Author Braxton Cosby Gives Thanks to Uncle Bill Cosby for Inspiration

By Braxton Cosby

Thank you for hosting me on this interview with Hollywood Daze. I want to share with you some of things that inspired me to write The Star-Crossed Saga: Protostar and what it has been like being one of the “Cosby Kids” growing up. 

Well, first of all I must give all the credit to God for the vision he bestowed upon me with Protostar. I got the inspiration one Sunday during a church service. My Bishop was preaching and said that God was speaking to him and said there was someone that He wanted to do a great work in but that nobody was asking for the vision. I immediately began to pray and ask God is He wanted me to do anything for Him. Once I was finished, I heard a voice tell me to write a book. I laughed at the idea at first because I’ve been through three college degrees and never once thought of writing, much less creating an original story. 

As I began to have a conversation with God, I asked Him what I should write about and He told me to create a series that entails Science Fiction (which I love) and also Romance. I started to sketch out the plot right there in church. I went home that night and started o research exactly how this “publishing thing” worked. I was overwhelmed by the process and somewhat discouraged, but I continued to hear a voice tell me to “just finish the book”. So I did. 

Three months later, I was staring at a 99,000 word transcription and wondering what to do with it. I submitted query letters to multiple agents and finally directly submitted the first five chapters to a local publisher here in Atlanta name Firefly Publishing and Entertainment. They liked it, offered me a contract and the rest is history.

Protostar has been book an amazing testimony for me and a blessing for many others aspiring to do great things. I’m so grateful to be used by God in this process and it is only the beginning. I’m currently working on another series separate from The Star-Crossed Saga while Protostar continues to gain momentum. 

On the flip side, my uncle Bill has been such a motivating force in my life. It’s crazy growing up as a youngster and seeing your relative on television, winning awards and inspiring so many people to achieve their goals. His commitment to learning and dedication to education has helped encouraged me to strive for better things than just the hand that life deals you. I have always had to deal with the question of “Are you related to Bill Cosby?” when people see my last name and half the time I just say no. Especially since most people don’t believe you anyway. I think that I would’ve had a hard time believing someone as well, so I don’t blame them one bit. Now, all of his service and words of wisdom have come full circle and we are currently planning co-book signings on his book tours for my first novel and his new release: I Didn’t Ask to Be Born: (But I’m Glad I Was). Everyone, please keep your eyes open for dates in 2012. The first two are planned for Harlem, NY and Durham, NC this month. Please check my website at www.braxtonacosbygodson.com for details. Thank you.

 

About Braxton A. Cosby

Braxton A. Cosby is a dreamer with a vision of continuously evolving and maximizing the untapped potential of the human spirit. Braxton received a lot of his inspiration from watching the accomplishments and exploits of his famous uncle, comedic legend Bill Cosby. A physical therapist by background, Braxton received his Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorate from the University of Miami. Braxton’s fascination of science grew into an obsession of Sci-fi and on one unassuming Sunday, this self-proclaimed romantic decided to pursue a “calling” to create a new genre of writing; Sci-Fance- mixing science fiction and romance. Braxton lives in Georgia with his wife and two children. He believes that everyone should pursue joy that surpasses understanding and live each day as if it were the last.
His latest book is the young adult science fiction novel, The Star-Crossed Saga: Protostar.
You can visit his website at www.braxtonacosbygodson.com or connect with him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cosbykid84 or Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000215860223.

 

About The Star-Crossed Saga: Protostar

It Starts With Choice! What would you choose: love or irrefutable duty?
On the brink of Civil War, the Torrian Alliance continues with its mission to obliterate Star-children across the universe in order to suppress an intergalactic evil. Following the recommendations of his Council, King Gregorio Derry has agreed to send his only son on a mission to restore honor to his family. Bounty Hunter Prince William Derry has crossed thousands of light-years to planet Earth, in order to fulfill this age old prophetic practice. The quiet days of Madisonburg, Tennessee are officially over as Sydney Elaine now knows the full meaning of the phrase Be careful what you wish for when she is confronted by this strange visitor. As an unforeseeable event delays his assassination, William decides to study his target more closely and begins to form a connection with Sydney that challenges his inner being. But this conflict is the least of his problems, as a conspiracy back on his home planet Fabricius threatens the lives of those he loves and his father s royal legacy. Along with that, he must unravel a hidden menace here on Earth that seeks to secure a vested interest that threatens both his and Sydney s safety. Will William be able to complete his mission or will he choose love, sacrificing everything he stands for?

A Global Hollywood by Nancy Stewart, author of Sea Turtle Summer

Our guest Nancy Stewart author of the children’s picture book, Sea Turtle Summer, talks about her adventures seeing movies in exotic places. She is on virtual book tour from December 5 - 16, 2011 on her second virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book!

Nancy’s web and blog sites are: http://www.nancystewartbooks.com and http://www.nancystewartbooks.blogspot.com

About Sea Turtle Summer  

Bella and Britt think living by the beach is the coolest thing ever.  When they discover a Loggerhead Sea Turtle laying her eggs in broad daylight, the girls go into action to help. 

No one, though, seems to care about the nest.  The beach is a busy place and is getting busier by the minute on such a beautiful summer day.  What can they do?  Who will help, and what do they learn about themselves? 

As a bonus, Sea Turtle Summer contains kid appealing facts about sea turtles.

A Global Hollywood

From Capetown to Morocco and Paris to Tel Aviv, I’ve been a film fan and have seen movies in those places and many others.  Today my mission is to speak a bit about my travels and films I’ve seen along the way. 

I’ve been fortunate to have been around the world and back again.  I’ve also had the great good fortune of living in London for eight years.  So, where do I begin?  London.

The UK in general and London in particular, have played a huge role in my adult life.  We loved to go to the Odeon Theatre in Leicester Square, heart of London’s entertainment world.  Another great movie house we attended was the Odeon Marble Arch.  Our favorite, though, was in Whitley’s mall in Bayswater.  So many Sunday afternoons, we’d see a film with our dear friends, the Elliotts, there; great memories. 

One of the most memorable films I’ve seen is Out of Africa.  The film was good, but where we saw the movie made it spectacular, Nairobi, of course.  There was something magical about viewing it there, within almost walking distance of the suburb of Karen, named for Karen von Blixen, heroine of the true story.  The film came alive for me and I cannot see it without reliving the magnificent experience of Kenya.

Another memorable film was The Green Mile.  We saw it in a movie theater in the Galilee area in Israel.  It was a wee day, and we were the only people in the theater.  In the middle of the showing, the film suddenly stopped.  My husband and I thought there must be a problem with the projection.  Within a few seconds, a woman walked down the aisle and stood facing us in the row of seats ahead and smiled.  She politely told us it was Intermission, and they had a full range of refreshments.  Of course, we went out, got a Coke Light and popcorn and returned to our seats.  Within a few minutes, the same woman came down the aisle, stood where she had before, and said the film would be resuming.  Ever since, I’ve had a soft spot for The Green Mile. I can’t say I particularly enjoyed the film, but the experience was fantastic!

The Lives of Others is a marvelous German film about the Stasi and the Cold War.  We were fortunate to have seen it in Berlin.  Again, what a backdrop for a film about the secret police in a time before the Berlin Wall fell.  The movie was a masterpiece, perhaps all the more so, as later that evening, we walked down the Unter den Linden Boulevard and through the Brandenburg Gate, where so much German history has occurred.

These are but a few of the film experiences my family and I have had over the years, as we’ve traveled this beautiful planet.  In my blog, http://www.nancystewartbooks.blogspot.com  I address many places I’ve been and the impact they’ve had on me and others.

In writing children’s books, I try to incorporate travels and the education I’ve received from being a citizen of the world.   I always call it “coinage in my head.”  Once the experience is there, it grows and becomes part of the collage of other travel memories.  And that becomes part of the whole person, ready to be visited to make a richer book.  How marvelous is that!

About Nancy Stewart

After having been both an elementary school teacher, a university professor of education and a consultant for New Options, Inc. in New York City, Nancy Stewart writes children’s books full time.   She, her husband and three sons, lived in London for eight years, where she was a consultant to several universities, including Cambridge. 

 Her travels take her extensively throughout the world, most particularly Africa. Nancy is US chair of a charity in Lamu, Kenya, that places girls in intermediate schools to allow them to further their education. 

Nancy is the author of the Bella and Britt picture book series, One Pelican at a Time, Sea Turtle Summer, Bella Saves the Beach and Mystery at Manatee Key. All are published by Guardian Angel Publishing. Pelican was nominated for a Global eBook Award. Pelican also won the Literary Classics Seal of Approval.

She was featured in the PBS Tampa (WEDU) series, Gulfwatch.  It concerned the writing of One Pelican at a Time:  A Story of the Gulf Oil Spill.

She and her family live in St. Louis and Tampa.

Nancy’s web and blog sites are: http://www.nancystewartbooks.com and http://www.nancystewartbooks.blogspot.com

Hollywood Stories – Book Giveaway and Book Excerpts

Our guest today, Stephen Schochet, author of Hollywood Stories; Short, Entertaining Anecdotes about the Stars and Legends of the Movies is starting his book tour with Pump Up Your Book and at the end of the tour on December 16 will be giving away a copy of his book. 

JOIN THE GIVEAWAY

To become eligible to win, all you have to do is ask a question or leave a comment any day until December 15.  One lucky reader who comments with their email address will have a chance to win the book. 

To recap:

·     ask a question or leave a comment through Dec 15, 2011.

·     leave your email address

·     optional to subscribe for email updates

·     A winner will be picked on Dec 15, 2011, and be notified by email

·     The winner of the contest will be announced on this blog

·     You will receive a copy of Hollywood Stories, 1 – 2 weeks after the winner is announced

About Hollywood Stories 

At high noon on a cold November day in 1974, sixty-seven-year-old John Wayne faced off with the staff of the Harvard Lampoon on the famous campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The students had issued their challenge by calling the beloved American icon a fraud. Wayne, who had his new movie McQ to promote, responded by saying he would be happy to show his film in the pseudo-intellectual swamps of Harvard Square. After the screening, without writers, the former USC footballer delivered a classic performance. When one smart young man asked where he got his phony toupee, Wayne insisted the hair was real. It wasn't his, but it was real. The appreciative underclassmen loved him and after the Q and A session, they all sat down to dinner. Later Wayne, who was suffering greatly from both gout and the after effects of lung cancer (sadly the Duke only had five years to live), said that day at Harvard was the best time he ever had.

Just when you thought you've heard everything about Hollywood comes a totally original new book -- a special blend of biography, history and lore.

HollywoodStories is packed with wild, wonderful short tales about famous stars, movies, directors and many others who have been a part of the world's most fascinating, unpredictable industry!

What makes the book unique is that the reader can go to any page and find a completely engaging and illuminating yarn. Sometimes people won't realize that they are reading about The Three Stooges or Popeye the Sailor until they come to the end of the story. The Midwest Book Review says Hollywood Stories is, "packed from cover to cover with fascinating tales." A professional tour guide in Hollywood, Stephen Schochet has researched and told thousands of entertaining anecdotes for over twenty years. He is also the author and narrator of two audiobooks Tales of Hollywood and Fascinating Walt Disney. Tim Sika, host of the radio show Celluloid Dreams on KSJS in San Jose has called Stephen," The best storyteller about Hollywood we have ever heard."Full of funny moments and twist endings, Hollywood Stories features an amazing, all-star cast of legendary characters and icons and will keep you totally entertained!

Watch the book video

 

Hollywood Stories Book Excerpt

The Universal Maniac 

In 1999, an Australian gentleman told me about an interesting experience he and his family had at Universal Studios. They were on the backlot tour passing one of the theme park’s main attractions, the Bates Motel used in the 1960 horror classic Psycho, about a murderous young man named Norman Bates who loved his mother a little too much. As the guide gave out information about how director Alfred Hitchcock shot the picture, a tall man, dressed in drag and carrying a large knife, emerged from behind the old set and 

charged toward the tram. The narrator seemed to know nothing about the Norman Bates look-alike and clammed up completely. The make-believe killer wore such a convincing maniacal expression that some of the paying customers were frightened and screamed when he raised his weapon. Then the “fiend” pulled off his wig and he turned out to be comic Jim Carrey; the thirty-seven-year-old star was clowning around during a work break. After his laughing “victims” calmed down, Jim was happy to pose for pictures and sign autographs. 

The Lazy Super Dad

     Marlon Brando wanted to work as little as possible when he played Jor-El, the Kryptonian father, in the 1978 movie Superman. The fifty-three-year-old actor told the film’s producers that he only needed to do a voiceover and some object could stand in his place. After all, he would be part of an alien race; nobody knew what they looked like. Perhaps the extraterrestrial could appear as a green bagel. His bosses were both bemused and alarmed. They pointed out that Marlon’s son would look human and be played by an earthling. A grinning Brando agreed to show up on the set. For his ten minutes of screen time, the star made an estimated nineteen million dollars while not bothering to learn his lines. In his most dramatic scene, Marlon held his baby above his head, speculated on the child’s future, and then placed him on the space ship to escape the doomed planet. Brando hadn’t bothered to learn his lines; his dialogue was penned on the bottom of the super infant’s diaper.

Extra: The first Superman movies were low-budget serials made in 1948 starring Kirk Alyn (1910-1999) in the title role. The cheaply made Saturday Matinee cliffhangers got surprisingly good reviews. Alyn was only given credit for playing Clark Kent; the studio claimed that no actor was qualified to play the Last Son of Krypton so he’d appear as himself. One scene required the Man of

Steel to rescue two would-be victims from a burning building. After the first take the director said, “That was great, Kirk. But could we do it again without you straining so much? I mean, you’re super strong, lifting a couple of humans should be easy.” Alyn, a body builder in real life, was indignant. “What do you expect? These

people are heavy!”

     “People? Oh my goodness, baby, I’m sorry, we forgot to get you the

dummies!”

Extra: In 1973, Marlon Brando (1924-2004) starred in the controversial and sex-charged drama Last Tango in Paris. This time around, the actor wrote some of his not memorized lines on the bottom of his shoe, and in a few scenes hopped around awkwardly on one foot in order to read them.

Extra: Thirty-nine-year-old Jack Nicholson looked forward to working with the great Brando when they co-starred in the 1976 western, The Missouri Breaks. But Marlon, who eventually became Jack’s next-door neighbor in the Hollywood Hills, disappointed Nicholson by reading cue cards, thus not making eye contact in their shared scenes. Later Brando hired an assistant to read the dialogue out loud into a radio transmitter from Marlon’s trailer, which the actor

could then hear through an earpiece. Once, Brando was about to speak his lines when the device inadvertently picked up a police broadcast. The confused performer came out of character. “Oh my God! There’s been a robbery at Woolworths.”

Horror on the Cheap

In the 1930s, executives at Universal Studios found horror movies were a perfect antidote to the huge salaries demanded by film stars. Actors, hired to play mostly silent horrible creatures under several cakes of make-up, could be replaced without the public caring. British-born Boris Karloff was forever grateful when he landed the career-making role of Frankenstein’s Monster. The forty-four-year-old part-time truck driver’s legendary performance as the sometimes-sympathetic demon, paved the way for Boris to get more parts and a

better lifestyle. But in later years, Karloff revealed some unhappiness about the Frankenstein pictures. “I was only in three but I get blamed for all nine. Every time a new one comes out I get the fan mail and some other bloke gets the check.

     ”Each year on Halloween, Boris would sigh and then gently tell the many children who came to the door of his Beverly Hills mansion that he would not go trick-or-treating with them.

Extra: Boris Karloff turned down the chance to reprise his role as

Frankenstein’s Monster for the fourth time in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. He feared the creature would lose his dignity in a comedy. Actor Glenn Strange (1899-1973), who played the demon in House of Frankenstein (1944) and House of Dracula (1945), donned the green make-up once again for Abbott and Costello. When Karloff died in 1969, newspapers around the world published obituaries of him accompanied by Strange’s picture.

Extra: Karloff’s influence was felt in Berkshire, England, during the making of Hammer Film’s The Curse of Frankenstein (1957). Fearing that any resemblance to Universal Studios’ version of the monster would cause a lawsuit, make-up artist Philip Leakey (1908-1992) worked hard to make thirty-five-year-old actor Christopher Lee’s version of the reanimated brute gruesome and unique. Lee, a former officer in the Royal Air Force, became so angry at Leakey’s painful experiments on his visage that he threatened to run Philip through with his sword. The fearful face artist disappeared for several days, which delayed the production. Later, a calmer Lee complained about his job to co-star Peter Cushing (1913-1984), who played Baron Frankenstein. “Being the creature is horrid. I have no lines.”

     “You’re lucky. I’ve read the script,” replied Cushing. The Curse of Frankenstein was critically panned and highly profitable.

Walt Disney’s Daughters 

Walt Disney’s two daughters, Sharon and Diane, grew up sheltered from the limelight. The children had no images of Mickey Mouse around their home. Their father didn’t go to many parties, preferring to stay in after a long day of work. Sometimes he would playfully chase the youngsters upstairs, cackling like the evil peddler woman in Snow White. When they behaved badly, Walt would admonish them with a raised eyebrow; his stern demeanor inspired the character of the wise old owl, in the 1942 animated feature Bambi. As toddlers, the brainy Diane and beautiful Sharon stayed blissfully unaware that their parents worried about them being kidnapped and allowed no pictures of the sisters to be publicly circulated. Once in 1939, a curious classmate questioned six-year-old Diane about her family. She went home and said, “Daddy, you never told me you were that Walt Disney,” and asked him for an autograph. 

Author Stephen Schochet

About Stephen Schochet 

A professional tour guide in Hollywood, Stephen Schochet has researched and told thousands of entertaining anecdotes for over twenty years. He is also the author and narrator of two audiobooks Tales of Hollywood and Fascinating Walt Disney. His latest book, Hollywood Stories: Short, Entertaining Anecdotes About the Stars and Legends of the Movies!  

Tim Sika, host of the radio show Celluloid Dreams on KSJS in San Jose has called Stephen," The best storyteller about Hollywood we have ever heard."  

For more information visit http://www.hollywoodstories.com

Visit the author’s tour page at Pump Up Your Book

Purchase the book in hardcover or kindle format at Amazon