Scribble Interludes

The Birds & the Bees and Cookies

2008-07-03T12:20:00.000-07:00

So, my sister, Elizabeth, just got home last night from a three week vacation on the Emerald Isle only to discover two new kittens. This in itself is shocking enough, seeing as how she didn't even know that the mother was pregnant, but it was made even more so by the fact that said cat had just had a litter in April. I think my sons' reactions summed it all up: my 18 month old grinned madly while waving his arms ecstatically in the air, and my 4 year old said one word,
"Why?"
And come to think of it, that is exactly what he said when we told him that I was pregnant (and no, it wasn't a "we", there is nothing "we" about pregnancy), and he was going to have a little brother.
"Why?"
I thought it was a reasonable response. Why exactly? But thanks to reading my Penelope Leach, we didn't try to pass off some, "Because we love you so much, we wanted more" answer, which really if you think about it makes no sense. Or is only setting him up for a lifetime of excessive longing and/or addiction - there's a fate. So we just said, "Because we are, and he's going to be part of our family." Then he cuddled in my lap for awhile and seemed more interested in my protruding belly than he had been before, but then he got on the floor and we played airplane. And had a cookie.
And speaking of, I was in my favorite place in this area to get a cookie and coffee, Coffee Labs in Tarrytown, NY. I wrote most of my blog essays in there, and got to listen to music I'd never find or turn on myself and was well supplied caffeine-and-sugar-wise. And ending up going every week.
Why?
Because I love them so much, I wanted more.

Hawks & Love

2008-06-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all,
So, my sweet cousin, Michel Allen (who grew up in Memphis), had a book party for me last night at her art gallery, The Allen Gallery - Southern hospitality lives in Chelsea. It was great fun, like all of her art openings - definitely check them out on Thursday nights. Liz French and Faygie Levy from Romantic Times came by. Liz was wearing a fabulous dress, and yes, that is the same outfit I wore in Natchez, and I have little excuse since I dressed at home with my whole closet at my disposal, but with little time since I was with my small sons, but anyway.
Patrick Knisley from 192 Books (don't miss their writers' series at the store and at the NY Public Library - Salman Rushdie & Jeffrey Eugenides is tonight. Oh, to have a sitter again and be at that one!) had one of his fabulous employees there, then he joined a bunch of us afterward at my second most favorite NY bistro
La Luncheonette, but soon to be my most since Florent is closing in a few days thanks to horrendous rent increases in the meat packing district. Major dismal news. NYC is supposed to have terrible neighbors with little finds nestled in them like jewels. But no longer. God save me from more gentrification. I used to live around the corner from La Luncheonette on 20th between 9th & 10th before I moved to LA supposedly only for a month, but then stayed for way longer than 10 years. Back when I lived in Chelsea, I used to see Debbie Harry prowling the aisles of the awful Safeway (remember that one?) that is long since gone. She was a much better site than the ridiculous crowds that were on 10th avenue last night when we walked to our car at midnight. Not a decent transvestite in the mix which used to be all my ex-boyfriend and I saw when we ambled over to the Empire Diner for a late night sup of my favorite meal: ice coffee and french fries, the best in NY.
Okay, that is my love letter to my old stomping grounds.

This morning, my husband and sons and I woke up to the baby red-tail hawk that has taken up residence here. He was sitting on a large rock in our backyard,
screeching like a madman. He looks small and unprepossessing in this picture, but don't be fooled. He is quite large, and not shy. He loves chipmunk - guess how we know that? - and our sons' slide. Our 18 month old was very unhappy the first time young hawk landed on the slide, and stayed there as if it were his own. My son looked at me with as much distaste as I had for last night's crowds, and tried to shoo him away. Needless to say, the hawk didn't budge. I guess both are here to stay. Somehow, I think the hawk sticking around is a better sign.
xo

Home Again, Home Again - For Now

2008-06-24T18:52:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all,
So I'm back from my tour, for now. As y'all know, my two young sons (four years old, and 17 months old) came with me, and they were the best traveling companions ever. Seriously. And they are generally pretty easy kids—considering the fact that they never stop moving and there is a constant rotation of fire truck/work site/ball games in our house—but still, they are under five, for God's sake. But they were such pros that I felt like I was with the editors of Condé Nast Traveler, and maybe I was—future ones. And the best part was that we all had fun. Always important! So we're home, but I still have a bunch of dates left. So check them out, and if you are near one, come by—it'd be great to see you.

Here's a bunch o' photos. And my little travel editors say hey.
xo

Okay, this was in Monroe, La. I drove over there from Jackson, MS to tape a radio interview at 8:30 AM for Lagniappe on KEDM with Sunny Meriwether, and yes, she is as much a bright light as her name implies. Then I had a reading that night at Windows, bookstore of the much fun Elisabeth and Pat who do The Book Report that I taped the week prior, but I had the day to myself - hence the blog posting before this one, if any of this is making sense! Help! Anyway. I forgot to get photos with Sunny or at Windows. Major :( BUT I did take pictures of where I ate lunch, infer from that what you will. This is my table at The Pickle Barrel. Do not miss this place next time you are in Monroe. It is where all the locals go. I felt like I lived there. I was waiting for my next door neighbor to walk in and sit down. It was heaven. And, yes, the pickles were homemade and great. Then I got true Southern Hospitality when Monroe resident and angle incarnate Mary Brinson met me for dinner at Genusa's before my event. Okay, if I'm not going to eat a lot down South, where will I??

The next day, my cousin Henry and I drove to Natchez, a gorgeous little town on the Mississippi which is famous for having the pilgrimage tours every spring where 25 antebellum mansions are open to the public. Girls dress up in period dress and give tours. Two of my sisters did it one year, and I was so jealous of their hoop skirts (hello, Crimes of the Heart). Maybe I wore my most colorful skirt to Natchez in some subconscious honor of that. Anyway. I had a great time at Turning Pages book store. Mary and Pat had made pimento cheese sandwiches cut into diamonds with the crust off, and sweet tea. Major yum.

Then on Sunday, we drove to Memphis, and the next morning (6/16), I did an interview on Live at 9 on WREG. Okay, I am still trying to figure out how to get to the video of my interview to play on their website, and have no idea. Can I just not be a Luddite for once?!! If anyone figures it out, please yell.

After that, we went to CMOM, (Childrens Museum of Memphis - hugely great fun. FedEX donated a cockpit to them, and my 4 year old was out of his mind with joy) then to my favorite eatery, the Piccadilly! I know, I already ate there on this trip (2x before!), but how ca I resist? My kids had the best time picking their dishes of food. And where else can you get okra as a matter of course? I miss the food I grew up on!!

Then I taped a radio interview with Stephen Usery for WYPL's Book Talk. We just sat and visited about Stuttgart, and the Heat Wave of 1980, and other obscure, but important parts of my life that I rarely, if ever, get to talk to one person about who also happened to experience them. Finally, we taped a show.

That night, I did an event at Davis-Kidd; I so love that store. It's huge, but feels like it could be your library in some crazy perfect bibliophile kind of house. Anyway, one of the people who came was this amazingly sweet new friend of mine, Lindy, who I met on Gather.com, this new (at least to me) site where you can connect with other reading/writing lovers. They become a kind of wonderful internet family for me.

The next day, we flew home. I so had to pay the extra baggage fee :( But it was the first time on the entire trip, so I can't really complain. But I will.

One night later, I had a Spoken Interludes here in NY with David Rabe, Mark Doty, and Kathryn Harrison. They were amazing - all such different, but powerful voices.

And it's nice to be home again. Jiggity Jig.

A Day of One's Own - Sorta

2008-06-09T13:47:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all
Apologies for another gigantic posting - it's been hard having time to get on here with tour stuff and spending time with my sons, but I am in Monroe, La for the day having a day of one's own, to paraphrase dear Eudora which is apropos since I drove here from Jackson, Miss for an 8 am live radio interview with Sunny Meriweather - how much do we love her name? and she totally lives up to it in the best possible way, this woman is pure light - for her show, Lagniappe, on KEDM. For y'all non-Louisianians, lagniappe means something extra. Sorta like a baker's dozen, but with extra hospitality thrown in. At 5, I'll have diner with a new friend, the force of nature Mary Brinson who made this day the wonderful thing that it is, and then a reading at Windows at 7, then back to Welty country.
But to pick up where I left off on my last posting:
This past Monday, I went to Lake Charles, where Fiona and Patricia - the main characters of my new novel - are from. I spent summers there as a girl visiting my grandmother, and I specifically set the novel there so I could go back and visit. It was heaven. Right when I got there, I drove straight to my grandmother's old house- she has been deceased since the '80's. I saw a woman watering the grass next door and introduced myself and she told me that the house is going to be torn down because of the damage it sustained in Hurricane Rita. I am beyond heartbroken, but so relieved that I was able to get there and see it one last time. isn't it wonderful? There is an amazing attic up there that was made into a playroom that was wallpapered with New Yorker covers from the 1920's up to the '50's. I put that room in my first novel. and I made this Fiona's house in my new novel. I so loved it.
And this is the pavilion that Fiona and Patricia play in as children in the novel, and where my sisters and cousins and I all played as kids, acting out all sorts of dramas and romances.
The house behind it is antebellum.
We never saw anyone in it, but
always imagined it was a very
benevolent elderly woman who
didn't mind us trampling her yard and jumping around her statue. And this is Lake Charles, as seen from my grandmother (and Fiona's virtual!) house. That's a beautiful bridge all the way across. It was a beautiful white-gold low rainbow at night.
And this is the entrance to Drew Park - another locale in the novel. The wrought iron arch above the pillars says Drew Park. My husband or four year old would have been able to make that visible, but I was lucky to get the framing straight - kinda. But that led to the bike path we took there to play on the jungle gym and clubhouse for ping pong games - both make appearances in the book. I could feel the shorts high on my legs, and imagine the restful, cold quiet of my grandmother's home when we'd come in after playing. She always had an old fashion at 5, and we'd have shirley temples and peanut butter on saltine crackers before a cold supper at 6. Dinner was at noon. This was the South! I would always make her drinks because I put in 2 jiggers of bourbon instead of one, and she'd always say, "DeLauné, you make the best old fashions." As if she had no idea that they were stronger than hers, though maybe she didn't. This was when I was 8 or so. She was a grand woman. Very elegant, but with a great sense of humor. She is much missed.
Then I went to Books-a-Million for a signing, where I felt like I was returning to the hometown of my dreams. We sold out of books after an hour and a half, and I met such wonderful women. Everyone was so happy to connect, an amazing bookclub came, The Pulpwood Queens. I love these women. They have pink t-shirts and tiaras, and so get the lifelong sister/friend female thing. I met a cousin, Traci Dubus, and her darling daughter Molli. Traci had grown up hearing about our ancestor in Marie Antionette's court, but didn't know the full story, so I filled her in.(the woman I was named for Helene Delaune was going to go to guillotine, but Marie Antionette gave her jewels for her and her husband to escape. I think that is a future book.) Then I did an event at the central library, and they had someone from the Junior League make appetizers and they gave me the Junior League cookbook - my husband is thrilled!! We can just close our eyes, open to a page, and find a great new dish for dinner. And, it's food from home! They both want me to come back in the fall, which I will in a heartbeat. They were so wonderful and welcoming.
Tuesday was New Orleans. It started with an interview with Susan Larson of the New Orleans Times-Picayune at CC's, Community Coffee's local cafe. If you think you are happy with Starbucks, order Community Coffee and find nirvana. And it's from New Orleans! She was so fun to visit with. She knows my whole family and had great stories to tell me about them, I mostly wanted her to talk more than me. Then I did a half hour taped radio interview for WRBH with Deb McDonald - she was great fun. Then I went to my dear dear friend, Sid Montz' stunningly gorgeously restored 1880's home off of Prytania street,and called in to do a taped radio interview for the Book Report - here's the MP3. I love Elisabeth and Pat -their voices combined are like a great old fashion (there's that drink again, I really am home!) - one's bourbon and the other is sugar.
After that, Sid and I went by Octavia Books (pic on left)to sign stock and see Tom and Judith and their darling puppy - my youngest son would have loved him!
Then I went to Garden District Book Store
for a reading and signing - that's me with my cousin René Thionville, and you can tell his accent by his name. I could listen to him all day. The voices down here are just heaven. My husband keeps telling me that every time we talk, mine is thicker and thicker - thank God!! After that, Sid and I had dinner at a great Uptown restaurant, then I drove back to big BR (Baton Rouge, or le rouge, as a friend used to call it.)
Wednesday in BR started with a live radio interview on the Jim Engster show, then I picked up my sons, and we went to see the school I went to, St Joseph's Academy, where the kind and delightful and regal Sr. Joan took us around for a tour and let my older son pick out two old school desks for us to get up to NY somehow for him and his brother to use - wasn't that lovely of her? They were throwing them out, but they are in gorgeous condition, the oak wood perfect, so the timing was great. Then lunch with my Aunt Kathryn and cousin Cathy, then off to see the most important resident in Baton Rouge (in many people's opinion) the one, the only Mike the Tiger.
Yes, he has his own website). After LSU won the championships, Mike got these new digs - and no, my pic does not do it justice. When I was little, he had a humble home, but he has stayed the same at heart (even though he is a different tiger!), when we got there, he was napping in the shade mostly out of view just like he always was when Momma would take me to see him. But that's the Mike the tiger experience. Kind of the reverse of an LSU game. There is nothing sleepy about that experience. My older son wished Mike were a camel. I won't tell the rabid LSU fans that!!
Then I had a reading/signing at Barnes and Noble that night - I promise I'm wearing a different skirt and top than the other pics, it's just hard to tell!! - and that was wonderful fun to see old friends and meet new people.
Then on Thursday, yesterday, we drove to Jackson, Miss, and I got
the boys settled with Julia (who has been a godsend on this trip) at my cousin Henry's house, and Henry and I went to Lemuria, a book store I love. That's us with his friend Karla - she's a hoot, as any good Jackson girl is. One of the wonderful people at the store, Joe, has been to parties at the house my father grew up in when he was a boy in Jackson - too small a world. We traded baby pictures. I was pregnant with my second when I was there two years ago with my first novel, and he and his wife were about the have their first child, and since have had a second. so that was dear to see those pictures.
Then off to Piccadilly - a restaurant I put in The Safety of Secrets - they are all over the South - don't miss them if you get down here - yum!!
And now we are caught up with me in Monroe. Tonight is a reading/signing at Windows. More pics soon.
xox

Suspicous Ocean and photos from the road

2008-06-08T21:34:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all,
So I am getting my sea legs, so to speak, on touring with two small children while keeping up with all things web, but I am glad to be getting back to my blog!

The first reading was at the Borders in Portland. They did a wonderful event, and some people I know from gather.com came, so that was great getting to meet cyber-friends in person. Another woman there knew me from my reading series, Spoken Interludes, in LA. She just happened to be at Borders that night, saw the sign about my event and stayed. Great Serendipity!

The next day, we flew to Albuquerque, and my husband and sons went to my sister's house - heaven with a pool, I would never leave if I lived there - while she and I went to my event in Santa Fe - great fun and great sister visiting. And I got some pool time the next day!

The next morning, a radio interview on KHFM-FM with Kip Allen at 8 am - early, but worth it. I'll get the Mp3 to put on here soon.
The event at Borders that night had a great crowd and fun book-club like discussion. And Whole Foods was next door to stock up on organic chocolate - hooray!

Our digs in LA. Craig's list has been the saving grace this tour. How cute is this? Bungalowsweet.com if you need a place to stay.
And it's more spacious than their website makes it sound. Plus La Cienega park is two blocks away. A happy child (or two) is a happy momma.

BEA was Saturday. I had a signing that
morning, then got to see friends/Spoken Interludes Honorary Board members Robert Crais, T. Jefferson Parker, and Michael Connelly (the triumvirate of the mystery world) in a panel that afternoon about audio books. That's my friend, Betsy Little, with Michael and me.
The HarperCollins party was that night at Fox. It was funny to be on the lot as a non-actor - funny, but really nice. I shot NYPD Blue there, not to mention countless auditions, which I don't miss at all!!

Spoken Interludes was Monday night. Litblogger Mark Sarvas of the Elegant Variation and Marisa Silver read from their beautiful new novels. Michael Kearns read a powerful piece about his work with children with AIDS in Africa, I read, and the gloriously funny Taylor Negron read a piece he wrote for the evening about his start in Hollywood as a cartoon character for a Hanna Barbara show. Could breaking into the business get any better than that?

Tuesday night was Borders in Westwood, home of the amazing Lita Weissman, God's gift to writers. Betsy (of the Michael Connelly picture above) and Lita and my sons and I had breakfast at Juniors the next day. As we were leaving (after many eggs were consumed and/or thrown on the floor thanks to my 17 month old but I did leave a good tip, I remember being a waitress) we asked a woman to take a picture for us. She said sure, then promptly jumped into the photo and smiled. We said, Oh no, we were hoping you would take one of us. She looked confused, though not as much as we were as to why she would get in our picture, but she took the photo, then said goodbye. The valet - yes, this is LA, the deli's have valets - told us she was Fantasia from American Idol. I still don't know who she is, but I'm sure that has a lot more to do with my lack of TV time than hers.
Wednesday was Flint Ridge Books and Cafe in La Canada. I had
never heard of that town either. Now, I want to live there.
It was like stumbling upon a Ross
MacDonald novel without the murder. Total Southern California
circa 1950. I've been wanting to retire to Malibu in 1975, but since that isn't possible, maybe I can get my husband for us to move there instead.

Thursday I called in to do a radio interview with WWNO in New Orleans, then that night, Vroman's. Here I am signing a book in their office before the event. Yes, I did wear the same outfit two nights in a row. But it was only a few hours each night, so I figure combined together, they made up only one day. Sort of.

Friday, we flew to Louisiana.
As the plane left LAX, and flew out over the ocean to turn around, my 4 year old asked me what river that was. I told him it wasn't a river, it was the
Pacific Ocean. He said, "The suspicious
ocean?" I told him no, but really wanted to say yes.
We got to Baton Rouge, where it is over 90 degrees plus 95 % humidity - welcome home! I keep asking my family and friends if it was this hot when we were growing up. Either it wasn't, or I have been up north too long. I drove straight to NO to tape a TV interview (check that out here), then woke at 6 to call in to do a TV interview over the phone for a morning news show in Lafayette called Passe Partout (I love being home! Where else in the US would a news show have that name??) then later drove to Lafayette to do an event at the Museum at USL.
I got to see lots of old family friends and cousins I'd never met and meet new people - great fun.
It rained on the way home over the Atchafalaya Basin. It was a lot more beautiful than this picture, but here's a small taste of that.

Today, I did a reading at the Baton Rouge Art Gallery. I'm so happy to be back in the South where people dress up and wear hats. More soon.
xo

1st Stop: Portland, Oregon

2008-05-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

So, we got into Portland at 11:00 PM or 2 Am NY time on Friday. Didn't get to sleep until 2 (or 5 am NY time), having been awake for 23 hours. My one year old woke up four hours later. Needless to say, yesterday was all about trying to feel like a human until I could go to sleep. We are here for a family event for my husband's family, and then my book tour kicks off here on Tuesday, the day my book comes out, at Borders Beaverton. It hardly feels real. The rest of my husband's family is staying at a hotel on the river, but all I could think about for the past few weeks was me and my husband in a hotel room with no kitchen and our 2 small children, so I fled to Craigs list and found this:
It is a very sweet little house in
Sellwood a wonderful, historic, pseudo-Melrose-but-not-goth section of Portland.
The bed is dreamy, and our sons have their own room. And the kitchen is great. The owner of the house even went grocery shopping for me before we arrived - is that heaven, or what? and half the price of the hotel. My four year old looked at me tonight and said,
"Momma, this house is small, but it is soooo beautiful."
Though I think that had more to do with what we found waiting for him in the living room:
Legos! A whole huge box of them! Both boys were entranced for hours. Okay, minutes, but still. It was many long minutes.
My in-laws are in from Boca; the whole family is here. My mother-in-law came by our place yesterday and brought us a chicken. That she cooked. In Florida. As my husband said, that bird flew more than most birds migrate. The worst part is that it is still in the frig, in case she comes by. I can't tell her I threw it out because it went bad. If she'd believe that, she wouldn't have brought it on the plane. I was tempted to get some yellow hazard tape to put around it, but my 4 year old is into work sites, so that would just make it more appealing. I don't even want to know if she checked it or if it went carry on. It gives a whole new meaning to the term "to go." But really,
But anyway, enough about being benignly poisoned by my mother-in-law, I just got some radio interviews about my book added, and more tour dates are happening, so check out my schedule on my website and come say hey!! Happy Memorial day weekend.
xo

Off We Go

2008-05-22T12:06:00.001-07:00

Hey y'all
so the car for JFK comes in less than an hour, and I think we're ready. We have a family event weekend in Portland and then my book tour starts there on Tuesday, May 27th, the day my new book comes out. How is it already here ? Isn't it still February? I think someone turned up the speed on the time dial while I wasn't looking. I packed for myself and my two sons today. And I'm ready for my medal. Actually, the person who should get a medal is my four year old son who somehow was able to let go of the contents of the playroom and bring only one small suitcase of toys. I was looking at skirt after skirt on my bed, envision a life far more fabulous than my own, as if suddenly just by going into the air, I will wear outfits that I don't wear at home. Though I will be on the book tour, so I will be wearing clothes that aren't all about playing fire truck, but let's just say that I was having a harder time letting go of the contents of my closet than my four year old let who go of his fire trucks. Particularly difficult not to pack was a pair of shoes that I was sure were fabulous last summer, but I never wore once, then suddenly this morning, they were screaming to me that I really really would need them on this trip. I don't. They aren't coming. My sister came in - bless her, to do a last minute post office run for me, a true goddess! - and saw the bags and said, "That's all your taking?? Where are the clothes???" So that made me feel good. I am still bringing waaaaay too much, but oh well. Please come by while I'm on tour!! I'm going to lots of fun places and it'd be so nice to say hey! my tour is on my website. Okay, off to pack sippy cups, and my book to read from at the signings! Have a great holiday weekend. Summer is here!!
xox

What's in a Name?

2008-05-10T18:17:00.000-07:00

So, I had a Spoken Interludes the other night, and it was a great, fun night. On the morning of the show, I found out that Elizabeth Strout was sick, so had to cancel :( . So, I was trying to think of a writer that I could call who could jump in at the last minute and read, then suddenly I remembered that I'm a writer, and could read, so I grabbed my new book, The Safety of Secrets, that I just got from HarperCollins a few days before and took it with me to read from.
It is fun to hold the real thing in my hands. I love the cover, and the back is this really beautiful pink and green, but not preppy looking, just very beautiful. I'll get a picture of the back and put it up here. So anyway. I read first. I figured it was only polite of me to take the hardest spot. it was the first time I have read from the new book for a live crowd, so that was great fun.
Then Charles Bock read from Beautiful Children which was amazing, and hearing him read from it is every bit, if not more, wonderful than reading his words. When he finished, he did a literary trivia quiz and the prizes were two completely fab posters for his book that comic artists did for him. check one out here:
Isn't it great? The question for that one was: What book won the National Book Award in 1997? Hint, it was made into a film.
and the other question was which writer was in the movie "Drugstore Cowboy"?
That was such a fun part of the night that I am considering doing a literary jeopardy before the readings.what do y'all think??

then Jeff Gordinier read from his new book,
X Saves the World and read a section about hearing Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit which afterwards I turned to my husband and was like, okay, which song was that one? Because I love Nirvana, but never really knew what any of the songs were called. I was totally shocked when he hummed it for me. anyway. maybe I'm a bad gen X-er.
And last but very not least, AJ Jacobs took the stage, and that is the only way to describe it. Okay, this guy is hysterical. If you haven't read The Year of Living Biblically yet, get it!!
We were all double over laughing so hard. he read the section about when he has to stone an adulterer, and it is just beyond hilarious.
Okay, so quick back story, in the section that I read from my book, Fiona, the main character, is talking about her best friend's new boyfriend, Zane, who she doesn't really like, and she has this little inner monologue about him. "Zane. Whenever I hear the name of Patricia’s boyfriend of six months, I imagine some woman in a lonely rural town stuck with dusty old videos of “Shane” and “Zorro” to get her through her pregnancy, then in the delirium of her labor, naming her child Zane in deference to them. In reality, he was probably named Jim." So after AJ reads and he's talking about the year that he wrote his book, and during that year, he and his wife followed the biblical law of being fruitful and multiplying, and he say, "oh and by the way, one of my twin sons' name is Zane." So we were all laughing about that, though I did feel bad since I had just bashed it from the podium, not that he cared, and he reassured me of that in an email the next day, after I wrote him that I really did actually like the name, but how odd a coincidence is that?especially since I wasn't even supposed to read that night. and then I realized later, that another character in the book has the same name as one of Jeff's kids(and it is not a terribly common name) which didn't hit me until then. so now I'm wondering that if Charles has kids (or when if he doesn't) if one of them is destined for one of those names, too. anyway.
xo
oh, the answer to the first is Cold Mountain and the second is William Burroughs.

High School & Zepplin

2008-05-08T10:53:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all
So yesterday, I drove to a high school in NJ, in this interesting little part right across from Staten Island - who knew? My geography of the Yankee states is so bad. Of course, when I first moved to NY at 18, and would go for a daily run in Riverside Park, and would see NJ across the Hudson, I thought it was Manhattan curving back on itself. Even my mind boggles at that one. Anyway, I went down to do two writing workshops for the students at Middlesex County Vo-Tech High School - Perth Amboy Campus. Check out part of my group here:

They were so fun! And sweet. These are the seniors, the juniors ands sophomores aren't in the picture. The woman on the far right is Dagmar Finkle, the librarian for the school. I met her at the ALA conference in January, and we connected about me bringing a workshop version of Spoken Interludes Next writing program to her students. She made the day so wonderful, and the kids were an amazing, very bright group.

As we were getting ready for the photo, I told the boy on the left (he's wearing a Led Zepplin t-shirt, but it's hard to tell) that I love Led Zepplin and was listening to them on my drive down.
He said, "So was I on the way to school!"
I said, "What's your favorite album?"
He said, "I don't know albums."
And I was like, "Oh, right."
"But I love the Immigrant Song," he said.
So I told him the other songs off that album to get. He looked completely shocked that I could list them by heart. And maybe I should be, too.
After the workshops, Dagmar took me up to the Culinary Arts shop where the students had made a special lunch of lobster bisque and shrimp scampi, and julienned carrots, and tons of other amazing stuff. My tummy was so happy. It was a wonderful day. And I got to have another nice long drive at the end with more Led Zepplin.
xo

Sunday Supper

2008-05-04T21:06:00.001-07:00

Hey y'all,
When I woke up this morning, it felt like early fall here in New York (then 12 noon came and suddenly it was like summer!), so I decided it'd be a good time to make some lentil soup. My four year old helped me; he's a big cook. We do our cooking projects when the 16 month old is taking his morning nap. Anyway. I found this recipe in the New York Times a few months ago, and it is the YUMMIEST lentil soup in the world - and so easy!!! It freezes very well, and if you seve it with rice, it is a complete protein. I like it with a green salad and crusty bread. My husband and kids love it, too. Hope you enjoy it if you make it. I realize I should have written this at the beginning of winter - sorry!! But it's a great one for next fall. Or if you are like me, and can live on soup, it's good for now, too. Actually, I have a great cold pea soup that is too easy to believe, so I'll put that one up when the weather is finally completely hot. Have a great week!!

Yummy Lentil Soup
cooking time 45 minutes
Ingrediants:
3 T olive oil - I eyeball this
1 large onion chopped - I omit this because of my 4 year old and no one misses it
2 cloves garlic, choped - I use the already minced in the jar, and usually more - I like garlic!
1 T tomato paste - I use more!
1 t ground cumin - the secret to the yumminess!! I use more and even the kids love it!
1/4 t salt, more to taste
1/4 t ground black pepper - I can't eat pepper, so I leave that out. I know, sacrilege since I'm from Louisiana!
pinch of cayenne pepper or ground chili powder - I use more, and I'm not a big chili powder person, but it gives it a great depth.
1 quart chicken or veggie broth - I make it vegetarian, but it's great either way
1 cup red lentils - it is just as yummy with teh brown
1 large carrot peeled - my 4 year old loves to help with this part, we usually use 2
juice of 1/2 lemon - if I have one, I use it, if not, no big deal.
3 T chopped fresh cilantro - my husband doesn't like cilantro, so I never use it.

1. In large pot, heat 3 T of olive oil over high heat until hot and shimmering. Add onion and garlic. Sauté until golden, about 4 minutes.
2. Stir in tomato paste, cumin, salt, black pepper, and cayenne or chili powder, and sauté 2 minutes longer.
3. Add broth, plus 2 cups of water, lentil and carrots. Bring to simmer, then partially cover pot and turn heat to medium-low. Simmer until lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary.
4. Using an immersion or regular blender or food processor, purée half the soup, then add back to the pot. I NEVER DO THIS!! too much work, and no one cares how it looks!
5. stir in lemon juice and cilantro - if you are using these!

Yield: 4 servings

I usually make the whole bag of lentils, and adjust the other ingrediant accordingly, and freeze a container.
Hope you enjoy it!

Meet My Ex

2008-04-30T09:27:00.000-07:00

There comes a point in most - or some, depending upon jealousy issues - marriages when eventually one's spouse is introduced to one's ex. My marriage reached that point a few nights ago when my husband and I saw the current production of "Gypsy" now playing on Broadway, with my ex-longterm-boyfriend, Boyd Gaines, in the male lead role. Considering that we watched Boyd for almost three whole hours before we met for drinks, I think that is a pretty strong indication that my husband falls in the not-jealous category. Besides which, we loved the show. If you are anywhere near NY, do not miss it!!!!! Boyd gives yet another of his incredible performances, imbuing the character with such life and humor and heart - he literally makes you laugh and cry. And Patti Lupone is a masterpiece. I have never seen an actor and a role fit so perfectly that it is hard to believe she had to learn lines and songs for it. It is a production to remember for lifetime. So after it was over, we went for a drink at a clubby little bar that used to be Upstairs at Joe Allen's, but I have no idea what it is named now, and we had a great time. Boyd and my husband got on famously, and the circumstances reminded me of one of my favorite Boyd stories:
Boyd went to see former girlfriend, Megan Gallagher (she was with him before me) in a play, and goes backstage afterwards to see her. He is in her dressing room, when Megan's boyfriend comes in, but the boyfriend just starts talking to Megan, and doesn't acknowledge Boyd. Now Boyd knows that this boyfriend knows that he used to date Megan, and being the Southern gentleman that he is, at a lull in the conversation, Boyd puts his hand out to the man and introduces himself.
The man looks at him completely appalled and says, "Okay." as if the situation is anything but.
Boyd ponders this for a moment, then says, "Perhaps you didn't hear me, I said, 'I'm Boyd Gaines.'"
"Oh!" the man replied. "I thought you said, "Let's avoid games."
Which pretty much sums up those situations, doesn't it?

Notes from the Front

2008-04-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all
So, a few of y'all know that through Spoken Interludes, I run an out-reach writing program for at-risk teens called Spoken Interludes Next. Okay, yes, it is the Jr. version of titles, but it is meant to invoke the next generation of writers for the reading series, get it??!! So anyway, if you aren't familiar with it, check out the short and (I know I'm prejudiced, but...) totally heart-warming video here.
When I think about what I miss in LA, teaching in this program tops the list, even before the incredible produce. So, the other day, I got a note from one of the teachers, the amazing Lan Tran, and I wanted to share it with y'all. This note, plus teaching four special writing classes at the local middle school (including the head of publicity at HC's son whom I adore!! Not that I have favorites!) has inspired me to start Spoken Interludes Next here in NY in the fall at a home for boys in the foster system. Now to raise the money! But if I have to do it with my son's crayons and just me, I will. It is too hard to think of a community to close to me that I could bring this program to, and not start doing it. So, here's Lan's note below. Don't these kids sound amazing??
xo
From Lan Tran:
While I've taught writing to adults in the past, this was my first time working with high school kids so I was nervous about how effective I'd be. The students really surprised me from the get-go with their spunk and creativity. One of them loves riding mechanical bulls, another one is in a rock band that regularly performs around town and she wants to be a coroner when she grows up. All of them genuinely pursued their writing projects but I was especially struck by one student who wrote about a trip into space where she lands on another planet, identical to Earth, populated by folks who've died. There, she runs into her rock idol, Joey Ramone, and also reconnects with her brother. It was funny, charming, and highly imaginative (especially one part when Joey Ramone tries to stowaway on her rocket ship). Another student, impressed everyone with a multi-layered, multi-part story about one narrator's relationship with money and life. In the first part, a young boy is weighing coins and comments how even though a quarter is worth more than a penny, if you put enough pennies on one side of the scale, they will weigh more even though their value is not more. In the second section, we learn the boy is wealthy when he saves a fatally wounded homeless kid and pays for his medical bills. In the third section, the boy is now an adolescent and he kills a rat to win some money, much to the displeasure of his father, who says that life is more important than money. The boy argues back, that money can be more important than one life, because money can be used to save many lives. In the final section, the boy is now a successful businessman who owns a multi-national conglomerate dedicated to saving lives. Then he learns that his best friend has died in a car accident and he realizes that despite all his financial power, he couldn't save the life that mattered most. Thus he realizes the weight of money, once more.

On our last day, when the students wrote their thank you letters to the donors saying what they appreciated about the program, I scoured those letters, trying to find what I did right as an instructor and what worked. How could I be a better teacher? To my surprise, what nearly all the students liked most about me had nothing to do with what I consciously did as teacher. They just liked me. It was such a gift! But apparently what they love most about the program is the exposure and one-on-one time with a published author. Who knew?
I learned as much as they did!

Exactly What I Wasn't Going to Write About...

2008-04-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

But how can I not???
Yes, I am going to write about my children.
So last night, as I was putting them to bed, my older son, who is four, asked if he could have another hug.
I told him he can always have another hug.
He said, why?
I said, because my heart is full of hugs for you.
He said, how do you know they are for me?
I said, because they have your name on them.
He said, is it spelled correctly?

So my question is: Who told him that his Momma is a rotten speller??!!

Then my fifteen month old son, who thinks he is four, proceeded to throw his blanket out of his crib and squealed with giggles every time I retrieved it. I did not help this game to end sooner by giving him hugs every time he did it. My older son asked if those hugs had his brother's name on them. I told him they did. Shockingly, he seemed assured that his brother's name had been spelled correctly.
Finally, after about 10 songs, they were exhausted and fell asleep.

How the Dinner Table Made Me Write

2008-03-31T19:50:00.000-07:00

In the French Catholic world where I grew up in South Louisiana, there was only one ritual more important than Sunday Mass, and that was the dinner hour. True to our heritage and locale, in the house that I grew up in, dinner was the most important time of day, partly for the food – my Momma’s incredible Creole cuisine – but mostly for the conversation. Or should I say storytelling.
Because that’s what it was: long, detailed, funny, and illuminating stories. And God forbid you didn’t have one.
My father started first. Every night, my four older sisters (yes, four, and no brothers!) and I would sit quietly, eating our dinner while Daddy told Momma about his day. We were expected to pay attention. We were expected to learn and understand what Daddy did running the insurance company, which I never did until a few years ago. But we were not expected to be part of that conversation.
Then Momma talked about her day. My mother had her own life of running the Arts Council and working on her Ph. D. and writing, but at this point, we were more than just a silent audience because we were actually players in some of the stories of her day.
Then finally it was our turn. All five of us. And let’s just say that with four extremely verbal, intelligent and expressive older sisters, getting a word in edgewise was not an easy feat. So I didn’t. At all.
Until finally when I was about six, Momma and Daddy realized that I rarely-to-never spoke at the dinner table, so in an effort at equality and to stave off me being a future dinner-party-mute, they enforced a new rule: Every night, I was to get my own time to talk with no interruptions, no cutting off, no shouting over.
Ready? Go!
There I was: the youngest at the table, the one with the least schooling, the least experience, and the least stories as it were, but with the time to talk. I cannot think of this memory without a visceral sense of four bodies literally sitting on their hands with their mouths clamped shut. And possibly bored. Or indulging. But regardless, I got to talk, to tell the story of my day. And boy, did I. From the beginning. Because to me it was very clear that each event flowed to the next and the next wasn’t possible without what proceeded it so how could I tell them about the red-headed woodpecker at the park with Gracie Mae if I didn’t tell them how hard it was to decide which shorts to wear that day, purple or pink?
It never really got much easier to talk at that dinner table, and when I got older, the enforcing of that nightly rule fell away, and I either fought my way in to the conversation or I didn’t, but something amazing had happened. I was able to feel what it was like to have the time and the space to be heard.
As far back as my memory goes, I always knew that I would be writer. I come from a family of writers: my mother, my first cousin Andre Dubus (House of Sand and Fog), another cousin is New York Times bestselling mystery writer James Lee Burke, so that world was always around me. But that experience at the dinner table is what has made me need to write, and made me keep writing. I need to be heard, and doesn’t everyone? Even if it is only on a piece of paper or a computer screen. And if I’m not interrupted, if someone reads my stories, that is a glorious bonus. But what’s most important is that I give that time and space to myself in the dinner party of my life.
And it’s no surprise that Spoken Interludes, the reading series that I produce in NY and LA, is basically a reconstruction of the dinner table. People come together, have a meal, and writers tell a story by reading their work.
So, if you pick up one of my novels, I’d love to hear what you think. And it’s okay to interrupt me. Promise.

Bottoms Falling Out

2008-03-23T17:11:00.001-07:00

Hey y'all -
It's been a topsy-turvy couple of weeks here in New York what with the bottom falling out of Bear Stearns, and, well, I guess other bottoms falling out, too, so to speak. I'm sure Spitzer wishes he could turn back the clock and do some things over, though I can't even imagine how far back he'd want his clock to go. But speaking of turning back the clock, (and I don't mean daylight savings time, though we are in that now, too, but my sons are still going to bed at 7 pm - hooray! - though I've been wondering how much longer I have until my 4 year old looks at me and says, "It's not even dark. I'm staying up!" Please Lord, not soon!), but all this Spitzer stuff reminded me of my previous career, and I don't mean one like Kristen's. When I was acting in LA, I did an episode on a Lifetime series called, "The Divison" with Bonnie Bedelia, who was fabulous, and Jon Hamm before his present day fame in AMC's HBO-like "Mad Men" and I played a madame. It was fun and silly, and we shot it in what used to be the original Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood from the thirties, that of course had been torn down, then they tried to build it back, but couldn't, but that's LA. So here is the clip of a scene I did if you wanna see it. But, if you do, okay, can we talk about the make-up?? Oh my God, what was that?? If anyone ever needed proof of that beauty-magazine adage that wearing too much make-up adds years to your looks, here it is. Or maybe the make-up artist decided that the hard-core aspect of being in "the life" had taken its toll on me. Though actually, he was really sweet and turned out that he knew uber-hairdresser Sam Brocato, who I used to model for in Baton Rouge (yes, Baton Rouge had an uber-hairdresser) and totally had a huge crush on which was a bit of a problem for a lot of reasons, but that's another blog post. Or novel.
xo

New Sites/New Vids

2008-02-28T11:56:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all

So HarperCollins has started this cool thing of giving authors their own little - or not so little, actually! - websites on the HC site, and mine went live today! So come to its opening party, and say hello. There's lots of fun stuff on there, so just click here.

And yesterday, I was in the city with fellow HC author Jill A. Davis doing a Q&A video about our new books, so that will be up here soon. After much silliness and too much talking, we got around to actually putting some stuff on tape, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it came out. I confess that I was a bit of a motor mouth - at one point, even Jill said, "You can't stop talking." Which, okay, anyone who knows me knows that there is no such thing as a short story or answer as far as I am concerned, but even for me, this was a bit much. Turns out that the lovely people at Starbucks gave me a full-fuel Venti coffee instead of a decaf, and I have only had decaf coffee for over 5 years. Can you say wired?? Let's just say it was a productive day.

And speaking of new video, check out this clip from an interview on Channel 12 News with the wonderful Amy Nay about my first book, and Spoken Interludes. If anyone of you haven't been to Spoken Interludes yet, this gives a nice overview of the evening.

Okay, back to caffeine withdrawals. More soon.

Things You Don't Need to Know...

2008-02-24T15:30:00.000-08:00

...But Might Be Curious About Anyway.

1- When I was in 5th grade, I named a teddy bear Rudy, after one of my big sister's friends. I still have him - the teddy bear, not Rudy.
2- I named the teddy bear Rudy because when my sister introduced me to the real Rudy, he said, "Delaune?" (he mispronounced it as "da -lawn" instead of "da-lawn-ay") Then he said, "As in mow da lawn?" From then on, he called me Mo. But no one else could. So don't even think about it!
3- My favorite item of clothing is a 1930s dress I found in an LA thrift store that I swear is a Vionnet. I can dream, can't I?
4- If I am walking next to someone, it is nearly impossible for me to walk in a straight line, and not veer into them. Just ask my husband. Or my cousins who suffered through this for all of our school years together. I am not sure how metaphorically I should take this.
5- My favorite quote is "All serious daring starts within." -Eudora Welty.
6- I could eat oatmeal (Quaker Oats, old fashion, not one minute) with a pear cut up into it for breakfast every day for the rest of my life and be happy.
7- However, #6 is a newly acquired taste. When my momma asked me what I wanted for breakfast on my seventeenth birthday, I said, "Oatmeal." But later, when my sister asked me why I wasn't eating it, I said, "I forgot that I don't like oatmeal."
8- I lived in Italy, but never got to Rome. There, I said it.
9- Speaking of other things I never did, I never saw Chariots of Fire, even though I told my mother that I was going to see it. I have a little feeling that going to NO with my older boyfriend had something to do with this story. Sorry, Momma!
10- If I was going to eat meat again - and I don't think I will - it would be a BLT.
11- I didn't give up meat out of concern for animals, I gave it up for Lent, and it stuck. But now I'm concerned about the animals.
12- My favorite poet, even before ee cummings, is my sister, Maggi Michel and not just because she wrote a poem about me being wayward and fifteen. She's also a killer short story writer.
I'd love to have lunch with Tennessee Williams because all of his characters are straight out of how and where I grew up.
13- My favorite day of the week is Wednesday because that was the day I met Jon McArthur in a MacDonald's at the end of 7th grade. I've moved on; so has he. In fact, he moved on a lot sooner than I did! But I kept the favorite day.
14- Okay, I didn't really meet him that Wednesday. I only saw him, and then I looked him up in my cousin's Catholic High School year book, found out where he went to Mass (yes, this was South Louisiana) and went to his church the following Sunday, and officially met him then. This really wasn't stalking, I promise. But only because I was too giggly to talk to him once I saw him again.
15- During the day, I can fall asleep in ten seconds flat.
16- When I was a little kid and shared a room with my sister, I would get terrified when she talked in her sleep that she had been taken over by an evil spirit and was going to attack me.
17 - In case you were worried, she never did.
18- My favorite dinner in the world is popcorn.
19- My father made the best popcorn in the world in an avocado green electric pan - remember those? He'd put 2/3's of the popcorn in the big wooden salad bowl with salt over it for him, and the rest of the popcorn in the small wooden salad bowl with sugar sprinkled over it for me and we'd watch "The Carol Burnett Show." (Okay, do not miss that clip - hysterical!). He loved Vicki Lawrence.
20- He also loved Sally Struthers, so when I did "The Gilmore Girls" (I played the Vet. I was hired in the second season with this really great recurring role - hooray! - to play Suki's girlfriend, but when I got to the table reading, and the actress playing Suki found out that the new guest starring girl was going to be her paramour, she flipped and called her agent, and the next day, my role was cut down to 3 lines and no more shows. Boo-hoo! I would have been a nice girlfriend!) But anyway, I got to tell Sally Struthers that my father loved her, and that made it worth it. Sort of.
21- My best quality is I can laugh at myself.
22- One of my worst qualities is I am clumsy. When I was a waitress, my nickname was Crash. Whenever anything would break, all the other waiters would stop what they were doing and yell in unison, "DeLauné!"
23- My most embarrassing moment was my crush on Stephen Bell in seventh grade. But, boy, was he cute!
24-My favorite animal is a polar bear, especially when they swim underwater at the zoo.
25- I love reading a mystery novel in one night. Thank God for coffee the next day.
26- The thing I miss second-to-most about LA (our family and friends there are first) is my writing program for at-risk teens. Check out a video about it here. I'm in it with a chemical haircut after two bad highlight jobs from a Beverly Hills salon that will remain nameless. But it starts with a "U".

Hey Y'all

2008-02-17T11:49:00.000-08:00

I am stealing a few minutes away from my family - my husband is with our sons after getting a two and a half hour nap, not that I was counting, okay, I was totally counting - to start my blog. It feels like jumping off into the unknown. And I know everything is like that, even though I pretend it isn't. When I was growing up, momma would always say to me, "You don't know what's going to happen." And I would nod my head, as if I agreed, but inside I was thinking, "I do know what's going to happen. I'm not going to have fun on this date, and he won't have any cute friends (as she'd always assure me he would), and even if he does, that would be too weird to go out with them because I'm with him, so what damn difference does it make? So I do know what's going to happen, and stop acting like I don't." Then I'd go on the date, and not have a good time (big surprise), making me sure that I really did know what was going to happen after all. And maybe sometimes that is true. But what I am seeing now, thanks to my four year old and my one year old sons, is that I have no idea what is going to happen.
There is an amazing article in today's New York Times Magazine about why we play. I haven't been able to finish it yet - because I was playing with my sons! - but what I've read so far talked about how play is directly related to the brain's development. And for play to count towards development, all five senses have to be used, and it has to have what they call a kaleidoscope effect, of moving from one thing to another, and adding bits of each thing together to make something else. Which is what I've been doing with my sons all morning. We started with Legos, which turned into a town for the Thomas train set, and then we did a painting for his cousin whose Valentine just arrived, then we found a place for the painting to dry, but we needed to fly to see the cousin, so we pulled the big pillows off the couch to make an airplane in the playroom, but we couldn't walk on the lines of the tile in the hallway to get to the playroom, only in the middle of the tile, so then there were peals of laughter about who did that the best - guess who? - and then we played Red light, Green light, and then someone (the winner of the no-walking-on-the-lines-game) started melting down, so it was time for lunch. And a nap for me, which I didn't get.
But reading that article about how kids need to play for this brain development to occur and how it is pretty much done once they hit puberty, so they stop playing in that way, made me understand more clearly why it is like going into a different world when I play with my sons. I can almost feel my mind letting go of how things should be and what should happen next to, so that I can just be there for where ever the play goes. I love it when I am there, it's like being in a foreign country - and to those of you with small kids, you know it is a foreign country - but sometimes the going in is harder than other times. And I think it is when I am more resistant to not knowing what's going to happen next.
And that made me wonder about how I play today. One great thing about all those years that I studied acting and did jobs was that when it was really working, it was just like play. Even with a script, there was a sense of having no idea what was going to happen next, and that was when I knew it was really working and I was just flying.
And I see my sons have that - they live that. And I can have that when I sit or climb or run or jump with them, but then I have to cook the meals, or do emails, or or or... So I wonder if I can find pockets of that in my own life by trying to remember - or ask momma to remind me! - that I don't know what is going to happen next. As much as I pretend to myself that I do. And that everything is a jump into the unknown. It's amazing how much I fight that.Do you do that, too? I'd love to hear your thoughts. About the article. About any of it. Because one thing I definitely don't know is what you're thinking. But that's another conversation!
xo
DeLauné