613 Media — Telling the Story

It’s been 17 days since the end of the Book Expo America and I’m beginning to relax. After getting back from BEA, I had my first book signing in Shreveport on June 7, 2008 at Barnes & Noble from 2 to 4 P.M. I think I sold about 25 to 30 books and most of those who bought books were walk ups. It was wonderful! We gave away tee shirts and bookmarks and caps.

One of my best friends, Jimmy Fitzgerald was there. Jimmy and his wife are from Henderson, Texas and they spent the entire time at the store prompting people to buy the book. Mark Riser was also there for moral support. Along with my wife, Sherry, my daughter Casey was there wandering around.

I am told that the average book signing sales are all of 2 books. So, to sell this many books is a huge success for me. I want to thank Elizabeth, the Community Relations person at Barnes & Noble for going out on a limb and letting me do a book signing. She is a class act!

With Jimmy’s permission, I’d like to share something that happened to the two of us many years ago. Jimmy had just gone through a terrible time in his life and he had moved away from Shreveport to Henderson. He called me one morning on a week I was off from work and wanted to talk to me. He came by and picked me up and we rode around town for a while. He poured his heart out over the tragic loss in his life and the terrible time he was having. He was depressed and, at that time, I was just coming out of my horrible two year battle with overcoming depression. I hadn’t been approached by Mark Sutton, my pastor, to help him write a book on depression yet. So, both of us were wondering why such terrible things would happen to someone faithful in the service of God.

We ended up downtown at the Red River Revel. This was before the Festival area was built and the Revel was sprawled across the open parking area under the Texas Street bridge. We wandered around the Revel and I noticed some people huddled around the base of one of the huge bridge supports. We walked over and noticed that these people were helping to complete a mural on the huge concrete support. The mural depicted a scene in a typical Louisiana bayou. Each piece of the mural was made from a broken piece of colored ceramic tile. Jimmy immediately began to help out. I reached into the bucket and pulled out some green tile fragments and pressed them into the wet mortar to form a frog.

I then noticed this truck pulled up to a nearby table. Workers were unloading boxes from the truck. I wandered over. Each box was sealed and when opened revealed brand new, shiny six by six inch ceramic tiles. These tiles were then poured out of the boxes onto the table. People standing around the table then took hammers and shattered the perfectly formed tiles into dozens of jagged pieces. These pieces were then raked into buckets and carried over to the mural.

I was astonished. Perfectly good ceramic tiles were being broken to make these murals. What was wrong with them in the first place? Were they defective? No, someone told me. They were donated by a local hardware store.

It was then I had an epiphany that changed my life. I looked at the tiles. So beautiful, so perfect in there outward appearance. And yet, they were totally unusable to make the mural. The only way these tiles could be useful was to be Broken!

I saw it then. I saw God’s hand on my life. I wanted my life to be perfect. I looked at myself in the mirror each day and saw this perfect thing for God to use. Use me God! Here I am! Take me and use me. But, don’t change me! I want you to use me the way I want you to use me. Little did I realize that we cannot be used by God until that personal “perfection” is broken. We can only be used when we are broken. This is called humility. And the thing that must be broken is our human pride. We must have the belief that we and we alone can do these things shattered by God’s hammer of love.

It is painful. It is horrible. It is humiliating. I remembered lying in my bed totally useless and broken before God by my depression. I had no choice but to look up; to look outside myself to God for healing. God picked up my shattered pieces and reassembled them into something that was more than a sum of its pieces. He put me back together in a way I could be used for HIs purpose. And then, he placed me into His Plan. I became a part of His Mosaic; His Mural.

As I watched Jimmy complete his part of the mural, I saw how God was working in both of our lives. God allowed our own weakness to crumble us so that He could pick us up, broken and seemingly useless, and reassemble us as a part of His grand plan. We are a part of God’s Plan! We have a Purpose! It’s hard to see that in the midst of our pain. But, looking back, it is so comforting. And, it is something I can share with those of you who in the midst of your pain; who are in the midst of the Shattering. Be faithful and look Up. You will find your Place in the Plan and it will bring you your heart’s desire!

Jimmy is now completing a degree at the seminary. He has surrendered his life to serving God. He has found the love of his life. He is happy all because he is part of God’s Plan!

Become Part of the Mural!

Post #3

There will be THREE posts for Saturday because so much happened. Read them ALL!

Well it is over.

Finally, it is over.

I have never been so tired in my life. Well, maybe when I was a resident and I would go three nights without sleep. But, this is gut wrenching, deep down, bone tired from the physical walking about to the mental stress and strain. Everyone is on go 100% and you never get a moment to relax. Even when we sat at a table to rest, someone would be trying to work a deal. I had one woman ask me about my plays. She’s looking for material for the Pasadena Playhouse. Who knows. One day, “Aunt Bobbie June’s Tea Room” may show up in Pasadena. Go Granny, go Granny, go Granny, Go! If so, the alumni of the original production will simply have to make a trip to Pasadena.

Two people inquired about movie rights for “The 12th Demon” at the Synergy Book booth and said they would contact me by email. And then, I sat down for my book signing and had a great time! Now, you have to understand that there is a long aisle maybe 100 yards long and then there are like, 40 aisles. And every ten feet on both sides of each aisle is a booth belonging to a book imprint. And, all day long every hour, some author is doing a book signing and giving away the books for free! So, the average attendee ends up with bags and bags of books. So, after a while, especially on the second day, they stop picking up just any book. They become very discriminating even when the books are free. I know. I walked by dozens of authors doing book signings. After a while, I just got tired of them calling out for me to stop. So, by the time I sat down at my table, I was expecting maybe ten at the most to stop. But, over almost an hour, we gave away fifty books. People loved the idea the book is about vampires! And these people were almost in awe of me. I was a real author. Signing books! At the BEA (BookExpo America, for you novices)- (Like I wasn’t one?). My publisher was ecstatic. None of their authors had given away almost all of their books! 

I think what really helped was the candy on the table; the tee shirts I was giving away; the cover of the book; and the fact I had Perennial Media’s short film based on the book playing in the background. Listen, Chris and Luke, those movie people wanted to know who had made the movie and where could they get distribution rights! I told them it was a short “webisode” and they could get more info at www.perennialmedia.com . So, all the hard work on the film may pay off in the long run for Chris, Luke, and the stars of the movie.

So, we packed up the few things we were taking home along with the stack of books I had picked up that day and headed for the car. As Sherry and I walked away from the Death Star, I mean, the Los Angeles Convention Center, we were glad to have had an opportunity to share our lives with total strangers. Somewhere, someone is reading my book and learning about the redemptive love of my Savior. And, with all the weariness and the overwhelmed mental stress and the sore feet and the sore muscles from carrying bags and the stress of driving in Los Angeles traffic and all the many strange and wonderful people of Southern California, the idea that someone might meet Jesus in my book is worth it all!

Post #2:

There will be THREE posts for Saturday because so much happened. Read them ALL!

One of my favorite writers is Robert Crais. He writes a mystery series based on Elvis Cole and his partner, Joe Pitt. I’ve been reading him since I discovered one of his books in an airport book store the summer of 1999 on a trip to, of all places, Los Angeles. This was mid June and by the end of July I had read all of his books up to that point, I think 8. Joe Pitt captivated me. He is a very black and white, good or bad sort of guy who would just as soon gut a bad guy as see him picked up by police. His stoic demeanor fascinated me. In fact, in one of those weird moments of mind wandering I asked myself what would happen if Joe Pitt were to become a Christian? I filed it away in the back of my mind. Later in the summer I would ask myself another question. What would happen if a person had amnesia and was a Christian? Would they remember they were a Christian? These two questions slammed head on into each other when I began writing “The 13th Demon”. The main character was supposed to be a pastor whose church was possessed by a demon. But, I needed a mysterious stranger who would come and deliver the pastor from evil. Into my mind wandered Jonathan Steel a man who was combined from the answers to both of the above questions. In time, Steel became the main character and the book became the first in a series. So, I owed a lot to Robert Crais. His creation, Joe Pitt inspired me to create Jonathan Steel.

We arrived at the Convention Center too late to pick up a ticket to get an autograph from my best and greatest writing idol, Ray Bradbury. You had to be present at 6 A.M. and we just couldn’t make it. So I was standing there looking at the list and noted that Robert Crais was signing autographs beginning at 9:30 A.M. I got in line. I waited patiently. Finally, I arrived and I had Sherry get a book autographed first. Then I stepped up to face this man whose books I love reading. He took one look at my name badge and smiled. “You’re from Louisiana?”

I glanced at his short, salt and pepper hair and his well tanned face just like the picture on the back of his book. “Yes, my wife and I are from Shreveport.”

He smiled. “I grew up near Baton Rouge. I was born in a little town called Independence.”

Sherry nodded. “I know it well.”

“You’re an author?” He looked me in the eye.

“Yes, I am. And, thanks to you, my main character was inspired by Joe Pitt.”

He laughed. “Well, here’s from one Louisana boy to another.”

“Go tigers!” I said.

He looked up and scribbled in my book, “Geaux Tigers!” Then Sherry asked if we could take a picture. Robert invited me behind the table and put his arm around my shoulders and Sherry took our picture. Then, he shook my hand and wished me luck. What a nice guy!

Now, contrast that with Alec Baldwin. Personally, I don’t really watch any of his shows, but Casey loved him in “The Shadow”. So, I just happened to wander by when he was signing books. There were about ten people in line so I figured, why not? I got in line behind this young girl named Gloria. We struck up a conversation and she just happened to be on the production staff of three movies this summer. Let’s see if you’ve heard of them? Get Smart. The Dark Knight. Step Brothers. When she saw my name tag she asked about my book and I gave her a book mark. “Vampires?” She squealed. “I love vampires. Can I get a book?”  She was one of the fifty who took one of my books later on. And, she said it looked like it would make a good movie!!!!!

Anyway, by then I found myself standing in front of Alec Baldwin. He glanced at me and I pointed to the book. “Just make it out to Casey. She’s my daughter and she loved you in ‘TheShadow’. How are you doing?”

He grinned and glanced around. “How am I doing? How am I doing? Do you really want to know how I’m doing?”

I shrugged. “Sure.”

“My a*****e is killing me! I’ve been sitting in this chair for an hour and a half and my a*****e is killing me! You try sitting here for an hour and a half and see if your a*****e doesn’t kill you!”

I smiled. “I’m an author. Sitting in a chair for an hour and a half while people ask you to sign your book is a huge compliment. Get over it. You’re being an a*****e.”

He glared at me and then laughed. “Yeah, I guess so.” He handed me my book and I walked off. Robert Crais 1, Alec Baldwin 0.

There will be THREE posts for Saturday because so much happened. Read them ALL!

It was a terrible dilemma. William Shatner or Leonard Nimoy? It was a classic conflict that dates back to the days both men competed for the affection of their fans when the original Star Trek made history in the late sixties. And now, 42 year later, the two men are still in competition with each other. But, they didn’t count on a third person entering the fray, the Doctor. That would be me, not Dr. McCoy.

It started when I got in line to see Leonard Nimoy, aka Spock. He was signing books and I was number 96 in line. No problem. There were 100 books to be signed. I had seen him sitting at his signing table in the publisher’s booth as I got in the line. Sitting with him was his son who looks strikingly like the younger Nimoy that starred on Star Trek.

The man who handles the book signing made us all at ease. Don’t worry, he said. We have plenty of books. And then, a young hysterical woman ran up to him. She was frantic as she relayed that they could only find 15 books for Leonard Nimoy to sign. Where were the other 85? Turns out the publisher shipped them to another address. So, the handler returned and said he was sorry, but they were out of books, but you can go by and say hello.

That is what I did. I shook Leonard Nimoy’s hand. I resisted the urge to do the Vulcan sign and say, “Live Long and Prosper”. I snapped three pictures of him which I will post in the web gallery once I can download them to the computer (I packed up the reader!). And then, I spied one copy of his book left on the stand. At that moment, I was abundantly glad they had run out. On the cover were four portly naked women in their fifties. Now, I use the word portly in a very kind way. They were beyond portly. Turns out his book was a “celebration of the over size woman in her later life”. Okay, so a hand shake and a picture was enough.

Now, about William Shatner. He was supposed to sign his new autobiography (I think it is the third or fourth) at 3 P.M. in his publisher’s booth which was about 14 aisles away from mine (There were over forty rows of booths). My signing was at 3 P.M. in row 2. It would be the battle of the authors; the smackdown of the captain versus the doctor; the ultimate question of who would dominate — original Star Trek or the Next Generation? The bad thing about this arrangement was that I could not get in line and get a book signed by Shatner. I could not even get a snapshot. But, if my book signing went as I suspected, I would pass out maybe ten books and then could run down 14 aisles and get in line and get a book and a picture with Denny Crane.

Well, I started my book signing at 2:45 and we had 60 books to pass out. I brought along 13 tee shirts and a bowl of candy. In the background I had Perennial Media’s newest short film based on a scene from my book, “Vampyre Majick”. Steve came by. He is an author who wrote a book on casino vacations. Imagine that. But, he’s never been to Shreveport where we have four casinos (maybe more?). Steve and his son had sat at a table with Sherry and I while we tried to rest up from all the endless walking. They were the ones that told me about Nimoy. And I told them about Shatner. When Steve showed up at 2:50 he said that 150 people were in line to see Shatner and he had 100 books to sign. I think Shatner arranged for Nimoy’s books to get lost! Who knows! So, my chances of getting a book signed were now zero. But, if I got away in time, I could at least take a picture of him. Then, the line started forming in front of MY table! MY table!

I signed 50 books! My publisher told me to stay put for an hour when I was only supposed to be signing for thirty minutes. I signed 1/3 of the number of books that Shatner did! In my book, I came out the winner. Let’s see. Nimoy signed 15. Shatner signed 100 but he is a big, and I do mean big, star. I signed more than Nimoy and less than Shatner but I signed 50! Wow! No matter how you stack the Captain and the Science Officer and the Doctor, I think I came out a winner!