KYRA DAVIS: This and That

So, are we all ready for the Oscars? I don’t know how much I’ll be able to see but I’m hoping to get a glimpse of at least one great dress and one really bad one. I also want to see Jon Stewart (I kinda have a little crush on him).

When I'm not contemplating celebrity fashion faux pas' I contemplate the impending publicity push for Passion, Betrayal And Killer Highlights. I’m cautiously optimistic about how it will be received. I’ve been getting lots of preliminary feedback and it’s all been great plus I know of at least one national magazine that will be featuring it so that’s also a good thing.

If everything goes according to plan (that would be the plan of my publicist) I’ll be touring San Francisco, San Diego, Denver and…drum roll please…the Hamptons. Now if you’re like me you probably hear the word Hamptons and think anorexic socialites sipping martinis along side their Anglo-Saxon billionaire husbands. Yes, it’s a major stereotype but that is what most people on the West Coast (and perhaps elsewhere) believe to be true. However my publicist assures me that the Hamptons attract all sorts of people, not just the rich and intentionally-hungry and seeing that she lives in New York and apparently goes to the Hamptons with a certain degree of regularity I’m inclined to believe her.

It is interesting how we tend to form stereotypes about certain areas of the country. I remember last year my publicist tried to convince me to tour Dallas and I balked. “I can’t tour Dallas!” I exclaimed. “I’m a Black, Jewish woman!”

“Kyra,” she had said patiently, “there are lots of Blacks and Jews in Dallas.”

“Yes, but I’ll be the only one who doesn’t have a gun!”

It turned out to be a moot point anyway since the press and bookstores of Seattle and Philadelphia ended up being more interested in promoting my work. However now that I’ve been communicating with several readers and writers who are from the South (many from Texas) I am beginning to think that my ideas about Texas may be out dated. For instance I found out that not every Texan is a gun owner…just a little over half of them. Surely at least some of those 45% who don’t own a firearm are ethnic so I guess I wouldn’t have been completely alone. And Dallas is a big city with a diverse population and I’m sure their issues surrounding racism are about the same as the issues here in the Bay Area. I recently read an article stating that California schools are some of the most segregated in the country so what do I know? Plus while fewer Californians have guns apparently a lot of the guns that are here get stolen. In my book a licensed gun owner isn’t anywhere near as scary as an unlicensed one.

I’m rambling a bit so I’ll wrap this up. If my publicist has her way I’ll be partying in the Hamptons and when and if I do I’ll be sure to let you know which of the stereotypes regarding that area are true and which aren’t. And maybe one of these days my publicist will send me to Texas and I’ll get to dispel a few myths about that place too.

Kyra Davis
http://www.kyradavis.com/
Sex, Murder And A Double Latte IN STORES NOW!!!
Preorder Passion,Betrayal And Killer Highlights In Stores May 2006!
For The Love Of A Dog--A fun online read!

11 comments :

AnonymousSunday, March 5, 2006 at 7:30:00 PM PST
I'm obsessively checking the oscar website for winners and chanting Brokeback, Brokeback. I love that movie. Get choked up just thinking about it. Can't wait for the DVD and I'll lock myself in the house with a few boxes of tissues and watch it over and over.
kyradavisMonday, March 6, 2006 at 11:03:00 PM PST
Hey Amra, so sorry Brokeback didn’t win for you! I haven’t actually seen it yet. As a mom it’s rare that I get to see a film that doesn’t star a cheetah, whale or dog.
PriscillaTuesday, March 7, 2006 at 9:30:00 AM PST
Glad to hear you will be coming to San Diego! Do you update your website with your tour dates and locations?
I only saw parts of the Oscars, but thought Salma Hayek looked gorgeous as always, her dress was fabulous! Then again, she looks good in anything.
You will be pleasantly surprised if you visit Texas, it's a wonderful place :)
kyradavisTuesday, March 7, 2006 at 6:18:00 PM PST
I’ll definitely be updating my events page as I find out where and when I’ll be speaking and what-not. I’m sure Texas is filled with many wonderful cities and that my preconceived ideas about the state are unfounded. After all, if you ask the average Midwesterner what they visualize when the hear someone mention San Francisco they’ll say, “Lots of Gay men, lots of liberal extremists and lots of earthquakes.” And of course they’d be wrong! We almost never have earthquakes! ; )

Hands down, Salma Hayek was the best dressed woman at the academy awards. Her dress was spectacular and she looked spectacular in it. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking, she’d look spectacular while wearing a garbage bag but until this last Sunday I would have said the same of Charlize Theron and yet that awful dress and hairdo she showed up with proved me wrong.

Yeah I know, I’m being catty but if you can’t be catty about the fashions worn by the celebs to the awards shows what the hell can you be catty about?
Molina Sias FamilyTuesday, March 7, 2006 at 7:27:00 PM PST
Kyra,
Being born & raised in Texas, I hope you do come on a book tour. There may be a little twang in my voice but I assure you that Texas is a great place to visit. Texas offers
Matthew McConaughey, Shiner Bock Beer and great Tex-Mex food.

PS. I love your city!!
kyradavisWednesday, March 8, 2006 at 5:31:00 PM PST
Monica--I'm so glad that you're eagerly anticipating my next book! I so hope it lives up to your expectations!

I don't know exactly where or when I'll be signing in the Bay Area (although I do know I'm going to be signing at The Capitola Book Cafe sometime in June). But as soon as I know I'll let you know!

pinche gata--The opportunity of tasting real Tex Mex alone is enough to make me want to visit your state! We'll see what happens as the tour shapes up!
Jozef Imrich with Dragoness MalchkeonThursday, March 9, 2006 at 3:36:00 AM PST
The internet seem like every drunken conversation come to life ;-)

Sign books like you don't need the money, Dance like no one is watching, And love like you've never been hurt ...
PriscillaThursday, March 9, 2006 at 12:49:00 PM PST
Kyra,
LOL on the earthquakes. I'm from LA, and have lived in NC for five years. Every southerner here thinks that CA is going to fall into the ocean from the earthquakes! I'm looking forward to moving back in May.
I love San Francisco too...the husband and I went up to Northern CA for our honeymoon. We did the wine tour through Napa and Sonoma, stayed in Union Square, went to the museums and to Santa Cruz.
Yeah, I can't believe what Charlize and Naomi Watts wore...they both need to get better fashion advice!
kyradavisFriday, March 10, 2006 at 3:16:00 PM PST
Yes, whenever I'm out of state and I mention that I'm from CA people always shake their heads and say, "How do you deal with all the earthquakes?" Like the ground beneath our feet is perpetually shaking. I mean please! You're more likely to die of skin cancer than an earthquake.
ShoeGirl CornerSaturday, March 11, 2006 at 10:05:00 PM PST
YOU CRACK ME UP! I just read this and as you know, I'm from TEXAS. It has to be in CAPS because we're such a BIG state! And if you read any of Alisa Valdes Rodriguez's blog entries when she was here working on her book you know better by now. And you know me (kind of) and other fans who live in Texas, so I'll forgive you! Check out my blog about the Latino Book and Family Festival. It has become the largest book festival in Texas! And it's in Houston!
kyradavisMonday, March 13, 2006 at 10:57:00 PM PST
Perhaps I’m not remembering things correctly but it seems to me that Alisa had lots of wonderful things to say about Houston and lots of less than wonderful things to say about the rest of the state. Of course that’s just Alisa’s opinion. I will do my best to reserve judgment until I see the place with my own two eyes which will most likely happen sometime in the not-to-distant-future (fingers crossed)