Tag Archives: fiction

Happy Christopher Columbus Day, if you celebrate it!

October 12, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

It’s a holiday here in the US today, but not one of those where everything shuts down.

I’m still heading to work.

I did manage to convince myself yesterday to take the day off. Kind of astounding that I did that. But I did get to have a great chat with Valerie in Brooklyn yesterday! We hadn’t been able to really chat in quite a while, so that was great.

Before I forget!!

A Man in her Arms & Other Stories is indeed FREE to download this week, with or without Kindle Unlimited!!

You can download it HERE, but it is for ADULTS ONLY, please! The stories are M/F, M/M, and F/F. All the stories have been published before, except “A Man in Her Arms” — a previously unpublished novelette.

Table of Contents:

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

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From Ross K. Nichols’ Sunday School yesterday —

“Jeremiah was commanded to write a scroll. But what exactly did he write? Against the backdrop of Jerusalem’s destruction and exile, we follow the clues hidden within the book of Jeremiah to a remarkable composition containing one of the Bible’s most famous promises: the New Covenant. Could this have once been a scroll of its own? And could Jeremiah have left us a final clue to what he was doing? What if Jeremiah’s hidden scroll has been in front of us all along?”

We HAVE the hidden scroll of Jeremiah? (1 hr 7 mins):

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If you are new to the blog–

Back in NYC in the mid-1980s, at the peak of the AIDS crisis, I volunteered with Visiting Nurse Services of NY. I was assigned dying AIDS patients to go visit in their homes, helping out, running errands, right up until they passed away.

The renowned gay downtown photographer, Peter Hujar, was one of my patients. To respect his privacy, I used to never discuss that he had been my patient when he was dying from AIDS. But now that it’s been 40 years, and everyone now knows he died from AIDS, I am okay with talking about it.

So — here’s this!

Happy belated heavenly birthday, Peter Hujar! (Yesterday was his heavenly birthday.)

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Warren Ellis posted this yesterday–

And here’s this — Died Pretty – “Life to go (Landsakes)” 1986:

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And here’s something I am LOVING again. It’s currently free to watch on Pluto TV. I watch one or two episodes in bed on my phone, before going to sleep at night.

I used to love this show so much, gang, back in the 80s, and now I am remembering why!! It’s so funny and so loving. “Family Ties” (1982-1989).

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And here’s this!!

All I could find yesterday that was at least interesting, and YES! Both from Facebook!

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And that is it for now!

Things with my new guy continue to develop really nicely, gang. We text in the early morning, and then chat on the phone in the evening.

Last night, we made great progress in just getting to know each other better, and helping me to sort of calm down. Long-time readers of this lofty blog know that I struggle with chronic PTSD and borderline autism, so “getting to know someone” is a true challenge for me. But we really seem to be getting there, gang!

My guess is that by the time he comes back to Ohio for a week in mid-November, I will probably be able to behave sort of like a normal human being around him!!! We shall see!!

Meanwhile–

This morning, he texted me a photo of the sunrise outside his house — the hurricane has finally passed over. The weather in his area of Florida had been really awful for about 6 days.

Okay.

I guess I will get ready to head to town now.

Enjoy your Monday and/or holiday, 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!!

Last night’s listening-in-bed-in-the-dark music (after watching 2 episodes of “Family Ties”…)

Bruce Springsteen’s 1980 album The River.

This wonderful album was released in that intense juncture in my life, where I still lived in Ohio, working in a GE factory, but then moved to NYC, sort of suddenly. (A girlfriend in NYC helped me get a receptionist job at a menswear designer company she worked for — she was a fashion designer — the job was in the Empire State Building. I got the job over the phone on a Friday and basically started working in the Empire State Building in NYC on Monday morning. I was 20…)

Anyway.

I loved this whole album. It is now full of so many memories for me.

I’ve posted this specific song here before, but this song really helps me stand back and see that I really made all my dreams come true in NYC. As hard as it was, still, what incredible times they were.

“The Price You Pay,” by Bruce Springsteen, 1980. From The River. Enjoy, gang.

“The Price You Pay”

You make up your mind, you choose the chance you take
You ride to where the highway ends and the desert breaks
Out on to an open road you ride until the day
You learn to sleep at night with the price you pay

Now with their hands held high, they reached out for the open skies
And in one last breath they built the roads they’d ride to their death
Driving on through the night, unable to break away
From the restless pull of the price you pay

Oh, the price you pay, oh, the price you pay
Now you can’t walk away from the price you pay

Now they’d come so far and they’d waited so long
Just to end up caught in a dream where everything goes wrong
Where the dark of night holds back the light of the day
And you’ve gotta stand and fight for the price you pay

Oh, the price you pay, oh, the price you pay
Now you can’t walk away from the price you pay

Little girl down on the strand
With that pretty little baby in your hands
Do you remember the story of the promised land
How he crossed the desert sands
And could not enter the chosen land
On the banks of the river he stayed
To face the price you pay

So let the game start, you better run you little wild heart
You can run through all the nights and all the days
But just across the county line, a stranger passing through put up a sign
That counts the many fallen away to the price you pay, and girl before the end of the day
I’m gonna tear it down and throw it away

c – 1980 Bruce Springsteen

Home today!

October 10, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Yes, it turns out that I don’t have to work today, so that’s good because I still have a lot of stuff left to do on the M. Christian anthology and I am hoping to have it turned in to the publisher by the end of the month.

So here’s hoping I have a productive weekend!

NO, wait! Of course, I meant THIS!!

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And, YES!!

I did manage to screw up the electric breaker switch thingie yesterday morning while trying to fix the lights in the kitchen and also dash off to the job on time!

But luckily, the tech guy was able to come back out while I was at work and he fixed it in a nano-second, so everything is back to normal. Yay!!

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Okay!!

This is happening today!!

Happy birthday, David Lee Roth!! He is 72 today!!

And here’s this!! And if you’re not old enough to remember it — this was in the peak years of MTV, when music videos cost a fortune to produce and were like little 4-minute movies. From 1985, David Lee Roth’s huge hit version of “California Girls”!!

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I don’t have a lot of “here’s this’s ” today because, you know, I had to work at a job yesterday and wasn’t able to just sit and scroll through Instagram all day!! (But I had a great time!!)

Anyway.

Here’s this!

Jack Kerouac– confused in Autumn!!

And here’s this bit of absolute loveliness while we’re at it! Chet Baker, “Tis Autumn” from 1959:

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And here’s this!!

From Phyllis Stein.

Lou Reed with Iggy Pop, smoking, at Max’s in NYC in 1972!! (Photo by Danny Fields)

And I’ve posted this once before, but here it is again! The song I wrote about Iggy Pop in 1984, after having read his incredible memoir I Need More. (What a great book that was.)

This is an absolute demo — it’s just me and my drummer using the 8-track in my bedroom on E.12th Street, so the sound quality is not great. The demo is followed below by my lyrics, and then by Jim Carroll’s comments on my lyrics, because I wrote the song and turned it in while taking Jim Carroll’s songwriting class in 1984 (one of the true highlights of my life!!).

“SHAPE YOU’RE IN“
(for Iggy Pop)

She was a tiny girl,
but she felt like a woman to you
In her high-heeled shoes and her
Tanqueray point of view.

You were a man on the edge
She was a girl in chains
When a child comes on
Don’t the night get strange?

CHORUS I:
You’ve broken all the rules but you still need more
‘Til you’re not sure what you’re looking for
But God’s gonna overlook this one sin
‘Cause, honey, He’s seen the shape you’re in.

It was a tiny dream,
It took all the money you had
It was a good little dream, but it shook you
And treated you bad.

When the damage is done
When you fear the change
When the deal’s gone down
Don’t the dark get strange?

CHORUS II:
You’ve taken all the pain but they still want more
‘Til you’re not sure what you do it for
But God’s gonna carry you through my friend
‘Cause, honey, He’s seen the shape you’re in.

Life on the edge
Can cheat you and paralyze
‘Til the voice in your head
Misleads you and tells you lies

If I could give you the moon
In a paper jar
Would you trade it all
For the big rock star?

CHORUS III:
You’ve broken all the rules but you still need more
‘Til you’re not sure what you’re looking for
But God’s gonna carry you through my friend
‘Cause, honey, He’s seen the shape you’re in.

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And here’s this!

The only Nick Cave thing I have today, but it’s from Facebook!!

Nick Cave and his skateboard!!

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All right, that’s it.

I need to finish up the laundry now and get focused on editing the anthology.

Oh, I will add that I had such a great chat on the phone with my new guy last night. Even though our lives could not have been more different if we’d planned it that way, we have a lot of fundamental things in common.

For instance, does this sound familiar? He said that his parents forced him to go to college. He didn’t want to go. He said, “I lasted about 10 weeks and thought it was just stupid and so I quit.”

Of course the difference between him and me, is that after I quit college, I went off to NYC to become a singer-songwriter and a writer, and he worked on farms and trained horses and did road construction and rehabbed old houses.

HE (on phone last night): “I’m just a dumb hillbilly.”

ME (very encouraging): “You’re not dumb at all!”

(He’s a hillbilly maybe, but he absolutely is not stupid!!)

Plus we also discovered that our ancestral heritage is similar — heavy on the Irish and German.

Anyway!

Okay. I gotta scoot.

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 1986!

Iggy Pop’s fantastic song “Blah-Blah-Blah”!! From the album of the same name. (I adored this whole album.) Okay. Enjoy, gang!!

“Blah-Blah-Blah”

Pop before the war
lunch before the score
steady as she goes
following my nose
I’m a bull mongrel
that’s me

Shimon Peres
whatcha gonna do
I’m from detroit
blow the reveille
deatho knocko
that’s me little ol’me
glamorous me

Johnny can’t read
blah blah blah
I’ can’t see
blah blah blah
tuna on white
guns all night
blah blah blah

Cat taboo girl-
raped by an ape
cat taboo girl
jam the sucker in
you dig the mongrels
guardian of the state
says you gotta go
bombin’ low

Senator Rambo
merrily you go
monkey butcher knows
a cab to find abank
a bank to find a loan
’cause you can’t be alone
you dig the mongrels

Violent peace
blah blah blah
buy it right now
blah blah blah
we are the world
we are so huge
blah blah blah
johnny can’t read
blah blah blah
I’ can’t see
blah blah blah
tuna on white
guns all night
blah blah blah

blue jeans coolies
everything huge
petrified food
pizza killers
from napalm to nice guy
nifty fifty
hit ’em where they live

the most spoiled brats
on god’s green earth

pop before the war

c – 1986 Iggy Pop, David Bowie

Okay! I’m starting to get used to this!

October 9, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

Heading to town in the mornings and having a job again!! Even if it’s only part-time.

Honestly, gang, when I wake up and realize that I have someplace to be, a place I really love being in, around people I really enjoy, it makes me feel so happy to get out of bed!!

I will find out today if I’ll be needed to work on Saturdays, too, but on Saturdays, the store is only open for 3 hours so it’s not really like working…

Anyway.

I’m in a really good place, mentally. Finally.

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All right. So.

The hot water heater is working great, for now. However, as soon as the sun is fully up, I need to head down into my 125-year-old creepy basement and look at the breaker panel, because another fuse has blown on one side of the kitchen wall. I’m guessing that when he was checking the breakers yesterday afternoon, he flipped one that needs to be flipped back. We shall see!

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Okay!!

It’s all about THIS today!!

Happy heavenly birthday John Lennon!! Born on this day in 1940. Rest in glory, baby!!

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And I think this next one should just basically be the new motto for this whole blog!!

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All righty.

A couple of updates on Warren Ellis that are not in any way dog-throwing-up related!!

Coming up on October 26th in Milan, Italy (I think this is in some sort of fashion museum?) —

And here’s this!

Kirsten Krauth’s new podcast, Just Surrender: Creative Conversations, interviews Warren Ellis!

You can listen HERE (45 mins)

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There’s an End of Summer Sale going on at the Nick Cave merch store!!

Shop here for Summer Sale items!!

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Okay. Here’s this!!

The Cars take Osaka in 1980!!

Oh, here’s something, before I forget!

The Cars were really popular when I was in my late teens. And the girlfriend I wrote about here recently who is now really sick and confined to a nursing home — we loved The Cars.

She and I recently re-connected through Facebook. And last night — another girlfriend re-connected with me through Facebook! The three of us were all really close for most of our lives.

Here’s the 3 of us at my 40th birthday, when I was still living in NYC but had made a quick trip back home to Ohio — we’re all 40 in this photo. 26 years ago (we had all been friends for 30 years already!):

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Okay!

Here’s one from Phyllis Stein!!

Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers, in London, 1977 (Photo by Ian Dickson)

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And here’s the playwright, Arthur Miller, smoking at the Chelsea Hotel in NYC in 1960!!

If you’re unclear about who he was, aside from being an incredible playwright, he was married to this gal! (From 1956 – 1961)

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And here’s this!!

From Facebook!!

Nick Cave!! Lying down on a sort of sofa/bed thing, surrounded by Christianity!!

And here’s Nick Cave, all alone on a chair!!

And Nick Cave doing, well, I’m not sure what but his hair looks great!!

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And that is it!

I better scurry down to the dark creepy basement and check that breaker box before heading to town!

Oh, the latest update on my guy is sort of intense, gang.

He is indeed coming back to Ohio for about a week in mid-November in order to spend time doing stuff with me and getting to know me better. He bought his plane ticket yesterday.

We text a couple times a day and chat on the phone every night. We are indeed getting to know each other but he finds phones and texting frustrating. He says that, in person, we can:

HE (on phone): “Make some headway and move forward.”

ME (sarcasm): “Is that the same as spendng time together and getting to know each other??”

Anyway! He’s funny.

I will, of course, keep you posted.

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Meanwhile, have a great Friday, wherever you are in the world, gang!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

Getting ready to be super helpful!!

October 7, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Yes!

Soon I will be off and running to Day #2 at the health & wellness store!

I’m thinking that today should be really fun, since my favorite Q-following girlfriend in town works today, too! She wasn’t there on Monday, it was her day off. She texted me last night from her grandson’s football game — a bunch of happy smiley face emojis! “Looking forward to tomorrow!”

So I’m thinking it’s going to be a great day. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to have somewhere to go now that really makes me smile and feel energized, gang. It has been such a long time.

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Okay, here’s an interesting update. I guess we’ll find out soon enough if it’s true–

My new guy texted last evening from Florida, saying that trying to get to know someone through texting is making him crazy so he’s thinking of flying back to Ohio for a few days in early November!

Wow. It sounds serious!

I’ll keep you posted, of course.

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All the houseplants that were outdoors have now been brought back inside. And so far, there have been only two incidents between the plants and the cats –and one of them was a pretty BIG one!!

An absolutely gigantic spider plant toppled down onto tiny little Calico and scared her to death!!

So maybe they’ll give it a rest for a while and leave the houseplants alone… we shall soon see.

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All righty!!

Here’s this!

Nothing says “Keith Richards on a European tour in 1990” like a good wholesome game of dominoes!! (It almost even looks like he’s keeping score!!)

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And here’s this!

From my wee bonnie teenage “I’m dropping out of college after about only 12 weeks” girlhood!!

The First Time Tom Petty Ever Played “Refugee” Live | Winterland 1978:

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And here’s this!!

Smoking & drinking with Iggy!! Yay!!

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And this!! From Facebook!

Nick Cave sitting on stage somewhere!! And smoking!! And looking at something or other that has to do with Blind Lemon Jefferson!!!

And I guess here’s this, while we’re at it!! Almost 100 years ago!! Shit.

BLIND LEMON JEFFERSON – One Dime Blues [1927]:

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And this was on Nick Cave Official yesterday–

From July — a few photos from just before the Bad Seeds did that surprise gig on the rooftop of the Resident record store in Brighton!

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And I guess that’s it for today!

I’m making steady progress on editing the M. Christian tribute anthology — and getting a sense of how I want it to feel, overall.

And I will soon be proceeding with the audiobook version of The Guitar Hero Goes Home, so I’m looking forward to that!

Other than that, I’m still sort of astounded by how much my life has turned around in only a handful of weeks.

Okay!

Have a wonder-filled Wednesday, 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!

A short with Nick Cave, a long time ago!! (1 minute):

Wow. What a great morning.

October 2, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

Even though it is supposed to rain all day…

Before I talk in detail about my great morning, let’s do this!!!

Happy birthday Richard Hell!!!! Born this day in Lexington , Kentucky, in 1949!!

Smoking, gun-toting, shade-wearing, black & white, in NYC, 1976!! (Photo by Roberta Bayley)

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And on a more somber note–

Tom Petty has been gone 9 years, as of today. I hope he is having the time of his (after) life!

Mature Tom!! Shade-wearing, writing, guitar-playing in black & white!!

Attitude Tom, 1 & 2!! Smoking!!

(The only song of Tom Petty’s that I ever played live in NYC folk clubs!! “Don’t Do Me Like That” !! 1979)

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It’s time for the Story of the Week over at Brown Hound Press!

And it’s a really good one!! (And the editor claims the story is the author’s first publication! And it was submitted as a typewritten manuscript! Wow!)

“And the World Was Wide Open” by Willie James Bess

You can read it HERE. (Free)

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From Johhny Depp this morning!

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Here’s Gram Parsons in one of his many Nudie suits!

And here’s this! Gram, with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, “In My Hour of Darkness” from Grievous Angel, 1974:

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A couple of Stones smoking — but Brian has TWO!!!!

KEITH (looking away, quietly thinking): “Greedy bastard.”

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A couple of great ones — Jack Kerouac, October!

And if you STILL haven’t read or listened to On The Road, get with it already!! He only wrote it 75 years ago!! God purposely made cigarettes and amphetamines so that we could HAVE great literature like this!! What are you waiting for??

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All right!

It has become clear!!

He is WITH the band!! Not hanging out in the audience!!

From Bad Seed Jim Sclavunos yesterday (meaning that, if you were waiting on me, you missed the show in Porto!):

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Facebook has let me down, gang. They had photos of Nick Cave, but not any good ones today.

I had to go to the desktop stash for this one:

Nick Cave!! (Wondering: What the fuck is the deal with Facebook??)

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All righty!!

Here it is: “The wonderfully true tale of LUNCH and how it went!!”

Wow, gang.

I’m not even sure where to start. I can at least start by saying again: What a nice man. And it is safe to also say that it looks like we’re officially DATING.

Even though he leaves for Florida later today. So it’ll be “long distance, over the phone” dating for a while. (He’ll be back for a week in January, to check on his house — furnace, water pipes, etc.)

We share the same sense of humor and he is so easy to talk to. He says the sweetest, while totally unexpected things. For instance:

“You should enter a beauty contest, you know, in the category of women your age — you’d win that, easily!”

Okay, here are a few things, in no particular order.

In all the best ways, I feel like my dad is back. This guy is taller than me, bigger than me, older (mid-70s), he gives great hugs, he’s smart and he likes to laugh, and he can fix absolutely everything.

And he has plenty of money and property (3 homes in Florida and one across the road from me!).

But 2 of the homes in Florida are up for sale. He loves to buy older homes and rehab them and then sell them. He can’t stand being retired and needs to stay busy… The one remaining home that he is keeping (and living in) has 4 bedrooms and 2 baths and is really pretty– he said (more than once) “Come visit me in Florida! I’ll pay for it! I’m all by myself now.”

He’s a widower with grown children and a couple grandchildren.

And probably most importantly of all!! He owns an enormous RV. He keeps it parked on some property not far from my house, where other campers are parked, but his is in an isolated area because it is huge.

(BTW, he was showing me all this stuff on his phone while we were at lunch.)

I love RVs and campers. I love to go camping. But this RV is 2 stories tall. It’s nothing like the campers of the 1960s. The bedroom is upstairs. It looks a lot like this, but this is not his:

He said, “I really hope you’ll come out and see it. It’s just sitting there now.”

And then he showed me the view outside the upstairs bedroom window — green fields and tons of trees . He said, “You could run around naked out there and no one would see you.”

I thanked him for the head’s up on that…

Anyway. He is of course retired. He worked various kinds of construction his whole life. He’s very down to Earth and just very nice. And after lunch, he came inside for a few minutes to meet the cats and they seemed to really like him, too.

He did not ask me anything specific about my life yet, he was being very polite — he knows I’m divorced, that I’m a writer and that I lived in NYC and worked in publishing for about 30 years. He didn’t ask what kind of writing I do, so I didn’t tell him. I have decided I’m not telling him anything unless he specifically asks me. (Oh, and I mentioned I’m returning part-time to the health & wellness store in town and he has actually shopped there before, because his son is into natural healing and health food, etc.) (He grew up, got married and raised his family in that area of town where the store is now, a long time ago, when it was still just cornfields and farms.)

So we’ll just see how it all goes.

We texted quickly this morning around 6AM and he does indeed use smiley-face emojis!!

I thanked him again for lunch yesterday — I really did have a nice time with him. And he texted back that he feels “good vibes”! (So, yes, we are both kinda OLD!!)

But I’m excited to see where it goes. We’ll likely be talking on the phone for 3 months before I see him again. So I should have a pretty good idea by January.

Meanwhile!!

That’s it for today, gang! Gotta work on the M. Christian anthology now, and tomorrow– my book signing!!

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Enjoy your Friday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this today!!!!

I don’t think it needs any explanation. Enjoy, gang.

A happy hello from the Hinterlands!

September 29, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

Although I really did miss being in Charlotte last night, gang.

Still, it was so fun to get out of bed here at 6AM today and say a happy hello to all my many cats!

Even though they got along great with my mom, it was so clear to me that they were excited that things were back to normal this morning. They were all frisky as heck!

Oh, here’s something kind of exciting — I don’t know yet if it will really happen, but I hope it does!

One of my girlfriends who works at my favorite health & wellness store in town (I used to work there during the lockdowns), put in her 2 weeks notice while I was away, and I’m looking into taking over her hours!

It would be so cool to be back there, especially since I’m still friends with everyone who works there. Plus, the store is privately owned and only open a limited number of hours/days a week.

I had to leave there once the lockdowns were over, because I couldn’t afford to work retail back then. But now that I have Social Security and the money I inherited from my dad, I can afford it.

So we shall see!! It would certainly take care of this problem I’ve been having of feeling unbelievably isolated out here in the middle of nowhere since I retired…

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Okay!

This week, I have:

The deadline for receiving contributions to the memorial tribute anthology honoring M. Christian. (Meaning, I then have to start editing it.)
My lunch date with the gentleman across the road.
And on Saturday, is my book-signing at the bookstore in the Historic Arcade in Newark!

So it should be a fun week with a nice, even sort of pace.

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Other than that —

I have a TON of “here’s this’s'” that I accumulated while in Charlotte, NC!!

So let’s get started!!

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Most importantly, it seems that this past weekend was International “Bad Seeds Take Their Dogs Out” Weekend!!

On Saturday!

George Vjestica apparently has a tiny little dog named Gucci!!

And on Sunday!

Warren Ellis took his pups out to the woods!!

And here’s this, while we’re at it! Does it get better?? Lou Reed & the Velvet Underground! The sublime “Sunday Morning”, 1966!

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It’s time for Erica Verrillo’s fantastic (FREE) publishing calls-for-submissions and writing contest updates for October!!

Visit HERE! And then click on the various links for current updates.

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And the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project is having an East Village Walking Tour for LGBTQ History Month!!

(You will notice that my old E.12th Street apartment is NOT part of the tour, but if you take the tour, please feel free to DEMAND that they stop at 511 E.12th Street anyway!! And honor all the LGBTQ cool shit that happened in my apartment!! Drugs! Booze! Sex! MUSIC!! Cigarettes!! Writing, writing, writing!! Thanking you in advance!!)

You can sign up for the tour HERE. It is $25.

“Discover LGBTQ history hidden in plain sight on this 90-minute expert-led walking tour of New York’s East Village. Celebrate LGBTQ History Month and explore places and people that made this neighborhood a center of LGBTQ art, activism, nightlife, and counterculture.

“Visit the former residences of poet Allen Ginsberg and lesbian activists Ellen Broidy, co-planner of the first NYC Pride March (1970), and Ernestine Eckstein, who was active in the LGBTQ rights movement in the pre-Stonewall years. See if you can hear the echos of dance music as we stand outside the site of The Loft, where David Mancuso hosted egalitarian underground house parties that influenced the city’s club scene. Share memories as we arrive at the former locations of nightclubs The Saint, with its legendary interior dome, and Pyramid Cocktail Lounge, where LGBTQ performers included Andy Warhol, John Waters, performance artist Ethyl Eichelberger, and more.”

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YES!! For some inexplicable reason, this is NOT on the tour!!

Punk bassist/guitarist Blaire N. Bitch, smoking in my bedroom at 4AM!!

Me with my band!

My best friend on Earth — the notoriously gay and now dearly departed from AIDS Paul Martin, in my bathtub!!

And here’s the front of 511 E.12th Street as it looks today. My apartment was the 3rd one up , on the left, with the little AC in the window (back then the fuses in the building were so old, you could not have such a thing as a working AC!! It would blow all the lights out in the building!) (I know this, because we tried it once!!)

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All righty!

Phyllis Stein gave us a scare over the weekend, saying she was basically done posting all her great Punk music photos to Instagram. (But last night, she posted again!!)

But here’s some great photos from when she was departing us–

David Jo and Richard Hell! At Max’s Kansas City, 1976!! (Photo by Bob Gruen)

David Jo with Cyrinda Fox (married for only one year, then they famously split up). At CBGBs, 1976, photo by Roberta Bayley.

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And here’s this!

Also from Phyllis Stein as she was pretending to depart us…

Johnny Thunders in NYC in 1973!!

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And a couple of Keith!!

Smoking backstage at Madison Square Garden in NYC in 1969!!!

Keith comments on Bob Dylan!! (I think he’s saying what we’re all thinking!!)

And how about this??

I might have posted it here before, but I just love it!!

(I would not have survived 1975 without these 2 guys!!)

Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards:

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A little bit more info about the upcoming Johnny Depp movie ,”Day Drinker”–

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AND!!

A bunch more great photos of Nick Cave!!

From Facebook! Oh No!!

Priceless!

Nick onstage twenty years ago in Paris!! Smoking!! Singing!! Facial hair!!

And a couple more from long ago…

I believe this was 1990, photo by Peter Walsh (?)

And this was possibly LA in 1990, photo by Jonathan Kirn (?)

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And whew!

That’s it!

Gotta finish the laundry here and then head to town because I am ABSOLUTELY out of cat food here!!!

Have a terrific Tuesday, 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 yesterday!

Elvis Costello Unboxes ‘My Aim Is True’ 49th Anniversary Edition!

Today is the day!!

September 24, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Yes, sometime in the next few hours, my birth mom arrives to spend a magical weekend with my many cats!!

(I’m hoping that the above illustration is a reasonable facsimile of how splendidly it will go!) (Except that my mom is a little tiny bit older than she appears in the above illustration…)

I’m excited, gang.

And I’m really, really hoping her visit here goes well. She knows some of my cats quite well, but as loyal readers of this lofty blog no doubt recall, I had quite a bunch more cats thrust upon me since my mom was last here.

But they are really sweet, really loving (if often super frisky) cats. So we’ll see!

I’m also excited to just be packing a suitcase again, gang.

I’m taking a smaller, lightweight one, since I won’t be checking it and I’ll have to wheel it around with me for an hour in Detroit, and I’ll only be gone for the weekend.

It’s my favorite suitcase. I’ve had it for quite a few years now. I was going through the outside pockets of it this morning and found a postcard from the Empire Hotel in NYC — where I stayed in July 2025.

And I found 2 receipts: one, from a dinner I had with Sandra that same trip to NYC; and the other receipt was from a newsstand in LAX airport! From a trip I took to Los Angeles to work with Peitor Angell in December 2018!!

I loved finding those!! So I stuck them right back in the pocket, to find again some other time.

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All righty.

I did have a splendid day yesterday. Mostly, my mood was just really good. Finally. It seems like I had some sort of turning point, energy-wise. Maybe it was the Equinox? I don’t know. But I feel a sense of relief, like I can finally move on from all the recent trauma.

I am indeed starting to get submissions for the M. Christian tribute anthology, so I’m thinking that I won’t really be doing any of my own writing until that project is complete. (The official deadline is next Thursday — a week from today — then my book signing is the following Saturday. After that, I’ll have to focus on editing everyone’s submissions.)

But whatever plays out, I’ll just flow with it.

Oh!

I loved this– Warren Ellis posted it this morning. It may seem a little down, but it had a really cool audio track that was extremely uplifting (plus I love F. Scott Fitzgerald). The 2 messages together captured how I’ve felt the last few weeks:

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And speaking of Warren Ellis–

A new selfie! Catnapping with adorable pups!

Although, on a sad note — the lead singer of Rose Tattoo, Angry Anderson, passed away on Monday:

Angry Anderson, Australian rock legend and Rose Tattoo frontman, dies aged 79

“Rose Tattoo frontman Angry Anderson has died just weeks after being admitted to a hospital in Germany during the Australian rock band’s European tour.

“The 79-year-old singer spent 50 years in the music industry and also became a television presenter, charity worker and youth advocate.

“Rose Tattoo’s hits included ‘Bad Boy for Love’, ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaw’ and ‘We Can’t Be Beaten’, while Anderson found solo success with the song ‘Suddenly’.”

And, from Warren’s selfie above — here’s this (1978):

RIP Angry Anderson

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And here’s this!

The Cars are taking requests!! What’s yours?? (Mine is probably still “My Best Friend’s Girl”.)

Okay– since you requested it! From 1978!!

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From Johnny Depp yesterday!

Another movie is on its way– “Day Drinker”! (More info is coming soon, but I know that Penelope Cruz is also in it.)

And just FYI — that is my least favorite Tarot Card (pictured above — The Devil), followed closely by The Tower…

But, oh! If you read Tarot Cards (I do), this woman in Australia has the very best site for reading them!!

Biddy Tarot

I have used her website for about 20 years. Click on LEARN, then in the drop down menu: TAROT CARD MEANINGS

Her work is phenomenal.

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Okay!!

Most people probably know that London had a really hard time getting back to normal after WWII.

In fact, by 1966, still only the nouveau riche could afford outside plumbing!!

Keith, enjoying his nouveau riche lifestyle outside his legendary home, Redlands, with his pup in 1966!

And I loved this!

Keith doing what he does best!! ~~Playing the guitar!!~~ Smoking! Drinking! Wearing shades!! (1978)

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And I really, really did love this.

Keith with the Exile on Main St album cover art, 1972 (oh, and smoking):

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Okay, well, my Instagram feed yesterday was still jam-crammed full of birthday wishes for Nick Cave!!

So here are some more of those!!

Dinner? And smoking!

I loved this–

From Facebook!!

I had never seen this photo before. I love it!!

And one more!!

And that’s it probably — until September 22nd rolls around again (most likely in the wink of a fucking eye!!)!!

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Okay, yes.

I am going to quickly vacuum the house one more time before my mom and sister get here later —

Oh wait, I love this photo!!

This was from before I knew my mom. (I was raised by an adoptive family in Cleveland, and didn’t find my birth mom until I was 25.)

My birth mom and my 2 half-sisters and half-brother, on vacation, around 1970-ish. (The little tiny girl in the green pants is the one who’s driving my mom here today.) (Their dad, Sonny, is taking the photo.)

All righty.

Gonna get the vacuuming done and then pack my suitcase!!

Have a fantastic Thursday, 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!

A little music to pack suitcases by!!

I loved this album. It came out when I was already married to Chong and we lived in The Camelot Building, on the corner of W. 45th & 8th Ave. (I bought it in a record store that was just up the block from us, in Times Square. I bought all my records there back then, but I don’t remember the name of the store!)

Anyway.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ huge hit from 1981, “The Waiting”!! From their fantastic album, Hard Promises. Enjoy, gang!!

“The Waiting”

Oh baby, don’t it feel like heaven right now?
Don’t it feel like something from a dream?
Yeah, I’ve never known nothing quite like this
Don’t it feel like tonight might never be again?
Baby, we know better than to try and pretend
Honey no one coulda ever told me ’bout this

I said yeah, yeah (Yeah, yeah)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part

Well yeah, I might have chased a couple women around
All it ever got me was down
Then there were those that made me feel good
But never as good as I feel right now
Baby, you’re the only one that’s ever known how
To make me wanna live like I wanna live now

I said yeah, yeah (Yeah, yeah)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you get one more yard
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part

Oh, don’t let it kill you baby, don’t let it get to you
Don’t let it kill you baby, don’t let it get to you
I’ll be your bleedin’ heart, I’ll be your cryin’ fool
Don’t let this go too far, don’t let it get to you

Yeah, yeah (Yeah, yeah)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you get one more yard
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part
Yeah, the waiting is the hardest part

c – 1981 Tom Petty

All righty! Happy Saturday!!

September 19, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Okay, gang.

I did indeed wake-up this morning, and I am still here.

Why I am — is anyone’s guess, at this point.

But since I am still here, I’m going to try to make the best of this day.

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Yesterday afternoon, I did decide to at least put in an online application for that part-time job that appealed to me. We’ll see if they call me for an interview.

Mostly, I just want to be around people. Noisy people, even. People who aren’t dying. So we’ll see.

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And sadly–

I did finally get a chance to talk on the phone with my old school friend yesterday — the one that I’ve known since Jr. High School (1972), who reconnected with me on Facebook the other day.

It was very sad. She is now confined to a nursing home, waiting to be transferred to Assisted Living — none of it is really her choice. But she is very ill and it won’t get better. And her family made the decision for her.

I am going to try to visit her before I leave for North Carolina, but definitely as soon as I get back if I can’t get to Columbus this week.

If you live in the US and you’re on Medicare, I am 100% confident to share with you who handles my Long Term Care insurance, in case you want to look into them where you live:

Bankers Life

The more I see what friends go through as they age, at least out here in Ohio, the more grateful I am that an agent from the company found me when I turned 65. They are honest and they really help you make decisions that are based on the reality of your age, your income, and where you live.

Where you live is key for Medicare and Long Term Care insurance, gang.

A couple of older people I know here in Ohio switched over to Bankers Life, when they told me how unhappy they were with their insurance companies, and they were really glad they switched.

For my girlfriend who is now confined to a nursing home/Assisted Living, and forced to be on Medicaid, it is too late. At least here in Ohio, once you’re on Medicaid, they take everything from you and your life is as good as over; your freedom, gone.

So just, you know, find someone you really trust to help you make your Medicare plans.

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All righty!

Let’s try to get on a cheerier note!

Here’s this!!

I loved Hunter S. Thompson so much, gang. He was one of my very favorite writers. (And being a hardcore conspiracy theorist, I don’t believe he “committed suicide”…)

Anyway.

My dear (and now dearly departed) friend, Kent — the one who was a geologist and used to work for NASA, and who once told me, “Those rocks didn’t come from any moon!” — was the friend who first turned me on to Hunter’s work by giving me his copy of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas when we were 15.

I was familiar with Hunter’s name because I was an avid reader of Rolling Stone magazine back then. But this was the first book of Hunter’s that I read (and afterward, I proceeded to buy & read everything he wrote.)

And here’s something I loved: The one and only book that was ever stolen out of my apartment on E. 12th Street in NYC, was Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas!!

When I discovered it was missing (I don’t know who stole it, but people came and went constantly back then), I thought: “Wow! They really needed that book!”

I thought it was so cool! And I went out and bought another copy. And YES!!! Eventually, it got stolen, too! (What a great book! Everyone had to have it.)

But the 3rd time was the charm. Here’s my current copy:

And here’s the inside cover!!

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And speaking of Johnny Depp!!

(He did a fantastic job playing Hunter in the film version. I still have my VHS copy of the movie. Maybe I’ll re-watch it on the VCR later!)

Here’s this!

From Johnny’s production company IN.2 Records — Johnny plays guitar on at least one track.

The album The Great Behind, by Glenn Richards & the Venus Lakes will be released Oct. 9th 2026. Pre-order it HERE!

Glenn Richards & The Venus Lakes – 1990Never (Lyric Video):

Great song. I am already anticipating having it on my driving-to-town playlist!

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Okay!

If you thought I was just kidding when I posted recently that “tiny Richard Hell heads” used to be very popular….

Here’s Richard Hell!! With — you guessed it! Another “tiny Richard Hell head”!!

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And here’s Ric Ocasek, on a smoke break and leaning against a trailer!!

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Oh!

This was GREAT!!

I watched it during breakfast this morning. She really gives a thorough explanation about why any gospels concerning Mary Magdalene did not make it into what became the New Testament.

“…dive deep into the enigmatic and often misunderstood Gospel of Mary Magdalene with renowned scholar Dr. Elaine Pagels. In an episode that promises to challenge traditional narratives, Dr. Pagels sheds light on the mysterious texts that reveal a different side of one of Christianity’s most fascinating figures.”

Myth Vision — Mary’s Lost Gospel ROCKS Christianity! | Dr. Elaine Pagels (14 mins):

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And from Bad Seed George Vjestica yesterday!

(My answer was: May 2, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio, USA!)

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And as much as he said he is going to relax now, I’m afraid Nick Cave is going to have to go back on tour! Pronto! The photos are really getting to be slim-pickings!!

From Facebook:

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And, yes, that’s it!!

The other day, when I was supposed to go shopping at Kohl’s with my girlfriend — she had to cancel at the last minute. Her daughter had to work late and so my girlfriend had to pick up her grandson from football practice.

But she texted this morning, and we might try to meet up at Kohl’s this afternoon. It really has been such an intense week for me, gang. I could probably use a mindless sort of outing of shopping today — a sunny day, a good friend, a store that has happy memories for me.

So we shall see!

Meanwhile, enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!

It’s been a while! But in honor of a possible trip to Kohl’s with Cathy!!

The Sandpipers!! “Come Saturday Morning”!! 1969. Enjoy, gang.

Talk about exhausted!

September 18, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

Okay, I’m not actually exhausted.

However, I woke up with the idea that I might want to take on a part-time job and get back into the world again, starting next month. (There’s a specific part-time job that I’m interested in. )

I figured I should put some sort of a resume together. I haven’t done that in a zillion years.

I found an old resume in a Documents file on my laptop. It’s from when I lived in NYC! And that is what exhausted me, gang — reading it!!

I have to share some of it with you!!

And FYI — in the jobs I had in the 1990s, I was also a full-time writer at the same time.

This one was my first management position in NYC. It was when I was 20-23 yrs old!! WTF!

1980-1983 Manager, Le Café Restaurant, New York, NY

I was the Daytime Manager of Le Café, a health-food/fast food counter- service style restaurant in Times Square. I worked the 5:45 AM – 2:15 PM front-of-the-house management shift, overseeing an average of 800 breakfast transactions and over 2,000 lunch transactions daily. In my area of the restaurant, I had a staff of 9, and oversaw 7 cash drawers in a high-volume, extremely rapid transaction environment. In my capacity as Daytime Manager, I was instrumental in keeping my staff focused, calm, efficient and enthusiastic under all forms of duress associated with a Times Square environment, including in-house thefts and armed robberies, one of which resulted in the killing of the Night Manager on the premises. I scheduled all breaks and daily cleaning assignments, and balanced 7 cash drawers at the end of my shift.

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During that unbelievably exhausting job, above, I was also a budding singer-songwriter in the West Village. So many of the folks who worked in that Cafe were also musicians!

And here’s what I was doing on W. 57th Street, from age 23-25, when I worked for Ralph Ginzburg :

1983-1985 Department Manager, Avant-Garde Media, New York, NY

I managed Avant-Garde Media’s mail order book club department and was in charge of all communications with book club members, specifically handling and bringing to a satisfying conclusion all cases involving the N.Y State Attorney General’s consumer complaint division.

And my “higher education” back then consisted of a 2-year degree in 24-track recording/audio engineering… Mind-blowing that I even got that job.

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This was interesting!

This is what I did at MoMA part-time for 9 years! At this point, my singer-songwriter career was in full swing, and I drank like a fish and took drugs occasionally and generally stayed out all night…and then by 1988, I shifted into publishing, as well.

1985- 1994 Shop Steward, in-House Catering Services, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) New York, NY

In addition to being the museum’s Assistant Pastry Chef for 1 year, I worked in in-house catering for the museum and was the Union Shop Steward for 8 years. I handled all complaints between the 30 union members and Catering Management and had a reputation for diffusing volatile situations in the workplace. I oversaw all in-house Union meetings and helped set-up and manage picket lines during Union strikes, ensuring that all protests remained peaceful and well-organized.

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Jesus Christ, right??!! I remember drinking a lot at MoMA and fooling around with Valerie constantly. I’d forgotten about all that other stuff!

And then when I was full-time into the publishing business, this was my final “job”, while also being a full-time writer.

2000-2006 Founder & President of the EAA, New York, NY

As President of the EAA, an international writers’ association, I oversaw the handling of daily publicity for the careers of several hundred genre fiction writers and small presses in the US, Canada, the UK, and France. I oversaw all details of the EAA’s online publishing company, including tracking and payment of monthly royalties to all writers. I testified in United States Supreme Court in support of the First Amendment rights of several American EAA writers, as well as the EAA at large, in the case of U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft vs. American Civil Liberties Union, case 535 U.S. 564 in Philadelphia. I also oversaw high-profile book-launch parties and curated related art gallery exhibits in New York.

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Yes, Supreme Court and art galleries…

I guess it’s no wonder my mind is wandering toward some sort of part-time job where I can interact with busy people again.

Not only do I feel really isolated out here in the middle of nowhere, but I am very disheartened by the publishing world these days. Especially the onslaught of AI in every area of it. And impersonal social media apps in every area of it, as well.

Plus I am reasonably convinced that one of the narrators/producers I entered into a contract with to produce one of my audiobooks, has indeed already scammed me and was likely the perpetrator of the scam on my bank account on Monday, too. (I can’t prove that last part. It’s just what my bones tell me when I piece it all together.) Yes! He has vanished. And it was ALL done on banking apps!

I’m not going to give up being a writer, but I’m kinda disillusioned with what “publishing” has become, gang. So we’ll see.

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On the happier front!!!

Friends continue to help me out financially!! Including some cash from my ex-husband in Seattle. And Wayne in NYC, just now donated to my GoFundMe!!!

And Sandra called last evening to say she could either send me some cash, OR pay for my airfare and hotel room in NYC when I go there in late January!! Wow!!

As of just now, thanks to Wayne, I have officially gotten ALL my money back — in the space of 4 days — from friends and former husbands. It feels so incredible.

And I guess I can at least say this much: On January 20th, at The Laurie Beechman Theatre on W.42nd Street, in NYC, Sandra will be doing a special “birthday cabaret” one-woman show that will be a pre-runner of our play, “The Guide To Being Fabulous.” It will be Sandra’s 75th birthday!! I cannot wait!!

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Okay.

This broke my heart.

From Phyllis Stein.

September 16th was the anniversary of Marc Bolan’s passing. 49 years! I remember it so vividly, gang, the day he died.

And this was the first T. Rex 45 RPM single that I bought– “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” 1971! It is still fantastic!!

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And here’s from Facebook last night!

And I don’t know if this was taken at Susie Cave’s 60th birthday book party on Wednesday night or not — the fan is wearing a Susie t-shirt, so I think it might be:

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And, YES!! I got a ton of housecleaning done yesterday, so I don’t have more than this to post today.

However.

Enjoy your 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!

Keith Richards’ wonderful contribution to the upcoming “Grand Theft Auto VI” soundtrack!! The blues classic, “Bright Lights, Big City”!!! You can stream it now on your favorite platform! Movie is coming November 19th. Enjoy, gang!

What I’m Not Doing Today!!

September 17, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Answering my phone.

In fact, I might never answer my phone again!! But we shall probably play that one by ear…

I have been on my phone nonstop since the bank fraud thing on Monday afternoon, changing over every account imaginable.

And here is something I want to point out: Only 2 accounts had actual human beings that you could speak to, and the customer service lady on the Best Buy credit card helpline, was the nicest person imaginable!!

She gets my customer service award for the entire year!!

She really cheered up my morning.

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Yes, I have been either on my phone or on my laptop for the last 2 hours, trying to take care of final various loose ends with bank account updates, and I believe I am finally DONE!!

Yay.

And before I forget, I just have to say that the other day, an audiobook audition came in for my novel, Twilight of the Immortal, and wow, gang — did she nail it!! In 3 minutes!

I cannot believe she is willing to undertake narrating the entire novel (it’s a really long book). And I cannot wait to hear what she does with it.

Wow.

So, as of now, it looks like I have audiobook narrators/producers lined up for all 4 novels. (1 contract in place, 2 negotiating, 1 we will revisit soon)

Thanks again to all my friends for donating money yesterday to help me get back on a firm footing with these audiobook projects. It was such an incredible feeling, knowing that my situation mattered to people.

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Okay.

I am going to try to just take it easy today and get “back to normal” now.

And by taking it easy, I of course, mean this!

OOPS! Sorry, no — I meant this:

Yes, my birth mom should be arriving a week from today, so I want to get some serious housecleaning done — stuff I don’t do every week, like polish all the mirrors that the various cats have sneezed on, polish the furniture, really clean both bathrooms, etc.

If I do NOT do this, my mom will do it while I’m gone and I don’t want her to clean my house!! (Although she is incredible at it.) I want her to try to just relax…

With 15 cats….

So, today, I’m going to clean the house, and then I also have a live podcast with 2 writers that I want to listen to this afternoon, and then there’s another one this evening, over with the writers at Lambda Literary.

So, it’ll still be about “writing” today, just not my own!

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Oh!

And this just in!

The first “Story of the Week” of Season 2 over at Brown Hound Press has just been posted!! It is:

“I Am Coming to Asheville to Kill You” by Pearl Reagler.

You can read it HERE!

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And here’s this.

It is a screenshot of a reel that I absolutely LOVED, but it was so tightly edited that it was nearly impossible to grab a good shot.

But here’s what I could get!

Johnny Smoke has returned!!

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And here’s this!!

From Facebook!!

A bunch of framed Christian art!!

Oh wait, I mean — Nick Cave!!! Leaning on a steel guitar!! In color!

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And that is all I have today because I have been living on another planet the last few days.

I am hoping that once all the housecleaning is done, I can focus on getting the tribute anthology for M. Christian ready to be front & center on my desk.

The deadline for submissions is Oct. 1st — right after I get back from North Carolina. And if everyone contributes who has said they are contributing — I’m going to be a busy gal in October.

So I want to be ready for that.