Nothing made me happier than finding Barbie dolls under my tree. Let's just get that out in the open right now. I gave up baby dolls by the time I was eight. I wanted adult dolls so I could play in the adult world. And I wanted a lot of them, so that I could build that world accordingly. And we can blame these Barbies ENTIRELY for the kinds of stories I write now. I take pride in turning the notch up on reality, sending it into hyperdrive.
Mattel wired my brain that way from the start.
Superstar Barbie was my first, which I got on my birthday in 1977. This glamorous doll came complete with her own microphone.
That year I also got the Debby Boone's LP, "You Light Up My Life," and it didn't take me long at all to hold my own private concerts in the living room where our console stereo sat in its casket-like case. Honestly I don't even think it took me long enough to learn the songs. (And I learned - and we sang - EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.)
Eventually Ballerina Barbie joined the party, which gave me both a singer AND a dancer through which to live my fantasies.
I wasn't able to add a Ken to my collection until 1979, when sun lovin' Ken and Skipper joined my crew...
They domesticated my Superstar Barbie, who had gotten into acting just so she could, you know, slow down the pace a little to raise her family.
When Golden Dream Barbie ended up under my tree... I knew just what to do.
I made her a model, because of course.
As you can see, I was bit with the celebrity/fame bug from the get-go. I love to explore that world. A lot. I wanted to be a part of that world. A lot. At first I wanted to be a singer, then I thought I could be an actress. I wanted to rocket off into the stratosphere and just belong to that sparkly, glittery world.
(We can probably blame Robin Leach for that.)
I wanted to be a part of this world so much so that when Dream Date PJ arrived under my tree in 1985, I named her Ginger and made her an actress.
I also got a dark-haired Ken doll and named him Steve. He, uh, was a famous rock star. Ahem. (Their wedding was lovely, by the way. It may or may not have been heavily influenced by Bo and Hope's wedding that same year. *Ahem.*)
So I have been playing in this particular sandbox for a long, long time. That it was this type of saga that actually put me on the map, so to speak, is fitting, really. It is why I go back again and again to expand that world, curious to see where it will all lead next. Honestly I'm pretty excited about a couple of books I have planned now, which will take part in that world for better or worse.
If you're familiar at ALL with the things I write, you know it'll be mostly worse.
Thanks to their... unique complications... the drama that comes with celebrity is fertile soil. And I'm never going to stop digging. I don't use Barbies to do that anymore, but trust me when I say if I ever get a granddaughter, she'll have more Barbies than she'll know what to do with, including all of those listed.
And we'll keep them safe at Grandma's house.
AHEM.
So thank you, Mattel, for giving this girl the courage to reach for the stars. I don't know that I would have created the world of my dreams without you. Imagine the possibilities, indeed.
The best thing about celebrity is influence, and in the 1980s that took shape of a lil' Christmas diddy called "Do They Know It's Christmas". I loved it then. I love it now. It hasn't aged too badly considering. And it helped teach kids of my generation exactly how privileged we were, and what kind of responsibility goes along with that.
A fitting message for the season, methinks.
In keeping with that theme of wealth and responsibility, how about a more atypical Christmas movie?
Today's recipe was a team effort. My elf Brittany was hard at work till after midnight shaping the dough that I had made into perfect canes and wreaths. She'll be making more today, a little smaller, and I can't wait to eat, I mean... see... how they turn out.
Today's treat: CANDY CANE COOKIES.
Seriously, this is a pretty perfect cookie if you have the patience to delicately handle the dough. It's got a light crunch, with a not-too-sweet buttery almond flavor. I've been making this one for a couple of years now, though my photos always turn up in mega fail shots if I try to do the cane/wreath thing.
Thank God she has youth and stamina on her side. Not to mention she loves to bake pretty treats to eat.
You can find this recipe over on my Twelve Days of Christmas Pinterest board.
This is a freebie EVERYONE can get in on because it's free on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and iTunes. This is the book that effectively started my career. I jumped into the duplicitous world of celebrity and fought my way back out again, tearing through a lot of the bullshit assumptions about how "glamorous" it is and how "lucky" they are because I had lived through some experiences that had taught me what you see polished and pretty on the TV ain't necessarily what you get. I needed to work out how I felt about it, so naturally I wrote a book.
I made it about a rock star, and the "girl next door" who had the misfortune of falling in love with him.
Thanks to a mention in a Maryse's popular book blog, it set off a frenzy (her word) that vaulted me into the spotlight for a brief moment. I ended up an Amazon bestseller in November 2012, thanks to her enthusiastic support. Many people loved it. Many people... didn't. My hero is not perfect. He is not a good guy. He is not faithful. He is an entitled jerk and stayed unrepentant whenever he broke my heroine's heart because he had never *technically* promised her anything. You'll hate him (and me) if you dare to read it, and many people have opted not to. Since I get that, I've been very honest about this book, telling anyone who gets mad about things like cheaters and triangles and cliffhangers,et al, that if they need that kind of warning to read a book, they're better off not buying it at all.
If you're up for it, however, there are now four books in this series, three in this main storyline and one prequel (written from Vanni's POV, to explain a little bit out he ended up such a naughty boy.)
And by the way, December 21st is Vanni's birthday. You'll need to know that tomorrow.
Ahem.
Here's a Christmasy excerpt from Book One:
The next morning I woke up to find the bed empty. I slipped out from under the covers. There on the foot of the bed was a beautiful blue satin robe. With a smile I put it on and padded softly into the living room.
There were boxes of gifts underneath the tree, and a breakfast set up on the coffee table in front. The best gift was Vanni, in his pajama bottoms, sitting cross-legged on the floor with his hair spilling all over his shoulders, as he cuddled Simon in his lap.
“Merry Christmas, baby,” he said as I approached, and he pulled me down to get a Christmas kiss.
I knelt next to him on the floor. “What did you do?” I said as I referred to the gifts.
“What can I say? Santa thought you were a good girl this year.”
I laughed as I reached for one. I felt like a little kid as I tore into the paper. It was a locket, similar to the one I bought for my grandmother. My eyes shot to his. “When did you do this?”
“I’m a Ninja shopper,” he confessed. “Open another one.”
A scarf, a cat toy for Simon, some opal earrings–my birthstone–and finally a music box.
“Open it,” he said with a smile.
As I did I expected to hear “Wanting Her,” but the tune was new and unfamiliar. Inside the box was a folded piece of paper, written in his handwriting. As the music box played he began to sing:
“I never thought I’d find someone whose heart was my ideal, whose eyes could see into my soul, and teach me what was real. She touched my hand, and kissed my lips and now I know it’s true. No one before quite holds my heart the way that you now do. I can’t promise more than this moment, girl, but please don’t give up on me. You touched my hand and kissed my lips and set my spirit free. No one can promise forever, it’s never ours to give. If only for this moment, I know this much is true. If only for this moment girl, I’m so in love with you.”
I was in tears as he finished, so touched by his song, his voice, his words… his love.
Vanni was right. We couldn’t promise more than the moment. But in that moment, all that I had, and all that I felt, and all that I was belonged only to him.
Enjoy... if you dare.
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