Upcoming MFH events and the Ghosts of events past

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*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

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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

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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.

Dead ClownsThis 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.28 weeks later

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.The Bandwagon

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

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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…

Yoga! What I’m up to these days…

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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.

Short hair and a jumpsuit do not a tough spacer chick make

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For reasons still unclear, even to myself, I’m watching ALIEN RESURRECTION, the fourth in the ALIEN series. You know, the one AFTER the movie where Ripley falls to a fiery death with her arms outstretched in classic Jesus Crucified pose while alien baby bursts out of her chest. David Fincher’s dark, nihilistic, irritating and ultimately dull film, however, at least did not have seal-eyed Winona Ryder trying to portray a tough mercenary spacer gal.  I hate this movie.  Even the presence of Signourney Weaver (whom I worship as a goddess) as a semi-psychotic alien-woman mutant (half woman, half alien, half alligator!) in leather, looking as sexy and tough as any woman can look, did not save this movie for me.  And when Ripley gets teary-eyed over her alien baby…fer crissake, woman, it’s not like it’s a kitten!

I do this to myself a lot, though.  Watch movies that probably melt sections of my brain.  It’s  a disease.

Morning Glass, Adventures of a Legendary Waterman, by Mike Doyle

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I just finished the above titled book by Mike Doyle, legendary surfer and all around waterman. Doyle was one of the original crowd at Malibu and, as I found out from reading his autobiography, the book and subsequent movie BIG WEDNESDAY (directed by John Milius) were based on Doyle and the other surfers at Malibu during the uncrowded, halcyon days of the late ’50s.

I loved this book. Written in a matter-of-fact, totally non-judgemental voice, Doyle captures the joy of surfing and shares the adventures, triumphs and failures of his life in an honest and inspirational way. I would recommend MORNING GLASS to surfers and non-surfers alike – anyone going through a life crisis will benefit from Doyle’s story. He’s living proof that you can change paths at any point in your life and find happieness and success. A real testiment to ‘follow your bliss and success will follow.’

Unfortunately the book is now out of print and copies are going anywhere from $50 to $200 bucks. I lucked out and found a copy for $20 on Half.com, but it was the only one below the $50 price point.

Monday Night

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I’m currently sitting on the couch (covered with tarp and quilt to protect from random cat pee-age), watching RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD and trying to shut my brain off.  All day I’ve been following the fires in San Diego (my home town) and Los Angeles (home for 10 years after leaving the nest) and finally decided to take a break.  I’ve called everyone I can think of who might be in danger, found out they’re either okay or have safely evacuated, have  looked at the updates and maps several dozen times, and still can’t believe it’s really happening.  The fires in ’03 were horrible, but these are nearly biblical in proportion.    It makes ever petty annoyance or stress I’ve had the last few weeks seem trivial.