Day I Met Famke Janssen

The State of Oklahoma sponsors a two-week summer arts institute each year at Quartz Mountain State Park, 18 miles north from Altus, where I live.

The Oklahoma Arts Institute is free to over 200 high school students and features some of the world's best artists who lead the students through two weeks of intensive study, training, practice, and production.
It's the only high school arts program in the United States that is absolutely free to all applicants.

In 2008, I volunteered to meet and greet that summer's students.

If given the chance to talk to a beautiful woman or play with her dog, which would you do?

Before the students arrived, I saw a tall attractive woman walking across the bridge from the state lodge to the performing arts center.

What caught my eyes besides her beauty was the short white filigree and lace dress she was wearing and the parasol she held above her head. 

I walked across the bridge marveling at the use of a parasol in the 21st Century.
Once inside, I met other volunteers and waited for the students. 

I saw the woman again, but this time I noticed a small dog carrying a Frisbee in its mouth.

My wife Nadya loves animals, especially cats and dogs. I knew if I came back with a picture of that dog walking around with a Frisbee in its mouth, I'd score some bonus points.

Famke at her most Hollywood beautiful

I asked someone, "Who is that woman with that dog?"

I thought I heard, "That's Fanta Johnson."

I thought to myself, Who would name their child after a soft drink?

I walked over to the woman and said, "Excuse me, ma'am."
She turned.

Famke Janssen--natural beauty

"May I take a picture--" a smile appeared on her face "--of your dog." Then her smile spread across her face.

"Yes, of course," she said.

She was tall. She was beautiful. Not just everyday beautiful. Not too-good-to-be-true beautiful. Down-to-earth model beautiful. Even without her make-up.

I told her my wife loves dogs and we had several and my wife would get a good laugh seeing a picture of her dog carrying the Frisbee in its mouth.

Fanta told me her dog was a Boston Terrier, then volunteered that it was neutered, that his name was Licorice, and that he carried his Frisbee around where ever they traveled.

"Think he'd want me to throw the Frisbee to him?"


"He loves to play with people." Her voice was as silky as her skin and as soft as her eyes.

She called Licorice. He trotted over to me. I took the Frisbee from his mouth. We played backstage at the arts institute for several minutes.

Fanta told me she was looking for a female companion for Licorice.
 
I thought, What's the point? He's neutered.

I told her I knew of some people who raised the same breed of dogs as Licorice, and they had several litters that summer.

I gave her directions and told her what time I'd be there.

Students began to arrive, and I went to help them check in. I thanked the woman for letting me play Frisbee with her dog. I patted Licorice on the head and thanked him, too.

While I was helping students check in, I kept thinking: I know Fanta from somewhere. Maybe she's a ballerina or an artist I've seen somewhere.

My thoughts were soon distracted by the hundreds of students.

About three hours later, I went to my friend's place and met Fanta there.

We talked some more. I met her traveling companion. She never introduced him as her "boyfriend"--just her "friend", and such a label is a relationship revealer in my part of the world.

He was pretty scuzzy looking. I though, Man. Why do such beautiful women hang out with such scuzzy looking guys?

She didn't buy one of my friend's Boston Terriers.

Fanta told me thanks for trying to help and then said, "Good-bye. Maybe I'll see you at the arts institute."
Whoa, baby!

I never made it back to the arts institute as they never called me back to help with anything.

A couple of days later, as I downloaded Licorice's picture into my computer, I keep thinking to myself, I know Fanta from somewhere. But where?

Could Fanta and Jean Grey be the same person? Can't be Fanta--Fanta was brunette

Later that night as I drifting off to sleep, just at that twilight moment between reality and lucid dreams, the X-Men movie character Jean Grey popped into my head.

Fanta? That can't be Fanta. Fanta is brunette. Jean Grey is red-haired. Besides Jean Grey was played by Famke Janssen, not someone named Fanta Johnson.

Then it hit me: Damned Okie accents!

I had spent nearly an hour chatting it up with Famke Janssen NOT Fanta Johnson as my Okie-accented friend had said.

I've been a Famke Janssen fan since her first movie. I enjoyed her performance as Jean Grey in the X-Men.
However, she is quite a good dramatic actress, and that's the part of her movie career I admire the most.
Now I understood why she smiled so broadly when I asked to take a picture of dog. I'm sure she gets countless requests from fans to take her picture. 

Hell, if I had known who she was, I would have asked her if I could take her picture.

Jean Grey/Phoenix

Double Hell--I would have found a box to stand on and had one of the other volunteers take a picture of Famke and me together!

(I'm 5'6" and Famke is a tall 5"10". I'm Bogart to her Bacall! Or Cruse to her Holmes for you young pups out there.) 

I've met a couple dozen celebrities in life, from movie stars to sports stars to singers/musicians to writers.
They really do look different up close and personal, especially without all the Hollywood make-up, and acting like "normal" people. At least some are. 

Like Famke. She is one of the most unassuming, down-to-earth Hollywood actresses than I have ever met.
And I hope to meet her again some day. 

Hopefully, a box will be nearby and handy.


And that's how I met Famke Janssen.

Here's the picture of Licorice and the Wikipedia.org entry

Licorice with his Frisbee at Quartz Mountain Summer Arts Institute

Famke Janssen's dog Licorice, a Boston Terrier photographed by Young Adult author Larry Mike Garmon (Universal Monsters, Feary Tales) at the Quartz Mountain Performing Arts Center, Quartz Mountain, Oklahoma, on Saturday, 14 June 2008. Famke was at the institute to give the opening address of the 31st annual Oklahoma Arts Institute student program. Garmon noticed the dog carrying his Frisbee, and he asked Famke if he could take a picture to show to his wife, and Famke replied, "Yes, he likes to have his picture taken." Garmon then spent time throwing the Frisbee to Licorice. Famke explained that Licorice carries the Frisbee every where hoping someone will play with him. Garmon said he found Licorice to be the friendliest and most likable of the celebrity pets he has met. He also found Famke to be quite personable and alluring as well.

Fiendish Endeavors #1: Barmaglot & "Assassin"

The Mesoamerican feathered serpent god Quetzocoatyl is 1/3 of the inspiration for the Penteract trilogy

So, here's what's passing from my fevered mind to the letters at my fingertips on the keyboard and then jumping onto the screen sitting and smiling in front of me.

YA Fantasy Trilogy:

A Jabberwock of Penteract

Book One: Barmaglot Book Two: Bandersnatch Book Three: Beamish Boy

The idea has been floating around for several years and started off as a middle school novel inspired by Lewis Carroll's poem "The Jabberwocky".

During National Novel Writing Month, I took the original story and another fantasy I had outline and wrote the first three chapters of but didn't like and combined the pair into this present incantation. I produced the first book and am now maddeningly revising it into something presentable.

I'm hoping to have the complete first book finished by the time SCBWI comes around in Los Angeles next August.

I've got several chapters revised and am sharing what I've gotten on paper with a couple of critique partners, my wife, and a teaching colleague, and they have all been quite helpful.

I thoroughly enjoyed this series but I seriously disagree with his thesis.

Just this past week I had an epiphany as to what this story is about and, in a nutshell, it's simply "A Child's Guide to Good and Evil".

Although I enjoy His Dark Materials, I disagree with Phillip Pullman's world view, and A Jabberwock of Penteract is my answer to his thesis. 

I believe in the eternal soul of Humankind.

Quite a challenge, I know. But, dream big, or don't dream at all.

Along with the Mesoamerican feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl, I was also inspired by the Dracorex and Stygimoloch dinosaurs.

The Stygimoloch has a skull cap and a shorter snout. This is the model for the Jammerwoch.

The Dracorex is the model for the Jabberwock clan of the Draig species.

Penteract has several species of dragons in the same way Earth has several species of "Great Apes".

One species, the Draigs, is anthropomorphic and stand eight-feet tall. Over the millenniums, Draigs lost their wings, their fire-breathing, and their tales, but they gained intelligence and creativity.

Draigs are divided into two warrior clans that are battling for supremacy of Penteract: the Jabberwocki and the Jammerwochi.

The Jammerwochi are distinguished by a bone skull cap protruding through their skin. The Jabberwocki have no such skull cap.

In my outlining and note taking, I describe the Draig species of dragons as a cross between Klignons, Berserks, and Men of the West (Lord of the Rings).

Other dragons included are more traditional; fire dragons and ice dragons; lindwyrm.

I've also created a small dragon that is the size and looks similar to a large butterfly but is a dragon in every sense of the word except for its size, the colorful rainbow gossamer wings, and the fire that it spits out like a flamethrower. It's called a Dragonfly, of course.

Three children--a 16-year-old boy and his two nine-year-old fraternal cousins (boy and girl) are thrust into the world by an iPhone app called Penteract, which the teen thinks is a game but is really a portal to Enia, the world where the continent of Penteract is located.

The kids are caught in the middle of a great war and don't know which of the two clans--the Jabberwocki or the Jammerwochi--they should fight for.

In fact, both leaders of the two Draig clans--Barmaglot of the Jabberwocki and Frumious of the Jammerwochi--believe Ethan Swain (the teen) is the Beamish Boy prophesied in an ancient religious text to end the genocidal war and bring victory to one of the groups. The prophecy leaves open as to which group the Beamish Boy finally sides with and leads to victory.

As if that weren't enough, Ethan learns that his two bratty and obnoxious twin cousins are not who he thought they were and are part of the prophesy as well.

While Ethan is trying to keep from being killed by either of the Draig clans, he's got to fight off his cousins who are out to destroy him as well for their own murderous reasons.

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"Assassin" -- a short story concerning Edimata Froths, a character from The Face Maker's Apprentice (see below).

At fourteen, Edimata is one of the best of the Sister Assassins.

The Sister Assassins are a quasi-religious group made up of girls from thirteen through nineteen. After nineteen, they leave the order to marry, become nuns, or stay on as adjunct teachers.

Although they are a legal organization, they are sometimes hunted down after they leave the order and are killed by revenge-seeking relatives and friends of those they have killed--which is also perfectly legal.

Killing a Sister Assassin is easier after she has left the order because they are forbidden by law and my sacred oath to use their acquired assassin's skills after they "retire".

This is why the Sister Assassins are heavily disguised and go by pseudonyms while they are a part of the order.

Mata Hari--Femme Fatale of World War I

The Sister Assassins are based on the Kunoichi . My visual image of a Sister Assassin is a combination of Mata Hari as played by the actress Famke Janssen.

Famke Janssen--Whom I've met. Check out her Wikipedia.org blurb and you'll find a picture I took of her dog Licorice

The Sister Assassins live by a strict moral code, the most important of which is "No contract is left unfilled." Although rare, a Sister Assassin may be contracted to kill a fellow Sister Assassin.

Edimata's latest client, a captain of the royal guards in the capital city of Gorod, is murdered. The telltale clues indicate the captain was killed by a master Assassin--or did Edimata kill her employer for some reason?

Edemata and her sister Assassins are modeled on the Kunoichi, Mata Hari, and Famke Janssen

Edimata must find the true Assassin as the Gorod royal guard, using the strength of its force, hunts her down to kill her without prejudice.

One of my objectives in writing "Assassin" is to combine fantasy with hardboil detective archetypes and motifs.

I began writing the short story to help me with setting, characters, and world view of The Face Maker's Apprentice. When finished and polished, "Assassin" will begin its journey of submissions through the world of fantasy magazines, both hardcopy and virtual, until it finds a home.

The Face Maker's Apprentice is another YA fantasy series taking place on the mythical world of Enia but on a different continent, Aisha.

The story concerns a young girl named Aydan from the time she is sold into slavery at ten by her parents until she finds her place in the world when she's twenty.

Edimata appears in this series, and I might find a place for her "Assassin" story somewhere. If not, I've got plenty for her to do as she hunts down Aydan, whom she's been hired to assassinate because Aydan is a threat to the ruling family of Gorod.

I'm working on the characters, settings, plots, and outlines for the three books the will be The Face Maker's Apprentice as I finish up Barmaglot.

I'll be blogging about my journey through Barmaglot--I have already--as well as post sections of "Assassin" for anyone who likes fantasy and hardboiled detective fiction.

Let me know what you think about either, and I'll reciprocate with anything you're writing.

See you on the bookshelves.

Take care,

Larry Mike Garmon