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April Featured Authors Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger

April 21, 2019 by in category Featured Author of the Month
Authors Janet and Will

Published authors Will Zeilinger and Janet Lynn wrote individually until they got together and created the Skylar Drake Mystery Series. These hard-boiled tales are based in old Hollywood of 1956-57.  Their world travels have sparked several ideas for murder and crime stories. This creative couple is married and lives in Southern California.

The next Skylar Drake Mystery, fifth in the series, GAME TOWN is available now and yes…they are still married!

Greenblat’s Deli & Fine Wine Shop

8017 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90046

We started researching our new book GAME TOWN, in Hollywood. Since this was a fact finding “mission” we decided to take the time to sample the delis that our characters would frequent for meetings, dates, etc. (Or an excuse to sample great foods) we found ourselves in Los Angeles.

Greenblatt’s Deli was established by Herman Greenblatt in 1926. At the time, Sunset Blvd was still a dirt road West of Doheny. Greenblatt’s was purchased by the Kavin Family in the early 1940’s, and has been operated by the family for three generations.

Greenblatt’s has catered to the entertainment industry and been “The Place To Go” in Hollywood for Deli, Wines, and Spirits. Almost everybody who has worked in the Hollywood Entertainment field over the last 80 years has shopped at Greenblatt’s. To name a few: Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio, Groucho Marx, Errol Flynn, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Janis Joplin, Bing Crosby, Peter Lawford, Boris Karloff, Bobby Darin, Rita Hayworth, Kirk Douglas, Bella Lugosi, Marlon Brando, Peter Lorre, Lenny Bruce, Shelly Winters, John Belushi, Danny Kaye, and Billie Holiday were a few of the many regulars.

The corned beef and potato salad are to die for!!! Upstairs is intimate and quiet.

During lunch we imagined our characters having dinner. Because it has the charm of old Hollywood, it was the perfect place for Skylar Drake to woo the pretty Miss Anne.


The Skylar Drake Mystery Series

SLIVERS OF GLASS

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SLIVERS OF GLASS

STRANGE MARKINGS

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STRANGE MARKINGS

DESERT ICE

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DESERT ICE

SLICK DEAL

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SLICK DEAL

GAME TOWN

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GAME TOWN

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Will Zeiling & Janet Elizabeth Lynn April Featured Authors

April 14, 2019 by in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as , , ,
Authors Janet and Will

Published authors Will Zeilinger and Janet Lynn wrote individually until they got together and created the Skylar Drake Mystery Series. These hard-boiled tales are based in old Hollywood of 1956-57. Their world travels have sparked several ideas for murder and crime stories. This creative couple is married and live in Southern California.

The next Skylar Drake Mystery, fourth in the series, GAME TOWN is available now and yes … they are still married!

Biltmore Hotel

We started researching our book GAME TOWN, in Hollywood, on Hollywood Blvd. This time we were looking for a nice hotel for our PI and hopefully a future girlfriend to meet for lunch. We checked the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, it was called the Biltmore Hotel in 1957. We visited the historic hotel and were amazed at the fine craftsmanship in the lobby and hallways!

The Millennium Biltmore Hotel, originally named the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel is a luxury hotel located across the street from Pershing Square in Downtown Los Angeles. Opened in 1923, the Los Angeles Biltmore was the largest hotel in the U.S. west of Chicago, Illinois.

In 1969 the Biltmore Hotel was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument by the City of Los Angeles. The hotel has 70,000 square feet (6,500 m) of meeting and banquet space. Of its original 1500 guestrooms it now has 683, due to room expansion and reorganization.

Walking through the lobby we found a great place for a high priced but fabulous brunch or dinner for that special someone. Instead, we used the lobby for a clandestine meeting between the FBI and Skylar Drake and partner Casey Dolan.


GAME TOWN
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Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger: April Featured Authors

April 7, 2019 by in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as , , , ,
The cover of the book Slick Deal and authors Janet Eliabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger

Published authors Will Zeilinger and Janet Lynn wrote individually until they got together and created the Skylar Drake Mystery Series. These hard-boiled tales are based in old Hollywood of 1956-57. 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 live in Southern California.

The next Skylar Drake Mystery, fifth in the series,GAME TOWN is available now and yes . . . they’re are still married!

In addition to Janet’s and Will’s monthly column, Partners in Crime, each week in April they will share with us some of the research they used to write GAME TOWN.

The Academy Awards

1957

We started researching our new book GAME TOWN, in Hollywood, on Hollywood Blvd. Since we are keeping the story in Hollywood, we decided to include the Award Ceremonies of 1957. The Academy Awards were at the RKO Pantages. Since ceremonies were only ten days apart and we couldn’t decide which one to use—we decided to include both! So, the book begins with the Emmy Awards and ends with the Academy Awards

The 29th Academy Awards-Oscars was held on March 27, 1957 at RKO Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. The ceremony was hosted by Jerry Lewis and Celeste Holms.

To enjoy the humor of that night, go to (Lewis’ monologue begins at 7:25)

The winners were:

Best picture – Around the World in 80 Days

Best actor – Yul Brenner for King and I

Best actress – Ingrid Bergman for Anastasia

Best Song- Que Ser Sera in from the movie The Man Who Knew Too Much

Best Short Cartoon -Mr. Magoo-Puddle Jumper


SLICK DEAL

Buy now!
SLICK DEAL

GAME TOWN

Buy now!
GAME TOWN

STRANGE MARKINGS

Buy now!
STRANGE MARKINGS

SLIVERS OF GLASS

Buy now!
SLIVERS OF GLASS

DESERT ICE

Buy now!
DESERT ICE
STONE PUB: An Exercise in Deception
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Vintage 1950s Cocktail Parties

April 3, 2019 by in category Partners in Crime by Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger, Writing tagged as , , , ,
a woman seated at a home bar with a man pouring a cocktail.

My husband Will Zeilinger and I co-write the Skylar Drake Murder Mysteries. A hardboiled detective series that takes the reader to 1950s Los Angeles and other areas of the west. Our next book, GAME TOWN, the fifth of the Skylar Drake Murder Mystery series, is available now!         

Cocktail Parties were all the rage in the 1950s and into the 60s. It was a chance to get dressed up, relax with friends, socialize, impress others and gossip. What would the 1950 have been without Cocktail Parties?

Private cocktail parties were held at people’s homes. They would invite the neighbors, friends, business associates, their boss, or co-workers. There were all kinds of reasons for a get together. We call it networking today, but on a much smaller scale.

For the host, the food and drinks served were very important. The beverages and the canapés complimented each other. The rule of thumb was tart and salty blended best with gin, while heartier foods went with whiskey and beer.

Below are suggestions for the hostess:

Champagne:   caviar, chicken l’orange, hearts of palm salad

Highballs:  liver paté, stuffed eggs, cheese balls,

Whiskey Cocktail:   cheese tarts, curried peanut butter rolls

Gin Cocktail:  marinated vegetables, asparagus tips in ham rolls

Beer:  stuffed olives, cheese balls, turnovers

Sherry: Apple, raisin and cream cheese balls, bacon balls, chipped beef rolls with mushrooms, stuffed mushrooms, peanut rolls, peanut butter rolls, peanut butter tarts, nut and stem ginger tarts, ham tidbits, chicken, lobster or liver paste puffs, turnovers, cheese straws, sausage tidbits and smoked hickory cheese balls.

Whiskey cocktails: guacamole, anchovy fillet tidbits, bacon and curried peanut butter rolls, East Indian beef balls, clam spread tidbit, pizzas–miniature, smoked oysters in blankets, Camembert cheese and ham tarts, chicken livers and bacon, roast beef snacks, kippered herring and bacon rolls and meat balls (beef in blankets).

Gin cocktails: guacamole, anchovy ham rolls, artichoke hearts, asparagus tips in ham rolls, onion and cheese snacks, onion egg snacks, stuffed olives, codfish balls with cheese, sardine onion snacks, sausage in blankets, sardine macaroni snacks, stuffed dill pickles and marinated vegetables.

Beer: Anchovy fillet tidbits, stuffed olives, cheese straws, turnovers, cocktail frankfurters and sauerkraut, garlic popcorn, cheese balls, chipped beef and sardine rolls, kippered herring and bacon rolls, and tongue rolls or pinwheels.”

A full-size bar would offer all cocktails. But smaller bars in individual homes usually had only a sampling to offer. Thus, making tidbits easier to manage.

Of course, a fruit and cheese plate was a good finish for all cocktail parties

book cover of Game Town shows silhouette of man with gun and a woman in a long gown with palm trees in the backrougnd

GAME TOWN, A Skylar Drake Murder Mystery, fifth in the series. Available Now.

Vist Janet on her website or blog


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April Featured Authors Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger

April 1, 2019 by in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as , , , ,
Book cover of Game Town and picture of Janet Lynn and Will Zeilinger

Published authors Will Zeilinger and Janet Lynn wrote individually until they got together and created the Skylar Drake Mystery Series. These hard-boiled tales are based in old Hollywood of 1956-57.  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 live in Southern California.

The next Skylar Drake Mystery, fifth in the series, GAME TOWN is available now and yes . . . they’re are still married!

In addition to Janet’s and Will’s monthly column, Partners in Crime, each week in April they will share with us some of the research they used to write GAME TOWN.

The Emmy Awards 1957

My husband Will Zeilinger and I co-write the Skylar Drake Murder Mysteries, a hard-boiled detective series that takes the reader to 1950s Los Angeles and other areas of the west. Our new book, GAME TOWN, is set in Hollywood and exposes a scandal that rocks the Toy Companies in Los Angeles.

While doing in-depth research into 1950s Hollywood, we came across news that amazed us! We discovered that the Emmy Awards and the Academy award were ten days apart. We wrestled with which one we should us in our novel. Since we couldn’t decide, we chose to begin the novel with the Emmys and end with the Academy awards.

The 9th Emmy Awards was held on March 17, 1957 at NBC Studios in Burbank. The ceremony was hosted by Desi Arnaz of I LOVE LUCY fame. Hence the book begins here.

The winners of the Emmy Awards were:

Best 1/2-hour series – Phil Silver Show

Best 1-hour series – Caesar’s Hour

Best New Program Series- Playhouse 90

Best actor in a comedy series – Sid Caesar for Caesar’s Comedy Hour

Best actor in a drama series – Robert Young for Father Knows Best

Best actress in a comedy series – Nanette Fabray for Caesar’s Comedy Hour

Best actress in a drama series – Loretta Young for Loretta Young Show


The Skylar Drake Murder Mysteries Series

SLICK DEAL

Buy now!
SLICK DEAL

GAME TOWN

Buy now!
GAME TOWN

STRANGE MARKINGS

Buy now!
STRANGE MARKINGS

SLIVERS OF GLASS

Buy now!
SLIVERS OF GLASS

DESERT ICE

Buy now!
DESERT ICE
STONE PUB: An Exercise in Deception

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