Whew! Again. Mario here:

First of all, HUGE congratulations to our sister scribe on Biting Edge, Jeanne Stein for winning the WOTY (Writer of the Year for you non-RMFW types).

Last Friday I turned in the revised manuscript for Jailbait Zombie. As usual, it was the manic-obsessive sprint to the deadline. Here is what my writing area looks like in the aftermath. Yes, many trees died (as did many cups of coffee).




Saturday I attended Lynda Sandoval and Terri Clark's signing of their anthology, Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, at the Park Meadows Borders. Linda is seated at the lower left, Terri to the right, and fans behind them. I give the book four chocolate kisses even though none of the authors addressed an undead break-up. Buy five copies and send to friends.

That afternoon I was at the Mini Sci/Fi Con at the Littleton Barnes & Noble.
Here are my fellow scribes LE Allen, John Beachem, the extremely prolific Christie Golden, Tammy Zourzek, and Julia Phillips. Not pictured is Steven Fawcette, who was busy with a customer.
  ¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 9:23 PM  0 comments

  For those in the Denver writing community (specifically the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers organization) you may already be aware that last Saturday, yours truly was named 2008 Writer of the Year. Now while this does not have national implications, it means some good local PR and a spot as one of the keynote speakers at our annual conference. My competition was Joan Johnston (yikes—multi-published, multi-NYT bestseller, award winning author with about 1000 books out) Mario (yes, our Mario—talented, funny, popular, national-bestselling author and man about town) and me.

Let me tell you, I was flabbergasted when my name was called as winner. In fact, I was at the function (a picnic) when it was announced and I had kind of backed up to hide behind a tree so if anyone looked to check how the loser was doing, I’d be hard to spot.

I won.

I keep pinching myself.

I actually won.

Now, Mario and I had already decided that if he or I won, we’d buy the winner a tiara. It seemed only fitting. It was with some trepidation, then, that I trekked off to writer’s group last night knowing that he would have no doubt already secured the prize.

I was right.

But instead of:




This is what awaited me:




The disco balls are a nice touch, I must admit. The only problem is that I think it was made for a small child or a dog—the headband pinches like a son-of-a-bitch. And no, Mario, it’s not because my head has swelled.

As they say, however, it’s the thought that counts.

Yeah, they do say that, don’t they?

So what’s with the alien disco balls, Mario? What are you trying to tell me?  ¶ posted by Jeanne Stein @ 5:27 AM  9 comments

  up in the mountains Mario here:

Still in rewrite mode. Had a little break when I attended the Crested Butte Writers Conference this weekend. Hobnobbed with lots of great writers and readers.



The headliner was John Shors, author of the acclaimed Beneath a Marble Sky, a fictionalized account of the building of the Taj Mahal. John is the king of self-promotion and leveraged a boatload of book clubs to get on bestseller lists and a movie deal.


Another amazing and talented writer was Karen Joy Fowler, sci-fi Hugo Award winner, and author of The Jane Austen Book Club. Now a major motion picture.



Next up was the prolific and successful Susan Wiggs, RITA Award winner and NYT bestseller.

Check 'em all out.

Crested Butte is an awesome resort. The place is mountain bike heaven and the locals socialize by riding in costume, to include sumo and pirate.

Here's another reminder:

I'll be at the Barnes & Noble Mini Sci/Fi Convention, Saturday, June 28, 2-4 PM.
8136 West Bowles Avenue
Littleton, CO 80123

Come check out fellow authors LE Allen, John Beachem, Steven Fawcette, Christie Golden, Julia Phillips, and Tammy Zourzek.  ¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 8:23 PM  0 comments

  Addendum to Writer With No Words Yesterday I had brunch with Michele Chambers, a local aspiring author, and last night I attended a program planning meeting for Mile-Hi Con, a local sci/fi con. The program meeting was chaired by Rose Beetem, a tireless champion of all things fantastical.

So what, you ask?

Brunch with Michele made me realize how lucky I am to be published in a genre I love and to remember how it was in the beginning—the excitement, the doubt, the rejection, the joy. Thank you, Michele, for reminding me.

Sitting with an intelligent, funny, interested and interesting bunch at the Village Inn made me realize what a great place this is to be. Denver’s MileHi Con may not be the biggest of them all, but it does not lack for enthusiastic supporters. I’m happy to be a part of it and grateful for the opportunity.

So, it turns out I have words after all. I just need a slap along side the head sometimes to shake them loose.

Now back to the regularly scheduled program….  ¶ posted by Jeanne Stein @ 7:27 AM  0 comments

  I have nothing to say today. Pretty sad, right? A writer with no words. So I decided to show Sarah Michelle Geller all over the place. It must be nice to jump from New York to LA on a seemingly daily basis. Here’s what I mean: Michelle on the set of Veronika Decides to Die” June 10th.





Michelle in New York on June 12th.



Michelle in Santa Monica on June 15.





I could probably find more but you get the idea. Wait, I just realized the Santa Monica picture was taken in December. The beret and scarf should have been the give-away. If I take this out, though, I REALLY have nothing to say. Go ahead--tell me how lame this is.

One bit of news—My friends Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge sold a project. The blurb: Two superpowered women, once best friends, now on opposite side of the law, must work together to fight the Big Bad Evil. (Think JUSTICE LEAGUE meets BLADERUNNER, or maybe 1984.)

I for one, can’t wait to read this one!  ¶ posted by Jeanne Stein @ 7:39 AM  2 comments

  HFD Mario here:

Happy Father's Day!

I'm still in rewrite death march for Jailbait Zombie. Light a candle for me (or a flare, flamethrower, white phosphorus bomb, thermite grenade, etc.)

I read an article that analyzed what photos people carried in their wallets. This is the order of popularity: grandkids, kids, wives/sweethearts, the dog, the cat, the horse, the house, the car/motorcycle/boat. Coming in dead last was a photo of the chief breadwinner, the old man...the dad.

Number one honorable son treated me to dinner at my favorite restaurant, Dazzle Jazz and Supper Club. I had a delicious grilled sirloin steak cooked with enough garlic to kill a hundred vampires. To wash down all that beef I had a mojito and a martini. Cheers!

Have you ever watched a movie and the second time around hit you with a different impression? The first time I watched The Big Lebowski I fell asleep. On the advice of a friend I saw it again and it has become one of my faves.


Last Friday I watched Jurassic Park for the first time since it was released eons ago. T-Rex was still Mr. Bad Ass. Unfortunately, I thought the movie blew chunks because the people were such wimpy morons and the contrived plot twists. Laura Dern looked great pimping her legs in khaki shorts but by the end of the first hour I wanted even her to get run through the dino-gizzard. The movie could've been made a thousand times more interesting by the appearance of this guy:

Good idea, huh?

SIGNING ALERT

I'll be at the Littleton Barnes & Noble Mini Sci/Fi Convention, Saturday, June 28, 2PM.
8136 West Bowles Avenue
Littleton, CO 80123

Come check out fellow authors LE Allen, John Beachem, Steven Fawcette, Christie Golden, Julia Phillips, and Tammy Zourzek.

Beam me up!  ¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 7:00 PM  1 comments

 

I know, I know—the last thing you want to be reminded of is rising gas prices but I did think this was funny. It came over on an email from a friend so I have no idea who to credit.

Typical Colorado weather—90 yesterday and barely 70 today….from a tank top to a hoodie.



Anyone else read Sebastian Faulk’s Devil May Care? I liked it, but I thought the ending was a little lame. That’s all I’ll say for now, unless someone wants to discuss it. Sales, though, are brisk. Penguin claims it set the record for the fastest selling hardback fiction title—44,000 copies in four days.


J K Rowling also set a record—her 800-word prequel to HP sold at a charity auction for $49,000. That’s $60.00 per word for a handwritten piece of paper a little bit bigger than a postcard.


College conference I’d like to have attended: Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Ark held a three day symposium devoted to Buffy! Among the papers being presented: “Buffy and Feminism,” “Buffy and Identity,” “Hero’s Journey, Heroine’s Return: Buffy, Eurydice and the Orpheus Myth.” Heavy.

And, last but not least, for all you authors out there, a novel marketing idea. Best-selling UK author Peter James will have his name emblazoned on the side of a Hyundai patrol car. Why didn't I think of that? What about you? Any unusual marketing ideas to share?


That’s all, folks--  ¶ posted by Jeanne Stein @ 6:54 AM  0 comments

  On my knees Mario here:

I'm deep in revisions for the Felix Gomez book 4. This weekend I took a break from the manuscript to help fellow artist Jennifer Mosquera (back from her 18 mo stay in NYC) with her street painting at La Piazza 'dell Arte. Later I'll post pics of us at work. Here's a photo from last year to give you an idea of the festival.


This is Jennifer's watercolor, Bar Flies, that we recreated on the asphalt. After all our hard work (hence the On my knees reference) on Saturday, the next morning it rained.


It's time for the Lighthouse LitFest. Exercise your brain at these enlightening workshops.

Join me this Thursday, 8PM, at Forest Room 5 where I'll be presenting a brief retrospective of my artwork with writers Rebecca Berg and Jennie Dorris in Mixed Up Arts. Besides a short reading from each of us, come enjoy the musical stylings of Rebecca playing the cello and Jennie plinking on her marimba. What a combo!

Saturday, I'm the dude for the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers June program: Revisions? We don't need no stinking revisions.
I'll be going over what to expect after you get The Call. (Hint. The world doesn't start revolving around you.) Remember, June 14, 1PM, at the Belmar Library in Lakewood, CO. Those of you living out of state are especially welcome.  ¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 5:39 AM  0 comments

 

A bit of personal book news (read blatant self promotion)—The German edition of Blood Drive went on sale this week. I really do like these covers. In case you're curious, here's what it looks like on Amazon.de



And, the cover for the fourth Anna book, Legacy, is up now on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Always a thrill to see those covers appear on the booksellers’ sites.

So what else is new? A short video promo for Joss’ Dollhouse. I can't wait to see this one.

An article by a reporter on how Buffy saved her sanity while she was in Iraq. Good reading.

A great Spike video that I saw first on Marta Acosta’s Vampwire Blog (if you haven’t checked this one out, you should. ) If you’re offended by the F word, you probably don’t want to watch…. However, I can hear Jeff Shelby saying—who knows you that would be offended by the F word? He’s probably right. Just thought I should post fair warning. PS I LOVE this song.

Borders is now online. But they don’t have my cover up yet so maybe I shouldn’t mention it.

Another fun video called Book Launch 2.0. Every writer can relate.



And for HP fans, there will be a special edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to be released on Sept. 23, the anniversary of the first appearance of the boy wizard. New “exclusive bonus” material is included although no hints were dropped as to what that material might be. The new cover is said to portray Harry in a more “vulnerable” light.  ¶ posted by Jeanne Stein @ 7:30 AM  4 comments

  Tunes? Eats? Fooling around? Mario here:

I'm still deep in the rewrites for book four. I did crawl out of my cave long enough to attend the signing of one of my all-time favorite writers, Jennie Shortridge. Her debut novel, Riding with the Queen, is about music. Eating Heaven is about food (and family loss). Book three, Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe, completes the triangle of Jennie's obsessions: Music...Food...and...SEX.


Yesterday, I again escaped the cave to attend a show of everyone's favorite Love Bondage Goddess, Judy Tenuta. She's the funniest woman in America. If you don't believe me, just ask her.


How many of your dance cards include the movie Sex and the City? For one opinion, check out New York Observer reviewer, Rex Reed, at his bitchy best. MEOW!

Fellow mystery writer Pari Noskin Taichert has just learned that her blog Murderati, is up for an Anthony Award for Best Mystery Website for 2007. As Pari said in her announcement, Yee Haw!

PS This Saturday I'll be presenting a workshop for the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. Here's the pitch: The day arrives and you get the call. A publishing house has bought your manuscript. Your dream has come true. Soon, your book will be on the shelves.
Okay, now what!

Yes, now what? Hey, I've learned something.

The workshop will be June 14, 2008, from 1 pm to 3 pm at the Belmar Public
Library, 555 S. Allison Parkway, Denver, just west of the intersection of
Wadsworth and West Virginia, across from the Belmar Shopping Center,
Lakewood, CO. This workshop is free, and open to the public (meaning you).  ¶ posted by Mario Acevedo @ 8:03 PM  0 comments