ADRIAN PHOENIX Urban Fantasy Author

Official Website

“What was that all about?”

“Nothing much. Ass kissing denied. Harsh punishment threatened. The usual.”

—Heather’s question to Dante and his answer in A Rush of Wings.

AAD in NOLA PART TWO

Sep 29, 2012 | Adrian's Musings, Events and Appearances, News and Announcements

Wednesday was more or less a free day. I had time to show Sebastian around the Quarter before the convention officially began. I also walked my Dante’s French Quarter tour route with him to see how it flowed and quickly discovered I needed to start at the spot I originally intended to end at. LOL. Being from Oregon, we rarely see thunderstorms, so we were thrilled to experience one that first day. The skies rumbled and talked and the rain POURED. (Fortunately, it was warm rain.) We stood outside in front of the hotel along with other guests and watched nature’s furious, spectacular display. The thunder was so loud at one point, I fought the urge to surrender to my primeval self and cower while babbling about the gods and their apparent displeasure with puny humans. The street filled with water that quickly surged over the curbs and onto the sidewalk and geysered up out of manhole covers. All in all, pretty damned awesome. Earlier in the year, I had participated in the Brenda Novak’s Online Auction for the Cure of Diabetes, offering to have dinner with a winning bidder while at AAD. I was meeting the winner in the lobby of the Royal Sonesta that evening, Shelly Younger. We had dinner at a restaurant across the street that featured quick and friendly service along with marvelous food and drink. Shelly and I chatted like we’d known each other for years and I had a wonderful time, one of the highlights of my visit. I’m so glad that Shelly won the bid! I couldn’t have asked for a better... read more

AAD in NOLA PART ONE

Sep 3, 2012 | Adrian's Musings, News and Announcements

This was my first time at AAD (Authors After Dark) and the fact that it took place in New Orleans this year at the Royal Sonesta Hotel on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter was just powdered sugar on the beignet. I had a fantastic time at the convention and met tons of wonderful people. The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly, and I’ve never had a better time at a convention. I hope to attend again soon. Since I hate flying and try to avoid it as much as possible (and, really, you would want me to avoid it too, if you were flying with me. I’m the one sitting rigidly in her seat, clutching the arm rests with white-knuckled hands, an expression of mingled terror and determination on my face as I fight to keep the plane in the air through sheer will power, and you’re wondering if I know something you don’t and feeling the first flutterings of panic in your belly), I decided to travel to New Orleans by train. Relaxed travel. Beautiful scenery. Civilized dining. No plummeting from the sky. My eldest son, Sebastian (frontman for Kingdom Under Fire of Portland, Oregon) was traveling with me. He’d never been to New Orleans and hadn’t had a proper vacation in years. He took the train down from his home in Vancouver, Washington on August 2nd, and on August 3rd, we both boarded Amtrak for the first leg of our journey, a 27 hour trip to Los Angeles. Now, I’d only booked a sleeper car for us going to and returning from NOLA. I figured we could... read more