Article on TheNervousBreakdown.com about memorial service for pilot, businessman Doug Sharratt - By N.L. Belardes

Doug Sharratt Memorial Service, Bakersfield, Calif.

I posted the article, "An Orange Truck, Doug Sharratt’s Memorial And A Few Good Men" on TheNervousBreakdown.com. Here's an excerpt. Feel free to go to leave a comment on the full article.

Excerpt:

An orange truck came speeding south on H Street. My kid Landen, 17, said, “There’s that orange truck. I see it everywhere. It’s following me.” He was half joking, but it’s true. I recognized the orange truck’s driver. He lives with his wife in a little bungalow on Blanche Street, close to St. Francis of Assisi church.

Sometimes I see the same person everywhere. There’s a disfigured man who seems to haunt me. He passes on a bus, walks past on streets. He once roamed campuses while I attended local colleges. He appears in libraries and grocery stores—even on Internet sites. I’ve seen him for nearly 20 years and have pointed him out. He’s everywhere.

It’s strange because other paths seem to never cross even though people live in the same town.

A few minutes before seeing the orange truck I saw many teary faces in St. Francis Church. Doug Sharratt’s memorial service had just ended. There were faces I hadn’t seen in months. Some of them probably watched me on ABC23 (KERO) while I spoke about the Internet twice a day. But I never saw them. All I ever saw was a camera, reporters, cameramen, producers, monitors, my old fishbowl office. Yet, out in the community was a sea of faces looking at me like detectives through one of those fancy interrogation room windows.

Read the full article

Comicon Freaks: Mexican Dancing Donut Men - By N.L. Belardes

This video doesn't really mean anything other than Comicon has plenty of weirdness and freaks like Mexican Dancing Donut Men. I did like Brenda Knight's quote in it: "Post-show chaos..."

Chino Hills Quake? What Quake? - By N.L. Belardes

Whenever there's an earthquake or fire anywhere in the gigantic state of California, my out-of-state friends worry. And on top of that, the media freaks out with any quake that rattles anywhere in California. Can you say, "overreact"? Say it again. It even made the homepage of cnn.com. Geez. Calm down, America.

Well there's been a quake, a whimpy 5.4 earthquake. I've living room surfed much larger quakes. This one is nothing. A busted water main or two. And I just got a report from 2 miles from the epicenter that stuff fell out of cabinets and broke. Get the broom, Martha. Nevermind, I'll get it. I'm cleaning up this story.

No harm no foul. This is nothing to report. This is no giant China quake crushing 100,000 or a Tsunami washing away thousands. Tornado stories are bigger than this quake. In Bakersfield I felt nothing. Some people felt the ground move, especially those in the tiny 4-story buildings in downtown Bakersfield. No big deal.

Why am I bitter? Because the media even reports whimpy 3.0 quakes! Ay!

Give me a 6.5 ground shaker and a surfboard. Then we're talking quake. In the meantime, the media is overly reporting a big nothing quake.

That is unless the big one is coming in the next day or so.

But until then. Don't wake me up.

'24' director Jon Cassar interviewed at Comicon 2008 - By N.L. Belardes

Check out my interview with Jon Cassar in the Insight Editions booth. They were promoting their 24: Behind the Scenes photo essay book.



You can read about my trip to Comicon in thenervousbreakdown.com article, "Comicon 2008, Pot-Bellied Superheroes, Steam Punks, And The Director Of ‘24′"

News Flash: Buck Owens to get Oildale Post Office - By N.L. Belardes

Looks like Buck Owens is getting a post office named after him in Oildale. Dwight Yoakam, Buck Owens family and others are going to celebrate at the dedication on August 12...

Keep checking back for more news.

N.L., Bakersfield Bands Go To Hollywood - By N.L. Belardes

I put together an article on Bakotopia.com that includes a slideshow and video of myself, Dirty Spanglish and Norfolk at the MTV Books related event called the "Rock and Read." Check out my article, "Bako Bands, Author, Walk Streets Of Hollywood For MTV Books?" 

Then watch this hilarious video from the Virgin Megastore on Hollywood Boulevard:

Lacy Alexander talks Seven Nights of Sin by chingpea

Lacey Alexander was the first author I reviewed for Noveltown and boy was I lucky, she writes the kind of erotica you can’t put down. I loved Voyeur from page one and feel the same way with her most recent publication, Seven Nights of Sin.



In Seven Nights of Sin, we meet the ever-so-sweet Brenna Cayton who is still getting over a divorce that left her cynical about love and men. Enter the delicious, Greek God-like Damon Andros, a bad boy and every woman’s dream, but not into long-term relationships. Their paths cross at the famed Blue Night Records where they both work and since Damon got himself and the company he represents into some legal trouble, Brenna has a chance to step up and shine. Problem is she has to deceive Damon to succeed. Their boss sends them to Las Vegas and so begins our erotic romantic adventure…

Every arousing page of this book feeds into the desire every average woman has about a man they think they could never in a million years have. And that is the essence of what I love about Lacey Alexander’s books. She takes an average woman like you and me dealing with everyday issues of self esteem and heartache and puts her in a situation that allows her to discover herself and her sexuality. We as women not only relate, we live the adventures right along with the characters. As in life, once we get beyond the stereotypes and discover the depth of the characters the story and your imagination will take you to places you never thought you would go. All you have to do is let go, and discover how far you and your sexuality can go!



Seven Nights of Sin is a compelling and heated page turner. Keep your man and the vibrator nearby as temperatures rise, you’ll discover yourself and your body and explore places previously unexplored. Seven Nights of Sin is one to read over and over again… and not feel guilty for feeling positively wicked.

Read the interview with Lacey Alexander where she discusses her novel, her fans and why she writes erotica.

Noveltown: I love how Brenna’s character transitions in this story. How did the idea for her character arise?

Alexander: Many of the female characters in my books are designed to feel like “everywoman,” and Brenna fits that mold, as well. I think women connect to my erotica partly because these characters start out feeling like someone they can relate to – they’re very normal, middle-of-the-road women leading normal lives – so when they’re swept up in an erotic adventure, it feels all the more exciting. And insofar as transitions, as a writer, it’s my job to make sure all of my main characters undergo transitions for the better – to me, that’s what makes their stories worth telling.

Noveltown: Vegas is known for its raunchiness. What made you decide to use it as the backdrop for Seven Nights of Sin?

Alexander: Just that. I write erotica, and in erotica, setting is important. It needs to be evocative of the mood I want to create in the book. Where better to set an erotica novel than a place nicknamed “Sin City”?

Noveltown: How do you feel about the saying: “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” Is Seven Nights of Sin an extension and/or play of that saying?

Alexander: In all honesty, I’ve always thought that saying makes no sense whatsoever – it’s a complete cop out with no truth to it. Whatever you’ve done, you’ve done, and you have to accept it and live with it. I’ve set a number of novels in Las Vegas, and I sometimes do have the characters discuss this saying in some way because it’s so well known that it almost has to be addressed, but I always try to inject my own personal beliefs there because, as I said, to me, the saying doesn’t hold water.

Noveltown: This one was sensual, sexual, emotional and erotic all at the same time. Where did you go to find the inspiration to create the scenarios that arise in the book?

Alexander: My imagination. I realize that sounds trite, but it’s true. And I did re-visit Vegas not long before I wrote the book, so that helped, too.

Noveltown: With Voyeur, we discovered “the inner bad girl.” Should Seven Nights of Sin discover more than that?

Alexander: In my mind, all my books are intended to help women discover their inner bad girl. That phrase is built into my website design very strongly, in fact, because I think it pretty much encapsulates every Lacey Alexander book. There is certainly more to each book – little messages about freedom, following your heart, etc., – but the “discover your inner bad girl” part is my simple and ultimate goal each time.



Noveltown: Have you received a lot of feedback from fans on Seven Nights of Sin?

Alexander: Yes, I get a lot of fan e-mail which is always very gratifying. To be honest, when I started writing erotica, I wasn’t sure there was much true redeeming value to it, but my fan mail proves me wrong on that count. Women tell me my books do everything from making them more confident to improving their marriages and they ask me to “please never stop writing this kind of book.” It really makes the work feel worthwhile.

Noveltown: Without giving away too much, Damon knows way more about hidden venues in Vegas. Do you believe (or know) these places actually exist and if so, have you explored any, or was this all from your creative imagination?

Alexander: Afraid it’s all from my imagination, and I have no idea if such places really exist.

Noveltown: What should we look forward to in your next book, The Bikini Diaries?

Alexander: Thanks for asking! As you might guess, THE BIKINI DIARIES takes place at the beach, and it’s about one women’s quest to, once in her life, put on a sexy bikini and be the bold sort of woman who is seeking “sex on the beach” and nothing more. Of course, it quickly gets a lot more complicated than that, and she records it all in a journal that ends up playing an important role in the story.

Noveltown: Thanks for talking with Noveltown again; it’s always a pleasure. I’ll be looking forward to your next erotic adventure… Any last thoughts?

Alexander: Thank you so much – and it’s a pleasure for me, too. I definitely appreciate Noveltown’s interest in my books! I’d also like to invite your readers to learn more about my books at www.LaceyAlexander.net, where they might just discover their inner bad girl.

Be sure to check out Lacey's Myspace and add her as a friend.