Strike a Pose

“Come on, (Rogue)…”

Really shoulda added Madonna’s “Vogue” to my Instagram post of that pic.

Note to self: remember that, come Halloween.

OMG I cannot WAIT to wear this look out to eat, and such. Since I don’t see us bar-hopping, or going out dancing. Kiddo’s not much of a drinker, and I quit altogether. Dancing’s kinda fun, but maybe not her speed. BUT… we did plan on a trip to a Star Wars-themed cheesesteak restaurant on Halloween. Maybe there will be some fellow X-Men fans in the crowd? There has to be some crossover between Star Wars fans and superhero franchise fans.

X-Men: Evolution Rogue costume coming right along!!!

I am SO HAPPY with everything that came in the mail today!!!!

Now, I just need some dressy black boots to go with my bootcut leggings, and, ideally, a “pleather” jacket, since I am betting Halloween here will be cold AF, as per recent years. Not that artificial leather is the warmest substance known to man, BUT it will be SOMETHING, while still kinda keeping to my take on that version of Rogue’s vibe.

Kiddo asked if I would get her some more nail tips. Coffin-shaped, because she felt like that’s what “Moth Maven” would wear. She’d said she could do it, too, possibly, but I said no, go ahead and pick some out and add them to your wishlist for your costume. I’ll take care of it. Her black furry coat in imitation of a Mothman-like body, is still on the way, but already paid for.

Apart from that, there’s just the question of these SUPER rad Mothman slip-on shoes she has her wee heart set on… pricey, but we will see. At least it seems the website she found them on runs a possibly-permanent BOGO sale, so she could pick out a second pair for free, making the two pairs a bit more cost-effective.

I’ll admit I started the day a bit cranky. Inadequate sleep. And I may have also forgotten to take my antidepressants. Honestly, that part of my morning is such a blur, I’m not really certain either way. Kind of a double-whammy, that way.

BUT… then I got the package of the rest of my incoming Rogue stuff… and THEN when I got to work, I found out a customer had sent a glowing email to our District Manager, which she forwarded back to us, and praised me and one of my coworkers, for doing so well.

That kinda set the tone for the rest of the day. I didn’t feel as harried as I usually do. Instead of a pre-work meditation, I did an energizing breathing exercise. Might go back to that one, if I can find it twice. I got a little dizzy while I was doing it, but it did seem to have helped, afterward?

I also got a charmingly-idiosyncratic message from long-distance-bestie, about a dream she had last night. We like to share the especially interesting or spicy ones. This one was a bit of both. She’s a good time. Our conversations keep me going.

After work, I splurged just a tiny bit, and treated myself to Noodles and Company. They have a new deal where you can get a small entree with a protein option and a small side for about $11. I got the Bulgogi Mac, and a garden salad, and then paid $4 extra, for 3 potstickers. Down to just PB and J stuff and eggs and bacon, and protein bars, again. Could’ve gotten McDonald’s which would have been cheaper… but this was a bit healthier. And, I had greens.

Looking over my order to make sure everything was in the bag, I said out loud, “We have it all!” and immediately heard in my mind the line of dialogue from The Lost Boys following that one, where Max tells Lucy they have the finest selection of video tapes in Santa Carla.

Yeah, just a little obsessed.

Then, I realized I’d gotten NOODLES, of all things. “They’re only noodles, Michael.”

Last night and today, I updated the summary for Wishful Sinful, on Amazon. Last night, I did the e-book. Today, it occurred to me to double check if the summary had carried over to the paperback. It, in fact, had not. Uploaded an edited version of that, along with an updated cover advertising it as Book One in Rock is Undead. And, I updated my photo, with the bio on the back of the cover. Really, I suppose I change my hair enough that keeping individual book cover photos updated might get to be a bit challenging. But I was making changes there already, so why not?

When I had first written Wishful Sinful, and later, shared it on Amazon, I hadn’t necessarily thought it would become a series. The short story spinoff I had in the back of my head was the furthest I saw it going. But Rock is Undead has quickly become one of the most emotionally-satisfying projects I’ve undertaken, at least as far as writing.

That may be my mind deceiving itself. After all, I think everything feels pretty awesome in the moment. But I can’t recall any other work of fiction, memoir, or collection of poetry during the creation of which, I experienced nearly as much synchronicity.

I don’t claim that it’s a world-shattering, Great American Novel. But it means a lot to me, personally. And in the end, that’s probably reason enough to keep writing it. Here’s what I came up with today, for the Amazon summary, and the blurb on the back of the paperback:

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A M/M/F Vampire Rockstar Romance for fans of the 1987 film, The Lost Boys.

Entertainment reporter, Jared Winter, falls under the dark spell of Velveteen Slumber’s front man, Dorian Volker, at a concert in Los Angeles. Dorian invites Jared, and his best friend, Lenore, to join the band on the next leg of the Divination in the Dark tour.

Is there a place for Jared within the open relationship Dorian shares with his captivating girlfriend, Haven? Will Jared uncover the hidden meaning behind the song, “Hunter’s Kiss,” that began the entire seduction? Which of the nocturnal rockers will win over Lenore?

Lenore later uncovers a trail of disappearances shadowing the tour. Will she and Jared be next?

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I like it a lot better than the summary I had on there to begin with, which wasn’t as concise, and was a lot “chattier,” discussing the genesis of the idea for the book… etc.

Looks like the changes to the paperback haven’t yet gone live. I wasn’t able to alter the title to add the subtitle “Rock is Undead Book One,” but at least adding that to the cover should help. And I retitled “Hyacinth House” to add “A Rock is Undead Tale” rather than “A Wishful Sinful Tale”AND included “Following the Events of Wishful Sinful” after the subtitle, on the cover, to make sure it’s easier to read everything in order.

Wishful Sinful comes up pretty readily with a search just using the title, maybe because there are four or so other books by the same name, thanks to The Doors. But “Hyacinth House” seems to hide, until you search it with my name attached. At least it comes up under the information for the series, overall, as a related short story.

Anyway.

Someone on tumblr shared that meme of the vampires from The Lost Boys with the caption “Don’t tell me you like 80’s rock music if you don’t know what hair band this is,” asking if any of the fan fic writers on tumblr had put together any fic for the boys as a band.

I replied with a brief description of Rock is Undead, and the titles, and where to find them.

And, since I also had that same meme in my Pinterest board for the series, I shared it to my Instagram story, with a reference to the book series. Maybe I should have waited for the paperback cover/blurb to update first, but meh, I didn’t.

I’m slowly gaining more followers on tumblr who are interested in The Lost Boys, and I’ve been coming up with fun, thematic ways to discuss the series. And I have shared some excerpts, too.

But I posted my Rogue pic, as well, tonight, as something fun and different, for anyone who, like me, ADORES Halloween. I could definitely see my characters getting behind the spirit of that. Only they wouldn’t go as vampires. They’d do something else.

I do have a flashback in dialogue to Haven and Dorian’s first Halloween together, in NYC, where they met, in my current draft of Mystery Train. That was a lot of fun to write, even if it’s very brief. I like adding little bits of color here and there, giving the characters more depth, and going into their backstories, the progression of their relationships. It’s very creatively satisfying.

I suppose I could have spent some time adding to Mystery Train tonight, instead of blogging here. Maybe I still will. I could take my meds and write a bit, until I get sleepy. Better that than getting an adrenaline high from the creativity then being unable to sleep even AFTER meds.

A longish phone call with kiddo also ate up some time tonight, just after I had put the finishing touches on my Rogue look dry-run for tonight. She’s got a lot going on, and needed her mom.

I wish I could do more.

I told her I wished I was there, so I could give her a hug, or buy her some coffee.

Not that we would’ve done coffee by the time of night we were talking, but I like to think I would be able to share all kinds of lil treats with her, if we lived closer. We always used to.

She’s under an enormous amount of pressure and facing a lot of financial burden.

If we can just get through until October, if she can sustain herself until then, albeit with some help from family (and I will certainly see what I can manage, there), then I can give her a much-needed break, and we can just have some FUN, and reconnect.

She even mentioned an animated movie tonight that if I hadn’t already seen by October, she wanted to watch with me. I said I could wait that long, since I really enjoy sharing in things she loves. The movie we watched the first half of on my birthday last year was SO fun, even if I was uber-paranoid about the volume, since we were watching it kinda late. I think it was RRR ?

Keep us in your thoughts. Her, especially. Right now, I think she needs it more than I do.

Which says a lot, considering how it takes a village to keep me in a decent mood, sometimes.

I jest, but yes, I am nothing if not SUPREMELY high-maintenance.

Unless I’m working. Then, I generally hold it all together.

If you find yourself moved to pick up one of my books, even if it isn’t anything related to The Lost Boys (I have plenty of other stuff on Amazon… historical fiction, memoir, poetry, short fiction, an epistolary collection of open letters addressed to unnamed people of significance from my life), I would appreciate it. Every little bit is that much more I can either send to her, or put toward our upcoming time together.

I think even the times I just send them a little something to cover a restaurant meal so she can take a break from cooking, have helped her. She tells me they do. And she said that when you add up ALL the times I’ve done that, it’s actually quite a bit.

I do what I can.

But thank you, from the depths of my heart, just for being here.

I’ll try and keep an abundance mindset.

Somehow, we will work this out. With careful resource planning, everything will be taken care of.

Rock ‘n’ Roll.