Saturday, January 4, 2020

A Rose By Any Other Name...Not.

     The Old Bard wrote in 'Romeo & Juliet,' '...a rose by any other name would smell as sweet...' Um, no - not so in my 'real' job of writing, producing news, and dealing with some television news anchors.
     Prolific musician, Don Henley, after his full-time gig with the Eagles wrote a song blasting the news business. While I'm not doing that (although I could, my employment puts beans & rice on the dinner table, and there is full reason to be critical for so many reasons!), there is a line in the song about the 'bubble-headed bleach blonde.' For the most part, I've loved those pale-headed anchors I've dealt with, but on the flip side, they've inadvertently given me some really great lines!
     To preface, I've been 'doing news,' either radio, TV or print, since I was 17--waaay back when AM radio still existed as a passable medium. My first job at my hometown station, when 'disc jockeys' or announcers (not 'air personalities') still smoked like fiends in the studio! I cut my teeth on running Milwaukee Brewer baseball feeds and worked my way up to doing news.
     My latest story, Known and Wanted, was born and takes place in my office--a television newsroom. It stemmed from a very short phone conversation very early one morning. The moment the story was conceived - when the 'cute' Sheriff on the other end of the phone said, "I'm just stepping out of the shower, Wendy." Cue brain exploding with (steamy) ideas!
     So. working in a newsroom, around 'pretty' people, yeah, I can see how Don Henley would use that phrase and mean it. Hey, sometimes we all make a faux pas when speaking, but usually it's not in front of how many thousands of people tuned into your broadcast, right?
     Some of these, ahem, gems, you'll find in Known and Wanted, others are still languishing in a document file some six pages long (10 point font, single space) just waiting to be used at another time. 
     So, here goes: 
     Anchor talking about Valentine's Day, "It's so touche' to get engaged on Valentine's Day." (Despite correcting her in her ear, she said the same wrong phrase three times!)
     Anchor discussing mountain climbers, "Isn't the tallest mountain in the world in Himalaysia?"
     A new sandwich shop in town has "...great Chewbacca bread."
     On getting a traffic ticket, "...the cop was hiding in the Courvoisier." (cul-de-sac)
     And, it's not just on the air folks, it's some of those who actually write the stories the anchors read...the producers. Some of the younger ones (well, younger than me--I'm the oldest in the newsroom and could be their grandmothers...please don't go there!), have no 'depth' when it comes to knowledge and words. For instance, in Known and Wanted, main character, Zoe, relays a story to her date about one of her coworkers reading a news release in which a man died during an act of 'auto eroticism.' The producer in the
The 'endangered' wonton
story and the one sitting next to me a my real job asks, "What was he doing with his car?" Only to be outdone by the same producer, after perusing court documents about a man charged with 'wanton endangerment of children' asking "Why are wontons endangered?"

     Um, did I mention, all these folks have some sort of degree in journalism? (Draw your own conclusions!)
     Don't get me wrong, I really like my job, but some days, writing romance full time and retirement can't come soon enough!
     So, dear friends, be looking for Known and Wanted from me and Decadent Publishing in the next month or so. And, a companion piece by my writing partner in crime, Deanna WadsworthBraving the Deep End. 
     Who knows what 'real life' experience will spawn the next book in my head. But, um, that might include running head long (physically) into singer Jon Secada--gotta find a way to make that happen!

     

     
  When not playing with the people in her head, Wendy has a full time job behind the scenes in television.  She lives with her cute chef husband and two fuzzy felines in the Great Lakes region of the Mid-West. 


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