Vintage 1960s Movies by E. J. Williams
April 9, 2022 by Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger in category Partners in Crime by Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger, Vintage 1960s Books tagged as movies, Musicals, the 1960s, The Sound of Music, writing research
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical drama film produced and directed by Robert Wise, and starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, with and Eleanor Parker. The film is an adaptation of the 1959 stage musical of the same name, composed by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II.
The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp is the base of the movie. The musical tells the story of Maria, who takes a job as governess to a large Australian family while she decides whether to become a nun. She falls in love with the children and their widowed father, Captain von Trapp. With the onset of WWII, he is ordered to accept a commission in the German navy in spite of his opposition to the Nazis. He, Maria and decide to flee from Austria with the children.
The Sound of Music received five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. The film also received two Golden Globe Awards, for Best Motion Picture and Best Actress, the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement, and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Musical. In 1998, the American Film Institute (AFI) listed The Sound of Music as the fifty-fifth greatest American movie of all time, and the fourth greatest movie musical. In 2001, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
An added note:
When setting up for filming of the wedding scene, there was nobody at the altar to wed them when they reached the top of the stairs to the sanctuary. Someone had forgotten to summon the actor playing the bishop. According to Dame Julie Andrews, the real Archbishop of Salzburg is seen in the movie.
Some of Janet Lynn’s and Will Zeilinger’s books
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.
Tracy Reed: Our April Featured Author
April 7, 2022 by Tracy Reed in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as Beautiful Men, fashion, Sophisticated Romance, the Big Apple, Tracy Reed
Tracy Reed: Our November Featured Author
A California native, novelist Tracy Reed pushes the boundaries of her Christian foundation with her sometimes racy and often fiery tales.
After years of living in the Big Apple, this self proclaimed New Yorker draws from the city’s imagination, intrigue, and inspiration to cultivate characters and plot lines who breathe life to the words on every page.
Tracy’s passion for beautiful fashion and beautiful men direct her vivid creative power towards not only novels, but short stories, poetry, and podcasts. With something for every attention span.
Tracy Reed’s ability to capture an audience is unmatched. Her body of work has been described as a host of stimulating adventures and invigorating expression.
Books by Tracy Reed
Writers on Vacation
April 6, 2022 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston
Do writers ever go on vacation? Physically, sure. Mentally? Probably not.
I certainly don’t. I recently was on a family trip to Cancun. I brought my small computer along but didn’t take the time to get on it much.
But I certainly took mental note of the warm Mexican environment—both weather-wise and the warmth of the staff at the resort where we stayed.
I also observed the environment—the large buildings comprising the hotel, the blue sky, the even bluer part of the water beyond the beach where tourists could swim, as well as the multiple swimming pools for guests.
I enjoyed the entertainment the resort provided, some outside every evening, with different kinds of shows that suggested follow-up ideas. I even saw some animals, some in good environments where they were being rescued, and others in situations that made me concerned.
Was I inspired to write something about that vacation, the location, my experiences? Oh, yes, but I’m busy enough that I’m not sure when or if I’ll actually be able to use it.
And you writers who are reading this. Have you taken trips, gone on vacations, visited other environments that do inspire you to write? Have some of those trips been specifically for research for whatever you are writing?
Have they been to locations not far from you, or to other countries—nearby ones, or on the other side of the world? Everywhere can be fun to visit.
Anywhere can be inspirational.
By the way, this subject is so vital to me that I’m incorporating it into the three blogs I’m posting on the same day this month. I’m addressing it somewhat differently, but it’s definitely on my mind. Along with my writing.
~Linda
Some of Linda’s Books
April Check-In
April 5, 2022 by Tracy Reed in category WritingHappy April. One of the reasons I chose this day of the month to post is because my birthday is the 5th of the month. I knew I’d remember the fifth day of the month. However, this month I actually forgot today was my day to post. What’s more shocking, I forgot it was my birthday. I’m not saying I’m old and forgetful. I’m saying I’m on a major deadline focused on one thing, completing my book.
I thought setting up preorders with Amazon would help me stick to my writing goal for the year of three books. I’m on track to meet that goal. However, setting up preorders has been a little stressful. I made a mistake after my last release…I took a break. During that break, I got blocked. I love the story I’m writing. The characters are fun and it’s been exciting watching them grow. What I didn’t expect was I would hit a wall with the story.
I’ve been careful to have one major surprise revealed in each of the books. In part four, the heroine discovered her lover’s secret. In part five, she has to figure out her next move. For all those author who outline this wouldn’t be a problem, because I’m a panster I don’t know where the story is going or if it’s going anywhere until the inspiration or muse hits.
When I decided to write a fifth book in this series, I knew the main plot revolved around the heroine deciding if she wanted to remain married to a man she really didn’t know. If she did, it would open the door to a sea of problems and new characters. So now I’m faced with a few decisions: a) push the release date back a month and risk punishment from KDP; b) make part five VERY long or add a sixth book; c) spin off the other characters into stand alone books; d) new covers again…I never expected the series to go beyond four books so I didn’t really have covers for more than five books…well that’s not exactly true. I have a cover I can’t use because Amazon will probably banish me to the EZone (erotica) and there’s no way Facebook will allow me to run ads.
Four pressing questions all because I set up preorders in order to stick to my publishing goal. So what would you do? Would you push for a fat book five or add a sixth book? Here’s an advantage to a sixth book in the series, additional revenue.
As for the rest of my goals list, here’s the update. Goals achieved are striked out
Get my letters
Triple my income
Triple my mailing list – Signed up for a Book Sweep newsletter promotion later this month…hoping for maximum resultsMaster Facebook ads – This is ongoing, but achieved so far
Update covers – 13 covers in total to update. 8 completed.
Learn how to write a sellable blurb
Use Ingram Spark
Direct distribution – One down
Increase BookBub US Followers to 1000 – 1000 US are needed to qualify for a new release promotion alertIncrease my prices – All of my ebooks are $4.99 except for the preorders I set up before making this change.
Release 3 Books – One down, two to go. I added a short story as part of an anthology. So that gives me a publishing bonus.
How are you doing with your goals so far?
Happy Birthday to me and see you next month.
Tracy Reed: Our April Featured Author
April 1, 2022 by Tracy Reed in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as Beautiful Men, fashion, Sophisticated Romance, the Big Apple, Tracy Reed
Tracy Reed: Our November Featured Author
A California native, novelist Tracy Reed pushes the boundaries of her Christian foundation with her sometimes racy and often fiery tales.
After years of living in the Big Apple, this self proclaimed New Yorker draws from the city’s imagination, intrigue, and inspiration to cultivate characters and plot lines who breathe life to the words on every page.
Tracy’s passion for beautiful fashion and beautiful men direct her vivid creative power towards not only novels, but short stories, poetry, and podcasts. With something for every attention span.
Tracy Reed’s ability to capture an audience is unmatched. Her body of work has been described as a host of stimulating adventures and invigorating expression.
Books by Tracy Reed
Featured Books
SLICK DEAL
On the eve of the New Year, 1956, oil tycoon, Oliver Wright dies suspiciously at a swanky Hollywood New Years Eve party. Some think it was suicide.
More info →
