tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133535052024-03-14T02:13:47.543-07:00All The Stories I Wrote Were True ...Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.comBlogger431125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-82028913242135715802019-06-08T13:27:00.000-07:002019-06-11T20:24:59.969-07:00Jeopardy ... The End of One Era and The Beginning of Another ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After probably 20 solid years of watching Jeopardy, as an adult and on my own volition, I'm going to retire my viewing habit for the time being. I don't know how long I'll step away, but this is where I'm at with the show.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">James Holzhauer's run of 32 winning games and his strategy was what myself and likely many others imagined for themselves if they ever got on the show. I talked about it for years, but never thought I'd live to see it happen. Start at the bottom, work up, find the daily doubles, wager half to two thirds of your bankroll and keep winning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In 2014, Arthur Chu had a similar but different strategy and everybody hated him for it because he upset the sleepy-paced apple cart. I think most of us who take Jeopardy and Trivia seriously admired him. Chu is considered, publicly, Jeopardy's Most Hated Contestant. I felt it was unjustified, but with the internet being what it is these days, no real surprise. But really, just ... wow. I wouldn't want to have to live through that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Some people didn't like James Holzhauer's approach either as it resembled a "buzz saw" (per Trebek) which chewed through unsuspecting contestants and made the game look one-sided. The problem with the criticism was that his knowledge bank was likely the best the show had seen in over a decade. The betting strategy was just a choice of gameplay. Being prepared on that level deserves nothing but admiration. He won because of his knowledge and buzzer skill. He made the money he did based on his wagering strategy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As a side-note, because I'm a writer, by game 9, I had considered that he might have been cheating and that there was an elaborate system at play and we were all being duped. How could someone have that much knowledge, across a library of disciplines and recall it all that quickly? How could outperform so many, so consistently and for so long? It felt too good to be true. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Obviously, this was absurd and a Dickensian fever dream of sorts, but it seemed plausible that someone from Vegas, who was connected to high-stakes gambling would be the kind of person to be out front pulling it off. Especially with that much money on the line nightly. 70k to 120k is quite the incentive to pull off a master hack / long con. It was like a film not yet made, called Oceans 01. <br /><br />But the hard truth was that he had a firm grasp of the knowledge and knew the realm in which Jeopardy's questions are centered and played strong. Running a perfect game before him sounded almost ludicrous, and people would not have believed it had they not seen it confirmed. James Holzhauer did it over 15 times.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Towards the end, it looked like the Jeopardy writers were trying hard to unseat him. The questions by game 25 had gone outside of the usual realm of information / answers and the contestants we're increasingly 'data analysts', 'librarians', etc. and less of the usual run-of-the-mill players that show up hoping to get on. Fair play to Jeopardy if that was their interior, administrative strategy in dealing with Holzhauer. If not -- it sure looked that way to most long-time viewers whether they were ready to admit it or not. Some people are still arguing against this notion online, but the question is, if it didn't occur as it appeared, why are people pushing back so hard to avoid analyzing what was seen? Yes, we all know the setup and game rules and how they run the show. That's common knowledge. Zero points for stating the obvious. I doubt we'll ever know because it would take a Jeopardy Executive beIN interviewed about how they reacted to having someone like James Holzhauer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Also, in that same vein of thinking, I DON'T believe the common refrain about Jeopardy contestants all being the 'best of the best.' There's ample evidence that's just a tad bombastic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Yes, there is a list of the best active trivia players on that circuit. Yes, they do have it and know who's who, but there isn't enough living specialists to provide 3 per night, for 9 months straight, year after year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Example: I did the online try out and killed it. They literally called me on the regular to come in and join the contestants pool in the audience. I'd never do well on TV as theory vs. reality is an entirely different matter, plus I have facial / body dysmorphia, so seeing myself on TV would just be too painful to watch. I'd never go live. Props to all contestants who can get past whatever physical insecurities they have to do this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But his illustrates my point that not all these people are top tier, nor need to be in order to get on. Some people just have a dream and decide to show up. If they are lucky enough to go through the randomized lottery, which Jeopardy says occurs, then they've gotten to the mountaintop and are ecstatic. Fair play to them and we'll done.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But as a side point to consider, a friend of mine pointed out that the NBA suffers the same fate with having so many great players spread out over so many teams. Even with as much interest, finding truly remarkable players is difficult.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Some people complained that Holzhauer broke Jeopardy with his game play. On some level they're right. He exposed the show's weaknesses and illustrated what can happen when you get past your innate fear of losing and practice real risk, especially with money. He gave the public a master class in business leadership that no one was expecting. This can't be stated enough. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Alex Trebek was once asked what he didn't like about the game and he stated that he "found it frustrating when contestants didn't wager enough or understand how to bet. They had nothing to lose and everything to gain." This ignorance of wagering is seated in fear and the show's truly most frustrating aspect.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>The game isn't broken</b>, it just got finally played to completion. It was like everybody before him made it to the Boss Level, including Jennings, who grinded out 74 games and stopped just short. But Holzhauer, like the character Parzival / Wade Watts in the film 'Ready Player One,' who actually got to the very end, forcing a reboot and reconsideration of the whole system. When this happens, most players get up, stretch, enjoy the feeling of completion ... and move to something else. The challenge has been met and bested.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, what's going to happen next season? Will more players like James show up to play and practice the same strategy? That's likely a real concern for the show. The show will cost the network much more money to keep on the air if so without any guaranteed ratings to boost ad revenue if players copy James's formula. Will they make a few rule adjustments going forward? Will they cap the number of games a person can play consecutively? It's likely something which will be addressed after Alex Trebek retires.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I tried watching a few nights back but it looks like a bunch of headlight-struck tourists showing up as also-rans, which just feels goofy. That was my experience. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Maybe you felt something similar or even opposite.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><br /><b style="color: #1d2129; font-size: x-large;">Final Note / Edit:</b><span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: large;"> </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #1d2129; font-size: large;">Because people might read this far and wide and not have the context of knowing me in real life, l</span><span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-size: large;">et me state that I love Jeopardy and everything about it. I love what James Holzhauer has brought to the game and his high-level of performance and competitiveness. He should be celebrated. I very much enjoyed and rooted for Arthur Chu. To date, if I had to rank my favourite players, obviously James takes first as we've all witnessed what happened. Julia Collins and Austin Rogers tie for a close 2nd place. Much respect to the other players as they are all magnificent in their own right, including Watson.</span><br /><br />Steffan Piper (6.8.2019)</span></span></div>
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Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-3641877885454022102019-03-19T13:36:00.000-07:002019-04-14T01:33:00.667-07:00What a good book should do for you ...<br />
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"I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound or stab us. If the book we're reading doesn't wake us up with a blow to the head, what are we reading for? We need books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us." -- Kafka<br /><br />Some books must be an axe, but sadly, many are not. I would wager in fact, that the majority of books are actually more ice for the frozen sea inside the reader instead.<br /><br />As someone fascinated by Charles Dickens, and was so long before the current resurgence that we're currently in due to his 210th birthday, books like Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, David Copperfield and Hard Times were like the axes against my frozen soul. For the last decade, I have read Oliver Twist every winter, taking time to read some of the essays, prefaces and criticism by Dickens and others during the process. There was a lot of meat and cold steel in those pages that made me come to terms with my own struggles of who I am as a person, and what I was to be.<br /><br />However, in my opinion, a lot of readers would rather not look inside and break apart that construct of the complex fantasy that protects them. More fantasy is often the medicine they self-prescribe. I'm not speaking of the kind of fantasy written by the likes of H.G. Wells, R.A. Salvatore, Connie Willis and the like. No. I meant readers will purposefully steer themselves away from specific material that they know will bother them. Effect them. Penetrate deep down. Break upon the frozen sea inside of them, like an axe. They know this almost at a genetic level. Hence the difficulty of Literary Fiction. It's a set-up to knock down bowling pins and the reader knows it.<br /><br />On the obverse side of the same coin, not to be flip, but I also spent years trying to freeze whatever it was within me, and I purposely tossed huge bricks inward to help the process. When I was 12, I discovered an author by the name of Carlos Castaneda. I started reading him casually, semi-interested in his journeyman's travels into Sonora, Mexico as an Anthropologist. By the time I was 15, I had read most of the Castaneda books three or four times, back to back. Some say the first three are the most important. Some say the first four, while others say the first seven are gospel. It's a personal choice, really. Journey to Ixtlan, though, is likely most critical.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
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What Carlos Castaneda did though, at least with my ever-growing perception, was the idea of letting go of self-image and stepping away from the development of self-image in a committed fashion, as well as stepping away from what we think the definition of the world and this life actually is. His world-view and stand-point was similar to that of some ancient Hopi Natives, or the Yaqui Natives that he wrote about, who gazed into crystals seemingly to discover that this world was merely a veil, disguising a much larger, expansive one. <br /><br />Note: The Yaqui Natives did this 'seeing' without the use of crystals, just for the record, and it was a practiced ability with a great significance to them, according to Castaneda. I had to include this before someone cried foul.<br /><br />There's an interesting scene at the beginning of the film Blade Runner, where the character Holden is interviewing a fugitive Replicant named Leon, and when asked about the psychological test in process, Holden issues forth this immortal line:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<i>“It's a test designed to provoke an emotional response.”</i></div>
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<br />To me, that's what I believe Kafka was alluding to. As much as he was trying to break worthwhile ground with his readers, he knew that a lot of people would ultimately reject his message and the message of other equally important classics. Hence, the reason why they're likely referred to as 'the classics'.<br /><br />When you read a book, you may not like it. The real point is to what degree? Did you hate it, despise it, loathe it? If so, then you have a winner on your hands, because it made you think and feel. Not all books are supposed to have happy endings or feel-good story-lines or even deliver perfect closure. <br /><br />Why?<br /><br />Because that doesn't happen in real life. Real life is dark and messy and full of heartbreak and loss. Dealing with those issues is the real story. Learning how to cope and thrive in any otherwise uncompromising environment, is likely to be the most valuable lessons you can glean from the pages of any good book, in any genre. Life is a test, designed to provoke an emotional response, as should our reading.<br /><br />I'm often perplexed when I read negative reviews and I read things like:<br /><br /><i>“God, I hated all those characters in that book. They made me feel icky and sad. 1 Star!”</i><br /><br />Those things honestly perplex me, as it's clear that some people are smart enough to read, but still need assistance in thinking critically and getting off the surface of their own visible earth. It made the person feel and feel strongly, and yet the book failed? No, sorry. Look again. Inward this time.<br /><br />But here's the whopper to the whole thing … as I go through my everyday life, and do my repetitive tasks and drink my morning coffee in a daze, I know that it's unlikely that I will probably come face to face that day with someone like Bill Sykes, Fagin, young David Copperfield or Miss Havisham.<br /><br />Estella? Sure, all day long. Beauty is everywhere.<br /><br />But people that make you feel intensely? The entire spectrum of emotion? They're like books – we do our best to avoid them. Most of us 'loathe confrontation' or 'don't waste time with low-class people' or 'don't care to waste time with people like that when I can go make $25 an hour at work.' The reasons are endless, but the truth is as obvious and plain as the money in our pocket.<br /><br />Next time you're buying books, please think of me. Are you going to grab your easy-to-read, bare-chested Romance, or would you be willing to pick up something a tad more challenging – like an axe – and hack inward?<br /><br />You might be surprised at what you discover. People are like huge blocks of marble, and it's only when you hack away at it, do you discover the real them, the real art, the real beauty on the inside – not the shallow glossy surface that we're first presented with.<br /><br />The young mind typically eats that stuff up. No surprise there. While everyone else was sprinting to the grocery store for Stephen King, I was on my way to the library, or some god forsaken place that sold “new-age” books. Heady stuff for a kid -- but I was never a kid. Not really. At least, I didn't feel that way, if I was. I did my best to break this free, like loose chunks of ice, in my novel <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Greyhound-ebook/dp/B0031WHBW4/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1320198376&sr=8-1">Greyhound</a>, but while most readers loved and adored it, some had a hard time accepting that children are that complex.<div>
<br />(Original Post from 2008 - <b>Reposted </b>because of relevance.)</div>
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Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-10888755583754193502018-11-27T00:11:00.001-08:002018-11-27T10:02:56.678-08:00Home Owner's Associations ... Being a Director, and finally knowing when to walkaway ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For the last four years of my life,
I've been involved as a Director and a Committee Chairperson in my community in North Indio.
Tonight, was my last official night of business. They held an
election, I wasn't on the ballot, but I was anxiously awaiting the
results like other homeowners, hoping they would make the minimum
number of votes received, or quorum, so the election could be
ratified – and I could be officially relieved of duty.<br /><br />I
know that doesn't sound like what you'd expect to hear, but after
having served for almost four years, I felt as if I had volunteered
enough of my free time, handled enough late night phone calls,
politely answered my door to hear out angry neighbors and bear the
brunt of someone's ire on social media or at social gatherings. I've
been threatened more times than I've been thanked, but the threats
were always hollow and the the thanks were always heartfelt and even
at times tearful. I negotiated the best I could for all homeowners
with other Directors and Legal Counsel, but always held to the letter
of the law in all matters and sought advice from those I served with.
<br /><br />HOA Directors are bound by the Davis-Sterling Act to preform
their fiduciary duty and protect the assets and property values of
the community, to make no decision that would negatively impact the
community insurance policy and make decisions that have undergone due
diligence and are well considered. <br /><br />The largest part of any Director's
responsibilities is to uphold the communities Covenants, Codes and Restrictions, it's Bi-laws and its basic Rules and Regulations. These
vary from place to place and can be the source of most of the drama, angst and political fallout. Directors cannot be paid, nor be involved in
any form of self-dealing or make decisions that would benefit their
friends or family directly. It's pretty straight forward. Some people
get this, some don't. It's not uncommon, but most of the time
Directors who volunteer to serve on these types of boards, do so in
good faith with the sole intent of serving the community honestly …
and as always … some only come to serve themselves. Most of the
time it's quickly obvious, but once in a while it isn't.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />That said, HOA's are usually hated
or reviled by most people and often misunderstood in their purpose.
It's not easy living under someone else's set of rules, especially as
a full grown adult. Even more so if you're an adult that doesn't do well with authority figures -- or if they're an authority figure themselves.<br /><br />I've always said to homeowners that
“Everyone always loves living in an HOA until they get a ticket for
a rule infraction, or they do something they don't have permission to
do on their property. Then – the HOA is the bad guy. Count on it.”
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">They're hated by people who live inside
of their gates and who just cannot abide by very simple and very
basic rules. Don't park on the street without a pass between midnight
and six am, don't leave your trash cans on the curb for days on end,
make sure you keep your front yard looking decent and your plants and
grass watered. And above all – shockingly – pay your monthly
assessment that covers whatever amenities your community has, which
includes the perks of landscaping, security, financial stability,
management and so forth. You know whatever that amount is when you
buy the place, whatever it is, be it $69 or $269. You even sign a
document stating this in your escrow packet. Some communities have
monthly HOA dues up around $800. Those developments however, cater
to a different subset of people and those owners are treated more
like customers at a five star hotel rather than just everyday
mortgage payers. And understandably so. This is America, after all.
You get what you pay for in the land of silk and money.
</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Living by basic rules is easy for most
people who are just happy to get on with their lives and business,
carry on even-keeled and be kind to all adjacent neighbors, which
isn't that difficult. Most of us do this without thinking. It's like
breathing, or doing laps in the pool and keeping your heart rate at a
steady pace the whole way from wall to wall. It's really not that hard.
Some people, however, make it their life's work to look for fault and
unhappiness as if there's a reward for it. These are the people you
often read about in news articles about HOA disputes. These are the
folks that will push a simple issue all the way in front of a judge
or into mediation and often with little to nothing more than a
perceived slight, bruised ego or an inability to accept a basic
limit. And of course, sometimes this happens because that person is
litigious and knows how to take advantage of an Associations
weakness or is out to make money no matter the fallout.</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">HOA's are also loathed by people who
have never lived in an HOA and who don't grasp their benefit,
regardless of how much they read on the subject. To truly understand
HOA's and appreciate them, you have to live in one, and even moreso –
serve on the Board of one. It's not to find out personal or financial
business on your neighbors, but you do get a good example about how
most of them will conduct themselves professionally when they deal with very minor infractions like stated above. From retired
CEO's to struggling janitors. Everyone's response will be different.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In 2014, I bought a beautiful home in
the gated community Terra Lago in North Indio. The house sits on a
quiet corner, has a large Palo Verde tree in the center of the large
green grass yard and an abundance of bougainvilleas climbing up brick
walls. There's multi-colored red, white and purple vinca flowers,
little square green hedges, lavender bushes, iceberg roses and a long
row of oleander trees that look like they've been hand-curated by Mr.
Miyagi from the <i><span style="text-decoration: none;">Karate Kid</span></i>.
I grew them from small plants in my kitchen over a year and then
transferred them carefully outside. As a retired Marine who has seen
combat, one of the best practices I've ever engaged in is gardening.
The old saying 'It's better to be a warrior in the garden, than a
gardener at war' has always rung true, especially for me.</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u_aEQep00gw/W_z6hnSHWVI/AAAAAAABQWo/s71QyL4gSScgLw7cuv2p2GfmFsqy-sZbACLcBGAs/s1600/20180411_090101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="585" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u_aEQep00gw/W_z6hnSHWVI/AAAAAAABQWo/s71QyL4gSScgLw7cuv2p2GfmFsqy-sZbACLcBGAs/s400/20180411_090101.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><br />The
sun shines in Indio most days, the weather stays in the eighties
almost year round and it's pleasant, quiet and all-around serene.
Kids ride bikes and laugh in the park behind my house. Lino, the Ice
Cream Man stops by every few days at my corner and says hello. We
catch up on how our kids are doing in school and I do my best trying
to speak Spanish to his dad, who is a true gentleman and does his
best to make me laugh giving me advice about marriage. In the summer, when it gets up around 115,
people either stay inside or sit around their pools, sipping cold
drinks watching the kids play and listening to music, podcasts or
reading their books. It's almost idyllic. Even as an author who lives
on modest means, my house has the refinements and happiness of
someplace much more lavish.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Most people will tell you that there is
no such place as “North Indio,” by the way and "there's only
Indio," and they would be correct. But in 2006, when development in
Southern California was going at mach speed, large swaths of land
north of the I-10 freeway, east of Palm Springs became developed at
an unsustainable rate. All of this area was known, or informally
referred to as North Indio, and the name stuck. When the market
crashed, a lot of these homes became foreclosures. Many had just been
built and never lived in. Builders had been financed to construct
these homes with the money from out of town investors, mostly from
Anaheim, San Diego and as far away as Canada. Some of the houses,
like mine, were purchased in groups of eight, ten and fourteen. But,
by the close of 2007, it didn't pan out that way. Not even close.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Lots of people lost everything during
the crash and it was painful. I witnessed friends lose their savings,
their 401ks, their new houses but mostly their good will towards
others and the country slowly changed for the worse. People took just
as much of a hit to their pride as they did their pocketbook. They
felt lied to and betrayed. They blamed the Realtor's who sold them
the houses and then the banks. Few took the blame shoulder first,
acknowledging they had invested poorly, or spent beyond their means.
Many today still speak about 2007 like there wasn't a soul alive that
saw that crash coming, but we all know that just isn't true. A lot of us did. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Afterwards, the country, Coachella Valley included, spent many, many
years of hard work climbing out of that hole. 'Toxic Assets' as they
were then called from Wells Fargo and others, sat in North Indio
communities for several years to come. The last toxic asset property in
Terra Lago didn't sell until 2016. We celebrated when it sold at my
house, not because I was on the board, but because it was directly
beside me. The neighborhood kids played in the backyard for years and
it had sat vacant for so long, they thought it was a haunted house.<br /><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I purchased my home for a steal at the
tail-end of the economic market crash in 2014 for the all-time low of
roughly $230K. We closed escrow on Saint Patrick's Day, and for an
Irish kid like me, it was a good omen. I don't mention this to brag,
because in California it's not a boast by any stretch of the
imagination, but for 2700 sq feet, it was a steal. Now, you would be
hard-pressed to build a house that big for $200k in California. But
when I was interested in purchasing, my Realtor and other Realtor
friends in Palm Desert, laughed at me and thought I had gone mad.</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">“North Indio? Are you crazy? That's
gangland over there. Wild West, bud. Those communities are never
going to get any better!” It sounded troubling, but I had a friend who lived in the community and loved it.<br /><br />My first
Realtor refused to show me any homes in the community I had inquired
about. He stated “You do know there's a Board Recall in that place,
right? Homeowners' got together and raised about $20K to pay the
legal costs to have that board removed. The Sheriff's were called and
it was ugly. Nobody wants to buy in Terra Lago and almost everyone wants
to sell. Of all the places to live – that aint it.”<br /><br />This
was my introduction to where I live, my new HOA, and my neighbors.
Terra Lago had the worst reputation of any community in Indio and the Directors at the time were infamous and known valley-wide and
talked about as if they were a pariah or mythical. And it got worse.
The City of Indio considered the homeowners in my community a
nuisance and wanted no part of any personal or written contact if it
wasn't necessary. Homeowners had picketed out in front Indio City
Hall on the sidewalk, mad about Mello-Roos and it hit the evening
news. This was a situation I couldn't fathom. <br /><br />For me, I'd lived in Santa Monica, Brentwood,
Burbank and Hollywood and the City Fathers of those places had huge
public outreach to make sure everyone was happy. Sometimes it wasn't,
like during the O.J. Simpson trial for instance, but those times
never lasted. In L.A., community meetings were always what they were
supposed to be and the meaning of community was always stressed.
Neighbors were the glue that held those places together. Of course
there was always enough NIMBY threats to keep everyone together and
hunkered down as a focused group. But this wasn't the case here. This was like moving
into a no-man's land. When you have a community of all brand new
neighbors, and they've come from all over the country, it's foolish to believe that you would find a sense of community right off
the bat. It would take time. A lot of time.<br /><br />When
I eventually met my neighbors and spent weekends relaxing near a
bar-b-que or the pool, the conversation would always turn to whatever
the recalled Directors had engaged in or were still up to. Most of
them were still active in the community, had even re-run for the
board after being recalled and still maintained every shred of
innocence they could muster in their own defense. And that's not out
of the ordinary either. People still had to live here and be
neighbors. One of them however, was still making it a practice to drive around in a golf cart and harass homeowners, renters, kids at the pool and everyone in between.<br /><br />“What the hell happened that people had to have
these guys recalled?” I asked my new neighbor.</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The tone would always change with every
person I asked and the story was always the same. That one person had
their car towed out of their driveway overnight, with no warning
whatsoever while they were sleeping. That another person was cited
and fined $2500 for having a metal salamander climbing up their brick
wall on the front of their house. That one homeowner wasn't allowed
to build an entry wall for his courtyard, but his neighbor three
doors down who was best friends with the Board President was given
permission. That one homeowner was taken to court, their house was
leined and then foreclosed upon and barred entry for past
fines --</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> which were all for landscaping violations. Another neighbor was
actively being stalked by one of the Directors and it was getting
worse over time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />“Come again?” was my usual response.
</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was knocked back almost every single
time I heard these stories and shown either the tickets, the official letters
or receipts of their financial impact. A definite paper trail existed which made it all the more perplexing. I couldn't figure out if it
was that some people were bored and had too much time on their hands,
or that they couldn't help themselves with even the most rudimentary
amount of power. Feeling obligated to ticket every infraction from
the most minor through the most egregious, and filtered through their
interpretation of the governing documents didn't make it right. Even
on the outside of the situation, these actions didn't add up.<br /><br />Most
of what I heard I couldn't believe, so I spent one full year talking
to as many of the 523 homeowners who had been involved as I could. I
started slowly and I made my way through the bulk of
anyone who knew anything. Being a writer, I was curious. I wanted to
hear these stories directly from the mouths of the affected as well
as the perpetrators no matter what was said, and of course I kept
very detailed notes. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It was a mixed bag of backgrounds from retired
CEO's to single mom's working as school teachers for Desert Sands Unified, Law Enforcement Officers, and the reception was as any might imagine. Almost textbook.
Those that had been negatively affected or harshly treated were happy
to talk to someone and tell their story. They felt betrayed and unfairly harassed. They often told their stories through tears and
felt what was being done to them, wasn't being distributed equally to
all people who were in clear violation, or if they were violating,
others were never ticketed or bothered at all. Many had moved to the
desert from colder climates to enjoy the good weather and regain
vitality and better health and live in peace and that was never to be
had or found after their run-ins with the HOA.
</span></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Those that were involved in any way as
a perpetrator or in support of the perpetrators were hostile,
overbearing, judgmental and on many levels dishonest, snide and
overly suspicious. Often times it came down to just too much box wine
and too little compassion. They were literally hunkered down into a
small group trying to defend their actions and the actions of others.
Most of those meetings were unpleasant and I used every fibre of my
being to be open-minded and friendly. Sadly, the facts just didn't
fit some of the stories they wanted to tell and playing the victim
was almost prescribed by everyone in their circle. Lying was rampant and every new homeowner to them was just someone to manipulate.<br /><br />Part of
the problem is when you move into an HOA you never expect your
neighbors to use their positions of power to make life difficult for
the people around them. Most of the court cases that have come to
national attention have been exactly that. One case was a homeowner
who wanted to install a flagpole on their property and were told 'NO'
by their Board. Being able to fly and display the US Flag is a
federally protected right, and no HOA law, rule or guideline can ever
be out of sync or seek to supersede County, State and Federal code or
law. That is the first basic understanding. However, in the past. Board
members erroneously thought they could impose their will on other
owners, as long as they got away with it. But that changed with every
new challenge and every setback. Now the courts have established
these arguments and typically wont hear these disputes further. <br /><br />On
one level, I could understand the plight of the perpetrators
however. They weren't being evil as they saw it, they were just
wanting to stand their ground. It was quite simple and their stories
were also very similar to each other.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">They had moved in from out of the area,
usually from colder climates like Detroit, Canada, Seattle, the
midwest. They had been courted to buy their home either by a Realtor
or a Builder and informed that it was an upscale 55 and older
community that didn't have the restrictions of a 55 and up, but had
very few families, very few rentals, mostly retiree's and would
continue to grow in that direction. This was a story they all
repeated. And the worst part of it was – they were blatantly lied
to. Someone painted a picture of what they knew the buyer wanted to
hear in order to get them to move across country to the last
civilized exit in Southern California.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Developers had never planned it to
be exclusively, or even informally, stocked with mostly 55 and older
and retirees. Time would eventually fill those homes with families
because the overall cost, or price tag of the homes were deflated by
approximately 17% to accommodate for the Mello-Roos taxes – which
most people had very little to no knowledge of going in. The price
point and the market crash made these homes extremely attractive to younger
families and middle income earners. <br /><br />Now it's 2018, as of
writing this and fast forward a handful of years and a few hundred
court cases and we've discovered that HOA's have (mostly) learned
their lessons. Imposing unjust rules on homeowners was a bad business
model. They would find themselves sued and those owners who were
wronged had to be paid through a legal settlement. And it's the
homeowners, collectively, that foot the bill for that everytime. These payouts effected their rising HOA dues typically more than inflation. In
some cases, the HOA's insurance would pick up the financial burden,
but once again, the insurance company then turns and raises their rates on
that Association. Sometimes to the point where Associations can longer get a policy and are deemed uninsurable because of the high number of claims. That actually happens. Our association teetered on the brink, but pulled through in the end with hard work on the part of our Management company. Remember a Director's basic duties? To not make
decisions that they know will unfavorably impact the insurance
policy? Yeah, that's what that's about. Full stop. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A good HOA
attorney will steer most new Boards away from getting in the
mud with any homeowner and avoiding all potential litigation. An
association will stand their ground though when their case is clear
and without hiccups, so it would be unwise thinking they could easily be
outmaneuvered. These days the courts understand HOA's better and don't
always see Associations as the overbearing institutions trying to
railroad homeowners anymore like before. Thankfully, those days are over.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Most of the Directors in Terra Lago
that served on the Boards in the early years have all moved on. Some
have sold their homes and left the community. Some even stated that
if they couldn't be President, they wouldn't live in Terra Lago and
thus quickly packed their trash and moved on. A few had to be
removed, leaving in public disgrace. A few got tired and resigned,
and a few served long durations and left with appreciation. The good
guys weren't always good, and bad guys weren't always bad. It was
never that simple.
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Myself, I tried to be of service and
operate in the background without much notice, or with as little as
possible. When I first started, the majority of my neighbors all had
strong positive feelings for me. Afterwards, a few got upset and took
out whatever problems they had on me, thinking somehow I had brought
them the unhappiness they created. And it is this one thing that
keeps most people from volunteering for the job. <br /><br />I didn't like putting
my name on anything and I fought as hard as could to do what was
right. I argued against foolish propositions that came from other
Directors, Management and sometimes even a few homeowners. There were
propositions to landscape and maintain property the Association
didn't own or have water rights or access to. When I suggested that
this information be made public, I was told that “Homeowner's don't
have a right to know,” by another Director. Well, I made it public. <br /><br />I fought against
streets having their curbs being arbitrarily painted into red zones
for permanent no-parking and I fought the loudest against the HOA
getting involved in trying to impose Garage Inspections for anyone
asking to overnight park on the street. These all screamed liability
and losing litigation which kept me awake at night not
understanding why these battles were even battles to begin with. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I
thought for sure that the majority of the homeowners would understand
this, but a few angrily clutched on to friendships and self-dealing
rather than uphold what was legal, or ethically right. Never
under-estimate non-confrontational people who thrive in
non-confrontational relationships, who co-sign bad behavior and
subscribe to all the same erratic issues their friends do. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><br />Overall,
my contribution was minimal, but it was at least something tangible.
A few people that knew me well thought I had contributed a great
deal, both in time and effort, but I couldn't really say because most
people just do what's expected of them in those situations. You go to work to work. It's that simple. I enjoyed my time and I gained from
it, but it's unlikely I'd ever go back. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Part of the downfall of serving on an
HOA board is the all-to-obvious mistake of serving too long. It was
always my opinion that truly successful people start looking for
their replacement long before they leave a job and install one, or
possibly two, active and interested individuals to take their place. HOA's need to served by as many different homeowners as
possible so everyone understands what's at stake. When the board
stays in the hands of a few for too long, it gets contentious. But
when it gets too quiet, too sleepy and people don't care … often
times mistakes are made that can never be unwound, fixed or
financially rectified. These are the things that need constant
gardening.
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<br />Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com0Indio, CA, USA33.7205771 -116.2155619000000133.5093076 -116.5382854 33.9318466 -115.89283840000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-62555637432966370102018-06-30T14:26:00.000-07:002018-07-08T19:17:42.228-07:00Summer Reading Marketing Push / Book Sale ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you've ever wanted to buy any of my books, but needed Goodreads, Amazon or any other platform to pitch it to you for some reason of safety or comfort, here ya go! The entire month of July! .99 cents! My publisher is still working miracles for me.</div>
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For the record, this is the first time they've pushed my book this hard since its release in 2010. During the first month's launch, they campaigned over Goodreads and it was highly successful. While they've heavily marketed the book over many platforms through the years, this time looks a little different as it's better targeted, carrying greater positive reviews and so forth.<br />
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Yes, I know what some of you are already thinking, but concernns aside ...</div>
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To quote Dr. Malcolm: "Life always ... RUUUUUNNNN!!!"</div>
Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com0Indio, CA, USA33.7205771 -116.2155619000000133.5093076 -116.5382854 33.9318466 -115.89283840000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-91285943836128482952018-05-02T18:15:00.002-07:002019-01-11T01:44:15.170-08:00Great Ideas Which Need Pursued ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span data-offset-key="8m8f5-0-0" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">While it took 9 whole days to get my author copies I ordered from Amazon, and it felt like forever, they finally showed up at my house. Somehow they got beat up in the mail, but having seemingly traveled by horseback across the vasty fields of France to get to me, I shouldn't be surprised.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I had to go back and completely rework the Paperback version I released just last month. I was unhappy with the original and felt the layout did not do the material justice. I made a few improvements to the cover for readability and adjusted the spine, but I think this is the best version to be had at this point. I'm still perplexed by the "Fuzzy Cover Feel" these new paperbacks all seem to have, but they do have an electrical charge effect when holding them. They feel quality, whatever that might mean. Even when I order paperbacks from other Publishers, they have that same velvety or felt-like feel. Newer digital printers must've made this happen with uber-saturating the card stock, but whatever, I'm okay with it.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Most of the time I worked on the book as a side project while writing my other novels, and while I was underwater with the research behind this book, I loved working on it every moment. The story I imagined ended up in the book and the story in the book is likely one that would've been in Beckett's biography had there been a bit more honesty about his very cluttered life. I say that not because what I wrote actually happened, but because it very likely did happen just as I wrote it. Sounds absurd, but that's probably the point. I'm also not saying that his biographers weren't honest either. I just don't think anyone cared to color in the details of his already well-known reputation. Back then, they gave you a pass on the details of your behaviour.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I had once imagined being interviewed by NPR and Terry Gross about the book, but I think the allure of the story has passed. When I first wrote this in 2005, it was a strong, original idea. As the years clicked away and it sat in my desk drawer, my feelings changed and so did the world. Especially where it counted regarding what was considered marketable or just mildly interesting enough to publish.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Theatre has changed a lot since Beckett's age when his biggest fear was seeing his work being dumbed-down and turned into pap for monied mouthbreathers.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Post-Mortem ... queue up Edward Albee. He spent years monitoring Beckett's works and every play that would make the stage. If it wasn't to liking, they would sue the production company or send a 'cease-and-desist'. School kids got the same heavy-handed treatment larger production companies got. No mercy. Shouts of 'Sweep the leg!' ring out through the crowd. I would be lying if my fears regarding Albee also weren't a part of why I didn't move forward with this book until after his death. Lots of people warned me not to send it to my then-Publisher Amazon and wait it out until his passing. ALbee would've likely gone after me twice as hard being that I was aligned with the "Evil Empire" Amazon Publishing.</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">
</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Everything I've read about Beckett tells me that he would've liked it though. Beckett wouldn't have cared for my conversation regarding one of his favourite living artists, but I'm sure he would've forgiven me the intrusion. Albee ... not so much. Beckett was definitely the kind of person you would find in this story.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now the theatre is a very different monster. Projects like Hair, Hamilton and even Spongebob have changed Broadway in ways Beckett would've never imagined. Absurdism? Yeah, the world's absurd, but not in the 'classic' sense I'm guessing. The theatre has been overtaken it seems by an era of romantic nostalgism, like with Jersey Boys, Grease, Momma Mia, Wicked and a litany of Baby Boomer Trope Du Jour and hard-core rapping historians re-dishing up Hamilton.</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Since 2005 when I wrote most of this, and even 2012, when I finished it the first time, there's been a BBC TV episode which was originally meant to be a film. Also, someone did a two-man theatre production about this idea two years ago. So, in my opinion, the wide appeal interest of it -- has been spent. I'm just hear to quietly put this somewhere for a reader to find years from now.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Earlier this year I spent a couple of months doing a complete and final rewrite of the material. One of the main things the reader can take away is that Samuel Beckett is the protagonist of this story and it's told in the first person. The book is just as much about him as it is of Andre. Why did I do that? Well, because I believed that Beckett was so far removed from modern culture, that most readers wouldn't grasp the kind of person he was by going in with the usual third person, he-said-she-said. Then, after I made that decision, I double-downed and wrote the book in the voice and style of Beckett. This wasn't easy and honestly made the book a little heavy in places and maybe a bit unreadable in others, especially for the modern reader. I understand why my old publisher passed on the material, even though it was a difficult pill to swallow. This last edit I did my best to adjust that ever-so-slightly.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Has Beckett become out of touch? Is that what this author is suggesting? No. Not at all. I'm saying that books today are written very differently than they used to be. Some say that's a good thing. The syntax, grammar and punctuation have changed dramatically in almost 90 years. Yes, that's how much time has passed. His novel Murphy was originally published in 1938. If I had gone with the original draft version, my audience for this material would've been even smaller than it already is. Waiting for Andre would've been Relegated to academics and theatre lovers. The goal was to tell a convincing story about the positive relationship between these two people, set in the cultural zeitgeist of the time and have a clear point. Andre had as much to share and give to Sam as is true in the opposite. Perhaps more, being who, or how, Beckett was.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The lesson for me to take away, as well the reader, is simple. If you have a good idea, you're probably best advised to strike while the iron is hot. There's a lot of truth in old sayings. This one's no different.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When I decided to have </span><u style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/198075621X/ref=sxts_sxwds-puwylo_rv_1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=3534076942&pd_rd_wg=N9Ooh&pf_rd_r=0TZ6MXXHMQ8FHY6DS3WN&pf_rd_s=desktop-sx-top-slot&pf_rd_t=301&pd_rd_i=198075621X&pd_rd_w=eWeZO&pf_rd_i=steffan+piper&pd_rd_r=1808a8a2-a609-429b-9cd3-ae4e2ac362fb&ie=UTF8&qid=1525325646&sr=1" target="_blank"><i>Waiting for Andre</i></a></u><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> to come out like this, I knew that it would never be a book that would become a bestseller, or make waves in the writing world. It's a niche story, for a niche audience, which is ever shrinking and more of a novelty now more than anything serious. People may mention it in passing years from now, but that's about it. That said, it's better released like this rather than not released at all. Getting someone to agent and publish Literary Fiction that is Period Speculative-Biography is too much to handle anymore.</span><br />
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Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-87298268776884270182018-04-19T00:05:00.000-07:002018-04-19T08:42:23.882-07:00Art Bell ... The Good, The Bad & The Ugly ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>The Good:</b> <br />
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I first started listening to Art Bell around 1994. I was still living in Eagle River and Anchorage, Alaska and I was either working night shifts for an outfit called Carr's Grocery Store or working in Security at the Anchorage Power Company, or both. When you spend years working nights and it becomes the norm, you start looking for something to pass the time with in the darker hours of your life. Art Bell on AM Radio was that person for a lot of other nightowls like myself. For any person that has ever done time working nights, it's very likely they tuned into Art Bell. If this is your life now, you're likely familiar with his toners-almost-dry facsimiled successor, George Noory, who isn't really THAT interesting. I worked almost non-stop nights between seventeen and thirty-three, and for several years I thought that would be my entire life. Thankfully, it wasn't.</div>
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Art Bell spoke a lot about what was called “Alternative Information Sets” in those days and what was really shocking about a lot of his show was that he very often pre-empted the Mainstream News with breaking stories by two or three days and sometimes even a few months. He would talk about disasters and even spoke about 9-11, before it happened. Yes, he talked a lot about UFO's, but he was living out in Pahrump, Nevada right next door to the infamous Government Black Site, Area 51. That fact alone "Coming to you from the High Desert" gave him just enough credibility to be really interesting, at least for three hours in the middle of the night. <br />
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If you listened to his show, when things occurred, you very often had an understanding or an education about it because he wasn't always bringing on kooks and weirdos like his replacement George Noory who likely killed the format for most rational people. George Noory was probably the guy who made working nightshift for a lot of people unbearable, lol. For many years, Art Bell put out a quality show and it's a rare gem to find a show willing to tackle a broad range of topics and present you with a three hour 'deep dive' into whatever that subject was. From Nuclear Science, to Cosmology, Motion Picture History, Air Force Generals discussing weather research to ... yes, UFO's, Aliens, Alien Abductions (which has all but faded away apparently) to basic things like unbiased news coverage, Historical Presidential Politics, music and so on.</div>
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I have a few harddrives in one of my bottom drawers which were used as online servers that I ran over MIRC for several years. MIRC was once the very beginning of the Internet, as some might remember. On those drives, I probably have five or six years of show archives that had been shared to the drive as well as most of his “greatest shows.” He was interviewing people like Terrance McKenna long before he was mainstream, Michio Kaku when he had first started publishing and even Stephen King. Art Bell's shows are honestly compelling to listen to. Their like live-moving books-on-tape.</div>
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Art Bell was also the beginning format for people like Alex Jones, except Bell wasn't making millions selling lies and bogus supplements to a fully duped audience. He was often pitching his own books, mostly 'The Quickening' as well as materials from MUFON and survival gear like battery-less wind up radios, wind-up flashlights, camping radios and the like. During his time, his show was very thoughtful and very thought provoking.<br />
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<b>The Bad:</b></div>
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For me, however, things took a dark turn and I lost interest after the death of his third wife Ramona. Art talked often about her asthma, her constant need for medicine, inhalers, breathing treatments, their many cats and so on.</div>
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Long story short, he comes on one night and tells the story about how 'the night before' his wife Ramona had passed away in the most unconvincing and awkward three hours of his entire career. It sounded to me like he was fully trying to broadcast an alibi.</div>
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“Ramona needed constant breathing treatments and inhalers and we decided to go for a long drive out into the middle of the desert to watch the night sky. We had taken our cat along for the ride, something we usually don't do and which she complained about, but I didn't see no harm in. Later in the night she began having difficulties breathing and it was only then I remembered that I had forgotten to grab her large bag that had the nebulizer, her inhalers and pills in. Everything got left behind. It was an honest mistake. She was wheezing horribly and starting to suffocate, so in a panic I ran outside of the RV to see if there was anyone near us at all, when the door to the RV closed behind me and jammed shut. I couldn't get back in and I was beating on the door trying to get it open. (Sobbing).”</div>
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This was the paraphrased story he told on air about that – literally the night after it happened. That story alone should've found him face to face with the law, but that never occurred. No, everything went on as normal. I continued to listen on out of habit working nights … and then lo and behold … about a month later … he comes on and explains how “Once again, in this old man's life I have found love!”</div>
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Fast forward. The girl was 22 years old and he had met her during a previous trip to the Philippines with his long-time wife Ramona. This girl was a family friend. Later he admits on air that he had long talks and a relationship with this girl while Ramona was still alive but that it was innocent and she was intelligent and so on and so forth. They're quickly married, she's moved into his home and you know the rest.<br />
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That was the moment I stopped listening for good as it was so cringe-inducing and sickening that I couldn't take part as a listener any longer. Too many questions, all of which are awkwar. Too many redflags.<br /></div>
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<b>The Ugly:</b></div>
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For better or for worse, and even as compelling as Art Bell was, he was the precursor to this Conspiracy Laden and fringe fictional Information Set which took over the country and invaded and usurped our once-functional government. Jones and his brand of stupidity isn't a singular thing as there are many copy-cats doing the same thing and happy to take his place, when and if Jones vacates. Art often spoke about Carl Sagan's quote: “The greatest threat to humanity isn't science, but psuedo-science,” which is what all that garbage is. He knew it, the listeners knew it, but before Ramona died, he was cognizant of it and maintained that line. Afterwards, yeah not at all. Sagan was correct and the low-information voter took over and AM talk radio became mainstream with the help of people like Alex Jones, Rush, Fox News and so may others. Just look at Pizzagate if you need an example.<br />
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Art Bell's “Coming to you from the High Desert ...[Insert: Lightning Strike Sound] [Queue Maxine Nightingale's song: Right Back Where We Started From]” will always be stuck in my head like an earworm and unforgettable. For better or for worse.<br /></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xz8ViPxuFT4/Wtg_asxzcAI/AAAAAAABHg8/7i5isvr1w9Q74yeSnO3-Sp7AvEHffqucwCEwYBhgL/s1600/4d0f3b5d-6fb4-4bfa-93b8-22f19f8c2407-large16x9_ArtBellpassing.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="986" height="225" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xz8ViPxuFT4/Wtg_asxzcAI/AAAAAAABHg8/7i5isvr1w9Q74yeSnO3-Sp7AvEHffqucwCEwYBhgL/s400/4d0f3b5d-6fb4-4bfa-93b8-22f19f8c2407-large16x9_ArtBellpassing.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Adios, Pal.</b></div>
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Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-78376609893547045792018-04-18T09:09:00.001-07:002018-04-18T09:26:42.353-07:00The Power of a Positive Review ...<br />
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One of the good things about book reviews is they have a very positive effect when you stumble across a really thoughtful one you hadn't seen posted yet.</div>
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This lovely person wrote me a very touching response to reading my book Greyhound, that I felt compelled to respond with my thanks. I think this lifted my spirits as much as the book must've lifted hers.</div>
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I sometimes wonder if other authors acknowledge these reviews and respond in kind, or if they just ignore them outright? I <span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">honestly don't know how that could be possible in this case.</span></div>
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I get very few negative reviews the platforms that make it possible to review and I have never chastised anyone for a negative review. I've always been fine taking the good with the bad, because honestly the good far outweighs the bad.</div>
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<span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1963366509</span></span></div>
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Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-91737634647994824702018-04-06T00:24:00.000-07:002019-01-11T01:40:50.368-08:00Release Day! Waiting for Andre ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JrzkrYEbVRQ/WscgWipxnRI/AAAAAAABHHo/HqIRzV3xddcOYSp_K3Rc2Mny8v33GcRnQCLcBGAs/s1600/firstpage001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="776" data-original-width="575" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JrzkrYEbVRQ/WscgWipxnRI/AAAAAAABHHo/HqIRzV3xddcOYSp_K3Rc2Mny8v33GcRnQCLcBGAs/s640/firstpage001.jpg" width="474" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Waiting for Andre ... should go live sometime today in all storefronts. Fingers crossed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Still a lot of work ahead with some marketing materials, ads and a few other loose ends. The eBook and Paperback should be live as soon as the system generates the pages. Audiobook will be live on May 12th. It's taking longer to do this than expected as I've "acted" out the reading, as much as I've done a basic reading. It should be enjoyable for folks who love Audiobooks / Audio Presentations.<br />
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Many thanks to my first customers who have been waiting patiently for this, emailing and chomping at the bit to read it.</span></div>
Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-83887855992796916962018-03-15T09:47:00.004-07:002019-01-11T01:40:01.687-08:00Waiting For Andre ...<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ECz_jQkJ7k0/WrMr2o-6OaI/AAAAAAABGqk/cxdBn8MmvYsDThujA5kaPXJ6laODtXBrwCLcBGAs/s1600/Thumb%2BCover%2B69%2BHD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1061" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ECz_jQkJ7k0/WrMr2o-6OaI/AAAAAAABGqk/cxdBn8MmvYsDThujA5kaPXJ6laODtXBrwCLcBGAs/s640/Thumb%2BCover%2B69%2BHD.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After an incredibly long wait ... it's finally coming out next month. From 2005 till now, no one is happier than I am to see this hit print.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here's the blurb:</span><br />
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<div class="font_8" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; color: #464646; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="color_15" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A semi-fictional account of the friendship between Samuel Beckett (the Playwright) and Andre ‘The Giant’ Roussimoff (the Wrestler) when Andre was a young boy of fourteen and Beckett had lived adjacent to the Roussimoff’s farm in Ussy Sur Marne, just outside of Paris.</span></div>
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<span class="color_15" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In 1960, when Andre was twelve, the school had told his parents that Andre could not continue attending as he was too big to ride the small school bus they had for the village and it was too far to walk. Distraught, his mother Marian, had pleaded with their neighbor who owned a truck to take her boy to school to finish his education. The Roussimoff’s had helped their famous neighbor extensively through the years, from maintaining his residence in his absence to laying the foundation and building his cottage. Beckett’s reputation was one of an unpleasant, curmudgeonly and very private man who did not appreciate the fame that was bestowed on him. Thus, even though it was strange and out of character, Beckett said agreed and committed himself daily for almost an entire school year with this task while in his seclusion in Ussy, working on both his novel <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Comment c'est</span> and his play <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Happy Days</span>.</span></div>
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<span class="color_15" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Andre, at fourteen, was already just over six foot, weighed almost 240 lbs and continually maintained a positive and very jovial demeanor, contrasting his neighbor in almost every way. Of course, Andre would grow up to achieve a different kind of fame which also surrounded Beckett, but both men handled not only their fame but their families, with very different ends.</span></div>
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Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-68582026589573194542017-08-02T18:49:00.004-07:002017-08-02T18:49:48.235-07:00Good morning ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Even though it's 2pm on the coast (ahem, cough cough), let me detail my Summer morning routine a bit for the curious.</div>
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1. Wake up to the sound of Lawn Mowers somewhere.<br />2. Wonder why my arm or hand is now hurting. I'm like Worf from Star Trek. I wake up with phantom injuries it seems.<br />3. Drink the remnants of water in the mason jar beside my bed. Usually 15 ounces or so.<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;"><br />4. Waddle downstairs, rubbing my eyes, forgetting my glasses, going back upstairs to get them and so on.<br />5. Find the downstairs bathroom. Yes, I'm getting old.<br />6. Coffee. 10 oz, three times. Talk to the dogs the whole time.<br />7. Listen to Fox tell me about the dreams he had last night. Usually, Super Mario, Zombies or Donald Trump was somehow involved. Some days all three.<br />8. Open the back patio door to hear the birds and bugs going full tilt mating and annihilating each other. Life cycle in the low desert continues as normal. Xenomorphs haven't invaded yet.<br />9. Check on the rabbit. Get side eye.<br />10. Check email, read HOA patrol reports from the night before. Shake my head in disbelief.<br />11. Read other emails from two different legal firms associated with my other interests.<br />12. Check my text messages from Minbear. Everything's kosher. Don't respond right away.<br />13. Check Facebook. Try not to post until the coffee's gone.<br />14. Think about what I wrote last night before falling asleep.</span></div>
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Wash. Rinse. Repeat.</div>
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Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-56484427496192586232017-07-15T22:49:00.002-07:002017-07-16T01:09:13.217-07:00Late Nights ...<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">And that's enough business for one night. Being in central France in winter, 1960 is a glorious thing, but alas ...</span><br />
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Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-75673742488902363282017-07-03T00:00:00.000-07:002017-07-03T00:00:41.777-07:00Mailers ...<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Going to mail these two hard-copies of </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/sleeplikeababytonight?source=feed_text&story_id=10155215560140071" style="background-color: white; color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="_5afx" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;"><span aria-label="hashtag" class="_58cl _5afz" style="color: #4267b2; font-family: inherit; unicode-bidi: isolate;">#</span><span class="_58cm" style="font-family: inherit;">SleepLikeaBabyTonight</span></span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> to two old-school Beta-Readers right now. You know who you are. Keep an eye out. Now it's in the capable hands of my personal Editor and early readers. Hoping to send this off to my publisher early August.</span><span class="_5afx" style="background-color: white; color: #365899; cursor: pointer; direction: ltr; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px;"><br /><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/feelingrelieved?source=feed_text&story_id=10155215560140071" style="background-color: white; color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration-line: none;"><span aria-label="hashtag" class="_58cl _5afz" style="color: #4267b2; font-family: inherit; unicode-bidi: isolate;">#</span><span class="_58cm" style="font-family: inherit;">FeelingRelieved</span></a></span><br />
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<span style="color: #365899; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/feelingrelieved?source=feed_text&story_id=10155215560140071" style="background-color: white; color: #365899; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration-line: none;"><span class="_5afx" style="direction: ltr; font-family: inherit;"><span class="_58cm" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></a>
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Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-60564921800053655222014-10-20T10:40:00.004-07:002014-10-20T10:41:26.820-07:00Random Paydirt ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--W-E3lpIJPg/VEVIYSXYHeI/AAAAAAAAZJY/_FtiLv90PDI/s1600/Quotation-Steffan-Piper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--W-E3lpIJPg/VEVIYSXYHeI/AAAAAAAAZJY/_FtiLv90PDI/s1600/Quotation-Steffan-Piper.jpg" height="218" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I love stumbling over and discovering quotes made by me. Thank you, Internetz, for believing that I had something relevant to add. What's most interesting, is that the top quote is from a blog post I wrote. It's good when you receive confirmation that not only are people reading what you write, but considering it.</span><br />
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<br />Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-78362852362264611322014-07-10T16:13:00.001-07:002014-07-11T02:22:12.058-07:00Greyhound ... German Edition ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--J8Oo1sNlxU/U782Z-Fr1PI/AAAAAAAAZEY/hpHMDLmYMDE/s1600/GreyhoundTicket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--J8Oo1sNlxU/U782Z-Fr1PI/AAAAAAAAZEY/hpHMDLmYMDE/s1600/GreyhoundTicket.jpg" height="374" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
Well, fortunately, enough time has now passed that the book has found itself getting translated. I'm very thankful to <a href="https://www.apub.com/imprint-detail?imprint=3" target="_blank">AmazonCrossing</a> for making this happen. Being translated is probably one of the larger dreams writers have that they wish for, but rarely see happen. Cementing a film deal is probably the only thing above it, so foreign translation is nothing to take lightly.<br />
<br />
Having seen the translation and the book cover designs, I'm very excited that the story will now be reaching a much wider audience. No release date has yet been given to me regarding the German release, but I'm thinking it will likely come out sometime either just before or just after Christmas of this year.<br />
<br />
Before I die, I do hope to see the book translated into Spanish, as that was always one of my main desires with this story. But with enough patience and maybe a few other books that are successful, it will occur.<br />
<br />
People have been emailing me, asking if I've been writing. Things have been difficult this year with family concerns, thus the creative endeavors have slowed. I promise to return to the page the first moment I can.<br />
<br />
All the best ...<br />
Steffan<br />
<br />
<br />Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-83283762256012304062013-09-28T13:30:00.001-07:002013-09-29T15:05:48.860-07:00Waiting For Andre ...<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2VP4ffLssP0/Ukc7r6L4KQI/AAAAAAAAVtw/7sLwuDwdDqY/s1600/AndretheGiant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2VP4ffLssP0/Ukc7r6L4KQI/AAAAAAAAVtw/7sLwuDwdDqY/s400/AndretheGiant.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just thought I would tease you guys a little bit and offer up the preface I wrote for <i>Waiting For Andre</i>. This may or may not make it into the book later. These things are hard to say and you never know how people are going to react to openings like this. But I think this is a great opening for the uninitiated. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And yes, the date at the bottom of the document is correct. The document is a rough first draft, so again, no reward for typo fishing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All the best, hope you enjoy it. This is a gift from me to you. I have so many dedicated readers that wait patiently, I thought you folks deserved a little something for being supportive.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Steffan</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://steffanpiper.com/WaitingForAndrePreface.pdf">http://steffanpiper.com/WaitingForAndrePreface.pdf</a><br />
<br />
<br />
***<br />
<br />Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-34395102705511899632013-08-14T07:54:00.000-07:002013-08-14T13:06:25.332-07:00No one's going to read this: PTSD.<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X7sOHOktQnQ/UguZtbIoODI/AAAAAAAAVcA/-i241sKKl_8/s1600/tumblr_mhajwod5En1qb0dg1o1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="264" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X7sOHOktQnQ/UguZtbIoODI/AAAAAAAAVcA/-i241sKKl_8/s320/tumblr_mhajwod5En1qb0dg1o1_500.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I used to write a section in my blog
called 'No one's going to read this, so let me tell you:” this is
probably one of those.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I woke up this morning after a really
bad nights sleep. I rarely dream about the military, but I think
that's what they call PTSD, when you do. Especially if it's not the
good kind of dream that you normally have. I have few nightmares,
but this was something like that, but perhaps worse.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every night, regardless of how long my
day is, I always love to slip into bed at the end of it, because I
know what I'm going to dream about. I can usually control it and
shape it and direct it. I usually dream of women. Smiling faced females, frolicking around in their underwear, laughing, talking, cavorting
with me, all of that. I can't tell my wife about this reality because
she's insanely jealous, which is something I just don't understand at
all. This truth would go over like a lead balloon with her. There
would be tears, or if not tears, anger and lots of it.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I always wake up happy and I always
smile when I slip into bed because every night I know what's coming.
It may sound perverted but that's part of my reality. It keeps me
smiling throughout the day. I usually laugh in my sleep, and on those
nights, I always wake up feeling rested.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other night, I asked myself before
falling asleep why I always dream about the same thing. Why do I
always dream about half-naked girls smiling and carousing around with
their bare legs like warm hands reaching for me? It just didn't seem
normal and I've often wondered what everyone else dreams about. I
always ask my son what he dreamt of the night before and most of the
time he doesn't have an answer. Sometimes he'll say “Oh, I can't
tell you, papa.” When I ask my wife, she never has an answer
either, thus I really feel left out in terms of wondering why I have
'nothing' to share.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last night, I dreamt about Saudi Arabia
and the days that followed when I came back in late 1991 - 1992. I
remembered how full of sand everything was and how it was in
everything I owned and how, after I had gotten back my uniforms that
I didn't take overseas, how the sand had gotten into that stuff too.
That sand was like a kind of lime, it had this white green tint to
it, caked up around everything and seemed to have a smell that when
transferred to ever other object that it connected with. Pretty soon,
everything I owned after I came back had that smell and had sand
around it, caked on it and in pockets and seams, books. My dress blues, my
sneakers, my civilian clothes, paperwork. The shit wouldn't go away. Everything. My hands stunk for a long time as did my skin. I could just smell
that place for far too long. The sand was the culprit.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The problem was that as that shitty,
lime colored sand started taking over my uniform, and I remembered
how other Marines who didn't go to Saudi would look at me. There was
something wrong with me. Why was all my gear and clothing all fucked
up? Why were my boots caked in this shit no matter how hard I
cleaned them? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the Marine Corps, it's the 'Esprit de Corps' which
makes you a Marine and having your gear and uniform 'squared away' is
a huge part of it, especially around other Marines. They now
looked at me like a shitbird (the worst kind of anything), like I was
unsat (unsatisfactory), like I was deserving of a Big Chicken Dinner,
a bad conduct discharge. All because of this fucking sand and these
feelings I couldn't shake that I no longer belonged. No one helped,
no one said 'what's wrong, why is your shit so fucked up?” No one
saw the problem that was so clear in my dream last night.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In retrospect, I probably should've
burned all that stuff I brought back, but nobody really had a clue.
Nobody was taking preventative measures. The day I discharged, I took
every piece of military gear I had, and I made the point of putting
them into black trash bags and throwing everything into the dumpster
outside, in plain view of everyone. They were mortified at the sight
of it. There was value associated with a military uniform, both
monetarily and prestige.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my dream last night, someone did ask
my those questions though and I had a response. Perhaps it was my way
of finding something all these years later. After -- I had already
written 'Fugue State'.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another Marine asked me “Why is your
shit so fucked up? How come you only have one seabag of stuff?”
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“When I came in here,” I responded,
“I watched you carry in three seabags. One had your uniforms, one
had your civilian clothes and the other had your problems.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“And you?”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“I have more problems than gear. The
gear I have is all fucked up and my problems are everywhere.”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my dream, that was the best I had as
a comeback, however lame, but now I understand.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In psychiatry, they would call all my
dreams of the naked girls, 'masking'. I'm not stupid, but most
people don't like lifting up rocks inside their head to see what's
under them. Why do I mask the way I feel about my pain and my
failures, especially those concerning being in the military, with
panty wearing girls? Every night? I'm a shallow jackass? Doubt it. Some people might say that.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe I have to. I dream every night.
Many days, lucidly.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do you dream lucidly? Do you know what
that is? Lucid dreaming is where you're in the dream and it's like
your awake. The night before I had a dream where I 'woke up' in my
sleeping bag, in a shelter, on the Appalachian Trail, from one
specific night back in 2006. Yes, my dream started with me waking up.
Lucid dreaming is part of the Universe's way of fucking with you when
you least expect it. It wasn't a dream that was made up, or not real,
it was me reliving a moment where I had woken up, around 5:30 in the
morning, to discover that I was covered in snow in the hiking
shelter. That's what I dreamt of. That moment where I woke up. I
relived it. Lucid dreaming. Sometimes it sucks, most times it's
awesome. Naked girls, good. Hiking, good. Military breakdowns, bad.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last night's was the worst. Feeling
like I didn't belong, like I wasn't a part of everyone else and I was
worthless, along with being back in the barracks (which is what I
dreamt of) was something I wouldn't want repeating on a regular
basis. I guess I have my answer as to why I dream of girls.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't think that's perversion. I
think it's self-preservation. It's a little before five am and I'm
going to go back to bed.</span></div>
Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-4733998542384084532013-07-13T20:42:00.000-07:002013-07-14T13:17:39.486-07:00The Lone Ranger, Tonto and White Guilt ...<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; line-height: 17.99715805053711px;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; line-height: 17.99715805053711px;">Just went and saw </span><a data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=553532547990609&extragetparams=%7B%22directed_target_id%22%3A0%7D" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Lone-Ranger-2013/553532547990609?directed_target_id=0" style="background-color: white; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; line-height: 17.99715805053711px; text-decoration: none;">The Lone Ranger 2013</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; line-height: 17.99715805053711px;">. I saw it. It was very funny and did not feel like two and a half hours. Go see it. I laughed the whole way through and well worth my $9. Here's a film that has gotten a bad rap, because of people's ab</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; line-height: 17.99715805053711px;">surd and out-of-control political behavior and schizophrenic breakdown about White vs. Non-White.<br /><br />If I hear another person say: "The reason why the Lone Ranger wears a mask is because he's guilty about being white," -- I'm going to slap them, hard, and not because the bird on my head is upset by it. </span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; line-height: 17.99715805053711px;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; line-height: 17.99715805053711px;">In the film, the reason why he wears the mask is very clearly defined and is worn for the same reason a masked man wears a mask, like Batman, or Spiderman or even Superman, does -- in every other movie or film about a superhero. Confusing that, intentionally, is incredibly sad and just feeds into a group of people who are trying to be as negative as they can about everything they see.<br /><br />And really? People are uncomfortable about *actual history* represented in a Disney film? First of all -- it's a Disney Film. Second, have we sunk to such lows now that presenting "Manifest Destiny" as a backdrop in a film, and the historical reminder of that, however far removed in time, angers asshats on one side of the political spectrum because they feel it as an attack? Wow, did you just forget about American History for the entirety of your adult life -- and now re-informed -- you have to have a fit and whine all over Conservative media?<br /><br />I have family that worked on the railroads. I'm Irish. I had family that worked -- for -- the railroads, going back several generations. I have absolutely no guilty feelings at all about what ** I ** have done, because ** I ** have always done my best to be good to people and not marginalize large groups of folks, or try to discount their struggle because it is either inconvenient to me or uncomfortable. That's life. It happens. 'White privilege' is a reality. Address it in your heart and move on. Even Louis C.K. speaks on it justly.<br /><br />I used to wonder why their was ever a need for Holocaust Museums, Auschwitz, and other historical atrocities preserved. Like, how could someone ever forget about Nazi Germany, Hitler and Heinrich Himmler? Did they not read any William L. Shirer growing up? Does that name NOT ring a bell? How could you have missed that book, if so? Or is it just a pattern of education in history in your life?<br /><br />But now I get it. Some people will struggle hard not to remember basic historical realities, and it makes me wonder why someone alive today would feel the pain of that, a hundred and fifty years later -- unless they, too, still harbor those same persecuting and condescending beliefs that folks represented as the 'bad guy' in films and TV did, so long ago. If that's you. I feel bad for you.<br /><br />If these things bother you -- then you need to search your heart and probably cleanse your soul. Maybe burning some sage around yourself for awhile would be a good place to start.<br /><br />I wrote last week about being an Irish Catholic, and how I felt Christians getting upset about the ridiculous notion of Depp representing Native American Spirituality as a bad thing, and that "he should've been a Christian Missionary" -- as completely effing absurd and ludicrous. I still agree with that sentiment after seeing the film. Completely.<br /><br />If you interpret American History as "White Guilt" you seriously need to go back to school because you've clearly been away -- far away --for way too long.<br /><br />"Don't ever do that again!" -- Tonto.</span>Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-14361013858279915772013-03-25T12:06:00.000-07:002013-03-26T12:19:27.292-07:00Greyhound's Ever Changing Mood ...<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here's a fact: Most writers read reviews. However, most writers will try to sell you the lie that they don't read the reviews of their books. Some will just say that <i>"Oh, I was just obsessively checking the ranking."</i> Some will say that they were <i>"checking the page to make sure it was still there and that it wasn't all a dream."</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Myself, it's all three. I check my book pages almost every morning, in every country, as I have them all tabbed and ready to click, and I love reading the reviews people leave. Sometimes I respond to them directly, sometimes I don't.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Recently I noticed that the cover art for my book had mysteriously changed. Here's what I saw:</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YRncCFfQ6ag/UVCXH2K4dlI/AAAAAAAAUgg/GTAbBgFOaiw/s1600/GH003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YRncCFfQ6ag/UVCXH2K4dlI/AAAAAAAAUgg/GTAbBgFOaiw/s1600/GH003.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was horrified and immediately thought that there was something going on with my monitor and checked the settings. Quickly I realized my error -- and then scratched my head. Then I drank some more coffee and scratched my head again. I had no idea there would be a change to the graphic. Usually, my Publisher, Amazon Publishing, keeps me pretty well informed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It hurt my eyes to keep staring at it. I felt blinded. So, I fired off an email. I think I upset some folks because I suggested that people were wasting precious time and resources goofing around with the cover art -- AFTER the book has been out for almost THREE years. Yes, Greyhound came out April, 2010. The same day the Deep Water Horizon Tanker exploded all over the news.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For the record, here is the original image that was put up when the book came out:</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_YpTHG9qC6s/UVCYM3_VygI/AAAAAAAAUgo/IXSCAu9Zkjc/s1600/GH001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_YpTHG9qC6s/UVCYM3_VygI/AAAAAAAAUgo/IXSCAu9Zkjc/s320/GH001.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I didn't mind this image at all, even though I always thought there was a bit too much turquoise in the design. The book doesn't take place at sea and I make no references to <i>Moby Dick </i>or anything else nautical. But, everyone interprets art differently, so I was okay with it. Red and Turquoise happen to be my favourite colors, btw.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When the book came out, I made a fevered and award-winning pitch to every Barnes & Noble in Southern California to carry the book. I must've went into over 40 stores back then. Sadly though, I always encountered two things:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1) "That book isn't within our company's model." I kept hearing this line, like it was something that came down from B&N's legal department. At the time, Amazon Publishing was at war with the rest of publishing world and thus nobody would carry it, barring a few independent bookstores that I had previous contact with.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2) "Is your book Gay Fiction?" I was stunned the first time I heard this. I think it had to do with the rainbow stripe down the side and it threw me back off my heels. I've read a lot of Gay Fiction over the years and James Baldwin happens to be one of my favourite authors. <i>Giovanni's Room</i> was a fascinating and engrossing read.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But, alas, <i>Greyhound</i> isn't that. So, I made a pitch to my publisher about 9 months later to remove the stripe. They agreed, sided with me and the image was changed globally. This is what was put out:</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0iTloFDm1p8/UVCaFYBufgI/AAAAAAAAUgw/l1eH3L9q7FA/s1600/GH002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0iTloFDm1p8/UVCaFYBufgI/AAAAAAAAUgw/l1eH3L9q7FA/s1600/GH002.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, for about the last year, this has been what buyers / readers see when they go to purchase my book. Not a bad cover. A lot of folks have said that the cover is not reflective of the genre, tone, nor the material, and while I do agree, it is pretty. I currently have a small poster of it hanging in my garage. It's nice on the eyes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After I emailed and then ruffled some feathers, the image changed a few more times. I didn't catch two of the versions, but this next one was easily my favourite and I had hoped it would remain as the thumbnail / cover art for the book.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AoaR9rpSVFY/UVCavCh4D3I/AAAAAAAAUg4/gMd8D5WiVEk/s1600/GH004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AoaR9rpSVFY/UVCavCh4D3I/AAAAAAAAUg4/gMd8D5WiVEk/s1600/GH004.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I like this a lot. It's balanced, you can see my name, you can read the title of the book. It looks a bit more juvenile as it should and is quite pleasing. I'd buy that book. It looks cool. In fact, as I've stated before, <i>Greyhound</i> is now used in public school systems across the US, supplanting <i>Catcher In The Rye</i>. You'd be surprised how many parents complain about CITR, saying it's too negative. So, kids are given the choice of both books -- and guess which one they pick most?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the school kids that read the book and had emailed me, said this: <i>"I picked Greyhound because it looked a whole lot cooler and modern."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After the dust had settled, the image changed one more time. This one though, hurt the most:</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H6XErE2sId8/UVCbxQxnuiI/AAAAAAAAUhA/AmHJo9OQfWA/s1600/GH005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H6XErE2sId8/UVCbxQxnuiI/AAAAAAAAUhA/AmHJo9OQfWA/s1600/GH005.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My name, which<i> is </i>important, is smaller, as is the title. The cool graphic and everything else seem lost on the page. It looks unbalanced, and anyone with any artistic aesthetic, would likely feel the same. Too much dead space.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I had a dream that night where I woke up and they had changed my image again and it looked like this:</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ekXxZwv7vqs/UVCdf3W3sDI/AAAAAAAAUhI/6-P_aKeMtuw/s1600/GH005b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ekXxZwv7vqs/UVCdf3W3sDI/AAAAAAAAUhI/6-P_aKeMtuw/s1600/GH005b.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And then the next day it looked like this:</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zjdk3oRs1Zs/UVCdmSs4x0I/AAAAAAAAUhQ/DPSAuRaoifU/s1600/GH005c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zjdk3oRs1Zs/UVCdmSs4x0I/AAAAAAAAUhQ/DPSAuRaoifU/s1600/GH005c.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At the end of the day, I am an artist and aesthetic is everything. I think about aesthetics while shaping paragraphs, sentences, putting on my clothes and putting marmalade on my toast. Even editing blog posts for typos. It's unavoidable. Let's just say, my Publisher has ceased returning my emails. It's fine. I don't expect them to cater to my every demand, even though I have very few of them. They're busy doing what they do, and I don't begrudge them kicking me down some bacon & silence. I'm definitely used to it. Try marriage for 12 years, haha.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I would think that that much effort and time being spent adjusting my cover was for something, or had a purpose, and I'm yet empty-handed with no explanation. I doubt I'll get one, but that's what life is like some days. Gotta just ramble on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lastly, this was the cover that I designed for the manuscript before Amazon Publishing picked it up. I like it, it is a bit darker in tone, even though it does have a generic feel. It's a bit sub-par in lay-out, but definitely balanced. For the record, I did take this photo myself:</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AM-3WOdUg7I/UVCfPmNBjwI/AAAAAAAAUhY/lVz6sdwfol4/s1600/GH000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AM-3WOdUg7I/UVCfPmNBjwI/AAAAAAAAUhY/lVz6sdwfol4/s320/GH000.jpg" width="212" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I just thought I'd post this for curiosity and posterity for any and all to see, in case, you too, saw some of these incarnations on the page. And to quote Forrest Gump: <i>"That's all I have to say about that!"</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Dosis, Verdana, Arial, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Steffan Piper is the author of several novels including </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Greyhound-ebook/dp/B0031WHBW4/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1337758687&sr=8-3" style="color: #5c90cd; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Greyhound</a><span style="margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">, </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Yellow-Fever-Steffan-Piper/dp/0615242936/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2" style="color: #5c90cd; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Yellow Fever</a><span style="margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"> and </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fugue-State-Steffan-Piper/dp/161218586X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353181857&sr=1-2" style="color: #5c90cd; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Fugue State</a><span style="margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">. He was once kicked out of Nome, Alaska due to a minor misunderstanding. He has a </span><a href="http://steffanpiper.blogspot.com/" style="color: #5c90cd; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">blog</a><span style="margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">, a </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/steffanpiper" style="color: #5c90cd; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span style="margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"> page, a </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Five-Disc-Complete-Collectors-Edition-Blu-ray/dp/B000UBMWG4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1337758646&sr=8-3" style="color: #5c90cd; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">favorite film</a><span style="margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"> and lives in Palm Desert, CA.</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-76644433616831984852013-03-20T12:33:00.002-07:002013-03-20T12:33:46.026-07:00All good things ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L8GPDlhyafM/UUoOxZMax8I/AAAAAAAAUcU/86JXa3nnEFg/s1600/Peter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L8GPDlhyafM/UUoOxZMax8I/AAAAAAAAUcU/86JXa3nnEFg/s400/Peter.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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"<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px; line-height: 17.600000381469727px;">Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px; line-height: 17.600000381469727px;"> As you wish ..."</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.800000190734863px; line-height: 17.600000381469727px;">Just prepared this for an email I'm about to send out. Some things fit so perfectly you would think God's favourtie thing is warm socks.</span>Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-16896407026254237382013-02-04T09:21:00.000-08:002018-02-28T16:25:33.450-08:00Greyhound in Schools ...<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wy8ah8t9F7o/UQ_rM2wKvOI/AAAAAAAAULc/UUNggU7LINs/s1600/greyhound+steffan+piper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wy8ah8t9F7o/UQ_rM2wKvOI/AAAAAAAAULc/UUNggU7LINs/s400/greyhound+steffan+piper.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One of the most interesting aspects about my book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Greyhound-ebook/dp/B0031WHBW4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1359998511&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Greyhound</a></i> is that it won't stop selling. Yes, there are some definite low months, but overall, the book has a frequency that's pretty impressive. My publisher once said <i>"it's the train that keeps on chugging."</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When the book first came out in 2010, it was heralded by librarians and became the subject of discussion in <a href="http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1" target="_blank">Booklist</a>, a monthly publication from the American Library Association, which is probably read by every active librarian, especially those in charge of purchasing materials for their location. For about a year, it seemed like the book was the darling of educators who were definitely in my corner.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One would think I was destined for greatness with this book, but sadly ... the world was happening. The day the book came out, the Deep Water Horizon Platform exploded, not that it affected sales, but there would be no further twists of fate in my favour. Oprah wasn't saying: "Steffan Piper? Call him." Amazon was at war with Macmillan that summer and the tone at the time was to blacklist any author who sailed under the Amazon Publishing banner, myself included. Several of the authors who initially signed up, actually jumped ship as the pressure was too intense. Now, I might actually be their longest signed client, but that also gets me no favours. Some days it feels like a curse, as I might remind them of 'yesterday' or 'start up woes.' Marketing Literary Fiction is not something people wake up to happily and say "Wow! What debut Lit Fic author do I have on my plate today? Yay!" No. It's a hot mess and likely always will be. People need to believe in you without any wavering. They need to be ready to put you on a shuttle mission if need be.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hTxRUHkQgCk/UQ_rjYmEvWI/AAAAAAAAULk/XtS9Mj3-cug/s1600/chugiak+high+school.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hTxRUHkQgCk/UQ_rjYmEvWI/AAAAAAAAULk/XtS9Mj3-cug/s320/chugiak+high+school.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">As time has gone by though, an interesting thing occurred. I started getting email from High School students. At first, a friend casually mentioned to me that my book was being read by another friend in his High School. I was shocked. No one told me. Then, the emails started trickling in. I discovered that <i>Greyhound</i> was being used actively in the Los Angeles Unified School District, The San Bernadino and Riverside School District. My book was being offered alongside <i>Catcher in The Rye</i> as an alternative. Kids in school were predominantly choosing my book -- and loving it. Thank you awesome cover art! I honestly never cared much for Salinger's book and always scratched my head over its popularity, so when I heard this, I couldn't help but emit a sly smile.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Once in a while, I get an email from a teacher, educator, librarian, graduate student, or the like and I'm always riveted, because it's always some effusive, glowing response to the book and a report about how much the students loved reading it. A Grad Student, at the University of Missouri, once adapted the book to a two person stage production. I also recently got an email from an educator in Georgia, where her students made promotional videos for the book after reading it. Schools across the Southern states of the US are quickly picking up the book and using it (Georgia, Tennessee Arkansas, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico). This is a double edged sword though. I'm now getting emails from parents, white households, complaining that it seemed to them:</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"All your white characters are evil and the hero is a negro. I don't think that's a positive message for school children. Your book is teaching kids to not trust people. I don't think it should be used in school."</span></i><br />
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Yeah, before you gasp -- that's an actual quote lifted from an email, and I've gotten more than one. Clearly, they didn't finish the book, because the opposite is actually true in regards to the message of the book. Some people doth sip heartily from the cup of stupid.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I don't receive official letters from school boards informing me that my book is being used, I usually find out later, after the fact. If there's some process, I'm currently unaware of it. I'm incredibly thankful for the work the librarians have done on my behalf and for the fruit that's been reaped and all the young minds that have crossed the country on a Greyhound via the 256 pages. Mission accomplished. Maybe this is how a book becomes a classic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A few weeks ago, I was approached by a fourth grader (!) that had read my book and proceeded to tell me how much she loved it and what her favourite parts were. My eyes were as big as tea-cup saucers and I really didn't know how to respond, but I'm definitely thankful. When I asked, cribbing a line from Notting Hill: "What was your favourite bit?" She replied, "The suitcases cracked me up."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Gotta love it.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 15.199999809265137px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Steffan Piper is the author of several novels including </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Greyhound-ebook/dp/B0031WHBW4/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1337758687&sr=8-3" style="color: #5c90cd; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Greyhound</a><span style="line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">, </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Yellow-Fever-Steffan-Piper/dp/0615242936/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2" style="color: #5c90cd; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Yellow Fever</a><span style="line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"> and </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fugue-State-Steffan-Piper/dp/161218586X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353181857&sr=1-2" style="color: #5c90cd; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Fugue State</a><span style="line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">. He was once kicked out of Nome, Alaska due to a minor misunderstanding. He has a </span><a href="http://steffanpiper.blogspot.com/" style="color: #5c90cd; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">blog</a><span style="line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">, a </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/steffanpiper" style="color: #5c90cd; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span style="line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"> page, a </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Five-Disc-Complete-Collectors-Edition-Blu-ray/dp/B000UBMWG4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1337758646&sr=8-3" style="color: #5c90cd; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">favorite film</a><span style="line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"> and lives in Palm Desert, CA.</span></span></span>Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-85305653524747802802013-01-01T19:49:00.001-08:002013-01-01T20:15:25.822-08:00Shutting Down Facebook ...<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X2RJ5nHdVKA/UOOTnfZcBAI/AAAAAAAAUKo/U8Tc_gX14sU/s1600/darth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X2RJ5nHdVKA/UOOTnfZcBAI/AAAAAAAAUKo/U8Tc_gX14sU/s400/darth.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Earlier today, I shut down my Facebook Account. Yes. I shut it down. New Years Resolution? Maybe. Good idea? Absolutely.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I had been sifting the idea for some time and weighing whether or not it was worthwhile keeping it active. After all, since 2007, for more than five years, I'd been uploading hundreds of pictures through my phone of my son, my own adventures, commentary, notices, book announcements, you name it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of the 355 friends I had, most of them were readers that had sought me out after reading <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Greyhound-ebook/dp/B0031WHBW4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1357096174&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Greyhound</a></i>, a smaller percentage were friends that were writers and authors and the rest, less than twenty, were family members. Thus, the point of Facebook for me was that it was a connection between myself and readers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But in the end ... all that lost out to the most inescapable reason. Facebook is a huge waste of time where you get sucked into staring at it for hours upon hours, reading every manner of personal thought from people you likely don't even know, (Sorry, truth is painful). For no reason at all, I found myself checking the updates, scanning the feed, looking for something worthwhile like it's just another channel on my DirecTV. And usually, there's very little that's stimulating. While it had its benefits, I decided I would rather have my time back to do other more pressing things.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While it is uplifting to hear the good news of friends and the new high points they're attaining, we all know that like a tree falling in the woods still making a noise, all these things would still happen whether I'm watching or not. I'll miss the direct contact with a lot of you, but the world of Facebook will be just fine without me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After being connected for so long, It might be comical to chronicle my withdrawals from modern social media.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I also have a twitter account, but I'm going to resist letting that become addictive. If it does, it will be shut down as well.</span><br />
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<br />Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-47629285367707618022012-12-18T09:10:00.001-08:002013-01-09T11:09:14.661-08:00Fugue State Release Day ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6H7grqGlUDw/UNCfg92kkjI/AAAAAAAAUKI/9ikYOK-LDBQ/s1600/51fydcjZxML._SL500_AA300_PIaudible,BottomRight,13,73_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6H7grqGlUDw/UNCfg92kkjI/AAAAAAAAUKI/9ikYOK-LDBQ/s1600/51fydcjZxML._SL500_AA300_PIaudible,BottomRight,13,73_AA300_.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Today, my new book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fugue-State-ebook/dp/B008RDG2S6/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1344540115&sr=1-3&keywords=fugue+state" target="_blank">Fugue State</a></i> releases, and I can only hope that the book finds its way safely out into the world and into the hands of appreciative readers. It took a lot to get down on paper, and even more to continually go over and edit, even as difficult as it was due to the nature of the material. I've blogged a lot about the book recently, and from the product description, I've already been answering a lot of concerned questions from people near to me, who either a) really didn't know me well, or b) never took the time to get to know me well. It's okay, I'm used to it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Without gilding the lily, I just want to say thanks to everyone who made the book possible. My good friend Courtney Abruzzo who helped me with working out the story and initial edits. David Downing for his amazing thoughtfulness as an editor. Nick Podehl for doing such an outstanding job bringing my characters to life in the audiobooks, making it surreal to hear the days of my life brought to life again and dramatized. When I was kid, I always knew I wanted to have my stories on audiobooks and I saw it as the pinnacle of success in being an author. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course, like I've said a million times, everyone over at Amazon Publishing for making it all happen. Especially Terry Goodman and Jeff Belle. Without the direct support from these two people -- it wouldn't have happened.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I also want to thank my good friend Mark Espinosa back in New Jersey, who has been much too absent from my life in these last two years. You pushed me over the hill and kept me going as a writer when I thought I was just wasting everyone's time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I even want to thank U2, for years of life-sustaining inspiration, even though they didn't give us permission to use a line of lyrics from <i>Bad</i> in my book -- even after numerous phone calls and beating down the door. I have nothing but love for you guys.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I truly mean everyone of Andrew Goldberg's lyrics:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Steffan Piper is the author of several novels including <i style="margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Greyhound-ebook/dp/B0031WHBW4/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1337758687&sr=8-3" style="color: #5c90cd; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Greyhound</a>,</i> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Yellow-Fever-Steffan-Piper/dp/0615242936/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2" style="color: #5c90cd; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank"><i style="margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Yellow Fever</i></a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fugue-State-ebook/dp/B008RDG2S6/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1348759486&sr=1-2" style="color: #5c90cd; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank"><i style="margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Fugue State</i></a>. He was once kicked out of Nome, Alaska due to a minor misunderstanding. He has a <a href="http://steffanpiper.blogspot.com/" style="color: #5c90cd; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">blog</a>, a <a href="http://www.facebook.com/steffanpiper" style="color: #5c90cd; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> page, a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Five-Disc-Complete-Collectors-Edition-Blu-ray/dp/B000UBMWG4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1337758646&sr=8-3" style="color: #5c90cd; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">favorite film</a> and lives on the outskirts of Los Angeles with his family in Palm Desert, CA.</span></div>
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Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-76895748091386969472012-12-04T16:17:00.003-08:002012-12-05T15:40:17.294-08:00My own Legal Issues ...Unresolved ...<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J-e-Z6oJtR4/UL6PRu-fBhI/AAAAAAAAUJE/EkD9EjFBITE/s1600/U2_TheUnforgettableFire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J-e-Z6oJtR4/UL6PRu-fBhI/AAAAAAAAUJE/EkD9EjFBITE/s400/U2_TheUnforgettableFire.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Inside the opening pages of my last book, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Greyhound-ebook/dp/B0031WHBW4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1354665868&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Greyhound</a></i>, there's a musical quotation from the rock band U2. It's a single line of lyric from the song Acrobat, released in 1991.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Don't believe what you hear, don't believe what you see ...<br />If you just close your eyes, you can feel the enemy.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've often heard back from readers about the haunting nature of that line in context with the book and how touched they were by it, and how many of them sought out the song, as they may have heard it before, but they probably didn't listen. And, yes, there's a huge difference between the two. It's like the difference between speed reading -- and reading normally. Lots of ideas get jettisoned very quickly in the turbulent wake.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In my current novel, <i>Fugue State</i>, which deals a lot with the entire album <i>The Unforgettable Fire</i>, the effect it had on me when I had joined the Marine Corps, as well as going onto the battlefield of the Persian Gulf War. Most specifically, my memories had been kept safely inside, guarded by the lyrics of the song Bad. I wanted to put them at the front of the book in much the same manner we did with Acrobat and <i>Greyhound</i>, but the lawyers were hesitant in this new era of extreme litigation, even from a band that has prided (sorry) themselves on taking the high road with this particular subject, repeatedly.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you twist and turn away. If you tear yourself in two again. If I could, yes I would.<br />If I could, I would let it go, surrender, dislocate.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, it was suggested that we contact their Principal Management company in Dublin, get them on the phone, and see if you could open a channel for this dialogue to let this occur. I fretted ringing them up. I was in a deep fear over it. Why? You may ask? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After all these years of speech training, trying to sound legitimate in large groups of adults, and remaining calm, I still stutter. When I'm nervous, I stutter badly. It's just a residual effect of a childhood trauma and the welling up of uncontrolled fear. It happens to a lot of adults, so I know it's a common thing for some folks. I can cope, but it's never easy. I do my best.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, I begged my good friend Terry, over at Amazon Publishing, to see if he could get Amazon's Lawyer's to call over for me and get permission. From what I understand, both things happened: he called, and then Legal followed up -- both to no avail. Feeling smoted, blighted and sad in my semi-diffused state, I sucked it up and called them myself. Yeah ... I got nowhere. I did get my words out, but nothing happened. It was like speaking into a tin can. The only difference was that I couldn't see the bottom of the empty tin. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was heartbreaking. Nobody called back, and thus I was confronted via email that the text had to be stricken as well as a line towards the end, where I'm sitting in my Humvee, emotionally detached, listening to Bad, over and over. The last time I spoke with Terry, I could tell from the tone in his voice that no one had responded back to our request. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2zIW8qDPhos" width="560"></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, those that know me, know that I could tell them volumes of different and interesting stories about my own travels, which usually include U2 in one way or the other, or even just stories about U2 themselves. I can sing almost their entire catalogue, which I do via karaoke in my front room with my five-year old son, Fox, who firmly believes that Bono (Paul Hewson), is my dad or rather, "Papa's Papa." I never had a father, and in all honesty, the truth of the lyrics and the hypnotic tone of the music were, sometimes, the only touchstone I had when I was trying to get through some very, very difficult years. It made sense to my son, and I left it at that because I knew my own father would never walk through the door laughing heartily, be happy to see us, and bellow out "Hello, everybody!" </span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Why doesn't papa's papa come see you?"</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Well, in our family, Foxey, what we do, is try to do our best to make other people happy. That's what papa's papa does too. You'll do the same when you're big."</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"But he never comes home."</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Well he does, Fox. Everybody goes home at night."</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bono's conviction in the living was what I needed. I wrote at the end of <i>Greyhound</i> how they had made my life more bearable and worth living when things got too dark to see. Fox has several favourite songs and will likely continue my love of these guys. I honestly don't give a damn if people just don't understand. It might have been me that got through those times, but while I was alone -- I honestly wasn't alone. For some, that's what music is.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yes, I'm just a fan. I saw them in Los Angeles, once, during the Pop tour, and was overwhelmed. I've written a lot of different product reviews on them, both good and bad, gotten into public forum debates about small details, but I became a fan when everyone thought it was cool to speak poorly of them and whine endlessly about U2 trying to rise too high and too quickly with <i>Rattle & Hum</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I documented my feelings quite extensively with my disdain for Roger Ebert (god bless him) who seemed to slip into a vacuum during the eighties, hating everything that was honest and lasting from that whole era, <i>Blade Runner</i> being the most glaring. Ebert's sway prompted Rolling Stone to crap on <i>R & H</i> as well, which pretty much set the tone of the reception. We now have another documentary called <i>From The Sky Down</i>, which chronicles this debacle closely and functions as an almost direct answer to all that nonsense which never really went away. If you haven't seen it, you probably should. Regardless how you feel about the band.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vtlUgL7kK-M/UL6O1y1ThwI/AAAAAAAAUI8/C6wRBoTVuF4/s1600/The+Edge+Sky+Down+Steffan+Piper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vtlUgL7kK-M/UL6O1y1ThwI/AAAAAAAAUI8/C6wRBoTVuF4/s400/The+Edge+Sky+Down+Steffan+Piper.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, here I am, just a few days before <i>Fugue State</i> comes out, milling around my house in Palm Desert, watching <i>Rattle & Hum</i> on the home theatre, loudly, and wondering how the world is going to receive the book, which is raw, honest, and gives the reader an over-the-shoulder look at my life from 1988 - 1992, which I can only hope is received well. I doubt I'll clean up, or pay off my student loans, or even get ahead, but I hope enough people read it and see themselves and their own journey through mine. That's the point. <i>Greyhound,</i> now, is a testament to just that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thought I'd share this as I move closer to the book launching and perhaps give the reader something else to think about when it does.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All the best ... "Fade away ..."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 24px;">Steffan Piper is the author of several novels including </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Greyhound-ebook/dp/B0031WHBW4/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1337758687&sr=8-3" style="background-color: white; color: #5c90cd; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Greyhound</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 24px;">, </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Yellow-Fever-Steffan-Piper/dp/0615242936/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2" style="background-color: white; color: #5c90cd; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Yellow Fever</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 24px;"> and </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fugue-State-Steffan-Piper/dp/161218586X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353181857&sr=1-2" style="background-color: white; color: #5c90cd; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Fugue State</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 24px;">. He was once kicked out of Nome, Alaska due to a minor misunderstanding. He has a </span><a href="http://steffanpiper.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #5c90cd; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">blog</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 24px;">, a </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/steffanpiper" style="background-color: white; color: #5c90cd; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 24px;"> page, a </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Five-Disc-Complete-Collectors-Edition-Blu-ray/dp/B000UBMWG4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1337758646&sr=8-3" style="background-color: white; color: #5c90cd; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">favorite film</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; line-height: 24px;"> and lives in Palm Desert, CA.</span></span></div>
Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-87770488642409728492012-11-29T09:52:00.002-08:002012-11-29T13:37:35.435-08:00Simon & Schuster / Archway ... Seniors are the real victims ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z_AysXl28UI/ULefzU_xSvI/AAAAAAAAUIU/oxC9kFcJWuA/s1600/noname.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z_AysXl28UI/ULefzU_xSvI/AAAAAAAAUIU/oxC9kFcJWuA/s320/noname.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've been reading a lot of the <a href="http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/27/simon-schuster-introduces-self-publishing-service/" target="_blank">articles</a> and blogs recently concerning the Simon & Schuster deal that occurred where they launched into the Self-Publishing market with Archway. For those not in the know, Archway is actually <a href="http://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/2012/11/28/simon-schuster-joins-forces-with-author-solutions-to-rip-off-writers/" target="_blank">Author Solutions</a>, one of the most disreputable of all the Self-Publishers in business currently.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Everything I've read has all been negative. All of it. It's also hard to imagine how anyone could honestly think that something like this would be perceived as a good PR move, or that there just wouldn't be blowback onto the primary brand. With as much information out in the world these days about 'Pay-to-Play Publishing', one would think that this would be one of the <i>last things</i> to come out of the Big 6, er Big 5. But one has to ask the main question? Why? Why would they do this?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The answer is simple. Simon & Schuster obviously got to see the raw data pitched to them from Author Solutions about participation in their service. Random House tried this a few years back with Xlibris and that didn't go very well on the PR front either. But who reads the news anymore? Who follows publishing news with every heartbeat? I knew for sure who <i>doesn't</i>. And that's what they're betting on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The saddest thing about this -- is the most obvious victim. Aging Baby-Boomers who are looking to publish their "memoirs" or stories, who have little to no knowledge about publishing and who are thinking that this is actually a legitimate route into publishing because it's being promoted by Simon & Schuster. Many retirees actually have a few thousand dollars to spend on something like this, but many don't. Regardless though, many of them will take the plunge, hoping to make financial gain.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Jo Rowling raked it in ... why not me?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Many in that particular 'generation set' were raised on a specific principle about money. There's a persistent belief that because you are paying money, there is an inferred sense of legitimacy. The more you do pay, the more legitimate it must be. And from all outside appearances, this is being pushed by Simon & Schuster. What can go wrong? Well, twenty five thousand dollars can go wrong. That's what. Yes: $25,000.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ever been to Writing Conventions or even BEA (Book Expo of America)? Ever notice that there are often hundreds to thousands of elderly people there participating, far outnumbering everyone else? While that's definitely not a bad thing, they're already used to the 'Pay-to-Play' model, as many of the more enterprising seniors engage in it themselves directly, although with a much more altruistic lean. They honestly have good intentions and wish to publish materials they like, and obviously for a reasonable price. Most of them have already paid for something along the lines as well. I've spoken to many, and have a large cadre of elderly friends, that would desperately do anything to get their memoirs published. Many work at it like there's some more immediate deadline. In their mind, I'm sure there is.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is incredibly sad and incredibly predatory by Simon & Schuster. They know it's wrong, they know that their targeted demographic are seniors citizens in doing this, and yet they're pressing forward. To me, it's just one more disgusting facet in the on-going drama of people trying to bilk senior citizens for all they're worth and the wheezing, dying gasps of an outdated industry that continually doesn't have a clue.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's elder abuse. Plain and simple.</span><br />
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Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13353505.post-84650652287056649552012-11-25T15:59:00.002-08:002012-12-05T21:35:49.736-08:00Fugue State Soundtrack ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tQDqtDqbCQE/ULKv-KAM-WI/AAAAAAAAUH0/Eiu-yNm0RI0/s1600/fugue+state+steffan+piper+office.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tQDqtDqbCQE/ULKv-KAM-WI/AAAAAAAAUH0/Eiu-yNm0RI0/s400/fugue+state+steffan+piper+office.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It seems as of late, everyone now has a soundtrack that goes along with their book and they love to tell you how much music inspires them, and what songs specifically stand out to them, or have connective tissue to their work. Okay, got it. </span><br />
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Most people who create, are typically careful about whatever motivational stimulus they prefer and keep close and are very driven by popular media like music and films. Obviously, for writers these things are important to us.</span><br />
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The last two books that I've written, have not only had a lot of music associated with it, within the story, but also in the creation. I made a post similar to this back in 2009 for another book I wrote called <a href="http://steffanpiper.blogspot.com/2009/01/yellow-fever-soundtrack.html" target="_blank">Yellow Fever</a>, which is finally coming out on Kindle this spring. In 2010, I posted a much longer and detailed list of music for <a href="http://steffanpiper.blogspot.com/2010/03/greyhound-music-in-book.html" target="_blank">Greyhound</a>.</span><br />
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For this post, I'm not only including a list of music that I overdosed on ad naseum, which a few tracks become almost a central character within the story, but the films that I had on in my office everyday, keeping me company while I wrote. I have a difficult time spending too much time alone, and I definitely -- spend too much time alone. Yes, I often get a lot of work done, but, like everything there is an emotional cost. This isn't make-believe, sparkly Vampire Romance that I've written, so the emotional investment, at least to me, is pretty high. I have a tendency to expose a lot to the reader, for good reason, so I figured it's only natural to share these lists.</span><br />
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All the best ...</span><br />
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Music:</span><br />
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The Unforgettable Fire - U2 *(the entire album is a character in the book)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bad - U2</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Gold Dust Woman - Fleetwood Mac</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sara (Cleaning Lady Version) - Fleetwood Mac</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Audio portion of Blade Runner on Cassette tape.</span><br />
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Only in Dreams - Weezer</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Going to California - Led Zeppelin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Help Me Through The Day - Freddie King</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Same old Blues - Freddie King</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hawkmoon 269 - U2</span><br />
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Philosopher's Stone - Van Morrison</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Drawing / Track 08 - Guy Farley</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Kathy's Song - Simon & Garfunkel</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Heartland - U2</span><br />
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Memories of Green - Vangelis</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Blood of Eden (Film Version) - Peter Gabriel</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Still in Love With You - Thin Lizzy</span><br />
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Lonely Woman - Ornette Coleman</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Close to you (Take 4) - Frank Sinatra</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Only The Lonely - Frank Sinatra</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I wish you Love - Dean Martin</span><br />
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I Still Can't Believe You're Gone - Willie Nelson</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I Feel Like A Bullet (in the Gun of Robert Ford) - Elton John</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Philadelphia Freedom - Elton John</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Till The Cops Come Knockin - Maxwell</span><br />
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Christmas, Baby, Please Come Home - Darlene Love</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A Forest - The Cure</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Close to Me - The Cure</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Rattle & Hum - U2</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Me and The Devil - Gil Scott Heron</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Complete YouTube Playlist:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLp7loHHDXMK50KCVryXZ-oRpY70Ptyzuc&hl=en_US" width="560"></iframe></span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Films:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
Blade Runner *(A character in the book)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fight Club</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Maltese Falcon</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Big Sleep</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a Lonely Place</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Zodiac (David Fincher's version)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lawrence of Arabia</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Heartbreak Ridge</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Forrest Gump</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Until The End of The World</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Casablanca</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Girl, Interrupted</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cashback</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Almost Famous</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Curious Case of Benjamin Button</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Exorcist (while I was writing the sections about DC)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Platoon (while I was writing the very ending)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">U2 - Rattle & Hum</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sting - Durham Cathedral</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">U2 - Live at Slane Castle</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cello Suites - Rostropovich (especially the interview parts with Mstislav speaking)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Steffan Piper is the author of several novels including <i style="margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Greyhound-ebook/dp/B0031WHBW4/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1337758687&sr=8-3" style="color: #5c90cd; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Greyhound</a>,</i> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Yellow-Fever-Steffan-Piper/dp/0615242936/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2" style="color: #5c90cd; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank"><i style="margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Yellow Fever</i></a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fugue-State-ebook/dp/B008RDG2S6/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1348759486&sr=1-2" style="color: #5c90cd; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank"><i style="margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Fugue State</i></a>. He was once kicked out of Nome, Alaska due to a minor misunderstanding. He has a <a href="http://steffanpiper.blogspot.com/" style="color: #5c90cd; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">blog</a>, a <a href="http://www.facebook.com/steffanpiper" style="color: #5c90cd; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> page, a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Five-Disc-Complete-Collectors-Edition-Blu-ray/dp/B000UBMWG4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1337758646&sr=8-3" style="color: #5c90cd; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">favorite film</a> and lives on the outskirts of Los Angeles with his family in Palm Desert, CA.</span></div>
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Steffan Piperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06094775013771367276noreply@blogger.com0