In about a month, Fish Stick Fridays will be released. I’ve not talked a lot about this book mainly because I’ve just not had the time but as we circle closer in, I should be chatting it up.

First things first, it is not a Hellsinger book nor is it about Catholics. That seems to be the common thread of questions. The next Hellsinger book is “Send In The Ghosts” and will be out next year. And I’m struggling to remember if I even mention Catholicism in the book at all. Which I don’t think so but you never know.

What I do mention…or rather write about… is a little girl.

You see, Fish Stick Fridays is about a man who has lived most of his life on the wrong side of the law and now has to do right by his dead sister’s little girl. Deacon doesn’t know anything about children. He had no intention of ever having kids—practically a sure bet when you’re a gay guy—but he ended up with Zig, a little girl who spent quite a bit of time in the foster care system before Deacon was awarded custody. It was a long fight to get custody of Zig because who in their right mind would hand over a little girl to an ex-con?

I wanted to challenge myself a bit. Writing a child into a book…writing an actual child into a book… was tricky. I drew on friends’ kids for a reality check as well as the oh-so-huge family I belong to. While my immediate family is average sized by most standards, we’re practically extinct compared to the rest of the brood. I also drew on my years as a juvie counselor for a teen halfway house for inspiration. Zig needed to be a little girl but a street worn little girl. She grew up on the edge of Compton with a mother who loved her but didn’t necessarily make the best life decisions. Since that’s where Deacon came from as well, it’s something he understands and can relate to Zig’s POV.

But he also wants better for her.

Deacon was a great character to write. The balance between his bad boy instincts and doing the right thing by his niece was a fantastic thing to explore. I tried to make Zig as real of a kid as possible. She loves to read but let’s face it, she grew up in the system and it shows. Deacon isn’t a guy who is going to be able to provide her with a white picket fence lifestyle because he has no fucking idea how to do that.

Even when he falls for a guy who was born and raised behind a white picket fence.

Lang is everything Deacon is not. Moneyed, educated and a little reserved, Lang doesn’t quite know what hit him when Zig stomps into his shop. And while he certainly knows what he’d like to do with Deacon who is hot on Zig’s heels, Lang isn’t a want-take-have kind of guy.

For the most part this book is about balance… well around the murdery bits but still, balance. It’s about Deacon creating a normal life out of the nothing he was given and Lang taking a chance on a whirlwind of leather jackets, motorcycles and dimples that walked into his life.

Oh and about the title… Fish Stick Fridays is about the ONE day of the week where Zig (and Deacon) doesn’t have to eat her veggies. On Fridays, it is fish sticks and mac & cheese for dinner. A bit of comfort food in the middle of a whirlwind of life.

Seriously. Someone clue me  in.

I have to process the GRL video. I am looking forward to seeing it. Mostly, I am looking forward to finding my camera in the mess that is GRL swag.

Greg Tremblay rocks. Hands down. He totally kicked ass at the readings and he pwned Mary Calmes’ and Jaime Samms’ pieces as well as mine. Everyone had a great time on the Korean Food Fest… or so I was told. Our tiny excursion of 45 and more people to Zion Food Court then to Big Joy Family Bakery. I seriously need to find that camera. I hope we got the recordings.

Now on to scraping my brain for a book. Need to get back into the groove as it were. Some groove. Any groove.

Here’s a dog in an elephant costume.

Hello all!

I am still in recovery from GRL. My body and brain are dead tired but it’s time to get back onto the horse again. Well, at least get back on the Mustang. Because yes, time to get Kai into full gear.

I need to do a post mortem about GRL…and see if the recordings of Greg doing his readings of Jaime Samms, Mary Calmes and my work turned out. I hope they did because if so, then I’ll be loading them up for people to listen to. He did such a fantastic job and it was a pleasure to be there to experience his talent live and in such an intimate environment. As well as sharing that experience with 50 other GRL attendees. So so lovely.

Honestly, I feel like I’m sun drunk. It’s kind of like that every year. We all depart, crying and sad because really and truly, GRL is a long weekend slumber party of the bestest of people.

But reality comes back quickly. And harsh.

The Firebird’s brakes went spongy on Sunday much to my swearing and growling. So into the shop he went. Sighs. Poor baby.

This week is going to be a lot of coffee and sleeplessness.

Whatcha all up to?

I have to wake up in a few hours and I’m dead tired. GRL this year is a humming buzz of activity and oh man I’m paying the toll. BUT… tonight was the Korean Food Fest and the readings by Greg Tremblay. I shall try to grab some pix and share.

But for now… sleep!

So I’m at the hotel. I’m not quite Rhys Ford but I will be tomorrow. Right now I’m in the room doing some typing stuff and wondering why the room looks like a swag monster vomited up everything it ate in the past five years onto the floor. I’ll have to organize tomorrow because it’s a bit too far past the line of chaos for me. Dunno why

Whatcha all doing? GRL is happening and the hotel doesn’t quite know what hit it.

So much is flying right past me and I’m not having a lot of time to write. Hopefully once GRL is past, I can buckle down and carve out some time. Actually I have no choice. Time must be carved.

Writing Urban Fantasy is different from murders. The voice is more fluid and there’s more… tang to the air. Especially with Kai. I also have to find the music for this book. So far, nothing is hitting. It’ll come.

Tomorrow we’re going to have a special excerpt and giveaway for Eric Arvin’s new book, The Rascal. Be sure to stop in.

I should also be talking about Fish Stick Fridays with you all. To be honest, I’m very fond of that book. For some reason, it’s just a sweet kind of murderous sorta of thing. Really. Like… a candied poisonous butterfly.

With a hot mechanic and a sweet and hot bookseller. But you know… that kind of average every day stuff.

I also need to buy rice. We ran out of rice. Who the hell runs out of rice? A trip to Zion or Marukai is needed.

I woke up dragging today. Stayed up way too late reading Jonathon Kellerman after watching Ink Master and Face Off. I’ve got a hell of a lot to today and very little time to do it.

Tonight we’re going to dinner at Island Style which is a local-to-Hawai’i style restaurant which is one of my favourites. So I’ll take pix of what we ate because you know… food porn.

Woke up with a kink between my shoulder blades. Very annoying and I can’t shake it loose. I need a good massage. I keep saying that but I never go do it.

My brain is totally blank except for book stuff and work. We’ve got GRL coming up around the corner and a lot of energy has gone into working on that. So much energy *grins*

What do you all planned for this weekend?

Alligators are native only to the United States and China.

Why do I bring this up?

Because I kind of woke up in a pissy mood and the day didn’t seem to be working for me ever since. So I read random facts to push my brain to the side a bit.

Oh man and my coffee is too hot. We have no creamer at work. I am saddened. And I should have known better and had some back up because the coffee supplies are stocked by a non-drinker of the bean. I know… those people are odd. But instead of creamer I used a hot chocolate K-cup. Hey, it has milk in it. I just need a little bit.

It’s just been a thwarting kind of day. Nothing major to get into. Just small niggling things that add up after a few hours.

Still, I shall go forward.

What do you all do when you’re just in that mood where you skin doesn’t fit right?