Saying good-by to 2012 with this awesome review for The Worldwide Dessert Contest: Enhanced Multimedia Edition by Dan Elish from The New England Theatre Geek:
Alina Adams Media presents Dan Elish’s: The Worldwide Dessert Contest: Enhanced Multimedia Edition,
an ebook with musical numbers embedded into the journey to play while
you read. This multimedia fantasy novel about master dessert-concocter
John Applefeller, his assistant Stanley and their friends. They learn
together, with a bit of song, that with some ingenuity you can do
anything you set out to do with a bit of mentoring and help from your
creative friends.
The music is incredibly earnest. The band of performers sing well,
with clear and trained voices. The score is pleasing to the ear and can
stand alone as a soundtrack to enjoy on its own. Depending on the
preference of the listener, the low production values may not cause such
a distraction as to deter from one’s listening enjoyment. The styles
are reminiscent of the Andrews Sisters, traditional musical theater.
Fans of the music from Carol King’s Really Rosie may fall in love with this singing ebook.
As we remember Edge of Night, which went off the air 28 years ago (the same number of years it was actually on the air), a fun blast from the past by actress Mariann Aalda.
Originally published 9/22/10:
EDGE OF NIGHT TODAY!
Calling all Edge of Night fans!
Want to know what your favorite Monticello residents have been up to since the show went off the air in 1984?
Please check it out and make sure to leave a comment welcoming Mariann to the Soap Opera 451 family! (Plus, see the familiar face who already stopped by to say hello!)
A lot of fun was had on Twitter last night when, in response to rumors that General Hospital's Steve Burton would be joining the cast of The Young & the Restless (where former GH Executive Producer Jill Farren Phelps is now running things), Y&R star Eric Braeden (Victor) tweeted that he honestly had no idea who Steven Burton was.
Let's set aside that both GH and Y&R are taped in L.A. Let's set aside that they've been attending the same Daytime Emmys (and pre-Emmy functions) for easily the past 20 years together.
Let's focus on the fact that both Eric Braeden and Steven Burton won their Daytime Emmy Awards in 1998, Burton for Outstanding Supporting Actor and Braeden for Outstanding Lead Actor.
Now, I was working those Emmys, and I do remember that Braeden wasn't there to pick up his statue in person. But, can we assume that he at least watched the ceremony from wherever he was?
And if he was too busy too watch, surely he must have taped it, no?
So I guess one thing we can surmise is that Eric Braeden must have fast-forwarded through the entire show only to see his part. (As he once said himself on yet another telecast during a tribute to Bill Bell, "God Bless Eric Braeden.")
“You’re my only option," Marley reminded Grant. "But, I’m not yours.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Sarah wants you. My God, does she want you. The way she was looking at you when she was here. That girl is madly, ridiculously, breathlessly in love with you.”
Grant shook his head dismissively, not wanting to so much as consider the implications. “She’s young. She doesn’t even know what the word means. Tomorrow, she’ll feel that way about someone else.”
“I don’t feel that way about you, Grant. I love you, I do. But, not like that.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Grant said.
“What do you mean it doesn’t matter? How could it not matter?”
****
Marley and Grant finally confront the truth about their marriage, Cass and Frankie's return turns Jamie, Felicia and Lucas' - not to mention Charlie's - world upside down, Steven uses Sarah for his own agenda, Lila goes head to head with Donna over Jasmine, Allie shares her suspicions with Zeno, and Russ gets a holiday surprise from Iris... who then receives a surprise of her own.
Your Christmas Day may be over, but Bay City is still in the thick of things at: http://www.anotherworldtoday.com/2012/2012_190p2.html
“Sarah was our friend,” Bridget said quietly. “I mean, I thought she was our friend. I thought she was your friend, too, Aunt Marley.”
“So did I,” Marley confessed.
“And you were supposed to love Aunt Marley. You said you loved her,” Michele reminded. “You said you loved all of us.”
“I do,” Grant stuck to the facts.
“We’re not little kids, you know,” Michele said. “Just because you treat us that way, doesn’t mean we don’t understand stuff. We’re almost thirteen. We know where babies come from.”
“How could you do that with Sarah?” Bridget demanded.
“I never meant to hurt anyone.” Again, the god’s truth. “I made an error in judgment that, more than anything, I wish I could take back and undo. I’ve explained as much to your Aunt Marley, and she, in her infinite generosity, has agreed to try and forgive me.”
“Well, sure, yeah, that’s what she does, isn’t it?” Michele snapped. “Forgive people who hurt her? Like our dad?”
******
Christmas with the Harrisons, Corys and Matthews isn't exactly Peace on Earth/Goodwill To Men. Fa la la la la la...
If the world does end today (the Mayans didn't give a time, did they?) via floods and earthquakes and storms, what better way to go out than while watching soaps' takes on natural disasters.
Connie stealing and "sexing up" Molly's romance novel on yesterday episode of General Hospital prompted a discussion on Twitter as to whose version you'd rather read.
I chimed in that I could think of nothing more painful than reading love scenes written by an inexperienced teen-ager (at least Connie has several lifetimes to draw from), while others countered that it depended on the teen-ager.
Speaking from experience, I published my first romance novel, The Fictitious Marquis, with AVON when I was 24 years old. It was a Regency romance, so the sensuality level was low. At 27, I published my first contemporary, Annie's Wild Ride, which featured this notorious scene on a roller-coaster (I still get fan mail about it). At 29, I wrote When a Man Loves a Woman... about characters in their early 40s. Re-reading it now that I'm finally the same age as my characters in preparation for an ebook re-release, I find it a bit embarrassing. The characters don't sound like 40 year olds. They sound like 20 year olds trying to pretend they're 40 year olds. (Read more about my Age of Love dilemma, here.)
And I'm not even talking about the sex scenes. When it comes to those, I can only imagine how mortified I would have been if I'd somehow managed to trick an editor into publishing any of those before I knew what the heck I was talking about. (Fortunately, all of my teen-age attempts have been lost to history, as my brother was charged with mailing a box of the notebooks I'd kept in high school from San Francisco to New York and did so in a flimsy paper envelope that fell apart somewhere over the Midwest.) I can't imagine Molly's opus could be any better.
I can, however, relate to Molly's dilemma of cringing at her mother reading the love scenes she'd written (or had re-written). I once thought there was nothing worse than the mere thought of your parents reading your sex scenes. But, then, I had children.
Turns out that's even worse. I wrote about it on Jewrotica. Along with my thoughts about why reading romance is important. Especially for impressionable teen-age girls:
There are multiple reasons why romance novels can be considered “good” literature, but I am primarily interested in this one: When I write my romance novels (sex scenes and all), there is a part of me that hopes they’ll get picked up and read by some girl (or woman) who has been deprived of this information at home. This part of me hopes that my books can be a learning tool for the countless women in this country who have been denied a positive and healthy education regarding their own bodies, choices, and desires.
Though “sex education” is not my only motivation for writing romance novels, I can’t deny that there is both a thrill and a responsibility in writing books that may actually help someone discover or unleash a previously hidden part of themselves. Even if the woman in question decides she wants no part of a sexually adventurous lifestyle, I still think the information needs to be readily available. Sex-positive sex education–no matter its format–can save lives and dispel the shame that cripples us.
Jews, we are told repeatedly, are The People of the Book. It is our job to be a Light Upon the Nations. We’re supposed to lead by example, and educate, and illuminate. We are supposed to Heal the World in whichever way we see fit.
This is mine.
But, notice I said they should read them. Not write them.
“Go away, Iris," Grant advised. "I’ve explained myself to the only people who matter: my wife and my son. I don’t owe you anything.”
“Do you honestly think you can seduce my granddaughter – “
“Trust me, Grandma, if there was any seduction going on, your precious chip off the old block was the one initiating it, not me.”
“Because you are simply that irresistible?”
“So I’ve been told.”
“You’re a politician, Grant, surely you know puffery when you hear it. It is, after all, your stock in trade.”
“And you’re a bitch, Iris, surely you know when to crawl away and die alone like a proper junkyard dog.”
Her eyes widened. Not because Iris was shocked at the insult – she’d heard much, much worse; not to mention dished out a great deal more clever – but because of the coarseness with which Grant uttered it. Truly, she’d never seen him so upset. He wasn’t even making a token attempt to appear in control or above it all. And that intrigued her to no end.
****
Grant receives Hell about his relationship with Sarah from Kirkland, Iris... and a surprise visitor. Cass and Frankie finally understand the consequences of their rash actions, Felicia tells Jamie the last thing he expected to hear, and Morgan has a spot of advice for Amanda.
Lynn Liccardo, author of the book, As the World Stopped Turning, writes a profile on the woman who birthed the soap opera genre, Irna Phillips, for Harvard Magazine:
If ever a writer embodied Thornton
Wilder’s observation that “art is not only the desire to tell one’s
secret; it is the desire to tell it and hide it at the same time,” it
was Irna Phillips.
In 1930, Phillips—a 29-year-old, unemployed Chicago schoolteacher and
part-time radio actress—was asked to write and act in radio’s first
serial drama, Painted Dreams. She jumped at the chance. In the
next 43 years, she would create or co-create 18 radio and television
serials; four were still on the air when she died, including Guiding Light and As the World Turns, the two longest-running daytime dramas on television....
Her need for Oakdale began in the mid 1920s when Phillips, who never
had a date in high school or college, met an English doctor, “not
handsome,” but “with charm and intelligence,” and decided he was the man
she would marry. Things didn’t work out as she hoped. She became
pregnant but the doctor abandoned her, and she then lost not only the
baby but any chance for another. The resulting sterility led her to
decide “to never become involved with an unmarried man,” thus sparing
herself “the pain and embarrassment of telling a man I couldn’t have
children.” That vow played out through characters like ATWT’s
jilted Edith Hughes, who later fell in love with her brother’s unhappily
married law partner. Phillips presented the story through characters
neither all black nor all white, forcing viewers, writes La Guardia, “to
grieve over the heartbreak of the human condition rather than hang on
to a fixed value judgment.”
In 1964, Phillips created Another World, and the
character through whom she would both tell and hide her own story: Pat
Matthews, who would murder the man who impregnated her and then coerced
her into an illegal, botched abortion that left her sterile. In her
memoir, Phillips wrote that her own pregnancy ended with a
stillbirth, followed by an infection. What really happened will likely
remain a mystery, but her efforts to exorcise her demons through Pat’s
story took its toll on Pat’s portrayer; after 18 exhausting months, the
actress asked to be released from her contract.
A little over a year ago, Prospect Park officially gave up on trying to bring All My Children and One Life to Live to the internet after their cancellation by ABC. The main sticking point at the time was contracts with the unions representing the actors, writers and directors.
Twelve months later, however, Deadline.com is reporting:
Prospect Park has revived its plan to continue cancelled ABC daytime dramas All My Children and One Life To Live online. I hear the company behind USA hit Royal Pains has inked deals with SAG-AFTRA and DGA for the soaps’ production, eyed to begin in the first quarter of 2013. UPDATE: Reps for DGA and SAG-AFTRA have confirmed to Deadline that the unions have reached agreements with Prospect Park.
However, twelve months later, many of OLTL's and AMC's actors have moved on to other roles. Despite the new union contract, how many of them would sign on to reprise their characters? There is also the issue of money. Used to network paydays, how many would agree to perform the same amount of work for an inevitable, substantial pay cut?
A year ago, I speculated about the possibility of producing the shows in name only, with different actors, characters and situations.
Read the below and let us know, is that option one you'd consider watching?
Originally published 12/8/11
ONCE MORE INTO THE... PARK?
No sooner do I post yesterday about Prospect Park no longer being an option for All My Children and One Life to Live, then Variety.com reports:
(O)ne of the options Prospect Park is said to be considering is bringing in an overseas firm to turn the shows into a co-production. That may or may not allow the shows to circumvent the unions, which couldn't come to terms with Prospect Park on compensation for talent on both sides of the camera.
Here's the thing:
Let's say the shows could be filmed overseas, in Eastern Europe or Spain, or even just across the border in Canada (they'd hardly be the first ones to leave the USA in order to cut costs - a couple of years ago an actor friend of mine shot a Baskin-Robbins commercial in South Africa; yes, it was cheaper to put up an entire crew in a foreign country for a few days than it would have been to shoot locally).
You could presumably get non-American/non-Union production staff, non-Union writers (would Agnes Nixon participate?), non-union directors. You could truck out the sets and make them look exactly the same as they did when erected at ABC Studios. Maybe no one would even notice the difference.
But, what about the actors?
Would American actors work on a non-Unionized production?
Some might, some might not. I certainly don't know everyone's personal status or opinion.
But, it's doubtful that enough actors would sign on to such an endeavor to makes the shows feel the same. This could well end up being All My Children and One Life to Live in name only, with a flood of new faces in familiar roles, or simply a flood of new characters (it's hard to determine which options soap fans would hate less.)
In 1988, a TV movie entitled Bonanaza: The Next Generation served as a pilot for what would have become a series sequel to the mega 1959-1973 hit. It featured none of the original characters or actors, though Michael Landon Jr. did play Little Joe's son, and Lorne Greene's daughter was also cast.
Next Generation failed to go to series, though it did spawn two more TV movies. In 2001, viewers got The Ponderosa, a prequel series that lasted one year on PAX, again featuring none of the original cast and changing some cannon history, to boot. The show filmed in Australia to cut costs.
Though it failed for a variety of reasons, a similar project, Star Trek: The Next Generation, was a phenomenal success using basically the same formula: Familiar name, new characters.
Would you watch an All My Children that focused on a now-grown Miranda, Gabrielle, Emma, Jenny, Little A, Spike, Ian and Trevor, or a One Life to Live that showed you what life was really like for young Viki under the thumb of her dictatorial father - not to mention what in the world made Dorian, well... Dorian?
Is All My Children: The Next Generation or Llanview a viable option?
Thank you to Mystery File for reviewing Murder on Ice, the first book in my Figure Skating Mystery series:
What sport is more open to corruption (in terms of the judging) than figure ice skating? In terms of inside information, there is no one more likely to know than Alina Adams, also known in the real world as figure-skating expert Alina Sivorinovsky.
Here’s a quote from page 3: …in only ten days of competition, they’d already seen eleven hysterical meltdowns, eight formal complaint about biased judging, seven countercomplaints about biased refereeing, five screaming matches, four out-and-out fistfights, two reporters getting their credentials pulled, and one arrest (disturbing the peace; Belgium’s ice skater decided to celebrate his bronze medal by doing a naked Yankee polka on the roof).
And this was all even before the Italian judge turned up dead.
This, though, is probably my favorite line from the entire review:
Adams also has a light touch that you could either find very amusing or wince at very easily.
Yeah.... I've heard that one before. And not just about my books, either.
The message to Rachel Hutchins from Chase Hamilton consisted of a single word: Ditto.
It was in direct reply to the email she’d sent him weeks earlier, encouraging Chase to turn on KBAY-TV and watch Grant’s live press conference announcing his bid for Mayor and playing the recording of Chase and Lila.
Rachel knew she’d inevitably regret it. But, best get whatever it was Chase thought he had on her over with. She trudged over to the TV and turned it on with a preemptive, mournful sigh. Just in time to be greeted with Mayor Hamilton's smug, preening visage.
Chase talked a little bit about his distinguished opponent, Mr. Harrison. And then he introduced his guest for the afternoon… Sarah Matthews-Wheeler.
***
Bay City gets the scoop on Grant and Sarah, prompting Donna to take matters into her own hands, and Rachel to make a threat. Meanwhile, Jamie makes a heartfelt confession to the wrong person, Kirkland tries to get an answer from Charlie, and Frankie and Cass' latest plan finally succeeds... A little too well.
You're probably familiar with the big name ex-soap stars appearing in Steven Spielberg's hit feature, Lincoln.
There's Tommy Lee Jones (OLTL) and Hal Holbrook (The Brighter Day), of course, but did you recognize Joseph Cross (ATWT) or John Hutton (AW)? (Kevin Kline, who worked on Search for Tomorrow, also makes a cameo appearance.)
That's Cross as Casey with his Grandpa Bob (Don Hastings)on As The World Turns above.
And this is Hutton in one his most famous Bay City storylines:
“It’s been a while,” Sharlene told Charlie, hugging her great-niece then looking her up and down for good measure. “How have you been, sweetheart?”
“Good,” Charlie offered blithely, not sure why exactly Sharlene was there, but striving to be polite, like she’d been taught.
“Have you heard from your mom and dad recently?”
“They sent a text over Thanksgiving, but you know how Mom and Dad are. All they need is a bad guy to chase after and they’re off on their latest adventure. I’m sure there’s a postcard on the way.”
“Sounds terribly glamorous.”
“Yeah. I’m so lucky to have such awesome parents, not boring stick-in-the-muds who have nothing better to do than sit around at home and poke their noses into their kids’ business every minute of the day,” Charlie parroted in a bored monotone, then, figuring that probably wasn’t the definition of politeness, changed the subject to, “How are you?”
“I’m a little confused, to tell you the truth,” Sharlene said.
“About what?”
“About why you’ve been terrorizing Allie Fowler with forget-me-nots and newspaper clippings about Gregory’s death?”
****
Sharlene proves she's no fool, Marley confesses she might well be the biggest one of all, Frankie and Cass refuse to be fooled, and are Sarah and Russ fools for trusting Iris?
For those who never knew the man in the flesh, however, the below serves as a loving tribute to Paul Rauch playing the role he was born to play. That of... Paul Rauch.
Misguding Light was a 2002 series of webisodes launched to celebrate Guiding Light's 65th Anniversary (and directed by fan favorite Lisa Brown, who once played the flight of fancy inspired Nola).
It started on radio in 1937, then moved to television. Now Guiding Light takes on the newest technology with the premiere of Misguiding Light, an online satire of the popular series, beginning Jan. 25. Consisting of five-minute vignettes, Misguiding Light is the brainchild of Procter & Gamble staffers Lisa Baim and Kimberly Hamilton. The program's launch coincides with GL's 65th anniversary.
Misguiding Light's main character is aspiring soap opera writer Floyd Boyd, who can't get a break from GL's executive producer Paul Rauch.
"His Reva long story gets turned down," says Hamilton. "Before he
leaves the studio, he gets into an accident that lands him in the
fictional world of Springfield."
I'm not sure if this is the same Ice Moms that Lifetime announced it was developing back in January, but the even more interestingly titled Jersey on Ice premieres on TLC this Wednesday, December 12.
It appears to be a "reality show" (or, what I like to call, improv by amateurs) about mothers who are also figure skating coaches. In New Jersey.
I will reserve full judgment until I have screened an entire episode. A minute and a half clip isn't enough to go by.
Though they also have qualifying level tests and competitions, the ISIA track is not the one that qualifies skaters for the same national championship that qualifies them for the World Championships or the Olympics. So, by definition, it would seem that the stakes are lower. Though, of course, low stakes have never stopped any parent in any sport from losing their mind on occasion.
I worked as figure skating researcher, producer and writer for ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBC, covering the USFA side of the sport at Nationals, Worlds, and Olympics. When I wrote my figure skating mysteries, I set them in the same world, since that's the one I was most familiar with.
In all honesty, I have never so much as attended an ISIA competition. But, something tells me, it isn't much different. So, yes, despite my overall dislike of reality shows and the belief that they are killing scripted programming, I confess that I will be watching Jersey on Ice. And inevitably blogging about it.
In the meantime, if you'd like a head start on examples of Skaters Behaving Badly, please click on the links below. (Any resemblance of fictional athletes to ones actually living or dead is completely coincidental. That's my story, and I'm sticking with it. So the legal department tells me.)
“Grant,” Marley made up her mind, turning her head, opening the door and calling over her shoulder. “You have a visitor.”
He came downstairs. And saw Sarah. For a long, long, seemingly endless moment, the two merely stared at each other. It was finally up to Marley to break the silence.
She said, “Apparently, Sarah didn’t believe your telling her to leave you alone. And she didn’t believe my telling her to leave you alone. Turns out, she is quite the glutton for punishment. Sarah wants to hear it again. Perhaps in stereo.”
Sarah clarified, “What you said, Grant, before, about not wanting me or the baby… That was… Marley didn’t know then. You wanted to protect her. I wanted to protect her, too. But, it’s all different now. She knows. She knows it’s your baby.”
“I don’t know that,” Grant finished descending the stairs. And pointedly passed by Sarah to stand by Marley’s side. “Didn’t you just claim that Steven was also a candidate?”
“I – I only said that because…. Because Marley was there. And I didn’t want to… You know Steven and I haven’t… not for a long time. Not since you and I – “
There was definitely one memory lane Grant didn’t want Sarah going down. He’d been deliberately vague with timelines when talking to Marley, and he intended to keep it that way. Better to let her believe his had been a one-time slip up, rather than months of infidelity, both before Grant’s marriage to Marley, and after. “I don’t know anything, Sarah. I can’t believe a word that comes out of your mouth now. If Steven couldn’t possibly be the father, why would he accept responsibility?”
****
Sarah says her piece to Marley and Grant, and get more than the bargained for in return. Iris get her way, but not in the way she expects. Amanda pleads with Alice to change Kevin's mind while Steven makes a confession to Jen. Frankie and Cass take a desperate gamble, and Allie stands up to GQ.
Mark Pinter is on his way to Genoa City, following recent stints on General Hospital, All My Children and, of course, his eight year run as Grant Harrison on Another World.
But, are you familiar with two of his earlier soap roles....
Originally published on 10/28/10
Mark Pinter may be best known for his role as Grant Harrison on Another World (and more recently as Agent Rayner on General Hospital), but, before he came to Bay City, he appeared in two other P&G shows, Guiding Light and As The World Turns. (He was also on Love of Life, Loving and All My Children.)
On GL, Pinter had the misfortune of arriving shortly before a crippling writer's strike, so his Mark Evans went from a dashing foreign affairs expert who dated Vanessa before growing tired of her manipulative ways, to the cad who married Jennifer while seducing her daughter, Amanda, to abusive husband, to Amanda's potential killer, to a completely different guy named Samuel Pasquin who'd pushed a former love of Quint's, Mona, off a cliff years earlier. (She wasn't really dead, of course. She was living in a secret room in Quint's house. Pretending to be mute.)
Mark/Samuel eventually showed some remorse (i.e. the original writing team came back to work), genuinely fell in love with Amanda, but, alas, as these things are wont to happen, ended up taking a poetically apt dive off a cliff himself, along with Mona. This time, the fall stuck.
Jennifer ultimately gave birth to Mark's child, Matthew, but was so traumatized by the many personalities her husband had gone through, that she abandoned the boy into Amanda's care. Amanda grew deeply attached to her half-brother/dead lover's son and wanted to adopt him. When Jennifer returned to reclaim Matthew and move out of town, Amanda followed. (However, the enchantment obviously wore off quickly, because the next time she returned to Springfield, Amanda uttered nary a word about the chubby-cheeked little guy.)
After GL, Pinter moved to ATWT, where he got to play one consistent character for his entire 1984-87 run. Albeit a pretty consistently boring one. Lisa's stepson, Brian, gave up the political career his father had planned for him (don't worry, he'd still get to have it on AW, pushy father and all; guess something about the man screams whipped Daddy's boy) to chase Russian spies with his girlfriend (actress Tracy Kolis might be best known as the Seinfeld girlfriend with the Southern accent who couldn't stop talking).
Once that was thankfully over, Brian moved on to the newly widowed Barbara.
Paul hated him. A lot. On one occasion, Paul proceeded to taunt and punch his mother's boyfriend, making it look like Brian was about to hit him just as Barbara came in (apple doesn't fall far off that Stenbeck tree, does it?). Brian and Barbara broke up. Over the manipulations of a ten year old.
Barbara attempted to win Brian back, but caught him in bed with Shannon. That was the turning point for Good Barbara turning into Hell on Wheels Babs.
Earlier this year, actress Colleen Zenk told WeLoveSoaps.com about that: The hard part for me as an actor was that it happened overnight. I mean literally overnight. Barbara and Brian (Mark Pinter) were supposed to get married. Paul (Christopher Daniel Barnes) really objected to it. She listened to Paul and told Brian she couldn’t marry him. The next thing she knew Brian was shacking up with Shannon O’Hara (Margaret Reed). Barbara went over to see Brian to tell him she changed her mind. He opens the door, and there’s Shannon in Brian’s robe. So she went home, slept on it, Lisa (Eileen Fulton) showed up the next day, and Barbara opened the door and was a new woman. Literally. She said, “Hello Lisa,” and it was a whole new attitude. It was really difficult for me as an actor.
Brian's relationship with Shannon brought him into her ex, Duncan's, orbit, and that of Duncan's "sister," Beatrice. Though engaged to Shannon, Brian tried to help out the deeply disturbed Beatrice by pretending to be her dead fiancee (a sane relationship, this was not). Shannon saw that Brian was falling for Beatrice, called off her engagement and, with the reveal that Beatrice was actually Duncan's daughter, Brian went from almost being Shannon's husband to her stepson-in-law. (Like I said, not a sane relationship.) Brian and Beatrice moved to Scotland, had a daughter (breaking an old family curse along the way) and were never heard from again.
***
Alina Adams is the author of Oakdale Confidential, Jonathan's Story and The Man From Oakdale.
In Korea to promote the upcoming feature film release of Les Miserables, actor Hugh Jackman was asked his thoughts about figure skater Yu-Na Kim choosing to skate to a medley of Les Miz songs this season.
His answer can only be described as... adorable.
See if you agree:
When I worked as a figure skating researcher for ABC, NBC, TNT and ESPN, those of us on the production staff would start off each season by taking bets on which piece of music we'd be hearing the most at competitions that year. While the score of Les Miz never quite came out on top, Sing, Sing, Sing, Malaguena, Carmen, Swan Lake, Two Guitars and West Side Story were perennial favorites.
In Book #3 of my Figure Skating Mystery series, Axel of Evil, my heroine Bex Levy, in Moscow for a US vs. Russia Made-for-TV special, calls the music choices as she sees them....
The pride of Ohio bravely skated out to the center of the ice, raising her arms in what might have been surrender, crossing them at the wrists in what might have been martyrdom, then splaying her fingers and pressing her palms forward which, in conjunction with her gleaming white dress and matching ballerina-bun scrunchie, meant only one thing to Bex. Swan Lake. Let the downy death throes begin.
And, as soon as they did, Francis and Diana whipped through Brittany's bio: Born in Cleveland, blah, blah... Russian grandfather, blah, blah, blah ... first American ever to represent Russia... great presentation... weak jumps... oops, here she goes popping her combination now—so that they could get to the good stuff.
Francis intoned, "The Lian Reilly and Jordan Ares rivalry is every bit as exciting as the one between their respective coaches, Gary Gold and Igor Marchenko, who tragically died earlier this week inside this very arena."
"Nonsense. Gary Gold was the defending United States senior men's champion in 1978, and Igor Marchenko was the World Bronze Medallist when they went head-to-head for the first time as Americans. That was a much greater clash of the Titans than Jordan and Lian. Why, neither girl has yet to win a National, much less an international tide!"
"Exactly," Francis agreed. Then promptly disagreed. "Igor was quite clearly the superior skater of the two. Gary never succeeded in beating him on the international stage. In 1977, when Igor won his World Bronze Medal, Gary only finished in eleventh place. There was no reason to think he could beat Igor domestically, and he never did, not once when they were competing against each other."
Since this was a fact Bex had actually written down for him—in three different places, to make sure he saw it eventually—Francis turned to her as he said it, winking at Bex as if he'd done her a favor by indulging her little hobby and actually including some of her research in the broadcast. She smiled back and nodded encouragingly, hoping the positive feedback might prompt him to do it more often.
"Exactly," Diana agreed to disagree. "Jordan and Lian are much more evenly matched than Igor and Gary. Whenever Igor and Gary went head-to-head, we always knew who would win in advance. Jordan and Lian are two undefeated gladiators entering the great coliseum. We can only guess which one will step out alive!"
All they knew for sure was that it wouldn't be Brittany Monroe. Her program, due to the popped combination, ended up scoring lower than Lian's. She slunk off the ice, looking like she was going to cry. Bex felt duly bad about her downy death crack earlier, no matter how prophetic it turned out to be.
Galina Semenova took to the ice several minutes later, wearing a flowing white peasant blouse and a red skirt, both embroidered with matching flower patterns to suggest a traditional Russian folk costume. Even before Galina's music commenced playing, Bex began to quietly—and sarcastically—hum "Kalinka," a traditional Russian folk melody. She had barely gotten through the first verse when the sound system at the arena joined her. Bex didn't think she was being obnoxious, just experienced. When ice-dancers wore Russian peasant costumes it was because they were skating to the (actually Gypsy) "Two Guitars." When Pairs did it, it was because they'd chosen the (actually Jewish-American) Fiddler on the Roof. For men, the costume meant "Volga Boatmen" and for women, it was inevitably, "Kalinka."
Galina's short program also started with some rhythmic ice-tapping, only in this case, unlike Lian who'd smacked it with the flat of her blade to indicate her tempestuous character, Galina dug in with the back of her blade, knee straight, arms pointing proudly towards her upturned toe, to indicate her wholesome folksiness.
Francis and Diana watched the cultural display without uttering a word beyond her name. Then, Galina got down to what she did best: a triple Lutz/triple Loop combination that barely left the ground but whipped around with such speed that it seemed like her carroty curls were twirling a beat behind each revolution and actually landed after she did.
Francis said, "A gladiator, Diana, is an athlete at the ultimate peak of his condition. It is something that Igor and Gary already were in 1978 and for the four years they were competing against each other. Lian and Jordan are most certainly not, at this point, at their peak. These two young women are still developing their styles. They are not gladiators. They are not soup. These are, at best, sous-chefs."
Galina's scores came up on the electric board over their heads, indicating that she was ahead of Lian and Brittany for this phase of the competition. When such a travesty happened, a foreigner ahead of an American, the protocol was to promptly ignore Lian—now that she wasn't going to win, at least tonight; she was, in Gil's words, "dead." Instead, the focus would be on which American still could best Galina, which, in this case, was Jordan, who hadn't even skated yet.
This past Friday, November 30, Jordi Vilasuso, an Emmy winner for his role as Tony Santos on Guiding Light, who also appeared on All My Children, was scheduled to chat with Dan J. Kroll of Soap Central Live Radio about Paos Revolution, a company Jordi co-founded to help breathe new life into soaps in the 21st century.
Unfortunately, shortly before airtime, a medical emergency with Jordi's wife (he reports that she required some minor surgery, but is doing well now) necessitated his pulling out of the show.
That left Soap Central Live with no second guest to follow another GL alum, Karla Mosley (Christina).
Luckily, earlier that day, news had just broken about General Hospital publishing a novel to tie in with their 50th Anniversary in the Spring.
Knowing a bit of something about the soap-opera tie-in business - my books, Oakdale Confidential and Jonathan's Story both hit The New York Times best-seller list, while The Man From Oakdale won a SCRIBE Award - I volunteered my expertise on the subject.
During the program, Dan and I talked about GH, ATWT and GL, as well as tie-in projects for DOOL and Passions, and AnotherWorldToday.com.
To listen to why Dusty's death was inconvenient... for me... and other behind the scenes gossip, go to:
No one has been more supportive of the re-release of my Figure Skating Mystery series (originally published by Berkley Prime Crime) as enhanced e-book editions with video than the readers who have followed me from ATWT's "Oakdale Confidential," "The Man From Oakdale," GL's "Jonathan's Story" and www.AnotherWorldToday.com.
That is why I want you all to be the first to see the cover for Book #5, "Skate Crime: Enhanced Multimedia Edition," which concludes the series and will be published later this week on Amazon and B&N, just in time for the holiday season!
Rachel knew it was incredibly childish and petty of her, but she couldn’t help it. Even though she might have easily reached over and opened the front door once she heard Iris outside it, struggling with her key, Rachel allowed the moment to continue on for almost a full minute before finally ending her stepdaughter’s misery and allowing her inside the Cory mansion.
“Rachel, thank goodness,” Iris glared. “I don’t know what happened, but I had the most terrible time – “
“I changed the locks.”
“I’m sorry, you did what?”
“The locks. I had them changed. As for your personal belongings, they’ve been packed up and are sitting in the back of the car.”
“You went through my things?”
“The staff took care of it. I have no interest in wallowing in your dirty laundry any more than I’ve already been forced to. Everything is there, feel free to check. The driver has been instructed to take you anywhere you’d like to go. One way.”
Iris couldn’t believe it. “You’re throwing me out of my own father’s home?”
****
Rachel lays down the law with Iris, while Kevin attempts to circumvent it with Steven. Grant makes a confession to Marley, who goes straight to the source for more answers, while John isn't happy with the ones Sharlene gives Zeno and Allie, and Matt hears the last thing he needs from Donna.
The moment General Hospital's Molly announced that she'd written a novel (off-screen), savvy fans knew what was coming. Can you say tie-in, boys and girls? I knew you could!
Love in Maine, described in publisher Hyperion's catalog as "Who knew one of Port Charles’s most demure residents had a romance novel in the drawer? This page-turning new book, penned by one of General Hospital's best loved characters, will give fans new stories to follow and characters to love... Featuring all new content with stories and characters fans haven't seen on the series, this emotion-packed love story will bring readers even deeper into the world of their favorite soap."
And therein lies my problem with the project. New stories to follow and characters to love... All new content with stories and characters fans haven't seen on the series....
As the author of three soap opera tie-ins of my own, Oakdale Confidential (which was also released in conjunction with As the World Turns' 50th Anniversary), The Man From Oakdale, and Guiding Light's Jonathan's Story, I fought to make my books be about the characters the fans already loved, not newbies they had no investment in.
Granted, this made the writing process much harder and produced incongruities like the fact that in The Man From Oakdale, Dusty is dead, while, by the time the book was published, he was alive again. A novel like One Life to Live'sThe Killling Club or All My Children's Charm! is much easier to coordinate with the shows ongoing storylines... since it doesn't really need to coordinate with the shows ongoing storylines at all.
But, that's not the kind of book I wanted to write. As a soap fan before I was a soap opera tie-in writer, I knew that I wanted to read original adventures featuring my favorite characters. I wanted to know more about them, what they were thinking and feeling while the camera was somewhere else.
That's why I loved what Shari Anderson did with the Days of Our Lives tie-in novels. She allowed fans to keep up with John, Marlena, Belle, Shawn and more, even while introducing a new family. (Read my rave review, here.)
It was exactly the same strategy I employed in my books. Not only did I feature favorites like Katie and Mike, Jack and Carly, Henry and Vienna, Craig and Sierra, Tom and Margo, Lily and Lucinda, but I tried to fill even minor roles with familiar faces from the past - Lucy, Maddie, Sabrina, Frannie, while I incorporated as much cannon history as I could - who remembers James' sister, Ariel, or his manservant, Nels? I wrote my books specifically for the fans, both old and new. And I especially loved the fact that, with Jonathan's Story, the actions described in the book were actually referenced on-screen. Reva and Alan came back from looking for Jonathan (off-screen) with a whopper of a secret, and viewers got to see the consequences play out. It was very, very tough to coordinate in real time. But, the show and I did it. Because we thought it was worth the extra effort.
Molly Lansing may be a wonderful author (though I too tried my hand at writing romance novels when I was her age. And let's say the results were less than publication worthy. I didn't sell my first book until I was 24. And, in retrospect, I was still too young and mostly faking it. I even reread books I wrote in my twenties, featuring characters in their 40s and, now that I am 40+, cringe - see details.) And Connie, who appears to be the one taking credit for the work, may well be a wonderful plagiarist (after all, she does have two personalities working on the project instead of one), but, no matter how great of a romance novel Love in Maine turns out to be (or, rather, how good the actual ghostwriter is), it will still not be a true General Hospital novel, in the way that, say, Robin's Diary was.
And that just makes me mourn the lost possibilities. Imagine if, instead of strangers, we'd been treated to a book about one of Luke's off-screen adventures (maybe he's with Laura, reliving their glory days). Or Jax (maybe he's with Brenda). Or Lois and Ned, or Robert and Holly on their hunt for Ethan, or Anna, Frisco and Sean's WSB case files, or even Helena's autobiography.
What kind of tie-ins do you prefer? Please tell us below!
In memory of Stone's death, 17 years ago today, a look book at what one soap expert picked as an example of soaps at the top of their game.
Originally published 10/25/11:
BLOOD LIBEL
In lieu of yesterday's General Hospital episode where whack-a-doodle Lisa attempted to inject Patrick with his wife, Robin's, HIV+ blood, opinions on my particular Twitter feed (@SoapOpera451) were split between those who thought the act was daringly and perfectly in character for a demented supervillain like Lisa and a pertinent nod to Robin's history, and those who were disgusted and offended at the misinformation such an act could trigger as well as the exploitation and the suggestion that threatening to infect anyone with AIDS could ever be considered entertainment.
As a young girl growing up along with Robin (we're exactly the same age), I invested wholeheartedly in her first real love story. My heart fluttered right along with hers as she experienced the highs and lows of forbidden romance. But the pathos was taken to another level when, in the wake of a deadly mob hit, a wounded Stone revealed to Robin that he'd tested positive for HIV. Bloody, defeated and terrified, he begged her to go away, to leave him. Of course, viewers already knew they'd been having sex without a condom… and while Robin's eventual HIV diagnosis wasn't that much of a surprise, it absolutely gutted Stone, who had developed full-blown AIDS.
Equal parts personal, human tragedy and teaching moment, (Headwriter) Claire Labine's beautifully crafted story drew on the medical expertise of characters like Alan Quartermaine and Kevin Collins, who supported Stone and Robin and educated the audience about HIV and AIDS. Robin's uncle Mac, her guardian in the wake of her parents' presumed death, had to grapple with guilt and a sense of failure while trying to be strong for his niece. The entire community of Port Charles pulled together, with then-villain and supporting player Sonny Corinthos showing depths that would soon make Maurice Benard the show's lead.
Rachel sniffed, “Carl, Spencer and Lucas conspired together to bring the compound down. They were each involved equally. Why should Carl and Spencer be the only ones punished?”
Alice probed, “You’re certain that Carl and the children’s deaths….”
“What else could it have been?”
“A tragic accident. Accidents happen. Steve and the helicopter in Australia… The car crash that ended up killing him, and nearly you. Not everything needs to be a part of some grand conspiracy.”
“Carl Hutchins was not the sort of man to perish in an accident,” Rachel reminded haughtily.
“Lucas,” Alice began cautiously. “Lucas fears that he hasn’t, in fact, gone unpunished. Lucas is afraid that Lorna’s death, along with Carl and the twins, was his payback.”
“There is no proof that Lorna was on that plane!”
“She disappeared the same day they did. That’s too big of a coincidence to dismiss.”
“An accident,” Rachel reminded. “A tragic, random accident.”
Alice said, “You know, if Lucas is on the right track, it is very possible that Carl wasn’t the one responsible for kidnapping Lorna. The compound might have grabbed her along with him and the children, forced them all on-board and crashed the plane.”
Rachel’s eyes lit up at a possibility she’d never previously considered.
****
Alice offers Rachel an alternative theory regarding Carl, Allie and Zeno confront Sharlene - with shocking results, Jamie gets a proposition, Kevin moves to get to the bottom of Horace's murder, and Grant struggles with how to tell Marley about Sarah.
Last Tuesday, I wrote a piece for Kveller about my husband's weight (read it, here). I was promptly inundated with tweets and emails telling me what a horrible wife I was and how they expected my next piece to be about him leaving me. (For the record, had anyone bothered to ask, my husband knew about the post before it went up and was fine with it. He doesn't consider being heavy a personal matter out of bounds for discussion; it's a health condition like any other, one that he needs to treat better than he currently does.)
In that announcement, Mayim stressed that their attachment parenting - co-sleeping, extended breast-feeding, baby-wearing, elimination communication instead of traditional toilet training, etc... - had no bearing on the couple's decision.
To tell the truth, I have absolutely no idea if it did or it didn't (it's also none of my business). But, it did remind me that I too practice an unconventional form of child raising, one that's pretty much the opposite of attachment parenting.
And I think it really deserves to catch on (where's my TIME Magazine cover?).
I call it Occam's Mother.
Occam's Razor is a scientific heuristic that, simply put, states the easiest solution to a problem is, more often than not, the right one.
I am Occam’s Mother. I believe that the easiest thing for me to do,
vis-Ã -vis my kids, is, more often than not, the right thing. For instance: My husband and I are as different as can be when it comes to sleep and waking cycles.
I am pretty much useless past 10 p.m., but have no problem waking up at
6, 5, even 4 in the morning, and leaping straight into my day. My
husband rarely hits the sack before 2 a.m., and, if he had his way,
would sleep in until noon seven days a week.
So when all three of our children were infants, we had a schedule. He’d bring me the baby into bed for midnight and 2 a.m. feedings
while taking care of the diaper changes and anything else, and I’d get
up with them at 4 and 6 (and the rest of the day). As they got a little
older and could sleep for longer stretches of time, he’d stay up with
our kids until midnight, giving them a pumped bottle of breast-milk
before putting them to bed, and I’d wake up with them in the morning, no
matter how early that happened to be. Some days, our kids might sleep
as late as 8 a.m. (which was particularly helpful with the younger ones,
as it gave me a chance to get their siblings up, fed, and dressed for
school without interruption.)
Our friends who had children the same age would complain about how theirs woke up at 5 a.m. every morning.
“Well, what time do you put them to bed?” we’d ask.
“7 p.m.”
“Why 7 p.m.?”
“That’s when you’re supposed to do it.”
Maybe. (I’ll be honest, I never read a page of Dr. Spock, so I don’t know.) But, 7 pm.m didn’t work for us as a family. Midnight did.
It was simpler for the parents, so it was right for the kids. (For
the record, they are now 12, 8, and 5, and have no problem going to bed
and getting up on time. We did not alter their body clocks for all
eternity.)
After Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, now comes Giving Tuesday, a way for those of us who feel we've been extraordinarily lucky in our lives (my family moved from the USSR to the US when I was a child - if nothing good ever happens to me again, I am still more fortunate than most) to give back in whichever way we find appropriate.
There are many wonderful organizations listed at the link above. My personal contribution is below:
Originally written 11/5/12:
Last week, I posted a note from The Ice Theatre of New York, who provided video for all of my enhanced figure skating mysteries, and who lost their offices and more in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.
ITNY is accepting donations to help them rebuild and, to encourage contributions, I offered to send a free multimedia skating novel to anyone who did so. (Details, here.)
Over the weekend, my family and I did the best we could to help those who have been displayed by the storm. We gathered up clothes, blankets and children's books and donated them to a shelter that had been set up in one of our local schools.
Now, in an attempt to keep the contributions coming in a variety of forms, I am extending my original offer. Donate to any charity of your choice (it doesn't have to be ITNY or even Sandy-related; the fact is, when a disaster hits and receives prominent news coverage, money that might have gone to another worthy cause is diverted to the more immediate concern, leaving the other organizations struggling down the line), and I will thank you with a copy of Counterpoint: An Interactive Family Saga, the romantic serial where what happens next is up to you.
Simply email me at AlinaAdams@gmail.com with a copy of your receipt and let me know if you would like the book in mobi for Kindle or ePub for Nook form. (You don't need a designated reading device to experience either. Just download the FREE Kindle or Nook apps for your phone, iPad, laptop or desktop computer. Basically, if you can read this, you can read an ebook.)
Which is why I, personally, find it so odd that, starting today, November 21, 2012 and running through Cyber Monday, November 26, 2012, I'll be the one offering bargains instead of hunting for them. But, here goes:
In honor of this weekend's upcoming shopping frenzy, take advantage of the following deals:
All books are available on both Amazon.com and BN.com. Simply send me your proof of purchase to AlinaAdams@gmail.com and tell me which format you want your FREE book in.
Plus, find out how you can get any of my five Figure Skating Mysteries FREE, here!
“Sit down, Iris,” Rachel hissed, already kicking herself for allowing this farce of a family celebration to take place. She’d known from the start, of course, that Iris was up to something. That much was a given. Unfortunately, Rachel had naively assumed it would be directed against her. At worse at Amanda, for something having to do with Cory Publishing. But, to go after Rachel’s grandson….
Except that Rachel’s grandson was the only one who had yet to react in any way. Like with everything that caught him unaware, Steven mechanically shut down, opting to calmly and rationally evaluate the situation before offering a response of any kind. There was nothing on his face that either confirmed or denied the charge. And he intended to keep it that way.
As a result, Rachel plunged ahead on her own, snapping at Iris, “How in the world would you even be privy to that sort of information?”
“Donna told me,” Iris leaned back smugly in her chair, confident there was nothing Rachel could do to her – except ultimately, after she’d gotten over the shock, back Iris’ objection to Sarah giving the child away. Now that she’d been made aware, there was no possible chance of Rachel standing for… “That’s why Donna was so keen to adopt it. It’s her great-grandchild, after all,” Iris enjoyed taunting her rival with the words that drove home how ancient she was. Despite them applying equally well to herself.
“And how would Donna know?” Rachel launched the question more at Matt than at his wife.
“Allie told me,” Donna blurted out, looking to shift the blame to yet another member of Rachel’s family. The last thing she wanted was to implicate Marley and admit Steven’s aunt had known the truth all along. Unlike the Cory clan obviously, Donna Love knew how to protect her own.
“That doesn’t matter,” Jamie, his face crimson – which, in a way, was better than the ashen it had been these past few months; at least he seemed finally back in the land of the living – dismissed Rachel, Iris, and Donna’s petty squabbling as unimportant. “The only thing that matters is,” he turned to Steven, “Is this true, son?”
****
Iris' bombshell pits Rachel's guests one against the other as Jamie demands answers, Marley stuns Donna, and Russ does an about-face while Frankie and Cass face an uncertain future, Allie faces danger, and Grant faces an ultimatum from the absolutely last person he expected.
“What kind of situation?” John hadn’t seen Allie in close to a year. All he could do now was stare at her. And remember that this was the last face his son saw before he died.
“This,” Zeno held out the envelope Allie had received. “Somebody stuffed it under Allie’s windshield wiper a couple of days ago.”
John sifted through the contents. “All these clippings. They’re about…”
“Gregory, yes.”
“Gregory’s death,” John’s head jerked up. “These clippings are about Gregory’s death. There was a hell of a lot more to my son than just the way he died.”
“You’re right,” Zeno said. “I’m sorry.”
“What’s this supposed to mean, Allie?” John shoved the stack back under her nose.
****
Allie and Zeno attempt to pin down her stalker, Iris makes overtures to Steven, Kevin breaks the news about Horace to Jen, Matt explains himself to Sarah, and Rachel reverts to her old ways - for a new cause.
Yesterday's "celebration" of what would have been Luke and Laura's 30th wedding anniversary on General Hospital left many fans unsatisfied... to say the least.
As someone whose mom picked her up from school early so I could see the wedding (I think it was the first and last time I was ever in sync with anything mainstream, or, at least, vaguely popular), not to mention a cliche who got hooked on soaps via Luke and Laura in the first place, obviously the day means a lot to me.
But, the exchange of vows is actually not the moment everyone remembers. That came afterward and, as described by then headwriter Thom Racina:
Tony and Genie had that chemistry that you just can't create no matter how hard you try. And my favorite moment is one that I pulled out my writer's hat at the last minute – Scotty catching the bouquet. It's a twist and, God knows, in daytime, twists are the foundation of keeping the audience tuning in tomorrow.
Watch the clip below!
To read more from Thom, as well as other soap opera writers, actors and producers who made the moments fans voted as their favorites of all time great, check out Soap Opera 451: A Time Capsule of Daytime Drama's Greatest Moments enhanced ebook on Amazon and BN.com.
Plus, read the book GH's Ice Princess storyline was based on, The Great Los Angeles Blizzard (aka The Deep Freeze) by Thom Racina, here!
And how did Elizabeth Taylor end up at the most watched daytime wedding of all time? Find out, here!
Beginning earlier this week, SoapClassics.com, the site that, over the past year, has been selling DVD sets of As the World Turns and Guiding Light, has been sending out the following message to customers:
Because our distribution license for As the World Turns and Guiding Light expires soon, these DVDs will no longer be available once our current stock runs out.
If you were planning to fill out your collection, or to give some of our DVDs for Christmas, please act quickly. Some of our collection is already gone, but many of our best titles are still available.
We are also offering, as a Christmas special, a beautiful boxed set of our best ATWT titles. This is the perfect Christmas gift for any ATWT fan (including yourself!), and will certainly become a rare collector's item. We have only a limited number of these.
I have to confess, I found the news rather disheartening. The optimist in me had been really hoping for Family Guy level sales, followed by the same kind of miraculous resurrection the FOX cartoon enjoyed (I wrote about it in more detail, here.)
Despite initial enthusiastic response from the fans, I started to suspect my dreams wouldn't come true almost exactly a year ago, when no hard numbers were forthcoming about precisely how many DVDs were being sold, and how many needed to be sold in order for the program to be considered a success.
Things got even worse in December of that same year, as the progress reports got progressively vaguer, and promises made were immediately backtracked (examples, here).
But, still, I clung to hope. And I'm going to continue doing so. Maybe this experiment didn't work out exactly the way that it's producers hoped it would. But, maybe there's another, better idea out there. And maybe, when it comes, we'll have real numbers to work with and the die-hard fans will be able to rally and demonstrate, without a shadow of a doubt, the true power of a soap viewer.
Even if this vehicle wasn't it, we've just got to try harder next time.
“How are you managing?” Rachel pulled up a chair, sitting next to her son, noticing how consciously he avoided her eyes by focusing exclusively on his girls.
“We’re managing. Kirkland has been a huge help. Steven, too. Alice, Felicia, even Amanda. And we all know how she feels about kids. But, I can’t keep imposing on other people like this. Finally broke down and hired a nanny. Had to, especially for nights when I’m on call.”
“You can always call me, Jamie, you know that. Please say that you know that.”
“You’ve had a lot on your plate, Mom. I didn’t want to add to your problems. You need time to….” Jamie changed his mind about finishing the thought, observing instead, “By the way, saw you on TV the other day. With Grant.”
Rachel saw no need to defend her actions, only reminding, “Chase Hamilton does not deserve to be Mayor of Bay City. I should think you’d be first in line to agree, after he nearly sent you to prison for a crime you didn’t commit.”
“Chase Hamilton had me arrested based on evidence that strongly suggested I had committed said crime. And let’s not forget the part where I confessed. Once he had evidence to the contrary, he let me go. And arrested the next guy who confessed. And the guy after that. He was the District Attorney, Mom. It was kind of his job.”
“He wasn’t District Attorney when he went after Carl for no reason.”
Jamie shrugged and went back to wrestling with Devon over her spoon, flicking tiny grains of oatmeal from his daughter’s hair, even as she laughed and attempted to stop him.
Sensing she’d gone too far, Rachel backpedaled. “So what do you think about my proposition?”
“You and Iris hosting Thanksgiving dinner? I think you should sell tickets.”
“May I leave you some comps at the door?” She teased.
*****
Rachel extends an olive branch to Jamie - and Lila, while Grant tries to drive a wedge between Marley and Sarah. Iris is surprised by Alice and Chase fishes for a new suspect in Horace's murder.
