This past April, I joined my friend Jude Matulich-Hall, author of The Eversteam Chronicles, as a guest on the first episode of her new video podcast called “Bad Juju & J Bone Presents…” I was her first guest last year on the original iteration of the show, called Titles, Talk, & Tipples, and you may remember that we had a lot of fun, thanks to the tippling, although we did talk about books. This time, the show has expanded quite a bit—here’s the synopsis:
“In this episode you’re going to see some incredible photography by Suzanne’s daughter Katelyn Whytock, hear some poetry and excerpts from Suzanne’s written works, and get a peek into her new books coming out in an interview I recently had with her. Storytime isn’t just for kids! You’ll also get some adult storytime with Bad JuJu as she reads Suzanne’s short story “What’s My Name?” from Feasting Upon The Bones (Potters Grove Press), see a vintage film by Georges Méliès, another short film with Bad JuJu & J Bone, and some creepy, kooky fun interspersed throughout.”
Just like last time, it WAS a lot of fun, especially seeing Jude as her alter-ego Bad Juju reading my story accompanied by Gnossienne 1 by Erik Satie, a piece of piano music I’m completely obsessed with right now. So if you have some time, watch it and give it a like and/or subscribe—I know she’ll appreciate that as much as I appreciate her promoting my work. Here’s the link–I didn’t embed it so that she’ll get the views on her channel:
As I’m writing this, sweet little Ilana is lying on the chair next to me, basking in the sunshine. Sadly, sweet little Atlas is in the kitchen behind a baby gate because he still doesn’t know what to do with her. We’ve been keeping them separated, giving Ilana the run of the upstairs, but the other day, she was sitting in our bedroom window enjoying the spring air when Atlas suddenly appeared (somehow the gate downstairs got moved). He rushed in and before I could do anything, he tried to jump up and sniff her, causing her to freak out. By the time I had yelled to distract him, she’d managed to rip a large hole in the window screen in her desperation to escape, but was able to retreat to her own end of the house before he realized she was gone. It was time for a conversation:
Me: Look what you’ve done!
Atlas: Not me.
Me: Well, if you hadn’t charged at her, it wouldn’t have happened. Leave her alone!
Atlas: But is squirrel. I chase squirrel.
Me: She’s not a squirrel. Squirrels are black.
Atlas: Is black.
Me: She’s black and white. She doesn’t look anything like a squirrel. Stop chasing her.
Atlas: I love her.
Me: You have a weird way of showing it.
And speaking of weird ways to show admiration, the other day one of our more “quirky” customers was standing at the counter. Suddenly, he looked over at me, where I was helping a woman decide on a ring, and yelled across the store, “Hey! You have a clean face!” I kind of muttered “Thank you,” and he followed up with, “Are you married?!” at which point, my young boss told him very sternly to stop harassing the staff. Clean face? I guess that criteria is as good as any other…
mydangblog 
His last wife probably never washed her face.
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I’m pretty sure he’s always been single, for obvious reasons!
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And may I say, your face was very clean in the interview. Haha! Thank you so much for sharing our show, Suzanne, I always have such a blast with you. I loves the kitties!
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You’re so much ch fun—I adore tippling with you!
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She looks a lot like Ody, who will never be confused for a squirrel since they are all gray here! Ody would probably also have a heart attack if he ever met a dog…
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Yes, it’s funny that most of our squirrels here are black and not gray or red!
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Aww poor Atlas only trying to get to know his new feline sis. Ohhh, a new interview I can’t wait to see it. And that was weird, having someone shout at you across the antique mall telling you you have a clean face. I think per capita you get the most weird encounters of anyone I know 😝🤣😆.
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Yes, the interview is a lot of fun! And I think my weird encounters are simply indicative of the tolerance that my bosses have for people–half the patrons of the market would be asked to leave anywhere else!
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The longer you delay the meeting of minds, the more Atlas will think of the cat as a prize. A squirt gun can help, when he gets too rowdy.
Clean face? Like a clock with no numbers.
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That’s a good idea–the problem is he’s so big and clumsy and she’s so tiny. I had a nightmare the other day about him accidentally hurting her–it was awful. But she’s only here for the summer, then she’ll be going with Kate when she goes back to school. And yes, my face is clean, although I think you could use it as a sundial with my nose pointing out the time:-)
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Maybe he meant as opposed to being covered with makeup? Getting ready to watch interview!
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I hope you enjoy it!
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I can see why Atlas would love Ilana, and I know some dogs just don’t realize how big they are or how intimidating they can be. And I’m really looking forward to the interview and other fun. “What’s My Name?” is already one of my favorite stories and I’m looking forward to hearing Bad JuJu read it.
Meanwhile you have a clean face and that guy has egg on his. Or he should.
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I chose that piece of music because it went so well with the story and I loved it so much that I wrote a new story based on the music!
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Squirrels are not necessarily black, so Atlas is right. You got it all wrong.
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I know—he’s too smart for his own good❤️
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Clean face–that’s a new one! I absolutely loved the video! It was all kinds of deliciously creepy–your interview was fantastic! And I loved seeing your poem/story highlighted with Kate’s photography. Just delightful! 🙂
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Hahaha when I was on a dating website I would show my mum photographs of the men online and her favourite saying he looks ok, he looks clean.
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Haha! So it really is a thing after all:-)
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It is indeed it means that the clean face looks after themselves. My mum was always right 😇
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Mums usually are!
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Perfect for Tinder. “Clean face, looking for love, available for gentle scrubbing and soapy baths. Must have your own loofah.” Awesome freaking video. So cool. Congratulations!
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The ironic part is that I wear a lot of makeup–I guess I blend it well? And I’m glad you liked the video–it was a lot of fun to be a guest on her show!
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He found a way to get your attention. Sounds like your having a good time at the store.
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I bet Atlas would love to clean Ileana’s face…
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🤣🤣🤣Yes, he would!
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That was great!
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I’m so happy you enjoyed it—I love all the multi-media elements and the way she incorporated different stories from Feasting 😊
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Clean face sounds like a compliment lol… As for Atlas, it’s easy to confuse a cat and a squirrel right? 😀
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Especially the way she climbs things!
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😀
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A clean face? Well…it’s not every day you get a marriage proposal. I once had a marriage proposal from a fast-food worker at a drive-through window. Now that I think of it, my face was indeed very clean.
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They all get down on one knee for that clean face!
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“You have a clean face”? Reminds me of that movie Return to Me, when David Duchovny is getting ready for his date with Minnie Driver, and he asks his friend, “How do I look?” The friend replies, “Tall.” And a bewildered Duchovny is like, “Tall?”
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To top it off, a few days later another customer told me I smelled “really good”. The fun never ends🤣🤣
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