“OJ, electrolytes, B vitamins, ginger, and a little hair of the dog.”

Renowned local bartender Alonso de la Vega describes his hangover-curing elixir thusly. But most of those components come in various forms, so what exactly goes into this concoction? And does it really work?

Ingredients

• 1/2 glass Water
• 1/2 glass Orange Juice (choice of pulp level)
• 1 packet Emergen-C Original Formula (choice of flavor)
• 1 shot Ginger Juice
• 1/2 shot Top-Shelf Vodka

Quantities are inexact because Lonnie always just eyeballs them. Empty Emergen-C packet into a tall glass and fill halfway with cold water. Swirl to encourage powder to dissolve. Add orange juice, ginger juice, and vodka. Stir. Serve over ice if desired.

Lonnie keeps these ingredients on hand at home, but is it really worth the effort? Well, those who’ve sampled the potion swear by it.

“It’s mostly the alcohol that makes them feel better so quickly,” Lonnie says. “The fresh alcohol displaces the converted toxins leftover from the old alcohol, which eases the hangover symptoms. But you only need a little bit.” So what happens when that half-shot of vodka wears off? That’s where the rest comes in, he says. “The Emergen-C original formula has B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish your body. The OJ might be redundant, I dunno, but I feel like it lends a more natural flavor. And the ginger helps clear out the toxins. Beyond that, you just gotta rest and let your body do its work. It’s not a miracle cure, but it helps.”

If you’re reading Kat & Mouse, you might be interested to know it has a soundtrack. Music played a huge role in the writing process. Apart from the songs that are actually referenced in the book, there were many more that helped me conceptualize characters, scenes, and themes. Included below are a few playlists.

(All tracks are available on Spotify, if that’s you’re thing.)

ESSENTIALS SOUNDTRACK:

This is what I imagine would be the official soundtrack if I had to fit it all on one CD.

Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff – deadmau5, Rob Swire
Anarchy In The U.K. – Sex Pistols
Bloodstream – Transviolet
Should I Stay or Should I Go – The Clash
Two Minds – NERO
Privilege (Set Me Free) – Patti Smith
Lust For Life – Iggy Pop
Dreams – NERO, ZHU
Broken Record – Krewella
Pissing In a River – Patti Smith
Search and Destroy – The Stooges
Time After Time – Cindy Lauper
Beneath with Me (Kaskade’s V.4) – Kaskade, deadmau5, Skylar Grey
I’ll Stand By You – The Pretenders
Drive – The Cars

Below, you’ll find the full, complete playlists that I listened to in writing K&M.

FULL LISTS:

DOT’S EDM:

Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff – deadmau5, Rob Swire
Beneath with Me (Kaskade’s V.4) – Kaskade, deadmau5, Skylar Grey
Polaris – deadmau5
Let Go – deadmau5, Grabbitz
Unspecial Effects – deadmau5
4ware – deadmau5
Strobe – deadmau5
Snowcone – deadmau5
Human – Krewella
Broken Record – Krewella
Bloodstream – Transviolet
Illmerica – Wolfgang Gartner
Dreams – NERO, ZHU
Two Minds – NERO
Into the Night – NERO
Into the Past (Reboot) – NERO

KAT’S CLASSIC PUNK:

Holiday in Cambodia – Dead Kennedys
Should I Stay or Should I Go – The Clash
Blitzkrieg Bop – Ramones
Pretty Vacant – Sex Pistols
The Passenger – Iggy Pop
London Calling – The Clash
I Wanna Be Sedated – Ramones
California Uber Alles – Dead Kennedys
God Save The Queen – Sex Pistols
Lust For Life – Iggy Pop
Personality Crisis – New York Dolls
I Fought the Law – The Clash
Anarchy In The U.K. – Sex Pistols
Gloria: In Excelsis Deo – Patti Smith
Rock the Casbah – The Clash
Search and Destroy – The Stooges

KAT’S PATTI SMITH ADDENDUM:

Revenge – Patti Smith
Citizen Ship – Patti Smith
Ask the Angels – Patti Smith
Pissing In a River – Patti Smith
Pumping – Patti Smith
Privilege (Set Me Free) – Patti Smith

BEN’S 80s/90s:

Let’s Dance – David Bowie
Time After Time – Cindy Lauper
Ordinary World – Duran Duran
Every Rose Has Its Thorn – Poison
I’ll Be There For You – Bon Jovi
Drive – The Cars
I’ll Stand By You – The Pretenders
Don’t Dream It’s Over – Crowded House

The paperback went live shockingly quickly! The paperback and ebook haven’t been linked yet, but the paperback can be found here:

Get the ebook on Amazon now for $9.99!

But here’s a hot tip: If you want both the ebook and the paperback, wait until the paperback goes live too. Once Amazon links the two, you’ll be able to order the paperback for $14.99 and add on the ebook for $1.99.

Kat & Mouse: a Crosscannon Roller Derby romance (CRD Book 1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SGH13LZ/

Do you prefer to read the K&M sample chapters on your Kindle? Not sure how to actually get the file onto your Kindle? This link will take you to Amazon’s instructions on how to do that:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/sendtokindle

There are various methods, and some take a little more setup than others. But once you’ve got your preferred method set up, you’ll be able to send all kinds of documents to your Kindle—including the Kindle version (.mobi) of the K&M preview, which you can grab here.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy Chapters 1-3! All 21 chapters will be available to buy soon!