Huge, turbo thanks to everyone who entered! You guys crack me up! Picking winners was extremely tough, but I think I have ’em figured out. These winners will get a signed copy of HAMMERED once they email me their addresses using kevin at kevinhearne dot com:
From Tyfani, this practical use of the kitchen fire in Hexed. Got me laughing pretty hard!"Kitteh is innocent!" from LadyEcletic on Twitter"Is the pen mightier than the sword?" by Lori"They're always after me Lucky Charms!" by TiffanyThe Morrigan pays Atticus another visit. :) From Synde!
OK, I also promised two random winners, and these people will get signed copies of HEXED. @Will_Knight3 from the UK wins, as does Chris (Hardcore Pooka) for his entry. Send me your email address, guys!
If you’d like to see the rest of the entries, they’re in an album on my Facebook author page! Thank you all again, you’re the best bunch o’ readers ever!
If you don’t particularly enjoy spicy food, you may be unaware that there are vast swaths of people out there with fierce brand loyalty to their hot sauce. The partisanship can be as fierce as that between Republican and Democrat, Ford and Chevy, or even Yankees and Red Sox. I am not such a one. I rather subscribe to the ancient tautology, “Tasty shit is tasty shit,” which I think was first uttered by Geoffrey Chaucer, but spelled like “Taestye shyte is taestye shyte.”
So. Normally I’m a Tabasco kind of guy. I’ve tried Cholula and Arizona hot sauce, which are popular out here, but they just don’t do it for me the way Tabasco does. When I mentioned on Twitter that I used Tabasco on my eggs (because everybody CARES, I’m sure), one of my peeps in Louisiana, Kayla, suggested that I should try Louisiana Hot Sauce. I had never tried it or even seen it, so she kindly sent me some, and I promised to have a taste test on my blog. Here it is.
First, here’s a picture of breakfast before the hot sauce has been applied. I am showing this to make you jealous that I don’t cook for you.
Atticus Omelet (cheese and chives), seasoned potatoes, and a chicken apple sausage
I was a bad boy and drank most of my coffee before I snapped the picture, but I wanted to be fully awake before the taste test. This will prevent me from having a career in menu photography, alas! OK, so here’s the photo with the omelet halved and the hot sauce applied:
Louisiana on top half, Tabasco on bottom
You will notice that the bottom half of the omelet looks mildly irritated while the top half looks afflicted by an angry pox of some kind. The Louisiana Hot Sauce is thicker and redder, no doubt. But will this rich consistency translate to a richer taste?
A side note: There are two ways to pronounce Louisiana. There’s the five-syllable way, which is “loo EE zee ANN uh,” and then there’s the four-syllable way, which is “LOO zee ANN uh.” I prefer the four-syllable pronunciation, because that’s the way Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown said it, and he was a badass who had his mojo workin’. Plus, I want there to be voodoo. Four-syllable Loozyanna has all kinds of voodoo going on. Five-syllable Louisiana is too prissy for things like voodoo.
I tried the Loozyanna Hot Sauce first, because I already know what Tabasco is like. Here is what I discovered: it’s not as hot as Tabasco. Its flavor is subtler, too, so you might need to pour a bit more on and make the angry pox rage like Zack de la Rocha does against the machine. It’s good!! I’m definitely going to experiment with it more, and I’m glad Kayla sent me some. Thanks, Kayla! Methinks I still prefer Tabasco, however, both in heat and taste. It gets my mojo workin’. Listen to Gatemouth tell you about it:
Del Rey has signed me up for books 4-6 of The Iron Druid Chronicles, and I have YOU to thank for it! Thank you all so much for buying Hounded! If you hadn’t done so, then quite frankly, the series wouldn’t have continued. Much as a publisher may like a series or an author, they simply don’t make their decisions based on anything except sales, and since you not only bought Hounded but pre-ordered Hexed and Hammered, the business decision wasn’t hard for them to make. I am very grateful to you, because now I get to write more Atticus n’ Oberon! I assure you that it’s as much fun for me to write as it is for you to read!
The books will be called Tricked, Trapped, and Hunted, and I have outlined all three. Tricked is halfway complete; you can see my progress bar over to the right-hand side of the blog.
As you might expect, I won’t be able to deliver these to you in the next three months. The release schedule for these books will be a bit more like what you’re used to. I can give you extremely tentative release dates now, with the caveat that poo happens and the guarantee that I will keep you informed when I know something more concrete.
Right now we are looking at a May ’12 release for Tricked, a December ’12 release for Trapped, and a summerish ’13 release date for Hunted.
In terms of the entire series, the answer to your question is yes, I do intend to write more after Hunted, and I know how the series will end. But whether I get to finish it or not depends (again) on sales. There are plenty of promising series out there that never get finished, and rare is the case where the author was unable or unwilling to finish it; nearly every time, it’s because the bottom line wasn’t attractive enough on the business side. So again, I’m extremely grateful to you for embracing Atticus n’ Oberon. My flagon is raised in your honor, and if Oberon were here, he’d share his sausage with you! Cheers, friends!
Woooooooo! Final day was a doozy! We got up at sunrise and headed north, singing “Get Out of Denver” by Bob Seger. I’ve always found that song amusing because of the “Baptist preachin’ southern funky school teacher.” Drove all the way up to Laramie, Wyoming, because mi madre wanted to do some research at the American Heritage Center located at the University of Wyoming. We left her there and drove over to the Hastings store, where they had a few copies of my books in stock and I signed ’em. I chatted with the nice folks there and blogged about the prior night’s shenanigans in Denver; now I’m in the Denver Airport bloggin’ about the shenanigans in Ft. Collins.
We found a place to park and walked back to where the signing was to be held, and ran across THIS sign:
Hearne’s on Walnut Street!
So we had to go in and chat! Turns out this is a different branch o’ the family that split off looong ago, all the Hearnes in America being descended from three brothers. My branch migrated south and then west, her branch migrated west directly from Maryland and kinda spread out from there. So we’re cousins 25 times removed or something. It did my heart glad to know that the business is a green one. :)
So! Old Firehouse Books. AWESOME STORE. Used to be a firehouse in the 19th century and they still have the little pole to slide down to prove it. Here’s what it looks like—it’s on Walnut Street across from Hearne’s:
YOU NEED TO GO HERE IF YOU’RE IN FT. COLLINS!
And look what they did for me!!! I hereby dub this the coolest sandwich board thingie ever!
They even drew Fragarach!!!
OK, so, a little bit about this place. First, the Sci-Fi/Fantasy shelf is A HUUUGE TRACT OF LAND and it’s in the front of the store WHERE IT BELONGS! The staff knows the genre well and they are now my Special Nerd Friends. Shall I show you a shiny picture?
The Few, The Nerds, The Shiny.
I should probably warn people to wear sunglasses if they’re going to see me in person, because I’ve learned on this trip that my head is a highly reflective surface. Standing to my left in the red shirt is Jacqie, the manager, and she has a shiny triskele pendant from Ireland (as in she bought it in Ireland)! To Jacqie’s left is Tara, the graphics guru for the store, and she has a CRYSTAL D10 DIE around her neck! Are these my people or what! Not only are Jacqie and Tara turbocool, but I have to give shout-outs to Revati and Beth who were also every bit as delightful. I got to meet lots of spiffy people and chat with them a bit, like Chelsea and Jim (who got my wife to sign my books as well), and Josh was wearing a shirt I just had to give him props for:
Josh has the Irish shirt, but I have the Irish sunburn.
After the signing, we repaired to Coopersmith’s Brewery. You might have thought I’d be doing New Belgium or Odell’s, but both of those distribute their beers in Arizona and I’ve already tried them. I wanted something new, and besides, it was just a short walk from the store. I sampled five beers:
I’ve forgotten the fancy names for the first two beers; on the left we have a really drinkable unfiltered wheat beer that I ordered a flagon of. The kolsch was very good but I think I’m partial to the Sunbru Kolsch at Four Peaks Brewery back in Tempe. Now, the Poudre. Let me tell you about the Poudre (pronounced POO der). It’s really, really fun to say. The Poudre River runs through Ft. Collins. There are signs throughout the town that say, “Save the Poudre,” and it’s really hard to argue with a sentiment that sounds so much fun. Buuuuut I didn’t like this particular brew very much. One sip and I was done. The Bitter wasn’t bitter at all, it was actually amazingly tasty, and I almost ordered a flagon of that, but a coin toss gave the win to the wheat beer. The Horsetooth was also very good, sweet and shudder-free. After the disappointment of having all my beer STOLEN by Mario in Denver (see previous post), this was quite refreshing.
Even more refreshing than the beer, however, was the company. Tara, Jacqie, Revati and Stina joined us from the bookstore, and together we flashed our Nerd Cred at each other. Tara, for example, was a poetry major, and she recited “I Sing the Body Electric” and gained much admiration thereby and a few worried glances. She is also developing her own roleplaying game system—hence the D10 necklace. You never know when you’re going to need one when you’re a game developer. She is awesome.
Stina turned out to be a type nerd! She can tell you the difference between a widow and an orphan in typography (can you do that without looking it up?), and together we determined that people who abuse Comic Sans and Papyrus might be tearing a hole in the fabric of space-time. Here are a couple o’ my new friends at Coopersmiths:
Stina & Jacqie, mah homies
‘Twas a glorious tour through Colorado. I think I’ll do this again next year, coming back to see the swell people at the bookstores but trying out different breweries. It’s not like Colorado is going to run out of them. When I go back to Denver, I will hire a ninja to guard my beer from Mario.
Roundup o’ news really quick before I board my plane: I’m giving away five signed author copies of HAMMERED to those who enter The Drop Your Sword Contest; you have until Wednesday! Orbit UK has now acquired The Iron Druid Chronicles, and I have a big announcement coming on Monday!
I want to thank all the lovely people in Colorado (and the few I saw in Wyoming) for being such lovely human beings. It was my pleasure to meet you!
Hi, everybody! Here’s a press release from Anne Clarke, my new spiffy editor in the UK!
Press release – Orbit acquires IRON DRUID trilogy by Kevin Hearne
Little Brown’s SF and Fantasy imprint Orbit has acquired an imaginative, witty and action-packed new urban fantasy trilogy which is currently storming the bookstores in the US. Orbit UK Editorial Director Anne Clarke has acquired UK and Commonwealth rights in the first three books in Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid series from Evan Goldfield at Jill Grinberg Literary Management.
The trilogy, set in Tempe, Arizona, introduces us to Atticus O’Sullivan, rare book salesman, herb peddler, and 2,000 year old druid – the last of his kind – who has been on the run for over two millennia from a very angry ancient Celtic god. The books are set in the modern day world, where gods, myths, and magic are very much alive. The first book, HOUNDED, primarily features the many Celtic gods; HEXED will focus on Coyote and the Bacchants; HAMMERED will be about a plot against Thor. (Everybody hates Thor.)
Kevin Hearne says: “I’m thrilled to be with Orbit UK and hope people will enjoy this blend of history and legend dropped into the modern world. The rich mythology of the Irish is endlessly fascinating to me, and an allusion to British lore in Hounded will eventually become important later in the series as Atticus finds himself in trouble near Windsor Castle.”
Anne Clarke says: “I first read the manuscript for HOUNDED in 2009 but it was before I moved to Orbit, and although I loved the story, I couldn’t see a way to make it work on my list back then (I was mainly publishing crime thrillers). When I heard the Iron Druid was still looking for a UK home I couldn’t believe my luck, and I’m delighted to be bringing Atticus to the UK after all. And since we’re publishing these books this September, October and November, I don’t have long to wait to share them with everyone else here too. You’re in for a treat!”
…Be assured that my happy dancing is unchained. Several people in the UK have contacted me, asking when the eBook version of my series would be available for download in the UK, and now I can answer—this autumn! I’m very grateful to Anne for giving the new guy in the US a chance.
The signing and such wasn’t scheduled until later that night, so we had the day to mess around. Took the Kid to the Denver Zoo because they have awesome critters there and they’re the greenest zoo in the United States. They’re also more involved in species preservation than any other zoo I know of. They had a baby komodo dragon! Baby this, baby that…might have a baby snow leopard someday if they’re lucky, because they have a pair! Animal pics follow, click to enlarge:
Tiger! They had five!
Male snow leopard feeling playful.
Badass Komodo dragon will nomnom on your intestines.
Secretary bird. Snake eater!
Awwwww.
Kid feeds a lorikeet!
Cheetah on the prowl!
After the zoo it was time to head over to the Broadway Book Mall. It’s the coolest wee store I’ve ever seen—Nina was so kind and welcoming and she knows what’s important. She has a shelf for ZOMBIE LITERATURE, my friends. This store rocks! She also had a signed copy of The Wise Man’s Fear, so I had to buy it. She has signed stuff from Carrie Vaughn, Connie Willis, and more; honestly, if you’re in Denver, you gotta go check this place out.
I met some great local authors n’ artists—shout out to Bonnie and Laura! And a couple of my dear yearbookin’ friends stopped by and made my day, because I haven’t seen them for a couple of years. When it comes to my nerdhood, I specialize in several fields. Yearbook nerds are called Yerds and we obsess over things like ligatures and Photoshop filters. It makes us happy. See how happy we are?
We Three Yerds: Carrie, Kevin, & Andrea
This was also my opportunity to meet a couple members of The League of Reluctant Adults for the first time, Mario Acevedo and Jeanne Stein! We promptly misbehaved. Or rather, Mario did. Here is the soon-to-be-famous Grope Attempt:
I'm missing all the action.
Jeanne was about to whip out her kung fu after that. Mario’s lucky she left her shank at home.
Maturity has left the building.
Mario promised to behave after that, but Jeanne still wanted to express herself in a dignified manner.
I've given up at this point. :)
We went to The Great Divide Brewing Co. tap room after the signing, and here are the samplers of their beers:
I only get one of these.
They look good, and the one I’m excited about is the Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti, which you see on the far right. I tried it and it’s a heavy drink, hints of both chocolate and coffee to it, 9.5% alcohol content. It’s something to sip and enjoy, not chug. Unfortunately, I can’t say anything about the other beers because MARIO DRANK THEM ALL and I couldn’t order more, since these were ordered on Last Call! Yes, he stole my beer. Brazenly. In a Hawaiian shirt. Proof:
Beer Thief!
Oh well, at least I can report that the Yeti is good! I had a great time last night and now I’m writing this in Laramie, Wyoming, at the Hastings store here. It’s a cool town! I signed their stock and chatted with the nice people who work here. After another hour or so I’m headed back down to Ft. Collins for a signing at Old Firehouse Books.
I really dig Denver…wish I could explore some more. Methinks I might do this again next summer, it’s been so much fun! More later on Ft. Collins!
Meant to get this up on release day, but just couldn’t get to it—better late than never!
Many people have told me that the cover for HEXED is their favorite cover in the series, and I confess that it is mine also. Atticus is lookin’ right at us, pointing the pointy part o’ Fragarach in our general direction, and he looks as if he might be saying something along the lines of “Drop. Your. Sword.” to someone like Prince Humperdinck in The Princess Bride. If you’ve read the book already, you know when Fragarach comes out to play and you can imagine very well who’s getting the ol’ evil eye. But let’s pretend you haven’t read it yet and treat this like a caption contest. What’s Atticus doing here? Who’s he talking to? About what? Time to have fun!
DA RULEZ:
1.) This sucker’s international, unless you’re from Trinidad & Tobago. I’ve never gotten over my disappointment that the proper demonym for your country isn’t “Toboggans”. That totally crushed my spirit when I was learning about your country in sixth grade geography, and this is my petty revenge.
2.) Take a giant swig of your creative juices and snap a digital photo of HEXED in an amusing composition. Perhaps Atticus is pointing at something in the foreground…perhaps he’s protecting something in the background? Title it or write a caption for it—or both. You can use the paperback, a cover display on your electronic device, or even use the cover art digitally if you want to do the entire thing in Photoshop. See? No purchase necessary.
3.) Either post your composition somewhere and link to it in the comments below, or send me a jpeg as an attachment in an email sent to kevin at kevinhearne dot com. You have until Wednesday, June 15!
4.) By entering the contest you give me permission to post your picture here and on my author Facebook page in an album I’m creating for the purpose.
5.) I will pick two winners at random so you’ll have a chance at winning even if you ran dry of creative juices long ago. But I will pick five winners because they make me smile, chuckle, titter, or even guffaw. I haven’t had a good guffaw in a long time. Last time was back in ’98, I think.
6.) As a hint, I tend to enjoy wordplay and double meanings quite a bit. Be punny and you’re more likely to make me titter.
DA PRIZES:
1. One of five signed copies of HAMMERED, third book in the series.
2. One of two signed copies of HEXED, which you may already own, but think of all the Cool Points you’ll have if you own a signed copy too! ;)
SETTING THE BAR LOW:
I composed a simple one and snapped the photo with my cruddy cell phone camera, so it’s going to be pretty easy to beat. I’m posting it here as an example of the sort of thing we’re all going to enjoy:
Don't. Touch. My nuts.
All right, Atticus fans. Go have fun! Can’t wait to see what you guys come up with! Remember, I need it on or before June 15!
Today was a looong drive from Ouray to Colorado Springs—a completely beautiful drive, mind you, with so many lovely things waiting for me when I finally made it to the Springs. But first! Did you know that Gunnison is a pretty spiffy little town? We got there too early for me to check this place out properly, but I bet there’s something nummy inside:
There was a really cool indie bookstore right across the street from this place, making it the perfect one-two combo for this particular tour. :) It’s called The Bookworm, and I got to meet the owner, Kristyn, who was super nice and apparently shares my love of maps. I wished I could have stayed in town longer, but I had to keep motorin’ like Sister Christian. (That was a pander to the vast Night Ranger demographic.) Anyway, here’s Kristyn’s lovely store:
So I got to the Springs just in time, and Jessica at the Borders on Southgate Road was turbo helpful. Once I was all set up, one of my former students came in! She just moved to the Springs after graduation and I was so happy to see her!
Me & Mikayla
That Borders still has some signed copies of both Hounded and Hexed available, so do drop in if you can!
After the books, it was time to get my beer on. I went to visit Bristol Brewing Company because they, like me, happen to like doggies. They have a brew called Laughing Lab Scottish Ale, an eight-time award winner for good reason. Excellent stuff! The big surprise for me was how good their honey wheat beer was. But before I go on about it, here’s what I sampled:
OK, going clockwise and ending in the center: Compass IPA, Beehive Honey Wheat, Laughing Lab Scottish Ale, Mass Transit Ale, Yellow Kite Summer Pils, and their Black Fox Faustian Saison.
Since I mentioned last post that I’m not generally a fan of ambers and IPAs—an idiosyncrasy of my tastes—I’m always impressed when I can find one that I wouldn’t mind drinking for a while. Compass IPA was one of those; it had a really interesting taste owing to the blend of hops they use, but it didn’t have the unpleasant aftertaste that makes me avoid IPAs as a rule. Great crisp finish.
For me the winner on this tray is the Beehive Honey Wheat. I wan’t expecting it to rock so much, but it does, friends, it does. If you like wheat beers, make the trip. Worth the drive.
Laughing Lab is an outstanding ale that made me wonder why I don’t drink Scottish ales more often, other than the obvious reason that I’m Irish. Very tasty.
I fear I can’t give you a fair evaluation of Mass Transit since I’m not a fan of ambers in general; it would be like asking someone with a fear of heights if they’d like to take a ride on a ski lift.
Both the Yellow Kite Pils and the Black Fox Faustian were very palatable, and judging by the Yellow Kite shirts I saw people wearing, they’re quite popular brews locally. But look, I have to tell you what else is awesome about this place besides the beer: Scott and Kevin.
Scott and Kevin were a couple o’ cool dudes I met at the bar who were ready to share their personal beer histories. Listening to them was kind of like watching Willie Nelson and Julio Iglesias sing “To All the Beers I’ve Loved Before.” Kevin is of the opinion that there is some seriously amazing shit going on down at Pagosa Springs, and based on his recommendation, I will make sure I go there next time I do a tour like this. He also told me that Bristol makes a pumpkin beer that doesn’t suck even a little bit. It’s shoulder-to-shoulder in there when they tap the few kegs they make in October, and it’s all gone in a couple o’ days. Scott, for his part, shared with me the revelation that there is a beer out there that tastes like pecan pie. PECAN PIE. I will be making a pilgrimage soon, methinks.
When I finally got back to my hotel I was overwhelmed by kind wishes and kinder reviews for Hexed, and I also got some fabulous news that I’ll share in a few days. It’s been a completely glorious day.
OK, I have to get some shut-eye because I have Denver on June 8! If you can make it to Who Else! Books in the Broadway Book Mall at 7:30, I’d love to meet you! Cheers!
Today was the cushy day; I had no book events to do. That doesn’t mean I’m not doing book-related business. This blog is kinda booky, wouldn’t you say? I also need to write another post for the League of Reluctant Adults tomorrow. Plus an interview with Suvudu…all book-related business, just conducted outside of bookstores and in a place that’s so dear to me that I’d call it sacred geography. I’m talkin’ ’bout Ouray, Colorado.
I’m writing from room 215 at the Ouray Victorian Inn. It has a balcony overlooking the Uncompahgre River, supafly wifi and the ability to grant you Inner Peace. Driving here was lovely. You get vistas like this:
Engineer Mountain
And you run across these beautiful lakes near 10,000 feet surrounded by snow-capped geological events and trees:
Molas Lake
So when you put me near all these trees and they smell like the way the world used to, I’m going to have to hug one. It’s mandatory.
Got into town and went straight to the Ouray Brewery, which wasn’t here the last time I was in town about five years ago. They built it in this old building and it has two floors plus rooftop drinkin’. Here ’tis from the side:
Not showin’ ya the bottom floor, just second floor and da roof
So, you walk in, and RIGHT AWAY you know this place is going to rock, because they have swing seats at the bar and people are friendly.
You can get a sampler thingie of their beers, so I did. Right now they have a guest beer from Odell Brewing in Ft. Collins called Easy Street Wheat. I actually featured that one in a Still Life with Dwarfs and Beer some time ago, so no need to rehash that; Ouray Brewery is working on a porter for that last slot but it wasn’t quite ready on the day I walked in, hence the guest beer. Here’s the lineup:
Brews from Ouray Brewery!
OK, straight up, I’m not a guy whose palate particularly enjoys Ambers or IPAs, but these were actually drinkable for me. That’s an accomplishment in itself. They’re all very, very good, but if I have to rank ’em 1-5 (which I don’t, but I’m gonna) based on my own preferences, I’d go with Saison #1, Kolsch #2, IPA #3, Pale Rye #4, and Amber #5. But see, everyone’s different. My mom tried these too and she’d rank the Amber #1. You can’t go wrong visiting this place, honestly, it’s all good. I picked the Saison for my full pint, which is a spring seasonal they have vaguely reminiscent of Blue Moon but A BAJILLION TIMES BETTER! They put three malts in it and then finish it with three different hops plus oranges. It’s yummy. That was my accompaniment for the bison burger I ordered with a side o’ sweet potato wedges. NOMNOMNOM.
I love this town so much. Beauty everywhere you look. I mean, here’s the view from my hotel room:
Wherever you are right now, it’s probably not this awesome. Sorry!
Look at this cool little dude I spotted hangin’ out in a tree near Box Canyon Falls—I think he’s a woodpecker of some kind but I’m not sure. If it’s fancier than sparrows or quail then I kind of suck at identifying birds, but I love to take pics of cool ones when I can.
Sigh. You may as well call me Woody. I know you want to.
You want to see the river behind my hotel, right? I know you do. This is the Uncompahgre, swollen with runoff and doin’ its best to cut the canyon deeper:
OK, gotta write my other stuff now. Tomorrow (June 7) is HEXED Day and I’ll be signing at the Borders in Co. Springs at 3 pm! If you know anyone there, send ’em over to say hi!
Whew! Long day, but you know what? The wifi in THIS hotel rocks, so I’m going to get to show you some more pictures than yesterday! At least one more, anyway…
T0day’s trip was to Durango, and we did the beer first and the books later. Durango is home to Ska Brewing, Steamworks Brewing, Durango Brewing, and Carver Brewing. It was to the latter we repaired for our repast. Carver has been solar powered for some years now, so the treehugger in me appreciated that. They have a neato patio, great breakfast there, and plenty o’ great beers. (I’ve been there before.) Today I tried their La Plata Pilsner, a Czech style pilsner (which means, in my view, that it tastes better than any American pilsner) and I have to say it dethrones Pilsner Urquell, the grandpappy o’ Czech beers. La Plata is smoother than Urquell and the taste is all there. Carver Brewing has two bars, and we were seated in the back bar, which leads to the patio and looks like this:
They’ve done a good job with their merchandise here. Check out their spiffy shirts:
Our palates satiated, we walked down Main Street in Durango and did our best to find eclectic shops while avoiding tourist traps. There’s plenty to see on Main Street, lots of it awesome, but one thing blew them all away. It was a flyer advertising an upcoming concert for one of the more boldly named bands I have ever heard of: Shotgun Jesus. I don’t know what to say about it except that it DEMANDS your attention.
There are so many things here to enjoy. The third eye. The Chocolate-Mint horns. The apparent need for TWO sets of collarbones. The misspelling of “resurrection.” The mind-boggling decision to equip TWO shotguns for Shotgun Jesus, and the second one, when (IF?) Jesus needs it, will be grabbed by the barrel instead of the stock. And what I love most is that the artist clearly didn’t want to try to draw HANDS, so he hid them behind Jesus’s Technicolor Dreamcoat or whatever the heck it is he’s wearing. And what exactly is a Freedom-Billy Funk Jam? Discuss.
OK, to the books: I have to give a huge shout-out to Amy and her people at the Waldenbooks in the Durango Mall. They set the whole thing up on very short notice and made me feel so welcome. And to prove that it’s a small world, I met a guy while there who went to the high school up the street from where I teach. Totally awesome people in this town. Not only do they read urban fantasy, but they also know what a Freedom-Billy Funk Jam is! Anyway, Amy & Co. still have signed copies of Hounded and Hexed in stock, so drop by there and pick one up if you’re in the neighborhood! Here’s a picture of my NEW SPIFFY BOOKMARKS at the signing thingie. Unfortunately, I am also in the picture.
After we left the mall, we went to commune with nature. We drove out to Lemon Reservoir, only about twenty-ish miles or so from Durango, and enjoyed the day use area. We hung out by the river feeding into the lake. My wife, especially, found it relaxing. Here’s a picture, rather than my words:
We don’t get vistas like that in Arizona. We get some dramatic ones, some really beautiful ones, but we’re not used to seeing stuff like this—you know, with lots of WATER. We love it. We drove out to the other side of Durango after this and took a wee hike in the area ravaged by forest fire years ago. Know what’s cool? Seeing the forest come back. Proof for your eyes:
Around those burned-out stumps you see lots of new saplings growing, which might look like bushes at first glance, but are really the trees themselves coming back from the root. I loved seeing this. After that, it was dinnertime at the Bar D Chuckwagon. They feed you BBQ beef and beans, baked potato, a biscuit, spice cake and applesauce, and after that, you get a show. Funny and talented fellas there—here’s a pic:
So now it’s hittin’ the hay time. Tomorrow: Ouray! Come back for more!
Author of The Iron Druid Chronicles, Ink & Sigil, the Seven Kennings trilogy, and co‑author of the Tales of Pell
