LADIES AND GENTLEMEN ELVIS HAS LEFT THE EARTH.

Christal Cooper – 1,493 Words

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LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: 

ELVIS HAS LEFT THE EARTH

January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977

Sharon Carlson

Colorado Springs, Colorado

“I was devastated. I was down the street from my house walking home (I was living in Warner Robins, Georgia at the time).  I was walking in front of my next door neighbors house.  My friend Steve was walking down his driveway,  saw me & said "Sharon, did you hear the news"? I said no.  He just blurted it out "Elvis died today." Well I didn’t believe him.  He said, "It’s true Sharon."  I ran across my front yard, jumped on the porch, and flung open the door, expecting my mom to be in the kitchen, my brother Stephen in his room, and my dad out back in his garage; but when I pushed the door open they were all in the living room staring at the TV with a look on their faces of sheer shock. I just screamed, “NOOOO!!!”  I walked in slowly, turned around to face the TV and there was Elvis’s picture, with the date of his birth and the day of his death.  My whole family had tears in their eyes, and I just became inconsolable.  I saw all the hundreds of people gathered on Elvis Presley Blvd in front of his home, people crying, people fainting, the traffic... once I saw that I believed it, but yet I couldn’t.  My brother and I had tickets to see him in concert in Macon in October, just 6 weeks away.   It was going to be our first time to see him in person. I don’t remember how long I cried, but it was days. Even recalling it now I have tears in my eyes. His death affected me like nothing else in my life ever has (except of course the death of my youngest daughter).  

My brother took me to a "tribute to Elvis" concert at the Macon Coliseum that took the place of the real thing.  I’ll never forget that he did that for me as long as I live. In fact that is the sweetest thing Stephen ever did for me.  I was just 2 months shy of my 9th birthday when Elvis died, too young really to be such a hard core fan; however, because of Stephen’s influence, Elvis's music was all I was ever exposed too.”

Tracey Cates-Sinclair

Panama City Beach, Florida

“I remember it very well.  I was living in a hotel in Germany (had been stuck there for 6 weeks in between housing assignments with my father). My Dad played the guitar and I thought he sounded a lot like Elvis, so it seemed like a part of my Dad died when we heard it on the radio.”

Kate Hendrix

O’Fallon, Illinois

“I've never been a big fan of Elvis, but my ex-husband LOVES him.  He bought tickets for us to see Elvis in Macon in 1972, but then he couldn't go because of work, and I went with my younger sister instead.  Elvis was really good, put on a fine show.  In 1977, Elvis played in Macon again, and this time Jerry and I went -- sometime in June, I believe.  You could tell Elvis had aged a lot -- his singing, movements, and overall show were not nearly as good as just five years before.  So that's the background. 

In August 1977, I was living in Warner Robins, GA. It was a Saturday. I was a college student at the time, on summer break, so I was just relaxing, thinking about what to make for dinner.  Jerry was putting a new roof on our house, and his sister called to tell me that Elvis had died.  I was really surprised, since Elvis was relatively young.  But I calmly went outside and asked Jerry to come down because I needed to talk with him.  I knew that if he didn't come down first, Jerry might just fall off the roof at the news.  He finally did get off the roof, and I brought him into the living room, gave him a large glass of cold water, and told him the news.  He was devastated.  We waited for the news to come on -- we didn't have 24-hour news channels then.  Jerry watched everything possible on the television about Elvis' death, and for days that's all anyone talked about, it seemed.”

Belinda Hughes

Lake Charles, Louisiana

         “I still remember the headlines on the paper that day: The King Is Dead and I Can't Drive 55. My family was on vacation, taking me to visit Washington, DC for the first time and we had pulled up in my cousin's driveway so his mom, who was helping with the driving, could get in a visit. I went and picked up the paper and those were the only two headlines and they were huuuuge! Elvis had died and the truckers were blockading America's highways with a slow roll to protest the new federal speed limit. Interesting vacation.”

Rena Jones

Bigfork, Montana

“My mom took me to several Elvis concerts as a child in the 70s. One was in Los Angeles, but the others were in Las Vegas at the International Hilton. I had to have been under 10 years for all of the shows, but I remember them vividly. I can't even explain the feeling I got when "2001: A Space Odyssey" began ... it sent chills.

One time my mom tipped the maitre'd a hundred dollar bill and he sat us front row center. We were sitting with a bunch of Japanese girls and they tried to get me on the table to get up to Elvis. Being shy and the only kid there, I fought them off. I remember waiting through the entire show just for Elvis to sing "Fever". It was my favorite and the ladies went insane when he did his moves.

At one of the shows a woman went to the stage (they allowed this) and gave Elvis a kiss. As he let go of her hand, she had a grip on one of his massive diamond rings. He slipped it off and gave it to her.

I remember standing in the audience clapping and clapping for an encore. And then there was the famous, "Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building" announcement, followed by the lights coming on.

Another time I was walking around outside the hotel when a helicopter landed and I saw Elvis step off. I ran inside and told my family, but none of them believed I had just seen him.

I remember the day he died. I was at a friend's house and my mom called me in tears. I asked her to pick me up. Seeing those shows, usually on a spur-of-the-moment deal, are the best memories I have of my childhood.”

Douglas McDaniel

Sedona, Arizona

      “I was in a Mexican Food Restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona, about to go home after a day at the job. I was a busboy at a place called Macayo's.”

Mark Miner

Albany, Oregon

“When I was six I went to Hawaii with my aunt, to Honolulu, and one morning we went down and walked on the beach before she headed to work, we were the only ones, until a group of guys started walking towards us...we were a little frightened, until they got closer, then my aunt started acting weird. When they got to us, my aunt hugged the dark haired guy in the middle and introduced him to me as Elvis Presley...he was a nice guy.”

Glenn and Dawn Richard

Spokane, Washington

“I don't have a lot to share other than the fact that Glenn swears Elvis held him when he was a baby.    Don't know if that's true or not but Glenn was born in Memphis and I think his mother told him that story.  Sadly, the thing I remembered about Elvis' death was that I thought it was such a shame. He was saddled with the same tragic legacy that so many stars experience - a dependence on drugs - more than likely an attempt to cope with the pressures of living a very public life.”

Cindy Shelton

Winter Springs, Florida

“I was at work at BellSouth in Dyersburg, Tennessee and we all thought it was just a rumor.  I remember his last song, Moody Blues, had just been released!! A very sad day.”

Maverick Wilcox

Pontiac, Michigan

“I got to see "the king" in Pontiac at the Silver dome New Year’s Eve when I was about 12! Most awesome experience of my life!!!!”

Judi Williams

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

“I still am a fan of Elvis. I remember where I was when the news came that he had died. I lived in California at the time and was visiting in North Dakota. OH my goodness such a horrible shock.  I still love his music.  I was going to marry Elvis and then he met Priscilla.”

PHOTO DESCRIPTION AND COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

1.  Elvis in Jailhouse Rock 1957.  Public Domain.

2.  Sharon Carlson with pet kitty Bella.  Copyright by Sharon Carlson.

3.  Sharon Carlson and Stephen Talley, who passed away on April 13, 2012.  Copyright by Sharon Carlson.

4.  Sharon Carlson's Elvis Monopoly game. Copyright by Sharon Carlson.

5.  Elvis performing his 1968 Comeback Special on June 29, 1968.  Fair Use Under the U.S. Copyright   Law. 

6a. Kate Hendrix.  Copyright by Kate Hendrix

6.  Belinda Hughes.  Copyright by Belinda Hughes.

7.  Rena Jones.  Copyright by Rena Jones.

8.  Elvis meeting President Richard Nixon at the White House Oval Office on December 21, 1970.  Public Domain.

9.  Elvis performing his Aloha From Hawaii on January 14, 1973.  Fair Use Under the United States Copyright Law. 

10. Glenn and Dawn Richard.  Copyright by Glenn and Dawn Richard.

11. Daughter Jennifer (left) and Cindy Shelton (right).  Copyright by Cindy Shelton.

13. Elvis's last album to be released while alive, Moody  Blue jacket cover.

14. Elvis's resting place at Graceland's Meditation Garden.  Attributed by Daniel Shwer.  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported.

15. Child Bride by Suzanne Finstad jacket cover of Elvis and Prisclla on their wedding day. 

Artist Anicet Balli: "I Associate Art In Everything I Do."

Chris Cooper 1,271 Words

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Artist Anicet Balli:

“I Associate Art In Everything I Do.”

When self-taught artist Anicet Balli, 27, saw mannequins in his Bronx, New York neighborhood garbage dumpster his first inclination was to take the mannequins and try to sale them.

“My first idea was to pick them, fix them up and resell them to a local clothing store owner because they were still in good shape. But as I took them home and left them standing in the living room, I had a sudden thought to transform them into some artwork.  I bought acrylic paints and started drawing on them whatever I felt.”

He decided the first mannequin would represent fall, the season he was feeling at the time.  He painted one side of the mannequin in black to represent her shadow that she casts when the sun is brightly shining.  The other side he painted flowers, tree leaves, and seeds. He placed a lamp in her hand. 

“The one with the lamp around her face is the opposite of Medusa.  She represents the spring season, which has an intimate connection with light because it causes plants to grow and flourish.  I got inspired by Medusa and wanted to create a character that, instead of snakes for hair, grows light on her head.”

***

Balli, for as long as he can remember, always wanted to be an artist and has been creating art since he was a child.   
         “Since I was little I had great interest in drawing and crafting.  Even my handwriting has always drawn people’s attention.  I guess I was born with a hint of art within.  I always see art as a part of my nature or personality.  I associate art in whatever I do.  Basically, art comforts me and gives me an escape.  It’s also my way of seeing things that surround me.  As air has horror of emptiness, I have the horror of the plain nature of things.  Therefore, art allows me to give a vibe to things I find boring.”
                                                      ***

In August 2005, Balli, his sister, and his mother, who works for the United Nations, moved from their native Tonga, West Africa home to Bronx, New York.   Their first home in the Bronx was inhabited by a good number of Puerto-Ricans, West Indians, and Jamaicans, all of them middle class and friendly.  In 2009, he and his family moved to another neighborhood in the Bronx, Westchester Square, which is inhabited by Italians and the Irish, surrounded by pizza restaurants and small businesses franchising from different industries.

         “The feel in the neighborhood we live in now is more classic and quiet.  The people are nice and outspoken. My mother, sister, and I occupy the second floor of a family house.  The space is quite spacious for an affordable place in New York.  It’s composed of a living room and three small bedrooms.”

It is in the corner of this living room is Balli’s studio, which is very bare, with white walls and no other artwork hanging on the walls so as not to be influenced by any other artist; he wants the work to be all his.   It is here that he does his painting, handcrafting, mixing music, drawing, and writing short stories.

                                             ***

Sometimes he gets “art-blocked” – and he views this as more time to think of ideas and to focus on his surroundings. 

“I’m going through the art-blocked phase now.  Not that I don’t have ideas, but I am not impressed by the few ones that come to mind.  I still look for ideas that are as original as they can be.”

Balli sees ideas in everything from trees, to people, to buildings.  And his art form extends to the realm of photography, where he takes photographs with the city’s environment and its nature as his greatest props. 

  

         “My artistic spirit is very free.  Anything can inspire me.  I do not like to be stuck on the same theme when it comes to do art.  People inspire and so does nature.”

         Balli normally works at night, not necessarily because he is a night owl, but because it is the most quite time of the day; therefore, noise or nature doesn’t distract him.

         “I can focus totally on what I am doing.  No music, no beverage affects me at that moment.  While creating I usually get motivated by the joy of what I do. I want to be as genuine as possible through my work. To me that’s the spirit of true art. We don’t have a plant in the house, but there’s a park right around where I live and I can see through the windows trees on the sidewalk.  I anticipate the final result and I can’t wait to get to the point where I sit back and admire my work.”

His step-by-step process varies according to what art form or piece of art he is actually creating.  When he paints a canvas, he first sketches; applies the oil paint or acrylic paint.  If he is doing a painting based on a photograph, he prints the picture on paper, draws a grid on it with little squares, reproduces the grid at a certain scale on his canvas; reproduces the portrait on board; then adds details.  Depending on the art project, the time it take to complete depends; but normally he is able to finish a piece of art from one week to eight weeks, which is how long it took for him to complete the art on each mannequin.

         Perhaps the most difficult part of being an artist is to find the time.  Sam works as a janitor at a restaurant, volunteers at a Manhattan shelter, attends church, and is a full time college student majoring in information technology.  He also plans on pursing studies in mechanical engineering, so he can get opportunities to mix art and science together. 

         Balli dedicates his weekends to creating art and spending time with his friends, who often inspire him to artistic ventures.  One of those friends is Lyn Baily.

         “We just had this instant connection and ever since we remain great friends. No matter how opposite our culture is, we get along so well as if we grew up together. It is a friendship that is meant to be. She’s a wonderful person and I dedicated this painting to her.”

Perhaps the piece of art that represents his faith is the candle with Jesus’ face.  He got the idea when he visited his friend, who had a candle burning on his dining room table.  

         “And as the candle was burning, it looked like three people standing in a circle. That’s how I get inspired and I pulled out my camera and took a shot. Then on my computer I photo-shopped with my digital pen the face of Jesus and two other people standing at his side and forming a circle around a light. I made it look as if they were praying around a fire. It’s a very spiritual picture to me. In the new future, I am going to be working on similar projects.”

Balli holds the belief that every one is an artist to some degree because each person has his or her own opinions about the world, and things each individual deals with.  

“The difference between the artist and a regular person, as I see it, is that the artist materializes his/her opinion.  I overcome art-blocking by just freeing myself from the stress of having no ideas.  I just move on with life until something convincing strikes me.”

Email Anicet Balli at pilisamb@yahoo.com for more information.

KIRA SINCLAIR: WRITER FOR TODAY'S WOMAN

Christal Rice Cooper – 1,519 Words

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KIRA SINCLAIR:  WRITER FOR TODAY’S WOMAN

Romance novelist Kira Sinclair was always a lover of romance- she’d been reading Harlequin Presents since she was thirteen.  Her favorite memories of her teenage years are going with her girlfriends to used bookstores where she would spend her allowance money on romance novels.

            “That was my extent of romance writing – being the romance book reader.  My sister was going to be the writer because she got something published in the newspaper when she was eight years old.  Now I am the writer and my sister is an engineer.”

            Her first experience of writing a romance was when her high school English instructor assigned the students to small groups and each group had to come up with their own short story.

            “Other groups chose stories on gun control or world peace.  I convinced the group to write a romance.”

            And write a romance they did – about a heroine who meets her hero in Scotland.  She was chosen by her group to read the story to the entire class.  Even though there were no passionate scenes like the scenes she now writes for Harlequin Blaze; she turned different shades of red as she read the story out loud.     

            She thought that was as public as she would ever go to expressing her love of romance.  Sinclair had other dreams – that of pursuing career in the arts.  She’d always been involved in the arts – dancing, performing, acting  - and her plans were to take advantage of a full theater scholarship and major in theater.

            Then real love and romance took over when she met her husband, a pharmacist chemist, and the two married and she they had their first daughter, Sweet Pea, who is now 12. 

            When she had finally adapted to having a new baby, a new hectic schedule, she was able to take a few minutes to breath – and found herself facing a new dilemma:  she had no outlet for her need of artistic expression.   Being a stay-at-home Mom did not allow her to try out for the next play, or to perform in a dance recital.  She had to find anther art form to immerse herself in that would allow her to still be the stay-at-home she wanted to be.

Finally, when her daughter was a toddler, she lay in her bed with laptop in lap; pillows propped up behind her back, and wrote her first novel.  The novel was so bad she still doesn’t remember the details.   At the time, she thought it had possibilities and submitted it to publishers, receiving rejections, some with constructive comments.  She entered the novel in numerous contests, and placed in one 1^st, two 2^nd, and one 3^rd place finishes. 

“I might not have gained a contract from these contests entries and my first book will stay on my hard drive where it belongs, but writing it was the first step I needed to take in order to become the writer I am today.  I did gain knowledge.  I received feedback from three different editors on the problems and strengths of the story.”

Another positive discovery she made was her local Romance Writer Association chapter, Heart Of Dixie, which gave her great encouragement and constructive criticism on how to become a better writer.  Her fellow writers were also not of the typical world of dog eats dog. 

“There’s room for every writer to succeed and the writers care about you and want your book to succeed.  Publishing is not a zero sum game.  There’s room for everyone’s book to succeed.”

Through the group she was able to attend workshops on how to write, how to writer query letters and synopsis.  She admits she has difficulty with plot, but she’s learning and the more she learns the more she become a better writer.  RWA also helps her have the tools she needs to get into the business.

“In this business you have to have a thick skin.  You have to be able to listen to criticism and take it seriously.”

It was at one workshop that changed her from being a want-to-be published romance novelist – to a published one.  She had a conference meeting where she threw her own pitch to an editor.  The editor liked Sinclair’s idea but couldn’t use it because a book centered on the same idea had recently been published.  She gave Sinclair an opportunity to give her another pitch. 

So Sinclair gave her a pitch – about a young woman who endures a date rape at the age of 21, and, five years later, she still endures Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the inability to have sex.  One late night she and her best friend are listening to a radio show hosted by relationship expert Dr. Desire.  She calls in and sparks begin to fly.

 “She loved the idea and I hadn’t written a single word, so I went home and immediately began writing the book.”

Finally, after numerous revisions, correspondence with her editor, the book was complete and the editor bought the book on June 5, 2007. 

The book WHISPERS IN THE DARK was released in July of 2008 and Sinclair was officially a romance novelist for Harlequin Blaze.

Sinclair lives in Decatur, Alabama out in the country with her two daughters, who she identifies to her readers and the public only as Sweet Pea, 12, and Baby Girl, 9, and her black cat Shadow.  Her husband is a pharmaceutical chemist with a dream of being a farmer.  The family of four live twenty minutes from town, in a farmhouse out in the country.   Her view from her office of her bed is Sweet Pea’s bedroom, and a window enabling her to look out into her property –the barn, with the woods at its base.   She writes for two hours in her bed, and when she is in need of inspiration she’ll take a walk in the woods, to the creek that runs through her property; but normally she finds her inspiration in the living room.

“I can be watching a program of any kind, a sitcom, a documentary and I ask myself, “What would a person that is going through this certain crisis be like as an adult?”  

In THE RISK TAKER – the first scene of the book takes place in the backwoods fighting ring– she asked herself,  “Why would a man want to submit himself to that kind of fighting, to forget a part of his life?”  And then she thought of the military soldier becoming a prisoner of war, and POW Gage Harper was born.

In fact, the romance writer believes in happily ever after, and romance sparks flying, but she likes to add authenticity to her romances and show that people who go through traumas such as child abuse, PSTD, Rape, or other issues – that, they too can find romance.
            “In the end they may not get married – but I like my couples, in the end, to show that they do love each other, and that they will stay together – and if that doesn’t include marriage that’s fine.  They love each other, they’ll fight for that love, and that’s what matters.”

Sinclair is occasionally asked to conduct workshops herself and even writes articles about certain aspects of romance writing, but even now, after having published thirteen books, she still attends workshops and conferences.

“I’m constantly learning and hopefully through each book, this new learning will show.”  

There are three must-haves in order for her to write:  flavored water, sweet snacks (Reese’s Cup eggs, Jellybeans, Twizzlers), and earphones on listening to hard rock music (Imagine Dragons and Maroon 5.)  

“I have different playlists for different scenes, characters, stories and moods,” she writes in her website.

It takes her about four to six weeks to write the first draft of a book, but that doesn’t include revisions, line edits, and copy edits, which can be a lengthy process. 

“The books you see now have been purchased by Harlequin at least 13 to 18 months prior.  Right now the books being purchased are the new trend – but by the time they are published over a year later, another trend begins.”

Sinclair is thrilled to be with Harlequin – and states they care about the art form of writing and what the writer is trying to convey, and that transfers to the book cover.

“They have a great art department.  They make the final decision of the book cover, but they ask me what I think and I give them my input and they take that into consideration.”

Thus far Sinclair’s favorite book cover is THE RISK TAKER, which she ordered a life-sized poster.

Her book THE DEVIL SHE KNOWS, the third book in her Sweetheart, South Carolina series, will be released in September 2013 with Willow finally having her own story. 

In December 2014 Sinclair, Vicki Lewis Thompson, and Rhonda Nelson will have their anthology for Harlequin Nocturne released by the title JINGLE BELLS, which Sinclair described as “Funny, sexy and oh so magical.”

For more information visit Sinclair at her website www.KiraSinclair.com, email her at kira@kirasinclair.com, or write to her at PO Box 5083
Decatur, AL 35601.