Tuesday 24 March 2020

ENTERTAINMENT FOR STAYING AT HOME

Right now our lives might seem like they resemble scenes from a dystopian novel. We're confined to our homes, either alone or with loved ones, looking for ways to occupy these long hours. So, if you can tear yourself away from the endless streams of newsfeed and the worry about what might happen in the days ahead, let your mind escape to something more stimulating.
Here's a list of books, movies and TV shows that might help:

BOOKS

Thrillers
You can't go wrong with Irish writer, Tana French.




  • THE LIKENESS: Cassie Maddox has transferred out of the Dublin undercover squad. Months later she's summoned to a murder scene. The victim is her double and bears the identity of Cassie's last undercover alias. Cassie is forced back undercover to find the killer.

  • THE TRESPASSER: Tough no-nonsense cop Antoinette Conway has clawed her wayup the ladder against all odds and despite constant harassment, but when a pretty, blonde murder victim turns up and Antoinette feels like she and her partner are being forced to arrest the boyfriend, she senses that a cover-up is in the works. Is police corruption playing a part?
Or Ruth Ware:


  • THE TURN OF THE KEY: When Rowan Caine finds an ad for a well-paid nanny in the Scottish Highlands, she jumps at the chance to work at the luxurious smart-home. She doesn't realize it will end up with a child dead and her in prison. Writing from the prison cell, Rowan tells exactly how she got to this terrible place. A real nail-biter and a fast read full of twists and turns. 
Or Kate Atkinson:


  • TRANSCRIPTION: In 1940 eighteen year old Juliet Conway is reluctantly enlisted into the Secret Service, to help with the wartime effort of rooting out Fascists and Nazi sympathizers. Though at first the work is tedious and routine, Juliet becomes more embroiled in dangerous undercover operations. After the war she takes up work with the BBC, assuming that chapter of her life is over, but when figures from her past begin to appear she realizes she may have made more enemies than she realizes.
 MOVIES
Here's a list of movies to check out on Netflix:


  •  THUNDER ROAD: with a 96% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, writer-director-lead actor, Jim Cummings presents a tour de force with this story of Southern cop, Jim Arnaud, who  tries to raise his daughter as a love letter to his late Mom, while facing a personal breakdown as he deals with grief and the breakdown of his marriage. Hilarious and heartbreaking.

  • IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON: A Philadelphia cop struggles with a lifetime obsession to track down a serial killer whose crimes defy explanation. Compelling movie with a shocking sci-fi twist.

  • STARRED UP: starring Jim McConnell and the brilliant Ben Mendelsohn, this tough, gritty movie tells the story of tough guy, Eric Love, 19 who's locked up in prison. On his first day he assaults an inmate and several guards. He's sent to group therapy, but when his dad—an equally tough lifer in the same prison—steps into the picture, the tension ramps up. Can Eric be rehabilitated? (R rated movie).
SERIES:
  • THE CROWN: lush escapism about the royal family
  • RECTIFY: thoughtful drama about a wrongfully convicted murderer released to his home
  • ANIMAL KINGDOM: heists and hi-jinx among a California crime family.
  • DR. FOSTER: the great Suranne Jones stars as a middle class doctor with a cheating husband and revenge on her mind.
  • LINE OF DUTY: another great British cop series about a team of detectives tasked to root out police corruption.
  • LAST TANGO IN HALIFAX: after 50+ years apart, ex-teen sweethearts Celia and Alan decide to marry. Major family fallout follows. Starring the brilliant Derek Jacobi, Ann Reid and Sarah Lancashire.
BE A MOVIE STAR 
If you're sick of watching movies and TV series, then why not go to this website and star in one yourself:

https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/10-great-websites-download-movie-scripts/

Download movie scripts and do a table read with your family! It's fun and you could discover a star in your own family!! 



Also I've been offering some of my e-books for FREE on Amazon. Tomorrow CHASING A THRILL is free for three days. I'll follow that up with some others. Check out my Amazon page to see when.

"THE LONG CON": RESEARCHING THE NIGHT SIDE:

  Pre-writing: The   Research Stage When a new story idea is formulating in my head, the first thing I do is pick out a beautiful notebook, ...