Lip Service May 26, 2008 On May 11th, I took part in a Miami-area reading program called Lip Service, run by the incomparable Andrea Askowitz. I met Andrea when I took part in Joyce Maynard's writing workshop in San Marcos, on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. (For more about this one-of-a-kind workshop, conducted in one of the most beautiful places on earth, and which I heartily recommend to all writers, aspiring or otherwise, go here: www.joycemaynard.com). Andrea is, quite simply, one of the sweetest, funniest, most unpredictable people I know, and her new book, My Miserable, Lonely Lesbian Pregnancy, is a stitch. Period. Check it out. Meanwhile, if you'd like to hear my reading, go to the Lip Service website click on "stories," then "6". The title of the piece is "Task Saturation," and it concerns the one time in my fifteen years of working as a private investigator that I was actually in physical danger—it happened the same weekend I learned my brother John had AIDS. I have to admit, I've been part of numerous readings over the years, but this was one of the best lineups I've ever been part of. In addition to Andrea's reading, which is hilarious, check out "The Test" by Leslie Schwerin (another Guatemala alum—her story was my favorite, very touching, very funny—and heartbreaking), "Not Really a Mother" by Renee Phillips, "Your Last Arrest" by Jaquira Diaz, and "Rock & Roll Suicide" by Joe Clifford (who will be moving to San Francisco soon to become a PI—guess who hopes to help him out). For those of you living in the Bay Area, Andrea will be coming soon to read from her new book, and I'll be joining her with Jane Ganahl, Kathi Kamen Goldmark and Wendy Merrill at Book Passage on Saturday June 7th at 4:00 PM (see below for address). The full list of Andrea's Northern California events is here: San Francisco, CA, June 5th Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Books, Inc., 2275 Market Street, SF, CA 94114 with Meredith Maran and Jennifer Traig and co-sponsored by Betty's List San Francisco, CA, June 7th Saturday, 4:00 p.m. Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera, CA 94925 with David Corbett, Jane Ganahl, Kathi Kamen Goldmark, and Wendy Merrill Berkeley, CA June 8th Sunday, 7:00 p.m. Cody's, 2201 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94704 with Marta Acosta, Adrienne Amundsen, Karen Sabine, and Jill Pixley Davis, CA June 13th Friday, 7:30 p.m. Avid Reader, 617 Second Street, Davis, CA 95616 Sacramento, CA June 14th Saturday, 1:00 p.m. Avid Reader, 1600 Broadway, Sacramento, CA 95818 San Francisco, CA June 16th Monday, 8:00 p.m. Porchlight Storytelling Series @ Cafe Du Nord, 2172 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94110 with other performers tba and hosted by Beth Lisick For a complete list of Andrea's events nationwide, go to her website. Read next scat...