entertainment – Page 19 – Britt Skrabanek

When Things Were Swell

By golly, do I love research!

History, culture, fashion – I just want to roll around in them all the livelong day. But, then I wouldn’t get a thing done, now would I?

Last week I mentioned that I started my third book, The Bra Game. I’ve got a super fun poll going all month long where you can vote on two of my characters’ names. You can visit the original post for lots of details or if you’re the ants-in-your-pants type like I am, you can just vote right here…

CHARACTER #1

In a Nutshell: Feisty Italian-American Tomboy
Classic Movie Star Twin: Audrey Hepburn
Baseball Position: Catcher, Bunter-Stealer
Occupation: Photographer

CHARACTER #2

In a Nutshell: Busty Polish-American Sex Kitten
Classic Movie Star Twin: Marilyn Monroe
Baseball Position: Left Fielder, Left-handed Batter
Occupation: Housewife/Socialite

*The big character name reveal will take place on the 28th, so be sure to stop by to see if your names win!

Truthfully, researching the fifties is a blast: hot cars, milkshakes, Elvis and his pelvis, drive-ins, roller skates, McCarthy’s communist witch hunt, and of course…baseball.

I feel pretty solid on my pre-1950’s research needed for this project. Between my WWII junkie background and this fabulous book I picked up, which covers the women in baseball tangent I’m including throughout, I’m set.

The Bra Game takes place in 1954 Chicago.

I would love to hear any book or film recommendations you may have which paint a portrait of 1950’s American culture. I’m open to any of your suggestions.

Documentaries and non-fiction are great, but classic movies and fiction are perfect, too.

Also, I’m a big fan of writing historical fiction with era-appropriate music to set the mood. So, anything you think might be good…I’m all ears.

Ready, steady, go!

High Fashion, Suburban Swingers, Narcotics Detectives, and Gypsies

Haha…made you look! You’re probably thinking…what is that crazy Britt up to now?

But this fun bouquet of words is actually from a reader, a snippet from an outstanding review my little book, Everything’s Not Bigger, received last night.

If you’re interested in the randomness this title exudes, then you’ll probably want to scoop up a copy of Everything’s Not Bigger while it’s $1 off on Smashwords (ends February 28th.)

Also, my first book Beneath the Satin Gloves is a buck off as well. It’s kooky in a different way. Think WWII, spying lounge singer, sex and lies, and a little time travel element to keep you scratching your head.

And for you Valentine’s Day enthusiasts out there, I promise there are some mega romantic moments in each story that will make your heart go pitter-patter.

I’m totally interested in a buck off your books, Britt!

Well, cheers to that and click here for all the deets…

Here’s the full review from Amazon…

“What do Dallas high fashion retail salespeople, basset hounds, suburban swingers, Czech cuisine, narcotics detectives, Romani (Gypsies), gay trust fund debauchees, and witness protection all have in common? Answer: Jaye Davis.  

So move over Sophie Kinsella and Tom Robbins and make room for one of the most thoroughly modern female protagonists ever created. And, as a delightful bonus, find that all of Britt Skrabanek’s other characters in this novel are not bigger than life; they each ring true with the feel of a fact-is-stranger-than-fiction cast of players. No, these are not your typical quirky oddballs populating the television sitcoms but characters whose lives intersect so effortlessly with Jaye Davis. I ask myself whether Everything’s Not Bigger is a roman à clef or most definitely the very imaginative product of a keen observer of human nature. This novel is suspenseful, romantic, peppered with history, and salted with satirical social commentary.  

As with Britt Skrabanek’s first novel, Beneath The Satin Gloves, this offering is sprinkled with clever and tender comic relief. Two particular scenes, one involving a grumpy Czech grandmother (not Jaye’s), and the other depicting her platonic non-date stroll over a landmark Prague bridge, are sure to entertain. However, don’t be misled; this is a serious story about conflicting contemporary values. How do we overcome bad decisions, and do we have the determination to shape the life we really want to live.“

Name my characters, why don’t ya?

Geez Louise! I never thought I’d write one book and here I am starting my third. I’m either destined to be a novelist or you’re all destined to hear the rantings of a crazy lady.

Anywho, I’m in the outlining stage, also known as the honeymoon phase for us writers, and I can use your help out there. I want you guys to name two of my characters!

Fun, yeah?

Here’s a brief background for you to ponder before choosing the names from the polls below.

I had this crazy discovery last summer when I bought a vintage handbag here in Milwaukee and I found some artifacts from 1954 – two baseball tickets, and a shopping list on the back of a voting receipt.

Sixty years ago, people! How cool is that?!

I wrote a post about it, because I was so freaking excited! This was back when I first started blogging and nobody knew who the hell I was, so you can check out The Clues in the Vintage Handbag if you want.

I daydreamed about who the owner of the handbag might have been, and pictured three different women. So, my brother-in-law pointed out that it looked like I had the skeleton of a decent story on my hands, and he was right. (Thanks, Shawn!)

And, here we are.

My working title is The Bra Game. The story will bounce back and forth between the woman who discovers the handbag and clues in somewhat modern day to the three women she imagines as the possible owners back in 1954. The three women were previously connected as baseball players in the All American Girls Baseball League at the tail end of World War II.

Since I adore strong female characters, these unconventional athletes are right up my alley. We know that when the men came home, the women were expected to ditch their wartime duties, and make lots of babies and pies.

But, what about the women who were different?

So, there’s your teaser.

This is a completely different project for me as it will be a departure from my previous thrillers, and more of an exploration of social issues. Rather than an international locale, this is all about Chicago in the fifties…an all-American romp, if you will.

And, instead of one main character, I have three! I’ve got one named because her name hit me like a ton of bricks, and so it must be.

But, I still have two more to name…and here’s where you come in.

CHARACTER #1

In a Nutshell: Feisty Italian-American Tomboy
Classic Movie Star Twin: Audrey Hepburn
Baseball Position: Catcher, Bunter-Stealer
Occupation: Photographer

CHARACTER #2

In a Nutshell: Busty Polish-American Sex Kitten
Classic Movie Star Twin: Marilyn Monroe
Baseball Position: Left Fielder, Left-handed Batter
Occupation: Housewife/Socialite

It would be awesome if you guys would spread the word on this poll of mine…the more, the merrier! The name reveal will take place on February 28th.

And if you don’t know anything about my previous work, now is the time to check them out. I’m currently offering a whole buck off the entire month of February.

All the details are right here.

So, I’m having this book sale…

I know, I know. We all have about a grillion choices when it comes to books. There are so many stories out there, and I have written two teeny tiny ones.

I’m not conventional, I’m not mainstream, I’m not famous.

I’m just me. Little indie author…me.

But, here’s the thing – I’ve got coupons! And, who in the hell doesn’t like coupons?

The entire month of February you can get both of my books at a $1 off their usual prices. Think about all the things you can do with that buck you’re saving.

You can – oh wait, nevermind. Even gum costs more than that nowadays!

Oh, well! A buck’s a buck.

Head on over to Smashwords and use the nifty coupon codes below. Before you scratch your head about what the blazes Smashwords is, just know that it’s a swell place for us indie authors to sell our unknown books via any e-book format in existence.

Instructions are right here so you know what to do after you download the format you need. With my Kindle Fire, I just email the mobi file to my Kindle email address and voila…easy squeezy!

Here’s my offbeat WWII spy thriller…

Click the book to see what it’s all about.

Click here to buy on Smashwords

(just copy and paste coupon code VY57T at check-out)

Here’s my feel-good, modern day thriller…

Click the book to see what it’s all about.

Click here to buy on Smashwords

(just copy and paste coupon code NS94W at check-out)

If you feel so inclined to be even more gorgeous than you already are for giving my books a whirl, it would be beyond awesome if you would take a few moments to leave a review after you have finished. Seriously, it would warm my heart.

THANK YOU kindly for supporting the indie author movement.

So long, jammies…hello, grind!

stuffed animal and shoe — It was due time for Ken “Follett” the cow to make another blog appearance.

For the better part of 2012, I lived in my pajamas.

Between writing books and teaching dance, I didn’t have much of a reason to fuss over my appearance. If it weren’t for studio teaching, I would have gone months without so much as a glance in the mirror.

My first week working at home, I rather comically got dressed up, thinking that would make me feel ready to work at my rickety dining room table. But, creativity flowed just swimmingly in my jammies, so why add to the laundry pile, right?

After years of full-time job and extra curricular activity juggling, I ditched the grind at the beginning of the year – my first time trying to make it solely as an artist.

Halfway through the year, I had achieved several milestones: I started this blog and accompanying social media channels; I self-published my first novel, and with all of my abundant spare time, I was finishing up my second.

I taught dance almost every single day…and I loved every single student, those who had danced since they could walk, and those peppy beginners who had two left feet.

Although I felt proud and fulfilled on so many levels, reality bitch slapped me in the face…bitch slapped me real good.

I couldn’t exactly pay my bills.

Without my supportive hubby, I would have been selling oranges and mediocre poetry by the freeway. Being the stubborn arse that I am, I have always cringed at the term “starving artist”.

But dangit, sometimes those catchy phrases are fashioned for a reason.

Book sales have been slower than I would prefer. And teaching, although incredibly rewarding, tends to be financially sporadic and physically exhausting.

The obvious choice was to rejoin the grind, to alleviate the pressure on my creativity so that I could carry on with my passions, and stop watching them with suspicion and dread.

I’m not a patient person. I’m just not.

So, this has been a true test for me. A large part of me felt that I had failed, a feeling I can honestly say, was foreign to me.

Because nobody likes a pity party, especially me, I turned my sad little attitude right around.

I’ve had a full-time job since the end of October. For the sake of evading any corporate conflicts, I’m not going to say much about it. Let’s just say it’s a far cry from doing what you all know me to do and I yearn for windows every day.

But I took a ton of pressure off myself with my nifty, biweekly paycheck…and I am much more at ease.

Paying bills is fun again! Nah, not really.

I have to remind myself that even though I’ve been writing as long as I can remember, I’ve only been official for six months, when I launched this fantastic circus someone boringly termed a “platform”.

You know that annoying expression “it takes time”? Turns out…it does.

Rather than thinking of my day job in a negative light, I’m thankful for a return to stability. Frankly, having a roof over your head makes a creative life a hell of a lot easier!

Rather than giving up on writing because I’m throwing a temper tantrum over shoddy book sales, I’m starting my third book.

Rather than focusing on how hectic my schedule is, I am trying to see my life as full – and that is much better than an empty one.

And at the end of a long day, my jammies welcome me home – and damn they feel good.