Announcing a new project: videos!

 

copyright 2014 Late Bloomer Video

See my books: www.JanelleMerazHooper.com

 

This is the logo I designed for my new projects: videos! What fun I'm having! It all started when I began making frame-based book trailers that I posted on YouTube (search: Janelle Meraz Hooper). I love my YouTube! Now, I'm branching out into using more film that I'm taking with a little Cannon camera that has a video function. I am a late bloomer, so all of my equipment is small and easy to work with. I hand-picked it at Glazer's Camera (430 8th Ave. North, Seattle- Ph: 206-624-1100). My husband and I have relied upon them for years. Now that I am in my senior years and not as strong as I once was, they are still providing all of my camera needs.

 

For this stage of my photography life, I've purchased two lightweight tripods and two battery-operated video lights. I think it will be a while before I advance to more complicated equipment. But I'm not positive. I have a friend who is also a senior, Dorothy Wilhelm, who has just acquired a Logitech 920! What is she going to do with that?! I can't wait to find out! Brad Pitt, look out!

 

So, are we having fun yet? I think so! Of course, I am still writing my books and short stories...and more: I have a one-man show opening in Tucson this spring titled Geronimo, Life on the Reservation. It stars Rudy Ramos, a star of The High Chaparral TV show. It premieres on March 22nd, 2014 and will travel to a town near you. Don't miss it! I'll be writing more about it as we go along.

 

I'll also be blogging more again. I got a little wrapped up in the Geronimo show, but I've missed you. I have another blog (JanelleMerazHooperAuthor.com) but it's format doesn't leave room for me to just chat with you. Am I am a big talker! All of the women in my family were talkers. How I miss them. My grandmother, mother, and her sisters were the inspiration for my Turtle Trilogy ( Amazon and others).

 

What's new:

In music: Daryl's House, on YouTube. Check it out. The music and concept of visiting musicians getting together to play in a relaxed setting blows me away. Check it out!

Dan Mangan, Nice, Nice, Very Nice-also on YouTube but I also purchased the CD.

Bread, The Best of Bread on YouTube, but I also purchased the Cd.

 

On my Kindle: I have been researching historical romances and they have become a passion. The settings, clothing, and vocabulary have enchanted me. My new favorite word is besotted--as in, "He was besotted with the woman". What a great word! Has a man ever been besotted with me? I'm sure not! DRAT! I guess, at almost 70, it's too late now! Ha!

There are too many titles to mention, but if you want to try one out, look for novelists like Sherry Thomas (Start with Delicious!), Tessa Dare (you might try Goddess of the Hunt), Carole Mortimer (the St. Claire series)...

 

Pinterest: This site confounds me. Just when I think I understand it, I get lost again. I have been building my site--off and on--for weeks now. I'm sure you'll do better than I. I am a certified, card-carrying tech-idiot.

 

WorldReader: this organization loads up Kindles with books and distributes them to children in third world countries. I am pleased and honored to have three of my books chosen. More are on their way, I hope! I wish I knew what children think of my books about Native American Indians! Oklahoma! and my Hispanic family!

 

Oh! I am out of time. This blog is over 5 times longer than my normal blogs. I would like to thank my readers for sticking with me. I really have missed you! Please come back soon!

 

See my books:

www.JanelleMerazHooper.com

 

 



 

 

 

Got Kindle (et al) for Christmas? Get Custer! Paperback too!

 

Here's a good read for readers  who need a break from Christmas. Paperback and Kindle (et al).

Custer and His Naked Ladies, an excerpt

Janelle Meraz Hooper

www.JanelleMerazHooper.com

 

Newly divorced, Glory’s biological clock is pounding like a powwow drum. She heads back home to Oklahoma, where she meets Soap, a sexy Comanche lawyer who wants to do something about that powwow drum pounding in her head…

 

1.      Dumped 

     Glory was on her way to join her husband on a NOAA research vessel when she tried to call him to say she was running late. That was when she discovered he wasn’t on the ship; without telling her, he’d pulled out of the offshore project days before. With that failed phone call, all of her recent, uncomfortable inklings fell into place. Her marriage was over. He just hadn’t gotten around to telling her yet.

That was how she ended up at Sea-Tac Airport, halfway between Seattle and Tacoma, with her hair in braids, wearing a pink Where’s the Powwow? sweatshirt. She carried only her wallet, a camera, and a faded blue gym bag. The bag was filled with the same kinds of clothes she was wearing, a few books, and a photo of her husband. The photo—frame and all—she chucked into a trash barrel outside the airport. She would have liked to toss it out of the airplane, but she was pretty sure it would make the stewards cranky if she opened the emergency exit at 35,000 feet.   

            Her original destination, the research vessel, was scheduled to drop anchor over the undersea volcanoes off the coast of Washington State. The scientists on the ship were to study the marine life that thrived in the hot water that spewed out of the craters.

            After the research trip, she and her husband, Rick, were to take a much-needed vacation to Mexico and reconnect. They hadn’t had any identifiable problems, but her husband had been moody and refused to talk about it. Glory had hoped he would open up after a few days rest on a hot sandy beach with a Margarita in his hand. Rick hadn’t been in favor of the vacation, but Glory had insisted. Finally, he had thrown up his hands and given up.

Before the research trip, he had convinced her to put all of their things in storage because they didn’t know if they’d be back in Seattle when the project was over. There was no use, he’d said, in paying rent while they were gone.

It made sense.

Sort of.  

But why hadn’t she been suspicious when he’d insisted on putting all of his things into separate marked boxes? How dumb was she? The dirty rat! And what would she have done on the research ship without him for three weeks? Her specialty was in freshwater turtles; there would be no real work for her there. No paycheck. He was the specialist in coastal underwater volcanoes. He belonged there. She would have been nothing more than a guest with no way off the boat. Her cheeks burned at the embarrassment she felt. What was he thinking?

Her new destination was her mother’s in Oklahoma. Getting a last minute ticket was expensive, and Glory was thankful for her credit cards. No one ever went to Oklahoma unless they had to, and airline tickets to the Sooner State were never a bargain. Glory handed the woman at the check-in counter her credit card and mumbled a quote from a rich friend, “All it takes is money.” The woman briefly looked up, then, expressionless, continued adding up the full fare charges on her keyboard.

On her way to the airplane boarding area, over and over, Glory thought, this isn’t the way normal, educated people get divorced.

I’ve been dumped!

With no explanation.

No discussion.

www.JanelleMerazHooper.com

Facebook, Twitter (@JanelleMHooper)

 





Kickstarter fully funded! Geronimo, Life on the Reservation

                                                          Copyright 2011 art by Sherri Bails

 

 

I promised Rudy I'd thank you all for your Kickstarter pledges. I'll keep you posted here about his latest news. You did hear that Steve Railsback will be directing, didn't you?

 

Rudy is mapping out theatres all over the Southwest for his show. Of course, March 22nd, 2014, will be the premiere at the High Chaparral Reunion in Tucson! Rudy's website for his Geronimo show is: http://www.geronimolifeonthereservation.com/ 

 

 Years ago, John Wayne told my husband that he was tired but if he retired, all of his film family would be out of work. I think of that conversation when I see how much work this show is generating even though it is billed as a one-man show.

 

The next time you watch a movie, try to count how many worked on the production on the end credits. Read the jobs. Everything from actors to caterers. Whatever you paid for that movie, whether it is on cable, Netflix, or in a theatre, the economy got a big bang for your buck!

 

Well, I got sidetracked. I can do that. I'm a writer. but I'll quit now because you may have your own work to do!

 

Thanks again for helping Rudy! Janelle

 

www.JanelleMerazHooper.com



www.Amazon.com/author/JanelleHooper





Invest now in Kickstarter for Geronimo, Life on the Reservation (A Historical Fantasy)

 

5 days to go! Act now!

(Ends October 8th, 2013)

Kickstarter link:

http://t.co/UYk5cMKd7d

 Dear friends, I have written a one-man show for Rudy Ramos* that is very special to me. It is about Geronimo’s life on the reservation and  I consider it to be my valentine to the Apache people. So far, Rudy has had a reading of the first scene at the 2013 High Chaparral Reunion and the 2013 Memphis Film Festival. It was rewarded with standing ovations! The whole show premieres March 22, 2014, at the High Chaparral Reunion.

 

This is the last week of the Kickstarter project. Please consider pledging any amount from a dollar up and visit the site to see available prizes. With Kickstarter, no money will change hands—and no prizes will be awarded—if the goal isn’t met.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Janelle*

* Rudy Ramos, bio:
The acting career of Rudy Ramos has covered six decades and started with an appearance on the television show, “Ironside” in 1969. Six months later he was cast as a series regular, playing the part of Wind the volatile half-breed Indian boy in the legendary television western “High Chaparral.” Since then he has done over sixty guest shots on episodic television including recurring roles on the hit TV show, “Hunter” in 1987-88 and “Resurrection Boulevard” in 2002-2003.

Mr. Ramos has done numerous movies for television including the ground breaking Helter Skelter (100 million viewers over two nights) playing the part of Danny DeCarlo, Everybody’s Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure and Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman: The Movie as the villainous Captain Ruiz.

Feature film credits include The Enforcer with Clint Eastwood, Walter Hill’s cult classic The Driver with Ryan Oneal and Academy Award nominee French actress Isabelle Adjani, Defiance with Jan-Michael Vincent and Art Carney, Quicksilver with Kevin Bacon and Laurence Fishburne, Colors with Sean Penn and Robert Duvall and the 2001 sleeper Road Dogz directed by the up and coming talent Alfredo Ramos to name a few.

The stage has been a big part of Mr. Ramos’ life with appearances in the Los Angeles area at the Mark Taper Forum, Taper Too, The Met, Matrix Theater, Los Angeles Theatre Center, and Nosotros Theatre. He also was a member of the Los Angeles Actors Theatre and performed in the award winning hit show Shorteyes by Miguel Pinero playing the part of Cupcakes. The ensemble won the 1977 Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for Best Ensemble.

 *Books by Janelle Meraz Hooper:

       A Three-Turtle Summer ( novel, 1^st in my Turtle Trilogy, one award)
      As Brown As I Want: The Indianhead Diaries ( novel, 2^nd in my Turtle Trilogy, two awards)
      Custer and His Naked Ladies ( novel, 3^rd in my Turtle Trilogy)
      The Slum Resort (novella, 2013 honorable mention in the Great Northwest Book Festival)
      Bears in the Hibiscus (novel, romance)
      Boogie, Boots & Cherry Pie (novel, romance)
      There’s a Mouse in the House! (Title poem voted one of the best poems by iPad for children 2-6 on YouTube)
      Free Pecan Pies and Other Chick Stories (mixed genre)
      Old Joe and His Pink Cadillac (Kindle Short)
      Surviving Arthritis, How to Live on a Rocky Beach (Kindle Article)

All of these books and articles have at least one YouTube trailer.

     

www.JanelleMerazHooper.com





www.Amazon.com/author/JanelleHooper 

 

 

 

 

Announcing a new Kickstarter prize for Geronimo, Life on the Reservation (A Historical Fantasy)!

Eleven days to go in the Kickstarter campaign for

Geronimo, Life on the Reservation
(A Historical Fantasy)!

Rudy's one-man show premieres in Tucson, Arizona at the
Casino Del Sol in March 2014.

 

Just for kicks, I'm throwing in a new prize for anyone pledging $25.00! It's an autographed book of the third book in my Turtle Trilogy, Custer and His Naked Ladies.

 

 

Pledge now! Limited offer!

 

http://t.co/UYk5cMKd7d 

 

Sometimes, Custer is just an ole yeller dog, and Naked Ladies are just old women in Capri pants...

 

Custer and His Naked Ladies

 Janelle Meraz Hooper

  When her husband unexpectedly dumps her, Glory boards an Oklahoma-bound plane at the Sea-Tac Airport. She has wasted too many years on the wrong man, and her biological clock is beginning to pound like a powwow drum.

    Her biggest problem of all may be Soap, a sexy Comanche lawyer who wants to do something about that powwow drum pounding in her head…

  Sprinkled with Spanish phrases and Comanche words, Custer and His Naked Ladies is full of Southwest flavor. iUniverse, 206 pages, paperback. $15.95 USD, Kindle, $2.99 USD. Set in Oklahoma.

 www.Amazon.com/author/JanelleHooper

 

note: prizes will only be awarded if the show is fully funded. No money will change hands if the show's funding doesn't meet its goal.

 

 

 



Kickstarter! Geronimo, Life on the Reservation (A Historical Fantasy), Rudy Ramos

Rudy Ramos

 



Kickstarter Page link:

 

Geronimo, Life on the Reservation KickStarter link
Funding period: September 7, 2013-October 8, 2013

 

Website page link:

 

 http://www.geronimolifeonthereservation.com/

Geronimo, Life on the Reservation (A Historical Fantasy)

Starring Rudy Ramos

written by Janelle Meraz Hooper

 

 

About the show...

 

A historical fantasy of Geronimo’s life on the reservation after his surrender that focuses on the resiliency and humor of the great Apache Indian leader.

Geronimo chats with his visitors using a stolen laptop to introduce humor and lighten the emotional load on his audience. Recalling a history of strife, betrayal, and battle, he says, “…I had to steal the laptop because the white men will never tell the whole story about the Apaches. They control everything that's said about us in newspapers and books. Even the maps are slanted toward the whites. Look and you'll see they're dotted with each place we fought the white soldiers. Look closely. You'll see that if the soldiers won, it was a battle. If we won, it was a massacre…”

In this presentation, Geronimo cleverly evolves from a surrendered Indian leader into a successful entrepreneur. He participates in wild west shows, the Chicago World Fair, and others. Keenly aware of how to work the political system, he joins the same church that Teddy Roosevelt belongs to and rides in his Inaugural Parade. Although he isn’t successful in getting everything he wants, he certainly succeeds in making the best of his situation.

Beaten? Geronimo was never beaten. He simply adapted to his present circumstances and met the white man on a new battleground.