Pumpkin mob advances

Two pumpkins have appeared and are sitting on top of my fence. I think our jack-o’-lantern has drawn them. I also think I should see if more of them are massing on the driveway, and maybe check the house for pods.

Happy Halloween.

Halloween reading?

What scary books can you recommend for Halloween?

How about The Dead Zone, by Stephen King? Or something by Edgar Allan Poe? Or, ooh — Shirley Jackson?

*Self-pimpery alert* I can also suggest China Lake and The Dirty Secrets Club, two novels that feature Halloween-related crime and terror. *End self-pimpery*

Moss Man update

Moss Man, the guy arrested outside an Oregon museum wearing a sniper’s ghillie suit, has told a court his disguise was a Halloween costume, that he was lying in the grass “out of fear of a nearby (police) dog,” and that he was having a bad day.

But, as Gizmodo notes: “Why he was lying in the grass next to the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals, why he had brought a backpack along with him, why he had punched a hole in the wall of the museum, why his children allegedly thought it would be fun for daddy to dress up as a sniper—all these will likely remain unknown mysteries of the cosmos.”

Interviewed by Portland reporters, Moss Man said that maybe he would write a crime novel and use his mug shot as a cover photo.

Hey, I’ve seen worse.

(Thanks to Dan for the link.)

The monkeypocalypse draws nearer

Cute, or sinister?

The Huffington Post caption reads: “Think baby animals are cute? Well it doesn’t get much cuter than a baby monkey, Miwa, riding a baby boar, Uribo.”

But Jason writes: “Riding into the Monkey War?”

I am thrilled that my plan — to turn you all into sick, twisted people who see  mayhem and the possibility of disaster in the most innocent of scenes — is proceeding so well.

Die Buße — The Liar’s Lullaby German edition

Out now!

The title translates as “Redemption.”

Speculation as to the allegorical meaning of the scissors bound by red twine is welcome.

The Totally Hip Video Book Review

If you haven’t watched The Totally Hip Video Book Review, by Ron Charles of the Washington Post, you should start now.

Jet lag

By the way, I am still insanely jet lagged. This has proved to me, once and for all, why I would despise being a vampire. It’s 4:50 a.m. It’s dark. I’m awake. And I don’t sparkle.

And somebody from Wien is a…

Commenting on my Bouchercon post, Lady Justine mentions that she’s Mancunian.

That’s somebody from Manchester, for those of you who don’t hang out in England.

Most geographical identities match the name of the place: Canada/Canadian, New York/New Yorker. I can think of only a few that diverge a bit more: Wales/Welsh, Glasgow/Glaswegian, Aberdeen/Aberdonian, Santa Barbara/Santa Barbarian.

Kidding on that last one.

Can you think of any others?

My Book, The Movie — the Jo Beckett series

Back in August, I asked who you’d cast in a movie version of the Jo Beckett series. Now my own answers are up at My Book, The Movie, where I have some fun casting fantastical screen editions of Jo and her friends.

I’m outside the box, thinking.

The characters in the Jo Beckett series live vividly, and sometimes obstreperously, inside my head. I know what they look like. So do readers—when I asked them who should play the characters in the movie, I got twenty-five different answers.

So, how can I pick a single cast? In this era of HD, 3D, avatars and performance capture, why collapse the possibilities to a single face? Let’s not. I’m casting Jo Beckett, The Movie with a few mashups.

Jo is a forensic psychiatrist—a deadshrinker. The Kirkus Mystery and Thriller Review called her a “rock climber, monkey wrangler, and confessor extraordinaire.” She needs spunk, intelligence, and some serious physicality.

Read the rest.

And here’s a special thank you to Marshal Zeringue, who runs the Campaign for the American Reader and all the blogs in the Campaign’s network, including The Page 69 Test, Writers Read, and The Page 99 Test, along with My Book, The Movie. The CftAR network is a treasure trove of fresh and intriguing information about authors and their books.

Santa Barbara: the crazy now comes with extra added Quaid

Randy Quaid, Wife Seek Refugee Status in Canada.

VANCOUVER — Actor Randy Quaid told Canada’s immigration board Friday that he and his wife are seeking asylum from “the murderers of Hollywood” and will therefore apply for refugee status in Canada, after they were arrested on U.S. warrants related to vandalism charges.

“The Quaids are wanted in Santa Barbara, where they missed a court hearing Monday on felony vandalism charges.”

The Quaids’ failure to appear in court — on charges of vandalism and squatting — was front page news in Santa Barbara this week.

But the plea for asylum adds a new twist to the case.

The couple told the immigration adjudicator they are being persecuted in the United States.

Evi Quaid begged a Canadian immigration adjudicator not to force them to return, saying on Friday that friends, such as actors David Carradine and Heath Ledger, have been “murdered” under mysterious circumstances and she worried something would happen to her husband next.

And here’s the quote of the day.

During a break in the proceedings, the Quaids’ lawyer, Brian Tsuji approached the media to read a single-sentence statement from the Quaids. “We are requesting asylum from Hollywood star whackers,” he read, declining further comment on the mental state of his clients.

Funny, I always assumed the biggest “Hollywood star whackers” to be booze, drugs, and bad reviews.

Lullaby: Dissonanza di Morte

Here’s Lullaby. Dissonanza di Morte. It’s the Italian edition of The Liar’s Lullaby. Translated: “Lullaby. Dissonance of Death.”

I love browsing foreign editions of my novels to discover how different my words look and sound in other languages. For example:

Un secondo più tardi senti gli elicotteri.

In English, the line is: A second later, she heard helicopters.

Why, yes, Italian does make Jo Beckett’s soon-to-be-near-death experience sound romantic. Can you be surprised?

Adios, California

I just landed from California. And, because blogging and jet lag don’t mix, I will see you later.

Doggie tarts

Pop quiz. Here we have a photo showing:

1) Further evidence of the collapse of civilization.
2) A new line in lingerie by Cousin Tater.
3) A dream date for Barney.

Slutty dog costumes.

Santa Barbara: candy cocktail capital of America

Life imitates farce.

First, Ron invents a fictitious cocktail, Mint Jacklips: “Meg locked herself in her study with an iPad and lots of Mint Jacklips (Jack Daniels over Junior Mints). She blogged alone in a minty sour mash fog…”

Then, in this morning’s Santa Barbara News-Press, I see this:

The Junior Mintini, “a Halloween drink for adults.”

Was it prescience on Ron’s part? Synchronicity? The beginning of a craze? Maybe it’s just further evidence of the infantilization of America. I mean — candy cocktails for grown-ups?

Give me Mint Jacklips any day.