Michael Thomas Perone's Blog, page 7

An Open Letter to My Sixth Grade Teacher

So young and full of promise. What went wrong?

Those who read my first novel, Danger Peak, will know that the very last line in the Acknowledgments (and the entire book, if you don’t count my bio) is the following:

(Special thanks to) my Sixth Grade teacher, Mr. Joyce, for telling me I was the “finest creative writer” he ever taught.

I was aware that he had retired, so I tracked his address down on Google and mailed him a signed copy of Danger Peak. A few weeks later, the book was returned. Apparently, he doesn’t live there anymore. I’ve asked on social media if anyone I know has his new address, but I wasn’t successful there either. So, out of desperation, I’m posting my letter to him on this here blog, just in case the Interweb gods bring us together. (Hey, stranger things have happened; I once had the showrunner of the new Muppet Babies cartoon “like” my blog on his show on Twitter.) Here is the letter, dated October 29, 2022:

Dear Mr. Joyce,

This is Michael Perone. You probably don’t remember me, but you taught my Sixth Grade class from 1988 to 1989. (You taught my sister the following school year.) I hope you don’t mind me tracking you down with the help of Google, but I thought it would be absurd and a bit unfair to mention you in my book and not send you a copy. I am a writer today and have written for The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore City Paper, and Long Island Voice, among others, though my main job is a senior editor for a nonprofit in Manhattan. Earlier this year, I published my first novel (what you hold in your hands). Danger Peak is a coming-of-age/action-adventure novel set in the late 1980s. Think Stand By Me meets The Goonies with a dash of magical realism.

So far, the book has been pretty well-received. It has won several awards (the stickers you see on the front cover), and it was a finalist at both The New York and Hollywood Book Festivals. Recently, it won in the category of Young Adult Action and Adventure at The 2022 Fall BookFest Awards. It also has over 10 five-star reviews on Amazon (only half of which were written by friends and family!), and Kirkus Reviews wrote it’s “(a) compelling bildungsroman about grief and finding wisdom.” If nothing else, I learned the word “bildungsroman” from this experience.

I’m an overly nostalgic person (writing a novel set in the ‘80s should’ve been the first clue), and I realize I’m romanticizing Sixth Grade. Rereading the diary I wrote during this school year, there were a few times we had our scuffles: you yelling at me for talking out of turn (I used to talk a lot in class) or warning me that “junior high is going to eat (me) alive.” (You were 100% right.) But the point is this: Years after graduating elementary school, I wouldn’t have taken myself seriously as a writer if you hadn’t told a packed auditorium/cafeteria during my Moving Up ceremony that I was the “finest creative writer” you ever taught. Your kind words are acknowledged in the last line of my book.

I hope you are well and enjoying retirement. If you want, you can drop me a line at the above address or email me at (REDACTED). For more information on my book, please visit www.dangerpeak.com. (Note to my blog readers: My website’s address has since been updated.) If I don’t hear back from you or if you don’t like my book, please know I’ll hold absolutely no hard feelings. Your inspiration all those years ago was more than enough.

Sincerely,

Michael Perone

P.S.: Sorry for all the parenthetical asides. (I couldn’t help myself.)

In other Danger Peak/Déjà View news, the Goodreads giveaway for Déjà View is about halfway through now. So far, around 1,500 people have entered. Not too shabby! If you haven’t already, enter the contest at the links below for your chance to snag a free, signed copy of my latest novel:

Goodreads Book Giveaway Déjà Viewby Michael Thomas Perone

Giveaway ends February 1, 2024.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

MTP

P.S.: Next week’s blog: Another Oldie but Goodie

P.P.S.: Déjà View is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

AmazonBarnes & Noble

Déjà View Won The Firebird Book Award in the Category of Coming of Age!

I’m excited to share the news that Déjà View won its first award: The 2024 Firebird Book Award in the category of Coming of Age. This was actually the first award I submitted for months ago. Danger Peak also won this award in 2022, but it was for the category of Magical Realism. Coming of Age is a much broader category than Magical Realism. Everyone is aware of the coming-of-age genre (I suppose because we’ve all “come of age”), but most people, especially those not familiar with the literary world, have never even heard of magical realism, so I was especially proud to win this honor. Also, it’s almost a given that an author is going to be recognized for his or her debut novel. After all, you have your entire life to write it. But it’s another accomplishment entirely to be rewarded for your second novel. Apparently, I have more things to say.

I’ve explained what The Firebird Book Awards are before on this blog, but it bears repeating. They are presented by Speak Up Talk Radio. These awards support women and children in long-term shelters. As their website states:

The firebird is known as a magical helper and is believed to drop pearls from its beak when passing over peasant villages, to give the poor something to trade for food and other necessities. We hope, in some small way, that we too can help others via the donation aspect of these book awards.

Once again, I’m honored to support this noble cause—and it doesn’t hurt getting a little literary recognition as well.

You can see the full list of winners at the below link:

Firebird Book Award Winners

And I’ve already updated the Déjà View homepage with the award seal here:

Déjà View Homepage

This blog was just a quick update, but my next one will be at the same Perone time, same Perone channel (i.e., Thursday afternoon on this website).

MTP

P.S.: Next blog: An Open Letter to My Sixth Grade Teacher

P.P.S.: Déjà View is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

AmazonBarnes & Noble

The First (and Possibly Last) Déjà View Goodreads Giveaway!

Just in case you haven’t seen this cover for the hundredth time.

For the next two weeks, the good folks at Goodreads are sponsoring a giveaway of my latest novel Déjà View. I know I said I wouldn’t do another Goodreads giveaway, but that was for my first novel Danger Peak. I had like three of those giveaways and none for my poor second novel, so I figured I owed it to Déjà View to at least do one. As I wrote before, doing these giveaways was probably more work than it was worth, so this time, I’m only giving away 10 copies, not 20. I’m not made of money, y’know! As before, each copy will be personally addressed to the winner and signed. Also as before, you need to be a Goodreads member to enter the contest. (But don’t worry; it’s free to join.)

The giveaway began today and will end Thursday, February 1st (just in time for Groundhog Day!). Here are the relevant links:

Goodreads Book Giveaway Déjà Viewby Michael Thomas Perone

Giveaway ends February 01, 2024.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Good luck to everyone who enters!

MTP

P.S.: Next week’s blog: An Open Letter to My Sixth Grade Teacher

P.P.S.: Déjà View is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

AmazonBarnes & Noble

My Original Vision for Déjà View (and Its Sequels)

Worst. Sequel. Ever.

To follow up on the final question of last week’s FAQ, yes, I wrote two sequels to Déjà View (then titled Déjà Vu), and they were mostly terrible. But let me back up a bit by first explaining the original idea behind the first novel, which was based on a short story I wrote in 1990. This version of Deja View was more of a slasher flick. It was darker and yet somehow sillier. I know that sounds like a paradox, but it’s hard to take the “dark” parts seriously when a 13-year-old is writing them. (How could you know what darkness is when you’re barely a teen, bud? Just wait until high school!) Anyway, the short story was actually more like Final Destination than a Halloween knockoff. (And remember, this was a full decade before the first movie in that never-ending franchise.) You see, the main character, who was not named Bobby but actually named after me, started seeing the “déjà view” visions first (and remember, it was called “déjà vu” in this version), but the visions also started infecting his friends. And when they saw them, they would die in freak accidents, like a car randomly running them over. (I know; I should sue New Line Cinema.)

Eventually, the authorities in town figure the main character, “Mike,” is responsible for these deaths, since they are all connected to him (he is usually the last person they see), and they go after him. And because no one else seems to be seeing the visions except for his friends who helped bury the time capsule, no one believes him, and he goes insane. Hence, the final image in my blog 2 weeks ago where he’s locked in a mental institution wrapped up in a straightjacket. For an added supernatural touch, I threw in a telekinetic ability (I would blame Carrie for the inspiration, but this was years before I saw the movie or read the book), and Mike moves a scalpel across a room with his mind to impale his shoulder blade. End of Déjà Vu 1. There was nothing about the main character not wanting to grow up, or the end of the 1980s, or any of that symbolic end-of-childhood good stuff.

As for Déjà Vu 2, it was more of the same, as most sequels are. This time, though, there was a higher body count (again, as with most sequels). First, here’s the cover:

You’ll notice that I misplaced the accents in the title. Oopsy! (Hey, I was 14.) As for the story, it turns out our main character Mike survived his suicide attempt (obviously—otherwise, there’d be no sequel) with the help of some quick-thinking orderlies and an emergency operation. Mike sobers up, so to speak, and is released, but it isn’t long before he starts seeing those pesky “déjà vu” visions again.

btw, if you want to know how cringe-worthy the dialogue is, at one point, a friend, talking about their mutual deceased friends (from the first book), tells Mike, “Too bad they’re dead now, huh?” Eat your heart out, Aaron Sorkin!

The one twist to this story is that midway through, it jumps forward through time about 11 years, so Mike goes from 14 (the age I was when I wrote it) to 25 (if I did the math right). Having gone crazy and dropped out of school, he roams his town as a bum (I guess I didn’t have much hope for my future at the time) and, after unearthing his time capsule once more, goes on a murderous rampage with the shovel he used to dig it out.

Yet another twist (one too many, I’d argue) was added, when Mike discovers the old time capsule has somehow become a portal to the past, so he uses it to spy on his old friends—who are now, thankfully, alive—burying the original time capsule from the first book, only he has to stop them in order to prevent all these crazy events from happening in the first place. Are you confused yet? I know I am, and I wrote the damn thing.

Anyway, the time portal closes up, and he gets hauled to jail before he can harm his friends. There, he meets a fellow prisoner with the absolute greatest name I have ever invented: Ronda Reef. The name is so insane, I’ll repeat it: Ronda Reef. She helps Mike break out, but he goes crazy again anyway and kills her. (Fun!) So after killing Ronda Reef (yes, I’m saying it a third time), he goes back home, where he gets into a fight with his former self. Here, there are Back to the Future time-travel repercussions, as anything he does to his old self inflicts harm on his present self. So after he knocks his former self’s teeth out, his teeth suddenly pop out. And it gets gorier from there. I’ll spare you the details.

Finally, after “winning” the fight with himself, he destroys the time capsule/portal thing, and it ends up destroying the world and eventually the entire universe. My favorite description of it is the following: “Everyone was moving instantaneously like Max Headroom.” I was a sucker for ‘80s references even back in ’91!

I love the hopeful tagline at the end, though: “THE END…unless this one makes me millions!” Oh, keep dreaming, buddy. That’s what makes you, you.

You would think after ending the last story with the destruction of the entire universe, there couldn’t possibly be another sequel. You’d be wrong. Here comes Déjà Vu 3.

Yes, this is the first Déjà Vu story to have a subtitle: The Parallel Dimension, which, if I’m being honest, isn’t a bad subtitle for a kiddie sci-fi story. Also, the tagline, “The last adventure of the only true never ending story” is at least halfway clever. It was 1992, and I was 15 now, so my writing somewhat improved with this entry. (I’ve been dumping on my old self this entire blog, so spare me a moment of self-congratulatory sentiment. Don’t worry; it won’t last long.) As you can tell from the cover, even though I was older, I was still misplacing the accents in the title. Also, the second tagline, as if the book needed one, “Watch as they take back what was rightfully theirs,” isn’t as inspiring as the first one. (See? I’m back to self-bashing.)

Strangely—or interestingly, if I’m being charitable—the book doesn’t open with any of the previous characters. I guess this makes sense since their entire universe imploded at the end of the last one. Yes, we’re in a “parallel dimension,” as the subtitle promised, and our main character is a stuffy science student named Charles Richard (because one name wasn’t enough) who writes a term paper titled “Repetitious Feelings.” (Eh? Get it? Because of déjà…never mind.)

Flashforward 12 years later, and poor Charles (or Richard, if I’m calling him by his last name) is a geeky, frustrated scientist being haunted by strange dreams of the characters from the former books trying to communicate with him. He tells his wife this proves his theory that before Earth was created, God made a “test copy”—the world that was destroyed at the end of the last book. He creates a “dream machine” to see images of the people from the other world calling out to him. It doesn’t work, so he destroys it, but based on his theory that there are copies of everyone in the world in the other dimension, he comes up with a clever plan to find the people in his dreams. He draws their images on posters and places them around town with the promise of a cash reward if the people show up at his house. Someone does, proving his theory.

Then there’s a scene that genuinely spooked me. Charles notices his neighbor’s Christmas lights blinking on and off across the street. After staring at them a moment, he realizes it’s Morse code, and it’s the people from the other dimension trying to talk to him. So not only do I need to sue New Line Cinema, now it looks like I need to sue the Duffer brothers, creators of Stranger Things. I kid! But man, I did get there first.

The Christmas lights message is an address, so he drives there and discovers a time capsule with the words “Bury me” written in dirt. He does so, and, of course, all hell breaks loose. (This is a Déjà Vu story, after all.) He’s swept up into the alternate universe—oh, sorry, “parallel dimension”—where the characters from the first two books are waiting for him, since they’re the ones who controlled the Christmas lights and somehow planted that other time capsule for him to cross over. Not gonna lie; it doesn’t make a lot of sense. To my credit, though, I was self-aware enough at 15 to break the fourth wall and make inside jokes of how confusing the story is.

Anyhoo, they decide to bury yet another time capsule in the same place as the first one, hoping to be able to cross over to the other world before the first one implodes again. It works, and as soon as they arrive in the new world, the characters from the first books go crazy and try to prevent anyone else from crossing. Charles tries to stop them, and they tie him up and grab a stash of weapons. I admit this comes completely out of the blue, but it looked like I just wanted to wrap up the story, and, as they say, “When things start getting dull, bring out the gun” (or something to that effect). Of course, there’s a big fight at the end, and long story short (too late?), the old characters from the first books get pushed back through the portal to their world, and the portal is sealed off forever. And, apparently, this time I meant it, because there was no Déjà Vu 4.

The book ends strangely (just as it began), though, as it’s centered on the scientific and militaristic (he becomes gung-ho at the end defeating the other characters) triumphs of Charles. He was the main character of this story after all, but still, it would’ve been nice to have one last hurrah with the original boys from the first two books.

Believe it or not, even though it’s the third book in the series, this is probably the best written of the Déjà Vu trilogy. It helps that I was older and my vocabulary was somewhat expanded, although there are some alliterative groaners, like this classic line: “A rouse of rebellious rounds ricocheted off the second realm of repetitious roamers, ramming them into the rafters.” This book also introduced the concept of people from another world trying to cross over but coming in a second too late, thereby becoming trapped in a déjà vu vision—an idea I used for the full-length novel Déjà View.

So that’s it! Now you know the other stories in the Déjà Vu/View sequels. And why I won’t ever write another one.

MTP

P.S.: Next week’s blog: The First (and Possibly Last) Déjà View Goodreads Giveaway!

P.P.S.: Ronda Reef! (I had to do it one more time.)

P.P.P.S.: Déjà View is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

AmazonBarnes & Noble

A Déjà View FAQ!

FAQ me.

Well, I did a Frequently Asked Questions for Danger Peak, so I suppose I have to do it again for my new novel, Déjà View. Needless to say, this blog contains major spoilers to my book, so if you haven’t read it yet, you might want to skip this one. Here are the questions, in no order:

Is Déjà View autobiographical?

This is a question I was also asked a lot when I was promoting Danger Peak, and while I answered “Yes” (or “somewhat”) about my first book, I would say this book is even more autobiographical. In fact, it’s probably the most autobiographical thing I’ve ever written—particularly the first half. Almost everything that happens in the first half happened to me in real life, even specific conversations the characters have. For instance, there’s an early conversation in the first chapter when Joe asks Bobby if he thinks there’ll ever be a Black president, and Bobby makes a bad joke by saying, “Probably not. Why do you think they call it The White House?” I knew many people were going to think this was a lame reference to Obama becoming president years later, but this was a literal conversation I had with my friend in early 1989 after George Bush became president (the first/better-ish one). And no, Bobby—and I—weren’t being racist. It wasn’t a joke about race; it was a bad pun about wordplay. Most of the rest of the stuff that happens—with entertaining exaggerations, of course—actually happened to me (again, in the first half of the book), including that odd skeleton scene, which brings me to the next question.

So what’s with the skeleton?

This is probably the question I get asked the most. What was the point of Bobby seeing the skeleton in the classroom, and how does that relate to the rest of the book? Believe me, I wrestled with whether or not to keep this scene in the novel (I did delete an entire chapter, after all), but in the end, I decided to keep it, for the following reasons:

At this point in the book, nothing terribly exciting is happening (it’s still what I call the “normal half” of the book), and I knew readers might be getting impatient for the “good stuff,” so I added this creepy scene to further let the readers know that something spookular is coming and that things aren’t quite right in Bobby’s world, despite outward appearances. This is similar to Chuck E. “biting the big one” at his birthday party.As I explained in the last question, this actually happened to me, believe it or not (and I know many won’t), though it happened after religion class, not a Boy Scout meeting, as in the book. (Maybe the nuns pumped me with too much guilt that afternoon?) I was waiting for my Mom to pick me up and wandered down a deserted, darkened hallway in the school/church where I attended catechism. At the end of that hallway, I spotted a skeleton through the door’s glass window, and in my fevered imagination, I saw it bang its skeletal fist against the chalkboard, demanding I answer its question, as if it was some twisted teacher of mine. I ran down the other end of the corridor, never looking back. Now, in retrospect, that skeleton was almost certainly a prop for the biology/science department, but to explain the movement? I had a very overactive imagination as a child, which brings me to my last point.I’m sure you’ve heard of unreliable narrators, but I wanted Bobby to be an unreliable protagonist. No one believes him about the skeleton, and, likewise, no one believes him when he starts seeing his “déjà view” visions. I wanted the reader to question him, thinking, “Well, is he really seeing these repeated visions of his, or are they all in his mind, like the skeleton?” There’s a reason why the first proper chapter (after the Prologue) of this book is titled “Imagination Games.” In that chapter, Bobby literally sees Joe’s jungle gym transform into an interstellar starship (also based on a real memory), so in a way, I was planting the seeds of doubt in the reader about trusting this kid. I admit I may not have succeeded! But I’d like to think I gave it the ol’ college try.

Here, btw, is the actual hallway where I saw that skeleton in one of the classrooms. (My daughters now also attend this school for catechism, which is how I was able to get the photo.)

It’s much scarier when it’s dark.

How exactly does burying the time capsule allow the Doubles to cross over?

I toyed with the idea of explaining exactly how the time capsule allowed the Doubles to cross over in that giant exposition scene between Dr. Pann and Bobby (you know the one if you’ve read the book), but the more I thought about it, the more I realized no explanation I could come up with would be satisfying, since it’s simply not logical. (This is sci-fi, after all.) Would it make more sense saying that the time capsule was somehow magical and opened up a wormhole between dimensions in Bobby’s yard? Nope. So I took a page from my favorite movie, Groundhog Day, which also doesn’t waste time with an explanation for its supernatural elements. Even though the studio insisted on it, there’s no explanation given for why Phil Connors gets caught in a time loop. It just is. Not only is that explanation more Zen-like (there is no explanation at all), it’s more satisfying to me, because it can be whatever people want it to be. They can project their own reasons and rationale to the story. (For me, God is forcing him to become a better person in order to continue his life.) And, again to satisfy the studio, screenwriter Danny Rubin did write a scene explaining the time loop that director Harold Ramis promised he wouldn’t film (and didn’t). If you’re curious, Phil was cursed by a spurned ex-lover. She used a voodoo doll or something. I read it and don’t remember the entire thing. Again, it wasn’t very satisfying. Hence, no explanation given in the movie proper, or my novel either.

Why do the Doubles have “X”s on the backs of their hands?

No, despite popular belief, it’s not a reference to Generation X. Originally, it was just a way to discern which ones were regular people and which ones weren’t. As the idea developed, however, I devised a clever way (if I do write so myself) to use the “X” as a means of escape for Bobby and Anna. Thinking back on the origin of the “X” though, I suppose I got the idea from my sister—without her realizing it. In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, we used to spend Friday nights watching the T.G.I.F. lineup on ABC (Family Matters, Full House, Just the Ten of Us, and, our personal favorite, Perfect Strangers) until one night, she wasn’t home, and I realized I had the T.V. to myself. At first, I was thrilled (“I can flip the channels during the commercials now!”), but it quickly—and, perhaps, unsurprisingly—became lonely. When my sister returned from her “nights out,” I noticed she had “X”s on the backs of her hands drawn with black marker. This was because she was going to all-ages hardcore/punk shows, and since she wasn’t old enough to drink, they marked the backs of her hands so the bartenders wouldn’t serve her. So, in a way, my sister started out as a child watching silly family sitcoms with me in my bedroom, and then she entered “the Real World” (or at least a teenaged approximation of it) and came back a different person. She was grown up, and the only evidence were those blasted “X”s. Of course, growing up is the major theme of Déjà View.

Will there be a Déjà View 2?

Short answer: Nope! Long answer: I already wrote Déjà View 2…and 3! (when I was a kid) And they weren’t very good! (This was the exact same answer I gave for my Danger Peak FAQ, so did you experience déjà vu?) But I’ll save that for next week’s blog.

MTP

P.S.: Next week’s blog: My Original Vision for Déjà View (and Its Sequels)

P.P.S.: Déjà View is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

AmazonBarnes & Noble

The First (and Last) Déjà View Photo Essay

I know. I’m not an artist.

Well, since I did a behind-the-scenes photo essay for my first novel, Danger Peak, I suppose I have to do it again for Déjà View. Stop pulling my arm! Okay, I pulled my own arm on this one, and it smarts! (That sounds dirty.) Let’s start with the original cover I drew for my publishing house so they would have some idea of what I wanted when real artists worked on it:

Here is my original design for the book’s cover. (Please overlook my terrible artwork.) Basically, I wanted the main trio of boys in the book to be digging something mysterious under the light of the moon. I thought it might be an intriguing image, similar to the motorbike riding up the supernatural mountain on the cover of Danger Peak, and maybe readers would be interested to crack open the book to discover what exactly is going on. I added several shadows behind the logo to reinforce the theme of reoccurring images. My publisher tried doing that, but the design ended up giving me a headache, so we went with a simpler design that included only one shadow. Here is the headache-inducing cover:

And here again is the finalized cover:

I wanted nifty little chapter designs for this book, similar to the lightning bolts opening each chapter in Danger Peak. I thought a shovel was an appropriate image since the digging of the time capsule is the main impetus that triggers the strange events in my book. Here is my original design:

Here is the actual design:

As you can see, it’s a lot bigger than I planned, but these are the compromises you make when you publish!

Some people might know (if you’ve read or listened to any interviews) that the idea for Déjà View is based on a short story I wrote when I was 13 in 1990, when it was simply titled Déjà Vu, but the first half is actually based more on a novella called The Three of Us that I wrote in my late teens/early 20s. (I don’t remember exactly when it was.) It traced the rise and fall of my relationship with my two childhood best friends. For my second novel, I knew I couldn’t simply transcribe exactly what happened, as that would bore the reader, so I exaggerated here and there and also provided some much-needed supernatural symbolism about the ending of childhood (the death of Chuck E. Cheese, anyone?). Here is the cover:

The references to The Four Seasons and The Next Four Seasons at the top of the cover were other novellas I wrote that were basically glorified diary entries in search of a story. You’re not missing anything.

Here is the very first cover of Déjà Vu I drew when I wrote the short story as a child:

As you can see from the drawing below that closes the book, it had a much darker ending. Basically, the main character goes crazy in a mental hospital and, while strapped tightly in a straightjacket, uses telekinesis to move a scalpel across the room and strike his shoulder blade in an effort to kill himself. Fun times! (Also, judging from the character’s strange rictus grin, it seems I was at least partly inspired by The Joker from the original Batman, which had only been released a year before.)

As I wrote before, the first half of this book is extremely autobiographical (with exaggerations, of course), so the stationery store that Bobby and his friends frequent (that also plays a pivotal role in the finale) is indeed based on a real stationery store in my hometown. The original sign is no longer there, but this is what it looks like today:

It was originally called the J & B Stationery Store, and no, there was no listing of the addictive products it sold on the storefront. The flickering store sign in the book was my invention. But they did have Garbage Pail Kids and Batman trading cards!

Believe it or not, the story about the skeleton in the book is based on a real memory. (There will be more about this in the next blog.) For now, here is a photo of the building that included the classroom where I saw that skeleton. (That’s actually a shot of the wing where it happened.) It’s much spookier at night! It wasn’t my junior high, like in the book, but a religious school where I attended catechism. (Again, more on that in a future blog.)

This may seem random, but yes, below is the photo of a real diner close to where I live. (In fact, I’m there all the time.) You might say, given the J. M. Barrie quote that opens the book, the theme of not wanting to grow up, and the last name of Bobby’s therapist, it served as some inspiration for Déjà View.

While my elementary school didn’t bury its own time capsule, as in the book, below is the courtyard of my grammar school that I pictured for the scene of its burial. As for the tree dedicated to a deceased student, it was actually located in my junior high courtyard, and the student was my brother.

Although the school time capsule was made up, the one that Bobby and his friends bury is actually based on a real event. I buried pictures of my cartoon characters. (I originally wanted to be a cartoonist, but judging from the first cover of Deja View that I drew above, I think I chose wisely not to pursue that profession.) My friend Joe (yes, I used his real name) buried a knife (I believe it was the Swiss Army version) that he won from Cub Scouts, and my other friend, who I’m still friends with today, buried a blanket. So the “blankie” that gets buried in Deja View is the only item based on real life, though we didn’t use a He-Man action figure case to store the items, as in the book. It was a regular old shoebox. Imagine our shock when we checked on the “capsule” months later only to find the box mostly shredded and mulched, back to the earth from whence it sprang. We never found the other items. Below is that same patch of earth in my parents’ backyard today. The “capsule” would’ve been somewhere near the sprinkler head.

That’s all for this week. If you have any questions, stay tuned for the next blog, same Perone time, same Perone channel.

MTP

P.S.: Next week’s blog: A Déjà View FAQ!

P.P.S.: Déjà View is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

AmazonBarnes & Noble

The 10 Most Underrated Christmas Songs

Best. Christmas Album. Ever.

This week, I’m taking a break from Déjà View news (I know, I know; it’s getting exhausting) to dip into the well of Christmas past and dig out this oldie but goodie from my blog book Lists, Life, and Other Unimportant Details: The 10 Most Underrated Christmas Songs. (It’s presented in a slightly different format in the book.) Again, you can snag your free PDF copy of this book by signing up for my blog at the following link:

Michael Thomas Perone Blog/Free Book

To celebrate one of our most cherished seasons, I decided to compile a list of my favorite Christmas songs. Taking the advice from one of my friends, I’m replacing the word “best” with “favorite,” unless I incite a riot. I also had to replace the word “carols” with “songs,” since I kind of cheated with this list; some of these songs aren’t carols at all but taken directly from Christmas specials. I tried to include not just the title but also the singers/performers of a particular version I like. Here we go (in no order):

1) “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” –Rolf the Dog and John Denver
It’s less than 2 minutes, but Rolf and John make beautiful music together, even if half of their duo is a furry, inanimate Muppet. Sweet and tuneful in its simplicity, with Rolf accompanying John’s vocals on piano, it fortunately keeps the newer, less depressing lyrics, ditching the inferior, bleak lines, like, “From now on, we’ll have to muddle through somehow.” My favorite line is, “From now on, our troubles will be out of sight,” because it reminds me, during all the crazy hustle and bustle of the season, to just relax and enjoy it. Christmas is supposed to be fun. Besides, I like the idea of leaving your worries for the rest of the year.

2) “Silver Bells” –the version from The Radio City Christmas Spectacular
This is the quintessential New York City Christmas song (sorry “A New York City Christmas”), and, working here every day, it’s hard not to think of the lyrics, “City sidewalks, busy sidewalks” when you’re shoving past store-friendly tourists and Salvation Army Santas clogging the walkways. The reason I chose the Radio City version is because when I first saw the show as a kid, I remember thinking how appropriate this song choice was, given my Manhattan surroundings.

3) “Silent Night/Let It Snow” –Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men? Smells like the ‘90s. Maybe so, but this unique medley proved that the “Boyz” were more “Men” while singing a cappella on the first part; they always sounded better without instruments. They even performed this “Silent Night” version on a Christmas-themed episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. (Now it really smells like the ‘90s!) Still, the “Let It Snow” capper was predictably funky, in that “I-wanna-get-close-to-you-by-the-fireside” kinda way.

4) “I Wish It Could Be Christmas All Year Long” –Larry Groce
Christmas is a time to remember what it was like to be a kid again, and when I was one, I played the record Disney’s Merry Christmas Carols nonstop during the festive season. My favorite song happened to be an original. I guarantee you’ve never heard this one before, but once you do, it’ll instantly sound familiar, like a classic you’ve known for years. Luckily for me, it already is.

5) “I Still Believe in Santa Claus” –Joey McIntyre
Yes, that Joey McIntyre. The one from New Kids on the Block. Now we enter surreal territory. Speaking of playing childhood records nonstop, my sister, as most of her friends did at the time, played this New Kids Christmas album over and over, and this was my favorite song off it, if for no other reason than my nostalgic memories of it and the fact that the song itself is about nostalgia. Joey was wishing he was still a kid again while I was still a kid myself listening to it. I told you this would be a surreal entry.

6) “Christmas Is Here” –Desiree Goyette and Ed Bogas
Better known as the song from A Garfield Christmas, this tune is suspiciously titled like the one from A Charlie Brown Christmas (“Christmas Time Is Here”), I suppose hoping to ape its success. And while it never did reach the former song’s popularity, it never fails to draw at least one tear from me upon each annual viewing, especially in light of its last line: “Keep Christmas here…in your heart.” As an added Christmas treat, the singer and songwriter ended up marrying each other and—more than three decades later—are still happily married. Aw.

7) “What Child Is This” –Dar Williams
To me, this song really is “what Christmas is all about,” to quote Linus from the aforementioned “Peanuts” special; it perfectly juxtaposes Jesus’ divinity with his humanity: “Raise, raise your song on high/while Mary sings a lullaby.” Beautiful.

8) “Oh, What a Merry Christmas Day” –from Mickey’s Christmas Carol
I had this special on an audiotape before I even saw the animated version, and besides the adapted Dickens story, it also included a whole album’s worth of extra songs, with such corny titles as “Being Tight Is Not Alright,” “Under the Mistletoe,” and two versions of “This Is the Way Christmas Ought to Be,” but this song is by far the best and understandably only one they kept for the video.

9) “Even a Miracle Needs a Hand” –from ’Twas the Night Before Christmas
While we’re on the subject of songs from Christmas specials, this one may be the granddaddy of them all, second only to “Christmas Time Is Here.” Ironically, the lyrics have nothing to do with Christmas, but the clever alliteration still kills me: “You hope, and I’ll hurry/You pray, while I’ll plan.”

10) “That Spirit of Christmas” –Ray Charles
We’re back to somber Christmas ballads. You may remember this one from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, underscoring perhaps the only peaceful moment in an otherwise frenetic, maniacal comedy.

Merry Xmess!

MTP

P.S.: Next week’s blog: The First (and Last) Déjà View Photo Essay

P.P.S.: Déjà View is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

AmazonBarnes & Noble

Déjà View Is Getting Revamped!

The cover isn’t changing.

Similar to Danger Peak, Déjà View is going through some changes. But unlike my first book, there probably won’t be a third edition. I went back and forth with my publisher and changed as much as I wanted before “pushing the button,” so to speak, on this next—and, likely—final version. So, what exactly is changing?

Like my debut novel, I’m adding a “Praise for…” section to open the book, a series of professional reviews to assure my dear readers they won’t be wasting their time reading the book in their hands, as brave souls on good authority have already done the work to vet my second novel.

Additionally, there were a surprising amount of typos in the original version of Déjà View. I suppose this makes sense since it’s almost 100 pages longer than Danger Peak. So, for example, on page 77, where it reads, “…we starting buying more Batman comics,” it should read, “…we started buying more Batman comics.”

I also reworded part of the copy on the back cover. The phrase “being haunted by ghostly doppelgangers” describes poor Bobby’s predicament a bit more accurately than simply “seeing doubles.”

Finally, I purposefully didn’t want to go overboard with the ‘80s references in this one, in contrast to Danger Peak. (My Dad mentioned reading my first novel was like driving down a highway and constantly being interrupted by ‘80s billboards.) But I did throw in one more juicy ‘80s reference in Déjà View, and once you read it, you’ll get the pun I just made.

I’ll be honest: Is it worth snagging another copy if you already own one? Probably not, unless you’re a stickler for perfect grammar. (Hey, Publishers Weekly still gave the original version an “A” for Editing.) But if you still haven’t picked up Déjà View, now is the perfect time for yourself or others. It’s the giving season, after all!

MTP

P.S.: Next blog: The 10 Most Underrated Christmas Songs

P.P.S.: Déjà View is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

AmazonBarnes & Noble

Read a Deleted Scene From Déjà View

I love this meme.

Note: This post was published earlier on the Character Madness and Musings blog. You can read it there at the link below, or simply continue reading below the link:

Character Madness and Musings Blog

One point my beta readers kept making about my new novel, Déjà View, was that it was “taking too long to get to the good stuff.” In Simpsons parlance, they wondered, “When are they going to get to the fireworks factory?” In a way, you could say this novel has a split personality. The first half is a fairly standard, coming-of-age story (it’s also the most autobiographical thing I’ve ever written), while the second part is what I affectionately refer to as the “crazy half.” That’s when my protagonist, Bobby Dalton, starts seeing his so-called “déjà view” visions, and his whole world gets turned upside down. As much as I loved the “normal half” of my book, I could see my beta readers had a point. Also, side note, if one person tells you something about your book, you can ignore it. If two or more people make the exact same point, you better make some changes.

By far, the largest cut I made was excising an entire chapter (not presented here in this blog), but I made other cuts as well, such as the following excerpt. One rule I had was that if something mentioned in the “normal half” of my book didn’t come up again in the “crazy half,” I would cut it. By design, I wanted the goings-on in the first half to comment on what’s to come in the second half, and vice-versa; the second half reflects back on what transpired in the first half.

In the following deleted scene, taken from Chapter Eleven: How I Spent My Summer Vacation, Bobby reminisces about the time he ran into a “rival gang” in his neighborhood, which is based on a similar incident from my childhood; even the gang’s name is the same as the one from real life. (I warned you the first half of this book is extremely autobiographical.) I wanted to show the reader that there were other groups of kids in the world of my novel that hung out, but they never appear again in the book, so, based on my self-imposed rule, I deep-sixed the scene. Besides, there’s already a cameo from the Wild Boars, the motorbike-riding gang from my debut novel Danger Peak, in an earlier chapter, so that ticked off that box. You could say this violated my rule, since the Wild Boars only appear very briefly (one sentence!), but in this specific case, I made an exception. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little self-promotion of your other books!

Note that the excerpt taken from this chapter is in first-person perspective, because it reads as one of Bobby’s diary entries to set it apart from the rest of the novel, which is in third-person perspective:

We continued our Monster Club and actually ran into a different club while riding our bikes. They were hanging around outside the fence of one of their member’s homes and seemed to be “guarding their territory.” They set up a line of wooden crates to block our path and wouldn’t let us pass unless we paid a “toll.” Max warned them not to mess with us because we were monsters. Joe hid his face in shame as Max explained we got the idea from the movie The Monster Squad. They called themselves the Bulldogs.

“Why are you guys called that?” Joe asked. “’Cause that’s what your Moms look like?” The Bulldogs looked like they wanted to jump us.

“It’s a lot better than stealing a movie title for your club name!” the tallest one shouted back. We guessed that he was their leader.

“Are you kidding me?” Max asked. “They stole it from us!” I gave Max a concerned glance, and in return, he gave me a knowing wink.

“Let’s get outta here!” Joe ordered and pedaled away, breaking through the blockade the Bulldogs had set up.

“Hey!” Max protested, following close behind. “I’m the leader here!”

“Since when?” I asked and also pedaled as fast as I could. For a moment, it looked like the Bulldogs might give chase, but there was no way they could catch up to our bikes on foot, so they gave up. The leader called us a coward, and I have to admit, it stung a little, but what choice did we have? From then on, we stayed clear of that block and never saw them again.

MTP

P.S.: Next week’s blog: A Christmas Oldie but Goodie

P.P.S.: Déjà View is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

AmazonBarnes & Noble

The End of the Tour

Highly underrated movie.

Well, it’s the last day of the blog tour for Déjà View, courtesy of Rockstar Book Tours. And while it didn’t go off without a hitch (still waiting for your posts, A Backwards Story, Rajiv’s Reviews, and Gryffindor Bookish Nerd), I was mostly pleased. Here are the remaining blogs about my book that I haven’t posted yet:

Sandra’s Book Club (interview)Kim’s Book Reviews (review)Character Madness and Musings (a guest blog I wrote about a deleted scene from Déjà View)The Momma Spot (excerpt)Country Mamas With Kids (review)

All of the blogs above are also giving away a free copy of the book, so make sure you check them out to enter the contest, which ends in a few days. There were also several Instagram posts in the past 2 weeks about Déjà View. Just check my Instagram to see which posts I was tagged in.

While I’m talking about the tour, I’d just like to don my ranting cap for a sec about Kim’s Book Reviews. With the exception of an introductory clause to one sentence, her review of my book was an all-out rave, by any objective view. It was filled with phrases like, “compelling,” “Perone’s narrative brilliantly unfolds,” and “keeping readers on the edge of their seats.” She goes on: “Déjà View not only excels in delivering an enthralling adventure but also delves into profound themes.” Then she echoes the back-cover copy, before concluding with, “Perone’s ability to seamlessly weave these elements into a middle-grade narrative showcases the depth and versatility of his storytelling.” Finally, she caps the review with the following: “The author’s exploration of universal themes, coupled with memorable characters and a unique twist on the coming-of-age genre, makes Déjà View an excellent choice for young readers and educators alike. The book not only offers a gripping tale of time travel but also provides a platform for discussions on friendship, decision-making, and the complexities of adolescence.”

So what’s my gripe? She rated the book 3 and a half stars. At first, I thought it was out of a possible 4, but I checked her rating system, and it’s out of 5. I then thought she must be a harsh reviewer, but most of her reviews are rated 4 or more stars. Did she accidentally leave off a star? (For comparison, Country Mamas With Kids gave Déjà View 4 and a half out of 5 stars and also mentioned in an Instagram post that it was one of the blogger’s favorite books of the year.) Again, only part of one sentence in Kim’s review was negative, and here it is: “While the novel may test the patience of readers eager for immediate time-travel thrills, the payoff is undeniably worth it.” So even that sentence ended up positive. Also, earlier in her review, she mentions, “The deliberate pacing in the initial chapters allows readers to immerse themselves in the late ‘80s setting, a masterstroke that adds a nostalgic touch to the narrative.” So which is it? Was my deliberate pace trying on the readers’ patience or a “masterstroke”? It can’t be both! C’mon Kim, based on your review alone, my book deserves at least an extra half star.

Okay, rant over. And just in case Kim reads this blog, which is highly unlikely, I was only about 51% serious!

MTP

P.S.: Next week’s blog: Read a Deleted Scene From Déjà View

P.P.S.: Déjà View is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:

AmazonBarnes & Noble