When writers write I feel joy.

Smurf/Na'vi sacrifice stump.

This home and its ghosts are in my book 'LORDS: PART ONE'

Landen Belardes singing a Future of Forestry cover

Landen Belardes setting up for some Starbucks serenading...

I love @condors

Random Writers Workshop in action at Russo's Books

Wake up hungry writers!

My violinist son ready to tear it up at Great Room

Happy Donutine's Day!

City of canals.

Denny's. Free breakfast. Bakersfield. Madness.

Renegade Rip and Bakotopia Radio Talk Random Writers - By Nick Belardes

Been in the news a couple of times this week.

The Bakersfield College newspaper, better known as the Renegade Rip ran a story on me and the Random Writers Workshop. It was a much appreciated article as I am an alumni of the mega junior college. Read the article titled "Random Writers Workshop Aids Writers." It's a nice article by Alma M. Martinez. There are two pages, so don't forget to click on "continued."

The article only missed one point, that the workshop was named in honor of my book, "Random Obsessions." Got to get a plug in there. Don't forget to buy a copy if you haven't.

Bakotopia Radio had a show on Feb. 7 that included an American Idol hopeful, roller derby girls, and some literary talk from me about my years at the Las Vegas Fremont Street Experience and about the Random Writers Workshop. You can listen to the January 31 episode here. Scroll to about the 7.5 minute mark to listen in. Unless you like American Idol stuff. Maybe you do. Shake your booty then of course.

At Bakotopia Radio Headquarters - By Nick Belardes

Here's a YouTube promo for Bakotopia Radio. I rode my bike to the station so was dressed comfy. My T-shirt promotes the Tongue & Groove reading hosted by Conrad Romo at Hollywood's Hotel Cafe. I added some pics below...

A Moment In Chinatown, San Francisco - By Nick Belardes

I have a lot of stories to tell about my book tour for "Random Obsessions." Bits and pieces were told on Twitter. So if you were following me, you probably remember some of the tale that included Bakersfield, Merced, Fresno, L.A., San Francisco and Oakland.

This particular image is from when my tour went into the Bay Area. I'd gone on San Francisco television that morning and met the owners of a ferry boat company.

Evel Knievel's Jumpsuit Lives!

Man Liberty: A Walking Novel

In 2007 I was so inspired by all the people on street corners wearing Statue of Liberty costumes, that I decided to write a novel based on sighting them. The book is titled "Man Liberty."

It's now 2010 and I've decided to restructure the book. Of course, since it's tax season, there's inspiration everywhere of these cross-dressing sign flippers. As you can see here, one of these roaming man liberties was in downtown Bakersfield. He could hardly speak English and was seen wandering inside a pawn shop.

A few weeks ago I Twittered about running into a female Statue of Liberty on Gosford Road (actually three young female versions). They didn't speak English very well either. Two had African accents. The other might have been Vietnamese, though didn't sound American-born.

Random Writers Workshop, Rollergirls, American Idol And Bakotopia Radio

I jumped on my bike and rode over to the KRAB studios on Thursday to record a segment for Bakotopia Radio with Matt Munoz and Miranda Whitworth.

I heard Soulajar and Jim Ranger of American Idol fame went on after me. That also included the Bakersfield Rollergirls. I bet they could rough American Idol up a bit. There were three skater babes in the studio promoting their Feb. 12 event at the Element Lounge (19th and K Streets). Something about Jell-O wrestling. One of the girls--who looked rather pin-upish--said, "I've always wanted to sit in a tub of Jell-O." I suppose

Paperback Writer Returns From The Grave - By Nick Belardes

Welcome to the launching of my new blog and archive: The Paperback Archives (also www.nlbelardes.com).

You might remember the old Paperback Writer blog. I hadn't written in it since 2008. Long story. It's dead. Yes, I killed the original site. But thanks to some prodding from Matt Munoz over at Bakotopia, I've brought back the archives (minus the photos). I might release some photos now and then, or even pop them back into the posts. But for now. They're offline.