Why?

Why does every famous person (or every person married to a famous person) think he/she is entitled to write a book? And why does everyone cater to these famous people? Bless the famous person who actually has literary talent -- I will not begrudge them that. But what is that -- one percent of the famous people population?

April Fool's Day

I thought what the people up in Ely did on April Fool's Day was a stroke of genius! That morning, I'm listening to 'CCO radio and hear an ad about how Canada is looking to buy Ely from Minnesota. Canada, it seems, wants the best of what Ely has to offer with tourism dollars and all. I knew full well what day it was (it would have been my dad's 64th birthday), so I figured it was a joke. But I went to the Web site the ad directed me to, www.ely.org. There it was, again, the full-blown press release about Canada wanting to acquire Ely. I could have even signed a petition to keep Ely in Minnesota.

On 'CCO again in the afternoon, Don Shelby was talking to a woman representing Ely and they had the conversation going on for about 10 minutes. Finally, at the end, Shelby announces, "April Fool's!"

This was a brilliant bit of marketing for Ely. Not only do they get the town's name out there, but if you signed the petition, it put you on a mailing list for Ely information. I bet the mailing list grew by 1,000% that day, easily!

Whoever thought of this should get a big raise.

It was the perfect April Fool's Day joke, because it was rather outlandish, yet not crazy enough to be discounted. Even though I knew what was going on, there was a tiny bit of me thinking, "Could this be for real?" They disguised it very well as a legitimate news story, with the radio ad, the Web site press release, and the Shelby interview.

Makes me want to move there even more if there's that much creativity flowing around up there! I'm thinking these are the type of people I want to surround myself with.

Vote for my friend's play!

A play written by my friend, Greg Abbott, was selected as a finalist for a national competition in Washington, D.C.

He needs votes to move on! Rate his play “Reali-TV.” It’s about a corporate station deciding to do a reality TV show in the Midwest. Their dart lands on KEYC in Mankato.

Go here to vote.

Thanks!

The impact of a thank-you note

Most every author (nay, I would say, EVERY author) that is a guest on The Weekly Reader is always so grateful and thankful for having a few minutes on the air. It's nice to get those verbal declarations. I'm happy to help out, because 1) I love interviewing people, I always have, I guess that's why I was a newspaper reporter; 2) I love talking to authors, especially authors I'm personally interested in (it's great being a volunteer host because I line up my own guests!); and 3) I hope that the favor is returned when/if I have a book someday.

But I actually got a postcard in the mail the other day from Steve McKee, again thanking me for having him on the program. What a nice gesture!

It's nice there are grateful people in this world, unlike the ungrateful author who turned me down. Sorry to beat a dead horse, but I'm a Scorpio -- we hold grudges.

Weekly Reader March 6

My guest for the upcoming Weekly Reader is none other than Geraldo Rivera. He wrote a new book called HIS-PANIC, about the fear Americans have about Hispanic immigration. I was a little intimidated to interview a guy who's had 40 years of interviewing experience, but it went really well.

So there(!) to people who turn down my requests for an interview! I'm offering you 20-25 minutes to talk about nothing but your book. Even Geraldo recognizes this. If Geraldo recognizes this, so should you.

As you can see, I don't really like to let things go. Refer to my Jan. 23 post.

Dog sledding

So it's been more than two weeks since I've come home from my dog sledding trip to Ely, Minn. Yet I haven't talked about it on the blog. There are several reasons for this:
1. I'm just catching up on work now. Being gone for five days wreaks havoc on the work schedule.
2. I'm trying to get back into the habit of writing. Mostly, though, I've been busy applying for grants and residencies. So when I'm not working, I'm doing that.
3. The trip was so wonderful I'm not sure how to describe it.

I did manage to write an article for the Mankato Free Press right after I got back. But overall, at least for a while, I think the trip is something I want to keep to myself and reflect upon. It meant that much to me. I find myself thinking about it every day. To say it was a "life-changing" event might be a little dramatic. I mean, it was just a dog sledding trip. But there was something about spending all day out in the fresh winter air. There was something about being "up North." There was something about being away from my desk and my computer and my routine. That's all given me a lot to think about. Namely, how do I move up there ASAP?

Here's a picture of Isis, the dog that stole my heart:

Submission at SmithMag.Net

I submitted a story to SmithMag.Net on "Brushes with Fame."

http://www.smithmag.net/brushes_with_fame/story.php?did=4712