‘Queen of the Damned Review’ by Joe O’Donnell, Jr.

January 31st, 2012
Joe O'Donnell, Jr.

Joe O'Donnell, Jr.

Queen of the Damned is based on upon Anne Rice’s books The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned.  The movie was very good with its characters, dramatic story, dark settings, and special effects. My thought is that this movie is far better than the Twilight Saga. The comparisons between the two are quiet evident. The Twilight Saga deals more with a love relationship between two young people of different backgrounds, whereas Queen of the Damned deals with power struggles between two generations within the same cult. Queen of the Damned heralds in a new beginning for those interested in the myths of vampires, whereas the Twilight Saga feeds off this film’s momentum to focus on theirs for a love story. To explain the argument in favor of this movie, the following explains the theme, characters, and setting of the movie based on the story created by Anne Rice.

The main protagonist of Queen of the Damned is Lestat de Lioncourt, who was once a French noble, but has turned into a vampire by another vampire, Marius de Romanus. Lestat doesn’t want to spend his eternal life unknown and alone. He seeks power and wants to be idolized by the human race. Even though he drinks blood out of necessity to sustain his life, his victims haunt him. Read more »

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Poetographs by poet laureate Candice James with graphic designs by Janet Kvammen

January 31st, 2012

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‘Norseman on the Threshold’ Part Three: “Of One Body, of One Flesh” by Guest Author Glenn James

January 31st, 2012
Author Glenn James

Guest Author Glenn James

Following the violent and foundation-shaking haunting’s of Worcester Cathedral by the restless spirit of a murdered Viking, three cautious investigators draw close to finally unravelling the reason for his tortured wanderings…..                                                                               

Although it has had its moments in an illustrious and surprising history, Worcester Cathedral is not used to violent outbreaks of poltergeist activity.  The wild outbreak caused, when two pieces of skin belonging to the tortured Viking who haunts the place were reunited, had a profound and disturbing effect, which changed the places supernatural profile forever.

Mr. Pearman the Librarian and the Very Reverend Godbehere were themselves badly shaken by an experience which left the building reeling.  Every now and again the Gothic vaulting of the roof  in the library shifted alarmingly, and fine showers of dust came down around them at random.  The stones of the floor shifted like badly laid block pathing, and they had a nasty feeling that the whole room was structurally unsound. Godbehere said nothing, but the tone of his sharp looks implied that Pearman was going to be blamed for the damage, and the humble Librarian wondered how he could prove that his lofty superior had caused the whole thing, ignorantly tossing an evil book bound in the dead man’s skin onto the very display case where the rest of his mortal remains were on show.  He was starting to break out in a cold sweat at the fear of losing his pension, when old Professor Harbinger, who walked in right at the end of the explosive haunting, wagged a finger at Godbehere, and said “Now then Christian, can you put this thing down a little more carefully this time? Nowhere near the rest of his skin, if you please, we aren’t ready to fling open the gates of hell just yet!  It’s only ten to ten, and I haven’t even had a cup of tea.  Do you think a coffee table might be a good resting place for it….” Read more »

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‘Season of Drake’ by guest author David Rhodes – Part 4

January 31st, 2012

Guest Author David Rhodes

Thad stood his ground, while Tim and Worm retreated to a darkened corner of the living room, Worm holding out the ancient crucifix in front of them. They were both shaking like leaves.

“That is a very good weapon, indeed, but I must warn you, it means nothing to me. My strength and experience are much to overwhelming for such pitiful toys.”

Something thumped onto the roof and began to creep around, as if testing the roof for some weakened point.

“He cannot come in, and I will not allow him entry – and there is the other, Randy, whom my friends are sure to come across soon. He will perish soon. Bones will be a different matter. You met the two men that are here, did you not, Thad?”

“Yes, I met them, two men from England that is.”

“And what did they tell you, my friend?” Read more »

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‘Achievement by Possession’ by guest author Dianah Brock

January 31st, 2012
Guest Author Dianah Brock

Guest Author Ava Sprayberry

Prologue

The thunder crashed against the midnight October sky.  Rain fell from the clouds, which formed a blanket, covering the line of view that existed between her and the stars.  She carried no flashlight, nor a lantern.  Only the flashes of lightning that pierced the darkness above lit her path.

She ran, plowing through the mud puddles with all of her might.  The rain continued to fall, stinging her skin in a terrifying baptism.  Her heart was racing, pounding against the bruising on her chest.  She was breathing heavily as she ran.  Her head was aching.  She could feel the liquid trickling down her face.  Is it the rain, or am I bleeding again?  She did not bother to answer herself.  Instead she forced herself to run harder and faster.

Her path was unclear.  She did not know where she was going, or any other way to get there.  She did not know how long her journey would take, or how she would survive.  The pain that ravaged her body was nearly unbearable.  However, the fear, which fueled her adrenaline rush, was greater than the pain.  She continued to run, with only one destination before her.  One place must be at the end of the long, dark, muddy road that she was running down.  She only knew of one place that could offer her the refuge that she sought so frantically.  She knew she had heard the sound of the metal creaking as it opened to allow her to become imprisoned.  She had to reach the gate. Read more »

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Travel Time with Roger Tweed: Houston

January 31st, 2012

Travel Time with Roger Tweed

Last February I visited with my brother and sister-in law in Houston, TX.  I hadn’t been in Houston since 1991, and I could not resist the opportunity to get away from the very cold winter we were having in the Washington, DC area.  I also wanted to see sights in and around Houston that I had never seen before while revisiting some that I had seen in my two previous visits 34 and 20 years before.
The weather in Houston during my visit was marvelous, with highs in the 70s each day and some humidity (it is Houston) but not near as bad as Houston can be later in the year.  Natives will tell you that February is a very good time to visit Houston since winters are usually mild here, and the humidity is not yet in full swing.  When I arrived on the afternoon of February 19 (Saturday) it was 72 degrees.  My timing was excellent, since there had been freezing temperatures earlier in the month.

My flights from DCA to Memphis and then from Memphis to Houston-Bush were uneventful.  CRJs on both legs, with a tiny 50-passenger CRJ 200 on the Memphis-Houston leg, with only 27 passengers aboard.  My rental car was a Chevy Aveo, no surprise there, with crank windows but with a CD player.   I had no trouble finding the home of the Houston Tweeds using my GPS.   Read more »

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‘Conversation With a Teddy Bear’ by guest author John Taylor

January 31st, 2012

Guest Poet John Taylor; Photo credit Chris Daw

My name is David. I am six years old. I like football and support Manchester United. I go to Highfield Junior School, and there is something in my closet.

It has been there for a week. It sleeps during the day, and turns invisible so nobody can see it. It also turns invisible when someone turns the lights on, like when I can hear it scratching around in there and shout for Mum to get rid of it.

‘There’s nothing in there, David,’ she always says, and opens the closet door to show me. But Whatever-It-Is is fast, and always manages to hide before she can get the door open.

I know it is in there though, because sometimes my things go missing, like when I was looking for my Action Man when Paul came round to play last Saturday and couldn’t find it, even though I knew I’d put it in there the day before.

I figure if I keep the closet door closed it can’t get out. I think it’s scared of the light too, which is why the scratching stops if I turn the bedside lamp on. Mum always switches the lamp off when she comes in to check on me, but I only pretend to be asleep, and turn it on again as soon as she closes the bedroom door. Read more »

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TAEM News Flash- Persepolis Pictures recognizes our publication for the support of their film ‘I AM NEDA’!

January 19th, 2012

Amazing Support from Renound Author and Publisher of The Arts and Entertainment Magazine, Joseph J. O’Donnell

Just before the year ended, The Arts and Entertainment Magazine released a bold press release in support of ‘I Am Neda’. In his first political statement the publisher of The Arts and Entertainment Magazine, Joseph J. O’Donnell, is quoted as saying: “The time is right for all the world to speak out against the tyranny and evil that the Iranian regime represents, and I believe that this film will be the spark that will ignite that fire.”…(Click to Read More…)

On behalf of Nicole Kian Sadighi and everyone at the ‘I Am Neda’ team, Persepolis Pictures would like to take this opportunity to extend a heartfelt thanks to Mr. O’Donnell and the Arts and Entertainment Magazine for their kind support and championing such an important project.

(Pulled from the I AM NEDA News Update)

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‘The Lost Book’ by Guest Author Michael Shorde

January 19th, 2012

(David Rhodes writing as Michael Shorde)

 1

 I found the book in an old store on the south side of town. It was a book no one would even consider looking at, for it had no interest for most; but that did not include me. I immediately picked it up and brushed the dust from it.

David Rhodes. The Creatures Unseen.

My old friend, David, who had disappeared long ago after writing several books, the last being this one. I often wondered what had happened to my best friend – we spent many nights together in front of the fire talking over all things imaginable and unimaginable. He had a way with words that could oftentimes frighten even me.

I took the book to my flat and gently laid it on the mantle.

Where was David?

I did not at first look at the book. I thought about David, and how he had claimed to have contact with Cthulhu, a thing created by Lovecraft. He told me he had seen things unworldly. I tried to help him, but they took him away to an asylum. This was from where he disappeared, leaving only the body of a nurse. David could not have done this deed, for I knew him well. Read more »

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‘The Day Before Tomorrow’ by guest author Arthur Davis

January 19th, 2012

Guest Author Arthur Davis

I closed my eyes and tried to shut out the safety instructions coming over the public address system from the eager flight attendant’s squeaky little voice. I didn’t want to hear which exit was closest to me, or how I was supposed to proceed in the event we needed to initiate emergency procedures.

What was the point of it all? If you fell from the sky in a thousand-ton metal coffin, the likelihood of needing either a life preserver or knowing which exit from which to deplane seemed moot. However, that didn’t stop her from completing her droning litany and ending with a nauseatingly perky “Thank you.”

After a few more minutes, we leveled off at thirty-eight thousand feet and the red seatbelt warning sign light went off. It was now safe to move about the plane. Thundering along at six hundred miles per hour, with two massive engines strapped to a long metal cigar in which two hundred people were milling about, was hardly a description of a safe, carefree environment. And yet, here we were, tethered souls on our way to Tampa; most already anticipating what they were going to do after landing, who they were going to meet or avoid at the airport, how they were going to get their baggage before everybody else and what was involved in the next logical step of their lives. A hundred years ago, this would have been unthinkable. Read more »

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TAEM interview with actress Jorjeana Marie

January 19th, 2012

TAEM- The Arts and Entertainment Magazine is proud to present a multi-talented actress to all of our readers. Jorjeana Marie is a long standing comedienne with many credits to her name. Now reaching out into the Indie film circuit she has built up quite a following. Jorjeana, tell us about your early career as a comic and how it adds to your acting abilities.

JM- What I believe is one of the most singularly important factors, aside from imagination, is observation.  The ability to see what’s in front of you and utilize that in some artistic way.  And that’s something that I took from my years of writing and performing stand-up comedy and smushed it into the acting craft.  I didn’t realize I was smushing, but I think that skill of looking at life and seeing EVERYTHING contributes to the creative experience.  That’s also why I believe some of our most commended actors started as comics.  Jamie Fox, Hugh Laurie, Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, etc.  They were able to brilliantly make that transition from sketch or stand-up to leading dramatic actors, I hypothesize, because of their ability to see, when they were looking for fodder for comedy, the pain and joy of life and bring it into their characterizations.  Although that list is all men, I do want to add that I think we’re going to see in the future some incredible dramatic performances from Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Kristin Wiig.  These women are brilliant.  We’ve already seen some great stuff form Maya Rudolph (Away We Go). I seek to do something similar (God, are you listening, it’s me, a comic) and have spent a lot of time focused on funny roles, but do enjoy occasionally showing the darker sides of a personality.  Although, I must admit, if I had to choose a project to work on for many years, I think I would prefer something fun and light and filled with humor, joy and insight.  And the current project I am working on does a nice job thanks to writer Jason Venokur of blending bitchy with funny/sweet.  And yes, I have observed those qualities in life, so it was a lot of fun to work on that!

Read more »

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‘Hounds of Zegna’ by Guest Author Arthur Davis

January 9th, 2012

Guest Author Arthur Davis

Of course, I knew they were coming, though I refused to believe I was the only one who possessed such knowledge. Had I made an adequate effort instead of my typical halfhearted attempt, the earth might have been spared. Maybe it was simply too late by the time I accepted what was happening.

Anyway, here we are under the thumb of Dremlins, ungainly creatures who look like giant golden retrievers standing erect on their hind legs. Except for the absence of a tail and a considerably shortened snout, the resemblance was uncanny. Their long, glistening reddish coat and small toy-like animal heads gave them an air of innocence, of childlike vulnerability.

And that’s how they first presented themselves. As space travelers who had gotten lost, had “taken the wrong turn at Mars,” as a west coast reporter smugly described their arrival eight months ago. First, came the small patrol ship, supposedly off course, filled with a dozen scrawny, fragile adolescent creatures, then, as we were seduced by our collective need to believe the best instead of being cautious about the worst, larger transports filled with yapping, affectionate Dremlins arrived in mass. But a lot can happen in eight months, like the end of civilization, as we know it. Read more »

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TAEM News Flash- The Eerie Digest is mentioned in author Henry Zecher’s announcement of his publication of William Gillete’s bio!!!

January 9th, 2012

William Gillette, America’s Sherlock Holmes has had a wonderful year, and of course everybody was ecstatic when it appeared.
“You did it,” declared old friend Lon Anderson. “Never mind that I was just graduating from kindergarten when you lined up your first publisher and announced its imminent printing.”
Fellow Gillettean Susan Dahlinger asked, “Are you still carrying it around the house, petting it?”
And my ever faithful, loyal, supportive wife asked me if I wanted to sleep with it.
Rolf Rykken, fellow reporter at the Delaware State News in my other life, saw a hundred pages of footnotes and expected a dry, boring academic tome. Then he read into it and added, “Looks great and what little I’ve read so far, nicely written.” Read more »

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‘Cthulhu Rose’ by Guest Author David Rhodes

January 9th, 2012

Guest Author David Rhodes

Part One

 

I write this chronicle with simple pencil and paper from my room in the state hospital known as Stormy Haven. I am on the third floor, and I have not been allowed to leave my room in thirty-three days. I am considered dangerous.

And yet, they brought in a small table and chair at my request, this after thirty days of being docile, showing no sign of danger to anyone. I was grateful for the gesture, though the doctor was against it from the beginning. I don’t think I would ever have had anything but my simple bed, had it not been for another doctor from the first floor who came and interviewed me. Their names are of no consequence to what I am about to tell you, and it is probably for the best, lest the evil invade their lives as well.

I can only tell you the truth, and let you decide. For this truth, I have been judged insane. Perhaps now I am, for it was said years ago that this truth could take a man’s mind. I thought it fiction, as everyone else who read Lovecraft’s work.

But I tell you now, I warn you, beware… Read more »

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TAEM News Flash- See the following entry story outline from author Alex Knight for our February 1st issue of TAEM!!!

January 9th, 2012

COVER STORY
by Alex Knight

Prologue:

I always thought that my grandmother was crazy. She rocked all day on the front porch, talking to herself and she had a way of looking through a person that unnerved the bravest of souls.

When passers-by spotted her on the porch they would cross to the other side of the street. If they spoke together in hushed tones she would proclaim just loud enough for them to hear, “I can still hear you.” At that they would walk much faster.

Some people called her crazy and some called her a witch. The rest of them called her a crazy old witch, or worse, but never within earshot.

Everyone was afraid of her.

Now… they are afraid of me. Read more »

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TAEM News Flash- TAEM and The Eerie Digest announces their College Student Writer’s Program ! See their open letter below!

January 9th, 2012

To All Colleges and Universities

Attn.: Liberal Arts Departments

I publish the on-line Mystery and Hollywood Insider’s magazine called The Eerie Digest/ and The Arts and Entertainment Magazine, and so I would like to offer opportunity to some of your  students.  It is one that would give them a chance to publish their work and see it on the internet.

The Eerie Digest/  and The Arts and Entertainment Magazine is a FREE magazine and I would not be able to offer a monetary honorarium for their efforts.  However, it will enable them to see their work published and give your other students a goal to strive for.  As an added benefit I will also give your universities recognition and a chance to promote your Creative Writing curriculum for interested students. With All of Hollywood reading The Eerie Digest/ and The Arts and Entertainment Magazine for FREE, the students will also attract their interest as well. Read more »

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TAEM News Flash- The World Music and Independent Film Festival offers a sponsorship package for its 2012 Event!

January 9th, 2012

MJD Production’s

3rd

World Music and Independent Film Festival

August

19th -  25 th 2012

SPONSORSHIP OVERVIEW

WMIFF I attn June Daguiso| 17294 Fairbourne Drive Jeffersonton, VA  22724 USA I 703-303-7424 I WWW.wmiff.com

FOR ALL SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, PLEASE CONTACT: sponoship@wmiff.com Read more »

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TAEM interview with F C “Steel” Anderson

January 9th, 2012

TAEM- The Arts and Entertainment Magazine would like to introduce the multi-talented entertainer FC “Steel” Anderson to all of our readers. Steel, as you are so often referred to, have been around for a long time, with music being your primary calling. You also go by the name of Cisco Castille, so for the meantime we will call you ‘Steel’. How did you originally start in your music career?

S- Thanks Joseph!  I guess I started out as a child, singing back-up harmonies for church and family groups, and taking beginner piano lessons, before I eventually got into playing trombone in high school in various bands, while still singing background vocals in various groups around the DC area.

TAEM- Tell us about your training at George Washington University and how it had helped you.

S- Oh, the 6 months of vocal/operatic baritone voice training at GWU helped me big time, until then, I was rapping, and producing a little, but had never thought of myself as having a possible lead voice, until my maestro at the time gave me a great compliment, saying I was his best student, and should continue opera singing, but since I’m more into urban music and my articulation was improved, I nicely turned down that opportunity and went back into urban music.  Not only did it help me find my voice, or voices that I sing lead with, but also to truly appreciate the full range and power of the voice as an instrument, whether you are just singing, rapping, talking, or whistling.  I truly appreciate everyone’s voice, even annoying, and sometimes just like to listen to a new group’s interaction and interchange of voices, I’m also a big karaoke fan too, when I was stationed in Tokyo in 98’ with the Navy, but that’s another story . . . Read more »

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TAEM- A Holiday Wish From Our Publisher

January 1st, 2012

Joseph O'Donnell

As we send out our 32nd issue of The Arts and Entertainment Magazine I’d like to extend my thanks to all of our friends and family that we have come to know over the past few years. I had originally set out to list the interviews from 2011, and all the writers that have contributed their great stories for our publication this year. Then the memories of all those that I have met through the magazine over the years gave me a new inspiration.

What started out as a blog soon took the shape of ‘The Eerie Digest Magazine’. The blog was originally intended to promote my own writing, but soon began to embrace the literature of many other writers. The importance of promoting writers and their work took on a whole new meaning for me, and the magazine concept was born. I have never stopped hoping to see my own writing on a bookstore shelf, and perhaps that dream will happen some day. Read more »

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‘Perfect Reflection’ by Guest Author Paul DeThroe

January 1st, 2012

Guest Author Paul DeThroe

Mirrors lie; to some more than others.  Perhaps everyone who ever gazed into a mirror has asked the same question:  is this a perfect reflection, a distorted perception or a doorway to another dimension?  If beauty truly lies in the eye of the beholder, then that question can only be answered from within.  However, the fabled looking glass of old fairy tales may not be that far off from reality.  Maybe some sentient spirits do reside inside our opposite world, telling us we are the fairest of them all or that someone else is.  Regardless of whether that voice comes from the mirror or from our own minds, its haunting nature is inescapable.

Such was the case for a young girl in a small town named Anna.  Everyone she knew thought she was the beautiful.  In fact, the eighteen year old was voted the most beautiful girl for the senior yearbook.  She was the homecoming queen, the girl that all the boys wanted and all the girls envied; some more than others.  But Anna never bought any of it.  Mirrors told her otherwise.  To her, people that told her she was beautiful were trying to play with her mind in order to gain something.  So she resented those that complimented her and strangely, felt compelled to be close to those that insulted her.  However, of all the haters she had accumulated thanks to her good looks, the only one whose opinion really mattered was her mother.  And they despised each other.

Besides her mother, Anna was her own worst critic.  Because her mother always had something negative to say about her looks or the way she dressed or the way she carried herself or the friends she chose, she had inherited that negative way of looking at herself from a very early age.  Anna was a firm believer that mirrors never lie.  Every mirror she looked in told her she was fat, ugly, hideous and unworthy of being loved.  Just like her mother did.  Read more »

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Travel Time with Roger Tweed: Las Vegas and Yosemite – Part II

January 1st, 2012

Travel Time with Roger Tweed

Last month I chronicled the first five days of my trip to Las Vegas, Kanab, UT, and Zion National Park through arriving at Yosemite National Park.  This month I’ll describe our adventures in Yosemite and the trip back to Sacramento.

After our first night sleeping in Yosemite Valley Housekeeping Camp (Unit A 250), Roch and I awoke on Monday September 19, bought muffins for breakfast along with beverages and trail mix at the camp store and then drove to the parking area at Yosemite Village. After checking with the Visitor Center on hikes to take in the Valley, we decided to hike the Valley Floor Trail and Mirror Lake Trail on Monday, and then on Tuesday we would take a bus from the Valley to Glacier Point where we’d hike down the 8.2 miles back to the Valley along the Panorama Trail (which includes the Mist Trail and parts of the John Muir Trail). We left the Visitor Center and started on the Valley Floor Trail, planning to hike as far as El Capitan. There is a beautiful view of Upper Yosemite Falls from the Village, with a good photo opportunity just in front of the Yosemite Post Office. From the Lower Yosemite Falls Trail you will be able to get shots of both the upper and lower falls. This trail will also take you to the spot where John Muir built his sugar pine house, and the view of the falls explains why he chose that particular spot.  After rejoining the Valley Floor Trail you pass the Yosemite Point trail head (a 2,900 foot climb to the point) and Camp #4 before crossing Northside Drive to hike along the Merced River.  To the south you can see Sentinel Dome and then the trail and the river bend around the “Three Brothers” (Lower Brother, Middle Brother and Eagle Peak) to the north.  Then, before you reach El Capitan, you can see Cathedral Spires and Cathedral Rocks to the south. After you have hiked about six miles from the village you are at the base of El Capitan. The massive rock face towers almost 3,600 feet above the valley, so pictures from its base do not do it justice.  We crossed the drive and went deep into the meadow to try to get longer shots.  Then we crossed the El Capitan bridge and waited for the El Capitan shuttle to take us back to the village and the car.  At the bridge there were a number of people using high powered lenses to view climbers making their way to the top of El Capitan. To the naked eye the climbers looked like dark specks on the very light granite face. Read more »

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Collection of Poetry by Guest Poet Candice James

January 1st, 2012

Guest Poet Candice James

THE ROOM

Inside this sinister paradigm of doom

Surrounding me with unholy noises,

The walls vibrate with the dirge of the undead

And crack under the high pitched screech of rabid bats.

Eerie, ghostly vapours

Trickle in under the warped petrified doors

Of this floating room of secrets I’m locked in.

Read more »

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‘Come into the Garden’ by Guest Poet John Taylor

January 1st, 2012

Guest Poet John Taylor; Photo credit Chris Daw

Come into the garden, Maud,

It’s a lovely day outside

Come into the garden, Maud,

Whilst the sun is in the sky

Step across the threshold,

And lift your head up high!

Come into the garden, Maud,

It’s a lovely day to die…

Read more »

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TAEM interview with producer Michael Haney

January 1st, 2012

TAEM- The Arts and Entertainment Magazine is proud to present Producer Michael Haney to all of our readers. Michael, you have spanned the field of movie making , from your origins in acting, to your present accomplishments in filmmaking. What was your training for this career and what inspired you to take up filmmaking?

MH- I was always interested in filmmaking! My very first stage performance was in 1978. However, I never really took any acting classes until 1983. My serious training was in 1993 in Los Angeles, CA at Playhouse West.
For many years I trained under the direction of film star, Jeff Goldblum, Robert Carnegie, Tony Savant and J. D. Coburn, at one of the largest, most respected and highly recommended acting schools in Los Angeles, California, “PLAYHOUSE WEST”.
For nearly a decade, I performed as a principal cast member in Hollywood’s longest running play; “WELCOME HOME SOLDIER”.

TAEM- Who were your earliest inspirations in your beginnings as an actor?

MH- I must say that my earliest inspirations were James Dean and Marlon Brando! They were the very first great actors who took film acting to a new level!  Today, Al Pacino and James Woods are the best out there! They can really do anything! Read more »

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TAEM interview with Poet Jackie Summers

January 1st, 2012

TAEM- The Arts and Entertainment Magazine has grown and we have branched out and encompassed many fields of Entertainment and Literature. Our interviews have ranged from well known authors and actors, producers and directors, and rock stars and entertainers. We now have the pleasure of introducing poet Jackie Summers to all of our readers. Jackie, I understand that you have taken your pen name in memory of your sister. Can you tell us something about her and why you felt compelled to do so?

JS- First, may I express my sincere gratitude to your publication for having me as your guest. It has been a very  exciting year for me. I have lot’s of people to be thankful for in their continuing support of my work. The reason I have dedicated my work using my sister’s name was because when I first started writing, I wanted to tell her story. I have always felt there was a mystery surrounding her death. Jackie was a very spirited young women. She left Massachusetts with two very young children to escape an abusive relationship that almost cost them their lives. In the few times she came home, she drove cross country alone, to see family. During her years in Washington, she was an assistant fly fishing river guide, and a rock hound. She collected rocks and polished them by hand. She also was the first woman I know of in my family to mine gold in Alaska. Read more »

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‘Ronnald’ by Guest Author Arthur Davis

January 1st, 2012

Guest Author Arthur Davis

Ronnald was a busboy.  He was neither imposing nor content.  He was delighted, as was his bent, to roam the city when he wasn’t cleaning tables, and take hold of any vehicle that passed his way and lift it, passengers and all, high over his head for whatever length of time pleased him.

Walter Lincoln, who was not impressed by his last name, as it was his tendency to change it every few days, was plainly quite docile and, though he stood on the same street corner every day hawking newspapers, he never sold one. But that didn’t dampen his aspirations, or his confidence that one day he would make it big.

Ronnald spent most nights bussing tables at local nightclubs. It didn’t matter how many patrons had been eating or drinking or the extent of the mess they left. He was a master of movement and hand speed, of depth perception and dexterity.  He was also a born juggler, if only of dishes, cups and glasses.  Ronnald was naturally gifted at what he did, and when you’ve been so blessed and you embrace the measure of your potential, there is nothing you can’t accomplish.

Ronnald could clear thirty or forty tables in the same time another busboy would take to clear a half dozen.  When he was in one of his really productive moods, he could work the night shift clearing and cleaning all the tables at two clubs, as long as they were close by one another.  He never thought to ask for more money for his labor.  He collected the same check whether his station included a dozen tables or many times that number.  Read more »

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‘Season of Drake’ by Guest Author David Rhodes – Part 3

January 1st, 2012

Guest Author David Rhodes

The curtains were drawn over all the windows, and only a reading lamp on a small table next to a recliner was lit, with an aged leather bound book splayed under the lamp. Drake noticed Lee gazing at the book.

“Are you a fan of the classics, Officer?”

“Actually, yes, I am. But that’s not the reason we’re here Mr. Drake.”

“Yes, I already know that you’re here on business, so let’s get to the matter at hand, shall we?” he said in that pure English accent. He didn’t look any older than Thad Wendt.

“Mr. Drake, what is that horrible smell? It seems to be coming from everywhere,” Fisher asked.

“Well, I imagine part of the reason the last residents moved out was because of the rodent problem.”

“Actually,” Lee said, “a man committed suicide in the master bedroom, after being accused of shaking his baby to death.”

“Well, no matter,” Drake said, and the two policemen looked at each other slightly bewildered. “I saw a lot of things from my days in London, so nothing really shocks me.” Read more »

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TAEM News Flash- Mark Christopher Lawrence and The House of Blues!

December 20th, 2011

The Arts and Entertainment Magazine recently interviewed Mark Christopher Lawrence for our readership’s pleasure. Mark wowed the public on December 14th in San Diego as he hosted a ‘Night of Comedy’ in The House of Blues.

The star studded event was well received with a packed house at this San Diego landmark. This publication has included photos of all those who appeared for this night of fun and entertainment in which Christopher led the way with his usual charm and candor. In San Diego, Mark Christopher Lawrence and The House of Blues has made an unbeatable combination!

Click here for the press release: MCL Press Release HOB 12.14.11

Click here for the full gallery of photos from the event!

TAEM

 

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TAEM News Flash- author/ publisher Joseph J. O’Donnell on Blogtalk Radio

December 19th, 2011

Joseph O'Donnell

Our Publisher, Joseph J. O’Donnell, was invited to appear on the Blogtalk Radio program, The Exchange, with host Aaron Myers on Tuesday, December 13th. Mr. O’Donnell was asked to talk about his novels ‘Night Trains’, ‘Walkers’, and ‘Tales for Late at Night’. Aaron also asked him about our publication, The Arts and Entertainment Magazine.

Mr. O’Donnell’s knowledge of Hollywood and the Literary field created a great exchange of views for the show and was welcomed by host Myers. The discussion took off on schedule and can be listened to in the link provided below. When airing the link you will find the interview starting at approximately eleven minutes and thirty seconds into the radio program.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thexchange/2011/12/13/the-exchange

TAEM

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‘Skyheart’ by Guest Poet Candice James

December 19th, 2011

Guest Poet Candice James

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