VA Beach, SEALs, Cheerleaders, and Book Gigs

I’m in Virginia beach, appearing at Symphony Fundraiser along with noted authors Mary Jane Clark and Jonna Doolittle Hoppes. I’ll be discussing research, writing, and Trust No One. VA Beach is a delightful place – check the view from my hotel room: .

I’m very pleased to be here, given that VA Beach sports the base for the SEAL East Coast Teams, so in my research with the crew, I’ve heard a lot of stories about it (hi, giant Poseidon statue). .

Between flights (I had a few more stops) I’ve been getting a lot of work and reading done. A few great pilots might be coming to TVs everywhere — The Event, The Cape, and No Ordinary Family. And I FINALLY started Marcus Sakey’s The Amateurs. What the hell’s wrong with me, waiting this long? Sakey is one of my favorite young writers and he’s certainly not disappointing here. (Note to aspiring writers: check out how he gets into characters quickly and smoothly and how nicely he trots out/reveals information. He’s good. Go buy some shit).

As for VA Beach, people are great, weather nice, and it sports the highest tattoo to flesh ratio of any town I’ve visited. I hooked up with a SEAL buddy last night for a few drinks and we’ll see if I can get onto a base to do some research tomorrow. The hotel I’m staying at is hosting a cheerleader convention, so everyone is quite perky and wearing T-shirts that say things like, “Those who say it can’t be done should get out of the way of those already doing it,” which strikes me as a bit too long to be T-shirt pithy. (Favorite overheard line on an elevator, from college-aged girl: “I thought cheerleaders were supposed to be good-looking”). I went to the pool this morning then for a walk on the beach, where I phone pow-wowed with the Great Steve Wacker of Marvel fame about Shadowland. The whole time we’re trying to talk Daredevil and Moon Knight, cheerleaders were doing flips and handstands and belting out slogans. I would have taken a picture of that too for you, but feared it was a bit too Humbert Humbert.