Speak of the Devil: A Day In The Life Of Vladimir Putin
Speak of the Devil: A Day In The Life Of Vladimir Putin: Before getting started today, some business to see to. Our final Authors For Oklahoma blog is up, both at Blogger and over at Wordpress....
Early report on 125th
Things went well yesterday: We
haven’t counted how many copies of Smoky
Days and Sleepless Nights were sold, but it was more than twice as many as any previous book signings – not including people who pre-ordered, but weren’t able to
come. We're only a dozen or so new sales from the break-even point,
and after that the Fire Department will get money toward training and equipment.
Also, and a bit to my surprise, we
sold five copies of Storm Chaser! I
was left with just one, although more are on order.
It wasn’t as hot as earlier in the
week, and we didn’t get rained on. We started signing as soon as we got there,
before we even had time to unpack my tote. (I have a book signing tote!) Sadly,
the helicopter and bagpipers weren’t able to make it, but there was a good
crowd, some awesome fire trucks (both new and classic), lots of fun stuff for
the kids (and great food), and a wonderful dedication ceremony. I’ll have more
information – and pictures – later.
Now the history book is “officially”
available. If you’d like a signed copy, it’s $9.95 plus shipping and handling;
we don’t have a PayPal button up yet on the website, but you can go there to
shoot me an e-mail, or order it through Amazon and Create Space.
Orders through me will be a little
delayed: I start vacation tomorrow, and we might not get much internet time for
a while, so please be patient until after the first of the month. Also, we need
a rest!
Speak of the Devil: Man Or Monster: An Army Of Angels
Speak of the Devil: Man Or Monster: An Army Of Angels: “One word kept jumping out at me, a word with enormous implications for me. That one word changed everything. If it was true, I was litt...
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Windchaser's Journey: It's Been a Long Time Coming....: I wasn't sure this day would ever come. I haven't published an original work since Final Hours in 2009. I've published ebook ...
Another Interview Like This, and The Writer is History
SLIGHTLY OFF THE MARK
Although the
idea behind my new book is pretty straightforward, I thought some people might
want details, so I put word out in the local media that I was open for
interviews. They replied that they were closed. But my friend, Howie Dunnit,
stepped in and volunteered to interview me. He’s not a journalist, but how bad
could it be?
“So,” he
asked, “About this book: Are you crazy?”
Did I
mention he’s not a journalist?
“You write
fiction, and alleged humor. What made you take on a non-fiction project?”
Well,
someone said “If someone put a gun to your head and made you write this, would
you?”, and I just assumed they had a gun.
“Very
funny. What about this crazy title? Smoky
Days and Sleepless Nights: A Century or So With The Albion Fire Department. The
title’s longer than the book.”
But it
describes the thing perfectly. Besides, long subtitles are in, they’re cool.
They’re still cool, right?
“Keep
telling yourself that. So, you’ve got a book about history. Only it’s not about
big, fun history stuff, like wars, or moonshine, or baseball. It’s about a
little town in Indiana. What’s in it for me?”
Nothing’s
in it for you. You haven’t read anything longer than a cereal box since I’ve
known you, and you don’t usually finish those. But it covers firefighting, and
small town life, and of course history, and some people like that stuff.
“Yeah,
people who don’t have HBO.”
I do try to
make it entertaining, and I threw in a little humor too, since that’s
apparently what I’m known for –
“Don’t
forget ‘alleged’ humor.”
Look, if
along the way someone actually learns something – about firefighting, or about
how things used to work – it’s not my fault, as long as they’re entertained.
Personally, I found the process of research fascinating.
“Sounding a
little defensive there, sport. Please tell me there are at least pictures?”
Yeah, lots
of them. My original concept, way back when, was to begin each chapter with a photo – that would have amounted to only
fifteen or so. But I think we were closing in on fifty illustrations by the
time we finished.
“Got a
centerfold? Miss Indiana Firefighter’s Wife, 1890?”
You do have
your priorities. No, nothing like that. I spent a lot of time searching for old
photos of Albion fire equipment, but there really weren’t a lot out there. Many
that went in were pictures I took over thirty years, of fires, our antique
equipment, and such. I did find some older stuff that shed light on early
Albion, though. I had to winnow thousands of photos down to hundreds before we
made our final picks.
“You’d have
sold more with a centerfold.”
Get over
it. An 1890 centerfold would have shown, what – the upper part of the lady’s
neck, and her forehead?
“Don’t
underestimate a sexy forehead, fella. Okay, so how do you organize this thing?
I mean, you spent three decades collecting the stuff.”
Well, I
basically start with the fire that destroyed Albion’s first courthouse, decades
before the town had a fire department. I recount how the townspeople suffered
without a fire department, how they formed one, its early years, and then how
it developed and adopted new technology over the next century. I don’t cover
too much after 1988 – I figured some future historian could deal with the
second hundred years.
“So you
started with the beginning … and went forward until you reached the end, huh?
Original.”
Yeah, well,
maybe if I had my own time machine I’d have jumped around from year to year.
“And taken
pictures. Of 1890’s ladies.”
Sure,
that’s how I’d spend my time traveling time. The point is, it’s pretty linear,
and I can’t help that: I just tell what happened in order. That’s the way
history operates.
“Unless
you’re a doc. Doc Brown, Doctor Who ...”
I spent a
lot of time trying to uncover details about the department’s early days, so
that’s where a lot of the book lies. Buckets, hand drawn hose carts, hand operated
pumps – it’s amazing to me how they did that, and with very little personal
protection.
“Yeah, they
shoulda worn a –“
You know
what I mean!
“Okay, stop
waving your pen at me. So, the proceeds for this book are going to the fire
department?”
For the
first couple of years. Once the sales drop off to almost nothing it might not
be worth the paperwork, but until then the AFD will get all of it.
“You’re a
moron.”
I knew
you’d say that, but look: It will get my name out there. If people like this
book, they might go back to buy my first novel and my short story collection,
and they might line up to buy my next book. So it’s not as selfless as it might
seem. Plus, the book couldn’t exactly have been written without the fire
department, right?
“Yeah,
maybe. So, what’s next? Another history book?”
Oh, heck
no. I’m going back to writing fiction, for now. But I’ve been thinking … what
about collecting my old humor columns into a book?
“Right,
because there’s hardly any competition in the humor book market. But if you do
it, you know who the proceeds should go to?”
Who?
“The victims who’ve had to live with your puns.”
Speak of the Devil: So You Want To Screw Up Crisis Management, Huh?
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Buffy the ... firefighter?
My friend Ray wrote an awesome Buffy the Vampire Slayer story in honor of my birthday -- all about firefighting, and loss:
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http://kerkevik.livejournal.com/194
Rough Weekend Coming Up
As you all know, the big “official”
reveal of Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights
is noon to 5 p.m. this Saturday, at the Albion Fire Department’s 125th
anniversary celebration. (July 20th)
You
probably don’t know that my request for a day off was denied, and then last
week I was assigned mandatory overtime: So I’m working from 11 p.m. Friday
night until 11 a.m. Saturday, then going straight to the Central Noble School
campus to get set up for the book signing. Then I have to go back in to work
Saturday night. This is totally unconnected to my desire to someday write full
time for a living.
The show
will go on, with apologies for bags under the eyes, yawning, or constant
caffeine consumption. However, come in to get your book early: If things slow
down later in the afternoon, I might leave a little early to catch up on sleep.
If that happens, I’ll leave signed copies behind for sale (and they’ll always
be available later, of course).
Don’t
forget also that everything going on outside will slow down from 1-2 p.m., for
the official dedication inside the CN Auditorium. If there’s bad weather, the
lobby of that building will host the book signing and registration. Hope to see
you all there!
Speak of the Devil: A Day In The Life Of A Garden Gnome
Speak of the Devil: A Day In The Life Of A Garden Gnome: Before setting to the mischief of the day, we have our fifth Authors For Oklahoma blog set up at Blogger and over at Wordpress as well....
TV interview up online
The TV interview for Smoky Days and Sleepless Nights is now
up on the Indiana’s News Center website:
TV interview tonight for sure this time, I hope
Tonight at 6 p.m. – if all goes well – my TV interview with Indiana’s News Center should finally be aired. (It might be repeated at 11.) It should be on their website later; if so, I’ll post a link.
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