Art-Saving in our thrift stores

Last year I was in Goodwill buying a shirt. A painting caught my eye. It was an abstract painting in varying hues of orange, sunset colors really. After staring at it for awhile, I saw that it was really a painting of a butterfly. I smiled because the art transformed right before my eyes, as long as I was willing to see it in a different way. Of course, the concept of transformation, change is often represented in a butterfly and, perhaps, that's why the artist chose it as a motif. I was moved by the painting because it depicted chyrsalis and the burnt orange made me sigh.

The painting was $50, which was something that wasn't in my budget. I was there for a $5 shirt, not a painting. My pragmatic side kicked in and I decided to think about it. When I returned to Goodwill, I discovered that the staff had placed several pictures on top of the painting. The corners of the pictures dented the canvas, ruining it. Management took notice and repriced the piece at $9.99.

I didn't buy it. I left angry. I felt like a beautiful person had been defaced and I was mad at myself for not buying it when I had the chance. In the last year, I'd "saved" several pieces of art from thriftstores. Below are some of them.






This piece I'm particularly proud of saving. It's by Linda Smith. Her website here. Her work sits in Madonna's private collection. Ironically, I e-mailed her about this piece and we have mutual friends. I plan to attend a group show that she's a part of in June.

Support New Orleans

I just returned from New Orleans. I'd never been to this city and I'm certainly going back! After New Orleans, I believe I'd seen the trifecta of Eurpean colonies in America. New England has its British roots, Southern California has its Spanish roots. Well, New Orleans gave me the point of view of our French Colonizers. Mon Dieu! I learned alot. There's a lot of history in New Orleans: the first colonists were the unwanted of France--thieves, murderers and whores. The French seemd to be the most civil with their slaves--if you want to call owning slaves civil--but the Noire Code, forbid the beating and killing of slaves. In addition, Slaves were allowed to have second jobs in order to buy their own freedom, leading up to Louisiana having the largest number of wealthiest blacks in the South. African Americans were allowed to assemble, which led to the birth of jazz.



Of course we know New Orleans had seen some tough times. Katrina had devasted the city, something the city hadn't quite recovered from. The oil spill in the Gulf threatens wildlife and fishing in the area. This is why anyone reading this blog should flock to New Orleans and support its residents. They desperatly need the commerce.

What I loved about the New Orleans is that it so supports its artists. Buying local art is tax free. There is an array of literary festivals worth attending: the Tennessee Williams Festival, the William Faulkner fest, and Saints and Sinners, the LGBT lit fest.



I was there for the Saints and Sinners conference, a place to talk about writing and develop our skills. I went to accept the James Duggins Award for mid-career artists. This is me with fellow winner Lee Lynch. I dressed as a jass musician to honor the city.



On Sunday morning, the day before I was supposed to leave, it rained. It was quite lovely.

Happy Birthday, Highways!

I went to the Highways 21st Anniversary Party and had a blast. In the lobby, they had programs from the last 21 years, including the above pic (taken with my blackberry). This was back in 1999. Trust me, I went all nostalgic looking at the past photos. I also remembered the anxiety and joy of putting on a show where I wrote and performed it all.

Back then, the only way I knew how to speak, make a statement about the world, was on the stage. Now, I do it through books or essays or short stories. I'm somewhat satisfied with being heard this way. I always said that I'd go back to the stage when I have something to say that need theatrical conventions. I have some ideas brewing but nothing concrete. My last show at Highways was in 2002, so I'm worried that I hadn't developed a how in nearly ten years!

I'd been wondering about other ways to get my point across. I'm thinking about visual art or conceptual art. Hmmmm. Maybe I can do a show incorporating that.

Read more about Highways here.

Hollywood on Broadway

The Tony nominations are out, and it looks like Hollywood has invaded Broadway. In the 1990's, I was in New York seeing plays. I didn't recognize names of most of the actors. There was something cool about that. With theatres struggling to stay alive, it seems casting movie or tv stars is a way of insuring an audience.

It just means that well-studied actors dedicated to their craft might lose a role to someone who was on a season of Survivor.

Click here.

Run to the Nick Cave Exhibition

If you haven't been to the Nick Cave Exhibit at the Fowler Museum at UCLA, you'll kick yourself. It was STUNNING! More here.

I was simply floored with what he was doing with fabric and beads and faux fur and sequence. It really is something to experience. It ends May 20. Go!

Supporting Our Teachers

I went to a fundraiser for 826LA, a remarkable organization doing fine work. Read about them here. It was a group founded by author Dave Eggers. There were celebrities there, like Jimmy Kimmel. Regardless, I was honored to meet Jose Navarro, California's Teacher of the year. He wanted something from Mr. Kimmel, and well, I think he should get his wish. Don't you think? Let's make teachers the cool ones!


Another person I met there was film director Judd Apatow. I asked if he wouldn't mind appearing on my blog. Imagine my surprise when he agreed! I could barely contain my excitement. He got some life-changing support in school.

My Bathroom Interview with Stephen Elliot

Last Friday, I attended the Granta party in Los Angeles. For those who aren't familiar with the magazine, it "was founded in 1889 by students at Cambridge University as The Granta, a periodical of student politics, student badinage and student literary enterprise, named after the river that runs through the town."

The party launched the sex issue. More here.

It was most fun, especially when I interviewed author Stephen Elliot in a dark bathroom at the party. Believe me, there were people whispering when two men exited the bathroom and one was holding a camera.

Thank You, Mr. Duggins

James Duggins was a professor in San Francisco, and currently retired. He loves books, specifically gay and lesbians books. Each year an award is given in his name at the Saints and Sinners Conference in New Orleans. It honors "mid-career" authors. This year, I won. I share it with lesbian writer Lee Lynch.

I am honored and humbled. I really am. More here.

Places I'll Be

UCLA Career Week, Tuesday, April 20

I'll be at Career Week to talk up the writing life and my work doing Communications in my nonprofit world. It's called "Write On! Writing and Communications Careers."

More here.

Smartgals Annual Poetry Slam, Sunday, April 25th



6 Dead Poets, 3 Celebrity Judges, 2 Teams, 1 Winner! Smart Gals Speakeasy Presents:U.S. vs. THEM: The Axis of Poetry Speakeasy

Sunday, April 25thth7:00 – 9:00pm
Mt Hollywood Underground
4607 Prospect Ave., Los Feliz
Admission: $15.00


More here.

Skylight Books

Monday, April 19, 7:30pm, to host Joanna Rakoff and her new book "A Fortunate Age."

Friday, April 30, 7:30pm, to host David Vann for his collection "Legend of a Suicide."

More here.

Me and GQ

This is Ron Darling, the first Asian man on the cover of GQ, waaaay back in 1986. We need more! Check out my Huffington Post Piece: Hey, GQ! Put an Asian Man on the Cover, Will Ya?

Losing It All and Gaining More

I remember when Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez got a shitload of money for her first book, The Dirty Girls Social Club. Ms. V-R and Dirty Girls were supposed to be the Latina version of Terry McMillan's Waiting to Exhale. I wondered what it must be like to get that kind of cash. Now, all these years later, she's broke and looking for a job, any job. Read it here.

It's beautifully written and I became extremely sad. It seemed it took her losing it all to realize that she had it all in her friends and family. She and I are about the same age, but she didn't see the extent of AIDS that I saw. Life is precious; people can go, like that! Something I learned from that terrible time is that life with family and friends is really all the joy you'll ever need.

Her essay was really a look at degrees. Her writing about Latinas may not be as accessible as she'd hoped, but trust me, her writing will get more notice than a writer trying to tell tales of Latina lesbian life.

I was bothered by some points in her essay, particularly about how she felt she didn't get the kind of support she hoped for from her community. She stated her initial success as a reason why no one took to her. She went as far to say that a book club curator that promotes Latino/a authors "hates" her because she's successful.

What she didn't realize is that she WAS (and STILL IS) successful, and for every writer like her, there are fifty who didn't get a publicist with their book deal. I curate a literary series and try to get the word out about unheard of writers. Some more prominent writers seem to wonder why I hadn't asked them to read. Well, because they read all the time, everywhere. They don't need my little literary series that meets ups quarterly. (Frankly, I've seen little known writers just ecstatic at reading at a bookstore like Skylight and I've experienced NYT bestselling authors who show no gratitude at all.)

In reading Ms. V-R's essay, particularly about how she's struggling to get by, I thought: oh, she's become like most of us trying to make ends meet. She wrote, "I lost my car this week. I simply gave it back to Lexus because I can’t afford it anymore." It's hard to get my sympathy when you drove a Lexus. I drove my beat-up jeep for seventeen years, then bought a used Chrysler. I still take the bus, especially when gas prices rose to nearly five dollars a gallon. I plan on taking the bus today.

Regardless of her downfall, she's still more publishable than most writers that I know. Most writers I know don't have movie options of any kind. She may get a small advance for her books, but something tells me that it's still larger than mine. (And mine was larger than a friend who got her book published by a university that didn't give her an advance at all.)

Always stay grateful. There are always those doing better than you and those doing worse.

(Thanks Los Angelista for giving me a heads-up about this article.)

Full Circle on E-bay

It's no secret that I'm a big Monty Clift fan. Every once and awhile, I'll get on e-bay and see what kind of Montgomery Clift memoriabilia is available. There were times that I had multiple bids on photos, books, magazine covers with my favorite actor's mug on it.

Well, things have come full cirlce, as I've been listed among all the Monty Clift stuff on e-bay. See here.

I'm tickled actually.

Atwood's Tale

There was a time in my writing life when Margaret Atwood was all I read. Bodily Harm, Cat's Eye, Alias Grace were books that captivated me. She wrote in first person with a goal of exploring the lives of women in Canada.

At the time, I was getting a grip on writing a book length project in first person and her work served as a model. I saw her give a talk at Dutton's in Brentwood (the line was loooooong) and was surprised at how physically small she was.

There's this interesting article on Atwood and her use of Twitter. Click here. It makes me smile to know that she's still at it, still connecting with readers.

Political Erotica

Guess who wrote sex scenes. I thought this was hilarious. I actually warmed to these people. Writing sex scenes is hard. Read this in Huffington.

New York, New York

I'd been reflecting on the last several days. I went to New York for the purpose of dropping off my manuscript and reconnecting with my agent, Al Zuckerman, a man I hadn't seen in five years. He's the founder of Writers House, a literary agency. We talked about work, which seems to be going well for Writers House, a place that saw the wild success of two of their authors: Stephanie Meyer (The Twilight Series) and Michael Lewis (The Blind Side).

Then the conversation turned to me and my collection of short stories, which even Al had to admit would be a hard sell. Yikes. I'd been through this process before and know the dance. This dance might be a little harder to move to. The publshing industry has been hit hard by the economy and they're more picky about who to place into print. I know finer writers who didn't get their books published in the last two years and, well, that's just the reality.

My book will be read by my agent, then returned to me. I revise, then back to my agent. He reads it again, and more revisions. This process could take a year. Maybe by then the economy would have improved. We'll see.

Regardless, I had a blast in the Big Apple: sight seeing, catching a play on Broadway, hanging out with my friend Stephen (who was kind enough to host me--Thanks, Sir!). I hadn't been to New York in several years and was blown away at how Times Square has turned into Las Vegas. It was rather overwhelming. Hence, my expression in the photo.

Something tells me I'll be back in that town sooner than later.

Lammy Noms Are In!

(Above, Lambda Lit. Executive Dirctor Tony Valenzuela)

Congrats to the Lambda Literary Award Noms! Click here. The Lammy's is one of my faves when it comes to award season. It basically mentions some of the best LGBT work that came along in the last year. I'm always amazed at how many books I didn't know about. That, in itself, is why such awards exist: to give publicity to books that so desperately need it.

I was happy to see that a few of the books that I realy enjoyed were nominated (Blue Boy, Salvation Army, Silverlake). I judged one year and know how hard it is to come up with finalists. There was obvious junk in the pile of books I was asked to read, but there were some really great stuff. I was given 22 books to read in my category. Of those 22, there were 8 or 9 books that were really great. Unfortunately, there were only five slots. My peers went back and forth, back and forth and settled on five titles we seemed to agree on.

It's a hard job, but I guess that's why it's called "judging."

Buy Beads

Halie Kampman, a young entrepreneur, started this really cool company: Beads for Development. It's cool because it helps a community in Africa become more self-sufficient.

Here's their Mission Statement:

The mission of Beads for Development is to help women play a role in the development of Saint Jean. Through the sales of traditional West African beads, Beads for Development aims to increase global awareness and cultural exchange.

More here.

Rush!

One week from today I'm going to be giving a draft of my short story collection to my agent. This book, tentatively titled "Laconic Messages of Love and Other Stories," will have eleven pieces that I'd been working on for years. About four of them are published, but most have never seen the light of day.

Of course, there is always that one story that won't allow itself to be finished. It feels like I'm nearly done. But I've been saying that for weeks.

I won't let myself even think about how hard it is to sell a short story collection, particularly now in this publishing climate. All I can worry about is getting this mother done!

The Power of Art

ART BEYOND BARRIERS
Live Art Petition to stop human rights violations in the Philippines
FREE the 43 health workers! Never Again to Martial Law!

barrier – a structure that prevents or hinders movement or action

We would like to invite you to share your images, movement, rhythm, and voices to break beyond the barriers and take action to stop human rights violations in the Philippines.

In an ongoing assault on human rights by the Philippine government, 43 health workers were illegally arrested and detained on February 6, 2010 in Morong, Rizal, Philippines. They are still illegally being held at the Philippine Military Camp Capinpin and have endured three weeks of continuous ill treatment and torture in the military camp. This situation is critical. Each day that the 43 health workers are not released, it is one more day they have to endure pain, fear, and torture.

Please join us in the movement to demand freedom through art by participating in this Live Art Petition to demand the immediate release of the 43 health workers, Stop human rights violations, and to say Never Again to Martial Law in the Philippines.

The first Art Beyond Barriers Live Petition will be held after the convening of the “Never Again to Martial Law in the Philippines” Coalition for Southern California.

Saturday, March 6, 2010
Southern California Never Again to Martial Law Convention, 3:00 pm
Live Art Petition will begin at 5:30 pm

Fernando’s Hideaway
519 S Spring St (between 5th St and 6th St)
Los Angeles, CA 90013

This project will tour North America. More information will be forthcoming about other cities and countries where the Art Beyond Barriers Petition will tour.

About Art Beyond Barriers Live Art Petition:

A coming together of concerned artists, communities, and human rights supporters to create a movement for change through music, voice, dance, images, and words created during the Art Beyond Barriers collaboration.

You don’t need to be an artist to participate and all ages are welcome.

Participation in the Live Art Petition means you support the movement to stop human rights violations in the Philippines, support the call to Free the 43 health workers, and to say Never Again to Martial Law in the Philippines.

Support of this movement is in support of a global movement to uphold and defend human rights.

What to bring with you:

A passion for making art in all forms whether it be through music, song, dance, spoken word, written word, images, and collaborating with other artists and non-artist to create a movement for change.

Art materials, instruments of all kinds (you can be creative and bring found objects; anything that can make a rhythm), movement, voice, poems, and anything you would like to share with others in this experience.

This project is in collaboration with Melissa Roxas, poet, human rights activist, and survivor of abduction and torture in the Philippines; and Habi Arts, an artist collective that promotes political and artistic empowerment to inspire and mobilize people for progressive social change (habi-arts.org).

"Brief" Recommendation

I just finished The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier.

This novel delves into the importance of Memory. Think of all of the people you encountered in your entire life, even the nameless ones. They exist in the after-life as long as we remember them. That is the premise of this novel, and a brilliant one at that.

The book packs in a lot in a mere 250 pages. This can easily be read in a weekend and it caused me to ponder. Remembering the Dead. Isn't that why I write? Who will speak for those who couldn't speak before? Millions of people died of AIDS--each of them deserves a book dedicated to their memory.

What I most enjoyed about this book is that it inspired me to write. I write regularly, but reading a book like this stirred my love of stories and characters and plotting. If you can, pick up Brockmeier's novel.

More here.

I Can't Stop Watching this Video

Aftermath

I'm still high from my last weekend. I had a great time performing and reading. After my reading at USC, I taught a quick writing workshop (students above). What was interesting about my reading at USC was how I was able to fill time. I had one hour to present work. Earlier in my career, I would have wondered how the hell do I fill up that amount of time. I read from two novels, presented work from two plays, three short stories and one essay. The time went by quickly. I had some friends read excerpts from short stories (Thanks John, Giovanni, and Rebecca). That way I didn't have to bore everyone with the sound of my voice.

Last weekend, I also did a reading from an anthology I was in and performed for Smartgals. All went well and I was truly grateful to be a part of the festivities.

Why Am I Smiling?

I love being that creative guy! And this weekend, I'm going to be busting out creativity.

Friday, February 5th
I'll be curating another awesome Promising Reading this Friday at 7:30pm. Click here for more information.

Saturday, February 6th
I'll be reading/performing at Taper Hall, Room 214 at USC at 6pm, $10 writing workshop at 7pm. Check out the Facebook invitation here

Sunday, February 7th
Check me out at the 10th anniversary of Smartgals. Check out there website here.

Time Travel With Audrey Niffenegger

Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife and Her Fearful Symmetry, came by Skylight and I just had to interview her!

Tracking the Story

Tracking has become my friend. Years ago, I became obsessed with how fast my stories got to its intended location when I started looking for agents. I NEED TO KNOW that my stories got there. I sent a piece off to my agent for his review.

Detailed Results:
Delivered, January 23, 2010, 9:46 am, NEW YORK, NY 10010
Arrival at Post Office, January 23, 2010, 9:03 am, NEW YORK, NY 10010
Processed through Sort Facility, January 21, 2010, 5:35 pm, LOS ANGELES, CA 90052
Acceptance, January 21, 2010, 1:42 pm, LOS ANGELES, CA 90017

So my agent got my story. What's taking him so long to get back to me?!?!?!

There Is No Such Thing As An Orginal Idea

Click on image for larger version.

The Long and Short of It

In trying to complete my collection of short stories, I was finishing up what I thought was a short short story. In my mind's eyes, a little story called Pinky and the Roaches was supposed to be no longer than eight pages. I thought it was something that I could whip up. In writing a character sketch of Pinky, I'm discovering this brand new world about her and where she comes from. I'm a novelist, so going off on tangents sometimes happens. I'm trying to tame it.

In an earlier sketch of Pinky, I made her out as an upper middle class Filipina from Manila. After thinking about my writing, I realized that I have a lot of Filipina characters from an upper middle class background. I decided to make her poverty stricken from a provincial part of the Philippines. The results have been...interesting.

Surprise!

My sister, the sweetest woman in the world, threw me a surprise birthday party. And I was truly surprised! I needed the bump. I'd been trying to finish a manuscript and I can get down about it. I'm still hoping to get it off to my agent this month.

Up and Writing

It's 4am on a Saturday morning. Why am I up this early? Because I have to write. I'm trying to finish a book. With work, social and familial obligations tugging at me, I got to get to those pages when I can. 4am it is. This is the writing life.

Promising on 2/5/10 at 7:30pm

The Promising Series is a reading series that celebrates Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender writers. The first Promising of the year will launch Fifty Gay and Lesbian Books You Must Read, an anthology that “contains fifty succinct essays by critics, public figures, and authors. They illuminate works by fifty men and women that everybody should read.”

In explaining the book, Editor Richard Canning wrote in his introduction, “Fifty diverse authors have each taken a single work of literature and written a brief account of how and why they read it (and, usually, repeatedly reread it), and why others (of any and all sexualities) should do so.”

Some of the writers in the book include Maureen Duffy writing about Sappho’s poems, Christopher Bram writing about Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice, Jonathan Franzen on James Purdy’s Eustace Chisholm and the Works, and Tani Katan on Audre Lorde’s The Cancer Journals.

On February 5th, writers who will read their contributions to Fifty Gay and Lesbian Books You Must Read will be Felice Picano, Fenton Johnson, Matias Viegener and Promising Series Curator Noel Alumit. The reading begins at 7:30pm.



Felice Picano is the author of 19 books, including the international bestsellers The Book of Lies and Like People in History. He also wrote the acclaimed literary memoirs Ambidextrous, Men Who Loved Me, and A House on the Ocean, A House on the Bay. He has been nominated for a PEN/Hemingway, several Lambda Literary Awards, and is a recipient of the Ferro-Grumley award for fiction.


Fenton Johnson is the author of two novels, Crossing the River and Scissors, Paper, Rock as well as Geography of the Heart: A Memoir. His most recent book is Keeping Faith: A Skeptic's Journey among Christian and Buddhist Monks. Johnson has served as a regular contributor to Harper's Magazine and the New York Times Magazine. His stories and essays have appeared in many literary quarterlies and have received numerous awards, among them a James Michener Fellowship from the Iowa Writers Workshop and National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Fellowships in both fiction and creative nonfiction.


Matias Viegener is a Los Angeles based writer, artist and critic who works alone and collaboratively in writing, video, installation and performance art. He has shown solo work or performed at The Whitney Museum, The Kitchen and The Drawing Center in New York, LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions), New Langton Arts in San Francisco, Beyond Baroque, Machine Project, the L.A. Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), The Silver Lake Film Festival, and the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art.

The Promising Series will take place on Friday, February 5 at 7:30pm. Skylight Bookstore, 1818 North Vermont, Los Angeles, CA 90029, (323) 660-1175.

Two Thousand and Ten

I spent the end of 2009 on a family trip to Puerto Vallarta. I was there from Christmas to New Years and had an incredible time. I snorkeled, meditated as I looked at all the pretty fish swimming below me. I went zip-lining (where they hook you up to a cable and let you loose) through the jungles of Mexico (specifically where they filmed the movie Predator).


I spent some quality time with my family, eating at good restaurants and shopping. It quickly dawned on me how the global economy is hitting everyone. If the US is having a bad time, imagine what Mexico is eperiencing. Vendors were anxious to sell. I know at tourist traps, vendors always want to sell but it felt more intense. Some were begging for me to buy something.


Regardless, I love Mexico. I think I was Mexican in a past life. I have a true fondness for the country. I was mistaken for Mexican by tourists. Mexicans wanted to know if I was Chinese or Korean.

I woke up on January First, my birthday, and did my annual cartwheel. Being able to do a carwheel at 42 means I've still got some vigor in me. Of course, now I have to stretch before I do one. It was extra special because I did it while waves crashed on the beach.

So here we are in a new decade and I'm curious to know what it will bring. Happy New Year to all. I hope this year is better than the last!

A Feeling of Completion

I got a holiday card from my agent wishing me well. He said he hoped to see a new book from me in the new year. (Imagine me lowering my head and shaking it!) I'd been promising him a book for the last three years. I'd been focusing on a novel, but, well, I put that piece of crap away. It just wasn't working. I wasn't believing the story. If I wasn't believing it, I knew YOU wouldn't believe it. There's a plotting issue that I can't seem to rectify.

I turned my attention to short stories. It felt good tackling something that felt like I could finish. That book project was also supposed to go to my agent this year, but it looks like a January delivery. However, I feel hopeful.

Knock it off, Conservatives!

Click on picture to enlarge. The sign is too funny to miss!

Holiday Party and Toy Drive

I have hosted the Gay Asian Pacific Support Network's Annual Holiday Party and Toy Drive for the last several years. This year is no different. We eat and be merry. Everyone brings a toy. It really is a highlight to my season. Click here.

World AIDS Day

I'm hosting this amaaaazing event at UCLA called 48 Hours to Action. It's on Tuesday, December 1st, World AIDS Day. More here.

Short Story Advice

The late Kurt Vonnegut was influential in my adolescence. I just remember connecting with his work when I was a teenage boy. He has advice for those of us attempting the short story form. Click here. Good stuff.

I love tip number 5: Start as close to the end as possible.

They Shoot Journalists, Don't They?

It breaks my heart when I read that civilians are dying due to political strife in the Philippines. It frustrates me when I read that journalists are also being killed. Read the story here.


Sadly, this is nothing new in the Philppines. The southern region, in particular, has been devasted by violence. The disappearance of a protagonist's father, a journalist in the Philippines, is what incites the action in my novel Letters to Montgomery Clift. Volumes can be written about how writers are targeted in the Philippines.

CNN's Hero of the Year

This guy is Efren Penaflorida. And he's my new hero!

He educates youth in the slums of the Philippines. See his acceptance speech at being named CNN's Hero of the Year. It made me tear up. "Find the hero in you." Click here.

Promise Fulfilled

Thank you all for coming to my Promising reading series. Here are the happy writers: Travers, Myriam, and Ian. Kudos to all!

Precious Gem

There was a lotta hype around this movie. Going into it, I was skeptical. I had read the book and sang its praises years ago. As a matter of fact, I remember thinking that this could never be made into a movie. There's no way Hollywood could make this story. I went to a private screening where Lee Daniels, the director, spoke of making the movie. Yup, Hollywood refused to make it. Fortunately, he found funding elsewhere. Regardless, I was expecting some cheap version of a powerful novel that left a distinct impression on me.

Within the first ten minutes, I knew that this movie would be a fine homage to the novel written by Saphire. Lee Daniels said he stalked the author for eight years, trying to get rights to do the movie. His determination paid off. The movie is the novel, yet it's not. It is two fine, creative mediums telling the same story.

I've seen Precious twice now and would highly recommend it.

The Book Trailer

More and more, authors are being asked to be more innovative. There's the movie trailer where you sit in a dark theatre and get glimpses of movies to come. Well, now there is the book trailer. This is where modern technology meets writing and authors are asked to put together a clip explaining a book.

Above is a trailer for Tod Davies. She's an author and publisher talking about her work. It's probably a little more sophisticated than other trailers. Her husband is director Alex Carson. You can see me laugh (early in the trailer, 'round .32).

When my next book comes out, I'll probably do one of these.

Promising on November 20

The Promising Series
Features D. Travers Scott, Myriam Gurba,
Ian MacKinnon, and Michelle Sewell

The Promising Series is the only reading series in Los Angeles that exclusively features Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender writers. A goal for the series is to celebrate established authors and introduce the next generation of LGBT writers.

“Recently thousands of queer people marched in Washington,” said Series Curator Noël Alumit. “Clearly, we’re doing all we can to be seen and heard. I like to think this reading series is a part of a movement: we MUST be recognized. ”

The next reading will be held on Friday, November 20th 2009 at 7:30pm.

The reading will feature:

D. Travers Scott has worked as a writer, critic, and artist, appearing everywhere from underground ‘zines to Harper’s and This American Life. For the first time, the best of Scott’s celebrated short fiction are gathered together in Love Hard: Stories 1989-2009, collecting work originally appearing in award-winning anthologies, queer media, erotica, and live performance, along with new stories never before published. Together, they offer the first comprehensive overview of Scott’s ongoing explorations of masculinity, sexuality, urban environments, family, love, and the power of writing. Scott is also author of two novels: the internationally acclaimed Execution, Texas: 1987and the Lambda Literary Award winner, One of these Things is Not Like the Other. He is currently completing a PhD at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California in Los Angles, where he lives with his husband.

Myriam Gurba is a teacher and writer. She lives in a small blue house in Long Beach with two rabbits and a Midwestern trannie. She is the author of Dahlia Season, a novella and short story collection which won the Edmund White Award.

Ian MacKinnon is a gay centered performance artist and curator of queer theatre events in Los Angeles. He is a member of Queer Exchange, a group of LGBTQ multidisciplinary artists who perform, tour, and conduct workshops around California. In his solo work Ian combines spoken text, gay centered Jungian psychological theory, digital video, and music to evoke issues central to the queer community and to Gay Liberation. He graduated with honors and a BFA in Acting from Meadow's School of the Arts at SMU. Ian was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for "Best Off Off Broadway Performance" for his piece, Spanked, performed at the New York International Fringe Festival, and toured to The New Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.

Michelle Sewell is an award-winning screenwriter, poet, and founder of GirlChild Press. Throughout her work as a poet and a social worker, she has maintained that there must be a place for women and girls to develop and express their truest selves. With that in mind she has created open mics, workshops, and writing circles to foster a "sacred space" environment for women. The Jamaican-born artist/activist’s work has appeared on NPR, in does your mama know?, Sinister Wisdom, Other Countries: Voices Rising, Campaign to End AIDS Anthology, and Port of Harlem Magazine. She is also a columnist for Swerv Magazine and Velvet Park: Dyke Culture in Bloom.

The Promising Series will take place on Friday, November 20 at 7:30pm. Skylight Bookstore, 1818 North Vermont, Los Angeles, CA 90029, (323) 660-1175.

Seeing the Sartorialist

As you know, I am surrounded by books. Yes, I write, but I also host events at Skylight Books. Author events are nothing new to me. A book and author must be pretty amazing for me to schlepp somewhere to stand in line and get a book signed. Last night was such a case.

I'd been a fan of Scott Schuman, aka The Sartorialist, for quite some time. He's a photographer and writer. I became familiar with his work from reading the pages of GQ. I follow him on twitter and regularly visit his blog. Click here.


I don't consider myself a fashionista, but I dig his work. He photographs everyday people and shows off an individual's personal flare. The people he photographs aren't models, actors, or designers. They're just folks on the street who express themselves through clothes.

When I view his work, I see an artist photographing artists, people who wear a coat, fling a scarf, or wear a hat as a means of personal expression. Last night, on the rooftop of the Beverly Center, I stood in line to shake the hand of a man who makes ordinary Joes and Janes supermodels.

Short Story Reality

As many of you know, I'm putting together a short story collection. I've written about the difficulty of trying to get a collection published. Recently, a short story writer came to Skylight Books to promote her book of short stories. She said her agent wouldn't even send out the manuscript. Fortunately, she won a book contest that published her collection.

Here's an article sent to me from the Utne Reader on selling short stories. Click here. Thanks, Mark, for sending this link along.

James and Me

I had the pleasure of hosting James Ellroy when he came to Skylight Books. The first time I met him, I was scared of him. He has an overwhelming personality and he's VERY conservative politically. He's also an amazing writer. (And he was kind enough to blurb my second novel.)

I've had the pleasure of introducing him several times now and he never fails to entertain. He's boisterous and rude and you can't pull your eyes and ears away from him!

He has some interesting writing tips that I might try.

1. He outlines the sh*t out of a book before he writes a word! Hundreds of pages of notes before he writes a novel. He figures it out waaaaaay before hand.

2. He said imagination trumps research. I research the heck out of a project. I interview people, read tons of books to get a feel of a period. He said research does not necessarily make a good book. Imagination makes a good book.

3. He cuts himself away from the world. He doesn't watch TV, see movies, read papers. All of his writing is prior to 1972. He doesn't want to be in the current state of the world today. (I'm partially there. I don't have a TV.)

4. Writers grow. This may sound obvious, but I'm a writer with two books under his belt. James has seventeen! He may be famous for The Black Dahlia, but he said he's done with writing about murdered women. I wonder about writing about other things, other communities. I'm curious what my future books will be, then again, I'm curious about the future person I will become who will write those future books.

This quote is currently taped to my bathroom mirror:

"We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us." Joseph Campbell

To see me nervously interview James Ellroy, click here.

Summer 2010

I sent my agent part of my short story collection. He was VERT encouraging. I hate to admit it, but I do need a few kind words to keep writing. It was like when I'd run a marathon and I'd feel like I'd hit a wall. There would be those few strangers yelling, "You can do it!" or "You're almost there!", then I'd feel energized again.

I'm still hoping to get a book to him this year. For a collection, ten stories is a good number. I have six of the ten. I'm steadfastly working on the seventh. I have the remaining three, but they're in pieces. If I'm focused, I can get my agent a completed manuscript sometime in December.

I've never tried to publish a collection of short stories, but I'm not stupid about it. A collection of shorts is one of the hardest things to get published. I know atleast three amazing writers who didn't get their collections published. And those were during better economic times.

I'm guesstimating that my agent will give me notes by early 2010, I'll do revisions, and have something ready to sell by Summer, 2010.

Nobel and Mudslides

I am thrilled that Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. I'm hoping this will make it harder for the conservative right to aim useless attacks at a man trying to do some good for our country. Rush Limbaugh was a blowhard in the first place, but calling names at a Nobel Peace Prize winner just makes you look like an ogre kicking a puppy. When China gives grief to Nobel Peace Prize winner the Dalai Lama, they just look like one great big bully. This Prize will certainly affect dynamics in politics.

In other news, I'd been worried about people in the Philippines. They'd seen some real bad weather lately. Now, I'm particularly stressed because there are reports of mudslides in the Mountain Provinces of the Philippines, where my family is from. An area that was particularly hard hit was La Trinidad, Benquet Province--where my father's family is from! I e-mailed family members wondering about their safety. No word yet.

Returning to My First Love

Last weekend, I participated in the West Hollywood Bookfair. I'd participated before and always have a great time. This year was significant for me. I usually go as an author, reading something from a book or moderating a panel. This year I went as a "performer," a title I hadn't claimed in a really long time. I performed a monologue from my first show "The Rice Room: Scenes from a Bar."

Acting was my first love. I began pursuing it professionally when I was a teenager, getting my first agent at sixteen. I went to college majoring in Theatre. I thought I'd be doing it for the rest of my life. Then I discovered writing, a blind date that turned into a full on love affair. I found myself juggling two lovers.

About five years ago, around the time my father died, I sort of abandoned my first love. I felt the need to be alone, something writing allowed. I experienced a kind of transition when dad left, I truly felt like my childhood had passed away. My first love was a part of that. I'd heard that a son doesn't truly become a man until his father dies. I understood that.

Earlier this year, I began thinking about my old lover. In rekindling an old relationship, I talked about it with friends who encouraged me to go about it. I called up my agent, a very patient man, and asked him if he'd be willing to represent me again. He was kind enough to say, yes. I made sure my union cards were all in order and started auditioning again.

The fine theatre artist Michael Kearns asked me to be a part of his Queer Renegades at the Weho Bookfest. I took it as a positive sign. I went about memorizing lines again and rehearsing. It felt strange yet familiar.

I think that's why I decided to remove the "Literary" from my posts this year. My creative life will encompass more from now on.

Ironically, I started a short story about an actor. I do think I have a Hollywood book in me. If my return to acting will facilitate more stories, what a wonderful result that will be.

For a tour of the Weho Bookfair, click Here. Thanks to Karen Ocamb for sharing this link.