Many events coming up to celebrate, starting with a reading at KGB April 16th in New York with Elissa Schappell (author of knockout first novel USE ME and Vanity Fair "Hot Type" columnist) and Ben Neihart (provocative author of, among other novels, BURNING GIRL).
Then comes the LA Times Festival of Books (April 29-30) -- where I will be participating on a panel called "Sex and the City L.A. Style" along with Courtney Weaver (author of UNZIPPED), Dennis Hensley (author of MISADVENTURES IN THE (213), and maybe Helen Fielding (that's right, Ms. BRIDGET JONES herself -- she hasn't commited yet, though, and who can blame her?) -- with Cara Mia DiMassa, book review editor par excellence from the L.A. Times, moderating. The panel will be on Saturday, April 29th at 4:30 pm. Then, on Sunday, April 30th, at 1pm until 2pm, I will be signing copies of the paperback of GO WEST...at the Crown Books booth. Then, at 4 pm that same day, I will be reading on the Barnes & Noble stage along with, again, the inimitable Elissa Schappell, Francine Prose (author of, among many other things, BLUE ANGEL and GUIDED TOURS OF HELL), and maybe Alexander Hethmon, in celebration of the hot new lit mag TIN HOUSE which I've contributed to for three issues (see Bookshop).
Then, more paperback readings: LOS ANGELES (Skylight Books, Saturday, May 13th @ 7:30); (Dutton's/Brentwood, Wednesday, May 17th at 7 or so ??? in the evening); and Barnes & Noble/3rd Street Promenade, Tuesday, June 27th with Carol Wolper, author of THE CIGARETTE GIRL (which I reviewed in the LA Times Book Review). SAN FRANCISCO (Booksmith, Monday, June 19th @ 7pm; and July 19th, an appearance (possibly a panel) at Books by the Bay festival on Pier 32 along the Embarcadero at Brannan Street. More details on the latter TBA as I learn them.
NEWSFLASH NUMERO DUE!!! man, my eyes are a-popping... new anthology hot-off-the-press, LA SHORTS, put out by Heyday Books and edited by the prolific and dedicated Steven Gilbar, our very own Mister California, due out in stores April 17th in time for the Fest! Contributing authors include: Karen Bender, Louis Berney, Kate Braverman, Ethan Canin, Michelle T. Clinton, Bernard Cooper, William Harrison, Karen Karbo, Sandra Tsing Loh, Lou Mathews, Tom McNeal, Ruben Mendoza, Walter Mosley, Yxta Maya Murray, Ann Nietzke, Ty Pak, Donald Rawley and yours truly Rachel Resnick -- can you fucking believe it? I guess all this good fortune is still fallout from last year, Year of the Hare (rabbit to you), which was my year (and only happens once every dozen years for you Chinese lore deficient ones). Carolyn See wrote an intro and T.C. Boyle, Diane Leslie, Michael Chabon, Amy Ephron and others praised this new anthology up the wazoo, so check it out! There'll be readings, panels, signings and stuff upcoming -- including at the LA Times Festival of Books.
Keep an eye out in the Calendar section as dates, times and places are firmed up for all these happenings -- yowza! Hope to see you there!!!
I know, time to change the pic. I'm waiting for some hot digital stuff from the potato adventure...stay tuned!
Birthdays, Blazing Hair-Do's, & the Amazing Wonders of Erotic Spud Sculptures!
Greetings and salutations!
It's Thursday afternoon, and I'm close to vegetating. Admittedly I am a little wiped after a bizarro evening out on the town last nite. It all started with a visit to the Erotic Fiction Workshop run by Tre Giles and Stan Kent over at Border's/3rd St. Promenade. The special guest star was Pommela de Terre who, what else? gets kinky with potatoes. Yup. Check out her website if you think I'm kidding: www.hotpotatosex.com. First Stan read some spud-inspired erotica -- Tre had to turn his pages cuz Stan was in a fancy black evening strait jacket -- then Pommela read some Ore-Ida smut, carved cocks out of real-live taters, and fielded such tuber-probing questions as, "But I thought the skin was the most nutritious part?" and, "Do the potatoes ever get lost up there?" These were mostly asked by the ever-curious Tom Stern, current director of hysterical segments for the ever-tasteful "Man Show" on Comedy Central. Anyway, after the workshop, a posse including Pommela and myself, piled into a limo and spuddered off to hit various local strip clubs -- all to celebrate Tre Giles's birthday. The scenes that ensued are too graphic for this website (as Pommela's site is deemed too graphic for Howard Stern!) -- but suffice to say other cars were paralleling alongside said limo to catch an eye-full of the action. I will never ever look at a potato in quite the same way again.
Apologies for the delay in this latest update. I am just recently back from a wildass coupla weeks in the Big Bad Apple where I celebrated my birthday and did all manner of decadent things (is it something about March?!), many of which are unmentionable and many of which are connected to the twilit world of words.
Hung out with The Fitz, otherwise known as the legendary provocateur editor-turned-agent Jim Fitzgerald -- who hooked me up with a gig at Lower East Side's hipster Tonic Cafe where I did a reading on a bill with a few comedians and MTV poprock poet Todd Colby (RIOT IN THE CHARM FACTORY) for Digital Cafe in cahoots with the venerable mojo man Gary Hustwit and his MP3lit.com circus. Big thanks to Casey Kait, Gary and Fitz! That show will be televised and streamed online somewhere sometime real soon -- I'll keep you posted. A nubile Joey Ramone-like comedian/busker by the name of Rene Risque opened the evening. Yeah. The rest is history. When I left NYC, Fitz was preparing for his role as high judge of the Patsy Cline Impersonator Contest, St. Patty's Day, at the Cowgirl Hall of Fame -- a contest he of course instituted himself some years back.
More details, you ask? Okay. For you, a New York special moment: at a party in Chelsea for L.A. bad boy writer Dennis Cooper (fave themes: murder and rimming) while chatting with Elissa Schappell, author of USE ME and Vanity Fair "Hot Type" columnist, my flyaway hair caught on fire from a blazing candelabra on the buffet table behind me. Whoosh! Yes, I'd had a few martinis. I didn't notice. But Elissa's eyes popped wide and she said, "You've got a fucking halo!" Then three g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s probable male hustlers in requisite tight black T-'s and equally form-fitted well-packed Levi's rushed over and patted my hair until the flames went out. If only they hadn't been gay! Heaven.
Last time I told you about a truly twisted story I had placed with cool New York-based lit mag Chelsea, titled "The Meat-Eaters of Marrakesh," that's due out in June. I also mentioned there was a chance the story might get a Spanish translation via lit mavens in Barcelona, land of Gaudi. That has come to pass! You can check it out now on the website for excellent edged-out online mag Barcelona Review at www.barcelonareview.com . This online mag just got hyped on Nan Talese's Doubleday homepage of all places -- seems Sean McDonald, one of the editors there, and current webmaster, is a huge fan of the Review. Here's the link if you're interested: http://www.nanatalese.com/links.html. I was lucky enough to have my story translated by Juan Gabriel Guix, who just finished translating Tom Wolfe's latest offering, and is the official Spanish translator for all Douglas Coupland's work. Not so shabby for my first story translation! Still waiting for news on the German translation of GO WEST for Rohwolt...will keep you posted.
Okay, back to hammering away at the detective novel.
By the way, don't forget to sign up for the mailing list if you haven't already. Just click on E-MAIL to the left and follow instructions there. A thousand thanks and many kudos for simply visiting the site and reading this far!!! Let me know if you have any requests or questions or ideas, or if you want to know more about anything. Also, don't forget to keep checking the CALENDAR section for the latest happenings in the L.A. area (with some occasional non-local dates for book tours).
Later,
Rachel
P.S. Personal fave stand-up guy and stand-up poet Jeffrey McDaniel just got nominated for the Firecracker Alternative Awards for best book of poetry! Big congrats. I'll let you know details for how you can vote so you can help him win --
P.P.S.S. -- Fitz reports the winner this year was a black Patsy Cline! Clearly all is well in the Zeroes.
P.P.P.S.S.S. -- FIRST CONTEST WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON! Keep checking for that news, and for the new contest.
Click to get back issues of updates -- more gossip, ranting!
February 2000 Update: My Bloody Valentine