Look! Life! Time... and The Saturday Evening Post

 

Yesterday, I cleared out my mother's last storage space, and now a dozen boxes and the same number of overflowing paper sacks are stacked three deep in my living room, which now resembles the local Goodwill store. I've given away half the stuff, but the things that slowed me down are choosing the special items I want to give to relatives and friends, and a stack of old magazines: Look, Life, Time, and The Saturday Evening Post.

Each publication provides a fascinating glimpse into what the world was like decades ago. Mom was very particular in what she saved. History-changing movements like the U.S. political climate and space exploration were high on her list, as well as social change, especially reflected in the magazines from the '60s.

The Saturday Evening Post from October 17, 1959 is the earliest issue. Nine articles featured everything from the changing role of the family doctor to a profile of F.D.R. There were four short stories and two serials in that issue, too, including a mystery by Erle Stanley Gardner. What a writer's market it was!

The most recent issue is Life, from January, 1983 which reviewed the most meaningful events from 1982 and covered conflicts in Central America, the Middle East, Poland, Iran and Afghanistan. Sound familiar?       

But, the advertising! Just one peek at what was new and cool back then shows how different our world is today. Here are a few ads for your enjoyment: 

Exciting and New!

Will it work with my IPhone?

 

Who needs Google maps?

  

Braniff and Pan American. Long gone.

The convenience of Siri and Alexa is breathtaking, offering information about almost anything in an instant. And we no longer have to plug a lightbulb into a camera to take a snapshot. Too bad we haven't made much progress on more serious problems that have plagued us for decades.

Bad news aside, at least good old Speedy still has a solution for our everyday aches and pains. Plop plop. Fizz fizz!

                       

Gay Yellen writes the award-winning

Samantha Newman Mysteries including

The Body Business,

The Body Next Door

(available on Amazon)

Coming soon,

The Body in the News

Close-up on Gay Yellen

By Kathryn Lane

Texas author Gay Yellen came to writing with an extraordinary background. She began working life as a stage and TV actor, then moved behind the camera at The American Film Institute (AFI) as Assistant to the Director of Production. She moved on to become a magazine editor and national journalism award winner. As contributing book editor for Five Minutes to Midnight (Delacorte), an international thriller, she was convinced writing was in her blood. Her award-winning Samantha Newman Series of romantic mystery novels includes The Body Business and The Body Next Door. Book 3 in the series arrives this summer.   

1.   KL: Early in your career, Gay, you traded your Screen Actors Guild membership in Hollywood to work on the other side of the camera at The American Film Institute (AFI). Part of the AFI mission is to ‘celebrate excellence in the art form’. Your simple yet elegant book cover designs reflect the beauty of simplicity you must have learned at AFI. Is this assumption correct?

GY: I’m glad you like the covers, Kathryn! As Assistant to the Director of Production at AFI, I was involved in almost every facet of filmmaking, from casting to location scouting, to procuring costumes and props from the major studios, acquiring locations for the shoot, organizing transportation to the set, arranging catering services, scheduling, and post-production services, too. That said, it was my magazine career that taught me the importance of a cover. As a managing editor, one of my most critical responsibilities was to oversee the cover design, which can make or break the success of newsstand sales. The same could be said of a book cover, too.

2.   KL: Did AFI influence you as a writer? One of their stated values is ‘A Belief in the Power of Storytelling to Change the World’.

GY: Such a good question, Kathryn! While story can be important in filmmaking, it was my theater background that helped me understand what a good story is made of. Plot structure is important, and character motivation is paramount. As an actor, I learned that our everyday human struggles are universal. Reading stories with characters who are both very different and very much like us can put us in touch with that universality and make us more empathetic. I suppose in that way, storytelling in any form does have the power to change the world.   

3.   KL: In the Samantha Newman Series, set in Houston and the Texas Hill Country, you cleverly use a few Spanish phrases. What prompted you to do this?

GY: Wow, I didn’t realize I had any Spanish words in my books! I may have used a Spanish word or two because in Texas, where I live, people of Spanish heritage are a large segment of the population, and their diverse cultures are integral to the fabric of life here. A Texan saying adios instead of goodbye can be quite natural, even for an English speaker like me.

 4.   KL: In The Body Next Door, the widow of a murdered neighbor is hiding in Samantha’s apartment. I love that plot, but I’d also like to see Sam and Carter stay together. Any chance of that in book three?

GY: I love this question, because it speaks to one of my favorite things about being an author. When Samantha and Carter meet in The Body Business, I wasn’t planning to write a series, and thus, had no plan for their future. While the publisher wanted me to extend that book into a series, it was my readers’ interest and enthusiasm that encouraged me to continue their relationship. Carter is a man of mystery in more ways than one, so he is definitely in Book 3. And Samantha is as headstrong as ever.

5.   KL: You’re launching your third Samantha Newman novel this summer. Can you give us a preview?

GY: As readers may remember, Samantha has trouble staying employed, due to circumstances beyond her control.  As Book 3 opens, she’s starting a new career at a local TV station. But things are not going well with the man who is supposed to be teaching her the ins and outs of investigative journalism. And because Sam’s life never runs in a straight line, complications ensue, with humor and suspense in equal measure. Here are the working titles: The Body in the News, The News Body, The Body Reports, The Body Breaks the News… I’m still taking suggestions, so to anyone who offers a better one, a free copy of the book is yours if I use it.

6.     KL: Besides an historical novel you’ve done research for, have you thought of doing a memoir of your days as an actress? Or autofiction based on your Hollywood experiences?

GY: Actually, the first novel I ever attempted to write was on that subject. Two chapters in, it felt like I was telling the same tired Hollywood show biz tale that had been told too many times already. While I did reach the upper membership echelon in the Screen Actors Guild before I quit, the high points were outstripped by too many frustrating disappointments. However, a few memories have become hilarious in retrospect. Perhaps one will inspire a short story someday.

Thanks, Gay, for sharing your fascinating life with us! I can't wait to read Samantha #3!

***

Places to find Gay Yellen and her Samantha Newman Series:

WEBSITE: https://gayyellen.com/

 AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08Q8P1RNP?binding=kindle_edition&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tukn

BOOKBUB: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/gay-yellen

Gay Yellen: Spotlight on Kathryn Lane

Today, I interview our own Stiletto Gang-sister, Kathryn Lane, award-winning author of the Nikki Garcia Mysteries. Missing in Miami, her fourth book in the series, has just been released.

Kathryn is a woman of many parts: artist, writer, and former international corporate executive, all of which provides rich background for her stories. What is it like to be a world traveler who solves crimes? Read on...

Gay: Kathryn, when your series begins, Nikki Garcia is a crackerjack forensic accountant, a rather nontraditional kind of sleuth. And yet, you managed to turn the investigation into a riveting read. As the series progresses, Nikki picks up other skills, and by the time we get to the new book, which takes place in Cuba as well as Florida—she's almost a full-blown spy. Did you plan this character progression from the start?

Kathryn: I'd love to answer with a resounding, "Yes, of course I planned it that way!" But when I wrote the first book, I did not know I'd be writing a series until my publisher insisted I create other books with Nikki as protagonist. Being a pantser (a writer who doesn't pre-outline) I developed her into a sleuth, thinking it would otherwise get boring if she was always investigating corporate fraud around the world.

Gay: I see similarities between you and Nikki: a love for travel and good food, and a background in corporate finance. How is she different from you?

Kathryn: I'm not nearly as brave as Nikki!

Gay: The character of Eduardo, a Colombian physician, is a dreamboat: romantic, wealthy, and kind. Did you pattern him after a real person, or is he simply a dream?

Kathryn: I was single when I wrote the first book, so maybe Eduardo represents my dream man. He is purely fictional, as are all my characters, except for some mentions of real or historical persons. After completing the first book, I met Bob, who is now my husband and who shares three of Eduardo's characteristics: he is immensely supportive of my work, he's kind, and he has a romantic streak—he lights a candle for our dinner every night we eat at home. The one trait he's missing is that he's not wealthy, doggone it! 

Gay: In the new book, you mention a novel I happen to be reading right now: Klara and the Sun, by Kazuro Ishiguro. What was behind that choice?

Kathryn: In every mystery I've written, I've mentioned another author or visual artist whose work I admire. As I was writing Missing in Miami, I read Klara. In that story, a girl named Josie suffers from an illness that is never fully defined. I mentioned the book because Andrea, the missing girl in my novel, also has an illness. I don't expect many readers to catch the comparison, but the connection sparks my own creative juices.

Gay: I'm fascinated by your world travels to... is it over ninety countries? Each of your books is set in a different location, and they each seem to offer a bit of a traveler's guide for the area. Having been to so many places, how do you decide where Nikki Garcia will go next?

Kathryn Lane

Kathryn: I've traveled to ninety-four countries. As a child, one of my dreams was to travel. I have accomplished that by working for Johnson & Johnson, even though I had also traveled before my corporate job. For my novels, I pick locations that I like, and more importantly, that fit the story. I like to think that the reader is walking the streets of a location with Nikki as she carries out her investigation.

Gay: Thank you, Kathryn, for giving us a peek behind the scenes! Readers, you can find out more about the Nikki Garcia Series on Amazon, on BookBub, or at Kathryn's website.

Wow, the places Kathryn has traveled! What about you, readers? What foreign lands have you visited?

*****

GAY YELLEN writes the award-winning Samantha Newman Mysteries, including The Body Business, The Body Next Door, and the soon to be released Body in the News. Gay would love to hear from you in the comments below, on Facebook, or BookBub, or via her website.

*****

 

 

Gay Yellen: Flying Dreams

Have you ever had a dream that returns again and again?

When I was a child, I had quite a few. Most of them were scary. In one, I was repeatedly shot by a mean-looking gangster. In another, a gorilla chased me down the street, getting closer and closer as I ran for my life. And then there was my worst high school nightmare, in which a report that was due for my next class was inside my locker, and I could not remember the combination to get it open.

Each dream startled me awake. I would bolt upright in bed, my heart racing. 

But one recurring dream from my elementary school years was a repeated delight,

because in that dream, I could fly.

My partner in the unforgettable adventure was my Aunt Dora.

We would hold hands and soar, light as air, over my school and the neighborhood below.

I entered this lovely dream more than once, and I wish I still could.

Those were the years when I was reading Mary Poppins books. I adored that magical flying governess and envied the lucky Banks children, because among performing other wonders, Mary let them fly with her.

Like Mary Poppins, Aunt Dora was a keen observer of people. When she expressed an opinion, it was almost always witty and to the point, which may be why my young dreaming brain chose her to be the flying nanny's avatar.

In my twenties, when I had a little bit of spendable income and an apartment with empty walls to fill, I purchased an engraving by Graciela Rodo Boulanger. The moment I saw it, I had to have it, because it felt so similar to what I remembered of my long-lost dream.

The artwork still reminds me of the times when I could fly above the town with Aunt Dora. And though I've never consciously emulated her, I can sometimes feel her speaking through me, coloring a line of dialogue I've written with her gently barbed humor.

Perhaps, like Mary Poppins, she had a touch of magic, too.

What about you—have you ever dreamed you could fly? Please comment below.

Gay Yellen is the award-winning author of The Samantha Newman Mystery Series.

Gay Yellen: Imaginary Friends

Dickie George was his name, my first imaginary friend. I was the only four-year-old among a household of grown-ups, so I suppose he was my way of having a ready-made playmate whenever I wanted an adventure.

At the dinner table, I would regularly share news of his latest exploits with my Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, and teenage aunt. And they lovingly played along.

For me, there was no doubt that Dickie George was real. I was a well-mannered child, but he enjoyed all kinds of tricky activities, doing things that would have gotten an ordinary kid in trouble, like the time he stuck a broom in Grandma's washing machine. Yes he did.

Somewhere along the way to kindergarten, I lost track of Dickie George. But he remains in the family lore of my childhood, and in my memory, too.

Later, when I encountered the brilliant Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, I would catch myself peering deeply into each panel in search of Dickie George, certain that he and Calvin were soulmates, and maybe even playmates. And Hobbes, too, all of them living together in the fantastical universe created by children's imaginations.

I have new imaginary friends now, with names like Samantha and Carter and Lizzie and Gertie. As a grown-up author, I'm supposed to describe them as the characters in my books. Yet when I'm writing, they are as alive in my mind as Dickie George was so many decades ago. I often find myself following them and reporting on their activities, rather than forcing actions on them. Not always, but often enough that I can feel a trace of the little-girl me who once had an imaginary playmate. 

Did you have imaginary friends in your childhood?

What were they like? Please share in the Comments, below.

Gay Yellen is a former magazine and book editor. She writes the award-winning Samantha Newman Mystery Series: The Body Business and The Body Next Door. Book #3 is slated for release in 2021. Gay would love to hear from you, here, on Facebook, or at her website, GayYellen.com, where this post was originally published.

 

Gay Yellen: Block that Gift!

A wonderful friend threw a fabulous launch party for me in 2014 when my first book, The Body Business, was published. And several months later, she bought me a gift I'll never forget. She said that the moment she saw it, she knew I had to have it.

I knew she meant well, so instead of recoiling in horror at the otherwise harmless paperweight, I thanked her for her thoughtfulness. But just to be safe, I hid it in a closet, far away from the room where I write.

The Gift

By the time I finished the second book in The Samantha Newman Mystery Series, the gift was out of my thoughts. That book was such fun to write!

I'd planned to launch Book #3 in 2020. But in early January, an unidentified virus brought me to my knees. It was March before I could sit at my desk to do mundane tasks like open mail and pay bills.

Then my husband's brother died. And my mother died a month later. By May, I found it impossible to concentrate on any project that called for clear thinking. Add to that the general distress we all suffered last year, and. . .

. . . Book #3—all 70,000 words of it from 2019—lay dormant. More than once in my struggles, that elegantly wrapped gift haunted me from the closet. I considered slinging it off the balcony. 

By last summer's end, I managed to return to writing with a short piece for the Jungle Reds and my monthly Stiletto Gang post. Which made me wonder why, if I could  put 500 words together for a blog, I still couldn't manage a few more to complete my book?

Words are words, right? So, what's the difference?

I think I've figured it out.

Writing Fast vs. Writing Deep

In my magazine days, part of my job as managing editor was to oversee the monthly deadlines of our staff writers and contributors. When it was time to lay out an issue, if a scheduled piece was M.I.A., or a writer went rogue, delaying the print run was never an option. I had to find or write a filler. Fast. 

I got good at writing fast. Laser focus and a hard deadline was all it took. Similar to writing a monthly blog post. But it takes much, much more than that to write a book.

Novel writing is deep. It's immersive. It requires sustained concentration, plus the mental energy to wrangle multiple loose threads into a complete, coherent whole. Which was impossible for me to accomplish in 2020.

Really, I'm fine. . .

The Bright Side

These days, with comfort tea to bolster me, I'm back at work on Book #3. I'm glad to be going deep again, and so very grateful to have made it through. Fingers crossed for getting it done by spring.

I hope you survived last year intact, and with enough resilience to weather the ill winds that still batter us. May our beloved country be restored to health. And may you have a sweet 2021.

 

Gay Yellen is a former magazine and book editor. She writes the award-winning Samantha Newman Mystery Series, including The Body Business and The Body Next Door. Book #3 in the series is slated for release in 2021. Gay would love to hear from you, here, on Facebook, or at her website, GayYellen.com.