The Director's Cut
Welcome to a new month!
June is busting out all over, as the old song says, and I feel like busting out in song, too. Why? Because I’m so excited about the release of my new Revell novel, The Director’s Cut (book three in the Backstage Pass series). It’s such a fun story. I think I’m partial to this one because it’s about a sitcom director. For those who don’t know, I direct musical comedies at a local Christian theater. I patterned Tia Morales’s directing woes after several of my own real-life ones!
With that in mind, I’d like to introduce you to my theme for the month of June. For the next four weeks I’m going to be sharing what I plan to call “Tales from the Director’s Chair.” Each post will share one real-life story from my directing experience. I will tie that tale to something in The Director’s Cut.
The Director's Cut
I’m going to start with the first story that came to mind as I pondered my history as a director. Back in the late ’90s I directed a musical titled Anchors Away, a ’40s swing extravaganza about Noah and the ark. What a great cast and crew we had. The performances came off without a hitch. Well, most of them. During the last show, something went strangely awry. My cast members decided to play a few pranks on one another. From my seat in the audience, I barely noticed the first one. The second was a little more obvious. And the third. And the fourth. By the time the show ended, I wanted to hide under my chair. Those little goobers! They’d almost ruined the show with their crazy antics. Thank goodness the audience members didn’t seem to mind. (The director sure did! I gave them a piece of my mind!)
How does this relate to The Director’s Cut? Tia Morales, my heroine, is a control freak. When she sits in her director’s chair on the Stars Collide set, everyone jumps to attention and does what she says. Outside the walls of the studio, however, things are quite different! She has very little control–over her family, her love life, her home renovation, and so on. In the same way that I had to learn how to let go that day in the theater, Tia has to learn to release the things she can’t control back over to the Lord.
Check out Tia’s story, and stick with my blog for the month of June to read lots of funny director’s tales. At the end of the month I’m going to announce a huge contest that involves winning a mirror ball trophy! (Yes, there’s a direct tie to Dancing with the Stars, folks!) In the meantime, happy reading!
From the Back Cover
Tia Morales is used to calling the shots. She’s the director of the popular sitcom Stars Collide, and her life on the set is calculated and orderly. Well, most of the time. Life outside the studio is another matter. If only she could get other people to behave as well as her stars do! When she starts to have feelings for handsome cameraman Jason Harris–with whom she’s been butting heads for months–it’s enough to send a girl over the edge. Will she ever learn to let go and take life–and love–as it comes?Full of the humor and crazy family dynamics Janice Thompson fans have come to love, this colorful story gives you an inside look at Hollywood and a healthy dose of romance.
Praise for the Backstage Pass Series
“Thompson writes an enjoyable story.”–RT Book Reviews
“Upbeat and engaging.”–RelzReviews.com
“An entertaining story that will have you hungry for more!”–FiveStarBooksandMore.blogspot.com
“This fun entry in Thompson’s comic Hollywood series features humor, romance, and breezy dialog.”–Library Journal
“An eclectic mix of the sort of zany characters Thompson is known for . . . A series of lively comedic events make for a contemporary low-key inspirational romance.”–Booklist
“A read that won’t easily be put down.”–Midwest Book Review
