This Book Should Be a Movie

Over the weekend I devoured a fascinating book called Pay the Piper, Dancer by Pamela Jaye Smith. It’s uncanny how much I could SEE and FEEL both of the main characters, Billy and Felice, two strangers who share an evening of extraordinary connection despite the difference in their ages. I even have actors picked out to play these walking-wounded souls on screen.

Chris Hemsworth is too old for Billy, so Timothée Chalamet will just have to dye his hair. You might think Chalamet doesn’t look right for the part of a young mixed-up stud from Texas, but he can be quite strong as well as soft, as he demonstrates in The King. Plus, he can make his fantastic voice do anything! And versatile Annette Bening would be great as Felice, a middle-aged woman in crisis. Playing this challenging role could finally win her an Oscar.  

I’m not surprised at enjoying Pay the Piper, Dancer so much because I also admire the author’s terrific Romantic Comedies: These Films Can Save Your Love Life. But I digress. Back to Pay the Piper, Dancer – which motivated me to write the rave review poem below.   

“Pay the Piper, Dancer” describes

two strangers who bare their sad lives.

One is young, and the other not.

They meet one night in quite a spot.

Deep secrets revealed by each one

keep us entranced until it’s done.

Author keeps readers in suspense

concerning why this all makes sense.

Both characters we feel and see

as they discuss their history.

Beating with life and soul and heart,

this book grabs you right from the start.

Pay the Piper, Dancer, published by Pallas Press, is available in paperback and e-book on Amazon.com.

For more information about Pamela Jaye Smith, go to www.pamelajayesmith.com/

Film Review by Pamela Jaye Smith

Thanks to Pamela Jaye Smith, author of ROMANTIC COMEDIES: These Films Can Save Your Love Life, for the following review of the short film Cake: A Love Story.   

Want to watch a dramatic yet heart-warming romance? In Cake: A Love Story, Harry and Elizabeth are tentatively reuniting twenty years after their divorce after a twenty year marriage. The passing of years has brought their young idealism back to the fore -- and those early fires of attraction? They’re still there! It’s advance, retreat… advance, retreat… until both dare to cross the chasm of years on the bridge of forgiveness. Elizabeth and Harry renew their promises with new-found wisdom and the joyful realization that romantic miracles can happen at any age.

Ah…the one that got away. Most of us have regrets about the romantic past and desires for a do-over in love. When Elizabeth and Harry meet up again, we watch them go through those awkward first moments when dancing around the old feelings, testing the waters to see if they’re still even warm, and the glorious discovery that the fires – no matter how many years have gone by – are still hot. Given the past heartache, will both of them dare to try again? Cake: A Love Story is an encouraging film and an inspiration to those who still yearn after many years for that special Love that got away.

This short romantic film embodies the criteria for classic love stories in its Idealism -- former spouses still holding the youthful images of each other from the Summer of Love; Joy -- realizing that even a simple touch re-opens the gates of fond memories; Integrity -- treating each other with respect regardless of the differences behind their divorce twenty years ago; and Passion -- without that, it’s just friendship. With Passion, it is the cosmos in a kiss. So should you get together with your Ex? Cake: A Love Story shows how well that can work.

Remember the Day

I am so happy that Misha Zubarev gave me permission to debut “Remember the Day” on our Movie Addict Headquarters Valentine’s Day show!  This original song is from the upcoming film Cake: A Love Story, which is based on It Had To Be Us, the award-winning romantic memoir my husband and I co-wrote under the pen names of Harry and Elizabeth Lawrence. 

Misha, co-writer/co-director (with Vera Zubarev) of the film, also wrote the lyrics and composed the music. Actor Richard Vernon performs the song. He portrays a man who reunites with his true love after being estranged from her for almost twenty years. The scene that includes the song showcases a regular guy with a guitar singing his heart out about life and love. It’s a perfect song for this movie!

Pamela Jaye Smith, our special Valentine’s Day guest, who talks about her wonderful book Romantic Comedies during this episode, calls the song and performance “very touching.” And I agree with her.

Listen to “Remember the Day” and to Pamela Jaye Smith anytime by clicking on the link below.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/movieaddictheadquarters/2017/02/14/how-romantic-comedies-can-save-your-love-life