Movies, Music, and the Magic of Medallion Authors
In Celebration of their February, March and April releases, Medallion authors Jewell Mason, Beth Ciotta, and Tracy Cooper-Posey reveal their Top Picks for artistic and romantic inspiration!
Look for us at the Romantic Times Convention in March: and check out Promotion Lane. You can sign up to win a very special basket— Movies, Music, and the Magic of Medallion Authors—sponsored by Jewell Mason (Lady Dragon), Beth Ciotta (Jinxed) and Tracy Cooper-Posey (Heart of Vengeance).
Click on pics/names to read the interviews.
Jewell Mason, Lady Dragon, February 2004
Beth Ciotta, Jinxed, March 2004
Tracy Cooper-Posey,
Heart of Vengeance, April 2004
An Interview with Jewell Mason
February 2004
MOVIES
1) List your top three all time favorite movies.
Gone with the Wind, Ghost, Dirty Dancing
2) What did you admire most about these movies?
Gone with the Wind is just so tragic. Every time I watch it I so want the ending to change. As bad as Scarlett is, she comes so close to actually redeeming herself as a human being, and it just breaks my heart to see her miss the mark.
Ghost especially moves me. When it was released, my husband had just went through a horrible explosion at work that left him in the hospital for twenty-eight days. I came so close to losing him. This movie just rips my heart out.
Dirty Dancing? I don't think any woman on the planet needs me to explain this choice.
3) List your top three heroes in a cinematic feature. What quality appealed to you most?
I've come back to this question eighty times, so, I'm going to give up with the realization that it is impossible for me to answer. I'm a TV and movie junkie, and the minute I think of one hero, my mind flips to another one. Suffice it to say, I like a well written story.
4) List your top three heroines in a cinematic feature. What quality appealed to you most?
This time, I can name one heroine for sure. The character of Bridget Jones in Bridget Jones Diary really appealed to me. The character was so wonderfully down to earth, and faced all the fears and flaws that many of us encounter on a daily basis. Yet she never gave up, and she never gave in.
5) If your book were to be translated into a film, who would you cast as your hero and heroine?
Oh, this is a toughy! For the hero, someone tall, dark and handsome. Hmmm, I wonder if cover model Leland Burbank has any aspirations to act in films?
For the heroine, a super-modified version of a young Bridgette Neilson. No accent, and much softer around the edges.
6) What movie did you most recently view that you would highly recommend?
Oh, I am a sucker for The Lord of the Rings. I loved the books, and for the first time I really felt that a film captured the essence of the original writing. However, I do recommend the extended version of these films, as some of the things cut to shorten the movies muddles the plot. Such as the scene where the elves gift Sam with a rope. This is cut from the regular version of the first movie. The significance of the rope being of elvish design is important in the second film for the capture of Gollum.
MUSIC
1) List your top three favorite musical artists.
Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steppenwolf, and…gasp….Ozzy Osbourne. I know, I know, but he's such good fun. The trick is to not take everything he does so seriously. He's like a shock jock, and with his brilliant wife, is a marketing genius.
2) What style of music do you listen to for pleasure?
I'm a big fan of old southern rock, though my music tastes are as wide ranged as my reading tastes. I like anything from the less violent rap styles, all the way to the other end of the spectrum, barbershop quartets. I was once--in my younger, younger, younger, days--a member of Sweet Adelines, a national organization that promotes women grouping together to sing in barbershop harmony style.
3) What style of music do you listen to for artistic inspiration?
I don't really listen to music for inspiration, purely for pleasure.
4) Do you listen to music while you’re writing?
No. I was a latch-key kid growing up, so I need to have the television on all the time even though I'm not watching it. My husband finds this extremely amusing. "What are you watching, honey? --- "Oh, nothing. It's just noise for now."
5) What’s your favorite love song?
I adore Whitney Houston's rendition of I Will Always Love You. It's so beautifully done!
BOOKS
1) What was the first romance novel you ever read?
Oh my gosh! There is no way to remember that since I've read so many. If this aged mind isn't failing me though, I believe it was a Native American romance, and it was the second half of a continuing story. I immediately had to go back and buy the first book. I was a goner for romance from that day on.
2) What is your favorite classic romantic fairytale?
Cinderella. How can you not love a story where the downtrodden girl gets the Prince against all odds? Sigh.
3) What romance genres do you read? Also, what genres do you read outside of romance?
My romance reading tastes span all the genres, and the same holds true for non-romance. I mean it when I tell people I read anything from biographies to box-tops. Just ask my husband. <g> I read and watch TV at the same time.
4) List the three books on top of your ‘to be read’ pile.
At this moment my "TBR" pile is empty, but not for long. I plan to stock up on books when I go to the Romantic Times Convention in New York City at the end of March. The lure of getting my favorite authors to sign the books is just too great. Normally I am a constant visitor to my local bookstore, but I've been absent for the last week or so, sigh, I'm starting to get all hyper. <g>
5) What are you currently reading for pleasure?
See above. For the moment I am going back and re-reading from the stacks of books I already have. It's crazy, I have what is "supposed" to be an extra bedroom with nothing but books lining the walls. No bed will ever fit in there!
6) What are you currently reading for research?
I'm mostly an internet-type researcher. I'll spend days slogging from site to site to verify dates and important lifestyle facts. The only trouble is, I like researching sooooo much that I have to set time limits for myself, otherwise I'll site hop for days.
7) What can readers expect from you as an author in the future?
With Historical Romance being my first love, my focus at this moment is on another in this genre with a setting five years after Lady Dragon. It involves a secondary male character from the first book, Cedric. He was a blast to write in the first book, and I think he needs to have his shot in the spotlight.
After that, I'm unsure. I have a time-travel romance story-line that keeps calling to me, but it may sit on the backburner as I have another secondary character in the current manuscript who is really shaping up to be future hero material.
Visit Jewell at www.jewellmason.com
An Interview with Beth Ciotta
March 2004
MOVIES
1) List your top three all time favorite movies.
I have to narrow it down to three? As a movie buff, that’s really difficult. I’ll list the three that I’ve watched over and over again, so much so that I wore out the videos and since purchased the DVDs! Braveheart, Last of the Mohicans, and Shakespeare In Love. (Additional favorites: Dangerous Beauty, Robin Hood, Three Musketeers, Some Like It Hot, Two Weeks Notice, While You Were Sleeping, and any Meg Ryan or Doris Day movie ever made!)
Regarding my top three picks, as a romantic, I am mesmerized by the chemistry between the featured heroes and heroines. Notice the way these men look at these women. It’s all in the eyes. The love, the longing. That kind of passion is stuff this girl’s dreams are made of!
2) What did you admire most about these movies?
The intelligent scripts, the cinematography, the incredible acting . . . the passion.
3) List your top three heroes in a cinematic feature. What quality appealed to you most?
Mel Gibson as William Wallace (Braveheart); Daniel Day-Lewis as Hawkeye (Last of the Mohicans); Rufus Sewell as Marco Venier (Dangerous Beauty)
These ‘characters’ possessed similar qualities that I find extremely appealing: Integrity, bravery, compassion, and intelligence.
4) List your top three heroines in a cinematic feature. What quality appealed to you most?
Madeline Stowe as Cora Munroe (Last of the Mohicans); Cate Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth I (Elizabeth); Catherine McCormack as Veronica Franco (Dangerous Beauty)
Qualities admired? Same as above: Integrity, bravery, compassion, and intelligence.
5) If your book were to be translated into a film, who would you cast as your hero and heroine?
That’s easy. Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock. Both of these actors possess the perfect blend of sensitivity and humor. Now I just have to sell the movie rights!
6) What movie did you most recently view that you would highly recommend?
Cooler (Excellent acting, brilliant writing); Cold Mountain (Haunting story, stunning cinematography); Lost In Translation (Exceptional acting, intelligent, insightful script) Go Sofia Coppola!
MUSIC
1) List your top three favorite musical artists.
Again, it’s tough to narrow it down. As a professional performer (singer), I have been influenced and inspired by so many wonderful artists throughout the years. I’ll go with the three who continually move me no matter the year or album. Automatic buys! Bette Midler, Dwight Yokam, and Sting. Ooops. Sorry, I have to add two more. Enya and Clannad! All of these artists call to my soul.
2) What style of music do you listen to for pleasure?
I am fan of many styles. R&B, Country, Classic Rock, Celtic, and Classical are my favorites.
3) What style of music do you listen to for artistic inspiration?
New Age, Celtic, and Movie Scores. They take me away to another world!
4) Do you listen to music while you’re writing?
No. I wish I could. One would think it would be inspiring, but it only distracts me. I need complete silence. Any distractions (audio or visual) pull me out of my world.
5) What’s your favorite love song?
There are so many beautiful love songs! This narrowing it down stuff is brutal. Okay. Here are two that I can play over and over and over . . .
“I Will Find You” – (love theme from Last of the Mohicans)
“My Heart Will Go On” – (love theme from Titanic)
BOOKS
1) What was the first romance novel you ever read?
I can’t remember the first romance novel I read. It would have been when I was high school and it would have been a Harlequin (category). I used to trade them back and forth with a group of girlfriends. I remember we were always disappointed when a chapter would end with the scene where the hero lured the heroine to bed, and the subsequent chapter opened with… “The next morning…” My how times have changed! I do remember, however, the romance novel that inspired me to want to write. Johanna Lindsey’s Savage Thunder. Of course, I consumed every Lindsey novel I could get my hands on soon after. She remains a favorite. In 1995, I had the opportunity to get her autograph at a Romantic Times book fair. Outwardly, I maintained my cool, but secretly, I thought I was going to hyperventilate!
2) What is your favorite classic romantic fairytale?
Cinderella! Love it!!!!! All versions whether it be book or film, I adore this story. No doubt I am a hopeful romantic (true love, good triumphs over evil, happily ever after) because of that fabulous fairytale.
3) What romance genres do you read? Also, what genres do you read outside of romance?
I have to say I am addicted to romantic fiction. Most of my reading falls in this genre. I am particularly attracted to Romantic Suspense, Romantic Comedy, and Historicals (any time period) Outside of the romance genre? Robert Parker – Any Spencer book!
4) List the three books on top of you ‘to be read’ pile.
Michelle Cunnah – 32AA
Nan Ryan – The Last Dance
J.D. Robb – Imitation In Death
5) What are you currently reading for pleasure?
Suzanne Brockmann – Gone Too Far
Stephanie Bond – Cover Me
Jewell Mason – Lady Dragon
6) What are you currently reading for research?
The Bodygaurd Manuel
The F.B.I. – A Comprehensive Reference Guide
7) What can readers expect from you as an author in the future?
I am currently writing a follow up to JINXED, a romantic suspense comedy entitled CHARMED. I’ll be introducing readers to new, quirky, and hopefully endearing, characters and bringing back some friendly (and not-so-friendly) characters from JINXED. CHARMED will be released in December 2004. Also in the works, a humorous historical western (Maverick-style!). My mind is constantly churning and as a result I have several proposals for future stories in the works as well. Oh, if there were only 32 hours in a day. So many stories to spin, so many books to read!
Visit Beth at www.bethciotta.com
An Interview with Tracy Cooper-Posey
April 2004
MOVIES
1) List your top three all time favorite movies.
Only three????!!! Eek! Umm....
Lord of the Rings (all three)
Gone with the Wind
The Abyss
2) What did you admire most about these movies?
Lord of the Rings: Viggo, Orlando and the actor who plays Eowyn (a kick-butt heroine!). Plus, I’m one of these sad people who has read Lord of the Rings once a year, almost (except for a few years when I didn’t have a copy!). The movies were a huge relief for me because they were good, and they were true to the book. I’ve seen other attempts to film the book that were horrid disasters, the equivalent of watching your house wash away in a mudslide.
Gone with the Wind. The costumes. Rhett Butler. And yet another kick-butt heroine, who at times I could strangle because of her blind spot regarding Rhett Butler. I love the book, too, which reads almost like a new story as there’s so much more in the book.
The Abyss. The romance! Odd for a high-tech, cutting edge science fiction film, but this movie has one of the strongest, best romances in it that I’ve seen on film for a long time. It still ranks up there as the best on film I’ve seen so far. And the book is just as good. By the way, Lyndsay, the heroine, is also a get-out-of-my-way heroine.
3) List your top three heroes in a cinematic feature. What quality appealed to you most?
Oh, why only three??? This is terribly difficult!
Jack Travyn, Speed -- For the way he tried to so hard to save the girl. Even though he had a whole bus to save, in the end he was taking it very personally indeed...
Etienne Navarre, Ladyhawke -- Who wouldn’t love a man who lives with a curse for ten years, working every day to find a way out, a way to get back the woman he loves? Such faith and perseverance in the face of incredible odds...
Hawkeye, Last of the Mohicans -- Another hero who battles incredible odds to save the woman he loves. In the end he offers up his own life to save hers....
Alejandro Murrieta/Zorro, The Mask of Zorro -- Another hero changed by love. Besides, who can resist the charms of Antonia Banderas, all in black?
Han Solo, The Empire Strikes Back -- A lot of people roll their eyes when I add Han Solo to the list of greatest heroes, because for most of the movies he’s a bit of a cardboard cut-out. But when it came to the Princess, there were a few shining moments when it was as clear as day that he really cared for her. He spends the entire second movie of the series working to keep her out of the hands of the Empire, and the supreme moment that will endear him (and Harrison Ford) to me forever is when he’s about to be put in the carbon-freeze, and no-one knows if he’ll survive the process. Leia says “I love you,” and Han Solo utters his infamous come-back; “I know.” But most people giggle so much at that line they miss the real romance, that happens in the next fifteen seconds. It’s all packed inside Han Solo’s wordless, long, lingering look at Leia. The expression on his face is a mixture of love, regret for what might have been, and resignation. Oh boy!!
Nope, can’t do it. Can’t cut the list down any further!
4) List your top three heroines in a cinematic feature. What quality appealed to you most?
...and now the questions are getting harder! Hmmm....
Lyndsay Brigman, The Abyss. For taking life square on the jaw, and not expecting the world to open the door or pull out her chair for her. She is one incredibly gutsy lady, and when it counted, she put her faith and trust in the man she loved, choosing to bet her life against his abilities. She was a changed character at the end. Unlike Scarlett, she knew how to learn and grow.
Katherine Banning, The Thomas Crown Affair. The moxy of this woman! I just love the way she strides through life with 100% confidence, 100% elegance, leaving men gasping and spluttering in her wake!
Sydney Ellen Wade, The American President. She deals with political power like a man, and doesn’t hesitate once she’s committed herself to a path of action. But she doesn’t lose her femininity for a moment.
And one more for good luck; Lady Laura Croft, Tomb Raider. The sequel was just plain silly, but the first movie was fabulous, even while it was half-a-step out of kilter with reality. Another lady of pure 100% moxy and style, I also loved her physicality. She worked at it, too -- it wasn’t a natural gift.
5) If your book were to be translated into a film, who would you cast as your hero and heroine?
Oh, jeez, why didn’t I see this coming? Okay, this is going to sound terribly obscure, but if I were to cast the movie of my book, then in the looks department, for Stephen, it would have to be someone with dark looks, like Liam Neeson, who’s perhaps a bit tall, mixed with Collin Farrell, also with the intense dark looks, but he’s not quite mature, or solid enough. Clear as mud?
The heroine...well, Liv Tyler has the looks, but her natural voice is all wrong and her eyes are the wrong colour. (Helena as midnight blue eyes). Catherine Zeta-Jones is just about perfect, but she’d also need blue eyes.
6) What movie did you most recently view that you would highly recommend?
In about five minutes time I’m about to sit down and watch Chicago. I’ll let you know how it goes. But for recent recommendations, I’d say Pirates of The Caribbean, which is an enormously fun romp. There’s even a half-way decent romance in there (who can resist Orlando Bloom?)
MUSIC
1) List your top three favorite musical artists.
Oh dear. Three. Pink Floyd, Sarah McLachlan, Loreena McKennitt, Vangelis, Sting, Enya, The Beatles, Crowded House, Bill Whelan ... And I don’t even want to start ranking them! I’d be here all night.
2) What style of music do you listen to for pleasure?
Classic Rock, Movie Soundtracks, Celtic, Folk, Classical, Alternative.
3) What style of music do you listen to for artistic inspiration?
All of the above except for classic rock -- the beat and the lyrics distract me. Movie soundtracks are particularly good for inspiration.
4) Do you listen to music while you’re writing?
All of the above, but tend to lean towards those tracks without lyrics, so soundtracks and classical get played a lot.
5) What’s your favorite love song?
Anarion, the love song from Lord of the Rings, Fellowship of the Ring, by Enya. Sung in the original Elvish, too.
BOOKS
1) What was the first romance novel you ever read?
Oh wow, that’s going back a few years. Sweet Savage Love by Rosemary Rogers would have been one of the firsts (and the love scenes shocked me silly!), along with a sweet romance called Moon Witch by Ann Mather, I think, which was a Harlequin romance -- a Mills & Boon Romance, they’re called, where I come from. I read the first once. I read the latter many times over.
2) What is your favorite classic romantic fairytale?
Beauty and the Beast. There’s a true romance in there -- he falls in love with her kindness, and she falls in love with his genuine heart.
3) What romance genres do you read? Also, what genres do you read outside of romance?
Historical romances are always big on my list. Also romantic suspense, paranormal and fantasy romances. Pretty much the same sort of romances that I write, I read. But I don’t get to read nearly as much as I wish I could.
Outside the romance genre I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy.
4) List the three books on top of your ‘to be read’ pile.
To be very literal, the books sitting on the top of my TBR pile are:
Nora Roberts’ Key of Knowledge
Robert J Sawyers’ Hominids
Michael Crichton’s Timeline
5) What are you currently reading for pleasure?
I’m working my way through Lord of the Rings for this year, and I have another Robert J Sawyer book open (Frameshift). I’m dipping into Wayne Dyer’s Real Magic every now and again when I need to switch. Loaded onto my Palm Pilot, I have The History of Science.
6) What are you currently reading for research?
Anything about 18th century France, vampire lore, longevity, English highwaymen, muskets and muzzle-loading rifles, the Jesuit movement and its demise (hiatus) in the 18th century.
7) What can readers expect from you as an author in the future?
The unexpected, I hope. I always want to be pushing borders, extended myself and my work should reflect that. My stories should get “more”: more emotional, more of a roller coaster, more suspense, more angst, more humour, and a much more enjoyable read.
I will always be writing stories that are romances at heart, but they may explore different territory. That’s a reflection of life: regardless of where man finds himself, there will always be relationships blossoming and growing, and love is sure to follow.
visit Tracy at www.sashaproductions.com
