Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning are having a blast. The duo play iconic rockers Joan Jett and Cherie Currie respectively in the new rock ‘n’ roll biopic “The Runaways” and are currently in the middle of a cross-country publicity tour. Normally, most actors would be sick and tired of constantly talking about one movie — and Stewart should know after all the hours she’s discussed the “Twilight” franchise — but you’d never know both actresses have been pushing this film since its debut at Sundance in January.
Laughing through a sit down with some assembled members of the press on Wednesday in Los Angeles, the actors discussed everything from the pressure of playing the founding members of The Runaways to their own eclectic musical tastes. More intriguing, however, was how the young stars handled questions about the on screen kiss and implied sex scene between Currie and Jett as they toured the country as teenage rockers.
Stewart notes, “It was in the script as a really fleeting thing. It was sort of also written very abstractly and vaguely. ‘Did they? Yeah, they did.’ Y’know what I mean? So, yeah and I feel it’s that way for them too. The fact it’s been called a ‘love scene’ or the fact ‘So, tell us about your romantic involvement?’ is like ‘What?’”
“I mean, I think it’s just something that happened,” Fanning adds. “I don’t even know if they have talked about it since. Y’know what I mean? It was just a thing and in the script it was just another thing. It’s not that big of a deal.”
One reporter surprisingly threw the gauntlet at Fanning asking her if she was concerned about criticism about playing a character who drinks, does drugs and has sex when she’s only 15-year-old. The actress was unequivocally ready for it.
“There is always going to be someone who doesn’t like what you are doing and doesn’t like, y’know, your movies and thinks you shouldn’t be doing [this or that] and you can never make everybody happy,” Fanning says confidently. “In this movie, I was 15 playing another 15-year-old. She went through all this when she was 15 and why am I too good that I can’t portray that when there are people everywhere younger than that going through much worse”
“We’re snorting vitamin B. C’mon,” Stewart says as laughter fills the room.
Meeting Chad Omega is what one would call a surreal experience. It’s like encountering a unicorn or a mermaid; you have to pinch yourself to make sure you’re not dreaming. Luckily I was not dreaming on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 when I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Omega. The interview took place mid-afternoon at my apartment. Upon his arrival I immediately offered Chad beverages, all of which he surprisingly, politely refused. “You don’t even want water?” I asked. He shook his head and explained to me that he doesn’t drink water. “I haven’t had water in three days.” Impressive. I get frustrated when people don’t accept food or drink offers, so I pressed on. “Lunch?” Again, he declined. Finally, I took a box of Girl Scouts Thin Mint cookies out of my refrigerator. “Girl Scout cookies?” I asked. The way Chad Omega’s face lit up would have put the Vegas Strip to shame. Girl Scout cookies, ladies, are the key to Chad Omega’s heart.
LDH: You recently finished a four year stint in the Marine Corps, because you wanted to “Fuck shit up”. What’s next for Chad Omega?
CO: That’s a good question. Probably a lot of blackout nights, and I don’t really know what to tell you from here. I’m about to make a move to Huston, and uh, fuck shit up there.
LDH: Very nice. Now you’ve been know to also use the phrase, “Do the damn thing”, in your own words, could you tell us how one “Does the damn thing”?
CO: Well, for someone to “Do the damn thing”, you just have to be awesome, pretty much, at everything you do. Me doing the damn thing is doing whatever I want, whenever I want.
LDH: Now Chad, not many people are aware of this, but Chad Omega is not your real name. Can you tell us how Chad Omega was born?
CO: Chad Omega was born in Las Vegas actually. We were out one night and lot of cougars kept coming up to us and asking us our names and if we wanted to go back to their hotel rooms with them. So to get myself away from the situation, I had to keep giving them fake names whenever they’d ask and I came up with Chad Omega. It just kind of stuck for the rest of the night, you know … all the drinking and strip clubs … I was Chad Omega. And that’s how he was born.
LDH: You’d had a lot of wild adventures in Las Vegas. What’s your fondest memory of Sin City?
CO: Well, I drank for about 13 hours straight, and then I woke up in a bus stop. I can’t really tell you how I got there, but I still had my wallet and everything. I’d say that was probably the best time I had in Vegas.
LDH: It’s a well known fact that you have a fascination with Little People. How did Little People find a place in your heart?
CO: I don’t know. Every time I see a midget…I call them midgets, I’m not politically correct… I just wanna hang out with them.I even Googled it, you can rent midgets on the internet to come hang out with you. You know what? One of these weekends, I’m gonna do it!
LDH: Rumor has it, you recently had the “Perfect Week”. Can you tell us a little more about that?
CO: Go to community college if you want to have the perfect week. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel, especially in California.
LDH: Some people may not know what the “Perfect Week” is. Can you explain what having the “Perfect Week” entails?
CO: The “Perfect Week” for me was a couple of movies, maybe a dinner or two, but seven different girls, seven days of the week. And it was a great week.
LDH: The Perfect Week!
CO: Yes, the Perfect Week.
LDH: I can’t help but ask, have you ever been slapped?
CO: Yes… So there I was in a bar, and I went to go to the bathroom. On the way, a girl slapped me on the ass, but I was ignored her and went about my business. I went back to the bar and she came up to me and asked what I was doing afterwards. I had to tell her the truth, I said, “Sweetie, I’m not that drunk and you’re not pretty enough yet”. That is the first time I’ve ever been slapped by a woman in public.
LDH: You’ve had some run-ins with some pretty crazy chicks. In fact, I heard a girl confiscated your cell phone at one point. What was that like?
CO: That was probably one of the weirdest experiences of my life. I recently had a one night stand, and then in my rush to get out in the morning, like usual, I forgot my phone. Luckily she went to the community college, where I saw here three days later, and asked for my phone back. Well, I went through my phone and she had actually called and texted people in my contacts list, asking what kind of person I was…That’s not a way to get to Chad Omega, calling people on his phone … random girl.
LDH: Would the circumstances have been different if she were a midget?
CO: Possibly. I’d say if a midget took my phone for three days and called people, it’d be worth it, and I’d actually call her again.
LDH: So besides incidents with crazy girls, have you had any involving open containers?
CO: [Laughs] One of the best open container experiences I’ve ever had was Halloween 2006. I was at my buddies place and we were all getting dressed up for Halloween. I happened to be a coach so that’s tight shorts and a whistle, which is just about all you need for a coaches outfit. Everyone was getting in the car to go to the party, and before we left, I got the bright idea for my friend and I, my “Assistant Coach”, if you will, to stuff our junk with some socks. So while we’re stuffing our shorts, I look outside and go, “Wow that cop outfit is really realistic!” Come to find out, three of my friend got Minor in Possession and Open Container tickets while I was busy stuffing my junk
LDH: So it sounds like stuffing your junk saved your life …
CO: Very true. That was a great night actually… Ladies love the stuffed junk, and I did not have to pay for a ticket.
LDH: So we could say that Chad Omega is an advocate for stuffed junk?
CO: Definitely. Stuff your junk!
LDH: Now speaking of police, have you ever been arrested, or come close to being arrested?
CO: A couple times. The one time I was arrested, I stole two shopping carts full of beer. Well, me and three other people stole two shopping carts full of beer from a grocery store. We went out the side door, and would have gotten away with it, but … it was a sad day in Chad Omega’s life. We actually got citizen arrested.
LDH: I hear that you “tear shit up” on the regular in Carlsbad, CA. What’s up with that?
CO: It’s just something about Carlsbad that brings the best out of me. I don’t really know how to explain it, but me and Carlsbad get along really well. I’m pretty sure I’m a wanted man down there, by the police, or by a couple groups of random people. One time I went to Carlsbad, I had a good night …you know having a good night means I’m probably going to black out…but I woke up the next morning with blood all over my shirt. So I went and washed me hands, and got the blood all off me and found out that I didn’t have an cuts. So you know, I try to stay away, but Carlsbad is my place.
LDH: I hear you’ve had a recent incident in Carlsbad as well?
CO: I was bored, and there wasn’t really much to do, so I went to Carlsbad by myself … I sound like a loser, but you don’t know Chad Omega … So I was down in Carlsbad having a few drinks, and then I made the mistake of going into Boar’s Crossing. I had a few drinks there, and when they started closing down I stepped outside where there was a group of military people. One of the guys just kept running his mouth, and well I let him know that I’m the wrong guy to mess with. He said a few more words, you know, trying to show off for his friend. Of course I had to show off for myself so I hit him a couple times, and he hit the ground. At that point I figured I was a wanted man in Carlsbad and took off. I just kinda ran through some streets, houses, you know, the usual.
LDH: Being a wanted man, it’s good to be prepared. I heard that you’ve already written your Will, how does it read?
CO: My will says last man standing gets my stuff. No rules.
LDH: So is this a free for all for just friends and family or …
CO: Everybody’s invited. If you want some free stuff, you better be the last man standing. And I’m gonna have cool stuff, you better believe it.
LDH: Does this include the cell phone thief? Is she invited?
CO: You know, if she shows up, she might be able to get my cell phone, that’s all she can have.
LDH: Speaking of dying, Chad, how would you like your obituary to read?
CO: Oh man …that’s a tough question. Could I take out a full page ad?
LDH: Absolutely!
CO: Oh definitely! Well in my obituary I would definitely like to put out the address for everyone who wants to show up and get free stuff. Maybe a couple advertisements for strip clubs, definitely where you can get some midgets…so my obituary will be one big advertisement for all the things I love. It’ll also include how awesome I am.
LDH: Chad before we wrap this up, I have one final question for you. I know your not the relationship type, but you have enlightened the lives of a vast array of women. Is there any message you would like to give to the women who haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Chad Omega yet?
CO: Ladies, if you wanna meet Chad Omega, here it goes: 713-459-7868. Just give me a call.
And there you have it! All you’ve ever wanted to know about Chad Omega, including his cell phone number.
Send Chad Omega love letters at http://www.facebook.com/nicholas.ellis1
Map of climate similarity to the Maroua, Cameron trial site, based on the Homologue™ model. The areas in red are the most similar in terms of rainfall, temperature and seasonal weather pattern.
While Asia and Latin America have benefitted from the Green Revolution, agricultural yields in Africa have increased little over the last half century. This gap is due, in part, to the current state of African research systems. Improved systems will lead to increased yields, a solution that African governments and donors already recognize. Towards this end, several agricultural research scientists associated with the CGIAR’s Consortium for Spatial Information (CSI) established the Africa Trial Sites (AfricaTS) project, a far-reaching initiative that supports the development of international networks of researchers willing to share the results of their cultivar trial experiments.
In a recent interview, the ICT-KM Program caught up with three researchers behind this AGCommons Quick-Win project: Glenn Hyman (CIAT), Kai Sonder (CIMMYT – previously with IITA) and Sibiry Traore (ICRISAT).
What were the main goals of AfricaTS and what were the outputs?
Glenn Hyman: AfricaTS set out to develop a network of trial sites in Africa that could participate in crop improvement programs. The project aims to manage information related to trial sites in a standardized way, and also hopes to have research organizations pooling information on trial sites and making it available to the crop improvement community in a way that would promote a more efficient evaluation of improved varieties. Project participants identified trial sites in Africa and basic information about these sites. Tools to make this information more accessible to the crop improvement community were developed and a website was established to share information developed in the project. The website includes results of some spatial analyses, tools for analyzing data, and links to existing resources for the crop improvement community.
Can other organizations outside the CGIAR access information on the website?
Glenn Hyman: Absolutely! It’s about international public goods, something we need to develop more. It often happens in the CGIAR that we get paid to do research that ends up sitting on our own hard drives or on our own bookshelves. This project is about getting results out there for the public to use.
Why did the four Centers, CIAT, CIMMYT, IITA and ICRISAT, get involved in this project?
Glenn Hyman: Mostly because they are the main Centers working on crop improvement in Africa. It was partly opportunistic as well, because a couple of us sat around talking about the idea, then we sent out a note to everyone else. And these four were the ones that shared the strongest interest. One possibility for a second phase of the project could involve other Centers taking it over and starting to put their own sites in. For example, the best candidate to join efforts now is probably the Africa Rice Center (WARDA), because they are doing so much work in West Africa. But there are other Centers, such as CIP, which does a lot of trial work in Africa on sweet potatoes.
Why did you personally come on board?
Kai Sonder: I simply thought it was a great idea. The compilation of the African trial sites with lots of interactive information is a very valuable thing to have available for the whole agricultural research, development and extension community interested in Africa. It allows us to put research results, and not just research results on plant improvement, in a wider geographical context for up-scaling, improved applicability of results, etc. For example, a person from a NARS or NGO in any country in Sub-Saharan Africa can use one or several of the tools on the AfricaTS site and find out about existing research that was done in a place that is similar to their intended area of work. They can then contact a breeder or other person involved to get seeds or planting materials or implement results. The site will hopefully help connect researchers with similar interests working in similar areas and allow them to exchange results, data, seeds, etc. If properly used, the site will reduce redundancies of testing varieties and breeds and the time it takes to get new improved varieties to farmers in larger areas. Political and economic communities like ECOWAS are thinking of streamlining their seed improvement and delivery systems and sharing information on evaluation sites. Having access to a common platform will contribute to that goal.
Are you still actively involved with the project?
Glenn Hyman: We would like to get new support for it in the future. The Centers involved plan to present the project at the next CSI meeting, which will take place in Kenya, in June 2010. Between now and then, we will be doing a lot of networking and some tweaking of the website. We’ve also had some interest from colleagues who want us to write proposals related to this. The CGIAR is starting a huge climate change initiative, and a big part of that involves trying to make sure that we have seeds that are adapted to future climates. We plan to write a proposal that will involve cultivar trials for future conditions at different sites today. That’s where we think this network is going to be really useful for future research.
What about the sustainability of Africa Trial Sites work?
Glenn Hyman: A large number of our trial sites are from projects of the Generation Challenge Program. Some others are part of the Tropical Legumes Project, and yet others from the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa Project. These are all ongoing projects that have work out in the field, and which need the type of data and information that are part of this network. We also expect the network to be useful for future projects and multi-location trials.
Are you involved in networking and social media aspects in the run up to the CSI meeting? What do you hope to see as an outcome of the meeting?
Kai Sonder: I will certainly try to contribute to spreading the word on the meeting and getting local colleagues involved. Unfortunately, I’m now based in Mexico and the geographical and time distance doesn’t make it easy to arrange for things.
The meeting’s main purpose is to meet friends and colleagues within the CGIAR GIS community. So it’s a bit like an annual class reunion and it strengthens our personal relations. The big strength of the CSI is that it’s a very informal network that works very well because of our common interests and the social ties. It’s a very level community and we share a lot on data, software and information. I always learn about new data and techniques and a lot of joint projects have come out of the contacts made. It would also be nice to get a larger project going that would include the whole CSI group, such as the Agricultural Atlas for Africa.
People of related disciplines from the UN, NGOs and other institutions often participate, depending on the location and interest , so it’s always a good opportunity to network and get a new range of partners and clients. Last year, this was already quite fruitful in combination with the WhereCamp Nairobi, as I met a lot of people from different sectors and learned a lot of new things on technologies and applications beyond our normal agricultural development scope. This year, as the CSI meeting is imbedded in the Africa Agriculture Geospatial Week (AAGW), I look forward to even more exciting new encounters, partnerships and impulses for my work.
Did you face any challenges with AfricaTS that you didn’t anticipate at the outset?
Glenn Hyman: We expected a lot of historical data on trials to be in a lot better shape than it was. This was partly due to communication in the past. Some of the trial projects were started 25 or 30 years ago. Today, the Internet has made a big difference. Instead of sending trial results out by regular mail, people can get them out by email and through websites like ours. This reduces errors and the time it takes to send things. One thing that is really exciting about AfricaTS is the recent changes expected in Africa related to Internet connection and cell phones. Internet connections will be improved by new undersea cables, probably within a year. This will make a lot more people in Africa connected, and we will soon be able get the Africa crop improvement, research and development community linked to this project.
Sibiry Traore: Historically, low adoption rates of research germplasm have resulted (inter alia) from inadequate knowledge and sampling of target environments. This was also due to important communication gaps between disciplines, e.g. between breeding and ecology (including human ecology). However, AfricaTS offers a unique opportunity to deploy genes across multiple environments more efficiently by breaking through these knowledge and communication gaps.
Would you have done anything differently?
Kai Sonder: The time frame was tight for a small project and the web design part took too long. So in hindsight, these things should have been set up more at the beginning or parallel to the compilation of sites to have the web platform ready as early as possible. This would also have allowed us to share it with parts of the intended client community early on to get feedback and the word out sooner. If this gets expanded to other crops and geographical areas it will be easier.
What I found very useful was using a single site for sharing project documents online for editing and other work. This prevented endless emails with updates and revised versions and the related problems. For me, this was the first project fully managed by Skype and a Google site. So that was quite an exciting experience using new technologies with three partners in four countries and several continents.
Looking ahead what do you hope to see happening?
Sibiry Traore: AfricaTS should be viewed as a springboard for a much larger concept. Beyond the “ivory tower”, ON-STATION trial networks where growing environments are well controlled, it will set the stage for 21st century multi-local on-farm trials where growing environments are less well controlled, but where farmer implication is far more direct. In that sense, AfricaTS lays the ground for truly multi-local PARTICIPATORY trial networks of the future – which will also be more flexible and affordable.
Last Wednesday, psov posted a review of Vs. Wilderness–the delightful new LP from Idaho’s very own Finn Riggins (featuring keyboardist/vocalist Eric Gilbert, drummer Cameron Bouiss, and guitarist/vocalist Lisa Simpson). They are currently promoting the record on an extensive tour of the States (including a stop in Austin for the SXSW Festival). Amid their journey down the Californian coast to play a show at the Soda Bar in San Diego tonight, Eric took a moment to answer a few questions for us regarding the new album, the music scene in Boise, and life on the road.
Vs. Wilderness is such an invigorating and gratifying listen. Unfortunately, I had to stumble upon it rather than it being delivered to my doorstep. How can we get the word out on the streets about Finn Riggins?
Thanks! Certainly can use all the help we can get. I’d say this is a good start. Appreciate you taking the time. Glad you stumbled upon us. I see [ZapTown is] in Indianapolis. We’re playing at Vollrath Tavern on May 5th toward the end of this tour. Hopefully, by then Indy will know we’re coming.
It’s evident in the sound of the album that the band was having a blast during the recording sessions. Describe the process of translating the written material to studio tracks?
It’s true, we had a blast. We really enjoy the music we play and I’m glad it shows. Most of this record was written and refined during a very busy touring schedule in 2008 and in the spring of 2009, and really is a pretty honest snapshot of our live sound and where the band was at that time. We tracked Vs Wilderness, mostly, live over a three day stretch in between shows last May at the Visual Arts Collective in Garden City, ID. It’s a big open room and we were able to get good isolation for the drums and really play these songs like we were used to ripping them at shows. We honed some of the arrangements down for the recordings, but made most of those adjustments on the fly. We did do a decent amount of layering some parts over the top in the mixing process at AudioLab to help capture the energy of our live show. We had our hands in all aspects of the recording process, and although it was a whirlwind three weeks, we most definitely had a blast recording this album.
There is a lovely stop-animation video that was shot for the infectious track, “Wake (Keep This Town Alive)”. What does this song mean to you?
This song was the first song we wrote upon moving to Boise in January [of] 2009 and [it] was during the bottom of this current recession. There were all these questions hovering about how much harder things were gonna get. This song, to me, is about doing what you love regardless of how poor you may be in the midst of it all. It’s about being rewarded with the joys of community and the common causes that bind us together through hard times. It’s about valuing the little things in life. It’s about local underground music and art and the spiritual backbone it provides to small and big towns all over. It’s about dancing with your friends.
Built To Spill is the only other band that I can think of from Idaho. What was it like growing up and playing music in what is, historically, such a musically-devoid scene?
Idaho has never really felt musically-devoid to me. We all met going to school in Moscow, ID, up in the panhandle (northern Idaho), and it was and still is a very vibrant college town with free-form college radio and all kinds of touring and local musicians playing in town several days a week. Granted, a lot of our friends from the scene, when we were there, have moved to Portland, OR and elsewhere to further pursue music careers. But, there definitely wasn’t a lack of creative music being made around us. Idaho does lack much representation in the music industry though, and that can be problematic trying to work in to the national scene. A lot of musicians tend to move to bigger markets because of it, but we’ve been able to cover some ground in the industry thanks to our relentless touring schedule and playing those larger markets on a regular basis. We’re also thankful to have stumbled upon an amazing relationship with Tender Loving Empire–our Portland, OR based label–as they’ve helped us be fairly well-tied into the vibrant Portland scene and we often get mistaken for a Portland band. Rightfully so, though, as we definitely feel like we’re part of that scene as well, despite not storing our household goods there.
With so many performances under your belt, you’ve played with a plethora of up-and-coming bands. Tell us about some of those bands and the experiences you’ve had while sharing the stage with them.
Wow. Where to start? Definitely one of the biggest rewards with playing so many shows all over the country the last several years has been playing with and seeing so many other great bands in different scenes and following them as they develop as well. We get asked about our influences all the time, and although there might not be any direct aural similarities, we all certainly feel that we’re mostly influenced by our peers at this point in our history–on many levels. We love touring with other bands when we get that chance, seeing them night after night and comparing notes along the way. More the merrier tends to hold true in most cases. Some of our favorites: Tartufi, Low Red Land, Jared Mees & The Grown Children, Orem The Sink, The Globes, Boy Eats Drum Machine, Woven, Hosannas, Sister Suvi, Tune-Yards, Nat Baldwin, We Vs The Shark, Man/Miracle, The Dont’s, World’s Greatest Ghosts, Le Fleur, Built To Spill, Mike Watt & The Missingmen, Disco Doom, Wildlife Refugees, Ponchos, Appomattox, Yeah Great Fine, Talkdemonic, And And And, The Mutineers, Hello Shark, Love That Dress, Council of Lions, Rooftops, Test Audiences, Asher In The Rye, America Owns The Moon, and many many many more.
You have this small cabin up in the mountains. I’m sure it’s beautiful up there—a pleasant escape from the weariness on the road. What does the band do when they’re not playing or recording music? Any avid hobbies or pasttimes?
We’ve technically moved out of the small cabin in the mountains and down in to the “big city” of Boise. It was nice coming home to the solitude of the small mountain town, but it’s been nice coming home to a more vibrant music and art scene now. I like to play basketball when I get the chance. When we were up in the mountains, I enjoyed hiking and fishing when I got some free time. Cam’s an avid skier and definitely does that as much as he can. On the road, we travel with a bocce ball set and try [to] play whenever possible. Frisbee too. Lisa’s the crafty one of the bunch and does a lot of sewing.
Finn Riggins seems like fun-loving people. I’m sure you get around to making conversation with some of the fans that attend the performances. What was the most supportive thing someone said to you after a show? Any good tour stories?
Definitely get a lot of time to hang with friends and [make] new friends at shows–certainly one of the joys of this endeavor. Really fun to meet like-minded folks all over this country and hear their take on their community and music, and always interesting to watch and hear how they react to what we’re doing. People say a lot of kind things to us… most supportive thing though? A lot of them are too embarrassing to say. Someone that saw us recently emailed us afterward and said that we’d renewed his faith in modern music and that he was going to start DJing at his community radio station again because of it. Little nuggets like that never fail to inspire us forward. Lots of good tour stories, unfortunately, I’m not at liberty to share the juicy ones. We played in a yurt once. Coziest dance party ever. It was amazing. We’re playing a party on a boat next Tuesday in Austin, we’re really excited about that one.
Indie rock concert-goers will always have their stereotypes and presumptions. What was the most indeliberately insulting thing said to you after a show?
“Idaho’s that state right above Kentucky, right?” Nah, not easily insulted in general. Even if someone makes an association with a band that I don’t like that much, I’m usually excited they found a way to connect to our music. And, I just think it’s hilarious that so many people don’t know that Idaho is in the [northwest]; that it has lots of mountains, and that it’s a beautiful place to live.
You’re currently on a massive U.S. tour this spring; almost seventy dates, if I counted correctly. What are your plans after things finish up in late-May? Might you be ready to head to the studio to lay down some new material?
The plan is to spend the summer and fall writing and working on a new album, while remaining open to regional opportunities and any support tours that might be offered to us. We’re really excited to get to work on new material–lots of ideas being thrown around. We’ll have a new practice space in Boise when we get back and all kinds of inspiration built up over the course of this three month tour. There’s been talk of trying to whip up something new while on this tour with the acoustic instruments we brought with us… maybe have it ready to play by our May 5th Indianapolis show? We’ll see…
Well quite a bit has happened and changed since the last time I added a post, I am now gainfully employed-so far I like my job quite a bit-woot!
I do unfortunately get the awkward and rude customer time to time, but it’s okay, I feel really proud and accomplished when someone thanks me for helping them or just me finishing my shift, I feel like i’m helping my family and making everyone proud of me
Let’s see…I’ve been a bit lazy, well I haven’t working out as much, just tired from work, though it’s a different kind, just busy but not really super active, so I hope 5 hours of standing and cleaning and whatnot amounts enough to my usual 1-2 hours of high intensity working out
I haven’t really been studying much as I know I should, I am going to soon….
I wish I was a more motivated and better person, I try to do a little more everyday and eventually I can change.
Sometimes I really wish things were easier and quicker to learn.
I think I am still on the path to being a better woman.
Every day there is hope and belief of growth.
Today we are fortunate to have Michael Genelin—author, lawyer, and international consultant on governmental reform. Michael is the author of three novels in the crime series featuring police commander Jana Matinova: Siren of the Waters, Dark Dreams, and coming this summer, The Magician’s Accomplice.
Genelin takes the reader into a part of Europe that most are unfamiliar with: Slovakia—yes the Slovakia that was once part of Czechoslovakia. The Washington Post called his second novel “a seething cauldron of crime, corruption, political hypocrisy, and violence.” Canada’s Globe and Mail also had high praise for that work, dubbing it “a gripping novel of psychological suspense with a truly original central character.”
Michael, thanks so much for talking with Scene of the Crime.
First, can you describe your connection Slovakia. How did you come to live there or become interested in it? And, if you do not live on site, do you make frequent trips there?
As a long time specialist in criminal law, I went to Bratislava, Slovakia, on an American Bar Association/US State Department/Department of Justice program to help reform the criminal law system in that country. I was there for 2 ½ years, participating in rewriting the Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure. I was also heavily involved in creating a national anti-corruption government reform. As well, during that same period of time, I also worked in Budapest, Hungary, and briefly in the Czech Republic and Austria, coordinating with organizations such as the UN and EU, and most of the law enforcement agencies in the area. After that I traveled, living around the world working under the auspices of USAID. The work included teaching homicide investigation, trial practices, revision of government procedures, evidence code changes, constitutional changes, and training in anti-corruption investigation and prosecution. The places were as diverse as Palestine, Nepal, South Sudan, Tanzania, Indonesia, etc. I loved all of the countries I worked in but my heart stayed in Slovakia. And, I began going back there to see friends that I had made, and to revitalize my connection with Slovakia and its surrounding states. I will again be going back to Slovakia, and Vienna, this spring.
What things about Slovakia make it unique and a good physical setting in your books?
I love the people in Slovakia. They are kind, generous, brave, and very bright. They worked extremely hard to pull themselves out of the morass that communism had left them in, and working alongside them was an incredible experience for me. As well, Bratislava is incredibly picturesque. It was a former part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, sitting on the Danube just across from the Austrian border, eighty miles from Budapest, and 160 miles from Prague. If you go east you run into Poland and Ukraine.
I think that people know less about Slovakia, and its capital of Bratislava, than any other country in Europe. It’s all very dense, with a mixture of geography and cultures that make it a fascinating area to live and work in, a veritable cornucopia of food, customs, languages, topography and cultures that make for good stories. And since most people in the US know very little about it, it’s a natural for writing about.
Did you consciously set out to use Slovakia as a “character” in your books, or did this grow naturally out of the initial story or stories?
I can’t help but make the people and the “turf” a character in my books. It’s ingrained by my experience with those counties. In one of my books I write about going up into the Tatra Mountains in the middle of the winter to work at a dacha set up for the judiciary by the Ministry of Justice. In fact, I stayed there during a week in the middle of a long, cold winter. On one day, during my time there, I trekked out over the snow with two members of the Ministry to a small, cobbled-together lodge hidden in a canyon, almost all of the structure covered by huge drifts. Inside, the lodge was decorated with old Slovak work implements, gypsy costumes and musical instruments. There was a huge fireplace in the middle of the single room where the food was being cooked over a roaring fire. I had one of the best meals of my life. Since I lived that experience, how could I not write about the place, and how could it not be a character in a novel?
How do you incorporate location in your fiction? Do you pay overt attention to it in certain scenes, or is it a background inspiration for you?
Every location has its own ambiance. If you ignore it, or it ignores you in the writing, then the flavor of the story, as a meal you want to ingest or (metaphorically) eat, is going to be flat, without any taste or flavor or tang. The scenery and the action interact. The characters are in it, or they’re not in it. They have to react to it, and it (the location), in turn, is affected by them. If, as a writer, you want to bring the reader into the story, the place has to fill their lives as they read. Otherwise, as a writer, you miss the target.
And, yes, I pay attention to the locale I write about, not just to inform the story, but to inform me, and then the reader. So, I’m very careful about the setting.
How does Commander Jana Matinova interact with her surroundings? Is she a native, a blow-in, a reluctant or enthusiastic inhabitant, cynical about it, a booster? And conversely, how does the setting affect Matinova?
My protagonist is a commander in the Slovak Police. She loves her country, but is not blind to its faults. She reacts to all of the nuances of the mixed cultures in Slovakia, and the surrounding area, and it affects her interaction with other police officers, victims, witnesses, sectional differences in and around the country, political events that are unique to the area, and the position she has, as both a commander of police, and as a woman. As well, Jana Matinova (the protagonist) reacts to the cultures, and the cultural differences that are the melting cultural pot that is Europe, and particularly Central and Eastern Europe. It is a geographic area that, throughout history, has been rolled over many times by one army or another: the Romans, the Huns, the Turks, the Austrians, Napoleon, the Nazis, the Russians, etc. Remember, in the immediate past, forty thousand of them died in the war of liberations against the Germans. As a result, there is a certain amount of suspicion and lack of trust by many of those who lives there, distrust, many times, of each other, and of everyone outside of their particular sub-culture. It’s a great ethos in which to place a story.
Has there been any local reaction to your works in Slovakia?
The books have not yet been translated into Slovak, so the reactions have only come from a few of my friends in Slovakia based on the English versions, and from a number of Slovaks in the US. The Slovak Counsel-General in New York loved the books, as did the other Slovaks who read them. So, when they are finally translated into Slovak, or Czech, I have high hopes. The first two books have been sold to a French publisher and to a Japanese publisher. However, that was fairly recently, and the publishers are in the process of translating them now. So, ask me this question at this time next year.
Of the novels you have written set in this location, do you have a favorite book or scene that focuses on the place? Could you quote a short passage or give an example of how the location figures in your novels?
Setting a scene to play off on creates the tone, the gravitas of the novel. This brings the reader into the book. It can be a small thing, like describing the aridness and bleak quality of an office, or the heaters set up in a building’s hall to supplement the furnaces which are failing to do the job of keeping the freezing weather outside. As an example of location setting tone, here are a few paragraphs of Siren of the Waters.
“The man in white-face and an imitation Austrian army uniform circa 1800 stood on a small wooden box in the middle of the main square of Old Town Bratislava. Except for the few passer-bys, the empty space, with its drifting veils of snow picked up by the wind, looked gloomier than it generally did, even in the winter. The statue of the armed knight looming over the fountain had been taken down and stored for the winter; the fountain itself covered over to prevent ice from forming inside, expanding and splitting the stone structure.
“With the cadaver like leafless trees dotted through the square there was an air of deep melancholy which even afflicted the clown figure performing on the box. Well, clowns had never made Jana laugh. Too sad or too scary. They had made her dislike going to the circus when she was a child.”
Who are your favorite writers, and do you feel that other writers influenced you in your use of the spirit of place in your novels?
There are a long list of writers who have influenced me, many of them not commonly considered as being in the crime field. To name a few that have used the “spirit”, first try ee cummings’s The Enormous Room. Or, Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. Or the island prison where Edmund Dante is held in The Count of Monte Cristo. If we’re talking just plain crime novelists (really espionage with this first one, but what the hell) try any of Alan Furst’s novels. Or try the early Berlin/ Bernie Gunther novels of Philip Kerr. Or Caleb Carr in The Alienist. How about anything by James Lee Burke. All of them are favorites because, for one thing, they all know how to generate and use the “place” so it supports the story they’re creating.
What’s next for your protagonist?
The next novel is coming out in July. It’s called The Magician’s Accomplice. It begins and ends in Bratislava, but also takes Jana Matinova to Austria, Ukraine, Holland and the Czech Republic. It begins with a college student eating a quiet hotel breakfast. Without warning, he is assassinated. A short time later, the man Matinova is having an affair with is killed by a telephone bomb. To get a grieving Matinova out of Slovakia her boss sends her to The Hague in Holland to work at Europol. While flying there she meets an old stage magician and, incongruously, the two of them unite to uncover the killers. They begin to unearth a murderous conspiracy…only to find themselves now being the hunted.
Thanks, Michael for an insightful and lively discussion.
A native of New Orleans, Cate Tiernan is the author of the young adult fantasy series, Sweep, Balefire and Immortal Beloved. She's here today to talk about her books, writing, inspiration and the challenges she faces as a writer, among other things.
Thanks for this interview, Cate. As a child, you used to explore cemeteries in New Orleans. Surely not the usual pastime for a child! What about cemeteries fascinated you?
Oh, is that not normal? Cemeteries in New Orleans are called “Cities of the Dead” because people are usually buried in little concrete mausoleums, aboveground. I loved looking at the family names and the dates—you could put together a whole story of who married whom, when they had kids, whether catastrophe hit their family. I still love looking at tombstones in any new city or country I’m in, the older, the better.
What was your inspiration for Balefire?
I wanted to set something in New Orleans, because I love the city and thought the setting would be evocative and mysterious. I was writing the fourth book of Balefire when Katrina hit, and I had to keep writing, describing the city as it would never be again. I sat there and cried—it was hard to finish that book.
Do you plot your novels in advance or do the stories and characters develop as you write?
Both. In general I work from an outline, but the outline is often a bit vague, just reminding me of certain elements I have to put in or develop. But I try to get the structure in place, so I can be sure to end up where I need to end up. But the characters and the book’s universe always develop more and more as I go, and become more real, and therefore more self-determining. I’ve been really surprised by some of the decisions some characters make. Who is your favorite character in Balefire? Why?
I love the twins, of course, and it was their story I wanted to tell. But I developed a real fondness for Richard, even though he was abrasive and emotionally unavailable and calculating. I still love Riche.
What was the most challenging aspect of writing this novel?
Having to suddenly wrap up all the plot lines in book 4, when I hadn’t expected to. (And readers noticed, and weren’t thrilled about it.) With Sweep, it was planned to be only four books, but then it went going, and the story wasn’t necessarily structured to keep going. So I always feel like the books after #4 felt a little patchwork. So for Balefire, I set it all up to go on for 12 or 15 books, gave myself lots of characters and plot material to work with, but then it was decided to end it after four books, and I had to cram a lot into the last book, so it feels kind of clumsy and unfinished. Still kind of bummed about that, but those are the realities of publishing.
Did you keep a disciplined schedule? How long did it take you to write it?
I do work just about every day, and I do sit at my desk and try to make my page quota so I can turn in the manuscript on time. But it’s not like I work every day, 9 to 5, without fail. Sometimes I work at night or on the weekends, on vacations, etc., and sometimes I have to take a day off to deal with all the rest of my life. I don’t remember how long it took me to write. More than a year. Two years? Almost three?
Please share with my readers a bit about your road to publication. Was it easy or difficult?
It was weirdly easy, so I’m not a good role model of what to expect or how to go about it. I was an assistant at Random House, in the juvenile department, and so reading lots of kids’ books. I thought, “Oh, I could do this,” so I locked myself in my office for ten days at lunchtime and wrote a book, and submitted it to another publisher (I thought it would be tacky to submit it to RH; later I found out that they felt just the opposite). And they bought it and I revised it and then they bought my next three books. And from there I just made more connections and got other writing jobs. This method would not work in general, and I can’t recommend it.
What is your greatest challenge as an author?
Getting it done. My life is really full and busy and there’s always a million things that need doing. And I love thinking about the book and doing research—the actual writing, while it can be fun and is usually satisfying, is a bit more of an uphill slog sometimes. Not always. But I love it when I’m finished and happy with a book, and I feel proud of it.
What is the single most important tip of advice you’d give new writers?
Clarify for yourself what audience you’re writing for. Clarify for yourself what the message is that you’re trying to get across. Writing a book because it feeds your soul is often not enough, actually. Writing is communication: what are you trying to communicate, and why, and to whom? I guess that’s two tips. Third tip: everyone needs an editor. No one, no matter how genius of a writer, does not need editing. I’ve been lucky with my editors, and feel they’ve greatly enhanced my work.
What is the best writing advice you have ever received?
Don’t just put in everything cool you can think of because you like it—understand why you’re writing it, and make sure every sentence forwards the plot or character development and isn’t just a fabulous one-liner you’re dying to use. I do tend to overwrite. Still.
New Orleans is also the hometown of author Anne Rice. Are you her fan and have you ever had the opportunity to meet her?
I thought Interview With a Vampire was incredible—I’ve reread it several times. But I haven’t been able to get into any of her other books, though she has millions of fans and people have raved about her work. I’ve never met her.
I hear you have a new book coming out this fall, Immortal Beloved. Leave us with a little hook!
Immortal Beloved is the first book of a trilogy, and I’m having a great time with it. Love, love these characters and this story. I’ve previewed about ten pages on my website, but in a nutshell, it’s the story of an immortal, Nastasya, who has finally hit a wall, after 459 years. She can find nothing positive or of worth in her life, including herself. A desperate instinct for survival forces her to try to reclaim her life and her soul, rehabilitating all the beliefs and actions of her past. But is she even worth the effort it will take? Plus of course aching, unrequited love; a shocking, secret family legacy; much magick; stolen kisses; friends and enemies; and the painful exploration of a life that hasn’t seen light of day in four centuries. Whew! I love it.
Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning are having a blast. The duo play iconic rockers Joan Jett and Cherie Currie respectively in the new rock ‘n’ roll biopic “The Runaways” and are currently in the middle of a cross-country publicity tour. Normally, most actors would be sick and tired of constantly talking about one movie — and Stewart should know after all the hours she’s discussed the “Twilight” franchise — but you’d never know both actresses have been pushing this film since its debut at Sundance in January.
Today we are fortunate to have Michael Genelin—author, lawyer, and international consultant on governmental reform. Michael is the author of three novels in the crime series featuring police commander Jana Matinova: Siren of the Waters, Dark Dreams, and coming this summer, The Magician’s Accomplice.
your books?
How do you incorporate location in your fiction? Do you pay overt attention to it in certain scenes, or is it a background inspiration for you? 
book or scene that focuses on the place? Could you quote a short passage or give an example of how the location figures in your novels?
Thanks for this interview, Cate. As a child, you used to explore cemeteries in New Orleans. Surely not the usual pastime for a child! What about cemeteries fascinated you?