Keep your eye on the Prize

Two nights ago my good friend and I spent some time working on the new cover to The Dead Don’t Cry. After several hours, we came up with two covers: the first was generic but typical for the genre, while the second presented a more literary aesthetic (or trashy romance, if you were to ask the bartender who served us later on that night). Neither blew our mind, although the more we looked at the sleazy romance cover, the more we rationalized it working. That was until my girlfriend came home.

“Can you try blending the roots with the artwork?” she asked, innocently.

And just like that, she jump-started a burst of creativity that lead to our best book-cover yet. Let this story serve as a warning to all you writers out there: if you’re not jumping for joy over your book cover, let alone the content of your book, don’t stop tweaking until you are. It’s dangerously easy to give the green-light to mediocrity, especially when you’ve been burning the candle. If in doubt, send it over and we’ll check it out (gladly, I might add). And that reminds me (don’t ask me how). I have an idea for a new column, but I need your input/contributions for it to work. Check it out:

As in all Cafés, people do more than read while visiting Café Lopez. They also like to eavesdrop. That’s why we would like to feature a new column dedicated to the idea of listening in on other people’s conversations. Have you recently had a debate/discussion (over AIM, Google Chat, etc, related to writing of course) that others might benefit from reading? Send it over to Cafe Lopez and we’ll post it for review.  I have one terrific conversation ready to go—I just need a few more to get it started. So, what are you waiting for? Submit!

(Please?)

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A Love of Art Inspired

I remember when I first got an Ipod. I was a couple of years late in the game, which meant I had benefited from a slicker, fancier model than the first generation mp3 players. I enjoyed the device – it was trendy, practical, and well, cool – for all of about two weeks. The sad truth is that I’m woefully lacking when it comes to musical savviness, my familiarity being limited to The Beatles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Phillip Glass, with a nostalgic affinity for 90’s alternative rock. That’s it. Hardly enough to capitalize on a device designed to hold, manage, and ultimately glorify a love for music. Well, readers, guess what? Our Ipod has come, and no, it isn’t the Ipad.

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Drunk on Words

Micro-brews. Expertly crafted pints of intoxicatingly delicious cerveza (yes, I just used a different language to avoid a future redundancy. Is that allowed?). My best friend and I had a couple of beers last night, and I can’t tell you how rejuvenated I feel right now. I wonder why that is? Our usual nights involve darts and lagers (cheap, American lagers), which are fun, but not quite as satisfying. Is that how people feel when they read genre fiction. And if so, what’s that like?

“Oh man, that was a whoot, but I need to get a literary fix quick or else my brain is going to rot.”

Or better yet, the equivalent to a genraholic:

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