Matthew Dicks's Blog, page 732
October 15, 2009
Death is not a deterrent
Whenever I speak about my book at a bookstore or library, I always encourage the members of my audience to begin writing. I tell them that anyone is capable of writing if they apply themselves, and I mean it. I think everyone should be working on a book. Regardless of a person's level of skill or experience, everyone has a story, whether it be fiction or otherwise.
Too few people take the time to commit these stories to paper.
Following my appearance at the retirement community on...
October 14, 2009
Out of print but still in demand
BookFinder.com tracks the most sought-after out-of-print titles in America and updates their list annually. It's an interesting list, usually populated by previously unheard-of books, but occasionally you find something of interest. This year's list includes:
Cameron Crowe's FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, the 1981 book where Crowe, as a free-lancer for Rolling Stone magazine, went undercover at a California high school and wrote about his experiences. Crowe later wrote a screenplay based...
October 13, 2009
Bad day
Not a bad day. I had a rotten day today.
It began as one of those days when all I wanted to do was stay home and play with my eight-year-old daughter. My wife and I used to work together, our classrooms just two doors apart, but she is taking the year off to be with Clara, which leaves me on some mornings lamenting the loss of my wife at work and my daughter from my entire day. As much as I enjoy teaching, I think that I could probably stay home with my daughter, playing with her...
Okay. Maybe there was one more youthful indiscretion
No sooner than I had declared what I thought was my one criminal act than a friend of mine reminded me of another youthful indiscretion. Again, this is not at the same level as Martin, the protagonist from SOMETHING MISSING, but it's a decent story that I thought I would share.
Hopefully this is the last story of criminal mischief that a friend will recall.
When I was nineteen years old, I was living on my own. My mother was impoverished and I hadn't spoken to my father in a very long...
October 12, 2009
My crime-riddled past
This afternoon I spoke at a local retirement community, discussing SOMETHING MISSING and the process by which the novel was written. I read a little bit from the book, talked about my life and the means by which I found an agent and got the book published, and answered a number of interesting questions from a group of older but very astute individuals.
One man asked me if I had ever known a thief like Martin, or if I had committed any crimes in my own past. I told him that my life was...
Revelation!
Two minutes after , a deleted character from Roald Dahl's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, I was told by my buddy, Shep, that Veruca Salt (another character from the book) was named after a verruca, a wart caused by the HPV virus and one that can be transmitted sexually.
That sly devil. The publisher may have edited out Herpes, but Dahl managed to squeeze in a different sexually transmitted disease in his place.
Talk about commitment.
October 11, 2009
Characters named after electronic device addiction and sexually transmitted diseases
Years ago, I was reading CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY to my students. It was the third year that I had read the book to one of my classes, and having grown bored with it, I decided to take liberties with the story, adding in three children that did not exist in the original text. I would hold the book in front of me, occasionally turning the pages, pretending to read, and instead I would describe the antics of three additional brats who the factory eventually consumed.
I don't remember...
BEST FLAG EVER
Have you ever seen a flag better than that of the Benin Empire?
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Deep thoughts
I found myself in a conversation yesterday, while standing outside a Barnes and Noble bookstore, about the essence of joy as it pertains to the admittedly illogical but unavoidable feeling of euphoria and despair associated with the love for a professional sports team, and how it compares to the joy that one (and probably only one) can receive from painting the walls of a home in a neutral shade in order to spend a year observing the seasonal light changes throughout the space before...
Resolution update: September 2009
In January of this year, I established a list of twelve New Year's resolutions. At the end of each month, I report on my progress as a means of holding myself accountable.
1. Finish my second novel before my birthday in mid February.
Done since mid-February, sold in June, and revisions completed in September. I have since returned my attention to book #3, which I would like to have finished in 2009.
2. Live a healthier lifestyle. Specifically:
· At least thirty minutes of aerobic...
