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On my blog today, read a great excerpt from the contemporary romance novel GINGERBREAD KISSES by Minette Lauren. Enter the giveaway to win a signed copy of the book, a $25 Amazon gift card, and/or signed copies of all the books in the HOT IN MAGNOLIA series including the prequel!

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2021/05/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-gingerbread.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
Hollywood actress Ginger Lynn Harding is broke, unemployed, and stuck in the glaring spotlight of a sex-tape scandal thanks to her lousy ex-boyfriend. Changing her coveted ginger-colored hair to brown, Ginger heads to small-town Magnolia, Texas, where she plans to hide out and wait tables at the Cupcake Diner and Dive.

As a Magnolia constable and possible candidate for mayor, Roland Karr prides himself on protecting the community. When he nabs a Lauren Bacall look-alike for speeding, Roland is surprised that he lets the sassy beauty off the hook, but he can’t help it. She looks like she could use a break.

As Ginger settles into life in Magnolia, she can't stop thinking about the handsome and debonair cop, but can she risk losing her heart when she's lost everything else?

Kudos Comment

Rick Nielsen recommended Message from the Country by The Move in Music (curated)

Message from the Country by The Move

1971 | Psychedelic

6.5

(2 Ratings)

Album Favorite

"I love Roy Wood. Once again, we're talking about songs. He couldn't be constrained; he had to be different. He wouldn't just grow his hair and look like a troll, he'd dye it purple. He'd always take things one step too far. We worked with him, playing at Irving Plaza in New York, and we told him we'd had a hit with 'California Man'. "Well, I want to do my version." Hell, do our version! Roy was obtuse, while Jeff Lynne was more of a rocksteady kind of guy, which I think is why Jeff ended up being more successful, because they're both talented beyond belief. Two guys from Birmingham: "Let's work together!" The next day: "Maybe not such a great idea!" Because Roy would want to have 80 saxophonists, and they'd have to be girls. The difference between Roy and Jeff is that Jeff would want to have a band who could get out there every weekend. Roy's his own worst enemy: he's the most underappreciated of the pop geniuses, but not by me. But if he were any more successful he'd never talk to me."

Source

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Interview with the Vampire (1994) in Movies

Aug 8, 2020

Lavish adaptation of the best-selling novel resembles a cross between an existential bitch-fest and a hair care products commercial. Have you wondered what the ageless and immortal vampire does with all those endless nights? Well, he sits around and broods about it, if he's Brad Pitt, or shamelessly camps it up in search of an Oscar nomination if he's Tom Cruise. The film documents two centuries in the life of the undead: most of it is people sitting around in extravagantly-decorated rooms complaining about either their lives or each other.

Just a bit too artfully amoral and self-indulgent for my tastes; the gay subtext is undeniably present but you can tell Pitt and Cruise are doing their best to stamp it into the carpet (I mentioned this in a review of the novel once and someone said 'This book isn't about gay people! It's about vampires!', which I thought was rather sweet). Looks good and has some decent performances, but makes being a vampire look very boring. On the other hand, very clearly the chief inspiration for What We Do In the Shadows (both movie and TV show), although not nearly as entertaining.