Category Archives: Writing

Jeanne Eagels: A Life Revealed

13 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by in Books, Jeanne Eagels, Non-Fiction, Theatre, Writing

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I’m delighted to announce that Jeanne Eagels: A Life Revealed – the first full-length biography of the legendary 1920s actress in 85 years, co-authored with Eric Woodard – will be published by Bearmanor Media in June. More news to come, but until then, here’s a brief synopsis:

The true story is finally told about Jeanne Eagels, legendary Broadway star as Sadie Thompson in Somerset Maugham’s Rain, celebrated silent movie actress, and Academy Award-nominated superstar in The Letter. She lived a life of renown, yet her rise to fame, her romances, her triumphs, her relentless perfectionism, and her fragile health propelled her into increasingly erratic behavior and a shocking climax that stunned the entire world. Illustrated with nearly 150 rare and unseen photographs.

Marilyn Monroe fans may recognise my writing partner as the author of Hometown Girl and Travilla Film Fashions. Eric has also created a book trailer for Jeanne Eagels: A Life Revealed.

Fans of trad jazz will notice that the music accompanying this video is, of course, ‘Wabash Blues’. Sadie Thompson, the loose-living heroine of W. Somerset Maugham’s Rain, played this record incessantly while entertaining her sailor friends during a sojourn on the South Seas – much to the annoyance of her priggish neighbours.

In 1922, Sadie became Jeanne Eagels’ most famous stage role, and while Rain has since been filmed several times, those who saw it first on Broadway insisted that her incendiary performance was never equalled.

‘Wicked Baby’ on Kindle

08 Wednesday Oct 2014

Posted by in Books, History, Profumo Affair, Updates, Wicked Baby, Writing

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I’m proud to announce that Wicked Baby, my 2004 novella about the events of the Profumo Affair, is now available to download via Kindle. This new edition includes an afterword, and five articles about the scandal’s lasting impact on society and popular culture, two of which are previously unpublished. The ebook is available on Amazon worldwide, and will set you back around £2.24, or $3.02 in the US. You can read the first three chapters before purchasing. So to all you e-readers, have at it – and if you like it, please add a quick review and rating on Amazon! More details later…

Preview or buy now in the UK

USA

Australia

Canada

France

Germany

… and many more!

Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters

07 Sunday Nov 2010

Posted by in Books, Marilyn Monroe, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Writing

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Of the millions of words that have been devoted to Marilyn Monroe, few of them were written or said by the woman herself. Only a few interviews with Marilyn herself are still in print, and most of the people who knew her well are now gone.

A small handful of books can claim a direct connection to the star (My Story, an incomplete memoir from 1954; and a long interview, Marilyn: Her Life in Her Own Words, unpublished until 1995.) Now, Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters can be added to the body of literature by Monroe.

The source material was provided by Anna Strasberg, widow of Lee Strasberg, who was Monroe’s acting coach and the main beneficiary of her will. Anna Strasberg is a shadowy figure among Monroe fans, who never knew the actress personally, and sold most of Marilyn’s possessions at auction in 1999.

Some may argue that Monroe’s legacy has been pillaged by bringing her most personal writings into the public domain. On the other hand, Marilyn’s life has been tabloid fodder for decades, long before Mrs Strasberg made her debut at Christie’s.

‘This book does not attempt to show her stripped bare,’ state editors Stanley Buchtal and Bernard Comment in their preface to Fragments, ‘but rather simply as she was.’ Apart from providing transcriptions of Marilyn’s handwriting, their presence is fairly unobtrusive. Continue reading →

Brighton Writes

30 Thursday Sep 2010

Posted by in Brighton, Updates, Websites, Writing

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Brighton Writes is a new blog from me, in association with Creative Future, a charity for marginalised artists and writers. I’ll be covering news from the region – and beyond – on the arts, with a special emphasis on literature, getting your voice heard and also mental health and related social issues.

If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, please subscribe to Brighton Writes and invite your friends.

And this website will continue as usual, of course!

Moon in the Gutter

20 Sunday Jun 2010

Posted by in Books, Film, Interviews, Madonna, Marilyn Monroe, Profumo Affair, The Mmm Girl, Websites, Wicked Baby, Writing

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Jeremy Richey has interviewed me about my influences – books, films, movies and more – over at his wonderful ‘Moon in the Gutter’ blog. Well worth checking out for Jeremy’s insightful reviews, ten of which are published in a new book, Directory of World Cinema: American Independent.

In To Views

23 Wednesday Dec 2009

Posted by in Books, Updates, Websites, Writing

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In To Views is a new blog site from Paul Grimsley, (a highly creative, cross-genre poet and ‘regular renaissance man’), and he is currently profiling upcoming writers, artists and musicians there on a daily basis.

Paul’s most recent volume of poetry (to date – watch this space!), is entitled a suite of desolate elegance, and it is now available from Musehick Publications.

You can read Paul’s interview with me here.

‘Writers’ Hub’ On Radio Reverb

17 Sunday May 2009

Posted by in Books, Brighton, The Mmm Girl, Updates, Writing

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Reverb-97black

Radio Reverb is Brighton’s alternative, a community radio station where people can express themselves, open up dialogues and set their own agendas about what’s important, interesting, funny, cool or arty in the city.

Today marked the launch of Writers’ Hub, a new hour-long literary programme devised, produced and presented by Amy Lynn Riley.  The first show included interviews with local author Sue Eckstein and a feature on the City Reads project, as well as an extract from my novel, The Mmm Girl, read by Shannon Magness, and a new poem by me on the subject of festival, Music Reminds Us.

You can download my segment of the show here – hope you enjoy it!

My Writing Style

15 Friday May 2009

Posted by in Writing

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Questions snagged from Faye L. Booth

1. Are you a “pantser” or a “plotter?” I plan ahead to a degree – I write outlines, chapter and scene breakdowns – but how I get there is up to how I feel as I write, and subject to change.

2. Detailed character sketches or “their character will be revealed to me as a I write”? Quite detailed, I write character profiles but I discover more when I get down to writing scenes.

3. Do you know your characters’ goals, motivations, and conflicts before you start writing or is that something else you discover only after you start writing? My books are fact-based, but in my current novel the information I have is more about the background, time and place. The people I’m writing about now are real but I know very little about them – sometimes just when they were born, married, died. So despite being densely researched, the mainstay of my work is instinct and imagination. Continue reading →