Interview between Stacy Justice and Cinnamon Panzano

This is a fictional interview I created with two of my characters. Enjoy!

From the archives of the Amethyst Onion

BLACK OPAL BAR AND GRILL CELEBRATES FIVE YEARS
Interview by Stacy Justice
Transcript by Iris Merriweather

On Friday evening September 4th, the Black Opal Bar and Grill, a favorite Amethyst watering hole, celebrated it’s fifth year in business. The Onion was there with 28 year-old owner and bartender, Cinnamon Panzano, as she poured drinks and kept customers smiling. Although very busy, Cinnamon was kind enough to take the time to reflect on her years as this tourist town‘s favorite barkeep.

SJ: So Cinnamon, The Black Opal doors have been open for five years now. How are you feeling tonight?

CP: Hey Stacy. Iris, get that freaking microphone out of my face or I will relocate it for you.

SJ: Um, it must be exciting to mark this milestone with family and friends.

CP: Stacy, you’re my cousin and I love you, but I swear to God I will choke that camera man if he snaps one more photo.
Dammit, Thor, move your tail!

Thor: Woof!

SJ: So, many familiar faces tonight. Seems a lot of regulars have come out to congratulate you.

CP: That reminds me- if you see Scully sneak a tap, you have my permission to knock him off his bar stool.

Scully: Hey!

CP: Shut up and drink your beer, old man. I saw that move you pulled yesterday. Stacy, hand this Bud Light to the putz in the pink shirt.

Putz: Excuse me, I ordered a Sea Breeze.

CP: Dude, you need all the help you can get. Trust me. Drink the beer and maybe order a shot if you ever want to get laid again.

Putz: I would like what I ordered, please.

SJ: Seriously, guy just do what she says.

CP: You want to file a complaint on my website, jackass? Go to biteme.com.

SJ: So looks like business is booming. Congratulations, Cinnamon.

CP: Stacy-

SJ: What-

CP: The Geraghty Girls just walked in.

SJ: That‘s a rap.


The preceding is a brief snapshot into the lives of my characters from the short story, Gemini, featured in the Echelon Press anthology, MISSING. The proceeds from the sale of this book benefit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The story takes place in the fictional town of Amethyst, Illinois, a mystical community filled with so many kooky characters it’s like the Twilight Zone on acid. The protagonist is Stacy Justice, a reporter who, despite her desire for a normal life, is drawn to the only family she has left in the world. Specifically, her pagan grandmother and two great aunts (The Geraghty Girls) and of course, Cinnamon, the cousin with the anger management problem.

If you enjoyed the interview, then pick up a copy of MISSING now for another round of laughs and get to know the rest of the characters. If you thought these two were fun, wait until you meet The Geraghty Girls. Plus- you get 16 other thrilling short stories in this anthology. What could be better?

Learn more about me and pick up free stuff at www.barbraannino.com.
Or follow me on Facebook

Sincerely,
Barbra Annino

Poll: What's your favorite fiction genre?

Poll: What's your favorite fiction genre?

Echelon Press Shorts

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I’m so excited to be a part of this fabulous launch party! After all, who would turn down a chance to party on a Tuesday? As a paranormal romance writer, jumping into the short story market with the Hobbitville Saga has been great, fresh fun for me.

The main characters in this series, affectionately known to their peers as the Pixie Chicks, unveil all kinds of high school drama and trauma when they find out the garden they trespass through after football games is full of magical portals to different places. In Hobbitville anything can happen – and does. From an all important first kiss in a steamy Savannah paradise, to a secret rendezvous in a desert oasis, Hobbitville is a welcome escape from the more tedious elements of teenage life.

You don’t have to read them in order just because I wrote them that way, but you’ll definitely want to get your own copy of each story if reviews like this are any inidication: teenager and author Alyssa Montgomery says, “Black’s use of characterization is phenomenal!” adding, “The fantasy aspect provides the story with a magical and light air that wonderfully works hand-in-hand with the romance angle, creating a light-heartedness that perfectly encompasses the story.”

Buy Pixie Chicks now!

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Happy reading!
Regan
Catch more of my world of reading, writing, and life at my personal blog: http://www.regansrealm.blogspot.com

20 Things I Learned Organizing Galena’s First Author Event

1. When someone says, “Close your eyes and stick out your hands” never, ever do it.
2. Authors are married to the most patient beings on the planet.
3. Free food increases foot traffic.
4. If Wal-Mart had greeters as lively and welcoming as Norm Cowie, that place would rule the world.
5. It’s hard to make a bed after a few cold ones.
6. Luisa Buehler sports heels like nobody’s business.
7. Galena is filled with supportive people who are just as much fun at a literary event as a backyard barbecue.
8. Fried Green Tomatoes puts out a kick-ass spread.
9. Keep all stray books, dogs, sharp objects, and fluffy robes away from Konrath.
10. Amy Alessio is an editor who will literally go that extra mile.
11. Naming a burger after a political figure opens the door for dirty jokes.
12. Mark and Andy Van Osdol are extremely talented.
13. Never walk up Quality Hill in heels.
14. George Annino is the best marketing manager ever.
15. Wearing all black in a hotel in Iowa will get you mistaken for a bellhop. (Sorry Barbara!)
16. Brio Art Gallery is so ethereal; it should be in a book (I think it may be too, right Margot Justes?)
17. If you slack off on leadership, Mary Welk is your Huckleberry.
18. When you purchase one copy of KILLING RED, the second one is free.
19. Christine Verstraet is willing to sleep in a basement to promote her book.
20. I LOVE WRITERS.

Galena, the Author Fair ... and Canned Poop

From my friend, Norm's blog on the author event in Galena this weekend...


“Hold out your hand and close your eyes.”

I was standing in front of an art gallery in Galena, a beautiful tourist town in the rolling hills created where Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois all wrestled for the same terrain.

Now if … say … popular author Joe Konrath (JA Konrath) had asked me to do hold my hand out and close my eyes, I’d have run screaming like a little girl after being invited to lock lips with a garter snake. But it was Marie, his wife, the alter to his ego. So I was safe, right?

I obediently held out my hands, squeezed my eyes shut and clenched my butt in case Joe was sneaking on behind me with intent to pants me, and heard the hiss of aerosol. Great, she’s spaying on some stinky perfume.

I was right and wrong. It was stinky, but it wasn’t perfume. When I opened my eyes, I beheld a brown slime, resembling what a snail might leave after a Taco Bell dinner.

“Smell it!” she giggled.

The giggle should have tipped me off, but I raised my hand to my face, and … well ...

Read more at Fang Face