An Afternoon with The King (Elvis) and Marilyn by Connie Vines

My blog posts are usually on the topic of writing.  Today, however, my blog post is about the King of Rock-and-Roll, with a nod to Hollywood’s blonde bombshell—Marilyn Monroe.

My husband still talks about the time he saw Elvis Presley preform at the Louisiana Hay-ride.

Connie, The King, and my youngest son

We all have a favorite Elvis movie.  Or favorite Elvis song. Many of us have visited Graceland (count me in), ate peanut butter-and-banana sandwiches, and acknowledge that Elvis had that certain-something (the it-factor) few, if any entertainers can match.

Dressed in black and wearing a sequined gold jacket, his long, but neatly combed black-tinted hair, The King stepped onstage last week at the stage of the Gardner Spring Auditorium and launched into the driving beat of “Blue Suede Shoes”.

Shaking, gyrating, and quivering, and oozing with sullen sexuality that shocked watchers in the 1950s, he swiveled through all the great hits: “Jailhouse Rock”, “Heartbreak Hotel”, “Don’t Be Cruel”.  It was had believe it wasn’t Elvis himself.

It was like stepping back in time.  The flirting, teasing, and banter between The King and Marilyn, was so true-life that you thought you were watching Elvis and Marilyn interact together.

Entertaining.

Fun.

And a wonderful tribute to Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe.

If you get a change to watch them preform live, or catch them on T.V., don't pass up the opportunity.

I sat in the orchestra section of The Southern California premiere of the tribute concert, The King & Marilyn. The concert features Ontario, CA’s very own Daniel Durston as The King. Daniel is currently performing in a hit show in Las Vegas and also starred in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical national tour, Million Dollar Quartet, and can be seen on TruTV this fall as Elvis.  Also starring television celebrity Alisha Soper as the bewitching Ms. Monroe. Alisha has been seen on TV portraying Marilyn Monroe in Lethal Weapon (FOX), Feud (FX), and Extra TV’s 25th Anniversary.

The audience had a wonderful time.  Daniel stayed in the lobby taking photos and getting to know every patron long after the performance had ended.


To watch snippets:

https://www.danieldurston.com/
 https://www.facebook.com/thekingandmarilyn/?ref=py_c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2UB1KyM4Yg

Can't get enough Elvis?  Check out "Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow".

Who is that man Meredith's sister married? 

https://books2read.com/Here-Today-Zombie-Tomorrow

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Happy Reading,

The way of the Samurai - by Vijaya Schartz

Find BLue Lioness and my other BWL books Here

Not so long ago, I practiced Aikido, a Japanese martial art. I lived in Hawaii at the time, a place of mixed cultures, where part of the population is of Japanese descent. I had a Japanese Sensei, who taught his pupils the fascinating traditions of ancient Japan. I even learned the language and visited the country with its feudal castles and many temples.

  

The most mysterious part of Samurai culture, at least for Westerners, is that deep sense of honor that pervades every thought and action. The Samurai were the equivalent of the medieval knights of ancient Europe… on steroid. Their dedication to the clan was complete. Without a second thought, they would sacrifice their life to save their master’s honor or the honor of the clan. 

 

 Myamoto Musashi was the most famous Samurai of ancient Japan. He was a Ronin, a masterless Samurai, and had the reputation of being ruthless. Himeji castle illustrates the architecture of the period. It was built to withstand battles and invasions... and it did survive the test of time. 

The movie THE LAST SAMURAI illustrates that innate sense of honor in a way most westerners can understand. But Martial arts are not reserved for men. Many young women, even in ancient times, took the sword and adopted the way of the Samurai... until they chose to marry and have children.

As I am finishing the story of AKIRA’S CHOICE, a November release from Books We Love, I enjoyed revisiting the heroic times of the Samurai. Although it's a science fiction romance, my heroine is of Japanese descent, a Samurai by tradition, and a bounty hunter by necessity. More precisely, she is a Ronin, a masterless Samurai. The story is set on the Byzantium space station, part of the Byzantium series but a standalone story, although a few characters do appear in several books. Oh, and Akira has a cheetah retriever as a companion.

When bounty hunter Akira Karyudo accepted her assignment, something didn't add up. Why would the Galactic Trade Alliance want a kidnapped orphan dead or alive?

She will get to the truth once she finds the boy, and the no good SOB who snatched him from a psychiatric hospital. With her cheetah, Freckles, a genetically enhanced feline retriever, Akira sets out to flush them out of the bowels of the Byzantium space station. But when she finds her fugitives, the kidnapper is not what she expects.

Kazmo, a decorated Resistance fighter, stole his nephew from the authorities, who performed painful experiments on the boy. Stuck on Byzantium, he protects the child, but how can he shield him from the horribly dangerous conditions in the lawless sublevels of the space station?

Akira faces the worst moral dilemma of her career. Law or justice, duty or love. She can't have it both ways.

"A captivating story with interesting, appealing characters. Being a cat lover, I found the relationship, with its psychic element, between Freckles and Shane absolutely captivating. As always, Ms. Schartz’s solid plot and crisply-written prose incorporates a good blend of action and intrigue... This story can easily stand alone... but I believe you’ll enjoy this exciting Sci-Fi series much more if you start reading it from the beginning... a must read for all fans of Sci-Fi romance. Go pick them up and settle into your favorite armchair for some entertaining reading. 4.5 stars - Manic Readers

Vijaya Schartz, author
 Strong heroines, brave heroes, romance with a kick
 http://www.vijayaschartz.com
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How long is long enough?

Find all my books here on my BWL author page

What prompted this question was a comment made by a reviewer recently about my Mystic Mountains. This reviewer gave the book a much-appreciated five star rating but said, “I felt it was a bit over drawn in length.” This surprised me, as at 304 pages it is not overly long for a historical.

Asking a writer how long their book is going to be, or should be, is like asking the age-old conundrum, “How long is a piece of string?”

I envisioned a very different ending for Challenging Mountains, my recent release, where Tim’s family would have a get-together, but then as I drew near the final scene it told me that was enough and that is where I should sensibly leave my characters. Publishers have certain rules about the length expected for each genre and most contemporary stories are termed as ‘quick reads’ I guess, and Historicals and Time-Travels are expected to be longer.

One benefit of writing a series, especially one containing members of one family or clan, is that you can always catch up in the next book with characters you have taken a fancy to or hope those you disliked would have a not so happy ending. I fully intended Challenging Mountains to be the final book in my Settlers series, but as happens often with us writers, one of the characters started to play with my mind and insist I write her story next. Because Tiger and Bella (Book 1, Mystic Mountains) ended up with eight offspring I could be stuck with this family heckling me until I am in my dotage (which I fear is not too far away).

Find reviews and excerpts here on my Web Page