Frost Editor Catherine Balavage To Be Interviewed By Orla Barry On The Green Room

Frost Magazine’s editor, Catherine Balavage, will be interviewed about her new book by Orla Barry on The Green Room this Saturday between 9-11pm. The interview will air on Newstalk 106-108FM (Winner-PPI Radio Station of the Year 2013). Irish readers can catch the interview live while a link to the podcast will be posted for non-Irish residents. 

acting, acting advice, how to be an actor, how to be a successful actor, hollywood, castings, auditions, casting directors.

Orla Barry is a BBC World Service Broadcast Journalist, Broadcaster of The Green Room Culture Show on Newstalk 106-108FM, Columnist and Documentary Maker.

Catherine will be taking about her new book, How To Be a Successful Actor: Becoming an Actorpreneur, which has been selling well and getting rave reviews. Grab a copy if you are an actor or want to be.

Other guests Orla has interviewed include actors George Clooney, Harrison Ford, Salma Hayek, Alan Rickman, John Hurt, Colin Firth, Jessica Chastain. Comedians Ricky Gervais, Phil Jupitus, Ruby Wax, Bill Bailey and Monty Python’s Terry Jones.  Film Directors Mike Leigh, Jim Sheridan, Neil Jordan, Kathryn Bigelow, Guillaume Canet, Morgan Spurlock and Michael Apted.  Authors, Joyce Carol Oates, Man Booker winner Howard Jacobson, Hanif Kureishi, John Banville, Jo Nesbo, Michael Palin and Garrison Keillor. Photographers Greg Marinovich, Steve McCurry, Giles Duley and performers Kristen Hersh,  Neil Hannon, Emmy-Lou Harris, Seun Kuti, Lisa Hannigan and Stevie Nicks.

So our editor is in good company!

 

 

Autumn Book Special

So many books, such little time. Don’t know what to read? Here is our little guide of books to read this Autumn. Each one is a corker.

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Festive In Death J.D. Robb

 

The kitchen knife jammed into his cold heart pinned a cardboard sign to his well-toned chest. It read: Santa Says You’ve Been Bad!!! Ho, Ho, Ho!

It’s Christmas, but Lieutenant Eve Dallas is in no mood to celebrate. While her charismatic husband Roarke plans a huge, glittering party, Eve has murder on her mind.

The victim – personal trainer Trey Ziegler – was trouble in life and is causing even more problems in death. Vain, unfaithful and vindictive, Trey had cultivated a lot of enemies. Which means Eve has a lot of potential suspects. And when she and Detective Peabody uncover Trey’s sinister secret, the case takes a deadly turn.

Christmas may be a festival of light, but Eve and Roarke will be forced once more down a very dark path in their hunt for the truth.

Nora Roberts published her first novel using the pseudonym J.D. Robb in 1995, introducing to readers the tough as nails but emotionally damaged homicide cop Eve Dallas and billionaire Irish rogue, Roarke.

With the In Death series, Robb has become one of the biggest thriller writers on earth, with each new novel reaching number one on bestseller charts the world over.

This is a thrill-seeking unputdownable thriller. A great read from beginning to end. We loved it.

 

 

Festive in Death is available here. Out on September 11th.

 

Seven Wonders Ben Mezrich

 

From the New York Times bestselling author Ben Mezrich comes Seven Wonders, a globe-trotting thriller in the vein of The DaVinci Code – rife with historic secrets, conspiracies, intrigue, and a whole lot of adventure.

When the reclusive mathematician Jeremy Grady is murdered, it’s up to his estranged brother Jack to find out why. His search leads him on a far-flung journey – from Brazil, India, Peru, and beyond – as he unravels the mystery that links the Seven Wonders of the World, and discovers that Jeremy may have hit upon something that has been concealed for centuries. With the help of scientist Sloane Costa, they discover a conspiracy to hide a roadmap to the Garden of Eden – and the truth behind a mythological ancient culture.

With a heart-pounding pace and panoramic backdrops, Seven Wonders is an electrifying read, and will be the first in a trilogy.

A fast-moving thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Enjoyable and a huge credit to the imagination of Ben Mezrich. This book is the first in a trilogy so if you enjoyed it as much as we did, you will have more books coming along soon. It is also being turned into a film directed by Brett Ratner.

Seven Wonders is available here. Out on September 11th.

 

The Last Boat Home Dea Brovig

 

Explosive, dark and tender, The Last Boat Home is a devastating novel about sacrifice, survival and a mother’s love. If you loved The Light Between Oceans or The Snow Child, this is for you.

On the wind-swept southern coast of Norway, sixteen-year-old Else is out on the icy sea, dragging her oars through the waves while, above her, storm clouds are gathering. Surrounded by mountains, snow and white-capped water, she looks across the fjord and dreams of another life, of escape and faraway lands.

Back on shore, her father sits alone in his boathouse with a jar of homebrew. In the Best Room, her mother covers her bruises and seeks solace in prayer. Each tries to hide the truth from this isolated, God-fearing community they call home.

Until one night changes everything.

More than thirty years later, the return of an old friend forces Else to relive the events that marked the end of her childhood.

Explosive, dark and tender, The Last Boat Home is a devastating novel about sacrifice, survival and a mother’s love.

This is an intriguing, dark novel. It really grabbed us and would not let go. A very good debut novel, fresh and definitely worth a read.

 

The Last Boat Home is available here. Out on August 14th.

 

Ghost Child Caroline Overington

 

From the bestselling author of I Came to Say Goodbye. Can you ever escape the secrets of your past? Perfect for fans of Susan Lewis

The photograph shows four smiling children. But look closer and you can tell that one of the boys has been crying.

Weeks later, that little boy is dead. His mother and her boyfriend are in prison for his murder, and his brother and sisters have been fostered to separate families.

No one knows for sure what happened that day, except, possibly, the three remaining children, and they’re not talking.

But the past cannot be buried forever, and years later, when the truth about what happened is revealed, will it bring a final healing? Or will the legacy of fear that the children have lived with for so long, finally destroy them?

An amazing story told in an original way. A very good read and the characters are written so well. Recommended.

 

 

Ghost Child is available here. Out on September 11th.

 

Five Days Left Julie Lawson Timmer

 

Destined to be a book club favorite, a heart-wrenching debut about two people who must decide how much they’re willing to sacrifice for love.

Mara Nichols is a successful lawyer, devoted wife, and adoptive mother who has received a life-shattering diagnosis. Scott Coffman, a middle school teacher, has been fostering an eight-year-old boy while the boy’s mother serves a jail sentence. Scott and Mara both have five days left until they must say good-bye to the ones they love the most.

Through their stories, Julie Lawson Timmer explores the individual limits of human endurance and the power of relationships, and shows that sometimes loving someone means holding on, and sometimes it means letting go.

This is a deeply moving debut. This book is about heartbreak and human endurance. Unforgettable, thought-provoking and controversial. A brilliant debut.

 

 

Five Days Left is available here. Out on August 28th.

 

Which ones will you read?

 

 

Jean-Luc Colombo Special Wine Review

Jean-Luc Colombo is a relatively young company by French wine standards. With family origins in Marseille, Jean-Luc moved in 1982, with his wife Anne, to Cornas in the heart of the Rhône Valley, to set up a pharmacy and oenology lab. Four years later he bought his first vineyard – Les Ruchets – and celebrated his first vintage in 1987. His business went from strength-to strength and in 1993 Anne and Jean-Luc sold their pharmacy to focus on the wine business, investing in more vineyards and a house on the Cornas hillsides, as well as working as a negociant in this famous region.

Today, as well as owning vineyards in Cornas, they are pioneering vineyard development in the stunning ‘Blue Coast’ area and have their own winery, offices, bottling line and oenology laboratory in the centre of Cornas. They are renowned for their great wines from the northern & southern Rhône and the Mediterranean region, and export to over fifty countries.

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We got sent three bottles from Jean-Luc Colombo to review. Here is our verdict.

Jean-Luc Colombo 2013 Les Abeilles De Colombo Côtes Du Rhône

This is dry and quite smooth. It is fruity and light straw in colour. It is intensely floral with herbal and mineral notes, along with a floral aroma of peach and melon. It is well balanced and complex. It is crisp with flavours of citrus and pear. Delicious.

Enjoy with grilled lamb, pork and assorted cheeses.

RRP £9.99

2013 Les Girelles Picpoul De Pinet

This wine is rich and subtle. Crisp and dry and beautifully lemon scented. It has fresh notes of white flowers. It is very well rounded wine. It is also fresh.

Enjoy With: Grilled and roasted white meats, fish/shelfish, salads and picnics, mild creamy cheeses and oriental food.

RRP £9.99

2012 Les Abeilles De Colombo Côtes Du Rhône

This light straw coloured wine is fruity and floral. Light, crisp and clean: it is well-balanced and complex. Very good wine.

Enjoy with: grilled lamb, pork and assorted cheeses.
RRP £9.99

We were very impressed with Jean-Luc Colombo’s wine. We look forward to trying more. Very impressive.

Available from Oddbins, Trivoli, Bacchus Wines, The Bottleneck, DeFINE Food and Wine, Sunninghill Wine Merchants, The Butlers Cellar, Famous Wines, The Halifax Wine Company and Islington Wines.

NHP Nutri Argan Beautifying Elixir Beauty Review

My hair frequently looks like a frizz bomb. Depending on the weather it ranges from tangled to full-out frizzy nightmare. Finding out about Argan oil has been something of a lifesaver. It truly is a wonder ingredient so I was happy to review NHP Nutri Argan Beautifying Elixir. An intensive, multi-tasking, haircare product. NHP Nutri Argan Beautifying Elixirreview This wonder product can be used everyday and it really does work on my hair. It soothe out the dryness and leaves it looking amazing. You only have to use a few drops so even though it cost £16.80 for 100ml it is still completely worth it. It strengthens hair, leaves it less tangled and protects the hair from free radicals, heat and environmental factors. I can give it the thumbs up, and so can my hair.

 

Based on organic, certified natural oils of Argan and Macadamia, Beautifying Elixir provides extraordinary smoothness, softness and shine. A precious fluid based on a unique blend of fine oils rich in essential fatty acids and natural anti-oxidisers it is instantly absorbed by the hair.


A few drops revitalise the most problem hair, nourishing it from roots to ends with a lightweight, non-greasy feel.
Free from alcohol, parabens, PEG-PPG, mineral oils and artificial colourants it is enriched with anti-ageing Beta-carotene which helps to restore the energy supply to the hair fibre.

A complete hair wellness treatment, Beautifying Elixir:

  • Infuses deep moisture and regenerates the fibre of dry, brittle and coloured hair
  • Strengthens weak hair and controls coarse and untameable hair
  • Improves comb-ability and helps to provide a frizz-free finish to blow-drying
  • Protects the hair from free radicals and shields it from potentially damaging external effects including chemicals, heat, pollution and atmospheric agents.

 

Four ways to use…


Pre-shampoo – apply from root to tip and then massage well to deeply moisturise the scalp and hair.  Leave for 10 minutes before shampooing (ideally with NHP Nutri Argan Hair Bath).  The hair fibre is immediately replenished and loos revitalised.

Before styling – distribute evenly onto towel blotted hair.  Helps to reduce drying time, facilitates styling and contols frizz.  Hair is smooth, soft and protected.

Finishing Touch – apply a few drops to dry hair.  Imparts an extreme shine and protects the hair fibre from daily external aggressors, prolonging colour life.  Leaves the hair silky and manageable.

Intensive salon style treatment – mix with 5ml of NHP Nutri Argan Hair Mask, leave on the hair to absorb for at least ten minutes before rinsing.


NHP – Natural Haircare Program – was developed for professional salon use to care for dry, colour treated or brittle hair in need of superior nourishment to restore the internal balance and to condition the external structure of the hair shaft. Inspired by nature, the NHP Nutri Argan nourishing range is rich in a blend of certified organic Argan Oil and Macadamia Oil to replenish moisture in the hair from the roots to the tips to help regain softness, elasticity and shine.  The scalp and hair are also protected thanks to the exclusion of potentially irritating or aggressive synthetic ingredients such as SLES, DEA, parabens, paraffin and colourants. NHP is also kind to the environment as all packaging is 100% recyclable and products are created using renewable and ecological sources of energy.

 

NHP is available from Giannasso Hair & Beauty Covent Garden, selected hair salons nationwide and online at www.beautybyzara.com. £16.80 for 100ml.

 

 

American Actors Can Get How To Be a Successful Actor For $1.99: One More Day Only

acting, acting advice, how to be an actor, how to be a successful actor, hollywood, castings, auditions, casting directors.American Actors Can Get How To Be a Successful Actor: Becoming an Actorpreneur For $1.99: One More Day Only

Fresh from a Kindle Countdown Deal for British actors which was very successful, now American actors can get my book for only $1.99 for a limited time only. How To Be a Successful Actor: Becoming an Actorpreneur has been getting rave reviews in America and it has already been selling stateside.

This is what American actor Tom Shafer had to say about my book: “An excellent guide for the entertainment professional

I found this book to be an excellent companion to Bonnie Gillespie’s ‘Self-Management for Actors’, which I am also currently reading. The first half of Catherine’s book does a excellent job of distilling a seminar’s-worth of material into a manageable bit. The second half, the interviews, felt more conversational. What was clear, the recommendations made in the first half came, in part, from these interviews. This is an excellent technique, since it reinforces the validity of the recommendations as having come from entertainment professionals who have achieved a perceived level of success. (I like that the definition of “success” was open for discussion, since it can mean different things to different people.)

As an American reading this book, I did find some UK-centric resources and references. But, in this era of global Internet access, I found just as many that were valid for US readers. I was able to take this in stride and see this as a valuable tool in my self-management as a working actor.

Thanks, Catherine, for writing this excellent guide.”

 

What are you waiting for? Get your copy now.

 

 

Scottish History For Dummies Book Review

Scottish History For Dummies is a rather relevant book to review, with the Scottish Independence vote less than a month away.  As history goes, Scotland may be a small country on the edge of Northern Europe, but it has always punched above its weight. No, I am not just being biased because I am a Scot myself, although I am very proud of my country.

scottishhistoryfordummiesbookreview

This book is nothing if not comprehensive. It charts the entire history of Scotland from the Stone Ages up until modern times (the year 2000).  William Wallace (clearly not a Mel Gibson lookalike) and Robert The Bruce feature of course, that most often talked about part of history told via the historically inaccurate Braveheart, which is now the bane of all Scots who have to put up with ‘Ye cannae take our freedom’ quotes.

The Stewart Dynasty is well covered and the chapter on the renaissance of Scotland is particularly fascinating. It covers 1460-1542 and in late medieval Scotland, life was short. When someone died all of the windows would be opened to let the spirit out. The clocks would be stopped and not started again until after the burial. Families would drape themselves in white, only the great houses draped themselves in black. Then a wake, known as the Lykewake, would happen and last two or three days. Funeral expenses could impoverish the poor so they used a coffin which had hinges that allowed the body to be dropped straight into the grave so they could reuse it. All very interesting.

I also love the chapters on modern Scotland. 1945-2000 is full of great information. Although it does stop there, this book is still brilliant and a must have for anyone interested in Scotland and its history.

The Parts of Tens are as good as ever: basically lists of tens. The one on Ten Things Scotland Has Given to The World was my favourite. They were: the flushing toilet, The King James Bible, criminal fingerprinting, whisky, colour photography, anaesthetic, raincoats, golf, Dolly the sheep and For Auld Lang Syne. A good list, but just the tip of the iceberg.

 

Scottish History For Dummies is available here.

 

 

 

Biju Bubble Tea Review

photo 2 (26)photo 3 (19)What is Bubble Tea?

So what is Bubble Tea and how is it different for to your normal tea? Bubble tea has been around since the 1980s and it is already quite big in many Asian countries, but recently it has become a global phenomenon. The tea is shaken to produce bubbles and is served with an edible topping, but as we soon learned, that doesn’t really cover it.

Biju

Biju is a new bubble tea room in Soho. Founder Nick invited us to to try some of his creations. Nick had gone out to Asia and had worked in a bubble tea room before he set up Biju.

Unlike most other bubble tea rooms, ‘who are in it for a quick buck’, Nick’s painstaking research and his passion ensures he has done things properly. Biju uses fresh organic milk in its tea, unlike most of its competitors who use powder. Nick and his team go to incredible effort to make every tea fresh and have made a significant investment in equipment. Many of the ingredients and jellies are made daily.This makes an incredible difference to the taste as we discovered.

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Honeydew milk and sweet egg pudding

We start with the Honeydew melon with egg caramel pudding, a fruity milk. The honeydew melon was truly delicious and very refreshing and the sweet egg caramel was a delight.

Next up was a Jasmine Green milk tea with classic tapioca pearls, the original bubble tea ingredient. The classic pearls are balls of starch. Their texture is extremely satisfying to chew as you suck them up through your straw with your tea. The whole thing was delicious and totally different to our first tea.

We then tried a passion fruit iced tea with basil seeds, another unique and satisfying topping. It was the perfect thing for a summer day. It was delicious and I could drink it every day. We also tried a chocolate with tapioca pearls as seen above. In fact we ended up trying all sorts of different teas.

We were extremely impressed with our first experience of Bubble tea at Biju. The variety of the different teas was amazing. The tea was also so fresh and real. You could really taste the high quality ingredients. If there were a Biju next to me I would be in there every day and who knows? I wouldn’t be surprised if there was someday. I don’t think this is a short term trend. If your in the area make sure you try one because it is a new experience and if you don’t you will be missing out. Ask for help if your not sure what to choose, Nick or his staff are always keen to help. Make sure you go to Biju if you want a proper experience.

http://www.bijububbletea.com/

45 Old Compton Street, Soho.

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Passion Fruit Iced Tea with basil seeds

Passion Fruit Iced Tea with basil seeds

 

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The Girls From Corona Del Mar By Rufi Thorpe Book Review

The Girls from Corona del Mar review

The Girls From Corona Del Mar immediately hooks you. Brilliantly written, it draws you into a nostalgic haze. It is a brutally honest and sometimes uncomfortable read about the friendship between two women. This books takes a long, hard look at female friendship and reveals how little we can know someone, how life gets in the way and how fate can deal hands that are unfair and unbalanced. It reminds us that life is brutal and hard, but also beautiful and kind. The story is narrated by Mia as she describes her friendship with Lorrie Ann.

Rufi Thorpe’s true talent is how believable the book is, even with the twists and turns, the slights of fate. She has a beautiful way of writing that is almost poetic. But the book is also haunting and brutal. The story may be of friendship but it is a particularly broken one. It is easy to be best friends when you are a teenager, but life gets in the way later, as does judgement and life choices. It is a friendship of guilt, love and jealousy. Mia defines her entire identity against Lorrie Ann, referring to her as her ‘opposite twin’. She always thought she was the bad one, Lorrie Ann the good one. It is love, but it is messy.

The book can give a brutal look at being a woman. Abortion and the regret of having one plays heavily, childbirth is grisly and awful- actually stomach churning. It charts friendship through different countries, reversal of fortunes and personal faults. It is a wonderful book that stayed with me, if even occasionally for a haunting and brutal story. The Girls From Corona Del Mar is haunting, beautiful and hard to put down.

Why did Lorrie Ann look graceful in beat-up Keds and shorts a bit too small for her? Why was it charming when she snorted from laughing too hard? Yes, we were jealous of her, and yet we did not hate her. She was never so much as teased by us, we roaming and bratty girls of Corona del Mar, thieves of corn nuts and orange soda, abusers of lip gloss and foul language.”

An astonishing debut about friendships made in youth, The Girls from Corona del Mar is a fiercely beautiful novel about how these bonds, challenged by loss, illness, parenthood, and distance, either break or endure.

Mia and Lorrie Ann are lifelong friends: hard-hearted Mia and untouchably beautiful, kind Lorrie Ann. While Mia struggles with a mother who drinks, a pregnancy at fifteen, and younger brothers she loves but can’t quite be good to, Lorrie Ann is luminous, surrounded by her close-knit family, immune to the mistakes that mar her best friend’s life. Then a sudden loss catapults Lorrie Ann into tragedy: things fall apart, and then fall further—and there is nothing Mia can do to help. And as good, brave, fair Lorrie Ann stops being so good, Mia begins to question just who this woman is, and what that question means about them both.

A staggeringly honest, deeply felt novel of family, motherhood, loyalty, and the myth of the perfect friendship, The Girls from Corona del Mar asks just how well we know those we love, what we owe our children, and who we are without our friends.

 

 

The Girls from Corona del Mar is available here.