Glamour, Book Launches and Other Adventures

Mother and I always enjoyed the glamor of old Hollywood. To this day, I really love trench coats and silk head scarves and classy evening gowns with long gloves. I was born at a time when every day glamor was ending. Women stopped wearing gloves and hats routinely. Nowadays, even the most glamorous of starlets doesn't have a proper wrap for a red carpet event. Even finding a trench coat has become an ordeal. They must be back in style, because now, I can at least find real ones – for a stiff price, that is. I've had brushes with glamor over the years. Some of them have been truly astounding. When we last went to Cannes, there were many opportunities for glamor. I have never wore four evening gowns in a week. But there was one particular Gare

du Nord in Paris  when we took the train to Cannes from Paris. That's pretty glam on its own, but we were in this incredible train shed with tons of history and ambiance. I kept seeing Audrey Hepburn from Charade  in the corner of my eye. We even got to have coffee in a cafe near the tracks. All that was missing from that dramatic and glamorous was fog. It was really an awesome feeling to stroll to our train car in such a setting.
place that we found really glamorous, and I know that Mother would agree. That was at

It's been some years since we experienced that sort of glamor or anything close to it. However, last month, we did have a fine evening with something I've never experienced, and I was a bartender at one time. Sybaritic Press was doing a book launch of our Anais Nin anthology: From a Four Chambered Heart..... The launch itself was something that I don't typically take part in. For the most parts, my books have not come out with such a sense of occasion. The event was held at a very hip place near Jon's place of employment called the Mandrake. And what really heightened that sense of occasion and gave the gathering the proper kind of verve for such a truly Sybaritic author we were paying homage to was a special cocktail named after her. The Nin Fizz even had ingredients that sounded like they would come from salons Nin attended. The drink was made from champagne and St Germain. The drink was beautiful and it was potent – two things Nin would have appreciated. Had I had more than the two and Jon had not been there, I may have gotten into a world of trouble. That was something Nin also would have approved of! The evening was also filled with beautifully written, sensual poetry. I could imagine while in the thrall of the drink and the poetry that we were back in Paris having an most convivial evening with expats of that long past era. I could see the evening ending with some Champagne and St Germain inspired indiscretion followed by a Omelette du Fromage ou des Fines Herbs. I'd like to think that was the case for some of our guests. If so, that would have been a fine and proper launch of a Nin tribute. It was also a nice brush with some French tinged glamor after so very long.

Side Gigs and New Adventures

After many years of running the specialty film location, Central City Studio in Downtown Los Angeles, our Demon Under Glass. She was also our guardian angel when Internet Archive lost it's LA location and needed a new home. On a personal note, Lucy was Jon's go to counsel on how to deal with his often terrified wife during the worst of the cancer treatments. We are thrilled that she is finally going to get a chance to relax and enjoy her grand kids and ecstatic that Ralph and Marguerite get to hang out there own shingle and start a studio, Central City Stages. We'll have a role in the company, of course. My first one is a Production Services business with Ralph doing professional film schedules and budgets, key elements in finding funding, at rates that all budgets can afford. We've done so many over the years for ourselves and for other indie filmmakers that Jon jokes that I can weigh the script in one hand and tell how many shooting days it will need and that act 3 needs a little work. So if you have a film project that needs specialty sets like Hospitals or police precincts or a courtroom to name a few, stop on by. And if your script needs a professional business plan to attract investors click here: http://centralcitystages.com/about.html.

But that's not my only new business. I have also decided to take the plunge with my cooking and set up a very small catering company, DLW Catering – Cook for Hire. Here is the website. Right now, I'm only offering baked goods. Here is that link: http://deborahlwarner.wix.com/dlwcatering . Just click on Menu. All the photos are of my food. I'm about to announce what offerings I have for Thanksgiving. Why so soon? Well, that's the thing about my new businesses. They are very much of the 'order long before you need it' variety. Because, I'm still having bad days with my health. Those side effects of cancer treatment just keep on giving. Thus, I must take my time and not over tax. However, I think I can easily accommodate anyone who plans ahead.

Enjoy the photos from the book launch and the rest of this month's interesting pictures below. I have a lot to get into on my writing next time.

Stay tuned!

Book Launch for From the Four Chambered Heart: In Tribute to Anais Nin