Monthly Archives: April 2017

Home > Monthly Archives: April 2017

LOOK AT ME, I MET SANDRA DEE

April 7, 2017 by in category Eye on Hollywood by Bobbie Cimo tagged as , ,

Sandra Dee and Sonby Bobbie Cimo

The first time I saw the movie, Gidget, I was hooked on Sandra Dee. Not only did I think she was cute and spunky, but she ended up with Moondoggie. And who wouldn’t want to end up with James Darren? I’ve seen the original Gidget movie so many times that I’ve lost count of just how many times. And even to this day, although I have the DVD, every time the movie comes on TV, I can’t help but stop whatever I’m doing and watch it again. I found out I wasn’t alone in this weird addiction when at a recent concert I overheard a woman confessing to a friend the same thing–only she admitted to knowing the movie’s dialogue verbatim–whereas I can only paraphrase it. Oh, and by the way, headlining that concert, was none other than James Darren, looking as gorgeous as ever, which has me thoroughly convinced there’s a Dorian Gray painting somewhere in his attic, aging by the minute, as I’m writing this.

By the time I was old enough to move to Hollywood, Sandy had reached early adulthood and her promising career seemed to have come to a complete standstill. Either because the parts weren’t there for her, or she had decided to become a full-time mom to the son she had with Bobby Darin. Whatever the reason was, I missed seeing my favorite actress on the screen–and the chances of ever seeing her in person seemed even less of a possibility. And outside of being mentioned in a song from the movie, Grease called Look at me, I’m Sandra Dee, it was as if she had disappeared–or at least she had from the Hollywood scene.

It wasn’t until the early nineties that Sandra Dee, now in her late forties, resurfaced into the public eye by making the cover of People magazine and sharing with the world the story of her childhood sexual abuse. Later that same year, she made what many thought, including myself, a comeback to acting when she did a play at the Canon Theatre in Beverly Hills called Love Letters. Co-starring with her was another teen idol by the name of John Saxon. The two, many years earlier, had shared billing in the movie, The Reluctant Debutante. It was heartwarming to found out that the two were being teamed-up again. And I became ecstatic to learn as a birthday gift, I was being treated to the play. Finally, I was going get to see Sandra Dee in person. And what was even nicer is when I spotted James Darren in the audience. How sweet was that? Moondoggie there to lend his support to Gidget. Because I was on a date, I was forced to behave…no ogling in public, I could only admire Mr. Darren from afar. Darn it! I work so much better when I’m on my own. But I did have a seat close enough to the stage to see that although she was now older, Sandy still had a sweet face and the sparkle that she had possessed in her eyes during her youth was still there.

Even though her performance in Love Letters got rave reviews, she once again disappeared from the limelight. It wasn’t until 1994 when her son, Dodd Darin wrote a book about his mother and father’s life called, Dream Lovers: The Magnificent Shattered Lives of Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee, that she came back onto the scene. The book was well written and gave a true account of his parents’ lives, including his mother’s sexual abuse, eating disorder and her bouts with alcoholism and depression. He also wrote about his father’s drive to live every moment of life as if it was his last (the result of overhearing a doctor telling his family he probably wouldn’t make it to adulthood, due to a heart ailment).

When I got word, that Sandra Dee was going to be at a book signing with her son at Brentano’s bookstore at the Beverly Center, I was thrilled, but not really certain she would show up. But I was wrong. They were both there for the signing and to greet their fans.

Like all good mothers, she stood in the background and let her son enjoy his moment of glory as an author. And Dodd, like a good son, seemed protective, loving and respectful of his mother. It was obvious, together, they were a team.

Sandra Dee at the book signing was in her early fifties. She had led a difficult life, but there were no telltale signs showing in her face. And when I talked to her, she was just as down to earth as the girl next door, who was now grown up. I’m sure she had heard it a thousand times how much her movies had impacted a young girl’s life, but when she heard it from me, she pretended like she had never heard it before. Happily, I walked away with my dual autographed copy, signed by mother and son, of  Dream Lovers and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon over lunch with my own mother, who I had dragged with me to the signing. At last, I had met my girlhood idol and the real Gidget.

I’ll never forget the day Sandra Dee died, it was on Feb 20th (2005), which coincidentally happens to be the date of my own sister’s birthday. We were on our way home from celebrating when the news came across the car radio. I didn’t cry, I didn’t gasp in shock, I just kind of went numb. The way you do when you hear of the unexpected death of an old friend–one you hadn’t seen in a long time, but still considered them part of your life. The news is so surprising you can’t immediately register your emotions. I will always feel sad about her passing, but luckily, I can say, “Look at me, I met Sandra Dee.”

13 3 Read more

PETS, ROMANCE & LOTS OF SUSPENSE

April 6, 2017 by in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as , ,

Pets, romance anPets Romance & Lots of Suspenced lots of suspense. That’s me! Or at least that’s my theme on the revamped A Slice of Orange blog.
Why? Well, first, everything I write these days includes dogs, including my paranormal romances for Harlequin Nocturne, my mysteries that I write for Midnight Ink, including my Barkery & Biscuits series, and, soon, my new K-9 Ranch miniseries for Harlequin Romantic Suspense.
Also, everything I write includes romance. As I mentioned, I write for two Harlequin series, which are, of course, romances. And all the protagonists in my mysteries have romantic interests. The mysteries don’t always have a HEABad to the Bone
(happily ever after) when it comes to the romances, but of course the mysteries get solved in each one.
And that leads me into suspense. Everything I write also includes some degree of suspense, not just my mysteries but also my romances–and I don’t just mean my Harlequin Romantic Suspense novels.

So join me here at my Slice of Orange blog on the sixth day of each month, and I’ll be sure to include something regarding one or all of those themes.
CovertAllianceCoverBy the way, I have two new novels about to be published: Bad to the Bone, the third Barkery & Biscuits Mystery in May, and Protector Wolf, the eighth Alpha Force Harlequin Nocturne in June–about a covert military unit of shapeshifters.


And even though this blog is no longer sponsored by the Orange County Chapter of Romance Writers of America, I hope to see you often at the chapter’s meetings!

Linda O. Johnston’s first novel was the 1995 Love Spell time travel romance A Glimpse of Forever. Since then she has published over 40 novels—mysteries and romances, including paranormal romance and romantic suspense.

http://www.lindaojohnston.com/

4 3 Read more

WHAT’S YOUR PLATFORM

April 5, 2017 by in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed tagged as , , ,

If you attended Cal Dreamin’ you’re probably still playing catch up. I love attending writers conferences. Where else can you be around your people? It’s wonderful being around people who don’t find it strange when you ask how to kill someone, get them pregnant or arrange their marriage. And then there’s the socializing. Writers get a lot of heat about the amount of wine and chocolate we eat. So we indulge a little; it’s research. If we were still in college, our conference would be considered “Spring Break”.

So my spring break was wonderful. And just like Spring Break, I got very little sleep, ate a lot and spent the weekend hanging with my friends.

Now that I’m back in the thick of things, I realize, I’m so behind. Couple that with my birthday on today, I was a little distracted and in need of a post for our new blog. [Thanks Marianne for all of your hard work on the blog].

Thank God for backup posts. I found a post I never published. Considering some of us are still basking in the afterglow of Cal Dreamin’ I thought it might serve as a little refresher. Keep in mind, I wrote this post around the time of publishing my first book.


Now that I have self-published my first book, I am officially a published author. Actually, when I published a couple of short stories awhile back, those made me a published author in theory, but not in marketing.

When I started my writing journey, I was focused on getting an agent and writing another book. I forgot about the other things.

It wasn’t until I went to an ACFW [American Christian Fiction Writers] conference that I realized I needed a presence before I needed a writing contract. [Since then, I’ve opted to go self-publishing.   However, the information is still the relevant.]

During the conference, the same word kept popping up, “Platform.” I didn’t have a clue what that meant the first time I heard it. Once I got clarification, I was instantly overwhelmed. Not only did I have to write the book, now I had to market it. I thought that was what the publisher did. SURPRISE for all you newbies, no matter what route you take, ultimately, you’ll be responsible for marketing your book. So now I was faced with another thing to deal with before I finished the first draft. A Platform. Needless to say, a few choice words entered my mind about a platform and where I wanted to put it. And let’s not forget, the major thing I needed to do: define my look. What the !*#&…

Remember this was a few years ago. I went back to my room and immediately tried to figure out who my target audience was and what would attract them. Here’s the funny thing about writers. We can write eighty thousand plus words, but it’s the little things that seem to trip us up. You know what I’m talking about…blurbs, one-liners, platforms, etc. All the things that help sell the book.

I knew I didn’t write traditional Christian fiction or romance, but I really wasn’t sure who my audience was. I forgot; I was my audience. I made a big choice. I don’t write to market per se. I write what I like. Which is why that eye-opening ACFW conference was my last. Please don’t get me wrong. I loved hanging with my ACFW people. The problem was, I was writing for a different reader and needed to learn how to market to them.

I thought I was writing for women but turns out, men are reading my books as well. That’s right, men read romance. But in my defense, some of my books fall into a few categories: contemporary romance, women’s fiction, steamy romance, and chick-lit. This is why I was confused about who I was writing for. I’m definitely not a man. As my old tagline said, “I’m a Christian woman who loves God, cute guys and fashion.” But not all of my audience fit that, so I changed it. My new tagline is very simple and speaks to my platform, “Sophisticated Romance.” Or simply put, I write books for grown people. I know that’s bad English, but it’s the truth.

So what was my platform? Once I realized who I was writing for, my platform came to life. I write books that are faith based with sophisticated themes. So how was I going to show that?

I took cues from my other business [The Pink Duchess…lingerie for curvy figures. Everything is done in black and white with fuchsia accents.] I’m very clear about how I market it. I have two types of business cards [one for vendors and one for clients], an online invoice template and a booklet on how to shop for lingerie I use in all of my marketing. But when it came to writing, like most newbies, I figured the publisher would handle everything.

Surprise! I discovered what I was doing for my business, I also needed to do for my writing. That meant I needed business cards, online invoices [thank God for Paypal], event or direct sale invoices, giveaway items, and inventory.

Here are a few questions I asked myself:
How do I want to present my writing self?
How would my reader expect me to look?
How do I grab the attention of potential readers?

Everything needed to be consistent. I made sure to carry the same theme and colors over to my website, marketing materials, and advertising. [If you did Elena Dillion’s class last month, this makes sense to you. If you didn’t check it out “Visual Content Marketing for the Confused and Terrified Writer”. ] Since it takes between 7 and 10 times to make an impact on someone, it was imperative that I be consistent with my look.

Here’s how I chose to build my professional look:
A LogoTracy Read|Sophisticated Romance
I found an image I modified in Photoshop.

Bookmarks
I opted not to use business cards. Instead, I have bookmarks with my logo and two free downloads on the back.

Invoices
I use PayPal for direct on-line sales and a simple receipt book for In Person Direct sales.

Notecards and Thank You Notes
I was fortunate to still have blank white note cards and envelopes with my name in pink on them already plus a few Thank You notes from my other business I wanted to use.

Marketing Cards
These are either the covers or an image that represents the story with a quote or the book’s one liner.

Website
The hub of my platform. A few days before Cal Dreamin’ I launched my revised website. I wanted my new look to be a little more sophisticated and friendly to both sexes. I carried over my color theme to the site. It’s black and white with hints of fuchsia. I felt this look really said who I was and who my reader is. Contemporary with just enough femininity not to intimidate my male readers.

Social…
I have the whole pack…Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and a blog. All of them have the same sophisticated vibe. I still have a few tweaks to make, but I’m making it clear these are books for adults, not children. I found my reader is busy like me, and often in need of a visual break. Another reason why I opted for the black and white theme.

Now when people see my platform, I hope it’s understood who I am and what type of books I write.

Looking back to that conference when I first heard the word “Platform,” seems like a lifetime ago. Now when I meet newbies, I ask, “What’s your platform?” If they don’t know, I share what I’ve learned and hope they don’t freak out like I did.

As I continue to grow as a writer, I know my look will change…for the better. But right now, I’m very happy with the direction my platform is going.

See you next month.
Tracy
Tracy Reed
www.readtracyreed.com

Sophisticated Romance for Women

3 1 Read more

The Thing About Kid Brothers

April 4, 2017 by in category 25 Days of Romance, Twenty-five Days of Romance tagged as , , ,

HeartBy Julia Nelson

That clock was a liar. It couldn’t be 10 yet, could it? Damn.

Liz Cooper rushed around her apartment collecting everything she should have assembled last night: towels, sunscreen, hat, glasses. She thought she’d have more time this morning. And she would have, if she hadn’t hit the snooze alarm so many times that it shut off for good.

Today she was seeing Kathleen, her best friend since first grade, who had the nerve to marry a great guy who swept her out of Orange County and all the way north to Seattle. While her great guy sweltered at a convention in Atlanta, Kath had taken a bungalow for a week at Huntington Beach. Liz planned to spend all day Saturday with Kath and her three kids. Or what was left of Saturday, after the 30-mile drive to the beach.

Liz glanced around her apartment and quickly confirmed that she was ready to leave. As she slid her half-read novel into the outside pocket of her tote, the phone rang. She grabbed it on the second ring.

“Oh, Liz, you haven’t left yet.” Kath sounded harried. But with three kids under age nine, she always sounded that way.

“Sorry, I’m running late. I’ll be there.”

“No, this is great. My brother called and I need you to pick him up.”
“Pick him up?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you he’s coming to the beach with us today? The kids haven’t seen Uncle Joey in, like, forever.”

“Joey’s coming with us?” She remembered Kathleen’s bratty brother. The thing about kid brothers was that there was no reason to let them live. When Joey wasn’t releasing captured reptiles into Kath’s bedroom while they played, he was invading Barbie and Ken’s wedding with his army of Imperial Storm Troopers.

“Look, if you want to make this just family . . .”

“Don’t be silly. The kids want to see you and they want to see Joey. You haven’t seen him in years! This’ll be fun!” Kath gushed.

Liz doubted she’d find Joey all that fun, but for Kath and the kids’ sake, she agreed to pick him up. She wrote down the directions to his place, packed her gear and took off.

Before she reached Joey’s address, she saw a tall guy in trunks and T-shirt, dark glasses and carrying a gym bag, standing halfway into her lane. Kath must have told him about her car, because he waved her over with a “Hey, Liz!”

This couldn’t be little Joey. How long since she’d seen him? Seven years, at least. The brat had grown over six feet tall, with muscles filling out those scrawny little arms. The perpetually shaggy dark hair was cut somewhere between military short and businessman sleek. She guessed those three years in the Army did him good. But he’s still Kath’s kid brother, and she had a long memory for his disruptive antics.

“Thanks for the lift.”  He tossed the gym bag into the back and folded himself into the passenger seat.

Liz answered noncommittally and headed for the freeway.

They were only 30 miles from the beach, but there was no easy route. The freeway gave way to surface streets, and apparently everyone else was driving to the coast today. She kept the radio turned up just loud enough so that they didn’t have to talk much. But after yet another driver cut in front and forced her to brake quickly, Liz let out a colorful description of what that driver could do to himself.
“Hey, relax, Liz,”  Joey said. “We don’t have a deadline.”

“I”ve been running late all day.”

“As usual.”

“What do you mean?’

Joey laughed. “You were always late. Late to school, late to graduation, late to your own wedding.”

Liz glared at him.

“Oh, I guess that’s something we can’t talk about.” He nonchalantly glanced out the window.

“My wedding? I should have been even later and missed it altogether. Talk about mismatched couples.”

“So it’s over?”

“It’s definitely over. Three years now.”

Joey turned his gaze back to the road. The radio was almost loud enough mask his quick “Good.”

The traffic cleared and Liz hit the gas. The car lurched forward then rattled to a stop as the engine died. She turned the key, and the engine rolled over and over, but didn’t catch.

“Damn.” The honking began a few cars back.

“Problem?”

“I think it’s dead,” Liz muttered.

Joey opened his door and hopped out. The honking intensified. “Let’s get off this road.”

With him pushing and her steering, they rolled the lifeless car out of traffic. It glided to a stop on a side street, right in front of an auto shop that looked the least greasy of several lining the road. Liz popped the hood and looked over the engine compartment. She’d hoped she’d find a loose wire or a big switch that said “flip me,” but no such luck.

Liz backed away from the car and crashed into Joey. She whirled around to apologize and found herself just inches away from the guy. He took off his dark glasses and his eyes were oh-so-green. Green like nothing she’d seen in nature. Green like the bottles that hold the most premium beer available. Green and full of mischief, the good kind. The fun and sexy kind. He smiled and ohmigod! he still has dimples. They look so different on his all-grown-up face. So kissable.

Before she could say or do anything that would embarrass her for life, a mechanic came out from the repair shop to see if they needed help. Liz explained the car’s symptoms, got an estimate and handed over the key. The mechanic directed them to a waiting room filled with mismatched plastic chairs, vending machines and a coffeemaker that smelled like it had been heating the same inch of tar-like brew for hours. Joey headed to the soda machine with a handful of change. Liz plopped into a chair and worked to banish her earlier thoughts. Yeah, Joey’s cute, but he’s Kath’s kid brother, and the thing about kid brothers was that they were put on this earth to annoy older sisters and their friends, no matter how hunky they grew up.

Joey handed her a diet soda and took the chair next to her. He popped the tab on his root beer and kept his gaze on her as he drank down the can in one gulp.

Liz popped open her soda. “Sorry. I should have told you the car’s a piece of crap. My alumni association wants my license-plate frame back.”

Joey just smiled.

What does that mean? Liz wondered. She took a deep breath to keep from babbling, as she knew she would given the chance.

“I’ll put in a word for you. I belong to the same alumni association.”

“Since when?”

“What do you think I’ve been doing since I got out of the Army?”

Come to think of it, she did remember Kath saying something about Joey going to their alma mater. “What”s your degree?”

“Liberal arts.”

“Oh, that’s useful.”

He chucked and hook-shot his empty can into the recycling bin. “Actually, I just got accepted at the sheriff’s academy.”

Liz pictured him in a tan uniform and a shiny badge. A very nice image, indeed. She smiled. “Who could resist a man in uniform?”

Joey leaned closer. “I hope you can’t.” And he kissed her.

Liz started to resist, to explain all the reasons why they shouldn’t do this. And there must be a million reasons why they shouldn’t do this. Starting with …uh… Liz ignored all the objections that popped into her head and kissed him back. They could wait.

Joey eased out of the kiss and pressed his forehead against hers. “Nice.”

“You know,”she said, “I’m old enough to be your …”

“…Older sister. So? You’re not 30 yet, and it’s not like 25 is so young for me. Sounds just about right.

Liz grinned. He was right. The thing about kid brothers is that they grow up.

7 0 Read more

Deadlines

April 3, 2017 by in category Partners in Crime by Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger tagged as , , , , ,

Married Co-writers

Co-writing

Here is how it works

 

by Janet Elizabeth Lynn

Deadlines

My husband, Will Zeilinger, a published author also, and I decided to come together and write a 1950’s hard-boiled mystery, the Skylar Drake Murder Mystery series.

People warned us to would tarnish our 45-year marriage. They insisted it wouldn’t work. Concerned, we took a business approach and set rules of professionalism, respect and overall patience. We learned the value of the difference in style we brought to character dialogue and personality. We set deadlines and nothing, but nothing, got in the way of those deadlines short of death and a fever over 102. And the most important thing was to check our egos at the door from the day we started to the day we finished our final edit.

Of course, differences of opinions reared their ugly head from time to time. When this happened, we tabled the discussion for 24 hours then looked at the issue again.

The results? SLIVERS OF GLASS, STRANGE MARKINGS and released in January, DESERT ICE . . . and yes, we’re still married.

 

Authors Janet and Will

 

 

 

Published authors Will Zeilinger and Janet Lynn had been writing individually until they got together and wrote the Skylar Drake Mystery Series. These hard-boiled tales are based in old Hollywood of 1955.  Janet has published seven mystery novels, and Will has three plus a couple of short stories. Their world travels have sparked several ideas for murder and crime stories. This creative couple is married and lives in Southern California. 

    www.themarriedauthors.blogspot.com

5 0 Read more

Copyright ©2017 A Slice of Orange. All Rights Reserved. ~PROUDLY POWERED BY WORDPRESS ~ CREATED BY ISHYOBOY.COM

>