Warm Heart...Cool Hands: new CD compiled by Susan McCray

Former Little House on the Prairie Casting Director, and Getting to Know You talk show host, Susan Sukman McCray, has compiled a new CD of her father's work with the Vincent Falcone Trio. Warm Hearts...Cool Hands is now available for purchase at http://www.blue-eyes.com and http://www.cdbaby.com.

Harry Sukman was an Academy award-winning composer who received an Oscar for "Song Without End". When Frank Sinatra asked Harry to write a few arrangements for his personal appearances, Vincent Falcone, Sinatra's musical director/pianist, began paying visits to Harry's home. This was the beginning of a life-long friendship between two rare talents in the music industry.

For more information about Harry Sukman, the Vincent Falcone Trio, and to listen to selections from the new CD Warm Hearts...Cool Hands, visit http://www.susanmccray.com/warmheartcoolhands.htm

Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura Trailer on YouTube

As promised, Dean Butler and Legacy Documentaries has made available for viewers a trailer of the upcoming documentary, Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura.

Here is the link to this amazing trailer, which will have you anxiously awaiting the March 2008 release of this documentary about Almanzo Wilder's childhood: http://youtube.com/watch?v=o3XbX6qBIEc Dean encourages you to leave comments about this trailer at the Legacy Documentaries blog, which can be found at http://legacydocumentaries.com/blog/

Many years before he met Laura Ingalls in De Smet, South Dakota, Almanzo Wilder grew up on a farm in New York. His childhood was first brought to life when Laura penned the book Farmer Boy for the fans of her first Little House book, Little House in the Big Woods. Curiosity about Almanzo's life before he met and married the now famous children's author has continued to grow over the years. This documentary will compliment anyone's Laura Ingalls Wilder or Little House on the Prairie collection.











Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura will be available exclusively through The Wilder Homestead. You can preorder your copy of Almanzo: Life Before Laura by:

Email: info@almanzowilderfarm.com

Phone: 1-866-438-FARM

US Mail: The Almanzo and Laura Ingalls Wilder Association (ALIWA)
P.O. Box 283
Malone, NY 12953

For more information about the Wilder Homestead, visit them on the web at http://www.almanzowilderfarm.com/ To find out more about Dean Butler and Legacy Documentaries, visit http://www.legacydocumentaries.com/


Photo of Wilder Homestead found at http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/archive.php?id=10028

New project for Little House on the Prairie fans from Dean Butler and Legacy Documentaries

Actor Dean Butler, who portrayed Almanzo Wilder on the classic TV show, Little House on the Prairie, is now busy behind the camera these days as Executive Producer and Founder of Legacy Documentaries. Dean has already filmed some of the bonus features found on the Little House on the Prairie DVDs which were released by Imavision http://www.imavision.com/en/ and he has recently been working on other film projects which seek to preserve the legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

His latest project seeks to focus the attention on the fans of Michael Landon's Little House on the Prairie. Dean is looking for input from fans of the show to "tell me how old you were and what was happening in your lives when you discovered Little House on the Prairie and what was it about your life experiences and aspirations that bonded you to our program."

If you are interested in contributing to this project, please visit the Legacy Documentaries blog, which can be found at http://legacydocumentaries.com/blog/

December Events at The Book Connection

December 3, 2007 - Author and publisher Jean Hackensmith starts off her virtual book tour with a chat about the fourth book in the "Passage" saga, The Ultimate Passage.*

Wednesday, December 5, 2007 - Join us when JoElle Martin stops by to talk about A Bridge in the Forest and A Promise in the Forest, due out in December from Windstorm Creative. These young adult fantasy novels tell the adventures of Lily Kingman and a captivating elf named Dreamer. Come find out more about these novels and why every young person would love them as holiday gifts.

Thursday, December 6, 2007 - Awakening the Dragon author, Theresa Chaze talks about the setting for this story when she comes by this week.*

Friday, December 7, 2007 - Anne Newton Walther, whose historical fiction novel Loss of Innocence was reviewed by me for the Muse talks about this book and its characters when she pays us a visit.

Thursday, December 13, 2007 - Roberta Isleib takes the floor to share more about the main character of her latest release, Preaching to the Corpse.*

Friday, December 14, 2007 - Find out more about The Death Wizard Chronicles when author Jim Mevlin stops by to talk about Book One - The Pit and Book Two - Moon Goddess which are both available at Amazon.com.*

Monday, December 17, 2007 - Natural resources policy expert, Holly Fretwell, talks about her children's book, The Sky Is Not Falling! - Why It's OK to Chill about Global Warming.*

Tuesday, December 18, 2007 - Award-winning author, Cat Muldoon pays us a visit to talk about her fantasy novel Rue the Day: The Undercover Heir,
Book 1.*

Wednesday, December 19, 2007 - Nelson Pahl's book, Bee Balms & Burgundy is featured. It is the story of Nick May, a Gen X entrepreneur living in Vancouver, who is reaquainted with his childhood neighbor and lifelong friend. If only Nick knew that she had a powerful secret that could change him forever.*

* Virtual Book Tour sponsored by:

Finally!

I've started putting up my Christmas decorations. It is always hard to restrain myself until November. I love Christmas! The past few years it has been too warm to snow, but I remember snow on the ground often when I was a kid. Oh my, I sound like my mother. LOL!

This year I think we'll stick with the 15 trees--8 inside and 7 outside. If I had an endless supply of cash I would buy two or three more for the house, but I really should be spending money on the kids this time of year, not satiating my Christmas fetish.

I hope everyone has a lovely Thanksgiving and that you are able to find joy and peace this holiday season.

Have you ever taken two girls shopping?

Don't do it! I'm telling you that you'll regret it. I took my two daughters to the mall today to pick out new shoes and dresses for the holidays. Now, keep in mind that these beauties are only six and four. The oldest tried on half a dozen pairs of shoes before finally settling on a pair she deemed worthy to grace her feet, and the youngest tried on fifteen pairs in three different sizes before she found the one she liked.

Then we lugged coats, their blankets that go everywhere with them, and the shoes, with us to the other end of the mall to try on several dresses. The little one likes to have her clothes laid out on the bed to choose from each morning, so I repeated this event at the store, draping six dresses over a clothing rack for her to make her selection. And the other daughter only found five dresses she fell in love with at $50 each. We whittled that down to three, which we went to the fitting room to try on. Not to be outdone, the little one wanted to try on her dress too, and she almost changed her mind about buying the one she tried on.

After four hours and several frustrating moments, we finally headed home. If they are like this now, what in the heck will they be like in 10 years? God help me!

November events at The Book Connection

Here is a list of all the authors who will be stopping by The Book Connection in November:

Friday, November 2, 2007 - Author Marilyn C. Morris returns to share her reflections on dealing with Lupus which she discusses in her book, Diagnosis: Lupus: The intimate Journal of a Lupus Patient.*

Monday, November 5, 2007 - Darcy McKenna stops by to chat about her romantic suspense novel, Fated Love.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007 - Romantic comedy with a gypsy twist is what you'll find when author, Diana Holquist shares all the good stuff on Sexiest Man Alive.*

Thursday, November 8, 2007 - Sci-fi author Darrell Bain pays us a visit to talk about his latest releast, Savage Survival.*

Monday, November 12, 2007 - Crime novelist, Michael Simon brings Detective Dan Reles back for more in his latest novel, The Last Jew Standing.*

Tuesday, November 13, 2007 - My friend and talented author, Jamieson Wolf joins us again to chat about his HUNTED series. I've given the floor to Jamieson this time. Don't say you weren't warned.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007 - Romance author, Sherry James returns to tell us more about the second installment in her Studs For Hire series, Woman in Charge.

Friday, November 16, 2007 - Author Dyan Garris shares her love of cooking and inner peace as she talks about the Voice of Angels Cookbook, Talk to Your Food! - Intuitive Cooking.*

Monday, November 19, 2007 - Former Casting Director, talk show host, and author, Susan Sukman McCray joins us for an intimate chat to discuss her children's book, Harry's Piano, which is the charming tale of the young life of her father, Academy Award-winning composer, Harry Sukman.

Friday, November 23, 2007 - Author Shiela Roberts pays us a visit to chat about her book, On Strike for Christmas.*

Monday, November 26, 2007 - Retired investigator turned author, Dennis Griffin, discusses his recent release, Cullota, The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster, and Government Witness.*

* Virtual Book Tour sponsored by Pump Up Your Book Promotion

Stop by The Book Connection today...where we connect readers and writers.

The von Trapp Children

The Sound of Music is my favorite film and I must have watched it over one hundred times by now. For those who might be unfamiliar with the film, The Sound of Music tells the story of Maria, who is studying to become a nun, and is sent to be the governess for the seven children of Captain von Trapp, a retired naval captain and widower. Not only do viewers get to see the romance between Maria and Captain von Trapp unfold, they watch the tense situation in Austria as Hitler and the Third Reich take over the country--a situation which forces the von Trapp family to flee Austria and settle in America, where they form a singing group called The von Trapp Family Singers.

To kick off the holiday season, the great-grandchildren of Captain von Trapp came to Yankee Candle in South Deerfield, Massachusetts to perform. Our family went to see them today and these young people--ranging from ages 19 to 13--are just as amazing as I imagine the original von Trapp Family Singers were. They spoke fondly of their family and sang a few songs from The Sound of Music and also some from their new CDs.

For more information about The von Trapp Children and this family's amazing history, you can check out their website at http://www.vontrappchildren.com/

Coming in 2008 From Dean Butler and Legacy Documentaries

LEGACY DOCUMENTARIES PRESENTS - ALMANZO WILDER: LIFE BEFORE LAURA, AN ALL NEW DOCUMENTARY ABOUT ALMANZO'S CHILDHOOD. A SHORT TRAILER WILL BE AVAILABLE IN NOVEMBER 2007 AND A SPRING 2008 RELEASE IS PLANNED FOR THIS DOCUMENTARY, WHICH WILL BE SOLD EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH THE ALMANZO & LAURA INGALLS WILDER HOMESTEAD SITE.

REMEMBERING THE LAST FAREWELL--A LEGACY DOCUMENTARIES PRODUCTION. MELISSA GILBERT AND DEAN BUTLER RETURN TO WALNUT GROVE TO REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS LIKE DURING THE FINAL DAYS OF LHOP. INCLUDES NEVER BEFORE SEEN PICTURES THAT MAKE THIS DOCUMENTARY A MUST HAVE FOR ALL LITTLE HOUSE FANS.

Dean keeps everyone abreast of new releases and shares some great LHOP moments at his Legacy Documentaries blog, which can be found at http://legacydocumentaries.com/blog/