Lady Make Believe

Virginia City, Rom Con, Date: When we were younger.
Fullerton Daily News Tribune June 3 1982 page 2From left to right:
Rita Gallager, Cheryl Clarke Kitzmiller, Barbara Kelly, Rita Clay Estrada, Janet Dailey.

Clergyman’s Almanac, 1815

“The indiscriminate reading of novels and romances is to young females of the most dangerous tendency. It agitates their fancy to delirium of pleasure never to be realized and opens to their view the Elysium fields which exist only in the imagination, fields which involve them in wretchedness and inconsolable sorrow. The most profligate villain, bent on the infernal purpose of seducing a woman, could not wish a symptom more favorable to his purpose than a strong imagination inflamed with the rhapsodies of artful and corrupting novels.”

Orange County Chapter Beginnings

Fullerton Daily News Tribune June 3 1982

Orange County Chapter Valentine’s Day doings 1982

RWA Queen Mary Conference

RWA Conference aboard the Queen Mary

RWA Conference aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach CA Program Queen Mary

A Gothic Tale-circa late 1970’s, Rosemary Rogers, queen of the erotic gothic, publicity tour for Wicked Loving Lies

She’s Banned In Medora-April 18, 1983, Kathryn Lynn Davis’ book is banned in Medora SD

The World According to Barbara Cartland-Feb. 9, 1981

Family Weekly, Jan 9, 1983-Category Romance Novels, Harlequin and Silhouette (has a 1st page somewhere)

I’m Hungry But Not For Food-Forbes Magazine, June 6, 1992, Demographics and Statistics of romance novel industry

Heartbreak Comes to Harlequin-Forbes Magazine, March 29, 1982

U.S. Has Canada to Thank for Harlequin Romances-Los Angeles Times, circa 1979-1980

Romancing The S tone–Herald Examiner, March 1984, movie hype

Janet Dailey– People Magazine, circa 1980

Kathleen Woodiwiss– People Magazine, circa 1980

Romance Fans Can’t Get Enough Sexy Stuff–Life Magazine, 1981, Industry stats

Looking For Love, Fame and Fortune– Los Angeles Times, July 1, 1981, First Romance Writers of America Conference held in Texas

Typewriters Are Clicking Away To Meet The Demand–Magazine and Booksellers, August, 1982, Statistics and demographics

The New Romance Look–Magazine and Booksellers, June 1982

Expanding Romance Market–New York Times, March 8, 1982, Basic Formula, Not a Business for Novices.

It’s Only A Paper Moon (Rosemary Rogers, Tom Huff and Rebecca Brandewyne)–Newsweek, May 10, 1982

Orange County Woman Follows Her Urge-Orange County, CA paper, March 11, 1979, a housewife writes romance

Big Romance For Writers In Anaheim–Orange County Register (CA), Feb. 10, 1984-Romance Writers of America Conference

The Liberation of Pulp Romances–Psychology Today, April, 1983, Why women read romances.

Rosemary Rogers, date and publication unknown

Romance Novels, Chapter 1: Hollywood Comes Courting-Rosemary Rogers, Feb. 8, 1981

The Romance Heroine Should Be Sooo Terriffic, Genre Writers Get Tips Via Conference Here–Romance Writers of America, 2nd Conference Aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA, 1982

Farrah Quitting Charlie’s Angels for Love-Story movie with Lee Majors-Date and publication unknown, the film option for Rosemary Rogers’ book “Sweet Savage Love”

Sweet Savage Prose-San Francisco, April, 1982, Rosemary Rogers

Innocence is Latest Twist in Romantic Teen Novels–The Plain Dealer, Dec. 25, 1981

The Wicked, Loving Lies of Rosemary Rogers- Date and publication unknown

From Bedroom to Boardroom–Time Magazine, April 13, 1981, the changing face of the romantic heroine

Rosemary Rogers–Time Magazine, Jan. 17, 1977

Various Authors-Date and publication unknown, bios of bestselling authors

If The Damsel Is In Distress, Be Sure It’s Career-Related–Wall Street Journal, Feb. 17, 1984, Seminars attempt to touch romance novel writing.

El Camino Real

Chelley Clarke Kitzmiller — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:08:32 +0000

Photo: Mission San Antonio

The Jan/Feb 2006 issue of True West Magazine

will carry an article I wrote on the California Missions, called El Camino Real.

www.truewestmagazine.com
Visiting the missions was a real adventure, especially this one. It’s out in the middle of nowhere, sitting all alone. Of all the missions, it has the greatest sense of history and I felt as if I had stepped back into time.

Reaching this mission is an adventure in itself. The signs are few and far between. The roads are good but truely California back roads and you’re lucky if you see another car. There are other ruins along the way that make for a great photo opportunities. There are few food or bathroom stops but that’s kinda nice, too. If you visit the mission using those back roads, you will see California as you have never seen it before.

Please pick up a copy of True West and read my story on the El Camino Real. I think you’ll be glad you did.

There are many books about the history of the California missions, which, in all honesty, I had never read until I got this assignment. It’s a sad history because it started out with such good intentions and ended up very badly for the Spanish fathers and for the California Indians. Yet, some good did come out of it. The missions made California exploration much easier and exploration brought people and commerce.

Writing, Writing, Writing

Chelley Clarke Kitzmiller — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:07:22 +0000

I’m well into the new book but still no title, not that it matters much anyway, since I’ve yet to have a publisher go with the title I picked. It’s a marketing thing, I’m told.

I came across some interesting research information about some very special horses in Arizona. They are called the Wilbur-Cruce horses and are descended from the Spanish barb horse herd that Jesuit Father Eusebio Kino established at Mission dolores at Magdalena, Sonora, in the late 1600’s.

In 1885, Magdalena horse trader, Juan Sepulveda, drove a herd of Mission Dolores horses north, selling them to ranchers along the way. Twenty-five mares and a stallion were bought by Dr. Rueben Wilbur, whose ranch was located between Arivaca and Sasabe, AZ.

The horses lived “naturally” and thrived in this area,
undisturbed by man for over a century. In 1989 the herd was rediscovered by geneticists and heritage breed enthusiasts, and in 1990 they were sold off to people who promised to preserve their blood lines.

I just stumbled across this information while researching the book but it caught my attention and made we ask that old writer’s question “WHAT IF?”

What if the hero was trying to save these horses? What is modern-day rustlers were trying to steal them, kill them? What if, what if, what if? I guess we’ll find out in about 100 manuscript pages from now. Stay tuned….

Photo: Cave Creek, Arizona

Stella Stevens–Silver Spur Honoree

Chelley Clarke Kitzmiller — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:06:12 +0000

Stella, dressed in black, wearing a holster and packin’ a pistol took the stage and regaled the audience with some of her movie-making adventures.

In recent years, Stella has been writing and producing her own Westerns but it appears they haven’t had much success. She made no bones about wanting the genre back and wanting to be a part of it.

I’m with her. I love a good Western be it a book or a movie. And, you have to admit, there’s nothing so fine as a man in a startched long-sleeved white shirt, Wranglers, cowboy boots, a Stetson and chaps!

Long live the Western where the code of the West is all the law we need.

The Queen Of The West

Chelley Clarke Kitzmiller — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:05:04 +0000

Say hello to Rhonda Fleming–the Queen Of The West!
Rhonda has appeared in over 40 motion pictures and some of my favorite Westerns including “Gunfight at the Okay Corral” and “Pony Express”.

Rhonda’s co-stars have included Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas, Charlton Heston, Glenn Ford, Burt Lancaster and Ronald Reagan.

Meeting Rhonda was the highlight of my evening at the Silver Spur Awards where she was being honored.

As you can see by this untouched photo (except for red-eye) Rhonda is still an incredibly beautiful woman.

Thank you, Rhonda, for making my day!

James Garner–Maverick

Chelley Clarke Kitzmiller — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:03:59 +0000

What a night! The room was filled to capacity, at least 300 hundred cowboys and cowgirls, all duded up in their Western finest.

I attended the ceremonies with Elaine Palance, who accepted the award for her husband, Jack. Elaine gave a great speech which got everybody laughing. She’s a natural, shouda been an actress herself.

We were seated at one of the head tables. I was surrounded by some of Hollywood’s top stars. At the table on my right sat Morgan Woodward, a really tall and striking Texan and a couple of seats past him was James Garner.

Garner will always be Maverick, that fast-talking, quick-drawin’ gambler. His most recent role was in the “The Notebook.” What a tear-jerker that was! He got a giggle from the audience when he announced that he’d just gotten another job! As if we thought he wouldn’t.

Stay tuned, more pictures to come………………………….