Poppy Z. Brite's Blog, page 50
January 30, 2012
January 27, 2012
And The Ball And All
This is me at the Amon-Ra ball last weekend.
Photo © 2012 by Grey Cross
Photo © 2012 by Grey Cross
eBay, Old & New
Some eBay auctions ending this evening, and some new ones just up: hardcover first editions of The Value of X, Plastic Jesus, and The Devil You Know; the chapbook Con Party at Hotel California; and two anthologies, one old and one new -- Disco 2000, which originally published my story "Vine of the Soul," and The Mammoth Book of the Best of Best New Erotica, which reprints my "Entertaining Mr. Orton." All signed, all personalized at your request.
Have launched into massive spring housecleaning. Tired, but even though I mopped floors all day yesterday, my back is not unduly sore. I credit testosterone and Grey for the huge improvement in my health over the past several months.
Have launched into massive spring housecleaning. Tired, but even though I mopped floors all day yesterday, my back is not unduly sore. I credit testosterone and Grey for the huge improvement in my health over the past several months.
January 25, 2012
RIP Rexina
1996 - 2012
Rexy was a sweet, stubborn, vocal character whose absence leaves a big cat-shaped hole in my heart. We found her and her brother Marcel as starving kittens gnawing on a chicken bone in Mid-City. Marcel is curled up in my lap right now, still going strong.
January 22, 2012
Right Side Up, Dammit
I have an announcement that should be happy-making for several of you who commented on the photo in this entry: Yes, the fleurs-de-lis on the display jacket I was trying on in the picture are upside-down. But the fleurs-de-lis on the packaged jacket I actually bought, took home, and wore to the ball last night are all proudly right side up. Which makes me happy too, because I don't like the upside-down fleur-de-lis thing either.
The ball was fairly fabulous but I don't have the energy to talk about it right now. Here's my favorite costume from the tableaux, drag queen Maybelline Mascara as the Butterfly:
[ETA: Excellent breakdown of ubiquitous writing "advice" by Nick Mamatas.]
The ball was fairly fabulous but I don't have the energy to talk about it right now. Here's my favorite costume from the tableaux, drag queen Maybelline Mascara as the Butterfly:
[ETA: Excellent breakdown of ubiquitous writing "advice" by Nick Mamatas.]
January 20, 2012
eBay, Footsteps, and Formal Wear
Kind of late in the day for it, I know, but new eBay auctions are up: hardcovers of Drawing Blood and Antediluvian Tales, plus the chapbooks Stay Awake, The Seed of Lost Souls, Used Stories, and The Feast of St. Rosalie, all signed, all personalized if you wish.
Every night I sleep at home -- and that's not as many as it should be these days -- I dream that I hear footsteps coming down the hall. Weirdly (especially if you know me), it never scares me. I usually think it's Chris, but one night I thought it was Victor Pascow from Pet Sematary. Even then I didn't give a damn; I just thought, "Go away, Pascow, there might be a few people I want to kill but there's sure nobody I want to bring back to life." And he did, or the cats stopped making footstep noises (probably accompanied by little trollfaces), or whatever.
Things I have for my ball outfit: Jacket; tuxedo shirt; cummerbund; suspenders; cufflinks. Things I still need, and must acquire tomorrow: Pants; shirtfront studs; vest; bow tie. And who knows, maybe some kind of special socks or God only knows what. This is more complicated than any girl outfit I ever wore in my life.
Every night I sleep at home -- and that's not as many as it should be these days -- I dream that I hear footsteps coming down the hall. Weirdly (especially if you know me), it never scares me. I usually think it's Chris, but one night I thought it was Victor Pascow from Pet Sematary. Even then I didn't give a damn; I just thought, "Go away, Pascow, there might be a few people I want to kill but there's sure nobody I want to bring back to life." And he did, or the cats stopped making footstep noises (probably accompanied by little trollfaces), or whatever.
Things I have for my ball outfit: Jacket; tuxedo shirt; cummerbund; suspenders; cufflinks. Things I still need, and must acquire tomorrow: Pants; shirtfront studs; vest; bow tie. And who knows, maybe some kind of special socks or God only knows what. This is more complicated than any girl outfit I ever wore in my life.
January 18, 2012
Dressing Up
I have to get outfitted for the Petronius ball this week. For all my years in New Orleans, this will be my first real Carnival ball. Petronius is the oldest gay krewe, and Grey is their official photographer, and it's formal which means we both have to wear tuxedos, so AAAARRRRRGH. He is helping me with most of the outfitting, but I found the perfect jacket with my mom's help today at Uptown Costume & Dancewear.
It's actually part of an "Elegant Lady Pirate" costume, the rest of which will be useless to me (though Grey wants the lace cravat), but we can butch it up as needed. Unfortunately, I won't be wearing the Drew Brees jersey to the ball, though I would be proud to wear the latter, as it was a hell of a good season and a hell of a final game.
It's actually part of an "Elegant Lady Pirate" costume, the rest of which will be useless to me (though Grey wants the lace cravat), but we can butch it up as needed. Unfortunately, I won't be wearing the Drew Brees jersey to the ball, though I would be proud to wear the latter, as it was a hell of a good season and a hell of a final game.
January 13, 2012
New eBay Stuff
New eBay auctions up: one of the last two CDs I have of me reading from Lost Souls; hardcovers of Exquisite Corpse, Plastic Jesus and Triads (my collaborative novel with
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faustfatale
); and The Seed of Lost Souls chapbook. I also found some copies of Prime Rib, the Spanish translation of Prime, which I put in the store. As ever, all items are signed by me and can be personalized. You'll also see something new: one of Grey's photographs listed among my items. No, I'm not asking y'all to bid on expensive original artwork that isn't even mine (though feel free if you wish!), but he wanted to try some eBay sales to see how they would go, and says he can publicize the auction himself.
I hate making entries that are just eBay pimpage, but I don't think I have the energy for anything else tonight.
[ETA: Can you guys see these auctions? They were showing up for me, but now when I click on the auction/store links, I only see one copy of La Belle Rouge that's been up since November 22. Y U HATE ME EBAY???]
faustfatale
); and The Seed of Lost Souls chapbook. I also found some copies of Prime Rib, the Spanish translation of Prime, which I put in the store. As ever, all items are signed by me and can be personalized. You'll also see something new: one of Grey's photographs listed among my items. No, I'm not asking y'all to bid on expensive original artwork that isn't even mine (though feel free if you wish!), but he wanted to try some eBay sales to see how they would go, and says he can publicize the auction himself.I hate making entries that are just eBay pimpage, but I don't think I have the energy for anything else tonight.
[ETA: Can you guys see these auctions? They were showing up for me, but now when I click on the auction/store links, I only see one copy of La Belle Rouge that's been up since November 22. Y U HATE ME EBAY???]
January 12, 2012
Talking To Myself
Sometimes I say to myself, You're crazy. You're throwing away 22 years of committed partnership for someone you've known six months.
Then I reply, I didn't have anything to throw away. Chris loves me, but he lost all romantic interest in me long before I met Grey, maybe even before I started transitioning. He decided to move out; I didn't ask him to. I think he would have done it eventually even if I hadn't started seeing someone else.
And I think, But my heart still cries out for him.
And I think, You'd be crazy not to take this chance with this wonderful new man. He's kind, he's smart, he's funny, he's sexy, he has a life, he gives you all the affection you've been starved for, he worships you.
And I come back with, But even still ... 22 years of history is nothing to sneeze at. There is secret language between me and Chris that will only die when our memories do. One of us can say "wood storks" or "Colm" or "Freddy Fender" or a hundred other things and it conjures up a very specific, very special memory, almost like a poem between the two of us -- a poem that we lived.
Then I think, I don't know. I just don't know. But who the hell does?
Then I reply, I didn't have anything to throw away. Chris loves me, but he lost all romantic interest in me long before I met Grey, maybe even before I started transitioning. He decided to move out; I didn't ask him to. I think he would have done it eventually even if I hadn't started seeing someone else.
And I think, But my heart still cries out for him.
And I think, You'd be crazy not to take this chance with this wonderful new man. He's kind, he's smart, he's funny, he's sexy, he has a life, he gives you all the affection you've been starved for, he worships you.
And I come back with, But even still ... 22 years of history is nothing to sneeze at. There is secret language between me and Chris that will only die when our memories do. One of us can say "wood storks" or "Colm" or "Freddy Fender" or a hundred other things and it conjures up a very specific, very special memory, almost like a poem between the two of us -- a poem that we lived.
Then I think, I don't know. I just don't know. But who the hell does?
January 11, 2012
My Pompous Discourse on CUJO
"You see, Grey, this is not just a novel about a rabid dog who eats a bunch of people. It's a tale of the fragility and resilience of marriage, of the terrors of childhood, of how feral a protective mother can become when backed into a corner. It's part of the history of a small town. It's an absolutely fascinating tale of the advertising business. And it's a tale of why you should keep your car well maintained."
-- Me
-- Me
