MM Private and Undisclosed

I am very pleased and proud to unveil the cover for my new book, out Spring 2012. As most of you know, while it has the same name as the last book, this one is completely revised and expanded and will have many, many new interviews, stories and memories in it.... Someone who recently read it described it as 'Hugely impressive'. I hope you will think that way too!!

Until then, I hope you enjoy the cover!

MM Private and Undisclosed

At long last I am very happy to announce my MM biography will be republished as a paperback next year.

The publication date will be approx March or April 2012; it will be published as part of the Brief History series by Constable in the UK and by Running Press in the USA and the title will be 'The Brief History of Marilyn Monroe: Private and Undisclosed'...

There will be more information, stories and memories than previously, with some new photos too.... Feel free to spread the word or ask any questions too! Thanks for your support!

New FaceBook group

I have created a FaceBook group dedicated to my work as an author. I decided to do this as many people ask to become my 'friend' through reading my work but for personal reasons I prefer to keep my FaceBook account for people I know or have been in contact with for some time.

So I am creating the page so that readers can keep in touch with me and hear all about my writing news in the future.

The name of the group is The Official Michelle Morgan Author Group and everyone is welcome to join.

News and updates

I haven't updated the blog in quite some time as I've been very busy working on numerous projects. Namely:

1. An updated version of Marilyn Monroe: Private and Undisclosed
2. A project dedicated to a 1930s actress (more information soon)
3. A screenplay with a Hollywood scriptwriter
4. A play with a Hollywood scriptwriter

There will be lots more news on all of the above projects soon.

Storytime Yoga

STORYTIME YOGA COURSE

A Review by Michelle Morgan

Storytime Yoga is the brainchild of yoga teacher and mother Sydney Solis, who set up the company after the death of her husband, in order to make a living and future for her children. She began teaching Storytime Yoga classes to local children and in no time at all her hard work paid off and her company became not only successful in the area of teaching children, but also she was able to branch out into books, lectures and a series of E-courses.

Sydney offers three different courses: Awakening the Storyteller, Stories from the Heart and Mythic Yoga. All of these courses are run over the Internet, and you have to complete all three before you are eligible to become a member of the League of Yogic Storytellers and go onto live training with Sydney herself.

I recently undertook the first part of the E-course: Awakening the Storyteller, and I greatly enjoyed my experience.

The course lasts four weeks and during that time each student has access to Sydney’s knowledge through emails, podcasts and two live tele-conference calls. However, if you are not able to take part in the calls, Sydney’s very efficient assistant Gina will send you the MP3 version, so that you don’t miss anything that is said. This makes it very easy for International students like myself, who can’t take part in the call due to time difference and expensive call charges.

There are a maximum of 15 students on each course and a special forum is set up so that you can keep in touch with each other, share notes, questions and ideas. I found this very useful and inspirational, to be able to hear from other like-minded people, and I was very glad to share my own knowledge of teaching children over the past four years.

Preparation for the course involves posting your introduction to the forum, taking part in the telephone call and listening to a specially-prepared audio lecture, which explains the course and goes into the benefits of telling stories both for children and adults. You should also purchase a copy of Sydney’s beautiful book, ‘Storytime Yoga: Teaching Yoga to Children Through Story’, which is not only insightful and informative, but also acts as the course manual throughout the four weeks of study. Alternatively you will receive the E-version of this book, though of course it’s always nice to hold the hard-copy in your hands when working.

You will also receive some MP3 recordings of stories and songs, along with a video download of a Storytime Yoga class. The MP3 audios were great, but unfortunately for me I couldn’t get the video to work, though I’m sure this was merely a technical problem on my part, rather than a problem with the file itself. (Incidentally, when you go onto course two, you will receive Sydney’s second book, ‘The Treasure in Your Heart: Yoga and Stories for Peaceful Children’, but I would suggest you don’t wait until the next course to buy a copy, as it is a very useful investment for anyone interested in stories and yoga.)

When course one started I was terribly excited, and for good reason. I found the coursework to be varied and insightful, with notes and tuition on setting up classes, how to find stories, techniques for teaching children of all ages including teenagers, meditation, warm-ups, games and so much more. I decided to try out one of the stories, ‘The Peddler’s Dream’ to my older yoga children one Friday afternoon, and the response was amazing. They sat enthralled as I told them the tale of the Peddler who kept dreaming he should go to London, and at the end of the story every child was eager and happy not only to tell me what specific yoga postures they would use in each part of the story, but also what dreams they have – either night dreams or life dreams – and the whole class turned into a lively discussion with many smiles, and much applause along the way.

The coursework is send out without fail every Monday morning, which was terrific for me because I teach yoga to junior school children every Monday afternoon, which gave me time to print the material and read it before taking the ideas into my classroom later in the day. There are assignments to undertake which are voluntary, but if you choose to do them as I did, you will definitely get a lot more out of the class. You need to do lots of reading too, but if you’re anything like me, it just gave me a good excuse to dive into the library and also order a few tomes from Amazon too!!

Each week Sydney sends a podcast to explain specific points and answer any questions students have brought up through the week. I thought this was really useful and really made me feel part of the Storytime team when I heard Sydney refer to me by name and answer a query or thought I had brought up.

When the course finished last week, I was really sad because I had enjoyed it immensely and will certainly miss receiving my coursework and notes every week. Being involved in the course certainly gave me a reason to get up every Monday morning!!

I would recommend part one of the Storytime Yoga course to anyone. I sincerely enjoyed taking part in it and hope that one day I’ll be able to do the second and third parts too.

The next course starts on 5 April and you can register at www.storytimeyoga.com Also on the website you will be able to find out much more about children’s yoga, Sydney, the courses and her books. It is well worth taking a look, especially if you have an interest in stories, children or both!

Yoga 4 Teens

‘Yoga 4 Teens:
An instructor’s guide for teaching yoga to teenagers’

By Christy Brock and Jennifer Lightsey

Published by Yogaminded, P O Box 3072, San Clemente, CA 92674-3072
Year: 2005
227 pages
Price: 49.95 US Dollars


I have bought many (MANY!) yoga books in my time. Some are read and placed on a shelf forever more; others are dipped into every now and again; and one or two are forever on my coffee table, ready to be thumbed, read and digested whenever I’m getting ready for a yoga class.

‘Yoga 4 Teens’ is one of these books. After reading the information on Christy Brock’s website, I knew it would be good, but nothing could have prepared me for just how wonderful it really is.

The book is described as spiral bound, which brings to mind a flimsy, paper-backed manual which will soon start to curl at the edges. However, that is NOT the case with this book; it is spiral-bound with a difference. If you have David Swenson’s Ashtanga book, you’ll know what I mean when I say it is spiral-bound, but then covered with a hardwearing board cover. This ensures that the book can be carried around without getting damaged, which is good news for a teacher’s manual.

The book is divided into three parts: ‘What to know’; ‘Poses and teaching them’; and ‘Sample classes’. It is followed by an Appendix which includes charts, lists of postures, resources, quotes and more.

The three parts of this book are everything you could ever wish to know about teaching yoga to teenagers. (And incidentally while it is aimed at the teenage market, it is also a wonderful resource if you teach younger children too). Chapters in Part one include: Establishing a teaching position; Classroom space and props; Principles of teaching teens; Yoga philosophy in the teen classroom; Practicalities; and Class planning.

This part of the book is a fantastic resource for preparing yourself to teach teens, while part two is everything you need to teach the postures themselves – from standing postures to relaxation and everything in between. This part of the book takes up over 100 pages and is illustrated throughout with hundreds of photographs demonstrating all of the postures. There are even extra sections on menstruation, breath awareness and special cases.

Part three includes five sample classes and three objective-specific classes, all of which are illustrated and described with both the English name and the Sanskrit.

After spending an afternoon in the company of ‘Yoga4Teens’, I can truly say that I have never come across a teacher training manual like this one. It is concise, informative and hugely descriptive. As a yoga teacher I have spent many years teaching either young children or older adults, but I have always shied away from the teenage market, fearing I might not be cool enough for them! However, now that I have this book by my side, I really do feel as though I am now equipped with the answers to every question I could possibly have, and I’m now looking forward to teaching teenagers in the future.

As for the authors - Christy Brock and Jennifer Lightsey – their enthusiasm and love for teenagers comes shining through. Many, many hours must have gone into writing this guide and this really shows in the text. I think it is their passion for teaching (and for teaching teenagers in particular) that really makes this book so worthwhile.

And talking of passion for teaching, Christy has also compiled an e-book for those interested in teaching teenagers, entitled “Teaching Teenagers Yoga”. It is a combination of practical advice and inspirational guidance from many yoga teachers, all recalling their experiences of teaching teenagers and what has worked (and hasn’t worked) for them. At 19.95 US dollars, it is a great addition to your bookshelves – particularly because it’s an e-book so you don’t have to wait days or weeks for it to be delivered.

I’d recommend Christy’s books to anyone not only interested in teaching teenagers, but also anyone who actually has a teenager at home. The information contained in both books is tremendous and I for one am very proud to have both manuals in my collection.

‘Yoga4Teens’ and ‘Teaching Teenagers Yoga’ are both available from Christy’s website: www.yoga4teens.com and www.yogaminded.com while ‘Yoga4Teens’ is also available at www.Amazon.com

Look out for an exclusive interview with Christy coming soon! If you have any questions you’d like to ask Christy, please let me know as soon as possible. Thank you.

Googies: Coffeeshop to the Stars

Googies: Coffeeshop to the stars
By Steve Hayes
Vol One ISBN 1593933061
Vol Two ISBN 159393307X
BearManor Media
www.bearmanormedia.com

Have you ever heard of The Corner? No? What about Ah Fong’s or Black Watch? Still confused? Well what if I add in the names Schwab’s or Greenblatts? Ahh, now I’m making sense. We all know Schwab’s and Greenblatts were a big part of Marilyn (and Hollywood) history, and together with Ah Fong’s, Garden of Allah and Black Watch, they made up an area known as ‘The Corner’, where people came to see and be seen in the 1950s. But while Schwab’s might have been the most famous of these locations, there was another coffee shop on ‘The Corner’ which was not so well-known but just as popular with the up-and-coming stars of the day – and that was Googies.

Googies was designed by architect John Lautner in 1949, with the idea that by using lots of glass, it would give the illusion of eating outside. It worked and was immediately popular with the Schwab’s crowd and those who hung around ‘The Corner’.

Many stars and starlets walked through Googie’s front door over the years, including James Dean, Errol Flynn and of course, Marilyn Monroe. Another budding movie star was Steve Hayes, who not only hung round ‘The Corner’, but also ended up managing Googies himself.

Some fifty years later, Steve opens the doors of Googies once again, by writing the highly entertaining two-volume book, ‘Googies: Coffeeshop to the stars.’ In the book Steve tells his own story of trying to make it big in Hollywood, and spills the beans on some of the secrets, stories and scandals surrounding his friends and acquaintances from ‘The Corner’.

Of course Marilyn was one of the people he encountered during this time, and she features in several chapters. Steve talks about the time he gave her a lift home to North Palm Drive, along with several stories from her days at Schwab’s and Googies.

The book doesn’t just concentrate on the famous people who haunted ‘The Corner’; it is also an autobiography of Steve himself. Married and divorced on more than one occasion, the book takes the reader on a ride through Hollywood and it’s history, while all the time telling tales of Steve’s life and loves.

The book is illustrated with loads of black and white photographs of old Hollywood (including some fantastic ones of Googies and Schwab’s), and many actors and actresses too, including Marilyn.

In my opinion, this book is a very entertaining read and is great either to dip into, or read from cover-to-cover. I would recommend it to anyone interested in tales of old Hollywood. It really is a journey through the ups and downs of the Golden Age of Movies, and since most of the people and places mentioned in the book are long gone, it is the nearest we will get to hanging around ‘The Corner’ ourselves.


Both volumes of ‘Googies’ are available from BearManor Media or at www.Amazon.com

Happy New Year

Hi Everyone

I just wanted to wish you all a very Happy New Year! May all your dreams come true and may all be fine in 2009!

My plans for 2009 include continuing to write my column for the Evening Telegraph; continue my Carole Lombard research and carry on with all my yoga classes and studies.

Please keep checking into the blog for further details throughout 2009!

Love
Michelle

Busy, busy!

It has been ages since I last updated my blog, but let me share my latest news with you all:

• Yoga teaching - I am now a qualified adult yoga teacher and have spent the past few months setting up a variety of classes. They are all going well so far!
• Carole Lombard - I am still researching the Carole Lombard book, but taking my time, planning it around the other projects I am doing. It will take a few years to complete this mammoth task, but I will get there one day!
• Novel - My novel is coming along slowly but surely. I am still working my way round some questions and structure within the story, but I am definitely enjoying working on it.

Yoga News

I am happy to say that my yoga teacher training course is going very well - in fact I have just completed the last assignment and am about to sit my exam. Eek! All being well I should be fully qualified very shortly and after that I am starting a series of adult yoga classes, and classes for teenagers too.

As well as that I am also attending a Foundation course in a town close to where I live, which will lead to a certificate and will also lead to another teacher training course starting next year. In my opinion you can never have too much yoga training, so I am really looking forward to the next teacher training course. In the meantime the Foundation course is wonderful and I am learning loads and enjoying every minute of it. Long may it continue!

My Brother met Kiss!

My brother has been a huge fan of the rock band Kiss for many, many years and last week finally got the opportunity to meet them. I'm so happy that I just had to post one of the pictures here!

Barbara Payton

I was absolutely delighted recently to find a new friend in the shape of John O'Dowd, who is a respected biographer and author. He has recently had a book published on 1950s starlet Barbara Payton, and I'm happy to say that I have just ordered my copy and am anxiously awaiting its delivery!

I'm ashamed to say that I had never heard of Barbara before speaking to John, but now that I've read a little about her at John's website and also on the Internet in general, I'm very keen to know more.

If you'd like to find out more about the book, please visit John's website:

http://www.hollywoodstarletbarbarapayton.com/

You can also order a copy of the book from http://www.amazon.com/ or by emailing the publisher at: books@benohmart.com

Marilyn Lives Society Back issues

As you know, The Marilyn Lives Society newsletter has closed its doors, and I am now left with a large variety of back issues. These issues are currently sitting in a large drawer in my desk, but I need room so they must go!

I published the non-profit newsletter for 16 years and had 160+ newsletters in all. While I don't have all of these issues left, I do have quite a few different ones, so if you are interested in either adding to your Marilyn collection or finding some newsletters that you don't already have, look no further!

If you are interested in back issues, please email me. Each one is being sold for 50 pence (about 1 dollar) and if you are looking for a specific one, please let me know.

Thanks!

Easter in the Morgan household

We all had a lovely Easter. Rather shockingly It was snowing when we woke up but that just added to the fun, with lots of snowballs and snowmen - after the big Easter Egg hunt of course!

Daisy had a wonderful day with egg hunts all over the place. Screams of 'Hey' and 'Wow' could be heard for miles around!

All in all, a great day was had all round.

My Yoga Baby

My daughter did a great modelling job today, for an article I've just written about the benefits of yoga for children. She will be appearing in the article, which is published in a local magazine, and she is extremely proud!

Yoga Teacher Here I Come!

As most of you know, I'm a children's yoga teacher, teaching up to the age off 11 at this moment. However, several years ago I embarked on an adult yoga teacher training course too, but was unable to finish it because of the time needed for my Marilyn Monroe book. I am very happy to say that I am now in a position where I'm able to continue on my yoga teacher journey, and have just completed assignment 5 of my course. The complete course is 15 assignments, so I have 10 more to go. I'm hoping to get those finished by the end of the year.

I am also going to attend a Yoga Teacher Training for Teenagers course in the very near future, which will enable me to teach in secondary schools, as well as primary.

This part of my life is very exciting. I can't wait to get qualified as an adult teacher and start sharing my knowledge with the parents as well as the children!

My projects

MY NOVEL

Never content with just working on one project, I've started to write a novel too. I have actually had this idea in my head for quite some time, and I began writing shortly after Christmas. The book is still very much in the early stages, but I am very happy with what I have written so far. The character is someone completely unlike myself - in fact he is male and a lot older. But that is all I can say for now. I'll give more details and keep you all informed, when I have written more.

MY CAROLE LOMBARD BIOGRAPHY

My Carole Lombard project is going slowly but surely. I say slowly because so far I've been unable to interview anyone who is related to or knew Carole in any way (or is related to someone who knew her). I have acquired many items that are rare and unknown so far, but interviews are a very big requirement for my books - as demonstrated in 'Marilyn Monroe: Private and Undisclosed', where I interviewed 100 people.

So if you know anyone out there who is related to, or knew Carole in any way, please get them to email me - I'd love to hear from them.

I have had a huge response and much help from Carole's fans, and I'm so happy and grateful to you all. You will be acknowledged in the book, when it is complete.

MARILYN MONROE: PRIVATE AND UNDISCLOSED

My Marilyn book is still selling steadily. There is no news yet about translation rights, but I'll let you all know when I hear anything.

I'm very excited!

I am a huge fan of Sex and the City, especially Sarah Jessica Parker's character, Carrie Bradshaw. For the first few weeks after giving birth, I spent many hours watching Sex and the City on DVD, while Daisy slept beside me. It helped keep me sane in those difficult first weeks of being a mum! Of course as a writer I was always inspired by Carrie's job as a columnist, and now it seems very strange (but also very cool!) that I too am now a columnist!

I'm really excited about the Sex and the City film, and was thrilled to discover the official website, located at www.sexandthecitymovie.com/

I am counting down to the film's opening in May, but for now surfing the website will help pass the time!

The Marilyn Lives Society update

Hi Everyone

It is with great sadness that I must announce my decision to stop publishing the offline Marilyn Lives Society newsletter, as from now.

This decision has not come easily and I have thought long and hard about it for many months. But I think the time has come for me to move on and let other clubs take over where MLS left off. We have two new Marilyn clubs springing up soon – one by Emma Downing and one by Andrea Pryke – both MLS members. I would like to encourage all members to join these clubs, to keep in touch and keep up-to-date with all the Marilyn-related news. I will certainly be joining the clubs, and will look forward to taking a back seat to enjoy the newsletters!

It has been increasingly hard for me to keep up with the Marilyn Lives Society newsletters, but I would still like to stay in touch with Marilyn's fans and MLS members. Although I won’t be publishing the newsletters anymore, this does not mean the end of MLS as a whole. I have my blog at which has a special MLS section, for all up-to-date news. This will be up-dated far more often than the newsletter and will help keep all members abreast of the latest developments in the Marilyn world. I am also hoping at some point to have a meeting, and will of course keep all members' addresses so that I can keep in touch. Of course the MLS discussion list will continue.

There is also the possibility of doing an internet-based newsletter, which will arrive in your mailbox as an attachment. This will be FREE to receive, and if you are interested in this possibility, please send me your email address so that I can add you as a subscriber. It would certainly be a lot less work for me than an offline mag – so it is a definite possibility.

I am so sorry to be saying goodbye to the offline MLS newsletter, but with two fan clubs on the way, it does seem an ideal time for me to step down and let someone else breathe some fresh air into Marilyn’s fan club world.

Thank you for all your support, help and understanding over the years.

Love

Michelle.

Daisy's birthday

My daughter is now four years old, and we celebrated with a party at the local play centre, and a family tea-party at home. I even managed to bake her a cake, covered in sweets!

Brand New Fan Club

I am thrilled to announce that my friend - and fellow MLS member - has created her own UK Marilyn Club. It is called Mad About Marilyn and will cost 20 pounds (for UK members), and publish 6 issues a year.

If you would like more information, please email Emma at emmadowning@blueyonder.co.uk or visit her website at www.myspace.com/madaboutmarilynuk

I would like to wish Emma all the very best with her club and look forward to becoming a member myself!

The Mmm Girl by Tara Hanks

I have just started reading 'The Mmm Girl' by Tara Hanks, and it is wonderful. The book is a fictionalised account of Marilyn's life - i.e. it is a biography but written in Marilyn's words, complete with conversations, memories etc - as if it is written by Marilyn herself. I have not finished it yet, but from what I've read, I can highly recommend it.

If you would like to find out more, please visit Tara's website at:

www.tarahanks.org

The MLS Blog

The Marilyn Lives Society now has its own blog, located at http://marilynlivessociety.blogspot.com/

There you will be able to read Marilyn news, MLS news and more.

2008 is here!

2007 was a terrific year for me: I moved into my dream house (which we actually discovered a year ago this very day!); I saw my book published to terrific reviews; my daughter settled into pre-school very successfully; I became a columnist and I spent a lot of time on the radio!


Now 2008 is upon us and I continue to be busy. I am writing a new biography, this time about Carole Lombard, the wonderful actress who tragically died in a plane crash when she was very young. It's very different to researching the Marilyn book, because I didn't know much about her when I started research, but it is a hugely interesting project none-the-less.Along with that, I am working on various other projects and continuing to enjoy being a wife and mother. My daughter is growing bigger every day, and is taking a huge interest in clothes and make-up already. I guess my husband is thanking his lucky stars that we have three bathrooms in our new home!

Talking of my husband, I'd publically like to thank him for everything he does for me. Without his support my writing career would not be as successful as it is now, and I am very grateful for his help and the way he continues to look after both myself and our dear daughter.

Please check this blog often, as I will let you know about my latest projects, and keep you up-to-date on my progress. Incidentally, the latest news from here is that 'Marilyn Monroe: Private and Undisclosed' is to be given some press in Australia - so if you are based there, let me know if you see it!