The movie Giant and Hotel Paisano

Larry and I traveled to Marfa, Texas before going to the writer's retreat last weekend. We'd visited the Hotel Paisano several times to take pictures and walk through the shops and the Giant movie memorabilia room. During the making of Giant, stars and crew stayed in the hotel and today guests can stay in the Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor suites. James Dean's room is one of the basic rooms, but all accommodations have been restored to maintain their historical integrity. Hudson and Taylor soon moved to rented houses in the small town. It's interesting to read accounts of people driving miles to see the movie set and try to glimpse the stars. Google the making of Giant and read some of the stories.

Here are a few pictures of the movie memorabilia.

I've always wanted to stay in the hotel and this trip talked Larry into it. We thought about one of the suites but settled on a room on the mezzanine where the rooms have small patios with an outdoor fireplace. Nights are beautiful in west Texas and we envisioned a fire and a glass of the Enchanted Rock red wine we picked up in Fredericksburg. Below are a few pictures of our room.

 

Pictured to each side is the side entrance to the hotel, an interior view of the side hallway and shops. Below is the patio entrance where diners can enjoy their evening meal, have drinks and visit with friends, or merely enjoy the fresh air while reading and pictures of the lobby.

Take a look at the beautiful floor tiles. Though the hotel has air conditioning, it's designed so that breezes rush through keeping the entry area cool. Notice below the indoor pool where the stars swam. Some rooms overlook the pool with small lanais.

 

And here is the Palace Theatre where the cast watched movies and screened film clips from the movie. Each evening a plane took off from the small airport to deliver film for processing to a studio in California. It returned the following morning with the processed film ready for viewing. The theatre is no longer open but is the home of an artist.

Can you imagine a book written to take place during this exciting event? Maybe the story of an extra? I can.

I hope you enjoyed my visit to Hotel Paisano. There are a number of vintage pictures on the web just ready for your viewing and stories galore. Please leave a comment to be entered in my monthly ebook drawing.

Happy Reading and Writing!

Linda

http://www.lindalaroque.com/

A Way Back is out in Paperback

I'm thrilled to announce that my time travel set in the 1930s oil fields of Texas is now out in paperback.

Here is a short blurb.

In the 1930s oil fields of Texas, a woman from the future finds new purpose as she helps a banker rebuild his financial empire.

Amber Mathis, a Wall Street investment banker, returns to her office after burying her mother. Distraught, tired of the rat race, she's determined to make a career change. In the elevator she falls and rises to find herself in a vintage lift. The date is February 25, 1930, and a man stands on the window ledge in her office ready to jump.

Wellman Hathaway, owner and CEO of Hathaway Bank in New York struggles to pay his depositors half their losses. A woman claiming to be from the future appears in his office and involves him in a scheme that forces them into marriage. With Amber's knowledge of the financial history of the 1930s, they travel to the oil fields of Texas to recoup Wellman's funds.

Two people from different centuries are thrown together to survive a difficult time. Will they find more than A Way Back to prosperity?

Excerpt:


Do it her mind screamed. In one swift move she locked her arms around his waist, pulled, and dropped to the floor. She cringed at the loud crack when his head hit the window sash as he fell back landing on top of her.


They both remained still for a moment. The air knocked out of her, she managed to gasp out, “Could you move? You’re squashing me.”

He rolled and her head bounced on the floor as she changed positions from trying to rise to flat on her back. Long arms held hers above her head and muscled legs kept her body from moving. Striking gray eyes pierced hers, examining every inch of her. Her face flushed at the intrusion and she struggled to get him off. He applied more pressure and she stilled.

A lock of blonde hair fell over his forehead, a patrician nose flared in anger, as his square jaw tightened. He ground out, “Who the hell are you and why’d you try to knock my head off?”

Click on this link to buy your copy of A Way Back.

Thank you for reading and writing!

Linda

http://www.lindalaroque.com/

A Way Back is now out!

To get your copy go to Champagne Books/. I hope you enjoy this story as much I loved writing it.

Sign up for my newsletter either by using the form to the right or by emailing me at linda@lindalaroque.com with A Way Back Contest/Newsletter in the subject line to be entered in the drawing. Prize is a rhinestone airplane pin similar to the one Wellman Hathaway gave to Amber Mathis as a momento of her barnstorming experience. Sorry, I could afford diamonds!

Thanks for reading and writing!

Linda

http://www.lindalaroque.com/