2019 - THE YEAR OF ALL YEARS!

I can't account for other people, but I am one who is grateful for every year of my life, and the majority of them have been good ones.  Fortunately, I pursued my passion for writing, never limiting myself, and I have been richly rewarded. I've done it all, books, plays, TV scripts, articles.  You name it, I've tried it.  As we come to the end of 2019, I look back and recognize that this year has been one of the most creatively rewarding that I've ever had.  Financial rewards are always welcomed, but when one is an artist and receives recognition for ones art that's a feeling that is difficult to describe.  The word elation is the only one I can think of at the moment.

The year 2019 opened with my Two Act play, The Diary of Annie Mae Franklin, winning a national playwriting contest, The American Theatre's 21st Century Voices New Play Festival.  I spent a weekend in January in St. Petersburg, Florida where a staged reading of the play was presented, and it received an excellent reception.  The next few months saw the re-release of one my romantic suspense novels, Singing a Song, and the writing of the third book in my Stillwaters Series, Someone Like Them (which it seems like I've been working on forever).  I acquired a drama agent in the fall, presenting me with the opportunity to have my plays presented in more theatres, and a shot at having my work acquired for TV--one of my major goals. 

I attended severalwriting workshops.  My writing partner and I won scholarships to attend an artist conference.  We gave presentations on writing to two college classes, and a visit with one my favorite book clubs was quite a treat. To top it off at the end of this year I won a second national playwriting contest! My One Act Play, 1200 Miles from Jerome, won the 2020 Women Playwrights Initiative, sponsored by the Ivoryton Playhouse in Connecticut.  I'm looking forward to that staged reading.   

Recently, the year was further topped off with my having been presented with a Creative Arts Fellowship by the Indiana Arts Council.  What an honor it is to be recognized and appreciated for my art.  With this fellowship I can travel to anywhere in the world I want.  I'm still tingling from the excitement.  

Yes, 2019 was quite a year!  I can't wait until 2020.  

STILLWATERS COMING

It looks like I’m going to finish editing the re-release of my novel, Stillwaters, before I finish my novel Someone Like Them. Actually, that makes sense, especially since Someone Like Them, is the third installment of what I call the Stillwaters book series.  For readers who are unfamiliar with the town of Stillwaters and some of the people in it, the re-release of the Stillwaters novel will introduce readers to the town. It’s an extraordinary place, and the characters that I create who live in and around the town find benefit from the association.  In the Stillwaters novel, not only is the reader introduced to the town and its residents, but you get to meet Bev Cameron and Ray Wilson, two people who don’t look as though they have much in common, but looks can deceive.  Here’s an excerpt from the first chapter of Stillwaters.  

CHAPTER 1

     “What do you mean, Ray is coming here?”  Bev Cameron gripped the telephone tightly, uncertain that she heard her daughter correctly.  Everyone in their family knew the strict criteria that must be followed in order to bring a stranger to her hometown, and Ray Wilson, the man who had been shamelessly flirting with her for years, did not fit the criteria. “There must be some mistake. Who told you this?”

     “Thad.”

     Bev knew that there was no doubt about the validity of the information.  Her daughter’s husband was movie star Thad Stewart and he adored his wife, singing superstar Darnell Cameron.  She was the love of his life, his confidante and his best friend.  Thad wouldn’t lie to her.   

     Darnell explained.  “Thad was excited about playing golf on the new course, and he said that he couldn’t wait for Ray to get here so they could play together.  Then, he thought about what he had said he clammed up, but it was too late by then.  It’s my guess that Ray’s coming with Dana.”

     Bev was shocked.  “My sister?”

     “Who else could it be?  Aunt Dana said that she was coming home and the two of them are friends.”

     “That’s true, and it does make sense.” Bev could tell by Darnell’s tone that she was also finding it difficult to believe the scenario.  

     “What should we do?” the younger woman asked.  “Tell the Family Council and have them stopped at the gate?”

     “I’m not sure.”  Bev considered the alternatives.  “I’m just wondering why she’s bringing him here, and how she expects to get him into town.”

     “There’s only one way that she can get him in,” Darnell affirmed, “and that’s with a lie.”

     Bev knew that she was right.  “Why would she do this?” Her heart sank at the idea of her younger sister engaging in such deception. 

     “Maybe it’s some move to stop Aunt Tessa’s family from taking over the town.”  Even through the telephone Darnell could feel her mother’s pain.  The two sisters had been estranged for quite some time and Dana’s return home might have provided an opportunity for their reconciliation, if it wasn’t for this new development. Darnell could hardly comprehend what her aunt must feel about their family to do something like this.

     “You might be right,” Bev’s voice was hollow. “She’s probably plotting some kind of legal maneuver that could wreck havoc in the family.” She gave a shuttering sigh. 

     “So what’s the plan, Mama?”  Darnell’s voice was filled with sadness.

Bev tried to think. “We’ll keep this to ourselves for now.  If she gets past the gate with Ray, let’s see what Dana is up to.”

     Darnell was receptive.  “That sounds reasonable.  Meanwhile, I’m going to see if I can pump some more information out of Thad.  Kiss my little gem for me.”

     The women disconnected and Bev sat reflecting on their conversation. What was Dana up to?  What part did Ray Wilson play in her sister’s scheme?  She was familiar with her younger sister’s escapades, but why had she aligned herself with that middle-aged playboy and dared breach the security of their family haven?

     A loud yawn interrupted Bev’s musing and she looked down into the face of the little brown bundle nestled in her arms and smiled.  Her granddaughter, six-month-old Nia Cameron-Stewart, was awake.

     “Hey there, little one.”  Gently, Bev caressed the baby’s soft cheek and was rewarded with a toothless grin.  The dimples inherited from her father winked at her and Bev melted.  This had to be the most beautiful baby in the world.

      “Let’s get you something to eat.”  She rose and headed toward the kitchen with Nia.  “Then we’re going to wait for your Aunt Dana and your godfather Ray to arrive.  When they do, there’s going to be some fireworks lighting up this town, and it’s not even close to being Independence Day.”  

SINGING A SONG is in Paperback

As stated in the last blog, the paper back version of Singing a Song is now available on Amazon.com.  As long as I continue to write and my books are published my work will not only be in eBook format, but in paperback as well.  Who knows, one day I may even have a book published in hard cover.

I'm not sure how many people read books other than in eBook format anymore, but I know that I enjoy a good paperback.  They bring back memories of my childhood when I used to curl up in bed at night, or on the couch, and sometimes even lay under the shade of a tree, being entertained for hours.  Books have always taken me into a world of imagination where I could become the heroine, or hero, capable of doing anything.  It is because of books that I became a writer, but it wasn't simply the words on the pages that I enjoy.  I like the feel of books in my hand, the enjoy turning the pages of a book in anticipation of what's coming next.  I even enjoy sticking bookmarks between the pages of a books.  I don't know why.  It's probably some kind of psychological satisfaction that I get from the experience, but I do know why I get upset if the bookmark falls out and I loose my place.  It sucks!

In my opinion, an e-reader simply can't replace a real book.  But, I'm glad that eBooks and eReaders were invented.  They make my work available to so many more readers.  Plus, I don't have to pack ebooks around to book fairs trying to making sales.  That's a real plus.          

STILL WORKING HARD

Things have been moving so swiftly over the last few weeks I almost forgot about the blog.  In the course of the last few weeks,  I've been working hard on my next novel, Someone Like Them, and  editing and updating my novel, Stillwaters, for re-release.   The latter is the novel that introduces readers to an amazing town and equally amazing characters, and this book is connected to the  storylines about the three sisters in the Stillwaters book series.  So, I'd like to get the Stillwaters book out before I release Someone Like Them.   

Meanwhile, the paperback version of Singing a Song will be available on Amazon.com before the end of this month.  While all of that is happening, I'm still working on a novel with my writing partner, L. Barnett Evans, a thriller this time, and in the process I went in search of an agent to help me introduce my plays to more theatres.  I more or less gave up on finding a literary agent, but miracle of miracles, I got the attention of a theatrical agent right away.  So that goal is attained.  Now, all I have to do is finish the first draft of Someone Like Them and eventually get it out there.  Keep your fingers crossed.  But at least I have the cover.  Here it is again.

MY NEXT NOVEL - SOMEONE LIKE THEM

Thanks to everyone who responded to the half price sale of my books on Smashwords during the month of July.  It went well.  Over the next few months (maybe years), I hope to re-release several of my previous novels from the Sin series. 

I'm presently working on the last book in the Stillwater series.  The title of the book is Someone Like Them and I hope to finish the first draft of the story by the end of this year.  

In the Stilllwaters series, each one of the three sisters that I follow in the storylines finds the strength in themselves to overcome their life circumstances.   Wanda Carson is the oldest of the three sisters in this series, and to say that her life goes from rags to riches is any understatement.   Here's a preview of the book's opening.    

SOMEONE LIKE THEM

PROLOGUE

Wanda stood bathed in the glare of the brilliant spotlight with tears streaming down her face.  What was being sung was a love song, just for her.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot…

How could it ever be?

And never brought to mind?

Not brought to mind?  That was impossible. 

Should auld acquaintance be forgot…

This was the end. 

And auld lang syne?

This was her last performance. 

For auld lang syne, my friend…

The most important people in her life were out there beyond the lights.  Her mother, Faith, her younger sisters Melanie and Jolene, her granddaughters, Raven and Racine…

For auld lang syne,

And of course, her beloved godmother Miss Emma.

We’ll tak' a cup o’ kindness yet,

Yes, everyone she loved was present, except the ones she loved beyond comprehension—Armand, Davon and Christa— her children.

For auld lang syne.

As the audience at the Broadway theatre finished the song for the woman who they felt was just like them, the chant that followed Wanda Carson’s extraordinary rise to stardom began, reaching a crescendo.

Lady C!  Lady C! Lady C!

She stood center stage, a vision in gold, bathed in the spotlight, amid a shower of flowers, chants of adulation and deafening applause.  The curtain came down slowly.  Torrents of tears washed her glittering makeup away.  No one would have guessed that they weren’t tears of joy.

For the past eighteen months, she stood on this stage, eight times a week, singing her heart out.  Every song that she sang was for her children.  Every tear that she shed, in the past and in the present, onstage and off, was for the three of them.

The curtain came down.  The spotlight faded.  The last performance was over.  Or was it just beginning?

HALF PRICE BOOKS ON SMASHWORDS!

The  11th Annual Smashwords July Summer/Winter Sale is back! From July 1, 2019 - July 31, 2019 you can purchase all of the ebooks in the SIN series and Someone Like Me , the first book in the STILLWATERS series at HALF PRICE. 

That's right during the entire month of July you can read it all! The sale even includes my latest re-release in the SIN series, Singing a Song. Start with Sin (Book #1) and fall in love with Reverend Nedra and bad boy, Sinclair.  Meet their best friends, Brandon and Sash, on their exciting adventure in Sweet Sacrifice (Book #2).   Cheer for Nedra and Sin as they fight for the life of their child in Sinful Intentions (Book #3).  In Singing a Song (Book #4)  follow the battles between superstars Darnell and Thad, and catch your first glimpse of the mysterious, Mr. Hardman, whose deadly past is painstakingly revealed in Secrets (Book #5), Strangers (Book #6) and uncovered completely in Shadows of Love (Book #7).  Enjoy the first book in the STILLWATERS series, Someone Like Me , and meet Melanie, the sensible sister in a trio of bodacious women. 

The GRANDMOTHERS, INCORPORATED  cozy mystery book series, which I co-write with fellow author/playwright, L. Barnett Evans, is also on sale on Smashwords during the month of July.  Grandmothers, Incorporated, Saving Sin City, There's Something Wrong with Miss Zelda and Whose Knife is it Anyway? are all available.  Read one of these novels and you'll laugh until you cry!  go to our website, www.grandmothersinc.com, and read all about us. 

 

 

SINGING A SONG IS BACK!

It's here, the second edition of Singing a Song has been released and it's better than ever.  In this updated version of the romantic suspense novel readers will once again be introduced to a mysterious character who eventually becomes instrumental in two more Sin Series novels:  Strangers and Shadows of Love. 

Singing a Song is the fourth novel in the Sin Series.  Read the SINGING A SONG synopsis below:    

www.smashwords.com/books/view/941897

Diva, DARNELL CAMERON, and playboy, THAD STEWART, are both superstars. She is a singing sensation and he is an actor extraordinaire. When their cars accidentally collide so do they, and war is declared. The battles between them are epic, and both are intent on declaring victory. These are two American idols who openly despise each other. It would take a major miracle to get them together, or perhaps the mysterious stranger stalking one of them and intent on killing the other one might hold the key to their mutual destiny.

SINGING a SONG is available in ebook format on Smashwords.com and Amazon.com.  The paperback version will be published soon.  CLICK on THE LINK ABOVE and read an excerpt from the novel.

IT'S A NEW LOOK!

I almost missed my post this month, but I made it and it's a short one.  I'm working on the re-release of Singing a Song, and Someone Like Them, the latest book in the Stillwaters Series, so I'm super busy.  However, I did want to take the time to invite anyone who reads this post to view the new look on my website.  I've got all of my books listed, past and present, as well as upcoming releases.   I've even added a photo gallery.  I also added information about my playwriting. 

Just CLICK www.crystalrhodes.com.  Hope you enjoy the new look.

FROM THE PAGE TO THE STAGE

As stated in this blog last month, I am a playwright as well as an author, and one of the plays, Grandmothers, Incorporated, which I co-wrote with fellow author and playwright, Lillie Barnett Evans, enjoyed a production by   

The Theatre Arts Club of Detroit on March 15th and 16th. The Theatre Arts Club (TAC) is a Michigan non-profit organization established in 1910 as an all women's theatre group.  The TAC produces two shows a season.  We were happy that Grandmothers, Incorporated was one of them.

In the Two Act play, the  four amateur sleuths, who call themselves Grandmothers, Incorporated go to an isolated cabin in the woods for a  weekend of peace and quiet and, unexpectedly, encounter a notorious drug dealer hiding in the cabin.  The result is less than peaceful or quiet, but it is hilarious. 

The play, which is also the title of the popular cozy mystery novels of the same title, made its debut Off Broadway in 2010 at the Billie Holiday Theatre, and enjoyed a successful run just as it did in Detroit.  Below are  some of the photos from the Detroit production. 

The CAST of Grandmother's Incorporated (Seated-Left to Right, seated), CAROL WOTRING (Bea Bell), MARIANNE SHRADER (Chevron Harris), ERIN ANN DISANTE (Hattie Collier), (Standing-Left to Right) MARY STELMARK (Connie Palmer), PATRICIA O'BRIEN (director) and SHEILA WADE KNEESHAW (Fanny Collier)

The ladies of Grandmothers Incorporated in action

 

Playwrights with the Cast, Producer, Director, and Staff of Grandmothers, Incorporated  

THREE MONTHS of MARCH MADNESS!

These last few months have been moving like a freight train.  I am an award winning writer who doesn't like to be put in a box, so I write romantic suspense novels, cozy mystery novels, plays (both comedy and drama) and anything else I feel like writing, and I'm blessed to have been successful at it.  Oh, I don't mean famous successful, but able to make money successful, and I am grateful for this talent that has brought me so much joy.

In January I went to St. Petersburg Florida after having won the 2019 American Stage Theatre New Play Festival competition with my latest two act play The Diary of Annie Mae Franklin.  There were 544 entrants.  The trip included a stipend, three days of hotel accommodations, and a staged reading of my play.  It was awesome!  The play was well received by the standing room only audience and I had so much fun. 

In February, I worked on, and finalized, a new cover for the re-release of one of my most successful romance suspense novels, Singing a Song. I've been re-editing that novel for weeks.  Look for the re-release of that novel soon.

New Singing a Song Book Cover

Then this month, I traveled to Detroit, Michigan, with my writing partner, Lillie Barnett Evans.  She and I write the hilarious Grandmothers, Incorporated cozy mystery series together.  Go to our website:  www.grandmothersinc.com to find out more about that. The book covers are featured below.  Years ago, we wrote a play with the same title that placed the characters from our book series on stage.  In 2010 the play appeared Off Broadway to full houses and enjoyed an extension.  We've been marketing the play ever since to theatre groups.  In March, The Theatre Arts Club in Detroit produced the play. Lillie and I traveled there to see it.  The ladies in the theatrical group were most gracious and we thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

Lillie (l) and Crystal (r) with Theatre Arts Club play producer, Lisa (m) 

Yes, the past three months have been busy ones, and I love every minute of it.  Oh, and next month one of my other plays will enjoy a production in the Midwest.  I love the writing life!!!  

A NEW BOOK COVER!

Book #3 in the Stillwaters Series

Here it is, the cover to my latest new romantic suspense novel, SOMEONE LIKE THEM, the third and last installment of the Stillwaters Series.  Each of the novels in this series tells the story of one of the three middle aged Carson sisters, each  of whom experiences extraordinary circumstances that completely changes their lives. 

The first novel, Someone Like Me, tells Melanie's story.  She's  the middle sister, the "fixer" in the family.   The second novel, Someone Like You, is Jolene's story.  She's the youngest sister, the "tough" one in the family.  SOMEONE LIKE THEM, is about  Wanda,  the oldest sister and the family "protector".  What happens to her in SOMONE LIKE THEM is perhaps the most spectacular story of all!  It's an absolute delight creating this work and when it is released, I hope that readers will enjoy it  as much as I am enjoying writing it. I really like the cover, it conveys the majesty of the woman who Wanda Carson becomes.    

Meanwhile, click on the covers and that should take readers to the sites where the other two Stillwaters series novels can be purchased.  Acquaint yourself with the Carson family. I think you'll like them. The plan is for SOMEONE LIKE THEM to be released later this year, after the re-release of several of my former romantic suspense novels, but more about that in future blogs.

A NEW YEAR A NEW HORIZON

The year 2019 came in with a bang!  Not only am I an author, but I also write plays and last year I was one of the winners of the American Stage Theatre 21st Century New Play Festival.  Five hundred forty-four plays were submitted and only four plays were selected for the staged readings.  Those plays were read from  January 3rd to January 6th.  My play, The Diary of Annie Mae Franklin, was read on Saturday, January 5th at the American Stage Theatre in St.  Petersburg, Florida.  It was an absolute pleasure to attend the Festival and to give the following interview for the American Stage Theatre blog:

    21st Century Voices Interview with 

     Playwright, Crystal V. Rhodes

As 2018 comes to an end we’re looking forward to kicking off the new year with new plays! Our 21st Century Voices: New Play Festival will run January 3rd-6th featuring five staged readings and talkbacks with playwrights from all over the country. Here’s an interview with Indianapolis based playwright Crystal V. Rhodes whose play THE DIARY OF ANNIE MAE FRANKLIN will be presented on Saturday January 5th at 8pm.

Synopsis of THE DIARY OF ANNIE MAE FRANKLIN

The Franklin family lives in the small town of Jerome, Arkansas, during World War II where the United States government has imprisoned Japanese Americans in “Relocation Camps”. Some of the black residents in Jerome helped build the camp, but the people imprisoned there are completely foreign to them. Yet, the racial injustice that has put them there is all too familiar. When fourteen year old Adam Sato escapes from the “camp” he encounters a twelve year old black girl named Annie Mae Franklin. Without her family’s knowledge, she hides him. When Adam is discovered the family faces a dilemma. Should they hide him and face treason charges or turn him in and be complicit with his immoral imprisonment? While the debate rages, tragedy strikes and it spells disaster for the Franklin household. With their backs against the wall, the family’s solution is escape, as its members—and their unexpected guest—become forced migrants and head North.

What are you most looking forward to about 21st Century Voices?

I am looking forward to hearing the voices of the characters I’ve created come to life under the interpretations of the various actors and the director’s vision.  I’m also looking forward to interacting with other creative artists who attend the Festival.

What inspired you to write this play?

The Diary of Annie Mae Franklin was created as the result of my having read an article about several of the “Japanese Relocation Centers” having been built in the south during WWII.  That little known fact prompted me to conduct research regarding the two camps located in Arkansas. During the course of that research I ran across a short blurb recounting a brief encounter between a young Japanese American boy who had escaped from the relocation center and a young girl standing in front of her house on the side of the road.  The conditions under which she lived were so bad that the boy mistook the girl’s home for an outhouse. The account motivated me to write The Diary of Annie Mae Franklin, a play that would examine the parallels between the social injustice endured by African Americans and by Japanese Americans during World War II.

What has the life of your play been like thus far?

The play was submitted to the 2017 National Black Theatre Festival Readers Theatre and selected to be read at that Festival in August, 2017. Comments from the audience resulted in a few rewrites and the script is now ready for the 21st Century Voices staged reading and further development.

What do you hope to gain from having a director and actors work with your piece?

I hope that by having a director and actors work with The Diary of Annie Mae Franklin that it will help me assess the strengths and weakness of each character.  Staged readings also assist me with finding what I call the holes and gaps in the script. In other words, areas that I might have overlooked when creating the piece.  Hearing the dialogue read aloud by actors in character lets me know how realistic it sounds. I can hear if the dialogue is stilted or preachy and then make a decision as to what improvements are needed.  Play readings are essential to the development of a good play.

What would you like to gain from having an audience hear your play?

I like to see audiences react to the characters and storylines in my plays. How they react lets me know whether they “get it” or whether I have more work to do.  My favorite thing to do when one of my plays goes up as a production is to sit in the audience, anonymously. Sitting there I can feel the energy of the people around me, sense their emotions, evaluate their reactions and hear their comments.  It’s then that I know for sure whether I’ve made them laugh, cry or go to sleep.

What do you want people to take away from your play?

I hope that people will leave The Diary of Annie Mae Franklin with a better understanding of the ravages of racism and poverty, and how they can leave one feeling powerless and vulnerable.  I also want people to remember the history the play conveys. People need to understand that unless we remain vigilant, history can repeat itself, and that’s not always a good thing.

What are your hopes for the future life of your play?

It‘s my hope that The Diary of Annie Mae Franklin will enjoy staged productions in theatres throughout this country and beyond.  I hope that the play will not only entertain audiences, but educate them about a period of time in our history that should not be forgotten. The Diary of Annie Mae Franklin is the first in a trilogy of plays that I plan on writing that will follow the characters in this story. My next two plays will be a One Act that tracks the treacherous journey of the characters in this play who flee southern oppression and then a final Two Act play will take place in Harlem where they will face new challenges.  That being the case, I’m ready for an agent who can help carry this work as far as it can go. So I’m putting that out there!

Do you have any advice for aspiring playwrights?

The best advice I can give to any writer is the simplest advice– keep writing.  Learn as much as you can about the writing process and about the business of writing, and be as versatile as possible.  I’ve written well over twenty-one plays that has led to me to writing theatre and movie reviews, an entertainment column and  producing a radio show, writing voice over scripts for museum exhibits and being the author of fourteen published novels. Aspiring playwrights might want to keep their options open.  Doing so can enhance their creativity. Plus, it can be a whole lot of fun!