On Frozen, Superheroes, and What I See in the Toy Aisle

Dear Disney,

If you are going to make such marketing moves as calling a Rapunzel movie "Tangled" and an ice queen movie "Frozen", please be aware that the boys who flocked to the theaters might have actually enjoyed the movie. Yes, the romantic plotline between Hans and Anna goes over my son's head. Yes, if you ask him, he'll tell you that the movie is about how Elsa runs away because she's looking for her glove and then a giant snowman chases them all. But still, he enjoyed it and I think he might be wondering why everything related to a movie that's supposedly for boys and girls is completely bathed in pink.

And on that note, Disney, let talk superheroes.

Did you know girls can be superheroes? Really, it's true. There's these characters called the Sailor Soldiers and these other characters called the Powerpuff Girls and they're actually whole teams of super-heroines! Check them out. But that's not all. Girls and boys can be on the same superhero team! In fact, you may be surprised to know that boys will not be horrified at the idea of a girl pictured with the mostly-male team. So when you go to make something related to Guardians of the Galaxy or the Avengers, can you please stop cutting the few girls on the team out of every single image?*

Seriously, not every little girl dreams of being a princess. Some just want to kick the bad guy's butt.

Sincerely, Me (mommy to one boy and one girl.)

*Of both these issues, I notice the lack of girls on the superhero stuff way more than the deluge of pink in Frozen. And to be honest, the former irks me way more than the latter.

Up and Down

Belated Happy Fourth of July. (JT slept pretty well last night, I thought local fireworks might disturb him. Turned out the only thing that woke him up was the fact that we decided to watch The Dark Knight after he went to bed.)

On an unrelated note, something has been on my mind lately, and I wanted to get it out. I'm subscribed to a number of agents' blogs, so naturally, I read a lot of success stories. And depending on my mood, I can read them very differently.

Some days I'm down. I don't want to hear about how awesome everyone else is doing. I don't want to read about every step that this author took to get that book in his/her hands, because it's only reiterating how many steps behind I am.

Some days I'm up. I'm thrilled to read a success story, because it confirms what I already know: you don't have to be famous, or be the editor's niece, or be printed in the New Yorker before you can sell a novel. You just have to write a good book. I love reading how wonderful Client X's revision of a manuscript is, because it motivates me to make sure my revision is worth reading.

So I guess the gist of this post is that if you're having a down day, don't worry, I've had plenty too. (Especially lately when my manuscript is out with beta-readers, so there's nothing I can do except wait.) Bookmark the success stories for your up days. Go get some chocolate. Play with your kid. Watch a movie (just don't wake the kid up.)