I'm Santa. Who the hell are you?

I don't know what's wrong with me, I really don't. Honestly, one post in December? That's supposed to be a blog?

I could give you excuses -- doing a final polish on Supernatural: The Unholy Cause, going into heavy revision mode with Stillwater, awaiting editorial notes on my new Star Wars novel, helping out my friend with his screenplay...but really, is this the season for lame excuses?

No. It's the season to hang out with family, watch Bad Santa and Shane Black action movies and get messed up on spiced rum and bourbon. It's the time of year to make lists (best songs, best books, best movies) and wander down Ninth Avenue with your hands in your pockets and feel grateful for all the good things that have come our way.

Of course we always need to keep working. Keep writing. Keep useful.

So tell you what. Go download some great free Christmas mashups and write a few thousand word on your work in progress. Then have a party. Invite everybody. Get kissed. Take pictures.

What's the best thing that happened to you this year?

My Supernatural Playlist

I did it for Death Troopers. I did it for No Doors, No Windows. And now, here it is for my forthcoming Supernatural novel, The Unholy Cause -- the playlist I created while writing and editing the manuscript, due out in April.

To clarify: I'm posting this list simply as a curiosity, because it was something fun that I did while working on the book. That's it. I don't have any sort of arrangement with the artists or songwriters, and none of it has been endorsed by DC Comics, Titan Books, the CW, Warner Brothers, or anybody else. Cool?

1) "Civil War" - Guns N' Roses
2) "Flirtin' with Disaster" - Molly Hatchet
3) "Sweet Home Alabama" - Lynyrd Skynyrd
4) "Bad Company" - Bad Company
5) "Black Betty" - Spiderbait
6) "Me and the Devil Blues" - Robert Johnson
7) "Stack Shot Billy" - The Black Keys
8) "Don't Go into that Barn"- Tom Waits
9) "Can't You See" - Marshall Tucker Band
10) "Midnight Rider" - The Allman Brothers
11) "Wild Eyed Southern Boys" - .38 Special
12) "Swamp Witch" - Jim Stafford
13) "I Put a Spell on You" - Marilyn Manson
14) "No Expectations" - Soulsavers

In a perfect world, the book would come with a CD, or at least a little flash drive you could drop in your laptop and listen to these tunes while you read the book. As it is, you'll have to do a little snooping for yourself.

Sam and Dean would probably approve.