Shelly Frome

Shadow of the Gypsy

Emily Ryder becomes involved in a suspicious death at this year's Twinning ritual exchange at her historic New England home and its sister village deep in Devon, England. A few days later, at the Twinning itself, her main client meets the same fate. As Emily's world continues to unravel, she is compelled to piece together the games being played on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Twinning Murders

Written in the style of a classic Brtish Mystery with a contemporary young American woman as the amateur sleuth. Entertaining. Keeps you guessing until the end. From a small secluded village in Connecticut to the English Countryside, readers are taken on a roller coaster of events and quirky characters as amateur sleuth Emily Ryder tries to solve a murder that everyone thinks was an accident. For tour guide Emily Ryder, the turning point came on that fateful early morning when her beloved mentor met an untimely death. It's labeled as an accident and Trooper Dave Roberts is more interested in Emily than in any suspicions around Chris Cooper's death. For Emily, if Chris hadn't been the Village Planner and the only man standing in the way of the development of an apartment and entertainment complex in their quaint village of Lydfield, Connecticut, she might have believed it was an accident, but too many pieces didn't fit. As Emily heads across the pond for a scheduled tour of Lydfield's sister village, Lydfield-in-the-Moor . . . she discovers that the murderer may be closer than she thought.

The Secluded Village Murders

"A series of creepy pranks has driven an impressionable 30-something actress, Katie, to distraction. One evening while out for a jog, she falls into a camouflaged cistern. Drifting past consciousness, she calls for her lifelong friend Sarah. A features reporter from New Haven, Sarah soon finds herself a player in a twisted and deadly plot. Overwhelmed by bizarre suspects and the torment of her own psychological turmoil, Sarah struggles to find answers to increasingly shadowy questions. This chilling tale set in New England provides insight into the lives of summer-stock theater players."

Lilac Moon

At the outset, Miranda Davis has nothing much going for her. The tourists are long gone by October in the quaint Carolina town of Black Mountain, her realty business is at a standstill, and her weekend stint managing the local tavern offers little to pull her out of the doldrums. When prominent church lady Cloris Raintree offers a stipend to look into the whereabouts of a missing girl hiker on the Q.T, Miranda, along with her partner Harry (an unemployed features writer) agree. But then it all backfires. A burly figure shambles down a mountain slope with a semi-conscious girl draped over his shoulder. Miranda's attempts to uncover Cloris Raintree's true motives become near impossible as she puts up one smokescreen after another, including a slip of the tongue regarding an incident in Havana. The local police keep stonewalling and Harry is of little help. Tarot cards left on Cloris' doorstep and arcane prompts on her e-mail only exacerbate the situation. Growing more desperate over the captive girl's fate, Miranda comes across a link to a cold case of arson and murder. With the advent of the dark of the moon, she is summoned to "Tower Time" as this twisty tale continues to run its course.

Moon Games

Over the years there has been much controversy and confusion about the true nature of The Actors Studio, a secluded workshop in New York City that for decades has had a marked influence on the stage and screen and yet functions like a secret society behind closed doors. It all began when Stanislavsky's Moscow Art Theater brought its brand of "realism" to the United States in 1923. The legendary Group Theater of the 1930s followed. Then came the creation of a studio workshop incorporating the provocative acting and directing techniques of Elia Kazan, and the emergence of Lee Strasberg as Studio head following Kazan's departure. Strasberg's background and the encounters between him and the actors he guided are presented in detail. The lives and careers of early icons like Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean are examined. Also covered are a progressive trans-Atlantic view of the subject, the Studio's short-lived efforts to form a world-class production company in the 1960s, and a later set of transitions leading to an altered image of the Studio and a change of venue for the 21st century. Such luminaries as these (and many more) have been associated with the Actors Studio: Edward Albee, Lauren Bacall, Glenn Close, Robert DeNiro, Robert Duvall, Danny Glover, Julie Harris, Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Hopper, Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Mike Nichols, Al Pacino, Julia Roberts, Eva Marie Saint, Neil Simon, Steven Spielberg, Sylvester Stallone, Rod Steiger, Meryl Streep, Eli Wallach, and Tennessee Williams.

A History

The Actors Studio

A crime story with southern gothic overtones which centers on thirty-something Josh Devlin, a failed journalist who, after a year of wandering, winds up in a Kentucky homeless shelter on a wintry December day. Josh comes upon a runaway named Alice holed up in an abandoned boxcar. Taken with her plight, and dejected over his own squandered life, Josh takes her back to Memphis, trying to get back on his feet while seeking a solution to Alice's troubles. A Delta bluesman's checkered past comes into play, and inevitably Josh finds himself on a collision course with a backwoods tracker fixated on the Civil War and, by extension, the machinations of the governor-elect of Mississippi--past sins have finally come due in the present.

Twilight of the Drifter

Tinseltown Riff is a novel of suspense, crime, and Hollywood. Shelly Frome is a professor of dramatic arts emeritus, a former professional actor, a writer of mystery novels and articles and books on theatre and film. He also writes profiles of leading figures in the arts for a regional magazine covering the Berkshires, Hudson Valley and the Litchfield Hills

Tinseltown Riff

In this crime novel, a wayward handyman grapples with the suspicious death of his employer, a fragile choreographer who secluded herself in the Litchfield Hills. As the fallout mounts, the reader is taken to various locales in and around Manhattan, an escapade in Miami Springs and back again to the hills of Connecticut until this twisty conundrum is finally laid to rest.

Murder Run

"Introductory chapters discuss skills essential for screenwriters, including an eye for the camera, the ability to juggle pieces of a story, knowledge of acting, and a unique vision. The second section covers options available to screenwriters with import

Fundamentals, Methods and Advice from Insiders

The Art and Craft of Screenwriting

A modern day mystery with WWII tactics, old-time heroes and values, and the efforts of two amateur cousin sleuths from the Heartland. On a sparkling spring morning in the Blue Ridge, small-town realtor Miranda Davis approached the tailgate market, intent on dealing with her whimsical cousin Skip’s unexpected arrival from New York. It turns out that Skip was on the run and, in his panic, grabbed his beloved tabby Duffy, recalling that Miranda had a recent part in solving a case down in Carolina. His predicament stemmed from intercepting code messages like “Countdown to D-Day,” playfully broadcasting the messages on his radio show over the nation-wide network, and subsequently forced to flee. At first, Miranda tried to limit her old childhood companion’s conundrum to the sudden abduction of Duffy the cat. But the forces that be were hell-bent on keeping Skip under wraps by any means after he now stumbled close to the site of their master plan. Miranda’s subsequent efforts to decipher the conspiracy and somehow intervene placed both herself and her old playmate on a collision course with a white-nationalist perpetrator and the continuing machinations of the right-wing enterprise, with the lives of all those gathered for a diversity celebration in nearby Asheville and a crucial senatorial vote on homeland security hanging in the balance.

Miranda and the D-Day Caper

Josh Bartlett had figured all the angles, changed his name, holed up as a small-town features writer in the seclusion of the Blue Ridge. Only a few weeks more and he'd begin anew, return to the Litchfield Hills of Connecticut and Molly (if she'd have him) and, at long last, live a normal life. After all, it was a matter of record that Zharko had been deported well over a year ago. The shadowy form John had glimpsed yesterday at the lake was only that --- a hazy shadow under the eaves of the activities building. It stood to reason his old nemesis was still ensconced overseas in Bucharest or thereabouts well out of the way. And no matter where he was, he wouldn't travel south over eight hundred miles to track Josh down. Surely that couldn't be, not now, not after all this.>/b>

A modern day mystery with WWII tactics, old-time heroes and values, and the efforts of two amateur cousin sleuths from the Heartland. On a sparkling spring morning in the Blue Ridge, small-town realtor Miranda Davis approached the tailgate market, intent on dealing with her whimsical cousin Skip's unexpected arrival from New York. It turns out that Skip was on the run and, in his panic, grabbed his beloved tabby Duffy, recalling that Miranda had a recent part in solving a case down in Carolina. His predicament stemmed from intercepting code messages like "Countdown to D-Day," playfully broadcasting the messages on his radio show over the nation-wide network, and subsequently forced to flee. At first, Miranda tried to limit her old childhood companion's conundrum to the sudden abduction of Duffy the cat. But the forces that be were hell-bent on keeping Skip under wraps by any means after he now stumbled close to the site of their master plan. Miranda's subsequent efforts to decipher the conspiracy and somehow intervene placed both herself and her old playmate on a collision course with a white-nationalist perpetrator and the continuing machinations of the right-wing enterprise, with the lives of all those gathered for a diversity celebration in nearby Asheville and a crucial senatorial vote on homeland security hanging in the balance.

Miranda and the D-day Caper

This guide for screenwriters and those interested in the screenwriting process has important information on every facet of the screenwriter’s trade. Introductory chapters discuss skills essential for all screenwriters. The second part covers various options available to screenwriters (such as different genres, indie films, adaptation) with important methods for each. Part Three is a collection of revealing interviews by the author with several established and seasoned professionals. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Shelly Frome

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