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John Passarella Author Blog
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Thursday, July 03, 2003
New WITHER'S RAIN review excerpted here: Wither's Rain Garrett Peck reviewed WITHER'S RAIN for Hellnotes Newsletter. Tuesday, April 29, 2003
Jersey Devil Con 3 - Not a Terry Gilliam Film - But it did seem that way. I kept waiting for a dozen little people to tumble out of an elevator. JDC3 was held at the Sheraton in the Raritan Business Center in Edison, NJ. An industrial park, basically. The weekend started off with the SF/FAN/HORROR convention and, as you'd expect, many people were in costumes with fantasy, horror and SF themes, including Imperial Stormtroopers from Star Wars, women in sequined bustiers, people with variegated and unnatural hair colors, some of the Goth crowd in black, the Patient Creatures standing around like the Grim Reaper on holiday. All that was to be expected. Then the dogs arrived. Lots of purebred, show dogs. Apparently the JDC3 con coincided with a dog show at the nearby convention center. The dogs seemed fined with the costumed characters but didn't always get along with one another, with some canine growling in the lobby. I was just growing accustomed to the proliferation of dogs in the hotel lobby when the junior high (I'm assuming) cheerleaders arrived at the hotel. The cheerleaders had no problem with the show dogs but were a bit uncomfortable around some of the more darkly costumed Con-goers. I was on an elevator with a cheerleader and her family when the doors opened on some dark fantasy costumed folk (think robes and death masks) standing around in the lobby and could not help but hear the "Ewww!!" that came out of the cheerleader's perky-and-yet-grimacing face. I had the impression it wasn't the first time she'd had to face this unsettling sight upon disembarking from the elevator. Have I mentioned the gray African parrot? I saw two -- or the same one twice. I started to think that maybe there was an African parrott show going on at the convention center, in between the dog show and the cheerleading competition, but it might have just been an eccentric old woman traveling with her avian companion. Supposedly the parrott talked, but I think he was -- and rightly so -- speechless all weekend. But it wasn't over... A 1993 class reunion had come to the hotel. The biggest headache came during a friend's "Genre Erotica for Mainstream Markets and Erotica for Genre Markets" panel, trying to hear the generally amusing discussion while classic hits from the early 90s pounded through the wall on the left side of the panel room, and music from the Rocky Horror Picture show assaulted us from the right side. Several panel audience members fled in fear of permanent hearing loss. Most of us gutted it out. The only thing the weekend lacked was a wedding party... and maybe a dozen little people to tumble out of the odd elevator. Other than that, I don't think we missed a thing... Saturday, March 15, 2003
Halloween Meets Christmas at Today's Book Signing Strangest thing happened today. I was at Waldenbooks in Christiana Mall, with my Touring Skull riding shotgun on my mini-signing table... and who should come up and buy a copy of WITHER & WITHER'S RAIN...? Santa and Mrs. Claus! They weren't in yuletide costume, of course, but this is was our local mall Santa and he is very recognizable. (For example, a little girl stopped at my table for some candy, pointed into the store and asked me in a hushed voice if that was Santa.) All my kids have posed with him and her (Mrs. Claus) over the years! Gave me his business card (with both their pictures (in traditional costume) on the card)... And since they bought two books, I gave them a WITHER'S RAIN stress ball. As they were leaving the store, Mrs. Claus asked for her own stress ball and I obliged. She said he (i.e., Santa) wouldn't let her have his ball. Imagine that, Santa Claus not sharing his toys. :-) As could be expected, they are a very gracious couple. Tuesday, March 04, 2003
Spell Check Ate My Blog Entry Unfortunately, after typing a long, cogent, philosophical blog entry Summary I don't have the heart right now to attempt to recreate the lost entry, but here's a summary: (1) Deptford Mall (Deptford, NJ) Waldenbooks signing for WITHER'S RAIN was a big success thanks to the support of my loyal readers, and pushed my buck-a-book pledge to the American Brain Tumor Association over the $100 mark; Andrea and I both caught a nasty, but short-lived virus on Sunday into Monday, but fortunately, her family took the kids out for dinner so we could rest and recover; and (3) we need more independent bookstores, especially us up-and-coming authors, because hand selling books is an art form rarely practiced by the chain stores. Allowances for exceptions, of course, but in the grand scheme of things, the publishing world is being tilted toward a bestseller-only-mentality. If you notice anything misspelled in this post, well, what did you expect? :-) For now, we authors need those loyal readers to continue to spread the word. Thanks! - Jack Sunday, February 23, 2003
The Unglamorous Side of a Book Signing The following is my all-wet report from yesterday's [FEB 22] WITHER'S RAIN book signing at Waldenbooks in Mays Landing, NJ. While the signing itself was a success (and thanks to the staff), the circumstances surrounding the signing were another matter. Without further ado... The RAIN had its vengeance on me today [FEB 22, 2003]. I was worried about flooded roads, not flooded ME. I get out of the car at Hamilton Mall and the rain turns into a torrential downpour, falling at a 45-degree angle. The wind kicks up as I'm struggling to get my duffel bag and book cover blow-up out of the back seat. Umbrella inverts. I'm fighting with that. Can't get it into the car; can't hold it as is. I feel my pants getting drenched. By the time I get inside the mall, my jeans are as soaked as if I had walked into a swimming pool up to my waist. My money is dripping wet. I know because I buy a towel at JC PENNY and have to fish a twenty dollar bill out of my pocket. Was gonna by a new pair of pants, but can't locate the men's section in a hurry; besides, all the cash register lines seemed way too long and are moving too slowly - clock's ticking since I'm past my signing time and the bookstore knows I'm trying to find pants, but still I was expecting people there (most who said they would show up, did show up; maybe all of them, which is cool)... So, I give up on the pants idea, thinking I'll tough it out... Sit for 2+ hours in soaking wet pants, signing books. I start to get cold, lips quivering, a little shivery. Am I looking forward to a 1hr 20min ride home in soaking wet clothes? Uh... no! Not really. I go across the mall to a sportswear store, looking for cheap sweatpants. The only ones my size on sale for $20 are powder blue or white. Sorry, not in this lifetime. So I go to the nonsale racks for a black pair (Adidas) w/ white stripe. $40 bucks! (Yikes! This signing is getting expensive.) I change in Waldens back room. Keep in mind, this change is only a marginal improvement because my underwear is mostly soaked through and my right sock and boot are completely soaked. I have no idea how my left sock stayed dry. All during the drive home, I keep the A/C on to keep the windows defrosted. When it's over, my hands were like blocks of ice. My whole body feels cold, sluggish, nonresponsive as I stumble through the door. I need a cup of hot chocolate or chicken noodle soup or something. And so this bizarre winter book tour with its monster snow storms, cancellations, postponements, and torrential downpours goes on... -Jack Friday, February 21, 2003
Cosmic Conspiracy? Well, as cosmic conspiracies go, this one may be all wet. Last weekend (in the NJ/DE/PA area) we had one of the worst snow storms in history and I had to cancel two out of three scheduled book signings. Now this weekend comes predictions of torrential downpours and, combined with snow melt, a high potential for flooding. On Saturday (FEB 22) I'm signing at Waldenbooks in Hamilton Mall (Mays Landing, NJ) between 2 and 4PM. I've already heard that next weekend might bring another winter storm... just in time for my March 1 Waldenbooks Deptford Mall (Deptford, NJ) signing. Here's the odd thing. In WITHER, there is a prominent hail storm. WITHER'S RAIN features some nasty rain (and lightning). The next book in the Wendy Ward series (working title, WITHER'S LEGACY), features a big snow storm. So what's the deal? Is Mother Nature getting revenge for all the bad "press" she's received in the Wither/Wendy books? Like I said, as theories go, this one's all wet... and I will be too! [Note: I put a "snow" picture up on Matthew's update page, www.passarella.com/matt2.htm .] Wednesday, February 19, 2003
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