Coming Soon

[Stephen Brayton]

<a href="http://stephenbrayton.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/coming-soon.jpg"><img src="http://stephenbrayton.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/coming-soon.jpg" alt="coming soon" width="300" height="218" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-773" /></a>This week I wanted to let you know about two upcoming series of blogs to be put into the semi-sort of rotation that I have and to ask for some input into them.

1. Complaints. I believe I saw these on Facebook or maybe somebody emailed them to me. Either way, it is a list of 19 actual complaints registered by tourists. I don’t know if they’re all directed to the same travel company, cruise ship, or if they have been gathered from different sources. I thought, like the adult truths, they were humorous enough to write about. However, whereas I’ve related the truths to writing, I’ve decided to branch out and relate them to various things in my life. Some may include writing stuff, but from a personal viewpoint instead of a lecture about the craft of writing.
2. Restaurant reviews. Here in the Des Moines area, there is a plethora of places to eat. Some good, some average, and some I wouldn’t recommend. Now, I know that there have been other restaurant reviewers who’ve published their articles in the local Thursday extra of the Register and that’s fine. However, as I have discovered in the last few months, a lot of eating places close and more open up. What I want to do with my reviews is have three characters (and maybe more) from my books-Mallory Petersen, Harry Reznik, and Lori Campisi-and have THEM visit the restaurants and share their experiences. I’ll list some of the special menu items, some prices, what each chose to dine on and any tidbit of information they want to share. For instance, how cold one place was or annoying patrons at another. I experimented with a couple of them by trying to turn each into a short-I mean really short-story. In the case of Lori, I’ll present her evenings out as emails to her contact back in Washington.
 
What I wanted from you, my loyal followers, are suggestions. Regarding the complaints, I can’t really entitle them Complaint #1, Complaint #2, etc., as I do the Adult Truths because although the opening line is the complaint from the tourist, the subsequent material won’t-necessarily-be a complaint from me. So I’m open to titles for this series.
 
For the restaurant reviews, what would you like to see included in the reviews? I’ve mentioned a few things but want to keep it interesting, especially for those who aren’t in the Des Moines area. For those of you who are or are going to be, I’ll take requests to visit a particular restaurant.
 
So, I have the infrequent author interviews/guest blogs, Adult Truths, Life Skills, Complaints, and Restaurant Reviews. Plus, the all-inclusive spur of the moment topic if something unique happened during the previous week.
 
Thanks as always for reading and keep checking back for some fun.