Welcome Back to Gotham City

Friday, November 16, 2018

Gotham City Digest, 11/16/18

(Brought to you by Trumpy Bear, the teddy bear that doesn't put out forest fires but criticizes those who do.)

But we can't afford war exercises on the Korean border that cost $24,000,000.

The "leanest operation in the East Wing", eh? How the hell do you rack up nearly $200,000 in hotel bills over a 12 hour period when nobody even stays? Are they booking entire floors so Melania can have them all to herself during her photo ops?

Karma's a bitch, eh, asshole? #Bridgegate

Remember the news story of the cop who shot a black security guy for doing his job? Well, guess what? Typical cop circling wagon bullshit ensued. So much for "good guys with guns."

So, a former state trooper decided to ambush a Democratic DA and shot him in the face with a shotgun. What the fuck the MATTER with Alabama?

So, Trump's skipping the Kennedy Center honors yet again. Not surprising. Trump's idea of culture is getting spanked on his fat ass by porn stars with anything with his face on it.

Not only is the NRA unable to carry water for Republicans, they can't even carry their own water.

Tammy Duckworth nails "President Bone Spurs" again.

"Likely to launch wide-ranging probes into Trump administration"?! They damned well better. It's why we gave them back the House.

A federal judge (appointed by Trump, no less) decided to order the White House to temporarily give Jim Acosta his hard press pass back. #Somuchwinning... for us.

Meanwhile, another judge deals blow to the KKK, er, Brian Kemp. Same thing, I guess.

The late Stan Lee wrote this editorial about bigotry in 1968 (I'm guessing right after Dr. King's assassination that April). In it, we hear distinct references to Trump's base that wouldn't climb out of the woodwork like noxious termites until 47 years later. Last Monday when I wrote about Stan passing, I wish I'd known about this. He certainly was a prophet in some ways and this was one of them. Pay careful attention to when he inveighs against those who hate indiscriminately and with venom and the evil of demonizing entire countries and religions. Without knowing it, Stan Lee wasn't just anticipating Trump's base, he was perfectly anticipating Trump.

Make our toilets clean again!

I'd bet my left nut that little rat fuck Jacob Wohl was behind this, too. This is exactly the kind of right wing dick move Chadwick would try.

Trump nominates Mar a Lago member, handbag designer with no diplomatic experience ambassador to South Africa. The implosion of the Onion commences in 3, 2, 1...

I don't always agree with Marcotte or any of the elitist "liberal" bloggers who'd stiff-armed me over the past 14 years. But I agree with her in this (poorly proofread) Salon article about how to troll the far right. So this Thanksgiving, between the time your Fox-watching dittohead drunk uncle starts an argument about how great Trump is and when he vomits in the mashed potatoes, use these tactics. Get personal. Shame them. They have no respect for the truth. They have no concept of reality. Their hatred of liberals and engaging us is what they live for even as the right wing picks their pockets. These people are morons who deserve not the slightest scintilla or iota of respect. Own them. Because, as Jefferson said, attempting to debate one who has renounced reason is like trying to apply medicine to a dead man.

So what's the Trump administration's answer to waving away pressure over a murder most people would love to forget? Another murder. Nobody can possibly convince me this duplicitous, fascist administration isn't dedicated to pure evil 24/7.

Maine just flipped another House seat to a Democrat. Jared Golden won in ME-2 on an unprecedented use of ranked-choice voting. Of course, the loser Republican is challenging the results in federal court and is now complaining that ranked-choice ballots are unconstitutional since they didn't favor him. Go gently into that good night.

Have any of my Brit readers ever listened to James O'Brien on the radio? The guy's bloody brilliant and I wish we had more pundits on our radio like him. Teresa May's Brexit move is falling apart at the seams, people are resigning, including the Brexit Secretary. It's now unpopular with Labour, unpopular with the Tories and unpopular with just about everyone but May and her dead-enders. Now people who'd voted for Brexit are calling up radio hosts in tears to apologize. Perhaps it's a bit premature to say this but it's obvious to me even from across the pond that this is the beginning of the end for Brexit.

We need to remove the Old Guard Centrist "Democrats" like NOW. We need more activist legislators like Jayapal, Grijalva and Ocasio-Cortez. A LOT more.

"I am part of the master race. Don't ever forget that." Sure. A joke. Real jokey people, these racists. Until they start screaming when people make jokes about them.

"Paradise Lost" is the perfect title for this piece about the California wildfires.

Like he hasn't been shirking his duties since Day One? Really, every time I read that phrase, "cocoon of bitterness", I burst out laughing. Whether we laugh or cry, the consequences will be the same. So you might as well laugh at this sad sack of a clown, this sociopathic Emmett Kelly, since it's much more fun than crying.

According to Trumpie the Klown, you need ID to buy a box of cereal and you can vote twice anywhere just by changing your clothes. And no doubt Obama phones were equipped with secret radio waves designed to make white mens' penises smaller and mushroom shaped.

Did you know if you're a Republican in Florida, you can vote by email in violation of the law? America. What a country!*

*Applies only to Republican voters.

Draining the swamp one croc at a time.

Oh, so NOW Senator No is demanding bipartisanship from House Democrats. Let's ask Garland and Obama for their opinions. What chutzpah this cocksucker McConnell has.

What the fuck is Rick Scott doing in DC for orientation? Isn't there a recount going on? Did the Florida Secretary of State validate the election results? Yes and no.

Laura Ingraham, the Dollar General Leni Riefenstahl is also having a meltdown over the midterm results.

This is how it starts, people. By "it", I mean antisemitism. Just because these clowns don't work for the government, it doesn't mean they're not inspired by it.

Let the shuffling of the Titanic's deck chairs commence.

So, 50 nations and over 150 tech corporation signed on to combat cybercrime but not North Korea, Russia or us, huh?

Oh, I like this girl Ocasio-Cortez, who showed up outside Nancy Pelosi's door her first day of orientation and held a protest. I can't wait to see what she does over the next two years.

One of the latest pearls of wisdom from President Massengill. And finally...

     Militant nationalism- Check.
     Merging of corporations with the government- Check.
     Stoking fear and hatred about "others"- Check.
     Censorship of and hostility toward the press- Check.
     Demonizing political opposition- Check.
     Fully embracing far right ideals such as white supremacy and those who hold them- Check.
     Irrational militarism- Check.
     Fascination with authoritarian figures- Check.
     Obsession with crime and punishment- Check.
     Sound familiar or do I have to go on?

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

President Rain Man, My Fat Ass!

(By Cyril Blubberpuss, Conservative-American)

I am so sick of this cant and twaddle!" I said to my executive secretary Miss Waddlebody just as I shoved my freshly-shined wingtip in the face of the bootblack before quickly scuttling away, "Trump misses one 100th anniversary of the World War I Armistice and people are all over him like white on Stephen Miller."

All right, two, including Arlington. So sue me.

It seems all those liberal Gold Star pussies jump on Trump every time he slights the troops or is merely perceived to have slighted the troops. And, unfortunately, in politics perception is 90% reality whether it is or not. And even if our president did fly all the way to France to meet with world leaders in time for the 100th anniversary of the Armistice, can you blame the poor man for not wanting to go out and look at a bunch of headstones in the rain? After all, he was fully expecting a parade in his honor like when he went there summer last year. How the fuck was he to know France wouldn't have a parade on Armistice Day and that the frogs only do it on Bastille Day? Talk about bait and switch!

And I ask you, Dear Reader, what possible political benefit could have come from Trump going to Belleau Wood and coming back looking like this? Who knows what could have happened, especially with Jim Acosta there to cover it? Maybe that grabby intern that tried to snatch that microphone out of his hand last week like a fag sailor grabbing twink cock on liberty would've gotten hold of Trump's umbrella by accident and how could that have elevated our skyrocketing international prestige in Western Europe?

Oh so now I suppose you'll say, "But, but Merkel, Macron and Trudeau honored their fallen soldiers!" Yeah and like Mom used to say to Cecil and me when we were growing up, "Cyril, Cecil, if the other prep school boys set fire to homeless men, does that mean you have to?" (I still have a permanent flat spot on the back of my head from all the times Mom would slap me back there after all the times I said. "Yes!")

And you never find anyone who loves the troops more than our president and me.

Well, actually, that's not entirely true. In my previous contributions to my byline, I'd glossed over my kid brother's mercifully brief flirtation with the United States Navy. It was around 1980, when Trump had begun building up Trump Tower and Cecil, trespassing on the construction site, got fresh with one of Trump's minimum wage-earning Polish laborers. There was a dust-up and the judge decided, after looking at Cecil's stout but soft frame,

"Son, you have been found guilty of public exposure and solicitation. You have two choices for the sentencing phase: Either you can be remanded to Riker's Island or... Or you can join the United States Navy, where, after a rigorous course of basic training with scores of other young men with whom you'll be showering, you may one day be cooped up in tight confines on a ship with many more young men, again, some of whom will be naked, for months on end with no possibility of escape. The choice is yours."

Well, Cecil's beady little eyes got as big as they'll ever get and let's just say his mandatory standing posture before the judge proved a bit embarrassing as he visualized being a member of our superior fighting force on the seven seas. In fact, in a burst of patriotism, Cecil raised his chubby little arm and immediately wanted to be sworn in on the spot.

It wasn't to be, not at that time, anyway, and after taking the ASVAB seven times, finally passed it, barely, and we saw him off at the AFEES in Flushing, leaving behind a family full of confidence that he'd be a five star admiral before his 20 years were up.

Instead, 20 days later, he was deposited on my father Ambrose's doorstep, flanked by two very stern-faced Marines like the ones whose graves Trump wouldn't visit because he refused to tie up traffic in France like he does every other weekend when he's at Mar a Lago. When Spenser our butler took in the scene, he called my father who immediately demanded to know what was going on.

Apparently, there was another dust-up and misunderstanding between my kid brother and some of the other recruits in the barracks shower at the training base in Orlando. Allegedly, some bodily fluids were voluntarily exchanged on my brother's end, sending three of the recruits to the base hospital's psychiatric ward.

Well, that served Cecil in good stead later when he needed that military discipline and bearing when he really did go to Riker's Island after that other dust-up involving the Eastern European hostel boys and www.cecilsprays.com.

In fact, if anyone else in our family can be said to love the troops more than Cecil and I, it's my baby girl Bertha. In fact, she'd briefly enlisted for a time after seeing Goldie Hawn in Private Benjamin back in the mid 90's. And as a US Marine, it was said she was putting US Navy SEALs to shame by beating them at arm wrestling with her weak arm. She probably could've had a shot at being the first woman on SEAL Team Six if it weren't for her nocturnal activities in the women's barracks.

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that Donald Trump didn't visit that bone yard where over 2200 US Marines died in some war between the frogs and krauts for the same reason he didn't allow himself to be drafted or why he didn't enlist. As he told me himself at the White House last week right before he left for France,

"Look, Cyril, you should understand better than most what it woulda been like being the son of a rich man in a place populated by gooks. Look at what happened to McCain. They took him because they looked up at his plane, somehow recognized him and shot him down because they knew his old man wore scrambled eggs on his lid, OK? I didn't want to be a distraction to the rest of the boys. Because if there's anything I hate being, it's a distraction with senseless drama."

And if that doesn't put this silly matter to rest, ladies and gentlemen, well, I don't know what will.

Monday, November 12, 2018

Gotham City Digest, 11/12/18

Where we promise never to leave you alone, in the rain.

It is impossible to estimate how many billions of lives the life, work and example of Marvel's Stan Lee had positively touched and will continue to touch. And not many can claim that distinction. #RIPStanLee.

Republican brains are so incredibly abnormal, there are even physical differences from the brains of sane ordinary people.

You gotta give Rick Scott an A for ambition but a D for delusion.

Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, these fine, upstanding young white males are giving the Nazi salute in their suspiciously all-male class picture. Yeah, Trump owns this, too.

So, a black security guard stops a mass shooting, then the responding officer shot him dead by mistaking him for a criminal. Do the right thing and you still get shot and killed.

Oh, so now the asshole who ties up traffic every time he goes to Mar a Lago is suddenly afraid to tie up traffic outside Paris. I smell a Letterman Top Ten list coming up.

"The White House then said on Monday that Trump would not be attending Arlington National Cemetery, where past presidents have traditionally gone to pay their respects to military service members on Veterans Day. The forecast on Monday calls for a 100 percent chance of rain at the cemetery."

Next time, MAGAts, don't elect a man with cotton candy for hair.

Jesus, it took them two fucking years to discover that?

     Some highlights from President Rain Man's latest European vacation:
     "After a few hours in a Paris hotel, the White House called off Trump’s attendance at the first memorial event of the weekend, at Belleau, where 2,000 US marines were killed. The ostensible reason for the sudden cancellation: rain."
     "A display of leadership solidarity in the face of the scourge of war became once more an exercise in isolation. As other leaders walked in a phalanx along the Champs Élysées on Sunday, Trump travelled separately, by armoured limousine."
     "On early occasions he had managed a show of bonhomie in meetings with Macron but at his Élysée Palace meeting this time, he sat glumly like a pupil made to stay after school and did not respond when Macron patted him on the arm."
     "Trump looked on grimly throughout. The only moment he brightened up was when he saw Vladimir Putin approach. He flashed a goofy smile, all the more noticeable alongside Macron and Merkel who had switched their demeanour to steel resolve on spotting the Russian leader.
     Putin solemnly shook hands with them and then gave Trump a big thumbs up."

There's only one reason why this goose stepper would put this online- To boast about his White House connection, as if to say, "See? Trump loves us!" Now you know why the WH won't release its visitor logs, why they say they're "sensitive to national security." More like white nationalist insecurity.

Here's Chuck Schumer in a nutshell:

He's a bank robbery hostage with Stockholm Syndrome who's hoping the bank robbers will somehow beef up the bank's security.
This is what we have for Democrats, people. This is what you centrist assholes keep telling us to vote for. (Tip o' the tinfoil hat to Constant Reader CC)

The news on the left coast just keeps getting better and better. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Moscow) just lost his reelection bid.

Oh, this is rich, coming from someone who lost a lawsuit that tried to impound the voting machines of an entire Florida county. Projection, thy name is Rick Scott.

First Dubai went Robocop with their robotic officers. Now they're going all Judge Dredd with experimental hoverbikes. Bonus nightmare fuel: The FAA doesn't mandate that owners need a license to fly one of these things.

On the 100th anniversary of the Armistice ending WWI, on Veteran's Day weekend, our Commander in Chief blew off the dead soldiers who'd died in that war because he couldn't face a security threat called drizzle.

Sorry, I refuse to see how the so-called Blue Wave lived up to its two year-long hype. Flipping state legislatures is all good and well but it doesn't make a damned bit of difference on the Hill. As I'd said Wednesday afternoon on my blog, without the Senate, the Crown Jewel in the midterms, the House can write all the articles of impeachment that they want. With a right wing Senate, those articles will never be ratified. Ever. And we have not only the corruption of Republicans to thank for losing the Senate yet again but also the laziness, apathy and sheer, utter stupidity of the American voting public that can always be depended upon to vote against its own interests.

Oh, the irony. Maybe Trump will pardon him and make Sayoc the fucking Postmaster General.

It's now known that a California court blocked a new law that had prohibited high capacity magazines. The NRA and Republicans: Fuck the will of the people. Let them die in the name of Free-dumb.

I'd bet it wouldn't be "embarrassing" to this small time right wing editor if the situation was reversed.

Yes, you read that right. Trump's about to give the Presidential Medal of Freedom to three dead people (Babe Ruth, Elvis and Scalia) and a billionaire donor's wife. I expect the Onion will go out of business any day now.

Yeah, THAT Judith Miller, the one who made a mockery of journalism in Iraq. When these right wing meatheads mock Ocasio-Cortez and other Socialist Democrats, they come off looking like the prep school jocks making fun of the lunch lady. It's not a real good look for them. (Another tip o' the tinfoil hat to Constant Reader CC)

Not that we can afford to talk but what the fuck was Brazil thinking last month?

"Georgia election server wiped after suit filed." Remember back in the good old days when politicians used shredders?

It's called Democracy, Skeletor. Look it up on Wikipedia.

Caleb Carr once wrote a sci fi novel entitled, Killing Time. It was about a doctored video showing the assassination of the first female president. In it was an aphorism: "Information is not necessarily knowledge."
I give you Infowars' doctored video of Jim Acosta supposedly striking the WH intern who tried to grab the microphone out of his hand, the one jumped on by Sarah Sanders.

As I'd said earlier, right wing shysters are actually suing for only certain ballots from certain places to be counted. Raise your hand if you think this is not representative democracy.

Democrats since Tuesday: "Let's thoroughly count all the votes so we'll all know who rightfully won."

Republicans since Tuesday: "Don't count all the votes in Florida and just count the ones in Republican strongholds in Arizona or we'll accuse you of stealing the elections."
They're not even trying to hide their Tammany Hall-class corruption at this point.

"We're not a mob, we just like Bob." Folks, this is perhaps the last time in American history when you'll ever see sane, normal people gather in large numbers to support a Republican.

Looks as if Mitch cancelled his longtime hit contract on Obamacare. Gee, you think us taking back the House had something to do with this? And finally...

At first, some of these state results from Tuesday look encouraging until you see Hawaii didn't even come close to cracking 40%, Louisiana barely broke 35% and nationwide we managed just 49%. You have to wonder at this point what kind of crisis would actually get Americans off their fat, pasty asses and vote in majority numbers. It's not as if Trump, who got barely 25% of the voting age public to vote for him, hasn't long since passed that tipping point.

Interview with Dana Ridenour Endorf

This month, my year and a half-old feature Author of the Month makes history as I crown the first ever two-time winner, Dana Ridenour who’s also my third consecutive female former law enforcement professional to win the honor. Dana’s the author of the Lexie Montgomery series of thrillers who’d just won the Royal Palm Literary Award and is working hard on getting Lexie in a three season television series of her own. Although the former FBI agent-cum author was my first Author of the Month, that was long before I’d begun doing interviews with my honorees earlier this year and have been chomping at the bit to get her to sit for one.

1) Dana, you’d worked for the FBI for 20 years and had retired not too long ago. Like your character Lexie, you were an undercover operative, potentially one of the most dangerous jobs in the bureau. What percentage to date do you think your law enforcement experience informs the Montgomery series?

All three of my Lexie Montgomery books are works of fiction, but I would have to say that one hundred percent of my experiences as an agent are spilled out onto the pages. When I started writing, I didn’t want to write a run of the mill FBI novel. I wanted to use my personal experiences as an undercover agent to capture the psychological toll that undercover work has on an agent. When an agent works long term, deep cover investigations, he or she is changed at the end of the case. You lose a little piece of yourself with every long-term case. The dangers that I faced in my career made me the person that I am today. Those experiences make up the character of Lexie Montgomery. So, even though the books are fiction, the characters and cases are based on many of my real-life experiences. At this point it would be impossible to separate Lexie’s emotions from my emotions. She has in a sense become my alter-ego.

2) Let’s talk about your late friend Captain Sandy Vermont for a minute. Sandy became perhaps the most vivid character in BEYOND THE CABIN, the second book in the Lexie Montgomery series. For those of us who hadn’t read it or knew Sandy, what kind of a man was he?

Captain Sandy Vermont was a naturalist, a storyteller, and a wise man. I worked on his tour boat off and on over many years and we became very close. Captain Sandy shaped and influenced my life in so many ways. His passion for the history, mystery and romance of the area was contagious. My love of the South Carolina Lowcountry came from the countless hours that I spent on the boat with him, listening to his stories and learning about the area. Captain Sandy taught me to throw a cast net, made me laugh, and brought great comfort to me in troubling times. He was a special person.

3) It’s no surprise that Lexie is every bit as much of a South Carolinian as you. Wherever she goes, the mud of the Palmetto State is always between her toes. Do the salty marshlands of South Carolina inspire your fiction as it did Pat Conroy?

The South Carolina Lowcountry is my home. I have a deep love and appreciation for the area. It is impossible to live in this area and not appreciate the remarkable beauty that surrounds us. Prior to becoming a Special Agent, I worked as a First Mate for Captain Sandy’s Tours in Georgetown, South Carolina. We provided boat tours of the majestic old rice plantations, shelling and lighthouse tours, and, at night, ghost tours. Captain Sandy taught me everything I know about the history, mystery and romance of this area. From the charming people to the smell of the pluff mud, I love everything about the Lowcountry.

4) To those of us who haven’t been in federal law enforcement or have had the benefit of your Juris Doctorate, how do you find ways to bring home the realities of the FBI in a way that that not only edifies but also entertains the reader? Do you think it’s a matter of winning over the gentiles or the subject material finding its own audience?

Striking a balance between keeping the novels realistic and entertaining readers was the most difficult part of writing the series. The FBI is hardly ever portrayed factually in novels, television, or movies. I wanted to write a realistic FBI undercover novel. My firsthand knowledge of undercover work allowed me to write a novel that not only has a thriller element, but also delves into the psychological impact that undercover work has on the agent. I think that I’ve managed to do so without compromising the realism. It’s hard to compete with books and movies where someone is being killed on every page or in the first two minutes of a movie. I’m hoping to build an audience of people who want to know what really goes on behind the scenes in an FBI investigation.

5) Do you remain in touch with your old colleagues still in the Bureau? How supportive have they been to your writing endeavors?

I keep in touch with many friends who are still on the job. They have been supportive and encouraging. I’ve even spoke at one of the FBI offices during my last book tour.

6) In the first entry in the series, BEHIND THE MASK, you thrust Lexie into an undercover role when she’s fresh from her training that requires she infiltrate a radical animal rights group. Were you ever in a real situation like that or can you not talk about that?

My first long term, deep cover undercover case required me to infiltrate a radical animal rights group. BEHIND THE MASK is fiction, but it is loosely based on cases that I worked. I was the undercover agent in several domestic terrorism cases where I infiltrated radical groups.

7) This segues into the next question of how dangerous is it for an undercover operative to become sympathetic to the people they’re surveilling and to “go native” as they say?

It depends on the case. In some investigations, the subjects are so despicable, that becoming too sympathetic is not a problem. However, when I infiltrated animal extremist groups it was a different situation. Most of the people who I encountered during those investigations were nice people simply trying to save animals. There were only a small number who were committing acts of terrorism. I love animals, so being exposed the animal abuse and other atrocities on a daily basis was emotionally draining. That is why the role of the contact agent is so important. Undercover agents have to learn to compartmentalize their emotions, which takes a little practice. When an agent is new to working undercover, it can be difficult to not get lost in the role. A good undercover agent relies on his or her contact agent to keep him or her grounded in reality.

8) Describe your typical writing day. Do you use notebooks, laptop, a combination of both? How many hours per day do you typically write?

I use a laptop. My handwriting is atrocious, so I can’t use notebooks. I do keep a small notebook with me in case inspiration strikes and I need to make some quick notes. I also use a storyboard with my three-act structure. If I’m working on revisions and have a deadline, then I will usually work an eight-hour day. My husband pushes coffee to me so I am able to keep my butt in the chair. When I’m working on a manuscript, I’ll write anywhere from two to six hours a day. I enjoy writing and if I’m not careful the entire day will slip by without me knowing it.

9) Plotter or pantser?

I’m definitely a pantser, however, I have had to start doing some plotting since the Lexie Montgomery books have become a series. I have to be careful to not write myself into a corner with the series.

10) I mentioned the Lexie Montgomery TV project in the introduction. Tell us more about it and with whom are you working and how much input do you get to have with the finished product?

I met my writing partner, Michael Lucker at a writers’ conference a couple years ago. He has over twenty years of experience as a screenwriter. With his experience and the material from my three novels, we set out to write a screenplay for a feature length motion picture. Michael’s entertainment agent advised us to work on a television series instead. So, we worked together to write the one pager, outline the characters, outline the first three seasons, and write the series pilot. Michael and I are equal partners in the project. The project is complete and in the capable hands of Michael’s entertainment agent who is trying to sell the project.

11) Lexie is obviously based very closely on you and your experiences. Do you picture yourself when you describe Lexie and is she an idealized version of the real you?

I’d like to think that Lexie is a better version of me. I definitely picture a younger version of myself when I’m writing the character. The character of Lexie came about because of emotions that I experienced as a new undercover agent.

12) Had any of your colleagues or friends besides Captain Sandy made the trilogy or is it more like a collective impression of several?

The two characters that are the most steeped in realism are Lexie and Captain Meade. I had a special relationship with Captain Sandy Vermont, the person on whom I based the Captain Meade character on, so it was only natural that Lexie and Captain Meade have a special friendship. I spent thirteen years in the FBI undercover program and during that time I had three outstanding contact agents. The character of Kate Summers is a compilation of my contact agents: Bruce, Ralph and Vickie. I guess I made the character a female because my last contact agent was a female and it was a natural fit with Lexie.

13) All writers get the dreaded so-called writer’s block. How do you deal with it? Do you back away from the desk or do you conquer it with an exercise?

I back away from the desk. If I’m having a difficult writing day, I usually grab my husband and we go for a walk on the beach. I’ve found that getting back to nature helps the creative juices. I’ve also found that playing guitar also helps to get me back on track.

14) Considering the classified nature of your work with the Bureau, did you need authorization from it before going forward with the books or did you merely elide over the classified aspects?

All of my books had to go through a pre-publishing review process with the FBI to insure that I wasn’t disclosing any trade secrets. I was also held to a little different standard because of my affiliation with the FBI. For example, I was not allowed to use a photo of the FBI seal on the cover.

15) So, what’s next for Lexie and Dana? Is the Montgomery series a trilogy and will you start a new series or are there more Lexie adventures in store?

The third book in the series, BELOW THE RADAR, is scheduled for a summer release. I’m working on a fourth book that has nothing to do with the FBI. Some people think I’m crazy switching genres, but I’ve wanted to write this book for a long time. I’m not permanently leaving the FBI thriller genre, I’m just taking a break. The book I’m working on now is a modern literary fiction. It has some adventure and quite a bit of humor. I’m having a great time writing the manuscript and I feel that I’m growing as an author. I’m also planning a second FBI series. I do enjoy writing the character of Lexie Montgomery, so I wouldn’t count her out. She may show up in another Lexie Montgomery book or even as a cross over character in the new FBI series.

Dana's contact information:

Website: http://www.danaridenour.net/

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/danaridenourwriterpage/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ridenour_dana

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/undercoverauthor/