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Totally thinking ahead here!

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It’s a gloomy and rainy morning so far, but that often unreliable weather app on my iPhone says that by noon it will be sunny and remain sunny for the rest of the afternoon!!

Yay!!

So I’m going with that thought today, gang! Nothing but sun up ahead!

And since Sunday has become my go-to-town-and-get-groceries day, I’ll wait until noon before heading to town.

I’m hoping I can persuade these guys to go with me again today —

It’s always so much more fun driving anywhere with them!

So, we shall see. (They’re probably in church right now, so I’ll wait a bit before calling them…)

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Okay!!

Wow, you know? What a morning. The first 2 things I saw on Instagram, very early today (5AM), were 2 of my favorite accounts having huge troubles with Instagram & Facebook — the various algorithms there were making them very unhappy.

One was our beloved Phyllis Stein — I so hope she doesn’t leave Instagram, but it was actually Facebook that was threatening to block her awesome account for no valid reason.

The other account was for 2 cute little dogs that I follow in Germany —

Me, following a dog in Germany…

I have followed the account for years and the woman who runs the account is around my age and we interact all the time (luckily she speaks perfect English since my German consists of about 4 words — and I count “gesundheit” as one of them). But she is so fed up with Instagram interfering with her posts now that she is actually leaving Instagram as of today.

I really can’t stress enough how much I do not like Facebook (I recently rejoined it). It has gotten so different now and it is very difficult to post over there.

I don’t interact much on fb at all. I have about 5 followers. Literally. And all of them are people I have known for a long time and, except for Iris N. Schwartz, I also follow them on Instagram. So fb seems sort of pointless to me.

It seems like the only thing I really do on fb is look at Nick Cave photos!! Like I needed another app on my phone to look at more Nick Cave photos!

But here’s one I liked on fb yesterday!!

But as far as Instagram — I love Instagram. I have been active on it every day for about 8 years.

Once in awhile I post something concerning my writing career, but mostly I post photos of my cats. And I just love looking at everybody else’s photos.

I mostly follow other cats, and dogs, birds, alpacas, goats, donkeys, cows! From all over the world!

And a few people in Finland and Norway who take unbelievably gorgeous photos of nature.

And a bunch of Punk and rock & roll musicians — most of whom, sadly, are already dead.

But I just love Instagram, so it makes me sad that people I enjoy following are being bullied by the algorithms now — and enough to leave the platform altogether.

I don’t have a lot of followers on instaramg — sorry, that’s a different app I also use. But on Instagram, I have about 1600 followers.

But I only really interact with about 12 of them on a daily basis. So for me, it’s just fun.

I can’t imagine how awful it must be to try to rely on those apps for career-related stuff. It must be a nightmare.

I am so glad that I have my blog, gang.

You know, even though it is totally old school — no bells & whistles — I have about 100 people a day, sometimes as many as 200, from all over the world, who stop in and read my blog!

That’s about 3,000 views a month, and about 36,000 views a year now!

And I’ve had this same blog for 12 years already. In fact, a few years back, WordPress was after me to update it to a different layout. They wanted to retire the layout I use because it was too old-fashioned. But I love this layout because it is SO easy to use.

So I think I am the only blogger left on WordPress who uses this layout.

Anyway… I digress.

I am really glad that WordPress doesn’t resort to a bunch of terrorizing algorithm stuff.

And I really want to thank you guys so much for stopping by every day to read the blog.

It still means a lot to me, even after all these years.

“Oh, and then I saw a photo of Keith Richards smoking in London back in 1968, It was just SO COOL…”

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All right.

Well, after listening to the new auditions for audiobooks that came in yesterday morning, I have decided that for now, I’m removing the short story collections from the audition queue.

Those are just going to be too complex, since some of the stories are from the female POV, and some from the male POV. I’ve decided to just focus on the novels for now.

But other than that, we are moving forward with perhaps THREE novels to turn into audiobooks! 1954 Powder Blue Pickup, The Guitar Hero Goes Home, and possibly Freak Parade.

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Okay!

Since the Bad Seeds’ tour is over now, I am resorting to a photo of Nick Cave from the desktop stash!!

Singing and smoking!! In black & white!! (He looks so, I don’t know, energetic here!)

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And here’s this!!

If you look REALLY carefully, Keith is smoking — and walking & carrying a package in London in 1986. In full color!! Heavy on the blue!! (Photo by Richard Young)

I can’t say for sure if Keith is smoking here, you have to do your own research on that. But it does seem to be the 1980s, and in black & white.

And if you don’t really know much about Keith–

Back when he was a heroin addict, his teeth started rotting really badly. After he quit heroin for good, around 1978, he had all of his teeth replaced.

But here’s one of the photos from the not-so-great-teeth days. But he still looks so sweet here:

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And that is what I have for now.

The laundry is just about done! I’m gonna check in on the 2 cats outside and see who wants to be fed (again) before I head to town.

Have a great Sunday, wherever you are in the world, gang.

And THANKS for visiting!! I really mean that.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!

Since I have been reading that book, Conversations With Tom Petty (2006) at night now, and we are now up to when he was recording his triple multi-platinum Wildflowers solo album, I put that CD in the kitchen jukebox player this morning!

So let’s listen to “You Wreck Me”. I hadn’t heard it in awhile!! A real rocker.

From the Wildflowers album, 1994!! Enjoy, gang.

“You Wreck Me”

Tonight we ride, right or wrong
Tonight we sail, on a radio song
Rescue me, should I go down
If I stay too long in trouble town

Oh, yeah, you wreck me, baby
Yeah, you break me in two
But you move me, honey
Yes, you do

Now and again, I get the feeling
Well, if I don’t win, I’m a-gonna break even
Rescue me, should I go wrong
If I dig too deep, if I stay too long

Oh, yeah, you wreck me, baby
Yeah, you break me in two
But you move me, honey
Yes, you do

I’ll be the boy in the corduroy pants
You’ll be the girl at the high school dance
Run with me, wherever I go
And just play dumb, whatever you know

Oh, yeah, you wreck me, baby
Yeah, you break me in two
But you move me, honey
Yes, you do

You wreck me, baby
Yeah, you break me in two
Oh, but you move me, honey
Ah, yes, you do

c – 1994 Mike Campbell, Tom Petty

A better day rapidly approaching!

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I did manage to salvage yesterday by making a trip into town and chatting with actual people, so that I could get out of my own head.

The bookstore where I’ll be doing my book signing next month, was looking for donations of children’s books.

I actually have a ton of children’s books. Most of them have sentimental value for me, but I had about 8 books that were basically brand new — meaning, never been read. And they weren’t connected to my childhood in any way, so it gave me a good excuse to get in the car and get out of my house.

A few of maybe a total of 50 children’s books, very used, that I won’t ever part with:

From the old “Dr. Suess I Can Read All By Myself” book club!

And while I was at the Historic Arcade, dropping off the children’s books that I would part with, I stopped in at my friend’s art gallery and chatted with him and one of his customers for a little while. And then headed to my favorite health & wellness store, and chatted with my girlfriends in there for a while. So I was feeling a lot better by the time I got back home.

Yesterday was not a fun day. Between the horrible Twin Towers “anniversary” and all those awful memories, and then getting the news that my new novel was experiencing some sort of shipping delays (fixed now, btw).

Also, my publisher had spent a good chunk of money on getting advanced reviews for my book — and of all the many total strangers who downloaded a digital copy several weeks ago — not a single person reviewed the book.

I was hoping for at least one good review, but I wasn’t planning on no one at all reviewing it.

Plus, it was sad to be at a stage in my life where I had no one at all to go out with last night and celebrate having such an important book (to me) finally published after nearly 3 decades.

I was also missing my long-gone family, since it was the start of the Jewish holiday, Rosh Hashanah, last night, too.

But I tried to put my thoughts elsewhere. Focus on everything that’s going well, overall. So I got through it.

And now here I am. A whole new day — and I see that I have 3 new auditions awaiting me from a potential narrator for my audiobooks!

And Sandra called this morning and she had GREAT news. (I will keep you posted about all that — but I can at least say that I will likely be in NYC for 1 or 2 nights in late January, and I can never get enough of NYC in late January!!! Yay!!!)

Anyway!! On we go!

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Guess what amazing thing happened 60 years ago today, gang??!!

YES!

A true highlight of my wee bonny girlhood in Cleveland–

The Monkees premiered on TV!! I was 6 years old and I loved it!!!

And I will never forget this opening theme song as long as I live!! And if you have TUBI, you can watch the old Monkees re-runs for free right now:

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Okay.

Here’s this!!

Not a lot of people remember that when the Rolling Stones toured Europe in 1976, Marlon Richards was briefly part of the band!

But here’s proof!!

And here are a couple more photos of Keith that I liked:

And — No! As loyal readers of this lofty blog no doubt recall, Keith was NOT the one who turned me on to Jack Daniels!! (It was a little Jewish girl named Karen!!) (I don’t think Keith knew Karen… but not sure.)

Keith, July 1972!!

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I loved this photo!

A couple of Bad Seeds on Portobello Road yesterday!!

George Vjestica and Larry Mullins!

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And I loved this photo, too.

Peitor Angell and I once had a really great time in Mel’s Drive-in on Sunset Blvd. It was when we were first getting our micro-mini film production company, Abstract Absurdity Productions, off the ground, creating the first scripts.

We laughed so hard that whole night! Great memories.

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And here’s this!!

Nick Cave smoking, Kylie laughing(?), in 1996!!

And I liked this photo, too!

Eye catching!! (Photo by Will Collier)

And speaking of Nick Cave–

A few updates!

It is the 10th Anniversary of the release of the album, Skeleton Tree, by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. A beautiful album, whose timing was intense, since one of Nick’s sons died at the same time.

You can listen to the whole album on your favorite streaming platform HERE.

And it is also the 10th anniversary of the documentary, “One More Time With Feeling,” that was filmed at the same time:

I’ve watched the film a couple of times. It is really good, but, of course, very emotional.

And Nick Cave’s ceramic figures, “The Devil– A Life” return “to Museum Voorlinden in Wassenaar, Netherlands as part of Celebrating the Icons of Art, marking the museum’s 10th anniversary.”

“The exhibition also features work by artists including Francis Bacon, Louise Bourgeois, David Hockney, Yayoi Kusama, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet and Gerhard Richter.”

You can get more info HERE (but it is not in English).

What an amazing line-up of artists, right?? Congratulations, Nick Cave!!

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And I guess that’s it for today.

I hope you have a great Saturday, wherever you are in the world, gang.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!

Even though I have a TON of reading to get through before I head to James Tabor’s conference in North Carolina in 2 weeks…

I’ve been reading Conversations With Tom Petty by Paul Zollo (2006), for the past several nights.

In my opinion, it is so much better than the popular biography that came out about Tom in 2015, because in this book it is just Tom talking about his whole entire life, and all the music he created along the way, for 302 pages!! With many photos.

I just finished reading the chapters on The Traveling Wilburys. It seems like it was such an incredibly fun time for all the musicians who were involved with that. (Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne.) And I love that album.

So here’s this!

“Handle With Care,” The Traveling Wilburys. 1988. Enjoy, gang.

“Handle With Care”

Been beat up and battered around
Been sent up, and I’ve been shot down
You’re the best thing that I’ve ever found
Handle me with care

Reputation’s changeable
Situation’s tolerable
But baby, you’re adorable
Handle me with care

I’m so tired of being lonely
I still have some love to give
Won’t you show me that you really care?

Everybody’s got somebody to lean on
Put your body next to mine, and dream on

I’ve been fobbed off, and I’ve been fooled
I’ve been robbed and ridiculed
In day care centres and night schools
Handle me with care

Been stuck in airports, terrorised
Sent to meetings, hypnotised
Overexposed, commercialised
Handle me with care

I’m so tired of being lonely
I still have some love to give
Won’t you show me that you really care

Everybody’s got somebody to lean on
Put your body next to mine, and dream on

I’ve been uptight and made a mess
But I’ll clean it up myself, I guess
Oh, the sweet smell of success
Handle me with care

c – 1988 – George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Roy K. Orbison

Mixed-Bag Here, Today

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I am, of course, trying to focus more on the fact that a book that has meant so much to me has at long last been published today…

The Curse of Our Profound Disorder (No reviews yet!)

And this actually made me really happy this morning when I discovered it online–

My beloved Strand Books in NYC, on my beloved E.12th Street, is carrying the book!!

I actually began writing The Curse of Our Profound Disorder back in the mid-1980s — it began as a short story. I was living on E.12th Street at the time. So the woman I was way back then is feeling really happy that the book is real and being sold at Strand Books today!

The actual woman I am today, however, is dealing with all the sadness of this, and all the trauma and all the loss that came along with it: :

Wayne and I were still technically living in the same apartment back then, we were still on decent terms, but we had already decided to divorce.

On 9/11, he was in the South of France, vacationing with his family. So I was alone in the apartment that day and during the week that followed. What an awful time that was.

But here’s something happier that I found — me at the Statue of Liberty, sometime in the 1980s:

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And here’s this–

Joe Strummer, NYC, 1985. (Photo by Bob Gruen)

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And I liked this —

From Phyllis Stein.

Johnny Thunders in Paris, 1973 (Photo by Alain Dister)

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And here are a couple of cheerful things from yesterday–

From Facebook.

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And that’s it for now, gang.

I did have a great day yesterday, though. For so many reasons.

One is that I have officially begun the audiobook project for 1954 Powder Blue Pickup . (And maybe Freak Parade with the same producer/narrator. We’ll decide further along.)

And I am close to finalizing negotiations for The Guitar Hero Goes Home, as well.

So I’m really happy about all that.

Meanwhile, I am going to try to rescue this day somehow, and celebrate. Even if it’s just here with my many happy cats.

Have a good day, wherever you are in the world, gang.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya.

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Let’s close with this.

Taken from the Martin Scorsese documentary on George Harrison, “Living in the Material World”.

Tom Petty remembers. Really delightful.

George Harrison, Tom Petty and Ukuleles… (1 min 30 seconds):

Off to a great morning here!

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Wow, gang.

If you saw my quick update from yesterday afternoon — about how all 8 of my self-published books on Amazon got approved for audiobooks at the very same time…

By early evening, I was already getting audition tapes from narrators/producers (are they still “tapes” if it’s all done virtually??)

Anyway.

Wow, were they good!

I got 2 auditions for The Guitar Hero Goes Home, and one for 1954 Powder Blue Pickup. And my jaw kinda dropped open, all 3 guys were just so good.

(And, yes, I have to say that while I was listening to the auditions, I was wondering: Who the heck WROTE this filthy dirty stuff??)

Anyway. Wow. I’m just so happy with how this is developing.

Mommy’s happy. Cat, not so much…

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Okay!

I don’t know about you, but I had great dreams last night. And I woke up feeling like everything had shifted, energy-wise.

I’m in such a positive mood, today.

And THIS was so exciting to wake-up to!!

It appears Warren Ellis is finally satisfied with the shade of blue that the London Council chose for his street sign!

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And it turns out the rumors were true!

Some of the Bad Seeds did indeed have beverages while in Munich recently!!

And it appears that at least 3 of them also play their own instruments!

Colin Greenwood, George Vjestica, and Carly Paradis!

And here, George and Carly are — well, I’m not sure what they’re doing, but at least we now have proof that it happened!

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And here’s proof that both Lou Reed and Mick Rock used to exist.

Thank god.

Lou, taking aim. One of my all-time heroes:

And no, I’m not going to post this song again because I’ve posted it here a million times already… But if I were posting it, it would be my song, “Lou.” Demo produced by Peitor Angell! (1984)

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Oh!

And in case you were thinking I wasn’t busy enough…

Yesterday afternoon, James Tabor sent us 6 pdfs to download and read before the conference in 2 weeks. Along with a couple of books to re-read (did that already!! whew), and some documentaries to watch, and some maps to study…

Yes. Okay. Sounds good… I’m on it.

But wait!!!

When am I supposed to find time to do THIS?? My plane leaves in only 2 weeks!!

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All right.

Meanwhile…

Nick Cave has it figured out.

If there are TWO of him, he can get more done…

Even leaves him time to paint…..

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Anyway!!

All right.

As you can guess, I gotta get started — I’ve got some wrok to do. (And after the “wrok” is done, I have a lot of work to do, too.)

I hope you have a great Thursday underway, wherever you are in the world, gang!

And please don’t forget! TOMORROW, my new novel is officially out!!

If you don’t pre-order it TODAY, then you’ll end up being just like everybody else and having to simply “order” it instead…

So, if you haven’t already, pre-order it HERE!!! Thanks, gang!!

Meanwhile!

Thanks for visiting!

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this today!!

The only song whose lyrics appear in my new novel, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder!!

The old Kentucky mountain song–

“On Top of Old Smokey”, 1952, Gene Autry’s version, Enjoy, gang.

On Top of Old Smokey (traditional lyrics)

On top of Old Smokey, all covered with snow,
I lost my true lover for courting too slow.

For courting’s a pleasure but parting is grief,
And a false-hearted lover is worse than a thief.

A thief will just rob you and take what you have,
But a false-hearted lover will lead you to your grave.

The grave will decay you and turn you to dust,
Not one boy in a hundred a poor girl can trust.

They’ll hug you and kiss you and tell you more lies
Than crossties on a railroad or stars in the sky.

So come ye young maidens and listen to me:
Never place your affection in a green willow tree.

For the leaves they will wither, the roots they will die,
And you’ll be forsaken and never know why.

What were you doing at 2:43am??

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I’ll tell you what I was doing —

I was lying in bed, in the dark, thinking about the new novel coming out in 3 days.

And I was thinking that this will be my 8th published novel.

And I was thinking that it would be my 21st book, until I really started adding everything up. And it was a LOT of math to do in the dark at 2:43AM!!

Not just the novels, but all the many short story collections of mine that have come out, the books I edited of other writers’ and photographers’ works, and then I also added in the various different editions of my books that came out, too.

And I was astounded to discover that The Curse of Our Profound Disorder will my 32nd book.

How did that happen??

Gang, I do not know where the time went. But I do remember every single book I worked on, wrote, or edited, as well as every different edition that came out — in the US, UK, France, Mexico.

And every single one of those events made me so happy. There were just so many publishers back then.

And this doesn’t count the short stories and essays that I’ve had published in other people’s books. I can’t even begin to remember all of those.

There were just so many books over the course of 28 years. And almost all of them are out of print now. So I’d kind of lost track of how many there actually were. (And before the books, my short stories were published in underground zines for 8 years! That whole zine culture was so cool, gang.)

And then next year, The Muse Revisited Volume 4 will come out, along with the M. Christian tribute anthology I’m editing.

I couldn’t wrap my mind around where the time went to, though, you know?

And this doesn’t count the 24 years of songwriting that I did, or the plays, screenplays, TV pilots I wrote or co-wrote. Or the diaries & journals I kept in NYC for 16 years — until I began working online for a film production company in 1997 and then started building publishing-related websites. Which started me writing my journals online and brought my blog into the world!

I’ve continuously kept an online blog now for 29 years.

I don’t know, gang. I felt like I was looking at someone else’s life. Even though I remembered every minute of it.

For instance —

When I was 10 years old (1970), I wrote my first real song. I composed it on the piano. It was a song about air pollution (I was against it!). And it was used in a short film that my art teacher, Mr. Quinn, at my elementary school made. It starred my Girl Scout troop! And we all sang my song in the film. And the film was shown at an exposition in downtown Cleveland.

Wow, was I thrilled!

And then the Synagogue my family attended, printed the lyrics of my song in the members’ newsletter. And my parents and grandparents — and my piano teacher!! — were really proud of me.

It’s like everything I ever wrote came back to me last night while I was trying to go back to sleep. But it took a while.

I don’t really know why I have become so obsessed with TIME. And how fast it’s flying and how little of it I have left, compared to what’s already gone by.

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Okay.

I’m not going to go into the details because it was absolutely traumatizing — it involved a car accident that happened yesterday, right in front of me.

But I had a really bad day yesterday. And then to top it all off, THIS happened when I answered my phone at 5PM!!

Yes! I’ve been called up for fucking JURY DUTY. AGAIN!

Next Tuesday… Jesus Christ.

Here’s hoping it goes pretty much the same way it went last month and then it will just be over for a few years.

But the long and the short of it is — I got NO writing done yesterday!! (But I did get a little writing done over the last 56 years…)

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Anyway.

The Public Theater in NYC announced yesterday that the play I posted about here recently, “How Shakespeare Saved My Life,” has already been extended!

It will now run from Sept 15th through October 25th! The play looks like it will be really great. You can read about it and buy tickets HERE!

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Did you know that Elvis Costello is on a North American Tour??

Including CLEVELAND! Yay!

You can buy tickets HERE!!

And in celebration of the 49th anniversary of his fantastic first record, My Aim Is True, he has a special 5-CD box set coming October 2nd. You can read about it HERE!

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And from Lambda Literary today:

“Lambda Literary has teamed up with Fine Arts Work Center to celebrate the successes of our Retreat Alumni!

“Join us for a free, virtual event Thursday, September 17th at 6pm EST to hear more about how these storytellers found success in their journeys from emerging writer to celebrated author.“

Find out more and register here! Free!

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Oh!

Simon Parkes had a great update yesterday, about upcoming healing centers and MedBeds, and also banking system changes, worldwide. You need to be a member of Connecting Consciousness to hear Simon’s updates, but it is FREE to join. Check it out HERE.

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Okay!!

And here’s this!!

Mick — bored with golfing??? It seems to be affecting the attitudes of the other Rolling Stones…

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A great Polaroid of Keith! Mid-1960s, in front of Olympia Recording Studios in London!

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Keith and the late, great horn player, Bobby Keys! Drinking!! On a plane!!

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Joe Strummer! Leaning!!

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And last but not least, gang!

Nick Cave and some of those Birthday Party boys! Smoking, not smoking!!

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And that is it for now.

I am seriously hoping I will have a much better day than the one I had yesterday, gang.

We will soon find out.

Meanwhile, have a wonder-filled Wednesday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for vistiing.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!

Tom Petty and the Heartbreaker’s entire story in 60 seconds!!

Happy Labor Day from the sunny Hinterlands!

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Wow, what a spectacular day here today.

The windows are open, the house is cool, the skies are sunny for as far as the eye can see!

I am in a much better mood this morning about everything.

Oh! I forgot to post this, in case you or someone you know was having the same problem– about the wireless printer no longer working right with a new fiber optic Internet connection.

Since I don’t really like wireless printers, in general, and since I could not for the life of me understand the written instructions online about how to fix it myself, and since the HP printer tech support line involves NO HUMAN BEINGS WHATSOEVER and I was ready to tear my fucking hair out….

It finally occurred to me to check the back of the printer for a USB cable port and VOILA!!!! It had one. So I went and bought a USB printer cable and then carefully did this very complicated procedure:

I plugged one end of the cable into the printer and the other end into my laptop and in 0.2 nanoseconds, suddenly the printer was working just fine….

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Okay, gang!

It is official!

On Saturday, October 3rd, from 1-5PM, at Holland’s Book Nook in the really lovely Historic Arcade in downtown Newark, Ohio–

I will be singing — well, I won’t be doing a whole lot of singing, mostly I’ll be signing copies of my brand new novel, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder!

2 other local writers will also be there, but I don’t know who the writers are yet.

If for some inexplicable reason you will be in the area that day, please stop by!!

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Okay, I don’t have a lot to post about today since I spent a good chunk of yesterday in town, running errands. And then the remainder of the afternoon working on the new MEMOIR… and I finally found a way to approach it without totally depressing myself.

But here’s this!

From the wonderful Phyllis Stein!

Richard Hell in NYC in 1977!! (Photo by Stephanie Chernikowski)

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And here are 2 great ones from that Nick Cave/Facebook account that I love!

Absolutely SMOKING!! (Nick Cave, and then The Boys Next Door)

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And honestly, that is it for today, gang.

I’m hoping that I have a productive day of writing ahead of me here. We shall soon find out.

Meanwhile, if you live State-side, have a fabulous Labor Day. Otherwise, have a great Monday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!

Continuing from yesterday’s post…

A little more Lou Bega!! (Get in the car and drive, gang!!)

“Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of…)”, 1999. Enjoy!!

Rain now, sun later!

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Happy Saturday — and if you’re State-side, I hope your holiday weekend is off to a great start.

Here in the Hinterlands, we’ve already had a couple hours’ worth of thunderstorms, but it is supposed to clear up here soon and then the rest of the holiday weekend looks like it is going to be PERFECT!!

Sunny and not too HOT! Yay!

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Okay, before I forget–

I decided to remove my short story collection, A Man in Her Arms & Other Stories, off of Lulu and publish it on Amazon, instead.

Lulu had removed it from global distribution almost the moment after I’d published it there, because they wanted me to reformat it. So I’ve now published it with Amazon, instead.

You can buy the eBook HERE (print edition will be live later today).

The eBook is $2.99, or free (!!) in Kindle Unlimited.

The collection includes a never-before-published novelette, “A Man in Her Arms.” The other stories have either been published in print or online, 2005 -2021.

Table of Contents:

  • A Man in her Arms                                                                           
  • A Path to the Woods (A Ghost Story)    
  • Score  
  • Code 
  • Alter/Soldier  
  • To My Beloved I Am a Stranger 
  • Common Place 
  • Wanted 
  • Legacy of Boy 
  • Half- Moon Bride  

Most of these stories are erotic, so Adults Only please!!

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Yesterday, I also got my remaining self-published books uploaded for audio books on Amazon. So now all of them are in the queue, awaiting producers & narrators! (A total of 8 books.)

And at the risk of becoming the blog that’s all about how “publishing used to be so much better in the old days”– I have to say that, for self-publishing, LULU used to be the absolute best & easiest.

But I’m talking 20 years ago… it is SO different now.

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And, you know, part of what made the Indie Press world “better” in the old days, is that it was so much easier to find!!

This has to do with pesky algorithms, gang. In the event you are a writer, poet, zine-ster, you might be interested in my GROWING list:

Eggtooth Editions: https://eggtootheditions.wordpress.com/ (poetry, fiction, nonfiction, hybrid)

Spurl Editions: https://spurleditions.com/

DUMBO Press: https://dumbopress.com/

Clash Books: https://www.clashbooks.com/

Rinky Dink Press: https://rinkydinkpress.com/ (poetry)

Cosmorama: https://www.cosmorama.site/

Diode Editions: https://www.diodeeditions.com/home (poetry)

Able Muse Press: https://www.ablemusepress.com/

Milkweed Editions: https://milkweed.org/

Outpost 13: https://www.outpost13.com/ebooks.html (sci-fi eBooks)

Brooklyn Arts Press: https://brooklynartspress.com/

Augury Books: https://augurybooks.com/ (connected to Brooklyn Arts Press)

Abalone Mountain Press: https://www.abalonemountainpress.com/ (indigiqueer, trans, non-binary, Black Indigenous, and Indigenous feminist-friendly press)

Cardboard House Press: https://cardboardhousepress.org/ (Latin American and Spanish poetry in translation)

La Cartonera Collective: https://cardboardhousepress.org/Cartonera (one of Cardboard House Press’s community projects; bi-lingual Latin)

Wasted Ink Zine Distro: https://www.wizd-az.com/ (an alt zine distribution shop in Phoenix AZ; also has workshops)

Vishnu Temple Press: https://www.vishnutemplepress.com/ (Grand Canyon art and poetry)

Soulstice Publishing: https://soulsticepublishing.com/ (Books with Soul celebrating the Southwest)

Salina Bookshelf: https://salinabookshelf.com/ (multi-cultural indigenous publishing for children; Flagstaff, AZ)

Write Bloody Publishing: https://writebloody.com/ (poetry books with beautifully designed covers)

F*%K IF I KNOW//BOOKS: https://www.fiikbooks.org/ (handmade and limited-run poetry and art chapbooks; indigenous and Spanish-speaking)

Torrey House Press: https://www.torreyhouse.org/ (literal arts and environmental advocacy)

Noemi Press: https://www.noemipress.org/ (Non-profit prose and poetry identity politics)

Black Lawrence Press: https://blacklawrencepress.com/ (fiction, poetry, chapbook contests)

The Sapling (weekly small press updates — pay)

Lit Hub (daily) https://lithub.com/ (free or pay)

Collapse Press: https://collapsepress.com/about-cp/ (poetry, prose, monthly online poetry reading with open mic)

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Sorry. That was long!

But it’s good to know that there’s still a world out there, where you can get published and not have to go the self-publishing route if you don’t want to.

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All righty!!

Here’s this!

Such a great photo of Keith and Marlon, a long time ago!!

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And from Phyllis Stein–

Another great one of Willy Deville — smoking in NYC in 1977!!

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And here are 2 sort of related things–

The statue of Keith, made by sculptor Amy Goodman SEA. It is part of a tribute to Mick & Keith, and it is located in Dartford, Kent (England), where they both grew up:

And here is a mural in Canberra, Australia, that a man there just had painted on the side of his house!

Fellow Australians, Nick Cave & Kylie Minogue!! (Artist is Lawrence Tan)

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And that is actually it for today, gang.

But the good news is that — except for the Writers & Artists podcast that we have still not launched — everything on my To Do List is DONE!!!!!

Can you believe it??

I have been retired from caregiving for 47 days (as of today) and my To Do List is at long last Done!!!!

Yay!!

And even though I do have a new novel coming out this coming FRIDAY (on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, which kind of freaks me out since 9/11 was such a traumatizing day for us in NYC), but yes, the new novel comes out on Friday– after languishing somewhere in the dark recesses of my desktop for 27 years...

However, I am still taking time right now to focus on getting my memoir at least on the page and underway.

So with that— I’m off!

Enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world, gang!!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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It’s Friday! It’s better!

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I say that as if “Friday” means anything to me at this point, now that I have every day off, basically.

But still.

Yay!

And I had a long talk with Wayne yesterday afternoon, about how terrorized I was feeling — about that AI-generated “review” with my name in the byline, suddenly attaching me, after over 25 years, to a photographer who turns out to have been a snuff-filmmaking serial killer…

WTF??!! — in a great big WTF way!! Why did they fucking choose me?? (Not that I liked the guy, but still…)

Anyway.

Wayne ultimately encouraged me to let it go and keep moving forward, and to concentrate on writing the memoir now. He even said, “Send me the pages as they get written. You know I always love reading your stuff.”

That meant the world to me, gang. Not only that he said that, but it also gives me a sort of goal. A reason to write. Because Wayne’s going to be reading it…

Sort of like in the old days, when I would come in from the other room and thrust new pages at him, saying:

ME (thrusting new pages at him): “Here, read this!”

HE (glancing up from his coffee cup): “Ah, yes! Please allow me to drop everything and read this!”

“Hey! It’s pretty good!”

So, anyway. I feel a lot better today! And now, onward to that memoir…

“And so then we got arrested for stealing the car, but we explained to the Sheriff that we were only borrowing it…”

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And speaking of my memoir about my life in the 1970s… Here’s this!!

Lou Reed in 1974!! (Photo by Mick Rock)

And while we’re at it!! From Lou Reed in 1974 — I love this fucking song!! “Sally Can’t Dance”!!

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And here’s a bundle of Keith stuff!

Keith, thinking about drinking, and looking, I don’t know — sort of shiny in 1981!

Keith smoking! And looking sort of, I don’t know — thuggy in 1981! (On St. Mark’s Place with Mick)

And just being Keith! Smoking, attitude, guitar, etc.!!

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Yesterday, a posthumous Sid Vicious wished guitarist Steve Jones a happy birthday!! (Steve is in the bath)

And directly after I saw that photo on Instagram, I saw this!!

Warren Ellis, doing it HIS WAY! (Although I’m not sure exactly what he’s doing “his way” — driving, wearing a seat belt, wearing really huge sunglasses. driving on the wrong side of the road?? You decide!!)

And of course we can’t forget THIS!!! (And if you’ve never seen this before, gang, you gotta watch it. It’s legendary.) Sid Vicious, “My Way”.

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And here’s Nick Cave!! Smoking!!

And Nick Cave more recently, sort of easily confused by the presence of little dogs?? Not sure!

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All right, gang. On that happy note…

I’m gonna refill my cup o’ joe, and get back to the memoir!

It’s a gorgeous day — a little hot, so the AC is cranking. But it’ll be a nice day to sit at my desk and relive the insanity that was the 1970s!!

Have a terrific Friday, wherever you are in the world, gang.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!

From some of the insanity that was the 1970s!

David Bowie, “The Jean Genie”, 1972.( Although I didn’t have his album, Aladdin Sane, until 1973… ) Okay. Enjoy, gang!!

Another Happy Sunday in the Hinterlands!

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I think today the heatwave officially begins creeping in, so the AC is back on, but other than that, it is yet another really gorgeous morning here!

I did indeed complete the book edits yesterday evening, and this afternoon, I’ll chat with the writer and make sure he’s okay with everything. But as of now, it is complete.

And YES! I’m heading back to town here soon to buy more groceries and never-ending food for the cats! But it should be another really lovely drive to town and back.

Me, going to town! The guy driving is A.I.

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Wow, so, yesterday’s Zoom call with James Taber was so exciting!

Basically, all we talked about was our upcoming conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, the last weekend of September. I can’t discuss on the blog what we will be discussing at the conference, but I can at least say: Historical Jesus, John the Baptist, and things concerning ossuaries!! (This is primarily an archeology conference.)

Even though I have never been to Charlotte, I’m planning to just stick around the hotel, even when the lectures are over for the day. I love hotels, and this one sounds like it will be a really nice one to just hang out in– and of course, chat with other conference goers!!

The Double Tree Hilton, in Charlotte!

And I recently discovered that going there and back, I have a layover in Detroit!!

I have not been to Detroit in a really long time. I realize I will only be in the airport, but I’m actually kind of looking forward to that, too.

So, the plane ticket is purchased, the hotel room is reserved, the cat sitters are lined up, and my girlfriend is taking me to and from the Columbus airport so that I don’t have to pay for an Uber!!

So, pretty soon, off I go!

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Oh, and before the trip, of course, I have a new novel coming out and a book signing!!

And the minute I come back from the trip, I start editing the tribute anthology for M. Christian!!

(I’m guessing that somewhere in the middle of all that, SANDRA will suddenly call and say, “I need you to come to Rhinebeck ASAP…” (I sure hope I am just kidding about that!!)

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Today is the final day of the Kindle eBook sale for my novel, The Guitar Hero Goes Home (2020). It is 99 cents in Kindle Unlimited. You can purchase it HERE!!

Thanks, everybody!!

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I don’t really have much to post about this morning, because yesterday was booked solid with the Zoom meeting and the book editing.

But I do have this!

A photo of Keith playing a guitar a long time ago and not smoking in black & white!!

And there were a TON of just beautiful videos of the final Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds show in Paris, but no photos that jumped out at me.

So here’s this instead!

Nick Cave & Mick Harvey not smoking in London in 1981!!

Photo by David Corio

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Other than that, I guess that is it for now.

Tomorrow will be FUN! I get to wait around all day for the Visiting Nurse from my Medicare Insurance Company to stop over and give me my annual “how long until you will be dead” checkup!!

Of course, while I’m waiting I can always do this!! Yay!

All right, gang, I’m going to head to town now.

Enjoy your Sunday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!

Late-night-listening-in-the-dark music from last night!

I don’t recall why I was suddenly compelled to listen to Neil Diamond’s album of cover songs, Rainbow (1973), but that’s what I did.

My mother was a huge Neil Diamond fan and had a lot of his records. I liked him, too, and would usually abscond with one of the records and take it up to the record player in my room.

Rainbow was an album that I not only absconded with, but kept!!

All these decades later, though, I stream it on my phone… It’s just as beautiful as ever, although it has some really intense memories attached to it, seeing as how it was a record I listened to a lot in 1974 (the Nadir of My Existence year)…

Anyway.

YOU don’t have those memories!!

Here’s the opening song from the record. Neil’s version of “Everybody’s Talkin'”. Enjoy, gang.

A relaxing Saturday, indeed!

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Okay, gang. Happy Saturday!

And it’s another truly gorgeous day here in the Hinterlands. (I haven’t even needed to have the AC on for about 5 days!) (However, another heatwave is on its way next week…)

I am almost done editing the writer’s book. I will try to complete the edits this afternoon, after the James Tabor Zoom meeting. But I will most definitely have it done by tomorrow. A day before it’s due!

What a book, gang. I do not know how this man lived through what happened to him.

And I also am curious indeed how his book landed on my desk — of all people to be editing a book like this! (Referring to my 4 recent years of nonstop digital soldiering…)

Anyway. It is definitely a story that needs to be told.

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Okay!

Here’s a happy thing!

Last evening, I got a text from my 93-year-old uncle down in Virginia. I had sent him a review copy of my upcoming novel, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder.

He has read everything I ever wrote, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to read the new book, since it is just really raw, with some unhappy things that are always sort of just right in the reader’s face. But he said he would try his best to read it all the way to the end.

His text last evening said, in part:

“Just finished reading your book.  It was strangely entertaining and a shift from my usual reading material.  You have an unusually creative mind…”

He said some other nice things, but I don’t want to spoil the book for you! But it made me really happy that he had not only finished it, but that he also liked it! (You can pre-order it in print or eBook HERE. It will be released on Sept. 11th by Parisian Phoenix Publishing.)

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Speaking of writing!

This newsletter for writers is the best! Not only is it very informative, but she gives you all the information for FREE. Including all sorts of calls for submissions!

I get so disheartened how, nowadays, writers often need to pay someone to get access to calls for submissions or other paying publishing markets. It was never like that in the old days.

But now it seems there are so many people out there who just want to make money off of writers.

Here is Erica Verrillo’s The Publishing … and Other Forms of Insanity Newsletter

You can read her current newsletter HERE and also sign up for it, for free!

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Okay!

Get ready for THIS today!

It’s Australian musician (and former Bad Seed) Mick Harvey’s birthday!! He turns 68 today!

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And on a similar theme–

It’s the 40th Anniversary of the release of the Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds album of cover songs, Kicking Against the Pricks! From August, 1986!

You can listen to the entire remastered album HERE. (Choose your preferred platform.)

I recently posted this one from that album, but here it is again!! Their cover of “Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart”!!

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And speaking of Nick Cave!!

The final show of the tour is over!! And here’s what he had to say this morning!

Dear All,

Our tour has come to an end: thirty-two shows across Britain and Europe. Thank you to everyone who came along to make it what was, by any measure, a momentous summer. You were the most amazing, engaged and responsive audience, and it has been a true privilege to play for you.​

People often ask how I stay so emotionally engaged night after night. The answer is, The Bad Seeds – the greatest live band a singer could wish for. So powerful, so vulnerable, so nimble, gloriously anarchic, and utterly committed to their own brand of lunacy. They really are the best. And it is you, the audience, who give so much. That connection sweeps us all away. People call it transcendent, even religious. Well, it is exactly that. The audience becomes a vast church into which the band pour their love, and that love, that devotion, comes surging back. For me, this is where the power resides. It’s love, plain and simple.

My manager just sat down with me at breakfast here in Paris and said, “The tour’s over. You did a good job. Now, let’s talk about The Bad Seeds and 2029. I have a very interesting idea.” Weirdest thing, I felt a surge of excitement.​

Love, Nick

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And here’s a photo from last night’s show in Paris!

Here’s the set list!

And from Bad Seed Jim Sclavunos in Paris yesterday–

And the tour is officially over!!

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Okay, gang.

That’s it for now.

I’m gonna finish up the laundry. Maybe take a quick walk out there in the glorious sunshine, and then settle in for James Tabor‘s Zoom meeting. (They usually last at least 2 hours.)

Then, editing!!

Enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world, gang!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!

From up there on Jim Sclavunos’ post from Paris yesterday!!

Perry Como, 1955, “It’s A Good Day”!! It certainly is! Let’s enjoy it, gang.