Mark your calendars.

 

I’ll be a featured reader at TWILIGHT TALES on January 29^th, at 7:30 pm (at the RED LION PUB).  I’m still figuring out what I’m reading and what the official title of it all will be…but I should be enjoying the sound of my own voice for a good long while.  Who wants to come cheer me on?  Besides me you have a nifty group of writers and a cool, British style pub complete with hauntings.  They celebrated their 13th aniversary this last Monday and I got to drink (mostly) for free (grin).

 

I think something’s busted inside my foot.  My mom was cleaning the bottom of a very large shelving unit and I had it balanced, on arms and on my hip.  It slipped and came down with a mighty crash on my right foot, on the “knuckle” of my big toe and the area behind, which sticks up just a little higher than the rest of the foot, so the force came down on that one point, instead of dispersing.  I’ve never broken a bone in my life (though I’ve certainly suffered incidents where I should have) and I’m not sure if I have now.  The force of the blow made me nauseous for several minutes.  I sat and held my head in place so it wouldn’t spin off.  But it’s hard to read the wound . . . it’s not really on a joint or moving part.  I walk on it and think…that’s not so bad…but then I’ll take a shower and the force of the water hitting the top of my foot makes me think I’ll pass out.

 

But enough about my boo-boos.

 

What are you watching these days?

 

Lots and lots of Get Smart episodes.  My Dad just got the entire series on DVD.

 

What are you reading these days?

 

Lenore: the cute little dead girl (vol. 1).  I’m also reading Making Comics by Scott McCloud.  This is a great book.  McCloud breaks down the language of visuals combined with words and whether you ever plan on making comics or not, it’s a great read in terms of a study in communication.  It’ll give you some extra respect for the medium.

 

A comic book (or graphic novel, if you prefer) idea has been haunting the space between my ears for a while.  I’ll sit down to work on something else and then several separate pieces (characters, images, flashes) of this book hit me and I have to write it down.  It’s fleshing itself out really fast.  Tentatively, I’d title it Gun-Dead (or maybe GUndead, if I wanted to be really cute…and I like to be cute).  Among other things, it’d involve a little boy or girl (haven’t decided), a bit of voodoo (go figure), and a possessed Tommy-gun that likes to swear.

I listen to the radio, and then my mind starts playing tricks with the words . . . 

I like hangin’ upside-down and sleepin’ all day long,

‘cause it doesn’t remind me of anything.

 

I like spittin’ out goblins and wicked songs,

‘cause it doesn’t remind me of anything.

 

I like voodoo doll grins and talkin’ to crows,

‘cause it doesn’t remind me of anything.

 

I like pumpkin cackles and listenin’ to howls,

‘cause it doesn’t remind me of anything.

 

I like finding light wanderin’ in the dark,

‘cause it doesn’t remind me of anything.

 

I like sproutin’ an evil head and namin’ him Bob,

‘cause it doesn’t remind me of anything.

 

I like grabbin’ my shovel and playin’ Wake the Dead,

‘cause it doesn’t remind me of anything.

I’ve been up and down.  I’m north and home once again.  Got to spend a good chunk of time with TORRIE and friends.

 

You can now see my VIRTUAL BOOK SHELF, if you like, over at LIBRARYTHING.COM (I prefer the “Cover View” to the “List View”…but I’m just visual like that).  It’s a 100 book sampling of what I have sitting around on my shelves.  On my profile page you can click on “author cloud” and that’s pretty neat.  Anything that promotes literacy is good, because literacy means more potential customers…

 

I came home to jump, in fear, at finding a mysterious Raggedy Andy sort of a doll sitting on my writing desk.  In a room like mine (all skulls, cackling Jack-o-Lanterns, and raven grins), something like this doll is frightening…especially when it apparently got there on its own cognition.

 

“Hello,” I said.

 

“…” answered the doll.

 

“If you can hear me…don’t nod your head . . . good.  OK, if you don’t plan on coming to life and murdering me tonight . . . don’t nod your head.”

 

The doll responded and I was relieved . . . to a point.  I’ve had a history with malevolent dolls (for more details, ask me about ROBERT THE POSSESSED DOLL OF KEY WEST).

 

But it didn’t offer an explanation as to why it was there.  And it was familiar…sort of…maybe not…I didn’t know.

 

The next day, I found out the doll didn’t get there on its own.  My Mom had gone through some old boxes and found it and thought I’d want it.  It was a gift to me, as an infant, from my godparents (a friend of theirs made it).  It’s just as old as me.

I was much more recently given a sort of knock-off-of-Jack-Skellington doll from GENENDA.  I think I’ll put the two dolls together, lock the old doll in the Velcro-gripped embrace of the new doll, just to be safe.  I think a charmingly morbid doll would protect me from a deceptively cute doll (my inner universe has a peculiar set of physics…just go with it).

 

That’s all for now.

 

RANDOM COMMENT MADE IN A CONVERSATION TODAY:  “Midgets are proof that the universe has an inherit sense of humor.”

I got my name in a PRESS RELEASE.

This is me doing an impersonation of myself bragging.

Quick post.

I’ve been bouncing here and there this week.  Went to Springfield, hung out with Torrie and various other folks.  Went to a writing class…and of all days, it was the day that the official announcement came out that my book won Outstanding Masters Thesis.  The department was all a buzz.  They thought it was good for the English department that an English thesis won the award, and good for any of the creative arts students, of any department, in that a work of ficiton won and that helps earn some scholarly respect for said arts.  It was neat.  It made me feel like I wrote something important.

 

Then, further south, to see Genenda’s first play as director of the Nashville High School.  Congrats Gennie!!!  There were pirates and laughs and the kids all seemed to remember me quite fondly, for only having spent one night working out sword fight choreography with them.

 

Then to Bloomington for Amy and Jeramie’s place.  Some geeky gaming.  More familiar faces.

 

Now, I’m back up in Chicagoland, for briefest of pit stops, before heading back down to Springfield all over again.

 

In writing class, we were handed various, tiny pumpkins and squash and given five minutes to write.  Here’s a quick textual sketch…

 

 

Hey, Pumpkin

 

“I have to go.”

 

“Why?” I asked.

 

“It’s almost midnight.  I’ll turn into a pumpkin.”

 

She grinned and I laughed and pulled her to me in a sigh.  We kissed, hard, and she must have forgotten her need to leave.  Moments went by in fallen leaf whispers.

 

Then, a desperate moan hatched in her throat and she broke away form me, running down the grove, sobbing.  I gave chase.  I wanted to apologize.  I wanted to ask what I did wrong.  Did I rush things?  But she was so fast.  She vanished, far ahead and I could only follow by the sound of her wailing through the trees.

 

I came to the edge of the hill and God she was so fast, I couldn’t even see her in the moonlit distance.  All I saw was something round and orange, rolling down the hill, at great speed.  The sound of wailing filled the night.

Insomnia strikes again…

Last night I was falling asleep at my chair, at the computer…but as soon as I lay down…my brain won’t shut off.

And I have a very long day of driving and class.

I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE this!!!

To start, several authors and celebs have put up stories in six words HERE.

Here’s my attempt at a story in six words:

Dante,

You left your wallet.

-Luci

And now, on to the featured presentation . . .

First off, I just got a call from UIS about my epic poem thesis (which you might remember was picked to represent the English department for consideration as Outstanding Graduate Thesis of the Year). And . . . 

. . . it won out against all the other departments.  I’ll have to check, but that might be the first bit of fiction to do that at this school (as I’ve heard, fiction doesn’t usually even make the cut in the English program).

And now . . . we do the dance of joy!

The awards ceremony will be either January 22^nd or 29^th (I’ll hear soon, either way) and I think I have to make a big speech about my epic poem/novel, Souls Unsure.

And . . . what went on during my Halloween?

 

Well, last week, the lovely Torrie made the arduous journey from Springfield, just to celebrate the Halloween season with me (she’s nifty-cool like that).  To start, we shared some spooky coffee.

We listened to an audio tale of Neil Gaiman’s short story, “October in the Chair.”

 

Then she, Nick, and I went into Chicago to brave the reputedly only “adult” HAUNTED HOUSE in the city.  It was adult, and very gory (including a leather faced guy in high heels getting a hummer from a corpse)…but not the best I’ve seen.  Still, all in all, it was fun and it had a bar inside.

 

Then the three of us went to THE RED LION PUB for some drinks.  We looked at a picture of a ghost that haunts the bar, drank copiously, and discussed the practice of autographs, and a vow of a certain tattoo to be placed on a certain ass, later.

 

Flash to Friday . . .

Nick and I again reprised our rolls as Jay and Silent Bob.  Last time we did this, we won several hundred bucks at a costume contest at Excalibur.  So we thought maybe we could repeat this year (especially with their new movie being out).  So we hit a club and met up with a few friends.

Justin was looking especially evil that night . . . 

Everyone loved us.  We stayed in character the whole time.  Several groups of people stopped to chat, or get their pictures taken with us, or otherwise bullshit with Jay and Silent Bob.  The problem…the place we were at had no contest.  Bummer.  So we left for greener fair.  Nadda.  Every other place we visited either had no contest, or it was already over.  So we marched back towards the car, still in character, ready to drive and find a place that still had a contest.  People on the streets got a kick out of us.  And then things got even more surreal . . .

 

We pass an alley, between two bars and two cops are arresting two perps.  They have them against the wall and are slapping on the cuffs when one of the perps looks over, and (even though he’s being arrested) gets the biggest grin on his face and yells, “Hey, look, it’s Jay and Silent Bob!”

 

Now all the perps and cops are looking in our direction.  We maintain character.  Nick, in his Jay voice, yells out, “Snoochy Boochies!”  They yell something back and Nick replies, “Keep it alive, brothers!”  At this point, the cops cannot keep a straight face and they’re smiling and laughing and the perps are laughing and it seemed everyone was having a good time and I think, had this been a musical, we would, the six of us, started dancing.

 

Instead we moved on a little further into surreality and met up with the cats from Sesame Street.  There were several of them.  In big, professional looking costumes.  I’m not sure if they were doing it for fun or for some promotion, but it’s a strange sight to see the characters you grew up with turn to you and go, “Hey, it’s Jay and Silent Bob!” and then follow us around wanting to party.  I imagine it was a stranger sight for the people seeing the whole group of us marching down the street.

“Yeah, punk, we’ve been selling blunts on Sesame Street for years.”

But happy stories go bad sometimes.

 

We get back to the car and it’s been broken into and my MP3 player and transmitter have been stolen.  That was an important gadget to me, the ability to take my music with when I go to write 😦

 

On top of that, the savages took my poor little brother’s jar of homemade jam he had gotten from a friend.  Nick was quite angered by all of this.

 

Saturday . . . found us in Bloomington, LARPing at Jeramie and Amy’s place.  Sunday, we lazed around their house for a bit, and I got to hang out with my goddaughter and she has definitely learned how to smile and she’s not afraid to show off that talent, and it’s cute as can be.  Before heading home we hit the CREATURES CRYPT, one of the better haunted houses in Illinois.

Monday . . . I headed to THE RED LION PUB for another addition of TWILIGHT TALES.  It was an open mic night, with the featured theme of “Monsters.”  I read my short story, “The Halloween Tree,” and it went off well.  So well, that the organizer came up and told me he wanted me to come in, in December, to read as a featured reader with some published authors.  I’ll be reading for 30 to 40 minutes on those nights.  I should have some dates soon to give everyone.

 

And Halloween…

 

Nick and I took on the guise of Jay and Bob again and hit another club.  This one had a costume contest.  We worked the crowd before then, shaking lots of hands and getting in lots of pictures (I’m sure we’re haunting dozens of blogs that we’ll never see).  Even the DJ saw us and mentioned us over the mic.  However, come contest time, they had everyone pack onto the dance floor and some judges would pick out twenty people.  They never spotted us.  Even when the winners of round one wee being marched up on stage, a judge noticed us and told us what awesome costumes we had.  Nick, as Jay, asked why we didn’t get a ticket for the next round and she said that she didn’t see us.

 

Sigh.

 

I’m sure we would have won, from pure love from the crowd, had we gotten past the initial round.  There was a cool costume that definitely deserved to be up there though, a guy dressed up as bender – he even had light up eyes – and I wish I had a picture of that.

 

Finally, Neil Gaiman wrote a cool and chilling article on Halloween for the New York Times and you can read it HERE.

And that concludes this overly long Halloween post.

 

Pleasant dreams.