Eight Arms Reading Room

This is 50:

Birthday cocktails with friends in Puerto Vallarta last week. I turned 50 freaking years old earlier this week and I’m still a little blown away at the notion.

This is also 50:

Steak and crispy broccoli for my birthday dinner. I can’t believe I requested *broccoli* for my birthday dinner. But also carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

Good lord, I’m old!

Taking advantage of a sunny, (finally) warm day for a walk and a bit of Vitamin D in the park!

Happening Friday! My panel in the Forbidden Fruits Virtual Signing event is at 8:00 pm US Eastern time on January 17. Come hang out with me and come early and stay late to meet some great taboo authors, all from the comfort of your own home!

Join the Dark Ink and Shadows Facebook group to participate.

Happy New Year!

I’m in Costa Rica right now (hence the recent radio silence). It’s far warmer than either NYC or Maine but also sticky humid. Spent the morning in the pool, though, so that’s all right. It’s been raining a lot, too, which made our hike along a volcano rather less pleasant than we were hoping.

After the rainy volcano hike and soaking in a hot spring, we stopped off at this big souvenir store. (I’m here with some friends who have two kids—11 and 15–and the 11-year-old was simply desperate for the souvenir shop.)

And this is what the kids found for me at the souvenir shop:

Why yes, that is an entire shelf of carved wooden cock-shaped bottle openers. Some painted extra-special for the discerning tourist:

And some carved to be more life-like:

(I did not turn this one to be balls out. Someone did that before I got to them.)

There was even a shelf of overstock! And a mini keychain version:

Pura vida means “the pure/good life” and it’s the Costa Rican version of “aloha.” It’s used all the time here, functioning like a greeting or farewell, a mood description, a vibe, an exclamation. Obviously, if you’re gonna carve a piece of wood into a cock-shaped bottle opener or keychain, you’re gonna write “Pura Vida” on it too.

Right?

Who's your favorite book boyfriend?

🎄 Dylan Campbell

❄️ Declan Fitzgerald

🛷 Joey Carrigan

⭐️ Elliot Bishop

🎁 Sebastian Colt

🎅 Logan Reynolds

☃️ Silas Mitchell

Sooo I think I have a dirty mind or something because my first reaction when I saw this picture was not, “what a delightful Christmas DIY project for the kids!” Doesn’t it look sorta… tentacular?

I just discovered that A Market of Dreams and Destiny by Trip Galey is on sale for $2.99 right now! @Abigail Tittizer recommended this book and suggested it for our book club but noted that it's a little pricier than normal (usually $10.99--it's published by Penguin Random House and traditionally published books are often more expensive than books independently published by authors).

I have it checked out from my local library but when I saw this sale, I snapped it up on Kobo quick as I could. It's also $2.99 on Amazon right now.

I've no idea how long this sale will last but hope you get to take advantage of it if you're interested in this book!

(These links are affiliate links but that doesn't change the sale price for you.)

Thanksgiving is still decorative gourd season, right? You may remember that last year, I posted a dramatic reading of the stellar McSweeney’s article “It’s Decorative Gourd Season, Motherfuckers.”

I take enormous delight in re-reading this article every year, so here’s my annual post of the audio for your seasonal pleasure.

Fair warning: it’s chock full of profanity, so be aware if you’re listening around kids or others sensitive to naughty language.

https://youtu.be/qHZK461omfo?si=g5FBPnn72Vx4Q0bN

I’m feeling better today and it seems clear that I don’t have COVID, so there’s a plus. Might actually try to do some writing one of these days…

ugh, I am sick. Is this COVID or just regular con crud after spending three days at a conference for my day job? Unclear so far.

But I have a dog on my chest and that’s helping a lot.

Look what I just got!

‘Tis the season…❤️🐙💀❤️