clever narrative techniques with continually evolving conflicts that keep the reader turning each page. Behind all the plot twists, one-legged Lion lovers and the beer-seeking emu there are some very real lessons. Allred makes you face up to the fact that if you want to see change then you have to do something about it. Sitting back and pretending nothing is happening makes you just as guilty as those causing the damage. She also shows the power of female friendship, without painting all male characters in a bad light, which is refreshing.
At times you are given a lot of information about new characters, and that can be a little hard to retain, but this is only at the start. Overall this is a complex story about friendship, politics and free-thinking that will keep you hanging on long after you’ve read the final page.

Film Review: Out of the Past

While it may be true that for some of us, Mamma Mia! or There’s Something About Mary is the best film of all time (Are you sure?), it’s likely that any film aficionado with an eye for quality will draw up a reasonably predictable list of movies that has a certain resemblance to another’s. Of course, there may be the odd obscure title included in there somewhere on account of some personally preferred artistic or inventive merit but generally the same titles will crop up again and again. These lists, and there are countless of them online, are a great way to create a ‘watch-list’.

It wasn’t one of these lists that brought me to watch Out of the Past but rather a moment of web surfing that brought to my laptop screen a poster of Robert Mitchum nonchalantly lighting a cigarette while a demure Jane Greer inspects his ears for wax. The truth is, I’d never heard of this film before but having enjoyed noir-ish revelations with The Killers and Double Indemnity, both of which I watched for the first time a couple of months ago, I felt confident that I was about to view another classic. It came as no surprise to subsequently see all three of these films feature in high positions on numerous lists of best ‘noir’ films ever.

Robert Mitchum plays Jeff Bailey, owner of a gas station in a small out-of-the-way Californian town. His romancing local girl Ann Miller (Virginia Huston) is not viewed well by her parents who are mistrustful of him and sure enough, when a tough guy turns up at his gas station, it becomes apparent that Jeff has a past. This henchman, Joe Stephanos (Paul Valentine) informs Jeff that his boss, Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas) wants to see him and after some glorious dialogue, Jeff reluctantly agrees to the meeting. That night, after picking Ann up for the drive to Whit’s lakeside retreat, he tells her all about his past.

The next section of the film is told in flashback with Jeff narrating the story of his mysterious past as a private investigator. Together with his partner Jack Fisher (Steve Brodie), he was hired by Whit to find his girlfriend Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer) whom he claimed had shot him and run off with $40,000 of his dough. Using his investigative talents, Jeff traced Kathie to Acapulco but on meeting her, fell for her charms and her pleads of innocence and decided not to hand her over to Whit, who would likely have punished her for something she claimed she didn’t do. Instead, the two headed north to San Francisco where they attempted to live together as inconspicuously as possible, out of sight and reach of Whit and his henchman. But (isn’t there always a but?), one day they were spotted by Jeff’s old partner, Fisher, who demanded a heavy payoff for his silence. A fight broke out between the two men, which Kathie brought to a sudden end when she shot Fisher dead. She then drove away, leaving poor old Jeff to cover up her crime. In doing so, he came across her bankbook which had an entry for a $40,000 deposit.

Back now to the present where Jeff and Ann arrive at Whit’s home. Before turning the car around to drive back to town, Ann forgives Jeff for his past and hopes he will return safely to her once his meeting with Whit is over. Jeff is surprised to see that Kathie is back together with Whit, who for his part, displays genuine delight in seeing Jeff again and wants to hire him for one more job in order to make things even between them. The job entails breaking into Whit’s lawyer’s office to steal documents that include income tax records proving Whit guilty of tax fraud, a fraud which his lawyer is using to blackmail him. Jeff refuses the job, suspecting a set-up, but Whit insists and so after trying to warn the lawyer, Jeff returns to the man’s office to find him dead. Now Jeff’s job is to locate the documents, which also include an affidavit from Kathie swearing Jeff was the one who killed Fisher, as well as to prove that he is innocent of the killing of the lawyer but with a henchman on his tail and a femme fatale who switches allegiance more times than Lady Gaga changes outfits, he needs to use all his street-smarts to stay alive. It’s all mildly convoluted, as the best crime dramas are, but well worth paying attention to.

Released in 1947, Out of the Past was directed by Jacques Tourneur, a man perhaps better known for low-budget horror films such as Cat People and I Walked with a Zombie, rather than hard boiled crime films but he had a great team around him, many of whom had already worked together for RKO on numerous pictures. The film was adapted by Daniel Mainwaring (under the pseudonym Geoffrey Homes) from his novel Build My Gallows High with uncredited revisions by Frank Fenton and James M. Cain. This point is clearly evident from the superb dialogue so typical of the genre but here somehow a little less contrived and more natural. Don’t forget, James M. Cain was the genius behind, among others, Double Indemnity.

The role of gumshoe fitted Mitchum as comfortably as the raincoat and fedora he wore much of the time and it’s easy to see why he would later go on to portray Philip Marlowe. He breezes through this film with a cool self-assurance and a likability that make you (almost) overlook his potential for violence. Jane Greer’s femme fatale, with her baby face and deceitful eyes, smoulders, like the best of them and Kirk Douglas plays the gangster with controlled intensity – sure, he seems charming enough but you wouldn’t want to be around when he looses his temper.

For a film noir, the locations are worth noting too. Yes, we get the usual nighttime cityscapes and atmospherically lit bar rooms and office interiors, trademarks of the genre, but we also get out into the wide open Californian countryside as well as sunny Acapulco. The way cameraman Nicholas Musuraca captures this variety of locations lifts the film well and truly out of the murky pool where a high number of the genre languor.

In 1991, the film was included in the US National Film Registry as being deemed, “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”. Also, it will doubtless come as no surprise to learn that it features highly in many of the American Film Institute’s 100 Years of cinema lists. For me, it’s a recent discovery I’m very thankful for and yet another reminder that the ’40s was an awesome decade for movies. It’s one that has aged extremely well and one that will encourage me to continue scanning the Internet and the lists of films people consider the best ever made.

 

 

 

 

 

Rowan Atkinson Argues Against the “Culture of Censoriousness”

Roan Atkinson is calling to repeal Section 5 of the Public Order Act, which bans any word or phrase that could be inferred as insulting. Atkinson stated that “If we want a robust society, we need more robust dialogue and that must include the right to insult or to offend. Because, as someone once said, the freedom to be inoffensive is no freedom at all.”

 

An Interview With Bridie Jackson

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Bridie Jackson is the full package. A gifted writer of melody and lyrics and an accomplished musician and vocalist, her image would not look out of place in a Pre-Raphaelite painting. Following a recent period of extensive touring, the rest of Britain is discovering what her native North East already knew – that she is an original talent, both in the recording studio and in live performance.

Her band, known as The Arbour, is no mere backing band.

They supply excellent musical accompaniment and delicious harmonies and it really is a group enterprise. The band’s use of bell plates has entered local folklore. They look like something you’d use to scrape the frost off your windscreen, but they make the most wonderful sound.

Bridie is the very opposite of a precious diva. She likes to kick off her shoes when on stage and draw the audience in. I met up with her to pose some questions and shoot the breeze…

Bridie, it’s great to have this chat. I was in the audience on the night your album, Bitter Lullabies, was launched at The Sage in Gateshead and there was a lot of love in the room for you. How has the album been received since then?

It’s been going rather well. We’ve had some great reviews, quite a bit of radio play and the opportunity to gig a lot around the UK, which has been great. We really enjoy performing to new audiences, as it’s a clearer reflection of what people make of you than if the venue is full of people who know you and are going to be nice regardless!

Music journalists like to categorize new artists that come along. For example, ‘Chamber Folk’ seems to be the buzz genre right now. Do you welcome a label or do you dislike it and how would you describe your music?

I think labels are fine, as they generally come from people trying to fathom something out and through a desire to explain it to others. I’m not sure we fit into any label very comfortably though, which must be a bit frustrating I suppose. As for how we describe our own music, I still don’t have the faintest idea. Free album to whoever can come up with something that covers it!

You’ve been compared to Fleet Foxes and Joanna Newsom. Are you flattered by comparisons or do they irritate you?

It depends on the comparison! I know some artists think comparisons are a result of lazy journalism, which I suppose it can be, but I think if done accurately, they can make your music more accessible, which can only be a good thing.

You’ve been doing a lot of gigs, Bridie. With all the travelling and performing, do you find it difficult to find time to write?

In some ways, touring is a really good space to write, as generally there are large chunks in the day when you’re not that busy, so you can really focus on getting things done.

I’m interested in your writing process. Do you have a routine approach or does it depend on your mood and circumstances at the time?

The only proper routine is making sure the ideas get ‘caught’ and archived properly when I have them. The actual creation is rather erratic and it can take months, even years to complete anything. It can often feel like the song isn’t all that much to do with me sometimes. I just have to wait for enough ideas to plop out so that I can actually write the whole thing. However, I’m always working on something and tend to be fairly dogged until it’s completed. Also, even if I have no inspiration whatsoever, I’ll still write most days, even if it’s just daft songs about dual carriageways and stuff… just to keep in the discipline of doing it I suppose.

Would it excite you to write with other people or do you prefer to write alone?

I generally write alone although I’m currently involved in a project called Riverrruns, which involves collaborating with other writers, mostly poets, and it’s been wonderful – a complete revelation, so I would definitely consider doing it again, for specific projects.

Some songwriters find writing lyrics a cathartic exercise. Do you share this feeling and do they serve to document your life?

Sometimes the songs document life events and they are frequently cathartic. The great thing about a song is you get to whinge on and it takes longer for people to tire of hearing it, which is handy.

It’s easier than ever to distribute songs and engage with fans. Do you think today’s artists have the best deal or do you hanker back to being an artist in the simpler days of the 1960s and 1970s?

It definitely assists the grassroots movement and allows artists to operate more independently, which is a very positive thing, so mostly, I’m in favour.

You and the band are certainly in harmony when on stage. What’s the dynamic like when you’re all hurtling down the motorway on a cold, wet morning after a few hours’ sleep?

I think bands on tour sometimes develop a bit of a ‘family on holiday’ dynamic, complete with ensuing social dysfunction, but we get on really rather well. I think in the last few months we’ve got very good at knowing when one or the other of us needs a bit of space, or support, etc., and as a result, it’s very harmonious. No gossip there. Boring I suppose…

Okay, Bridie, to wrap up, this is one of those job interview questions, but where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

On Desert Island Discs please! Or maybe that’s more a ten-year aim….

If this interesting insight into the life of a musician has whetted your appetite, check out Bridie Jackson & The Arbour’s album. Kick your shoes off, turn the lights down and see what happens…

For more information on Bridie Jackson, check out the Tumblr page.