Matthew Dicks's Blog, page 737
October 13, 2009
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?
[image error]
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...
October 10, 2009
The invincible Scott, and then everyone else
I was recently criticized for admitting to cataloging the weaknesses of the people I know, so that when and if I am engaged in a verbal confrontation, I have a means of exploiting their flaws, crushing their spirits and achieving victory.
If my opponent is a guilt-ridden procrastinator, for example, I might attempt to highlight this inability to achieve goals in order to degrade his or her self-confidence.
If my opponent is heavily invested in formal etiquette and the perceptions of...
October 9, 2009
No neck
One of my less than pleasing attributes is the absence of a neck. My head literally sits atop my shoulders. I once had a conversation with a coworker that went like this:
Me: Yeah, Elysha and I are afraid that the baby might have a huge head and no neck, just like its dad. Poor little thing.
Coworker: Don't be silly. You have a neck.
Me: No, I really don't. Just this big head stuck on a pair of shoulders.
Coworker: Don't be ridiculous. Show me your neck.
Me: Huh?
October 7, 2009
Book of the Month
A friend of mine, a member of the Book of the Month Club, sent me the pages from last month's magazine that included SOMETHING MISSING. I'm in the middle of reading PRIDE AND PREGUDICE AND ZOMBIES, and though this may sound a little silly, I can't tell you how thrilling it is to see my book alongside a novel that I am enjoying so much.
