Dee J. Adams's Blog, page 12

You Heard It Here: Re-Release Party!

I had a different post ready to go today, (some might call it a REAL blog as opposed to this!)  but I thought I’d preempt it with the latest news! The first three books in the Adrenaline Highs series are being re-released on April 15, and the best news for readers is that they are on sale for a new low price! And I’m talking LOW! Like under four dollars, low!

I thought I’d post a pic of the covers in order. (This is actually my FaceBook cover shot, but it’s so pretty, I thought it was worth sharing here!)

So here’s the confetti and streamers and party horns!!! Whoo-hoo! If you liked any of the books in the series, now’s a great time to tell a friend. And they can catch up and be ready for Living Dangerously on May 20th (which is also being released for a crazy low price!).

Okay, I’m wondering if I’m only one who’s thought about this… Have you ever bought a book you already have because it was released with a new cover? (Maybe the cover you have has been trashed because you’ve read the book so many times or maybe it was damaged somehow. Don’t you hate when you’re reading in the tub and you–HORRORS–drop the book!) Of course the other side of that coin is that you LOVE the old cover and can’t bear to part with it no matter how damaged it is. I’d have to admit that’s me with my old Kathleen Woodiwiss books. They are trashed beyond repair, but I can’t part with them even for new editions.

Do you have any favorite books that have been re-released? Or just favorite books in general that are on your all time keeper shelf? I’d love to hear titles and authors! (Maybe I’ll even spew a couple recommendations of my own!)

You Heard It Here: Hollywood, So Close…

Happy April 1st!

To celebrate the re-release of the first three books in the Adrenaline Highs series, (at a whopping LOW price!), I thought I’d tell you one of my favorite Hollywood stories.

I considered telling you all a HUGE story full of giant television stars doing and saying outrageous things then ending with: April fools!! But I didn’t want to take the chance that you’d never read another one of my books, LOL, so I didn’t. Let me assure you, this next story is very true…

So, 20 something years ago when I was in my very early twenties. I was a stand-in on a show called “Second Chance.”  The stars were (a very young) Matthew Perry and Kiel Martin. (The pic above is Matthew and Kiel. You might remember Kiel from Hill Street Blues.) “Second Chance” turned into “Boys Will Be Boys” and starred Matthew and . (This was Matthew’s first sitcom and I think he was barely eighteen years old. Very adorable and very sweet.) My job was to fill in for the guest actors before they arrived on set. Meaning, I was in the rehearsal hall, rehearsing with the main cast for the first one or two days until the actor actually shooting the role was cast. (It’s less expensive to hire a stand-in for a couple of days than to pay an actor a weekly salary. In many instances, I would spend more time doing the scene than the actor actually doing the role on camera, but I digress…) I often stood-in for the “girl” du jour. Usually every week, one of the boys had a crush on a different pretty girl or there was a special day player that I stood-in for. Aside from standing-in for guest cast, I also stood in for the youngest cast member, Damian Slade. The show was very reminiscent of Happy Days, with a Fonzie-esque character (“Francis Lottobucci”-ie: Arthur Fonzarelli-played by Billy) and straight laced friend (“Chazz Russell”-ie:Richie Cunningham-played by Matthew).

On this particular week, we were shooting a double – “special” Las Vegas – episode where the Boys go to Vegas. Poor Billy came down with something nasty. I think it was Bronchitis, but I don’t really remember. I just remember he was sick as a dog and he ended up going home before we did our network run-thru. (That’s when the cast puts the whole show on its feet so the network and producers can see the show before the first camera day.)  Since I knew his role – where and when he had to move and what props he used – and since I was the only stand-in on the show – I ended up standing in for him. Now, keep in mind that Billy – who played “Booch” – had a serious Brooklyn accent. So me, being the goof (and newbie) that I was thought I should do the part as much like Billy as I could so the executives could get a real feel for what the show was going to be like when he did it. There I am, pretending to be a seventeen year old boy with a Brooklyn accent. I went all out. No fear. I was so nervous I thought I was going to be sick, but I dove in head first with every scene. And sweet Matthew was so supportive since he had to do the whole show with me and not Billy. They usually had just about every scene together too, so he was stuck with me.

I got through run-thru and the plan was to give Billy as much time as possible to recover so I did most of the work the next day too (our first camera day). Billy would come out just to shoot the scene then he’d leave and lie down until we were ready for the next scene. There’s a lot to consider when you put a show on camera for the first time. Hitting “marks” are critical for the camera men, the lighting department and the sound department. I worked my ass off. (I smelled it too. I was mortified. I’m sure when Matthew thinks of me, he just remembers that smelly chick from the big episode. LOL. Although I did run into him about a year ago which is a story I’ve already posted, so you’ll have to scrounge for that one. Haha. But, back to the story…)

When the whole thing was over, I discovered the executives actually discussed the possibility of bringing in a new character. They thought giving Booch a sister might be an interesting twist for the show. Guess who they were considering? Yep. Me. Apparently they got real kick out of watching me “Booch” it up. But as Hollywood is the place of “out of sight, out of mind,” and true to my luck in this town, this episode happened to occur at the end of December and the show took an extended hiatus. By the time we came back a few weeks later, the idea was forgotten. I still remember that day with a combination of nerves and laughter. There was nothing better than getting laughs playing a character that was completely – in every possible way – opposite me. (I’d like to hope that when I narrate my books for Audible, I use the same “show no fear” idiom when it comes to tackling all those voices.)

Realistically, I probably wouldn’t have gotten the role anyway. I’d have had to dye my hair black (which I would’ve done in a N.Y. minute!), but I had no track record and that can be a deal-breaker when it comes to the competition in this town. It was without a doubt one of the highlights of my life. I had so much fun acting and making the material work, not to mention spending all that time with Matthew, who I genuinely liked and admired (even at eighteen).

What about you? Any stories you can share about diving into a situation where you were scared, but pulled success out of a hat?

You Heard It Here: Happiness Is…

This month, happiness is attending a great conference! This past weekend, I was at the SoCalRWA Writers’ Conference 2013. What a wonderful two days! I met some awesome people and had a great time!

The highlight was probably getting to moderate Barbara Vey’s workshop on Building Reader Loyalty. Or wait, I think the highlight was having coffee with Barbara after the workshop. No, wait. The highlight was being interviewed by Barbara DURING coffee for her Publisher’s Weekly Beyond Her Book Blog. (She wanted to know about my experience narrating my books.) Hold the horses, wait a second. I know the highlight! It was when she asked me if I’d like to attend her reader luncheon in Milwaukee next year in April. The answer was a resounding, YES, PLEASE!! Count me in!

Here’s a shot of Barbara and me after her workshop at SoCalRWA 2013.

Honestly, there were lots of highlights to the conference. Hearing from authors who pitched their books after attending my Itching to Pitch workshop is always great. Sitting on a panel (about writing action scenes) with fellow Carina Press authors, HelenKay Dimon, Zoe Archer and Nico Rosso was awesome too. Yammering in the bar with chaptermates from LARA (Los Angeles Romance Authors) and making new friends has to be on the list. You’d never know this was a first year conference. I kind of kept waiting for something to go wrong and it just didn’t happen. I look forward to the next SoCalRWA. There’s nothing like being inspired to write!

I have one more “happiness is” since I may as well be grateful for ALL the good things happening… As I mentioned on the home page, Dangerously Close is a finalist in the 2013 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence!! March has been a great month!

What about you? What was your happiness this month?

You Heard It Here: The Language of Woof

And I really do mean “woof”. Not “love.” I’m off-roading this blog so bear with me.

As many of you know, I’m an animal lover. (One of my favorite characters is Roamer from Dangerously Close. Roamer is a combination of my old dog Sam and my new dog Zach.) I’ve had dogs for much of my life and I adore their furry unconditional love. I love taking them for walks and watching them interact with the other animals in our neighborhood. (Here’s a shot of current fur babies.)

Like people, dogs all have their own personalities – of course – and it always fascinates me how they react to other animals. I’ve had my current dogs for almost 2 years now and got them when they were 7 years old. (Yes, they are rescues.) The Pit mix, Zachary, loves other animals. He’s a big playful guy. The Border Collie mix, Elizabeth, is the opposite. She loves people and pretty much despises anything else with fur other than Zach (since they were raised together and Zachy takes excellent care of her as you can see from the pic above!). He adores her and is very much whipped as she is the Alpha dog. (I call her Queen Elizabeth because she rules the roost where Zach is concerned.) Okay, I got off track, LOL. So here’s what I find interesting about animals, dogs in particular…

Every day when I walk the dogs we pass by the same houses and they interact with the same animals behind fences. I’ve been in my house a long time and neighborhood has changed a lot. It always make me laugh when the little Chihuahuas lunge and bark and in general try to attack my dogs (who are – I kid you not – 10x the size). My dogs get all riled up and bark/prance/dance to get at them as well. (Zach just wants to play whereas Elizabeth would like a snack.) There is also a small Cocker Spaniel that is very aggressive and lunges through his fence to try and get my dogs. I know for a fact that the most aggressive animals are pets of people not born in America. My neighborhood is fairly diverse. We have Hispanic families, Asian families, Armenian families just to name a few.

What’s interesting to me is watching how my dogs interact with all these other animals. When you think about it, all these animals in non-English speaking homes “speak” a different language. There is no reason for them to know English since the inhabitants of their house speak their native tongue when at home, right? So when they bark at my dogs and aggressively attack the gate when we walk by, I wonder if my dogs are upset because they don’t understand the other dog’s language. Know what I mean? I certainly don’t understand Japanese, Chinese, Armenian and my Spanish is a little rusty. These animals understand their owners commands in those languages so does that mean when they bark, they are barking in those languages? I kind of feel silly even bringing it up, but when you think about it, how else would they bark? Aren’t dogs conveying certain emotions and language with the bark? So when my friendly, Zach, who really only wants to play with other animals, goes crazy at a little dog barking at him, I wonder if it’s because of what the dog is “saying” or just the fact that Zachy doesn’t understand what he’s saying. Then I take it another step further and wonder if the particular language makes a difference.

What about you? Have you noticed if your animals react differently to other pets that speak another language? I’m so curious to know if I’m the only person to wonder this.

You Heard It Here: Hollywood Tabloids

I never really know which Hollywood story I’m going to tell until just before the 1st of every month when it’s due. This month, because I’m so happy for George and his Best Picture Oscar, I’ve decided on another Clooney story. (Honestly, I had planned to space them out a bit more, but this is a good reason for one, so what the hell. )

By the way, the Oscar I’ve pictured below is my Oscar. No, he’s not real. He’s kind of a stand-in Oscar that my husband gave me many years ago. He’s my “Most Likely To Win An Oscar” Oscar. (Keep in mind that I was an actor for many years and my husband always thought highly of my abilities. LOL.)

But, on with my story…

During the 2nd season of Roseanne, we had a bar set. The actual name of the “bar” escapes me (aargh), but we had a few tables pulled together since there were a lot of people in the scene. In those days I was working as Roseanne’s dialogue coach and also stood-in for her or other guest cast if they hadn’t been hired yet. On this particular day we were all seated around several tables, the whole cast and a few stand-ins. Roseanne was upset about the tabloids getting a hold of some story that made headlines and she was itching to find out who (from the set) had snitched this particular story. (And, no, I don’t honestly remember which story this was since so many were leaked to the tabloids!) After she finished her mini-tirade the group got quiet (because, really, no one wanted to mess with Rosie when she was pissed off!). I happened to be sitting directly across from George and he looked up, said my name, and continued with, “I told you not to call the Enquirer.”

Well, my head shot up, Roseanne’s head shot up and everyone stared at me like I had actually made the call! Which I DID NOT DO! My mouth dropped open. My eyes bugged out wide and could barely get out the denial before he started laughing. And you know, when that boy laughs, his eyes get all crinkly on the sides and it’s very disarming/charming. It’s hard to be mad at him. (I think he knows this fact!)

Roseanne never said anything. I think she knew I didn’t really call the Enquirer and (years) later we found out who DID call. Let’s just say that was the beginning of the end of THAT marriage!

Anyway, I will never forget the smile – and MISCHIEF! – in George’s eyes that day. He really is a practical joker and he has wonderful timing. He just waited until the room got so silent before dropping that bomb in a very serious voice. I still laugh when I think about it today. Of course I wasn’t so much laughing THEN, thinking Roseanne might fire me. LOL. (That’s a story I’ll save for another day. Haha)

What about you? Were you the recipient of a practical joke or did you get someone good with a practical joke?

 

You Heard It Here: Happiness Is…

We’re nearing the end of the month so it’s time for my gratitude diary… This month was too easy since I was reminded (needlessly) how beautiful the covers are for the Adrenaline Highs series.

This month, happiness is winning the JABBIC Contest! The Houston Bay Area Chapter of the RWA sponsors this fun contest and Danger Zone and Dangerously Close took 1st and 2nd place, respectively, in the romantic suspense category as both the Grand Prize and Readers’ Choice winners! I’m so proud and in love with my covers! I know they are all over my website, but what the hell…here they are again.

What about you? Any contest entries? Did you final in one or win one? Don’t be shy. I have some very good friends who will admit to being contest sluts. LOL. Are you one of them?

You Heard It Here: Valentine’s Day

Since Valentine’s Day is almost upon us, I thought I’d do some reflecting on my own love life. I’ve been happily married for over 23 years (and with my husband for more than 27 years). I’m lucky and happy to say that I got one of the good ones. He’s very good at surprises…which works since I kind of love surprises. Haha.

On more than one occasion, I’ve walked into a room (or apartment!) full of balloons. I’m talking a sea of helium balloons spanning the whole ceiling. He’s done it for Valentines and birthdays alike. He’s big on bringing home flowers just for the hell of it (and maybe because he loves me ). But what I love most about him is his devotion to his family. Even after a 14 hour day at work, he will call on his way home and ask if I need him to pick anything up on his way home. How can you not love that?

I remember our very first Valentine’s Day. We had spent the previous holidays in NY where I’d met his family. He’d paid for my trip since I had zero dollars in the bank. But by February, I had saved a few bucks so I splurged and got him a gorgeous leather jacket. I was really thinking of it as a belated holiday present, but he got it in February. I was thrilled that he loved it. It was fun to surprise The Surpriser. Of course, then I put myself in a jam for all Valentine’s Days to come. LOL. Nothing was going to top that.

I wouldn’t trade my guy for anything. He’s a definite keeper. I’d say “I do” all over again in a minute. Happy Valentine’s Day on Thursday! Hope you get to spend some quality time with the one you love.

What about you? Any special Valentine story you can share?

You Heard It Here: On The Nose

It’s the first of the month, so you know what THAT means… It’s time for another Hollywood Story. This is one of my better ones and if any of you have read Danger Zone, it may sound vaguely familiar, because a similar accident happened to Ellie.

In 1994, I was working on a sitcom pilot starring Corbin Bernsen. (Some of you may remember him from L.A. Law…?) Anyway, we were in the middle of shooting the show for the audience and the director asked me to sit in the audience to fill an empty chair. (The sitcom was about a talk show host so it was kind of a show within a show. The director used our show’s actual audience as the audience for the “talk show.”) The stage manager yelled, “Places,” so the cast scrambled to get to their spots. The fifteen year old actress playing Corbin’s daughter had been behind the bleachers (where the audience sits) so when she heard the stage manager yell, she ran to get to her spot on the stage. Now imagine ME running to get to my spot in the audience per the director’s orders. Well… you guessed it. We collided at the corner of the bleachers and she slammed me like a line backer. I caught her shoulder square in my nose. She rearranged my face so fast, I didn’t know what hit me. (Okay, actually, I knew SHE hit me! LOL.) Impact actually spun me around and I heard an audible gasp from the audience members who were seated in that section along the bleachers. I reached into my pocket for a tissue as I came to a halt in front of her.  I tipped my head forward because I knew I was bleeding, But not until my palms were filled with blood did I realize the extent.

BTW… Here’s a pic of the old nose. (Yes, this is me in the 80s. LOL.)

So, to continue… This poor girl is looking at me with the wide, terrified eyes of a teenager who knew she was in trouble. (Not so much for clobbering me, but because she shouldn’t have been behind the bleachers while we were shooting.) She ran for the craft service area which happened to be not too far behind me. She opened the freezer, took out the first frozen thing she saw and ran back to me. The next thing I knew, I had a bag of frozen chicken wings on my face. I kid you not.

To this day, I have never seen more suits come out of the woodwork. I’m sure the production company thought I was going to sue them. The executive producer’s wife of the show happened to be an emergency room Dr. and they called her from her seat in the audience to come check me out. She stood in front of me with a very bored look on her face and said, “Let me see it.” I removed the frozen chicken from my face and waited for her reaction. She didn’t bat an eye or move a muscle. “It’s broken,” she said. Then she turned around and went back to her seat. Nice.

I was causing quite a ruckus so they had to move me to continue shooting. (Yes, the show must go on!) I was escorted to the medic’s office while I waited for my husband to come pick me up. I was so proud of myself. I hadn’t shed any tears and just nodded knowingly as crew member after crew member snuck out of the stage and took turns visiting me as I waited — all wanting to get a peek at my new face. Every single one of them said the same thing. First, the look of horror on their face and then the, “Ooooh wooow. THAT is broken.” I could only nod. And no, I hadn’t looked at myself yet. I wasn’t brave enough.

My husband showed up about forty-five minutes later and took me across the street to the hospital. As we started along the path toward the hospital, I finally lost my composure. I burst out crying like a baby and of course started fresh bleeding all over again.

After four hours in the e.r., a doctor pronounced me with a broken nose. (Like I didn’t know it already. LOL.) I learned that there was nothing they could do at the moment. It took days to see a specialist and weeks until the actual surgery was scheduled to repair the damage. The worst part… I had my ten year high school reunion to go to. Ugh. (And, yes, I went with my giant broken nose.)

Eleven months after the surgery, I had so much scar tissue build up that I had to have a second surgery to remove the tissue blocking my nasal passage. After THAT surgery, I had no sense of smell.

So, after all that, I’ll bet you’re curious as to the name of the teenager who broke my nose. Brittany Murphy. I always thought I’d see her again, because Hollywood is a small town, but unfortunately she died at a very young age. I still think about her and wonder if she ever knew what really happened that night. Once I was whisked off, I never saw the cast again. (I hate leaving things undone like that and not being able to say goodbye bothered me.)

What about you? Any fun broken bone stories? I’d love to hear them. (I have more, but none that are associated with Hollywood. )

 

You Heard It Here: Happiness Is…

I think I’ve mentioned I try to find happiness in the simple things. It makes life better. Sure, happiness is always the HUGE/GREAT things in life, but how often do really HUGE/GREAT things happen? Probably not as often as we’d like!

So, because this is my last post of the month, and my bit of gratitude for the day, I’m going with happiness is hope. At this moment in time, I’m on the verge of a few big things. Nothing I can share right this second, but very soon! So, I’m being happy in my hope and living in the joy of the moment, doing my best to avoid projecting or second-guessing.

Living in the moment and enjoying the possibilities… well… that’s something to be happy about.

Oh… Happiness is also Snickerdoodle. Ain’t she sweet.

What about you? What’s your happiness today?

You Heard It Here: Dare To Dream

Dare to dream.

You heard me. Everyone has a dream, right? Everyone has a hope or a wish or something they want with all their heart. The problem is sometimes our dreams aren’t easy to attain. Sometimes we have to work really hard for an unbelievable amount of time to even get close to a dream. But what happens when it comes true? What happens when all you’ve been working for actually becomes reality? There is almost nothing better. I say “almost” because I’m very lucky to be married to a great guy and we have an amazing daughter. My life is full of love and laughter and I try not to take it for granted.

But my dream… I never thought I’d sell a book. After trying for so many years it was beginning to look like it wouldn’t happen. I know there are a few people who had to wait longer than I did before they sold their books. (Although I’m sure the majority do it a lot faster!), but my point is don’t stop. Dare to dream and if you keep working hard and keep an open mind, listen to the people around you when they have a constructive critique… and in general just roll with the punches… your dream will become a reality.

(Okay, the picture is actually on its side, but you get to see some of my favorite authors! All of them inspirations for me! And it’s very possible that my printed copy of Dangerous Race also is on hand for me to stare at when I’m feeling blue. That ALWAYS lifts my spirits!)

There are many paths to open door and you’ll find the one for you if you just keep at it. I’m the proof.

So… what’s your dream?