What if Scarlett O’Hara was a blonde… by Jina Bacarr
January 11, 2011 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as Adventures in Writing, blonde samurai, character, Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, Gone with the Wind, heroine, Margaret Mitchell, Scarlett, Scarlett O'Hara, writer's Life
I love historicals. Reading them, writing them.
And creating the perfect heroine. But is she a blonde, a brunette or a redhead? We writers wrestle with this question every time we put fingertips to keyboard. Sometimes the character is so clear in our minds, we know for certain she’s a natural blonde (and if she isn’t, well, we won’t tell–it’s up to the hero to see if the collar matches the cuffs).
Imagine if Scarlett O’Hara was a blonde…
Do you remember the vivid opening scene with Scarlett surrounded by the redheaded Tarleton twins? Her beautiful dark hair provided a rich halo around her face and provided a contrast against her white organdy dress with flounces and flounces of ruffles. The red belt cinching in her tiny waist was the perfect accent piece to complete her outfit.
Was this what Margaret Mitchell envisioned when she wrote “Gone With the Wind?â€
In a word, no.
Ms. Mitchell describes a “green flowered-muslin†dress, not the white one. Although in the film, Scarlett does show up at the Twelve Oaks BBQ in a similar dress (who can ever forget the scene in the film when Scarlett throws a porcelain bowl across the room not knowing Rhett is lying on the couch out of her pov and he pops up with the line: “Has the war started yet?†Pure classic romantic attraction).
Which brings me to the question: how important to you as a writer and/or reader is the heroine’s hair color?
Her clothes?
Do you enjoy reading descriptions of what she’s wearing? Do designer labels intrigue you or turn you off?
I must admit I enjoyed designing my heroine’s wardrobe in “The Blonde Samurai†about a Victorian heiress who weds a British lord then falls in love with a handsome samurai.
Here is what Katie O’Roarke as Lady Carlton wore at a grand dinner:
“…Which was why I chose the color red. A defiant color, bold and perfect. I relished how the velvet gown in crushed strawberry hugged my body, the small cap sleeves sliding down my bare shoulders while the tiered soft bustle swayed behind me, the long train sweeping over the muted Oriental carpets. A long row of pearl buttons gave off an opaline luster, racing down my back like a game of dominoes.”
Tell me what you think about whether or not a description of the heroine’s hair color and her wardrobe enrich the story for you.
Frankly, my dear reader, I do give a damn…
http://www.jinabacarr.com/
The Blonde Samurai is a 2010 Reviewers Choice Award nominee for Romantic Times
Happy Holidays with Story Videos from Jina Bacarr
December 11, 2010 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as British, Christmas, Christmas Carol, Christmas eve, Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, holiday, Romances, Scrooge, snow, Victorian englandMerry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!
We’re at the busiest time of year…and Santa’s Elves have been busy helping me put together four episodes for my story videos called: “A Naughty Christmas Carol.”
What is a story video? you ask.
It’s an idea I came up with when I decided to make audio stories with pictures and sound effects.
You’d think it would be easy: write a short 5 to 7 minute story epsiode for my theme about a naughty christmas carol, then record the voiceover, take some pictures to reflect the characters and settings, go through my sound effects (I have a collection of more than a 1,000 sound effects!), add some royalty free music and poof!
Like magic you have a story video…
Oh, my, what fools we writers be.
Writing then rewriting the stories was the easy part.
Recording my voiceover…how many takes?
Sound effects? Have you tried to find the right grandfather clock chime to fit what’s in your mind?
Compose pictures for the video: we’re not talking one or two shots; I took hundreds of pix for my Naughty Christmas Carol videos before I narrowed them down to a few pictures.
Have you ever tried to cajole a Christmas Doll to have attitude in her picture?
At least she sat still for her photo session!
Here she is:
Click here if you’d like to watch Episodes of “A Naughty Christmas Carol”
0 0 Read moreThe Berlin Diary of Lady Eve Marlowe: Else’s Story by Jina Bacarr
November 11, 2010 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as Berlin, cleopatra, Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, Nazi, perfume, romance novels, Veterans Day, World War IIOn November 11th, we celebrate our veterans. But mothers are also veterans of war. Here is a story about such a mother written by Lady Eve Marlowe, the heroine in my novel, Cleopatra’s Perfume.
Before Lady Eve married a member of the British peerage, she was a cabaret dancer in Berlin in the late 1920s during the wild days of the Weimar Republic.
The scene in what I call a “story vid†(story video) takes place after one of the girls in the show is murdered and Eve goes to visit her mother.
Happy Veterans Day!
Best,
Jina
The Blonde Samurai: “She embraced the way of the warrior. Two swords. Two loves.â€
Jina Bacarr is also the author of The Blonde Geisha ,Cleopatra’s Perfume, Naughty Paris, Tokyo Rendezvous, a Spice Brief, and Spies, Lies & Naked Thighs
visit my website: http://www.jinabacarr.com/
0 0 Read moreThe day Stephen J. Cannell talked with Jina Bacarr at OCC
October 11, 2010 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as A Writer's Life, author, Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, novels, Stephen J. Cannell
Stephen J. Cannell talks w/ Jina Bacarr
Uploaded by Jina_B.
Everyone who attended the OCC Meeting back in 2007 when Stephen J. Cannell was our main speaker will never forget it.
I still have the notes I took that day…
And I have the video. So as a special tribute to Mr. Cannell who passed away recently, here is the video I did with him that morning after the Published Authors Workshop.
He was a great friend to OCC and to all writers everywhere.
Best,
Jina
The Blonde Samurai: “She embraced the way of the warrior. Two swords. Two loves.â€
Jina Bacarr is also the author of The Blonde Geisha ,Cleopatra’s Perfume, Naughty Paris, Tokyo Rendezvous, a Spice Brief, and Spies, Lies & Naked Thighs
visit my website: http://www.jinabacarr.com/
What is a Novel? by Jina Bacarr
September 11, 2010 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as author, bird, Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, Italian, Italy, Jina Bacarr, novels, perfume, scent, Venice, writing
A novel is like my friend, Uccello.
Writing is a solitary profession and taking a break from sitting at my computer is important to me. I like to walk. Every day I walk through a park on my way to the beach, smelling the flowers, enjoying the shade of the trees and listening to the birds singing.
One bird in particular captured my attention. He doesn’t sing better than the others, he’s not prettier, and he doesn’t fly in a soaring pattern. But we’ve formed a bond, Uccello and me.
I call him “uccello” (bird in Italian) because he reminds me of the birds singing outside my hotel window in Venice. I fell in love with the magical city with all its sights and smells when I spent time in Italy speaking and performing about Body & Eros at La Biennale dance festival.
Watch a short clip of the view from my window in Venice, Italy.
Seeing Uccello every day takes me back to Venice and reminds me of the evocative perfume I inhaled there.
I learned to recognize Uccello from the other birds, little things about the charcoal grey bird that caught my eye. He has a little white belly that wiggles when he preens himself like a de’ Medici grand duke and his chirping is short and musical like breathy notes on a flute. He follows me through the park, flitting from one perch to another, poking his head around to see if I’m dallying.
I’ve gotten to know his idiosyncrasies, like how he chirps twice when he sees me, then how he likes to show me what path to take by flying in front of me. The park has many winding pathways and I look forward to seeing where he’ll lead me on my walk each day.
To me, a novel is like Uccello. Something about it attracts your eye–it could be the title or the cover–you get closer, open up the book and it takes you on a journey. As you follow its winding paths, you breathe in its uniqueness. That’s part of the fun for me. I like to inhale the scent of the story.
It’s not something you can smell in a physical way, but it evokes an odoriferous response in you that makes you aware of the scents the author has created in their world, whether it’s fragrant roses, the salty sea, cinnamon, oil, pine cones, or the smell of sex.
The next time you read a novel, think about what you smell. It may surprise you.
I’m off to see Uccello.
Want to come along? It’s easy.
Open a novel and join us.
Best,
Jina
The Blonde Samurai: “She embraced the way of the warrior. Two swords. Two loves.â€
Jina Bacarr is also the author of The Blonde Geisha ,Cleopatra’s Perfume, Naughty Paris, Tokyo Rendezvous, a Spice Brief, and Spies, Lies & Naked Thighs
visit my website: http://www.jinabacarr.com/
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