Here's the official press release, which states, in part:
"“The 2006 results represent a phenomenal mix of books from a wide array of publishers throughout the United States. As an executive in the publishing PR and marketing industry and president of both USABookNews.com and PubInsider.com, I wanted to create an awards competition that recognized books in their publication year rather than months after the original launch window. With a full publicity and marketing campaign promoting the results of BBA, this year’s winners and finalists will gain additional media coverage for the upcoming holiday retail season.”
Winners and finalists traversed the publishing landscape: Simon & Schuster, Warner Books, New American Library a division of the Penguin Group, Red Wheel Weiser and Conari, New World Library, and hundreds of independent press titles contributed to this year’s outstanding BBA competition. Bowen adds, “BBA’s success begins with the enthusiastic participation of authors and publishers and continues with our distinguished panel of industry judges who bring to the table their extensive editorial, PR, marketing, and design expertise.”
Also, my reign as Off Color Empress of Cyberworld (heh) is back on track over at Fictionwise, where yes, yes, Another Bite of the Apple is once again #1 highest rated in erotica.
Here is a fan's review of the Mike Keneally Trio featuring Eric Slick on drums and Bryan Beller on bass, which includes a You Tube of dancing guy (alas he is not dancing for the Keneally Trio in that clip, but rather for the opening band, Fatback). If you click on the link for the review though, not only will you read this woman's gushing comments about the show, you will also see a couple photos of the Keneally Trio on stage.
Speaking of Bryan Beller, I had a really lovely email exchange with him yesterday, and here's a snippet of our conversation:
"Robin-
Hello there, Robin, mother of Eric and Julie, and published erotica authoress. I'm Bryan Beller, bassist and sometimes writer. Nice to meet you. And what a cool life you've got, with such talented kids and an opportunity to engage in the arts yourself.
I have to say that Eric is really, really, really good, and worldly beyond his years. He's also still a kid in all the right ways. Believe you me, when I was 19 I knew less and tried to act older to hide it. No fun. Mike and I had an absolute blast playing him, and we look forward to doing it again...".
As it turns out, Bryan is not only an amazing bass player, he's a very talented writer. He directed me to his on line novella, The Life of Bryan, and I have to say I had an extremely enjoyable time last evening reading this highly compelling and very well written autobiography of a brilliant, sensitive artist torn between the trappings of the corporate world and his music. I was freaking fascinated and could not tear my eyes away from the computer screen. I highly recommend that you have a look...I'm willing to bet that like me you will be sucked in and read the entire thing in one sitting.
And I guess because Bryan and I exchanged the dreaded MySpace stuff (why oh why do I still struggle so with that site...but here's the thing...all of these really cool people keep inviting me to be their friends despite my insistence that I cannot or will not participate...so I'm caving. Big time)...I then got an email from this incredibly cool guy...ha ha...when I just went to collect the link I see my son is one of his friends...Eric, I'm sorry, I promise I will not stalk you around the internet but I can't help it if we have the same musical taste...anyway, here's what he wrote to me as well:
"Thank you so much for trusting me with your son over the past weekend. Eric is a special kid like no other I have ever met. His enthusiasm is unbeleivable.And his playing, words can not describe. He will be a giant at some point. I hope I helped. You can tell he has wonderful parents. I should know I am trying to raise two children in this crazy business as well. Again thank you, and if there is anything I can ever do to help please feel free to call.
Dan Kinney Sound Mind Productions (Off Broadway Promoter) 1906 McCausland Saint Louis, Mo. 63117"
I'm feeling quite cheerful and I have a few extra moments to spare, so I thought I'd say hello. Just had a nice conversation with Mike Keneally (he had a great time playing with Eric Slick in St. Louis) and I'm really looking forward to his show in San Diego Saturday. He's performing an entirely improvised set with Scott Thunes, whom I've never gotten to see perform live before, so that'll be pretty exciting, and the drive to San Diego will be nice.
Right now I'm waiting for playwright Andy Mitton to arrive. We're going to hopefully finish "The Charles River Love Song" tonight so I can arrange it for the Halloween show, which is coming up like a freight train. We have so much new music to learn for it (and which I have to finish writing all the charts for) that I'm feeling a little overwhlemed.
Went to Largo Friday night and saw Sean & Sara Watkins w/Jon Brion, Gillian Welch, Benmont Tench, and a bunch of other people. Every time I see Benmont perform it always makes me go home and practice for like 8-10 hours because he's just such a great player with the kind of instinct that only comes from someone who is constantly practicing and perfecting their craft. It was actually one of the most amazing shows I've ever seen. By the end of the show, I really thought that ANYTHING, and I mean ANYTHING could happen. It was total magic.
Speaking of total magic, I picked up the Deluxe Edition of Sonic Youth's "Dirty" album Friday and my Sonic Youth obsession is in full swing. Their music is endlessly fascinating to me and I think it'll be a good influence when we go in the studio on November 4th (Thanks to Mr. Vai!) to put the finishing touches on "Johannah" and "White Willow." Not that either of those songs sound anything like Sonic Youth, but whatever.
We may record a section or two of "The Porpentine," I figure maybe at least the movement called "Thessaly Calls Down the Moon" because I'm still trying to decide whether we're going to do it with MIDI or use real instruments. I just don't know where I'm going to find a tuba player, 4 trombones, an entire woodwind section, chimes, string players, blah blah blah, but I can be quite the resourceful lad when I put my mind to it.
And that's where I'm at. Gotta get back to arranging now.
Music is the best."
Okay, even though I wasn't going to do it, how can I let this go by without a comment? Chris has been writing the Porpentine since I met him last July when Eric performed with him at the Lion's Den in New York City, and now that I am the proud owner of Neil Gaiman's Absolute Sandman, I realize that Chris named his piece Porpentine after a quartz amulet in the Sandman series.
Speaking of that, yep, the reason I own it is because when it first became available as a pre-order on Amazon, Neil kindly mentioned on his blog that it was inexplicably (more like HUGE MISTAKE on Amazon's part) for sale at the unbelievable price of $14.00, instead of its list price of $99.00. I must be honest, since I've never been part of the graphic novel scene (not because I don't like it; I was just oblivious and busy having babies and raising them when Sandman and I guess the inevitable copycats were first published), because of the $14.00 price I grabbed it. Apparently I was one of the lucky few because a day or two later Amazon realized its error, rescinded the offer, and in a lot of cases, did not honor the sales of those who were able to sneak in and purchase the series at that low, low price. But because I read that blurb in Neil's blog like a minute after it was published and headed straight to Amazon, I guess I was one of the chosen ones. Anyway, I had a quick cursory first read yesterday, fell madly in love with it, and here, in the event you, too, have been living under a rock and have never read The Sandman series, let me give you the official blurb:
"THE SANDMAN, written by New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, was the most acclaimed comic book title of the 1990s. A rich blend of modern myth and dark fantasy in which contemporary fiction, historical drama and legend are seamlessly interwoven, THE SANDMAN is also widely considered one of the most original and artistically ambitious series of the modern age. By the time it concluded in 1996, it had made significant contributions to the artistic maturity of comic books and become a pop culture phenomenon in its own right.
Now, DC Comics is proud to present this comics classic in an all-new Absolute Edition format. The first of four beautifully designed slipcased volumes, THE ABSOLUTE SANDMAN VOL. 1 collects issues 1-20 of The Sandman and features completely new coloring, approved by the author, on the first 18 issues, as well as a host of never-before-seen extra material, including the complete original Sandman Proposal, a gallery of character designs from Gaiman and the artists who originated the look of the Sandman, and the original script to the World Fantasy Award-winning THE SANDMAN #19, "A Midsummer Night’s Dream," together with reproductions of the issue’s original pencils by Charles Vess. Also included are a new introduction by DC’s president Paul Levitz and a new afterword by Gaiman. ".
You realize I have to hide this from Gary. I'm already accused of being "Comic Book Guy" from the Simpsons. Because as readers of this blog know, Gary despises computers and I am the never ending butt of his computer geek jokes. He is fully aware and only mildly amused that everytime something cool happens in this family I rush to shout it out on my blog. So he'll tease me in his best Simpson's Comic Guy voice -- and he does a killer version -- "Oh...I must immediately report this magnamimous event to my friends on the internet!"
I can't get mad at him; it is kind of funny because he's right -- but if he actually sees me reading a comic book...err...I mean, graphic novel...I'm toast. Next he'll be buying me a short sleeved button up shirt equipped with a pocket protector full of mechanical pencils and a pair of glasses held together with bandaids and scotch tape.
Then I'll have to counter that by dying my hair black and going Goth...because those are the REAL readers. Um...or so I'm told.
So because I am in a most excellent mood today, here ya go, Sue:
Yep, you have a photo of Neil driving his fabulous convertible Mini Cooper to add to your collection. You can thank me later, Susan.
Mike Keneally on guitar, Eric Slick on drums, and Bryan Beller on bass in St. Louis Friday the 13th of October
Yeah, google stalking 101 redux -- this morning I find out I'm a Rock and Roll Mama. Read all about it here. I don't know who is responsible for that, but hey, whoever you are, I thank you kindly.
"I'm in St. Louis right now. The gig with Eric Slick on drums is tonight. He's cool. I'm thinking it's gonna sound good. If you're in St. Louis, get your ass on down..."
"ST. LOUIS, MO, October 13, 2006: For the final gig of their three-week Taylor Guitars tour of the midwest, Mike and Bryan decided to maximize the volume by debuting a new trio format with drummer Eric Slick (Adrian Belew, Paul Green's School of Rock "All-Stars). Slick spent weeks boning up for the show and didn't miss a beat, as rockingly attested to by the ubiquitous Dancing Guy (front). Many thanks to Off Broadway promoter Dan Kinney and cohorts, who heroically made this magic evening possible."
From Spyder Monkey, one of the bands who opened for the Keneally Trio Saturday night...
"Last Updated: Sunday, October 15, 2006
MIKE KENEALLY is a baaaaad man!!! Current mood: accomplished Category: Music
Well, just back from our whirlwind visit to the Lou, that's St. Louis my friends and let me tell you nothing could have been finer than to open for none other than legendary ZAPPA guitarist Mike Keneally and his power trio!
The man's record speaks for itself, so enough said there. But to see him in action .....(a gift we have never beheld) was dizzying! Pure tones. Flying up & down the fretboard effortlessly. Fast breaks morphed into sweet long bent notes. It was nothing short of sickly skilled compositions that these fellows churned out with amazing precision. If you don't know what I mean, I highly suggest you run dont walk to his page just for a tiny taste of what was going on. We had to shake off the chills and shut our gaping mouths many times in disbelief! We will never forget this man, his band or that night at Off Broadway in early Autumn!"
Three Days in New York City is still on the bestseller list at Amazon UK which has me completely stymied. It's now like #67 but who cares...I've been jumping around the house like a lunatic ever since I saw that last week. Also, I just learned that trailers are being made for both of my novels by a company whose said trailers are seen in movie theaters. They are anxious to blurb new authors so I sent them my proposal information...they responded almost immediately that I'd be highlighted mid-November. This is a free service which is pretty amazing...I'll provide a link once they're live.
Mundania/Phaze has also recently published an audio book company so Yes! Three Days and Another Bite will be in an audio format soon, and yeah, yeah, I'll be doing the reading because I have a very sexy speaking voice. Oh, okay, I have a big bad Philadelphia accent but I know how to do sexy and am already practicing. Ha!
And um, I'm sitting on some possible major news as concerns both my books and Julie and Eric and you're just going to have to keep watching this space...these respective announcements could end up being HUGE...but if I even give you a hint now I'll jinx it all so I'm staying quiet.
But I do want to remind everyone that Julie and Eric's project with insanely talented guitarist Sarah Zimmermann, The Sarah Zimmermann Trio, makes their debut this Thursday night at the Black Lodge in Philadelphia...Saturday night at the Tap Room at the New York Knitting Factory, and Sunday at Asbury Lanes. Yep, it means I get to spend another weekend in New York. What a pity. (heh). I'll put up links and posters probably tomorrow or Wednesday.
Finally, for all of my writer/musician/artist pals, Susan Henderson has a most interesting Question of the Week -- and I encourage anyone reading this to go over and tell your story -- anyway, her question is: "What do you when the art you create doesn’t easily fit within a particular commercial label? For those of you who are out-of-the-box, tell me your story.
Writers often hear this kind of feedback from publishing houses: We love your book, it’s compulsively readable and I finished it in one night! But, sadly, we have to turn it down because we wouldn’t know what shelf to put it on at the big, chain bookstore, and we’re not sure if we should market it as memoir or a parenting book."
I know a lot of you will have very interesting stories to tell in that regard. I have a huge one myself and don't know if I want to burden Sue with the whole sordid tale so I'm working out an abridged version which I'll post later today or tomorrow...but again, I encourage you guys to go play over at Sue's site...she's a gracious host and fun to get to know.
And speaking of Sue, because she was kind enough to sit with me last week and endure that lovely public radio show in hopes of hearing Eric (well, she at least got to hear Eric's name), I promised her Neil Gaiman with furry arms and glasses. Damn it, Sue, I had furry and I had glasses, but not together. Hope this will suffice:
A great pre Gaiman haircut photo of Eric Slick I just found on the desktop in a file I never knew existed: Eric's pics. Woo hoo, a treasure trove in there.
Speaking of treasures, Google stalking has provided me with a freaking chest of them this morning.
First, I am stunned and overjoyed to see a mention today in Robert Fripp's diary as follows:
"An enjoyable performance. Probably, we played well, but I have no idea...
Visitors: Hellboy Tom with Mrs. Hellboy & one Hellgirl. Also Adrian’s Slick new rhythm section with their Parents, bearing Brownies of wonderment, terror & delight."
Okay, now I can get over feeling like a stupid, babbling git when meeeting Robert backstage. Whew. (Right. Like there's any chance of that. But still...)
See yesterday's post for a link to our recipe for said brownies of wonderment, terror, and delight. Ha. I think that will now be their official name.
Next, and trust me, I know how these things go with Amazon and by this afternoon it will probably be gone, but at this very moment, Three Days in New York City is inexplicably #5 on the Amazon UK best seller list?! Are you kidding me? I almost fell off my chair when I saw that.
Here's a link to a Dutch review of the Adrian Belew Power Trio's concert in the Netherlands...I tried using Babblefish to translate it and it's funny as hell but hard to make sense of...if these things are important to you, go for it, if not, just click on the link and look at the great pictures of Adrian, Julie, and Eric on stage.
Speaking of Eric, special thanks to Susan Henderson, who was kind enough to endure the torture of a truly bizarre public radio station from St. Louis (which streamed live on line) with me yesterday in hopes of hearing my son on the radio with Mike Keneally and Bryan Beller. As it turned out, Eric did not make it to the radio station in time because his flight was delayed. Why was it delayed? Because Air Force One, carrying our (gag) illustrious leader, was landing at the same airport and Eric's plane was forced to stay in the air in a holding pattern for thirty minutes. As I told Sue, it's a good thing I wasn't on that plane because I surely would have lost it and would currently be front page headlines...ack...like I'm not on enough subversive lists already har har. (I am a voracious letter writer...starting with Watergate when I was a baby hippie...escalating big time when I was convinced the CIA killed John Lennon...and well, if you think I've changed now, forget about it...especially with the power of email. And I wonder why I'm pulled out of line for searches in every airport I visit. Yeah, that's right. Big bad me.)
Anyway, as it turned out, Mike and Bryan mentioned Eric's name three times and said he was an absolutely phenomenal drummer so at least I got to hear that...and if you would like to have a listen at just what Sue and I had to go through yesterday and trust me, I'm not exaggerating, it was pure torture, the radio show is archived right here. Actually, let me take that back. Mike and Bryan were brilliant and did a totally awesome live performance on air which you can also hear by clicking on that link. It's the DJ with his rather idiotic statements and his choice of music which made us both queasy. Sue made me laugh out loud when she emailed me during all this and told me she was carefully marking down the artists and names of songs this bozo played on his show so that she could present me with a gift next time she saw me.
Thanks, Sue, and in return I will be presenting you with a special flash fiction collection...never mind...I'm getting myself in enough trouble here as it is.
Julie Slick and Adrian Belew on stage this summer in Chicago
ETA: This just in -- Eric will be interviewed on the radio this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. eastern time with Mike Keneally and Bryan Beller right here...it's a live stream! ETA 2: Well, apparently Eric's plane didn't make it to St. Louis in time enough for him to get to the radio station, but I heard Mike and Bryan interviewed and they said Eric's name more than once and used the word "phenomenal" when describing his drumming. Anyway, these shows are archived right here every week, so check back tomorrow or next week and the interview will be up then.
So many thanks to Sid Smith over at DGM Live, who sent his many readers over to me as concerns my review of the Projekct 6 show Saturday night and also published the recipe for Julie's fabulous brownies -- you know, the ones she baked for Adrian Belew and Robert Fripp Saturday night (ha ha - while you are over at DGM checking it out, click on "Forum" and read some of the remarks about that. Anyway, one of Sid's readers commented on my blog that he'd also like the recipe for our family's peach cobbler (which Julie baked for Adrian during the summer tour)...so if you look in the comments section here, you'll see how she put that together as well. But yeah, if you want the brownie recipe, you'll have to click on the DGM link...normally I'd cut and paste it here but I really want you guys to visit Sid and say hello. He's a very cool guy and it was very kind of him to humor me when I was bugging him about what to bake for Mr. Fripp.
Yeah, yeah, Julie and me...domestic goddesses.
So this is also kind of cool -- when I was doing my usual google stalking this morning I stumbled on the Projekction Forum Board (and I hope that link works for you...I had to join the site to be able to read the whole thing)...but in case it doesn't, here's what it says as concerns the aforesaid Projekct 6 show we attended Saturday night:
Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 1:00 am
"Holy shit! I was sitting directly behind (2 rows) the Slicks at the show. I thought it was them, but I wasn't sure, so I didn't say anything. Now there's no mistaking that haircut.
Damn, I wish I had taken the opportunity to congratulate them on the show back in August."
So yeah, it was neat to read that...and crazy that someone was sitting two rows behind us wondering if we were the "ones". Ha! Yep, it was, and sorry if Eric's new Gaiman haircut threw you off.
Eric left this morning for St. Louis for the gig with Mike Keneally and Bryan Beller and he had a layover in Chicago...he just called me from the airport to let me know that it's snowing there! Julie in the meantime is busy recording Sweatheart for their new CD so I'm actually home alone and I should be working on what I hope is the final draft of my novel but I had an epiphany of sorts the other night and now I want to delete a 5,000 word passage which means...oh god...I need to write 5,000 new ones.
Oh well, a piece o'cake, right? (Cake seems to be the theme here today, huh)
I'm already getting submissions for the 39 and Holding Anthology (sex after age forty...it does happen and it's good, trust me har har) so if you are thinking about it, even though the deadline isn't until next year, send me your finest. Actually, no, you need to send it to Phaze as per their guidelines. I'm trying to snag a major, well known writer to contribute to this book as soon as I work up the guts to write to that person and flat out ask (or drink enough alcohol, whichever comes first) and I'll keep you posted as to how it pans out. What's the worst that can happen? I'll get a no and lose the remaining shreds of dignity I have left. No biggie. I've been down that road before.
But hey, Another Bite of the Apple is up for an award, is still rated #2 in erotica over at Fictionwise, and sales of all three of my books seem to be brisk so I really can't complain.
I don't have any other news at the moment and really want to work on those 5,000 words, so I leave you today with something you may have seen on the Daily Show the other night; if not, you MUST watch it now in its entirety...one of the funniest skits ever about our illustrious and not so funny fearless leader: What exactly is the President's job?
So the above is the poster for Eric's show with Mike Keneally and Bryan Beller this Friday night in St. Louis. Eric is in circle #3 pre-Neil Gaiman haircut (see post below) -- man, this is going to be such an awesome show, I wish I could be there. He flies to St. Louis early Thursday for two days of rehearsals and then returns to Philadelphia Saturday night...then two weeks later takes off for Texas with Julie for the west coast portion of the Adrian Belew tour.
What a life, huh.
My beautiful, talented friend Ellen Meister is having quite a week, too. First, her book gets a mention via our mutual beautiful, talented friend Jordan Rosenfeld on NBC!
(Go to the NBC site and click "Play" -- Jordan does an amazing, amazing job talking up Ellen's book!)
If that's not cool enough, Ellen is interviewed at Novel Journey...and I just had a look at some of the other authors interviewed...holy cow, Ellen!
I'm just so freaking proud of my friends. Not only are they incredibly talented authors, they are generous, caring women who somehow find the time to offer support and kindness to fellow writers (while simultaneously taking care of their families..ha ha...I know Ellen personally of course and don't know how she manages it...read the interview and you'll see what I mean).
And...another Ellen interview on Jennifer Prado's site...Jennifer has also interviewed a couple of other great authors like Roy Kesey and Jim Tomlinson, who have both written "must read" books...check out their interviews as well. Good stuff.
Sue Henderson has a brilliant, provocative piece at The Huffington Post today. It will be very interesting to monitor her essay for comments and I hope that some of my readers will weigh in, too.
So that's it for now. I still have the head cold from hell and want to assume the fetal position but I have my own book to work on and have already received a submission for the anthology I'm editing which I cannot wait to read. I'll talk more about that and some other projects I'm working on later in the week when I'm feeling more coherent.
Eric Slick shocked us all by coming home with the above new haircut on Friday...I absolutely love it and if you are a daily reader of this blog, you probably already know what I'm going to say in that regard.
Anyway, that's Eric last night following the Projekct 6 show at the Keswick Theater in Glenside. We had dinner at Athena Restaurant across the street and it was one of the best Greek/Mediterranean dining experiences I've had in the Philadelphia area. Five stars, especially their vegetarian appetizer combo platter for four...so good we inhaled one and ordered a second.
But you don't want to hear about the food. Let's talk music. Projekct 6 is OUTSTANDING! Adrian was kind enough to provide us with tickets and backstage passes and yes, yes, we got to meet Robert Fripp after the show.
It was one of the more interesting concerts I've attended in the recent past. Kind of disconcerting to see Adrian behind the drums at first but he's one of those musicians who is magnificent at whatever instrument he picks up (or sits behind as the case may be) and I was sucked right in. He was brilliant! Robert Fripp is a fucking genius. Just an amazing, amazing guitarist. They walked out on stage together, sat down, and started to play music which was startlingly unique -- sometimes haunting and beautifully melancholy, other times rocking and hard-to-sit-still-in-your-seat stuff -- certainly nothing like I've ever heard before. Both musicians made their instruments sound otherworldly.
They didn't speak to the audience, simply played their set, stood up, and took a bow together. Extremely classy. There was a strict no camera policy at the venue so I'm sorry to disappoint with no photos of the event and I wasn't about to pester Robert and Adrian backstage...I was bad enough babbling to them about Julie's cake, thereby once again doing what I try to avoid most...coming off like a pushy obnoxious stage mother. Ack! But it's love that makes me do it and I can't help it. I'm just so insanely proud of both Julie and Eric that sometimes when I'm in their presence with musicians such as Belew and Fripp I turn into a gushing, blubbering idiot.
Oh alright. I'm always a gushing blubbering idiot but most of the time I manage to keep it within the confines of my family.
Anyway, about Julie's cake. So if you do read this blog, you'll know that while on tour with Adrian this summer, Julie baked him a peach cobbler, and if you haven't read my rather comprehensive report about that, here's the applicable blogpost where I told the whole insane story.
In furtherance of the peach cobbler episode, Julie wanted to bring Adrian a special dessert to the P6 show last night and even though he'd flipped over her peach cobbler, she wanted to do something different but couldn't decide on just what to bake. I thought about it and after also coming up blank, said, "Let me write to Sid Smith over at DGM Live and see what Robert enjoys in the sweets department." So I did that and Sid was kind enough to humor me with an email that told me anything with chocolate.
Since Julie is famous for the world's most decadent brownies, which are really not brownies at all but more like dense gooey fudge squares, it was a no-brainer. And as it turned out, they were a huge hit with not only Adrian but everyone else backstage, too. I took a pic before we left the house for the show but it doesn't do them justice:
Anyway, Adrian introduced us to Robert backstage (he's a good looking guy. Love the way he dresses...Robert and Ade both)...Robert was extremely cordial and smiled at Julie and Eric and then I had to start the above mentioned brownie babbling...but not before Robert looked at me and said in his lovely, lovely accent:
"You must be the mother. I've seen your blog."
Oh god oh god oh god.
I also met Porcupine Tree backstage -- they were great but alas we could not stay for their show because Julie wasn't feeling well -- we've a head cold running through the family -- and all she really wanted was to go somewhere and have a bowl of soup (for those interested, white bean vegetarian at that fabulous Athena...she swooned). Julie had a fun conversation with their guitarist who plays barefoot just like she does - they talked about the benefits (pedals and laughingly joking about feeling "grounded" in an organic sort of way).
Anyway, Robert had old friends visiting him backstage so he took off and it was extremely cool to hang out with Adrian and see and hear how psyched he is about the upcoming tour with Julie and Eric (I can't believe they leave for the west coast in three weeks!) as well as just joking around with him and making small talk -- he's just a terrific, terrific human being and my kids are so incredibly lucky to be in his band I continue to pinch myself daily. But what's even nicer is that it's pretty apparent Adrian feels the same way about them.
Have I mentioned how much I love my life?
********
Okay, I can't stand it. I have to say something. With his new haircut, my son is now a dead ringer for Neil Gaiman.
So remember a few days ago I mentioned I was solicited to edit a new anthology? Here's the official press release (and ignore that comment I made earlier where I said I probably wouldn't be writing any more erotica. Ha!)
NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS for a literally and figuratively steamy erotic romance anthology for Phaze.
You won't truly experience a hot flash until you get a hold of HIM!
TITLE: 39 and Holding...Him - Stories of Sex Over 40 EDITOR: Robin Slick PUBLISHER: Phaze TENTATIVE RELEASE DATE: August 14, 2007 (eBook), October, 2007 (print) SUBMISSIONS DUE: June 1, 2007
Calling all heroines over 40! We want to read your most vivid fantasies, live vicariously through your smoldering passions, and delight in your continued defiance against gravity. Authors don't necessarily have to be over 40 to submit, the only requisites for this anthology are that:
1) all stories must be primarily heterosexual (M/F, but if a gal can get two hunks for the price of one orgasm or do more than flirt with the lady next door, we'll take a look at that, too!)
2) all heroines must be portrayed as 40 and over (and everybody involved must be of legal age, of course), and
3) all stories must burn longer than than the hottest flash.
You know the poem that goes "When I'm an old woman I will wear purple?" How about turning HIM purple? How about taking Demi and Ashton to the next level? How about stories of reunited passion with a high school sweetheart after spending decades apart? How about rekindling the fire with hubby on your 30th anniversary? The kids are gone, the pets have run away, it's just you and him. Make the most of it, then tell us about it!
All sub-genres will be considered for this anthology: interracial, BBW, comtemporary, romantic comedy, historical, etc. Show us that love and passion are timeless.
STORY LENGTH: We're looking anywhere from 5K-15K. Please visit the Phaze website for formatting guidelines, and when you're ready send your submissions to: submissions@ phaze.com with OVER 40 STORY SUBMISSION in the subject header. NO SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS FOR THIS ANTHOLOGY PLEASE!
Reprints will be considered if you have complete control of the rights.
ABOUT ROBIN SLICK Robin Slick is the author of Three Days in New York City, Another Bite of the Apple, and "Buenos Noches, Justine," erotic comedies published by Phaze. Robin's short stories have appeared in print and on the web everywhere from heady places like In Posse Review and Slow Trains Literary Journal to give-heady places like Clean Sheets. She lives vicariously through her rock star offspring Julie and Eric Slick, who were featured in the Picturehouse Films documentary, Rock School, and are now members of the Adrian Belew Power Trio. Visit her online at www.robinslick. com and www.inherownwrite. blogspot. com.
****
One thing I want to add to this is that I'm pretty selective and will be choosing work that is way over and above the usual formulatic romance/erotica...it must also be literary in nature. By that I mean your writing must be of the highest quality and either make me smile from your brilliance and wit...or make me, um, run upstairs unable to remember my name (ha). (But no, I will not accept a story just because you write a love scene with me and Neil Gaiman in it so don't even try)
Ha ha - that's another photo of Neil during his visit here in Philadelphia
Anyway, I'm putting out the call to all of my friends and colleagues, those of you from Zoetrope Studios as well...let's make this anthology something incredibly special. I also want to add that Phaze Publishing is a subsidiary of Mundania Press -- with one of their sci fi authors being the fabulously talented Piers Anthony -- and has undergone major changes with a brand new editor in charge. All of our print books will now be carried by not only Borders but Barnes and Noble, Chapters, and many independent book sellers as well.
In other writing news, Susan Henderson comes clean about her obsessions over at Lit Park today and I swear, Sue really is my long lost sister. Sue, I will admit this to you here and Eric, if you are reading this, I advise you to stop now before you turn purple. Okay? Okay. You want to talk about obsessions? When I was fourteen years old, I was so obsessed with a boy (Gary II...I had like seven Garys in my life...I think their mothers were all in love with Gary Cooper and it was "the name" of the fifties and sixties) our first date was my accompanying him on a night of crime. Yep, he was a fourteen year old hoodlum who took me on a rampage with a piece of metal pipe which he used to crack open everything from parking meters to the change machines at the local laundromat, after which, when we scored $5.00 in quarters, he treated me to a can of warm beer he'd been hiding in his jacket all night and a gave me my first hickey on the counters where you fold your clean clothing. I not only saved the piece of pipe in my memory box, I saved his cigarette butts.
And now you know how sick I really am.
Ha ha - I just remembered something I haven't thought about in years. After I got that hickey, I was so paranoid I wore turtleneck sweaters for a week, even to bed. My way cool mother never ever raised an eyebrow at me and I'm sure she knew what I was hiding, but for some reason, it was important to me that she didn't see it.
I would however be humiliated by my said mom at breakfast a few years later when Gary III and I were dating and she innocently replied "Oh, by the way, Robin, I washed Gary's handkerchief -- I found it on the basement floor".
Ahem. I don't suppose I need to go into any details here about that, huh.
Ah, my old basement with the ratty sofa and black and white t.v. Gary III and I held the world's record for getting our clothes back on the minute we heard footsteps approaching the stairs.
I'm gonna cry.
And to wrap this post up before I do start sobbing, I just learned that Another Bite of the Apple and Buenos Noches, Justine received a couple more great reviews -- right here and here.
"Robin Slick has created a lighthearted, yet realistic tale of a woman who’s in search of herself....I really enjoyed this story with its fast pace, its convoluted twists and turns, and the first person point of view." (from review of Another Bite)
"...Intimate encounters are well detailed and adventurous, and the reader is kept guessing as to who will be Justine's sexual partner. For a quick steamy read, pick up Robin Slick's Buenos Noches, Justine today!"
That's pretty cool...and much to my surprise and pleasure, Another Bite, Justine, and Three Days in New York City -- which is almost two years old! -- continue to dominate the erotica best seller list which is why I've changed my position and will continue to dabble in that genre. Truth to tell (ha ha - I have Gaiman's American Gods on my mind still, which to me had many highly erotic scenes in it)...I do enjoy writing it because I know I break out of the typical genre and incorporate real writing and a lot of humor in my work. Because really, if you can't laugh and/or smile at certain sexual situations, you aren't having a good time. Or you aren't doing it right. (Ha ha - American Gods again)
Eric Slick with fellow drummer Steve Drozd from the Flaming Lips
Hey hey hey, let's start with the music first. Eric is indeed friends with the Lips and I don't know if I mentioned this before, he was on stage with them last month in disguise -- he was dressed as Santa Claus.
He gets around, my son.
Here's another cool Adrian Belew article over at Live Daily where he talks about their upcoming west coast tour and yes! yes! yes! the recording of the Side Four Live CD with Julie and Eric which is being plotted and planned as we speak.
Meanwhile, Eric is in heavy rehearsal mode for his trip out to St. Louis next week with Mike Keneally and Bryan Beller -- very difficult and challenging music and he's loving every minute of it. Bryan Beller, who is an unbelievable bassist, is a very cool guy. Check out his bio -- most interesting.
Eric also has more touring plans in the works with both Project Object (late December, early January northeast tour perhaps?) and Chris Harford.
Julie, who has a brand new recording studio, is producing a new CD by Sweatheart. She also produced their first CD which got some very nice reviews and there's already buzz about this new one...and how cool is this, their backing band is The Toddlers -- Rock School grads Julia Rainer, Max DiMezza, and Dave Papp.
It's just so amazing to see all of these awesomely talented kids I watched grow up into way hip adults now out there making great music.
Saturday night we're all going to see Adrian Belew play with Robert Fripp in his side band known as Projekct 6 at the Keswick Theater in Glenside. Ooh, I really want to meet Robert. I asked Eric if we'd get backstage and he's like, Mom, I'm in Adrian's band, what do you think?
I think I'll be really happy if I do, but if Robert isn't the kind of guy who likes crazy blonde women gaping at him and blabbering either before or after he performs, then I'll understand. But it will be way cool to see Adrian again.
Oh, and make sure you click on Robert's link and read his diary. He's brilliant...but as a faithful reader of said journal, I think that's where I probably got the idea he's not going to be open to having me backstage but I'll let you know how it all pans out on Monday.
In writing news, Romance Divas had very nice things to say about Another Bite of the Apple and if you visit my publisher's home page, you'll see Another Bite is their #4 best seller for September. It's slipped to 2nd highest rated in erotica over at Fictionwise but I really can't complain - that's 2nd highest rated out of 2,071 books in that genre.
But um, if anyone wants to buy it, rate it "great" and help me get back to number one, I will...hmm...I don't know, you tell me what you want in return and maybe I'll do it.
Dear god, why do I set myself up for these things?
(Because you love it, Rob. You do, you do. Don't even try denying it.)
And if things aren't fabulous enough, tonight I received a special invitation to edit a new anthology which, quite frankly, has me over the moon. I will talk about that more once it's officially confirmed and announced (of course I immediately replied YES!), but the bottom line is, I'm not only editing this anthology, I get to select the final submissions to be included. It's slated for a summer, 2007 release. I wish I could blab the title and premise now but you'll have to stay tuned for more details.
Speaking of writers, Susan Henderson has an awesome question of the week over at her website:
"Are you, or have you ever been, obsessed? Tell me your story."
Now you know I couldn't resist answering that one. And yeah, yeah, of course I got my Neil Gaiman mention in. Go ahead over and have a read and add your own thoughts/comments -- some of the other replies really rock...but of course I had to be the one to open the flood gates. I especially liked "Aimee's" response...and I'm wondering, could Aimee be one of my favorite short story writers ever -- Aimee Bender?
Sue? Is it? That's so freaking fantastic! But even if it isn't, I was just over at her swell site (Swell? Where did I get that one from? Gosh and golly and gee whiz!) and see she has a writer's exercise of the week. And now of course because I'm an obsessive as you will read in Sue's blog in case you already haven't figured that out from reading mine, I must immediately write a story using said exercise.
Well, there I am on the beach. Now. What do you suppose I'm doing? You'll find the answer below.
Hi there!
So, summer (though I guess it's now fall) vacation 2006 was a huge success. We arrived on the island on a Saturday night -- just Gary, me, and the dog. I tried to be upbeat about that but there was a vague feeling of depression surrounding all of us (even the dog) because in reality it was our first Julie and Eric free holiday at the beach and we were haunted by memories of summers past -- long nights spent at arcades while Gary and the kids rode amusements and I hid behind walls in fear and nausea watching the people I love most in the world be turned upside down at ninety miles an hour; Julie acting in her usual role as family social director making sure we were busy every second of the day and Eric her co-conspirator with Gary and I acting as fellow exhausted henchmen; stuffing our faces with junk food pre-vegetarian healthy Julie and Eric...Julie and Eric as five and six year olds taking off ahead of us on the boardwalk in their excitement and me being so neurotic I'd run after them the moment they were a foot away as if they were actually going to be kidnapped or fall through a crack in said boardwalk and disappear forever...you know, the usual Robin psychotic stuff.
Anyway, we were so exhausted Saturday night we just listened to music (David Bowie's Stage -- unfucking believable, with Adrian Belew on lead guitar) and fell asleep early; the following day we sort of moved around in a daze while we did some food shopping for the house -- that damn Julie now has me addicted to organic yoghurt for breakfast instead of fried donuts and Gary's really into cooking so he wanted all kinds of exotic spices, etc. -- and then we spent the rest of the day walking on the beach with the dog until sunset (and oh my god, what a gorgeous sunset...we took pics with a traditional camera for that but I'm having a CD made and will post some in a few days)
I mean, we had a great time but I thought to myself HOLY SHIT HOW WILL WE EVER GET THROUGH TWO WEEKS OF THIS?! Not to be obnoxious, but this has been such a wild fun year for us and to be faced with two weeks of doing absolutely nothing (and me not having any online access) was incredibly daunting.
Trust me, by Monday morning though, neither one of us were depressed and we were suddenly both saying YES! YES! TWO WEEKS OF DOING NOTHING!
Ahem. I should have known better.
We actually slept in that day -- for once I wasn't up at dawn -- and then took the dog for another long walk to the beach, which we owned, baby. There wasn't a tourist in sight because in late September everything is basically closed for the winter which is just how we like it. The weather was startlingly magnificent...cool, sunny, and humidity free. I felt so relaxed and at peace with the world...I couldn't wait to get back to our beach house and work on my novel. But just as we're walking down our street I see a girl in a red tank top with long, dark curly hair on a bicycle coming toward us and had a fleeting thought: That girl looks a little like Julie...
But that was impossible, right?
"Oh my god, it's Julie!" Gary shouted.
"I thought so but then I figured I was hallucinating! How in the world did she get here?"
The question was answered a second or two later as a radiant, smiling Julie pulled up alongside us.
"Surprise!"
I guess my mouth was kind of hanging open because her "surprise!" was quickly followed by "Aren't you happy to see me?" and a crestfallen look.
"Oh my god, I'm thrilled that you are here! But...but...how did you manage it?"
"Well, I woke up at 4:00 a.m., walked to 30th Street train station, got on a 5:00 a.m. train to Atlantic City; then I took a bus to Ocean City which I caught a few blocks from there; then I rented myself a bicycle and rode the rest of the way here. I wanted to surprise you!"
This was so awesome to me I practically burst into tears right there. Okay, okay. I did cry. Buckets.
"Aw, Julie...this is so great. And I'm glad you surprised me. Had I known you were walking to 30th Street station at 4:00 a.m., I would have been a nervous wreck and would have told you not to do it. But this is really terrific. Thank you!"
I would have fucking died if I'd known of her plans in advance. Twenty years old and gorgeous and walking all by herself in the dark through a deserted neighborhood. Ah, youth. You think you're immortal, huh.
"That's not all, Mom. Eric and Matt (Julie's long suffering boyfriend if you are new to this blog and I'm just kidding when I say long suffering -- Matt is fabulous) will be here Wednesday. And guess what? We're all staying until Friday night!"
Gary and I practically jumped for joy. Yay! Our family! I mean, you'd have thought with us away for two weeks, they'd have loved having our Philadelphia house to themselves but no, no, they actually wanted to hang with us at the beach. You have no idea how fantastic that made us feel.
Well, maybe you do.
Anyway, there went all thoughts of rest. Julie began issuing orders immediately.
"You two need to rent bikes!"
Oh god.
So we did that and then she made us ride, ride, ride until we were both ready to die and call it a day but the fun was just beginning -- apparently mini golf was in our future as well as more beach with the dog and a cook-off in the kitchen because both Julie and Gary wanted to make something fantastic and Julie wanted fish (yeah, I know. She's a vegetarian who eats fish) and Gary wanted meat and then they both played for my affection -- who was I going to side with, she who was preparing fresh tuna with all of the cool spices Gary bought or he who was grilling a huge hunk of sirloin.
I wanted both so that was a no-brainer and one less heart broken expression.
"Know what I feel like doing tomorrow, Dad?" Julie asked, fluttering those gorgeous eyelashes.
Ooh ooh, she said "Dad". Oh please don't let it include me...oh please don't let it include me...oh please don't let it include me (Well, she did say "Dad"...and the next day was Tuesday and I really, really, really needed to sneak off to the library and have a look at four days of accumulated email and also, take out some books assuming Julie was going to allow me time to read)
"What, honey?" he smiled.
"Let's go deep sea fishing!"
Yay! It didn't include me! Or poor Matt, who was dragged along on the last deep sea fishing trip they took last summer...the one where they didn't realize it was for a full day instead of the usual four hours and they had no food with them or drinks...and then Matt got seasick and spent the entire eight hours with his head hanging over the boat.
So that's what the two of them did and I did indeed ride my bike the two miles to the library (good on Julie for making me ride so much the day before...it took me no time at all to get into shape and now I've remembered how much I enjoy riding and have already taken my bike in Philly out of storage), checked my email and learned some awesome news about a friend (more on that below, too), saw Ellen Meister's new book on the shelves under "New Releases" and jumped for joy. And speaking of Ellen, I know I'm late to the party on this one but I see she's running a really cool contest on her website. Check it out! Also, what a shock, I took out my boy Neil Gaiman'sStardust and American Gods...Stardust because I hadn't read it and American Gods because I read it last year when I was deeply under his spell and was reading practically everything and decided I didn't give it the attention it deserved and wanted to revisit it. Okay, yeah, who am I kidding, we all know I'm still under his spell. More on that below, too.
So Julie and Gary came back from fishing all dejected because not only did they come up fishless, it was a rough trip on the sea and they were queasy. But not so queasy that we didn't have to ride bikes again...and I'd just come back from a four mile round trip ride myself but bit the bullet and pretended my ass didn't feel like it was on fire and somehow hopped back on for yet more exercise.
Dinner that night was gooey boardwalk pizza. Yes! My reward for nearly killing myself from all that activity.
Once again, Gary and I passed out early listening to CDs -- Gary found a strange, live Manfred Mann CD which turned out to be most excellent despite my insistence that I'd rather have listened to Elliott Smith's XO which Gary doesn't like because there's no lead guitar in it.
What can I say -- he's a lead guitar player.
The Manfred Mann was, as I said, surprisingly good. Gary picked it up a few weeks ago at a used CD store and I highly recommend it. It's nothing like the crap they played of that band on the radio back in nineteen diggitytwo.
Matt and Eric arrived the following day and Gary and I thought Oh Thank God, Now We Can Relax.
Ha ha. You'd have thought so, wouldn't you? But I can't complain, Julie didn't want to just be camp counselor to Matt and Eric, she wanted Gary and me in on the fun as well.
Which brings us to picture #2 in our series. What are Matt, Eric and Julie up to?
And why is Eric holding Monty dog?
Well, I guess I'll come clean. Yes, it's true. Julie made us play baseball. Even the dog had to play. In fact, the dog was an integral part of her rules. He played two positions -- catcher and outfielder. The rule was, if one of us got a hit, we had to run to first base, which was a vague area to the left of the pitcher...marked by a seashell sticking up at water's edge. But...and this is the big but...if Monty dog caught the ball before we made it to first base, we were automatically out.
I mean, come on. How are two out of shape *cough cough* over forty year olds going to compete with a fleet footed beagle mutt?
As you can see, even young Matt didn't have a chance. Monty caught that ball in mid-air.
But there I am in the background all ready to catch a long ball just in case (refer to picture #1). Actually, I've never caught a pop fly in my life but if you must know, it's my secret fantasy, right up there with choosing the music for professional ice skaters...and oh, by the way, I've now expanded that fantasy to be the one in charge of choosing soundtracks for movies.
I was up next and I swear this is true though even I don't believe it, Robin The Unathletic slammed the ball for a huge hit and beat the damn dog to first base but Julie and Eric were so sure I didn't they had to tag me out manually because God forbid I actually had a chance of winning at sports for the first time in my life.
It should be noted here that throughout the vacation, no one wanted me on their team. This included mini golf, baseball, and kadima. Chin up, I kept saying to myself. Chin fucking up, Rob.
But fear not. I'm the first one everyone wants when it comes to Scrabble, Jeopardy, or even Trivial Pursuit so it all equals out in the end and I'd much rather have it that way, anyhow. Nah nah nah.
Just kidding, of course. God I love my family.
The next day I caught a break. Julie saw a "Make Your Own Mosaic" store and really wanted to give that a try. Now we're talking something up my alley. So Gary decided to take the boys to a huge CD warehouse off the island...something I'd normally love but I know Gary, Matt, and Eric and knew they'd be there all day and even I get bored of that after a few hours. (Basically because I either have every CD I want or download it). Anyway, we made mosaics and against my better judgment, I'm posting what I did here because I still can't believe how awful it turned out...the thing gave me nightmares...and you'd never know I studied art in a million years when you see it but the thing is, we really had to make these things ourselves completely and when I say completely, it meant cutting the glass into tiny pieces with individual glass cutters. Naturally it wasn't until after we were finished that I noticed the safety glasses hanging on the wall. The whole time I sat next to Julie like a basket case while glass slivers flew everywhere. We dripped really sticky glue all over ourselves, our fingers stuck together making it impossible to put the glass on the wood but despite our frustration, Julie's turned out so good I'm being petulant and not posting a photo of it (well, today, anyway) but I am going to show you mine only because my family is assuring me it's way cool and they adore it. In fact, I've decided if they love it that much, I'm hanging it on the dining room wall so it can stare at them while they eat.
Stunning, isn't it? Ha ha - actually, I'm thinking of putting it up for sale on Ebay. Look for it in the next issue of Architectural Digest -- most likely hanging in Wayne Newton's Las Vegas home.
Okay, that was a lame joke. Forgive me. It's been a while since I've blogged and I'm giddy. And this is turning into a monster post.
Oh. You may be wondering about the title of said post. Well, now you've seen photos of Gary and me. So tell me. If you saw us walking down the street while you were driving, would you pull up alongside us, roll down your window, and say this...?
"Excuse me? Which way to the..." (Wait. I'll ruin the story. Let me backtrack for a minute...)
I felt the car trailing us and as it pulled up next to us while we were walking to the beach, I got that old seventies paranoia. (Sidenote: Bravo is showing old Dick Cavett reruns on Thursday nights. I remember them from when I was a kid and he had the coolest people on - even John Lennon - so it's worth checking out. Anyway, the night before we watched a 1972 interview with Alfred Hitchcock. He spoke of a terrible paranoia of policemen. I identify with that so much and like Alfred told Dick, I can't even tell you why especially, either, as these days I'm innocent of everything.)
Okay, sorry, I drifted from the story. So anyway, this big ass Mercedes pulls up right next to us, the window goes down, and we look over to see a woman probably our age but so damn waspy she looked sixty. She had that Pro Life I Voted for George Bush look -- poofy short hair, a pastel sweater tied around her neck, and bright pink lipstick...and then she says...she actually says..."Excuse me, can you tell me which way to The Yacht Club?"
I thought Gary and I would pee ourselves. We actually both laughed out loud. We fell down in hysterics on the side of the road.
"Is that a question you ever thought you would hear in your lifetime?" I asked Gary.
"No. The only thing more improbable would be 'Which way to the meeting of Young Republicans?" he choked.
So of course that was the running joke for the rest of the holiday -- we'd look over at each other, especially when we were particularly disheveled, and say in a waspy accent "Excuse me. Which way to the Yacht Club?"
Hmm...maybe you had to be there. But it cracked us up like you would not believe.
Alrighty, continuing on and I promise I'll wrap the vacation stuff up soon because I have writing news to report as well as some cool music stuff as concerns Julie and Eric.
So while we were making our mosaics, Eric, Matt and Gary bought CDs and then decided to go out to lunch at Five Guys. I know this had to kill Eric because Five Guys is as close to In-N-Out Burger as you can come on the east coast. For those of you who don't know, In-N-Out Burger is a west coast chain which, if you must eat fast food, is incredible and we have a special affection for it because we lived on those things during the great Paul Green School of Rock Music west coast tour of 2004. Back then, Eric was not a vegetarian and could really put away those burgers.
"So. What did you eat at Five Guys?" I innocently asked him later that night.
"I had a vegetable sandwich," he grimaced.
"Why are you making a face, Er? You love vegetables. Isn't that why you are a vegetarian? How could they mess up a veggie burger?"
"Mom, this was a sandwich made up entirely of their burger toppings."
I found this truly hilarious.
"You mean to tell me they sold you a sandwich of lettuce, tomatoes, and onions?" I laughed.
"Yeah. Even better, it had ketchup, pickles, and relish, too," he sighed.
I mean, come on. Is it just me or is that the funniest thing ever? But I was assured their hand cut french fries were awesome so at least he wasn't completely bummed out. And Matt and Gary freaked out over the burgers -- said they were delicious and unlike any fast food they'd ever eaten.
Alright. I really need to talk about something else. We'll get back to the vacation in a minute. So as I said, while Julie and Gary were out fishing, I went to the library. I also bought and read Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things. Now, I know I was supposed to write about that in my blog today but I can't because I've promised someone else I'd do something cool and special in conjunction with that next month. So as much as it pains me, I will say nothing more about it right now, but I will copy an excerpt of my email to Sue of last night here:
"Ohhh....Fragile Things. I just want to crawl up in it and live in there. Actually, that's what I really thought when I read Stardust over vacation - somehow I'd missed reading it this year and read that on the beach as well. Also revisited American Gods. That was a fucking masterpiece. The world should have stopped for a few minutes the day that came out..." (with a nod to Anne Lamott, who, in her awesome book for writers Bird by Bird, warned us that as writers the earth will not stop revolving the day our books are finally published and released on an unsuspecting public. But as far as American Gods go, I don't know that I've ever read anything quite like that in my life and don't know how any one person could have written it.)
As a matter of fact, here I am chilling on the beach last week with Eric and the fabulous Monty dog and as you can see, American Gods is on my lap.
Alrighty, so I also said when I went to the library I got an email with some fantastic information and that email was coincidentally from Sue who gave me the incredible news that she's now a featured writer here! I mean, how fucking cool is that. Daily readership? Oh...two million. I'm so thrilled for Susan I can barely control myself.
Okay, wrapping up the beach vacation real fast, Julie, Eric and Matt went home on Friday night -- we had eight days left to collapse and chill out.
Ho ho ho.
Monday morning the phone rings.
"Mom?"
"Hey, Julie. What's up?"
"What are you doing?"
"About to go to the beach," I lied.
"Are you riding your bicycles every day?"
"Um...yeah. Sure. Every day."
"I'm thinking of coming down again tomorrow and staying for the rest of the week until you guys come home."
"Really? Fantastic! But..how come?"
"Well, Eric won't be home all week - he's got gigs in New York...and Matt has school (Matt and Julie both go to Drexel University but Julie is deferring this semester to go on tour with Adrian Belew in November)...and I'm bored. Oh, and I think there's a mouse in the kitchen..."
"Oh no! A mouse?" I don't know why, but I go absolutely beserk over mice and even though intellectually I know it's ridiculous, the sight of one in my kitchen gives me seizures. Alas our house is 110 years old and built on a creek...in addition to being in the city...so the occasional mouse is something no one in this neighborhood can avoid. However, I've been known to lock myself in my bedroom if Gary isn't home and I see one downstairs and Julie has unfortunately inherited this same strange behavior.
"Yeah. So...can Dad pick me up at the train?"
"Of course."
And thus Julie came back and the rest of our vacation was spent furiously riding bikes, hiking, doing triathalons, mountain climbing, deep sea diving...you name it.
It was great.
Now. On to the music. As I said on a few (ha ha) occasions, Eric played a gig in New York last week with Chris Harford and here's the You Tube of said event which is quite cool:
I like that weird old guy at the end who seems totally baffled.
Last week Eric also bought himself an amazing set of drums from fellow musician Chuck Treece. Here's a photo -- for those of you who are music freaks, they were made by Boom Theory and if you click on that link, you'll see just how awesome they really are.
More Eric and Julie music news -- Adrian Belew mentions them in a pre-tour interview given back in May or June of this year in Modern Guitars Magazine.
Also, regarding their new project with amazing guitarist Sarah Zimmermann, here's the official press release for that:
"Sarah Zimmermann is a recent graduate of the School of Rock All-Stars who has been stunning audiences coast to coast with her amazing slide guitar work and vocals. In the past year, Sarah has played Lollapalooza, NAMM, Music Player Live, The Zappanale Festival in Germany, and numerous theater gigs accross the country, sharing the stage with such legends as Peter Frampton, John Wetton, Mike Keneally, and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. She also opened for Jeff Beck and John Mayer at the Fender 60th Anniversary in Tempe AZ, where she so impressed the Fender brass that they gave her an American Deluxe Telecaster, and has recently been sitting in with Benevento/Russo Duo side project Bustle in Your Hedgerow.
Sarah is now playing out with her new band, The Sarah Zimmermann Trio, which features former School of Rock All-Stars Eric and Julie Slick on bass and drums. Eric is a rising star on the music scene and has been quite busy since his graduation from SOR, playing with Mike Keneally, Shannon Penn, and Zappa Alumni band Project Obect, as well as Chris Hartford and various WEEN side projects. Together with his phenomenal bass playing sister Julie, they spent the summer touring the US and Europe as the back up band for guitar legend Adrian Belew, an ongoing gig they have secured as The Adrian Belew Trio.
Together, the three of them represent what is best about The Paul Green School of Rock Music, and why the future is so bright for their graduates.
The The Sarah Zimmermann Trio will be doing a three day mini tour in October to get ready for a bigger tour in the winter. The dates:
Saturday Oct 21st: NYC, The Knitting Factory Sunday Oct 22nd: Asbury Park NJ, Asbury Lanes"
Actually, said trio rehearsed in my living room all day today and Gary and I sat upstairs stunned with our jaws on the carpet. They are so good it's scary and the chemistry is there so this could turn out to be a very, very cool project.
Eric is having the time of his life. When he went up to New York for the Chris Harford gig on September 28, he called me from CBGBs (where he was also playing that night) and said rather nonchalantly: "Guess who I met tonight, Mom? Nile Rogers. I also met Adrien Brody, Michael Showalter, and Sim Cain, drummer for the Rollins Band".
Because CBGBs is closing, huge crowds have been coming out every night to see the final shows so Eric really got lucky...Fishbone played the main stage while Eric played the gallery and he got the overflow and really had a blast. He played from 1:00 a.m. until 4:30 a.m.
Besides the above, Eric is getting ready to do a gig with Mike Keneally and Bryan Beller in St. Louis on October 13 and then he takes off with Julie for the west coast with Adrian Belew from November 1-15. See Adrian's website for more info on that and yes, yes, I'm shooting for attending the November 9 show in San Francisco.
Okay. Enough is enough. This probably is the world's longest blog post. Someone contact the Guinness Book of World Records for me, please?
And to be honest, I'm actually leaving a lot of stuff out because I'm tired. More tomorrow?
So every year the Slick family heads down to the beach for two weeks and it's been a real luxury since J&E graduated high school because now we can go at the end of September when it's devoid of tourists. We're taking off tomorrow and won't be home until October 1. And as of this moment, J&E aren't even sure if and when they are joining us -- they have rehearsals, busy boyfriend/girlfriends -- I only know they aren't tagging along the first day --- Eric is thinking he may come down this Wednesday for a couple o'days; Julie is busy juggling a bunch of stuff and may not make it until next week. As I've posted several times, Eric has two NYC gigs at the end of this month and there's been a slight change -- his gig at CBGBs on September 28 is not the last show ever for that venue -- they've gotten an additional week stay of execution so the final show is actually October 5 and whether Eric will be asked to play on October 5 or not remains to be seen. But if you are in NYC on September 27, you can catch him for free outside of Grand Central Station at noon and at CBGBs the evening of September 28 with Chris Harford and members of Ween. I may interrupt my vacation and fly up to NYC for the September 28th show but I'm not sure.
Anyway, my youngest child Monty dog is accompanying us tomorrow and he loves, loves, loves the beach so he's probably going to be the happiest one of all. I probably posted this pic of him before but wtf:
Cute little bugger, isn't he? Yeah, yeah, good looks run in the family.
So what's scary is that the island where we'll be isn't wireless; there are no Starbucks or any other hot spots...just a public library a mile and a half away with restricted hours and worse, a tight ban on more than thirty minutes of internet use.
I am so screwed.
Ha ha, not really. I have my journals, my pens, and a printed out alleged final, completed draft of "Daddy Left Me Alone With God" which I will go over yet again over the next two weeks. And I'm sure I'll ride my bicycle to the library a few times and maybe even somehow do a blog post or two...I guess it will depend on whether I have anything to say. Wait. When don't I have anything to say? (insert smiley face emoticon here)
Hard to believe it's a year since my last vacation at the beach...you know, the one where I thought I made this great discovery of an unknown writer named Neil Gaiman and couldn't wait to get back home so I could tell all of my friends about him? Ha ha ha - you should have seen my face when I googled him upon my return to Philadelphia. And of course if you are a regular reader of this blog, you also know that I've been, err, a little obsessed with him this year but that's only because he's amazingly talented, amazingly handsome, loves rock music, and to top it off, is a Brit. Oh god. So anyway, I ended up meeting him, making an ass of myself, and then had no choice but to write about it. Chick Flicks Magazine loved my essay and accepted it for publication -- here's the online link -- with a shout out to Myfanwy Collins and L. Lori Young who each make an appearance in this sad, sad tale.
And if you like the above photo of daughter Julie and me, you'll love this one of Neil:
Ha ha - that cracks me up so much I actually made it a permanent link on the right hand side here -- a writer pal of mine (who has been missing in action...hmmm...very strange), David Niall Wilson -- did it as a joke for me one day.
So anyway, last year I read Gaiman's short story collection Smoke and Mirrors while on vacation; this year I'm lucky enough to be able to read his new release, Fragile Things at the beach because it's being released on September 26. I can just see me ordering Gary to drive me to civilization that day because there is only one book store on the entire island where we'll be and it's a used bookstore which I love, but alas they won't have Fragile Things the day it comes out. I was actually tempted to pre-order it from Amazon and have it mailed to my beach house but was too paranoid it wouldn't arrive in time and I'd be back in Philadelphia before it ever got there.
Yes, I know. I have completely lost my mind.
In other news, I was really touched to see what Paul Green wrote about Julie and Eric on the School of Rock website.
Yeah, you know it, I'm cutting and pasting for (y)our convenience:
"Humongous (and belated) congratulations are in order for School of Rock alumni (and original students!) Eric and Julie Slick, who in the spring landed a dream gig: playing as the backup band for ADRIAN BELEW! For those who don't know, Adrian is an absolute guitar master, and besides his fabulous solo career, has played in/for King Crimson, Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Talking Heads, Paul Simon, and countless others.
Eric and Julie have been touring with Adrian Belew as part of his power trio since early in the summer, and the reviews have been unbelieveable. Check this one out: Jam Base.
Of all the great things that have happened to the school over the years, this one makes me the proudest.
Sooo...unless something momentous happens between today and tomorrow, this may be it until October 1...or not, you never know with me, I'm liable to be at that library every morning blogging...but if it doesn't work out that way, have a happy rest of September, buy Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things so we can have a meaningful discussion upon my return, and I'll be back to drive you all crazy next month.
Oh. One final thing. Another Bite of the Apple and Buenos Noches, Justine remain number one and number two highest rated in erotica at Fictionwise. I'm not only the Empress of Cyberworld, I'm the Empress of...never mind.
