Showing posts with label Amazon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amazon. Show all posts

Saturday, July 19, 2014

More Yin, Less Yang


Here we are at the mid-point of summer already. Time flies when you’re not paying attention.


Prop from THE PERILS OF FRANCOIS
Life is a funny thing with that yin, yang and the whole dang thang. On one hand, it’s a nightmare of apocalyptic proportions…Malaysian airliners shot down or just disappear altogether, Iraq is back, my hometown of Stockton turns into a sequel of the film HEAT adding much tension and chaos to natural disasters such as fire season, drought and hey, are the locust on stand-by? Mix this up in a blender with the stresses of everyday living in the 21st century and you’ve got the draft of a suicide note ready to be posted in your Facebook status.
Then…there’s the good stuff, the things that fortunately are weighing in on the good side to provide balance in this cockamamie world-family, friends, home and everything that floats our collective boats

AND…THE BLESSED EXTRAS…

For me, it’s been the production of my plays this summer, something I’ve been striving for since the dawn of the planet of the Cherney. 

THE PERILS OF FRANCOIS just wrapped up in Nashville TN for the Mel O’Drama Theater company. My thanks again to the cast, crew and especially producer Melanie Roady for this unique opportunity. I’d never written a script on spec before, let alone a murder mystery. It was also a challenge trying to collaborate from opposite sides of the country, but apparently, it all came together.  Me in Nashville…who da thunk it?


Andy Pollock and Christine Arnold in SOTCK, Oceano style
Then there’s SONG OF THE CANYON KID at the Great American Melodrama in Oceano, CA that is currently running through September and has picked up three…count ‘em…three great reviews.

The fact that I’m not mentioned in any of these write-ups is beside the point. However…
SONG OF THE CANYON KID WAS WRITTEN BY SCOTT CHERNEY
So there
.
What was really nifty, keen, cool and boss-o was that these two shows were running at the same time. Never happened before, but hopefully will happen again.
In the meantime, the same show, SONG OF THE CANYON KID under its original title SONG OF THE LONE PRAIRIE or POEM ON THE RANGE is set to open August 29 in Jamestown, CA for the Footlight Theatre Company at the same time the Oceano show will still be playing. In fact, they close on the very same night.
Quite a coup, eh wot?
It would be even sweeter if I could just garner a few decent sales for the novel version of said play, SONG   
OF THE CANYON KID, a western comedy romance. This sucker has FLATLINED.It’s a goddamn shame. I think it’s a good piece of work and I haven’t been able to even give it away. (That’s not true. There is a giveaway for a free copy on Goodreads. See below.) It even got a good review all by itself.

CANYON KID BOOK REVIEW 
See?
There’s that yin and yang again.
So there’s been a lot of yin this year, but far too much yang. I’m grateful any yin I can have or can get, but to provide balance and that I don’t go sliding into a big steaming pile of yang…

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

A Canyon Kid Summer

Big doin's in the world of The Canyon Kid!

On June 19, The Great American Melodrama & Vaudeville in Oceano, CA presents SONG OF THE CANYON KID (aka SONG OF THE LONE PRAIRIE) written by yours truly. This is the first production of this western comedy melodrama since its 1987 world premiere at the legendary Pollardville Palace Showboat Theater in Stockton, which I also directed. This particular show will run all summer long until September 20.


THE GREAT AMERICAN MELODRAMA and VAUDEVILLE

That's just Southern California. Northern California steps up to the plate later in the season.


On August 29, the Footlight Theatre Company stages its own production of the same play under its original title in conjunction the Hurst Ranch in Jamestown, CA. It involves a train ride, BBQ, live band and sounds
like quite the event. This prod closes the same night as the other-September 20.

FOOTLIGHT THEATRE CO. ON FACEBOOK                                      
So what the fun is it-SONG OF THE CANYON KID or LONE PRAIRIE? Well, when I was working on the novelization, I always meant to change the title for the book. When Great American contacted me, they asked to change it to TALES OF...but I balked and suggested the other. They went ahead and added it to their 2014 line-up, though they added an S to their promotional brochure calling it SONGS. Sigh. After the summer shows, the play title will be SONG OF THE CANYON KID. Stay tuned. Or not.

But the BOOK is now and always will be SONG OF THE CANYON KID..Yeah,  a real, honest to God BOOK that you hold in your hands, flip the pages, throw at your loved ones and what not. This fine tome is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle versions.

SONG OF THE CANYON KID ON AMAZON

So all in all, it is indeed the summer of the Canyon Kid. It's been a long time coming, but from the dude who created these characters many moons ago in a wondrous land called Pollardville, I believe that the time for the straight-shootin', guitar strummin' cowboy has finally come.

Yippie-ky-ay indeed.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Vanity, Thy Name is Cherney


I'm so vain...
I prob'ly think this blog is about me...

A brand new interview with the guy whose name is above the title of this here blog has been posted on the Awesome Gang website.Please go forth and check this out.

INTERVIEW W/SCOTT CHERNEY

Awesome Gang is a great little promotional site for authors. Their services range from free to inexpensive. Those of you with books you want to shill but have tight budgets will want to give them a look-see.

AWESOME GANG WEBSITE

I just found another interview from a  few years ago that I did with my friend Thomas Amo, author of FOREVER ME, AN APPLE FOR ZOE and the forthcoming horror anthology MIDNIGHT NEVER ENDS, this from Blogtalk Radio.

INTERVIEW W/THOMAS AMO ON BLOGTALK

After that, I had a lovely chat with the cutie pie known as Ashton the Book Blogger.

INTERVIEW W/ASHTON THE BOOK BLOGGER

I've also got a page on AuthorsDen where I have a couple of choice items including a short story and a long essay.

SCOTT CHERNEY ON AUTHORSDEN

I'm also on Goodreads where a chapter from all of my books are waiting for you.

SCOTT CHERNEY ON GOODREADS

Finally there's the matter of that website o' mine.

WRITTEN BY SCOTT CHERNEY-THE WEBSITE

And that's the name of that tune.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Guest Blog: Thomas Amo on Forever ME


Here's something I never do: Turn my blog over to somebody else.  He's not just somebody either. He's my good friend, fellow author and all-around grand guy Thomas Amo. His latest book, Forever ME, is quite the departure for Tom, his first foray into Young Adult fiction. That's right. TA does YA.

Here's the rundown:

Forever Me
Hannah Richards isn't your typical 16 year-old at Wichita Falls High. Fashion, trends, cosmetics and style are unimportant to her. An avid reader, guitar player, and classic movie and television buff, Hannah marches to the beat of her own drum. Visible only to her father, the town sheriff, and her two best friends, Lauren and Haylee, Hannah lives a simple, un-pampered life as an "Eastie."

After coming to the aide of Taylor Monroe, a popular member of the "Stilettos" at school, and a series of misunderstandings with her friends, Hannah is forced to re-invent herself. She quickly gets caught up in a life much different than the one she knows, where status, glamour, makeup, appearance and acceptance become her masters. And what of the dark secret that haunts the streets of Wichita Falls?

Can Hannah survive the lies, deceit, jealousy, and rage that are now waiting for her around every corner? Will she succumb to the pressures of popularity? Or will she be crushed under the heels of the "Stilettos"?

~High school is hard enough just being yourself, let alone trying to be someone you're not~


 
Interview with the Author

1. Q: I understand Forever ME is inspired by true events. Tell us how that came about?

A: I was just about to leave the house one morning when I caught a segment on morning television about a group of teen girls at a Texas high school who had organized a group called, “Redefining Beautiful.” They were trying to encourage fellow female students to go one day a week without makeup. They were stressing that you don’t need makeup to be beautiful. I was so amazed by their bravery and confidence to go against type, especially in high school and at an age where girls feel the most awkward with themselves. A close friend of mine who is a film producer had been asking me if I had anything I was working on I could share with him. By time the segment was over, I had the basic plot in my head and before I left the house, I already knew the ending of the story. I phoned my producer friend and told him I had something, we met that afternoon and I pitched the idea to him as a film. He loved the concept and told me he was interested. Could I write the screenplay? I went to work right away. But about 50 pages in, I found these characters were so lifelike, I felt it needed to be a book, it could always be a film later. I called my friend back, said, I have to write this as a novel. With his blessing and two years later, Forever ME was published.

2. Q: How are teen girls responding to a book written by male?

A: I was concerned about that. Would they relate to it? Would it seem real to them? Or would it come across as a guy giving his version of what he think teen girls are like today? Well, to my pleasant surprise, teen girls are sending me emails, tweets, and telling me, they completely relate to the situations, they’ve said, “OMG, that is so me!” “I’m just like Hannah!” Or they know girls like Shelby and the Stilettos. Or jerk guys who treat them like property. I got plenty of praise from some parents even grandparents on Forever ME, but the real vindication comes from the teens who love it. I couldn’t ask for better than that! (Plus I have a 19 year old daughter, so I wasn’t totally in the dark.) But I did do my research.

3. Q: What did you learn about teen girls that you didn’t know?

A: A lot! I learned that some girls lose precious hours of sleep by getting up at sometimes between 3 and 4 a.m. to begin their daily regiment of getting ready for school to make themselves look “normal” or what they feel they must look like to their friends and fellow students. Girls are under tremendous pressure to always look a certain way, weigh a certain amount. Often it is self-imposed, even the prettiest girls feel insecure about their looks. Girls who are bullied often feel completely alone with no one to turn to. Even if schools have zero tolerance for bullying, there’s always an unspoken rule to not tell. Being bullied is embarrassing, especially when girls get publicly humiliated in school and other students stand by, watching or laughing. School can more often than not, feel like prison instead of an educational institution.

4. Q: Speaking of Bullying, there’s quite a lot of it in Forever ME. Were you attempting to send a message?

A: Actually no I wasn’t. Not consciously anyway. My wife pointed out to me that bullying wasn’t just limited to the students. Friends bullied each other and even parents bullied their teens. It made me realize there are many different ways for kids to be bullied like there are as many forms of abuse. It’s not always physical, but it is always damaging.

5. Q: I see in several past reviews Forever ME gets compared to the film, “Mean Girls.” Did that have any influence on your writing?

A: Not at all, I have not seen the film. So I’m always surprised when someone compares it to that film. I imagine since the subject matters are similar I can see how someone could draw that conclusion. It was important to me in the beginning that my main character, Hannah was not the new girl at a school. That’s always tough on a teen to be the new kid. I wanted her to have her own friends, a well-adjusted home life and content with her life as it was. It was only when she crossed the invisible line of mixing with the social elite did it present a problem in her life. Wichita Falls is a place where a girl from her side of town is often reminded it’s best if she stays there.

About the author


Thomas Amo is the author over 20 comedies and farces for the live theatre. This former full time theatrical producer has spent the last thirty years writing in many different genres, from pilot scripts for television to screenplays on independent films. Outside acting, directing and producing, his first love has always been writing. Forever ME marks his debut into YA fiction

Excerpt from FOREVER ME


Wichita Falls High was your typical Texas educational institution. It boasted a fine athletics’ department with a focus on football. The student body was composed of about fifteen hundred students, the majority being mostly Caucasians and Hispanics. While the African American and Asian students were smaller in numbers, they all mixed well with one another. Like most high schools, you could find plenty of, emo, goths, stoners, jocks and cheerleaders. The only segregation that seemed prevalent at Wichita High was the one between the Clubbers and the Easties. Clubbers were the young adults whose families belonged to the country club. These were the students who went out of their way to not interact with the teens who were from, that part of town. Hannah and Lauren were Easties. If you lived east of Chester Street, then you were socially unimportant. To translate into pop culture terms, Easties were Mudbloods.

There was one other group at Wichita Falls High that commanded its own title, and it belonged to a small band of girls known as the Stilettos. They were Shelby Farrell, Courtney James, Vanessa Chezwick, Madison Winthrop and Taylor Monroe. They were Clubbers of the highest order. Their fathers had the most money, and they lived in the exclusive section of the country club, with the exception of Taylor. Taylor’s family lived just outside the club. Her inclusion in the Stilettos came in the form of a proxy, as her father was Shelby’s father’s best friend.

Taylor was easily one of the most attractive girls at Wichita Falls High. She had striking, golden honey colored eyes, set within an oval shaped face. Her dark eyebrows accentuated her luxurious long blonde hair. She was the most petite member of the Stilettos, standing only at five-foot-three. Shelby was the accepted leader of the clique; her tall five foot ten height alone made her appear like the one in charge. She had long brunette hair, porcelain skin, and emerald green eyes that seemed to peer directly through you. Like the rest of her clique, she too was sixteen. They all drove, but to be a friend with Shelby, it was a requirement to ride in her Mercedes. The way her tall legs carried her, she walked as if she owned the school. Her second in command was Courtney, a medium height and slight build of a redhead. She was freckled and pale and her disposition was always dour and disagreeable. She loved taunting other students, especially girls she considered ugly or fat. The two remaining members of the Stilettos were Vanessa and Madison. Vanessa was a stunning Japanese/Italian girl with rich, naturally wavy, black hair and almond shaped, chestnut eyes. Her olive toned skin appeared flawless and her heart shaped face was beautiful when she smiled. That, however, only happened when she was bullying younger students. She was just slightly shorter than Shelby, which was in her favor. Madison took care to be certain she never wore heels that made her taller than Shelby. Otherwise, it would be considered an act of defiance. Madison had been into Cosplay during her middle school years. Being a slightly overweight child, her involvement in costume play had been a means to find acceptance among others. She loved the idea of dressing up as a character from a film or television show. She mostly wore Catholic schoolgirl uniforms that were reminiscent of popular 90’s Japanese anime. By time she became a Stiletto, everyone was so used to it, it would have been odd for her to wear anything else. She too was pretty with brunette hair and blonde streaks. She wore glasses but Shelby forced her to go to contacts that year. She was slightly shorter than the rest, yet taller than Taylor. She was also a bit chunkier than the other girls but it didn’t take away from her looks in the slightest.

To be a member of this clique, looks were not enough. You had to be beyond good looking if you were going to walk with this privileged collection of goddesses, and you better have the money, the heels, and social standing to go with it.

Hannah didn’t care she was considered an Eastie by the Stilettos or the Clubbers. She was happy with who she was. Designer labels and loads of makeup didn’t make you prettier in her mind. Hannah never bothered with makeup; why spend hours in front of a mirror trying to become something she wasn’t. She tried it once when she was twelve to impress her friend Haylee’s older cousin, Nick. She applied false eyelashes and blue eye shadow, complete with bright red lipstick. She thought things were going well, until Nick asked her how much she charged. Hannah was as embarrassed as any preteen girl could ever be. Makeup became a thing of her past after that day.

Purchase Forever ME and Tom's other fine books on his Amazon page, the place to go for all your Amo needs.


                                                                    

Follow Tom on Facebook and Goodreads

Remember the name:
Forever ME
A novel by Thomas Amo

And now we return you to our regularly scheduled blog...

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Smorgasblog

Another Easter down and The Ten Commandments (AKA Moses! Moses! Moses!) remains the undisputed champion of this particular holiday films. Time to throw some contenders Cecil B.'s way for next year, don't you think? There are other Biblical blockbusters to choose from such as King of Kings or Passion of the Christ. But since the former is stodgy w/o the Hoot factor of Commandments and the latter being, pardon the expression, rough trade, epics of this nature don't really sustain as perennials.

Therefore, we have to go to the original scwewy wabbit himself, The Easter Bunny.      

First off, forget HOP which is forever tainted with whatever diseases Russell Brand left behind in the voice studio after lending his inconsiderable talents to this awful Peep of animation.
Instead, I would suggest the following:
NIGHT OF THE LEPUS...Giant mutant rabbits attack the Southwest. Need I say more?
DONNIE DARKO...the overrated kult klassic (intentional k, like krab)
or perhaps STAR 80.

Casting News: Ashton Kutcher has signed to play Steve Jobs in a new biopic. Jane Fonda has been cast as Nancy Reagan in Lee Daniels' followup to PRECIOUS. Next come the locust.

Attention Comcast, Fios, Dish and Direct TV: I would pay good money for a pop-up blocker for my TV. No more logos, promos, Twitter feeds or anything other than the content for which I am paying. I'd also block Alec Baldwin who pops up just about everywhere.

I've decided to not pay decent money to see Titanic in 3D at my local cineplex. Instead, I'll watch it at home while my wife stands behind the TV and throws ice cubes at me. Then I'll go drop a necklace in the toilet.

RED ASPHALT has finally lifted off the ground. I'm proud to announce that my novel is having its best year ever, climbing ever so high in the Amazon sale ranks for the very first time. However, one has to take the bad with the good, the bitter with the sweet, the fertilizer with the flowers:

Amazon customer Rebecca S. Stahl of Fort Worth, Texas has decided to weigh in . Here's what she thinks of  RED ASPHALT:

I cannot believe that this has received so many good reviews. I am 16% of the way through and I keep hoping that something will happen. The tediousness of the narrative is boring and the constant switch from imaginings to his real life are inane. I will try to keep plodding through this, but so far it is really bad.

I'll bet she's an Ashton Kutcher fan.

Enough of my inane bullshit. Los Angeles theatre critic Jason Rohrer has a brilliant column on the stage of the stage today. His spot-on observations could be applied to any facet of the arts scene today, but in this case, well, the title says it all: WHY THEATRE SUCKS

http://losangeles.bitter-lemons.com/2012/04/08/why-theater-sucks


Thursday, November 17, 2011

The Cinema of My Mind's Eye

On the occasion of the publication of the Special Edition of In the Dark: A Life and Times in a Movie Theater, I offer the following, a piece that says a lot about me and the inner workings of my cinematic mind.

Most people have a memory bank. Some unfortunate souls, merely a savings and loan. But me, I have something entirely different sitting inside of my skull and that would be a movie theater.

It’s certainly not one of those generic multiplexes that are so prevalent, they have become the standard of how we view film in today’s world. They aren’t theaters so much that they are just screening rooms, stacked together like so many shoeboxes. What kind of nostalgic memories will those conjure up for future generations? You might as well get all warm and fuzzy for a parking garage.

Not for me.

My internal cinema is an ornate structure from an era before my very own, a time when attending the movies was so special, they were shown in a palace. The huge marquee out front, over lighted in all of its bombastic neon glory announces the current attraction in typical Hollywood hyperbolic fashion. The art deco lobby is trimmed all in gold, including the staircase to the fabled and forbidden Loge section where the really good seats are. The concession stand is not ostentatious, almost a footnote rather than the lobby’s primary focus. It sells treats that can only be purchased in a movie theater like Raisinettes and ice cream Bon Bons.

Inside the slightly darkened auditorium, the air is always cool, no matter what the time of year. Illuminated by black lights on each wall are identical day-glo murals of a wild white stallion in full gallop, ridden by who appears to be the Greek goddess Athena, flying back to Mount Olympus after an all-nighter at Bacchus’ place. The intermission music, set at an appropriately low volume, contains classic motion picture soundtrack music by such composers as Max Steiner, Dmitri Tiomkin and Miklos Rozsa. The massively wide screen is draped over by a majestic burgundy colored velvet curtain.

While the seating capacity of the auditorium can easily accommodate several hundred, there is always an audience of just one. That would be me, sitting smack dab in the middle with my feet up on the seats in front of me, thank you very much. I’ve got the place all to myself ‘cuz that’s the way, uh-huh, uh-huh, I like it.

Now playing in the Cinema of My Mind’s Eye are not only recollections of what I’ve seen on the Silver Screen in my lifetime, but also the life and time I’ve spent doing so. As the years pass, so goes the memory, yet I still retain near-total recall of my tenure as a movie patron. Give me a title. I can tell you if/where/when I saw it, who (if anyone) I was with and how I was feeling at the time. “Going to the show”, as we used to call it, was a very special time for me. It formed the nucleus of this passion I have for an art form that has enriched my spirit and consistently given me great joy over the years.

This passion in question has manifested itself into an obsession to be sure. It’s harmless, but not entirely healthy either. Maybe the hermit-like existence I’ve spent at the movies has been instrumental in the creation of the oddball I am today, one whose quirks, phobias and eccentricities can be easily traced back to way too much time spent in a celluloid trance and not nearly enough human interaction.

My belief system is cockeyed as well to be sure. Film, after all, is my religion and a theater is my church. For me, attending a film is not unlike attending Mass, except with Coming Attractions. (Your theological debate begins here) With very few exceptions, I prefer to fly solo in my own particular pew so I may worship in peace. If I had my druthers, I would actually watch movies Elvis Presley style. Big E would rent out a theater after hours for private showings and insist that any guest he invited act accordingly. Keep your yap shut. I’m tryin’ to watch a movie here. You don’t like it? Lump it, Jack. Hit the road and don’t step on my blue suede shoes.

You could say that mine has been a life of too much viewing and not enough doing. If that’s a crime, it’s victimless because the only person that could possibly have been hurt is yours truly. If I’ve wasted my time on Earth by going to the picture show, at least I’ve been entertained in the process.

As far as the theater inside my brainpan, I guess, for lack of a better term, you could call it my Happy Place. (Normally, I would send anyone using that particular phrase to a Sad Place by way of the back of my hand. But, I’m unable to perform that task upon myself. The angle is all wrong.) Safe Haven might be more apropos, but doesn’t that sound more like a halfway house? How about Sanctuary? How about who cares? Whatever name or label you want to slap on it means nothing to me. All I know is that when I am there, I find solace.

I am one of those who Norma Desmond referred to in Sunset Boulevard as “one of the wonderful little people in the dark”. In that darkness, I have found enlightenment. Sure, I know it comes from the lamp of a motion picture projector, but it would be unfair to call it artificial. How is that possible when that light can recreate dreams? My dreams. My past. My present. My future.

As I close my eyes, I open my mind into the theater inside of my head. I sit listening to the final moments of Ernest Gold’s “Theme from Exodus” and I smile at Athena’s ascension to the heavens. The lights begin to fade and the curtain starts to rise. Suddenly, I am basking in the glow of the illuminated screen. It is then that I realize that the world-THIS world-is mine, all mine.

Copyright 2011 by Scott Cherney


Sunday, May 04, 2008

Peeing in the Sand

Portrait of the author at work.

How many blogs must a blogger post

Before they can call you a blogger?

The answer, my friend, is peeing in the sand.

The answer is peeing in the sand.

Yessiree-bob, another analogy to blogging.



The other one had to do with that tree falling in the forest. I'm actually beginning to think it relates to self-publishing my book. Is it making a sound? Is the tide erasing any evidence of it? Are my feet getting wet?

Enough of this shilly-shally. I've got an announcement to make:



At long last, my book, RED ASPHALT is available for sale on the one and only Amazon.com. Those of you holding out for the legitimacy of said goliath conglomerate carrying my first novel can now purchase it from a company with which you feel comfortable. (click on the title of this here blog or I'll bop you with this here lollipop) Everyone else can go to the source, Lulu.com for a copy or to be able to download it for a fraction of the cost. That, of course, is:
http://www.lulu.com/content/1885435

As for the photo above. Well, kids, the year would be maybe 1958. The location is Capitola, California which is just down the road from Santa Cruz. Those of you who have enjoyed sun-bathing on that beach over the years have probably laid your heads right where I was taking a leak.

So much has happened this year as I've been trying like hell to promote this book. I feel like the world's been passing me by.The writers' strike, the Oscars, the end of THE WIRE, Bryan Cranston in BREAKING BAD, the passing of Jules Dassin, Charlton Heston and Richard Widmark-all without a peep outta me...and don't think that didn't hurt. So the next few entries are getting away from RED ASPHALT primarily and back to the business known as show.

In the meantime, here's a YouTube link to something I appeared in back in the early 90s, filmed at Pollardville Ghost Town
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=263wvXvQBow

Thanks to Randy Mann for sharing this with me. It makes me miss the Ville all over again.