Tag: Confessions of a Podcast Goddess

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As Time Goes By…we must never forget by Jina Bacarr

November 11, 2009 by in category Archives tagged as , , ,

There’s a scene in the classic film Casablanca when Résistance fighter Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) tells the musicians in Rick’s Cafe to play La Marseillaise after Major Strasser leds a group of Nazi soldiers in a rendition of “Die Wacht am Rhein” (Watch on the Rhine), a German nationalist song. It’s a powerful message about the stirring emotions music brings out in all of us–especially when freedom is at stake.

Interesting, but a similar incident happened two days after the Germans marched into Paris on June 14, 1940 in a restaurant in Montmartre called La Crémaillère. (Who can forget Rick’s words to Ilsa in Casablanca when he says, “The Germans wore gray, you wore blue…”)

An Englishman ordered a drink at the bar in this classic restaurant built in the early 1900s for himself and his companion, an American lady. She noticed a piano in the corner and started playing God Save the King to bolster the courage of her British friend.

The Nazis immediately told her it was verboten.

“America is not at war with Germany,” she said calmly and continued playing. The Germans were perplexed and angry until she explained to them that she was playing an American song called “My Country ’tis of Thee.”

Same tune, different words, but the power of playing the song in defiance remains. According to eyewitness reports, the Germans apologized, bowed, clicked their heels and left.

Let us not forget on this Veterans’ Day all the brave soldiers, both military and civilian, who have dared to stand up against tyranny.

As the heroine in my World War II novel, Cleopatra’s Perfume, Lady Eve Marlowe says, “I survived, dear reader, angry and filled with the passion to save lives and end this terrible war. The obsession that was never far from my mind comes sharply into focus. Now I will use that passion against them. The Nazis. The urge to be part of the machine to defeat the enemy is irresistible to me.”

Jina Bacarr is also the author of The Blonde Geisha , Naughty Paris, Tokyo Rendezvous, a Spice Brief, and Spies, Lies & Naked Thighs

February 2010: meet The Blonde Samurai

“She embraced the way of the warrior. Two swords. Two loves.”

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Romance Novel TV is saying goodbye

October 11, 2009 by in category Archives tagged as

by Jina Bacarr

I have to admit I love watching videos online. Some are funny, some dramatic, but when it comes to checking out what my favorite authors are up to, I’m a Romance Novel TV junkie.

I just found out they’re saying goodbye.

I will miss them like an old friend. Since I planned this blog before I heard the news, it seems appropos to post it as I had written it…

At this writing, J.R. Ward is the featured author on their home page. She’s “getting personal,” talking about a favorite action adventure movie, the last book she read, her favorite sport…and whether she prefers Coke or Pepsi. Fun interview.

Previously, through the magic of the Internet, I visited with Christina Dodd at her beautiful lakeside home as she describes a typical day in her life as a writer. And one of my favorite Romance Novel TV video series is with romance author, Maya Rodale (“The Heir and the Spare“), as she explores the New York publishing offices of Penguin and talks with Wendy McCurdy, Berkley executive editor, Elizabeth Hanson, director of advertising and promotion, and George Long, art director. Definitely a must see series for anyone interested in a “behind the scenes” look at book publishing through the eyes of a first time author.

I remember when Romance Novel TV was getting started. Maria Lokken and her twin sister, Marisa O’Neill, both television producers, brought their love of romance novels to the Internet with video podcasts with Eloisa James, Nora Roberts and Jayne Ann Krentz. They realized that as Romance Novel TV grew, romance readers wanted to know more about their favorite authors and their books.

Romance Novel TV also features book reviews, guest authors and a book club with a calendar of upcoming books featured. Maria and Marisa have a wonderful staff of book reviewers: Stacey Agdern, Kati Dancy, PJ Ausdenmore, Buffie Johnson, Gannon Carr, Kate Garrabant, Stacy Ahlgren and Andrea Williamson. Information on how to submit a book for review is included on their site.

So the next time you’re taking a break from writing, check out Romance Novel TV. From blogs to YA books to the Hottie of the Month (yes, man candy too, what more can you ask for?), Romance Novel TV has something for everyone.

As identical twins Marisa and Maria say on their site: “Sometimes we walk alike and talk alike – but we definitely don’t think alike, and that’s precisely what makes life interesting around here.”

Jina Bacarr is also the author of The Blonde Geisha , Naughty Paris, Tokyo Rendezvous, a Spice Brief, and Spies, Lies & Naked Thighs, and Cleopatra’s Perfume.

Coming in February 2010: The Blonde Samurai
“She embraced the way of the samurai. Two swords. Two loves.”

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9/11

September 11, 2009 by in category Archives tagged as

by Jina Bacarr

9/11. It’s a number that resonates with anyone who reads this blog, picks up a newspaper or checks out a news website. A day no one will ever forget where they were when they heard the news.

In one morning our world changed forever.

What can I say about 9/11 that hasn’t already been said?

I shall leave that to the pundits and reporters on this eighth anniversary and instead ask you a question: how has your writing changed since 9/11?

I don’t mean what you write, but how you submit what you write.

Before 9/11, few agents, editors and publishing houses accepted queries, proposals and manuscripts by email. Many still don’t, but back in 2001 it was a novelty to send material as an email attachment. The Anthrax scare contributed to that change since snail mail could be dangerous to your health. Since then, we’ve all discovered that email has its own dangers (is your anti-virus software up to date?).

It seems like it all started with 9/11. Something changed in us that day. We weren’t as safe as we thought we were in our own backyard. We never expected that. If you traveled abroad, you understood the risks.

But 9/11 happened here, on American soil.

An urgency was born in us that day to know instantly what was going on as the horrific scene of the Twin Towers coming down unfolded before our eyes. I believe that same urgency has carried over to our daily lives, and that includes our writing.

We want to know without delay if our editor or agent loves our latest work, what our Amazon numbers are by the hour (admit it, you check more than you should), how many hits we have on our blog that day. E-books and Kindle have made it easier for us to transport reading material with us everywhere we go.

The submitting process may have changed since 9/11, but writing your manuscript hasn’t. You still put your butt in the chair with a cup of your favorite java nearby and write from the heart.

I believe that will never change.

Jina Bacarr is also the author of The Blonde Geisha , Naughty Paris, Tokyo Rendezvous, a Spice Brief, and Spies, Lies & Naked Thighs, and Cleopatra’s Perfume.

Coming in February 2010: The Blonde Samurai
“She embraced the way of the samurai. Two swords. Two loves.”

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Book Trailer: Italian Style

August 11, 2009 by in category Archives tagged as

by Jina Bacarr

Il Profumo del peccato (Sinful Perfume) is the name of my Spice novel, Cleopatra’s Perfume, in Italian. I was very excited to see they used the same cover as my American publisher (Harlequin). Since I had already put together a book trailer in English, I decided to use the same video, podsafe music, still photo, etc.

I love the blurb my Italian publisher wrote, but it was way too long for a one-minute book trailer. So I used what I thought made sense–here is the translation:

“What is hiding in Cleopatra’s Perfume? It all resides in a woman named Eve, a woman reckless, sexy, unleashed, uninhibited, insatiable. Only she can reveal this passionate story with its nonstop erotic scenes…

“Jina Bacarr, author of Passioni di una Geisha (The Blonde Geisha), takes us into a film noirish atmosphere in the year leading up to 1940, enticing us with sensual dreams, spies, secret missions, situations and affairs beyond your wildest imagination.

“Sinful Perfume (Cleopatra’s Perfume): Love, passion, intrigue.”

Then I recorded the voiceover. I love doing voiceovers (I used to do radio commercials in English and Spanish) and this one was a lot of fun. So here it is, the black and white book trailer in Italian for Il Profumo del peccato. I hope you enjoy it!

Best,
Jina

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

Coming in February 2010: The Blonde Samurai “She embraced the way of the samurai. Two swords. Two loves.”

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Book Trailer: Does it matter if it’s Black and White?

July 11, 2009 by in category Archives tagged as , , ,

by Jina Bacarr

Last month I posted the book trailer for my latest Spice release, Cleopatra’s Perfume, about a woman’s insatiable appetite for sex and adventure in 1939 Cairo (also Berlin and London) when the world was teetering on the brink of war.

I put together the one-minute book trailer in color and a second trailer in color and black and white (similar to when Dorothy visits Oz in the 1939 film and the screen goes technicolor). The interesting thing is that the black and white/color trailer has gotten more hits than the color trailer.

So when fellow OCC member, Bobbie Cimo suggested I try ALL black and white, I thought, that’s a cool idea. (Thankz, Bobbie!) So I put it together and uploaded it to several sites. What’s really amazing is that on one site I received a thousand hits in one day–and on others, just a handful. So you never know…

You be the judge: Here’s the black and white book trailer for Cleopatra’s Perfume!!

Best,

Jina

Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jinabacarr

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

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