"Kenny's Looking Good"...Amber Said

I love seeing people succeed after a lot of hard work and perseverance. It reminds me that someone can actually see their dreams realized, see their wishes come true.

Years ago I met author Ramon Terrell at Salt Lake's FanX comics convention. Not only is he an accomplished writer, he's also an actor, working hard to write, act, and do his day job. I follow Ramon on social media. Leading up to this season's Christmas movies, Ramon announced he had a part in Hallmark's upcoming movie, A Family Christmas Gift. Of course, I was excited for him and the opportunity. 

Then I watched the film.

And boy, Ramon didn't have just a ten-second scene with a couple of lines. He had a much bigger part. How big? There's the two leads--the romantic couple that will end up together, there's the big star Patti LaBelle, then there's Ramon and all the other co-stars. 

As for the movie, it was good, predictable (as most Hallmark Christmas movies are...), but good. What I enjoyed most is watching a person I know find success in something he absolutely loves to do, and is good doing. Yes, he's finding success as an author and I love seeing people succeed in that, too. But, reading his posts, knowing all the hard work he's put in, it's satisfying to see all that work pay off.

Early in the film, the main character, Amber, played by Holly Robinson Peete, said after Kenny--Ramon's character--takes her luggage into the house, "Kenny's looking good."

She couldn't have been more right.

Being In Front Of The Camera...

A few weeks back I was interviewed. There was a camera, a director, and some instructions given. The authors at Bard's Tower, during the 2017 edition of Salt Lake Comic Con FanX, were asked to give writing advise to the masses. Last week one of the authors found his interview on YouTube and posted the link on Facebook. After a short search, I found my video among the others and brought it up.

You know that feeling you get when you hear your voice come out of a tape recorder? Or, for those who don't know what a tape recorder is, your voice coming from a video off your phone? It feels weird, strange, not your own. And when you add the miracle of moving pictures, that strange feeling can be compounded.

So, I pulled up my video and watched it--it's what you do when someone went to all that trouble. What did I think of my performance? Let's just say you can tell being in front of a camera is something I'm not prone to do.

I thought, because I've dabbled on stage for the past twenty years, that I might do better in front of a camera, but it is what it is. You can check out my video: HERE.

Another author at Bard's Tower was Ramón Terrell, a great guy who happens to be a trained actor as well as a gifted storyteller. Now, he looks like he feels right at home in front of a camera. You can check out his video: HERE. I mean, just look at the guy. 

I suppose being in front of a camera is like writing or singing or pretty much anything you do...the more you do it, hopefully the better you'll get. You can check out all the videos from all the amazing authors: HERE. Better yet, subscribe to the Writing Tips: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Genre Fiction YouTube channel. There's some great advice, even if we are (mostly) not as good in front of a camera as we are creating stories.