Surely My Nicest Interview Yet

I had the pure pleasure, a few weeks ago, of being  a guest on a show called, "Energy Stew." It's hosted by a really lovely man, Peter Roth, and airs every Thursday night at 8 p.m. (EST) on PRN, The Progressive Radio Network. 

If you listen to the interview, you'll understand why I loved talking with him so much:  Mr. Roth really read and really "got" my book, and was as kind and generous as I've ever known a person to be.

If you'd like to listen, just click HERE.

                           

Note, too: To any interested readers, please let me say that I regret having to stop just as I was getting started on my review of the rules from Biting Back.  There has been an illness in the family (we'll be fine) that has kept me busy these past few weeks, but I'll be back soon to finish our coverage.

Thanks,

PVS

The First Rule Of Practical Vampire Slaying Is...

Watcher and Slayer
Reviewing the Rules

A vampire can’t just walk into your house and start sucking your blood.

First, it has to be invited.

You know, there are so many things I love about this rule that it's hard to know where to begin...but just for starters, let me say this: I absolutely love how this rule makes such clear, fair sense! 
     The very idea that a vampire can enter our lives without permission - that it can simply come swooping in any where, any time and without our say-so, is not only boring and inconsistent, but it doesn't even make any sense, either. 

      If the story - whether it's about mythological vampires or personal vampires - is going to be any good at all, then it's going to insist that we, as the vampire's hosts or potential hosts, have meaningful roles in it, too.  There must be a time and place in the story where our decisions and movements (and not just the vampire's) have significance and make things happen, too. 

      Any decent story simply has to be about more than some poor guy who, through no fault of his own, suddenly becomes an unholy supply of meals to some vampire who just happened to be flying over the neighborhood one night.  Honestly: what kind of story is that -  about a blameless person getting into the worst kind of mess possible and without hope of ever getting out of it?   Yuck.  It's not only pointless and tiresome, but just plain gross, besides.
     Any good vampire story has to include the strategies, motivations, and actions of all its players - and if it wants to get really good and interesting, will also demonstrate the complexity of the relationships that vampires and hosts have with each other: why the vampire is sometimes slain, and why other times the host remains to be drained and ready to join the ranks of The Undead, too. 

      And so, in the end, what could possibly be more important to a story about a person in deep, deep trouble than for them to see an actual ray of hope - a way out that really might work?  This is just exactly  what our invitation rule gives to us:  it gives us that hope. 
     After all, if we're without the power and ability to invite a vampire across our thresholds and into our lives before it can feed, then how can we possibly have the power and ability to push it back over the line and out of our lives again?  I mean, either we've got the power or we haven't: it's not a  "sometimes" thing.
      We can hardly say, "Oh yeah, you see all that good stuff that I've got in my life?  Well, I'm the one responsible for bringing that in" ...and then, out of the other side of our mouths say, "but see all that other crumby stuff in my life,  especially those stupid vampires eating me out of house and home?  Well... I'll be darned if I know how they got in." 
     Either we are conscious and mature players in our lives or we are not, and the beauty of this invitation rule is how it serves as a reminder to us, every time we start feeling victimized, that if we can just become willing to take an honest look at ourselves and assume the appropriate measure of responsibility for whatever difficult situation or relationship we're in, then we'll also discover the exact measure of power we need to do something (the right thing) about it - and best of all:  we'll find that power within us. 

    

This is the Practical Vampire Slayer, signing off for today. 

    
I'll hope to see you on Sunday, when we'll be reviewing Rule #2 - the one about how vampires only need one invitation to cross the threshold in order to come and go as they please for all eternity - because it's a doozie.   

  
  Pina atunci,

 The Practical Vampire Slayer

Revisiting The Basics: Rules For Vampire Slayers And How To Bite Back

I've been  feeling a need to get back to basics for some time now - to remember the principles that provide me with a foundation for living that works.   For me that means spending more time with my family and my work, and it definitely means spending more time in prayer and meditation.  

It also means reviewing the stuff I've gotten complacent about: the principles that I'm so smugly sure I know by heart and don't even really need to think about in terms of who I am today because I imagine "I've already done all that."

I was talking to a couple of friends the other night after a meeting, and one of them commented on how nice I looked.  I was already well into my answer to them about how it wasn't really me that looked good, but rather my clothes or makeup - when my friend Suzanne whispered leaned in close, and then whispered in my ear, "Just say 'thank you.'"

Well.  If you've read my book you know this is one of the big lessons I claim to have learned -- the one about the importance of saying "thank you" to life and all it offers us instead of pushing love and gifts like that away.  In fact, that would have been a golden opportunity for me to be able to say, "Hey, you don't have to tell me about saying, 'thank you' - I wrote the book on it!" except of course that I couldn't, what with having forgotten what I'd written and all. 

So what this all boils down to is that it's time for me to get back to all the stuff I think I already know so well, and to review it.  And this is  why I'm  going to spend the next couple of weeks going over the rules of practical vampire slaying, or "Biting Back,"(if you prefer) and taking a closer look at them...and I hope you will, too.

I'm going to list them in their entirety today, and then, starting tomorrow, I'm going to discuss each one in detail - one every other day - until we've gone through the whole list. 

A list of nine.  9 rules!  Now how did that happen? I mean: I couldn't have rounded it out to a nice clean 10?  Or the ever-popular 12?  A number with a little more zing to it perhaps?  One with just a tad more fame?

Well... all I can tell you is that it's too late now.  Nine rules is what there are and so, Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you:

The Rules

Rule #1:

A vampire can’t just walk into your house and start sucking your blood.

First, it has to be invited.

Rule #2:

A vampire does not need an invitation every time they cross the threshold.

One invitation grants a lifetime pass.

Rule #3:

Every host has the option to revoke an invitation they’ve extended to a vampire, but they have to know the rules if they want to do it right.

Rule #4:

Every host must claim responsibility for their invitation

before they can reclaim their power to revoke it.

Rule #5:

Our revocations must, above all, be clear...

and before we can be clear with our vampires, we have to be clear with ourselves, first.

Rule #6:

All vampires’ appetites are insatiable.

Rule #7:

Never look into a vampire’s eyes.

Rule #8:

A vampire cannot see its reflection a mirror.

Rule #9:

When it comes to hosts who never revoke their invitations:

They become vampires, too.

So we'll start with Rule #1 tomorrow, and then do the remaining rules -  one every other day.  I hope you'll join in if you have the time, the interest, and any questions or any arguments you'd like to present.  Or start.

With Gratitude

I Remain Yours Truly,

The Practical Vampire Slayer



Interview With A Vampire Slayer



This is a radio.

 I bet you don't even know this, but I had a radio interview about a month ago. 

It was on a show called "Dresser After Dark," and when my publicity person over at Llewellyn told me about it, I have to admit: the name of the show fascinated me.



This is him. 

 The show's host turned out to be an energetic and friendly man named Michael Ray Dresser, and he led me through the interview with kindness and skill. 

Thanks to my old pal Dan Berghaus, you can listen to my part in the show by clicking HERE.

If That's Not Nice, I Don't Know What Is

(In case that title doesn't ring a bell for you, it's a variation on something 
good old Vonnegut once suggested we do - described here, if you're interested.)


Two of the very nicest things that have ever happened to me in my life just happened this last September:  I'm talking about my book signings in Polson and Chicago because boy oh boy: nice is what they were!


That's my daughter Maddie (L)  with her pal Machaela Roberts
behind me.  Jackie Ladner (standing and talking with me)
saved my life later on when, during the presentation and well into the Q&A,
she noticed that I still hadn't mentioned the most important
aspect of the book (the vampire "invitation rule") and she posed a very
innocent-sounding question about its significance. Thank you, Jackie!!!!

First, in Polson:  Marilyn Maier, owner of Page by Page Books  put on one of the prettiest events I've ever seen in our great town, complete with champagne and sparkling cider, and held in her truly exquisite bookstore.
      Thanks to her ferocious publicity campaign and the kindness of all our friends, the signing drew a crowd of over 75 people.
     That's a LOT!

Many thanks to Marliyn, and many thanks to our excellent friends who came and made it all work.


To quote The Kinks:
"All of my friends were there...not just my friends,
but their best friends, too."





 



And then later that month in The Windy City...

       

My sister Julia sent this invitation out to a bunch of her friends and a few of mine who are still in that area, and then we all got together at the Union League Club for a warm and elegant early evening of perfect drinks and food (which I never got a chance to try until it was over since I never once stopped talking long enough to put it in my mouth) and really fun conversation and company.  Everyone was so kind and so interesting!

My mother Dorothy Nowicki, my brother Mike, niece Anne Nowicki and cousin Dot Spransy all came (I wish I had pictures to show you but those aren't in yet!)...and then, out of the blue (literally: he flew in)...my brother-in-law Bill Cunningham managed to bring my hair straight up to standing postion when we found him seated in the party room, waiting for us to arrive. 

It was all too excellent for words. 

Here are a few shots of the event - I apologize for the size: I can't figure out how to enlarge them without distorting them, and it really doesn't do the event justice. 

The sign says it's me
and that I'm going to
be there.



Entrees and Intros







Sister Julia, me, Brother Bill



 



As I say: it's one of the nicest things that have ever happened to me in my life - and one of the greatest memories I'm sure I'll ever have.

Thank you.

Extra! Extra! Read All About It: Llewellyn Journal Posts Cunningham Article On Our Love Affair With Vampires...Extra!

Okay, even I'm dying of corniness from the title of this post...but here's a link (below) to the article, if you're interested.  It's about why I think vampires are so popular these days.

That's right: more opinions.  Just what the world needs.  And what you were dying to hear.

Note: See if you can count the number of puns I managed to stick in there. I'm not even sure I know myself...they were unintended.

Really!


Our Undying Love for Vampires      (click on that title there -- to the left)


AND: In our next post I'll tell you about the signing, and show you some pictures, too! 

This Is It

So. Today's the day my wonderful local bookstore, Page by Page Books, is hosting a book signing for me and Biting Back.  This is the picture that Marilyn, the store's owner, took of the display that's sitting there as we speak.

The place is gorgeous.

The food is going to be lovely.

There's even going to be champagne.

I've got a new dress and scarf.

Earrings.  Bracelet.

Lipstick.

Mascara.

I'm having trouble breathing, though, as I am not what you'd call "a relaxed public speaker."

In fact, I made it through high school speech class (twice) without ever giving a speech: that's the kind of scared I get.

I'm going to try it anyway: after all, I actually finished writing a book and it got published, which, next to getting sober, married, and having Madeline is the coolest thing that's ever happened to me. Also, my friends want to come and celebrate. And one last thing: I'm fifty-two years old now and sick and tired of being pushed around by my fears. If I start reading and have to exit and run screaming down the street, so be it. At least I'm going to try. Otherwise I'll someday have to say that I didn't even do that much.

Thanks everyone.

Now here goes.