My young friend Jessica Mills in NY Times

I thought I would let you know about a bit more about my young friend Jessica Mills. Here's soem communication sent to me by her rightfully proud mother Deanie Francis Mills who is a quite well know American author:-

AWKWARD EMBRACES IN THE NEW YORK TIMES--IT'S A RAVE!!!

Guys, I'm forwarding this e-mail from my daughter but I changed her subject title because she so modest about this and I'm so excited!

Not only was Awkward Embraces selected, with a few others, out of more than 100, but the reviewer, Mike Hale (yes, that's his name <g>, and she told him she had a cousin with the same name)--featured Awkward Embraces at the TOP of the article with a lovely review, BUT, when you read the others--some of them are slick celebrity-produced Hollywood series; one of them has already won a national web series award, one is on Hulu.com, one on Sony.com, and one is a re-release of an animated movie!

Jessica's is the ONLY ONE that was done with nothing but grit, talent, and absolutely NO budget, which he refers to with a figurative smile.  His e-mails and phone calls to her have been very warm and funny.

This is a HUGE break for these kids. A publicist has already contacted them, offering to approach magazines like "Entertainment Weekly" and "TV Guide," using the NY Times as a springboard. And Jessica says that the entire Hollywood entertainment industry reads the NY Times Arts and Leisure section--so there is no telling who will see this.

Keep your fingers crossed that this could also "springboard" to a corporate sponsor or someone willing to sponsor these bright and talented young people, so Jessica can finally pay her talented cast and crew.  Recently, she had a fund-raiser where they were able to raise about $3000, which they used to help them film the first five episodes of Season Two.

The series has also attracted highly talented people in the industry who've offered to work gratis for now, and in Season Two, she's had help from a cinematographer, an assistant director, and others who've improved the production values, as well as celebrities in the world of comic books and horror movies who've requested that she write episodes for them, which she did! And they've had so much fun.

We are so proud of her, and we wanted to share this wonderful news with not just our family and friends, but people I consider Awkward Embraces family!

The link is provided below, after Jessica's letter of thanks to you all.

Love,
Deanie

"Deanie's Blue Inkblots"
http://deaniemills.com

From: Jessica Mills 
Subject: Awkward Embraces in the New York Times!
Date: Saturday, December 11, 2010, 1:21 AM

Guys, this is exciting news I've been DYING to share since Monday.  Mike Hale, television reviewer for the New York Times, has reviewed Awkward Embraces.  We are in the Arts & Leisure section of the Sunday edition!  However, the internet edition came out a day early.

This is HUGE!  I literally wandered around my house in shock for several hours after reading it.  Everyone on this e-mail list has worked hard for us, supported us, and helped us to get where we are today.

I sincerely thank each and every one of you.  Onward and Upward my friends!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/arts/television/12watch.html?scp=1&sq=awkward%20embraces&st=Search

Love,
Jessica