‘Brave’…Brilliantly Written…an Overdue, Alternate Ending to Prince Charming

braveI don’t really know why I’m writing about this topic…could it be because the writing for “Brave” was so exceptional?...filled with double entendre like the Mama Bear fighting to protect her ‘cubs‘.  Once in awhile I enjoy a good Disney animated film. And I hadn’t seen the advances of animation in a long time, so I rented ‘Brave’.

We all know the timeless, underlying theme, the girl is looking for her Prince Charming.  Her Prince finds her, usually rescues her and they live happily ever after. Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Snow White, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Robin Hood, The Little Mermaid, the list goes on and on.

God knows that’s how I was raised; that my Prince Charming would come someday and I too would live happily ever after.  After all, when all was said and done, every movie (in my days of growing up)  had an underlying story with this result and girls of my decade pretty much sat back and waited for HIM.  Now, fifty  years later and three husbands ago, I finally achieved some wisdom and the fact is there are NO Prince Charmings  and all three men that I married were just as human as I was. What a huge expectation I put on them! Continue reading “‘Brave’…Brilliantly Written…an Overdue, Alternate Ending to Prince Charming”

More from the Opera Singer/AudioBook Narrator/Producer (part 2)

In Part I, I told you how I got started formatting my existing books into audio books with the help of my producer/narrator Carin Gilfry. Here is the rest of Carin’s story.

audio books, books for kids, fairy tales
Carin as Estrella in Life is a Dream at the Santa Fe Opera

Carin Gilfry, narrator: I always knew how each character should sound by the way the dialogue was written. Cheets in particular, the mischievous and very effervescent elf, quickly became my favorite. I always wanted to be a Disney princess, but in reality, I think I was more like Cheets as a child. Eager, loud, and always wanting to be everyone’s friend. I always intended to narrate books when not in a production, but I actually narrated EEElf, while in rehearsals for Offenbach’s La Perichole with New York City Opera. It worked surprisingly well. Though, I did get locked in a hotel closet, trying to find a quiet space to narrate… Adventures of audiobook narration on the road!children's books, audio books, the fabled forest, elves, fairies Continue reading “More from the Opera Singer/AudioBook Narrator/Producer (part 2)”

“Emma and the Lost Unicorn” an Audio Book is now Available!!

faeries, elves, warlocks, fables, riddles, fairy tales, theatre   GREAT NEWS!  Emma and the Lost Unicorn” is now AVAILABLE as an AUDIO BOOK
at www.audible.com and www.amazon.com and iTunes.com

 

In addition to a paperback with wonderful illustrations it is AVAILABLE in AUDIO

Emma Retail Sample Listen

 

Rainey, the unicorn, is a prince who has been banished, for centuries, by the warlock, Hazard. He can never return home unless Emma solves more riddles than Kodak. The fable ends with a surprise twist, when Hazard’s Lieutenant reveals his secret weakness. It will delight readers young and old. While written for children, this fairy tale is sophisticated enough to appeal to adults as well.

Queens, warlocks, faeries, elves, unicorns, handmaidens, scary henchmen and one small mortal girl child, in an enchanted forest. The rhetorical owl and naughty elf provide much laughter.
This parable offers many subtle lessons. Continue reading ““Emma and the Lost Unicorn” an Audio Book is now Available!!”

“Bertie the Bookworm and the Bully Boys” now an Audio Book!

fairies, books for children, literacy, reading, bullying, bullies, elves,
A story book with full color illustrations

The third in the Fabled Forest Series, “Bertie, the Bookworm and the Bully Boys” is now available as an AUDIO BOOK  at www.audible.com and www.amazon.com as well as www.iTunes. com

Bertie, the bookworm is the fabled forest’s elder and teacher. Every week he has a spelling and reading circle where everyone is welcomed. Slam and his gang of bully boys are forever teasing, disrupting, and bullying Bertie and the group of faeries and woodland creatures. Pansy, the pixie is a new character in this third of the Fabled Forest series. She is a defender of reading, truth, and Bertie. Cheets, our beloved elf from past books gets in with the wrong crowd and his friends are worried that he will become the newest member of the Bully Boys. Best friends with Cheets, Pansy is determined to save her friend.  The story teaches gentle lessons about literacy, bullying and ageism.

In an October post I’ll tell you more about the adventures of producing AUDIO books…..meeting new people, choosing a narrator, (a young opera singer from Switzerland)….the character voices she was able to create.  Listen to Sample

Continue reading ““Bertie the Bookworm and the Bully Boys” now an Audio Book!”

How Did I get Started Writing children’s books?

children's books, audio books, the fabled forest, elves, fairies       I stumbled upon these wonderful images and said to myself, “that’s Cheets if he were a girl.” Things like this inspire me to keep writing.

For me there’s a story here in this little faerie’s pensive look.

Is she looking back to see if Rainey, the lost unicorn (Emma and the Lost Unicorn)  is still following her?  Or has she heard a noise and isn’t quite certain what it is?  Or did she stop and turn to better listen to Donald, another faerie.  (The Exciting Exploits of an Effervescent Elf)

…or has she just left the reading circle that Bertie, the bookworm holds every week in the forest clearing.  Anything is possible.

 

 

This could be my character, Donald, the faerie.

donald

(Stanley, the Stalwart Dragon)

 

 

 

 

 

 

fairies, elves, fabled forest, children's books, audio books

….or this could be Cheet’s brother.

(Bertie, the bookworm and the Bully Boys)

 

 

 

 

How did I get started writing children’s books?  Back in 2004, I was sound asleep at 3AM, when Cheets, my elf, had his very big feet in the middle of my back and was yelling in my ear.  “You must write about meyou must do it NOW!”  By the time I got up, got a cup of tea made and stumbled to my computer most of the characters already had names and Cheets was directing the show!  Prince Rainier had been bewitched into a unicorn and dropped into the Fabled Forest.  Emma discovered him and, befriending the shy creature, vowed to lift the curse and return him to his home.

My children’s books are fables and all carry a lesson about loyalty, good works, greed, friendship, ecology, running away and literacy. I’m not on a soapbox; it just happened to work out that way.

Leave yourself open! (opps! Am I repeating myself again?) You never know where your writing will take you.  I was the most unlikely writer to end up writing children’s books as part of my repartee. For the most part, my ‘black’ Irish heart writes drama, serious gut wrenching stuff and it never crossed my mind to write for children.  LUCKY ME!   Cheets was insistent and would not be turned away.

These images, courtesy of Chopoli.blogspot.com © are whimsical, enchanting, and inspiring.
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS!      A SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal,  Karen Robards, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Raymond Benson, Amber Winckler, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, Raymond Benson and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create!  July features Rhys Bowen.  Sue Grafton is August’s author with a bonus talk with Cathy Lamb later in the month. and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is November’s author and  slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. Raymond Benson is my January author. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To receive my posts sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  On the home page, the right side you’ll see a box where you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

Have You ‘Heard’ the News??

“Stanley, the Stalwart Dragon” is available in an audio book at:

www.audible.com   
www.itunes.com
www.amazon.com

Stanley, a very young dragon, has run away from home. He feels that he is a failure. As dragons go, he probably is. He’s dragons, ,elves, fairies, fairy tales, running awaykind, soft spoken, a good friend and can’t for the life of him, breathe FIRE! The story is full of wonderful characters. A lady bug, named Persnickety is Stanley’s best friend and side kick. Emma, a young girl who lives on a farm and plays in the forest, with her friends. The loveable villain is a raven named City Slick, the Third. Thomas, the pedantic, sea turtle, and Cheets, the elf, are just a few of Stanley’s new friends.

One dark night Slick lures Stanley away from the forest and sells him to the circus. He is left chained, alone in a tent, until he breathes fire. The Queen of the Faeries gives Donald and Emma a quest; to find Stanley and rescue him.

While this is an adventure story full of laughter, it teaches children that no matter what, it is never a good idea to run away from home and is frequently very dangerous. The fable addresses bigotry, greed, loyalty and kindness to others. Ages: 2–10
Click here for a sample:  Stanley.Five Minutes.RetailSample

 

 

 

 

A writer’s gratitude

books, authors, book stores, women writers,Last Saturday was my book signing at the iconic book store, E. Shaver’s Book Sellers. (shaversbooks.com) What a special day!  The staff at Shaver’s made me feel so welcome.  They had a nice spot all set up where the first thing the customer saw when they walked in was my table displaying my books.

The store is a collection of cozy little rooms filled to the rafters with BOOKS!  Old, original hardwood floors that creak when stepped upon.  And outside the occasional clip-clop of horses’ hooves as carriages drove by the front door. I wouldn’t have been half surprised if Charles Dickens and his good friend, Edgar Allan Poe had walked in.

Both  my illustrators stopped by to show support. Lori Smaltz, the photographer, was there with her gorgeous coffee table book of celebrated cemeteries of Savannah (Bone Garden Enchantment).  She has done most of my photo-collage covers for my books.   Jefferson O’Neal, a wonderful artist and the illustrator for all of my children’s books, stayed and signed kiddie books with me.

During the three hour event we enjoyed meeting new people; tourists dropping in, regular customers that shop at Shavers all the time, and a few of my personal friends.  I met a lady from Sri Lanka, in remission with stage four cancer.  What a beautiful spirit she had…her outlook was so loving and positive.  Then there was Celia (a realtor with Sotheby’s) who marched in, came straight to my table and ‘browsed’ my books.  She quickly picked out two; one for her granddaughter, Mimi, and my novel for herself.  The staff told me later that she supports whatever is going on at Shaver’s and is very generous.  What a nice lady!   My hair stylist came by with her son, Cameron, (a sweetie) and they bought all of my children’s books.  Thanks! Andrea!

And then there were the four-legged shoppers!  E. Shaver’s is pet friendly and in they paraded, knowing they would be welcomed. A beautiful springer spaniel with the sweetest face.  An Airedale with a harness that said, ‘service dog’.  But you could hardly take him seriously with his one cocked up ear; making him look like he was always asking you a question.  It was a hoot!  And then little ‘Evie’, a mutt with chihuahua, wire-haired terrier and probably six other ingredients; Evie is a bounding, jumping, bundle of pure joy!

The funny, human observation that I made was that some customers would NOT look at me.  As if they thought,  “Oh no. If I look at her, I’ll have to buy something!”  Very funny,  but that’s just me and my weird sense of humor.  I was just so grateful to the owner and staff at Shaver’s Booksellers.  They have taken me in, supported my work and are willing to share their limited shelf space with my books!  I am blowing them kisses!blowing kisses, grateful, women writers, book stores

BOOK SIGNING TODAY !!

    I hope you will come out today for my

BOOK SIGNING !!dragons, elves, fairies, dragon, fairy tales, new book for your child, new fairy tales, running away, friendship

  Shaver Book Sellers, on Madison Square in Savannah  
to hold a book signing.

              This event will begin at

2PM today, November 17th.

              Shaver’s carries all of my children’s books, my poetry and novel, “Women Outside the Walls”.  Also available, today only, will be most of my play scripts.

Come by and say “hello” and enjoy this historic, iconic book store that is locally owned and operated.

SHAVER’S BOOKSELLERS

326 Bull Streetgreed, ecology, elves, warlords, love, friendship

Join me at my Book Signing on Saturday!

BOOK SIGNING

dragons, elves, fairies, dragon, fairy tales, new book for your child, new fairy tales, running away, friendship            Shaver Book Sellers, on Madison Square here in Savannah has invited this author to hold a book signing.

              This event will begin at

 2PM on Saturday, November 17th.

              Shaver’s carries all of Sugarek’s children’s books, her poetry and her novel, “Women Outside the Walls”.  Also available will be most of her play scripts.

Come by and say “hello” and enjoy this historic, iconic book store that iswomen's fiction, prison, love, family, writing,  locally owned and operated.  Enjoy a beautiful fall day in Madison Square.

 

Shaver’s Booksellers
326 Bull Street (Madison Square)
Savannah

children's books, fairy tales, bullying, literacy, new books for kidshaiku, poetry, japanese, haiku poetry, pen and ink artwork

 

Book Signing next Saturday

BOOK SIGNING

haiku, poetry, pen and ink art, poems, Japanese haiku,
Shaver Book Sellers, on Madison Square here in Savannah has  invited this author  to hold a
book signing.

This event will begin at  2PM   next Saturday, November 17th.

Shaver’s carries all of Sugarek’s children’s books, her poetry and her novel, “Women Outside the Walls”.  Also available will be most of her play scripts.

Come by and say “hello” and enjoy this historic, iconic book store that iswomen's fiction, prison, love, family, writing, locally owned and operated.

 

Shaver’s Booksellers 326 Bull Street (Madison Square) Savannah

children's books, fairy tales, bullying, literacy, new books for kids