Katrina

I am incredibly depressed about what is happening in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana right now. I can’t imagine what must be going through the minds of those who are there. All those people in the superdome—some of whom might not make it out….it just makes me physically ill.

I know there have been reports of looting in the area but from what I can tell from the images on the news most of the stores that are being looted are grocery stores. I saw one woman running out with a large package of Huggies. I’m sorry but if I was stuck there I’d be looting the grocery stores too.

What makes the whole thing surreal for me is that about a year ago I read an article in National Geographic. It pointed out that Louisiana was loosing 25 square miles of wetlands a year thanks partially to ill conceived levees and canals built for petroleum exploration and ship traffic. It also pointed out that those wetlands had traditionally served as a buffer for New Orleans against strong hurricanes and that with global warming raising the sea level and with predictions of the hurricanes this century being more numerous and stronger than in the past New Orleans could be in big trouble.

In fact here is the hypothetical scenario they put forth:

The storm hit Breton Sound with the fury of a nuclear warhead, pushing a deadly storm surge into Lake Pontchartrain. The water crept to the top of the massive berm that holds back the lake and then spilled over. Nearly 80 percent of New Orleans lies below sea level—more than eight feet below in places—so the water poured in. A liquid brown wall washed over the brick ranch homes of Gentilly, over the clapboard houses of the Ninth Ward, over the white-columned porches of the Garden District, until it raced through the bars and strip joints on Bourbon Street like the pale rider of the Apocalypse. As it reached 25 feet (eight meters) over parts of the city, people climbed onto roofs to escape it.

Thousands drowned in the murky brew that was soon contaminated by sewage and industrial waste. Thousands more who survived the flood later perished from dehydration and disease as they waited to be rescued. It took two months to pump the city dry, and by then the Big Easy was buried under a blanket of putrid sediment, a million people were homeless, and 50,000 were dead. It was the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States.

When did this calamity happen? It hasn't—yet.

I read another article last month that said every 60 years or so we have more powerful hurricanes and that 2005 was likely to be a bad year for those in Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama.

And now all the predictions are coming true. I’m not trying to make a political statement here. For me this goes way beyond politics. People are dying. Approximately a million people are currently homeless.

As a general rule I can take bad news in stride. I do what I can to make things better and then I move on with my life.

But this kind of stuff is hard. I feel for these people so deeply and I wish to God there was something more I could do…I’ve already donated what I can to the Red Cross and I’m praying but other than that most of our hands are tied.

Kind of puts all my little problems into perspective.


Kyra Davis
www.kyradavis.com
Sex, Murder And A Double Latte IN STORES NOW!!!
For The Love Of A Dog--A fun online read!
Moms Of Mystery--An e-newsletter!

My Son's Musical Tastes

During his 6 years of life my son has been exposed to pretty much every kind of music; children’s songs, rap, classical, hip-hop, folk music, alternative rock, show tunes, you name it he’s heard it. For whatever reason he seems to be particularly fond of disco and 80’s tunes.

So when we went to the karaoke room in Zeum (San Francisco’s children’s arts and technology museum) I knew we’d find at least one tune that he would be familiar with. Before I even opened the book of song choices he requested Eye Of The Tiger (we had been listening to an All 80’s Weekend on one of the local radio stations). I told him that I had my doubts that they had it and started reading off several of the songs they did have. He listened for a while and then said, “Tell them that I want to sing to We Are Family, I Will Survive and YMCA.”

No, I’m not kidding.

I hesitated and then asked if he was sure those were the songs he wanted to perform.

“Yes, and tell them to start with YMCA, you know, the young man song.”

I nodded and went back to the room where the employees take the visitor’s musical requests. I smiled at the three teenagers poised over the audio equipment and cleared my throat. “My son would like to do karaoke to YMCA, We Are Family and I Will Survive in that order and before you say anything I’ll have you know that he’s only six and thus way to young for you to make assumptions about his sexual orientation.”

The teenagers looked at me, visibly bit their lips and put on YMCA and my son proceeded to dazzle a room full of highly amused people.

I honestly don’t think his current musical preferences can really predict how he’s going to feel about rainbow flags as an adult but if he asks to be Cher for Halloween I’m going to begin to wonder…

Kyra Davis
www.kyradavis.com
Sex, Murder And A Double Latte IN STORES NOW!!!
For The Love Of A Dog--A fun online read!
Moms Of Mystery--An e-newsletter!

THE BITTERSWEET GIFTS OF LIFE

Usually when we say we’re going to give ourselves a gift or treat ourselves to something we’re talking about buying an expensive outfit or indulging in a hot fudge sundae with M&Ms on top. But what if a doctor tells a woman that her health is dependant on the improvement of her diet? In that case shouldn’t the woman’s decision to forgo the sundae with M&Ms in favor of a fat free frozen yogurt with almonds be considered her way of treating herself to good health?

I’ve been thinking a lot about those kinds of gifts lately. You see today is my birthday. I’m 33 and I’ve spent the weekend taking stock of my life as well as the state of a budding relationship that I’ve been in. I really care about the man whom I’ve been dating but I see that there are big problems on the horizon. It became clear to me that unless we got on the same page regarding a few key issues our romance would become more destructive than emotionally fulfilling. So I sat down and talked to him the night before my actual birthday. I told him what I needed from him and as I predicted he told me that as much as he wanted to make me happy (and he did) he was not presently able to give me those things. It was tempting to just turn a blind eye to our problems but doing so would have required certain emotional sacrifices on my part that I am not comfortable with. So I dabbed my tears away and ended it. Right before I walked out the door I noted the time. 12:30 am. I was breaking up with this man on my birthday.

The next morning and afternoon many of my friends called to wish me well on my “special day” and one by one I told them what I had done. Everyone supported my decision and told me I was doing the right thing but it was my friend Mika who really got me to look at the situation in the most interesting light. After listening to the reasons for my decision and boosting my ego by telling me that he would never do better than “a beautiful, intelligent, successful woman who respected his need for space and independence,” she stated that she thought it was wonderful that I would treat myself to this break-up on my birthday. I hesitated and asked her to explain.

“You know your own worth Kyra and when he wasn’t able to be there for you in the way you deserved you moved on and gave yourself a fresh start for your birthday. If that isn’t an incredible gift I don’t know what is.”

And you know what? She’s right. It is a gift. I can’t say that I’m enjoying it that much today any more than the woman who wanted the ice cream is really all that thrilled about the frozen yogurt but in the long run I know I will appreciate this present more than anything I could have bought myself in a store.

So it’s been a bittersweet birthday, but given the current circumstances I wouldn’t have it any other way.


Kyra Davis
www.kyradavis.com
Sex, Murder And A Double Latte IN STORES NOW!!!
For The Love Of A Dog--A fun online read!
Moms Of Mystery--An e-newsletter!

The Gift Of Good Press

On August 22nd I will be 33 years old and it seems that many of the ladies and gentlemen of the press have taken it upon themselves to give me birthday gifts. They probably don’t view it that way but that’s their problem.

Let’s start with my last television interview on KPIX in San Francisco…it went incredibly well and was aired last Sunday morning (yes, I know I should have given you Bay Area gals a heads up but there was a mix up about the airing date and I didn’t find out in time to blog about it). For Me magazine has also given me a nod by throwing a contest with the prize being my book along with four others. It’s nice to know I’m worth winning. Then as I’ve already mentioned Ebony recommended my book in their August issue and apparently Black Issues Book Review Magazine has listed me as one of their “up and coming authors.”

Yea! I’m up and coming!!!

But it gets better. I Googled my book the other day and all this great new stuff popped up! For instance Sex, Murder And A Double Latte was recommended by The Hartford Courant as a book to read if you want to get a taste of a left coast experience without actually leaving the good ol’ state of Connecticut. I was also reviewed this last Sunday in The Washington Post!!!! No one told me about that!

The review can really be summed up in this sentence:

Kyra Davis's debut novel, Sex, Murder and a Double Latte… exemplifies the pleasures and the irritations of the sleuthing-lass lit form.

Unfortunately there’s a lot about the Chick Lit Mystery genre that irritates the Washington Post but there are a few thing that they admit are enjoyable and for that they gave me kudos as is demonstrated in the following statement:

What does count in this subgenre is snappy dialogue, and Sex, Murder and a Double Latte entertainingly talks the talk.

To be honest I’m thrilled that the Washington Post even knows I exist. Nobody likes to pick on the underdog so if they’re giving me their attention it means they think I’m a contender if only in a commercial sense which to be honest is really the only sense I care about. What good are reviews if people don’t buy the book? Which leads me to the granddaddy of all newspapers, the one that will be featuring me in a trend story that will appear in their Sunday Book Review. That’s right people I’m talking about….

THE NEW YORK TIMES!!!!!!!!

Yep, it’s me Janet Evanovich, Kate White and several other people who make one hell of a lot more money than I do. We all get our due in a two page article about the new trend of chick lit mysteries.

This makes me very, very happy. Granted it’s not a review per say, more like a round up but hey, I’ll take it!!!

So happy birthday to me. I would send a thank you note to all the reporters who have thought of me during this wonderful month but somehow that doesn’t seem appropriate. But on the off chance that one of you are reading my blog—THANK YOU!

And to think I didn’t get them anything for their birthday.


Kyra Davis
www.kyradavis.com
Sex, Murder And A Double Latte IN STORES NOW!!!
For The Love Of A Dog--A fun online read!
Moms Of Mystery--An e-newsletter!

It's The Little Things

The other day I was at a Starbucks ordering their new Green Tea Lemonade when I noted that the man who had just ordered before me was staring at me. Whenever this happens I usually avoid making eye contact while at the same time observing the offending party to make sure they’re not crazed, armed or Brad Pitt (if they’re Brad Pitt I make eye contact but so far that’s never been the case). The man was probably in his forties, approximately a few inches taller than me and maybe 60 or so pounds heavier. He also had the look of someone who was a bit on the downtrodden side. He didn’t appear to be dangerous so I ignored him. When I went to the ‘drink pick-up’ spot he addressed me in Spanish which is a mistake because the only words I know in Spanish are “Hola and no hablo español.” Nonetheless I’m used to being mistaken as a Latina so I took his greeting in stride. When he realized that I was a gringa he apologized in broken English. He said that he was sorry for being so rude but he wanted to tell me that he thought I was beautiful. There was something about the way he said it that implied he wasn’t trying to pick me up. He was just paying me a compliment. I could have been cold or haughty about the whole thing but instead I smiled and thanked him. He got his drink and went to a table by the window and I got my tea and headed straight for the door. I was parked right out front and I could see him sitting at the bar, hunched over, looking kind of depressed. When he looked up I opened the door to my car, flashed him my brightest smile and held up my plastic cup as if to toast him. He got this kind of startled expression on his face and then his posture straightened and he just lit up. At that point I got in my car and drove off.

The Starbucks I was at is out of town and it’s doubtful I’ll ever go there again and even more doubtful that I’ll see that man again but I’m glad I met him. I wasn’t attracted to him but he did make me feel good about myself and I think I was able to do the same for him. The whole incident reminded me of how easy it is to brighten a person’s day.

Just thought I’d share.

Kyra Davis
www.kyradavis.com
Sex, Murder And A Double Latte IN STORES NOW!!!
For The Love Of A Dog--A fun online read!
Moms Of Mystery--An e-newsletter!

Here's To Good Hair Days!

Those of you who have been following my blog know that I’ve been on a few different television shows. In fact I’ve been on 1 national show, 3 shows that are local to the Northeast, and 4 that are local to the Northwest. However I have never been on a television show that is local to the California Bay Area despite the fact that I have lived here all my life.

Well that changes this month! I’m never sure how far in advance I’m allowed to tell readers the name of the magazines, newspapers and shows that will be featuring me so I’m going to play it safe and hold off on giving you the name of the show until I have an exact air date, but I can tell you that I’ll be taping on Friday. I’m very excited about this for a few reasons:

1) This is my home turf so there’s a good chance that a few people might actually watch this little interview.
2) I am familiar with the area in which the studio is located which means that not only will I not get lost but I’ll also be able to easily locate one of the several nearby coffee shops.
3) I have been able to make an appointment with my hairstylist just hours before the taping!

To be honest I think I’m the most excited about point number three. My hair has been the bane of my existence for most of my life. I go through periods during which I like it a little more than others but I rarely love it…except when I walk out of the salon. Now I will be able to show the entire San Francisco Bay Area that my hair is not always a frizzy mess. I will be able to prove that for approximately 12 hours out of every 60 days it’s damn cute!

It will be a moment of triumph! Now if I could just find a way to keep my t-zone from shining the minute I get under the lights…

Kyra Davis
www.kyradavis.com
Sex, Murder And A Double Latte IN STORES NOW!!!
For The Love Of A Dog--A fun online read!
Moms Of Mystery--An e-newsletter!

Free Press & No Taxes

It has been quite an eventful week for me media wise. A little over a week ago I was given a wonderful review by the Detroit Free Press. This was a fabulous surprise since as far as I know none of my publicists pitched them. Then that review was syndicated and republished in last Sunday’s Houston Chronicle! And just in case that wasn’t enough I was featured in an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer this last Tuesday and The Good Times (a Bay Area weekly publication) also featured me in a two page article!

And to top it all off I am still on the Barnes & Noble Hardcover Mystery Bestseller list!!!!! To stay on that list for three months straight is HUGE!!!

And there are more big things in the works right now that I’ll fill you in on a little later….

In the meantime my six-year-old is formulating big plans for our future. Those plans involve cloning a Woolly Mammoth and building a time machine. As far as the Wooly Mammoth is concerned he figures he’ll be able to start working on that when he’s a teenager with the help of a geneticist and a zoologist (he of course will be the Jr. paleontologist). He’d like to start working on the time machine immediately but apparently it requires that he disassemble a few things that I’m rather attached to—like my vacuum cleaner and blender. Okay fine, I’m not that attached to the vacuum but it seems unwise to render it completely useless. He’s tried to reason with me. Just this morning while I was busy trying (and failing) to catch up on emails he walked over to me and said “You know…there are no taxes.”

I hesitated a moment as I tried to make sense of the remark. “I don’t think I’m following you.”

“There were no taxes in prehistoric times,” he explained patiently. “If you just let me tear apart the vacuum you could come time traveling with me and you won’t have to file anymore taxes and everything that you might want that’s in Mesozoic America…it’s free!”

I’m seriously tempted….


Kyra Davis
www.kyradavis.com
Sex, Murder And A Double Latte IN STORES NOW!!!
For The Love Of A Dog--A fun online read!
Moms Of Mystery--An e-newsletter!