This week has been quite busy - sorry I haven't had a chance to update the ol' blog. First things first - my author website has been redesigned and is ready ahead of schedule. Whoop! There's plenty of new features - including a photo gallery on the Bio page and a section for Extras with book recommendations, book videos, and noteworthy articles. My contact email address was down for a day or so but is now up again and can be found on the Contact page! Feel free to roam around and let me know what you think here at Cozy or at my contact addy: http://www.amberleighwilliams.com/.
Author Linda Kage was kind enough to feature an excerpt from Forever Amore on her blog this week here!
I'd like to take a moment to thank those of you who helped me reach 400 followers on Twitter and new subscribers to my newsletter. If you haven't joined my exclusive mailing list where you can find the latest updates and news, you can do so by clicking the pink button on the right sidebar here at Cozy - it's fast and easy! I usually send an update once a month around the 10th so don't worry about inbox flooding, and unsubscribing is always quick and easy, too, if you change your mind.
While I was at the hair salon Wednesday morning, I heard with great sadness that screen legend Elizabeth Taylor passed away. When visiting my grandmother's house throughout the years, my sister and I watch great movie classics like The Sound of Music and Gone with the Wind. One summer we all sat down and watched National Velvet, the film that put Elizabeth Taylor on the Hollywood map. I associate her fragrance White Diamonds with my other grandmother. Both women, to my mind, exemplify elegance. During her lifetime, Elizabeth did more than star in movie gems like A Place in the Sun and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (which are two of my favorites from her long and impressive filmography). She went on to win Oscars for her performances in BUtterfield 8 and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? She married eight times and was often the subject of scandal and tabloid fodder.
If ever there was a woman who believed in love and lived with passion, it was Elizabeth Taylor. She married eight times, twice to the same man - the love of her life, Richard Burton. She became the Angelina Jolie of her lifetime when she was accused of breaking up the marriage of her fourth husband, Eddie Fischer and America's Sweetheart, Debbie Reynolds. The gossip was made worse by the fact that she had lost her third husband, Mike Todd, in a plane crash a mere year before. Later the pope denounced her when both she and Richard Burton divorced their respective spouses while filming Cleopatra in order to marry. They had one child, divorced then married again later. Elizabeth cited in one interview that there might have been a third marriage if Burton had not died in 1984. Toward the end of her life, Elizabeth feared that Burton's legacy had been forgotten and, though she never authorized the many biographies written about her over her lifetime, shared very personal letters from their notorious affair with the writers of Furious Love: Elizbaeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Marriage of the Century. As a fan of love letters (Forever Amore was inspired by love letters of World War II), I can't wait to read it!
Among her many achievements, she was one of the first celebrities to campaign for AIDs/HIV research and raised millions and millions of dollars for the cause she dedicated her life to after the death of friend and fellow star, Rock Hudson. With her dark brows and violet eyes, she was considered one of the most beautiful women in the world. I thought I would pay tribute to the life and times of an icon who inspired many, many people and enriched so many lives. Here is my favorite scene starring Elizabeth and Burton from her signature role in Cleopatra....
Several romance authors were cited in this USA Today article on her passing: "What Elizabeth Taylor taught us about love, passion"
"Every breath you take today should be with someone else in mind. I love you."
- Elizabeth Taylor via Twitter on July 22, 2010
4 comments:
Nice video, i have already seen this movie Cleopatra.
Hi Amber,
My favorite Elizabeth Taylor movie is, hands down, Giant. Talk about a great romance. Rock Hudson and James Dean both vying for her love--it was drama on the highest level. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a close second (but anything by Tennessee is tops in my book).
It's sad to see the glamorous Hollywood die. But we'll always have the movies!
Ava Bleu
"The Taming of the Shrew' is on television tonight. I have penciled in that this is my time. Elizabeth Taylor was amazing. She lived her life to the full & with a gracious & open heart.
marypres@gmail.com
@Letters - I saw Cleopatra once a long time ago and for some reason this scene has stuck with me. The tension between her and Burton is awe-inspiring.
@Ava - When I think of Tennesee Williams, it's ELizabeth Taylor and Vivien Leigh who come to mind - for their classic adaptations alone. Though old Hollywood is passing on, it will be immortalized forever by movie gems like Giant and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. They just don't make films like they used to....
@marybelle - Oh, no - I missed it! Oh well, I see an Elizabeth Taylor marathon in my near future :)
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