So I’ve just had my first venture in to the world of re-releasing backlist. My holiday romantic suspense novella, Still of the Night (orginally in the Anthology Silent Night), is now available for download on both Smashwords and Amazon.com. It should be available on Barnes and Noble and iBooks shortly. It’s definitely a brave new world.
In the still of the night…
Christmas is coming and Jenny Fitzgerald couldn’t care less. She’s getting divorced, and her life is in tatters. And just when she’s thinking it couldn’t possibly be worse, her husband is killed on the job, an undercover operation gone bad. In the midst of her grief, Jenny is confronted with a killer. A hunter who will stop at nothing to see her dead…
Next up—the Time Travel Trilogy: Everything In Its Time, Wild Highland Rose, The Promise
And congratulations to winners Terri, Jean, Peggy, Glenda, Arianne, Lara, Lynn, Sandi, Jackie, and Lynn! They each won a hard copy of my A-Tac e-novella Daring!
So last weekend, I met friends at Balthazar in SoHo. After exiting a taxi on Spring Street, we literally had to fight our way inside. There were people milling everywhere. Clearly a popular Sunday venue. Once inside we discovered that our friends hadn’t arrived yet, so we fought our way back outside and settled on one of the benches lining the wall that fronts the restaurant. I have to admit, it was a spectacular fall morning and it was great fun to sit and watch the people go by. And once our friends arrived we were gratified to find that even though the place was still overly packed, our reservation was promptly honored and we were shown to a lovely table.
Like all New York restaurants the tables were squeezed together and we were a little too close to our neighbors for comfort, but we quickly forgot as we began to peruse the menu and catch up. My first thought on entering the cavernous American bistro was that it looked a lot like Artisanal, the Terrance Brennan’s cheesery in Murray Hill. Which isn’t a bad thing. Airy and, squashed tables aside, comfortable, the place is all marble, velvet and brass. With the soaring ceilings of a building converted from a leather wholesaler’s warehouse.
Opened in 1997 by Keith McNally (of Patis fame), Balthazar’s co-chefs are Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr. Both men have resumes that include some of New York’s finest dining establishments. And the restaurant is both a tourist draw and a neighborhood favorite.
The brunch menu, with a definite Parisian slant, offered entrees for both breakfast and lunch. I chose the Brioche French toast with smoked bacon. And although the French toast had a lovely touch of cinnamon in the batter, I found it dry and slightly overcooked. My friend however, had the scrambled eggs in puff pastry with wild mushrooms and asparagus, and it not only looked wonderful, it apparently tasted fabulous as well. The other egg dishes ordered were tasty as well.
While I’m not sure that I’d make the effort to travel downtown again just to go to Balthazar’s, I’d definitely recommend it as a fun way to spend a fabulous fall morning with good friends. And I am interested in trying out the bakery next door. The pastries are supposed to be fabulous!
Spent Friday evening at the Beacon theater on Broadway over on the West side. The theatre is gorgeous and we had great seats, second row balcony, dead center. As has been Steely Dan’s custom for their last two tours each night of the seven they spent in New York was geared around one of their albums. This night was billed as Royal Scam and Twenty-first Century Dan (meaning Two Against Nature and 2003’s Everything Must Go).
I’ve been a Steely Dan fan since way back. I fell in love with the album Aja my freshman year in college and never looked back. So it seems natural that I’d also fall in love with a guy crazy for Steely Dan. He’s subsequently introduced me to all of their albums (and much to my surprise several favorite songs were actually Dan songs—like Reelin’ in the Years). Anyway, add to this story the fact that my daughter now knows the lyrics and background stories on every single song Donald Fagan and/or Walter Becker ever wrote and we’ve been come a family of Steely Dan fans.
photo by MSG
The concert hall was packed, everyone waiting with anticipation for Steely Dan to begin, which made it a little difficult for the very talented opening act because everyone was talking. In some ways it felt more like a bar than a concert hall. But hey, such is the life of opening acts.
Despite the elegant interior of the hall, nothing much has changed when it comes to concert goers. Granted, the room was filled with gray-headed people—most of us with wrinkles to mark the years, but still, the majority of folks arrived late, around nine, anticipating the actual start of Steely Dan.
The concert opened with a jazz piece that introduced the band—highlighting the brass section in particular (a trumpet, trombone, tenor sax and baritone sax). And then guest guitarist Larry Carlton (who played with the group in the 70’s). And finally the two men who will forever be Steely Dan—Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. The crowd went wild and the concert began.
The music was broken into three “sets”. The first being a complete rendition of Royal Scam including my favorites; Kid Charlemagne and Haitian Divorce. Fagen’s voice was a little hoarse in the beginning. Possibly a cold. But by the second set, the microphones had been adjusted and he’d warmed up, the resulting sound much better.
For the second set of songs, they concentrated on albums Two Against Nature and Everything Must Go. Playing among others, the title songs from each and my favorite, Cousin Dupree. By that point the audience was totally into the performance and many were on their feet.
The last set, and definitely the most high energy, consisted of favorites from across the years, including Josie (with a fabulous piano solo to open), Peg, and Reelin’ in the Years. The show stopper was a rocking rendition of Bodhisattva. And then they finished off the night with Pretzel Logic, leaving us all satisfied, yet still wishing for more. All in all—a fabulous way to spend a Friday night in New York City.
Even with several closings announced recently, including the Addams Family, the coming of fall generally marks the opening of a new Broadway season. And there are several things upcoming that I’m looking forward to.
First and foremost the new production of Stephen Schwartz’s Godspell at the Circle on the Square Theatre. One of my all-time favorite musicals, the show, based on the gospel of Matthew features wonderful songs like Day By Day, By My Side, and Stand Back Oh Man. It’ll be interesting to see how well it holds up, but for people like me it will if nothing else, be a wonderful blast from the past! Opens Oct. 13.
Next up, Harry Connick Jr. is back on the boards in a new production of On A Clear Day You Can See Forever. Reconceived by Tony-winning director Michael Mayer, with a new book by Peter Parnell, the musical will feature songs from Burton Lane and Alan Jay Lerner. I loved the movie with Barbra Streisand and adore Mr. Connick. He was fabulous in Pajama Game. So I’ll be interested to hear more. Opens December 11 at the Saint James Theatre.
Also coming—Porgy and Bess with the amazing Audra McDonald and David Alan Grier (First preview Dec. 17, Richard Rogers Theatre). Bonnie and Clyde (the musical) opening December 1st at the Shoenfeld Theatre. A new musical, Lysistrata Jones, at the Walter Kern Theatre, Nov. 12 about a losing basketball team and the players girlfriends who hold their favors waiting for a win. Other Desert Cities, with Stockard Channing and Judith Light—Jon Robin Baitz’s drama about a wealthy Republican family attempting to kick sand over its past at the Booth Theatre Nov. 3. And a new production of Private Lives, with Kim Cattrell, one of my favorite Noel Coward plays (Nov. 17, Music Box Theatre).
And coming later this season, new musicals—Ghost, Big Fish, Nice Work if You Can Get it with Kelly O’Hara and Matthew Broderick, and Rebecca—the Daphne du Maurier classic (not sure how I feel about that exactly). And also the return of Evita and Funny Girl.
So lots of excitement over in Time Square. Hopefully, I’ll be front and center at some of them—and of course I’ll be reporting back here!
Deep Disclosure is out now! Check out the blurb below. Or go to www.deedavis.com to read or listen to an excerpt!
After spending years in prison under deep cover, black ops agent Tucker Flynn joinsA-Tac, an elite CIA unit masquerading as faculty at an Ivy League college.Nothing can shake him—except a vulnerable young woman marked for death.
DUAL DECEPTION
When Tucker is assigned to protect—and secretly investigate—Alexis Markham, he expects a routine mission. But this mysterious beauty has a past even darker than his: her father created a horrifying new biochemical weapon—and was murdered to keep it secret.
Alexis has spent the last decade racing to stay one step ahead of the shadowy operatives who will stop at nothing to possess her father’s formula. She can trust no one, not even her handsome new bodyguard. But the heat that flares between them is impossible to resist. Will giving in to passion bring her the safety she’s always craved, or will her love for Tucker draw him into a killer’s sights?
Okay, summer is all about ice cream. Everyone knows that. But this year, I’ve fallen in love with frozen yogurt. Specifically, Pinkberry. I know it’s a chain and I have friends who’d probably call it designer yogurt. And I also admit that I’m supposed to be talking about things uniquely NYC, but I’m telling you it’s awesome stuff.
Basically, it’s all about putting every conceivable kind of goodness on a mound of frozen yogurt. Yogurt-wise, there are seasonal flavors, including pomegranate, mango, chocolate and coconut (a fav of mine but they haven’t had it this summer for some reason). And then there is original, which has a sweet-tart taste that is amazingly refreshing.
Original is my favorite because it makes a perfect backdrop of the toppings you add. First up are the fresh fruits. Strawberry, banana, raspberry, blackberry and pineapple just to name a few. My husband particularly loves the kiwi. And then there are the usual suspects, cookies, candies, brownies, all kinds of chopped deliciousness. But me—I’m a simple girl. And since I can’t eat fruit—here’s my fav.
A serving of original yogurt with coconut, toasted almonds and crushed up wafers like the stuff they make waffle cones from. It’s the perfect mix of chewy, creamy and crunchy. My idea of a little bit of heaven in the city. So when it’s hot, and these days that seems to be a lot, Pinkberry is my vote for an easy, delicious way to cool off. And hey, the yogurt is fat-free.
For the more adventurous types, there are also smoothies, fruit bowls and parfaits. And if you like things more traditional—you can have it all in a waffle cone. But anyway you serve it up, I promise you’re going to like it.
Okay, so we’ve already established that I like to eat. But unlike a lot of Americans—I’m really not that big on sweets. Give me pasta or a good crusty bread and I’m a happy camper, probably going for seconds and thirds. Bake me a cake, and while I’ll love it, I’ll probably not sneak into the kitchen in the middle of the night for a second piece. And most importantly, and weirdly, I’ll admit, I’m not that big of a chocolate fan. Which means that when I do go for dessert it tends to be something not quite as sweet and definitely no chocolate. Which brings me to cannoli. My idea of a perfect dessert. I absolutely love them. And since finding cannoli in Texas is sort of like finding a good chimichanga in Manhattan, I hadn’t really had all that much experience with them until I moved up here.
And in my opinion, nobody makes cannoli like the Fortunato Brothers. The first time I experienced their phenomenal cannoli was during the Feast of San Gennaro held every fall in Little Italy. The restaurants along Mulberry Street spill out onto the road, with tented tables offering everything Italian. And along with the restaurants are booths offering more amazing goodies. And this is where I ran into the small booth holding a table full of cannoli. Oh my gosh, pure heaven. But having only just arrived in Manhattan, I just assumed that all cannoli were this magnificent, and so I really didn’t pay that much attention to where I’d bought mine.
Later, a new craving having been created, I went to a local neighborhood place with cannoli, prepared to relive the heavenly experience I’d had on Mulberry Street. I bought the cannoli, and impatient for the creamy flakey goodness that is cannoli, ate it on the spot. And had a heart sinking moment when I realized, a) that all cannoli are not created equal and b) that I didn’t know the name of the place where I’d bought the fabulous cannoli. Only that I thought it started with an ‘F’. In short, I was screwed.
Then at a different street fair a year or so later, I saw them. The little booth, the table of cannoli, the name beginning with an ‘F’—Fortunato Brothers, from Brooklyn. I bought four cannoli and ate one on the spot. They were exactly as I remembered. So these days, it’s become a game with me, go to a street fair, and hope that they’ll be there. Yesterday at the 2nd Ave street fair, I hit gold. The world’s best cannoli—waiting for me.
For those of you who are into instant gratification, the Fortunato Brothers have a café in Williamsburg, where they’ve been perfecting their cannoli for over 35 years. And besides selling cannoli, they have homemade gelato and all kinds of cakes and pastries. One of these days I’ll have to give it a try, but in the meantime, I’ll be checking out the next street fair, and keeping my fingers crossed that Fortunato cannoli will be there.
Fortunato Brothers Café and Pasticceria- 289 Manhattan Avenue, Brooklyn, 718.387.2281
So I’ve just had my first venture in to the world of re-releasing backlist. My holiday romantic suspense novella, Still of the Night (orginally in the Anthology Silent Night), is now available for download on both Smashwords and Amazon.com. It should be available on Barnes and Noble and iBooks shortly. It’s definitely a brave new world.
