May 22, 2007

Check out the new page for THE GOOD PEOPLE OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH: THE MUSICAL! which had its first full performance at a workshop last Saturday, May 19th!

There you'll find photos of the show, as well as the program and other goodies!

February 4, 2007

On January 20th, I had one of the most thrilling evenings of my life when I went to New York and had dinner with the cast of off-Broadway's hit show [title of show]. Below is a little excerpt from their January 30th blog about our dinner. They're pretty funny...and they were kind enough to include photos and even plug my book.

If you're in the need to buy a good CD, I'd suggest the Original Cast Recording of [title of show]--though it does have a few naughty words in it, for you faint of heart.

Our Dinner with Chris Smith!

We recently had dinner with Chris Smith. Chris was the high bidder on a Vineyard fund-raising auction lot that entitled him to have dinner with us.

For those of you who are blog-savvy, you'll recollect that Chris won this auction back in November. It took Vineyard staffer Mike O'Neill about 57 emails to find a night when we could all attend (good jorb, Mike). And Chris Smith (god bless his heart) flew in all the way from Burbank!

That's in California, people!!

Our dinner (provided by the fine folks at Shades of Green) was a hoot and a half. Jeff and I had the lambchop special with mint jelly, while others enjoyed cheeseburgers and other delights. There might have been a deep-fried cheesestick hootenanny ordered...it was all such a whirlwind.

Chris, our guest of honor is a writer, raconteur and receptionist, originally from West Virginia. We discussed the musical he is currently writing, the gift his sister gave him for Christmas, dying pets, credit card debt, near-death experiences and soap operas. We answered a list of questions Chris had prepared (Q: What does 'pull a train' mean? A: Too filthy to print). Chris even videotaped portions of our conversation, which I hope get edited into some sort of insane Christmas video for his family.

Thank you for travelling so far to hang out with us, Chris. And thank you for supporting the Vineyard.

And THANK YOU GUYS for giving me such a good time! I'll soon be posting some more pictures from the event, along with some video clips! Stay tuned!


Febrary 3, 2007

Last spring, I entered my book, THE UNFORTUNATES, into Writer Digest's International Self Publishing Contest. Before you get excited, I didn't win. But I recently received the comments from my judge, Judge 29, and cheered my broken heart a bit.

On a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being "poor" and 5 being "excellent", my bestseller got...
Plot: 5
Grammar: 5
Character development: 5
Cover Design: 5

When asked, What did you like best about his book? Judge 29 said:

Great packaging--I was hooked from the moment I looked at the cover: 'Murder/ Madness/Mail/ All the things that make Monday mornings such a bitch.' That's darn funny. And while one shouldn't judge a book by its cover, I'm delighted I wasn't misled.

The black humor continued inside. THE UNFORTUNATES is a simultaneous send up of horror novels and the film industry (Scream meets The Devil Wears Prada, if you will), and is at times laugh-out-loud funny. With scads of pop culture references from all arenas, a bewildering (yet somehow appropriate) array of plot lines, a cult (natch), lots of murders and rather silly characters (the names!), it was, quite simply, deliciously over the top and a lot of fun to read. Plus, the dialogue is quite well done -- it flows smoothly and naturally, which is quite an accomplishment.

When asked, How can the author improve this book? Judge 29 went on to say:

I don't mind the curse words...but are there too many of them? That might turn off a few readers. Also, I love the extravagance of this novel, but it's possible it might a bit TOO extravagant at times. There's a lot gong on, and a lot for the reader to follow. But to be honest, I think it works here. If you wanted to make it into a screenplay though, I think a lot would have to be excised (and this would make a wonderful farcical film).

So even with the constructive criticism about the curse words and whatnot, I am still happy.

In more interesting news, allow me to unveil the beautiful new logo design for my current project, THE GOOD PEOPLE OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH: THE MUSICAL!

December 8, 2006

On Wednesday, Nov. 22nd, little Irma, my adorable pet hamster, passed away sometime in the middle of the night.

I decided to bury her up in the Verdugo Hills, near the trails back behind Brand Library. It's amazing how the friendship of little creatures can make such an impact on our lives, and I'm so sad she's now gone.

October 30, 2006

I have exciting news! I was foolish enough to bid on an eBay auction to have dinner with the entire cast of [title of show] (it's still the best musical EVER!)...AND GUESS WHAT?!?!? I WON!!!

I won't tell you how much I spent, but I can say that a third world country could feed several tribes on what was spent for my dinner.

I beat someone named "Aunt Marilyn", which I feel terrible about. So now, I am flying to New York AGAIN to meet Heidi, Susan, Hunter, Jeff, and Larry for dinner. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

October 1 , 2006

During my lovely visit to New York City (my 2nd trip this year!) I had the good fortune to catch the next-to-next-to-final performance of [title of show] (it's the best musical EVER!)...and threw caution to the wind by giving copies of my book to its talented cast members. To my surprise and delight, they were kind enough to give me a mention on their official blog!
September 22, 2006

I am celebrating my one-year anniversary with my beautiful hamster, Irma. This has been a very happy year having this sweet little creature share my life and apartment. A special thank you to my friend, Doug Dispiri, for allowing me to adopt her from him.

September 5, 2006

Great news, kids! The full creative team for my new musical, THE GOOD PEOPLE OF SODDOM AND GOMORRAH: THE MUSICAL! has been assembled. The madmen behind this long-awaited project include me-Christopher Smith (book writer, co-lyricist), Brad Beaver (co-lyricist), and Peder Fedde (composer). Please keep good thoughts for us, as we only have about eight months to take an outline to script to full staged reading. Yikes! But if Wonderful Town could be written in one month and the off-Broadway hit, [title of show] could be written in three weeks, then maybe we have a chance too. Check back for details as they transpire.

September 9, 2006:

Music lovers rejoice! The full creative team for THE GOOD PEOPLE OF SODDOM AND GOMORRAH: THE MUSICAL! has been assembled!

Joining me, C.A. Smythe (book, lyrics), will be Brad Beaver (lyrics) and Peder Fedde (music).

July 29, 2006:

At last it's here!

Welcome to C.A. SMYTHE.COM -- the OFFICIAL website of yours truly, C.A. Smythe! The creation of the web site is still in progress, but bear with us... All will be ready in time.

So, until next time...try to enjoy the daylight!