Land of Bliss and Shadow

Ivy Tomashoff, daughter of Dark Shadows set designer Sy Tomashoff. recorded a greeting to Dark Shadows 60th Anniversary Celebration attendees. This wonderful event occurred July 31 - August 2 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport hotel and boasted over 800 attendees. I presented her greeting to the gathering, which included Ivy's sister Liz Tomashoff, at the beginning of my Q&A session. The session was moderated by Danielle Gelehrter of Penny Dreadful's Terror at Collinwood podcast fame.  For a recording of the 30 minute session where you can learn more about Sy Tomashoff and my book about his career, visit Guy Haines' Belleroguy YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRFmQ5j1Tbw. Guy has also posted several other sessions from the Celebration on his YouTube channel. I am so honored that I got to know Liz and Ivy a bit, and that they took the time to talk to me about their talented and wonderful father. Here is Ivy's greeting and generous praise for my book ...

  Hello, Just a short update here. I was hoping to be able to share the final hardcover cost and printing schedule, but am still waiting for my chosen printer to get back to me on final details. I'm confident that I will receive that information from them sometime next week. What I can share this weekend: -I approved the proof of my hardcover book and it is (FINALLY) entering production. The proof looks really good - equal quality to the paperback with 80 lb glossy pages - but of course with hard covers. -I received a 4.5 out of 5 stars review from the Los Angeles Book Review! They will alert me when their review is up on their website. A little snip of their review that I found a lot of fun: "Daytime television rarely gets treated as a visual medium with its own engineering problems... Sy Tomashoff: Dark Shadows by Design corrects that blind spot with the focused enthusiasm of a fan who knows exactly where the trapdoors are." I've ordered more paperbacks, which I sh...

  Did you know that Sy Tomashoff designed the sets for Dark Shadows in color, even though this popular television show started out in 1966 only in black and white? The paperbacks of my illustrated historical biography "Sy Tomashoff: Dark Shadows by Design" are here! If interested, you can order them directly from me - Facebook message me or comment here with your email address and I'll send you the details. The hardcovers are still several weeks out, since I'm working with a new printer to ensure the quality that Tomashoff's work and my readers deserve. They will be available direct from me, and later on Amazon. The photo is of my book table at the Dark Shadows 60th Anniversary Celebration August 1, with two original Sy Tomashoff set design drawings behind me courtesy of event organizer and Dan Curtis Productions/Curtis Holdings marketing director and producer Jim Pierson.

  They are on their way! 11" z 8 1/2" paperbacks are in the mail and should be received next week! Available through Zelle or personal check. Contact me for details: karapinarpatty@gmail.com. Hardcover will be available soon from Amazon.

My sketch of the Dark Shadows Collinwood foyer sets "stained glass" windows for Stuart Manning's charity fanzine Daytime Gothic II, available now from Ten Acre Books: https://tenacrefilms.bigcartel.com/product/daytime-gothic-ii-celebrating-tvs-supernatural-soap-opera-dark-shadows Also included is my essay about attempting to replicate the 1841 Parallel Times storyline's red velvet gown worn by actor Joan Bennett and custom designed by costume designer Mary McKinley. It was not easy!  

  I'm excited to share that my upcoming book Sy Tomashoff: Dark Shadows by Design , will be available soon - hopefully within the next couple of months.  For now - I have my very first ISBN number! This is a first-of-its-kind illustrated historical biography of groundbreaking television set designer Sy Tomashoff. Recipient of seven Emmy Awards, Tomashoff's career spanned five decades of detailed, bold and inventive sets that set the groundwork for modern multi-camera television production design. He is perhaps best known for his inspired and beloved sets for the daytime Gothic serial Dark Shadows. This book celebrates Tomashoff's career with many of his original design and production drawings, set photos and illustrative episode stills from Dark Shadows. It also provides rare illustrations from his prior and subsequent work and insights from those who knew him best. I hope that fans of Dark Shadows , television and soap opera history, and set design in general will love ...