I have an announcement to make: I am moving to Seattle. Not sure when, but basically, ASAP. I've just returned from our swing through the Pacific Northwest via train, stopping for a glorious Easter weekend in Portland and then celebrating my 50th birthday in Seattle, the Emerald City. It's been one long yellow brick road, but I believe I've finally discovered my ultimate home.
The Space Needle and I are both 50 and aesthetically stuck in the early 60s
One reason I decided on Seattle for my big birthday celebration is because of the Elvis connection. His movie It Happened at the World's Fair came out the day after I was born - April 3, 1963. So on April 2, 2013, I felt like I had come full circle, clear across the country and a half century removed from my birthplace in Manhattan. I actually showed a faded 35mm print of It Happened at the World's Fair (the one where young Kurt Russell kicks The King in the shins) at The Parkway back in August 2000, with special guests Yvonne Craig and Gary Lockwood, who had never even seen the movie before, despite the fact they were co-stars. (They didn't make it all the way through this time, either - more on that event here.)
Also, I had originally planned for years to spend my 50th in Hawaii - you know, Hawaii Five-O and all. But as the date quickly grew closer and I gradually grew older, I decided I wanted to experience something and somewhere new to my lifetime experience. I've already been to Hawaii twice - first on our honeymoon back in 2001, and then again for our 5th wedding anniversary in 2006. Plus with Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge nearby, I had my fill of tiki culture without ever leaving the island of Alameda. Nearing my half century mark, I felt strongly it was time for a change of course.
On the train to Portland, March 30, 2013
Monica and I had always talked about taking a train trip up through the Pacific Northwest. Though I lost my full-time blogging gig just two weeks before B-Day, I decided to put the whole thing on credit, a leap of faith in my financial future. I really needed the creative and spiritual inspiration, and something in my soul told me my dreams and desires would meet their ultimate destination with this journey. The culture and climate of Seattle have always appealed to me. I'm an indoor cat by nature. I dig my weather cool and cloudy, with coffee and cocktails on the side.
I was not disappointed.
Monica had actually been to both Portland and Seattle before, and we have friends in both towns. The culture and climate of this region has always appealed to my artistic sensibilities. The Tiki Goddess prefers the more cosmopolitan vibe of Seattle, as compared with the more casually collegiate-hipster atmosphere of Portland. Both suit our tastes and we could live quite comfortably in Portland, but Seattle is simply more our speed and style. Of course, when we arrived in Portland, it was unusually warm, while it was raining back in the Bay Area. A little cosmic irony at my expense. But on my actual birthday, it was a typically chilly, overcast day in Seattle. So I escaped the bright sunlight after all, just in time to celebrate.
Below is a pictorial overview of our epic, life-changing, and life-affirming journey, a reconnaissance mission to our future home...
At Powell's in downtown Portland - the most incredible bookstore in the universe
Here are a few of the choice birthday cards I got on Facebook:
Of course, my dream of living in Seattle depends largely on making enough money to move there. With Christian Slater's film of my novel Love Stories Are Too Violent For Me still stuck in the development stage, I've decided to have the novel republished so it's available for any interested investors, actors, and of course, readers. Here is storyboard artist Matt Brown's mock up cover concept, featuring Christian as Vic Valentine, with his permission, offering the public their first look at the Hollywood legend as the hapless private eye hero of my out-of-print (but not for much longer) book:
It should be out this summer, in print and ebook editions, exciting details to come, stay tuned...Meantime, I have THRILLVILLE'S 16TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW at The New Parkway on Sunday, April 14, 6pm, featuring the sci-fi classic This Island Earth (1955). I'll also be selling signed copies of my latest novel It Came From Hangar 18 with co-author Scott Fulks. My own pulp fiction is the true Thrillville these days. But B movies will always be one of my passions, too...
WILL "THE THRILL" VIHARO is a freelance writer and the author of several "gonzo pulp" novels including "A Mermaid Drowns in the Midnight Lounge," "Freaks That Carry Your Luggage up to the Room," "Chumpy Walnut," "Lavender Blonde," "Down a Dark Alley," and the “Vic Valentine, Private Eye” series, the first of which, "Love Stories Are Too Violent For Me," has been optioned for a film by Christian Slater, reissued in 2013 by Gutter Books, which also published the new Vic Valentine novel "Hard-boiled Heart" in December, 2015.
Two science fiction novels, "It Came from Hangar 18" and "The Space Needler's Intergalactic Bar Guide," were written in collaboration with Scott Fulks, who added real science to Will's pulp.
Will's own imprint, Thrillville Press, has issued a three volume anthology series featuring all of his standalone novels called "The Thrillville Pulp Fiction Collection," along with another omnibus called "The Vic Valentine Classic Case Files," which include four novels from the 1990s, "Fate Is My Pimp," "Romance Takes a Rain Check," "I Lost My Heart in Hollywood," and "Diary of a Dick," plus a recent short story, "Brain Mistrust."
More recently published books include the Vic Valentine "Mental Case Files" trilogy comprised of "Vic Valentine: International Man of Misery," "Vic Valentine: Lounge Lizard For Hire," and "Vic Valentine: Space Cadet"; the original story collection "Vic Valentine, Private Eye: 14 Vignettes"; the erotic horror noir novella "Things I Do When I'm Awake"; and a collection of erotic horror noir stories, "VIHORROR! Cocktales of Sex and Death."
Additionally Will has had stories included in a variety of anthologies including "Fast Women and Neon Lights: Eighties-Inspired Neon Noir"; "Mixed Up!"; "Long Distance Drunks: A Tribute to Charles Bukowski"; "Deadlines: A Tribute to William Wallace"; "Dark Yonder: Tales and Tabs"; "Knucklehead Noir" and "Weird Winter Wonderland" (both Coffin Hop Press); and "Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror."
Viharo's unique brand of "gonzo pulp fiction" combines elements of eroticism, noir, fantasy, and horror. For many years he has also been a professional film programmer/impresario and live music booker. He now lives in Seattle, WA with his wife and cats
Monica and I had always talked about taking a train trip up through the Pacific Northwest. Though I lost my full-time blogging gig just two weeks before B-Day, I decided to put the whole thing on credit, a leap of faith in my financial future. I really needed the creative and spiritual inspiration, and something in my soul told me my dreams and desires would meet their ultimate destination with this journey. The culture and climate of Seattle have always appealed to me. I'm an indoor cat by nature. I dig my weather cool and cloudy, with coffee and cocktails on the side.
