Friday, August 19, 2011

Yum! I've Been Given The Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award!



To my surprise and delight, our own Caftan Woman has chosen me as a recipient of the Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award (ISBA)! And of course, everyone, Caftan Woman can always be found at:

http://caftanwoman.blogspot.com/

Following the provisos and quid-pro-quos of this delicious-looking award (suddenly I have a hankering for gluten-free strawberry shortcake!), here are the 7 Things You Lovable ISBA Folks Have Apparently Always Wanted to KnowAbout Me* 
*(but were afraid or too busy to ask! :-)

1.) I was born in New York City on June 8th, 1963 (the same year one of my favorite movies, Charade, came out), and lived back and forth in the Bronx and Manhattan until...

2.) ...I met and married my sweet, funny, devilishly clever hubby Vinnie Bartilucci, whom I met at the NYC branch of the improv group Chicago City Limits. We recently celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary and look forward to many more, not to put the whammy on it! Anyway, when Vin's job moved to PA, we moved along with it, and we've lived there for a decade now.

3.)  My colorful, lovable parents (both deceased, alas) were Jacqueline Kehoe (then Tenore, née Cherry), a vivacious model-turned-medical/legal secretary, and Peter James Tenore, a bookie-turned-restaurant manager.

4.) Before I discovered the wonderful world of blogging, Vinnie introduced me to the Internet and Amateur Press Associations (APAs) before that. For me, blogs were the writing equivalent of a gateway drug! :-)

5.) On October 30th, 1996, Vinnie and I became the proud and busy parents of Siobhan Maggie Bartilucci. As a toddler, she was diagnosed with ADHD and Asperger’s Syndrome, but to our relief and joy, Siobhan has become a smart, funny, high-functioning, high-spirited young lady with an affectionate nature, a love of animation, and excellent grades in her Inclusion classes, in a mainstream school with lots of resources for Aspies and other kids with special needs. She's a great swimmer; in fact, we like to swim together at local pools and the Y. And she's starting high school this fall! The mind boggles! :-)

6.) Some of my favorite people, living or dead (besides my friends and loved ones) include authors Donald E. Westlake, Craig Rice, Richard Prather, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler; director/producers Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, Howard Hawks, and the Coen Brothers; all-around entertainer Danny Kaye (who really deserves a renaissance); and Oscar-winning actor Adrien Brody, who is not only a talented actor but also a kind, considerate person, as he proved at last year's New York Comic Con (NYCC). To make a long story short (who said "Too late"?), when Brody was doing a signing at NYCC and the lines went all kablooey, the folks running the show almost cut us out of the line for lack of time. Our fellow fans were kind enough to intervene on our behalf, and apparently Brody got wind of this, because he went out of his way to make sure we got face time and autographs even though the con folks were applying pressure. He was really sweet, even praising Siobhan for being so patient during the whole mishegoss! Such a mensch, bless him!

7.) I'm currently working with ghost editor Nicole Bokat, polishing my first novel The Paranoia Club, a witty, character-driven romantic thriller and novel of manners. Don't take my word for it, ask our own ClassicBecky! :-)  If you'd like a taste of PClub (as I've nicknamed it), I ran Chapter One on TotED a while back; feel free to check it out here:


http://doriantb.blogspot.com/2010/08/paranoia-club-by-dorian-tenore-chapter.html

I'm also only a couple of chapters away from finishing my second novel, Suburban Outlaws, set in the Riverdale section of the Bronx.


And now for the hard part: winnowing all my favorite bloggers down to a mere 12! Without further ado, the richly-deserving ISBA Recipients:

1.) ClassicBecky's Brain Food
http://classicbeckybrainfood.blogspot.com/

2.) Thrilling Days of Yesteryear
http://thrillingdaysofyesteryear.blogspot.com

3.) MacGuffin Movies
http://macguffinmovies.wordpress.com/

4.) My Love of Old Hollywood
http://myloveofoldhollywood.blogspot.com/

5.) Twenty-Four Frames
http://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/

6.) Noir and Chick Flicks
http://dawnschickflicks.blogspot.com/

7.) Another Old Movie Blog
http://anotheroldmovieblog.blogspot.com/

8.) Laura's Miscellaneous Musings
http://laurasmiscmusings.blogspot.com/

9.) ...in so many words
http://yvettecandraw.blogspot.com/

10.) Is That Really Desirable?
http://itrd.blogspot.com/

11.) Classic Film and TV Cafe
http://classic-film-tv.blogspot.com/

12.) The Girl with the White Parasol
http://thegirlwiththewhiteparasol.blogspot.com/

My daughter Siobhan and my sister Cara in Florida in the Early Aughties
Now everybody go spread the love amongst your favorite 12 bloggers, prepare to share 7 fun facts about your fine selves, and go for a swim while the summer's still here! :-)


5 comments:

  1. Wow, Dorian, I had no idea you were a novelist! Congratulations on your book and your award, of course. And thank you for the kind thoughts. :)

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  2. Many thanks and you're welcome, Rachel! :-) I'm not going to get super-excited about THE PARANOIA CLUB until Nicole Bokat and I have finished polishing the manuscript (we're two-thirds of the way done as of this writing). If all continues to go well and I'm published by a real live publisher who'll pay me real live money, I'll go from super-excited to ecstatic. :-) Here's hoping!

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  3. Our lovely and talented colleague Yvette had this to say:

    "Dorian, I’m having trouble again posting on your blog even with Firefox.

    So what’s a girl to do? E-mail you my comment, that’s what. :-)

    I’m learning all new things about you reading the Sweets Award post. I didn’t know you were from my hometown? NYC/Bronx. (Grew up in Manhattan. Lived in the Bronx for a couple of years before moving to Pennsylvania, too but only for a two years. Then back to NJ.)

    At any rate, I’m having awards overlap. I already received the Sweet award from Caftan Woman. This gets confusing, I know. Ha!

    I only sent it on to six people though because I recently sent out the leibster and wouldn’t want to be accused of being over zealous with awards. :-)

    I excluded you and Becky ‘cause I’d already awarded you. Too much of a good thing can sometimes be…well, too much.

    So anyway, THANKS FOR THINKING OF ME, you’re so sweet. :-)

    Hugs,
    Yvette"

    Yvette, my friend, thanks and you're welcome! :-) I'm tickled that you're a fellow native New Yorker who lived in both Manhattan, the Bronx, and PA like me. Which parts of the Bronx did you live in, if I may ask? I lived variously in Riverdale and Throgs Neck -- sounds like a Ray Harryhausen monster, doesn't it? :-)). I'm happy to honor other swell bloggers and be honored by them in return, but I'd better set up a scoreboard to keep track! :-) But hey, we should all have such "problems," right? Thanks, Yvette; your wit and wisdom is always welcome here at TotED!

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  4. Hey Dorian,

    Just wanted to let you know that I gave this award to you too :)

    http://via-51.blogspot.com/2011/08/irresistibly-sweet-liebster-blog-awards.html

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  5. Clara, you're a dear! Thanks for the Irrestibly Sweet Liebster love, combining lots of lovely accolades all in one! :-) I hereby share the love with all of our fine fellow bloggers who work at the labor of love of watching and blogging about great movies! Thanks again, my friend!

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