Addicted to Octane

A Tribute to the Lord of the Dead

2008-05-05T20:34:00.002-04:00

Most people who know me know my love of the horror film genre through its many iterations. There are so many instantly recognizable horror icons; Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Barbara Steele, Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff...Claude Raines. But of them all, if I had to pick a favorite, it would most likely be the delightful Vincent Price.

Among his many talents, Price was a gourmet chef, a stage actor and an art collector. And so, in my pursuit to emulate the man I'd consider an entertainment hero, I decided to repeat something Price did in his lifetime. Cook a gourmet meal? Purchase a Rembrandt? Take the stage in a dramatic one-man show? Nope, none of those things.

I bought a bug zapper.

For those who remember Price's brilliant Citibank commercial circa 1985, the image of Vincent smiling with glee at the deaths of insects is priceless. For those who don't, it's linked here.

Now that the shows are behind us, Division is hunkering down to get the final sessions recorded and begin editing the upcoming CD, Control Issues. We've made sure to record video of some of the sessions, and we'll be posting a recording diary blog on the official and MySpace sites.

In the interim, it's repetition to cut down time on the clock once we're there. Special thanks to everyone who made the show at Mac's The Club last month. It's the last one for at least four months. See you guys on the web or maybe at Jaxx?

One Love,

nK

How to De-Vegas Your System

2008-04-27T12:46:00.004-04:00

And so I have survived five days in Vegas, and one night in Essex, MD.

I'm not sure which was harder on my health.

Vegas was an interesting combination of experiences. Let's see if I can recap the agenda as accurately as possible. Monday, I flew out, landed, checked in to the Venetian, and headed up to meet the impromptu band, Sales Machine, for a five-hour rehearsal. It was pretty grueling, but it gave us a few rays of hope that we might actually be able to pull off the gig we were scheduled to play.

Tuesday started with a two-hour rehearsal before team meetings and the best introduction to a sales conference I've ever seen. We had a flag ceremony and welcomed the athletes from the Special Olympics that the company is sponsoring this year. After a few hours in meetings, it was one more rehearsal, after which, we felt like we actually had a chance of not sucking too bad.

Wednesday included meetings and classes all day, after which, we headed to the big room to prepare for the gig. When I say big, picture a convention hall. This place was HUGE. There were eight soccer matches going on as part of a round-robin tournament. There was food, beverages, air hockey, human bowling, pool, ping pong, a batting cage, and more...plenty more. In all, there was somewhere around 2200 people in the room.

The stage setup was unbelievable. There were two separate risers (drums and keys), a big screen TV, great light show, as many mics as we needed, six monitors and even tele-prompters, which we didn't use because we're idiots. haha. We played a 45 minute set, with some issues opening and closing songs cleanly, but in all, it was pretty damn good.

A few songs on the list: The Heart of Rock n' Roll, I Want You to Want Me, Jenny (867-5309), What I Like About You, Twist And Shout, Money (That's What I Want), I Feel Good, Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, Secret Agent Man, and Soul Man.

As you can tell, we were all over the road. We had two guitars, drums, sax, bass and two vocalists. (And yes, Malena, your tambourine got to play Vegas!) It was fun. Everyone seemed to appreciate us, since I didn't pay for a drink the next two nights. (And didn't have another one for two more nights after that! haha)

The rest of the conference went well. I was pretty much beat by Friday. We got up at 6 am Saturday (to the sound of a few guys and a paid escort in the next room) and flew home. Only, I didn't fly home. I flew to BWI, met the guys in Division and played a gig with Black Widow USA. Many thanks to the great support we had there, plus the Sudafed, Excedrin and Usana vitamins that got me through the show.

It's so great to be home. Today is all catchup time (479 emails!), so anyone who dropped me an email or MySpace message, standby. I'll get back to you soonest.

One Love!

nK

Gigging in April...No Foolin'!

2008-04-09T00:18:00.002-04:00

There was a five-week stretch last year that included a very odd sequence of shows for me. Apparently, that full moon is back again, because April is proving to be a very strange month for this performing artist.

Tonight, Just Wanna Play scrapped rehearsal for recording, and it was a productive (if way late) kind of night. We got the music recorded for six songs, with a few more and vocals planned for the next session. This means the long-awaited new demo will be available soon, so keep your ears tuned to the JWP MySpace page.

Now, the weird stuff. I'm supposed to be doing a guest spot on someone else's show this week. I don't want to ruin the surprise, but I'll mention that it's a band that hangs out with Division A LOT...and it's a very appropriate tune for us and them. So that's Friday night (at Jaxx). Then, here comes the big news...

I'm playin' VEGAS!

Yep. I'll be singing and playing guitar (guitar, not bass..eek!) at a sales conference in Vegas that includes roughly 4500 people. It's with a made-up band, and we get one rehearsal before the gig. Expect horrible things, but I'm excited. I've never played Vegas before. Maybe I can channel some Dean Martin and get all boozed up and be the next big star. Or, I could suck. Whatever works.

I fly back from Vegas on the 26th...with four hours to spare before I'm supposed to be on stage with Division. That show is going to be fun. It's a CD Release Party for Black Widow USA, and we're doing a new cover, and a song we haven't done in a few years. I expect a fun, and tiring time.

I'm not sure yet if it tops last year's stretch, which included a bar gig, a car show, a gig at an elementary school, and an open house for a custom home builder, but it's going to be a fun month. Be safe and be well.

One Love,

nK

Leather, Lead and the Undead

2008-03-23T22:40:00.004-04:00

I'm still working on edits of Catwalk:Lineage, including a fresh visit to some vampire scenes. It's always fun to try and figure out where your vampires fit in the grand scheme of fang-toothed evildoers. In this case, I think Lineage minions (not the elders, they're different) fit somewhere between the hordes in Underworld, the colorful beasts of Vampire Hunter D, and the feasting brood of 30 Days of Night. They certainly don't have the elegance of Anne Rice's brood, that's for sure.

They have the Underworld fashion sense, and feature lots and lots of guns, that's for sure, but a different education. So, at any rate, Cat's story is wound around a vamp war in book two, and it's a lot of fun.

Also in the postmortem category is the subject of one of the upcoming Division songs. I'll go as far as to confirm rumors that we do indeed have a zombie song on Control Issues CD. Previews will have to wait, but if you want a glimpse into how your might sing it, go watch Romero's Dawn of the Dead.

From a writing standpoint, I got introduced to F. Paul Wilson's series of Repairman Jack novels. Good stuff.

Okay all, you're supposed to be writing, marketing or being generally productive right now. Don't let me interrupt.

One love!

nK

Indiana Jones and the Morbid Speed Metal Band

2008-03-12T22:49:00.005-04:00

This post is going to be totally random...no, not totally, but enough that it makes very little sense to anyone sober. I logged into my obligatory MySpace page (yes, you have to have one if you're in a band, write, act or are a webcam chick). I got to see an in-screen scene from the new Indiana Jones movie, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". Is that for real? I don't have a problem with a 60+ year old guy cracking a whip and beating on fake Nazis, but the title?

Did they go dumpster-diving behind J.K. Rowling's mansion?

That title is pretty weak. Right along the lines of, oh, I dunno, Attack of the Clones? That doesn't work for a multi-billion dollar movie franchise if you ask me. Not when there's a Nickelodeon game called Jimmy Neutron: Attack of the Twonkies. It's bad. It's comical. It's like the Tribbles on the old Star Trek. Or like when Frank Drebin from Police Squad would get a towel thrown in his face and wrestle with it for twenty seconds like an Alien facehugger.

Skip that. That wasn't bad. That was priceless.

So, where the hell is the title of your blog coming from, Cat? Oh yeah. Division is playing on Saturday night at our club sweet home, Jaxx. We'll be on stage with some very thrashy and heavy bands, including Arsis, Veil of Maya and Skeleton Witch. We'll also be following our buddies in Cab Ride Home...slightly unsober since 2006.

So...if you were one of the Hollywood folks churning out remakes or rekindling old movie franchises, what would you call your latest project?

One Love...

nK

What Fuels Your Fire?

2008-02-24T22:34:00.003-05:00

As I sit down to go into editing mode again, I found myself comparing my different writing experiences. For instance, when I'm writing Catwalk, doing drafts or free form stuff, I find the heavier the music, the better (unless it's a sex scene or something meant to be dismal but not upbeat). This is night and day from when I'm writing for work or school, where I find instrumental music helpful but vocals distracting.

So, to the creatives our there, what inspires you to write/paint/sculpt/etc? Is it music, is it sunlight (I'm particularly limited to what I write depending on how bright the setting is)? What do you find that helps you to stir the creative juices?

One Love,

nK

one word - FIERCE

2008-02-20T21:53:00.003-05:00

I can't explain it in detail, but let me tell you this...the upcoming artwork for the Catwalk novels is going to blow you away. Michal, one of my selected artists, has decided on a sort of facelift for Cat that makes him perfectly horrific. I can't wait to unleash him on the public!

In the interim, it rests on those of us here at CatKlaw, Inc., to solicit some agents for publication, or to simply self-publish. In the growing digital age, literary publishing is so much like musical publishing, it boggles the mind.

Division had our photo shoot for our newest CD, Control Issues, due out over the summer. Check out Mike Gong's amazing work, and then hit our MySpace page to let us know what you think!

Division's first show of 2008 is March 15th @ Jaxx. Click anywhere in this paragraph for a link!

One love,

nK

Lawyers, Guns and Money

2008-02-06T22:43:00.000-05:00

I couldn't resist citing the brilliant Warren Zevon as I tried to describe the disparate chaos of my week. I'm working with Litigation Support Teams regarding e-mail archiving and discovery for my day job, studying terrorists and identity thieves for my school, and trying to handle re-distributing equipment for the bands. So there you go...lawyers, guns and money.

On the band front, both JWP and Division are busy. Check out the schedules for March, April and May often. We're about to get really busy!

On the Catwalk front, I tracked down the artist from the 2001 Comic, and I'm working with artists from Texas to Slovakia to find the best cover for the novels. Stay tuned for more on that front.

This is a brief checking in sort of post as the rain pummels the house and ruins my hot tub plans. Too bad, otherwise I'd be more introspective later I guess. Ah well.

Hey, it's Bob Marley's birthday. Celebrate accordingly.

One Love!

nK

The Preview You Are About To See..

2008-01-26T23:43:00.001-05:00

Ok, so a chapbook is to a novel what a trailer is to a feature film. It's time for me to slap together this chapbook and start teasing you all about how much fun you're going to have when you read the first Catwalk novel, Catwalk:Messiah.

I'm working with an amazing artist on a cover while we go through one more round of edits and start soliciting an agent. Let's see how all that goes.

Real life is going well too, but I don't wanna talk about all that right now, just about the Cat stuff, since it's been so much effort. I'll write about real life some other night!

One Love!

nK

The Surgery Continues...

2008-01-20T23:43:00.000-05:00

Ok, the edits continue, including what I think is the most powerful scene in the first book, Catwalk:Messiah. I had to make a few passes at it. I hope it translates well. Poor Cat, I've made him suffer quite a bit. I'm 25 pages away from the first round of edits being finished, but it will take a few more nights. I've hit the end of my editing ways tonight, and tomorrow night...Cloverfield!

Sybir has been awesome throughout, completing her massive daily regime and helpin' me with Pupzilla, who has been fun and tiring over the last few weeks. We had a chance to check out Eddie from Ohio on Saturday night which was fun. It was good to hang with bandmates from JWP.

Speaking of JWP, we'll be back at Bogey's on Feb 2nd. Bring yer dancin shoes!

Division continues to record, as we go through more revisions of artwork and photography. Standby for updates on that! Ok, time to go shut down the brain for a bit. Best to everyone and Happy MLK Day!

One Love!

nK

Bring Me My Scalpel

2008-01-13T22:16:00.000-05:00

Joe Konrath was right. Editing is like being a serial killer. I'm on page 33 of Catwalk:Messiah at the moment, and I've sliced away so many words, it's silly. I apparently had a love affair with the word, "instantly" for no good reason. Anyway, things are flowing much better. I'm in need of a cover artist for the Chapbook, then I'm lookin' for an agent.

As for life, I got back from the P.R.O. convention in Camden, New Jersey today. It was three days of being on the Motorcycle Club set and learning sooooo much. Special thanks to C. Money and Teddy B from 502, and to T.C., who has been on iron longer than I've been alive. It was a humbling experience to meet several individuals this weekend.

I finished my next class in Criminal Justice, got to catch up with some cousins, aunts and uncles, and I was home to get some things done, hit the hot tub and re-acclimate with the real world. Now that I have all that done, it's back to edits.

Oh yeah...Just Wanna Play @ Bogey's, Feb 2nd...spread the word!

One love!

nK

Serial Killers and Re-Writes

2008-01-06T22:08:00.000-05:00

As I eagerly await my turn at recording my parts for the new Division CD, I'm still pounding away on the classwork and preparing to edit "Catwalk: Messiah" for consistency and adrenaline. I like what I have, but every time I read J. A. Konrath's blog, I feel like I'm in grade school again. The most recent post had me howling.

2008 has entered with a bang, and Sybir and I decided on a new tradition for ringing in the new year. Hopefully we can continue it. If I could say more, I would, but this is a family show.

Speaking of, I had a chance to write about schools of crime causation for a paper in class. That was a fun week of researching, drafting, editing and re-writing. I wound up handing in a 2000-word piece on Albert Fish. Read the linked article if you want to read about a gross killer and massive sexual deviant. This week is a team paper week, so I'm limited to mentioning Armin Meiwes, the German cannibal, but I take my shots where I can get them.

"Dexter in the Dark" was a great follow up to "Dearly Devoted Dexter" on my reading list. Now, if Showtime will get to releasing the Season Two DVD, I can get caught up on the show as well as the books.

No real goals or resolutions in this post. I've been far too scattered to have that degree of focus. That changes this week, since I have so much to do!

One Love,

nK

2007-12-27T21:38:00.000-05:00

It's almost the end of 2007, and I'm spending my few days off entertaining, researching and cleaning the house after the Christmas excitement. Fortunately, I have some time to read the stories that really interest me, and use that as something to chew on as I develop and improve my own writing.

So what is Cat reading these days? First up is the second Jeff Lindsay novel, Dearly Devoted Dexter". Since someone bought me the first book (and I devoured it on the plane to Vegas), I have really grown into a fan of Lindsay's whimsical (yet horrific) style, and the titular serial killer. The second book is even better than the first, IMHO. The Showtime series based on the character does a remarkable job of expanding the happenings from Dexter to his team and his family. Two thumbs up...as they say.

The second book I've been digging through is an anthology titled "Gratia Placenti : For the Sake of Pleasing". It's warped. It's nicely, disgusting, gagging, shaking your head warped. GP is a collection of short stories by some very talented authors, including Jim Reilly, my editor-in-chief at Horrorview.com. I had no idea the bastard could actually write. haha! J.A. Konrath also has a short in there, written with a perfect mix of comedy and gag reflex.

After those, I'll be pouring over "Dexter in the Dark", "These Guns for Hire" and a new Harold Schechter book. I do enjoy his work, especially his serial killer stuff, since it's all historical. I based my last paper on Albert Fish, the nasty old bastard I read about in Schechter's "Deranged".

That's about it. Time to drink about New Year's resolutions...I mean think. Ahem. Tomorrow night is another "get out and research" night, so I'm sure I'll be in touch soon. Cheers!

One Love,

nK

A Christmas Post from Catwalk

2007-12-06T22:11:00.001-05:00

I felt it only fitting for a view into Catwalk's life at this holiday season. Let's just say his view on the holidays isn't the same as mine!! One Love - nK

It was cold, bitter cold, in the dangerous depths of Downtown Nitro City. Winter always seemed to bring out the desperation in the less-fortunate inhabitants. Burglaries increased, as did the counts of missing persons, arsons, and robberies. The fight for survival was easily quantified in the number of cases recorded by local law enforcement. Catwalk had seen firsthand how many cases went unrecorded. Usually, they resulted in a job and a paycheck for the so-called “killer with a conscience”.

Several stories below, the people shuffled about, in greater numbers than usual. Cat knew the reason; he’d seen the fliers drifting in the cold winter air. There was a chorale concert, a voluntary gathering of singers, of all things, to be held in the spot which used to be Peterson Memorial Park.

The sun has just set, or at least fallen into obscurity behind the skyscrapers that clawed their way toward the heavens. Uptown was where the real money existed; home to the celebrities and the wealthy. Down here, Downtown, the remainder of society existed; outcasts, renegades and those never given a chance.

Cat preferred it here. As a former orphan, a former invalid, and a member of the police force back east who never seemed to fit in, he could understand those who lived Downtown. He had accepted this place, and it had welcomed him. Once he’d grown accustomed to life in the bowels of the city, he couldn’t picture living anywhere else.

Cat gazed upward for just a moment. He’d finished a number of jobs that had gained him respect and notoriety Uptown. None of them had provided him the ability to balance and center as this place had. He felt himself chuckle and scoff at those labeled “better off”. He pulled his collar up against the spiraling winter breeze as he directed his attention to the gathering people below.

The fascination grew within him as we watched from his perch. The carolers lined up in uniform fashion, armed bodyguards taking their places on each side. The small crowd gathered in the makeshift park, the grounds painstakingly cleaned up and picked over by the singers over the past three hours. As they began their song, he could see the faces of some of the onlookers mouthing the words.

To Cat, Christmas was a curious event. He’d been taught the story of the birth of Jesus Christ, Son of God, and how he was born in a manger to a loving father and virgin mother. He’d learned that Jesus grew up, gathered his apostles, was persecuted, crucified and rose from the dead. Anyone who believed in him could gain eternal peace, and their sins would be absolved.

He exhaled sharply, the steam from his breath forming in the cold air. Eternal Peace. The promise of that was reward enough. He didn’t need pure angels with trumpets and wings, or contentment for all eternity. He didn’t need blinding lights, festivals and food on which only the divine could feed. Peace itself would be a welcome change from the chaotic life he’d played out so far.

As much as he’d like to think the Bible stories were truth, he had grown too calloused…or too much of a realist…to believe they were anything more than fairy tales. God had created Man in his own image, and yet, everyday in Nitro City, there were thousands of people paying fortunes to remake that image, preferring their own take on creation. Most of them did so willingly. Others, like him, weren’t really given a choice.

Try as he may, there was still something sympathetic in the heart of the hitman. Instead of watching in fascination or feeling the so-called “spirit of Christmas”, he scanned the crowd, his hand gracing the palm of his pistol. While he may not join in the caroling, he caught himself protecting the carolers from anyone who might destroy their special moment. His spirit might be weak, but his flesh was willing.

In that moment, he envied them; the singers…the hopeful…the believers. Had the lessons of his past not been what they were, who knew…he might even be among their number today. Though he couldn’t find it in his heart to believe, something within him respected their hope, and that something was willing to protect them.

-In our own special way, Merry Christmas from Catwalk and myself, and a very special “I Miss You” to Criss Oliva (1963-1993)

“I am the Way, I am the Light,

I am the dark inside the night,

I feel you hope, I feel your dreams,

And in the dark, I hear your screams,

Don’t turn away, just take my hand,

And when you make your final stand,

I’ll be right there…I’ll never leave,

All I ask of you is Believe.”

-Savatage, “Believe” (1991)

THE NOVEL IS DONE!

2007-11-29T22:38:00.000-05:00

Alright, that's not entirely true. I still have to revise, edit, format, and add an Epilogue, but the first version of book three is done. "Catwalk:Mercy Killing" is the third book featuring the Nitro City cop-turned-independent-contractor who once again finds himself in the midst of the nastiest villains in all of the city.

This time, Catwalk faces off against a ruthless power monger bent on enslaving all of society with cybernetic enhancements, goes toe-to-giant-toe with an armored Russian Mech, and has to deal with his own psychosis. How will our sometimes-hero, sometimes-ruthless-bastard survive? Only time will tell.

Mercy Killing came in around 53000 words, and that was after a few trim-the-fat sessions, so I'm really glad with the way this story evolved. NaNoWriMo, for those aspiring writers who haven't tried it, is one intense month. Don't ask how much Jack Daniel's I went through.

For those with an interest in Catwalk, Click Here.

One Love,

nK

Catwalk, Division and Lyrical Goodness

2007-11-19T23:29:00.000-05:00

"Don't waste your breath. Don't waste my time. If I hear one more excuse, I'll lose my mind."
- Lowen & Navarro

That's good stuff, isn't it? I love powerful lyrics. Friday night was a marathon night with JWP. Sunday night was an impromptu gig with Division. In all, not bad, and I'm glad work was slow enough Monday that I could recover.

I love music that holds a message and just sweeps over you like a wave burying a sandcastle. I got hit with one of those from an unlikely source. I was watching Scrubs, Season Two. There's an amazing episode ending including a musical number and a character named Elaine. Those who are familiar will already know where I'm coming from on this. Those who don't, go buy Scrubs from Season One on DVD and start there. You'll like it.

Catwalk is up to his helmet in trouble in the third book, "Catwalk: Mercy Killing". Progress is going better than I'd expected. Prostitutes, Russian assassins, political ambitious, arms dealers and more....stay tuned :)

Have a great holiday everyone. If you're traveling, stay safe!

One Love!

nK

Catwalk progress

2007-11-09T21:38:00.001-05:00

Time for major re-writes. I figured out tonight what the missing element was from the third Catwalk book, "Mercy Killing". I hadn't clearly designed the target of ire and hatred. What's a Catwalk book without a proper vehicle for ire and hatred? Well, I got it now (since the work week is wound down and i finished my first paper for school).

Now, 17000 words in, it's time to go back, add some cut-scenes a la all the cool video games, temper a few things to make the story gel more, and then it's back to blood, mayhem, gore and violence. In other words, time to unleash Catwalk again.

Stay tuned for more updates and samples!

One Love!

nK

Therion and NaNo

2007-11-04T23:15:00.001-05:00

Division and I had such a blast Friday night, playing our last show of 2007 and playing host to a great band. We had the honor of playing at Jaxx (last time till March, kids!) and it was the last date of the U.S. tour for what-the-hell-do-you-even-call-them band, Therion. The easiest way to explain Therion is this. I have no idea how it works.

The band features four vocalists, two male and two female, and an instrumental section that makes its living kicking people in the head. The music is heavy and straightforward, and the vocals provide such a myriad of textures that you simply don't know what's coming next.

Minnesota-based Aesma Daeva was Therion's touring partner, and they are a damned laugh riot. They interrupted the encore by appearing on stage with a cardboard boat, plastic viking helmets and axes. I thought I was going to cough up a lung, I was laughing so hard.

Locals Burning Shadows and Almost Human opened the show and really set the stage for us. We were so thankful that every band played and mingled without ego or incident.

Special congratulations to the contest winners; Candy Caine, Alicia Smith and Suzanne Glover. It was fun to finally break out "The Collector" on people.

Now, it's November, which means more NaNoWriMo. Time to get back to writing episode THREE in the Catwalk series, tentatively titled "Catwalk: Mercy Killing". More to follow.

One Love!

nK

Happy Halloween and Get Ready to Write!

2007-10-31T12:24:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween everyone! It's that time for one of my favoritest of favorite holidays, and as much fun as it's been, it's just getting waylaid in the storm of all that is going on. We're on what amounts to Day Five of our Halloween celebration, including parties, Trick or Treating, more parties, Candy, parties...well, you get the idea.

Pup is the coolest Optimus Prime of all time. Far cooler than the crappy Gorilla version in the last few years, even cooler than the original, trailer with Rolly and all that. He wow'ed and dazzled everyone at my day job last night, and was spoiled as a result. Shocker.

Tonight is the culmination of our Halloween celebration. More Trick or Treating, and then I'm off to see Lizzy Borden on his new tour. Should be a riot. Cant' wait to see Jaxx tonight. I'll be there again Friday for Division's gig with Therion. We get to close up our "Dying to Be in a Division Song" contest that night, so it'll be a good time.

School is fun and exciting. Trying to fit in the reading and posting has been a little challenging with all else going on, but it's nice to be back in a learning environment. Not that I'm not always reading and learning for my day job, but now it's double the workload.

It's also 12 hours til we kick off the 2007 version of NaNoWriMo. The Third Catwalk book is on its way!

Ok, busy is as busy does...or was that stupid. Ah, either way. One Love!

nK

Charity Event All Wrapped Up

2007-10-22T20:53:00.000-04:00

Special thanks to everyone who made our Bottles and Throttles Charity Event the great time that it was. I had a chance to meet some wonderful people, and got a lot of support from a number of different organizations.

The weekend with the other Lou-Evil Psycles was up and down and a lot of fun. The ride was incredible and the weather couldn't have been better. We had three groups including a host of MC's, and I really enjoyed the camaraderie we shared, sport bike and Harley riders alike. Raider and the boys from the NoVa chapter of Military Veterans MC were great. They have an event on December 8th. If you're local, please support them.

Apparently, recovering from the weekend is going to be hard for some of us. The truck for the Psycles broke down on the way back to Louisville. I managed to get pummeled a few times by a wasp or yellow jacket or something, so I've got a swollen left hand. I then tried to manuever the house late last night and crashed into a glass picture frame, so I've got bandages and Benadryl for a couple of days.

Now that it's all behind us, it's time to focus on the next few things. School starts for me tomorrow! We have a Halloween party to prepare for, and Division's gig on November 2nd with Therion.

Thanks for listening...One Love!

nK

Back to School

2007-10-10T21:49:00.000-04:00

Cue the Danny Elfman music, this Cat is going back to school!

I finished my enrollment papers today to go back to school and finish up a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice. I have an Associates in Business Administration now, but it doesn't really apply to what I'm doing. It helps to have market knowledge and economics, but not so much on the creative side.

With the courses I've already taken, I'll be at the halfway point by January. It's exciting. I'm not sure how I'm going to manage this in conjunction with recording the new Division CD, participating in NaNoWriMo, maintaining everything else I have going on, but I've always managed to get it done before. Just time to juggle.

For now, it's all about the Bottles and Throttles Charity Event on the 20th, and Division's last show this year with Therion (Nov 2nd)!

One Love!

nK

A refreshing visit from the past

2007-10-02T23:18:00.001-04:00

When I've described Catwalk in the past, I've sometimes said it's part Spider Man, Blade Runner and Akira in one. This past week, I got to dig a little deeper into one of those ingredients.

Fans of Blade Runner know that there are several versions, and several possible endings, but the biggest debate usually comes around the presence of Harrison Ford's voiceover track as he plays Deckard. It's either loved or hated in most cases. Regardless of anyone's stance on what it adds or takes away, it's obvious that the studio wanted to create the Film Noir detective flavor to Deckard's character. It's a throwback to the more famous detectives in the past.

This week on Sirius satellite radio, the Radio Classics channel (118) had "Detectives Week". That meant an endless marathon of Dragnet, Sherlock Holmes, Philip Marlowe, Johnny Dollar, Sam Spade, and more. It was so much fun to immerse myself in the old school suspense around Private Investigators and the like. The timing couldn't have been better as I'm sitting down to edit Catwalk:Lineage before taking part in NaNoWriMo to write the third installment of the Catwalk series. (Messiah was written over the past year but hasn't undergone edits yet.)

Among the shows I enjoyed was The Saint, featuring Vincent Price as Simon Templar, aka the title character. Price's off-the-cuff delivery to clients, bartenders, cabbies or even villains made for a great visit to some of Catwalk's own sarcastic traits. Fortunately, I get a chance to listen to more of it, thanks to the online stores that sell that material, and Sybir's aunt carrying a similar love for the detective classics.

That's it for now. Back to the scalpel and editing Lineage. Don't forget the Bottles and Throttles Event on Oct. 20th.

One Love!

nK

Bottles and Throttles

2007-09-12T16:11:00.000-04:00

That's right, kids. Attention is now demanded since we are moving full speed towards our 2nd Annual Charity Event for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

The date is OCTOBER 20th!

We now have the support of Motorcycle Factory, Inc, in Woodbridge, VA. We'll be staging there so if you want to shop in the morning, expect us from 9-11am. Then we're off for the ride, ending at Jammin' Java in Vienna, VA for an afternoon concert, raffles, prizes, games and more. It's totally a family-friendly experience.

Our goal this year is $3000 so we need help! Donations and information are located at the following: www.catklaw.com/charity

Brother Bob said it best...ONE LOVE!

nK

End to the Messiah

2007-09-04T23:33:00.000-04:00

Grab your attention? I hope so.

Tonight marks the finish line for the second Catwalk novel, "Catwalk:Messiah" at a rough draft of 55,925 words. This is the precursor to last year's "Catwalk:Lineage" which is about to get severely edited as a result of ten months of new learning. Messiah is the name of the first book, and the first villain, a religious radical who unleashes a technological army on the city in an attempt to meet his demands.

To read the prologue, hit the Samples page. Very soon, the chatbook will be available with the prologue and chapter one to help generate some interest.

Special thanks to the many influences and supporting cast who helped me finish this milestone. Plenty more to come!

One Love,

nK

2007-08-22T21:28:00.000-04:00

What's the right adjective here....blessed? honored? excited? I don't think there is one, so I'll defer to my usual - revved up. (Thanks to Jim Steinman and Meatloaf)

Today was a very interesting day. While dodging the contagious chaos running amok at work, I managed to track down and discover a great number of very cool resources. Some were literally dropped in my lap (thanks Sybir and Lin). Others took a little phenaga....fennnaga....(sigh) others took a little effort.

Courtesy of author J.T. Bock, we learned of a search engine where you send a penny to your charity of choice with every search. It's titled GoodSearch. check it out here.

Courtesy of the radiant Lin, we learned of several places to virtually volunteer your time! Check out DoSomething.org for info.

We also solidified Adopt-a-Highway efforts for both my day job and our own company, CatKlaw. I can't wait.

Off to write. One Love!

nK