Monday, April 10, 2023

The Reading & The Room

#LiteraryCocktails
by Megan Rickerson

• Co-Starr Frruit for Randee Dawn & Tune in Tomorrow
• Possession for Leopoldo Gout & Piñata (garnished with chipulines)
• Unfamiliar Street for Richard Butner & The Adventurists
• Oculitis Nocturnalis for Karen Heuler & A Slice of the Dark

Open Mic Readers:

Sally Frances is a currently dogless retired psychotherapist working on the 8th draft of her first novel. The scariest movie I ever saw was “Sophie’s Choice”, and the scariest novel was “Cat’s Cradle,” by Kurt Vonnegut.

Steven Drachman has written on entertainment for the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Sun-Times, and many others, and his historical fantasy science fiction trilogy, The Strange and Astounding Memoir of Watt O’Hugh the Third, was an Amazon bestseller, was named one of Kirkus Reviews’ best books of the year, and has recently been optioned for film and dramatized as a serialized podcast.The scariest (but not the weirdest) movie he ever saw was Melancholia. 

Jackie Kristel is a recovering cabaret performer. As her alter ego Crème Fraîche, she performed with the Glamazons all over the country, in more than 30 parades. The scariest film she ever saw was The Exorcist, which she watched in an old Connecticut farmhouse next to a cemetery one night at summerstock.

Isabelle Brourman is a writer and artist. Much to the chagrin of veteran artists in the court, she recently served as a sketch artist at the arraignment of Donald Trump at New York’s Supreme Court, Criminal Division. [Editor’s note: Isabelle did not tell use what her scariest movie was, but the proximity to DT may have given her a fright.]

Amy Grech has sold over 100 stories to various anthologies and magazines including: A New York State of Fright, Apex Magazine, Microverses, Punk Noir Magazine, Hell’s Heart, Hell’s Highway, Hell’s Mall…you get the idea! The scariest book she has read is Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica.

Rapid-Fire Q&A

Authors answered a series of questions about craft, discussed favorite books, authors, and scariest of the same. After, authors traditionally share worst rejection & review anecdotes. At this event they exacted their revenge on a piñata. Pinch-hitting for Karen, Lisa wielded a rolling pin, a la the narrator of “The Constant Lover.” Richard eschewed the Jester’s scepter (in “The Advneturists”), instead offering a kiss. Leopoldo took both sticks and “antlered” the piñata to no effect. Randee swung her soft pillow mango with enough enthusiasm to send the piñata flying. Alas, it did not break. Lisa popped it open and made it rain chocolate eyeballs.

Meet the Authors

Lela Loren read from Piñata. She is an American television and film actress most recently seen in the third season of the acclaimed Starz series “American Gods” and will next be seen in Sony’s action-comedy film “The Man From Toronto” opposite Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson. Prior, Lela starred as the co-lead in the second season of the popular Netflix series “Altered Carbon” opposite Anthony Mackie. Lela is most known from Starz’s hit series “Power.” The show broke viewership records with Lela being praised by both critics and fans for her role as “Angela Valdes,” the career-driven government lawyer caught in a love triangle with the lead character, “Ghost,” a role which she was nominated for a Imagen Award for Best Actress-Television.