Good morning, and welcome to Adam West Day Eve! Here in Walla Walla we celebrate the original TV Batman, a native son whose birthday falls on September 19. The TV series first aired 60 years ago- –
No way! It was only 1966.
Like I said, 9, it first aired 60 years ago, which makes this year’s Adam West Day celebration extra special. For example, last night the drive-in movie theater in Milton-Freewater, Oregon (just over the border) screened the 1966 Batman Movie! The film features not just Batman and Robin, not just Alfred and Aunt Harriett, but four- -count ‘em, four- -supervillains! The Joker, the Riddler, the Penguin and Cat Woman all do their best to take our heroes down. If you can’t resist a peek, here’s the official trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo1kMYuk84Y
How childish.
I know, Lily, and isn’t it great?
Tomorrow the Adam West Day celebration takes place at Kirkman House Museum, 214 N. Colville Street, 11 A-4 P.
Adam West Day 2019- -busted by Batman!
On the Kirkman House grounds you will find not only the Batmobile, but Herbie the Love Bug, and the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine. Certainly there will be Batman cosplayers present and plenty of folks like me sporting Batman tee-shirts.
Isn’t it kind of weird to have this stuff going on at a museum?
Good question, 9. Normally, yes, this would be a strange matchup. However, the Kirkman House Museum, the beautifully restored home of one of Walla Walla’s most prominent pioneer families, has a feature that makes the combination ideal: an Adam West room, featuring Batman memorabilia AND a roll-away wall that reveals the Bat Poles! Or, as I call it, the best photo op in Walla Walla:
On my way to the Bat Cave: Adam West Day 2022 at Kirkman House Museum!
The festivities include a last hurrah at 8 PM, the lighting of the Bat Signal on the tower of the Marcus Whitman Hotel, just a few blocks away. For additional details, go here:
https://www.kirkmanhousemuseum.org/
That seems sufficient coverage for Adam West Day. Will you please enlighten us about the “Backtalk” you reference in the title?
Thank you for asking, Lily. Backtalk is what I’ve been experiencing recently while drafting book six, Battle for Big-G City, in my own imaginary world. After several attempts in which the plot ran repeatedly and wildly off course, I realized I should return to the basics of where Justice in Big-G City (due for release in 2027) left off. Where better than the characters themselves? So I’ve been interviewing them- –
But they’re not real people, right?
Maybe not in the conventional sense, 9, but in the context of the story they are very real.
For each interview I develop a list of customized questions, based on where a character’s story arc left off in the last book. If you don’t write fiction it may come as a surprise that the characters answer their questions in their own distinct voices. Also, the process can reveal bits of information that you, as the author, didn’t see bubbling beneath the surface. Information that can spark intriguing plot twists. Every so often I even get threatened!
Take Hades, for example.
The God of the Underworld?
Yes. His nature is highly transactional, everything boiling down to money spent, and how to cut corners to preserve his wealth. It’s not that he’s poor, he’s actually the richest god in the pantheon, especially when you consider underground mineral rights. He is the kind of person who threatens to sue you if the story doesn’t turn out exactly the way he wants it!
He did that to you?
Just yesterday. Also, hostilities between characters may surface. My closing question to Hera, for example:
“Any thoughts for Heracles, who may be seen as a catalyst for the circumstances you find yourself in now?”
Her answer:
“Yes: Get over yourself!”
Wow, they sound like a tough bunch.
In fairness, they’re under a lot of pressure right now.
And you put them there.
Naturally, Lily, that’s my job! On weekdays, anyway. But this Saturday I’ll be helping out at Kirkman House Museum in honor of Adam West, and Batman, and every good and evil and in-between character that humans ever imagined.
Because imagination is what makes us human.
