I just put pepper in my nose.
Am I four? Am I drunk? No. I am auditioning to sneeze for a radio commercial. They want real sneezes.
Smelling pepper didn’t work. Sniffing it. . .nope. So I put some up my nose.
My nose burns. My eyes water. Yet I’ve only produced two useable sneezes.
Hmm. Can I copy and paste those two so it looks and sounds like more?
Supposedly this pays very well.

Yesterday I auditioned for a speaking role for the same commercial. So there is a chance I could get both parts and get paid twice.

Another insertion of pepper into one nostril. Then the other. More burning. More eye watering. No more sneezes. Not even close. Hmmm.
How long will my nose hurt?
The sacrifices I make for my art.

Jerry Hadley died yesterday, at 55. He’d shot himself in the head.

If you haven’t heard of him, today’s Los Angeles Times describes him as “one the most versatile and important U.S. opera singers.” He sang at the Met and other major opera houses, made many CDs and won three Grammy Awards. He was gifted and acclaimed. Yet reports say he was filing for bankruptcy and was being treated for depression.

Why do I care? Because I’ve been a Jerry Hadley fan for years and have some of his CDs. His recording of Candide is one of my favorites.

Because in 2000, Jerry Hadley was Gatsby in the Lyric Opera’s production of The Great Gatsby. And I was the waitress at his two parties. For several weeks, as a non-singing actor, I had the privilege of standing on stage within feet of him. I got to watch and hear him rehearse and give 9 performances. This was as amazing to me as it would be for an avid sports fan to dribble with Michael Jordan or toss a few with a Superbowl veteran.

I have always been in awe of the musically gifted. For many years I wished I were talented enough to make singing my career. I couldn’t understand why incredibly gifted singers I’d met and heard had no interest in pursuing their gifts beyond a hobby.

So for me, just being permitted to stand with my tray of fake hors d’ ouevres amidst so much talent was incredible. To get paid to be surrounded by and intermingle with such a high caliber of singers was icing on the cake.

Jerry was as nice and friendly as he could be. No star attitude. I remember these moments in particular:

1. Once during rehearsal, the director yelled at me. In front of the entire cast. Jerry made a point of coming over to me and soothing my nerves.
2. Jerry held a champagne glass that a waiter was supposed to take from him at a certain point. During one rehearsal, the waiter didn’t remember. I happened to be standing nearby so I just went and got it. He thanked me, and asked the director if I could take the glass from now on. (No, the director wanted Gatsby to have a personal waiter.)
3.We were talking about his career and all he’d accomplished. Yet he said he was just grateful for the work. Even a talented, successful performer such as he didn’t always know where his next gig or paycheck was coming from.

Of course I don’t know the circumstances that led him down this sad path at such a young age. Maybe the burden of fading talent after reaching such heights is harder to bear than not having enough in the first place.

So I sent 10 new titles to my agent for my new book, in order of my preference. Unfortunately, she only liked the last one but not enough.
Back to the drawing board. Already have a brainstorming list of more than 50 possibilities…I like some of them a lot. Will she? Plan to ponder a few more days and then send another Top 10 list.

As to the pen name, no revelations on that front yet.

Attended the national Romance Writers of America conference in Dallas last week. Caught up with a bunch of friends and got 52 free books. Some days events began at 7:00AM and continued to the wee hours…1950 published (from household name famous to those who’ve just made their first sale) and unpublished authors from as far away as Australia and dozens of editors and agents. Lots of booksignings, more than 10 workshops every hour, meetings/networking, and fancy parties (many invitation only). And a booksigning with over 400 authors that raised almost $60,000 for literacy in TWO hours!

How many movies and books have you read that had disappointing endings? You were caught up in the characters, engaged by the story until the very last minute, but weren’t satisfied when the credits rolled or you closed the book.

As I neared completion of my 9th manuscript, I faced this problem. How best to resolve all that had gone before? When writing a romance, there are usually2 main characters: the hero and heroine. They have to end up together. The only question is how. My work in progress is not a romance. It has 5 main characters, each of whom deserve a satisfying conclusion. Three people seemed to work themselves out fairly easily, thanks to a brainstorming session with my sister. That left two. I knew where they would be in the final scene, what they would be doing. But not what they would say. Or what the final sentence would be.

Though usually don’t have writer’s block, for several days I stared at a blank page. The characters stared at each other because I had no words for them.

Then, this morning, inspiration struck. I knew exactly what I wanted to happen and what they needed to say.

I have now completed NINE manuscripts…

Shakespeare wrote, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

But in today’s fast-paced, multi-media world where we are exposed to hundreds of advertising messages every day, names do matter. The product, the title must stand out and catch the reader’s or viewer’s eye.

Which is why my literary agent says I need:
1) a new title for my novel in progress. I’m all for whatever she thinks will sell, and have been brainstorming with my sister and friends.
2) a pen name for my other manuscripts, which are a different genre. I’m working on coming up with a snazzy name I could get used to being called.

Side A of the pen name debate goes like this: An author’s name is her brand. When you pick up a book, you want to know what you’re getting, whether it’s gritty science fiction or sweet romance. To meet readers’ expectations, each subsequent novel must deliver. So if you change genres or styles, you need a different name to avoid disappointing or confusing readers.
Other reasons include:
–a publisher may require an author who sales have lagged to start over with a new name.
–some authors are considered “too prolific,” which apparently readers think is bad. (example: Stephen King wrote as Richard Bachman)
–you are the wrong gender perceived as appropriate for a genre; ie: only women should write romance novels
–your real name is hard to pronounce, spell or remember or too similar to another published author
–shelf positioning: the ends of the alphabet may be too high or too low on the shelf

Side B says: It’s hard enough to build name recognition. Writing under two names can mean two Web sites and two publicity/marketing campaigns.
If a reader likes an author’s writing, she’ll follow that author anywhere in any genre.
Thanks to word of mouth, publicity and the Internet, many readers know that, for example, Nora Roberts is also J.D. Robb and Stephen King was also Richard Bachman….so why bother having two names?

What do you think?

The finalists in the National Public Radio Talent Quest are soon to be announced…unfortunately my phone has not rung.

However, my entry, Someday is Now, made it to the People’s Choice Top 100 out of 1451 entries, after over 135,000 votes!!! That’s the top 7%. Did not make the judges Top 100 list.

On the one hand, pretty cool. On the other, close but no cigar…

http://www.publicradioquest.com/node/2257

Hurrah! I booked a TV commercial. This will be very interesting, because there’s no copy to learn. I’m supposed to review a list of questions they might ask and will improvise answers while trying to fit in some key words.

As usual, it’s self-costume. Which means I have to comb through my closet and iron and bring whatever I think corresponds to their suggestions…everything from shirts to pants to shoes to jewelry. Since I’m a mom, I have to remember a wedding ring.

They weren’t thrilled by my hair (too curly, too black). So I’ll be getting up early to make sure it’s straight. Can’t do much about the color, though.

Only once so far have clothes been bought for me. The wardrobe woman called ahead to ask my sizes and colors that I thought looked good on me. She had a bin full of clothes on set for me to try. I wound up wearing my own jeans and their wool sweater, which fit perfectly. She sold it to me for $10.

Not sure yet where the commercial will run…all I know so far is “local markets.”

Last chance to vote in National Public Radio’s Talent Quest and help me be the next NPR host! Voting ends June 2.
Listen to my entry at www.publicradioquest.com/node/1437

It’s not too late…there’s still time to vote for my entry in National Public Radio’s Talent Quest…
American Idol for radio.

Visit www.publicradioquest.com/node/1437. I’ve gotten some wonderful comments so far, many from people I don’t even know, but would appreciate yours. You do have to register with the site to vote…I hope a slight inconvenience to help me pursue a dream.

Thanks in advance…

I have entered the Public Radio Talent Quest and need votes by June 2nd to become a semi-finalist.

It’s a long shot, as there are already around 1000 entries, but…here’s the link to mine, which proposes a program called Someday is Now, about making time to follow your heart:

http://www.publicradioquest.com/node/1437

Please forward if you know anyone who might be willing to vote.

My voiceover Web site is up and almost complete! Check it out: www.ruthtalks.com.

Do you know anyone who needs voice or on camera talent?

You never know what connections will lead to work. A client of an attorney friend of mine wanted her to be in a real estate video. My friend thought of me. Which led to two hours yesterday of taping for her client, who may hire me for future projects. The videographer might too.

I need to get some input on rates. I charged her my current hourly rate. But there was a lot of copy to record. Despite numerous script changes as the shoot progressed and the volume of verbiage, they were happy with some of the sections on the first take. Only a couple of times did we have to do another take because of a mistake I made…most were because of trains, kids playing outside, the client not liking the copy when she heard it read aloud etc.

So would it have been better to charge a project rate, which would have been higher?