Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

In “Miracle” by Connie Willis (one of my favorite holiday short stories), the hero and heroine bond over their preference for Miracle on 34 th Street over It’s a Wonderful Life as their favorite Christmas movie. On first reading, I chortled happily through the tale, enjoying all of the author’s affectionate swipes at seasonal stress, Christmas shopping, office parties, and holiday television programming that will show certain films over and over until audiences run screaming in the opposite direction. (I do recall a year in which every station seemed to be broadcasting It’s a Wonderful Life .) In spite of this overkill, there are movies and television specials without which the holidays just don’t seem complete. When I was a kid, I couldn’t imagine not watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas” or “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” every year--and they remain favorites, not least because both programs are so much more than thinly disguised commercials. And I know other people who c...

The holidays are the part of the year I get to spend with family. They are also the part of the year where I have free babysitting (read: family) and can go see a movie not rated G. Last year I saw Les Miserables . Only one movie, but it was a good one and really the length of two movies. This year I hope to add a few more to my holiday schedule. I don’t need a babysitter to see the new Disney film Frozen. I already know the story thanks to Disney’s way early marketing campaign. My daughter has had the audio picture book for about two months. The good news is that the story sounds really good, so I’m excited to see it. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opened Friday. I loved the first one, and I really want to see the second. I have it on my must-see list. The previews look great. Anyone seen it yet? Another sure blockbuster is The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug . I have to confess something: I haven’t seen the first movies in the series, and I haven’t read the bo...

by Danielle Jackson (soon to be Dresser) As you are reading this post, I will actually be basking in the sun on my HONEYMOON! In light of my recent wedding, and for an end of the week pick me up, I thought I'd share some of my favorite wedding scenes from movies: Sense and Sensiblity has always been my favorite of Austen's books, and this movie version by Ang Lee is also my favorite adaptation. The wedding scene at the end is very quick, but I love how each couple's personalities come across: So, this one isn't technically a wedding, but wouldn't you love to be serenaded by Fred Astaire, near a beautiful church, wearing lovely clothes, like Audrey Hepburn's character in Funny Face ? One of my all time favorite movies overall, but I always loved this scene: This next scene, from Love Actually, is actually kind of sad, but I really love how gorgeous Keira Knightley looks in the film--how every bride wants to look! And both actors in this scene do a wo...

Later this evening I'm going to watch HAROLD AND MAUDE  with two friends who haven't seen it yet. I think it's one of the greatest films ever made and definitely made brilliant use of the "mis-matched couple" trope. Here's the storyline from IMDB: " Self-destructive and needy but wealthy teenager Harold is obsessed with death and spends his leisure time attending funerals, watching the demolition of buildings, visiting junkyards, simulating suicides trying to get the attention of his indifferent, snobbish and egocentric mother, and having sessions with his psychologist. When Harold meets the anarchic seventy-nine-year-old Maude at a funeral, they become friends and the old lady discloses other perspectives of the cycle of life for him. Meanwhile, his mother enlists him in a dating service and tries to force him to join the army. On the day of Maude's eightieth birthday, Harold proposes to her but he finds the truth about life at the end of hers...

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy Our theme this month is about summer, and one of the things I like to do in the summer (actually all year long) is watch movies. I usually watch movies at home on my DVD, but if it's a particularly hot day (yes, it does get over 100 here in the summer) there' nothing to compare with a cool, dark movie theater and an entertaining film on the screen. Warning! Rant about to happen... I watched a really BAAAD movie on DVD last night. It wasn't supposed to be bad. Matter of fact it had several "A" list actors and got good reviews, but it still annoyed me! And I don't mean just the story line, though I did find that aspect rather weak, cliche-ridden, and therefore annoying. The thing I really objected to was that every time a pivotal scene ended, the director/film editor/whomever would throw up a montage of landscapes along with the character who had just "learned the BIG LESSON" and fill the soundtrack with L...

Yes I am a writer, and yes I do inject humor here and there within my story, and yes I love to read humorous tales. But I am also a devoted lover of movies. I like just about all types of movies, my entertainment bones tickled by everything from heavy dramas to action flicks to sweet romances to westerns to family/childrens and so on. But there is one category of movie – what we have dubbed “ stupid comedies ” – that can almost be embarrassing to admit watching. Hide your face in shame if you must, but let’s face it, sometimes a person needs to zone out for a couple of hours with mindless entertainment requiring zero brain cell usage, content in the knowledge that you will laugh until your side hurts and/or milk spurts out your nose. Here are a few of my favorites, proudly proclaimed! Happy Gilmore – Gotta admit that I like Adam Sandler. Not everything, but most of them. Waterboy deserves an honorable mention and I liked Big Daddy , but Happy Gilmore is my favorite. Every time the g...

Yes, we’re all romantics at heart. After all, we write romance! There’s nothing about sitting down with a wonderful book that either makes you laugh or cry. And there are movies that do the same. The following are only a few and hopefully I’ve suggested some you haven’t seen before. Even better if you can talk your honey into curling up on the couch with you to watch these. Emma – Jane Austen knew just how to write a romance that leads the heroine on a merry quest to match up her friends and discover love at the same time. This is one of my favorite films. While You Were Sleeping – Yes, this movie is set during Christmas, but who cares? This is such a great film about a lonely woman looking for love and finding it in the oddest way. Plus, you have to love the family members. The Matchmaker – This is another favorite when a politician’s assistant travels to Ireland to find his distant relatives and discovers love during a matchmaking festival in a small town. The matchmakers in the town...

By Danielle Jackson Have you ever thought about what makes certain books movie material? There are so many different adaptations of literature into film that convey so mething that was written into something visual—and you have to hand it to directors, producer and actors for their interpretations of various literary figures! There’s something about Jane Austen that has translated very well into film. Something we all know and love—romance—rings loud and clear both in her books and on the big screen. There are some great versions of Sense & Sensibility, Emma , and of course, Pride & Prejudice (don’t make me choose between the BBC/Colin Firth or the newer on with Keira Knightley!!). I wonder if it’s the fact that all of Austen’s beloved novels have witty banter, unforgettable characters, and an undeniably happy ending! Even most adventure films have some element of romance driving the core message. The Princess Bride , in my opinion, is a perfect blend between comedy (first an...