All posts by Stephanie Casher

Travel

Cross Country Tour Revisited…

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It’s hard to believe that this time last year, I was making my way through the Deep South in my trusty Toyota, almost halfway through my life-changing cross-country road trip. Time really does fly, doesn’t it?

Naturally, I’ve been nostalgic for the freedom of last summer. The movement, the changing landscapes, the conquering of uncharted territory… Where every day was an adventure, and I was liberated from any and all obligations… I have never felt more alive than I did when I was on the road, but as much as I’d love to roam aimlessly channelling my inner gypsy, lol, driving across the country again is not the practical and responsible thing to do right now. Next summer, absolutely. 😉 But for now, my ass needs to stay closer to home. Give the car a rest. Spend time with my cats and my Frover. Save money. Man, reality sure does suck sometimes.

But even though I can’t hit the road and head for Destin or the Tetons, I can still revisit the journey in my mind, engage the memories… Live vicariously through myself, LOL. We begin at the beginning. The first leg of my trip took me from California, through the Southwest, en route to Dallas for the Black Writers Conference. For most of this leg, I had The Poet with me, and he was an awesome travelling companion. Definitely a catalyst for many of the changes that occurred. If nothing else, we sure knew how to inspire each other…

Greetings from LA!
Sedona, Part 1
Sedona, Part 2
The Grand Canyon and Beyond
Utah and Colorado
Work Hard, Play Harder (Dallas)
Downtime in Austin
You Can Find Me in the Club (Houston)
McFriends and McGraws (Dallas Again)

It was during the second leg of my trip that I first started to notice the “change.” Somewhere between Sedona and Savannah, there was a profound shift within me. I turned into a completely different person, fully embracing fearlessness and spontaneity for the first time in my life. It was so liberating! I can’t even describe the sense of accomplishment I felt when I arrived at Jacksonville Beach in Florida and immersed myself in the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Officially Coast to Coast! Solo Diva Style! And having the time of my life along the way…

I Love the South!
Destined for Destin
Coast to Coast Baby!!!
The Inevitable Crash (Atlanta)
Soul2Soul Summer Rolls On (Nashville)
Chicago, Illinois

Well the third leg of my trip was definitely the most drama-filled, lol. It’s funny how I managed to make it through 15 states by myself and without incident, and then in the home stretch, everything that can go wrong–does. Meg was convinced the bad luck was due to a dreamcatcher I picked up in South Dakota… Sure enough when we took it down in Montana, the bad luck disappeared. But near arrests, flat tires, and roadkill aside, I managed to make it through it all, and home, with my sense of humor intact. And tons of stories for the book 🙂 It was all part of the grand adventure…

Busted in South Dakota
Grand Tetons Nat’l Park, Wyoming
Ride It Til the Rims Fall Off (Montana)
Safe and Sound in Washington State
North Cascades and Vancouver, British Columbia
God Bless the Pacific Northwest
There’s No Place Like Home…

Now that I have some distance from the trip, I can say with certainty that this adventure has been one of the highlights of my life, thus far. I learned so much about myself on the road, and so much about this vast, beautiful country we live in. I want to encourage (and inspire) each and every one of you to make an effort to get out and see some of it. Seize the day, there’s no time like the present. It’s amazing how much a change of scenery can alter your perspective–possibly forever…

More Pics from the Cross Country Tour…

Family

What happens in Vegas…


Just a quickie to post the link to the pics from my latest adventure… The Casher Men (and one Casher Woman) converged in Sin City this past weekend for some good ole fashioned family bonding… Got to help Cousin Doug and Derrick lose their Vegas Virginity, and good times (and very little sleep) were had by all 🙂

Casher Fam in VEGAS

Astrology

Mercury Retrograde, 6/15-7/9

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I’m sorry to have to report that another Mercury Retrograde is upon us. I know, I know, it feels like Mercury was just retrograde, lol. And technically, it was. Unfortunately for us, Mercury goes Retrograde once every three months, for about three weeks. This one is set to last through July 9th. Things will probably be a bit hectic and frustrating for the next few weeks. Just take a deep breath and blame it on the Retrograde…

Those of you that know what I’m talking about, know what I’m talking about. Mercury retrograde tends to cause malfunctions and miscommunications of epic proportions. All things that fall under Mercury’s rule (communication, transportation, travel, technology/electronics) start to short-circuit and break down. Computers crash, car trouble, we lose things, miss our plane/train/bus, have terrible arguments with our loved ones — feel free to blame it all on Mercury Retrograde. Don’t make any major decisions or purchases while Mercury is Retro — when it goes direct, chances are you will second-guess your decision. Information is just too garbled right now. They say the amount of time Mercury spends in retrograde motion corresponds to the amount of time human beings spend asleep. Mercury Retro FORCES us to slow down, even though we’re socialized to “go go go, faster faster.” The best use of a retrograde period is to sync up with the energies… Draw inward, engage in introspection. This is not the time to barrel forward with new initiations, but rather to Review, Reflect, Refine, Reorganize, Reevaluate, etc. In general, anything with a “re” at the beginning of it is a suitable Retrograde activity.

I had almost forgotten about Mercury Retrograde this month, not really feeling it at all, until it hit me this week full force. Man do I want to punch someone. Came into work on Monday morning, after a GREAT weekend, to the rudest and most condescending email I’ve ever received in my life. You know those emails where you’re reading through, and all you can think to yourself is “WTF???” My first instinct was to write back and tell that person precisely where to go, but then I counted to ten and realized that Mercury is Retrograde, and a war of the words is probably not the best idea right now. So I held my tongue best I could. That’s all we really can do in times like these, cause whatever we try to communicate is probably going to come out all wrong. Actually, most of the people I’ve talked to this week have had some kind of a communication-related meltdown with a loved one, (glad to know I’m not alone ladies!), so I’m trying not to take it personally, but man, I can’t wait til this shit is over and everything goes back to normal.

Thankfully, there is a bright side to the Retrofunk. Mercury also has a way of REuniting and REconnecting you with folks from your past, and this time around, I’ve been blessed with some fabulous reunions and blasts from the past. That part has been really fun, and it continues next weekend with an Old Skool Mateo Reunion at Beresford Park and KC’s return to the Mainland… Yay!

Well, I wish everyone the best of luck getting through Retrograde. It’s never pretty, but if we remember to breathe, we’ll get through it. Patience (with yourself, and others) is key. Good luck!

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RENT on Broadway

So like I’ve been saying, of all the things I looked forward to doing in New York, seeing my all-time favorite play/movie, RENT, on Broadway, was at the top of the list… In the simplest terms, I love RENT. I can watch the movie or listen to the CDs over and over and over and never get sick of it. But while I consider myself a huge RENThead, in the eleven years that RENT has been touring and on Broadway, I have never seen the show live. I had hoped to catch the show when it came through San Francisco last summer, but missed it cause I was driving across the country the week they were here. I was determined to rectify this situation while I was in New York.

Initially, James was supposed to fly home a day before me, so I had designated my last day in New York as “RENT Day.” I booked a room at the hotel next door to where RENT is playing (Hotel 41 in Times Square), with the intention of trying my luck in the RENT lottery and catching the 2pm AND 7:30pm shows.

The RENT lottery is the most awesome thing… For every show, 2 hours before showtime they lottery off tickets in the first two rows for $20. You just show up, write your name on a card, and cross your fingers. Well, luck was on my side that day cause I ended up winning the RENT lottery and securing a $20 seat for the 7pm show!!! Score!

I was already giddy and beyond excited that I’d gotten in, but you won’t even believe how awesome it was to make my way to my seat and find I’d been assigned a spot in the FRONT ROW!!! I cannot even believe my luck at this point – being that close to the stage, where I could make genuine eye contact with the actors, it’s such an intense experience. Everything was working out even better than I’d imagined it. 🙂

The show started and it was amazing. Tim Howar was fabulous as Roger (and I got to tell him as much in the hotel bar after the show, lol), and I was completely floored when I flipped through the program and discovered that the role of Mimi was being played by none other than American Idol’s Tamyra Gray. And she was sooooooo good! Overall, the show far exceeded my expectations and I had the most fun getting lost in the music for a couple of hours.

After the show, I spent some time in the hotel bar, and ended up hanging out with David Santana (one of the stage managers), Tim Howar (who played Roger), Crystal Hall (who played Joanne), and Moeisha McGill (ensemble/Joanne’s understudy). They were all totally nice, down-to-earth, wonderful people, and when they found out I was a writer, we had a lovely artist bonding moment smoking on the sidewalk out in the rain… Sometimes you just end up in the right place at the right time…

Of course all this RENT-related serendipity managed to do was add more fuel to my already out-of-control RENT obsession, lol, but I’m not complaining. I can’t wait to go back and see it again, hopefully in August-September when Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal will be reprising their roles as Mark and Roger. All in all, the perfect cherry on top of an awesome New York vacation!

Travel

NYC – Taking in the Sights

Well as much fun as I was having at the BEA, I am not a naturally social person (I’m actually more of a reclusive, lone-wolf type), so I function best with periodic breaks from the schmoozing. Downtime if you will. It was so nice to spend the entire day hard on the hustle, and then get to switch gears in the evenings and explore more of what New York had to offer from a tourist perspective.

And New York has so much to offer!

First off, I gotta give props to the New York subway system. Quite simply, it Rocks. You can get damn near anywhere on the subway, and I found it to be fairly easy to navigate, efficient, and most importantly, cheap. James and I were in Manhattan for five days and we only took a cab twice. I used to have a totally irrational phobia about underground public transportation, but I think New York cured me of that. I am so sold on the subway…

Alright, now on with the adventures… The island of Manhattan is freaking huge, and I wanted to make sure we ventured out of our little neighborhood to soak up some of the culture different parts of the City had to offer. As I said in the BEA blog, one of the receptions brought us up to Harlem. That was cool. Turns out I have quite the presence in Harlem…
LOL. That’s right – it’s all about seeing your name in lights 😉

The reception in Harlem ended kinda early (in New York, 11pm is early… we were getting in after 3am almost every night), so we decided to cruise through Times Square to see what that was all about. And it was just like it looks in the movies, lol.

Bright lights, large crowds, tons of activity. That felt very “New York” to me. Then, serendipitously (as only it could), James and I ended up hooking up with my good friend Omar for a late dinner at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. So Much Fun. James, Omar and I all met last summer at the Black Writers Conference in Dallas, and Omar is one of my all-time favorite writer friends. A Kindred, if you will 🙂 He was in town for BEA too (flew all the way from Brazil!), and had a very successful pitching session earlier that day, so we had lots to celebrate. It was so great to sit in a restaurant overlooking Times Square, eating shrimp, with two of my all-time favorite guys, talking about our books, writing, and commiserating about the ups and downs of the Biz… It was a phatty writer bonding session and I am so glad I have these two in my corner. I can’t wait until we’re all sitting around drinking wine in my NY Penthouse apartment, arguing about who just jumped who on the NY Times Bestsellers list 😉 I love you guys.

I was having so much fun by this point, that I really didn’t think it could get much better. I was so wrong! The following night we decided to head into the East Village for dinner, which turned out to be a GREAT idea. I found this awesome little hole-in-the-wall Italian Restaurant (Frank’s on 2nd Ave btw 5th & 6th – go there!) where we drank wine and had a lovely meal in a scene ripped right out of the movies. Seriously, the setting was perfect — dim lights, amazing ambience, me dressed up cause we were going to the club later – it was so much fun! I can’t even tell you how nice it was to stroll down the tree-lined streets of the East Village in a sundress, on a perfect 70 degree night, full moon and all, marveling at how GOOD life is. Freaking surreal. Then, on a recommendation from Ahna-Kristen (thank you Ahna-Kristin!!!) we stopped at Veniero’s (342 E. 11th, btw 1st & 2nd – go there!) for the most amazing cheesecake and pastries. Oh my God, I consider myself a cheesecake connoisseur of sorts, and that slice from Veniero’s put anything I’ve ever had at the Cheesecake Factory to SHAME! Stupid Good! We ate cheesecake on the subway on our way to Shadow Nightclub 🙂 It was so cheesy perfect, lol. (pun intended)

The next day, since I was battling a wicked hangover (free cognac is the main ingredient in a recipe for disaster ya’ll, lol), we kept things pretty low-key. After spending the day at BEA, instead of doing anything strenuous, we sought out a sports bar in Times Square where we could get dinner and watch the Cleveland Cavaliers try to pull of an upset in the Eastern Conference Finals (They won!). We ended up at the bar at Planet Hollywood, right in front of a plasma TV and it was Perfect. Called it a night relatively early around midnight…

On our last day, before heading to the airport, we decided to head down to Ground Zero. The whole scene at Ground Zero was very… strange. All I could think about was how many people had lost their lives there. I’m glad the City of New York thought to put signs up reminding folks that this is not a tourist attraction. That said, it is very surreal to visit the site of such a historic and tragic event. I mean, I can’t even count the number of times I’ve watched the loop of the Towers falling. But to actually see the hole in the ground where the World Trade Center used to be… I don’t know, Ground Zero will always be a mass grave to me, no matter what they build on top of it. My heart goes out to all the New Yorkers who had to witness and endure such unimaginable horror. I haven’t forgotten…

We rounded out our New York trip by hopping on the ferry and heading over to the Statue of Liberty… Yes, it’s cheesy and cliche, but like the Grand Canyon, it just has to be done 🙂 It was so nice to take in the Manhattan skyline from afar – it was just as I’d imagined it…

And of course the Statue of Liberty. She really is awe-inspiring…
We did so much, but there is still so much more I’d like to do. It will probably take me four trips to NYC before I’m able to see and do all that I want to see and do. But for my grand initiation, the Big Apple did not disappoint. Somewhere along the way, I managed to fall in love… With New York, of course. 🙂

Full set of pics are now available on Flickr!

There is one more installment of my New York adventures to come, and that is my eagerly-anticipated RENT night. I Love RENT. So freaking much. Card-carrying RENT-head over here! Yeah Baby! And I finally, got to see the musical on Broadway. Finally. And it was freaking Incredible But that’s another blog 🙂 Check back!

Family

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEVIN!

We interrupt your regularly scheduled New York programming to bring you a very special announcement. Today, my adorable nephew Devin turns one year old!!! It’s kinda hard to believe that it was a year ago that we received this newest addition to our family… My how time flies… I’ve created a special birthday slideshow in celebration of this special day, so we can all take a look back at Devin’s first year 🙂

Happy Birthday Devin – Auntie Steph loves you!!!

Travel, Writing

BEA in NYC

Well, as most of you know, the primary reason for my sojourn to NYC was to attend Book Expo America, the publishing industry’s monster trade show. This was my first BEA, so I didn’t know quite what to expect, but WOW – what an event. Tons of free stuff, networking opportunities, free stuff, celebrity sightings, free stuff, panels/workshops, and oh, did I mention, free stuff? Overwhelmed does not even begin to describe me as I strolled up and down the aisles in the exhibition halls, lol. But let me begin at the beginning.

The African-American Pavilion actually kicked off it’s programming a day early, so on Thursday we headed over to a catered (and free) luncheon welcoming everyone to BEA. On the panel was bestselling author Zane, as well as heartthrob Blair Underwood. Yes, that’s right, THE Blair Underwood, who I’ve been crushing on since he broke onto the scene on the popular drama LA Law. Apparently he has just co-authored a book with Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes entitled Casanegra, which they were all there promoting. He was only the first of many celebrities I would see at BEA, but most definitely the highlight 🙂

James kept telling me to go over and ask for a picture WITH him, but I was too shy and didn’t want to impose. I didn’t want to get all groupie on his ass, and besides, the man was already being swarmed by adoring fans… But he was totally gracious, posing for every picture requested of him, and yes, I am kicking myself for not being more brazen, lol.

Next was a keynote by Victoria Rowell (most famously known as Drucilla on The Young and the Restless). She was there promoting her memoir, The Woman Who Raised Me and doing an autograph signing. Very cool.

Later that evening there was yet another catered dinner reception, with more free food and drink. Many of the African-American publishers had tables set up around the room, and everyone was giving away free books. I left the reception with a large shopping bag full of autographed books, and little did I know this was only the beginning…

After that reception, James and I headed to the Tribal Spears Art Gallery in Harlem for yet another catered reception hosted by AALBC.com, HarlemWorld, & MosaicBooks.com. More big-name authors and Black publishing heavyweights in the house… More free food and drink and tons of schmoozing. This would continue to be a theme for the weekend, lol.

Friday, BEA officially kicked off, and we hit the exhibition halls to meet and greet. Met a lot of cool folks (like Troy from aalbc.com, aka the Host with the Most), put faces to all of the names I’ve been researching the past few years, and collected more bags full of FREE books. Seriously, I shipped over 20 pounds of books home from the Expo – I had no idea it was going to be like that! I also got to see what kinds of books the various publishers are looking to acquire, and get an idea of the current trends taking the publishing industry by storm. Along with the free stuff, tons of priceless information was gathered, in addition to the networking. This was money very well spent…

Friday night, yet another party, this time hosted by Violator Records, G-Unit Books, St. Martin’s Press and author Relentless Aaron at the Shadow Nightclub. After a lovely dinner in the East Village (more on that later), James and I headed to the club, where we posted up in the VIP lounge, networking, eating more free food and drinking free cognac, before spending the rest of the evening dancing the night away… Good times, good times.

Saturday, before returning to the Expo, we attended a luncheon at B. Smith’s Restaurant hosted by my good friend Edwardo Jackson. More free food as we watched Edwardo give a presentation on his new venture Palibra, the ITunes of the written word. Edwardo has created a place where authors can post their work/articles/short stories, and readers can download the content for .99 cents a story. The author receives a 30% royalty on each download. It’s actually pretty cool, and I’m contemplating writing a series of travel articles especially for Palibra. More networking as James and I got an earful from the hilarious one-woman promotional machine, DC Livers of Black Press Magazine, who schooled us on how best to get our hustle on in this Bidness. So much fun. And the food was AMAZING. Then we all geeked out when B. Smith herself walked into the room (for those that don’t know, B.Smith is hailed as the Black Martha Stewart — this woman does it All!) She hung out for a bit, gave a little speech, posed for pictures, and even sat down and did an impromptu interview for DC. It was wild! I also got to meet my writer friend Thomas Brooks for the first time over lunch. Thomas is the author of A Wealth of Family: An Adopted Son’s International Quest for Heritage, Reunion, and Enrichment (you should check this one out Leish!), and a fellow mixed person. 🙂 All in all, a great day.

Three days and twenty pounds of books later, we finally said goodbye to the Javits Convention Center. Let me tell you, my feet were ready for a rest, LOL. But what a great time – exciting, fun, productive… and I haven’t even gotten into the sightseeing part of the trip yet 😉

Part Two of Steph’s Excellent New York Adventures (and pictures!) coming soon!

Travel

Back from New York!

Okay, much to everyone’s disappointment (I know ya’ll are just on the edge of your seats waiting for a detailed NYC review ;-), I’m sorry to report that this is only a teaser post… Re-entry is always a little rough, so it’s going to take me a minute to collect myself (and my pictures, lol) and write up the NYC/BEA experience. But I can say this — I had a BLAST. A freaking Blast. In almost every way this trip far exceeded my expectations, and I am on a giddy vacation high like no other. New York is an amazing city, with limitless things to explore, and while it is damn near impossible to take even a bite out of the Big Apple in five days (that went way too fast and we barely slept!), we sure did give it our best shot! Walked all over the place, saw all kinds of cool stuff, and had boatloads of FUN! I can’t wait to go back!!!

Like I said, a full report is forthcoming. 🙂 I’m actually going to break it up into segments (a tactic that worked so well on Leisha’s blog ;-), so this week will be “New York Week” on the blog. And while I can’t upload my pics onto Flickr until I get the ones off James’ camera, I can provide ya’ll with a little taste of some of my adventures…



Check back tomorrow for Part One of Steph’s Adventures in the Big Apple!

Uncategorized

Arrived Safely in New York

Well James and I arrived safely in New York, where we will spend the next four days exploring the Big Apple and attending Book Expo America. Book Expo America (BEA) is the largest annual conference in the publishing industry, and the place to see and be seen if you’re in the business of BOOKS. My friend and colleague Edwardo once said to me – “If you make it to one conference a year, you have to make sure you get to BEA…” So here I am, travelling all the way to the East Coast, trying to get my network on…

Over the next few days I will be attending workshops/receptions/parties, cruising the exhibition halls, expanding my professional network, and pitching my book to people who can help make my publishing dreams a reality. It’s a very exciting time and I’m ready to put myself out there and raise my profile as an up and coming author 🙂 I also get to meet up with writer friends I’ve met over the past year (since we’ve all migrated to New York this weekend for the same reason), and catch up with old friends (Hi Omar!) from all over the country. I’m sure it will be a great time.

Not all business though 🙂 James and I also plan to do a bit of sightseeing while we’re here, which will be fun since this is my first visit to New York City. The most eagerly-anticipated event on my tourist agenda? Catching a Broadway showing of my favorite play EVER – RENT. No day but today baby 🙂

As an aside, we flew over on JetBlue Airlines, and I gotta say, JetBlue kicks all kinds of ass. I fully recommend and endorse this airline – best flight experience EVER, and that’s saying a lot cause I am one of those people who hates to fly… Tons of legroom, comfortable seats, decent selection of snacks, and most importantly, each seat has it’s own TV that has 40 cable channels. Watching TV totally helps pass the time, and this should be standard on all airlines, lol. Awesome, awesome, awesome. If JetBlue flies to where I need to go, they definitely have my business from here on out.

Okay, be on the lookout for more chronicles of my New York adventures! And wish me luck!!!

Family

CONGRATULATIONS ERIC!!!

Well it’s official folks – ERIC PASSED THE BAR!!! HE IS NOW, OFFICIALLY, AN ATTORNEY!!!

Sorry, I know I’m shouting, but this is SO DAMN EXCITING! By far the coolest thing to happen to the Casher Clan since Devin was born 😉

Passing the Bar is a huge, huge deal. A major accomplishment. Not only is it an incredibly difficult, 3-day exam, but the California Bar Exam is one of the hardest tests in the nation, with only a 40-50% pass rate. And my baby brother is one of the 60% that passed this time around!!!

I can’t even tell you how ridiculously proud I am of Eric… He is ambitious and determined and works so hard not only to achieve, but to excel at everything he does. And now that hard work has finally paid off. Finally, after so many years of hustling, studying, and struggling, he will finally get to enjoy the fruits of his labor. The start of a new life chapter, filled with limitless possibilities for growth and prosperity. Long overdue and well-deserved little brother! Now you can focus 100% on your bright and glorious future!!!

It actually has an interesting symetry that almost exactly one year ago we were celebrating Eric’s graduation from Law School. And now the circle is complete. And the celebrating can begin!

I love you so much Eric, and am so incredibly proud. YOU inspire ME more than you know. I can’t wait to have a Steph and Eric celebration dinner as soon as I get back from New York 🙂 You freaking rock man!