Ten With Michael Easton

Ten 

With Michael Easton

Alternately cool and goofy, Michael Easton defies definition in any conventional sense. If he had his way, he’d be holed up at least six to eight hours a day, building universes of pissed-off, crusading, or wounded souls looking for diamonds in creosote.  Read an Easton novel, and you might wonder if he thunders through the week with a scowl on his face, shooting off sarcastic comments so dry they don’t drip—they evaporate.  Or that the bouquet of Gothic broodiness wafts in his wake, like the smell of Pantene after a blow-dry.  

Not so much.

Described by TVGuide’s Michael Logan as a “kind, wise, old soul”, Easton is approachable, easygoing, funny, and modest.  Yeah, he really does love writing for hours on end, but he also loves his other job, too, and enjoys both thoroughly as creative outlets that turn the topsoil and keep things fresh.  And while there’s definite depth and blazing intelligence beneath that absolutely ridiculous mane of hair, he’s not exactly Heathcliffy about it. He likes absurdity as much as anyone, loves the silliness of life, and knows that laughing about it is essential to surfacing past the other crap.

It was a real pleasure to ask him about Credence, his new novel with Blackwatch Comics, and about the parts of him that went into parts of the pages.

One

ARD:   How do you write this sort of story? Do you meet with the artist and go through a general discussion? Do you storyboard it out? Write it out in prose or script form and then send it to Steven in bits? My prose-loving brain can’t wrap itself around the logistics. It’s an extremely generous way of writing.

ME: I write a script, essentially how I see the book in words. In the end product the reader only gets the dialogue but about eighty percent of what I write is only read by the artist – creating an atmosphere that hopefully inspires the world he then draws.

Two

ARD:   I heard or read somewhere you got the idea for the story from doing ride-alongs with NYPD as you researched McBain.  Some of it had to be pretty jarring and viscerally upsetting.  Would you do it again?

ME: In a heartbeat. I am humbled by people serving in law enforcement and am particularly fond of the officers I met in the NYPD.

Three

ARD:   When I was in college, Stephen King was a neighbor of mine. He used to guest lecture at my university (also his alma mater), and I’d run into him at the grocery store all the time. Scariest thing about him is how utterly, completely normal he is. And he can write about such menace that it makes me nervous to have the book on my nightstand.

So, I’ve never ‘met’ you, but…um, what the hell, dude?

ME: Well, there’s the life we live with and the one we create with and those can often be two, very different, spirits.

Four

ARD:   It was hard for me to stick with Credence sometimes; the story is –or was for me—incredibly confrontational. I’m no shrinking violet, but I had to really resolve to stay in my chair and move through it. Even in the second and third go-rounds, I found myself wondering if you had moments of, ‘Jesus, this is too much. I need to take a second.’

ME:  Not so much. If you’re going to go there you might as well go first class, one-way. I think it was effective for explaining the state of mind of Daniel Credence.

Five

ARD:  Danny Credence is a shit.  I kept jotting down stuff like ‘uncomfortable in his skin’, ‘uncomfortable with joy’, ‘uncomfortable with comfort’. He’s just uncomfortable.  He can’t sit with moments of joy or contentment or quiet, can he? If something like that settles on him, he jumps up and goes out to find something that creates discord. He wants to mess it up to some degree. Or am I reading him wrong and he’s just misunderstood? I mean, he did save the dog.

ME: Most of the characters I tend to like or write about often have the deck stacked against them.  They’ve had bad things happen to them, and they're often fueled by anger and regret, and you mostly expect them to turn out bad -- yet when it comes down to choosing between right and wrong, some small part of them pushes them to do good -- even if it means losing everything they have…

Six

ARD: I mentioned how Stephen King is rather the antithesis of some of the things he writes. I’m also sticking with Credence being a shit – albeit a funny and fairly likeable one. He’s got a raft of faults and character flaws. Which one came from you, and why did you give it to him?

ME: Can’t tell you…

Seven

ARD:   You wrote a collection of poetry (Eighteen Straight Whiskeys), and a script/biopic about Montgomery Clift, but no prose work, per se, correct?   I’m just curious as to why.

ME: I’m pacing myself…

Eight

ARD:   The idea of you at Comic-Con tickled the hell out of me. This is an event that started as a small, genre-geek specific weekend that has turned into mandatory-attendance for…well, pretty much everyone. It’s not just about comic books anymore.

I know that raises the bar for small publishers—but I wonder if, in the glut of other entertainment, like Boba Fetts mingling with Arcadian slave girls on the gallery floor, or Princess Leias canoodling with Captain Kirks, comics and graphic novels kinda get lost in the mix? Or has it made the genre more marketable, more prominent because of a more widespread, diverse audience at these conventions?

ME:  It can be overwhelming and certainly it’s become more about “popular culture” than just comic books. Occasionally you can feel a little lost as a small comic book publisher. That being said, it’s still the best venue to be able to meet other writers and artists and to interact with the fans. The feedback you get from those one on one encounters and the conventions I find invaluable.

Nine

ARD:   I heard about the urinal story at Comic-Con. What was your big geek/starstruck moment? And please don’t tell me that was it.  I’ll be crushed.

ME:  Seeing the cast of “Game of Thrones” in the lobby of our hotel and having a brief chat with George RR Martin.

Ten

ARD:   I heard tell that Credence might be a trilogy. Is that still in the air, or is it settling down to earth?

ME: I got one more in me then we’ll see…

Check out a full synopsis of the book and trailer, and make your purchase here: 

 BlackWatch Comics - Credence

Listen to Angela: GH Preview for Week of November 25 - Unboxing

Unboxing

  True

The way the human animal deals with loss is as different and unique as humans themselves, with shades and layers and colors which impact themselves and those around them in various ways. Each loss is different, so each person’s reaction will be equally singular and personal. Our histories are our own, and the history we make for ourselves we carry with us into new experiences.

Maxie is plummeting. The validity or irresponsibility of her decisions nothwithstanding, she has labored under a deception that has weighed on her for the better part of the year, and it’s all out now. She has caused unyielding grief to a woman she considered a friend and is herself emotionally prostrate, wrung out, from the crushing weight of her own consequences. She resists when a very worried Mac and Felicia implore her to accompany them to Patrick and Sabrina’s wedding, instead making a foolish attempt at seeing her daughter. But a rather surprising obstacle is thrown in her path.

Shakedown

Anna is pissed. She’s been holed up in her daughter’s former prison for days with her sarcastic, acerbic ex-husband, anguished over whether Robin is alive or dead, and hasn’t had a decent shower in days. Now, having cuffed a complaining Jerry Jacks to the bed in Luke’s hotel room, all she wants is to get her hands on Faison, and not in the way he’s been dreaming for thirty years. 

 

Obrecht is equally pissed, because she knows that it probably won’t make any difference how much fire and brimstone Anna rains down on the Danish; he’s gonna take it as some kind of validation. Longing for payback, Liesl contemplates an idea of how she might be able to get it. The rage meter hits Defcon 1, as Anna and Robert discover they’re missing the Danish, plus a gambler and a prince. When their location is discovered, time is not on their side.

Love is the Seventh Wave

Despite himself, Patrick is curious when Ava, playing proxy for Carlos, dispatches the news of Robin’s status as an actual living person. But is there any reason for him to believe a veritable stranger -- who is helping the man who wants Sabrina back? Patrick has had a lot to deal with lately, but having this drop on his wedding day is enough to make him want a do-over of the bachelor party. 

Sabrina is over the moon when her cousin Juan shows up for her big day, and who has brought a special surprise for her. Emma and Felix, both equally giddy and excited, help with  the bridal preparations while Patrick plays host and greets the guests as they arrive at the decked-out church. Things finally get under way after a few minor hitches and snafus – but is there any real doubt that there will be at least one more before this is over?

Also next week: Britt runs into Brad when she goes to fetch Luke’s bubbling bloody brew at the lab, while Bobbie Spencer comes to call on her brother and gets a jarring surprise instead.

Thursday, November 28 – Encore Halloween Episode: Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice

Song Titles:

True:  Spandau Ballet, True

Shakedown:  Bob Seger, Greatest Hits Vol.2

Love is the Seventh Wave: Sting, The Dream of the Blue Turtles

You can find information, lyrics, and artist bios on the song titles in this preview at   

songfacts.com . 

 General Hospital airs weekdays at 2PM EST/PST on ABC and is available on Hulu and SoapNet. 

 DISCLAIMER:  

All General Hospital previews written and posted on this site are entirely from source material given to me by ABC PR.

  I do not source any material published on my site from message boards or other sites. ABC PR is aware of my previews and content. Thanks for reading. :)

General Hospital - November Promo - Nobody Does it Like...

Nobody Does November Like General Hospital. 

Post by General Hospital.

Listen to Angela: GH Preview for Week of November 18 - Light Refraction

Light Refraction

Never Going Back Again

The courthouse has a full schedule and plenty of shenanigans this week, between a custody drama, a murder trial, lawyers in love and a reeling, newly-daddied District Attorney. Diane is first out of the gate, cornering Dante in the witness box and bringing her formidable skills to bear on his increasingly shaky resolve.  He knows Lulu lied under oath; the question is, can Diane wrench the truth out of him, or will he withstand the onslaught?  After he is flung, wrung out and exhausted from the stand, Spinelli steps up to give his own heartfelt testimony, and that’s enough for the judge, who proclaims he is ready to rule on the case.  Things begin to unravel very quickly after that, but the fallout has to relocate, since the courtroom is needed for Round 2: AJ’s Murder Trial.

 
The Quartermaine scion has been cooling his heels in the dungeon of the PCPD, where he has only been able to send paper airplane emails and crudely scratched messages on the bottom of plastic plates. Now, finally, after months of waiting and agitating, his murder trial is commencing. Monica, Michael, and Kiki are there to support him – but the person he most hopes will be there is initially nowhere in sight.  When Liz does show up, AJ is at first heartened and encouraged – but that may not last long.  Nobody is surprised when Sonny points an accusing finger from the stand, testifying about AJ’s assault on Connie.  What causes consternation is when Scott calls Olivia to give evidence – and then introduces hotel security tapes form the night of the murder – tapes that were previously thought to be lost. Scott’s puffed and strutting with satisfaction at this bombshell, but the other bombshell in the room – Diane – challenges him.

Witchy Woman

It’s not easy having a romance in Port Charles these days.  There are all kinds of obstacles to overcome and mountains to climb – the machinations and manipulations of outside forces, the growing pains of change and evolution, the bitterness of child custody,  or just the simple onus of being dead. But the hardest challenge – the one that makes everything else pale by comparison, the one that makes any new couple tentatively groping towards ecstasy tremble in apprehension – the interruption.

Nikolas and Britt are finally engaged in the clinch. It’s a moment of triumph for two absolutely stunning, strong, and angst-ridden characters with great hair to experience, but sadly – and suspiciously like another follically-fabulous duo – someone else barges into the moment with all the finesse of a drunken kangaroo. Faison is atwitter and aghast; Liesl is behaving in a manner most unlike herself, and his world is tilting on its axis even further than is normal for him. And an unhappy Faison just annoys the hell out of everyone, including Robin, who understandably has a lot on her mind and isn’t in the mood for his usual brand of menace. 

Anna and Robert live up to their training and years of experience, finally busting out of the calculus-laden prison in which their daughter formerly languished, and Anna watches, gobsmacked, when Obrecht takes action of her own.   Now it’s a question of who gets to the wedding on time.

 Alive and Kicking

Carlos is thinking. He’s thinking hard. He’s thinking he knows that girl he saw in the lab; he’s seen her before somewhere, but he just can’t place it. So he keeps thinking. And while he’s thinking, he has another go at Sabrina, predicting dire and catastrophic outcomes if she goes forward with the wedding. Predictably,  she sloughs this off as sour grapes and heads off, presumably for another fitting with Felix. Morose, Carlos finds a friendly ear and shoulder in Ava. Yeah, Ava.

Felix, busy with preparations and happier than a pig in mud, finds himself warming a little more to Brad, who almost – and unintentionally – gives away the game about the girl in the lab.  Patrick is the kangaroo this time when he stumbles on a close moment between Felix and Brad, but Felix takes the opportunity to ask Patrick about his true commitment to Sabrina – who has told Felix about her most recent run-in with Carlos.

Back on Spoon Island, Luke shows up, looking for answers and proclaiming he’ll go back to Cassadine Island with or without Nik. Unaware that Anna and Robert have scuppered the League of Doom’s master plan, Nik tries to persuade Luke otherwise, but of course that’s no good. There’s only one thing that would possibly stop Luke from crashing the castle, and it may give him another heart attack.

Venus in Overdrive

On the day of the wedding, Liz and Patrick struggle to recover from the bachelor party, Felix is in a rapture of last-minute preparations which even Maxie would admire, and Robin is contemplating the wisdom of revealing herself to her loved ones.  There are ramifications, and it’s not going to be as simple as just picking up where she left off. Does she have the right to interfere in a relationship which Patrick so clearly cherishes? And what about Emma? Robin knows things will come to a head as the cure she has finally formulated is due to mature almost at the moment Patrick and Sabrina say their vows. 

Also Next Week:  Mac and Patrick have a heart-to heart, and a surprise visitor has a special gift for Sabrina. Felix is outraged and creeped out when he finds out about Carly’s tryst with Franco, while Franco is creeped out by the possibility Mom might be perambulating again. Britt realizes her mother has disappeared, Luke faces off with an old enemy, and an emotional reunion takes place. 

Songs:

Never Going Back Again:  Fleetwood Mac, Rumours

Witchy Woman: The Eagles, The Eagles

Alive and Kicking: Simple Minds, Once Upon a Time

Venus in Overdrive: Rick Springfield, Venus in Overdrive 

You can find information, lyrics, and artist bios on the song titles in this preview at   

songfacts.com . 

 General Hospital airs weekdays at 2PM EST/PST on ABC and is available on Hulu and SoapNet. 

DISCLAIMER:  

All General Hospital previews written and posted on this site are entirely from source material given to me by ABC PR.

  I do not source any material published on my site from message boards or other sites. ABC PR is aware of my previews and content. Thanks for reading. :)

Listen to Angela: GH Preview for Week of November 11 - Pocket Change and Paper Hearts

Pocket Change and Paper Hearts

 Change The World

Silas and Sam have been hanging in with a united resolve all evening – playing Greek chorus/peanut gallery to near perfection. The evening hadn’t started out auspiciously, with their initial, divergent gut reactions to the artwork. Then Ava started spilling Derek’s beans, inaugurating the real displays of the evening – and Silas was for all the world goosing Sam, saying, “Get the beer! The show is about to start!”

Of course it was a careening slide from there, punctuated by catfights, BLT’s, and mercifully flowing whiskeys.  Dizzy from the carousel of revelations, the two grab some time alone to commiserate over the story so far and share a quiet, intimate moment before the next wave starts.  Which it does, and on several fronts.  When it’s all over, both are reeling from the implications and revelations. Sam and Silas run home to make sure Danny is safe, find they are alone again…and maybe this date isn’t going to end the way it looked like it started.  

When Sonny, beside himself with grief and rage at Morgan’s deception, confronts his son in front of the entire town, it’s too much for the conflicted, embattled, and bitter younger son, who runs from the family conflagration – as his older brother chases after him. 

The two have finally reached the point where things either have to come to a head or break – or both, and it is a violent, furious, and dangerous clash from which neither will emerge unscathed or unchanged. Michael ends up in dire, life-threatening circumstance as his mother happens along to find him. Sonny, worn out, heartsick, and taken to pieces from what he’s learned, turns to Olivia when the shouting stops.

All in a Family

Baby Connie is, sadly, becoming the rope and the prize in the single-minded tug of war between two mothers. Maxie, Lulu, and their respective clans – Felicia, Dante, Spinelli, and their lawyers  -- gather at the courthouse for the custody fight, and the gloves were never on.  Witnesses are called to give evidence in heartbreaking ways – including Maxie herself, who is forced to relive and re-tell some of her most painful experiences to the entire room. Her evisceration only fuels her rage, however.  She knows where the secrets of her adversary lie buried – and she tells Diane to fire back in equal measure at Lulu. 

Luke and Tracy are at the hospital to run some follow-up tests on Luke’s condition, and are stunned when Lulu and Dante fill them in on what they missed during the Cassadine caper. They end up babysitting Connie together, while Ellie draws Luke’s blood sample for tests.

Wracked with despair, indecision, and grief, Spinelli is probably as much in the middle as his infant daughter, and is truly at a loss for what the right thing is to do.  He confesses to Ellie that Diane suggested a radical solution to him – but is it the right way to go?

Strong Enough To Break

That blood sample Ellie took from Luke is what Robin is itching to have, determined to whip up a savory antidote for her salty Australian nemesis so that she can step back into her old shoes again. She makes a beeline for her old lab, and is shaken by the onslaught of memories from the last time she was there – that time when she ‘died’, everything she loved was ripped and torn and left for debris, and she mourned a life that moved without her.

Sabrina catches up to Patrick just as he is on the way to the very same lab, and the two happily discuss their wedding plans – both having told Emma they’re getting hitched next week. Felix is already in an ecstasy of tulle, lace, and embroidered angels as he brings upon Sabrina enough white dresses to cover Kilimanjaro. 

This does not make Carlos happy, and he again darkens the Drake door to plead his case with an exasperated Sabrina, with little success. Undaunted, he stakes out the hub—but instead of Sabrina, he runs into someone else.

Also Next Week:  Carly tries to make Franco realize her feelings aren’t about pity, while the despondent artist receives an ominous delivery.  Scott frets about the scandal knocking him off the DA running before he even starts the job. Robert and Anna cook up an escape plan. Britt gives Nik support, while Felix and Brad get closer, and Olivia tries to let Sonny of the hook easy.

Songs:

Change the World:  Eric Clapton, Phenomenon

All in a Family:  Loudon Wainwright, Older Than My Old Man Now

Strong Enough To Break: Hanson, Underneath

You can find information, lyrics, and artist bios on the song titles in this preview at   

songfacts.com . 

 General Hospital airs weekdays at 2PM EST/PST on ABC and is available on Hulu and SoapNet. 

DISCLAIMER:  

All General Hospital previews written and posted on this site are entirely from source material given to me by ABC PR.

  I do not source any material published on my site from message boards or other sites. ABC PR is aware of my previews and content. Thanks for reading. :)

Listen to Angela: GH Preview for Week of November 4 - Day for Night

Day for Night

Cat’s in the Cradle

Say what you will about Michael “Sonny” Corinthos – he’s a killer, he’s a gangster. He’s a womanizer and an opportunist. He’s smart and he’s canny and he’s manipulative; he’s vulnerable and lost and groping for light. Love him or loathe him, there is one thing that no one can argue – that he loves his children with ferocity and passion.  To him, they are the Omega to his Alpha, the mortar in the cracks of his morality.  To him, they are the good things he will leave behind – proof of not only his legacy, but of whatever decency he might have. Sometimes the sins of the father are not visited upon his sons.

Sometimes the son embraces and surpasses them.

Sonny is feeling back in control and confident, knowing what he knows about Julian Jerome and Derek Wells. What he doesn’t know is the fox is in the henhouse, and when D.A. Lazaro drops by for a visit to discuss the matter, neither is aware their conversation is being overheard.  Morgan, having proven his quality to his father’s enemy, is tasked with new responsibility when he meets with Julian – a meeting that is witnessed and misinterpreted by Franco.  Later, Olivia sees Morgan give something to Scott Baldwin and it isn’t until it's almost too late that, to her horror, she connects the dots – presumably without a single jackal in sight.  Sonny is devastated, and even though Olivia once again tries to reason with him, he is determined to make an end of things.

Sugar We’re Going Down

Misinterpretation seems to be the breakfast of champions this week; this time it’s Carly, when she interrupts Franco and Diane and misconstrues their interactions. Franco confides in Carly about seeing Derek and Morgan in suspicious circumstances. Later, Max sees Diane with the increasingly neurotic artist, and he misinterprets – completely oblivious to the fact that the tumor-tossing attorney still carries a torch for him.  Diane, meanwhile, is preoccupied with the very real worry that the actual artist whose work Franco has absconded might find out what he’s done. And of course, the real artist shows up, bright and early for the gallery show. 

Scotty, riding a wave of confidence after putting to effective use what Morgan gave him, is more expansive than usual. He and Lucy are cooking up plans, just like the old days, only this time it’s actually stuff that could benefit people. But someone else has other plans, and it all comes to a rolling, Valdez-worthy crash and spill at the gallery opening. Franco’s eggshell walk crunches beneath his Manolos when he is asked to explain a particular piece of work. He is stymied to the point of blithering when Heather steps in with a confession that results in utter chaos, mayhem, and above-the-fold headlines.

I’m Yours

Back from New York City, Sam and Silas are fortified with new information they intend to use carefully.  Silas goes to Kiki, giving her the background they learned about Ava, and Silas tells his daughter that Mom may very well still be in the thick of nefarious activity.  Sam, meanwhile, goes to pay a visit to Auntie Ava, and it’s a fair bet to say that after the encounter, Ava’s going to need a lot of bourbon.

Sam can’t really abide Franco; this really isn’t a surprise – there’s a lot of blood under that bridge. But she is curious and intrigued by his apparent charity and interest in donating proceeds of the gallery sales to leukemia research. So she and Silas decide to go to the opening together in their third attempt at a date. Both decide to play their cards close to the vest, throwing distraction from their suspicions by professing that they may need Derek’s help in the future.  Ava, who has grown more apprehensive and edgy about the opening since Sam’s visit, didn’t want Derek to be there at all, but when Bedlam is loosed among the canvas BLT’s, she urges her brother to leave before things get worse. Sensing a threat, Silas becomes protective of Sam and calls the police, while the two of them find themselves chagrined at their inability to have even one normal date.

Also Next Week:  Carly reaches out to Franco, while Michael and Kiki consider Morgan’s reasons for staying with Ava.  Scott worries for his future, and Sonny denies accusations hurled by Lazaro.

Songs:

Cat’s In the Cradle: Harry Chapin, Verities and Balderdash

Sugar We’re Going Down: Fall Out Boy, Under the Cork Tree

I’m Yours:  Jason Mraz, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. 

You can find information, lyrics, and artist bios on the song titles in this preview at   

songfacts.com . 

 General Hospital airs weekdays at 2PM EST/PST on ABC and is available on Hulu and SoapNet. 

DISCLAIMER:  

All General Hospital previews written and posted on this site are entirely from source material given to me by ABC PR.

  I do not source any material published on my site from message boards or other sites. ABC PR is aware of my previews and content. Thanks for reading. :)

Hard Landing - Easton and Perkins' CREDENCE

Hard Landing

CREDENCE 

Michael Easton and Stephen Perkins

Michael Easton’s books are not for the faint of heart, but then, the things that make you think and shake usually aren’t.  As with his ethereal and moving Soul Stealer trilogy, Easton’s Credence is thought-provoking, frightening, saddening, shocking and encouraging at different turns of the page.

From Blackwatch Comics: 

Detective Danny Credence has a gold shield and some dubious morals. An insolent man in a profane society, the madness doesn’t stop when he walks out the precinct doors…he’s more than the tough, ruthless cop he’d like you to think he is. In his heart and his head he knows. The criminality of the world is only a symptom. What eats away at him is the deeper sickness of a society in which notoriety and self-exploitation are the cornerstones of success.

All this comes to a boil when Credence finds out he’s just been scratching the surface of human depravity.  His latest assignment is about to drag him under, bringing him face to face with a new kind of evil. Every violent, wicked moment in his miserable life has been a buildup to this reckoning…

Credence is dirty, gritty, profane, messy, angry, and naked. There is no cover or artifice to filter the confrontation, no blunting of the ragged edge. It’s right in your face – the sex, the violence, the profanity and depravity – and the stubborn, inexplicable perseverance of Danny Credence – and the spark of resolution somewhere inside him that says there’s got to be something, anything – better than what he sees and feels.  And it’s damn good story.

This is not a book you read leisurely. It’s packed, dense, and demanding; you better pay attention, or you’ll find yourself in a back alley somewhere in this universe and no one will find you.  Easton grabs you by the throat with the narrative, while Perkins holds you rapt with his masterful artwork, until you are dropped in a heap at the end of the story. Then you’re gonna want to go back and read it again after either a Scotch or a brisk walk.

You might think that, given the subject matter, Credence is depressing, and yes, sometimes it picks up pieces of festering rage and holds them right under your nose. But ultimately, Easton’s books are about going to the bottom--the darkest, coldest, dirtiest parts of a human being – and still finding light.

Images Used With Permission. 

Check out a full synopsis of the book and trailer, and make your purchase here: 

 BlackWatch Comics - Credence

You can also purchase Credence Here: 

Artemis Perfect Editions