It’s February, which in the world gets themes of PRESIDENTS, and BLACK HISTORY and also, interestingly enough, PET DENTAL HEALTH, all things that are important to me. (Except Pet Dental Health since my cat has no teeth.) Here are all the things you can have awareness of this month. (Please be sure to keep all other awarenesses to yourself.)
This month is also the month that Venice celebrates Carnevale. I keep wanting to go back, to dress in extravagant costume and marvel at the artistry of others, to life for a moment of a fantasy that requires, like all theater, elaborate real-world planning. Instead I go back in my mind every year, working on rewrites of my memoir, Ten Days, Ten Pounds. It’s crazy how long it takes to write a good book. Like, a year for every hour a reader will spend with you.
This year I’ll FINALLY be seeking a publisher!
If you’re in the Bay Area, mark your calendar for Friday, February 16th. I’ll be at a super cool book event at the Hyatt Embarcadero during the San Francisco Writers Conference. YOU’RE INVITED! Pencil in “Prosecco with Kristen” and I’ll send more details next week.
This month I’ll also be dropping two nuggets in The Cave, which is where I keep all the treasures. I’m planning to stash more and more of my riches there this year, and if you’d like to get access, you can upgrade your subscription anytime. Writing is largely lonely and unprofitable but I can’t help it; I’m possessed by muses. I am indescribably heartened by the friends and fans who invest in my creativity, so thank you to all my $upporters!
OH let’s not forget, in February we also celebrate LOVE! Next week I’ve got a road trip love story to thank my $upporting $ubscribers called “Destination Disneyland.”
And now here are some things I really love that I’ve been meaning. to shout about:
The Queen ‘s Cartoonists
I met the dazzling drummer Rossen Nedelchev when he played in the quartet we hired for the New York staged reading of my musical, The Souls of Her Feet in 2008. His band, The Queen’s Cartoonists, is gathering a cult following because the world needs more live performances of cartoon music! And Victor Borge left some big clown shoes to fill.
The Avalon Diner
Not to be confused with the restaurant chain in Houston, The Avalon Diner I LOVE is an Art Deco Era Literary Space where Monsieur B, Frank, and Madge-the-Weekend Waitress serve Interesting Customers (such as Mr. Dalyrimple, Mrs. Waterhouse, Mrs. Schick-Frick from Up-the-Hill, Wolfer, and ) Epicurian Delights that can also somehow magically appear on your doorstep by Singing Delivery Boys straight out of some Midcentury Small Town if you are lucky enough to live Nearby. There’s no website, just a weekly newsletter with Amusing Cartoons, Addictive games, mouthwatering menus and serialized stories by a retired children’s theater director making sauce (and biscuits to die for) for Elegant Grownups. Inquire within for details.
Jenny Flynn Israel
You don’t need to know that Jenny is my friend and the hero of my forthcoming memoir to see what a brilliant painter she is. In Ten Days, Ten Pounds, Jenny is a budding classical realist painter who loses her color vision. She had her first open studio in December and you can follow her on Instagram and purchase her gorgeous art!