This picture was taken last night at a Solstice Party. I don’t usually like pictures of myself these days and this was a pleasant surprise. If I could just figure out how to remove the lantern growing out of my head, I’d have a great potential author photo!
Thank you, Joan! 
Author Archives: Dana
It’s Meme Time!
I’m still not entirely sure what a meme is (I could google it, but I’m too lazy…), but I’ve been sent one by Dani at HotButtonPress and I have vowed to do this. And then it will be sent to other bloggers. HAHAHAHAH!!!!! So…now it begins.
What have you just read?
I have just read the first two Bloodline books by Tanya Huff, Shopaholic and Baby by…by the gal that writes those books and my mind is blanking…, A Latte Trouble by Cleo Coyle, and lots of other books. I read on the Muni every day, read when I walk anywhere and lose track of what I’ve read.
What are you reading now?
Now I’m reading… what am I reading? Ah yes, Designer Knockoff, a fun mystery set in Washington D.C. with reporter Lacey Smithsonian as the protaganist. It took me a while to get into it, but now I’m loving it. Lots of cool vintage clothing details, a sassy heroine reminiscent of a Hepburn character, and an intriguing plot.
Do you have any idea what you’ll read when you’re done with that?
The next Tanya Huff Bloodline book.
What’s the worst thing you were ever forced to read?
Urm… I have never been forced to read anything. I actually seek out bad writing. We’re talking SHOWGIRLS bad. So bad that it’s fun. I have a book by D.B. Patterson (a zombie book) that’s so badly written, it’s now a party game with my friends. We open it and read a paragraph at random. Bliss…
What’s one book you always recommend to just about anyone?
well…Murder for Hire, of course! 🙂 Seriously, it depends on the person, their interests and the genre. For horror, WHERE THE CHILL WAITS by T. Chris Martindale. It inspired my very first (one of two) fan letters.
Admit it, sadly the librarians at your library know you on a first name basis, don’t they?
Even MORE sadly, no. I just started going to the library in San Francisco.
Is there a book you absolutely love, but for some reason, people never think it sounds interesting, or maybe they read it and don’t like it at all?
Nope. I have impeccable taste. Good AND bad.
Do you read books while you eat?While you bath?
While you watch movies or TV?
While you listen to music?
While you’re on the computer?
Yes to all of the above. I love to read. If the movie is really good, I won’t read. But I read when I walk. I love to read and find every opportunity possible.
When you were little did other children tease you about your reading habits?
Nope.
What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down?
Sigh…the last Harry Potter book.
Have any books made you cry?
If I’m in the right (or wrong) frame of mind, anything will make me cry.
Okay then. Time for me to tag my blogger pals!
Bye, Trapper…
I just got an email that Trapper died. Trapper was a Canadian lynx at EFBC/FCC, just a few years old. The following is from the EFBC/FCC website:
In the fall of 2007 we noticed he had some balance issues, occasionally had trouble walking straight, and couldn’t jump as well as he used to. We moved him to a smaller cage with less chance of him injuring himself. He was brought to the vet for an MRI in October. The news was not good. His condition is called a Chiari-I like malformation, syringomyelia C1-C3. Basically in the back of the skull the cerebellum is being pushed against the skull, blocking fluid from draining down the spinal cord, which caused the neural tube to expand with fluid. This is a congenital defect, sometimes seen in humans, and often in a breed of dog known as Cavalier King Charles spaniels.
A veterinarian who has performed the same surgery on dogs operated on Trapper in November. The back of Trapper’s skull was removed to allow the cerebellum to expand, and the top of the C1 vertebrae was removed to allow fluid to escape.
Dr. Berry then placed a wire mesh titanium basket over the back of the skull to protect the brain.
He evidently came out of the surgery okay, but…well, he didn’t make it. I don’t know the details. It’s heartbreaking. Trapper was special. I mean, all the cats out there are special, whether they’re people-friendly or totally wild. Trapper was a sweetheart. I can’t stop crying right now.
Reliving my childhood
Or at least parts of it. The parts when I was shy and awkward. I used to be a very friendly, open kid who’d make friends anywhere. But after a few negative experiences dealing with the kind of casual cruelty that kids specialize in, I became a lot more hesitant about approaching people and spent quite a few parties hiding out in corners. I outgrew that over time and have had relatively few awkward moments in my adulthood as far as interacting with strangers, but today at the Mystery Writers of America/Sisters in Crime holiday party at M is for Mystery Bookstore, I had about an hour of pure, agonizing shyness, straight out of grade school. I clutched my glass of wine with one hand, Dave’s arm with the other and felt my heartrate speed up as I began to hyperventilate and wonder what the hell I was doing there. I vanished behind a long row of bookshelves and tried to get control of my breathing and stop myself from making a hasty escape back to the car.
It got better. A very kind woman, Susan S. (webmistress for MWA) took me under her wing and introduced me around to a few people. The ice melted, my breathing returned to normal and I ended up having a great time. Sold a few books, bought some and had them signed by the authors, and am really looking forward to the next SinC event. But tonight was an object lesson to me that we may grow older, but we never really leave our childhood behind, both the good bits and the bad.
Upcoming MFH events and the Ghosts of events past
*yawn*… And that’s not a reflection on my continued enthusiasm and excitement when it comes to promoting MURDER FOR HIRE…it’s a genuine ‘I’m so tired I can barely keep my eyes open’ type yawn. Part of it comes from an hour tae-bo workout, a long walk on the beach with Dave and Boska, and still catching up with my sleep after five days of sleep deprivation. Said sleep deprivation was caused by a houseful of guests last weekend. Guests got the guest room, which is usually kitty lock-up at night so we can sleep the night through without feline aerobics. When we have guests, however, the cats are free range. Their cat boxes are in the hallway outside our room. I have upwards of eight cats sleeping on me…when they’re not bouncing off my stomach and head. I love them all very much. But when it comes to sleep, I prefer to limit the number allowed in the bedroom.
But I digress. Last Saturday we had a big old bash to celebrate the publication of MFH. We had around 40 people or thereabouts for an evening of gourmet food, courtesy of Pete Sloman (with the assistance of his sou chef and and son Ernie), many bottles of wine (courtesy of everyone) and much fun was had by all. I sold around 10 copies of the book and was genuinely touched by the enthusiasm and support of our friends and family for my accomplishment.
Last night (Friday) I had a book signing at the West Portal Wine Styles (thank you, James and Gail!). It was held in conjunction with a wine tasting featuring the wines of Lynne Wall. It was an interesting experience in that there wasn’t really an opportunity to do any kind of presentation or talk, but I had a basketful of books, sold 10 and enjoyed some great wine and the company of friends. We topped the evening off with Brazilian food and a viewing of Lucio Fulci’s ZOMBIE at our house.
I had an unexpected sale this morning when our postman knocked on the door at 9am (no, we were NOT up yet) wanting to buy two copies. Mike is a sweetheart – we usually run into him at George’s Zoo weekend mornings when we’re buying coffee for our beach walks – and I’d told him about MFH. He wanted copies for his sister and his cousin’s wife. Dave told him we’d meet him at George’s Zoo in 15 minutes or so. I was not ready for company and had to persuade Haggis, Foster and Maddie that Mom had to get out of bed. So I sold two copies at George’s Zoo to our mailman.
I’m still working on setting up my Blog Book Tour and am hoping to have it all set and scheduled for January. There are so many things to learn, such as RSS feeds, how to set up a Squidoo lens, Google alerts, and…and..stuff. It’s a bit overwhelming and I hearby propose we add two to four hours in the day with two of those hours specifically to figure out where the hell WordPress keeps the templates!
Tomorrow I’m going to the Mystery Writers of America/Sisters in Crime holiday party at M is for Murder in San Mateo. I joined Sisters in Crime, both the national and northern Cal chapters, and am looking forward to meeting the various local mystery authors attending. I may be an author, but I’m also a fan! And I’ve been invited to speak at Capitol Crimes, the Sacramento chapter of Sisters in Crime, in February. They sound like a fun, supportive group of fellow writers and fans alike and I’m really looking forward to the experience. More details as I get ’em.
Still going to local bookstores and sending out postcards and I hope to have some more signings around the Bay Area in the new year. It’s a lot of work, but I really am having a blast and that’s the important thing. That and catching up on my sleep!
Tuesday Night
I’m trying very hard to get back into the habit of posting, if not every night, at least three or four times a week. I confess to missing my old Den, not because I don’t love my new website (yay, Leslie!), but because I miss knowing exactly how to manage it, play with the template, all that good stuff. I’m not exactly computer savvy once you get into things like…like html or codes. Also, I could set up a subscription link for my old blog. Now I don’t know how people are finding my blog or, rather, know when I’ve actually gotten off my lazy butt and written a new post.
Ah well. Change is the way of things.
I’m watching SERENITY. For those of you not in the know, it’s based on the TV show FIREFLY, Joss Whedon’s last gift to Fox. Fox, being retarded, of course squandered this gift and saw it cancelled after one short season. We hates them, we do, preciousssssss…
And here’s another thing. Nathan Fillion (Mal on FIREFLY) has a MySpace page and something like 39,000 friends. How the hell does he keep up with his own popularity? Does he have a house big enough to host a party for all these friends? Do they all byob? Gotta like the guy for his down to earth attitude. The fact that he’s kind of hunky and a good actor doesn’t hurt. I would have loved to have seen him in LAND OF THE DEAD as the lead, who was played by…er…someone who wasn’t as good as Fillion would have been in the part. Dang, I hate Fox for cancelling FIREFLY.
I am especially fond of SERENITY ’cause the musician who does the guitar work on the score, as well as the actual player for Jayne’s guitar solo on Book’s planet, is Tony Mandracchia, the guitar player for The Pickups, a band started by my sister. She was the bass player and lead vocalist, I was the backup vocalist/percussion player, Tony was our extraordinary guitarist and Todd Tatum was our drummer, another extraordinary musician. We never made it very far, but the reviews were good, the music excellent (written by my sister Lisa) and we had a lot of fun. So hearing Tony play guitar and mandolin on the score (soundtrack) for SERENITY…well, it’s very special. I’m both proud of him and totally humbled that I worked with such a fantastic musician. He makes great cioppino too!
I have to get back to work on the posts for my Blog Book Tour, tentatively scheduled to start in January. I know myself well enough to make sure I write at least some of those posts well in advance of the date they’re supposed to be published.
My Holiday Weekend
I just made hot chocolate – two squares Belgian bittersweet, a teaspoon or two of Ghirardelli cocoa powder mixed with a little bit of cream, and a cup of milk per serving, topped with whipped cream. May I just say “yum?”
I’ve been doing a lot of work on marketing and publicity for MFH, which means a great deal of time spent on the couch ‘cause that’s where I do most of my computer work. The pluses include comfort, and the TV when I want a mindless movie on in the background. I can’t have anything but music on when I’m writing any sort of fiction, but as far as research, lists or letters, I do love me my bad zombie movies.
This weekend’s mindless white noise included: DEAD CLOWNS (zombie clowns return from a watery grave to revenge themselves on those who let them die), which was mind-boggling in how boring a movie with zombie clowns, serial killers on the lam, and Brinke Stevens can be when executed by a bad director; SHADOW WALKERS (a group of scientists and assorted military personnel wake up in an underground facility with no idea who they are or why they’re there, only to find they share the facility with mutants with a taste for human flesh), more interesting than DEAD CLOWNS, but still only a low rent RESIDENT EVIL with the longest, dullest fight scenes I’ve seen in a long time); and 28 WEEKS LATER, which was more than background noise ‘cause it’s way too good a movie to be relegated to white noise. I liked it even better second time around too.
Other entertainment for the holiday weekend included several long walks on the beach, a lovely drive up the 101 to Hopland, home of Brutocao Winery. The autumn colors were in full regalia, traffic was light, and the weather was perfect. Home by 3pm with plenty of time to relax with the kitties and get some work done around the house. AMC was playing MGM musicals that night, so we caught the end of SINGING IN THE RAIN and watched all of THE BAND WAGON, which (if you haven’t seen it) has one of the most spectacular numbers ever staged, The Manhunt Ballet. The Manhunt Ballet (Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse in what I consider their best dancing roles ever) was a huge inspiration to both me and Maureen in terms of MFH, and noir dialogue. “She came at me in sections, with more curves than a scenic railway.” I mean…come on, that’s classic.
I love those old musicals. Lisa and I were raised on them when we were kids. When my parents got divorced, big treat night was an MGM musical, homemade pizza from Appian Way pizza mixes, Coke and homemade fudge. When I see them now, I’m always sent back into a time when life seemed a lot simpler. I generally cry like a baby during at least one scene per movie. Even the goofy ones. And I’d kill to have Cyd’s legs. Or to have legs that looked like hers in her prime. I think Cyd’s actual gams need to stay on Cyd.
So it’s been a good holiday weekend. A lot of relaxation, a lot of household improvements, some intense work on MFH and my upcoming Blog Book Tour. More on that tomorrow night!
Kittens are helping me write
They really do, y’know. When I’m staring at the screen of my iBook, my mind either blank or cluttered up with the detrious of a day at work, they get on my lap and slowly crawl onto the keyboard.cv yhrfp;;;;y
…and they write for me. I figure yhrfp;;;;;y is fraught with meaning in Kittenese. And then there’s Foster, my sumo wrestler kitty, my Staypuff Marshmallow boy. He’s sitting on my right arm and staring at me with slightly crossed blue eyes, ears slightly back as if to ask, ‘What are you trying to accomplish? I not understand why you are not petting me.’ Foster, btw, sounds like Fat Tony from THE SIMPSONS.
Sigh. I need to set up some boundaries here…
What I’m Reading
Check out the What I’m Reading page!
Yoga! What I’m up to these days…
I’m taking yoga. This may not seem like a big deal to those of you who’ve been Yogaphiles for years now, but the two times I took it in the past I just hated it. Too slow, not enough action, and when can I move, damn it! When do I get to hit something? Nope, it did NOT work for me. Now, however, it seems to be exactly what the doctor ordered. When I’m in class, I don’t think of anything beyond the movements, the breathing, the poses. This is a big deal for someone who has spent the last two years with chronic insomnia because of 3am circular thinking monkey brain…well, this is saying something.