Did anyone catch Melange when it aired on Logo this week? It is the pilot film for a proposed online soap about a legendary NYC gay bar named Melange, the mysterious death of its owner and the battle for ownership. The cast is full of veteran soap actors. My little friend Kristen Alderson is playing a character named Abigail Collins. Yes, Abigail Collins. Collins is a pretty common name, though Abigail is not. I had to ask if that was just a coincidence. Apparently, there are a lot of Easter Eggs in Melange aimed at soap aficionados. Ilene Kristen is playing a character named Dolly Faye. Wonder if she's descended from Leticia or Pansy.
I don't know if it will be airing again on Logo but it is on YouTube.

It's several months away but Sharon Smyth Lentz has announced that she will be appearing at The Haunted Screams Expo in Hampton, Virginia on September 19-20.

hauntedscreams.com

Hermes Press is accepting preorders for copies of the reprint of the second DS novel Victoria Winters. There will be a limited amount of copies (200) that will be signed by Alexandra Moltke. The price is $24.99 for a signed copy, ten dollars more than an unsigned book. There is a 25% discount with the code FEB2020.

hermes-press.myshopify.com

Sharon Smyth Lentz will be in Raleigh, North Carolina for the Carolina Fear Fest. The event is scheduled for May 22nd through May 24th. For further information: carolinafearfest.com

Kind of short notice but Sharon Smyth Lentz will be interviewed on an internet radio station from Pennsylvania on October 18th at 11 am.

For further information:ColassalRadio.Rocks

Laurel Wiley, who appeared in today. NBC Dark Shadows, passed away today. She had a small part as the screaming girl that Reverend Trask was trying to get a confession from when Abigail arrived seeking his services. Her other credits include Vanilla Sky and Ocean's 13 as Al Pacino's wife.
She had some serious health issues, including several bouts with cancer. She had been hospitalized with a heart problem and flatlined last week, so I think that she knew that she didn't have much time.
I only knew Laurel through Facebook and I always enjoyed reading her posts. She was always doing whatever she could to help others. I hope that she has found peace.

It appears that there is some Dark Shadows related activity coming to Tarrytown the weekend of October 10-13th. The Sleepy Hollow Film Festival is planning a weekend of screenings and activities related to Sleepy Hollow and Halloween. This includes cult actor Jeffrey Combs doing a one man show as Edgar Allen Poe and a live production of Plan Nine From Outer Space featuring Bobcat Goldthwaite.
There is going to be something DS related as well. The announcement was extremely vague but it sounded like a screening of the documentary. This is not being presented by the Dark Shadows Festival. There may be guests with a DS connection but none have been announced as yet.
Tickets for individual events have not been announced as yet. The only prices that have been posted as yet are Gold and Platinum Tickets for the entire weekend's events. Gold tickets are priced at $235.00; platinum tickets are priced at $375.00.
Beyond the budget of many of us.
I know that a lot of this sounds rather vague but the organization's posting is short on specific information. It sounds like a very ambitious event. Let's see if they can pull it off.

sleepyhollowfilmfest.com

Jasmine Nickerson, Denise's daughter in law, posted that Denise had a major medical emergency and was taken to the ER yesterday. She's currently in ICU and has had seizures and is said to be in pulmonary and respiratory distress. She has also developed pneumonia. They have upped her oxygen. She is under a DNR order, so they have not put in a ventilator or feeding tube. They just have to wait to see how well Denise responds.

On a brighter note, Jasmine's baby, which will be Denise's first grandchild, should be arriving in about seven weeks.