The not so Holy City
Mario here:
NEWS FLASH! My book trailer got a mention on
MediaBistro GalleyCat.
Let's remember Charlton Heston, shown here in his gun-toting hunky prime.
I recently got back from my most awesome visit to Charleston, SC. Yes, that Charleston, a.k.a. The Holy City because of all its churches and Wicked Charleston for...guess. (That's the awesome part). Home to pirates, patriots, and prostitutes. Lots of pics to share. All G-rated so go look for porn elsewhere.
This writing biz has allowed me to meet a number of wonderful people. At the top of that list are my hosts for this last trip, professional tour guides
Rebel Sinclair and
Mark Jones of
Black Cat Tours. I met Rebel at the West Virgina Book Fair and we've kept in touch. When I told her that I was going to set one of my vampire books in Charleston, she and boyfriend Mark rolled out the red carpet which included a stop in the diviest of Charleston dives, Big John's Tavern. (Guess who is Mark and who is Rebel.)
A shot of Big John's with requisite bras hanging from the ceiling.
Classy place. When I asked for a Manhattan, the bartender replied, "Do you know where you are?" I settled for a series of rum and Cokes, sophisticated drinks for Big John's. Practically girly.
Charleston is as beautiful as it is historic. Here's one of the magnificent residential gardens. Marvel but keep your distance.
Being a southern town, the place is full of quirks like this address of zero, not one, but zero.
Prohibition forced communities to test the limits of sophistry for a simple quenching of one's thirst with an adult beverage. In Charleston they hosted blind tiger fights. Buy a ticket and you'd get complimentary drinks (it was illegal to sell alcohol but you could serve it). Then management would announce that the blind tiger was sick so no fight but you could buy a ticket for tomorrow's bout (with more complimentary drinks). Commemorate the not-so-sober past by seeing double at the present Blind Tiger Pub. I did.
Mark took me to the tunnels underneath the city where you could find shwag from the Revolution (death to Tories!) and the Civil War (bombardment parties!). Entry gained through a trap door in a liquor store, where else?
The trip wasn't all sightseeing. I had signings with
CJ Lyons and Nina Bruhns in the local Barnes & Noble stores. Here is Community Relations Manager Ashley Burnes smirking as she puts autographed stickers on my books.
Mark fixed me up with a radio interview with John Dixon of WQSC.
Finally, time to return home. The rain picked up. On the way to the airport, Mark and I swung through town and found Rebel waiting for tourists with her percheron Chief hitched to the carriage.
No time to rest once I got to Denver. My sons and I accompanied fellow novelist
Chris Goff and her family for a machine gun shoot near Fort Morgan. Wholesome Second Amendment entertainment. Here, Chris goes full auto with an AK47. Charlton Heston would've been proud.
Capping the weekend was a great signing at the Denver Book Mall.
With so much going on, the only thing left to do was scrounging an invitation to a blind tiger fight.