Christmas Blog Tour Continues with Rae Summers

Rae Summers
Author

The Christmas Blog Tour continues and our guest is the energetic Rae Summers. Rae lives in South Africa where she works in television advertising, a line of work that is not always as glamorous as it seems. When she isn’t working or being mom to two young daughters, Rae can be found with her nose in a book.


Rae’s first grade teacher was so seriously concerned by her day dreaming that she called her parents in for a conference. Fortunately, her parents staunchly defended Rae’s right to daydream and these days she’s able to prove their faith right by turning those day dreams into stories. She hopes her stories bring as much pleasure to her readers as they bring to her. Rae, I’ll turn the blog over to you.



Thanks for hosting me here today, Caroline. Today’s blog tour theme is our favourite Christmas movie or story.

Please don’t shoot me, but I’m going to make a confession. I’m not really big on Christmas-themed books or movies. I find most either lean towards being silly (like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation) or overly sentimental (like It’s a Wonderful Life) or moralising (like Dickens’ Christmas Carol).

But there’s one Christmas film that stands out for me, and which I could happily watch every year: the 1947 version of Miracle on 34th Street. This movie starred Maureen O’Hara and John Payne, with 9-year old Natalie Wood as the child whose innocent belief changes the lives of all those around her.

I think what I liked best about this movie is its innocence. Unlike the 1994 version (starring the very gorgeous Dylan McDermott, alongside Elizabeth Perkins and Richard Attenborough) this one doesn’t ‘pour on the treacle’. It’s a fairy tale that doesn’t take itself too seriously.


Researching this blog post I also found out a few interesting bits of trivia about the original film that I thought I’d share with you:


 Studio bosses at 20th Century Fox weren’t particularly keen on this film, but they made it anyway so they could coerce director George Seaton into making his next film for them.

Maureen O'Hara hugging
Natalie Wood

 The film was released in June, not at Christmas, because the studio figured more people watch movies in summer, so it would earn more. They kept the Christmas aspect out of the original poster, and the trailer showed a studio executive talking to people on the film lot about the movie, rather than clips from the film itself.


 Parts of the film were shot in Macy’s department store, and the parade is the real Macy’s parade. By the 1990s this iconic store was replaced by a generic no-name brand version. A sad sign of our times.

Edmund Gwen (who still
epitomizes Santa for me)
and Natalie Wood

 This film spawned three remakes (1959, 1973 and 1994) and a Broadway musical. The most recent version might be beautifully filmed, but for me it’s the original that holds my heart.

What is your favourite Christmas movie?

Caroline: And now let's learn about Rae's book LET'S MISBEHAVE.

Let's Misbehave now available

Let’s Misbehave Blurb:



Gabrielle is the quintessential Flapper, a wild child who turns her back on home and a resentful and unloving mother to become a nightclub singer. She wants nothing more from life than freedom and pleasure.


Sebastian is a dutiful son, following in his father’s footsteps and on the verge of marrying a suitable bride. But as the Twenties roar to their conclusion, he finds himself torn between duty and the urge to indulge his adventurous streak.


From the moment Gabrielle and Sebastian meet, the tension between them simmers. When he rescues her from a boorish suitor, Gabrielle discovers a kindred spirit beneath Sebastian’s serious demeanour, and she sets out to seduce him into one last passionate fling before he settles for a loveless marriage.


But the fire that burns between them threatens to consume her. Will Gabrielle survive falling in love with the one man she cannot have?


Buy Links
TWRP: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/lets-misbehave-p-4119.html

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lets-Misbehave-ebook/dp/B003V4B6AK/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&m=A7B2F8DUJ88VZ&s=digital-text&qid=1279057490&sr=8-7

All Romance Ebooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-letsmisbehave-443785-158.html


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Rae's running a contest over on her blog at http://raesummers.wordpress.com/ where two winners will each win traditional Christmas tree ornaments. In order to enter you need to become a follower of her blog or her fan page, or re-tweet her posts. And you’ll need to leave her a comment letting her know you’ve entered!


Rae, thanks so much for sharing all the tidbits about "Miracle on 34th Street," which happens to be one of my three favorite Christmas movies. Like you, I don't like the goofy or saccherine movies. This one is perfect, and I loved the musical, too. This time of year I'm humming "That Man Over There Is Santa Claus" from the stage show.
 
Today, I'm over at P.L. Parker's blog talking about the same subject. What other two movies did I choose? Check out the answer at http://plparker.blogspot.com/
 
For more on the Christmas Blog Tour, check out the site http://rosestour.blogspot.com/