One thing I do enjoy is following cooking programs and such on YouTube. And one of my faves is the Foodland Cooking Feeds. Foodland is a grocery store in Hawai’i but they really do serve up a great foundation of how to cook local dishes…and other things.

I even forgive them the bitter melon dish he made.

So the new year is upon us. We’ve left the Rat behind and welcome the Ox. Lots of things happened last year and not many of them good but with the coming of the new Lunar Year, it is time to shed the past demons and go forth.

It’s kinda odd having a Lunar New Year without fireworks but… I live in SoCal and well, wildfires are a thing.

We’ve taken to going outside with Badger… while he’s on a lead. Nothing like walking the cat around in the backyard. The pandemic lockdown is getting to all of us. To be fair, I’ve also painted the back of my front door orange so what does that say about me?

I mean the most exciting thing I have going is a new roomba that I finally figured out how to make work the right pattern. It’s a very tricky thing.

But that’s an update for a bit. Trying to recapture my writing brain and bring in something fun and good. I think we’re all in need of just breathing in fresh air and most of all, being kind to ourselves. Make sure you do something nice for yourself. And I don’t mean buying a new spool of dental floss. Something actually nice 😀

I do so adore this. No idea why. But sometimes, you just need a bunch of happy cats marching away.

Xian and Spencer are now in audiobook format with the spectacularly talented Greg Tremblay bringing them to life as only a master narrator can. I am so very excited to bring you the first installment of the Chinatown Demons series and am so looking forward to sharing with you the continuing adventures of Xian Carter and Spencer Ricci as they come up against some of San Francisco’s most wicked murderers.

Bound

Chinatown, San Francisco.

A different place — another time— and where the city’s streets keep secrets, shadowy mysteries SFPD Inspector Spencer Ricci needs to dig through after he finds himself on a case involving a dismembered, mummified man in a restaurant’s locked storage room.

Spencer drags around a lot of baggage, including an ongoing battle with the bottle and a long career as an LAPD detective he’d set fire to in a blaze of booze-soaked mistakes. San Francisco is supposed to be a new start but his old ghosts haunt him, beckoning him back into his self-destructive bad habits. Bad habits that include contemplating doing dirty things with the wrong kind of guy and this time, it’s a sleek, cold-tempered medical examiner named Xian Carter with a complicated reputation.

For a century-old demon, Xian Carter is content with his secretive life. Hiding his nature from the mundane world, he blends in with the city’s inhabitants as best he can but even the best of predators make mistakes. Delving into the mysteries of the dead provide a welcome distraction from endless nights and hiding in plain sight amuses him, until something supernaturally wicked comes knocking on his door with an extremely hot, broody Inspector close behind.

Murder makes for strange bedfellows and this one is no exception. The twists and turns of the case leaves Xian and Spencer on a wild goose chase after clues but Xian can only hope there’s a human at the end of the trail—because the last thing San Francisco needs is another predator.

US Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08TT43XK1/

Bound is available on Audible, Amazon and iTunes! Purchase Links for ACX (US, UK, France, and Germany):

United States: https://www.audible.com/pd/B08TTXHDQ3/?source_code=AUDFPWS0223189MWT-BK-ACX0-233827&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_233827_rh_us

United Kingdom: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/B08TSV6HKY/?source_code=AUKFrDlWS02231890H6-BK-ACX0-233827&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_233827_rh_uk

France (English Version / Not Translated): https://www.audible.fr/pd/B08TTBL8NQ/?source_code=FRAORWS022318903B-BK-ACX0-233827&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_233827_rh_fr

German (English Version / Not Translated): https://www.audible.de/pd/B08TT8Q9MX/?source_code=EKAORWS0223189009-BK-ACX0-233827&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_233827_rh_de

 

It has been a bit of a struggle getting back into the writing brain. These past couple of years have been rough and well, so much tragedy in my life. But the thing is, sit down and hit the keyboard really is a thing.

I am kind of purging things out of my life and also in a way, shedding a bit of emotional weight burdening me. I am hoping that in the coming days, I can submerge myself into the ether that I write in. I miss being able to do that. But I can feel it rising back up and I am hopeful it will soon become a sanctuary once again.

There is also too much mustard on my hot dogs right now. Dijon mustard. It’s a good mustard but I think my brain is searching for the spicy brown. Should have drizzled chili crisps on them.

I also am looking forward to being able to fall back into whimsy. I miss it.

The Potato will be continuing his Borking Strolls and I hope to publish his Borking Reports. Right now he’s begging for either a hot dog or a doggie treat but that’s his life. Treats, Borking Strolls, Scritches, and Naps. Oh and dinners.

And I actually want to leave a video from a channel I follow called Tribal People Try. Normally they sample foods, usually Western / American, and it’s an interesting look at how people view one another’s tastes. In this particular video, it’s 2 pairs of the men on the channel playing a game. It’s lovely to see them smile, laugh and simply have a bit of silly fun. I think we sometimes forget silly fun is probably the best kind of fun to have. I think I’ll need to find a time and place to do this for a bunch of people.

I haven’t shared much here other than Borking Reports but as you all know, my sister Jenn passed away and it’s been… odd. Jenn lived with me from 1987 to her passing last month and just the suddeness of it all and the shock of it happening means for me an unsettling mind space. I’ve been focused on trying to get her affairs in order and well, my brain’s not been into writing.

Because as you all know, this year has sucked.

I’m hoping I can reboot things off and dive back in because I do need to find those words, find those stories. I think it will birng me some peace and calm.

What I can tell you is to NOT order a 9 drawer dresser / armoire from Amazon which requires 6 hours of assembling. We’re on hour three and a half of the dresser and the preassembly is complete. All of the drawers are done and now comes the pulling together of big pieces. As a project to get my head out of the dark places I was falling into, I focused on getting the guest room changed about to refresh it and provide a place for our friends and family to come to. And see, I say our. Because that’s… that’s where my head is at.

Andi is here in the other room which was planned before Jenn passed because we were planning on having Jenn’s space refreshed and making room for a hospital bed if she needed it. Every single plan we had was for her to come home.

And instead, she went to a different home, back to the stars and the universe to be with those who have gone before her. It is unfair and I’m angry about it. She should have had more time with us. She just should have had more time here.

But moving forward is necessary. So, there will be more plans, more words, more laughter and we will continue to share stories about her and always couch it with… well, you know how Jenn was… *grins*