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  a whole nother brother I've been hearing a phrase a lot as of late and although I'm neither a linguistic king or grammar god it just seems that, in the words of cartoon character great, Foghorn Leghorn: "It just don't add up." The phrase is, "Whole nother." As in: "Don't get me started on you not doing your homework Timmy, that's a whole nother issue altogether!" I'm hearing this in grocery stores, coffee shops, on podcasts, radio and more. I'd like to believe that cats are attempting to say, "That is a whole another topic." Which as you can see is also ass-backwards. Or maybe they're going for: "That's a whole other topic" which although feels like an ill-fitting suit is apparently correct. Perhaps what's best is: "That's an entirely different topic." Either way I'm not here to judge. I love slang and I take poetic license at every opportunity. I started thinking a

S.W. Lauden Welcome back literary and sports fans. Please enjoy part two of my interview with Steve Lauden and Eric Beetner, two L.A. crime writers that have a more-than-decent handle on what the heck it is they do! Find them at: swlauden.com & ericbeetner.com 7. Thanks for agreeing to part two of this interview lads. Here we go: I listen to music when I write. It’s usually rock, prog rock, old school funk or classical. If you cats write to tunes, what genre(s) moves your words across the laptop’s divide? Eric: I need silence or lately I’ve been listening to rain sounds or other ambient weirdness. You can find stuff on YouTube like an 8 hour loop of the ambient noise from Deckard’s apartment in Blade Runner or the ambience from the crew deck of the Nostromo in Alien. I like that stuff but I’m totally fine in silence. I can’t write to actual music and I think those of you who do are freaks. Steve : I’m currently sitting at the Starbuck’s on Universal Citywalk listening

Let's say it's 1975. Myself and good buddy Chillydog have zip to do on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Ah ha! The rotary dial telephone—there's a source of fun and good times! "Hello?" "Hi, is your fridge running?" Chillydog asked. "Why, yes it is." "Well, ya better go get it before it gets too far away." We roll with laughter as he hangs up the phone. My turn next: "Hello?" "Yes, have you read the book; The Open Kimono?" "No." "You should, it's written by Seymour Hair!" Ah, the good old days. Fast forward to the 80's and the arrival of the answering machine. I loved leaving messages on my friends' machines. If I was calling a married couple I'd call the husband as a gay truck driver thanking him for the lovely romp in my sleeper cabin. Naturally, the following day I'd put on a female voice and call the wife as a lesbian lover thanking her for the romp in the women&#

I share this blog post with great pleasure. I had the opportunity to sit down (virtually) with L.A. crime authors Eric Beetner and Steve Lauden. These cats have a dozens of books out between them and a great podcast called Writer Types. I've busted up the interview into two parts. Dig part 1: 1. The three of us are musicians and writers so we’ve established that we’re cool. Tell the 100k plus blog readers out there what your instrument(s) is and how long you’ve been playing. Eric Beetner Eric : I play guitar and started around age 14, which was over 30 years ago, yikes! I also sang in two of my bands but that may not have been a great idea… Steve : I’m a drummer. I’ve been playing (on and off) for 35 years. 2. When did you move from musician to writer? Are you rocking both passions today or have you hung up the instrument? Eric : I’ve always written in one form or another. I look back to when I was 25 when I had a record contract and got my first screenwriting