Road Trip, Fan Girl Fun and Updates

When last I blogged here, I was about to embark on my first trip away from home that did not involve a hospital stay in over two years. Complicating matters for my nerves was that I had to make my way to the airport with all of the bags on my own as Jon can't get off work until his usual time. Our flight was to leave a little over an hour after that. No pressure! I had the bags and we had boarding passes before leaving home. Jon carried nothing save for his ID and money and the pass. The theory was that he should be able to easily pass through security and make it before the boarding calls began. It was a sound theory. That didn't stop me from being wound up in knots about the entire prospect. And that's on top of my epic anxiety over flying.

But there was nothing that could be done. I decided that I would be at the airport well before the suggested two hours prior to boarding in case dealing the the luggage turned out to be more of an ordeal than anticipated. That meant I had to get my drink on way in advance of the flight. For my newer readers, I have to fly snockered [Hmmm, spellcheck doesn't have the word snockered. How pedestrian]. I have the intense kind of flying anxiety that makes me want to open doors while the plane is in the air. The anxiety is so intense that I am usually really sober by the time I land. Champagne was the drink of choice prior to the cab ride. It wasn't expensive, but it was nice. I suppose sparkling wine is more accurate. This stuff was not from France. Still, it was tasty. I was feeling good during the cab ride. My cabbie remembered me from our days in Playa del Rey. It seems our complex had to stop being condos and go back to rentals because of the downturn. And, I think, because they were evil. That put me in an even better mood.

The baggage thing was easy. I could check them at the curb as I had the boarding pass already. Security was a breeze compared to what we've been through traveling overseas. I was at my gate in minutes. My plan was to have a bite to eat and then more wine. I carefully researched my choices on Yelp.com the night before. I chose the eatery with the most consistent positive reviews. I don't know where these people were eating, but those were the worst nachos I've ever had. I was so annoyed that I didn't stay there to drink at the bar. I went to the spot closest to my gate. I also made some good nachos when I came home. I did not want those to be the last ones I remembered. I still had an hour and a half before Jon arrived. I whiled away the time practicing my Hiragana , the easiest part of written Japanese, while arguing with a mechanic with Air Alaska about the odds of the 49ers getting back to the super Bowl this year. I actually teamed up with a New York Giants fan to debate the man. Oh, and I was still drinking wine. And Jon was on time!

An hour an a half later, Jon and I had arrived at the San Francisco Airport Marriott and Yaoi-con. It is an manga and anime convention primarily though novelists are welcome. Since writing A Solder's Choice, I have been wanting to go to this convention. It is a place where I could find a huge audience for my homoerotica. There was a great deal of networking potential in this trip. Beyond that, we were going to a really great hotel near a city I really like. No matter what went one, I was going to have a nice bit of R&R – perhaps even some room service. Jon and I had a lot to talk about regarding our projects. This would be a great setting away from our every day routines. We were not disappointed. We had all of that and more! We also had travel mascots, Mr. Sizuyki-san, the rubber duckies (from Junjou Romantica, my favorite yaoi anime), the happy Gorn  from Craig and Oscar Wilde (who loves all things writing and naughty) to watch over our room. We also had a wine in a small cube. A brilliant invention!

From here on I will be posting photos from the costumes at the convention. One will depict the character being re-created. The other will be the very cool cosplay version. And check out a great video of the costumes and the location HERE.

There are many perceptions that the public has about genre conventions – the costumes, the weirdness. We've all seen in on the news when there is a Comic-con going on. And while that is true, it is no stranger than wearing a foam rubber wedge of cheese on one's head or painting your body and screaming through a football game half naked in the freezing cold. There are even more preconceptions about attendees of conventions like Yaoi-con or slash fiction friendly conventions like Media West  or Basecon. Those are that they are mostly socially awkward women who don't have 'real lives.' I can argue about the skewed view of those perceptions, but that is for another day. Yaoi-Con did not even match those. I'm fairly sure that almost half of the attendees were men – and not necessarily gay men. Many seemed to be partnered with female attendees. There was a wide age range from 18 to my age and beyond. They were a very racially mixed group as well. And they there highly social for the most part. There was that one very attractive though sad Legolas clone. I'm not sure what his story was. I went to the convention with networking in mind, but I had also managed to open my yap about a controversial topic and ended up with a panel. While that is an excellent way to introduce myself to a group of writers and potential fans, it could have also been a complete disaster caused by my own arrogance. How did that turn out? You'll have to go to my blog Why Can't No Mean No Panel  to find out.IIt also has the only photos of me in this shindig!

Beyond the panel, I had fangirl business. I wanted to meet the people behind two of my favorite web comics. I discovered both of them while I was undergoing chemo and couldn't sleep. I had never read a web comic before, and I didn't think I'd take to them at all. I read both from stem to stern in one sitting. One is Tea House, an adult drama with a gorgeous Art Nouveau design that is based on the lives of people who work in a brothel. The other is the starkly beautiful and compelling Starfighter, I actually spoke about the incredible skill of Starfighter's writing in my panel. I will go more deeply into my attraction to both series in my Yaoi @ Sybpress blog this week. For now, I will say that I met all of the wonderful women behind these works and it was a wonderful experience.

When we weren't in the hotel enjoying the food and the ambiance, we were in lovely nearby Burlingame. It was a really lovely little town that very much reminded us of the quaint but wealthy towns of the Main Line near Philadelphia . We had some great diner food. Sadly, there wasn't time to try one of the six Japanese restaurants there. And Jon and I had some very long discussions about all of the projects on the blocks. I can't say we came to any new decisions, but it was good to at least bring some of the things that had been troubling me for a time to light.

It was a very good weekend though the travel and the walking was hard on me. It took some time to recover, but I'm so relieved that I can travel! And we will be going to Yaoi Con next year – in Los Angeles! I regret not going back to the beautiful Bay Area, but not having to pay air fare means a lot more room service and souvenirs!

Updates

Ensnared Volume one is now available as a paperback and ebooks. For details, got to http://sybpressyaoi.com . A Soldier's Destiny is now underway once more. The rest of the projects are in flux. Some things are going on. I'll get into those next time. And, hopefully, I'll have a photo of Craig in Spock ears and a story to go with it.

Stay tuned.

Mall Recon, Calypso and Packing Frenzy

This has been a crazy busy week. One day, due to a maintenance issue at our building, I was out and about for eight hours. That just doesn't happen much anymore unless I have a medical appointment that involves some sort of intimate scan. What to do for that amount of time? I went to the mall and mall walked and did some serious shopping recon. Despite my taste in timeless clothing and an odd penchant for costume jewelry, I have never been much of a shopper. I just never saw the point of whiling away the better part of a day looking for shoes. The internet has made things a lot worse for me in the wanting to shop. That and working many years in retail. Stores generally depress me, and it is easy to find what I want with the click of a mouse.

The exception to this used to be my quarterly recon sweeps through all the shops I tended to buy from. I would check out the trends for clothes and shoes and even housewares without any inclination toward buying. It's been many years since my last recon. I admit that my wardrobe needs a serious update. My yo-yoing size and not working for nearly two years means my closet is a bit threadbare. And the thrift store cookware we've been using for over a decade is falling apart. I had a lot to recon. I was glad that it was early during a work week and not during the holiday season. I prowled the shops for hours looking at everything from bras to saute pans. It was good fun, and I found a lot of bargains that were regular prices. I'm happy to report that A-line skirts and sheath dresses are doing well. I was very, very excited to see that English riding boots are all the rage and thus quite affordable when looking at the department store version. And I found some reasonably priced saute pans. Yay! I even got entertained by a group of toddlers dancing to a steel drum band. It was a Harry Belafonte tune, Jamiaca Farewell. It was the loudest part of the mall, but there is something simply joyous in watching toddlers dance and laugh. I did manage to fill the day with some very productive intelligence gathering.

Incidentally, I believe there is a conspiracy afoot to get The Banana Boat Song in my head. I've seen references several times this week.

Leaving On a Jet Plane

I had to postpone my usually crazy early packing frenzy for the trip to San Francisco because of the work done in the apartment. We had to put everything back in place after moving most of the furniture and everything else to make room for the workman. I feel a bit pressed because I should have been packed a week ago (I did say crazy early). I'm kind of glad Jon is at work, because I'm wackier than I normally am before a trip because of the truncated prep. Did I mention that the trip is only a few days? I'm doubly stressed because I haven't flown in over two years. This is a completely new and unfamiliar convention for me. Oh, and I've managed to get myself assigned a panel on a controversial topic that many there may not like a newbie kibitzing on. More on that in the next blog after the convention. I think my nervousness is justified. I'm making sure that my mask is well in place. It takes a lot of polishing of my appearance, a lot of thorough research on the topic and loosing my inner Dominatrix. I'm rusty at the last one, so I may also require copious amounts of wine.

I'll figure out how to make the trip work. I've been meaning to go to this convention for many years. It has the core audience for both the Soldier's books and Ensnared in one place. The networking opportunity is phenomenal. I also need to prove to myself that I can still travel. It's important to my taking back a normal life, and I will need to travel for the documentary. Besides, Jon and I desperately need a change of scenery that doesn't involve a hospital stay. I don't think we'll have any time to explore San Francisco, but this girl has always loved a stay in a fine hotel. I get that from my mother.

I'm posting this early from the hotel. There will be a whole lot more to tell when I get back.

Stay tuned!

New Blog, New Book and Some Old Chestunts

I have a confession to make. I have been working on a different blog. Oh, don't worry. I'm not catting out on some strange, random blog. This one is mine as well. You see, in order to properly socially network a project, it must have a searchable tag in the cloud or the interweb tubes (don't I sound very techie when I have barely a clue). And genres also don't like to intermingle, it seems. So, I had to create a blog for the various niche genres I write in. This new blog is Yaoi at Sybaritic Press. Warning: That site is dedicated to homoerotic fiction. The excerpts are quite explicit. Read at your own risk! In that blog, I introduced the new book, Ensnared Volume One. It's now in two volumes because the 180,000 words was a bit much to fit into one paperback. The volumes are a rollicking epic filled with intrigue, danger, humor and a big sprinkling of homoerotic D/s fun. Of course, no one is entirely who they appear to be, and even the simplest actions can be lethally dangerous. Above all, this is a love story between two people from extremely divergent backgrounds.

Here is the summary from the back cover blurb:

In this world, even the most powerful are captives

Lord Darius Galatea seems to have all the power in the world. He is Leader of the Cosimo or Cosi, those who keep order in an advanced civilization built upon a strict caste system. He could have a city razed with one call or have the most high born citizen put to death for the slightest transgression. Andreas Hesper comes from the lowest caste. He used an agile mind and just the right amount of muscle to become the most successful leader of an underworld gang. A chance encounter between the two men not only upends both of their worlds, but also ultimately puts their lives in jeopardy. It is custom that some of the Elite citizens of the world class city of Amara owned their lovers as playthings for a time. But those trained playthings or Damis were from a specific caste bred for their obedience and loyalty. Never had a gang leader become a Dami and thus privy to the secrets of an all powerful Lord. But there is more to the streetwise young man who agreed to be a plaything despite the objections from his caste and those from his Master's world. Andreas felt bound to the Cosi from the moment they met. He sees and hears more than even Darius himself. Andreas knows that they must tread very carefully in both of their worlds or the attraction that so closely binds them together will cause their destruction.

For more details, lengthy excerpts, and details about the characters and how the books were written, please visit Yaoi at Sybaritic Press.

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

Last week was wonderfully cool. I managed to bake some test cookies from new recipes or new techniques of old recipes. I had hoped to make some soup stocks, but the cool streak didn't last very long. Still, I managed to figure out how to make oatmeal cookies without all of them spreading into one large, thin cookie. I also discovered that there are many cookie troubleshooting forums on line. They were very helpful. Jon and I are working on a production plan for the holiday baking that should be even more relaxed. And these recipe refinements are producing some very nice results. Jon's co-workers certainly are enjoying them. I've got my lineup fairly well set. I may be very daring and try to make macarons. [that photo is not of macarons I've made]. I'm not certain they'll make this year's rotation, because I'm unsure of how well they hold up (how many days do they last in a cookie bag or cookie jar and how well do they travel). I'm also not sure how well I'll execute them. I've done very little work with a piping bag. I've never ground nuts into flour. And that's another consideration. I have to be very careful of people with nut allergies. We already segregate the peanut butter cookies after baking. We acutally make them separate from the other cookies. And we do a heavy cleaning and disinfecting in between. I may try to make them though. We also have to have another whack at diabetic cookies as we have more and more people that fall into that category. It's not hard work, and Jon loves the resulting research so far.

The rest of the week that was not related to getting the book underway was not so great. Some people here have heard enough about my frustrations with automated customer service, so I won't rehash that saga. I'll just get angry again. Sending a book out into the world is always daunting. I'm actually depressed afterward. I find I miss hanging out with my characters. And then there is the terror that either no one will like the book or everyone with just shrug at it and walk away. I was fighting a cold much of the time, so that didn't help my state of mind. I was even achier than I usually am of late, and I had that vexing scratchy-sore throat thingy. It is very amusing that even after all I've been through as a cancer patient that I still find a garden variety cold this annoying. Baking helps with all of those negative feelings for the most part. But even a very successful round of cookie baking didn't quite lift my melancholy and discontent.

And then there is the event looming largely this upcoming weekend. I am taking my first trip since August 2009. It's my first convention since Dragoncon 2008. That's enough to make me nervous. I also opened my big yap to the convention committee on a controversial topic. Now, I'm doing a panel for the first time in years. The audience is likely to be hostile. Ah well, I've always liked San Francisco. Hopefully, we'll get to see a little bit more than the hotel during a short stay. I'll report on the whole shebang next week. That's just weird that shebang is in spellcheck, but it flags all possessive words with an apostrophe as misspelled. Strange.

Updates

I have none for this week. I'm still assembling promotional materials for Ensnared and my other works in that genre for the convention. And I'm about to enter the frenzied OCD phase of my travel preparations. I have lists of my travel lists. I'm out of practice, so I'm extra OCD right now. We'll only be gone a few days, yet my lists are ever so long and detailed. Poor Jon.

Stay tuned.

Delay of Blog

There will be no blog until Sunday. I'm frantically working to get some Sybpress titles out that must be live within the next week. I'll have a lot to share on Sunday.

Stay tuned.

Celebrations, Syndromes and Updates

I must do a tiny bit of old business first. I forgot to answer one burning question from the last blog of readers' questions. If I still haven't answered a question, it's because I'm not gonna. Anyway, the answer to the missed question is that Ray Liotta is back in Craig's orbit. From his resume on IMDBpro, he has been filming a lot over the last year. Thus, he was not intersecting with Craig. Now, he is and the chin waves have commenced. Craig is no longer as paranoid about it. However, he is really annoyed over all the sitcom actors who have moved into his neighborhood. I don't know who they are. A description like 'you know, that fat, balding guy with the hot wife on that show' could be anyone.

I may have to put back the warning I had on my blog for a while. It seems that it comes up on the strangest searches from recipes to images from ancient cartoons. I'm not sure why people click on a description that has nothing to do with the search, but some do. Heck, a number of my gentle readers have come from searches that have nothing to do with the primary subjects of this blog. They have stayed for the hilarity. That's great. I really don't get those who click on and then complain to me, because I'm not writing about what they are looking for. I mean, I have a big ol' header on top of this thing, for goodness sake. So, if the rate of complaints doesn't ebb, I'll go back to the warnings.

The Bone China Syndrome

I inherited a strange syndrome from my Mother. It had no name until the 1980s, I believe. When she wrapped a turkey in puff pastry during her first ever holiday special, Mom knew that she had Martha Stewart Syndrome – the need to opulently entertain no mater how few people are supposed to show up. In her defense, we never had a holiday where some unexpected guest showed up – family or friend and often with a stranger in tow. Heck, many a Sunday dinner featured some sort of guest – expected or not. Mom would scold for not calling ahead, but she never turned anyone away. She was a social soul, so I think she enjoyed entertaining despite the work involved. She liked it even more as the cooking duties were ceded to me. I didn't know that I had inherited this syndrome until Jon and I were in LA. During that first year, not only wasn't I obligated to entertain family, we also knew no one to invite over. I would still make full blown Sunday dinners that served at least six. I reasoned that we could eat the leftovers. And we did. Things got really wacky during our first Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners in LA. Despite our relatively solitary existence, I cooked like we were having no fewer than twelve people with big appetites. I still do. It's like I cannot fathom actually cooking a holiday meal for just two people. I make the same amount of food down to the two sweet potato pies even when we're invited out. I really loved the leftovers for those meals.

I haven't done much entertaining since 2009. I was really sick during Thanksgiving. In fact, that was when I knew something was really and seriously wrong. I couldn't eat that meal. I was home by Christmas and I did cook as I usually would, but I was still on a lot of drugs that effect appetite or the taste of food. During 2010, I was not up to having guests. I think that's why I went a little batty doing the high tea for Marie. I was so ecstatic about entertaining – and seeing Marie. My knee jerk reaction to Jon and my wedding anniversary is to go absolutely bonkers. I was gong to make a three tiered wedding cake a la Ina Garten that serves 10-12 people. Even Jon can't eat that much cake. Eventually, it sunk into my brain that Jon is a lot more laid back about celebrations. I mean, that was the reason for the Las Vegas wedding. It was easy –  all we had to do was show up. We needn't have dressed up. The Elvis was because we were getting married in Las Vegas and why not? He was great. We split our reception up between an all you can eat seafood buffet, Star Trek: the Experience and a dance club at the MGM Grand. It was no fuss but huge fun. So, I kept this year's celebration simple. A steak sandwich (That's what people from Philly call a Philly cheesesteak as it comes with no cheese unless you ask for it, and one wouldn't use the name of the city you're already in as part of the description). And we had a normal sized layer cake. I also had some bubbly, but then I need very little excuse to have that. Being Tuesday usually works. Mind, I may want a big blow out for the 15 year anniversary. I'm thinking of a vow renewal in Paris. Yes, that would be lovely especially since it would be 20 years that we'll have been together. That deserves a bit of fuss.

Updates

A new Sybpress title comes out this week. Meanwhile, I am a week away from releasing a huge new title and re-releasing two other titles. I'll have blogs on three sites next week. These previews are for my regular readers only!

Stay tuned!

Readers Ask About Actors, Food and Craig

It is officially autumn once again. Once again, I sit and ponder the eternal question of why in the hairy heck I think watching football is relaxing??!!! The new neighbors who live to the right of me and above me are likely wondering things like 'Who is cursing like that? It can't be that nice, quiet lady in the apartment just beyond the pool's gate. Maybe she's having some female friends over to watch the game like an angry lady longshoreman or a ticked off girl trucker. I've never heard epithets used like that.' I've had to turn off the game and watch some cooking show recordings. I don't think punching holes in the wall is good for my knuckles.

Reader Questions

I have a number of new readers lately. Hello, new readers! I imagine that jumping into the blog from any random week is like jumping into the deep end of a pool full of piranha wearing clown make-up – scary and confusing. Thus, I have received some questions. Answering them will also provide updates. About Craig. Though we have agreed that I am not his nemesis, he still manages to upend my focus when he calls. This week I've had to talk him out of buying a megaphone, and I've refused to tell him which days I tend to visit my local library. However, I'm not sure if I talked him out of putting a special note in my account file. I suppose I'll find out when I pick up the next book. About the fingerprints, because of the number of pages we turned while working for Internet Archive (archive.org), our fingerprints have rubbed off on certain fingers. Craig found out when he was being printed for the library gig. The print operator said she sees that sort of thing with people who handle pineapples for work (I learned that on the original Hawaii Five-O) and people who handle a whole lot of paper. We averaged three thousand pages a day for three years. Our prints should eventually return. I disagreed that his gave us carte blanche to commit high crimes. I mean, it's only a few fingers that are affected. Besides, I don't care how cool it looks, using a grappling gun will end in disaster at our ages.

Other Answers. I do not cover everything that happens in a week. I tend to focus on the long arcs in my life and career rather than the highs and lows. On any given day, things will look incredibly good or incredibly bad at the beginning or the day and be radically different by the end. That's why I don't post dramatic changes on the social networks unless I'm very certain that the circumstances will remain the same for the foreseeable future. I would make my friends and loved ones crazy on almost a daily basis. I thus stick to the highlights for the week. Yes, my friends and family do get a heads up when I'm going to mention them in the blog. Craig even knows what conversations will land him in the blog. When I mention my actor friends by name, they know it's coming. I don not share most of my interactions with them. Next, I am still learning Japanese – slowly. In fact, I used some during my visit to Mitsuwa market last week. I was mainly apologizing for my unruly shopping cart. And I told my long suffering clerk that I was okay for help. Both he and the elderly lady I spoke to were pleasantly surprised – I think. I do know that I'm understanding more of what I'm hearing on the anime and cooking videos I watch. I have some time before we can consider a trip there, so the learning is going at a good pace. I'm lucky to live in a neighborhood with a significant Japanese population and a major Japanese super market. I haven't even begun to check out Little Tokyo. But I digress. Be warned, I do that a lot, gentle new readers. Last answer for this week: yes, the proofreaders have been sent most of Ensnared. I'm still fiddling with the last 60 or so pages.. It will be published on time.

I have one quick note about the upcoming books. In order to more strongly brand them for the search engines and the social networks, I will have special blogs for the upcoming erotica titles and the yaoi titles. I will still talk about writing in general and my own writing here, but the excerpts and other updates will be on those blogs. It's all about marketing. Hopefully, these moves will result in higher sales.

Kitchen Melange

One of the readers' questions asked if I combined all the styles of cooking that I'm learning or am I cooking French one week and Italian the next, etc. I do both. I make traditional Beef Bourguignon when I crave beef stew, but I also employ the method for other slow cooked beef dishes. My Dad now uses that method to make his beef short ribs. I made them that way when I was last home. I believe he has spread the practice to the southern relatives. I now know how to make Karage fried chicken, but I also use the Japanese seasonings like soy sauce, sake, mirin and ginger in the buttermilk fried chicken I learned to make from my Grandmom. It makes such a flavorful marinade without a lot of extra salt. I use kelp in my stock making because it gives it even better mouth feel and extra nutrition. On the reverse, I made this lovely Japanese chicken dish with grated potatoes as a sauce thickener; however, I browned the chicken along with onion, garlic and carrots like I would with a French dish along with the traditional Japanese seasoning. If I actually make a dish, it is usually because I know I'll use the techniques in more than just that dish.

I must dash. Those last 60 some odd pages won't fix themselves no matter how much I yell at them. I've tried!

Stay tuned.

Distractions, Doubts and Other Joys of Writing

My apologies for flaking out a bit last week. I confess to having been super grumpy. I was also really restricting distractions while I finished the last chapters of the book. I was using every possible distraction as an excuse to walk away from wrestling with the ending. I even cleaned the oven, for goodness sake! The oven! I have often said to new writers without the funds or the time to go to a writing program that they don't need a degree to be a writer. I say that with even more vehemence if it happens that I am having a flashback of some pompous dullard reading from an opus about a writer writing about writers writing. Or the endless and allegedly deep discussions on whether or not a writer needs to tell a story – can't they find a way to have a reader not read but sense the story on some subconscious level? Wow, those memories STILL make me want to punch someone in the face twenty years after grad school! Jon is pointing out that I'm still bitter. Ah, well. Where was I?

Deb vs Random Shiny Objects

I was going to make a point about the main thing that the Creative Writing Program gave me – hard deadlines. I knew I had to have a completed story and a chapter of a book finished each week to distribute for feedback. And I knew that at the end of the program, I had to have a completed novel. That really makes for a disciplined – though often freaked out – writer. I have a lot of time on my hands, and I do try to keep my days well structured. But the lack of a hard deadline or an editor to breathe down my neck makes it very easy to get distracted. There are a lot of diversions even in our modest household. There are two cooking channels and more cooking on PBS. There is way too much on the internet that is a distraction. Aside from the feeds on the social networks, there are places where I can watch every episode of Starsky and Hutch or all the episodes of Midsomer Murders  I missed when it stopped airing in the US. This was bad before I discovered the sites where I can catch up on anime I've never seen or manga I haven't read. Bad all bad. Toward the end of the book, I had managed to filter out all of the obvious distractions because they made me feel really guilty. That's when I turned to 'practical' distractions like sorting through the ponderous pile of medical records, putting those crates of photos into albums like I always planned to do, or cleaning the oven. And let's not forget all of the cooking. Only some of that was necessary.

But wait, didn't I turn in a feature script draft from concept to finished draft in a couple of weeks? I had a few people breathing down my neck including a co-producer and an actor. It's hard to ignore them when they can tell you're online...or know where you live...or have keys to your house. That wasn't a good idea. I have an update on that film later in the blog. Maybe I should find an editor like Ailawa-san, my favorite editor in anime. She is known for busting into a writer's home and beating the story out of him.

What's the issue? This is one of my naughty books, after all. How difficult could it be to throw a couple together and let nature take its course over and over for pages on end? Well, I never just throw together anything. Even my fanfiction was some sort of exercise about character arcs or writing styles or genre themes. In this case, the basic problem was that I knew the book would be the first of at least a trilogy. Thus, one of the problems was how to give it a satisfying ending while it was clear that the story of the couple would continue on. There has to be an obstacle for them to overcome at the end that will compel the reader to read the next installment while not leaving them on a cliffhanger. That really ticks me off as a reader of books and a viewer of films. I finally decided to go with what I like doing with romances, the story ends shortly after the couple figures out their relationship. From that point forward, only death will tear them apart. That does not mean that their adventures are over or the incredible danger to them has passed, but as a couple, they are a solid union. There are no spoilers to the story here. In my romances, it is the wild ride the couple takes and whether they survive it that keeps my gentle readers on the edge of their seats not whether or not the couple stays together.

My couple's arc finishes after one final and serious threat to their lives. It is clear that there are still gravely important tasks yet undone. There is still a significant threats to their lives ahead. Thus, I'm fairly certain my readers will want to continue to follow their story. But I hate when there isn't a satisfactory amount of denouement. Aside from the couple, there are some supporting characters who have endured a great deal of suffering. They each need a moment or two to gather themselves for the next ordeal. In other words, I believe the book needs a little time like the end of Star Wars where the characters are being hailed by the rebels as heroes and perhaps wear really bitchin' boots. Okay, I know what I should be writing to wrap this up, but there was still a problem. I had gotten hung up on the book's length. It's the longest book I've written in one fell swoop at over 180,000 words or 375 pages in standard prose format. It took me a while to get over that. I was looking at the competition whose books are considerably shorter. I needed to realize that there are still a number of successful books that aren't sparse in their prose. I'm mean, this is still less than half as long as the later Harry Potter novels. And I don't waste pages describing every piece of furniture in a room or every eyelash on a lid. There is a lot of action in the plot and a whole heaping helping of white hot naughtiness! After slapping myself around, I finished Ensnared. At least, I finished the draft. I have to leave it alone for a few days. Then, I'll adjust some things before sending it to the proofreaders. I'll have excerpts and the incredible cover artwork up in a couple of weeks. Now, I can chase shiny object with less guilt.

Updates

Octodemon has been put on a back burner for a while. The original plan for shooting it was to wait for lulls in the schedule at Central City Studio which is owned by one of the producers of the film, Lucy Doty. Well, there have been no real lulls in the schedule there. In fact, the place has been crazy busy. It even had the new Batman there last week. It's fabulous for the studio but not so great for the film. Things will slow down everywhere late in the year. We're going to look at the schedule again in a couple of months and figure out what is doable. There are still plans in the works to do the Demon Under Glass and Blood Oath web series. And a film that I very much wanted to do (and came close to getting green lit more than once) is seeing new life. It's very early, but it looks promising.

Next week – More on the books and films. I'll also discuss why Craig, Jon and I have nearly unreadable fingerprints and why that could be terrifying.

Stay tuned.

It's been a crazy day with working on websites for the new books and some other craziness while making chicken soup and Bolognese sauce. The upshot is that I've just strated the blog. Most likely, I'll be posting sometime tomorrow.

Update on The Secret Cancer Documentary

I've updated the blog on the website for The Secret Cancer. I've also revealed a bit more about my treatment and ongoing interactions with my child like doctors. They are all adorable.Got to:

http://Secretcancer.com

Stay tuned.

Birthdays, Baguettes, and Some Updates

I had thought that the strangest bit of conversation to pass between Jon and me this past week was 'yes, Michael was wearing the super hero cape and the duct tape when he went to the ER. I don't think he had on the tool belt though.' But then there was: Jon: Sweetie, are you into a new kink that I don't know about? Me: What ARE you talking about? Jon: There's a tray of raw chicken on the bed. Me: Ah, that's where that got to. How my Brother-in-Law ended up at the ER is a long and admittedly entertaining story, but that would be for him or his wife, Judy to share publicly. I'll have more on them later. I can, however, explain the chicken. I was clearing out the fridge to make room for the birthday cake. I had the big, heavy tray of chicken in hand when I realized that I needed to get something from the bedroom while I remembered (a big issue with me anymore). I put the tray down to retrieve the item and left the bedroom. I left the chicken there while I sorted out the fridge and counter situation. That's when Jon came back from the laundry room and got very confused. See? It all makes sense.

Birthday Boy

Speaking of my in-laws, they called yesterday to wish Jon a happy birthday. Actually, it was my brother-in-law that called to say that Judy was sending her every 30 years birthday wishes to Jon. The idea was for the siblings to talk to each other, but that didn't really work out. Judy got distracted searching for a photo similar to Jon's Jenga pile of dishes. She couldn't find it and that mad her sad, so she decided not to get on the phone. Jon had on headphones, so he wasn't even aware of the call until I jabbed him with my elbow. The upshot was that the siblings yelled into the phone from across the room at each other while Michael and I had a very entertaining conversation about our anti-social spouses. The Cunninghams are delightful people Judy is among the loveliest women I know. Their parents are wonderfully social people. They make you feel like you've known them for decades during the first meeting. Their kids are another matter. They are very odd in social situations until they know you well, yet they attract extremely social spouses. And we are always entertained by this phenomenon. I really enjoyed that call and am reminded that we should get home to see all those zany folks soon.

I can't do much in the way of shopping for Jon's birthday. And it's hard to get Jon something fun, because he acquires the things that really interest him on his own. He has become a search engine wizard in his efforts to secure the often obscure things that are parts of his hobby. And I don't want to always give him things like new socks or shirts. Though essential, they aren't fun gifts. So, I decided to cook something special. As my muse, Kim, often says about him 'all he ever wants are noodles and bread.' This is very true. In fact, I usually make him a tuna noodle casserole for his birthday. But I wanted to do something special from the days when we were dating. So, it was a simple linguine with a garlic and olive oil sauce along with French bread and birthday cake. Simple, huh? Well, the ingredients for any given dish and the process was very simple. It was just that everything was hugely labor intensive. Oy, what a long day of cooking. I've linked to The pages at the top of the Blog -- see the Tabs marked BAKING-- to show you some of the process or the results. I've wanted to tackle baguettes forever, so that was a fun form of kitchen therapy. The results were tasty though still a bit off from a bakery baguettes. They were denser than the professionally made ones, but they weren't something that I could knock someone over the head with. Still, Jon finished everything and seemed to enjoy it, so a good time was had by all.

Updates of Sorts

I'm still in the last throes of writing Ensnared, so I don't have much to talk about there this week. I will have a lot to say about the mechanics of writing this bugger, but I can't just now. Mulling on this ordeal may keep me from finishing. I can't wait to share the astonishing artwork for the cover and ads. All of the film stuff is still in flux. I have an update that will go on the blog for The Secret Cancer sometime this week. The rest of the film stuff is still in flux and I can't talk about most of it still anyway.

Sunsets, Marmosets, and Machinations

To my lovely readers on the East coast, I understand if you pooh pooh me when I say that I have had a wacky week. Wackiness is truly relative. While I have had experience with the Earth shaking and I have been in a hurricane that hit Manhattan (Gloria, 1985), I have not managed both feats within one week. It's been embarrassingly balmy and pleasant weather-wise in Southern California. The ground has been behaving itself and remaining still. Weather-wise, it was a delightful week. Where my life gets wacky is when it collides with the Industry.

Sunset Blvd at Sunset

Most of Los Angeles that isn't part of an actual studio complex goes about its business without talking about movies or TV beyond what any other American talks about around the water cooler. However, there are pockets of the city where the movers and shakers move and shake and where others come to see and be seen. Deals do happen in these places. Sunset Blvd is actually a very dangerous place to talk about any kind of project. There are many, many ears about, and they are always listening. I'm not sure if I ever mentioned this on the blog, but the remake of Walking Tall with Dwayne Johnson is Craig's fault. He was blabbing on and on about how that would be a good role for Johnson while in Book Soup, a famous book store on Sunset Blvd. The next thing I know, there is the trailer for said remake. And there has been some thievery of TV projects from other folks I know.No, I can't name names.

Thus, the pretty restaurant on Sunset with the yellow and blue décor so reminiscent of Provence and the gorgeous and attentive staff was a minefield for creative folks. Many want to be seen and heard doing industry business. If one is perceived to be successful, they attract success. They certainly attract attention, especially when still wearing sunglasses after the sun went down. The tourists passing by riding in open air mini buses sure thought they were photo worthy. Jon and I weren't concerned. We were in that part of town to discuss a documentary on a rare cancer – not something anyone would likely steal. Still, we had to be really careful. Jon and I arrived for our meeting really early, so we would be chatting while people watching. So along with talking about stuff we were editing, not planning and never giving any coherent details about anything, we engaged in a game began during our last trip to the Cannes Film Market. You see, the American Pavilion is another dangerous place to talk about active film projects. Everyone with our party was strongly cautioned against this. Marie came up with a clever alternative. We talked about films involving marmosets. Action movies with marmosets, comedies with marmosets, dramas with marmosets – we talked about them all. It was our hope to instigate a string of such films and then laugh about it. There were ears listening last week. I noticed really reactive listeners. Who knows? Maybe something will come of it this time. Meanwhile, Jon and I had a great time eating dinner and discussing the documentary and a number of surprising things. As soon as I can go into more detail, I will. In fact, there has been a whole lot going on that I wish I could share, but it is verboten until there are signed documents. Fiddlesticks!

We had a blast overall, and I realized that I truly need to get out more.

Writing Update

There is a reason I can't get out as much as I'd like in the next few weeks. I'm still wrestling with this danged book. And then there is the conga line of titles Sybaritic Press will be releasing from now until the end of the year. We hadn't planned on a publishing a full slate of titles. Things just sort of happened. Since none of us are stressing about it, I suppose the time was right for the Press to re-launch.

I am closer to the end of the book, Ensnared, than I was last week. However, I am still struggling with the blocking of the ending. It involves some major action with fights and death, but there must be an appropriate amount of build up to make the action seem inevitable. There also must be the right amount of denouement after the last pivotal action scene to bring the narrative to a close without lingering too long. I strongly feel that once all the character issues are settled, the story has come to an end. However, I don't like loose threads hanging around. Also, romances demand a certain amount of afterglow, so to speak. The book is already a lot longer than I had planned, so there is a strong temptation to just stop already. These machinations have slowed my output to a little less than a page a day of late. It's frustrating, but I trudge onward...ever onward. The new book has an astonishing cover. I'll share that next week when I have a full on discussion about the controversial issues the book raises and the fight I plan to start over them.

This one is short, I know. More to come next week.

Stay tuned.

Blog Delay

I'm taking the week off, blog wise. I have a lot of writing and publishing related things on my plate. I'm having trouble juggling all this stuff. There should be a lot of updates next week.

Stay tuned.

Craig, High Tea, Yoga and Updates

Today, I visit a long neglected feature of this blog – Conversations with Craig. It's not that I haven't been having conversations with him. We talk a lot. I just haven't detailed them in the blog of late. I need plausible deniability. Of late, we have been talking about Craig being a librarian. To understand the excitement he has with his new gig, one must understand the wondrous experience that was working at Borders Books and Music, Store 93. Craig: So, I had checked in three sets of books when I was told that I needed a break. Me: Had you been shelving? Craig: Nope. Me: Cleaning the shelves? Craig: Nope. Me: So you weren't picking up half cups of ice cream, open cups of coffee or pizza crusts? Craig: We don't have to clean. Me: You don't have to clean the bathrooms? Craig: No. That would be stepping into someone else's job. Me: Wow. You are overworked. Craig: But wait, it gets better. The head Librarian asked me if I had something to read. Me: On your break. Craig: No, at the counter! Me: you were dancing, weren't you? Craig: As soon as I was alone. It was impressive after working at a store where the staff was endless cleaning the wet, drippy or sticky from the shelves. The men's magazines with sticky pages were particularly revolting. And I don't even want to talk about cleaning those bathrooms, and I didn't see nearly as many hairy naked rear ends as Craig has. And no, we weren't allowed to read at the bookstore where we were supposed to be well versed on what was on the shelves and displays. This was really vexing when I worked with new titles in the front end of the store. It was expected that after retreating from demanding and annoying customers that we were supposed to read up on our titles during our break. And that brings me to the biggest thing exciting Craig about his gig. No matter how entitled the library client, there is no deviating from library rules to placate them. The rules are the rules – HA! Thus, most of our conversations begin with 'Deb, you have got to get in on this action!' I am pleased. I'm just not up to being part of a nefarious scheme. Or even knowing about one.

High Tea on Culver Boulevard

One thing I will say for the bizarre hell of working for Borders is that I made friends with some extraordinary people. Aside from Craig, there is my favorite Pikachu, Phil. And then there is the incomparable, Marie. Last week, I got to host a little birthday celebration for her. I decided to let loose my inner five year old and have a tea party. That decision resulted in whiling away far too much time watching youtube videos on the subject. I was astonished that there was one channel on that site that had over sixty episodes on the subject of throwing a proper tea party. I had a blast learning about finger sandwiches and other treats. I also had another go at puff pastry and croissants for the occasion. I didn't have time to get some good Irish butter for the croissants, but I did go crazy and make black berry jam. Two of my Food Network chefs were making easy berry jams the weekend prior to the little party. I thought it was destiny. And I also tried another recipe from my TV chefs. I made a cold hibiscus tea along with a hot black tea. I found bulk dried hibiscus flowers on Amazon for cheap. It was really tasty as well as very healthy. I've become hooked which is good, because I have a big sack of tea. The prep was great fun and wonderful therapy, but it was spending time with Marie that was the real treat. She is witty and funny and very talented. That afternoon reminded me very much of the great times I've spent with my writing circle in grad school. It was a fabulous afternoon.

Deb versus Yoga

The nice lady with the very soothing voice on the yoga DVD keeps making me fall asleep. That must mean that it is very relaxing, but it isn't doing much for stretching my muscles or exercising my joints. Granted, I was viewing while reclining on the sofa. But that isn't because I'm lazy. I like to watch any sort of exercise video all the way through, so I'll know what I'm getting into. I have yet to get through watching the whole thing. So, I finally just went ahead and did the forty-five minute head to toe warm-up. That warm-up even covers the tips of the pinkies. It wasn't strenuous, but it did work a lot of muscles I haven't used in a really long time. Thus, I will be taking my time working my way through the second half of the DVD.I can see how it benefits those with joint pain. The movements are slow and precisely targeted. I'll keep you posted as I get further along.

Updates

We're about to publish a new title by Marie Lecrivain. It's the first of a whole spate of titles coming out between now and the end of the year. I suppose I will thoroughly startle those on the Sybaritic Press blog by actually posting an update. I expect to send out one of mine to the proofreaders next week. Meanwhile, I have meetings about some of our older film projects and the documentary this week.

Stay tuned.

Jenga Piles, Lobster Rolls and Killer Foods

One of the questions that came from the blog of a couple of weeks ago is what sort of art does Jon do? I think they were wondering if he did anything like an art installation. He does a lot of graphic arts like the covers for Sybaritic Press titles and for my web pages. He hasn't done any sculpting since art school save for the things he creates while doing the dishes. Most women I know would do a huge load of dishes in shifts or wash and dry and then do more. Oh no, not my Hubs. He likes to build intricate piles of dishes, pots and pans. As you can see in the photo, some of these masterpieces are so precarious that I worry about a vibration from closing the refrigerator door will bring the thing crashing to the floor. I never put the dishes away. I look at that Jenga pile with great trepidation. I figure I should leave that to the builder. This is Jon's main outlet for sculpting. I think he could sell the dish Jenga as an art installation.

Killer Foods

I really wanted to try the lobster roll at a very famous gourmet food truck here. And on Thursday, the truck was a ten minute bus ride from my house. We have a gathering of such trucks every day at a parking lot across from Sony Pictures. I was so excited. And then I looked up the price of said lobster roll. It was $12! When you factor in the bus fare and a drink, we're getting close to $20, US! A twenty dollar sandwich should come with a good looking nearly naked man. Unfortunately for the truck, lobster tails were on sale for $5 at my local market and I had a recipe. I made it on Saturday along with some tangy slices of fried green tomato. The new development of our local market selling green tomatoes in the summer has filled me with joy. I should whip up some collards and have them sliced up in a bowl as my Dad liked. Very tangy. At any rate, I completely get the appeal of a lobster roll. It was tender and sweet and a little tangy from the lemon and the onion. It had that wonderful, soul satisfying affect on me that only good shellfish has. I was dancing in my seat. There were no photos, alas. I was eating the thing before I could sit down. Next time. And there will be a next time.

For every cooking success, there is a food out there that I believe is trying to kill me. In July, I became convinced that mangoes meant me ill will. No matter how I tried to imitate the allegedly simple way of getting the mango flesh away from the skin and the big ol' seed, I always ended up coming close to slipping with the very sharp knife and injuring myself. I work with very sharp knives. This month, it's a Kabocha, a Japanese pumpkin. That thing was tougher to take apart than a butternut squash. I won't even try to do more than split one of those. I roast those things halved to get at the flesh. That was the first and last time I try to peel and cut a Kabocha. I'm also certain that I can't just fry pieces of that thing like I saw in the video. It's way too hard to be at all tender by the time the outside is golden brown. I'm going to have to par boil or pre-steam it if I'm going to try to fry it. That's on the agenda as part of Sunday dinner. I'm trying to broaden Jon's vegetable palette or actually have him develop a vegetable palette.

Alas, I must make this blog short and sweet. I have a lot to do today in advance of a very busy week. There are some film meetings on the horizon. I have a new doctor to meet. No worries though. This is some stuff and nonsense that my medical insurance requires – though I do plan to give him an earful about my ongoing symptoms from chemo. And, I'm actually entertaining. Yes, I know you all find me entertaining (silly, fake laughing). I mean, I have someone coming by to partake of food and other refreshments. No worries, I shall tell all next week. I'll also have an update on The Secret Cancer blog sometime during the week. I'll post a link on on this blog as well.

Stay tuned.

Hacks and Character Arcs and other Arguments

Warning, some spoilers ahead. Also, there are vehemently held opinions of an unrepentant fangirl that may be very different from your own. Do not read if thin skinned. I do not read hate mail or hostile tweets.

Sometimes, in the middle of the night, when I am sleepless, I have lively internet discussions (some may call them arguments) with people who share my interests. For example, I have been slapping around anyone with the notion that the next JJ Abrams abomination titled Star Trek won't stupidly suck as much as the first one. My evidence? They want to try to do Wrath of Khan. The problem with that? Well, to have a wrath of Khan, there has to an initial encounter with Khan. Then, there has to be a perceived betrayal of Khan and a couple decades for the bitterness and hatred to grow. I suppose Khan could go back in time to exact his vengeance on the young and unsuspecting Kirk. Wait, wasn't that the first re-boot film? And if he were going to go back in time, wouldn't he just go back far enough that he was never overthrown? If that hack is going to keep sucking the life from the original series, do The Doomsday Machine , for pity's sake. Arguments like that rage on in the wee small hours of the morning. And as much as I enjoy maligning the current Trek time line, that isn't the argument that interests me most.

It's an old argument amongst fans of any television series no matter the genre. Should the main characters change over the course of the series or should they remain the same? If they remain the same, the adventures of these characters can continue indefinitely. I was going to say that my show references are really old as I'm ancient, but Jon pointed out that they are running on Imdb.com, hulu.com or have aired recently on Syfy. One show is running in LA six nights a week on KDOC, home of obscure shows. Then, I remembered that I have a friend younger than my nephew that speaks fluent Dark Shadows. At any rate, the current series television that I'm attracted to has characters that change over time. I understand the preference for the other type. I really do. There is something comforting in knowing Starsky and Hutch would always have each other's backs and that fascinating unrequited tension. I often wish that Blair Sandburg never finished that dissertation in the Sentinel and that they acted on that unrequited tension. But they were only on three seasons. I love me some original Hawaii 5-O, but twelve seasons of the same McGarrett and Danno gets really tiresome. I think Blair's hair would have been really annoying by around season seven (don't send me hate mail, I won't read it). And I can't see a 40 something year old Starsky sliding over many car hoods. However, even in episodic television that has mostly stand alone episodes, I like the characters to have an arc. It makes sense that the highly dramatic events the characters endure week after week would have some impact on their personalities and their outlooks on life. Naturally, I loved the re-boot of Battlestar Galactica for that. However, there are shows like The Closer where the cast has definite arcs. Eureka is delightful in part because it has a steady arc for its characters aside from obvious things like changes to the time line. But, I watch the CSIs, you say. Well, all three shows have character arcs. They are all dopey, but they have them. CSI: Miami's team has evolved into a death squad. More on that show later. Really, there may be a zombie this year!

Whether the characters should or shouldn't have an arc is not actually the argument I'm having online in the middle of the night. The intense debate is about whether shows that have arcs should be allowed to end. I believe that when the arc is based on whether a relationship will survive or not, at some point, the couple has earned their happiness or at least peace of some sort. I found that unfairness maddening about soap operas. That's why I drifted away from them. No one could have a happily ever after or at least be left in peace. The torment was never ending. Fans of this short run (two seasons) anime series I enjoyed (the title is irrelevant. To see it takes a lot of effort online. And it's too odd for most of my readers. Write me privately, if you really need to know.) desperately wanted a third season or more. I vehemently disagreed. The series was essentially a light hearted romance about a miss matched pair whose families, friends and co-workers disapprove. Somehow, through great effort, they find a happily ever after. They go through a lot of self doubt and some angst and really have to fight for a relationship that shouldn't work but somehow does. In order to do another season, the writer would have to try to tear them apart as a couple. The stakes would have to be higher and the drama darker. Aside from the fact that the author never gets that dark in any of her series, it just wouldn't be fair to make this wonderful couple suffer further. And it's not that I don't appreciate intense drama or even very dark drama. I can really get behind darkness in a series where it's appropriate. In this case, it wasn't. If you love them, let them go! They will live on in your mind, and in some cases, fanfiction.

These arguments do influence how I write my couples driven fiction. A way to get around this problem of the arc that is built around the development of the relationship is to solve the relationship and make the developing stories center around characters or situations around the couple. While the couples do evolve and grow over time, the relationship remains solid – it even grows more so. Whether it's set in the far flung future or in a fantasy past, my issue isn't whether the couple will get together and stay together. I solve their issues as a couple fairly quickly. It's their world that's trying to kill them – literally, in some cases. Niku and Sarianna figure out their relationship quickly in The Gift of Surrender. It's the breaking of the family that's the jeopardy. In the sequel, they are solid as a couple but must face death at the hands of evil while saving the life and soul of Niku's estranged brother. Rik and Vincent are solved as a couple in A Soldier's Choice very early in the book. By the end of A Soldier's Fate they aren't still working through relationship problems, they are trying to survive being enveloped by a death ray. In the current book, they are battling their own kind on several fronts, but never do they battle each other. With Ensnared, the couple takes longer than my norm to solidify the relationship. They have to get their societies to accept an extreme bending of the rules for them to remain together. Beyond those obstacles, there are still forces beyond that that want to kill them. No matter the threats or turmoil around them, my couples always have a refuge of happiness and peace with each other.

Interventions, Food, Friends and Writing Updates

For some reason, this blog is turning into an epic affair. I think I'm going to split it into two parts. Some of it is going to be cross posted to a pop culture blog that I write for. That part got a bit carried away. Seems that I'm harboring a lot of seething resentment about entertainment trends I find subpar. And there are some things that avid fans want that I really think are bad ideas. Yeah, I think I'll split them.

Food and Friends

I had a few interventions of sorts this week. I was on quite a downswing because of my physical state or the lack of progress in the improvement of my physical state. Mon amis, Sylvette put some things into perspective for me via her own experiences. She also concurred with my contention that one need not climb a mountain to celebrate being cancer free. I admire those that do, mind. I'm also impressed by dragon boat racers. But I've never been that kind of physical. That isn't changing. And Craig's idea of mountain climbing usually ends with him fleeing from a mountain lion or a vulture. Oh, I didn't mention that Craig was trying to cheer me up by offering to help me train to climb a mountain. I told him that my ambitions were aimed toward strolling down Paris boulevards with occasional stops at cafes for a little nibble and some coffee and some people watching. Sylvette told me of how wonderfully peaceful it was to enjoy a freshly baked croissant early in the morning when Paris is barely stirring. That and her advice cheered me up considerably. Oh, and Craig is still a very entertaining librarian. As soon as his schedule stabilizes, I plan to visit his branch. The third intervention was from Ray who scolded me as much as he uplifted me during the trip to and from the hospital this week. He has a highly entertaining way of scolding that only a Brooklyn native has – on top of that, he's an actor. Very amusing even when it's at my expense.

The food front was interesting. After much thought and consideration, I have decided to leave cooking fresh artichokes to the professionals. It's just too much work, and I'm too paranoid about getting a thistle down my throat. I don't need the pressure! The cooking I did this week reminded me of people who introduced me to the food. Making gyoza (potstickers) always reminds me of Ohio peep, Bruce Kline. He introduced me to them when we lived in North Jersey and worked in New York City. My knowledge of Chinese food was very limited back then. I fell in love with the crispy dumpling with the meaty filling. Fond memories. Sauteing mushrooms always reminds me of my favorite foodie hedonist, Nick, in Atlantic City. He was the first to show me how to make them and he had the best technique – same with properly cooking a steak on the stove or grill. But I was just making mushroom soup. Sizzling mushrooms always make me think of Nick and those really crazy cookouts. I finally found a wonderfully huge and really cheap pork shoulder that made delicious pulled pork. That always makes me think of my Dad though he now uses my method of roasting the pork slowly in the oven.. He used to do his in a DIY 55 gallon drum turned smoker. That's a bit elaborate for him nowadays. Mine is done in a very low oven over a whole lot of time. Fond, fond memories and some really good food help with my blue mood this past week.

Activities Updates

Thank you all who ask about how my work outs and other interests are going. I am still shaking my bunda with eh Bollywood workout. I can only manage that one or twice a week. I just received my yoga DVD and will start that tomorrow. It's designed for people with joint pain and mobility issues, so it's what I need. I'm still walking about ten miles a week, but I may shift that from around the neighborhood to the nearby mall as the heat and blazing sunlight isn't a good mix with my meds. I think the reason I was frustrated this week is that I am working very hard on building my strength but the improvement is very slow. Ah, well. As for the Japanese, that's coming along as well. I have books on the basics and put some time into a few times a week. I'm also watching my anime without the subtitles and trying hard to hear the words. I'm not ready to attack anyone at Mitsuwa market yet though. But I am enjoying the process.

Writing Updates

The first draft of Ensnared will be finished sometime this week. I'll leave it alone for a week or two, make some additions and revisions then send it on to my proofreaders. I have another erotica project that will occupy my focus along with finishing the latest Soldier's book. And I have a script to finish. I have a detailed schedule of when I work on each project. The pages are getting done as planned for the most part. My schedule will slow down only when I'm having unusually difficult physical issues.

Meanwhile, Jon is finishing up the work on the Soldier's Choice based, live action short, Blood Oath. That will premier in October along with a publishing frenzy and updates to the websites with excerpts, artwork and more!

Stay tuned!

Craig and Moules, Ampersands and Updates

Craig became a librarian this week. While that is justifiably terrifying, it's better than the plans he was hatching for world domination. Not that I thought any of those plans had a chance of succeeding further than his getting arrested on some weird harassment charge. Craig has weird harassment plans honed to a very fine art. It just that because I would point out the potential problems in placing art installations made of rotting meat in front of the homes of his enemies – so many enemies – he had decided that I was his nemesis in his plans for world domination. I don't have the energy to be Craig's nemesis. He has far too wiley an imagination. I was very glad that the long layoff ended. The timing was interesting as he returned to dealing with books the same week Borders met its final demise. His first day was reminiscent of any given day at good old store #93 in that there were many arguments amongst angry, drunk homeless men. He amazed the staff by not really getting bothered by all the commotion. I understood his ennui. They had on pants and weren't carrying gasoline. That was counted as a mild disturbance at our store. It made Craig feel right at home.

Speaking of art installations, Jon and I noticed a solar powered ampersand in a vacant lot near one of our supermarkets. As I suspected, it was something that was really annoying. Jon has an art degree, so he understood it and was really annoyed. I just knew it would be something I'd consider silly. The stated explanation was HERE. All in all, I think I'd prefer the rotting meat. At least I understand Craig's motives, diabolical as they are.

Moules no Frites

Usually my kitchen therapy is a carefully planned exercise in trying something new that I've often wanted to attempt. I think a long time about the dish and the process. I thought about croissant baking for every bit of a year. Sometimes though, I find myself making something that is a little bit intricate to work through something very emotional – like blind rage. Let's just say that while doing one's utility paying online can be very convenient, when things go wrong, it is spectacular. And calling customer service is beyond frustrating when the business is vested in keeping things as automated as possible. Thus, all the while I'm navigating through the complicated phone system, it keeps telling me that I would find better and faster service on the web page that has royally screwed up everything in the first place. I finally have punched in my information and reach the correct level of the system when I'm told that customer service is down and to either call back later or go back to the accursed web page. Unfortunately for this utility, they have offices in nearby Santa Monica. It takes a lot to blast me out of the house when I haven't planned on leaving, but adrenaline is an amazing thing. I maintained my ire via a very annoying and ridiculously expensive commute.

Once the errand was completed with no bloodshed or other mayhem, I found I was in downtown Santa Monica on a beautiful summer day. Happiness! So, I first went to Penzey's Spice Shop. I had no plans for visiting that very dangerous place, but I soon realized that my pantry was lacking in some things I needed for upcoming recipes. They weren't very exotic spices either. For instance, I had no celery seeds or dried mustard powder. These items weren't expensive, and now I can make some new dishes. And make some other dishes correctly. It took a great deal of will power to not buy something from every aisle. I had to save some bucks for the even more dangerous establishment I would visit next – Santa Monica Seafood! Boy, did that take a lot of focus and determination. I was only there to buy mussels which are very inexpensive. But the mussels were next to the big, beautiful sea scallops and the bigger and even more beautiful crab legs. They were not anywhere near inexpensive.

When we were in Cannes, there was a restaurant in the middle of the route to our hotel whose specialty is Moules et Frites – Mussels and Fries. The place always smelled of a delicious garlic and wine sauce. I had had wonderful mussels cooked by a grad school chum years – decades ago – and hadn't had them since. That restaurant made my mouth water every time we passed by. It was also always packed. We were usually in a hurry to get to screenings going down to the Festival and too tired to stop for anything on the way back to the hotel. Somehow, in the ten days in Cannes, we just never got there. I was determined to try to duplicate that scent and the taste my friend, Philomena created. The recipe was really simple. Everything was in the prep and the careful execution. It took only a half hour of prep and most of that was waiting for the mussels to soak in salt water. They took less than ten minutes to cook. I had them with some hunks of baguettes smeared with St. Andres cheese and a cold beer. I forgot the entire ordeal with the website and the phone call and the commute. I forgot to take photos. I was transported in time and space. I found bliss. That reminds me, I have to start thinking about baking baguettes.

Updates

The books are coming along well. I have my calendar to silently keep me on track with page output. I've sent specs for new artwork for the revised versions of A Soldier's Choice and A Soldier's Fate and for Ensnared. I've got my marketing campaign for the books planned out. I've been making decent progress on a script that has been years in the making. It's a huge departure from what we normally write, thus the very long development. The writing is going well. The productions are in various states of flux. I've had an exciting development with The Secret Cancer. You can check that out HERE. Octodemon is still working through development issues with FX and currently scheduling. And my web series are all basically waiting for me to be recovered enough from treatment side effects to take on the daily rigors of running a shoot. Since Jon is working, it's fallen more on me to actually run things which I really can't yet. My unscheduled trip to Santa Monica was followed by two days of not doing much of anything save write. It is extremely frustrating, but it isn't uncommon for my cancer treatment. I have to be patient.

Stay tuned!