Vertigo Contest

Alfred Hitchcock Presents The Waxwork

A writer must spend a night in a wax museum’s murderer’s gallery to make good a gambling debt knowingly paid with a bad check to a testy Englishman. The museum’s owner is so obsessed with the accuracy of his replicas, he’s as scary as they are. Especially to a US magazine writer who’s already facing deportation or a stretch in a London gaol.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents also known as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour aired on television (1955-1965) on NBC and CBS and was viewed in black and white. As a young and impressionable child, the 30 minute broadcast chilled me to the bone.

They say pictures paint a thousand words because of the unforgettable impression they sketch. The beginning of each episode painted a very vivid picture in my mind. It began with the camera fading in on a simple line drawing caricature of Hitchcock’s rotund profile. As the program’s theme music

Charles Gounod’s Funeral March of a Marionette played, Hitchcock appeared in silhouette from the right edge of the screen, and then walked to center screen to eclipse the caricature.

Hitchcock nearly always began the show with a chilling “Good Evening.” Can you hear it? Can you see it? Does it take you right back? Do you have goose bumps? Even though I was quite young when The Waxwork aired, the figures terrorizing the man locked in the museum left an indelible impression on my memory.

Other than imagery, auditory hallucinations sketch pictures in our heads. Music sets the scene. Think about a scary movie. Right before a murder or something dangerous, the chilling music clues us in and has our hearts racing. When I wrote Her Biggest Fan, a romantic suspense set in stormy New England, I chose Moonlight Sonata to haunt the reader. As you read, you’ll swear you can hear the eerie spiking of piano keys because I have planted them in your head.

Visualizing the wax figures in Hitchcock’s thriller, I created wax gargoyles with wings as props in the ballroom.

Here’s a little teaser. Do you sense the danger? Feel the music crawl beneath your skin?

Tess stood at the entrance, polarized. Goose bumps prickled her flesh. When the icy instrumental of Moonlight Sonata started all over again, she took a step back and gasped. Peering into the massive hall, she stared in disbelief.

On either side of the mahogany bar, standing candelabras gleamed, long white tapers flickering in the dark. Open terrace doors banged in the wind, bringing in the pouring rain. The air carried the mingled scent of jasmine and stale tobacco. Pleated silk drapes billowed out like wings.

Rain puddled the cherry wood floor that once sparkled beneath the mirrored ceiling and crystal chandelier. The ghostly sound of piano keys escalated as Moonlight Sonata played on the old Victrola. And in the center of the room, looking for all the world like guests of honor at a grand masquerade, two wax gargoyles danced cheek to cheek, costumed in feather masks as bizarre as the setting.

HER BIGGEST FAN

Download on your Kindle at Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/

Available in paperback

ISBN: 1-60154-813-3

Buy direct from the publisher

www.thewildrosepress.com

A few months ago, I held an Alfred Hitchcock contest, asking the following questions

What's your favorite Alfred Hitchcock movie of all times?

Which actress in today's Hollywood do you picture playing the role of the perfect femme fatale?

Who do you see playing the role of Tess?

Witchy Woman won and here’s what she had to say.

"It's so hard to pick a favorite, as I'm a huge Hitchcock fan, but I'll have to go with Psycho; besides all the wonderful reasons that people list (and they're all true!), it was the first Hitchcock movie that I ever saw.....and you always have a special place in your heart for your first....:)

Angelina Jolie would do a great job, I think....she's more than proved that she isn't

just another pretty face...."

I see Tess as having a Claire Danes kind of face, if that makes sense....

Congratulations, WW!

SUMMER CONTEST

Considered the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock made 53 films in his 54 year career. For a chance to win a Vertigo Collector’s Edition DVD, try your luck on the trivia quiz. In honor of The Master’s birthday, winner will be announced on August 13^th. Good luck!

1. Name all three films that Grace Kelly starred in

2. What was the name of Hitchcock’s first American made film?

3. In which of Hitchcock’s famed cameo appearance does he wear a cowboy hat?

4. What year was The Birds produced?

5. Which model made her debut in The Birds?

6. Who starred in Dial M for Murder, both the male and female leading roles?

7. Name Hitchcock’s first color film

8. Who played in Torn Curtain?

9. Who played Marion Crane in the 1960 original Psycho?

10. How many films did Jimmy Stewart star in?

11. What color did Kim Novak object to wear in Vertigo?

12. What was the name of the restaurant that Scotti first sees Madeline in Vertigo?

Please send answers to

sharonad@comcast.net

and put Hitch trivia in subject line

Fat Tuesday

Hello and welcome to Mardi Gras!

Wearing masks bearing images of skeletons and Christian icons is a vital part of Mardi Gras in the city of New Orleans. This pre-Lenten festival is framed by the donning of original masks worn by people at masked balls, crew members in parades, tourists and partakers in the final crescendo known as Fat Tuesday.

This is a time when individuals hide behind masks to play out the final moments of fun and to bid farewell to the flesh before the penitence of Lent begins.

Masks have always possessed a certain air of mystery that has fascinated people for centuries. According to legend, masks were worn by ancient Greek actors in honor of Dionysus, god of theater and were quite large. Because the structures used to represent the plays were so colossal, masks bore exaggerated expressions in order to convey various emotions.

The traditional colors of Mardi Gras are purple symbolic of justice, green symbolic of faith and gold symbolic of power and are used to decorate carnival masks.

Paying tribute to our uniformed heros

Hello, Friends! I hope you will join me today in honoring our uniformed heroes. I am taking part in January Interview—Book Brew at Coffee Time. Today’s theme is those folks in uniforms of many kinds who form our net of safety and protection, putting their lives on the line for us. They make great heroes and heroines and we cannot honor them enough for all they do! I am proud to take part and will be chatting all day long about HER BIGGEST FAN, PART OF THE MEN IN UNIFORM SERIES BY THE WILD ROSE PRESS. My interview gives a behind the scenes scoop on why I chose a sheriff as my romantic hero. Throughout the day, I will be chatting about music setting the scene with my creative muse, the fallen angel that inspired me to write Her Biggest Fan, not to mention some Sharon Donovan give aways! So I hope you’ll help me pay tribute to the uniformed heroes in our lives http://coffeetimeromance.com/CoffeeThoughts

Reviews for Her Biggest Fan

Here’s what reviewers are saying about Her Biggest Fan…

An edge of your seat chilling suspense, I couldn‘t wait to see what would happen next. Her Biggest Fan really was a book I couldn‘t put down. This book was an addicting, pulse-pounding read with an explosive climax. The drama was intense and I loved every minute of it.

Read full review

http://yougottareadreviews.blogspot.com/2010/10/review-her-biggest-fan-by-sharon.html

Rating: You Gotta Read!

Reviewed by Val

This was a great mixture of psychological thriller, Classic Gothic and old Hollywood glamor.

I loved the setting of this story and could practically smell the salt water in the air and hear the soothing sounds of the ocean--mix that in with a desolate manor house—it begs for a thrilling tale to be told. Fans of this well-written genre will definitely enjoy this story.

The Romance Studio

Rating: 4 hearts

Read full review

Her Biggest Fan

ISBN: 1-60154-813-3

AVAILABLE NOW

The Wild Rose Press

Buy link

http://www.TheWildRosePress.com/Her-Biggest-Fan-P-4234.HTML

www.theromancestudio.com

Welcome to my Halloween Haunted House

The hunter's moon skitters across the midnight black sky. From the deepest thicket of the forest, a werewolf howls. Bats screech as they soar from their caves and swarm toward the haunted house on the hill, wings flapping in flight. The wind swooshes through the willowy pines, sounding like the wise old whispers of the Paiute Indians buried thousands of feet below in the windblown sand. Thunder rolls across the starless sky, followed by a streak of lightning that casts an eerie glow on the tombstones in the graveyard. The ghosts float about, chilling laughter echoing through the hollow.

Welcome to my Halloween blog! For the entire month of October, authors will celebrate the spirit of Halloween by telling ghost stories, reading chilling excerpts and so mmuch more. And as always, the sexy and charasmatic Oliver will creak open the door to the haunted house to serve up witch's brew, munchies and maybe even cast a bewitching spell on you. And the organ when not playing the funeral dirge will play your favorite blood curtling song. And don't be put off or frightened by the screams you hear from behind the walls or the chains of the shhackled inmates. Wicked laughter exploes through cyber space. It's. just guests that didn't care for my books or the books of my guests.

So come back each day for a Trick or Treat. And to start the holiday off in the true spirit of the witching hour, here is an excerpt from my little house of horrors,
Her Biggest Fan
the book I have just sold to the Crimson Line of The Wild Rose Press. Please leave a comment and tell me what you think. And I'll be sure and keep you posted as to its release date and show off the book cover once it reaches fruition. Until then....funeral dirge plays in the background...
Here is a scene from Her Biggest Fan. Enjoy!

From the grand ballroom, the soft floating of piano keys drifted, louder and louder, faster and faster, reaching a spiking crescendo that shook the chandelier. And then all was quiet as the manor settled from the riveting climax that rattled the windows.
An eerie twine hummed through the corridor. Shocked by the scaling spike of piano keys, Tess’s knees wobbled. Floundering, she leaned against the wall for support.
She gasped for breath, her heartbeat escalating. In barely more than a whisper, she called out.
“Daddy?”

Her mind raced. Could her dad be alive? Did he stage his own death? Tears stung her eyes. She had to find out. But still, she proceeded with caution. She sensed evil from deep in her soul.
Camouflaged in the dim lighting, Tess scaled along the walls of the barrel corridor, blending into the dark wood paneling.

Inching her way a bit deeper, she crept, her heart pounding. Beads of sweat trickled down her spine. A door banged, sounding like shutters smacking the house. Then she felt a rush of cool air coming from the grand ballroom, dank with the smell of rain and something else. Burning candles.

Fear clutched her from deep within. As she got closer, the scent of jasmine grew stronger. The sweet smell permeated the air. It was as if her father were still alive, entertaining in the grand ballroom. Just as Tess reached the arched column to the massive hall, a bolt of thunder exploded in the sky, followed by an illuminating flash of lightning. Then all went dark.
Tess stood at the entrance, polarized. Goose bumps prickled her flesh. When the icy instrumental of Moonlight Sonata started all over again, she took a step back and gasped. Peering into the massive hall, she stared in disbelief.

On either side of the mahogany bar, standing candelabras gleamed, long white tapers flickering in the dark. Open terrace doors banged in the wind, bringing in the pouring rain. The air carried the mingled scent of jasmine and stale tobacco. Pleated silk drapes billowed out like wings.
Rain puddled the cherry wood floor that once sparkled beneath the mirrored ceiling and crystal chandelier. The ghostly sound of piano keys escalated as Moonlight Sonata played on the old Victrola. And in the center of the room, looking for all the world like guests of honor at a grand masquerade, two wax gargoyles danced cheek to cheek, costumed in feather masks as bizarre as the setting.