SAS Day 2, Part 2

Circus Maximus, billed as an exotic circus-themed party featuring Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Cunningham and Scissor Sisters' lead singer Jake Shears to benefit for NO/AIDS Task Force and Saints & Sinners Literary Festival was the big party Saturday night. I wanted to go to Trebor Healey's poetry reading, but those conflicted with Tainted Love, performed by the premiere drag troupe of the Gulf Coast (can you tell I'm borrowing right from their ad?), the New Orleans Carnival Kings. I couldn't pass that up. Besides, Skian McGuire, Jolie du Pre, and Sacchi Green were going, and they were the people I most wanted to hang with that night.



We had a blast. The play/musical Tainted Love featured some hot Drag Kings, great music, and some sharp political dialog.

(Members of the audience dancing with the cast)

On our way to a gathering afterwards, our party got absorbed into another down by the pool at Oliver House, a French Quarter hotel.

I finally got a chance to chat with Amie Evans. She's charming. I enjoyed her story about a trip to what she called Catholic Disneyland up in Quebec. Some day I'll have to ask to see the picture of her in her Marilyn Monroe pose on the cross.

Here's an excellent writer's conference question - is it a good idea to talk to an editor you might submit a novel to after your forth or fifth wine of the evening? I did anyway. Joe Pittman was very nice. (He even opened another bottle of wine for me)

This is the best part about writer's conferences - sitting around talking with other writers. Listening to the banter and talk about the business side of writing was a pure joy for me.

Charles Flowers of Lambda Literary Foundation very sweetly made sure I was included in the conversation. Gotta love a man willing to wear a Piggly Wiggly shirt. Thomas Keith of New Directions Publishing did an excellent Maggie Smith imitation, and playwright Kathleen Wanock shared some great New York stage stories. It was my great luck to end up next to Ron Suresha for most of the evening. I could have talked to him for hours, and did.

A little after 1AM I decided that I needed to toddle off to bed. I hated to leave the party, but I couldn't keep up with the conversations any more. It was a perfect evening.