The Next Big Thing

Nuyorican Noir writer Richie Narvaez tapped me for The Next Big Thing (read what he had to say about HIS next big thing here). If you haven't read his outstanding short story collection Roachkiller and Other stories, do yourself a favor and buy it for Christmas. Or you can sample his story "Hurricane" for 99 cents.

The idea is that everyone on the blog tour answers the same questions, then taps another five writers to move it forward. Here are my answers:

1) What is the working title of your current/next book?  Misbegotten.

2) Where did the idea come from?  Several years ago I wrote a story about a vampire with senile dementia for John Donald Carlucci's Astonishing Adventures Magazine. The protagonist of the story was a crime reporter named Kira Simkins and I really enjoyed the world of the story (a not-so-normal Los Angeles), so much so that I've written around 20 or so stories set in the world since then, some with Kira and some without, but all about supernatural crime.  I decided I wanted to write a larger story for Kira, who is a "misbegotten," a not-quite-human born of a mother who was bitten by a vampire while pregnant with her. That's where the title came from. 

3) What genre does your book fall under? Urban fantasy melded with mystery with a dash of noir.

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?  Liv Tyler or Selma Blair for Kira. The vampire in charge of L.A. in my story is a folksy, avuncular guy who hides his evil under a bland exterior so that you only get glimpses of what he's really like. Scott Wilson or Beau Bridges would be perfect. For Michael Etebari, the head of a security company and the alpha wolf of a local werewolf pack, I'd love Oded Fehr. Kira is older than she looks (a benefit of her "Misbegotten blood" that means she's slow to age), so her on-again/off-again love interest, John Dannon (head of LAPD's paranormal crime unit) is the same age but looks older. Idris Elba would be wonderful.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?  A paranormal crime reporter is caught up in a power struggle when war between vampire factions breaks out in Los Angeles.

6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I've had a nibble of interest from an agent but the book will be published under the Dark Valentine imprint that I run jointly with Joy Sillesen. (Dark Valentine's latest books are the Nightfalls anthology and Christine Pope's fantasy romance Dragon Rose.)

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft?  I've been working on it off and on since forever, it seems like, but once I got started in earnest, about six months. I hope to have it done by January 15 at the latest.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?  Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series; Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series; Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Norville books.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?  Well, isn't everyone writing a novel? Basically I wanted to stretch my boundaries. I'm  pretty comfortable writing short stories, but I really wanted to explore my supernatural city and my characters. I also wanted to write a paranormal book that made these creatures seem real and not just fantasy objects with tattooed shoulders and shimmering skin. That was how the first story about the senile vampire (called "Tired Blood") came about. I wondered how a really old vampire's mind would hold out.

10) What else about the book might pique the reader's interest?  I think I've created a spin on the tired old tropes, offering an Urban Fantasy about characters that have a ring of reality about them whether they're human or not. There are no tramp stamps here and no emo longings for forbidden love. Kira has a very practical attitude toward the paranormals in her circle (who include shape-shifters and were-bears and goblins and fire demons, not just the usual vamps and weres)--they're all monsters. Sleeping with monsters never ends well, in her opinion. You either end up a monster yourself, or you end up dead. 

The writers I'm tagging are:  Canadian horror writer G. Wells Taylor, whose vanpire novel Bent Steeple is one of my favorite books.

Christine Pope, whose lush fantasy romances and zippy contemporary novels are entertaining and smart. Check out her latest, Dragon Rose.

Kat Laurange who's a double menace--a writer and an illustrator who balances a career, a life as a wife and mother, and half a dozen other responsibilities. I'm a hard worker but she makes me look like a slacker. 

Steven Luna, a friend of a friend whose story for the Nightfalls anthology ("Last Shift") was just superb. Check out his Joe Vampire stories.

Joanne Renaud, also a writer and illustrator whose romance novella, Question of Time, has just been published by Champagne Press.

I can never spell graffiti right the first time...

Holiday Freebies--the Kattomic Energy Edition

I will be participating in my colleague Dale T. Phillips' holiday book give-away. I'm offering three different books--Toxic Reality, The Poisoned Teat, and 12 Nights of Christmas. All you have to do is post a comment, letting me know which book you'd like and I'll pick winners on December 20!  Be sure to leave me a valid email address.
And bop over to Dale's site to see who else is participating and what else you could win! Tis the season and how better to celebrate it than with some dark fiction?

Chocolate Bread Pudding Recipe--You're welcome!

Every holiday,the upscale grocery store I live near adds a couple of seasonal  items to their already much-too-tempting take-out offerings. For about six weeks you can get a pumpkin trifle, a pumpkin pudding, noodle kugel, and my favorite, chocolate bread pudding with caramel sauce. Yes, it tastes just as decadent as it sounds.

Every time I buy a chunk of this deliciousness, I feel guilty though.  Because I make an incredible chocolate bread pudding.  If you want to dress it up, you can hit it with some whipped cream, but adding sauce would just be gilding the lily.  Here's the recipe.

INCREDIBLE CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING RECIPE

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Enough bread to fill a baking dish—torn into small pieces

2 cups milk

¼ cup butter

2/3 cup light brown sugar

3 eggs

¾ cup chocolate chips

2 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine the milk and butter in a saucepan, stirring until the butter is melted.  Cool slightly.

Beat the sugar and spices into the eggs until frothy.  Add the vanilla extract.

Combine the egg mixture and the milk mixture slowly.  (Make sure the milk isn’t too hot or the raw eggs will curdle.)

Mix in the bread and turn everything into a baking dish that has been greased or treated with non-stick spray.

Don’t pack the bread down too tightly or the “pudding” will compact and get really dense instead of staying moist and fluffy with those delicious buttery, crunchy bits.

Bake for 45-55 minutes until the “pudding” is set. 

I've Been Tagged!

Over at his blog, Nuyorican Obituary, writer R. Narvaez (author of Roachkiller and other stories) is participating in The Next Best Thing blog tour. Read what he had to say here. And tune in next week for my answers. (Also, there's an interview with Narvaez coming soon to Kattomic Energy.

Find me Under the Tuscan Gun

Yes, I've just been added to the team writing about all things Tuscan for the terrific website Under the Tuscan Gun. My first post isn't up yet but if you love food, and love Italian food, and love Tuscan food in particular, you owe it to yourself to visit this site often. Uup now, Wendy Hector's review of Stir: Mixing it up in the Italian Tradition by Boston chef Barbara Lynch.

Freebie Fiction Sample

This story is from 12 Nights of Christmas, available here and here in your choice of e-formats for the bargain price of 99 cents. Whatever happened to the "cents" sign on a keyboard? Was it never on a computer keyboard or was it lost in the transition from typewriters to computers? I miss the cents sign.

Four Birds Calling

Reg could see the two birds out of the corner of his eye. They were looking at him and giggling, being none too subtle about it.

He knew what they were thinking.

Is it him?

Could it be?

The resemblance really was quite striking. He had the same blond mop-top, the same bedroom eyes, the same succulent lower lip.

He even styled his wardrobe after Thomas, the photographer his doppelganger had played in Blow-Up. The white pants and powder-blue shirt rolled up to the elbows. It was a good look for him.

The shirt matched his eyes.

And eyes are the windows of the soul.

Reg never looked birds in the eye though; he always focused on their lips. Eventually they’d notice and ask, “What?”

He’d always say, “You have the most beautiful lips.”

It worked a treat, that line.

Is it him?

Could it be?

He glanced over at the girls and flashed his second-best smile at them, which was enough to make the fat one blush but the spotty one looked back at him boldly and licked her lips while making intense eye contact.

Well hello, Reg thought.

More Frenchy Christmas-ness

I love this card--the Eiffel Tower draped in a garland with a Joyeux Noel greeting. You can find it on Etsy. a package of ten will run you $17.50 plus postage, which is not cheap, but purchasing the cards will make you a patron of the arts!

Woo Hoo--the Sapphires has been nominated....

Congratulations to everyone who worked on The Sapphires, a real-life Dreamgirls tale about an Australian girl group that entertained the troops in the Viet Nam war. It's been nominated in multiple categories for the Australian Academy of Cinema Awards. I was part of the development team on the script (based on a play by the son of one of the real-life songstresses) and could not be more proud of the movie. See the article here on Deadline Hollywood.

Best of the Holiday Gift Guides

I love gift guides. That's why I decided to put together my own. (And wish lists, I love them too.) This is the time of year when every site and magazine/newspaper is putting together a gift guide and looking them over will give you some ideas on what to give that family member who's so hard to please.

Over at Wired Magazine, the Geek Dad list is up and it's got everything from game system point cards to iPhone cases to links to other parts of the list. See it here.

Over at Ain't It Cool News, Quint's three-part holiday gift guide is up, with offerings running the gamut from inexpensive to pricey (like that box set of Dark Shadows episodes that comes in a casket-shaped box).

Real Simple has a multi-part gift guide that splits off into gifts for women, men and children, for foodies and gadget-lovers.

Engadget's list is all about eReaders, a guide to the best of what's available right now. SlashGear has a list of "oddities" that would make great stocking stuffers. Gizmodo has put together a witty list divided up into categories like "For your sainted mother" and "Holiday Gifts for Ryan Gosling, Idris Elba and Other Guys You Love."  Then there's ESPN's guide.

InStyle Magazine has a guide that's not just for the girly-girl or the fashionista. Included are sections for kids, "upgrades for men," gifts for "9-5 friends" and gifts under $25. You have to love a list that includes  Nail polish for pets ($8.95); a python printed sleep set ($220 for both pieces); and customizable headphones ($179).

The Kattomic Energy 2012 Gift Guide will be back tomorrow with gifts for your favorite foodies.

Nightfalls is available

You can buy it here as an ebook for $2.99; the print version will be available soon. Twenty-nine writers, half a dozen genres, one good cause.

The Best Geek Gift for a Foodie EVER!

This may be the best novelty chocolate item ever made.  By rights, this should have gone into the Foodie section of the gift guide but it is so cool it needs a post all to itself. You can buy a chocolate replica of Han Solo in the carbonite slab. You can buy it from Think Geek.  It costs $11.99 for one 4.5 ounce bar. 

Kattomic Energy 2012 Gift Guide--Part 2

One of the labels I assign myself is that of "feminist" and I'm not ashamed to identify with my sisters. But my feminist credo is, "Feminism is the radical  notion that women are people," and as I've gotten older, I don't feel that the term "feminist" is particularly inclusive, even when men proudly claim it. (My father was a feminist by trade, an Army lawyer who fought for civil rights and women's rights before it was actually fashionable.)  So I prefer to think of myself as a "humanist" and define that term as someone who cares about his/her fellow human beings. This part of the gift guide will focus on gifts for people who want gifts that matter. With the occasional feminist t-shirt thrown in.

Gifts for people who have everything they want or need to give on behalf of people who live in want and need:

Heifer International

Heifer International. Their mission is to work with communities to end hunger and poverty and care for the earth.  Who doesn't think that's a good idea?  You've probably seen their gift catalogue; filled with suggested donations in every price range, from a flock of chickens or ducks for $20 to a gift ark ($5000) that provides mating pairs of many different animals. This year the catalogue includes items like "a gift of women's empowerment" (helping women become self-sufficient and more efficient at producing food) for $1000 (or $100 a share); a gift of a healthy home for $50 (construction materials to make shelter safer); a gift of clean water ($300 for water purification equipment) and "the gift of transformation" which provides herds of heifers, llamas and goats, flocks of sheep and chickens, a pen of pigs, a school of fish, a gaggle of geese and the training to take care of the animls. (Price tag is $25,000.)

Kattomic Energy's Holiday Gift Guide--Part Une

Joyeux Noel everyone. In the first part of the2012 Kattomic Energy Gift Guide, the focus is on Francophiles.

Books:  French cooking began, at least for most American cooks, with Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Snag the 50th anniversary edition for $24 at your favorite bookstore. Find it at Amazon here. David Lebovitz's The Sweet Life in Paris (subtitled "Delicious Adventures in the World's Most Glorious and Perplexing City") is a great introduction to the food culture of the French capital. (There is a right and a wrong way to work your way around a cheese plate.) You can buy it new for $23 or used for as little as $5. (I often use the "buy used" option from Amazon's sellers and most of the books I've purchased arrive looking brand new.)

All of the Barefoot Contessa's cookbooks are wonderful and her Barefoot in Paris is one of those cookbooks that's as fun to look at as it is to read. It's just a beautiful book and the recipe for pear clafoutie is to die for. Available for under $20 in both print and ebook.

If you're frustrated that you can't order anything from Amazon France unless you're actually in France, check out French Books Online, a source for French language books in many genres as well as audiobooks, some of them bilingual. Authors in their policiers (crime thriller) section include Pierre Simenon (fils de Georges), Jean Amilia, Brigitte Auber, and Tonino Benacquista.

Chocolat is everybody's favorite French movie starring Johnny Depp. Buy the novel by Joanne Harris it's based on. 

Movies: The French invented the term "film noir" so as you might expect, they also perfected the art. The 1943 film Le Corbeau (the Raven) is arguably the best example of the genre. There's a fabulous Criterion Collection edition available, but it's pricey ($70) and according to Amazon, they only have four left in stock.

Paris Je T'Aime is a cinematic love letter to the city, and stocking stuffer priced at under $8.

Paul Bishop Photograph--November Rain in Paris

Photo by Paul Bishop

Isn't this image by Paul Bishop (originally posted on Facebook) gorgeous. I am a sucker for Eiffel Tower images.

Time to weed out that TBR pile?

If you're in Los Angeles, you can donate books to Books For People, who will sell them and use the proceeds to fund charities serving homeless children. And they PICK UP your books. (They also accept DVDs, CDs, and records. Any books they can't sell, they donate to local libraries. Check them out.

Because not everyone is going to be home for the holidays

There are men and women serving on behalf of me and every other American in places that are inhospitable and downright hostile. Some of these soldiers are stationed far from a PX (post exchange) and some of them can't afford even little luxuries. Military Connections is a non-profit organization that sends care packages (more than 600 a month) to soldiers stationed overseas. They're now putting together Christmas stockings. They have a wish-list of items from unopened, unexpired OTC meds like Tums and Tylenol to packages of athletic socks and AT&T calling cards to extra Christmas cards they can send. You can also sponsor a soldier or marine's stocking for a $10 donation and include a note or a picture. Giving a little could mean a lot.
For more information, check out the Military Connections website here.

Cityscape: Richmond, Virginia

I lived in Richmond my last two years in high school and during the summers I went to college. It's a very scenic city and there are things about it I miss, like the James River. This is a view of downtown from the James. All those rocks were really enticing. I've sunbathed on them. And every year, some kid gets stranded and has to be rescued.  My parents' house was only two blocks from the river, we could always hear the helicopters flying back and forth. Some summers it was like the Fall of Saigon out there.

Another reason to embrace your inner Frenchwoman...

Seems the French village of Bugarach is going to survive the Mayan apocalypse. Who knew?

More about Christmas cards...

From papercards.com

Greeting Card universe is having a blowout Cyber-Monday sale. Every card in their inventory is $1.49 each. They've got everything from a card with a snowman mooning to a lovely Joyeux Noel card for the francophiles. And speaking of things French, 123 Greetings has an animated French-language ecard that features the Eiffel Tower, Santa and fireworks along with its French holiday greeting. (It's actually kind of horrifying in a cross-cultural way, but it's so over-the-top that it's kitschy.)
PaperCards.com has Christmas cards divided up into 43 different categories (Pop Up, Patriotic, Disney, Nature, Spanish-language, Animal) and you can buy single cards or batches. They have cards with African-American angels, Madonnas and Santa. Oddly, they have only four Hanukkah cards available.
If you're looking for one of a kind humorous greeting cards for the season, Snafu Designs can hook you up. I'm partial to their "Fleas Navidad" card.  Tiny Prints cards are on sale all this week (Why have Cyber Monday when you can have Cyberweek?) Check them out for something different in personalized cards.

Fleas Navidad

Twinkie Lovers! The Daily Meal is looking out for you...

I get the Daily Meal newsletter every day and it's a must-read for me. (I get a lot of newsletters every day and sometimes find myself just deleting them unread from my In-box, but that fate never befalls The Daily Meal.) This morning they have a home-made Twinkie recipe for those who are worried about the demise of that iconic lunch-box treat. Check it out http://www.thedailymeal.com/homemade-twinkies-recipe

The best religious Christmas card ever

"Kissing the Face of God" by Morgan Weistling

Morgan Weistling is a California artist who mostly specializes in western-themed subjects. His work hangs in museums all over the country and his commissions are highly prized. His work is exquisite. (Seriously, if you click on his link, it'll take you to his website and you'll see a gallery of his work. If he were living in the Renaissance, someone named Borgia or Medici would be his patron.)
He painted "Kissing the Face of God" in 2001 and it's become one of his most popular images. The first time I saw it, I was struck by the sweetness and youth of his Mary.  (I'm not sure, but I think his daughter might have been the model.) At any rate, the painting has so much reality and love that it really humanizes the Christmas story.
My mother was an artist and I've seen a lot of Madonna and Child paintings in my day (I loved Fra Filippo Lippi's "Adoration of the Magi" when I was a child because I liked saying "Fra Filippo Lippi.) I think this painting stands up to the best of them.

"Adoration of the Magi"

You can buy "Kissing the Face of God" at any number of religious bookstores online. Here's one, where you  can buy 25 cards for $25.95.  You can buy cards with "Adoration of the Magi" on it from numerous sources.  has it in with a whole range of "Adoration of the Magi" cards. Shopwiki offers it along with a full range of "Adoration" cards by various artists.

The Kattomic Energy Christmas Card Buying Guide

Cardinal in snow, photo by Rob Tomlinson

In my parents' generation, sending out Christmas cards was a big deal and a husband/wife project. My parents never put together one of those awful Christmas letters (and in fact mocked their relatives and friends who did send them out) but the sending of the cards was a project that consumed at least one night in the pre-holiday run-up.

They'd divide up the writing chores although my father's handwriting was barely legible--I was the only one in the family who could read it--and my mother had art school handwriting that was as precise and readable as machine print. They had different signatures depending on who the card's recipient was, "Mickey and Tom" for their friends, "Mildred and Parrish" for his relatives, and so forth.

They always bought special Christmas stamps to use on their cards and they had two different kinds of cards--some kind of religious theme for the relatives, more general holiday cards for their Jewish friends and colleagues. They probably sent out a hundred cards a year and got at least as many in return. The cards were displayed over the mantle and on top of the bookcases and gave the house a really festive air.

Fiction Friday: G. Wells Taylor's "Memory Lane:"

I'm a huge fan of Canadian horror writer G. Wells Taylor (whose vampire novel Bent Steeple is one of the best of the genre). He writes creepy, character-based stories that run the gamut from post-apocalyptic urban fantasy/noir (his Wildclown series) to his variant on the zombie apocalypse (The Variant Effect) to this tale of psychological horror featuring a couple of memorable human monsters. You can read my review on Amazon here, and while you're there, pick up a copy of the novella for $1.99.

How to shop for the holidays without losing your mind

The official Kattomic Energy gift guide will be published in the next few weeks but since today, Black Friday, is the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season, here is a preview. 

GETTING MUGGED

The truth is, if you're over 21, you probably have all the mugs you need. You've got the one emblazoned with your college logo and the one you got from your bank when you opened a savings account. You have the mug you received as a premium when you donated money to your local NPR station. And if you work in a large company, you have  a mug with your company's brand and corporate slogan plastered all over it.

In the unlikely event you know someone who could use a few more mugs, there are a lot of cool mugs out there.

For people who love words, there are scrabble letter mugs. These are nice and simple, graphically pleasing mugs that cost $13 each. You can find them in a lot of catalogues or here. For a dollar less, you can get the officially sanctioned by Scrabble "Scrabble Tile Mug." Find it here.

For the activist/reader, there's the Banned Books Mugs ($12.95). Inscribed with the names of banned books (from To Kill a Mockingbird to Ulysses, they're perfect for serving coffee after a book club meeting. Buy them here at the Unemployed Philosopher's Guild where the motto is, "The unexamined gift is not worth giving."

Unemployed Philosopher's Guild also carries a 12-ounce mug featuring the opening lines of some of the great works of English/American literature. Buy it here.

Zazzle shops feature a variety of Shakespeare-themed mugs from simple black quotes on white mug to more decorate designs. My brother, a criminal lawyer, has a whole set of "First thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers" mugs in his office. You can buy one of your own for $16 each here. To look at Zazzle's full range of Shakespeare quote mugs, start here.

Cafe Press has a large selection of mugs featuring images of writers and famous quotes. check them out here. They also have silly mugs like the one that says, "Are you crying? There's no crying. There's no crying in English class."  Which I think is funny but I'm not sure I'd want a mug with that on it.

And that's the thing about mugs with funny sayings or quotes with profanity (even of teh S*it Happens variety). What seems funny as you click on the "go to shopping cart"  or hand over actual money to an actual perso in a card store, may not be hilarious on Christmas morning. 

So beware of impulse buys based on whimsy. Don't be the one to give your dad the Duct Tape mug ($14.95), which comes twith a duct tape tie. (Yes, although the mug just looks like it's made of duct tape, the tie reallly is made of actual duct tape.)