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e-maginings: Still Lovin’ My Kindle

November 16, 2008 by in category Archives tagged as , ,


Since Oprah declared the Amazon Kindle one of her favorite things, people wanting to buy the device are having to sait 2-3 weeks to get one just like I did last year.

I’ve had mine for almost a year now and I still love it. My acupuncturist lusts after mine, esp. since I showed him how to search the Kindle store from the exam room and we discovered that the Shanghai Daily is now available to Kindle users, along with 27 other newspapers, 18 magazines and 2 dozen or so blogs. And that’s in addition to the almost 200,000 books available for the Kindle.

I don’t know yet if the Kindle will be the “killer device” e-book readers have been waiting for, but it’s the best one I’ve ever found.

Linda

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Fred, Ginger & Me

November 13, 2008 by in category Archives tagged as ,

by Bobbie Cimo

As I left my office to go to lunch the other day, it dawned on me all the things that I’ve taken for granted while working at CBS. Most people walking down a busy corridor will bump into another employee or an occasional mail cart. As for myself, if I don’t watch it, I can easily be hit by a brand new car or SUV that’s being pushed down the hall to The Price is Right by a stage hand not paying attention. Or perhaps when venturing up to Accounts Payable, it’s the norm for me to see a fully furnished room being pulled down the hall, attached to a tugger (mini tractor). And if by chance someone dies on the soaps, it’s not unusual to see a casket or headstone stored in the Prop Room that I walk through every morning to get my coffee. Nor, to say hi, to a guy I’ve never seen before, as he heads towards the commissary, wearing only his pajamas and slippers.

Most of the time this is all very amusing, except for the time (before cell phones) when I stepped inside a public phone booth to make a personal call, only to find out I was standing inside a prop. Not amused.

Some people get their fresh air by going to a park on their lunch hour, whereas I just go up to the roof top and then about fifty feet from the helicopter pad, flop myself down into my favorite lounge chair. I usually eat my lunch while enjoying the view of the Hollywood sign that’s facing me. It’s the same sign I’ve seen a thousand times in movie magazines while growing up…only now it’s real and in person. And after a quick lunch, I’m down for my forty minute powernap before heading back to work.

Those are some of the things that I’ve taken for granted while working at CBS, but stepping outside of my office and finding the famed Ginger Rogers seated in a wheelchair, well, that was a surprise. At the time, my office was right down the hall from Stage 46, where they were taping the British version of “This is Your Life,” honoring Ann Miller, and Ginger was one of the guests. Not only was she in a wheelchair and overweight, but she wore tons of make-up and her hair was dry and over bleached. It saddened me to see this legendary star, who at this time was in her early eighties, in this condition. Knowing she had no husband or children, I did wonder who was in charge of taking care of her.

I only recently found out she was of the Christian Science faith and didn’t believe in going to doctors or in traditional medicines. I also learned that she had an unusual amount of peach fuzz on her face and was very sensitive about it, but refused to have it removed. And that was the reason for the heavy make-up.

Because of all the flutter around her preparing her to go on stage, I never got a chance to talk to her. If I had, I would have told her how much I enjoyed all of her body of works. And I probably would have shared with her the fact that as teenager, my mother was so impressed with her, she took the name of Ginger, herself. A name she went by her entire adult life.

Working on the AFI’s, honoring Fred Astaire, was one of my favorite assignments. Besides keeping track of show cost I was the go- to- girl for almost everything else. If dancer Gregory Hines wanted his red shoes polished before doing his routine, he’d hand them over to me. If Jimmy Stewart needed his parking ticket validated, I was the person to see. And the best of them all–when Bette Davis lost the belt to her rain coat, she came to me.

Like all of the AFI shows, there were plenty of film clips to be viewed during rehearsal. And as much as I have enjoyed all of them from various recipients, nothing was more fabulous than those from the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies. I don’t think there was a person working the show who didn’t have this sudden urge to do a little Fred or Ginger themselves…some even gliding across the floor, making their way to the restroom.

At the time, Fred, like Ginger, was in his early eighties. He was thin and frail looking, and there were times when he would unexpectedly doze off at the table. But when they called his name, nobody showed more pep or vigor than he did when he sprang to his feet and ran up the stairs to accept his award.

Working with him was a joy. He was a true professional who asked for no special treatment and who was very sweet to everyone around him. At the end of our time together, I asked him for an autograph–not for myself, but for my mother, “Ginger”.

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Three brothers and their tale of defiance on this Veterans’ Day

November 11, 2008 by in category Archives tagged as

by Jina Bacarr

When I was researching resistance fighters in Europe for my next Spice novel, Cleopatra’s Perfume (the story of an American girl who becomes a spy for British Intelligence during the early days of World War II), I read story after story about the brave men and women who defied the Nazi war machine throughout Europe, often making the ultimate sacrifice.

I was stunned by their courage, their tenacity, their–

Defiance.

A strong word that denotes an urgent movement, a push, a stand, a fight to the death if necessary. And so it was in 1941 in the bone-chilling forests of Belarus, alive with the hopes of three brothers who were determined to fight and survive. This is their story of–

Defiance.

Imagine you arrive home to discover your worst fears have come true. Your parents are taken away and eventually murdered by the Nazis. What would you do? You’ve lost your home, your life. Your country overrun with Hitler’s war machine, goosestepping its way through every village and town, ravishing and raping your land, your women. Your life is in danger, your future bleak. But you’re young, strong, you have everything to live for.

Defiance.

So you fight. But not alone. Others join you and your brothers. You make a stand in the forest, building a secret village, a base camp equipped with camouflaged sleeping dugouts, facilities for cooking, a mill, a bakery for making bread, bathing areas, a schoolhouse, health clinics and a theater. You arm your people, teaching them how to fight, to survive, determined not to allow your very existence to be annihilated by the madman racing across Europe.

Learn more about the story of the Bielski brothers in a new film called “Defiance

———

I’ll return with podcasts next month, but on this Veterans’ Day when our own troops are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, let us take a moment to honor all veterans, soldier and civilian alike, who have resisted tyranny.

We owe them so much.

Best,
Jina

Jina Bacarr is the author of The Blonde Geisha , Naughty Paris, Tokyo Rendezvous, a Spice Brief, and Spies, Lies & Naked Thighs, featuring a female Indiana Jones.

Coming in April 2009:
Cleopatra’s Perfume

“One whiff and every man was her slave.”
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Starving To Death

November 10, 2008 by in category Archives

by Nancy Farrier

I leaned back, closed my eyes, and sighed in pleasure as my three-year-old daughter sat on the back of the couch behind me running her small fingers through my hair. It had been a long day. I was exhausted. I didn’t care about what was on television that held the rest of the family enthralled, I just wanted to enjoy the soothing touch of my little girl.

“Mom.” Her breath warmed my ear as she leaned down and spoke close to me.

“Hmmmm?” I could barely find the initiative to answer.

“Do you know what this is?” My daughter asked. Her fingers kneaded at the crown of my head.

“No, what?”

“It’s a brain sucker.”

One of my eyes popped open. Amusement bubbled up. Where had she come up with this? “A what?”

“A brain sucker.” I could hear the laughter in her tone. “Do you know what it’s doing?”

Of course, I knew the obvious—it was sucking out my brains, but I didn’t want to steal her moment. “What?”

She leaned closer to my ear, probably to make sure I heard. “It’s starving to death.”

I burst out laughing. The answer was so unexpected. Where did a little girl come up with something like that? Yet her bit of humor gave me a much needed pick-me-up. Only years later did I learn that her sisters would do that to her, thus giving her the idea for a trick to play on me.

As a writer, I’m never out of ideas for stories, however there are many times when I run out of energy for writing. I still find that taking the time to laugh or enjoy some small pleasure can give me the best boost of drive that I need.

When life gets you down, take the time to laugh and enjoy the people around you.

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It’s Worth It

November 9, 2008 by in category Archives tagged as

GRATEFUL TO GOD FOR MY FAMILY

by Kitty Bucholtz

‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. – Alfred Lord Tennyson

There will always be disagreement about the truth of that statement. The same person might even change their mind about whether they hold that belief depending on where they are in their lives. It’s much harder to believe when you’re in the midst of loss.

When I went to Australia three years ago, I knew I’d be gone at least three months because of my husband’s job. Three months turned into thirteen, and we definitely felt the loss of our friends, our church, and for me, my OCC family.

I just returned from the chapter meeting and I’m feeling euphoric and nostalgic and full of gratitude even though I know I’ll be feeling a deep sense of loss this time next year when I’m back in Australia. Shannon Donnelly’s presentation on writing a synopsis was exceptional – the most pages of notes I’ve taken since Michael Hauge was here. Sue Grimshaw gave an excellent presentation about the Borders book buying process and what authors can do to promote themselves. Not sure if it was because she’s from Michigan (Go Wolverines!) or because she’s such a nice person with a great presentation, but I felt really inspired to keep going afterward even though I’m still unpublished.

But it’s not the professional information that makes OCC my family. I spent the day teasing friends and getting teased back. Several friends encouraged me to not give up on the kind of writing I want to do regardless of whether I’ve seen anything like it in the bookstore. A lot of people shared my excitement in moving back to Australia and listened with saint-like patience as I extolled the virtues of life there. One friend told me I would be missed and filled my heart when she said she would start missing me now. Aw! (Guys, it’s a girl thing. 😉 )

So what do I think? Is it better to have made friends and poured time and energy into them and found they became another family? Networked and shook hands and passed out business cards to strangers for years? And then up and leave for who knows how many years?

Yup. No question.

It’s worth it.


Kitty Bucholtz is a co-founder of Routines For Writers, a new web site to help writers write more. She writes light urban fantasy novels with a romantic comedy spin – and loves every minute of it! Read her article ORANGE YOU GLAD YOU THOUGHT OF THAT? in September’s RWR magazine. Even though she loves talking about, writing about, and teaching about writing, she’s pretty sure she knows at least three people who aren’t writers.

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