Well, it's finally here! Sitnalta can now be purchased as a paperback novel! I can't wait to be able to actually hold it in my hands. In other news, I am finally embarking on a writing project with my baby brother Brian. It's taken 22 years for us to finally get our acts together and work on something from the ground up. Usually I'm in the shows he directs and he attempts to tell me what to do. A partnership is an entirely different beast altogether. Hopefully we don't kill each other before we're done. What are we working on? (you may ask.) Well, I don't want to give too much away too soon. However, I will tell you that this project combines everything we're passionate about: Music, performance, writing, and kids. So, in other words... Another zombie novel. (Just kidding. Or am I...)

Speaking of zombie novels, Severed Press has relaunched Bath Salts! We've got ourselves a whole new cover, and she is beautiful! Check it out!

Love it! 

On a completely unrelated note, my attempts to build my army of geeks is working! I recently took Phillip to the doctor's office, and he insisted that his doctor was THE Doctor. And when I asked if he was going to see the doctor, he'd respond with a vaguely British sounding comment of "Dr. Who?" I melted a little inside. Success!

And now to business:

You can buy your brand new paperback copy of Sitnalta here.
Bath Salts is available here.

I know that I have posted about Angelwalk's upcoming production of tick, tick... BOOM! before, but we open on September 21! I am once again Angelwalk's props manager and I am so excited about this show! Years ago, my family and I went to Chicago. We had heard that there was some good theatre to see in the city so we looked around for something to see. We found out about this production of Jonathon Larson's tick, tick... BOOM! I knew nothing about it other than it was by the guy who had written RENT and at the time, I was a huge RENT fan. So I insisted we go. Before that night, I had never see a musical production that had less than a few dozen people in the cast. Everything I'd been to was along the lines of The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and RENT. 

So there I was in this theatre, looking at the programme and being absolutely shocked that a real musical could have a cast of three. Just three. Surely there would be flying, or pyrotechnics, or some sort of theatre wizardry to distract from the fact that there was practically nobody in this show! What ended up happening was magical. Those three people sang and acted their hearts out on stage, and I have to say that I truly feel that this show is really Larson's masterpiece. I love RENT but tick, tick... BOOM! really feels like Larson's heart and soul is in every word. There isn't a single song that isn't beautifully written and our cast is going to blow it out of the water. This was the show that introduced me to smaller scale musicals and I love them so much now. I feel so lucky to be working on this production. This musical really does hold a special spot in my heart.

Really people, go see our show! It plays from September 21 to October 6 at the Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts Studio Theatre. For more information go here.

Here is a small sampling of what you will hear:

Well summer is gearing up to be a busy busy time! An and I will have a very exciting announcement coming up about a Bath Salts launch party this month. Stay tuned for that! You will not want to miss it if you're in the Toronto Area. It's sure to be a wild time. No one throws a party like An Tran, and with the two of us colluding on it, well... hilarity should ensue! Preliminary plans involve food, drinks, and zombies walking around. Now we just need to find zombies...

Speaking of zombies, we have officially signed up for Toronto's Zombie Walk as vendors for this October! I know it seems like a long time away, but you have to plan ahead. I am excited about this one! Me, An, and thousands o zombies set loose on the streets of Toronto. I have been practising my makeup application to look sufficiently zombie-like. I think I may have to go with the stage makeup look I did on myself when I played Beth in Little Women as she was dying horribly. It looked sickly from the audience point of view with the stage lights, but up close, everyone said I looked like a member of the undead.

Also coming up this summer, An and I will be returning to The Pirate Festival! Yaar! We will be selling both Bath Salts and the new Prizm Books version of The Strings of the Violin. Come on down and see us in full pirate wench garb in our awesome tent! Later that month we will be official guests at the Toronto FanExpo along with Max Brooks (so excited about that!), Lena Heady, and George Takei! Norman Reedus will be back, as well as his Walking Dead brother Michael Rooker.

As for my other books, Book Three of the Hadariah chronicles is underway, I have started a sequel to Sitnalta, and I have a new novel idea that will be set in Sitnalta's universe tentatively title The City of Arches. Also, Sitnalta is scheduled for release this August as well. I have been having weekly phone meetings with my Pandamoon editor, and everything is right on track. I am so excited!

This month is also the Toronto Fringe Festival, and like every year I have a whole list of shows I'd love to see there, and hopefully I will get to at least most of them, if not all. There seems to be quite a few Shakespearean spoofs going on this year, one of which has puppets. I have to say that this intrigues me...

I know that this blog is a bit disjointed today, but I am feeling a bit disjointed. Apparently I somehow managed to perforate my eardrum. How did I do this? When did it happen? The weird thing is that I have no clue! I think I'll blame the triplets. It seems like the simplest answer. It's just one of those things.

In the land of disjointed entries, this is where I will put my estimate for a release date for The Dybbuk's Mirror I'm going to say that I hope to have it out by early 2014. Should all go well with The Strings of the Violin (Out now! Get your copy!) this seems reasonable to me.

Oh! Also August, The Canadian Jewish News will resume printing! I don't know how many of you know what was going on, but The CJN had to stop printing due to budget issues. There was a public outcry, and lots of public support rallied, and now our paper is back! Coming up in the August edition, I was interviewed by one of their reporters, and this interview will be printed there. It's amazing what we can accomplish if we band together. Eh?

So I was made aware of this article today: In which a man took a phone from a fellow theatre goer and smashed it after they refused to turn it off or put it away during a live theatre performance. I have to say this to him: Thank you. Do you have any idea how often I have wanted to do this during a live show?

Basically, here is my rant. I have been feeling a severe decline in the etiquette of my fellow theatre patrons. And I am not just talking about the now acceptable way of showing up to a live performance in your torn jeans and ratty t-shirts. I am talking about the fact that it is now common place to spend the show on your damn smart phones. Memo to you: THE WORLD WILL NOT END IF YOU DO NOT TWEET, TEXT, FACEBOOK, UPVOTE, FOUSQUARE, GOOGLE, OR TALK TO YOUR FRIENDS UNTIL INTERMISSION! Yes, your phone is a distraction to the other audience members around you. No, the announcement before the show to turn you phone off does not magically exclude you. Yes, the performers can see the light from your phone and it is pissing them off immensely.

I was at a show at the Tarragon Extra Space. It was a dark show (in lighting levels as well as in content), and the space sits less than 100 people. The young woman in front of me was texting throughout the piece. She was maybe two feet away from my face. I asked her politely to stop and to please put her phone away. This is what transpired:

Me: Could you please stop that? I'm finding it really distracting.

Her: So don't look at my phone.

Me: It's kinda hard not to. Please put it away.

Her: Make me bitch.

Now if she weren't a foot taller than me with an extra 50 pounds of weight, I may have taken her up on that offer. But Brian would probably never take me out in public after that. Why do people think they have the right to be rude to the people putting their heart into their craft onstage, as well as the people who spend their hard earned money to see the show. What they are doing is insulting, offensive, and just plain inconsiderate. They are saying through their pervasive phone usage that they do not care about the effort the performers are making. They are saying that the art onstage is meaningless to them. They are saying that they don't give a shit about the show, the people around them, and the people who worked their asses off to make this production. They are saying "Hey! I'm a selfish, self-centered twat who can do whatever the hell I want, wherever the hell I want." They do this at the theatre, and at the movies. This has to stop. Why was the guy who smashed the phone escorted out? I think he should be given a medal. I don't know, maybe we need a cell phone check like a coat check at the theatre. Let's make it free and mandatory. Maybe then those brats will learn their lesson. They're world will not end if they are incommunicado for a whole damn hour.

In semi-related news, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change has its opening night tonight. Come see it! It's funny and full of great performances and songs. And kindly turn your cell phone off before the show. :)

Tomorrow is the big day! Bath Salts is being released by Severed Press for purchase as an ebook. A hardcopy will be available as well, but we are a tad unsure of the date that's happening. Yay! Come tomorrow I can officially call myself a commercially published author! An can as well, and we are both over the moon!

We are celebrating our success tonight by going to see Night of the Living Dead Live at Theatre Passe Muraille. It's fitting, non? We thought so.

In other news, I have a legitimate work space at home again. My office had become the "let's store stuff in here so it's out of the way room. With all the projects I'm working on, that became a tad impractical. The family room couch is not conducive to writing. I have a desk again! And bookshelves! And a futon! Now all I need is a proper desk chair. The one I have is literally fifty years old and made of wood. It's not working for me.

I had my first phone meeting with Pandamoon Publishing about Sitnalta and there is a lot of exciting things in the pipeline for that book. The Strings of the Violin is almost done it's next to last round of edits, and I am almost at 15,000 words with the third Hadariah book's first draft. Yay for productivity!

In non-book related news, I am loving the props work on I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. (How much do you love the title of this show?) We open next week, and it is going to be awesome! Seriously, check it out if you're in Toronto. Go here. Also there you will see what's up for next season, and can I say "WOW!" tick... tick... BOOM!, Stars of David, The Life is Sweet Project, and Liza and Babs! So much excitement!

But really, tomorrow, BATH SALTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Basically, this small announcement is one I am very excited about! I have all three of my upcoming release dates! Bath Salts is coming up fast with the ebook ready to drop on May 10, 2013. The paperback edition will follow shortly after that. One week to go! Yikes! There is much to do to get ready for this.

The Strings of the Violin will follow shortly after that with a release date of June 26, 2013. I will be having an online launch party with contests and games. 

After that comes Sitnalta which is being released on August 27, 2013. This is definitely shaping up to be a very busy summer. Lots to do, things to plan, and celebrating to be done! 

As if I don't have enough on my plate, I am props manager for Angelwalk Theatre and KooGle's coproduction of I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. This loads in to the theatre tomorrow, and show week continues from then. Oy. It looks to be an amazing show. If you're in the Toronto area between May 14- June 2 you should definitely check it out. (An says she's probably going four times!) Tickets are available here.

We just got back from a family vacation to Aruba. It was my mother's 60th birthday, and all her children and grandchildren were there to help celebrate. We had an amazing time, Joseph, Phillip, and Hailey saw the ocean for the very first time. Phillip and Hailey were not too keen on it, and seemed to find the whole idea of wading in the surf to be frightening, however, Joseph was his adventurous self and had a good time of it.

They did a lot of swimming, and eating. We saw parrots, and they were confused by all the lizards wandering around the hotel grounds. Phillip and Joseph really enjoyed the swim up bar at the pool. They liked getting virgin strawberry daquiris and drinking them while in the water.

I have never seen my children eat as much as they did on this trip. This is good, since we have always been told that they are quite small, and we need to get them to eat more food. They tried so many new things. Some were hits: ravioli in cream sauce. Some were not: beef hot dogs. I think they have some strange tastes for toddlers. I don't understand how they can eat things like chili pizza when I can barely tolerate mild salsa. 

The one thing that was not too great was that we all seem to have come home with a virus of some sort. Brian, the children, my mom and I are all fighting something. It really sucks, and we are all trying our best to get better.

In other, more exciting news: I'm going to be a director! I have been asked to direct an original play for York University Vanier College Productions' One Act Play Festival! I have read through the scripts, and I will hopefully know soon which one I will be working on. This will be so exciting. I have always wanted to try this, and already I have tons of ideas for the shows I've read. I know the students in the group, and it will be great to finally be able to create something with them. Until now, I have only been a dutiful audience member. Yay! I will update this more when I have more information.

As for the writing, I may have a partner adding things to the zombie novel. (Guilt tripping An right now...) The third Hadariah book is underway, and my readers are being a little slow on the latest draft of The Dybbuk's Mirror. (Guilt tripping a whole lot of people right now...) I have a whole lot of balls up in the air. I really hope I don't drop any of them.

This week was the Jewish holiday of Roash Hashannah. This marks the start of the Jewish new year, and is also the day the G-d opens the gates of heaven and accepts our prayers and apologies. This is a time for introspection, where we examine the kind of person we were this past year. We make amends, and promise to do better. We also gather with our families and have wonderful dinners, and time together. I have a minor confession to make: I really enjoy going to synnagogue. I like the way the cantor sings the prayers. I like eharing the rabbi's sermons. I find something comforting in the way it stays the same every year. I like being able to go and sing the same tunes every Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur. There is something soothing for me in the ritual. I know many people who find it boring, and I can understand perfectly why that is. And that's fine. But I like it.

Any way, next Tuesday evening, Yom Kippur begins, and we sing the Kol Nidre, where we ask G-d to let us out of our vows and promises we couldn't keep. The gates will close, and we will be either forgiven or not. So, I state here, that if I have done anything this past year to offend any of you, or have wronged any of you, I assure you that I didn't mean it. I am sorry. What I look forward to on this day is the fact that I do dinner for my whole family before we walk to synnagogue for the Kol Nidre. This service also marks the beginning of a fast day. My mom traditionally does the breaking of the fast meal the night after. Once again, it's a great time to see all the cousins and friends that you don't get to spend a lot of time with the rest of the year. I love it.

*    *    *

In other news, this weekend I will be sharing a table at Toronto Word on the Street. Who will I be sharing it with? Why Angelwalk Theatre! So I will be there with the incomparable Jonathon Shaboo from Angelwalk, and I will be selling copies of The Strings of the Violin. So come on down to see us. Pick up a copy of my book. Find out about Angelwalk's awesome season this year. This book festival should be amazing. I hope I can find some time to walk around myself. It looks great!

Anyway, for those interested, here's a video of cantors singing the Kol Nidre.

On August 30, I had the honour of being a guest on The Tony Zee Show on Reality Radio 101. He was an excellent host, and very accomopdating to my needs as a guest. As a mother of toddlers, it was very difficult to just up and leave them to get down to the studio, especially since they were already upset with me for abandoning them for the duration of Fan Expo. Therefore, I did my interview from the comfort of my bedroom, over the phone.

The interview was set to begin around 7:30, and at 7:00, Gary the producer called me up to do a sound check, and to make sure my phone connection was clear, and we could all hear each other. This went swimmingly, and afterwards, I got to hang up and put my kids to bed. Sidenote: currently, Phillip is insistant on hearing Where the Wild Things Are each night at bedtime, while Joseph refuses to sleep without hearing Goodnight Moon. Hailey doesn't care so long as she's read to.

Around 7:40, the station called me back, and after a few initial sound glitches, the interview started. We ended up talking for over a half hour. Both Tony and Gary were involved, and I was asked about everytthing from my inspiration, to what I liked to read, to my education. It felt more like a conversation than a formal interview. I had a lot of fun doing it. We also did a give away of a couple of copies of The Strings of the Violin over the course of the show.

Next up, tomorrow evening I go into my first rehearsal for Fiddler on the Roof! My return to the stage after two years! I hope I remember how to dance...

The Holmes in the title is not Sherlock, even though he's awesome. (Seriously, if you haven't watched the BBC series Sherlock, DO IT!)

I've been slow to update here. Sorry about that. Anyways, Brian has abandoned me to go to Winnipeg in order to start auditions for Angelwalk's upcoming show. I will tell you what it is when I'm allowed. He's doing a coproduction with a company there. Very exciting stuff.

I have an outline done for the next book of the series, and The Dybbuk's Mirror is almost ready for publication. I am both nervous and excited for people to read it! So far, the rest of my time has been taken up by my kids (who have started their very first gym class.), planning for the festivals and appearances I have lined up for this summer, and learning my Tzeitel lines for the production of Fiddler on the Roof that I'm in. I am also working on an article for The Toronto Parents of Multiple Births' monthly news letter about my kids. When that's done, I'll post it here as well.

On a totally unrelated matter, I have learned that just when life is calm, something always happens to make it stressful again. Just as Brian and I have finally finished turning the basement area into an awesome play room for the kids, Brian mentioned that whenever it rains, he can smell it in his office. This has been mentioned before, and we have looked at getting the doors to our walkout replaced. Now that the kids will be spending a significant amount of time down there, I went about it in earnest. We found someone to do it, and he came by to look it over one more time. Listening to him speak about our door made me feel so nervous. Apparently, they are not insulated. The fibreglass frame is right up against the brick. The lintel is not draining and is rusting. The wood under the door is rotten. Where is Mike Holmes when I need him! Although, if he did show up, I shudder to think what he would find. Needless to say, we're getting new doors asap. Ugh. Oh, I almost forgot, as he was leaving, he pointed out that our front doors are fibreglass and painted with the wrong paint, so are peeling horribly.

Now to make myself feel better, I shall show you how to take triplets to the park without loading up an obscene amount of bags and strollers...