~~ "She has so many aliases, you'd think she was a spy!" ~~

Friday, August 25, 2006

Seattle


I'm going up to Portland next week, and as part of the trip we're going to Seattle to visit our dear friend Vicki-Marie, who herself is visiting from Paris. I've never been to Seattle, and there are several things I definitely want to see during the trip—most notably the underground tour and the Science Fiction Museum.

I don't know how much time we'll have for sightseeing vs. spending time with Vicki-Marie (which is our first priority), but I'd very much like suggestions of fun things to do and see in Seattle, good restaurants, etc. I know we won't be able to do everything we want to, so I'd love any and all recommendations!

(The picture above is from a previous trip of ours. That's me, the BMW K12LT we had at the time, and a glacier in the Swiss Alps.)

Monday, August 21, 2006

Flourishes

Words Written: “Sarita” 614
Writing Stats: Received contracts from Fabulous Whitby for “Proof of Devotion” and Sex in Public for “Make Me Come at the Ball Game”. Received comp copies of Tales of Travelrotica for Lesbians and The MILF Anthology. Both have very different, but very beautiful, covers. Rejections from Glimmer Train for “The Rising” and EscapePod for “The Sultan’s Sons” reprint, and return of “On Display” from Desire at Work because the antho has been cancelled.
Exercise: gym stuff, yoga, stretching, dancing

Whoops, didn’t mean to go so long without updating. Just…life going on, and little of it feels greatly newsworthy. Kind of like it’s summer, crops are growing…whereas autumn harvest will hopefully show the product.

The end of the week was fun, though! Thursday night I saw Dennis De Young (former lead singer of Styx) at the Canyon Club. I was loathe to go alone, but finally Teddie answered my e-mail and said she was going. For some reason, it didn’t even occur to me to ask Gillian if she was going (even though Ken swears we talked about it). Also, I’m sure I looked around online to see if Glen Burtnik (former bassist and guitarist for Styx at various times) was going to be there, and didn’t find info that he was. But he was! Alas, I didn’t bring my Styx shirt for him to sign—his is the only signature I don’t have, barring the two members who died before I started getting the shirt signed.

So we’re sitting there during the opening act (Mark Lennon of the band Venice, which opened for Styx in Germany in 2000…) when I register someone walking by in front of us. I turn to Teddie. “Was that Glen?” The two of us bolt out of our seats and head in that direction…to see him go into the men’s room. (What? Backstage has no men’s room? Dennis is hogging the backstage men’s room? Glen wanted to see if anybody would recognize him?)

When he came out, he came right over to talk to us (I think he recognized Teddie). She had a CD for him to sign, stuff to say…I had nuthin’. I babbled about being lame and not having anything for him to sign, and he just smiled and shook my hand. The worst (and funniest) part was, I had a barely controlled urge to hug him. I have no idea why. Possibly because I’d just hugged Gillian, Jenny, and Brett (Brent? Why can’t I ever remember his name?). Possibly because I’ve been hugged by several members of Styx, and Glen was familiar in the way that the rest of them are. Maybe just because he was cute and smiling and looked like he needed a hug. Luckily I was able to cross my arms and resist the urge. I’m sure I would’ve scared him to death.

I did buy one of his CDs (which I hadn’t even known existed) and after the show when he was on stage packing up his guitars, we got pictures with him and he signed my CD. So at least I got that. What a genuinely nice guy.

Oh, and I also bought a Sparky the Flying Dog shirt. If you understand that reference, I adore you beyond belief. (Tell me if you do!)

The show itself was fantastic. A little weird to hear Dennis again signing the songs I’ve been hearing Lawrence or JY sing for so long, but damn that man has an amazing voice. He might be a complete schmuck, but his talent is phenomenal.

This weekend I ran off to northern California for a conjugal visit with Ken and another Styx concert! Fran and I flew to Sacramento, rented a car, drove to Williams, and checked into Granzella’s Inn (the hotel affiliated with The Best Deli Ever!) before heading west into the mountains to the venue. The drive was gorgeous—I saw some of the most amazing specimens of California oaks I’ve ever seen, plus we drove by a pretty lake and it all made me a little homesick for the Adirondacks.

At the venue, we had dinner (I had an awesome lobster pasta dish) and Ken arrived and all was good. :-) The stage was thigh-high, the band was on fire (as always), and Lawrence cupped my cheek in his hand and I was all a-swoon. Plus I got a polaroid from him. Ken somehow ended up with a towel from JY and a drumstick from Todd (this is after joking as we walked in, that maybe my goal this year should be to get a towel from every band member, since I have Lawrence’s and Ricky’s already). After one particularly energetic song, Ricky mimed smoking motions at me. Why yes, thank you, I’m glad it was good for both of us! ;-)

Sadly, I had to fly back the next day, but I had all night to snuggle with my beloved. I’m going to go up and see him at the end of this month/beginning of next month (in part because our dear friend Vicki-Marie from Paris is in Seattle for a few weeks!), and we might be going to Britain at the end of next month…

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In writing news (because, yes, there is some in the midst of all of this!):

Sale! “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” won an honorable mention in the For the Girls Short Story Competition.

The new Black Lace Books website is up and running! You can read an interview with Teresa and I as Sophie, as well as a bio and other fun stuff.

Aaaand, Cat Scratch Fever got a lovely long review and 4/5 stars from Just Erotic Romance Reviews. A taste: "Sophie Mouette has a sizzling erotic romance with Cat Scratch Fever…. The twists and turns in the plot kept me guessing and I really liked the end, without a doubt…. Cat Scratch Fever is a very good erotic romance and I highly recommend this great read."

I’ve updated my website accordingly, including the judge’s nice comments about “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.” Enjoy!

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Currently Reading: Sanctuary, Nora Roberts
Lately Listened To: Styx, baybee!
Recently Watched: CSI: Miami