Author Spotlight Week - Michelle Levigne shares her favorite 80's TV show

You honestly expect me to remember back that far?

Ugh!

Let's see, M*A*S*H went off the air when I was in college, and that was '83, so .... There were so many I liked, but they would die after one season -- I sometimes felt like a jinx, you know? If I loved a show, it was bound to die!

I'm going to have to say Stingray, just because it's one show that when it came out on DVD, I actually bought it. Of course, it's been sitting on my desk, waiting to be watched for ... not going to say how long. Essentially, Ray is a man of mystery, no known background, man of many faces, who moves around helping the downtrodden and helpless in exchange for "favors" -- when he needs their special talent to help someone else, they have to repay the favor. And he's Italian, wears a black leather jacket, and drives a vintage black Stingray. How can you miss?!?!?!

I have to admit that the Stingray influence has pervaded a number of my books. I have a humorous romantic suspense series with another publisher that can be directly attributed to a Stingray fanzine story I wrote. The characters would not die, and they launched a whole story line.

Author Spotlight Week -Danielle Thorne shares her favorite 80's show

I watched a lot of television growing up. Even back then, experts worried it would stifle my imagination. I don’t recall it having that affect! Some of my fondest memories of spending time with my big sister, are of watching Fantasy Island and The Love Boat. That special night was the highlight of my week – even better than cartoons on Saturday. As I grew older, I glued myself to detective shows like Miami Vice. I graduated from a crush on Gopher to speed boats.

Miami Vice was so exotic to a Southern girl like me. I'd been raised running barefoot in the mountains and swimming in creek beds. Even when we moved to Suburbia, we were still in Music City, U.S.A. -- Nashville -- so beaches and neon city lights were the moon. The theme song to that cop show is still one of my most memorable show tunes. Then again, every time I hear Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight," I think of Miami Vice and the episode it played on. Oh the days of mullets and white blazers and designer shades!

I guess you can say I've grown up. I do find the Florida tropics a nice place to visit, but I am more attracted to the Caribbean further south.

Author Spotlight Week - Gail Delaney shares her favorite 80's TV Show

When I think of 80's television, several shows come to mind… Beauty and the Beast, Young Riders, The A-Team, Silver Spoons, Who's the Boss?... I was a religious watcher of Beauty and the Beast and Young Riders (I actually have 2 postcards from the cast of Young Riders with their autographs), but my all time favorite television show of the 80's was… Scarecrow and Mrs. King.

Oh, I sat every Monday night waiting… waiting… for that show! I loved it! I had this friend on the school bus who was also a fan, and every Tuesday morning we'd huddle in our seats together and rehash every moment and every glance.

Especially before Lee and Amanda became a couple. Oh, my goodness! (To accurately quote Amanda King). Season One, they could barely stand each other. Season Two (The season I like to call "What was she thinking with that hair cut?"), the ice was melting, leading into heavy flirting and hand holding in Season Three… and finally, their secret love affair and marriage in Season Four. I mean, come on! What future romance author wouldn’t eat this stuff up with a spoon!

I was in junior high/early high school at the time, and I didn't know the story behind why suddenly -- right after the two of them were married on the show -- that Kate Jackson/Amanda King pretty much disappeared from the screen. And when the show was cancelled, I was heartbroken! I saw at least two more seasons of them sneaking around before they finally got caught and had to fess up! It was until later that I discovered the truth. Right after they filmed the episode in which Lee and Amanda got married, Kate Jackson was diagnosed with breast cancer and immediately began intense treatments that left her so tired she completed what little filming they did (they rewrote scripts to accommodate her) usually seated. And they cancelled the show instead of going on without her, or with an abbreviated appearance. She was, after all, Mrs. King.

Twenty or so years later, I made my own resolution. Writing SMK fanfiction was my first endeavor into the long misunderstood genre. ☺ I rewrote their first kiss, because I didn't like it and thought it was lame. I created a whole back story through the third and fourth season, and I wrote a novella length story that was ultimately their 'coming out'… the reason they had to come clean and confess their secret marriage. That was about 10 years ago, and I still get emails today about those stories. ☺

I guess Lee and Amanda were some of my early 'television' romance influences. I always look for the 'ship'. And hello… Bruce Boxleitner was totally hot!