shameless self promotion

It's a long time overdue, but my baby Leonard has finally made his debut! After much thought and consideration, the working title stayed, and Leonard & the Telescopic Trachea is officially in print.

death by legume

Welcome back, dear readers (all three of you)! Don't let the lack of recent posts fool you: I've been reading up a storm, just haven't had additional downtime to blog about it. So now, I diligently set fingertips to keyboard to fill you in on the latest books to take their leave of my "to-read" shelf.

Mr. Peanut
Adam Ross

Every so often, a novel comes along that's a complete game changer, surpassing your expectations and taking you to places you'd never have dreamed of (or had at least forgotten existed), and as you turn the final page of the story to find blank space and the back cover on the other side, all you can do is release a breathless, blissful "wow."


This is one of those novels.

used // in well-loved condition

The Late American Novel: Writers on the Future of Books
edited by Jeff Martin & C. Max Magee


A new month, a new review. This was an impulse buy off the "employee recommendations" display at my local Barnes & Noble while killing time before seeing "Thor" in 3D. One look at the cover art, and I couldn't very well not buy it. Throw in the fact that I've been kicking around the idea of doing my thesis on reading as tactile experience and the fetishization of print, and it's fairly obvious that this particular book was tailor-made for me.


Happily, it did not disappoint.

leonard, revisited

Big, beautiful developments are in the works, courtesy of a woman who more than knows her way around a Sharpie and a block of wood, bringing us one step closer to putting Leonard the giraffe's story into print. And there was much rejoicing!

...or there would be, were it not for a currently significant roadblock: I have to pick a title first.

Shoot.

the bold & the biographical

No matter how old I get, I don't think I'll ever get over the rush of excitement that accompanies the first day of school!

Well, ok... so I'm not technically matriculating anywhere, but my 10-week online fiction workshop started today, & I. Am. STOKED!!

First assignment: Submit a bio, 500 words or less. Given that we're immersed in a virtual classroom, it's a logical exercise to foster a sense of community (blah blah educational buzzword blah).

day 5 :: trends, trials, & tribulations

After discussing the rise of social media and the downfall of traditional print advertising methods with Tom Doucette, Lindy and I hit the road for Gilbert, Ariz., and an appointment with Trend Homes.

day 4 :: beyond billboards

Sunday marked the beginning of a new month and our last day of travel through Texas, which, as I once saw a bumper sticker proclaim, happens to be bigger than France.

day 2 :: when it rains...

...yeah. The photo doesn't nearly do it justice. Let's just put it this way: Have you ever hydroplaned while towing a trailer?

I can now say that I have. And it was a decidedly unpleasant experience.

So given the four hours of non-stop torrential downpouring complete with lightning and 20 mph winds gusting to 40 mph, not many opportunities to take photos presented themselves today.

day 1 :: dog is my co-pilot

Well, today was the big day. Up and at 'em at 5 a.m., and out on the open road by 6. Lindy and I waved goodbye to the District...


...and set out on the first leg of our journey.

on the eve of the adventure...

View Larger Map

Behold, the roadmap to my roadtrip!

Well, the gist of it, at any rate.

Just waiting for some pals to arrive and help me load the U-Haul trailer (I plan to reward them with dinner and drinks), then it's off to watch Wall*E at Casa de Lewis, and then bedtime so I can hit the road at about 5 a.m. tomorrow.

I just hope this nasty headcold has discipated by then...

recession proof

Get it? :)

It's officially official: I've been laid off (although I volunteered to be (long story)). Friday 20 February is my last day, and then preparations for my long-awaited reverse roadtrip kick into high gear (yeah, it's only been about 18 months, but that's a long time for me to live anywhere, let alone on the wrong coast).

You didn't think that all that talk about a newly unemployed 20-something was hypothetical, did you?

housing hypotheticals

Just wrote a new blog post for work and thought at least the first half was worth sharing here.

This seems like it should hardly come as a shock, but newsflash! from Seeking Alpha: Home prices have increased more rapidly than rents, it's significantly cheaper to rent than to buy (not even taking into account the costs of taxes and insurance (albeit also not factoring in that mortgage interest is tax deductible, I'll give you that)). Conclusion: Financially, there is no motivation to buy a home aside from price appreciation. Thus, in a market where homes are depreciating in value (i.e. the current one (in fact, the Wall Street Journal reports that price declines accelerated in 4Q2008)), it is illogical to buy a home.

if i wanted to write about myself in the third person, i would have developed a god complex.

So, I'm incredibly fortunate that my friend Melinda is the editor of an awesome luxury lifestyle/dwelling consumer magazine, Las Vegas Home + Design, and wonder of wonders, she actually lets me freelance for her.

However! The caveat is that sometimes she wants to also run my "quirky bio" on her contributors page.

Which means I have to write about myself.

Which = Not So Awesome.

And the upcoming issue is one of those times. So I took a stab at it...

As often as she daydreams about a return to the West Coast, Lisa Brown has recently determined that she made her way to the nation's capital for a reason: Namely, to be present for the inauguration of Barack Obama. It's the first moment of history in her lifetime of which she's found herself genuinely ecstatic to be a part. And if you happen to find yourself in the District Jan. 19, keep an eye out for her celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in style, sipping a beverage of the alcoholic variety on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

The verdict?

Rejected. Color me surprised.*

Take 2:

When she's not juggling editorial deadlines, which is next-door to never, Lisa Brown spends her time capturing random snapshots with her trusty camera and explaining obscure novels to strangers. Her steadfast companion and partner in crime is a chocolate lab / border collie mix named Lindy (tip o' the hat to Charles Lindbergh and his eponymous variation of swing dance). Unfortunately, the canine in question is somewhat agoraphobic,** which makes morning and evening walks something of a production.

Still waiting to see if that one cuts the mustard...


*If you do not immediately notice the sarcasm that is literally dripping off that sentence, you do not know me. At all.

**No lie. True story.