Opinions a gogo

STAGES

Had great interview with Tony Waag. Creator of the International Tap Dance Hall of Fame, Executive Producer of Tap City and Executive Artistic Director of the American Tap Dance Foundation. Working on article about him for Art Times Journal May June issue.

Read one of stories from Pixie Tales at Rainbow Book Fair yesterday. Very receptive, mostly adult audience. Sold several of the e-book copies today. Figure people without kids who will be with family over upcoming holidays might want to have access to these enchanting read-to-me stories to help them bond with young relatives. If you are interested, Email me for 50% off coupon code on e-book.

Saw The Lincoln Lawyer film - thought all performances very impressive. Enjoyed movie immensely because of all its surprising twists.

PAGES

Have another radio interview, about Pixie Tales and writing for kids, early in April.

April 2 is National Children’s Book Day and the coupon for 50% off on e-book copy ends then. Maggie Cousins and I are busy readying Elfin Tales for e-book and paper editions.

Finished a slew of books in last few weeks - reading, that is. Anyone who loves theatre should be enthralled by Antony Sher’s The Year of the King, a fascinating insiders view of an actor’s preparation for a great classic role. Fictionalized life of Herman Melville, The Passages of H.M., was especially significant to me because much of his behavior was similar to that of the Captain in my play in progress, Spirit of the House. Still feel some smart movie mogul should get hold of Arnold Bennett’s The Grand Babylon Hotel and make a costume mystery romantic movie out of it.  True test of a good book is how long it stays with you, I believe. And this one is one to long remember for its sheer delight.

Never even knew there was a National Children’s book day and glad I learned of it before April 2, which is the date. It is also date by which you can get the 50% off copies of Pixie Tails from Smashwords. Contact me for the discount code.

Donkey Machine

STAGES

Looking forward to an upcoming interview with Tony Waag. Creator of the International Tap Dance Hall of Fame, Executive Producer of Tap City and Executive Artistic Director of the American Tap Dance Foundation.

PAGES

My computer acted like a donkey this week and refused to move at all.  Refused to forward my finished book to the printer, refused to open Internet explorer, refused to move faster than sludge. It was obviously going through a bad stage! As a result, I missed several deadlines and had to cancel some events and in all felt like a total failure. 

I escaped into some books I had not read before. One which really was an escape, was Norman Beim’s second novel  ZYGIELBAUM'S JOURNEY.  This fascinating story, based on facts, and narrated in the first person literally had me at the edge of my seat when I was reading it on a bus. We all have heard of the Warsaw Ghetto and how those interred therein fought to the last gasp. I had never however, known that the ghetto had sent a spokesman out, to try to awaken the conscience of the world.  That was Zygielbaum. His adventures are fascinating, and the writing style make you believe he is actually telling his own story. Well; worth reading.

I did a blog talk radio interview on Tuesday. I had been told the discussion would be on publishing, and had all my notes about the trials and travails of doing SHORT PLAYS TO LONG REMEMBER and the challenge of my first e-book, PIXIE TALES.

But the interviewer kept asking me about writing and writing tips and I was rather thrown for a loop.  Never really delivered the “commercial pitch” I had planned on, but enjoyed the call in woman who wanted advice about writing poetry and writing plays. I certainly have had a lifetime of doing both.

REMINDER - tomorrow, Saturday, the 25% off on PIXIE TALES to celebrate Read an e-book week ends. Get it now at http://smashwords.com/b/40507 or you’ll be paying full price after that.

 Also, if interested, remember Living life of my dreams sales info is at:

 https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?cl=37820&c=ib&aff=157097

March has me Roaring

STAGES

I was intrigued by the title When I Come to Die  by Nathan Louis Jackson and was eager to se it even before a colleague wrote how much he had enjoyed it. This is a very special play - not only a good script, but magnificent acting as real as any I have seen. Thomas Kail’s direction was flawless. Even the sound effects and lights were right on the mark.  Bravo!

I missed seeing Dusty And The Big Bad World. Reading it, I feel I truly missed what has to have been a fascinating production about today’s religious right (as opposed to left, not wrong) censoring anything of which they disapprove. The U S is no longer separating church and state, if it ever truly did.

So pleased "The King's Speech" won some of the awards it deserved.  I didn't see all the nominees, but I feel Geoffrey Rush was cheated.

PAGES

Busy getting reviews for PIXIE TALES which is now available on line at. http://smashwords.com/b/4050.  Preview paper copies probably will not be on sale at the Rainbow Book Fair March 26th at the LGBT Center on

Christopher Street

in New York. My illnesses and accident delayed me too long.  Still working on it, despite a recalcitrant computer. Also working on formatting the second book in the 4 book set, ELFIN TALES for Smashwords and paperback.  Had nice session with illustrator Maggie Cousins, with lots of preliminary sketches of our elves. Also saw the stunning work she did on the dog book she has been illustrating.

Read two early William Maxwell novels, both about young men. I much enjoy his writing style and sympathize with his characters. What I suspected from the first works of his I read appears to be the case - he never quite let go of the horror of being a twelve year old boy and having his mother die. He writes of it often, and though the characters are frequently different, the tragedy is always of the same dark despair. It was undoubtedly the defining moment in his life.

Currently reading two biographies - one of Herman Melville who suffered from the same mental illness as the Captain in my play-in-progress, Spirit Of The House. The other of Rene Blum. How could I resist the review copy sent to the Art Times Journal offices about this incredible dance impresario who was also so much more in so many other fields of the arts?

Have lots of interviews on air and online coming out in the next week or so - March 8 at 1PM talk radio interview about publishing - with references to SHORT PLAYS TO LONG REMEMBER on IVARadioNetwork.Com links to show will be forwarded 24 hours before broadcast

Also Mar 8 - promo begins for e-book LIVING THE LIFE OF MY DREAMS to which I contributed one of the 30 chapters (selected from over 300 contributions)

March 9 - an interview of mine will be printed on line focusing on advice on self-publishing, along with my bio, via: Brummet's Conscious Blog: http://www.consciousdiscussions.blogspot.com/

Hope someone will be inspired to leave a massage on this blog instead of just writing me privately about what they did or didn’t like on the blog!  It's suppopsesd to be interactive, not a diary guys!

And now, back to the bother of readying my taxes!