Friday, May 1, 2015

Friday's Film Adaption: Rhubarb by H Allen Smith

This is an older book, originally published in 1946 and not currently available in ebook format.  I included the different sites where I was able to locate it's availability even though the prices vary from reasonable to highly inflamed.  Personally I recommend checking at libraries but that's just a personal opinion.

Summary:
Hilarious story of a cat who inherited a baseball team.


Film:
Rich, eccentric T.J. Banner adopts a feral cat who becomes an affectionate pet. Then T.J. dies, leaving to Rhubarb most of his money and a pro baseball team, the Brooklyn Loons. When the team protests, publicist Eric Yeager convinces them Rhubarb is good luck. But Eric's fiancée Polly seems to be allergic to cats, and the team's success may mean new hazards for Rhubarb.

Release date: August 29, 1951
Running time: 94 minutes

Cast:
Orangey as Rhubarb
Ray Milland as Eric Yeager
Jan Sterling as Polly Sickles
William Frawley as Len Sickles
Gene Lockhart as T.J. Banner
Elsie Holmes as Myra Banner
Taylor Holmes as P. Duncan Munk
Willard Waterman as Orlando Dill
Henry Slate as Dud Logan
James Griffith as Ogelthorpe 'Oggie' Meadows
Jim Hayward as Doom
Donald MacBride as Pheeny
Hal K. Dawson as Mr. Fisher
Strother Martin and Leonard Nimoy have uncredited roles in this film.

Awards:
Orangey won PATSY Awards (Picture Animal Top Star of the Year, the animal version of an Oscar) for his appearances in both Rhubarb and Breakfast at Tiffany's, the only cat so far to win more than once.

Quotes:
Eric Yeager: How about some bait?
Owner of the pet shop: I'm sorry sir, we have no meat department.
Eric Yeager: Meat? Golf balls is this cat's meat.
*****
Judge: [to Polly Sickles] You're sneezing under oath. An untrue sneeze could find you guilty of perjury.


I saw this movie for the first time a few years ago during a Spring Training Baseball Marathon on TV and ever since, I have to watch it every year on Opening Weekend.  It's hilarious from beginning to end.  I haven't had the opportunity to read the book yet but it's on my TBR list.  Whether you are a baseball fan or not or a cat lover or not, I highly recommend this film for it's pure comedic flair and of course, spotting Leonard Nimoy in the player's locker room is a nice little bonus.

RATING: 

Author Bio:
“On Monday mornings I am dedicated to the proposition that all men are created jerks.” ― H. Allen Smith


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Film
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Cover Reveal: The Magic's in the Music by Susan Squires

Title: The Magic's in the Music
Author: Susan Squires
Series: Magic #5
Genre: Contemporary Paranormal Romance
Expected Release Date: May 26, 2015
Summary:
The Ghost rebels
The Merlin gene has come alive in his brothers and sisters, giving them a magic power when they find their destined mate. Lanyon is afraid he’s next. Why would he want to share their destiny? The family is under siege. The Clan’s powers are increasing. His father, once invincible, is in no position to lead them. So he rebels. He haunts the L.A. club scene, appearing out of nowhere to play music no one can forget.

But can he avoid Destiny?
The minute he sees a beautiful blond girl and feels the incredible tug he’s heard his brothers and sisters describe, he knows he must resist her at all costs.

Star-power
Greta Falk is trying to control her own future, having sued her stage mother for emancipation when she was fifteen. But does she want a role in the next billion-dollar movie franchise? Or does she want to study the stars that have always fascinated her—the ones in the sky?

Destinies Collide
When Lanyon feels obligated to rescue Greta from the paparazzi, the only safe place to take her is home to his family. Right where he doesn’t want to be. Now he’s drawn into everything he’s been trying to escape. He can’t resist Greta. And she may hold the key to the Tremaine future. The Clan wants what he and Greta know. Can they make peace with their Destiny and embrace a future together?


From several points in the room, Greta heard a soft hiss. “The Ghost.” Jax swiveled, then froze, her Lava Lamp forgotten.

For Greta, things started to move in slow motion. She felt a tug, almost physical, from behind her. She turned like she was moving through viscous liquid.

The man who strode through the crowd had shaggy dark hair, a long leather duster and stubble of at least three days. That’s where the similarity to the jerk who’d just been tossed out ended. This guy was no poseur. He couldn’t care less about the crowd. He didn’t even spare them a glance. The fierce look in his eyes was all for the red-washed stage. He strode toward it like he was moving through hell toward redemption.

 “Get people on the sound board and the lights,” a hefty man hissed to someone in the shadows. Club manager? Several guys in black jeans and tee shirts scurried away

Greta was having a hard time catching her breath. What was with that? Yeah, the guy was a looker, but she’d been hanging out with beautiful men since she was twelve, and they’d never affected her this way. Cheekbones? Check.

Strong jaw? Likewise. But his chin had a dimple, if she wasn’t mistaken. His lips were full, sensual. He felt dangerous, but contradictory.

The crowd didn’t yell at the newcomer or jeer. They backed out of his way respectfully. The guy hopped up on the stage and surveyed the instruments abandoned there, his back to the crowd. He glanced to the keyboards but settled on a guitar, a candy-apple red one that glinted in the dim light. He picked it up, flipped a few switches on the amp and corrected the tuning. Back still to the audience, he strummed a chord that seemed to reach right down into your guts and quiver. As the echo died away, the man on stage threw his head back and began to play in earnest. It was no song she knew. She’d be willing to bet no one except this Ghost knew that song. The cascading notes were angry, but with a sobbing sound below that vibrated with sadness in your lungs. The notes started to soar only to be dashed to earth again and again by evil riffs. It was as if the man was ripping out his soul with that music. It went on and on. Nobody danced. Nobody fidgeted. Nobody talked. Nobody got up to go to the bathroom. They just listened, mesmerized. Maybe they knew they’d never hear something like this again.

He turned around to the audience, but Greta knew he wasn’t seeing anybody in the room. Emotions flickered across his expression as he pulled out those wild notes and sent them skittering or thundering or sidling slyly into the room.

When the last resounding chord crashed into silence, he stood with head down. The place erupted in applause and shouts. “Ghost!” Greta felt like a linen suit in Arizona in the summertime. She came to herself and grabbed for her martini. Her hand was shaking.

What the hell?

Author Bio:
Susan Squires is a New York Times bestselling author known for breaking the rules of romance writing. Whatever her time period, or subject, some element of the paranormal always creeps in. She has won multiple contests for published novels and reviewer's choice awards. Publisher's Weekly named Body Electric one of the most influential mass market books of 2003 and One with the Shadows, the fifth in her vampire Companion Series, a Best book of 2007. Time for Eternity, the first in the DaVinci time travel series, received a starred review from Publisher's Weekly.

Susan has a Masters in English literature from UCLA and once toiled as an executive for a Fortune 500 company. Now she lives at the beach in Southern California with her husband, Harry, a writer of supernatural thrillers, and three very active Belgian Sheepdogs, who like to help her write by putting their chins on the keyboarddddddddddddddddddddddd.


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Amii's Angel by Natalie-Nicole Bates

Title: Amii's Angel
Author: Natalie-Nicole Bates
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 15, 2015
Publisher: Books To Go Now Publishing
Summary:
For years, Amii Sloan has held a burning grudge against Ryan Maine for his cutting cross examination during her sister’s murder trial. Now, a chance encounter brings Ryan back into her life, along with a very interesting proposition—to work as his personal assistant in the idyllic town of Unity.

Down on her luck, and supporting a mother with early onset dementia, Amii doesn’t have much of a choice but to accept the job Ryan offers. But can she overlook the past to possibly open the door to a brighter future?

As she spends time with the handsome, successful lawyer, she realizes that maybe first impressions can be wrong, and that just maybe she and Ryan could share a whole lot more than she ever imagined.


     From the instant he first saw her, Ryan Maine sensed she would be his wife.
     “I’m usually very good with faces, but I’ll be damned if I can remember where I know you from.” It sounded like a cheesy pick up line, but it was the truth.
     He smiled at the raven haired beauty before him. He had been off the dating scene for way too long. Now was the time to get back into the game.
     His smile deflated when he saw the hard, cold look in her dark eyes. “You may not remember, but I sure do. As a matter of fact, I’ll never forget it. You cross examined me at the trial of my sister’s murderer. You destroyed a part of my soul that day.”

Author Bio:
Natalie-Nicole Bates is a book reviewer and author. 

Her passions in life include books and hockey along with Victorian and Edwardian era photography and antique poison bottles. Natalie contributes her uncharacteristic love of hockey to being born in Russia.

She currently resides in the UK where she is working on her next book and adding to her collection of 19th century post-mortem photos.


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Release Day Blitz: Actor for the Night by CJ Fallowfield

Title: Actor for the Night
Author: CJ Fallowfield
Series: For the Night #8
Genre: Erotica
Release Date: May 15, 2015

***Warning: Contains Adult Themes ~ Suitable for 18+ Only***
Summary:
**Warning - While this final book can be read as a standalone, if you wish to avoid spoilers, you should read the series in sequence**

A familiar face from Logan Steele’s past returns to wreak havoc, threatening his very future, and leaving him in turmoil. He has to step up to fulfil his most challenging role to date, but the question is whether he’s a good enough actor to pull it off. Will Logan get his happy ever after? Or will his past bite him, or the ones he loves, so hard, that it turns his life into a disaster movie?

******

The novellas are told in alternating points of view of Logan Steele, and his client, or clients. You can pick up any of them for a complete short burst of heat, however in order to fully enjoy Logan’s development they should be read in the sequence that they are released. Starting from October 2014, I will release one per month.

Strangers for the Night
Virgin for the Night
Filthy for the Night
Ménage for the Night
Sophisticated for the Night
Biker for the Night
Dominant for the Night
Actor for the Night









Author Bio:
I write contemporary erotic romance, with humour, which are full of emotion and plenty of drama. I am a 44 year old female from the United Kingdom and live in the wonderful countryside of Wales, surrounded by rolling hills, trees and fields full of sheep and cows. Writing aids include chocolate, Ben & Jerry’s and copious amounts of coffee, wine or cider.


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Email: cjfauthor@btinternet.com



Actor for the Night

Strangers for the Night

Virgin for the Night

Filthy for the Night

Menage for the Night

Sophisticated For the Night

Biker for the Night

Dominant for the Night

The Austin Series Box Set

31 Days Series
31 Days of Winter

31 Days of Summer

The Temptress

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Release Day Blitz: Redemption of Lunar Falls by Lashell Collins

Title: Redemption of Lunar Falls 
Author: Lashell Collins
Series: Lunar Falls #3
Genre: Paranormal/Romantic Suspense/Urban Fantasy
Release Date: May 1, 2015

***ON SALE FOR A LIMITED TIME***
You can get each book in the series for $0.99 each.
***Sale Ends May 8, 2015***
Summary:
Carly Tipton's life has been turned upside down since she moved to Lunar Falls. She came looking to start a new life for herself, but nothing prepared her for the adventure that awaited her in the mysterious little town. A place where werewolves not only walk among the humans, hidden in plain sight, but where the roots of her own family tree are deeply entwined with the noble creatures. And when she and her mate, Gabe, are declared the answer to an ancient Moon Hunter prophecy, Carly finds herself wondering if the secrets and lies of Lunar Falls will ever end.

Gabe Masters is an Alpha on a mission – to re-educate his people in the ancient ways of the imprinting and abolish the purity movement, all while getting the five packs to accept his new human mate as one of their own. Easy, right? Until shifting alliances and a small faction of wolves join forces with the cat shifters in a last-ditch effort to overthrow Gabe's authority before his and Carly's wedding. A vicious battle ensues as Gabe leads his men (and women) against the rebellion. But can he defeat them in time to keep Carly safe?

Redemption of Lunar Falls is book three of an adult sexy shifter romance trilogy.



Author Bio:
Lashell Collins is an American author of romantic suspense, paranormal and contemporary romance. She spent the last twenty years of her life working in veterinary clinics and garden centers in her home state of Ohio, and is now living her dream of writing full-time. She loves a good love story, whether she’s watching it on TV, reading it, or writing it. In food terms, she likes to think of her own stories as sweet and spicy – sweet romance with spicy sex scenes!

Lashell walks to the beat of her own drum, but that’s okay ’cause she’s got a pretty good sense of rhythm. Basically, she’s a geeky, quirky, laid-back, rocker-loving kinda girl who’s married to a retired cop, motorcycle-riding, bad-boy alpha all her own, and she likes to write about sexy police officers, werewolves and rockstars, or some inventive combination of the three!

When she’s not busy tapping away on her laptop and living vicariously through her characters, she can usually be found watching Grimm, rocking out to Slash, stuffing her face full of Chinese food, or riding on the back of her husband’s Harley-Davidson. Give her a shout, she loves to hear from readers!


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EMAIL: lashellcollinsauthor@gmail.com



Redemption of Lunar Falls #3
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Secrets of Lunar Falls #1
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Lies of Lunar Falls #2
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