New Video from the Citrus Singers

Hailey, 6/29/18 - Nothing like catching a barracuda on your first deep sea fishing trip!

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For those new to my blog:

Above:  Hailey is my oldest granddaughter. 
Below:  Susie is the director of The Citrus Singers, the chorus of the Central Florida Girl Scouts of America. She is also my daughter. Riley and Cassidy are my granddaughters. Michael is my son-in-law (and owner of Millennia 3 Media).

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The new Citrus Singer video is a parody of Camila Cabello's Havana.

Behind the scenes:

The Citrus Singers "Patch"

 

Abby's cloak waiting in the wings

 

Demonstrating a pose for Abby

 

Conference Time - on the right, Susie, Dave, Mike

FYI, that's the studio that was painted pink for the previous video.

  
Grace notes:  The Citrus Singers' new video will be featured at the Girl Scouts' QuestFest in Savannah, Georgia, July 14, 2018.  

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The Story of the Citrus Singers' New Video

On Monday night (6/25/18), as we came out of the movie theater after watching the latest Jurassic Park epic, we were suddenly stalled in the lobby as Susie checked the "proof" of the Citrus Singers' just-finished video . . . and stood there, phone plugged into the wall, for fifteen minutes while she edited the mistakes in the captioning. Sigh. Thank goodness the lobby had benches. But I think you'll agree the end result was worth all the effort.

Speaking of effort . . .

I was present for only one recording session - the opening scene - and after two and a half hours (mostly without air conditioning as it was too noisy to run while filming!), I decided I needed to eat as well as breathe cool air and went home. So, no, you won't see me in the audience though I screamed loudly with all the others in earlier takes. And that's only one example of what it took to make the video. 

Just think about the efforts of whoever made the cloak Abby wears as she comes down the aisle. And it took six or seven takes to get her hair to swirl just right! And then there were the two carloads of moms and girls who made the road trip to Savannah, Georgia, the city where the Girl Scouts were founded. When I asked Riley and Cassidy about the trip, I got a groan from one and "Hot!" from the other. This from girls who were born in Florida?? But if you study the Savannah scenes, you will see they are mostly outdoors - with the girls biking, running, circling, leapfrogging, etc. Activities not usually undertaken in either Georgia or Florida in the June sun. So . . . not quite the "fun" road trip one might think.

The "home" scenes were filmed in Susie's house, where I suspect it was not necessary to turn off the AC! But I'm willing to bet there were a lot of "takes" before everybody got it right. So when you watch this new video, which is even more Girl Scout-themed than the last one, please keep in mind all the behind-the-scenes efforts that went into it: the Moms, who did so much; Michael, who directed; Dave, the videographer who also edited; Susie, who created the concept, wrote the dialogue and parody & laid out the scenes, as well as being general factotum for the whole shebang.

And if you think she is "over the top," in the opening scene, well, there's a reason for that . . .

 To view the Citrus Singers' new video, click here.

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THE COURTESAN'S LETTERS

Blurb for The Courtesan's Letters, revised version with new cover, June 2018:

Miss Abigail Todd, the very proper headmistress of an academy for young ladies in Boston, arrives in England to settle her grandmother's estate, only to discover that her ancestor was la grande Clarisse, the most notorious courtesan of her day. And, to Abigail's even greater horror, she discovers she herself is the perfect image of her grandmother. Clarisse has left a series of letters detailing commissions Abby must carry out in order to obtain her inheritance (an amount far greater than anticipated). In order to do this, she must accept the assistance of Jared, Earl of Langley, grandson of the man who was Clarisse's lover for forty years. Has Clarisse created these letters because of love, nostalgia, mischief, vengeance . . . or is she perhaps more interested in matchmaking? The most likely answer: all of the above.

Author's Note:  The Courtesan's Letters is suitable reading for Ages 14 & up. As a paperback, under the title, The Indifferent Earl, it was nominated for a RITA award by the Romance Writers of America and was awarded "Regency of the Year" by Romantic Times magazine. 

Grace note: I just realized the heroine of The Courtesan's Letters has the same first name as the heroine of the Citrus Singers' video! 

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For a link to The Courtesan's Letters, please click here. 

For a link to Royal Rebellion, click here.  

For a link to Blair Bancroft's web site, click here. 

 

For a link to Blair's Facebook Author Page with background on The Courtesans' Letters,  click here.

                    Next blog:  July 14, 2018

Thanks for stopping by,  

Grace