Apostle Rising by Richard Godwin

I am reading Apostle Rising by Richard Godwin. Why aren't you? His book appeared on the cover of Bookseller Magazine today (no April Fool's Day joke that). I'll be reviewing the book for Dark Valentine soon.

Shiny new author website!!

Here it is. Let me know what you think.

L.A. Nocture has been published!

Sample and buy it here.

I am unclear on the concept...

I love food blogs newsletters and subscribe to a zillion of them. I am particularly fond of Diana Rattray's about.com Southern food newsletter. Today she sent out a recipe for a strawberry cake that sounds yummy and suggested you make it for a "morning get-together."

Morning get-together? I'm one generation too young for the morning get-together, which sounds really nice. It reminds me of watching Rear Window. There's a scene where New Yorkers bed down on the fire escapes because it's so hot. Can you imagine doing that now? I am nostalgic for that even though it happened a decade before I was born. I want to sleep on a fire escape.

Anyway--enjoy the strawberry cake.

L.A. Nocturne--coming soon

I have been working on my urban fantasy novel Misbegotten for what seems my whole life. I have discovered that I work best in 1500-word bites. While theoretically it should be easy to string enough of those bites together to create the meal that is a novel, it isn't. At least not for me.

Having said that, though, I have created a whole world in which these stories take place, a Los Angeles that's just slightly different from the Los Angeles I live in. I've been writing stories in that world for awhile, and now I'm gathering five of them into a book that'll be out next month. The cover design is by Joy Sillesen of Stony Hill Productions and I am very pleased with it. Not only is she talented, but she is also really affordable, so if you need a cover for a book, or editorial design or just editing, she's available.

Chicken Cooking Contest

I am a sucker for cooking contests. I always enter. I've never won, but there's always a first time, right? Here's a chicken cooking contest that offers a $10,000 grand prize and a year's supply of Foster Farm's chicken. Deadline is May 31.

At least I'm getting something done...

Sleep is my super-power. Unlike others in my life and household, I can sleep anywhere at any time on any surface. Since the earthquake in Japan last week, though, I find myself sleepless more often than not.

And so, I while away the hours writing. It's going well. Last night I finished a story I started some time ago. It's set in the world of the novel I'm writing (and writing and writing). It's posted up at Dark Valentine today. Check it out here.