Thankful

Wendall -- every other Thursday

Happy Thanksgiving. I thought I’d take this opportunity to write about a few things I’m grateful for today.

First, I am so grateful for my husband. Today is the anniversary of our first date and I want to thank him for making me laugh every day for the last twenty-three years. 

 

We never pass up a chance at a photo booth.

 

The king of funny faces.

He sent off for an inflatable Dino from Japan.

I am also grateful to the Murder is Everywhere crew. It is a privilege and a pleasure to have spent almost two years now with all of you interesting, talented, erudite writers and to be a part of the blog. I’m also grateful for all of you who follow us.

 

My first Bouchercon with most of the writers from MIE.

 

As always, I’m grateful to Stevie Wonder for still being alive. Same goes for Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Stephen Stills, Bob Dylan, Rickie Lee Jones, Stevie Nicks, Keith Richards, and on and on. For more details on how music is vital to me, see my blog from November 14.

 

 

I am grateful that James and I now have a balcony. It may overlook a freeway (we pretend the constant sound is the ocean) but it’s a private place outside to read, drink coffee and cocktails, and watch the hummingbirds while the sun rises and sets. Makes all the difference.

 

 

I am grateful to all my professors at UNC, especially the late Doris Betts, who gave me the best reading lists and taught me to think, always dig deeper, and check my sources.

 

My writing and thinking mentor, Doris Betts.

 

I’m grateful to live in California, where succulents abound.

 

Huntington Gardens.

 

A palm tree from my neighborhood.

 

I’m grateful to have grown up in the 70s, where great, profound, irreverent, and hilarious movies were in theaters every week.

 

To be a moviegoes when Altman was at his peak was a privilege.

When news was news.

No words for how prophetic this was.

When Jill Clayburgh, Diane Keaton, and Sally Field were movie stars.

Still stunning.

My idol and still one of my favorite films.

"Serpentine!"

Too many funny lines to quote.

I’m grateful that mystery organizations, librarians, and independent bookstores exist and for all the amazing people who have helped me with my research, read early drafts, chosen my stories for anthologies, and generally supported me as a writer, especially my sister, Kim. The rest of you know who you are.

 

At Chevalier's with Tim Hallinan.

 

My very first signing with Anne Saller at Book Carnival.

My first published story, thanks to Naomi Hirahara.

 

Also grateful I can still hear, see, and type!

 

Have a great holiday.

 

--Wendall

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rock and Write

Wendall -- every other Thursday

When I was little, there were two things that I lived for—books and the radio. 

 

One of my early favorites with a great cover shot by Henry Diltz.

 

Stevie! Never lower than #2 on my annual "15 Reasons to Live" list.

Whenever we were in the car, I would beg my father to stay on any radio station that was playing Stevie Wonder, The Guess Who, or  “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes,” no matter how static-y it might get.

 

My most prized possession was the transistor radio I received in second grade. 

 

Remember these? Just small enough to hide under my pillow.

 

As a pre-teen and teenager, singles and albums were my currency. 

 

One of my first singles--Marvin Gaye's "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby."

A blouse worth four albums was usually a no. If it came down to the newest Linda Rondstadt or a pizza, the choice was easy. I often based my purchase of new artists like Valerie Carter or Warren Zevon on the session players listed on the back cover. 

 

Practically every artist I loved, from Earth Wind & Fire to Little Feat, to Linda Ronstadt appears on Valerie Carter's debut record.

 

This record was a who's who of 70s stars and session players, from Zevon's roommates Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham to Jackson Browne, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bonnie Raitt, and J.D. Souther, etc.

 

During college I worked at The Record Bar (RIP!) in Chapel Hill, NC and bought three albums a week (they were five dollars then), adding significantly to my collection.

 

Bangles record signed during an "in store" at The Record Bar.

 

I schlepped all my albums to my first job in Massachusetts, to graduate school, cross country in my 1965 Ford Galaxie 500 to California, and to four of my five apartments in LA.

 

Five years ago, with a “media closet” full of not only almost 2000 albums, but just as many CDs and even more VHS tapes and DVDs, my husband requested a consolidation/cleanout. Fair enough, but it still killed me.

 

I had plenty of albums which, in perfect condition, were valuable. Mine were far from mint. I was one of those people who dropped the needle over and over on my favorite song and the constant moves had left the covers less than pristine.

 

 

 

At the time I was going through my albums, this wasn't available on CD and, in mint condition, was going for $195. I still have it.

I promised to donate at least a large stack of records as long as I had backups on CD and MP3. 

 

One of my donation stacks.

 

 

Another one.  Of course I have Randy Newman in all formats.

As I went through them, I kept seeing tracks that hadn’t necessarily been hits, but that I had loved. As a tribute, I posted one of them, Robert Palmer’s “Mean Old World” on Facebook. 

 

The next day I posted “Runs in the Family” by The Roches.

 

Five years later, I have posted a new “album cut of the day” pretty much every day on my Facebook page. So, for this anniversary, I offer up a few covers of albums I adore.

 

 

I’ll keep going with my "album cuts of the day," hoping music and books get us through, as they always have.

And if you want to hear me talk about how my love for music factors into the Cyd Redondo series, here’s an interview on the Aural Mess podcast about it.

 

The creation of Cyd Redondo’s musical taste: https://www.instagram.com/p/C9UhuV9uXJI/

 

Full interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcZgSUGehcw

 --Wendall