Bohan & Membre-sur-Semois

My aunt and uncle had a caravan in Membre-sur-Semois when I was little and I spent quite a lot of weekends and holidays there. This small village with no more than 140 inhabitants is situated on the border of the river Semois and is entirely surrounded by woods and hills. The last time I've been in Membre-sur-Semois was almost twenty years ago, but I was in the neighborhood earlier this month and so we took a little detour to visit the village I was once so familiar with.

We also made a stop in the nearby village of Bohan where we used to do our shopping and outings. Cute fact: my boyfriend spent several holidays here as well. We didn't know each other back then, but there have been several occasions where we've been at the same place at the same time.

What are you nostalgic for? Have you ever returned (or wanted to) to places you have known as a child?

Currently reading / watching / listening to...

Reading

* Chi's Sweet Home volume 8 by Konami Kanata. Even cuter and more heartwarming than the previous installments. I defy you to read this and not get ridiculously happy.

* One Year Lived by Adam Shepard. I love true stories about travels and inspiring people and One Year Lived was a delightful combination of both. For an entire year, Adam Shepard traveled the world, living and volunteering in countries such as Honduras, New Zealand, Australia, Philippines, Nicaragua and Spain. Shepard gives a good idea of the countries he visited, but where he really succeeds is in describing life as a volunteer in an exotic country and in inspiring people to do something extraordinary with their lives, even if it's just for one month. One Year Lived is free for readers of this blog. Look below for more information.


Watching

* Orphan Black. Sarah witnesses the suicide of a stranger who looks just like her. Sarah assumes her identity in the hopes of cleaning out the dead woman's bank account. Instead, she finds herself caught in the middle of a deadly conspiracy involving clones. I'm currently at episode seven of this TV series. There's never a dull moment with Orphan Black, but the first two episodes were definitely the most racy and surprising ones.

* Hemlock Grove.  I didn't get beyond episode two of this TV series based on the werewolf novel by Brian McGreevy.

* Sightseers. A woman goes on a road trip with her fiancé and finds out he's a killer. And isn't true love about encouraging your man's activities and joining in the fun? Not bad at all, just not as good as most of the other movies I watched over the past few weeks. From the director of Kill List.

* Killing Them Softly. It's been a couple of weeks since I saw Killing Me Softly and I forgot almost all about it. Enough said, no?

* Survive Style 5+. I've rarely seen anything as bizarre, original and over the top as this Japanese movie. Loved it.

* My Amityville Horror. Documentary about the events and people that have inspired the 70s horror movie The Amityville Horror. It didn't really come as a surprise that the family living in the house was rather unstable and that the spooky events probably never happened.

* Mientras duermes (Sleep Tight). Spanish director Jaume Balagueró has been my artistic crush since The Nameless and Darkness. With Mienatras duermes he proves once more that he has visual flair and a gift for intelligent storytelling. Also, here's one of the best endings you will see in a long time.

* To The Wonder. Terrence Malick tells us about our incapacity to make decisions by showing us an unhappy couple that doesn't know if they want to stay together or not. It's beautifully rendered and the lack of dialogue (we only hear actors talking from afar) gives the movie an estranged atmosphere.

* The Lords Of Salem. The vintage feel, reminiscent of the 70s witch movies, makes The Lords Of Salem worth watching. The lack of story and character development and the overdose of ridiculous scenes on the other hand...

* The Road To Salina. A man is mistaken for someone's missing son and decides to play the game... until he notices he doesn't resemble the boy at all. I loved the brooding atmosphere, the locations (France and Spain), the actors and the bizarre story.

* The Chumscrubber. Relatively unknown film despite the funny story and the famous cast (Ralph Fiennes, Glenn Close, Jamie Bell, Justin Chatwin). The Chumscrubber is easily as good as Juno and the likes.

* Movie 43. All the sketches in this film have one thing in common: they are as gross as possible. There are some clever ideas in this otherwise unstable collection, but two sketches really stand out. In the first one, Kate Winslet has a blind date with Hugh Jackman who happens to have a pair of testicles in his neck that only she seems to notice. The scene where Winslet almost throws up in her plate is legendary. Another favorite was the one from James Gunn about the obsessive relationship between an man and his cat. Hilarious. Everyone who still believes that I have an unhealthy relationship with my cat, please watch this first and we'll talk later.

* Perfect Mothers. Naomi Watts and Robin Wright play two mothers who sleep with each other's sons. Too much giggling, self-absorbed babble and soap-like twists make Perfect Mothers hard to fully enjoy despite the breathtaking scenery and holiday feel. Still, there's something that lingers on with this film. Based on Doris Lessing's novel The Grandmothers.

* Side Effects. Steven Soderbergh's latest is an assured thriller that captivates from beginning to end. Only downside: Side Effects was VERY similary to the 80s movie Final Analysis.

* Aftershock. Holidays, earthquakes, natural disasters, criminals on the loose... Aftershock could have been a lot of fun, even despite the silly characters. But then a tsunami is announced, people start running... and suddenly get more interested in stealing televisions and raping people. Definitely the thing to do with a tsunami on your heals.


Listening to

* The soundtrack of Maniac. I'm obsessed with this ever since I saw the movie at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival.

* The soundtrack of Side Effects. The perfect companion for when I'm writing.

* Also been to concerts of Max Richter (assured, precise, classy) and Christina Vantzou (promising but inexperienced).

What have you been reading, watching and listening to lately?

Giveaway

Adam Shepard, the author of One Year Lived, will send a PDF copy of his book to everyone who shares this blog post on either Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, StumbleUpon or Google+. Giveaway is open worldwide and ends May 22nd.

For a complete list of giveaways of the Love In Bloom Giveaway Hop, go to: http://www.iamareader.com/2013/04/love-in-bloom-giveaway-hop-sign-ups-may-16th-to-22nd.html

Parc Animalier de Bouillon

Below are photos of some of the animals at the Parc Animalier de Bouillon, the zoo I visited during my romantic weekend in Chassepierre. The zoo was rather small, but cosy and some animals really remarkable - such as the maned wolf (whose urine smells like cannabis, so much that the police searched the Rotterdam Zoo for cannabis smokers), the white lions (that exist only in Bouillon) or the snow monkey (who managed to communicate his wish to get him some grass to eat because it was out of his reach).

Top to bottom: (1) zebra, (2) maned wolf, (3) white lion, (4) snow monkey, (5) rhesus monkey, (6) night monkey, (7) snowy owl, (8) Siberian tiger, (9) highland cattle, (10) Patagonian mara, (11) Patagonian mara babies, (12) wild boar, (13) Canadian lynx, (14) emu.

What's the last zoo you've been too? Do you have a favorite animal?

Chassepierre

My parents-in-law treated us to a weekend trip to Chassepierre last week. Situated in the Belgian Ardennes, Chassepierre is bordered in the East by the river Semois and in the South by France. The name originates from the Latin casa petrea meaning 'stone house'.

We stayed in the B&B Les Jeannes -- super romantic! We heard nothing but rave reviews about Les Jeannes and we were excited to stay in the colorful little B&B. Les Jeannes is almost like a destination in itself. All the rooms are decorated with paintings and vintage pieces (one room even had a confession booth in it). It's all a bit over the top, but in a good way.

The many paintings in Les Jeannes also inspired a few scenes for my new novel "Frances" and after a late-night brainstorming session with my boyfriend we came up with several other ideas for the book.

Also worth mentioning: the delicious homemade breakfast and dinner made from local produce, the kind owners, and the many cats from Chassepierre (the village has less than 200 inhabitants and I believe I saw more cats than people there).

For more info or to reserve a room, visit the website of Les Jeannes.

What's the best (or most original) B&B/hotel you've ever been to? Why was it so special?

Side Effects

I went to a matinee screening of "Side Effects" last Tuesday and instantly thought that Thomas Newman's musical score would make a perfect soundtrack for my new novel "Frances" (yes, I have soundtracks for my novels; blame it on my obsessive love of film). Since then it's playing on repeat when I'm writing. It's amazing how fitting music can boost creativity and conjure up the right atmosphere. "Frances" will be a story combining demonic possession, evil kids and cats.

What kind of music do you listen to when writing/working? How does it help your creativity?

BIFFF 2013 wrap-up - Video nasties, giant spiders and possessed children

April is my favorite month of the year thanks to the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival BIFFF. This year was the 19th time I attended the festival and I had a blast as usual. Here's a little overview and some photos of my twelve days at the festival.

Wednesday

After a decent opening with Neil Jordan's Byzantium (not bad, but overly long), the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival really took off for me on Wednesday with Hideo Nakata's new movie The Complex (slow and predictable) and Franck Khalfoun's remake of Maniac (nasty, beautiful, smart, original, stylish).

Thursday

On Thursday I reunited with someone I hadn't seen in a long time. We watched I Declare War (never really got into this movie about kids playing war games in the woods), Spiders 3D (looove these giant spider movies from Nu Image even though they're zany in every possible way) and Found (compelling little curio with a love for vintage video nasties that will stick with you).

Friday

In A Fantastic Fear Of Everything Simon Pegg excels as a writer who is manically afraid to be murdered. The film was so hilarious I cried, though it could have easily been half an hour shorter.

After the movie I hosted a q&a with director Crispian Mills (also frontman of Kula Shaker) and producer Geraldine Patten. A fun meeting where we talked about Crispian's horrible experiences on set, how Simon Pegg had always been the one to play the lead, and bizarre phobias such as fear of chopsticks, alcohol and cats.

Saturday

The first movie I saw on Saturday was Here Comes The Devil, a Mexican film in which a couple of kids disappear during a trip and come back possessed by the devil. A fascinating idea, but not as creepy as I hoped it would be.
Afterwards, I had a little chat with the director and main actress of the visually stunning Lituanian film Vanishing Waves and I ended the evening with A Haunting In Georgia (the follow up of The Haunting In Connecticut) which wasn't particularly groundbreaking but diverting neverheless.

Sunday

Everyone agreed that The Host, based on Stephenie Meyer's bestseller, was the worst movie of the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival. What is this woman's obsession with cheesy love triangles anyway?

The rest of Sunday evening was spent in the company of likeminded filmmakers such as director Conor McMahon (Stitches), producer Brendan McCarthy (Stitches, Wake Wood, Outcast), producer John McDonnel (Stitches, Wake Wood, Outcast) and director Andy Muschietti (Mama). I have met a lot of paranoid egocentrics in the movie business lately that made me want to stick with writing novels, but the enthusiasm and professionalism of these guys definitely got me positive again.

Monday

On Monday I took a day off from the festival and went to bed early to watch the evil clown movie Stitches that I missed the day before. Although it was fun to watch it in bed, it's definitely a festival movie that benefits from the cheering and laughter of the festival audience.

Tuesday

Oblivion premiered on Tuesday at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, a visually stunning film with several interesting story arches, but I wish they would have made it shorter and more original.

Next came Hellbenders 3D. If you're an actor or filmmaker, then Hellbenders is the perfect example of how NOT to do your job. The Host may be the worst film of the festival, but Hellbenders 3D is a close contestant.

Wednesday

I hosted a q&a with director/screenwriter Alan Brennan for his movie Earthbound, a charming mix between K-Pax, Happy Accidents and Safety Not Guaranteed.
I ended the evening with Texas Chainsaw 3D. Lots of fun, but Leatherface as the 'good' guy? Really?

Thursday

On Thursday I watched three movies: Belenggu (an Indonesian thriller that copies the giant rabbit visions of Donnie Darko and mixes it with a predictable intrigue), Forgotten (a German ghost story in which nothing happens) and The Human Race, that largely follows the same plot as Battle Royale and The Hunger Games and never fails to entertain.

Friday

Friday was my turn to be in the spotlights. After Kim Ki-Duk's brilliant new movie Pieta I presented the official premiere of Un homme bien (the short film based on my vampire story A Good Man) for a full cinema. I discovered the movie at the same time as the audience and had no idea what to expect. You have to know that every scene you see in the film was meant to become a full-length feature, but because the production came (temporarily) to a halt director Steven de Roover used the existing images to turn them into a short. Unfortunately, there's no mistaken that Un homme bien was never destined to become a short film. The beginning is slow, it lacks transition scenes, it misses what makes the original screenplay stand out, and the film is overall not representative of my work. I do, however, say 'bravo' to the director's ability to find logic and structure in the random images.

Saturday

The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival ended on Saturday with lots of champagne and a projection of Chan-Wook Park's first Hollywood movie Stoker (which was the perfect example of how a brilliant and inventive direction can turn an ordinary story into something special).

To end the festival on a good note, I'm giving away a signed copy of A Good Man to one lucky reader of this blog. To enter to win, leave a comment below telling me which of the above movies you have seen or want to see. You can gain extra entries by sharing this blog on a forum, Pinterest, StumbleUpon, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr etc or by following this blog through Bloglovin, Pinterest, Google+, Facebook and/or Twitter. Six possible entries per person. Giveaway is open worldwide and ends April 22nd. Good luck!

This giveaway is part of the Signed Books Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Wholly Books. For the complete list of blogs and giveaways, go to http://www.iamareader.com/2013/04/childrens-book-week-giveaway-hop-sign-ups-may-13th-to-19th.html