First Words

Yesterday my 11 month old son said his first words. The word he said, I kid you not, was "book". He repeated it and only said it when I put a book in front of him so I know it wasn't just random noises. This will either be very fitting or very ironic when he grows up. I wonder if its too early to enroll him in law school?

New Daniel X

Several several several months back our book club read "The Dangerous Days of Daniel X" by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge. The book met with mixed reviews from our group. Some of us felt it was juvenile, poorly written, and moronic while some of us felt it was a fun little adventure book with some flaws here and there. I was a member of the ladder (though I can totally see the view point of the former). I did happen to enjoy the book, it wasn't Shakespeare (or Harry Potter) but it was fun.

I bring this up today because I was at Borders earlier and saw that a new Daniel X book is coming out entitled, "Daniel X: Watch the Skies." And then when I came home to look up some info on it I found that there is yet another Daniel X book out. This other one is a graphic novel entitled, "Daniel X: Alien Hunter." Now, while I'm not going to go rush out to buy them, they have definitely been added to my reading "to-do" list and I thought I would pass on this information for those of you who, like me, enjoyed the first book and might want more.

Paid In Full

Today I am free! Free of my $4.00 debt to the library! For years this debt has weighed heavily on my soul and conscious. I used to cringe when the self-checkout machines were out of order for I knew if I had to check out from a librarian I would be reminded of this shame and I would have to tell this struggling library that I was sorry, I would pay them back at a later time. But that time has come! After fighting on behalf of the library to keep their funding from the city I decided to stop being a hypocrite and do something about it!

1 dollar for a DVD of Pollack that I used for the Art History class I taught two years ago...PAID

1 dollar for a VHS (that's right VHS) of Bird that I have no recollection of ever seeing or renting...PAID

2 dollars for a DVD of The Green Mile which I have checked out twice and still have yet to ever see...PAID

At the city council meeting several weeks ago they mentioned that the library would need $286,000 to keep normal staffing and business hours for next year. Today that number is now only $285,996!

*See older posting about the library's funding issues at:

http://pleasanthillbookclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/library-cuts.html

and

http://pleasanthillbookclub.blogspot.com/2009/07/awful-truth.html

Interview With Local Authors: Camille Minichino

How long have you lived in the Bay Area? Which parts?

I've been in the Bay Area for one long summer, which started in 1975. I still keep thinking I'll be going "home" soon, to Boston, where it all began, or even better, to New York, where I went to graduate school.

When did you get your first book published?

The first one was "Nuclear Waste Management" in 1982. Not a bestseller, but I got hooked on seeing my name on a spine, so I began writing short pieces, and finally my first novel, The Hydrogen Murder, in 1997. That was the first in my periodic table mysteries.

What type of books do you write?

My novels are cozy mysteries (if murder can be cozy), in the traditional "whodunnit" style. I also write short nonfiction and fiction, samples of which are on my website. I aspire to be like Isaac Asimov who wanted to "never have an unpublished thought!"

Why do you write?

It's that name on the spine. Plus, it's therapeutic, and there's the opportunity to believe you're contributing to contemporary literature.

How involved are you with the community?

I'm involved in writers groups: Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and California Writers Club, and have taken my turn as President of all of them. I'm still on the board of SinC and CWC. I also appear frequently at local libraries, bookstores, and other group events. And I visit local high schools and teach at local community colleges.

What challenges have you faced as an author?

Getting published is the biggest. Even now, with 13 mysteries and many shorter fiction and nonfiction pieces, I can't assume everything I propose will be accepted. It's all about marketing; It's the way the business is today.

Who were some your influences as a writer?

I had some terrific teachers, mainly through UC Extension, as I made the transition from physicist to "commercial" writer. And I am a voracious reader.

What types of books would you recommend for young readers?

I can't answer this, since I didn't read as a child. My parents had very little formal education (6 years for my mother, less than 1 for my father), so reading was not on the list of what I saw or did at home. I read only what was assigned in school. When I was in college, if I did take up a book, from the library, say, my mother would immediately challenge me and ask if it was homework. Otherwise, I should be doing something useful! Of course, since she didn't really know better, I could claim everything was homework. As, in a way, it was.

Can you explain a little how you went from someone who read very little growing up (and it even sounds like you were even discouraged from doing so) to a published author? It sounds like an amazing achievement and I think my readers would really enjoy learning about it.

This was actually the subject of a talk I did at a fundraiser for the new Castro Valley library. It was my own local library in Revere MA that opened the reading door for me. My high school was next door to RPL, and I got a job there after school. It took me a while, believe it or not, to realize that these were books with stories, and that people read them, not for a grade, but for enjoyment. When I figured that out, I started reading "on the side" and that continued, of course through college and on.

Once I began to use reading for comfort (my childhood was not a comfortable one!) and for pleasure, it was an amazing journey. From there, it wasn't a big leap for me to want to be part of that culture and write myself. I think I was the only math major who wrote for the college literary journal, and later the only physics grad student who took lit classes on the side.

I should credit my parents for wanting me to have an education (the way out of poverty as they saw it), although they didn't understand what that would involve. They were suspicious of reading, or of anything that was intellectual. If I told them I "had" to read a certain book to get a good grade, they could understand that, and that's how I pulled it off.

I should also point out that this was a LONG time ago, and reading for kids was not the huge industry it is now. There weren't enormous children's sections in libraries and bookstores, nor were there children's "programs." If you didn't get it at home, you didn't get it.

Who are some of your favorite authors?

I read on the dark side: the Dexter books are my current favorites. Also, Thomas H. Cook, Martin Cruz Smith, and Joyce Carol Oates.

What are some of your favorite books?

I read a lot of current nonfiction. Two of my recent favorites are by Steven Johnson: "The Invention of Air" (a bio of Joseph Priestley) and "Everything Bad is Good For You" (about the effect of technology on our psyches and our brains).

Do you have a website we can visit?

Two websites, which are linked: http://www.minichino.com and http://www.dollhousemysteries.com. The second features my second series of mysteries, based on my hobby of making miniatures. I write this series as Margaret Grace (easier to pronounce, eh?)

Where can we find your books?

Independents, chains and on line. There are links on my sites.

BBC Book Prediction

BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up? Post results in the comments!


1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwel
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare -
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier -
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien -
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma-Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini-
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden-
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell -
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown -
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez -
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving -
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins -
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery -
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy-
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood -
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan -
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel -
52 Dune - Frank Herbert -
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen -
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth -
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens -
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley -
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night - Mark Haddon -
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez -
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck -
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov -
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt -
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold -
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas-
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac -
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy -
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding -
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville -
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett -
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce -
76 The Inferno – Dante -
77 Swallows and Amazons -Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray -
80 Possession - AS Byatt -
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens -
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell -
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker-
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro –
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert -
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry -
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White -
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom -
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad -
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery -
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams -
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole -
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas -
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare -
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl -
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo -

Behind the Barbed Wire: by John Keibel

After interviewing local author John Keibel I decided to check out his book from the library (currently 10 copies available located at various libraries in the C.C.C. Library system). Behind the Barbed Wire is an incredibly extensive and inclusive history of the Naval Weapons Station that was located in Concord, CA from 1942-2005. The book includes every last detail you could possibly want to know about this important part of US and California history that is sitting right in our backyard.

The book provides hundreds of primary source documents. Some of the most impressive items are the dozens of maps and historical photos of the area and the people who worked at this site. Additionally, there are incredible details on housing, entertainment for the personnel (including a movie schedule from December of 1983), flora and fauna, the railroad (including the surprisingly fascinating "10 Commandments of Diesel Engine Maintenance"), workforce (demographics, pay scales, etc.),and community activities (the Pet Parade and the city of Concord's Pow Wow Parade).

Moreover, Behind the Barbed Wire gives a detailed account of social issues that have not only greatly affected the Naval Weapons Station over the past sixty-plus years but the United States as well. The book talks about various labor disputes, the economic impact of the station, the Red Scare during the Cold War, and the multiple protest rallies outside of their gates from the War in Vietnam to the illegal weapons sales to Central America all the way up to our current war in Iraq. Other social issues the book gives compelling history to are impact of the civil rights act of 1964, atomic weapons, and modernization.

On top of all this great historical text we get some pretty interesting stories of events that happened on the base during these sixty three years. One story tells about the time when an eccentric millionaire, who was traveling around the world in a hot air balloon, crashed onto the base. This would probably would not be so note worthy if it wasn't for the fact that this happened at the height of the the Cold War and he happened to be traveling with a photographer from East Germany!

Another very compelling story is the recounting of the Great Port Chicago Explosion of July 17th, 1944. There are great interviews with those who survived this explosion that left hundreds either dead of severely wounded.

When I finished the book I was so impressed with it that I wanted to ask the author some questions about his experience writing it.


What inspired you to write the book?

My basic inspiration for this or any undertaking may be summarized best with two Bible passages. Because "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16) I aim to respond in gratitude for this free gift by working at whatever I do "with all [my] heart, as working for the Lord, not for men" (Colossians 3:23).

With the foregoing, prerequisite understanding, it was a so-called "Historic Resource Study" (1996) written by Harlan D. Unrau of the National Park Service that most impacted how I went about Behind the Barbed Wire: History of Naval Weapons Station Concord. The title of Unrau's momentous two-volume, 910-page study is: The Evacuation and Relocation of Persons of Japanese Ancestry During World War II: A Historical Study of the Manzanar War Relocation Center. Its format, level of detail, use of photographs and incorporation of human interest accounts were in the back of mind throughout Behind the Barbed Wire.

Do you have any connections to the US Navy or US military?

I am not a veteran, if that is what you are asking. In my immediate family, two uncles served in the US Armed Forces (Air Force - Korea; Army - Vietnam). Despite lack of a direct, personal connection with our military, I have a high regard for the men and women who have served and serve in the US Armed Forces.

The initial connection with the US Navy that ultimately led to Behind the Barbed Wire occurred in May 1997. I wanted to re-photograph the town of Port Chicago--what remained of it as compared with historic images of the town. I wished to make comparative "then & now" photographs. This site was within Naval Weapons Station Concord's "Tidal Area" and required permission from the Navy. The connections that resulted from this exercise laid the groundwork for what became Behind the Barbed Wire.

What challenges did you face in your research?

Certainly assimilation of the great amount of data was a challenge not soon forgotten. Nearly 50 years worth of base newsletters, hundreds of reports and various documents and thousands of newspaper clippings had to be read or skimmed and summarized in a retrievable fashion. I interviewed some 24 individuals whose lives were connected in some fashion with the weapons station. These recorded interviews required transcription and summarization.

Closely tied to the challenge of assimilation was the writing--and selecting what to include and what to exclude. I hope and pray I did a good job.

What surprised you the most in your research?

I was pleasantly surprised by the cooperation of the US Navy when it came to getting information on and gaining access to Naval Weapons Station Concord. Understandably, there remain some sensitive matters to which access was limited, but by and large I felt welcome. Thank you Navy!


Was it hard to find people to interview?

Surprisingly, no. As word got out that I was interested in the station's history and that of the land before it was Navy-owned, contact was established readily and interviews ensued.

Now that Behind the Barbed Wire is out, I'm finding still more that I would like to interview if circumstances permit.

Who was your most compelling interview?

Oh boy! Each interview was compelling in its own way. Which do I choose: Dudley Knisley's eyewitness account of what he found on base following the Port Chicago Explosion, Harold Bollman's story of his father's business struggles and accomplishments thwarted by the Navy's expansion, Wilfred Scott's details of missile maintenance, Nancy Weiser's memories of a little girl's life interrupted by WWII? If I must choose one, let it be Morris Rich.

Morris Rich was assigned to the ill-fated SS Quinault Victory. Recounting the night of the Port Chicago Explosion (July 17, 1944), Morris recounted for me:

There were eight of us men off duty that night. All eight of us went ashore and were the only survivors of the SS Quinault Victory crew. My shipmate Richie and I tried getting off the ship three different times. Each time the gangplank had not yet been lowered. After the second attempt, we agreed to try once more. If the gangplank had not been lowered, we would stay aboard and save our leave for another time. The plank was finally lowered and we, Richie and I, departed the ship at 9:20 p.m. (The other six that also took leave followed soon after.) We invited others to join us, but they opted to stay aboard. Most of the men were already in their bunks. They never knew what hit them.

How long did this process take from start to finish?

Photography that made its way into the book goes back to 1997. Research, writing draft and further photography began in 2000. Full time writing commenced in August 2007 and concluded in December 2008. Following revision work, design and printing, Behind the Barbed Wire: History of Naval Weapons Station Concord came out in late May 2009.

For more information on the book please visit www.behindthebarbedwire.com.

Book-signing!
Book signing and sale at the August 1st Concord Naval Weapons Station Neighborhood Alliance block party, 4-6 p.m., at the end of Denkinger Road adjacent to the station.

Random Thoughts: Your First Love

For this Random Thoughts topic, in the comments section, please tell us about the first book you fell in love with. The first book you could absolutely not put down and as soon as you were done you wanted to read it all over again!

The Tribe Has Spoken!

In a landslide victory, visitors to this blog have overwhelmingly voted that they would never use or own a Kindle (or something similar). In slight contrast though most of our visitors said they would not be opposed to others using it. I guess any way you can get someone reading is good enough no matter what the medium.

Interview With Local Authors: Penny Warner

How long have you lived in the Bay Area? Which parts?

I grew up in the Bay Area. I was born in Okinawa, then moved to Palo Alto until third grade. Moved to Lafayette and lived there until I got married. We moved to Danville, where Tom grew up. He graduated from San Ramon High.

When did you get your first book published?

My first book was HEALTHY SNACKS FOR KIDS. I sold it in 1987 and it has sold over 200,000 copies. Still in print today. After the success of that book, I wrote two sequels - SUPER SNACKS FOR KIDS and HEALTHY TREATS FOR KIDS.

What type of books do you write?

After the snack books, I began writing parenting and child development type books, such as SUPER TOYS and HAPPY BIRTHDAY PARTIES, etc. About the time my kids became teenagers, I started thinking about murder........and wrote my first murder mystery.

Why do you write?

I enjoy the creative outlet, entertaining readers, and helping parents enjoy their babies and children. I also like setting my own hours and being somewhat my own boss.

How involved are you with the community?

I've been teaching at Diablo Valley College - child development - for the past 30 years so that keeps me in touch with young people. I do a lot of speaking at groups, such as AAUW, Soroptomists, Women's Clubs, Scouts, etc. Plus I write a column for the Times and Herald that often features people or activities in the community.

What challenges have you faced as an author?

Getting published is always a challenge. No matter how many books I've had published -- over fifty to date -- I still have to "sell" the next one, with a proposal, marketing plan, etc. Ideas, however, are easy to come by, and I don't usually have "writer's block." If I'm stuck, I just sit down and try to write something.

Who were some your influences as a writer?

As a kid, I read a lot of mysteries and adventures -- Nancy Drew, Sherlock Holmes, Edgar Allen Poe, Robinson Crusoe, James Bond. Later I read a lot of fiction by women about women, including mysteries featuring strong female protagonists, such as Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich, etc.

What types of books would you recommend for young readers?

All types of books, but especially Nancy Drew, Harry Potter, Lemony Snicket, and so many of the contemporary juvenile and YA writers.

What do you think is the best way to get young people excited to read?

Give them a good story with lots of action, believable characters, and push the envelope a little, with contemporary issues. Make the stories fun and exciting to read.

Who are some of your favorite authors?

Aside from the ones mentioned above, I have lots of favorites -- David Sedaris, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, Dan Brown, Harlan Coben, Nora Ephron, off the top of my head.

What are some of your favorite books?

The French Lieutenant's Woman, The DaVinci Code, Shutter Island, Jane Eyre, Frankenstein (by Mary Shelley) - so many more. I love humor (ie Why Cats Paint), biographies (ie Marie Curie), how tos (iPhone apps), etc.

Do you have a website we can visit?

My website and blog are at www.pennywarner.com.

Where can we find your books?

All of my books are available through Amazon, or you can try your local bookstore or the publishers. My latest book, THE OFFICIAL NANCY DREW HANDBOOK, is from Quirk. ROCK-A-BYE BABY is from Chronicle Books. LADIES' NIGHT is from Adams Media. I have a new mystery series coming out in February called HOW TO HOST A KILLER PARTY, from Penguin, and a picture book for parents and babies called BABY'S FAVORITE RHYMES TO SIGN, from Random House that features nursery rhymes in sign language, due out next summer.

The Challenges of Publishing

In an earlier interview, local author (and new book club member!) Leslie LaMarr spoke about some of the challenges of publishing. Of these challenges she said, "There are too many gatekeepers in the lit industry." Many of our local authors have stated similar challenges so I asked Leslie if she would be generous enough to elaborate on just who some of these "gatekeepers" were. What follows is her response.



The gatekeepers for authors are as follows:

Interns (They work for agents, but are still given the same autonomy as agents. Which means if the intern is having an "off" day, reads your query, and doesn't think much of it, it will get tossed and an agent will never see it.)

Agents (They are generally also struggling writers, but now that they have deemed themselves agents, they seemed to have forgotten the struggles of their peers. Agents will harshly shred any query letter that enters their office, for any reason they can find. I have heard from several agents that they will read a query word by word looking for the one word that will give them a reason to dismiss the query. Because most publishers will not review unsolicited manuscripts (it reduces the litigation factor) agents must submit manuscripts to major publishers for an author to receive a decent book deal. It is also a well known fact that it may take querying hundreds of agents before you find that one agent who will connect with your writing and support your career. So don't give up if you are rejected.)

Publishers (If you are a first time author, with no platform, or pedigree, then it's unlikely you will be published by a large publisher. If you are a second time author, you may get a break, unless you self published your first book, in which case you will be considered on the same par as a first time author with no platform. The only exception to this stigma of self publishing, is if you sell more than 5,000 copies of your first, self published book. If your self published book sells a significant number of copies, you will become a more desirable literary property. If you expect an advance with your publishing deal, rethink that expectation, as most publishers have reduced or eliminated advances for anyone except for salacious celebrities like Tori Spelling or for confirmed authors, who equal sales, like Stephen King.)

Editors (Initially their job is to pitch salable books to the board of directors at the publishing house. They only want to pitch books that will sell. So unless your agent can convince them that your book WILL SELL, forget it. They are not interested in another Catcher In The Rye unless it's going to make Harry Potter money. Also, once you start literally working with an editor, hold a memorial service for the book you once wrote, and check your ego at the door. Editors will restructure a book to meet the demands of the board who are making demands based on their own statistical consumer knowledge. i.e. what people are buying.) FYI, I once heard Anne Rice's first editor complain that Interview With A Vampire would have been a far better book if she had been given the opportunity to edit it. (Anne Rice is notorious for rejecting the "constructive criticism" of her editors.)

Publishing Board of Directors (See also Editors definition. Generally, they only meet twice a year to review books for publishing. They're THAT busy. So if your editor misses one meeting, expect to wait awhile for the next meeting to take place.)

Promotions (Additionally, once your book is published, your publisher will expect you to do WHATEVER YOU CAN to promote your book. The publisher may or may not book readings for you in bookstores. They may or may not place ads. They may or may not contact special interest groups who will benefit from buying and reading, or in implementing your book. But the publisher WILL expect you to do all of this! So if you thought editing was hard, try booking yourself on talk radio, or onto talk shows to promote your book, or garnering press in a world where print publications thrive on paid advertising and not on gratuitous reviews. Pay for ads if you think that will help you get a review. Think out of the box on promotions. Talk about your book at every chance you are given. Carry copies of your book with you to hand to any important people you meet. A simple and easy way to promote your book is this: once your book is registered on Amazon, ask ALL the people you know to go to Amazon daily - for months - and click on the title of your book in the search results. That action alone will push you up in the Amazon search responses. Next, ask anyone who LOVES the book to write you a favorable review on Amazon. That too, will encourage better placement status with Amazon. Whatever you do, wherever you go, PROMOTE YOUR BOOK and PROMOTE YOURSELF AS AN AUTHOR. This will increase your platform to leverage better book deals in your future.)

Bookstore Owners (Show them that your book WILL SELL and they will stock your book. Leverage better placement chances with bookstores by letting them know if you are a local author. Show them that your book WILL SELL during a reading, and they will book you to speak. Ask them to give you a CHANCE to reach readers and you will receive a lecture on how they don't have enough space in the store to stock all the books by struggling independent authors that they would like to stock. Show them an empty space where your book would fit in nicely, and they'll show you the door.)

Readers (When I first went to print, I did the math. Over 300,000,000 people in the U.S. Eliminate children, men and those people who just wouldn't be interested in my book, and I was left with at least 3 million possible readers!!! What an easy sell! Except that sales don't happen like that. Not as many people buy books as the lit industry would like you to believe. On Amazon, I sold 32 books in one month and I was kicked into the top 2% of booksellers, out of over 3 million titles listed. Does that give you some idea of the ebb and flow? It is hard to get people to commit to reading. Harder still, to get readers to commit to buying books. One book club in Stockton bought ONE COPY of my book to pass around! And my book only costs $7.99. Getting readers to read is a constant challenge. However people do read and writers are reaching readers. So once you start selling your book, find joy in each book you sell. Because that means that someone has chosen to invest an hour of their paycheck in your thoughts. The bestselling books of all time reach millions of readers, but only just, over a designated period of time. Take the book, A New Earth as an example. It sat on bookshelves looking for readers for TWO YEARS before Oprah decided to champion it on her show. So don't be discouraged if your book only sells a thousand copies while you wait for it to find an audience. Be encouraged by any sales you make because selling a thousand copies will mean you will rank somewhere near #44 on Amazon's top sales list. Selling even a few hundred copies will probably push you into the top 200. Out of over 3 million books, those aren't shabby statistics at all.

Overall, this can be an industry not unlike the emperor's new clothes. Transparent and devoid of any glowing truths. But for the time being, it's still managing to hold firm as the great Oz hiding behind the curtains too many people are afraid to pull open. Success in this industry can belong to anyone who has enough heart to write. It's that easy. But if you've tattooed a $$$ sign on your heart, then forget it. You'll fail under your own definition of success. Success in this industry needs to be measured in appreciation of your work and the paths that open up to you because people have read what you have written, and have liked reading it as much as you liked writing it.

Dry: What's the deal with the hiccups? (spoiler alert!)

For those of you who have read Dry by Augusten Burroughs you, like I, may have had some questions about those hiccup attacks which victimized the character Pighead. Augusten's friend Pighead was infected with HIV/AIDS and is hospitalized several times through the course of the novel. Pighead is constantly complaining about hiccups and eventually has to be rushed to the emergency room because he his hiccuping so much that he can't breath.

Since I'm not a doctor I was confused as to how hiccups could be so serious and I also wondered what the connection was with HIV/AIDS. So I did some research!

It turns out, according to Joel E. Gallant, M.D., M.P.H., "There are all sorts of reasons for hiccups, ranging from the benign (anxiety leading to the swallowing of excessive amounts of air) to the serious (pneumonia or abscesses or tumors which irritate the diaphragm)." It can also be caused by a possible side effect to taking certain kinds of HIV/AIDS medications. For those who have read the book, we know Pighead had a counter full of prescription medications. Moreover, MJ Pollack, M.D. adds, "Intractable hiccups [can be] a serious sign of underlying systemic disease."

Hope this answers any questions you may have had!

Interview With Local Authors: Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff

How long have you lived in the Bay Area? Which parts?

I've lived in Contra Costa County since 1983.

When did you get your first book published?

1989. It is a book for parents and teachers about drama activities for kids. It's still in print . . . which is a miracle in this day and age!

What type of books do you write?

Usually books for children, but some books are for adults too. I also freelance for magazines and newspapers.

Why do you write?

Because I can't NOT write! It is my passion!

How involved are you with the community?

I am chairperson of California Writers Club Mt. Diablo Branch's Young Writers Contest. I've been involved with this since 1995. It is a writing contest for all middle school students in Contra Costa County. It doesn't cost them a cent! Get all the middle school kids you know to enter their poems, short stories and personal narratives! The guidelines are on our website, http://mtdiablowriters.org/ and I will answer any questions and give writing suggestions, discuss technique and tips on my blog, http://lizbooks.wordpress.com/, as well as any other contests I can find for kids here. We also give FREE writing workshops through the Contra Costa library system. The next one is July 29 at the Clayton Library. (1 - 3 pm)

What challenges have you faced as an author?

Every author faces rejection, difficulties with technique, and finding time to write. It's all part of life. Challenges are good for the soul!

Who were some your influences as a writer?

E.B. White, who is the author of Charlotte's Web, the humor of Dorothy Parker, and the people IN my life who have helped me every step of the way. Friends, writers groups, family . . .and for them allowing me to write about them in my various newspaper columns . . .

What types of books would you recommend for young readers?

Let the kids loose in the library and let THEM choose. Don't limit them to "what is for their age?" That drives me crazy. My son read picture books at the same time he read chapter books. The sky is the limit! They discover new words AND new worlds this way!

Who are some of your favorite authors and books?

Richard Peck, Louis Lowry, Deborah Wiles, and thousands of others. Adult books include Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe By Fannie Flagg, Wicked by Gregory Maguire, Princess Bride by William Goldman, Population: 485 . . . by Michael Perry. But if you ask me in a week I'll come up with some other titles and authors. There are so many.


Do you have a website we can visit?

www.lizbooks.com

Where can we find your books?

The local library has some of them. Try online and at your bookstore.

I visit schools presenting author assemblies and giving classroom writing workshops to students. Encourage your kids to read!

Frank McCourt dead at 78

http://freeinternetpress.com/story.php?sid=22233

Short Stories From Local Authors: Big Head Joe by Joshua Sauberman

Eight score and two years before, in a sad and struggled land there was a man named Joe. For Joe modesty was simply an order too tall. The only thing he wanted was everything at all. He’d often make demands or order folks about, and he wouldn’t take commands or dare pay for his own stout. No, Joe was quite the fellow who considers himself prized, though many of most women thought he likely, undersized.

Still his ego overblown, and his reputation not well known, Joe decided it was right that one year from tonight, he be honored as the lands’ greatest glorious delight! Why should this honor they bestow? A fine question don’t you know. Well, if it’s a tale I’m to be spinning, I ought begin at the beginning.

Joe was raised under modest means, but it was his granddad Franz Von-Haufersteinz, who told him “Joe, in order to have all the worlds delights; you must behave as they’re your birth born rights. He took his granddads words as heartfelt and sincere, and decided that fine day it was He the world should revere.

His attitude was pompous and awfully well self served. And at his fellow scholars, he’d yell and scream and holler, in a manner quite so unreserved. Joe it seemed had simply deemed that he was better than the rest; and his peers and fellow citizens should be nothing but impressed. There was no rhyme or reason and little thought behind, his crime of attention treason to which he happily resigned.

So as it came to be, with his lack of modesty, and the fancy wears he flaunted, despite cries of audacity; he carried on undaunted always given what he wanted. So of course you can see, what it is you must already know; how it came to be, he earned the name of – Big Head Joe.

And this went on for many years until that fateful night, when as I said, Joe decided, he be honored as the towns’ greatest glorious delight. He organized a meeting at the cities largest hall, where he’d state, “A year from this date, they’re will be the grandest ball!” The guest of honor was his truly, and that was to be noted twice, double… dually. The details were in place, but minor points aside, there was one problem he couldn’t erase: what if his guests denied?

A problem such as that, preposterous for sure, but as granddad Franz had always said, “Assurance is best for sure.” Despite his self-possession, Joe had to face the fact, there remained the big question: Just who here had his back? His didn’t know the names of the friends he claimed to have, and he worried they might not know his, if in fact they ever had! There were days until the ball – Three hundred, sixty-five in all, and within that time a plan of grand design, Big Head Joe would contrive. The focus of his feat, which was brilliant he’d conceit; was to guarantee attendance by means of guest dependence. The job wasn’t small, but in this story we’re amid, so let me get on with it and tell you what he did.

He went to Heather and Chris; Lisa and Mary, then to Tamara, Greg, Patrick and Jerry. He visited Art and Nancy and Grace, and then to David and the veteran’s place. He stopped by the churches, the schools and saloons and he worked all day from sunrise to moon. He stopped at his neighbors, their employers and laborers, and just to be sure he hadn’t forgot; he visited Mark and Thomas and Scott.

And when at last his efforts were complete, each person in town marveled… “A party – just for me!” And so at the end, each townsfolk believed, themselves the guest of honor, or so they perceived. And each so eager to party so grand, they forgot the meager, and dull and bland; life they were living to focus anew, and shed their old life for one overdue.

When at last the big day did finally come, and each guest arrived so splendidly done, they greeted Joe and clasped his hand, for it was he who organized, this glorious plan. Joe wanted the spotlight but with each new guest to enter, his attention would take flight and then re-center, on that newest arrival, their mind in a spiral, and they’d lean on Joe as a mentor. After all, they’d never known the attention to which Big Head Joe, so accustom had grown. He actually missed the way in which the guests seemed to insist, “Let’s put the focus on Joe – it’s more comfortable, you know, and he does have a certain splendor.”

At the end of the of the evening, with smiles all around, each guest retreated and headed homebound; but two things had changed, which Joe hadn’t arranged: The people of the land felt they counted again, and Big Head Joe they considered a friend.

And so the story goes that Joe changed his ways; he once was self-center and so Ill-behaved, though in the wake of his ball and honest smiles of delight, he learned that revelry wasn’t a right - It was something earned, and he’d earned it that night. Through his hunger for fame, adoration and glory, he found the path to it, was a whole different story. And his tale persists, for its moral is true: always do unto others as Big Head Joe would do unto you.

Valley Life: Afternoons in Leadville are anything but leaden

By Penny Warner
VALLEY TIMES Correspondent
Posted: 07/19/2009

I'M A BIG FAN OF summer reading. That's the time I can read anything I want, from cutesy chick-lit to hilarious Sedaris — all guilt-free.

This summer I've already finished "This Will Kill You" by HP Newquist (research for my mystery series), "10-Minute Clutter Control" by Skye Alexander (my son made me read it), "The Cruelest Month" by Louise Penny (Agatha Award winner), and, of course, the entire "How Do Dinosaurs"..." collection by Jane Yolen (at my grandsons' insistence.)

Local libraries enable my reading addiction by providing FREE BOOKS! And they have great summer events for us book-dependents. Last year, I worked with the Pleasanton Library's "Big Read" program to help make "The Maltese Falcon" come to life. This year, the library offers a "Reading Out West" program, with train rides, Civil War lectures and Western music.

This year, the Livermore Library celebrated "Livermore Reads Together," Dublin offers book discussion groups and San Ramon hosts the International Storytelling Festival. In Danville, you can hear such local luminaries as Mark Curtis discuss his new book, "Age of Obama."

But if you're lucky enough to be in Leadville, Colo. in coming weeks, the library there will host a "One Book, One Community" program featuring our local award-winning author, Ann Parker.

I'm especially proud of Ann. She took one of my writing courses years ago, but it wasn't until the last class that she finally read her first attempt at a novel. I knew immediately she'd have a book in the library one day. Three books from her Silver Rush historical mystery series are now on the shelves — "Silver Lies," "Iron Ties" and "Leaden Skies."

"I spent my childhood at the library," Ann said. "I thought it was magical how you could take books home and didn't have to pay for them. Unless they were late. And mine were always late."

Set during the silver boom in Leadville, her books feature the adventures of saloon owner Inez Stannert, a strong female role model.

"As a kid, I read mostly boy books because they had all the fun adventures," she said.

A science/technical writer at Lawrence Livermore Lab, Ann turned her pen to fiction and found her interest lay in historical westerns.

"I used to watch TV westerns with my dad," Ann said. " 'Have Gun, Will Travel,' 'Bonanza,' 'Wild, Wild West.' Again, the guys were having all the fun."

Ann's protagonist, Inez, is very loosely based on her grandmother, who grew up in Leadville during rough-and-tough times.

Being honored by Leadville is a career highlight, but Ann always seeks new horizons: "I'd like to write urban fantasy and explore where no man — or woman — has gone before."

I can't wait to go with her.



Meet Ann at Towne Center Books, 555 Main St., in Pleasanton at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Reach Penny Warner at www.pennywarner.com.

Updates!

Hello all Pleasant Hill Book Club Members and Fans,

You may have noticed some new features to the blog.

1st- Interviews with local authors. I think it is great to know the writers in our own community. Currently we have 5 interviews posted and should have an addition 6 or 7 by next week with more to come beyond that. If you missed any you can pull up the interview from the archive links located on the right side of the page under the poll questions. You will also see links to these authors websites in the same area.

2nd- "What are you reading?" link. You will see this at the top of the page under the title. The idea here is that everyone of our visitors will leave a comment telling us what they are reading. This will give us a taste of what we in the group are reading when, if, we finish our book of the month and what anyone else in the community might be reading.

Yet to come...

1st- A review section. Hopefully we can establish a feature on this site that can write book reviews of local work and or other submitted texts.

2nd- A short story section. Hopefully we can have a feature where local (or not) authors will submit the short stories for publication on our blog.

Both the review section and the short story section will also have archive links located in similar areas to the current archive links.

Happy Reading!

Adam

Interview With Local Authors: Barbara Bentley

How long have you lived in the Bay Area? Which parts?

I have lived in Contra Costa County my entire life. If I told you how long, I'd have to silence you. LOL

When did you get your first book published?

My first book "A Dance with the Devil: A True Story of Marriage to a Psychopath" was published by Berkley Books in November 2008. A lot of the story takes place in Contra Costa County.

What type of books do you write?

My first book was a true crime/memoir. I have written a fairy tale trilogy and am seeking a children's literary agent. My next adult book will be a historical novel about a strong Irish woman.

Why do you write?

I wrote my first book to share my story to educate society about the crazy-making world of the psychopath in the hopes of saving a life. It took me 18 years. I wrote and illustrated my fairy tales to nurture my creativity. Now I want to do the historical novel to prove that I can do it! Besides, it makes a lovely retirement activity and I've met many great authors in the California Writers Club - Mt. Diablo Branch.

How involved are you with the community?

My husband and I support STAND! Against Domestic Violence and Community Violence Solutions. I am on the Speaker's Bureau for STAND and represent them with talks at schools, colleges, businesses, and organizations. I have given speeches on my own at women's workshops and the International Women's Writing Guild. My story was recently aired on Dateline NBC and I field questions and requests for help from women all around the country. I also am serving my second year as secretary on the board of the CWC - Mt. Diablo Branch.

What challenges have you faced as an author?

When I decided to write a book there was one big obstacle - I needed to learn how to be a creative writer! I checked out writing books from the library. I joined the International Women's Writing Guild and attended several conferences. I also learned a great deal about the craft at the Writer's Retreat Workshop. I believe the biggest challenge is time. Right now I'm having trouble finding the time to get into my research for my next book. Then, of course, there was the challenge for my first book of finding a good literary agent (I got one in New York City) who could access the major publishing houses. Now I have that same challenge as I look for a children's literary agent. It's also taken a lot of time to learn the publishing business as it is not at all what the general public envisions!

Who were some your influences as a writer?

Gary and Gail Provost started the Writer's Retreat Workshop and their classes gave my writing a jump-start. Eventually, Gail became my mentor and we worked closely to develop my voice.

What types of books would you recommend for young readers?

I'd recommend that young readers pick up books on subjects of interest to them in order to nurture their love for reading. When I was young, I loved the Nancy Drew Series.

Who are some of your favorite authors?

Maeve Binchy, Ken Follett, Jefferey Archer, John Grisham

What are some of your favorite books?

There are no special books that come to mind.

Do you have a website we can visit?

www.adancewiththedevil.com Also, my husband and I are award winning home winemakers www.bentleycellars.com but we can't sell our wine.

Where can we find your books?

Independent book stores, Barnes and Noble, Borders, Amazon.com. I have links on my website

The Kindle: Friend or Foe

Arguments for the Kindle:
1. http://k.indled.com/The-Amazon-Kindle/tag/kindle-criticism/

2. http://collectedmiscellany.com/2008/05/why-i-love-my-kindle/

3. http://pcmike.com/2009/03/13/why-i-love-the-kindle-a-review/


Arguments against the Kindle:
1. http://www.edrants.com/books-for-me-thanks/

2. http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2007/12/why_i_dont_like_amazons_kindle.html

3. http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/books/blog/2009/02/10_reasons_to_hate_the_kindles.html



What do you think? Leave a comment or vote in our poll!

Interview With Local Authors: Willem Ridder

How long have you lived in the Bay Area? Which parts?

Bay Area since 1974. The LA area from 1953 to 1964 when I was assigned to Europe by my employer Bank of America.

When did you get your first book published?

Book was published in 2007

What type of books do you write?

Related to history, primarily WWII

Why do you write?

Writing the book about my experience in Holland during Nazi occupation was a catharsis.

Our book club recently read Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose, what are your opinions on the chapters he wrote about Holland during the war?

I very clearly remember when the paratroopers of the 101st and 82d as well as the 2d British AB Division flew over our house on their way to the landing zones in the east of Holland. It is covered in my book as well with particular reference to Bernard Law Montgomery's part in the disaster. ( A Bridge Too Far)

How involved are you with the community?

Somewhat through Clayton Pioneer, wrote a few articles

What challenges have you faced as an author?

To write it at all and working on it diligently for 15 some odd years

Who were some your influences as a writer?

Maybe Stephen Ambrose

What types of books would you recommend for young readers?

Recommend history so as not to repeat it. My book Countdown to Freedom [for example]

Who are some of your favorite authors?

Stephen Ambrose, Leon Uris, Nevil Shute, Cornelius Ryan.

What are some of your favorite books?

All books by the above mentioned writers and more recently: The Count of Monte Christo

Do you have a website we can visit?

Facebook: Countdown to Freedom

Where can we find your books?

At Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and many other book stores (print on demand)

Random Thoughts: Favorite Lines

There are a lot of particularly funny one-liners in this book. What are some of your favorites? (Without giving away too much plot)

Interview With Local Authors: John Keibel

How long have you lived in the Bay Area? Which parts?

I was born in southern California. Growing up years were spent in Martinez and Concord. Following college I moved around the state and country a bit. Most recently, Concord has been my residence 1996.


When did you get your first book published?

I published The Alhambra Valley Trestle Then and Now: A Centennial in 1999. As the title suggests, this is a history of the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe trestle near the home of John Muir in Martinez. A prominent feature is my use of comparative ("then & now") photography.



What type of books do you write?

Both of my books (as well as newsletter, magazine and newspaper submissions) are almost exclusively of the non-fiction, history genre.

Why do you write?

An educator by training and profession, I enjoy sharing history. I find writing provides a means of making certain I get the history correct; it's too easy to make a mistake or to miss an important point when speaking.


How involved are you with the community?

I am a teacher and council-member at Eternal Life Lutheran Church in Concord, a member of the Concord Historical Society's board of directors and a volunteer tour guide at the John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez.


What challenges have you faced as an author?

I have found every aspect of the writing and publishing process to be rewarding challenges.

* Research is demanding. Imagine going on a treasure hunt where the map is less than clear. After successes and setbacks, there's the big find.
* Writing does not come easy, but write anyway and then polish, polish and polish some more.
* My books have been self published, so the whole creative process has been at my fingertips: writing, design, image selection, printing and marketing. Exciting! In the end, sola Deo gloria.

What types of books would you recommend for young readers?

As a young reader, I enjoyed biographies--especially of inventors; e.g., Edison, Marconi and Wright brothers. Good examples provide wholesome inspiration.

Do you have a website we can visit?

www.BehindTheBarbedWire.com

Where can we find your books?

The Alhambra Valley Trestle Then and Now: A Centennial is out of print (although a handful of copies may yet be for sale at Sheila Grilli Bookseller in Martinez, CA).

Behind the Barbed Wire: History of Naval Weapons Station Concord is available at a number of local bookstores and historical societies listed on the BehindTheBarbedWire.com website.

The Awful Truth

In Monday night's city council meeting Councilman John Hanecak mentioned that the Pleasant Hill library, even when its hours are cut to 35 per week, would only have 8 other branches with more open hours. This is NOT correct. Currently the number stands at 10 libraries with more open hours and that number will jump to 13 in September. This will leave Pleasant Hill library in a tie with the Pittsburg library for 14th place.

The details:

Orinda: 60 hours
Danville: 60 hours
San Ramon: 58 hours
Walnut Creek: 56 hours
Walnut Creek(Ygnacio Valley branch): 56 hours
San Ramon (Dougherty Station branch): 56 hours
Brentwood: 54 hours
Antioch: 52 hours
Hercules: 45 hours
Clayton: 44 hours
Pleasant Hill (CURRENTLY): 42 hours
Concord: 42 hours
San Pablo: 41 hours
Oakley: 39 hours
Pittsburg: 35 hours
Pleasant Hill (AS OF SEPTEMBER): 35 hours


***Data gathered from ccclib.org

More Quizzes!

I think we may have a little more success with these...

http://www.sporcle.com/games/kurtvonnegut.php

http://www.sporcle.com/games/michaelcrichton.php

http://www.sporcle.com/games/hemingwaynovels.php

Interview With Local Authors: Andre' Gensburger

1. When did you get your first book published?

The book SIGNS YOU MAY BE AN IDIOT and other musings was published last year.

2. What type of books do you write?

SIGNS was a book of editorials. I am a fiction/science fiction writer and prefer that format. I am currently writing a science fiction novel called The Shift which I am posting as I go on my blog misterwriter.com. It is similar in process to something that Philip K. Dick might have conjured up, although, of course, the writing style is different.

3. Why do you write?

Writing is as natural a process for me as talking. It allows me to vent, to process, to problem solve; but perhaps most importantly to try and find some rationalization for much of the insanity I feel pressing in around me.

4. How involved are you with the community?

I co-publish The Concordian, a local Concord newspaper. I am a Rotarian. I was a public school teacher for seven years.

5. What challenges have you faced as an author?

Getting work read is always a challenge. With the Internet everyone writes which creates a mass of stuff out there so the competition is strong.

6. Who were some your influences as a writer?

I have a wide range of reading interests from David Deutsch, John Scalzi, Gregory Benford, James Clavell, Philip K. Dick, Frank Herbert, Ayn Rand... the list is endless.

7. What types of books would you recommend for young readers?

I would not recommend by type since each reader has a different taste. What I do recommend is to go to the library and select 5 books based on how the cover looks, or the title, or something and try to read it. You are allowed to stop after 10 pages if it does not grab you, but one of the 5 books MUST be read all the way through. This gives reluctant readers some power. Often with some choice, one can find something good.

8. Who are some of your favorite authors?

David Deutsch, John Scalzi, Gregory Benford, James Clavell, Philip K. Dick, Frank Herbert, Ayn Rand, Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Jack McDevitt, Jospeh Campbell - the list goes on.

9. What are some of your favorite books?

Frank Herbert's Dune trilogy hooked me into Science Fiction as an adult after Robert Heinlein's juvenile sci-fi hooked me as a kid with tales like Spaceman Jones. Old Man's War by John Scalzi is a fun read.

10. Do you have a website we can visit?

www.misterwriter.com is my blog
www.gensburger.com is my site
www.signsyoumaybeanidiot.com is the book site

11. Where can we find your books?

amazon.com,
target.com
Clayton Books
other stores - although I do not have the list.

Pleasant Hill Book Club has Gone International!

According to our Google analytics information our blog has had visitors from Hong Kong, Austria, Romania, and Germany!

We are also spreading up and down the coast of California and had a few visits from Utah and Texas!

Very exciting!

Library Cuts

Monday night the city of Pleasant Hill lost a little bit of its heart. In a 5-0 unanimous vote the city council of Pleasant Hill voted to not cover the funding cuts made by the Contra Costa County. The result of this vote leaves the library with less hours open to the public (with the possibility of being closed on Mondays as well as Sundays) and the loss of jobs.

The library resolution was item 6.1 on the meeting agenda and was the one item which most of the 30 or so citizens in attendance were waiting for. In the dimly lit hall speaker after speaker came to the podium to share passionately about what the Pleasant Hill library has meant to them and to our community. Speakers referred to the Pleasant Hill library as “the heart of the community” and how even though there are libraries in other near by cities this wasn’t the “Pleasant Hill Library” but simply “The Library.”

The city council seemed to wrestle with the decision but ultimately knew they only had one choice to make. In order to keep the library at its current staffing and hours the city would have to pay upwards of $286,000. This is quite a hefty price tag considering the city is already facing a budget short fall accelerating past a half million dollars.

Other arguments made by the city council were that the library is a county enterprise, not a city enterprise. And that only 35% of the circulation of the Pleasant Hill library actually were residents of Pleasant Hill. No one seemed to bring up, however, the fact the 11% were from Concord which is about a half mile away and 25% came from Walnut Creek which is literally across the street. Though that still raises the point of why should the city of Pleasant Hill put up all of this money when the county is getting the majority of its use.

In the most grotesque and obscene gesture of the night (not including the laughter and joking around during the discussion portion of the vote) was when our Mayor, Michael Harris, asked our Honorary Mayor For the Day Kevin Vasgerdsian, a soon to be 3rd grader at Sequoia Elementary School, to call for the vote on this measure to cut the library. How sad.

After the vote I was left with a deep sense of council’s duplicity. From the left sides of their mouths they spoke of their love and appreciation of the library and then from the right voted for the cuts. Councilwoman and Vice-Mayor Karen Mitchoff (2008-present)spoke about how often she uses the library now, yet spoke to the affect of how when she was a teen the library was un-cool and thus unimportant. Councilman David Durant (1999-presnt) painted a grim picture of the future for the Pleasant Hill library and for Pleasant Hill itself. Councilman John Hanecak (2004-present) mentioned that after this cut there would only be 8 of the 25 county libraries with more open hours than Pleasant Hill. Are we supposed to feel good about that? We’re number 9! We’re number 9! Give me a break. He also mention that a great way to donate is to pay our fees. Lets hope there are $286,000 in unpaid fees out there!

Today, I continue to feel angry and frustrated and wondering with whom should this anger be with? The city council? The county? The state? It saddens me that when times are tough the first thing people go looking to cut are funds to education. The idiocy of this maneuver is astounding. The socioeconomic discrimination is astounding. Who will these cuts hurt? Initially some, eventually all.

To watch the city council meeting you can tune into your CCTV channel Wednesday July 15th at 7:30pm or watch it on streaming video at http://www.ci.pleasant-hill.ca.us/media/ when it becomes available.

To help support the Pleasant Hill library please visit http://ccclib.org/friends/phl.html.

You can contact the Pleasant Hill city council at http://www.ci.pleasant-hill.ca.us/forms.aspx?FID=74.

*The publisher of this article and representatives from the library were unable to coordinate a time for an interview by the time of publication.

**Members of the city council were unresponsive for interview requests.

Interview With Local Authors: William Sawyers

William Sawyers was raised in Pleasant Hill for 22 years then moved to Concord. He has been writing stories and poetry for about 25 years. He is a married father of 23 years and has two children in their teens. To learn more about William Sawyers please visit his website at williamsawyers.com or follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/william2233.

1. When did you get your first book published?

I got my first book published October 2005

2. What type of books do you write?

I write riddle books with coloring pages, a book on a family of Robins. (Birds)

Other stories I write Fiction and Non fiction. I have a few stories on birds, a story about model rocketry, and a story to keep children ages nine up to never start to smoke.

I also write poetry and most can be viewed on my blog site at www.williamsawyers.com.

3. Why do you write?

I write to help encourage children to be more interested in reading more, and to help them refrain from watching too much T.V. I love to hear children laugh and giggle over my stories. My motto? “Daring to make a difference in today’s youth-one page at a time”

4. How involved are you with the community?

I’m very involved in my community; I’m donating 10% of my profits to three local schools and a daycare center. Mt. Diablo High, Glenbrook Middle School and Holbrook Elementary, My third book is helping out a local Cub Scout troop. I’m also Find places to do story telling. This month was Clayton Book Store and Holbrook child care (Pre School). I’ll do another for other ages soon. I’ve also read at the Cabana pool club in Livermore last summer to do story telling and looking for more places to read at.

My full time job is a head custodian at an Elementary school. 20 years of service.

5. What challenges have you faced as an author?

Getting out my name is the hardest part, I spent 4 to 5 hours every night trying to get out the word, and I belong to about 30 net working sites.

6. Who or what were your influences as a writer?

Three I can think of, Charlotte’s web, Where the Red Fern Grows and Dr. Seuss.

7. What types of books would you recommend for young readers?

My own of course, and ALFRED'S NOSE by Vivienne Flesher for ages 4-7

8. Who are your favorite authors?

My favorite authors are the ones I’ve met at my book signings.

Andre’ Gensburger
Barbara Bentley
Elevera Reese
LloydLofthouse
Mary F. Pols
Queenell Minet
Vincent Silva

9. What are some of your favorite books?

My favorite books are the type written for net working and such.

TOP BOOK MARKETING TIPS OF 2008 by Dana Lynn Smith
Guerrilla Marketing For Writers by Jay Levinson
Get In the News by David Leonhardt
Marketing Success by Robert W Bly
Book Promotion Ain’t For Sissies by Jenna Glatzer
Discover Social Networking 101 by Bob Jenkins & Scout Tousignant


*Publishers Note- I'd like to thank William Sawyers for being the first of what I hope are many interviews with local authors!

The Vote is in...

Unanimous vote to cut hours and staff.

Full report to follow shortly...

Reminder!

Tonight is the very important city council meeting to determine if there will be budget cuts to the Pleasant Hill Library. Budget cuts mean less hours of operation (down to 35 hours a week) and layoffs (an additional 5).

The meeting is at 7:30 tonight at city hall.

Please be there if you can!!

Another Hobbit Quiz

I got 13/25. Figured I would post another quiz since we were all getting zero on the other one.

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/Literature/The-Hobbit-166892.html

Bad Movies, Great Books.

Hey I kept thinking about this concept this morning so I decided we should make it into a list. We have all had the disappointment of reading a great book, getting excited about it being turned into movie, 6 months later we wait in line for the popcorn, simply to be let down by something that loosely resembles the paper turner that we just read. For example I am a huge Michael Crichton fan and when he was asked/paid to write a sequel to Jurassic Park, I was very excited. I enjoyed the book as much if not more than the first and was very excited about the movie. I remember being a bit nervous about it since the first movie ended very different from the first book, yet he adapted the second book so it could match either ending, however I didn't expect what I got. I am not going to it into the horrible detail I will simply state: My favorite MAIN character from the book evidentially wasn't important enough to be in the movie.

So lets make a list. Mine is The Lost World by Michael Crichton. Also please note, there will be many different classifications for this list. Here are some examples:
Movies that forget to include the plot.

Books that were suspenseful yet the suspense doesn't translate to the movie or a mystery that gives up the mystery before has built up enough to be excited. (Da Vinci Code)

Movies that create action scenes our of thin air. (War of the Worlds, I personally haven't read it but I have reliable source that tell me this is true.)

Great Sci Fi, Doesn't translate in 2 hours.

Last, the person that can name a great movie that was a terrible book gets 5 brownie points. (Don't forget if you get 25 brownie points the newest member of the book club is required to bake you brownies.)

Paperback Swap

Paperbackswap.com is an interesting site that allows you to "swap" paperbacks with members of the site. The site and the books you swap are completely free. All you pay for is shipping.

The way the site works is you post books you are willing to mail to other members. When someone requests a book and you send it to them you are given one credit. Each credit you earn represents a book that you can request from another member. Plus just for signing up, which again is free, you get 1 or 2 credits to start out. So just by signing up you get at least 1 free paperback of your choice!

This is kind of like the netflix of books with the exception that its free! Did I mention that its free?

You might be saying, "Isn't this what the library does?" And the answer, of course, is yes. However the one big difference is that you get to keep the book forever if you choose.

Personally, I have only requested books that I know I am going to use over and over with my classes (The Worldly Philosophers) or a rare book that I can't find anywhere else (Fear and Loathing on the '72 Campaign Trail)...even at the library.

There is even a wish list feature so that if they do not have a book available (currently there are close to 4 million books available) they will email you when it does.

The only drawback of participating would be that you do have to pay to mail a book (but not to receive), which is about $2.35 if you are using media mail. However, $2.35 seems like a very reasonable price to pay for a book that you either plan to keep or one that has been very hard to find.

Testing Your Memory

The Hobbit was our first book. See how well you can do on this quiz. Leave your score in the comments section!

http://www.sporcle.com/games/thehobbitdwarves.php

Gooooaaalllll!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi all!

The goal for blog activity this month is 36 posts and 36 comments! This is one post and one comment for each day between meetings. Polls count as a post and votes in the polls count as comments. Currently we are at 9 posts and 10 comments!

We can do it!

Hell Has Frozen Over

Pleasant Hill Book Club is now on Twitter. Right now only I have access to it, but I am going to try to figure a way for everyone to be able to post. I think this can be a good way of staying in contact with the reading without sending emails.

http://twitter.com/P_HillBookClub

Dry: In Pictures

http://www.flickr.com/photos/augustenburroughs/3563958504/in/set-72157618498207503/


also check out the author's web site at www.augusten.com