Author Spotlight - May Williams shares her favorite film

As I mentioned in the Q and A from Monday, I love vintage film so I thought I would talk about one of my favorites today. The film that I could watch over and over is Desk Set (1957). This film from 20th Century Fox stars Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. I don't think there has even been a Hollywood couple with more chemistry than these two.

In the movie, Hepburn (ironically named Bunny) works in the research department of a major TV network. Tracy plays one of the first computer experts who is supposed to be designing a computer to do the work of the research department. As he finds out (and we already know here in the 21st century), the computer can only do so much. People have more value and more knowledge than machines. In the process of figuring this out, Hepburn and Tracy fall in love.

Although I enjoy the spunk of Hepburn in all of her films, I think she is particularly savvy and witty in Desk Set. The three ladies she works with are equally smart plus they all wear some fabulous 1950s dresses. My favorite scene is the Christmas party that roams through the different departments at the network. I've never been to a party quite like that, but it sure looks like fun.

Author Spotlight - Nike Chillemi shares her favorite authors

I have a lot of favorite authors. As pretty much everyone knows, I read crime fiction. I wasn't aware of too much in the crime fiction department in Christian fiction for a good long while. I guess it took me awhile to catch up to where some Christian authors were going in terms of grittiness. So, I pretty much read secular authors.

For two to three years, every time I ventured into reading what I was assured was a seat-of-the-pants Christian suspense; it turned out to be the same-old, same-old romantic suspense story with many implausible elements and the police procedure really off the mark.

During that time I read everything I could get my hands on by Michael Connelly, the former crime beat reporter for the LA Times. He writes the infamous Harry Bosch homicide detective series. Connelly has got another intriguing character, Mickey Haller. THE LINCOLN LAWYER, one of the Haller books, was recently made into a movie that did very well in reviews and at the box office. In the beginning years of my writing, Connelly influenced my writing more than any other writer in terms of what cop culture really is. He gets his police and court procedure really right.


Then I discovered Robert Liparulo, and began to see how faith issues could be interwoven into the inner turmoil a character was experiencing. I went totally berserk over Liparulo for about a year. Every time I opened my mouth it was Liparulo, Liparulo.


Now if anyone thinks my writing is going to be anything like Connelly's or Liparulo's, they're going to be sadly disappointed. Hey, first of all, hey, I'm female. Like most ladies, I like a goodly dose of romance in the story. I've been told that my break out novel BURNING HEARTS has suspense, action, and romance in equal measure with a bit of humor thrown into the mix.

Other Christian market favorites are J. Mark Bertrand, Steven James, Sibella Giorello, James Scott Bell. My other general market favorites are Robert Crais, Barbara Parker, J.A. Jance.

Author Spotlight - Nike Chillemi shares her thoughts about "The Lincoln Lawyer"

Matthew McConaughey stars as low-rent defense attorney Mickey Haller in the recently released The Lincoln Lawyer, taken from the bestselling novel of the same name written by Michael Connelly. I wanted to see the movie because I loved the book and also because Michael Connelly's writing has influenced me greatly as a writer of mysteries. The other reason was McConaughey is not hard to look at…oh, pluck my eyes out!

Mickey Haller, Esq. keeps body and soul together in the sprawl of Los Angeles working out of the back of his chauffeured car, an older Lincoln Continental kept in mint condition. His clientele is, shall we say, a tad less that reputable. Okay, they're mostly degenerates. So, when a chance comes along to defend a rich playboy accused of rape, he thinks he's hit the jackpot. Mickey soon figures out he's been set up and trapped in a twisted scenario where an innocent man may have gone to prison and a guilty one will go free. The only way to survive and right a wrong is to out weasel the weasel.

The movie adaptation was a good one, in my opinion. It didn't try to sanitize the story, but instead left in all the grit. Marisa Tomei brilliantly plays Mickey Haller's ex-wife, mother of his child, colleague, and now friend. William Macy portrays Haller's private investigator with a secret or two in his past. The movie is first rate about a less than perfect lawyer, playing all the angles trying to stay afloat in a dog-eat-dog world, who just might want to see right, not wealth and might, prevail.

Author Spotlight week -Sue Perkins share her favorite authors

Author J Morgan

There are so many authors I love to read it’s difficult to choose only one. I think Terry Pratchett or Anne McCaffrey would tie for first place. The humor in Mr Pratchett’s books enhance the words and depth of the story. He has an uncanny knack of twisting words so they not only tell the tale but also make the reader laugh. Ms McCaffrey’s Dragons of Pern series have been on my bookshelves for many years. I also have her less well known books of Petaybee and The Ship Who Sang books. However there are several up and coming authors whose books have caught my interest. Some of them I’ve read, others I have on my new Sony reader to dive into when I have time.

One of these is J. Morgan. I love the quirky way he brings humor to his vampire series. It’s very cleverly done. Wish I could introduce humor like that. He makes it look so easy. Naomi Novik is another reasonably new comer to fantasy. I’ve read all but the last of her Temeraire series and found them fascinating.

Author Spotlight week -Sue Perkins share her favorite movies

Depends on how far back you want to go. My favorite movie of all time is “Gone With the Wind”. This romantic story shows the lengths a woman will go to for the man she loves. The background of the American Civil War provides a tugging of the heartstrings. Rhett (as played by Clark Gable) is gorgeous and although Scarlet drives you mad she is acting exactly as a woman who will do anything to get what she wants. Vivacious, maddening, everyone thinks she is tough but inside she is a scared little girl. I really believe this is the film that got me interested in romance, well that and Georgette Heyer.

As for recent releases - that would have to be Avatar. It’s amazing. The softness of love mixes with the hardness of the Pandoran warriors. The people have to save their planet from ravaging humans or they and the creatures who inhabit this fantastic world will perish. The military base and human side is a bit plain and utilitarian although there are a few out of this world machines. The marines protect a scientific team. Not the best place to find love. Some of the scientists and one marine inhabit Avatars to better communicate with the people of Pandora. The marine gets lost and is found by a Pandoran who believes the spirit of the planet wants him to help her people. I found the beautiful scenery (as seen through Pandoran eyes) to be absolutely gorgeous, fairylike and fantasy orientated. The love scenes are tender and romantic. Altogether an action based romantic film.

Author Spotlight Week -Melanie Atkins talks about her favorite "spot"

My favorite spot is right in my own backyard. Yes, at my home. My back porch, to be exact. I live in the Deep South, where winters are relatively mild and summers are blazing hot, and I relish the time I can spend out there before that heat arrives. I have plants, including hanging baskets, scattered around, and I love to sit and write (I bought a small laptop table just for this purpose), and watch my cats aggravate each other. I live on a cul-de-sac, so they are free to roam about the yard. None of them venture too far, thank goodness, and we have fun together. I also have a couple of hummingbirds that venture to my feeder, and they're a blast to watch, too.

So you can find me on my back porch most days that I have time to write and/or edit in the spring, early summer, and fall. But July, August, and the first few weeks of September? Not happening -- and I even have a fan out there. Is it writing time yet?

Author Spotlight week -Theresa Stillwagon shares her favorite authors

Hitler's Eagle Nest circa 1945.

How can a person possible pick just one favorite author? I like so many of them. Right now on my to be read shelf are B. J. Daniels, Lisa Childs, J. D. Robb (but not Nora Roberts), Terry C. Johnston, Susan Anderson, Caron Todd, Linda Style, Heather Graham, and Rennie Airth. Of these I guess my favorite would have to be Heather Graham. But really my favorite is whichever one I'm reading at the time. Unless, of course, I can't stand the book.

Right now I'm not reading a fiction book at all, but a history one. I'm reading a book about the Germans during World War Two. It's a scary one. I have to keep telling myself it has already happened.

I love history.
Don't ask!

Author Spotlight week -Theresa Stillwagon shares her favorite movie

I thought about this subject and couldn't com up with only one. (I love so many movies.) I asked my husband what he thought my favorite movie was and he said Grumpy Old Men. I was thinking The Lord of the Rings.

Then it came to me. My favorite movie isn't known except by my family. It doesn't even have a real name. I only call it 'Dad'. It's a mix-match of old 8mm films of my parents and siblings while I was growing up. My sister put them together into a DVD way back in 1992. My father died a few days after Christmas in 1992. After the funeral my mother and sisters and brothers sat together and watched this 'movie'. My dad loved horses, and in the film he was happy riding one of those horses. I couldn't watch it again for almost a year.

My mother went to be with the Lord a few days after Easter in 2001. This is my favorite 'movie' because they are still alive in it.
I still miss them so much.

Author Spotlight Week - Linda Swift shares her favorite movie

My all-time favorite movie is Gone With The Wind. I love the Civil War period of history and sweeping sagas with many subplots, deep-South settings, and elaborate costumes. I get so caught up in them that I feel a part of them. I can achieve almost this same sense of participation in a good thick book. (or ebook) But the visuals and sound do enrich the story for me. I loved the excitement of the battles, the drama of their struggles, and of course, the passion between Rhett Butler and Scarlet O'Hara. There will never be another Clark Gable.

I am fascinated by the fact that Margaret Mitchell wrote only this book and one other which was destroyed. (I doubt that it would have been another Gone With The Wind.) And what a lasting imprint she made with this one story. I had to write one Civil War book in my lifetime and I did. It is being released this July, in the first year of the Sesquicentennial four-year celebration. But wait, I'm getting off track here talking about books and authors instead of movies made from those books. I have to confess that I have seen few movies do justice to the books they came from. But perhaps that is because I am an author, not an actress and prefer books to movies overall.

Many of today's movies bore me with their shallow plots and loud, jarring music and fast action. Spoken like a person not in tune with the times, right? I'm sure my mother said the same thing about my taste in movies. To each his own.

Author Spotlight Week - Carie Lawson talks about books

I recently have read several books by Elizabeth Rolls, who writes Regency romance. I haven’t read any historicals in quite a while, but enjoyed her. She does a good job adding a suspense element to her stories that hooked me as a reader.

I also recently read your book, The Hungarian, and really enjoyed it, Steph. You did a great job with building the tension and the suspense of who the Hungarian really was. I’m looking forward to the reading, The Count’s Lair. I’ve also recently read and highly recommend Tamara Alexander’s book, The Inheritance. The story gives a tremendous amount of meaning to the struggles in life. You know those moments when you can’t help but ask yourself, Why me, God? I won’t say it was an easy read, but it was a book that has stuck with me since I read it.

Author Spotlight Week - Barbara Scott talks about her favorite movies

When it comes to choosing favorite movies, it's hard for me to pick just one. Today though, I will limit myself to three that have influenced me as a writer. I don't know about other writers, but gone for me are the days when I could just lose myself on a movie for pure pleasure. Now I have to analyze them for strengths and weaknesses, for plot points ,and characters. (The Pirate of the Caribbean movies excepted; I love them but they defy my analysis.)


I don't remember whether I read the book or saw the movie of The Princess Bride first. It doesn't matter. Though neither should be missed, the move stands on its own. As both a parody and a tribute to the fairy tale romance, The Princess Bride has everything: a beautiful, spoiled heroine, Princess Buttercup, her devoted and scorned admirer, later turned hero, Westley, the evil Prince and his henchman, and the unforgettable sidekick, Inigo Montoya. The plot is a wild, fast-paced series of improbable events, and the climax is absolutely satisfying. It's no wonder this 1973 film has become a cult classic. As a writer, it teaches me to free my inhibitions and let my imagination take flight.

The original Star Wars is a movie that needs no description or explanation. It's plot is the supreme example of the hero's journey. A improbable hero is called to adventure and goes through a series of obstacles to achieve his goal. Most popular fiction follows this pattern. You can't find a better embellishment of a bare bones structure than Star Wars.


Finally, You've Got Mail is a romantic comedy that I will watch whenever it is on. Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) loses her beloved bookstore due to the opening of a mega-bookstore owned by Joe Fox (Tom Hanks.) With everything against them, these two still find their way to each other. Whenever I think to take it easy on my hero and heroine, I try to remember this movie and go for the harder odds.

*****
Barbara's upcoming release, "West of Heaven" will be released 15 APR with Desert Breeze.

Author Spotlight Week - Barbara Scott talks about her love for westerns

I think if I followed the advice to "write what you know" none of my books would ever be written. West of Heaven is my first historical Western romance, and I had fun writing it. Certain conventions of this genre make it very appealing. Who can resist the iconic cowboy, the girl who tames him, the vivid settings, and the colorful secondary characters filling the background of most Westerns? All of these combine with classic stories of white hat vs. black to make this genre attract devoted followers.

Historicals of many eras appeal to me. My first book for Desert Breeze was an historical, Listen With Your Heart. It was also set in 1871, but started at the Chicago Fire and moved east to New York, Connecticut, and eventually Ireland. I've written a Civil War ghost story trilogy and a YA historical set during the pre Civil War Kansas-Missouri border wars. I love the research involved. Usually something I come across researching one book is the spark for the next. I guess the consistency is the American focus.

The opportunity to go larger than life with characters is more acceptable in historicals than contemporaries. (Where would a swashbuckler fit in the twenty-first century?) I am very much a character focused writer. If I can redeem a disgraced trail boss who is also a murder suspect, or take a bunch of fallen women and send them on a cattle drive I'm happy.

One of the difficulties with Westerns is their familiarity. With a cattle trail book, you have to expect the difficult river crossings, the stampede, campfire talk, and rustlers. Making these fresh and memorable in West of Heaven was my goal, made easier by the cowgirls that make up the outfit.

I love reading and writing historicals, but I can't help but dabble in contemporary romance as well. In fact, my October book from Desert Breeze, Talk of the Town, will be a contemporary.

Author Spotlight Week - Barri Bryan shares one of her favorite books

When I got my Kindle, I decided to read some of the older romance novels. I knew next-to-nothing about the authors of the late nineteenth the early twentieth century. I have had a great time reading some of the romances of that era. The last book I read was titled The Judge. It was written my Rebecca West. I didn’t know it at the time, but Ms. West was a very popular author in her day. She was also a very controversial figure. I had read her first novel titled The Return of the Soldier and I loved it. It made me rethink the whole concept of romantic love.

The Judge is too long, too wordy, has too many flashbacks, and is told from too many points of view. It lacks that happy ending that, for me, is a must in a romantic story. Despite all the obstacles that I perceived as flaws, I enjoyed the book. The story has an intriguing plot. The hero, from one point of view, is dashing, handsome, and accomplished. From another point of view, I’m not sure the poor boy doesn’t suffer from an Oedipus complex. The heroine is pure, sweet and alternately naïve and wise beyond her years. The mother in the story is a complete enigma. I, in turn, liked her, hated her, felt pity for her, and wanted to give her a good kick in the rear. Too often I didn’t understand her motives or her actions. Some of the dialogue borders on the ridiculous. Would I recommend the book? I would, it’s interesting and it’s different, and if you don’t like it you haven’t wasted anything but your time. It’s a free Kindle download.

Author Spotlight Week - Barri Bryan shares her favorite TV shows

I don’t have a favorite TV show. I do have some favorite TV channels. I love the Turner Classic Movies channel. I especially like old ‘30s and 40s movies. I know that they’re always dated, sometimes sappy, and often politically incorrect, but I love them just the same. I am a big fan of Bette Davis movies. I also like Ann Harding and Merle Oberon. I have had a crush on Clark Gable since I was eight years old and saw him in a movie titled It Happened One Night. I absolutely love old 30s and 40s musicals, especially those that star Alice Faye, Judy Garland, or Ginger Rogers.

If I don’t care for the movie that is showing, I turn to the Cooking Channel. I like to watch Paula Deen cook all those delicious recipes that are loaded with butter or mayonnaise, or both. I like to watch Rachel Raye cook too. If there is nothing I care to watch, on either of these channels, I turn to a news channel. If the news is too depressing, I turn the off button and read a book.

I have recently begun watching old reruns of Star Trek with my grandson, who is a big Trekkie fan. And I must say that even though I didn’t think at first that I would like them, I find I’ve become a fan too.

Author Spotlight Week -Regina Andrews shares her favorite book

What a great question, thank you for asking! But to answer that question is a real paradox. I would have to say the era of Nathaniel Hawthorne, in the 1850’s is my real fave! This was a time of great artistic and literary enlightenment in the US, particularly in the Northeast. In fact my heroine in “In Good Faith” (2009 Awe-Struck http://bit.ly/pLV5w is named Haley Hawthorne.

But above it all for naming my favorite author, I have to go back to the Bible. Now I know that’s not one author, - we are listening to many voices, all of one heart. And that’s what I love!

I have a Bible, it was my father's, not, mine, and I treasure it more than anything. I remember him on his knees every night before we went to sleep, deep in prayer, and this Bible was always by his side. There was never a question I had that he couldn't address, relating it somehow to the Bible in a kind and loving way. He was always understanding. It was always a message of love, and happiness and acceptance.

And believe me, his life was not easy. But he gloried in God's love, and loved his family and my mother and us (kids) more than anything. To think that he found solace in the Word of God makes me live every day with this same awareness and humility – in His service.

As an author, it’s important to me that the context of our work is as understood as the words we are conveying. So the ‘authorship’ question is really interesting! To me, it’s a real source of glory that not just one voice could ever convey the human experience: just like a choir needs bass, tenor, alto and soprano to make the music whole, God included more than one voice for us all to be able to hear His message in this wonderful work of Literature.

Author Spotlight Week -Regina Andrews shares her favorite movie

I love the movies so much! I'm always looking for the ones with happy endings, though
:-) That being said, 'Sound of Music', over and over.

First of all, in 1930's Austria, how romantic (!), a young woman named Maria is failing miserably in her attempts to become a nun.

Okay, what “IW” aspirant would not identify with her? ☺

Then, Navy captain (yikes, hunk!) Georg Von Trapp writes to the convent asking for a governess that can handle his seven mischievous children, Maria is given the job.

The Von Trapp children, resentful over the loss of their mother, have managed to run each of the prospective governesses off, one by one. When Maria arrives, she is initially met with the same hostility, but her kindness, understanding, and sense of fun soon draws them to her and brings some much-needed joy into all their lives -- including the Captain's.

Eventually he and Maria find themselves falling in love, even though Georg is already engaged to a Baroness and Maria is still a postulant. The romance makes them both start questioning the decisions they have made.

This is the best conflict, the best test of faith, the greatest story of moral character! Add to this story the backdrop of Nazi Germany and their urgent need to escape…as well as the incredible score…sigh!

Honestly, this is one to watch over and over again!

Author Spotlight Week - Melanie Atkins shares her favorite authors

I have a lot of favorite authors, but if I must pick one that I admire above the others, it has to be Lisa Gardner. She really knows her craft. Her first book, the Perfect Husband, made me realize I wanted to write edgy, romantic thrillers, and I’m still hooked many books later. Her FBI series has me mesmerized. I also enjoy reading John Sandford, Linda Howard, Linda Castillo, Karen Rose, S.J. Rozan, Sandra Brown, Tami Hoag, Linda Fairstein, and Kate Brady--all of whom write either mystery or dark, kickin’ suspense.
I love authors who keep me on the edge of my seat and make me fall in love with their characters. Great dialogue, a plot that flows, and in intriguing premise… all parts of a great story.

Author Spotlight Week - Stephanie Burkhart shares her favorite authors

Author JK Rowling

I would be remise if I didn't give a shout out to those authors who I have enjoyed including: Anne Rice, Judith McNaught, VC Andrews, Victoria Holt and Rebecca Brandewyne. Each of these authors have resonated with me. Rice, for her horror, VC Andrews for her gothic influence (I'm talking the original VC Andrews and Flowers in the Attic) Holt for her gothic romance, McNaught and Brandewyne for their romantic historicals.

I adore Jillian Hunter. Her Boscastle series is pitch perfect historical romance. Her novels are sharp, witty, and the plot is smooth, never dragging.

My favorite author is JK Rowling. The story is compelling. Harry is a young boy who is challenged to grow into a heroic young man. There's witches and wolves, magic and friendship, love and heartbreak. Rowling brings a rich humanity to her paranormal characters. That's what I want to do as well.

Author Spotlight Week - Stephanie Burkhart shares her passions for paranormals

People at work often ask me "What are you writing?" and I usually reply: "My novel." They raise an eyebrow. "How do you come up with ideas for your writing?" I usually tap my temple with my finger and smile. "You'd be surprised by what goes on up here."

I grew up watching Creature Double Feature in the 1970's as a young girl. They had zombies, godzilla, vampires, werewolves, Frankensteins, and all of them gave me a good scare. Those creepy characters resonated with me growing up.

As a young adult, I loved Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches and vampire books. In the 1990's, Gary Oldman's Dracula spooked me out.

I took to writing seriously for publication in 2001 and wrote a sweet military romance and a pair of contemporaries. Then I saw Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabhan in the movie theatre and it rekindled the flame I had for paranormals. I wanted to write my own paranormal stories. The Budapest Moon series is the outgrowth. It's set in an exotic locale and focuses on the man and his humanity despite his condition.

Imagination can drive you wild on occasion, can't it? Wink.

Author Spotlight week - Janice Zick shares her favorite authors

My favorite authors are Anne Tyler for Breathing Lessons, Saint Maybe, The Accidental Tourist, The Clock Winder, The Amateur Marriage, A Slipping Down Life and numerous other novels that have been made into movies. Her characters are always quirky and her style is unique and nearly impossible to imitate: She uses spare language and her themes are always salt of the earth, down to earth, middle America. Her dialogue is spot on. Her novels are character driven and her characters are always a little addle brained and seem to barely muddle through life. They struggle with everyday issues as a result of their own off-beat, unconventional view of life. They seem to obsess over ordinary circumstances that most others would take as a matter of course. In a sense, they seem to invent their own problems. I enjoy her books so much that I actually wrote her once and told her she wasn't allowed to ever die. (She never responded.) Really, if you haven't read an Anne Tyler novel, you should IMHO..

I also like Barbara Kingsolver for The Poisonwood Bible and Summer Sisters. I like Pat Conroy for Beach Music, Prince of Tides and Lords of Discipline. He is, perhaps the most lyrical author I can name.

I like John Steinbeck for Of Mice and Men, The Pearl and Cannery Row; Frank McCourt for Angela's Ashes, which earned the Nobel Prize for literature, although I was somewhat disappointed in his second memoir, Tis. I think like Gone with the Wind, Angela's' Ashes was a work impossible to trump—a very hard act to follow for the author. McCourt, who died recently, began his writing career later in life, which is very unfortunate; because he was extremely talented. I'm sure he had many more novels in him.

I also enjoy John Grisham and Elizabeth Berg. I'm always awaiting their next novel.