Very Bloody Marys now --

-- on Amazon. Order your copy (or fifty) today!

Magnificent work

-- sometimes you stumble across something that makes you think that, yeah, the world might just be a good place.

Back Cover Copy for The Very Bloody Marys

The wonderful folks at Haworth just sent the back cover copy for The Very Bloody Marys -- what do you think?

#

A gang of vampires is threatening to drain San Francisco dry—and only another creature of the night can stop them!

A gang of Vespa-riding vampires are killing San Franciscans so indiscriminately they threaten to not only drain the city dry—but risk the discovery of vampires everywhere. Gay vampire cop Valentino is called upon to stop the group calling themselves The Very Bloody Marys before the situation gets worse. Unfortunately, it already has. You see, Valentino is still only a trainee who is in way over his head now that Pogue, his mentor, is missing. And this brutal gang is tough, smart, and very, very bloodthirsty. To do his job, Valentino must move quickly—and carefully—otherwise he may just get himself killed. What can a creature of the night do? The only thing he can, track the gang through the haunts of some very odd characters, unravel the mystery, and try to stay out of the sun.

“YOU’LL NEVER VIEW NIGHT LIFE IN SAN FRANCISCO QUITE THE SAME WAY. A WELCOME ADDITION TO THE VAMPIRE NOIR GENRE.”
—Maryelizabeth Hart, Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego

“Interesting and modern characters, a bit of local San Francisco color, and a CLEVER MYSTERY TWIST.”
—Brian Youmans, Editor, Suddenly Press

“HARD-BOILED, SHARP-EDGED, FUNNY AND FIERCE.”
— Jim Gladstone, Author, The Big Book of Misunderstanding

“A TOTALLY UNIQUE AND TRULY FASCINATING VOICE. . . . M. CHRISTIAN HAS ARRIVED!”
— Mike Resnick, Author, winner of 5 Hugo Awards and a Nebula Award

Calling All Writers

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Even better!

Thanks so much, Lora!

What do you think?

Looks like so much fun

Wheeeee!

Looking for People for Fun and Art

Okay, here’s the pitch: I work too damned much. So much I am beginning to seriously fry, and so social/recreation/art/fun must be had.

So I’m putting out the call for folks who might feel the same to form a pool/group/bunch to do it together, or at least share ideas and resources.

Off the cuff, here are some ideas for things to play with:

• Composing and posting weird ads in local papers (tied to larger project, like an interactive game?)
• Fake fundie protest at a local science museum
• LED Throwie party
• “Invisible city:” poetry written across the city – except visible only with UV lights
• Pick a corner of the city, everyone takes pictures of it over a period of time, posts the result to Flickr (experiment in subjective reality)
• Create fake campaign posters (as surreal as possible)
• Leave pages cut from a favorite book around the city
• Become ‘payphone warriors’ (www.payphonewarriors.com)
• Anything these folks do

The only thing I ask is for there to be a few simple rules:

Don’t waste people’s time: if you’re interested then be interested and not just say so and then vanish, not answer emails, or not carry through on plans or commitments.

No egos, please: I don’t care who you are or who you think you are. So what if you’ve been involved in the Cacophony Society for fifteen years or been listed on boing boing twice? Everyone involved is equal, no one is better than anyone else, and everyone has something to bring to the party -- or is at least worthy of respect.

If you’re interested write me at zobop@aol.com

Lisabet Sarai --

-- liked Filthy. Thanks, Lisabet!

When Insults Had Class

(compliments of my pal, John Montgomery)

"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire."
- Winston Churchill

"He is a modest little person, with much to be modest about."
-Winston Churchill

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure."
- Clarence Darrow

"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it."
- Moses Hadas

"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea's of any man I know."
- Abraham Lincoln

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it."
- Groucho Marx

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it."
- Mark Twain

"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends."
- Oscar Wilde

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend....if you have one."
- George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second... if there is one."
- Winston Churchill, in response

"I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here."
- Stephen Bishop

"He is a self-made man and worships his creator."
- John Bright

"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial."
- Irvin S. Cobb

"He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others."
- Samuel Johnson

"He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up."
- Paul Keating

"He had delusions of adequacy."
- Walter Kerr

"They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge."
- Thomas Brackett Reed

"He inherited some good instincts from his Quaker forebears, but by diligent hard work, he over came them."
- James Reston (about Richard Nixon)

"In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily."
- Charles, Count Talleyrand

"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without an address on it?"
- Mark Twain

"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork."
- Mae West

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."
- Oscar Wilde

Call for Submissions

My pal, Ellen Tevault, is doing a book. Send her stories, true believer!

Excelsior!

#

Call for Submissions – Superqueeroes (tentative title)
Edited by Ellen Tevault
Published by Haworth Press
Submission Deadline: February 1, 2006
Payment: $ 50 and 1 contributor copy

Superheroes are everywhere. Are they among the queer/lgbt community?

I want to read about original superheroes from all aspects of the queer community – drag king/queen, MTF, FTM, transgender, lesbian, gay, bisexual, butch, femme, bear, twink, genderqueer, intersex, etc.

Queer/lgbt community. I DO NOT WANT FAN FICTION. No blatant use of trademarked characters or veiled use of them either. Original characters and plots are necessary.
Guidelines:

1. Stories should be between 1500-6000 words in length. Email me if your story is longer or shorter.
2. Stories should have fully developed characters and plots.
3. Stories can be erotic if necessary to the plot, but this is not an erotica collection.
4. Name, pseudonym if used, address, phone number, word count, and email should appear on first page.
5. Each page should double-spaced and include your name, title, and page number.
6. Include short bio (50 words) with story.
7. For previously published stories, you must include publication history with the story.

Mail stories to:

Ellen Tevault
P.O. Box 199032,
Indianapolis, IN 46219.

Email me at superqueeroes@yahoo.com with any questions. DO NOT email stories to the above address unless requested.

Ellen Tevault has published lesbian stories on various websites and in Common Lives/Lesbian Lives, Faster Than Light zine, Early Embraces III, Perfect Valentine, and After Midnight, including a forthcoming story in Lipstick on Her Collar. She has also published articles in various local small publications. Her male pseudonym has published in Bearotica and Muscle Worshipers. This is her first trip into editing an anthology, so be patient with her. In turn she will keep her internal super villain under control.

A dear friend --

-- and a great writer. I can't rave too much about AF. Here are two of her sites:

The FAQ on her homepage

Her great Spalding Gray site (miss ya, Spaulding)