Simple Treats, Character Creation and Book Excerpt

Considering Simple Treats on a Sunday

I wonder why it is that bagels smell so amazing when passing through a train station? I've found this to be true in any train station I've visited that has a bagel stand. Maybe it's because the scent is intensified in a closed space. Maybe it's because the bagel shop owners have a fan that sends pure bagel essence into the station causing travelers to drift in demanding smears butter or cream cheese on the somehow crunchy and soft circles of loveliness while they are still warm. I enjoy this scent so much that if I have to make a connection anywhere near Union Station in LA en route to my many appointments, I always choose to walk through the complex rather than ride the next two stops to connect just to smell those bagels. I also love old train stations and this one is really gorgeous. I shall have to make time to actually have a bagel and enjoy the comings and goings of the station sometime soon.

Simple Cooking on a Sunday

I'm giving my freezer a break and even restocking it a little today while making some deceptively simple fare. I'm revisiting the roast chicken and the meatloaf. For this dinner, we'll have the chicken with fluffy mashed potatoes and just to be extra decadent, some bread stuffing and gravy! There was an insane sale on whole chickens and hamburger, so I couldn't resist. And it's always good to occasionally work on the basics. According to every major cookbook I've read and TV chef I've watched, the roast chicken is how a cook is judged. Oh, I forgot to mention that veg will be the insanely inexpensive fresh corn (6 ears for $1). Crazy cheap and so very sweet right now. The roast chicken will also yield roasted chicken bones which means more lovely stock for soup. I'll need more as I've been making soup a lot lately. Of course, it's finally decided to get really hot here, but what can you do?

Book Updates

There have been some changes at Sybaritic Press. The big one is that all of the titles are going to be available on Kindle including a big upcoming, long awaited opus. I also took the opportunity to have Jon change the covers of The Gift of Surrender and The Price of Surrender. They are, as you can see, very sexy. I had him do this in anticipation of third book. Sybpress is about to get fairly busy. We're working on another Demonspawn book for those who crave more adventures the Vampire and the Doctor. We're not completely back in business yet. But it is nice to have some new titles coming out.

Writing Update

I've been very excited about my writing this week. It's reached that point where spending time with my guys is my big treat for the day. I thus have to finish my chores and errands, and writing some pages that involve being with them is my treat for the day. I love that even more than when the frenzy descends that forces me to churn out pages until the thing is done. When I'm in this sort of place with my writing, the experience is productive and there is time to savor the ride. And this wonderful turn happened because of something I chanced to catch online this week.

I was fortunate enough to follow Jane Espenson during an online discussion about writing. She always gives the best most succinct advice on spinning plots and crafting characters. My favorite type of that night for quickly figuring out a character was 'what does the character want and how is that being frustrated.' Brilliant. That creates a plethora of material in a very short span. The advice was particularly timely as I work on A Soldier's Destiny. I have a whole new novel full of characters that all want something and every one of them is being frustrated in some manner. For my main guys, Rik and Vincent, they were looking for lives that were dedicated to training and research. What they are getting is situation after situation that involves the potential for extreme violence. Some of that violence is visiting them in the heart of their Foundation. For Rik, the situation is particularly daunting, because he had hoped to distance himself and Vincent from the perception that they are primarily killers. However, it is the fact that they were crafted and conditioned to be such innately ruthless killers that makes them the only beings capable of dealing with the Vampire, Simon Molinar when he appears. They are the only beings that can unnerve him, because they will kill him without hesitation if they are pressed to, Meanwhile, Vincent is growing more and more worried about Rik's well being as his humanity is being taxed further and further. It is revealed that Rik nearly killed himself before Vincent reappeared in their world. He remains fragile in some way. In this book and likely for those to come, Vincent has assumed the role of Rik's protector. For the first time, readers will see the calculating soldier in Vincent. And readers will begin to learn about his experiences in the other world.

Excerpt from A Soldier's Destiny

Warning Adult Content Yaoi or Homoerotic Themes If you read it, I don't want to hear complaints.

It was only 2200 hours when we finally finished prepping for Molinar's inevitable appearance and reached the apartment, but all of the restfulness I'd felt at the end of the vacation evaporated. Fortunately, we were to be alone at the apartment. Bobby was going to spend as much time with Ellie as he could before reporting to his next post. Though he would be just across town at Central Command, he wouldn't be visiting very often at first. Vincent didn't begrudge him that time. He and I could managed to find ourselves at the base whenever we wanted. This was not the case for Ellie. I was grateful that we were on our own. I was feeling far from social. Percival was his usual, indispensable self. He hadn't scheduled any meetings for us until 0900, giving us time to work out then have a leisurely breakfast before getting back into the Foundation's routine.

Still, I was out of sorts. My thoughts were racing with all the things that were undone in my office. My mind was somewhere else completely though I was responding to things Vincent said. That is, until I finished the locking the door. Then, I was pressed against it. Vincent had me by the hair. My cheek was pressed firmly against the smooth cool wood.

“Do I have your attention?” He asked softly very close to my ear.

My eyes slid closed. I sighed. “Yes.”

“I don't believe you,” he murmured, licking my ear. “You'll have to convince me.”

I was dragged into the bedroom and tossed onto the bed. Before I could recover, Vincent was on me, stripping me naked. Then, he was straddling me. My wrists were crossed over my head and pressed against the mattress, pinning me. His glare had more anger than desire in it. I was confused.

“Why?” I asked with a hard swallow.

“You need this,” Vincent murmured. “You're too much in your head sometimes.”

I almost chuckled at that, but my Lover's face was far too serious. I was too much in my head most of the time. That's how I never saw how he'd felt about me before he disappeared for all of that time. I was crazy enough to sometimes worry about all I continued to miss. His hold tightened on my wrists.

“Stop it,” Vincent ordered. His voice was soft, but there was an edge of steel in it. Then, he tilted his head to one side to kiss me. His mouth was hot and sweet as always. His kiss was intense, stealing my breath with my moan.

Vincent's free hand was caressing my torso lazily and slowly. Oh God, he was going to slowly drive me insane. I groaned against his lips, arching my body in a silent plea to be released.

“Not a chance, Rik,” he whispered pressing my wrists firmly with one hand while the other played with a very sensitive nipple. “Not yet.”

While he toyed with my nipple, Vincent slid his tongue slowly down my neck to the curve of my shoulder where he bit then sucked at the skin.

I cried out, arching against him again as I instantly hardened. Though I felt him smile against my skin, it was clear that this assault on my body, mind and senses had just begun. Later, much later, I would wonder where all of that patience and control during our love making came from. But right then, my mind was gone. All I could do was feel him and what he was doing to my body.

Vincent's free hand moved down my torso as his lips took over torturing my nipple. I felt him grasp my erection with a sure hand. He stroked me to just before I found release, but then, he denied me. The bastard did that over and over while muffling my frustrated cries with that diabolical mouth. He took me up and down like that I'm not sure how many times before I was mindless and nearly exhausted.

“Look at me, Rik,” Vincent commanded softly.

Somehow, I dragged my eyelids open. The torture continued. Vincent's eyes were so dark with desire that the gold was nearly enveloped by the dark. I moaned loudly just as the climax coursed through my trembling body. He watched as I was wracked with intense pleasure. He watched as I rode through it all. Finally, he smiled his most angelic, frightening

smile.

“My turn now,” he murmured.

Vincent still held my wrists as he turned me on my side. Despite the lead in my limbs,

I pulled the outer knee up to receive him. He grunted in approval then quickly prepped me. It seems my torture had had a profound affect on him as well. Had I been more aware, I may have been smug about it. But I had no mind at that point. My body needed him in me to complete the circuit. That was all that was the only thought I had left in my brain.

With blessed speed, Vincent pushed inside me, canting his hips to unerringly caress my sweet spot with each thrust. I was hard again then barreling toward completion in what seemed like an instant. Vincent had barely touched me when I came again. This time, the intensity of the energy between us and my exhaustion sent me into the bliss of oblivion.

It was early morning when I woke. I was on my back with Vincent half covering me. His golden head rested on my chest. His hair fanned out everywhere. Upon my movement, his arms tightened around me.

“What time is it?” He mumbled against my chest.

“0530,” I replied. The alarm wouldn't sound for a half an hour.

Vincent raised his head to look at me. His expression was softer than the night before. He seemed very pleased at what he saw.

“You look much better,” Vincent murmured with a smile. “I'm glad further measures aren't necessary.”

I felt my brows raise. “Further measures?”

He smirked at me. “I wasn't letting you out of this bed until you looked relaxed.”

I was flummoxed, unsure whether to start my day or take him up on that challenge. Vincent gave him a lazy smile.

“You know you won't be able to stay away from that desk,” he murmured.

“Your insight is correct, as always,” I sighed before rolling him beneath my body. “Good morning, Love.”

He was smiling when I gently kissed him. He moaned into the kiss, making me wish for much more than a half an hour head start.

“We can take our time in the shower,” Vincent suggested as my lips moved to his elegant neck.

I sighed. My lover was right. It was easier to get out of that bed if we didn't start something. I rolled off Vincent then offered him my hand.

“Where did you find all of that patience and focus in bed, Love?” I asked mildly as I shampooed his hair. “It was only a couple of months ago where you were all but ripping my clothes off and having me almost without prep.”

Vincent hummed his pleasure at what my fingers were doing to his scalp.

“One of your most important lessons was to learn the objective well then learn what you need to get it done,” he replied almost languidly. “I take care of you, Rik. After what happened with Ms. Becker, I realized that I had to be aware of everything that could hurt you. Sometimes that will mean protecting you from the Foundation. Sometimes that means protecting you from you.”

I rinsed the great mass of hair carefully as I considered Vincent's simple, direct statement. It was impressive. He would have had to analyze me like any other target then decide on the best strategy to defeat me. It took not just skill but a patience in extreme situations I had not seen in him before. It had to have developed during his time away.

“You were always my best, most adaptive Altered,” I murmured as I dried his hair. “You put all of that study and strategy into me?”

Vincent looked up at me levelly though his cheeks flamed slightly. “You are mine, and you are my life. I can't think of anything more important.”

I gaped at him for a moment, profoundly moved. Then, I crushed him against me and kissed his temple.

“Lord, I love you,”I whispered.

His arms looped around to squeeze me close. “I love you so much, it frightens me some times.”

“I'm not afraid,” I assured him. “It's what we need. And your stomach is growling.”

Vincent swatted my butt before pulling away. He smiled sweetly at me. “Let's get to it.”

DraggonTV.com is Live!

Welcome to DraggonTV.com

Sometime last year, I discovered that there were filmmakers I knew with films and shorts that had not yet found distribution. Most had edited very short versions of the longer works to run on Youtube in parts to compete with thousands of disparate posts uploaded hourly. We thought about this situation and decided that we could offer something better. Thus, DraggonTV.com was born. We are offering independent filmmakers a site where they can run anything up to a full feature to attract an audience. What's more, we can offer access to the distributors we've established connections with over the years of attending world film markets to pitch our own films and concepts. Though it shouldn't matter, the fact that we have traveled several thousands of miles to meet with people who are across town leaves an impression. Our company has such longstanding connections with distributors that we have gotten letters of commitment based solely on a concept. Furthermore, we can offer filmmakers guidance on creating onesheets and press kits that will assist them in their efforts. Though DraggonTV.com is open to all kinds of content, we're particularly interested in genre (sci-fi in particular though we also want horror and paranormal). Sci-fi as it gets the shortest end of the stick, release wise in film and TV. So, check out the page. Then, if you have a short, serial or feature you'd like to have us run, consult the Submissions page and follow the instructions.

If you have a product or service you'd like to advertise, check out our Ad page. Our rates are really reasonable as we are a start-up. We'll be running ads of up to 90 seconds at the beginning of the films shortly for those with book trailers and the like.

A big thanks to Lucy Doty for use of the incredible Central City Studio for our photo shoot. FILMMAKERS, this place is a must for any sort of genre shoot or medical or cop drama. They give tours seven days a week!

And as always, to our partners, Ralph and Margeurite Lliteras for their hard work and unwavering support.

Shout out to the Buckeye State

For some reason, much of the support staff for Dragoncor Productions is located in Ohio. It all began innocently enough. It beings with Bruce Kline, a very close friend from the days when I worked in Advertising in New York City. He is a composer, guitarist and singer as well as a radio DJ. Bruce and I have kept in touch over the years, and I have tapped his talent on a number of occasions as a composer. For DraggonTV.com, in addition to being the smooth voice that welcomes the viewer to the site, he is also the composer of the theme for 15%. His compositions will also be heard on the upcoming film short, Blood Oath. So, a big shout out thanks to Bruce Kline!

The next shout out goes to Randy Payne. Aside from being crew-guy extraordinaire on many of our shoots both big and small. He is an original set elf (you'll have to ask him what the heck that means). Anyway, aside from listening endless complaints from thousands of miles away, he's been helpful in connecting me with all manner of talent. Most importantly for DraggonTV.com, was connecting me to his good buddy, Bryce Holland. He is a talented web designer, and we were in need. Why go so far for a web designer? Los Angeles doesn't seem to understand such terms as 'small start up' or 'modest budget.' The average bid I received in response to my ad was 10 grand for the site and the team it would requires. We've never had that big a team when we shot a feature. So, Randy eventually got tired of my grousing about the whole thing and put me in contact with Bryce. I must say that he, like the other Ohio brethren, is infinitely patient with us Hollywood types. And his work is first rate as well. So a big thank you shout out to both Randy and Bryce.

More Changes

There will be additions to the page often, so check back frequently. We are adding behind the scenes interviews for Demon Under Glass and adding more shorts.

Stay Tuned!!!

Snacks, Sliders and Deb of Borg

I did find an excellent use for the bounty of my unruly basil window hedge. I made a marinara sauce a la David Rocco with canned tomatoes and some tomatoes, garlic and onions that I roasted. I used the basil laced sauce on a pizza. This recipe was from America's Test Kitchen and is more like a Focaccia than a pizza. It was super easy, at any rate. I ate mine with caramelized onions in addition to fresh mozzarella cheese. Jon had his without. It was quite tasty, and there was enough for an afternoon snack the next day. I'd never planned to make my own pizza, but I find that I like very few that are available for delivery since having them in the south of France (I was told by Mario Batali himself that the region used to belong to Italy. And there seems to be an awful lot of Italians and their fabulous food there.). I've had a wide range of results making my own dough including the dough that tried to eat my fridge. This dough is the easiest though I still prefer the more troublesome recipes when I'm in the mood for battle. The pizza was all the more tasty having been made with my own basil infused oil and with that final sprinkling of shredded basil on top.
Special Snacks

I decided to give myself a pre-chemo treat and try a seafood recipe I saw on one of Paula Deen's shows. This was a scallop slider. It was made like a crab cake and eaten on a slider bun with a spicy mayo. Now, I do love a good crab cake (heavy on the crab and light on the cake) and I have made many kinds over the years. These shooters were very, very simple and the result was just amazing. They were delicately flavorful. They had a great texture and the mayo didn't overwhelm the taste of the shooter itself. Of course, the other part of the treat was a bit of was a little bit of bubbly. Alas, I will be vino free for the duration of the treatments. Don't be bummed for me. I'm enjoying a lot of healthy, tasty things during treatments. Among them, the Lassi. I'm gong very, very light on the spices and using mangoes or strawberries for flavor. This helps me with nutrients and keeping the old plumbing balanced. And I'm having the first of many batches of soup. This one – chicken noodle! Dull choice? No, it was quite tasty. One of the most intriguing prohibitions during treatment may result in some elaborate desserts. I am to avoid cold drinks and food. Frozen treats are thus out of the question. What to do when one has a jones for vanilla or chocolate ice cream (yes, my favorites are that mundane). Well, first there is cocoa (regular or white chocolate) or home made vanilla or chocolate pudding which are fine at room temperature. But then there is also homemade mousse!! Again in chocolate or white chocolate. And for a real jolt of vanilla yumminess, there is crème brûlée, baby! All I need is a blow torch!

Deb of Borg

Deb of Borg, that's what Jon's taken to calling me. He's also gotten good at dodging flying objects I throw toward his head. I have a number of tubes attached to my person at present. For about 48 hours, I had a little machine attached to me as well. There was much in the way of clicking and whirring in my wake during that time. The tubes ate the PICC line that runs from mu upper arm to just at my heart (by far the most gruesome thing that has happened to me in this entire ordeal was putting that PICC line in. Oh, all that long line in the photo on the link is what got threaded through my veins. Unpleasant. But, I must say, the nurse was excellent – as are all of those managing my care. The other tube has been in my abdomen since the surgery in April. That's gotten old, but there isn't anything to be done about it for a while.

Round One

The first round was okay. Jon and I watched Toy Story2 on my portable DVD player. That was a hoot and a half. I was surprised that we were served a nice boxed lunch – though I wouldn't have picked tuna salad for one with an iffy appetite and potential nausea issues. Still, it was a nice thought. I figure we can run through the vast list of films we've missed in the past year during the treatments. So far, I'm side effect free save for fatigue. That's astonishing when it hits. I'll be quite fine and typing something, then I'm waking up from a really deep and sudden nap. That will make timing my walks very interesting. The heavier side effects turn up later in the treatments – if I'm going to get them at all. Though I whine about the number of trips I'll be making to the hospital in the next months (and it is a whole lot of trips per week), I can't complain. I am really healthy compared to the other patients I see there. And even the weakest ones move with a determination that I admire. If they can buck up and get it done in that state, I've got nothing to complain about. The only bit of news that I found daunting is that the number of rounds is three times longer than I'd thought. The assumption was an error on my part. I think I read somewhere that the minimum number was four rounds and decided that was what would happen. Not so. I'll be going the full twelve rounds. Still, I should be quite fit by the time the Cannes Market rolls around. By then, I'll really need some proper pizza.

My thanks again for all of the cards, notes, calls and other well wishes. I really appreciate those and the prayers. And thanks for thinking of Jon as well. He's got an awful lot on his plate with me. Caregiving is never easy and he needs support as well.

Part two of the blog with the writing updates and details on the new website are coming in a few hours.

Stay tuned!

Blog Part Two -- Shooting Actors, New Vampire & Other Fun

Year of Fun -- On the Set
Warning! Link to a Hasselhoff Video below!

Actually, when thinking about my experiences on sets, fun does not immediately come to mind. I didn't have to plunge toilets this time. But then, Jon pointed out that was only because we had been part of the crew that made the bathrooms usable at the new studio. Ah yes, caustic chemicals in extreme heat. I'd never scrubbed a urinal before. Motion pictures, dahling. At any rate, I never seemed to have nearly as much fun on my sets as my crews had. Well, there are a few elements that made this photo shoot tons of fun. First, Craig was working on the same floor. I spent his lunch break with him patiently listening to his numerous and dubious reasons as to why I should read Neanderthal. It's like Michael Crichton but with psychic Neanderthals, he said. That wasn't a really good reason for me. I had read a couple of Crichton's books during my last hospital stay, Prey and State of Fear. I was keenly disappointed. I really didn't think that the addition of psychic, cannibal Neanderthals would help matters. What I suspect is that he had been extremely annoyed by the book and wanted to visit it upon me. His thirst for vengeance likely stems from my sending him a video of David Hasselhoff doing Hooked on a Feeling (I take no responsibility if you click on that link). Thus, I understood his urge for revenge, but I wasn't taking the bait.The next key to Deb's fun factor on the set is a loose crew. I've found some folks who are super fast, really professional, laid back and damned funny. Which is really good, because the last element to the fun is Garett Maggart. I've never met an actor that can be so really crazy in one second and then completely focused in the next. Luckily, Cat Elrond, make-up artiste extraoridnaire rolls easily with this. The rest of us (Ralph, Jon and I) know the drill. I was very impressed that our new vampire, Simon Molinar, is laid back and quite funny himself. More on him in a moment. We were shooting images to go with a promo for both the books tied in with Demon Under Glass and for the web series we'll be shooting later this year. The promo is designed like a book trailer in which brief images are blended with voice overs and music to quickly tell a story and set a mood. I picked images from the voice over script, and we got to work. Hopefully, there will be the paranoia and desperation that will be in the series, but the humor as well. The photos are mine. We're saving the official ones ones that Ralph took for the launch. Those are extraordinary. Mine were snapped from a slightly different angle with a far less powerful camera and just after Ralph took his, so my flash wouldn't interfere. We got some amazing stuff from Ralph as he sandwiched us into his typical day of doing 80,000 things at once while remaining relaxed. It was nuts, but I had a very good time.

Meet the Vampire

Though more than one person was involved in making this decision, I know that I will take the brunt of the heat for it. So be it. Let me say straight off that we were all quite happy with Jason Carter's choices in playing Simon Molinar, and he was great to work with on set. His choices created a cultured and charming vampire. When we decided to mount a series for Demon Under Glass, we decided to take advantage of the passage of time to go back to the original vision for the character Simon Molinar. He had been written for a very young actor who had the calm maturity of almost two thousand years. It was to be an unnerving juxtaposition of incredible patience and maturity in an very young package. The original Molinar was written to be much more overtly sexual. We want him to be the type that could succeed in seducing a room full of disparate people no matter their sexual orientation.

When we were presented with Owen Szabo, we found his training to be exceptional. He is certainly very good looking. My only real hesitation was his hair color. I strongly considered having him dye it, and he was quite willing. But then, I was online with Facebook friend, Geraint Wyn Davies, formerly of Forever Knight. He had directed me to one of his interviews that happened shortly before Forever Knight premiered. It seems that the Powers That Be at CBS didn't want him for the part primarily because he was blond. I realized that was not a good reason to pass on a casting choice or change his hair when he looks great as is. To digress, we kept Garett's silver hair for much the same reason – he looks good with it. Cat said he had a George Clooney thing happening. Garett likes Cat a lot. Back to Owen, He's got the acting chops – though from Boston, he did a very good British accent. Actually, until he told me, I didn't know he was from Boston. He has a wonderfully expressive face. And he naturally exudes the old soul in a young body that we wanted Simon Molinar to possess. He's got a deep, bed-roomy voice that can work a girl's nerves. The big question then was how would his chemistry be with Joe McKay. That Simon didn't run for the hills over Joe's frequent questions about when they were going to 'do it,' calls for lube and complaints about bottoming was encouraging. But when they managed to raise my scolding eyebrow as a pair, I was certain that they would work well together and that I'd be sighing a lot. Still, I was quite pleased. We look forward to working with Owen and hope that Demon Under Glass fans will embrace him as well.

A Soldier's Destiny

I had hoped to put up an excerpt today. I'll likely do it mid-week. It's been a little crazy. However, in developing the time line for Demon Under Glass, I have bridged the two works. I've also realized that there will have to be a fourth Soldier's novel to cover all of that and the plots I have going. I plan to write them straight through and have them released a few months apart. I have the time line between the Delphi Project and the Altered Soldier's Program in the updated writer's guide. It also contains the canon fate of Joe and Simon. I will put up the link, but strongly advise only those who want to write stories or script to read it. To say it has spoilers is a gigantic understatement. The Writer's Guide Link .

DraggonTV

The debut is Saturday. Information on the site will be on this blog, my lists and face book pages starting Wednesday. Please, spread the word everywhere you can think of. Many filmmakers, actors and crew will really appreciate it.

Finally

I start chemo on Thursday. I have no idea how it will affect me. As always, I appreciate any spare prayers or good thoughts.

Stay Tuned.

Blog Part One -- What's Cooking Sunday?

You name it! You see, this new cooking channel, Cooking Channel , is an insidious thing. It's causing me to wander into territories unknown cooking-wise. Like I need any more encouragement. First, there is Laura Calder with her French Food at Home that just torments me, because I'd rather have French food in France. Though I find I'm settling for making Consommé. Never considered making it before. I barely know what it is. I really need to know where she buys her clothes. And there is Rachel Allen of Rachel Allen: Bake! who seems to have convinced me that I can make puff pastry. That would have seemed crazy to me yesterday as I was more than content with the frozen variety. I don't even want to tell you what Iron Chef Michael Symon of Cook Like an Iron Chef has me thinking about. And why did I buy chick pea flour when I had no idea it existed a couple of weeks ago? That danged, adorable David Rocco and his Dolce Vita, that's why. Something to do with some kind of pizza. I don't know. It just looks tasty. Ah well, it's good therapy even if I'm finding myself getting more than a little obsessed lately. I suppose I need to make a pizza or some pasta sauce asap. My little basil plant is rapidly becoming and unruly basil bush. My freezer is full. I may have to start giving food away – again.

the rest of the blog will be up in a few hours.

Stay tuned!

Frenzies, Pirate Vampires and More Countdowns

What's Cooking

The cooking frenzy I had hoped to 

have happened pretty much all week long. I didn't think it would last that long, but I kept having to stop and rest between dishes. Strangely, the most exciting thing I cooked this week was completely unexpected. Whilst picking up some herbs and veggies for the soup stock, I found actual green tomatoes in my supermarket. I have never seen those on the west coast before. Frankly, I think I've only run across them when we were in Georgia visiting relatives. Dad liked to cut them up and put them into collard greens. I prefer them cooked. Thus, I pounced upon them to make myself a batch of fried green tomatoes. Actually, I pounced on them early in the week, but didn't make that dish until yesterday. My appetite was off most of the week. I didn't want to cook them until I knew I was going to eat them. They were well worth the wait. Meanwhile, the rest of the frenzy consisted of making dishes like chicken pot pies, Brian Boitano's calzone style beef Wellingtons., and a couple of pasta dishes. All of the recipes lend themselves to single serving portions and all were freezeable. After I make a couple of soups, I'll be well prepared for times during chemo when I don't feel up to cooking. It was a good week. I really needed the cooking therapy and I turned out some really good food.

Year of Fun – Adam and The LA Farmer's Market

This week was difficult physically. Most of my plans were thwarted by my uncooperative body. However, I did manage to keep an appointment that was very important to me. That was a meeting with a former Borders #93 peep and fellow writer, Adam. I was surprised and pleased when he found me on Linkedin  a couple of weeks ago. The last I'd seen him, he was bound for a return trip to Amsterdam with ambitions to enjoy all it had to offer. My fellow Borders peeps agreed with my assessment that he might never come back from the smokey haze. Imagine my surprise to find he has a serious gig at the Writer's Guild of America. Strangely, as we began to interact via e-mail, I realized that I knew his e-mail address from the event Jon and I attended to see Ron Moore's talk on Battlestar Galactica (highpoint of my Month of Fun from last year). I didn't recognize his last name. But then, we never used them at Borders. Adam had always been among my favorite co-workers. He has a surfer-dude mellow to the point of catatonic verve, but he was always the smartest person there when it came to fiction and lit. Oh, and he's gorgeous. None of that has changed over the years save for allowing his smarts to show more now. I was also delighted to discover that he is a wine connoisseur – he even has a webiste to advise the uncertain, and he's a foodie! We had one of those rare and wonderful conversations about writing and food and wine that make LA magical for me. And I now have a new connection with a much missed friend. We plan to cook together sometime this fall.

As if that weren't enough to make the trip to mid-town worthwhile, there was the Los Angeles Farmer's Market. I was in search of ingredients for premium chicken stock. I'm talking backs and feet, kiddos. The feet being weird on a roasting pan and in the pot, but this stock is all unctuous and jiggly without being reduced, so I've got a vat and a half of it. Ah, there will be some soups made for the frozen larder this week! And then there was the applewood smoked bacon from Huntington Meats. Maddeningly good. I also found a shop that I'd never seen before. Mr. Marcel's Pan et Fromage is a terribly dangerous place for me. It has too many imported French products that I would love to use in my cooking. The only reason I escaped the diabolical establishment with most of my money was that I couldn't carry all that I wanted to purchase. My bearer, aka Jon, wasn't on this trip. So my purse was safe – for now. I did buy some lovely country pate and a freshly baked batard. Pure happiness.

Countdown T Minus 13 Days

We've been tweaking the look of DraggonTV.com. It is a very handsome site. I will sing the praises of those involved when we launch. Suffice it to say, a great deal of the talent is in Ohio. We'll be uploading the initial videos this week to work out the bugs. The Demon Under Glass Interviews are being edited. A few more will be shot this week, I hope. Meanwhile, we prep for the photo shoot. Years ago, when everything was wrapped for Demon Under Glass, we auctioned most of the costumes and props. Foolishly, we thought that once a film was done, you move on. Since then, I've learned better. We hang onto everything we can store, because we never know when a re-shoot will come up or a publicity shoot. Thus, we need to re-outfit Doctor McKay down to his Caduceus. Most of that load is handled by Lucy Doty's medical wardrobe supply at her wondrous Central City Studio. That leaves clothing the Vampire. There are plenty of casual clothes that make what he already has look good, I wanted something additional to show that he was from another time. Thus, Jon and I found ourselves in a local costume house looking at the frock coats and cravats of a Victorian gentleman. I had considered an 18^th Century pirate look. Then, I had to discard the notion, and not just because Jon quipped that my first choice is usually pirate wear. I admit that the pirate look is always among my choices, it isn't always the first choice. The pirate image is a very strong one in pop culture. The term pirate would come before vampire. Simon is not a pirate vampire. It would be a very impractical thing for a vampire to be a pirate. To be a successful pirate, one would have to be able to raid at anytime of the day or night. And it would be hard for a pirate to work in the close confines of a pirate ship without anyone noticing the not coming out during the day. Being from a time of great superstition, most pirates would have dumped a vampire into the drink. Likewise, I didn't think a cowboy outfit would work either. There's the monicker of a cowboy vampire – not good at all. And, again, there is too much in the way of unsheltered open expanse. I think Vampires would have been city dwellers until the west had better transportation and more population and buildings. But I'm rambling At any rate, the Victorian gentleman looks the most like a Vampire to me, and the actor looks good in that type of clothing. We did find something that looked cool – though Jon wouldn't go for the cape – and will fit the actor. Everything is coming together. I just hope that the Caduceus I ordered from Ebay arrives on time. All I have to do now is a shot list to make sure I get the type of photos I need. I will post one or two pics next weekend, but the rest won't go up until DraggonTV.com goes live.

On the web series front, I've been slogging through the scheduling program. It's a new one for us and quite comprehensive once all of the data is entered. That is just a long and tedious process. I should be finished by the time of the photo shoot. Then I have to deal with getting a go ahead from the various guilds before we cast the rest of the parts. This is all very dull though necessary.

Book Update

I'm working my way through the first draft of A Solder's Destiny at an acceptable pace. I'll likely post another excerpt with the next blog.

Stay Tuned!

Countdowns, Redeemable Characters and More Countdowns

The date for chemo has been set. I talk about that below. First, I have updates on Craig's garden. The ladybugs have never returned. The skunk is still skulking about, but that hasn't mattered because none of his plants have born produce. I think it hasn't been consistently hot enough for the corn. I'm not sure what his tomato problem is though I suspect that because of his proximity to the beach, there hasn't been enough sunshine. The weather here has been really weird this summer. I wanted to ask him about other things in his life, but he started ranting about Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome [it's a long story that won't make any sense unless you were these for the event in question] and I couldn't talk for laughing.

Treatment Countdown

I've got a long list of things I need to cook and freeze in the next three weeks, because that is when I begin chemo. I've been a very good patient about not looking up the side effects online. I drive Jon crazy enough as it is. However, I have been officially told by the newly minted and cute as a button Oncology Resident last week that the fatigue will knock me on my butt. That, among other things that may happen, will make cooking a challenge. So, I'm going to stock up while I can as I did before the last surgery. I'm lucky enough to be friends on a few social networks with some of my favorite chefs. Thus, I'm working with a lot of solid advice on how to freeze some really tasty things. I'll be going to the LA Farmer's Market this week for a Year of Fun lunch with an old friend. That is a great place for meats and bones and just about anything for some serious cooking.

I was much relieved to have some time before the treatments begin. I had been concerned that they would start as early as this week, and I have a lot of stuff to do. [I'm also relieved that the push wasn't urgent. That means they were truthful that these treatments are just precautionary] Hopefully, I'll be busy enough to not dwell on the treatments. And no fussing at me. My plans do not include a lot in the way of running around the city. For most of my tasks, I'll be doing no more physically than my daily exercise allotments allow. I'm behaving myself, relatively speaking. Many of you know how much a notion like that rankles my sensibilities. The only exception may be some actor wrangling I'll be doing sometime next week. That's always a lot of excitement. And a bit of excitement now and then is good for you, right?

Joe and Simon and Rik and Vincent – Falling from Grace and Other Dark Matters

Warning: Spoiler alerts for some films and TV shows – not ours. Also, strongly held opinions and dissing on other films and some potty language

Jon and I were in a pitch meeting a few months ago ostensibly bickering with one of the key players [Please note, we don't generally argue with people who may give us money for films. This was an unusual situation] over what he called films with a puzzle. Jon and I considered his examples to be mindfucks, pardon my language. These are not the kind of films we like to watch and they are certainly not films I'm interested in making. The two he was most enamored with were Shutter Island and Old Boy. My apologies to those who enjoy that sort of thing, but I find such films highly annoying at best and infuriating at worst. In the case of the former, I never saw it, because I figured out the big secret before it was release. One of the trailers gave away too much. At any rate, it's not the big puzzle itself that bothers me. It's being put through an ordeal with a crappy pay off at the end.

Warning!!! Major Spoilers to all sorts of films!!!

I consider a payoff to be crappy not because it has an unhappy ending, but because it was an unfair ending for the lead character. If it is sufficiently established that a character is doomed from the start and it is clearly shown that there is no hope for the character to escape his or her fate, I can accept what happens – no matter how tragic. For example, James Cole in 12 Monkeys was an extremely dangerous convict. He begins the film as a condemned man. His death in the attempt at doing something noble and selfless is acceptible. It is a better death than he could have hoped for. Okay, you say, he was a literally condemned man. What about a guy who just gets crewed over by life? Can a tragedy that's fair happen to him? Yes, I give you Maximus in Gladiator. For being a loyal servant to the Emperor, his family is killed and he is condemned to die. There is even hope that he may win his freedom in the ring. But for Maximus, the only thing that would be fair is to have his revenge before he dies and joins his wife in paradise. Maximus never fears death. And after his family is destroyed, he embraces it. The only question for the audience is will he find justice and will Lucilla escape a very creepy fate with her crazy-assed brother, Commodus. I was even ready to accept John Anderton being 'boxed' in Minority Report. He was a doomed character whose life was in shreds because of inescapable grief. I was just as happy that wasn't the case.

Why do I bring this up? I've been having discussions with some readers about when it is okay to let a character's fall from grace become a complete tragedy. I've been causing some alarm amongst my readers with my interest in and admiration of the very dark themes in Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler) and Ai No Kasubi (The Space Between). I received a near panicked note (I mention with permission) when I wrote about being distracted by The Space Between. 'Do you KNOW what happens to those characters???' it read. The panic was particularly keen as I had just started A Soldier's Destiny. Well, of course, I know what happens to those two men, but I have no interest in following suit with my writing. In fact, I was so perplexed by the ending of that extraordinary series of novels that I'm negotiating an interview with the author to find out why it ended the way it did. I really need to know. But I'm not, as Jon is implying, obsessing about it. At any rate, I prefer to spin tales like some of Hayao Miyazaki's (keeping with the Japanese themes) where the leads are put through great trails and suffering but find a way to prevail. Howl's Moving Castle (Hauru no Ugoku Shiro) is a favorite example. The big tension in his work is How in the hairy heck will they get out of this one? The characters are often transformed at the end, but it is always fair and happy. And as Jon correctly points out, sometimes there are no trails at all. The characters just hang out and groove for a while.

I admit that I am messing with Rik and Vincent big time. They will be tested as individuals and as a couple as never before. And just when you thought you knew everything about them, more secrets are revealed. There are thrills and chills and laughter and tears and lots of white-hot passion between the guys, but I'm certain that no reader will be left with the compulsion to look me up from thousands of miles away to politely but firmly demand answers as to why I put them through THAT kind of hell with THAT kind of payoff???!!! Okay, I'm more than a bit obsessed with finding answers.

Now, about Demon Under Glass and the trails of Joe and Simon. Since the series has no five year episode plan, how Joe ultimately decides his fate or how is fate is decided for him is not relevant for for the web series or future books. And as for Molinar's appearance in A Soldier's Destiny which is set quite a bit into the future, the one thing he refuses to talk about is Joe McKay until Rik and his Foundation make certain guarantees. He implies that there is much to learn regarding the Doctor. I won't go further because of spoilers. Thus, for now, we want the reader and the viewer to enjoy their adventures as they work their way through what we hope is a very long character arc where they are both pushed outside of their comfort zone. The leads are game for whatever we can throw at them. Garett Maggart has made some interesting suggestions of his own (some of those will be in the Demon Under Glass interview).

DraggonTV.com Countdown

And this brings me to The Countdown to the launch of DraggonTV.com a new website that will stream independent shorts and features from all genres. The goal is to give filmmakers a place to safely stream their works at full resolution and complete length in the hopes of attracting distribution. To showcase how the site will look, we're starting with Demon Under Glass and a comedy short, 15%. We'll also be running sample ads like the Demon series promo and a book trailer. If you know any authors looking for fresh, new ad space, let me know. We'll be running a buy one month get one free special. This will kick off the weekend of August 14, 2010.

I'll post a couple of photos from the upcoming photo shoot featuring the three Demon Under Glass lead characters (Joe, Simon and Ethan). I'll save most of them and the best of them for the DraggonTV.com's Demon Under Glass page.

Stay tuned.

Posessiveness Addendum

Sorry, it's been a little nuts here today. Like the cheese for my papusa, some thoughts have been forgotten. In the case of A Soldier's Destiny, the possessiveness physically manifests itself by glaring at anyone giving a nano-second of extra attention to Rik or Vincent. When with each other, there is a lot of slamming against walls, the holding of wrists above the head, grasping of hair, divesting of clothes with enthusiasm. And this really has nothing to do with my distraction with AI NO KUSABI. I'll speak about that when I figure out how I fell about the whole thing. I've been writing this way for a very long time. See Novad.org, if you've forgotten.

Herbs, Chokes and Non-Passive Possessives

I have no news about Craig's farmland adventures with the ladybugs, the skunk and his harvest of corn. I'm hoping for a report this coming week. However, I can report that a quick chat with my father, a veteran urban gardener, solved my problem with the root bound basil plant. A coffee can, of course. I'm such a silly billy over thinking the problem. Now, my plant is happy, and I've made my first batch of basil oil. I have, in fact, almost put my kitchen in order. There are vats of stock chilling and waiting to be reduced. I've made chive butter and a compound herb butter in addition to the basil oil. By the time this posts, I'll have my Hollandaise. I have asparagus to put it on among other things. The therapy has been very helpful, but I have to refrain from having the oven on along with steaming pots during a heatwave. We had on the air conditioner and it was still warm enough in here to melt the butter in the dish on the counter. It took hours for the stocks to get to room temperature last night and longer still for it to be cool enough for me to sleep. That was very silly on my part. But my freezer is nearly stocked again.

Year of Fun – Deb versus the Artichoke

In last year's widely acclaimed blog, Deb vs the Oyster, my readers learned that I finally ended a shameful chapter in my life as a sybarite by having a plate full of raw oysters. Opening them almost involved medical intervention, but overall, I really enjoyed them. I'm desirous of another one soon. At any rate, another shameful secret I held until today is that I've never had an artichoke. It just wasn't anything my family cooked. As an adult, I'd watch people so carefully eating the tender part of the leaves that I worried about what would happen if one was careless. The heart seemed to be a huge effort to find for a very little bit of veg. I wasn't sure it was worth the effort, frankly. And then that danged Gaida DiLaurentiis and David Rocco were making them look so tasty, especially fried in olive oil. Rocco in particular was so deft in the way he whittled down the veg to the heart, that I thought I would take up the challenge. Forty minutes later and only two of the four gigantic things have been whittled enough to fry. They don't look as pretty as they did on TV. In fact, I believe I could hear Giada and David screaming at me as a mutilated the poor things. You see, I was worried about getting too much choke or fibrous stem or leaves. The whole thing scares me, okay. But I did it. The photo indicates one of the whole beasties versus two quarters of a heart. Now, I just have to fry it then see if I'll ever go through that again. There will be a mini blog reporting on who all this worked out.

In other food news, I actually made a papusa! It's filtered into the mainstream enough that the Food Network website had three recipes and a video on how to make them. The dough wasn't very cooperative and I forgot to add the queso Cotija that I managed to find. But it was really yummy and I have plenty of ingredients to make many more. And they freeze! I've been obsessed with papusas since working a temp job years ago that had a lot of Salvadorans on the factory floor. I'd look for them on the menu at every food truck I'd run into here. Two years ago, there were two odd recipes online. Now, there are over a dozen not including the Food Network. It's just bliss to have them for a ready snack.

Possessing Possessives

Food was not the only thing occupying my time this week. There was much in the way of hospital related unpleasantness that I won't get into. The now Kafkaesque bureaucratic nightmare continues with great vigor. I may be forced to make some very difficult choices next week. But there is not much to be gained in talking about that now either.

What has occupied my mind this week have been the possessive nature of characters in both Demon Under Glass and in A Soldier's Destiny. One of the things we wanted to make clear in the promo recorded for Demon Under Glass is that Simon's interest in Joe is more than the business of bringing down the Delphi Project. While that is clear, whether or not the interest is mutual on Joe's part is another matter That has to unfold over time one way or the other. It is quite clear that Joe is well aware of Simon's inclinations toward him. He is also aware that Simon tends to be possessive often in the guise of being protective. The element we're working into the scripts is a very subtle interplay between the two men. Joe must make it clear that he will be allowed to think for himself and act on his own when necessary while not giving Simon any inkling that he is trying to pull away. Meanwhile, Simon must keep Joe close to him to protect him while they work toward their mutual goals and while he works toward his ultimate agenda. There must be a balance between keeping Joe firmly within his grasp but not clutching too tightly. Joe knows what Simon can do, so he is disinclined to frighten or overtly coerce him. It's all very subtle but we have to make sure the audience see this interplay and know what the stakes are. Now, there will be flare ups of rebellion on Joe's part and of determination on Simon's part. Sometimes, the possessiveness seeps through when they are in an extreme situations. But Simon must never lose control, or he risks an escalation which will not get him a willing companion. It will be a challenge born mostly by the actors.

On a less tantalizing note, We are scheduling a formal photos shoot for reference photos the promo requires and for advanced publicity. It should happen in two weeks.

Back to the matter at hand, possessiveness is a big theme in A Soldier's Destiny. As more and more demands are made on Rik and Vincent, they tighten their hold on each other. It is apparent to anyone with a brain that trying to pry them apart would not only be futile but dangerous. This is a mutually obsessive/possessive relationship that works for the pair. Is it healthy, probably not for normals, but it's what they require to function. It's also really hot with all that claiming and reclaiming and dominating and submitting going on everywhere. Of course there are those who chance to observe some of their behavior and misinterpret it. That is that either man is prone to submit to someone stronger or someone who has been given an edge. The mayhem that ensues from those assaults puts everything Rik and Vincent have worked for in extreme jeopardy. I'm having a lot of fun with this.

Stay tuned.

Herbs, Sneak Previews and Stock Investing

Randomness
I started walking for exercise in earnest on Thursday. It's part of the getting as fit as possible before chemo. I usually need a destination, so I went to the library. On the way I nearly adopted six kittens. They were all so cute frolicking together in the pet store window. Then, I remembered that look Jon gives me when I say or do something really nuts. I did buy a basil plant having realized that I do have enough room on the one windowsill that gets light for a small, potted plant. But that cost less than two dollars (cheaper than the pre-packaged herbs they were selling at the same store) and didn't need a litter box, so I didn't think Jon would mind.

I suppose I really should find out why a dude in full SCUBA gear is at the bottom of the pool. But then, the explanation may give me a headache. And I have other fish to fry.

Taking Stock

Anthony Bourdain is yelling at me again. I've been reading his first memoir, Kitchen Confidential in anticipation of reading his second one, Medium Raw. Kitchen Confidential is a fascinating book for numerous reasons, but it also find time amidst tirades to give a lot of tips on how to cook really well. Bourdain has tersely reminded me that I am woefully lacking in a key ingredient for good cooking – stocks. My freezer is, indeed, bereft of stocks. I have about a quart of chicken stock from the whole birds I dismembered last week. That will be gone by tonight. I really miss the results I get cooking with it. Now that I'm able to make it once more, I'll have to make a lot this week. I may even make demi-glace of both chicken and beef. And no, I haven't made the Hollandaise or had that fool proof poached egg yet this week, but I have had some very fluffy scrambled eggs. I've been lining up the recipes I want to make prior to chemo so that we'll have meals ready to heat up if I'm not up to cooking. It's quite a list, but then, my freezer is almost empty. Meanwhile, Bourdain is currently yelling at me about the quality of my chef's knife and my sauté pans, but there isn't much I can do about that right now.

Cutting Comments

I have been editing the two promos that will be running with Demon Under Glass when it goes online next month. There are two reasons that I'm dong it. Jon is almost at the end of Blood Oath and I don't want to interrupt that again. It's been forever and a day since we shot it. Second, I've had a lot of trouble articulating exactly what I wanted to Jon. That's why I basically directed the recording. Thus, instead of leaning over his shoulder and trying to hear in his headphones, I'm having a whack at it myself. I've done a couple of book trailers and two teaser trailers, so I'm familiar with digital editing software. Jon uses something a lot more complex than Microsoft Movie Maker (which made me absolutely crazy), but it's actually easier to use. I managed to get 12 minutes worth of footage down to just about three minutes of takes that I want to use. My goal tonight is to get the two pieces down a rough cut so I can think about the images. These are voice over recordings not live action scenes, so this is far easier that it would typically be. Sorry, but I won't be putting up any more teases. There is too much I would be giving away. There will be lots of advanced warning debut date.

Demon vs Solders

The story I posted last week prompted a sudden rush of creativity. I had no sooner posted the story when I had a scene in my head for the next Soldier's book. I had been having trouble thinking through that part of the book. Suddenly, it was there. Here is the excerpt. No worries of spoilers, there is a lot of detail left out.

“I know why you sought the Foundation's help, Vampire,” Rik heard Ellie whisper. He had never heard her voice take such a vicious, urgent tone. “The world is now too small for you to be safe. Too many private, powerful entities know about Delphi's research, right?”

“Yes,” came the soft reply. “I haven't resources to hide anymore. The Foundation does.”

“Then know what I am here for and listen well,” Ellie hissed. “If they do not succeed, my husband will follow to get this information. I will not risk him or his family. The last time Rik and Vincent faced a situation like this, they were so badly burned, no one knew if they would recover. The best of Delphi research made them physically well, but it was months before they were as they had been. My husband suffered painfully every day that they were not whole. I will NOT let him suffer that way again. You will protect me, and I will use what the Foundation sent to protect them while they get our asses out of here.”

“The Foundation sent the where with all to escape?”

“No, Rik and Vincent are our escape,” Ellie said bluntly. “What I was sent with will give them the time they need to make sure we get out. To do what I need to do...”

“I must protect you,” Simon enjoined. “How is it that you can protect them? They are living weapons. They are...extraordinary – even by my definition – in what they can do.”

“The Foundation's existence is about protecting them,” Ellie replied in an amused voice. “A staggering amount of resources are devoted to Rik and Vincent's survival...and now yours.”

There was a brief silence. “It is as you say. Moreover, those in possession of Delphi's legacy have become aware of my existence. Their resources outpace even mine. There is no where left for me to hide save for with my kin. I need them and their Foundation. I will do what you need me to do.”

“Okay then. First, put this on.”

“I hardly think...”

“Are you bullet proof, Vampire?” Ellie snapped quietly. “Do you know what an bio-EM pulse will do to your body chemistry?”

“Er...no...”

“Put it on.”

Rik heard fabric rustling. He knew then that he could sleep. Ellie didn't need protection from Molinar. The Vampire understood that his safety was inextricably tied to theirs. Carefully, he pulled his exhausted lover against his body. Vincent had finally settled into sleep after hours of worry. What Brigadier General Zumwald and the evil Lieutenant Remak trained Ellie to use, he didn't know. But he was certain it would be enough for him and Vincent to act with enough force to get them safely away from their pursuers.

With that, I figured out the back end of the book I'm not fleshing it out in my head, but I'll likely start writing it very soon. This has been a huge relief as I hadn't really written any fiction since before the surgery. There is a lot that is still not right in my world, but it looks a heck of a lot better when I can create.

There will be a lot happening with photo shoots for the promo and development of the series in the next few weeks.

Stay tuned.

The Saga of The Saga of the Saga

I used to be so much faster writing this sort of thing. Still, not bad from concept to execution. I may have finished Sunday, but for Jon commandeering my PC and while still using his. And then there are the sudden lapses into sleep I'm still prone to since the last surgery. I was writing away in the home stretch early in the evening Sunday when one hit. I woke up at 3am too fuzzy for a coherent thought. And I had to go to the hospital the next day for tests. but enough of that.

Some of the quotes are close paraphrases from the Twilight novels. I've never read them, but when I was a bookseller, I thumbed and skimmed anything that had a following so I could render good customer service. Thus, I was aware of the stories and the...interesting take on the lore and on dialogue. Joe and Simon had a blast butchering it.

I did the format to make sure my Maw-in-Law can read it if she is inclined. Here's the link:

http://dragoncor.com/Demonsaga.htm

This will be an episode in the series we're developing. The script will be a bit longer and that dialogue will be fun when heard out loud.

Enjoy!

Of Eggs, Pole Dancing and other Therapy

It's a good thing that I like eggs. I foresee many of them in my future. In the last couple of weeks, four of the cooking shows that I watch have featured egg dishes. In two of them, homemade English muffins were made. Until that point, I'd never really considered making my own. Jon, Lord of all things made of bread, caught one of the English muffin shows. He wants us to give it a try. As of this afternoon, I'll have seen three versions of 'foolproof' poached eggs. I'm still not sure about that. I've been a pretty big fool where poached eggs are concerned. We'll soon see. I've also been jonesing for Hollandaise sauce again. I'd forgotten until today that it can be spread on asparagus. That's healthy, right? In fact, I had been told to try to eat two of them a day to make sure I got some protein in my diet after the first surgery. I still can't quite manage that. But one poached egg and some Hollandaise could count as two eggs. That's how I'm counting it at any rate.

But eggs aren't Independence Day fare unless they are hard boiled and in potato salad. But I'm a bit potato saladed out – maybe. Potato salad tastes great with the barbecued chicken I'm planning for tomorrow. We'll probably have frite
s with the burgers today. And there will be apple pie. I realized today that since apples aren't in season, the all American apple pie is danged expensive for the 4^th of July.

The new cooking channel and the use of my older cookbooks as set dressing has resulted in a whole lot of new cooking plans. I have a tendency to read and use a cookbook for a while and then shelf it indefinitely. This was especially true when I was less proficient as a cook. Pulling out those older, more difficult books was a revelation. I realized that I could handle a lot of those recipes with much more ease now. So, I started reading them again. I have to figure out which recipes fit into this season.

All of this cooking frenzy is, in part, to make up for lost time over the past several weeks. The Cooking Channel is another reason for the renewed enthusiasm for my favorite therapy. I've also had a pretty crappy week. The bureaucratic nightmares continue though I may have finally stumbled upon the right avenue out of the mess. It's now a matter of staying afloat while the problems are resolved. No, I don't need the extra stress, but that's what the cooking is for. I could also do with a chat with Craig. News of the garden wars always lightens my mood for a time.

Demon Doings

We're still on track with the development of the Demon Under Glass series. The online release of the film and the new trailers is set for August 1^st. Worry not. There will be a loud countdown and perhaps a small party. The fans that have recently come into our midst have provided a lot of grist for the mill creatively. That and the writing of a writers' guide sparked some notions in my brain a couple of weeks ago. Just the other day, I started writing. This probably doesn't sound like that big a deal from a professed writer, but it was to me. I hadn't been writing anything other than this blog for quite a number of weeks. And while I get a great deal of satisfaction from writing the blog, not writing fiction was making me more than a little buggy. Everyone around me is far happier when I'm writing. This particular piece is prose, but it will be a script for the web series. T

hus I'm putting Simon and Joe into a situation that will let the actors have some fun with the characters. Along the way, it seems that the Twilight Saga was fairly well savaged. Simon really doesn't like that saga at all, and Joe is profoundly annoyed at being exposed to it. That aside, the story is a lot about how the pair are negotiating boundaries. I'm hoping that the reader/viewer will get the sense that something special was interrupted by some very creative Delphi related mayhem. Simon has not achieved any of his long term goals where Joe is concerned, but he has achieved a comfortable intimacy in a relatively short period of time. There are even moments where all that's happening is a brief dispute over how Joe does his laundry. The mayhem is merely a frame for their interactions though I'm having a lot of fun with it. I'll be posting the story online at this link: http://dragoncor.com/Demonsaga.htm later today

Mind, reading this will definitely spoil the episode(s) somewhat. There will be chan ged between this story and the script and between this story and what will go into the next collection. I wrote this on a tear in a very short period of time.

On Pole Dancing

I must admit that Jon and I have chanced to see the occasional pole dance. Well, we've seen enough to know the ones in California are largely lame. At any rate, we really appreciate the athleticism of this sort of...er...performance. But this past Tuesday, I came to have an even greater appreciation for it. We were shooting the second part of that fitness pilot for Dr, Paul Drew on Tuesday. Jon was shooting. I was mostly sitting and documenting. Part of the day w as spent at Isabella's Salsa Studio in downtown Santa Monica. We did various segments of fitness and posture. On a side note, I have lovely posture. That's not really a surprise. I'm a woman of a certain age who attended Catholic schools. It's part of the programming. Where was I? Yes, fitness. All of the segments are aimed at giving women the building blocks to become red carpet glamorous. And since exercising can get boring, there are a number of different types of fitness segments in the show. One is pole dancing for fitness. Isabelle led one of Dr. Paul's clients through a basic routine. Paulina is in fantastic shape but five minutes on the pole really did a number on her. At the end of the second take, I knew that there could be no more without her risking injury. Pulling one's entire body weight off the floor then contorting around the pole to end in a split is not anywhere near easy. Heck, just the walking around the thing and squatting and moving from weight on one leg to another while still keeping time to the music and looking sexy. Too much for me right now. Probably too much for me ever. I've yet to take on the Bollywood dance work out though I think that I will soon in my ramp up to chemo. Still, most of the crew, including Jon and me, found the pull of the pole irresistible. So, there we all were. And we were all sober! I'll get into detail about the nature of the show and the behind the scenes on the entire shoot when I have some clips to run – probably next month. But I must say that we really enjoyed working with that crew. It was the first time we've worked with Sunshine since Demon Under Glass. She was good then. She's phenomenal now. Somehow, she can take a bolt of cloth and a few twigs and make a gorgeous, warm room out of a blank warehouse space. We also had Cat Elrod from Blood Oath. She super professional but so much fun to have on a set. And she'll pitch in anywhere. We were very fortunate hat she was available. And then there was Dutch, the most gigantically tall sound man I've ever run across. Again, he was very professional and lots of fun to have on the set. He's super laid back – the kind of crew guy I really like to work around. It was such a nice mesh of folks that even the more stressful moments weren't that bad. Needless to say, I'm calling on them for the next shoot.

I'm off to finish that story and the apple pie and the barbecue chicken. You get the idea. I'll put up food pics later.

Stay Tuned!