Please help me welcome author Susan Sloate author of Stealing Fire to the blog. Susan agreed to do a guest post for me, so, Susan, take it away.
Hello, and thanks,
Elaine, for inviting me to visit your blog today!
As you know, my
latest novel, STEALING FIRE, takes place in the world of 1980’s New York and
L.A., most particularly the world of Broadway musical theater in the 1980’s. And
while I could go on and on about the ‘80s (big hair, lots of formal occasions
and great clothes, terrific music and some classic films), I think I’d like to
zero in on what was happening to the
Broadway musical at that time.
If you’re not a
fan of musicals—or you just don’t remember the ‘80s (and it can happen to the
best of us!)—the ‘80s ushered in a whole new era in musical theater, and its
name was… Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Lloyd Webber is a
classically-trained musician and composer who came from a serious musical
family. He was the one who broke out into more popular forms, including the
musical. Among other shows, he wrote the music for JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR,
EVITA, CATS, PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, STARLIGHT EXPRESS, SUNSET BOULEVARD and
more.
He was very
powerful in the ‘80s, with many of his shows debuting in London and then coming
to Broadway. And the one thing they all had in common was that they were
high-tech, glitzy and very expensive productions (PHANTOM had a fifty-piece
orchestra). Naturally that meant that ticket prices gradually began to rise (I
remember paying $25 for a ticket to EVITA in 1980), and the quality of the
shows was dramatically worse than much less expensive productions just a few
years before.
But Lloyd Webber
was a phenomenon—audiences loved the special effects and the brass-heavy
musical arrangements, and though STARLIGHT EXPRESS was nothing but a re-telling
of THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD, it was done by actors on roller skates
whizzing along custom-built ramps full of odd lighting and special lights.
The hero of my
novel, STEALING FIRE, is a Broadway librettist/lyricist who can’t stand Andrew
Lloyd Webber. Because of Lloyd Webber, Beau feels out of place in the musical
theater, which he has been part of all his adult life. He’d had hits and flops,
but his work was strong on story and drama, while Lloyd Webber shows are ninety
percent spectacle. With Lloyd Webber now dominating Broadway, Beau feels that
though he wants desperately to come back, he may no longer be able to.
Through a lucky
accident, he does get the chance. And that chance comes about primarily because
in the story, he meets the woman of his dreams, an unlikely soul mate he first
gets to know over the phone lines of a hotel switchboard. And gradually,
conversation and shared interests lead to passion.
Fortunately,
finding your soul mate was not solely (no pun intended) an ‘80s phenomenon.
It’s still very possible today, and while the big hair and great music of the
‘80s no longer preoccupy us every day, having that one special person walk into
your life is something that, if it hasn’t already happened to you, I hope
you’re at least dreaming of. Because dreaming of that person is the first step
to finding them.
Good luck!
Book Blurb:
“How do you recognize
your soulmate?
In glittery 1980’s Los
Angeles, Beau Kellogg is a brilliant Broadway lyricist now writing
advertising jingles and yearning for one more hit to compensate for his
miserable marriage and disappointing life.
Amanda Harary, a young
singer out of synch with her contemporaries, works at a small New York hotel,
while she dreams of singing on Broadway.
When they meet late at
night over the hotel switchboard, what begins will bring them each unexpected
success, untold joy, and piercing heartache ... until they learn that some
connections, however improbable, are meant to last forever.
STEALING FIRE is, at
its heart, a story for romantics everywhere, who believe in the transformative
power of love.”
STEALING FIRE was a
Quarter-Finalist (Top 5%) in the 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest.
Excerpt:
Oh, God, it was him, the bastard who had
upset the switchboard operators and bellowed through the lobby loudly enough to
alert all five boroughs. At three o'clock in the morning, asking for room
service. Unbelievable.
Amanda leaned back in her chair. Her
stomach was tightening inexplicably. "I'm sorry," she said finally,
when she could control her voice. "Room Service closes at midnight."
There was a pause. "Oh. What time is
it now?"
She looked at her watch. "Ten after
three."
"Then whom am I speaking to?"
"I'm the night operator. This is the main switchboard."
"Well, main switchboard, you must all
sound alike down there. I could swear I talked to you earlier tonight."
Well, how about that. "You've got a
good ear, 704. I was on duty earlier."
"Good Lord. How long are the shifts around
here?"
"Eight hours for everybody else. I’m
working a double today."
“Why?"
"Maybe I just love it here."
"I guess you do. But I hope you're well
compensated."
Trust a man to think of money first.
"That’s not my major concern."
"Glad to hear it."
Okay, enough's enough. It's been a long day, made even longer by
him. No reason to shoot the breeze with this guy. "Excuse me, I have other
callers. Sorry I couldn’t help you."
"Well, better luck with them."
"Look, if you'd called earlier—"
"Absolutely. My fault entirely, for
falling asleep after a cross-country flight, a time change and a screw-up in
hotel administration. Forget I even mentioned it." The phone clicked in
her ear.
She sat for some moments before she
noticed she was trembling. This was the second time he'd undermined her—and it
bothered her.
AUTHOR INFORMATION:
Susan Sloate is the author of 20 published books, including
FORWARD TO CAMELOT (with Kevin Finn), an alternative history of the JFK
assassination, STEALING FIRE, an autobiographical love story, and REALIZING YOU
(with Ron Doades), for which she invented a new genre – the self-help novel. FORWARD TO CAMELOT was a #6
Amazon bestseller, took honors in 3 literary competitions and was optioned for
film production by a Hollywood company. STEALING FIRE was a quarter-finalist in
the 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest. Susan has also written
young-adult fiction and non-fiction, including RAY CHARLES: FIND ANOTHER WAY!,
which won a silver medal in the 2007 Children’s Moonbeam Book Awards, AMELIA
EARHART: CHALLENGING THE SKIES, a perennial Amazon bestseller, and MYSTERIES
UNWRAPPED: THE SECRETS OF ALCATRAZ, which led to her appearance on a special
for The History Channel in 2009, as well as books for five girls’ fiction
series. As a screenwriter, she has written an informational film for
McGraw-Hill Films and optioned two scripts to Hollywood production companies.
As a sportswriter, she’s covered the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Pittsburgh
Pirates and the New York Mets. She’s also managed two recent political
campaigns, founded the East Cooper Authors Festival (which put 18 professional
authors in 17 area schools in one day) and serves on the Culture, Arts and
Pride Commission of the Town of Mount Pleasant.
Susan is giving away a notebook that's perfect for journaling, so follow her tour and comment often. You can find her schedule at: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/06/virtual-book-tour-stealing-fire-by.html
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