A Slice of Orange

Vintage 1950s Movies THE KING AND I by Janet Elizabeth Lynn

August 3, 2019 by Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger in category Partners in Crime by Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger

Our latest book, GAME TOWN, begins with the 1957 Emmy Awards celebration and ends with the Academy Awards ceremony, I had to research the winners of both. Talk about a waltz down memory lane!! The King and I was the most nominated of all the movies released during the year of 1956. Then, of course, I just had to check out the history of the movie. I was so enlightened by its background I thought I would share it with you.

The King and I, a musical film by 20th Century Fox was released in 1956. The screenplay by Ernest Lehman was based on the 1951 Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II musical of the same name. This popular musical was based on the 1944 novel by Margaret Landon titled Anna and the King of Siam. Ms. Landon based her novel on Anna Leonowens’ published memoirs, The English Governess at the Siamese Court. The film starred Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr.

While the musical was written for Gertrude Lawrence, she was diagnosed with cancer while playing the role on Broadway and died before the show ended. After Ms. Lawrence’s death, both Dinah Shore and Maureen O’Hara were considered for the movie role of Anna. Deborah Kerr was ultimately casted as Anna at the recommendation of Yul Brynner. However, her voice was dubbed by Marni Nixon.

The movie was success with both critics and the public. The King and I received 9 Academy Awards Nominations and won 5 of them.

Winners

Best Actor in a Leading Role – Yul Brynner
Best Art Direction – Set Decoration, Color – John DeCuir, Lyle R. Wheeler, Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox
Best Costume Design, Color – Irene Sharaff
Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture – Alfred Newman and Ken Darby
Sound Recording – Carlton W. Faulkner; 20th Century Fox Sound Department

Nominated

Best Picture of the Year – Charles Brackett
Best Actress in a Leading Role – Deborah Kerr
Best Director – Walter Lang
Best Cinematography, Color – Leon Shamroy

Here is a clip of the song GETTING TO KNOW YOU. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thd2kPRN55o

Some images from The King and I

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Christmas in August by Jann Ryan

August 2, 2019 by Jann Ryan in category Jann says . . . tagged as Christmas in August, holiday romance, Jann Says..., OCC/RWA anthology, romance, Writing Something Romantic

Jann Ryan is on vacation and while she’s away, we thought we would reprint one of her more popular interviews. Jann says she’ll be back in September with her usual column. Until then enjoy and little Christmas in August.

Love for Christmas:

Writing a Holiday Anthology

by @jannryan

Love For Christmas | Writing Something Romantic | A Slice of Orange

Jann: We’re here today talking with five dynamic authors, Ottillia Scherschel, Jill Jaynes, Angela Shelly, Kathleen Harrington and Barb DeLong, members of the Writing Something Romantic critique group who came together to publish a collection of holiday short stories entitled Love for Christmas: A Holiday Romance Anthology.

Jann: Tell us about your critique group and how you came together?

Kathleen: Our Writing Something Romantic critique group started some years ago with a few writers who belonged to OCC. We wanted a small group to critique our romance writing. Angela Kyle, Carol Persinger, and I were original members. Shortly after we began to meet, we invited Barb DeLong, Val Millette, Jann Ryan, Ottilia Scherschel, and Jill Jaynes to join us. Ever since, we’ve met once a month to critique each other’s manuscripts. We celebrate birthdays and, of course, each others’ successes.

Jann: The anthology covers a variety of genres—a cursed whimsical witch, a woman looking for Mr. Right, a Montana suffragette, a woman on a dangerous and thrilling train ride, and an artifact hunter who finds hope and love. Was it difficult to blend these stories into the anthology?

Barb: We decided as a group to write to our strengths and particular genres with a unifying theme of Christmas time for our first anthology. Hopefully the anthology will appeal to a wide audience because of the different genres.

Jann: This question is for Ottilia Scherschel. Your novels take place in foreign countries. Your short story for the anthology, Night Train to Hong Kong, a romantic suspense which takes place on a train ride from Beijing to Hong Kong. Why did you decide choose China for your location? Are all your novels romantic suspense?

Ottilia: My mother liked to say I was born with a foot in a suitcase. I’ve always loved to travel. Growing up, Hong Kong seemed mysterious, so far away, and its history with the British fascinated me. I sought out movies set there and visited San Francisco’s Chinatown to gawk at all the finery from Hong Kong. When my husband and I were married, he presented me with pearls he had bought in Hong Kong for his future wife while he was in the Navy. Years later, when my brother started doing business in China, I decided I had a reliable source and the time had come to write about that country and its customs.

Not all my novels are romantic suspense. I also write historical fiction, but all my novels have an element of suspense and are set in foreign countries at least in part.

Jann: Jill Jaynes—your contemporary romance, The Christmas Wish, has a woman looking for Mr. Right. Your story has Allie making a wish on a magical ornament for true love. Did you ever make the same wish?

Jill: Haha! More than once, I’m sure! I think most of us wish we could get a little help finding that guy. I definitely settled for a few frogs before my true love finally swept into my life and showed me what I’d been missing all along. In my story, Allie finds out that nothing is as easy as it seems, even with a magical wish in your pocket. But hey, it’s Christmas! I’m pretty sure something good will happen…

Jann: Angela Shelley, you also write novels for children as well. Did this have anything to do with basing your story, Winter’s Warmth, on the Snow Queen myth?

Angela: Children’s stories lend themselves particularly well to myth, legend, and symbolism–all things I’ve been fascinated by as long as I can remember. (As does the fantasy genre.) This is probably why I find myself writing (and reading) mostly in those areas, even though I enjoy contemporary, scifi, mystery, historical, romance, and other genres as a reader.

Old tales, religion, psychology, and modern storytelling speak in the languages of archetypes and symbols. We use them to layer depth and glean meaning from our world. That’s why I enjoy writing stories based on myth—these old stories give me worlds in which I can explore the deeper connections that live in us all.

Jann: Barb DeLong—A Witch for Christmas, is a humorous paranormal romance, and you’re also writing a series with the same theme. What triggered your interest in witches?

Barb: I knew I wanted to write a paranormal story because I love reading them. I write humorous and absolutely loved Jill Barnett’s Bewitching. I thought whimsical witches and their magic were right up my alley. My work-in-progress is a paranormal romance series called Charmed by a Witch, with the first book being Charm’d.

Jann: Kathleen Harrington—you have published several historical romances and for your short story, you selected Montana in the 1880’s and the suffragette movement. Was it Montana, the time period or both that attracted you to use this time and place?

Kathleen: My genre has always been historical romance. I’ve written several romances set in Montana during the 1880’s, so my familiarity with the setting made for an easy choice. While doing some research on Helena, I came across a photo of a suffragette from Great Falls. She was identified as a librarian and was standing so straight and proud beside the bicycle she rode to work, I felt an instant admiration for her and all the ladies who strove to secure the women’s vote. And so, Paulette Winslow, spinster and librarian, sprang to life in my imagination. My hero came just as easily. I’ve previously written a romance set in Butte, about a wealthy mine owner. This time my hero, Brent McFarland, comes from Butte to Helena to take over the local newspaper.

About our Authors:

When Ottilia Scherschel started sixth grade, she learned her fifth language. Her immigrant parents wandered throughout Europe and Latin America, waiting for papers to enter the United States. Today, she lives in Southern California. After a successful career in international communications, she took up writing romantic suspense stories set in foreign climes.

Her first novel DARING THE DRAGON, takes place in China and her second, A KISS TOO LONG, is set in Hungary and Italy. You can read one of her short stories in ROMANCING THE PAGES, an anthology by the Orange County Chapter of the Romance Writers of America. https://writingsomethingromantic.com/

Jill Jaynes began her love affair with romance when she was a teenager growing up in Southern California, spending many a late-night under the covers with a flashlight and good romance novel.

This early addiction stuck, and she discovered one day that telling great stories was even more fun than reading them. Today she writes stories with happy endings her own way- with a dash of magic that means anything can happen.

When she’s not writing, you can find her (still in Southern California) occupied with one of the following activities: a) wine-tasting, hiking or otherwise hanging out with her hot husband, b) walking her two high-maintenance dogs, c) plotting her next story with her writer-daughter or d) working at her day job in her spare time. http://www.jilljaynes.com

Angela Shelley was twenty-two when writing became a passion. She’s been doing it in one form or another ever since. As a technical writer, she published science articles for magazines, grant proposals, software manuals, and online help systems. She won Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards for her first and second novels, Ennara and the Fallen Druid and Ennara and the Book of Shadows.

Angela Shelley is a member of Romance Writers of America and the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. In her spare time, she makes book trailers and volunteers for her writing organizations and twins’ classroom. Visit her at http://www.angelashelley.net.

Barb DeLong, long-time member of the Orange County Chapter/Romance Writers of America, is a member of RWA’s PRO community. She has been writing one thing or another for as long as she can remember. Her stories have won and finalled in several contests, and she published a short story in the Romancing the Pages anthology. Barb is currently working on a humorous paranormal romance series called Charmed by a Witch.

She’s excited to share with you the magic of love, laughter and happily ever after! https://writingsomethingromantic.com/

Kathleen Harrington, multi-published, award-winning author, has touched the hearts of readers across the country and the world with her sparkling tales of high adventure and unending love. Her historical romances have been published in Chinese, Russian, Italian, and German. She lives in Southern California with her American Bulldog, Auron. http://www.kathleenharringtonbooks.com/

Thank you ladies for sharing with us about your critique group and your holiday anthology, Love for Christmas.

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August Featured Author: H. O. Charles

August 1, 2019 by H. O. Charles in category Art, Cover, Design by H. O. Charles, Featured Author of the Month tagged as Best Selling author, fantasy, Featured author, HO Charles, The Fireblade Array

August Feature Author is H. O. Charles.

H.O. Charles is an Amazon Top 100 Sci-Fi and Fantasy author of The Fireblade Array – a #2 best-selling series across Kindle, iBooks and B&N Nook in the Sci-Fi and Fantasy categories (#1 would just be showing off, right?) Okay, it did hit #1 in Epic Fantasy in all those places . . . BUT DON’T TELL ANYONE because no one likes a bragger.

Though born in Northern England, Charles now resides in a white house in Sussex and sounds like a southerner. Charles has spent many years at various academic institutions, and cut short writing a PhD in favour of writing about swords and sorcery instead. Hobbies include being in the sea, being by the sea and eating things that come out of the sea. Walks with a very naughty rough collie puppy also take up much of Charles’ time.

ASCENT OF ICE

SNOWLANDS

FALL OF BLAZE

VOICES OF BLAZE

BLAZED UNION

ANOMALY OF BLAZE

NATION OF BLAZE

CITY OF BLAZE

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Dear Extra Squeeze Team: What Do You Do With Horrible Reviews

July 31, 2019 by The Extra Squeeze in category The Extra Squeeze by The Extra Squeeze Team tagged as horrible reviews, one star reviews, Publishing Questions, reviews, The Extra Squeeze Team

Dear Extra Squeeze Team: What do you do with horrible one-star reviews that were written by someone who clearly didn’t read your book?

Rebecca Forster

USA Today Bestselling author of 35 books, including the Witness series and the new Finn O’Brien series.

Readers are smart and they recognize that review for what it is. I once got a low star review by a woman who wrote, “I haven’t read the book yet.” She was honest, I was not happy, Amazon said it met their standards so that was that. I didn’t spend anymore time thinking about it because there was nothing I could do. Luckily, the next review was a five star. Have a glass of wine. This too shall pass.

H.O. Charles

Cover designer and author of the fantasy series, The Fireblade Array

There’s not a great deal you can do with these reviews. Some can be flagged and you can ask the retailer to get rid of them, but there must be CLEAR evidence that the reviewer has not read the book and is not reviewing the item for sale. Sometimes retailers will leave the review in place if the company printing or dispatching the book is at fault, even if the book itself is perfectly good. If it’s a single one-star review amongst a sea of kinder reviews, then I would shrug my shoulders and move on. Most readers will have the brains to look through the reviews and decide which ones are reliable. We have to trust them to do that!

If it’s your first and only review, and you know it’s not to do with the content, presentation or delivery of the book, and the review isn’t going anywhere, then I might consider republishing the book. ONLY in those circumstances, however.

Jenny Jensen

Developmental editor who has worked for twenty plus years with new and established authors of both fiction and non-fiction, traditional and indie.

Negative book reviews cut deep. All writers experience it at some time. Writers have to live with it like dancers have to live with blisters. Amazon has help sites where an author can manage reviews. I don’t know of any proactive response an author can make if a poor review shows up on book review sites or newsletters or blogs or anywhere else a rotten review can appear. I get how painful that can be, but one bad review does not sink your career.

The best approach is to learn something from bad reviews. It stings, but consider how the negative reviews measures up to the positive reviews. Compare them for any mention of shared issues. It could be that some readers were captivated with the story even while the manuscript had issue – issues important enough to mention. It could be grammar, characters, plot or just a lack of a good edit. Listen to that and take steps to improve. Hear your readers. It’s their ear you want to woo.

I’m not sure how one can determine that a review was written by someone who hadn’t read the book. People don’t process the same information in the same way. Interpretation is everything. Maybe they just didn’t get it. Maybe they just don’t get anything. I’ve read reviews that left me wondering if the reviewer and I had even read the same book. You know what story you told and if one person didn’t see that then it’s worth a shrug at best, but not a meltdown. Carry on.

And there are those types that cannot pass up a chance to point out errors of any kind. I hope it’s a hobby but it feels like an obsession. You can find letters to the editor on every newspaper site where a reader takes issue with some slip like non-agreement of verb and noun, or a misplaced comma or apostrophe. That misstep is so important to that reader they feel justified in doubting any part of the article.

Those naysayers abound and humor is the best response. There are a number of books where authors have addressed the readers who’ve picked at their work and the best one are really funny. This one is black humor like much of Ruth Rendell: Piranha to Scurfy. Read it for a little happy therapy. Bad reviews are a fact of a writer’s life.

Robin Blakely

PR/Business Development coach for writers and artists; CEO, Creative Center of America; member, Forbes Coaches Council.

You have two choices. You can get over it or you can obsess over it. Both are pretty hard to do. If you go the get-over-it route, you need to sell yourself on the idea that the reader was stupid and mean-spirited, blamed you for something out of your control like a late delivery, or simply didn’t even read the work at all. Any of those could be true, but probably it is even a simpler issue. Your book wasn’t exactly what the reader wanted in the moment. Sometimes, I want to watch Columbo but I end up tuning in to Silence of the Lambs. I would like to blame Amazon Prime for the mistake, but when I do, most people can figure out where the fault really lies. Expect a similar response from others who see your horrible one-star review. If you decide to follow the obsess-over-it route, you can dive deep into the nefarious waters of tracking down the reader and starting a fight about it. Not a great way to go. Energy doesn’t deserve to be wasted on someone who clearly didn’t read your work and gave you a horrible one-star review. Be aware. Watch for legitimate constructive criticism. Let the rest go.