The great costume designers of Hollywood’s Golden Years brought an incredible amount of artistry to the screen. The creations of Adrian, Travis Banton, Helen Rose, Howard Greer, Edith Head, Irene, Orry-Kelly and many others were the epitome of style and enthralled moviegoers over many generations.

One of these great designers, Adrian, is featured in this photograph. The other person is Greta Garbo who started out in silent films and was one of the few to make a successful transition to talkies. Adrian designed many of Garbo’s gowns and here the pair look over some sketches for un upcoming production.

I was so inspired by Adrian’s remarkable work that I featured him in my novel Ashley’s Rainbow as friend and mentor to the main character, Ashley Dann. Ashley is trying to make her own way in the costume designer industry and at the same time break free from the shadow cast by her famous, selfish and self-centered actress mother.

I find that those who are great in their chosen profession, whatever it may be, always inspire others in one way or another. In the case of writers the inspiration often provides them with the germ of a story or an interesting characterization which they can further develop.

The talented Garbo pops up in my novel Gossip Column in a minor but important role.

Posted on May 17th, 2007 by Pat Turner
Filed under: Hollywood Snippets | 2 Comments »

‘Member when your Mama told you ‘be careful to be nice, you’ll never know who you’ll impress?’ She was being straight with you. A while ago, Kathy Cordova of El Prado, New Mexico kindly wrote me a nice review for my novel ‘Snap Me a Future.’ She published it in the Silver City Press, Silver City New Mexico.

Silver City’s an old mining town in Southern New Mexico, now turned arts hub. The editor and now owner of the Silver City paper, Tiny Ely. liked the review. She and I are both in the New Mexico Press Women and the National Federation of Press Women. But all Tina knew of me at the time of the review was that I was the NMPW Communication Contest Director, and foolhardy (chuckle) enough to be for the umpteenth year.

That got her to thinking about my career in New Mexico as a writer, journalist, and broadcaster. It’s been a joy ride, folks. She decided this year to nominate me for 2007 New Mexico Press Women Communicator of Achievement. This fall, I get to compete for the title at the National Federation of Press Women. I about fell out of my chair when my name was announced for the beautiful award.

When Tina gave me the award–the person submitting the nomination always gives the award at the annual NMPW Banquet–Tina talked about my novels as important in her decision to suggest I get recognition. Of course my books are ‘Snap Me a Future’ about a publicist turned arts reporter in the beautiful Four Corners Area of New Mexico. And ‘A Mouth Full of Shell,’ about a college professor in Pennsylvania and her struggles to get tenure. DLSIJ Press publishes them. See dlsijpress.com for details.

So big thanks to Tina Ely at the Silver City Press, and if you get to Silver City New Mexico, stop by and tell Tina hello for me. Read Kathy Cordova’s reviews if you can get to the paper on line or in print. Silver City’s a great town to visit if you’re planning a New Mexico Vacation, or a Southwest Vacation, and the Press is a neat paper.

El Prado, by the way, is right near Taos. Kathy Cordova is a teacher and a recent PhD. Yeah Kathy. She’s native to New Mexico and does historic walking tours of Taos besides teaching and writing her own articles and books.

Taos, of course is a neat New Mexico spot, as is El Prado.

And remember, Mama is usually write, (or right) even 50 some years after the fact.

Posted on April 29th, 2007 by Connie Gotsch
Filed under: News | 4 Comments »

Not terribly long ago, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what a blog is. Now I’m sitting down to write my first blog entry for an online literary site. My conversion from print writer to online writer may finally be complete.

Yesterday I saw an article in the Isthmus (Madison, Wisconsin’s free arts paper) called The Book’s Next Chapter. It contained interviews with local writers. The topic: Is the printed book dead? The responses varied from one extreme (‘Yes, literature and civilization have been killed by the Internet.’) to another (‘Yeah, books are dead, but who cares?’) I find myself caught somewhere in between, loving old books, but struggling to catch up with a generation that seems to have been gifted with unlimited opportunities to express their creativity.

As a young writer in the 1970s, I filled notebook after notebook with scribbled stories. I laboriously transcribed them on my typewriter, using tons of that funky old erasing paper that left white flakes all over the place. When I got my first computer in the 1990s, I initially used it as a really expensive typewriter. As far as I was concerned, creativity and technology were completely incompatible. To abandon my notebook was to abandon my Muse. But then I gradually realized how much easier it was to rework, rewrite and redo at the keyboard and I was hooked. My Muse and I can’t even imagine writing with a pen anymore!

I was slow to embrace the Internet until I discovered the heady freedom that the technology that I once despised gives to the ordinary writer. Now, rather than write in isolation, any author can join an online community and start posting stories for comments. And –wonder of wonders – just as I was reluctantly beginning to consider reworking my quirky existential book, Eternal Café, to conform to the mass-market sensibilities of the big print publishers, along came online and print-on-demand publishing. Not since the Lost Generation writers pooled their resources to create their own magazines have writers had such control over their own literary futures!

So yes, I still prefer to take a print book on vacations with me, but since I nervously entered the online literary world a few years ago I’ve gained virtual writing friends, embraced the freedom to write stories outside the mainstream, and edited a book of short stories (WomanScapes) written by an international group of women who I would never have come into contact with pre-Internet. And now I’ve written my first blog entry.

I suppose my response to the question raised in the Isthmus is this: Yes, the print book may be on its way out, but creativity isn’t. Literature has little to do with pens and paper and everything to do with writers connecting with their Muse. And the Muses seem right at home in the virtual world.

* * *

Posted on April 24th, 2007 by EJ McFall
Filed under: General | 4 Comments »

This comes from Posh Magazine in New Mexico. As the name implies it’s a real swanky well-to-do magazine. I don’t even get a copy.

“Connie Gotsch has written a GREAT SOUTHWEST MYSTERY in Snap Me a Future. Former investigative reporter and aspiring art photographer Shelby McCoy has retreated from the newspaper world and now works in public relations for an arts mall in fictional Mesa Vista, New Mexico for a particularly unpleasant boss who eventually gives her enough reason to take the plunge back into journalism as the arts editor of the Mesa Vista Times. What should have been a safe and easy assignment is complicated by the discovery of pottery thefts from nearby Indian ruins, and Shelby sets off to find the truth.
SHELBY IS THE KIND OF CHARACTER YOU’D LIKE TO HANG OUT WITH, AND I HOPE THAT GOTSCH, PROGRAM DIRECTOR FOR FARMINGTON’S KSJE-FM PUBLIC RADIO STATION, PLANS TO BRING HER BACK SOON.”

Posted on April 21st, 2007 by Connie Gotsch
Filed under: Book Reviews | 2 Comments »

Well, being on internet radio on the show ‘All Things that Matter’ with ‘A Mouth Full of Shell’ and ‘Snap Me a Future’ was an interesting experience. The host, Phil Harris, is in Maine, in the middle of the nor’easter that’s currently pounding the Eastern seaboard, so all afternoon his phone lines were shaking. He kept e-mailing me about the storm’s progress and it’s affect on local communications. First we were on, then off, then on, and then off as the technology shuddered under rainy, snowy wind blasts. Well, about 5:15 New Mexico time, he told me we were off. I got ready to head home from work. But just before I did, intuition, or a guardian angel/spirit, or something made me check the mail box once more. He was sending me frantic messages, WE’RE ON. WE’RE ON. The storm had paused. So I made contact, and we did the show.

In some ways Phil was like a regular radio host, asking questions, but in other ways, he was different. First, he wasn’t plagued by advertising. We didn’t need to take breaks to talk about beer or jet planes, or bras every fifty seconds. So we could chat for a half hour about my books ‘Snap Me a Future,’ and ‘A Mouth Full of Shell,’ and their themes. Of course in part, Shell’s theme is to learn to trust your intuition. When people are telling you stuff that doesn’t add up, trust your gut and you’ll know what’s right. One of Snap’s themes in ‘don’t pinch the pot at the pueblo.’ In other words, if you visit Native American ruins, leave the artifacts where you found them. Phil and I spent a good deal of time talking about the Antiquities Act of 1906, and the tragedy of people stealing pots and tools from sites.

We started a little late, because I got the message a tick after 5:30, when we had scheduled that I would call Phil. Well, there wasn’t another show following his, so we went ahead and chatted an extra five minutes. Unlike traditional radio, which runs by the second on the clock, the whole experience of internet radio was flexible and fun. If you want to hear my broadcast with Phil Harris, go to www.internetvoicesradio.com Find his link. You can get a Podcast at this point in his archives.

On another subject, but in a way related: I entered a national photo show a few weeks ago. Generally, if they reject your work, they send your slides or digital photos back to you with a little form letter that is usually so cheesy you can almost hear someone wailing ‘I’m sorry, so sorry–,’ in a country twang or a fake southern accent. When I withdrew the return package from the mail box, I thought I felt two digital photos CDs under the outside padding so braced for rejection I went back to the house. When I opened the package, the two CDs were there all right, but I also had a letter of acceptance for one of the photos. This was confusing because usually, if a show like that accepts a work, they keep the slide or CD, so they can identify the art later, if need be. I called the show’s curator and he uttered a cry of joy. They had been turning the museum upside down looking for the CD of my work for the accepted piece. Somebody had inadvertently tossed both CDs into my return envelope.

The Moral of these ramblings? Take a tip from ‘A Mouth Full of Shell.’ Never second guess the weather or the guy/gal judging the show. Listen to your intuition, even when you think common sense tells you something else. It may neither be common nor sensible.

Posted on April 16th, 2007 by Connie Gotsch
Filed under: General | 2 Comments »

Monday, April 16 at 530 pm Mountain Daylight Time, and 7:30 Eastern Daylight Time, I’ll be talking to Philip Harris on his internet radio show All Things That Matter, at http://www.internetvoicesradio.com

We’ll be talking live about the themes of my novels, ‘Snap Me a Future’ and ‘A Mouth Full of Shell,’ both published by dlsijpress.com. A podcast of All Things that Matter will be available for down load about an hour after the show from Phil’s page at the radio site. http://www.internetvoicesradio.com/phil.htm
You can also go to the right side of the station’s home page and click on Philip F. Harris under the heading Our Silver Host’s:

I don’t know for sure what he’ll ask me when we talk, but I imagine we’ll discuss the process of learning how and when to stand up for yourself, the central issue in ‘A Mouth Full of Shell,’ for Professor Betsy Craig, as she battles for tenure at a small university.

Shell has other themes too, of course, such as listening to your own common sense when you’re in a tight spot, and acting on what your thoughts tell you to do, or perhaps stopping to consider that someone who tells you you’re wrong may not be right himself, especially if you have the support of lots of other people.

We’ll also probably talk about the nasty habit some jerks have of stealing antiquities from ancient Indian sites in the western United States, one of the central issues in ‘Snap Me a Future.’ We’ll probably also ramble on about Snap’s other theme, learning to temper fear–and courage–with behaviors that reflect common sense.

Anyway, it should be a good time, and I’m looking forward to it. Join Philip F. Harris and me on All Things That Matter if you can live April 16th at 7:30 Eastern Time, 6:30 Central, and 5:30 Mountain at http://www.internetvoicesradio.com

About an hour after the show ends, download a podcast of the discussion at http://www.internetvoicesradio.com/phil.htm

Posted on April 6th, 2007 by Connie Gotsch
Filed under: Author Events | 4 Comments »

Louella Parsons, one of the real-life gossip columnists who features in my Hollywood novel Gossip Column, is pictured here on the left at a celebrity function. She appears to be eavesdropping on the two stars to the right of the photograph, Barbara Stanwyck and Natalie Wood. Louella, together with her great adversary, Hedda Hopper, held enormous power over personalities in the movie business, chiefly during the 1930s and 1940s. This power included the making or breaking of many careers.

Posted on March 31st, 2007 by Pat Turner
Filed under: Hollywood Snippets | 6 Comments »

If you like animals, you’ll get a kick out of some of the characters in my novels ‘Snap Me a Future’ and ‘A Mouth Full of Shell,’ published by DLSIJPress.com Shell’s heroine, Professor Betsy Craig, has a parakeet named Fritz. Snap’s central character, Shelby McCoy, has a Setter-Lab named Sam. He is also known as a Setterdor.

As you have probably guessed, I’ve had parakeets, one actually named Fritz. I figured that most people would have a Fritz the Cat, after that silly mid-1970s full length adult cartoon ‘Fritz the Cat.’ So I decided to have Fritz the Bird.

Before him I also had Jet, Charlie, Pogo, Screwball, and Noisy. After Fritz, came Rachmaninoff, (Rocky to his friends.) The antics Fritz pulls on Betsy in ‘A Mouth Full of Shell:’ dive-bombing her head, bathing in her coffee, rattling his cage when he wants out, and blurting some phrase she’s taught him at the perfect moment, were all things my birds did to me.

The dog in ‘Snap Me a Future,’ Sam, is based on my current mutt, a Setter Lab named Benjamin. Ben is a rambunctious gallumpfing galoot. One swish of his Setter-feathered tail, and plants, crockery,, or anything else in the way, go flying. Thank goodness I have carpet on my floors and not ceramic tiles.

When you press the little button at my house that should ring the door bell, Ben goes off louder than any chime. Same for the telephone. The minute it rings, he thunders.

Therefore in ‘Snap Me a Future,’ there’s one rather funny scene with Sam, the telephone, and Sam’s owner, Shelby McCoy–in the middle of the night.

Sam loves up to everybody, like most dogs of his breeds. So Shelby’s love interest, Benjamin Keith, who can’t stand canines, gets plenty of baths, and dog-sneeze showers, to his disgust. Sam figures into ‘Snap Me a Future’ when the ‘bad guys’ appear. Just what he does is a secret, except to say that he’s an animal hero.

Why did I put animals into ‘A Mouth Full of Shell’ and ‘Snap Me a Future?’ Well, when I was writing my first book, ‘A Mouth Full of Shell,’ I needed a foil for some of Betsy Craig’s thoughts as she struggled with a battle to get tenure at a small university in Pennsylvania. I hated to tell the reader what her ideas and feelings were. I needed a way to show them. Letting her interact with a bird was the perfect way to let her act out her thoughts. Then as I developed him, I found that Fritz could move ‘A Mouth Full of Shell’s’ story along with a convenient squawk, dive, or head skim, as Betsy learns to stand up to office bullies and demand the tenure she has rightfully earned.

‘When Snap Me a Future’ came along, I decided to use my dog, as a model and and foil for Shelby McCoy, an investigative reporter who’s lost her nerve, fled to a public relations job, and is now easing back into newspaper work.

Sam gets in the middle of Shelby McCoy’s photography portfolio, barks at birds beyond the back yard, gets caught up with an antiquities thief and his accomplice as Shelby writes a news story on them, and finally gets separated in the northern New Mexico Badlands from his beloved mistress.

Do they ever get back together? The only way to know is to read ‘Snap Me a Future.’ I will say this: there is a dog in the middle of the story’s sequel, which is still in the computer. But I ain’t sayin’ if it’s Sam.

Best thing to do is come meet Sam and Fritz. You’ll enjoy their antics, I promise. Check out ‘A Mouth Full of Shell’ and ‘Snap Me a Future’ at DLSIJpress.com

Posted on March 29th, 2007 by Connie Gotsch
Filed under: General | 7 Comments »