Interview with NICHOLAS LEA

Interview with Nicholas Lea at DragonCon 

Sunday 6 September 2015

Periodically I ask People I Really Like if I can interview them for the segment of my website I call The Chatty Cat Cafe. 

Nicholas Lea being one of those People, I requested an interview at DragonCon. He graciously agreed.

However, you think YOUR DragonCon is busy? I got a glimpse of how busy it can be for the guests.

First, we were going to do lunch, but he never got a lunch break. We rescheduled for late afternoon, but the fans kept coming. 

Mr. Lea - ever humble and self-effacing - was certain people would stop arriving at his table on the Walk of Fame any moment. They never did. He severely underestimates the size and dedication of his fan base. There was always someone who wanted to tell him what they'd seen him in and what it meant to them. 

So we ended up doing this interview in between fan visits on the floor of the DragonCon Walk of Fame. 

Note: Mr. Lea's words are in ALL CAPS just to make this easier to read. He wasn't shouting. Well, except to be heard over the din. :)

EDIT: Changing "Nic" (which should be "Nick") to "Mr. Lea" since it's really presumptuous of me to be calling him anything other than that or Sir. :)

Me: Right. Okay. Pretend we’re at a cafe. What’s your favorite hot beverage?

NL: COFFEE. STRONG. USUALLY WHAT I DRINK WHEN I GO OUT TO GET COFFEE IS DARK ROAST WITH A LONG SHOT OF ESPRESSO.

Me: Do you have any pets?

NL: I HAVE THE BEST DOG IN THE WORLD. I’LL SHOW YOU A PICTURE. HIS NAME’S JIMMY STEWART. HE TURNS 10 IN ABOUT A WEEK. AND WHEN YOU COME IN THE DOOR HE SMILES AT YOU. 

THAT’S HIM SMILING BECAUSE HE’S SO EXCITED.

*shows photo of adorable Jack Russell terrier showing every last one of his teeth in a huge, wolfish grin*

Me: (laughing) He looks ferocious! 

NL: I KNOW BUT HE’S LIKE, HE’S MY BEST FRIEND. I’LL SHOW YOU A GOOD PICTURE. 

*shows photo of same handsome Jack Russell terrier looking straight into the camera with soulful, deep brown eyes* 

I DON’T THINK I’VE LOVED TOO MANY THINGS IN MY LIFE MORE THAN HIM. HE'S GOT THE MOST BEAUTIFUL EYES. I COULD TALK ABOUT MY DOG ALL DAY. 

Me: Jimmy Stewart, you said? Is that your favorite actor or did your dog’s personality remind you of him?

NL: IS JIMMY STEWART MY FAVORITE ACTOR? HMMM….YEAH. YEAH, I’LL SAY THAT. IT’S LIKE SAYING ‘WHO’S YOUR FAVORITE BAND?’ BUT….YEAH. 

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE FILMS.

Me: Of all your roles, which comes closest to your dog’s personality?

NL: I DID A MOVIE CALLED SHOT IN THE FACE THAT YOU’LL NEVER SEE. IT’S A COMEDY. I’M A FUMBLING BANK ROBBER. HE’S AN IDIOT. HE’S A COMPLETE IDIOT. 

Me: But good-hearted we assume?

NL: UMM. SOMEWHERE IN THERE. YEAH.

Me: If money were no object, what would you do?

NL: IN TERMS OF ACTING?

Me: In terms of anything.

NL: OH, I THINK IF I COULD BE DOING ANYTHING, I’D EITHER BE SINGING, PLAYING AND SINGING, OR PLAYING GOLF PROFESSIONALLY.

I MEAN, LISTEN, WHAT I DO, I LOVE. 

BUT I WORKED ON A SHOW CALLED MEN IN TREES, AND THE CREATOR OF THE SHOW FOUND OUT THAT I SING, AND WANTED TO KNOW WOULD I SING ON THE SHOW? I SAID FOR SURE, AND SHE SAID WOULD YOU WRITE THE SONG? AND I SAID FOR SURE. SO WE WENT INTO THE STUDIO AND RECORDED A COUPLE SONGS AND THAT’S AS CREATIVELY FULFILLING AS I’VE PROBABLY EVER FELT. 

Me: You need to do an album. That’s not a question. That’s a command. 

NL: (laughing) DID YOU SEE ME AND DUCHOVNY SINGING ON YOUTUBE? 

Me: Yes!!

NL: IT’S PRETTY FUNNY.

Me: Do you get nervous before going on stage?

NL: TOTALLY.

Me: What do you do to relax?

NL: SMOKE POT. THAT’S THE HONEST ANSWER.

Me: What’s your favorite song to sing?

NL: I’M NOT GOING TO SING IT FOR YOU.

Me: No, no, no... wait. (mock indignation) What? I’m outraged.

NL: I LIKE SINGING THE ELVIS SONG LOVE ME. I WON’T SING IT FOR YOU. BUT YOU’LL FIND IT SOMEWHERE. IT’S A GREAT SONG.

*interviewer stumbles, forgets next question, apologizes for being so nervous*

NL: DON’T BE NERVOUS. HONESTLY, DON’T BE NERVOUS. NOTHING TO BE NERVOUS ABOUT. REALLY. WE’VE MET EACH OTHER ENOUGH TIMES NOW.

Me: You can act, and you can sing. Are you a triple threat?

NL: CAN I DANCE? YOU KNOW, I THINK I CAN DANCE, BUT I NEED TO HAVE SEVEN OR EIGHT COCKTAILS BEFORE I DO IT. AND THAT’S NOT THE MOST….

IF I WERE TO DO IT PROFESSIONALLY…. 

I’M NO CHRIS WALKER, LET’S PUT IT THAT WAY. (laughing) I THINK I’M A PRETTY GOOD DANCER. I HAVE A GOOD SENSE OF TIME. 

Me: So you could be in a musical!

NL: I COULD BE IN A MUSICAL. I’D LIKE TO BE IN A MUSICAL. IN A MUSICAL FILM, NOT ON STAGE. I’D BE TOO TERRIFIED TO DANCE ON STAGE BECAUSE I’D FALL OVER, PROBABLY.

Me: Do you like performing on film better than stage performances?

NL: YOU LEARN MORE ON STAGE. YOU LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW YOU WORK AS AN ACTOR ON STAGE. BUT FILM IS MORE IMMEDIATE AND MORE EXCITING. YOU FIND THAT YOU DON’T NEED TO DO AS MUCH. IT’S LIKE GOLFING. IF YOU HOLD THE CLUB TOO TIGHT AND SWING TOO HARD, YOU’RE IN TROUBLE. IF YOU JUST RELAX AND VISUALIZE AND BE ATHLETIC, THEN SWING EASY, YOU’LL BE FINE.

Me: How did you get interested in golf?

NL: BECAUSE IT’S LIKE ACTING. USES THE SAME SIDE OF MY BRAIN. CALMNESS. CERTAIN KIND OF MENTAL ATHLETICISM AND VISUALIZATION AND TRUST. YOU CAN’T SWING A CLUB WITHOUT KEEPING YOUR HEAD DOWN. THE MOMENT YOU LIFT YOUR HEAD UP TO WATCH WHERE IT (the golf ball) GOES YOU’RE IN TROUBLE. YOU HAVE TO TRUST THAT IT’S GOING TO GO WHERE YOU WANT IT TO GO. 

Me: This is off topic but, how did you hurt yourself?

NL: I ALMOST CUT THE END OF MY FINGER OFF ABOUT A WEEK AGO. GOT SEVEN, SIX STITCHES ON THE END OF MY FINGER. 

Me: (winces) What were you doing?

NL: I WAS TRYING TO PUT UP SOME PLASTIC TARPING AND I HAD TO PUT A HOLE THROUGH TWO PIECES OF PLASTIC USING BRAND NEW SCISSORS AND I WENT (ferociously stabs the air with invisible shears and strikes finger)

I HAD TO GET ON A WATER TAXI IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND GO TO THE CLOSEST HOSPITAL AND…. YEAH. IT WAS DRAMA. UNWANTED DRAMA. 

Me: Last question - we spoke of imbibing many cocktails before dancing earlier. How drunk would I have to get you for you to agree to narrate a smutty, erotic audio book for me?

NL: SMUTTY EROTIC? 

I DON’T KNOW. YOU KNOW, I’LL BE HONEST WITH YOU, I HAVE NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT. 

BUT… PROBABLY NOT THAT DRUNK. 

This then devolved into plans for world domination procedures for giving him a choice of audiobooks to narrate, before we ended the interview and he kissed me goodbye. 

Whereupon I was a complete professional and did not swoon on the Walk of Fame floor. I am very proud of myself for that.

Although I might possibly have been seen running around in circles on the sidewalk, with flailing Kermit-arms, yelping:

*SQUEEEEE*  NICHOLAS LEA KISSED ME  *SQUEEEEEE*. 

But... let’s keep that last bit between us, yeah?

The End

Interested in audiobooks I already have available? CLICK HERE

Interested in more interviews? Check out THE CHATTY CAT CAFE

Looking for a LIST OF MY BOOKS?

Wondering if the hero on the cover of my latest intentionally bears a striking resemblance to Krycek? 

And if you've seen SHOT IN THE FACE, let me know in the comments!

Which profession drinks the most coffee?

Zaftig is Sexy Too

Here I am, in my long underwear because winter is chilly, waiting for my coffee to awaken me of a morning.

Well, no, obviously this isn't really me. It's Hilda, the recurring character drawn by artist Duane Bryers.

I found these images on tumblr but I'm pretty certain they came from HERE and I recommend you check that website out.

What I particularly like about Hilda is the fact that she is plump and yet presented as a pinup girl.

Maybe it's only me, being as I'm fat errr I mean zaftig myself, but I think this image is sexy. Wish there was more art of plump women in popular culture today.  What do y'all think?

Coffee vs Tea

Weird Uses for Coffee

So, wanna do other things with your coffee besides drink it?  Me neither.  But here are some theoretical uses for your coffee, from Yahoo Shine:


Reduce cellulite Pricey cellulite creams almost always have one major ingredient in common: caffeine, which supposedly enhances fat metabolism, reducing the appearance of these fatty pockets under the skin. To make your own coffee cellulite treatment at home, mix warm used coffee grounds with coconut oil and rub it onto your skin in circular motions for a few minutes before rinsing. 

Erase smells on your hands Garlic, salmon, cilantro - there are some things that smell delicious when cooking, but aren't so pleasant hours later when they linger on your hands. Get rid of them by rubbing a handful of used coffee grounds on your hands and rinsing with warm water. 



Get shiny hair Who doesn't want shiny, healthy-looking hair? Coffee is often recommended as a simple, natural treatment to make hair extra-glossy. Brew up an extra-strong pot, let it cool and apply it to your dry, clean hair. Leave it on for at least twenty minutes, then rinse. Keep it up once a week or so for best results. 


Secret recipe ingredient Just a little hint of coffee can be the ingredient that becomes your undisclosed "magic touch" in foods like chili, ice cream and chocolate cake. Use a little bit as a marinade for steaks and not only will it make them unbelievably tender, it'll also provide a hint of deep, smoky flavor. 


Natural dye The natural pigments in coffee make it a great natural dye for fabric, paper, Easter eggs - even your hair. Brush paper with strong brew and let it dry, or soak fabric items in hot coffee. The results won't be color-fast, and may bleed out onto other items, so it's best to use this on items that won't be washed very often if at all. Using coffee as a hair shine treatment, as previously mentioned, may temporarily lend a rich, dark tint to your hair. 


[This is my new excuse for when I spill coffee on myself. I'm just using it as a natural clothing dye.]


Fertilize plants Acid-loving plants will thank you for sprinkling your used coffee grounds around their roots. Azaleas, blueberry shrubs and rhododendrons are just a few of the plants that flourish when treated with coffee thanks to all those nutrients. You can also dilute the leftover coffee in your mug and pour it right into your potted plants (as long as you don't use cream and sugar, of course!) 

Keep cats out of your garden To you, that little garden in your yard is a beautiful source of fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables, but to seemingly every cat in a five-mile radius, it's a giant, irresistible litter box. Just use the trick mentioned above, sprinkling used coffee grounds on the soil, and cats will want nothing to do with it. 



[One of my cats is happy to lie in ground coffee - if it spills, he'll roll over in it - so I'm not sure if that would actually work.]


For more "unusual uses" for coffee, click the Yahoo link at the start of this article.

World of Coffee

First Massachusetts Coffee License

Look! It's a piece of coffee history, one of my favorite kinds of history.

And the honor of possessing the first coffee & chocolate license in Massachusetts - possibly in the colonies - goes to a woman:  Dorothy Jones in 1670.

Yay for enterprising colonial women who know the value of providing coffee and chocolate!

Caffeine Poster

Fun Coffee Facts

While I disagree with Seattle being the best coffee city solely because Starbucks started there, the rest of this graphic is pretty cool.

How to tell your Latte from your Cafe Breve

15 Things About Caffeine

Dick's Swell Coffee

From:  http://gogd.Tjs-labs' Dick's Swell Coffee

Eight O'Clock Coffee is still sold in grocery stores in the US, I think. I am going to have to go buy some JUST BECAUSE of this ad. In fact, I want to believe that men secretly gather together and drink coffee from full china/silver serving sets and the one who pours gets to wear the apron. I WANT TO BELIEVE.

Song from The Coffee House

Who hasn't wanted to sing a song about coffee?

The original scan was blurry, so this is the best I could do, but those of you who can read sheet music can at least hum or play the melody even if the words are difficult to decipher.

Stale Coffee Makes You Listless & Un-sexy

From: http://www.kitchen-retro.com/2011/09/beware-of-stale-coffee.html

Hidden History of Salem Video with New Soundtrack

I have re-done my HIDDEN HISTORY OF SALEM book-teaser

because MY BOOK INSPIRED A SONG

and that is just too cool not to share:

Buy the book!  You'll like it. Click here 

There's real history plus cool obscure facts plus ghost cats and candy and coffee and romance and a horrible murder - all sorts of interesting things. And we haven't even gotten to the witches.

Buy the single, too! It should be coming out in the next month or so. I'll keep you posted. 

Uncle Sam's American Coffee

American coffee from Uncle Sam's own possessions.

You don't see "buy American" in regards to coffee these days, do you?

Life's Too Short For the Wrong Job

Ever Wonder About Coffee Roasts?

A quality coffee post by enderrr:

Yes, folks, this is a coffee post. At least once a day someone comes in and asks me which different roasts we have, or tells me they’d like a cup of the dark roast because they ‘like strong coffee’. I politely tell them we have ‘medium’ roasted coffees exclusively. Why? Unlike many shops, we buy our coffee from a roaster who cares about quality, flavor, and integrity. This is not true with all shops, for many reasons (some valid, some not). However, we are lucky enough to work with truly specialty coffee. So, what exactly are the differences between roasts?

A light roast is characterized by a 426-435 degree rumble tumble in a roasting drum, and can last as short as 3 minutes. Roasters will listen for what’s called “first crack”; when the bean itself reaches about 405 degrees internally, it makes a soft cracking sound similar to popping corn (but softer in volume). These coffees mostly accurately present their origin flavors, and are put to excellent use in cuppings.

From 435-440 degrees, the beans will be classified as a medium roast. Roasted this way, a coffee will still be able to show off many individual characteristics of origin, as well as process and method of roasting chosen by the roastmaster. For this reason, most true artisan coffees are medium roast. They are sweeter, smoother and more balanced in acid, aroma, and complexity than any other roast.  ... 

  *  *  *  

For the rest of this fascinating article CLICK HERE

All About Me or Coffee Questions

A friend on Tumblr asked me to share my coffee opinions (being the coffee minx that I am), and I thought y'all might be interested, too. So. Let's talk coffee:

Favorite roast: I’m a breakfast roast (light/medium) gal.

Favorite at-home brewing method: KEURIG keurig keurig keurig (this should be said like “GARY”* - one word to rule them all). I used to have an industrial one but since then I’ve had to make due with the home versions and I wear them out in 1 year. On my third machine now. You might think this means I drink too much coffee. You would, of course, be wrong. ;)

Coffee partners: Cream and sugar. Always take my coffee with cream -if I can get it, otherwise milk - and sugar. When I was dieting (bwahahahaha) I tried sugar-substitutes but they make the coffee taste funny.

What Fancy-schmancy Espresso Drink Would You Be?: Hmmm…. Latte Macchiato with caramel or cinnamon. Hot, sweet, and frothy. :)  Or a Mochaccino with a strong chocolate-y flavor, as that is the best mochaccino to be. 

Favorite store coffee: Dunkin Donuts. And not just because I can give you directions to my house from three different Dunkins in my neighborhood. Dunkin Donuts. They’re EVERYWHERE.

So - what would YOUR answers to these questions be?

*It's a Fallout thing. Sorry. Into almost every post a little Fallout must...fall. 

Pumpkin Coffees

With Thanksgiving approaching, I have three different pumpkin coffees to compare for you.

(Yes, it's a difficult job, but somebody's got to review all these coffees, and I'm thinking it should be me.)

First:
Timothy’s Perfectly Pumpkin.
This is pumpkin pie in a cup.
Warm pumpkin pie in liquid form. Yum, yum, yum. It smells lovely and it tastes both of pumpkin and pumpkin spices. My favorite.
If you like pumpkin pie, you’ll like this.

Next:
Green Mountain Pumpkin Spice.
Now this tastes like the container of pumpkin spices you use when you’re baking a pie. Not so much pumpkin. At first I was a little disappointed, but it should be all about the spices because the name is Pumpkin SPICE. I hadn’t noticed that before. If you like cinnamon, ginger, and clove you will like this. It is very tasty.

And last but not least:
Gloria Jean’s Pumpkin Spice. This is also a pumpkin spice coffee, and has even less pumpkin taste. I found it to be the most mild of the three coffees, but still very good.

Now, these three were all tested with skim milk and 3 spoons of sugar (which is how we roll here), so the tastes described may differ if you use less or more of these ingredients.

Happy coffee!

PS I bought all these coffees with my own hard-earned little dollars.