National Tresure Rocked, and we got Goofy

Okay, I guess you only got one blog yesterday instead of two, but here's today's right on schedule.

NATIONAL TREASURE: Book of Secrets, was a hit with all of us. It was as fun as the first movie, and all the returning characters had good parts, and were not marginalized. I was worried about Diane Kruger's character at first, but the script rallied. It's always hard to be the girlfriend in a movie. Justin Bartha, who played Riley, made the movie for all of us. Nicolas Cage did another good job in the role. You believe him when he talks about honor, and duty, and truth. Not every actor can pull that off, these days. The improbabilities are there both in history, security, and plot, but you don't care. The movie is that fun. The Ed Harris character is a little uneven, the only bump in the road character-wise, but it's Ed Harris, so it's hard to complain. He does his usual wonderful job with the part he's given. We get to see Cage's character's mother, and I won't spoil it by telling you who it is, but the casting was perfect. Don't peek at the names, let it be a surprise, it's worth that moment of, Oh, My, God.

I'll say nothing about the puzzle or the mystery because that really would spoil things, but it was just as fun as the first movie. Which I guess is why the movie theatre was packed. If you want seats together get there early.

You know how everyone is talking about the demise of the movies as a theatre experience? Jon and I, and several friends, had been sitting around discussing this sad fact. Why go to the theatre and spend all that money when you can just wait and in two months, or less, you can own the movie, and get special features to boot? We came up with the idea that we needed special features for the movie in the theatre. Once upon a time, you got news (which admittedly we don't need now with Internet and telly), cartoons, documentary shorts, all sorts of things at the front end of a movie to give extra value to the money we paid. Well, apparently, Disney was thinking the same thing that we'd come up with. There was a brand new Goofy cartoon before NATIONAL TREASURE.

Goofy got his own home entertainment system. I'd forgotten why the Goofy cartoons work, now I remember. There is that moment when Goofy is staring at his coffee table which is suddenly a mile long and covered in remote controls, and he can't figure out which one he needs for what. I know that feeling. We all know that feeling. Goofy is that every man, and it's been too long since we've seen him. The audience had been a little testy, when people came in late and saw the crowd and couldn't find seats together. It was getting a little, like it always is lately, vaguely grumpy. Then the cartoon came on, and you could simply feel the audience's tension drop. People actually applauded. It just put us all in a better mood. Not just because it was Goofy, but because, it was an extra. DVDs have spoiled us, the consumer, to feeling damn cheated without extras. Well, extras to lure us in the to the theatre is not a bad way to go.

An apology, and a spoonful of nightmares

You're probably going to get two blogs today. This one is to correct the mistake I made in yesterday's blog about the killings in Carnation. I wrote that the woman who killed her family was the sister of the woman she killed, but no, it was the husband who was her brother. The son of her parents, his wife, their children, that she killed. I'm not sure it makes a difference to the horror of it all whether you kill your sister or your brother, but it was a mistake in the reporting and I amend it here.

I was upset by the story, and I thought I double-checked my facts, but apparently, not good enough. This is one of the reasons I took maybe two journalism classes and had to stop. I tended to have trouble staying emotionally detached from the bad stuff, and I also tended to elaborate. Not on purpose, but I'd make these intuitive leaps on the reports. Sometimes I'd be right, but it's not a journalist's job to editorialize, or guess, in the initial story. That's for later, if you get a chance to dig at the story. But, really, it's just the facts ma'am. I was never terribly good at just the facts. I always thought, what if?

I guess that's why I write fiction and not non-fiction. I do my research for the fiction; scarily, people in New York tell me I research more for my fiction than most writers do for the none, but in the world of fiction I can fudge and it's okay. I can take what is true and build on it, until it's my world, my characters. Built on a foundation of truth, but the tower above it can be as fantastical as I want, as long as the foundation is solid. Solid first; airy-fairy second.

So, my apologies about the mistake, and a lesson relearned. Real world reporting just isn't my thing. Never has been. I like my realities seen through the patina of vampires, zombies, ghouls, shapeshifters, and myth. There's a lot of harsh stuff in my books, but always it's a step back, to the side, so that all that harsh, almost-truth, goes down a little bit smoother. Mary Poppins had her spoonful of sugar, I guess I've got my spoonful of nightmares. It works for me, and from what you guys tell me at signings and in messages, it works for you, too.

The Holiday, the Whirl, and the World

We braved the mall today. The first time we've been near it since the holidays got close. But, it wasn't busy. It was easy to find a parking spot. Bad for the mall; good for our trip. We are on our third day of holiday socializing. Jonathon's guy friends came over last night and we all went out to a nice restaurant. Trinity started to fade and found out she's still not overly fond of French food. Came home, tucked the kiddo in, and then we all sat up and talked, except for the kiddo. Jon is the first of his friends to be married, so the talk ran high to what it's run to for years; games, video games, books, headlines, science (usually physics or math. Jamey has a degree in physics.),and politics.

I begged off before the talk was finished, so they could do more guy bonding.

What was the world doing? Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in Pakistan, setting off riots, and more deaths. Bear in mind that Pakistan has nuclear capabilities, for real. Not just some unconfirmed intelligence report.

Today, we, along with Uncle Richard, are finally seeing the new NATIONAL TREASURE. We'll let you know what we think of it. I know the first movie was bad science, and bad history, but it was so much fun. It was also a movie that we could watch as a family and all enjoy. That is rare enough to make up for Hollywood improbabilities. Besides, our enjoying the movie, even with it's iffy history was the beginning of Trinity wanting to visit Philadelphia. So, fake history led us to travel and learn a lot more about real history. The King Tut exhibit simply capped the choice of vacations this summer.

What was happening in the world? A tiger escaped from the San Fransisco Zoo's tiger enclosure. It killed a seventeen-year-old boy, and injured two more men. Police shot it to death using hand-guns at last report. They're still debating on how the tiger escaped.

After the movie we'll be visiting with more friends. Meeting them at a restaurant we've gone to since both our girls were babies.

In the world: In Carnation, Washington a disgruntled daughter and her fiance killed her entire family. They killed her parents while they were finishing up the wrapping of presents, then they cleaned up the blood and hid the bodies, and waited. They waited for her sister, her husband, and their two children. Then they killed them all. A dispute over money is what is sited, but that doesn't really explain it. We'll be trying to explain this Christmas nightmare for years to come, but in the end the terrible truth is there is no explanation. Nothing rational, nothing that makes sense.

Tomorrow will be the last of the family holiday visits. We'll be seeing Jon's aunts and uncle, and sampling more of Art's delicious food. They've said we can bring the dogs with us, all three of them. Brave relatives.

Our men and women in uniform are still in Iraq, Afghanistan, the demilitarized zone in Korea, and hundreds of other places around the world tonight.

Monday is New Year's Eve, and Trinity and her best friend are having a party at Grandma's. Jon and I are on our own for New Year's which almost never happens. Whatever shall we do with a free evening? Hmm, let me think.

I've put off writing a blog for two days, because I couldn't decide what to write about. Did I pay attention to the headlines, or did I talk about my everyday life? I finally compromised, because what I find difficult some days is that while our lives are going along so normally, pleasantly, there are other lives around the world that are not going so well. The juxtaposition of it, seems important, somehow. That we remember while we have our holiday, those that will have holiday, or not the holiday they wished for.

I was sick for two days with a winter virus, but I didn't write about it, because people were dieing, and it seemed, less important. I didn't write about the writing, because it seemed less real than the headlines.

Hopefully, tomorrow, I'll get up and the headlines will be a little less real. I pray for good news tomorrow, not just for me and mine, but for everyone.

Sometimes I forget that it's hard

It's taken me all day to bridge from the new Jason and Anita scene to the rest of the book. God, I thought I was never going to get there. I've been averaging between six and eight pages a day over most of the holiday work. I actually took Yule day itself off, because the day before I'd finished the largest new scene. The one I'd been struggling with, and did, I think, two blogs about the difficulties of trying to write it. No one was playing hard to get by the time I finished the scene. Nope, everybody was on board and having a good time. At last.

All I had to do today was to do a paragraph and a few sentences to bridge from old to new. How hard could it be? Famous last words. Oh, I thought, even worse last words; this is simple, compared to what I've been doing. Yeah, right. All, bloody, day, and I had nothing to show for it. It is only now in the last few moments that I've finished the transition.

I finally realized part of the problem. I was trying to describe something both difficult and simple, and make it very real on paper. The larger act of sex is often easier to describe in writing, then the smaller bits of it. It's taken me all day to describe that feeling after really good sex when you both fall asleep exhausted; that goes for the girl, too. I mean really, really good sex. That wonderful exhausted collapse when you've not only had great sex, but you've let everything else go, too. All the stress, the worry, the deadlines, the problems; it's all gotten washed away on a tide of foreplay, orgasm, the feel of skin under your finger tips, the slide of bodies, and hands, the sleekness of sweat along his spine, and then you just fall. Fall into that wonderful cocoon of exhaustion and pleasure spent. You wake up a little while later, because you seldom seem to sleep through the night when you fall asleep like this, I don't know why, but I've found it true. The last few sentences I struggled to describe was that sound that a man makes, when he just wakes from that special kind of sleep, that sound that is part humor, but not a laugh; part pleasure, and all contentment. And everything I've written here, is mostly, not, what I wrote in the scene. Because this is me telling you, what I've been trying to write all day, and in the actual book, you don't tell, you show. Showing is so much harder than telling. All day I've struggled to describe something so simple, so important, so real, and finally, done.

I'd beat myself up all day, because I was struggling so hard with something that was so simple. But, simple is often harder to capture on paper than complicated. Trying to appeal to a reader's senses, so that they feel, smell, taste, and touch, what you're doing, can be incredibly difficult. I think, I forgot that for a few hours. I forgot that sometimes what I do really isn't easy. Does it sound funny that I would forget that? When I've had a day or so of the writing going well, I do sometimes forget that really when the muse is elsewhere it's hard, damn work. But you don't just come to work when the muses are fluttering about. You come to work when things are due, and deadlines loom. You come to work, because if you don't show up the muse doesn't know where to find you. But, I'm done for the day. Like stick a fork in me, honey, done. Even if I could force myself to work anymore, it would be like putting that perfect roast back in the oven for just a little bit longer. All you get is dry beef, when what you want is moist, thick, melt-in-your-mouth, just this side of pink, meat.

So, even though I have less than a page to show for an all day work session, I'm not going to try and force myself to get my four page minamum. It would be over-cooking the roast, and I'd come to the desk tomorrow tired, and not wanting to write.

Happy Yule

Good Morning.

Happy Yule. Merry Christmas. All That. I'm up before everyone else here and thought I'd be the one to wish everyone out there a good holiday. I'm not going to try and analyze what the holiday is supposed to be, or moralize on how it should be celebrated. I'm just going to wish each and everyone of you reading this a pleasant day. I think that's enough, you can choose how you celebrate or not celebrate your holiday. You're all capable of that. Yes, some of you are going to be doing things you don't want to do today, but then, just because its a holiday doesn't mean that the mundane things that make up the rest of the year are going to stop being annoying. Today, though, there will be time, if only a moment, to stop, and rest, and most importantly...

Be Blessed.

Bloody Brilliant

Jon and I saw SWEENEY TODD yesterday. It was brilliant, amazing, gorgeous, thrilling . . . Get a thesaurus and just keep going. The movie was that good. Usually, it's difficult, if not impossible to translate a musical to film. Things get lost, and it just isn't as good. Even though they had to cut songs, it still worked. It worked not just as a musical, but as a movie. It just bloody worked.

I think one of the reasons may have been something that I read somewhere, (Its been a while so I can't find the article. Don't ask me to quote too accurately.) that they went to Stephen Sondheim, and had him help them pick and choose songs and moments to go from stage to screen. The adapter said, he was worried that Sondheim would want nothing changed, or touched, but the composer was very open. He said a very smart thing, "It's a movie, and that's a different medium." Indeed, it is, and that attitude showed. All that being said, no worries, it is very close to the original. It's mostly crowd scenes cut, and some songs cut. Some condensing for story, and it's pretty much left alone.

So often when things go to the screen from book or musical they either try to stick too close to the original, so the movie is crippled, or they throw the original out so far that you wonder why they bothered to buy the original at all. It's like telling someone you're serving them steak, but all you've done is wave chicken near a cow. We all know chicken ain't steak. Well, books, musicals, and movies, aren't the same either. SWEENEY TODD works on all levels.

There have been some that complained about Helena Bonham Carter's voice not being up to Angela Landsbury's voice from Broadway. It's freaking Angela Landsbury, of course, she's brilliant. But Carter was amazing in the acting part of the role, and her voice held up once you got Landsbury's out of your head.

The movie was beautiful. Make-up, costumes, staging, props; it was damn near flawless. The only reason I put "damn near" in there is that I'm certain there has to be some false note, but I'll have to see the movie again to spot it. It was good enough that Jon and I both came out just going, wow.

Not just us, either. The theatre was crowded; get there early for seats together. We ended up sitting between two different groups of teenagers. Three boys on one side, three girls on the other. Now, teenagers are cool, but we've all the experience in theatres where teenagers were not so cool during a movie. Constant remarks, disruptive behavior, and just plain rude. You know who you are, and it's damn irritating in a theatre. Before the movie, the boys were playing that game where they hit each other's hands really hard. I so don't get that game. The girls were all on cell phones, talking, but not to each other. Apparently, whoever was on the phone was more interesting than the friends sitting beside them. Again, a behavior I don't get. If I like you enough to come to a movie with you, I like you enough to talk to you in person.

Jon and I were a little worried about how the two groups we were sandwiched between would behave during the movie. It's a musical, and it's going to be gory . . . It had all the earmarks of one of those movies that the teens would not sit through quietly. Then the movie began, and there was some nervous tittering from the girls, and a few restless moments from the boys. Then Johnny Depp raised his arm skyward, and sang, "At last my arm is complete again," he's singing to his razors, by the way. From that moment on there was no tittering, no nervous talk. The two groups were as rapt to the screen as we were.

The rest of the audience was a mixed group, age and sex wise, and we all sat there under the spell of that movie. We gasped, we winced, we reacted to the screen. It was brilliant. If Johnny Depp doesn't get an Oscar for this performance, then something is wrong with the process.

So, a movie that Jon and I would actually be willing to see again, just so we can catch what we missed this time round. I can't tell you the last time we wanted to repeat a movie in the theatre. I mean it'll be out in a few months, and we can watch it on the big screen at home, right? Right. But, not this one, you need the movie screen to truly get the experience. It's one of those movies that really is a movie in the best sense of the word. Go to a theatre, watch it with other people, and remember why you first loved going to a theatre. This movie will remind you, exactly why, movies are magic.

Happy Solstice

At 12:08 tonight the tide will turn, and the darkest night of the year, will switch over. Winter Solstice is tomorrow, and from that point on the sun will grow a little brighter every day. However you celebrate the return of the sun, have a good one. Be safe, be well, and be happy.

Playing hard to get

Ten pages today of the new scene. Ten pages and we've mostly talked. What man would be in the bed with Anita if we start to have sex, but get side tracked by difficult talk? Come on, who would you guess?

Was your guess . . . Richard?

Wrong. For once, nope.

It's a Jason and Anita scene. When I wrote ages ago about this book that Jason had saved up his issues to spend them all in one glorious, difficult run, I wasn't joking. It's been a very interesting book to write about Jason. I've learned things I never knew, at all, about his childhood, and him. It will be interesting to see if after BLOOD NOIR, Jason goes back to being easy to write, or if this more complicated persona is permanent. Character growth sometimes gives you windows of insight then the character decides to go back a little, like a real person having a therapy break through. Sometimes the clarity is too painful and you have to go back a little to your old ways, but sometimes that moment of clarity is so bright, so burningly clear that there is no going back. We'll see what Jason does in subsequent books.

Hopefully, I can finish the scene tomorrow. I think I'm about another ten pages out from the end. This is the last major scene add, or rewrite. The rest is mostly choreography for fight scenes, or simply blocking changes from the research Jon and I did in Jason's hometown. Tedious, but not as time consuming as creating fresh pages.

I think I ended the last chapter with some sort of joke about Anita being orally fixated. Guess, what they're doing?

Yep.

That's exactly what I left them doing.

Tomorrow, enough with the foreplay, and God, help us, enough talk. I'm hoping for some good, uncomplicated, intercourse. Surely if we can manage uncomplicated with anyone in these books, it would be Jason. Right?

Coitus Interruptus

Every parent knows that moment when the kids are tucked into bed, and you are finally alone together behind that locked bedroom door. You think you'll get the chance to actually have sex. Then, either at the beginning of the foreplay, or if they're cruel, at that crucial moment, there comes that knock on the door. That cry of "Mommy!" Mood killer does not cover it.

I've had the equivalent of that moment off and on all day on the sex scene I've been trying to write. Business calls that couldn't wait. No, really, they couldn't wait. Either deadline is now, or it's important enough to interrupt damn near anything. I've done a few sentences of the scene, finally get some rhythm going, and another interruption. Thank God, I finished BLOOD NOIR a month early. It gives me the time to deal with this kind of day. It's all good stuff, necessary stuff, but business calls are not conducive to getting in the mood. I'm beginning to think I'll have to put a tie or something over the doorknob of my office tomorrow, just to make sure everyone understands that I really need to concentrate on my imaginary friends. I guess it would be just as difficult if it was a fight scene, or an emotional moment, or a police action, to be so interrupted. But, it wouldn't be half so embarrassing. You can take violent thoughts to a business meeting, or angry, or emotional, but sex just doesn't translate well. It leaves me uncomfortable and vaguely embarrassed as if I was actually trying to do what I'm writing in the middle of the business day. I finally gave it up for a bad job, and stopped even pretending to make progress on the scene. Tomorrow doesn't look any better for it. Lot's of business.

Hopefully sometime this weekend I'll finally be able to complete the scene. But then again, weekends are no proof against business. And, honestly, come a child free weekend I'm more interested in having real world sex than imaginary sex. Priorities; priorities; priorities.

Staying in

Today was Trinity's first day of Winter break. We'd planned on a movie to celebrate, but when Jon and I got home from some holiday errands she was settled in front of the T. V. watching "Once Upon a Mattress", with Tracy Ullman and Carol Burnett. Grandma went home, and we did a rushed dinner so we could make the movie. We'd already bought tickets on-line. But Trin was having such a good time with the movie, and none of us seemed eager to go out.

Jon and I came up with a novel idea. We asked Trin if she would rather stay home and watch "Once Upon a Mattress," or see the movie at the theatre. She thought we'd be insulted that she wanted to stay home rather than go out with us. We were trying to pretend that we actually wanted to go out for her sake, when what we truly wanted was to stay home, desperately so. It was almost a GIFT OF THE MAGI moment, you know the O' Henry story. Anyway, Trinity finally confessed that she'd rather stay home. When we said, sure, she gave me a huge hug, and went dancing back to the living room, where she preceded to dance and sing to the musical. I was so glad that I hadn't put a false face on things and pretended I wanted to go out to the movie. I was so glad that all three of us told the truth, and got to do what we wanted to do, instead of what we were supposed to do.

I got to go up and have a nice long bath complete with candles. Trinity watched her musical, then she and Jon played video games. When I came down she was playing Lego Star Wars, and being an evil Princess. Hmm, choking powers.

A good time was had by everyone. I think much better than if we'd gone out to see the movie. We'll probably go out and see it while she's off school, but tonight we wanted to hibernate. It was worth the price of three movie tickets to be able to relax tonight. I guess, it says something about all three of us that we'd rather stay in than go out. Maybe that we've all been a little too busy lately, and a nice, slow night at home was just what the doctor ordered.

LKH Bit 12/18/07

Secret Santa, Question regarding comic we get a lot!, Guilty Pleasures Issue #7, Hardcover First Death Comic, Auction yet again!, Winter Newsletter




Secret Santa
Secret Santa is over! Thanks to all who entered. We ended up just shy of 15,000 entries. Our best contest ever!

Winners:
Elicia B of Chesapeake, Va
Jacqueline M of Parsippany NJ
Tracie H of Cedar Park Texas
Kris A of Barstow, CA

Congrats to our winners! Thanks everyone for entering! Look for our next contest in January!

We also chose 4 fan club members at random to receive a signed book. I will not tell you who! But 2 are in the US, one in Canada and one in the UK.

Comic Question
Is there going to be a hardcover issue #2?

Yes, that is what we have been told. There will be a issue 2 when issue #12 comes out. Also, a combined hardcover of all 12 issues. We don’t have an actual date but expect it to be midsummer 2008.


Guilty Pleasures Issue #7
Laurell K Hamilton’s Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures Returns!

When you’re surrounded by enemies at every turn, just who can you trust? When you’re Anita Blake, animator and vampire hunter extraordinaire, the answer is simple—no one! The hit adaptation of New York Times Best-Selling author Laurell K Hamilton’s Anita Blake series continues in Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures #7 (of 12) as Anita continues her investigation of the Vampire Murders. When she finds a friend in mortal danger, how far will she go to save him? Who’s behind the Vampire Murders? And is there more going on between Anita & Phillip than they realize? The answers to all of those questions begin here!

Plus, don’t miss one of 2007’s top selling graphic novels, Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures Vol.1, in stores now with two covers exclusive to comic shops! Collecting Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures #1-6, along with a brand new story by Laurell K Hamilton herself, this is a can’t miss collection for Anita Blake fans new and old.

Marvel urges retailers to check their orders on Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures #7, as buzz continues to grow around the series from both fans and critics. The stage is set for Anita to find the answers she seeks—but at what cost to her and those she loves?

ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER: GUILTY PLEASURES #7 (of 12) (JUL072208)
Written by LAURELL K. HAMILTON
Adapted by Jess Ruffner
Pencils & Cover by Brett Booth
Parental Advisory …$2.99
FOC—12/6/07, On-Sale—1/4/08

ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER: GUILTY PLEASURES VOL. 1 HC NEW PRINTING ANITA VARIANT (JUL078185)
Written by LAURELL. K. HAMILTON
Adapted by STACIE RITCHIE AND JESS RUFFNER-BOOTH
Penciled by BRETT BOOTH
Cover by BRETT BOOTH
Parental Advisory …$19.99
On-Sale—NOW!

ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER: GUILTY PLEASURES VOL. 1 HC NEW PRINTING JEAN CLAUDE VARIANT (JUL078186)
Written by LAURELL. K. HAMILTON
Adapted by STACIE RITCHIE AND JESS RUFFNER-BOOTH
Penciled by BRETT BOOTH
Cover by BRETT BOOTH
Parental Advisory …$19.99
On-Sale—NOW!
To find a comic shop near you, call 1-888-comicbookMarvel Comics is a division of Marvel Entertainment, Inc., a leading global character-based entertainment company that has developed and owns a library of more than 5,000 characters, which have entertained generations around the world for over 60 years. Marvel's operations are focused in entertainment and consumer product licensing and comic book publishing. Marvel Studios supports the development of feature films, DVD/video products and TV series. Marvel's creative team also supports the development of video games and toy lines based on its characters as well as for a broad and growing range of consumer products and services including apparel, collectibles, foods and promotions. Marvel's comic book division is a leading publisher in the global marketplace while also serving as an invaluable source of intellectual property. Marvel's Toy Biz division is a recognized creative force and leader in toy design, sales and marketing, developing and overseeing both licensee and in-house toy lines. For additional information visit http://www.marvel.com.FOR MORE INFORMATION AND/OR ARTWORK PLEASE CONTACT:Arune Singh
MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT


Hardcover First Death Comic
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By Laurell. K. Hamilton, Jonathan Green, Wellinton Alves, Brett Booth. Her fans have been asking for it; now, Laurell K. Hamilton delivers a look into Anita Blake's past. Written by Laurell K. Hamilton herself, along with Jonathon Green, THE FIRST DEATH takes place almost a year before the events being chronicled in GUILTY PLEASURES. Witness the first meeting of Anita and Jean-Claude, Anita's first time inside Guilty Pleasures, her first serial-killer case, and an early encounter with Edward. Prepare to be thrilled by this original story produced especially for comics! Collecting LAURELL K. HAMILTON'S ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER: THE FIRST DEATH #1-2, plus the ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER: GUILTY PLEASURES HANDBOOK. 96 PGS.

There will be two covers. One for Comic Stores and one for Direct Market. Both will be available in February 27, but you can pre-order now!

Direct Market Edition:
ISBN-10: 0785129413
ISBN-13: 978-0785129417

Sneak peek at the covers:
http://www.laurellkhamilton.org/Comic/FirstDeathHCDM.gif
http://www.laurellkhamilton.org/Comic/FirstDeathHC.gif

If there is not a store near you, may we suggest any of the following:
www.lightspeedhobbies.com
www.comicfusion.com
www.jetpackcomics.com

Why those three? Because all three are companies I have done business with.


Auction yet again!
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Third times a charm right? Well it happened again! The auction winner claims their account was hacked and they didn't bid. So eBay cancelled the auction and all the bids. We will try it again! Five day auction! Unfortunately that means I will not be able to get it to you before the 25th. But it is still full of wonderful goodies and a worthy cause!

I hope this time it goes! I have also asked eBay to launch an investigation into the phony high bidders and to take appropriate action against them, especially if it happens a third time.

Basket # 2 – Granite City APA
Granite City APA : 140191381242

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140191381242

Books
White Fells (cover flat) – R Garland Grey - Signed
Fey Born – R Garland Grey - Signed
High Druid Of Shannara – Terry Brooks – Signed
His Majesty’s Dragon – Naomi Novik – Signed
Dog Days – Joan Katz – Signed
Loving Frank – Nancy Horan - Signed

Grand Canyon Picture book from Saint Louis Science Center
Body Worlds Mini book Saint Louis Science Center
Solar System by Melvin and Gilda Berger Saint Louis Science Center
Things I Overhead While Talking To Myself – Alan Alda
Boom – Tom Brokaw
Curveball – Bob Drogin
Guilty Pleasures Comic Hardback Anita cover - Signed
Cerulean Sins paperback – Signed
The Harlequin CD - Signed

T-Shirts
Knight In A Black T-Shirt Men’s XL Offworld Designs
Comic Con 2007 Anita Blake T-shirt

Other Goodies
Solid Wood full size Cutting Board from Cranky Cricket
Mini Wood Cutting Board from Cranky Cricket
2 wooden utensils from Cranky Cricket

2 Science Center Coffee Café Coffee Cups
Evolution DVD – Saint Louis Science Center
Hand Carved Star Marble Stone Polar Bear (this is stunning in person. It sparkles.)
Circus Performer Book Ends
LKH DVD from Center For The Book Signing
Avalon Arcana Soap
$25 Barnes And Noble Gift Certificate
Wolf Blank Note Cards
Defenders Of Wild Life stadium blanket
2 LKH Catalogs (one of each cover) with a $25.00 Gift Certificate

Winter Newsletter
Okay it hasn’t gone out yet. Sorry! I do plan on sending it out as soon as we can. We are holding it pending some special announcements. Really, we thought it would be settled by now. So hopefully, I will be able to get it out after Christmas. Though fan club members should be getting a holiday card.

Romancing The Scene

I'm doing my Kathleen Turner impression from ROMANCING THE STONE, today. Not the glamorous part where Michael Douglas sweeps her off her feet, or where as she gets more lost in the jungle she mysteriously gets more make-up, better hair, and her clothing rips artfully so it will display her in a more fetching manner. No, I mean the beginning of the movie. The part where she's wearing almost no make-up, her hair back in a clumpy pony tail, and she's wandering through the house looking for Kleenex or toilet paper or something to cry into because she's been writing so long that she's forgotten to buy paper products, or anything else. Ah, the life of an unmarried, childless writer, where you can actually forget that much of your life and no one complains but the pets. I think she had a cat. For those reading this blog regularly you know I didn't forget that much of my life, so why the analogy?

I walked past a mirror and saw my hair in a graceless pony tail. I've put no make up on today, because I just didn't want to take the time. I wanted to get to work. The days when you could see me with make-up and nice clothes (with the exception of publicity or tour), are the days when I'm not feeling eager to get to work. The days when I forget everything; my hair, my make-up, and grab the first thing I can think of to wear for clothes, are the days when I usually get the most done. On days like this, it's all about the internal life. It's about the writing, not about what my hair looks like, or if the shirt I'm wearing actually matches my pants. Jeans are great for days like this, they match nearly everything.

I have, on occasion, dressed up for writing. When a scene is defeating me, or a character is being particularly difficult, I'll dress up. I'll dress up, almost like for a date. I haven't had to do that in awhile, because most of my imaginary friends would rather I tell their story than be looking a certain way, but early on with some of the sex scenes, I had to get myself in the mood. I will confess to doing the whole number; lingerie, candles, etc . . . to sit down at the computer to do a scene. It worked. It got me over my reluctance. Sometimes, even now, if I'm not in the mood and it's one of those scenes, I'll put some effort into getting myself in the mood, and then the mood comes at the computer. But that's on bad days, actually. On a good day, the sex scene could be done in sweats, and neither I, nor my imaginary friends give a damn. As more than one man I know has said, over the years, it's not about the wrapping paper, but what's inside the present that counts.

Phouka in the office ,and in the snow

Phouka was very brave today. This was the first day she has walked all the way to the new office without being carried once, or even on leash. I was so proud of her and so impressed. It's a long way to travel for a little, blind dog.

We knew she was loosing her sight, not uncommon in older pugs, but the vet thought she'd be okay until the new addition was finished. Unfortunately, she went blind before the build was finished, so my office which had been one of her most familiar paths and places became alien territory. Territory with a stone path through the new garage, and a longer flight of stairs, to a completely different arrangement of desks inside the office itself.

Phouka spends most week days in Darla's office in the older part of the house on the first floor. No stairs, no new rooms, or new smells. Phouka has spent a lot of time on the couch in her favorite spot. Sometimes when she gets disoriented even in the old part of the house she'll simply sit against a wall and wait for someone to find her, or just walk by.

Snow seems to really disorient her. We had about two inches of snow over night, and she was as lost as I've ever seen her this morning. I took my eyes off of her for a moment, then no little dog. I put the boys in the house and started looking for her. Usually, it's just a matter of walking around the side of the house, and there she is, looking for me, but not today. Today, I had to follow her tracks in the snow. Trace her circling, then her choosing a direction and getting further and further away from our house. She was on the far side of our neighbor's house, totally lost. I had to carry her home, because she was so convinced that she knew where she was, I couldn't get her to follow me home. But she was going in the completely wrong direction, ever farther away. As bad luck will have it, she'd lost her tags a few days ago, and we meant to put them back on her collar, but hadn't done it. I shudder to think what would have happened to our little pug if she'd been found. No tags, an older, blind dog. The life expectancy for a dog of her age with a disability at a shelter is very low. We have her micro chipped, but not every shelter checks. They're supposed to, but accidents happen. To say that we're going to be more careful in future is an understatement.

But right now she's lying in one of the new dog beds with Sasquatch. They're curled up in a fawn-colored pug pile. Pippin, our big black puppy is laying at my feet under the desk. There isn't room for him and the two pugs on the new bed. We do have two beds in the new office that will hold everyone. There was even room for Jimmy when he was with us. Though, strangely, very rarely did all four dogs share the same bed. They do a sort of dogie version of musical chairs, until they find the bed that is just right. In the time it took me to write this paragraph Phouka is now under my desk with Sasquatch, and Pip is on the bed where they started. They've circled the room to return to where they started, sort of.

I've gone through the edits for BLOOD NOIR. Tomorrow begins the real work.

I'm feeling better today, and in case you were wondering I did go to see the doctor this week. I'm a workaholic, not stupid. Modern medicine is a lovely thing. Though watching HOUSE might convince you otherwise. It's one of the shows that we don't let Trinity watch with us, but frankly, sometimes I think HOUSE is too grown-up for me. And yes, I know that all the real nurses and doctors hate the medicine on the show. The same way that all the real police and forensic people hate CSI. I know it's bad science, bad police work, but I still love CSI, and I still like HOUSE. Even when you know it's wrong, it feels so right.

Fever, in the morning; fever all through the night

We've done work today. Comic book stuff, telephone meetings; but as the day went on I got more and more tired. Took my temperature, and guess what? I've got a fever. That would explain the whole tired thing.

I think that's the blog for the night, because I'm wasted. I think I'm going to bed now. That sounds really good.

Maybe tomorrow if I actually behave myself and rest, I'll get better. But you know I won't behave myself. There's work to be done, damn it. There's actually quite a bit of stuff that can't wait, time critical and all that. Wait tomorrow's Saturday. Does that mean I get the day off? Hmm, I am the boss. If I was an employee I'd give me the day off, but I'm the boss. Management doesn't get time off for good behavior, maybe I should I try bad behavior? I saw a t-shirt that said, "Be naughty, save Santa the trip." Will naughty get me a day off? If so, it's looking pretty good. Heck, if I was in prison I'd get time off for good behavior. Why can't I give myself the same break? Wait, because I'm a workaholic, control-freak, perfectionist. Oh, yeah, that's why.

G'night, folks. Sweet dreams.

What we've been doing today.

I've done the first read through of the edits of BLOOD NOIR. I am now color coating the first round of sticky notes on the second go through. What do I mean by that?

Research changes are color coated in one color. Major scene additions a second color. Small changes another color. You get the idea. I've never actually done it quite this way before, but it will allow me to do all the major scenes in one day. Do most of the research in one day, if I want, or I can be more traditional and do it as I get to it. I like the idea of options, and besides, more uses for sticky notes, and an excuse to 'need' more colors. Oooh. More color is good.

I have no idea why I love sticky notes. I just do. When something feeds your muse, don't knock it, just run with it. My muse loves sticky notes, and so do I.

Jon and I worked on more comic stuff today. More art, covers, promotional stuff. Lots of fun stuff today.

Did I mention that Jon and I are both down with a different flavor of winter bug? We actually tried to take a nap this afternoon, but it was like the phone suddenly went into over drive. Yes, Darla was downstairs answering it, but it still rang beside the bed. After it went off the second time, like some kind of mini-fire alarm we turned the ringer off. Yes, it took twice of scaring the bejesus out of us before we thought of it. I told you we're sick. The thinkie parts weren't working so well by that part of the afternoon.

Funny thing for me, I'm fine when I'm fine, then I work a little too hard and suddenly I'm beat. Then I get to rest. Rest is good, and by evening I'm done. Like falling asleep at around six-thirty last night, done. Slept all the way through the night, and felt much better in the morning. But better is not well, and my body is reminding me of that as I type this. So that's it for us for tonight. Our date night is going to consist of dinner at home and a video. A short video.

Air Compressor and Tire Guage for Yule

Jon got me an early Yule present; an air compressor, and a tire gauge designed for racing enthusiasts. Now that is a slogan on a box that I never, ever, thought would be on something for a car that I picked out. Racing? Who, me?

Well, not racing, but the wheels are for racing, or for showing, or for some other thing I never planned to do with the Foose. But, if it works, we have the option to keep the tires, but they are low profile, which means there isn't a lot of forgiveness if you hit a pot hole. So we may go for nineteen inch rims anyway, but if the gauge works, then we'll have the option of getting Foose rims, just smaller ones. Truthfully, even with all the fuss, I'd rather stick with Foose tires if I could. I guess that's the power of a really good designer, that even if it's not practical, you still want it.

Right, this minute I am procrastinating. Edits are tedious, but necessary. But I still keep trying to find other legitimate work to do, that gives me a break from the edits. I haven't done a blog in a couple of days, so I can do one, and it's still work. See, I'm not procrastinating, I'm working. But that part of me that keeps me on target knows that, though working, I'm really delaying. I could do the blog later, but I just needed a moment to clear my head. I tried getting a cup of tea, but that didn't do it. I'm in that dangerously procrastination mood, where I'll find real reasons to call people, but talk for far too long off topic. Now that I know what's wrong, I've forbidden myself to call anyone else on "business". Sigh.

Well, I can't justify it any longer, back to edits for me. Dang-it.

LKH Bit 12/11/07

Hi all! Apparently there was an issue with the winning bidder for the Granite City APA basket.

eBay cancelled the auction and all bids. So we have to start this one over!

Dec-16-07 07:30:46 PST
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=140189303843
or search for item #: 140189303843

Books
White Fells (cover flat) – R Garland Grey - Signed
Fey Born – R Garland Grey - Signed
High Druid Of Shannara – Terry Brooks – Signed
His Majesty’s Dragon – Naomi Novik – Signed
Dog Days – Joan Katz – Signed
Loving Frank – Nancy Horan - Signed

Grand Canyon Picture book from Saint Louis Science Center
Body Worlds Mini book Saint Louis Science Center
Solar System by Melvin and Gilda Berger Saint Louis Science Center
Things I Overhead While Talking To Myself – Alan Alda
Boom – Tom Brokaw
Curveball – Bob Drogin
Guilty Pleasures Comic Hardback Anita cover - Signed
Cerulean Sins paperback – Signed
The Harlequin CD - Signed

T-Shirts
Knight In A Black T-Shirt Men’s XL Offworld Designs
Comic Con 2007 Anita Blake T-shirt

Other Goodies
Solid Wood full size Cutting Board from Cranky Cricket
Mini Wood Cutting Board from Cranky Cricket
2 wooden utensils from Cranky Cricket

2 Science Center Coffee Café Coffee Cups
Evolution DVD – Saint Louis Science Center
Hand Carved Star Marble Stone Polar Bear (this is stunning in person. It sparkles.)
Circus Performer Book Ends
LKH DVD from Center For The Book Signing
Avalon Arcana Soap
$25 Barnes And Noble Gift Certificate
Wolf Blank Note Cards
Defenders Of Wild Life stadium blanket
2 LKH Catalogs (one of each cover) with a $25.00 Gift Certificate

Secret Santa Contest Winners

Winners:

Elicia B of Chesapeake, Va

Jacqueline M of Parsippany NJ

Tracie H of Cedar Park Texas

Kris A of Barstow, CA


Congrats to our winners! Thanks everyone for entering! Look for our next contest in January!

The Foose Wheels

OK, thanks to everyone with their comments on the Foose wheels. Now, some clarification.

One mis-conception is that the wheels need to come off due to a pressure issue. Nope, its not pressure, its clearance. There's not enough room to get a gage in between the chrome valve stem and the brake disc. This is why the wheels need to come off. perhaps if we went with a stick type gage, it wouldn't be an issue, but I'm partial to dial type gages.

Another issue, clearance related is how to get an air-wand onto the valve stem. The valve stem that is perpendicular to the inside of the rim. Most service stations have a long wand that works great on regular tires, but don't line up right for this set up.

short of me getting my own compressor and custom building the hose with an inline dial gage, and a right angle air chuck, we need different wheels.

Foose Pics

OK, I've been meaning to do this for a few days and never got to it.

Well, I have got to it now.

Here's some pics.

New Wheels

Okay, the Foose needs new tires. Why? Because the only way to check tire pressure is to either jack the car up, or totally remove the wheels, every time you want to check the tires. The mechanic at the dealership said he'd never seen anything like it. Never good to stump your mechanic. It's sort of like stumping your doctor, just not a good idea. So, Charles is going to help us buy new tires that don't require a mechanic every time we need to check tire pressure, which you should do once a week. And yes, Charles has explained that this means we will have to recalibrate our speedometer. He, and another of my gearhead friends, have even explained why this has to be done, but I don't honestly understand it yet. (Okay, we may have to recalibrate, it depends on the tires we get. I just checked with Charles before I put this up, and he said, it depends. By the by, Charles knows cars, any mistakes in car talk on the blog is my mistake and mine alone. It's me trying to understand things that I don't understand.)

Charles says that the tires on the Foose right now are what they'd put on show cars. Cars that you put on a trailer and tow to car shows, because they are too beautiful to risk on the road. At the shows, you might dismantle the entire car to make sure there's no dust anywhere. If we were doing that then taking off the tires to check pressure would be no big deal. But, the Foose is supposed to be a driving car, an every day car. I'm not entirely certain that the designer, Chip Foose, meant the car to be that. Certainly, the tires weren't meant for anyone that has as little mechanical ability as I do.

So, the new car, my mechanical baby, is going to need new tires. I've had the car, what, less than a week? Again, I am wondering what was I thinking? I could have gotten a regular GT Mustang. I could have gotten an automatic in that. I'd already be driving it, on my own, with no fear of stop signs. If I wanted a nifty paint job I could have found a professional to paint the car for me, and I could have had anything I wanted as my design. The Foose is still beautiful, sitting in my garage, but I'm having progressively mixed feelings about it. I am, at heart, an intensely practical person. The Foose sits there like a reminder that I failed my saving throw on this one, and let pretty over come my common sense.

Okay, I have to add one last bit. I'd talked myself into feeling pretty foolish about the new car, but . . .I just walked through the corridor with it's half wall that lets us walk through the garage without the dogs spilling out into it. The sunlight was hitting the hood of the Foose. I noticed that the black and crimson did not gleam as it once did. I looked closer and found dust on my car. I thought, oh, you need a bath.

I have never, ever, thought that a car being dusty required a bath for it. I've cleaned them for road salt, actual dirt, mud, or even a heavy coat of pollen from the local trees, but dust . . . Dust is what happens to everything, it's natural, normal, but I'm going to give the car a bath, because that gleam of paint has dulled. Dear God, maybe I will eventually be one of those people that dismantles my car so it will be clean. I don't think so, but then, I never thought I'd be bothered by the first hint of dust on the new paint job. I'll even admit, that what I actual thought when I saw the dust, was, "Oh, poor baby, you need a bath." It's just a car, but . . . we'll get new tires, and today we'll try and get it cleaned. With one caveat, it's supposed to do freezing rain and sleet here in early afternoon. If we can't get the car bathed before the bad weather hits, we'll keep the Foose in the garage and out of the weather. Again, I try to tell myself it's just a car. Cars are supposed to go out in the weather, right? But not my new baby, not yet. Oh, dear.

LKH Bit 12/04/07

In this bit:
Holiday Auctions, Burnt Offerings Hardback, Vote LKH, Zazzle, Fan Club Info, Secret Santa Contest Reminder, Blood Noir Auction Winner, A Lick Of Frost Q&A on YouTube


HOLIDAY AUCTIONS
All three auctions will end on December 10th. Listed below is the charity that will be receiving all the monies generated and how to find that basket on eBay. The fan club will pay shipping! Probably UPS since it is so large this year.

We have some wonderful things this year! Please check out the donor list at the end of the listings. Most of them do have websites and do sell via the web.

Basket #1 – Juvenile Diabetes
Juvenile Diabetes: 140186518728
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140186518728

Books
Caramel Flava – Anne Elizabeth – Signed
Recipe For Love – Anne Elizabeth - Signed
His Majesty’s Dragon – Naomi Novik – Signed
Dog Days – Joan Katz – Signed
High Druid Of Shannara – Terry Brooks – Signed
Loving Frank – Nancy Horan - Signed
Amy Bloom – Away
Life’s A Campaign - Chris Matthews
The Lucifer Effect – Phillip Zimbardo
2,4,6,8 30 Minute Cook Book – Rachel Ray
Body Worlds Exhibition Book
Pushing The Limits Gunther Van Hagen
Atlas Of Anatomy
First Death comic issue #2 Zombie variant cover – Signed
Guilty Pleasures Comic Hardback – Jean Claude - Signed

T-Shirts
Zombie Crossing Men’s XL – OffWorld Design
Don’t Mind Me…werewolf shirt Men’s X- Large - OffWorld Designs
Anita Blake Was Here shirt Men’s 2X


Other Goodies
1 year membership to the Saint Louis Science Center
LKH DVD from Center For The Book Signing
2 LKH Catalogs (one of each cover) with a $25.00 Gift Certificate
$25 Visa Gift Card
Ceramic Trivet
Magnetic Weekly Planner
Sunfeather– Hemp Butter Soap
Hypnotic Erotic Soap


Basket # 2 – Granite City APA
Granite City APA : 140186512233
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140186512233


Books
White Fells (cover flat) – R Garland Grey - Signed
Fey Born – R Garland Grey - Signed
High Druid Of Shannara – Terry Brooks – Signed
His Majesty’s Dragon – Naomi Novik – Signed
Dog Days – Joan Katz – Signed
Loving Frank – Nancy Horan - Signed

Grand Canyon Picture book from Saint Louis Science Center
Body Worlds Mini book Saint Louis Science Center
Solar System by Melvin and Gilda Berger Saint Louis Science Center
Things I Overhead While Talking To Myself – Alan Alda
Boom – Tom Brokaw
Curveball – Bob Drogin
Guilty Pleasures Comic Hardback Anita cover - Signed
Cerulean Sins paperback – Signed
The Harlequin CD - Signed

T-Shirts
Knight In A Black T-Shirt Men’s XL Offworld Designs
Comic Con 2007 Anita Blake T-shirt

Other Goodies
Solid Wood full size Cutting Board from Cranky Cricket
Mini Wood Cutting Board from Cranky Cricket
2 wooden utensils from Cranky Cricket

2 Science Center Coffee Café Coffee Cups
Evolution DVD – Saint Louis Science Center
Hand Carved Star Marble Stone Polar Bear (this is stunning in person. It sparkles.)
Circus Performer Book Ends
LKH DVD from Center For The Book Signing
Avalon Arcana Soap
$25 Barnes And Noble Gift Certificate
Wolf Blank Note Cards
Defenders Of Wild Life stadium blanket
2 LKH Catalogs (one of each cover) with a $25.00 Gift Certificate



Basket #3 – Midwest Pug Rescue
MIDWEST PUG RESCUE: 140186516458
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140186516458


Books
Sharon Shinn (each signed)
Reader and Raelynx
Dark Moon Defender
Mystic And Rider
The Thirteenth House
Follow Me – Mary Beth Bass - signed
His Majesty’s Dragon – Naomi Novik – Signed
Dog Days – Joan Katz – Signed
High Druid Of Shannara – Terry Brooks – Signed
Loving Frank – Nancy Horan - Signed
Pushing The Limits Gunther Van Hagen
Body Worlds Exhibit Book
Sin In The Second City – Karen Abbott
In An Instant – Lee And Bob Woodruff
Guilty Pleasures Comic hardback Anita – Signed
Kiss Of Shadows paperback – Signed
Bite – signed
A Lick Of Frost UK – Signed
The Harlequin hardback – Signed
Mistral’s Kiss Audio CD


T-Shirts
Voltaire Spooky Spooky Men’s XL from OffWorld Designs
Evil Keeps Me Young Men’s XL from OffWorld Designs
Comic Con 2007 Anita Blake



Other Goodies
Tricky Pixie Live CD featuring SJ Tucker aka Skinny White Chick - Signed
$15 iTunes Gift Card
Sunfeather Soap – Rain Glycerin Soap
Magnetic Dry Erase Board
LKH DVD from Center For The Book Signing
Jean-Claude Fanged Duckie
2 LKH Catalogs (one of each cover) with a $25.00 Gift Certificate

Our many thanks to those who donated! The truly excellent items you see are available to purchase!

In no particular order:

Cranky Cricket: http://crankycricket.com/
We specialize in custom and traditional woodworking ranging from cutting boards, butcher blocks, rocking horses, to full size carousel horses. Have something in mind? We can turn your vision into reality!
(Laurell and I both own one of their cutting boards. I swear it never wears out and looks like a piece of art!)

Saint Louis Science Center: http://www.slsc.org/

Anne Elizabeth: http://www.anneelizabeth.net/

SJ Tucker aka Skinny White Chick: http://www.skinnywhitechick.com/
http://www.myspace.com/sjtuckerskinnywhitechick

Sharon Shinn: http://www.sharonshinn.net/

OffWorld Designs: http://www.offworlddesigns.com/
OffWorld Designs was founded by our in house artist, Raymond VanTilburg. Originally we sold only Ray’s designs but we now have licenses with some of the best artists in Gaming, SF, Comics, Anime and much more. We offer Pre-printed designs, Custom Printing/Embroidery and Convention Souvenirs. We handle souvenir sales for 20+ conventions per year.

Arcana Soaps: http://www.magicalomaha.com/arcanagothicsoap.htm

Sunfeather Soaps: http://www.sunfeather.com/

Random House Publishing: http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/

Penguin Putnam: http://us.penguingroup.com/


BURNT OFFERINGS
Burnt Offerings will be out in hardback tomorrow, December 4th!

VOTE LKH
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heck, it is political season and everyone is asking for your vote so we will too!
There is a poll on reading in St. Louis.
http://www.mayorslay.com/polls/20071129Print.asp


ZAZZLE
We got new stuff up at Zazzle like key chains, ties and morphing coffee mugs! http://www.zazzle.com/pd/find/qs-laurell%20hamilton



FAN CLUB INFO
We are putting the finishing touches on the Winter Newsletter. So hopefully, they will be off to the printer soonest.

All the membership goodies are finally in so those will be going out with the newsletter.

Holiday cards are being mailed in huge batches. So watch for yours!



SECRET SANTA CONTEST
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You have until this Saturday to enter if you haven’t already!
Secret Santa is a contest for you and a friend.


The winners will receive two signed LKH books. Don't know which two I will send you, just that it will be two. Your assignment as a Secret Santa is to give one away to someone. Preferably someone who is not yet a fan.
Okay, I told you what to do with one, but what about the second? That one is a gift for you, the Santa. Hey even Santa gets goodies!

Enter at the link below:

http://www.laurellkhamilton.org/SecretSantaContest.html

If you have difficulty with the link send an email to:
To: accounts@laurellkhamilton.org
Subject: Secret Santa Contest
Body: Name and address.


BLOOD NOIR AUCTION
Thanks so much to Rachel Z and her $485 bid for the Wild Canid Center!


A LICK OF FROST YOUTUBE
All four pieces of the Q&A are now up! http://www.youtube.com/user/jondgreen

That’s it for this bit! Happy Hanukkah!

Darla

Progress on Merry, but confusing tires

Six page of Merry #7 yesterday. Nine pages today. I'm happy.

Apparently, we're going to have to take the Foose into the dealership to get the tire pressure checked. Weird. I'm hoping after we see it done once we'll be able to do it ourselves. But when your sales person won't even attempt to explain it over the phone, well, the tires look great, but form over function isn't my favorite thing. I'm much more a function over form girl. It can look good, but it damn well better work as good as it looks. The jury is still out on the tires.

Still love the car, though until we get the tire pressure taken care of I'm not going to practice driving. With the pressure this low, or supposedly this low, we could damage the tires, or the rims, or both.

Yes, I admit, that I'm wondering if I've let my 'ooh shiny' get away from me with this car. Is it enough to say, but it's sooo pretty? Maybe. We'll see. Maybe I just need to get rid of the twenty inch rims and go for a more standard seventeen. I'll have Charles explain to me again what the difference in performance, if any, between the rims. If it's just for cosmetic purposes, well, surely there are some nifty seventeen inch rims out there. I'm not a size queen, honest, it just always seems to work out that way.

A last forgetten bit

Sorry we have been so busy we forgot to mention some things! For those going busy eh? I finally got all the membership stuff in and hope to have the newsletter out next week. Holiday cards are done and ready to mail. Still working on the black coffee cups.We got new stuff up at Zazzle like keychains, ties and morphing coffee mugs! http://www.zazzle.com/pd/find/qs-laurell%20hamilton

Burnt Offerings comes out in hardback December 4th.

Still no news on when the audio of early Anita will be out. But I understand they are working on it.

Should have the Holiday auctions up later this week also. We got lots of stuff for each basket. I just need to photograph it. Thanks to everyone who donated! It will be listed with the auctions.
Darla

More car talk, comic news, etc . . .

First, I did get to drive the Foose yesterday. Jon took me out to a large parking lot and away we went. The shifting actually came back to me fairly quickly, but the stop sign was a challenge. Stopping was easy, getting rolling again without killing the engine was hard. I managed more often than not, but the not was often enough that I let Jon drive home. I do not want to be driving down the road, see a light, and have to pray, "Please, God, don't let it turn red." Until that is not my thought about stopping in traffic, I'll stay off the main roads. My goal is a month from now that I will be able to drive my own car anywhere I want.

We were going to drive some more today, but we have an appointment with one of Trinity's activities and that will eat the afternoon. You parents out there know what I mean. What's more frustrating to me than the not driving is the not writing. I woke up today chomping at the bit, but once I finish this I have to go clean up and get ready for the afternoon stuff. One of the reasons we try not to volunteer for stuff like this is that I never know when the muse is going to hit hard, and demand attention. Hard to plan.

The goal for today with the Foose is to test the tire pressure. The Foose has special high performance tires, and they're picky. So we got new gauges to test with, and I'll be doing that today. Charles suggested we might want to change the tires out with something a little less picky. Not the words he used, at all, but that's what I took from the conversation. Give me a bunch of technical terms about anything and I'll boil it down to something I can say in a phrase. High performance tires are picky, and require more maintenance than less high performance tires. There are still moments when I feel like, what have I done? Is the Foose going to be wasted on me? I mean, this is an amazing car. The engine growls and roars. It's visceral.

I could hear the engine when it needed to shift. There is no shift light on this car, but I didn't need it. I could hear it, feel it, in the engine, from the pedals, to my hand, up my spine. You can just feel when it needs to shift. The one thing I can't "feel" yet, is how quick to let up on the clutch and how much gas to give when going from stop to go again. I don't "feel" that yet. Jon says, I'll get there. I will, but it is the one thing I can't understand with my body. This car is the first car I've ever owned that talks to my body, my skin, my hands . . . When I described it as having a heartbeat I wasn't really joking. Maybe all the muscle cars, or at least all the Mustangs are like that, but all I know is that it feels amazing.

Oh, and one thing I forgot earlier this week when I was listing work, was the comic book. We saw the final colors for issue #7 of GUILTY PLEASURES, and we've been seeing pencils of #8. The script for #9 is delivered and accepted as good.

There are so many different jobs in my life right now that sometimes I forget to list progress from all of it. I'll try to do better in future, but I am dangerously close to needing one of those organized private secretary types. You know, the one with a clip board, a portfolio, who tells you how much time you can devout to this phone call or that. Most days I think it would drive me crazy to be followed around like that, but then I hit days where I'm not sure what to do first. I can keep the writing in line, but it's the interviews, the phone meetings, the interaction with more and more people across the country that is beginning to leave me puzzled. There are days when having my very own girl, or guy, Friday, wouldn't be a bad idea. But what would I do with them on the days when all I want to do is sit in my office and write for hours? Would they sit in the kitchen and drink coffee? Do their nails?

There have been days where I literally hit the intercom and said, "All hands on deck," and everyone knows that the proverbial crap has hit the oscillating device. It's usually good news, sometimes great news, but it's more work.

Checked the time, gotta run. That whole parenting thing interrupting again. We love the kid, but weekends never did mean time off for me. I wouldn't want it any other way, but it is hard to juggle it all. And see, a girl or guy, Friday wouldn't help me today, because they'd have the weekends off. See, see, it wouldn't work. I don't need another employee, I need to get a handle on my schedule for my own little self. The challenge is almost never other people, but your own internal dialogue. Maybe that's why the Foose, so I have something to focus on that isn't work, and isn't ever going to be. Finally, a hobby that isn't fodder for the books, but just because it's fun. Just typing that seems weird. Now, I really have to go.

I blame Top Gear

I told you it had been a very weird week, well, now I can tell you about at least some of the weirdness. I blame the show Top Gear for this bit of my week. For those of you who don't know the show, it's on BBC America and it's a show about cars. But saying that, is like saying Mythbusters is about science. It is, and you learn something every week, but it's a lot more fun and irreverent.

I have spent my life thinking of cars as a mechanical device for getting from point A to point B. I'm all about the destination, not about the journey. I want to get there. I want to get there in a nice, safe, sane, manner. Dependendablitly is very important to me. I am so not a car person. In that hobby, isn't it pretty way.

Then our friends Charles and Richard both, independently, began to talk about this show called Top Gear. It was a car show so I wasn't too interested, until, I think Richard talked about the hosts going carvannning in Dorset (that would be RVing for America). I won't spoil the surprise, but let us say that the trip goes about as badly as it possibly could, as in there's fire involved, and not in a good way, but damn it was funny. Top Gear is now part of our Tivo line up, and we can watch it with our daughter without fear. Though, occasionally a bleeped curse word, and not so occasionally when Gordon Ramsey was the star in the reasonable priced car, but any child of mine is going to hear cursing. I try my best, but... So other than an occasional bleeped word it's family friendly. The three hosts, Richard Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson, and James May, sometimes seem to like each other and sometimes seem to hate each other. But it's always entertaining.

One show they decided they would try and turn a car into a space shuttle. Not kidding. Jeremy was so convinced it was a stupid idea that he would have no part of it, and Richard and James were left on their own. They got rocket experts, they played in the wind tunnel. There was a shining moment when it looked like it might actually work, then they managed to get an explosion bigger than anything I think we've seen on Mythbusters. That's saying something. There is now a crater in Northumbria and we, the viewers, got to see them make it.

They dismantled minivans, people carriers in Britain, to try and make them niftier by making them a convertible. Strangely the convertible minivan ended with an accidental fire, as well. Hmmm, is it a theme? No, the drag race with tractors didn't end in fire. We did get to see Richard Hammand drag the production trailer behind his tractor though, and I think Jeremy chose a plane, James did a caravan of cars and items, and yes, it ended with crashing. Many things do.

But they also review cars, by driving them, and doing some of the lushest camera angles on television to show the lines of mechanical sex sitting on the track.

I never looked at cars before this show. Oh, I was starting to, because Jon and I traveled with Charles. He is proud to be a gearhead, someone who loves cars, motorcycles, and does aftermarket modifications to them. He also does drifting, as a hobby, which is racing a car round a set pattern, but purposefully drifting around the corners. I'm a little fuzzy on it, but that's the basics. Charles notices cars the way I notice birds, and can tell, often, by the sound of an engine what engine he's listening to. He's better at that than I am at bird song identification. Traveling with Charles gave me a new appreciation of cars. I began to have this inkling that maybe, just maybe, they weren't just for getting from point A to point B. Maybe there was more to a car than that?

Then Jon and I started watching Top Gear. And somewhere in those loving camera angles, somewhere in watching Jeremy drive a Lamborghini around the track while he cackled and chortled and just had a king-size blast, I began to wonder if cars might be . . . fun?

It's an alien idea to me, but then James went to Germany and drove the Bugatti. Jame's nickname on the show is Captain Slow, so ironically he got to drive the then, fastest line car in the world. Line car means it's a production model not a race care. It means you can own it. The Bugatti is like science fiction on wheels. There are buttons and knobs to push to get the car in the mode for it's highest speed which is 340 miles per hours. Yes, you read that right. Watching the car snug itself down on the track, literally, the car moves lower, the whole car, snuggles down to the track when you hit the right switch. The car lived up to his rep, and it was very quiet inside, amazingly quiet at such speeds. James made the comment that his tires would go in about fifteen minutes at this speed, but that was okay because the gas would be gone in twelve.

I began to notice cars, and Jon and I began to be able to tell what a car was, I'm still not great at that, but one afternoon a car drove by us that I just stared at. I stared at it the way you'll stare at a beautiful man, that is so amazing you loose common sense and gape at him as he passes. What was the car? It was the Carrol Shelby GT mustang, in black with metallic gold markings. I didn't know that when I saw it, only that it was a mustang.

We called Charles and asked if he knew the car just from our description and he did. Then, as if it were a plot, Top Gear reviewed the Shelby GT. Turns out Richard Hammand owns an original from the 1960's. Their biggest complaint was the suspension, but . . . I was still intrigued.

Then Jeremy reviewed the new Porsche 911. That was the last straw, suddenly we had a list of impractical cars to look at. I have never in my life bought, or wished to buy, an impractical car. I'm all about reliability, dependability, caution, and practicality. I'm also a little afraid of cars and anything that goes fast. But, somehow, strangely, I had a list of cars that included not just the Porsche, but a lot of sports cars. Sports cars, not for Jon, but for me.

It was time to replace our Acura TL, which I've loved, but it's over ten years old. It's time for it to find a new home. We've never had a complaint about the Acura, in fact we've been an Acura family for the last decade. But, suddenly, I didn't want safe and dependable. I wanted something more.

Charles, who knows more about cars than Jon and I probably ever will, went car shopping with us. When seeking a certain type of car you want someone with you that will be able to tell you how much bullshit you're being fed. So, the three of us went off to look at impractical cars.

The list quickly came down to two cars; the Nissan 350Z with the Nismo package (which is their sport package in detail and design), and one of the new Mustangs. I went looking for a Shelby. God, it's a pretty car. I asked Jon and Charles if it was childish to just think the silver cobras on the car detailing was just too cool. They assured me that it wasn't childish and they thought it was cool, too.

We went to one Ford dealership that wouldn't let us drive anything, not even the standard GT. I'm not buying any car that I can't drive first. No way. I don't care what is, or how pretty, it's got to be about the ride. So that dealership lost our business. The salesman wanted me to promise I would buy that day before he'd let us drive. That would be like promising to marry a man before you've had the first date. I don't think so.

But we found another dealership to go play at. And, as fate would have it, they had not just the Shelby GT, but the Foose, as well. Foose is for Chip Foose, who is a car designer. Shelby is all about go faster, racing. Foose is about that, but also about the ride, a more luxury feel to the car. The Shelby has two hundred more horsepower than the standard GT. The Foose has about twenty. I drove the regular GT, and trust me, an extra two hundred horse power would be lost on me.

But it's not about the speed, for me, it's about the Foose sitting in the middle of the show room all red and black and beautiful. It was like an adolescent boy's wet dream, all it needed was a scantily clad woman lounging on it's hood. Our salesman, Dan, took us out to their garage area so we could see more Shelby's and that the Foose came in black with red styling, rather than the red with black stying they had in the show room. Dan did everything he could to be polite, nice, and sale us a car.

But, there was a problem with the Foose. It only comes in a manual transmission. It's been twenty years since I drove a stick. If I bought it, I would have to let Jon drive it home. How could it be my car if I was going to have to relearn how to drive it? It was stupid. I didn't need it. But every car I liked the best was only in manual. It became a theme.

Now, the Porsche 911 does come in flappy paddles where you shift with paddles on the steering wheel, but we never drove one. Two reasons; one we figured out that we could get a Foose and a 350Z, pay taxes, insurance, and gas for awhile, before we caught up to paying for one 911. Second reason we didn't drive one, what if it was as sweet a ride as Jeremy said it was on Top Gear. Better not to know. Besides, once I drove the standard GT, and felt that bass rumble of engine up my spine, through my hands, it was pretty much a done deal.

My friend Mark has a Prius, very environmentally sound, but the car creeps me. I finally figured out why. The Prius has no vibration, no sound, no heartbeat. The car feels dead. The mustang is very, very alive.

I spent two days talking myself out of the car. The big sticking point was the lack of automatic transmission, and consumer reports didn't give it as a good a notice as the Acura. I did all the grown up reasoning. But a funny thing happened, everyone thought I should get the car. Darla, my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, our comptroller for our company, everyone. Why? Because they all thought I needed to do something just because it was fun.

I asked Jon if I was that big a nose to the grindstone person? He didn't answer, and I guess silence was answer enough. Charles's comment to the same question was, "My aren't we having lovely weather for this time of year, especially in November." Again, answer enough.

So, Jon and I went back yesterday. It took me thirty minutes to choose between the red with black accent, or the black with red. They were both just flat sexy. There was no bad choice, so . . . there is a black Foose mustang sitting in my garage. It has red the color of blood across it's hood, dark and rich against the shining black. Jon did have to drive it home, but I pulled it into the garage. Today we'll go out and spend some time teaching me how to drive my own car. I still can't believe I did it. So impractical, so not me. But it was Charles who said it, "This car isn't about getting from point A to point B, it's about the journey, about the drive." I am completely goal oriented. I do not enjoy the process of much of anything, just getting something done. The exception is writing, where I prefer to write the book, but don't let myself get too excited about the book being out. But for everything else, it's all about the goal. The problem with being that goal oriented is that you forget to enjoy the journey. You not only don't stop to smell the roses, but you stop seeing them along the road, and you rush past, because you have somewhere to go, and a deadline chasing you.

The Foose isn't about deadlines. It's about wanting a car because it was beautiful, and the feel of the engine was damn near sexual. I brushed my fingers along the line of that car, from one end to the other, caressing it, tracing the curve of it's body. It sits in my garage, and just sitting there, with the engine off, it looks fast. Charles has explained that once I get used to the horsepower of the Foose we can modify it in stages, and work up that horsepower. He's made noises about getting it up to the Shelby's horsepower eventually, as I get better at driving it. Maybe. The practical part of me says no, but that part of me that wanted this car just because it was pretty, and fast, and the sound of the engine alone made my heart go pit-a-pat, thinks that if it will deepen that bass growl of engine, and let the heartbeat of the car dance up my spine even more, that more might not be bad.