Michelle Morgan's Blog

This Michelle Morgan blog has now been archived and from now on I will be posting all updates and news to my BRAND NEW website:

www.MichelleMorgan.co.uk

While I intend to keep most of the content of this blog published, I will slowly but surely be deleting some of the posts that are now out-of-date/no longer relevant. However, my new blog will be kept very much up-to-date, so please join me over there.

I'll look forward to seeing you!

Michelle

It has been nine months since I updated my blog, but what a nine months it has been! I can hardly believe all the things that have happened but I will do my best to remember them all! Here we go...

First of all, you can keep in touch with me through my social media accounts: Facebook - The Official Michelle Morgan Author Page; Twitter - @MMWriterGirl and Instagram - @MMWriterGirl. I hope to see you there!I have recently completed a screenplay I wrote about Marilyn Monroe's life. It is called 'M...' and I am very, very proud of it. I am teaming up with Prospect House Entertainment and we hope to gain funding and make the movie in the next few years. I will keep you up-to-date here when I get more news.I now have a publisher for my Carole Lombard book! I am just finishing the manuscript as we speak, and my deadline is 1st December. The book will be published by The History Press in September 2016. I have had a great time writing the book and finding out more about Carole's life and career. I will share a cover with you when I see one, early next year.My Madonna book was published in April, and I am really, really pleased with how it came out. My publisher said that it looked so posh it should be on display somewhere! I agree - the photos came out wonderfully. It was such a joy for me to write about Madonna.'Before Marilyn' (the book I wrote with Astrid Franse about Marilyn's modelling career) was published in July in the UK and will be published next week in the USA. It has had a tremendous reception and many UK newspapers and magazines picked up the story and showed many of the photos from the book. We have had some fabulous reviews on Amazon so far, and I'm looking forward to hearing what USA fans think too!'The Ice Cream Blonde,' my biography about Thelma Todd, was published last week in the USA. I spent a long, long, long time writing this book and I spent much of this year working on the edits, answering questions etc. I am incredibly glad I did, because the response from readers and fans has been fabulous so far. I'm really pleased to have such a reaction, and I certainly did my best and wrote her story from the heart.If you're in the UK, you can read a short interview I did with The Lady magazine, in their 14th November issue. Then in January, Vintage Life will be publishing an article I wrote about old-time magazine articles. I had fun doing that!I think that is all the writing news I have to share with you so far, but I hope to have more very soon. Until then, I'd like to share some news about Paulist Productions. If you do not know, Paulist Productions is a film company that occupied the site of Thelma Todd's Sidewalk Café for many years, and only just moved out a few months ago. When I was writing my book, I corresponded quite regularly with several members of the Paulist team, and I really, really enjoyed sharing the little snippets of information that I found out about their building. It was fantastic to be able to share these stories with people who were actually sitting in the building at the time!

I think we fans of old-time Hollywood and Thelma Todd, owe the staff a big thank you, for keeping Thelma's building so beautifully maintained for many, many years. It was almost untouched by time, with many original features still intact, which is a rare occurrence indeed. To say the staff were excellent caretakers of this landmark would be an understatement and I can only hope that the new owners give it as much care and attention in the future.

This week sees the release of Paulist Productions' new Christmas movie, 'Miracle Maker.' For anyone who likes programmes such as Little House on the Prairie, as well as feel-good, inspirational movies, you are sure to love it! Here is a trailer for the movie. I hope you enjoy it.

Well it has been a busy few weeks I must say. First of all, I would like to thank everyone who enrolled on the Releasing Your Creativity course. More courses are planned very soon, so please keep going to www.WritersStudy.blogspot.com for more details.

Next, I would like to share the cover of the new Marilyn book, and I'm sure you'll agree that it is a beauty! I think The History Press have done an amazing job, and I can't wait to see what they do with the inside. Here is the cover. I hope you like it!!

 You can pre-order the book here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Before-Marilyn-Blue-Modelling-Years/dp/0750961171/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423576635&sr=8-1&keywords=before+marilyn I am excited to tell you that the Madonna book has arrived at my house! It came on Saturday and to say I was bouncing off the walls would be an understatement. My goodness, it is better than anything I could have imagined. The design thanks to my publisher, Constable & Robinson/Little, Brown is just beautiful and the photos are all reproduced on glossy (and very nice smelling!) paper. The book itself will be out in April in the UK and May in the USA. It is already doing very well and has been number one on the Madonna Amazon chart for the past few days, as well as being number one on the Hot New Releases chart in the USA. Added to that, Amazon also tells me that people who buy Madonna's new album, are also buying my book, so I am thrilled. Thanks to everyone who has pre-ordered so far. Here are the links: USA: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0762456213/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d7_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-2&pf_rd_r=0X6AJE9ZEDFEBEE4EB0V&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=1970567562&pf_rd_i=desktop  UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1472118863/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d21_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0R91WW6GFN1SQPCYPBV1&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=455333147&pf_rd_i=468294
And talking of Madonna, check out this interview I did with the good folks at Madonna Underground:

http://madonnaunderground.com/MUreloaded/exclusive-interview-with-michelle-morgan/

It was lovely to talk about the book and why I am so excited about it. I will be doing many more interviews in the weeks and months ahead so stay tuned!!

  Finally, look at this gorgeous meme that my friend Fraser Penney made for me. It includes a quote that I gave to Madonna Underground, and a lovely photo of Marilyn. It is the first meme I have ever appeared on as far as I'm aware, so I'm feeling rather special!  

Are you a writer who feels creatively blocked or unmotivated? If so, my first course with The Writers' Study might be the perfect solution for you. It is a four week course, designed to get you inspired and motivated for future or current writing projects.

I am really excited about starting the course on 9th February, and hope you can join us.

Find out more here: www.WritersStudy.blogspot.com.

I have Twitter and Instagram accounts if you'd like to give me a follow. My name is MMWriterGirl on both. I also have FaceBook at The Official Michelle Morgan Author Page.

Hope to see you there!

My goodness I am so embarrassed that I haven't updated my blog for so long. But I do have a good excuse - I was busy, busy, busy writing three books and setting up other aspects of my business. So let me share the news with you now....

 The Mammoth Book of Madonna is out in the UK in April, and the USA in May. To say I am excited would be an understatement, and I absolutely love the cover. I haven't seen the physical book yet but I have seen the layouts and it is really lovely. I am a  huge Madonna fan as you know, so to have written a celebration of her life and work has been a dream-come-true for me. I can't wait to see what it looks like, and I'm very anxious to see it published. Oh and also my publisher is busy looking into selling overseas rights as we speak, so watch this space for further news as I get it.

You can order the UK version of the book here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Madonna-Michelle-Morgan/dp/1472118863/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421757896&sr=8-1&keywords=madonna+michelle+morgan

And the USA version of the book here:
http://www.amazon.com/Mammoth-Book-Madonna-Michelle-Morgan/dp/0762456213/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421758014&sr=8-1&keywords=madonna+michelle+morgan

***
Before Marilyn: The Blue Book Modelling Years by myself and Astrid Franse, will be out in the UK in July. As we speak, the publisher is just putting the finishing touches to the cover design, and as soon as I have a green light, I will share it here. I must say that the cover as I have seen it, is bright, colourful and very, very beautiful. I'm sure it won't disappoint!

The book itself was finished at the end of October and sent to the publisher in November. Astrid and I worked very hard to make sure that the text and photos were delivered to the publisher on time, and now we are waiting for the edits and layouts to arrive. I for one cannot wait to see what the publisher does with the materials. The book was hard work due to the volume of materials involved, and a lot of time was spent organising everything. But this book is one-of-a-kind and I am so pleased to have been asked to provide the text for it. The story of Marilyn's association with the Blue Book Agency has never been fully told until now, and it is a story that will take the reader on a voyage of different emotions, from hopeful to happy, to sad and heart-breaking. It made me smile and shed the odd tear, and I am sure when I see what the book finally looks like, I will shed many more.

The UK will see the release in early July. As yet there are no dates for the rest of the world,(but watch this space for further details). It is - of course - available to order from all the usual online sources around the world, including Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Before-Marilyn-Blue-Modelling-Years/dp/0750961171/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1421758134&sr=1-1&keywords=before+Marilyn

***
My Thelma Todd book has been renamed The Ice Cream Blonde and will be published by Chicago Review Press in the USA in October. The book was finished in September and the publisher is in the process of organising the line edits as we speak. I don't mind telling you that I'm kind of dreading the edits coming in, because this was a huge story with many twists and turns, especially towards the end. I'm sure there will be many questions to answer, but I know that by the end of the process, there will be a book that is concise, informative and worthwhile. I think it is one of the most rewarding books I have ever worked on, and I'm very, very proud that I was able to tackle it with the respect that Thelma deserves. I grew to love her so much during the research and writing of the book and I know that I will adore and collect items related to her, for the rest of my life.

The publisher is working on the cover at the moment and I will share it as soon as I am able to. I can tell you that from the sample I've been sent, it is one of the best covers I have ever seen in my entire life. I can't wait to share it with you all.

The book is not on Amazon just yet, but I will be sure to post the links as soon as it is.

***
The Carole Lombard book is with my agent, and doing the rounds with publishers as we speak. I will let you know when I have some firm news, but I am very keen to get it finished and out in the next year. Watch this space!!

*** I have written an article for Vintage Life magazine recently, which deals with old magazine adverts and the often crazy and funny things they tried to sell us 'back in the day.' I am told it will be in a future edition of the magazine - I'm thinking probably April time - but I will let you know when I hear more. ***  As I look to the future, I am very excited and happy to announce that I have added another branch to my career. Inspired by the many questions and emails I have had over the years, I have created The Writers' Study, a series of courses and workshops for creative people. These workshops are designed to inspire, motivate and inform people who are interested not only the business of writing, but in using the art to release their own creativity.  I have created a special blog especially for The Writers' Study and it can be viewed here: http://www.writersstudy.blogspot.co.uk/ The first course will be announced very soon, so check it out! *** I think that's about all I can share with you right now. I have lots of plans and projects that are quietly bubbling away, and I will be happy to share those when I can. Until then, Happy New Year and I hope that 2015 is a good one for all of us. Warmly Michelle     

Wow I cannot believe I haven't updated my blog since November!  Yikes, I am sorry for being so lax!  However, here I am now and I have some great news to share.....

The Thelma Todd book is going very well.  I am more than half-way through the writing, and it is all on schedule to be finished by the deadline in September.  I must say that I am having such a lovely time working on the book.  I'll admit that on the days when I'm working on the death section, it is fairly draining due to trying to figure out solutions to a case that is almost 80 years old.  But I do feel as though I am getting somewhere with it, and dispelling some of the myths that have sprung up over the years.  The rest of the book - Thelma's life and career, is going fabulously too, and I love every minute of working on it.  She was a terrific woman and writing about her life certainly cheers me up.  It will be published by Chicago Review Press, in Autumn/Winter 2015.I am really pleased to tell you that 'Marilyn's Blue Book Years' now has a publisher and can be pre-ordered on Amazon!  We are really excited about it, and Astrid and I are working hard on obtaining information that is rare and previously unknown.  I am working on the text while Astrid works on the photos, and we are on schedule to meet our deadline of February 2015.  The book will be published by The History Press in August 2015. Astrid and I are trying to find the estates of the following photographers, so that we can contact them about our book: Lawrence Kronquist, Leo Caloia, Bob Earle (aka Photography By Earle), H Maier Studios, Ed Cronenworth, Laszlo Willinger, and Potter Heuth.  If anyone can share any information, or if you’d like to help try to find them, we’d absolutely love it.  Please let us know if you can help, and thanks so much in advance!! I am proud, pleased and excited to announce that I have just been commissioned to write an illustrated book about Madonna.  Since I have been a fan from the age of 14, this project is a dream come true, and involves me choosing 220 photos, and writing extended captions to go with each one.  The book will be published by Constable/Little, Brown in Spring 2015, and to say I am pleased would be an understatement.  It really is a wonderful project and gives me a great excuse to watch Madonna interviews and videos on a very regular basis!  Anyone who knows me will tell you that I simply adore Madonna, and it seems really fitting that on the 30th anniversary of me discovering her (whilst she was on Top of the Pops singing Like A Virgin) I am now working on this book.  I will look forward to sharing it with you all next year.Finally, the secret project I was working on late last year is still progressing.  I need to make a few adjustments, and then it will be sent off to the interested party...  I can't tell you any more than that at this moment, but let's just say that if it all goes ahead, this will be the biggest thing I have ever worked on in my life.  I'll keep you up-to-date as things develop.The Carole Lombard project is currently on-hold while I work through the projects I've mentioned above.  However, I am working on a proposal for the book, which I will give to my agent in due course, and hopefully I will be able to obtain a publisher who will give her the attention she deserves, before long.I think we've caught up on everything now.  I promise not to be so long in sharing news with you in future, and I hope you are all having a great spring!

Best
Michelle

Several weeks ago I promised you some exclusive news.  Well here I am, and at last I can finally tell you that I have just signed a contract with Chicago Review Press, to write my long-awaited book about Thelma Todd.  This is a huge deal for me because I have wanted to write the book for almost four years now.  It took a long time to get together a proposal that both myself and my agent were happy with, but finally last year we found the perfect words, and two months ago, Chicago Review Press made an offer to publish.  CRP are also the authors of the new book on Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, entitled 'Room 1219,' which has had fabulous reviews.  For this and many other reasons, I know that CRP are the perfect publisher for my Thelma book.

Provisionally titled '271 Steps: The Mysterious Life and Death of Thelma Todd', the book will chart Thelma's life from birth to death, and will include a special investigation into what I believe happened to her on that last, fateful evening.

I am hard at work on the research and writing of the book, and am currently looking for anyone who can help with rare documents, letters, photographs etc, and would love to hear from anyone in that regard.  Perhaps you know someone who owns something rare, or was related to Thelma in some way; or maybe you have a photo that you would like to share.  If that is you, I'd love to hear from you.  Just leave a message and your email address in the comments section, and I will get straight back to you. (please note that all comments are private until I approve them, so you can leave your email address in confidence that it won't be published here).

So that is my news, and I hope you are as excited about it as I am. You will see the finished product in December 2015, to coincide with the 80th anniversary of Thelma's passing.  It seems far away, but when you have 80,000 words to write before September 2014, it is actually quite close!  So I must get back to it, but look out for news and updates along the way towards publication.

Thanks for all your support!

Hello Everyone!

I just wanted to share some news with you all, about my forthcoming and current projects.....

First of all, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has bought my book, 'The Mammoth Book of Hollywood Scandals' so far.  The response has been very positive and I'm so glad that people are enjoying it.  One thing I'd like to address, are the publication dates, which are as follows:

UK (published by Constable & Robinson) - 17th October.
USA (published by Running Press) - 3rd December (though Amazon seems to have the Kindle version available now).

The rest of the world seems to be coming out at any time between those two dates, so if you can't find it straight away, please ask your local book shop and they'll be able to tell you when the book is out.  It is currently available in hundreds of Waterstones stores up and down the UK, and of course is on sale at Amazon, WH Smith etc.  I am absolutely thrilled with the way the book came out, and it makes a great Christmas present for anyone and everyone interested in scandals from the 1920s to the present day!

I'd also like to thank everyone who continues to buy the Marilyn biography, which is still selling well, over a year after publication.  It truly was a great honour for me to tell Marilyn's story in the updated book and so I'm glad people are enjoying it.

'Marilyn's Blue Book Days' is going well and I'm hoping to bring you some good news about that, some time next year.  In the meantime, please join the FaceBook page dedicated to the project:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/629269130427851/

I am currently working on a secret project which - when finished - should be huge!  It is one of the hardest, but most rewarding things I have worked on and I can't wait to share that news with you as soon as possible.  It won't be until next year, but believe me, if all goes well it will be worth the wait.

After the success of my V & A talk, I'm happy to say that I will probably be returning next summer, to talk about The Mammoth Book of Hollywood Scandals.  Watch this space for more details....

Lots of people have been asking me about the Carole Lombard book.  Well I am still writing it, but the focus has changed from a straight-forward biography, to what I  hope will be a beautiful coffee-table book.  My ideas changed after receiving a great many fabulous photos which need to be published in a glossy book in my opinion.  With that in mind, the search is on for a publisher who will be able to do this, and I will keep you up-to-date on all developments.

Finally, in a few weeks time I will be able to share some very, very exciting news about an upcoming project with you all.  For now my lips must remain sealed but I am ecstatically happy and will look forward to being able to tell you all about it soon....

I promise I will update the blog with more news soon.  Until then, please feel free to join my official page on FaceBook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/124973377514850/

Thanks everyone and Happy Halloween!!

Love
Michelle

I am thrilled that publication day is finally here for my new book, 'The Mammoth Book of Hollywood Scandals'.  I'm really excited to learn that Amazon seems to be re-stocking their supplies, after selling out of pre-ordered copies, and almost every Waterstones store in the UK is currently selling more than one copy of the book.

Some people have been asking me if I have plans to do some book signings.  I don't at the moment, but anything I do decide to do, will be reported here so please keep checking back.

Until then, thanks to everyone who has bought the book and I hope you enjoy it!!!