Who else is watching Rooster on HBO? How about the last season of Shrinking? We’re a bit behind with Shrinking, but it’s one of my favorite shows of all time—the perfect dramedy. As I was jumping into an episode of Rooster with Steve Carell last night, I realized that Bill Lawrence, the producer behind Shrinking, Scrubs, and Ted Lasso, is also responsible for this new show. I shouldn’t have been surprised. I adore a story that makes you laugh and cry in equal measure. Dear storyteller, just toy with my heart, and I’m all yours…

Do you know Jack Antonoff and his band, Bleachers? I went to see them on a whim a couple of years ago here in Portland, and it was pure heaven. Jack’s one of the most successful and talented music producers in history, working with the likes of Taylor Swift and Lorde and Kendrick Lamar, but it’s in this band where he lets it all out. The guy’s a preacher on stage, and he turns the audience into a congregation. It was such an immersive experience, and I find myself comparing all concerts to it.

They have a new album called Everyone for Ten Minutes coming out May 22nd, and it’s sure to be a killer. I don’t know that there are many people out there with more creativity running through them. Though it would probably be somewhat awkward, I’d kill to have dinner with him and pick his brain. Here’s a taste from their show on Howard.

I had no idea I needed a queer vampire novel in my life, but I sure as hell did. It took me a while to take down V.E. Schwab’s new one, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil, only because it’s a tome and I’m deep into a new project, but it’s WONDERFUL.

And I thought her previous release, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, would never be topped. They’re certainly equal, at least. She’s a master, plain and simple. Makes me want to hang it up.

And where have vampires been all my life? I don’t know if I’ve even read Anne Rice before, but I’m opening all my windows and doors and welcoming in all the fictional vampires now.

Okay, dream dinner: Bill Lawrence, Jack Antonoff, and V.E. Schwab. Who’s in? How many of us are introverts? Could be weird…

What should I read next in the vampire/fantasy/horror world? I’m a newbie.

Don’t forget to come find me on Instagram. There is almost twenty-thousand people following me now. I can’t believe it!

Yesterday, I shared my rediscovered love of dictating first drafts while on the treadmill. AI has made it remarkably easier. Now, you can drive by my house and wave at the lunatic in the window regaling himself with exciting new stories told in unbearably awful accents. My wife holds her phone up to the door to prove to her friends that she married a madman.

What questions do you have for me? I’d love to answer them in my next reel.

Okay, with a few weeks to go till I need to return my focus to Salvation Isle, I’m off to the races with a new Red Mountain story. We’ll see how far I get. It was beyond delightful to sneak back into Margot’s world yesterday to see what she’s up to. And Otis, oh my God. He never ceases to shock and awe me.

Thanks to those who gave me ideas for the new story, and big congratulations to the winners of my raffle: Natosha, Miselle, and Neil.

Next time, I’ll share a lost chapter from An Unfinished Story that I still wish had made it into the final publication. The protagonist, Whitaker Grant, will always be my favorites of my creations. For those of you who have been listening to my audio of these musings, you’ll get a real treat when I dramatize it.

Much love,

boo

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