New Book, Lotsa Lunches and Grande Margaritas

Yes, the blog is a day late. I have my reasons. I have been trying to slog through the inbox of the damned. Then, suddenly I have a multi-volume manga to edit that I didn't expect on top of the multi-volume manga I knew about. And I did have three grande margartias during one of the best working lunches I've ever had. You see, they make the drink grande for a only a dollar extra, so why not? And it was also buy two margaritas get one free Wednesday at Kay n' Dave's Mexican Restaurant. I'm a writer. It is not in our DNA to turn down a free margarita. Strangely, that isn't why the blog is late. I was waiting for the latest title from Sybpress to go live. Now, it has on Amazon Kindle. The paperback should be live in a day or two. I'll give a shout out when it does.

Alternate Lanes

I am very proud to announce Sybaritic Press' first non-fiction anthology, Alternate Lanes: An Anthology of Travel Using Alternate Transportation in the City of Angels. Here is the synopsis:

This is the city, Los Angeles, California. Within the county are over 500 miles of freeways and 6500 miles of streets. According to the latest census, the population is over 3.7 million people. Yet the California Department of Motor Vehicles states that there are more than 6.6 million automobiles in the county. Los Angeles is world famous for being car crazy. However, there is a significant part of its population that gets around quite well without ever using an automobile. The largest provider of public transit which includes buses, trains and light rail reports a ridership of 1.6 million per week day, making the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) the third largest in the country. And that is just one of a half dozen very active transit agencies in this county. There are also 377 miles of bike paths with a plan to increase to 1600 miles. Add to that the runners, rollerbladers and walkers, and it's clear that Los Angeles moves in many different ways. Alternate Lanes: An Anthology of Travel Using Alternate Transportation in the City of Angels is a fond though often unflinching and irreverent look at transit that doesn't involve an automobile. This collection of eye opening prose and poetry is by some of the best writers and poets who call Los Angeles home.

More than the blog was waiting on this book. All of our advertising for the West Hollywood Bookfair was tied up in having a link to this new title. Now that we have somewhere to send possible buyers, we can finish off the web page and post cards. We can also put in our order for books in the booth. I am really, really relieved that there were no problems with the files. This is the first book in a very long time with interior photos. The last experiment left us all traumatized. The photos look great. Maybe I'm finally ready to try that cookbook!

Lunch Lady

In the last week, I have had two occasions that caused me to write a Yelp review. In both cases, I was in the company of a charming gentleman and enjoying amazing food. Last Friday, I was delighted to meet one of the talented translators I work with for the Digital Manga Guild. Joel was en route from his hometown on the east coast back to Japan with his young son. I was very excited about meeting him as I found his running commentary on the last manga we worked on so entertaining. We met in Little Tokyo at a very popular Ramen joint called Daikokuya. It looked like a diner inside – even had red vinyl booths, I suppose it was diner like, food wise. The menu was Japanese comfort food. It's famous for it's ramen made with pork stock made from roasted pork bones. This is nothing like the little packages of dried noodles with the foil flavor pouches. This was an astonishing bowl of wonder. The stock was so flavorful and luxurious. The veggie toppings were fresh and crisp. I couldn't finish it all, but it was amazing. I will now be tormented until I can figure out how to make that broth! Joel was entertaining in person as well as was his son. The handsome little fellow did very well entertaining a stranger when he really wanted to be in a pool. He even gave me a hug when we parted company. Joel did not disappoint in person. We laughed a lot, and he taught me about a performer from the US who is huge in Japan. This young man is not a rapper. Jero is a singer of an old form of Japanese balladscalled Enka. Just take a lookie here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x551ef_jero-michinoku-hitori-tabi-japanese_music . It seems that Jero-san is from Joel's home town. Neat.

Jero and Enka Singers

My other lunch date was with the always witty and entertaining Jody Wheeler, writer, filmmaker and raconteur. We met at a place I pass by once a week on my way to the Culver City Farmers Market, Kay n' Dave's http://www.kayndaves.com/pg_find_culver.html. It's a really cool Mexican restaurant. To save time, I'll just quote my review here. This place is great in any way that a restaurant can be judged. The food is freshly made. The flavors are complex -- even in a simple taco. The service is friendly, attentive and swift. The prices -- especially the specials -- are very reasonable. Oh, and the drinks are delicious and generous in size. I really adored the house margarita! During my last visit, I had the duck enchilada special that also had rice and a veggie and apple salad. It was incredible and only $7! It is understandably busy during lunch. The service is so good that it makes a great option for the office workers nearby. I can't recommend it enough. Jody and I talked about everything from Bent-con to Yaoi-con to filmmaking, web series, fund raising. It was so much fun, yet somehow we got a whole lot of business done. Awesome. I really look forward to the next encounter.

Alas, I must get back to work. I still have that danged in box to slog through. I've been having too much fun this week.

Stay tuned.