Len Vlahos's Blog, page 2

Cranky About the Olympics

I grew up in a neighborhood with a ton of kids. There were four Morrison children, four Murphys, two O’Connors, four (or five?) Finnerans, at least five and maybe seven Sullivans, and ten Fitzpatricks. You can tell by the names and numbers it was an Irish Catholic neighborhood, and I was the lone Greek kid. (I explore my Greek roots with Dmitri, the character I wrote in The Girl on the Ferris Wheel, my collaboration with Julie Halpern.) Ethnic homogeneity aside, Colonial Heights was a great place to come of age.

When we weren’t watching Gilligan’s Island and Brady Bunch re-runs, we were outside playing. We founded our own kid detective agencies, solving vexing neighborhood crimes; we emulated Fonzie and Evel Knievel, setting up ramps to jump our bicycles over garbage cans; we played Ringolevio, a game somewhere between hide and seek and all-out neighborhood war; and once every four years — notably in 1972 and again in 1976, when I was seven and eleven respectively — we staged a neighborhood-wide kid olympics.

The real Olympics was a big deal to us. It was the era of Mark Spitz, Frank Shorter, Edwin Moses, Bruce (now Caitlyn) Jenner, and the controversial US vs the USSR basketball gold medal final. (We were still a bit too young in 1972 to fully comprehend the horror of the Munich Massacre as it came to be known.) The Olympic Games dominated conversation, igniting our imaginations and our sense of national pride. None of the athletes — all amateurs — were known to us until the games began; by the time of the closing ceremonies, they were our heroes.

We went into our yards to try our hands at long jumps and high jumps. We took to the streets with 100-yard dashes and races around the very long block on which we lived (our marathon). We even had an ill-fated attempt at pole vault, using a broom stick. When it was time to award medals, I don’t have a specific memory of this, but I’m pretty sure we tried to sing the national anthem while decorating the victors.

It was amazing.

Flash forward half a century.

While my younger son is showing some interest in the Tokyo games, it’s not the same.

First, there are simply too many distractions. It was pretty easy for us to choose the decathlon over Greg and Marsha. Would we have made that same choice if we had RoBlox, Minecraft, and Mark Rober?

Second, even though I know it was probably something of a sham internationally, the athletes in the 1970s were amateurs. They competed for love of the game and love of country. After the Olympics, they went back to their lives as college students, actuaries, and truck drivers. Yes, the best of the best wound up with endorsement deals, but money was not the primary concern. Speed, agility, strength, and above all, mental fortitude were the currency of those games.

Third and finally, and here’s where you can call me especially cranky, do Beach Volleyball and Skateboarding really have a place in the Olympics? Don’t get me wrong, the competitors in each of these sports are insanely talented and train incredibly hard to be the best their nations have to offer. But both contests seem out of place. Skateboarding started as a counterculture expression of teen angst. To watch a panel of august judges to try to put that angst in a box is as ridiculous as enshrining rock and roll in a hall of fame. (Yeah, don’t get me started.) And isn’t beach volleyball a thing to do with your friends late in the afternoon when the sun is setting and the beer is flowing? That they Olympic Committee constructs a fake beach in a stadium makes it seem an awful lot like BASEketball

Interestingly, without my prodding, my son is asking to watch the traditional track and field events. He wants to see the long jump and hammer throw, the pole vault and the 100M. (He was all about Usain Bolt in the last Olympics.) He’s also interested in swimming and archery and was in awe of the female gymnasts on the uneven bars.  Maybe it’s his half-Greek blood (the other half, Irish, suggests I’m a product of my upbringing) that draws him to those classic contests of human physical and mental endurance. Whatever the case, it’s sad to me that he and his brother don’t view the games with the same fervor my friends and I once had. What I can’t figure out is if the games have changed, the times have changed, or I have changed. Probably all of the above.

Lastly, I can’t post about the Olympics without giving a shout out to the only Vlahos to ever compete in a modern Olympics — I like to think my ancestors in Ancient Greece were fierce competitors, but given my genetic allergy to sports, the ancient Vlahai were likely water bearers for the real athletes — my nephew Zach Vlahos, who was the cox in the men’s eight boat in London in 2012. I think of him every time I tune in.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

 

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Is It Bad this Feels Like a Vacation?

I’m twelve days into my new life as a full-time writer, and here’s what I’ve accomplished so far:

Played ice hockey, on three separate occasions,  in the middle of the day.Played one round of weekday golf.Slept until at least 9 a.m. all but one day.Read each morning before getting out of bed. (I just finished an advanced reader’s copy of  The Quiet Zone by Stephen Kurczy, and am now re-reading The Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson, MD,  the classic 70s treatise on the physiological benefits of meditation and other stress relieving techniques. Guess who is going to start meditating soon…)Played cards almost every night (a great game called Oh Hell!) with Kristen and her parents.Played a crapton (that’s a technical term) of piano. Since COVID began, my moment of Zen has been to learn songs I can play and sing on the piano. (I’m not especially good, but it brings me great joy. If enough people want to see it — you know, like a THOUSAND — I’ll recored myself singing something and post it. And really, like a THOUSAND!)Watched Richard Branson fly to the edge of space.And right now, playing with one of our two new kittens (Vlady) who is determined (hell-bent, I would say) to stop me from writing.

Something tells me I should he working harder.

Except….

From March 2020 through June 2021, I worked harder, longer, and in a more pressure-filled environment than at any time in my life. March through June of last year, I worked 80+ hours/week. That dropped to 60+ for the balance of 2020. All of that while facing the very real possibility of bankruptcy for our business. I published two books into the pandemic, both suffering as a result. I got COVID (serious enough to land in the hospital for four nights) last November. While Kristen and I were able to sell the business in December, which was a happy ending, the process of doing so left me reaching for the metaphorical Xanax. And finally, I helped the new owners of Tattered Cover settle in by opening not one, but two new bookstores before June 30 of this year.

In other words, I’m tired. Really freaking tired. My mind and body need to heal. I don’t think I realized just how much they need to heal. I’m allowing myself a less rigorous schedule through mid-August, and will hit the ground running after Labor Day. (We have a big family vacation in early August…more on that later.)

Of course, I haven’t been completely idle since July 1. In addition to the aforementioned leisure activities, I also:

Incorporated my agent’s comments into my new manuscript, finishing a not insubstantial revision, and sending it off for said agent’s review. Our plan is to go out on submission in September.Reached out to at least one institution of higher learning to inquire about teaching/facilitating a writing workshop.With my agent’s help, started to foster relationships with editors who might have ghost writing/work-for-hire gigs for which I can audition.Began work in earnest on a SkillShare.com session for new writers (look for that to be live by the end of August), including outlining the entire course, and crating a first draft of the video introduction.Mostly cleaned up my home office, unearthing some great old (personal) video clips, letters, and other memorabilia.

So, have I learned anything from all this? Actually yes. I can accomplish quite a bit of meaningful work as a writer, while also leading a fulfilling life. And yeah, I get it, hockey and golf are not entirely fulfilling. But recreation is the first step on this journey, not the last.

My schedule of writing, and work related to writing, will no doubt increase, and increase a lot, by this fall. Bring it on, I say. Even twice as busy as I am now will still be a helluva a lot better than the alternative. And, without new streams of income (from writing) our money will likely run out this time next year, so I’m highly motivated to succeed.

Strangely, I’m not really anxious, or maybe not as anxious as I should be, or maybe not as anxious as I will be, about any of this. And you know what? That’s a good thing.

 

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To Boldy Go Where So Many Have Gone Before

It’s here.

It’s finally freaking here!

When Kristen and I sold the Tattered Cover Bookstores in December, I agreed to stay on to help the new owners open two locations. That work is done, and as of today, July 1, 2021, my vocation is now full-time writer.

This is not retirement. Our kids have developed a nasty addiction to food, shelter, and clothing that will require money. It is a job. Just a job at which I really want to succeed.

In addition to my own books, I’m hoping to take writing-for-hire assignments, develop avenues of passive income related to writing, and maybe even teach. The goal is to stitch together enough streams of revenue to support our family. I have one year to figure it out.

Am I nervous about it? Yeah, of course. But I’ve managed to publish four of my own novels, and a fifth in collaboration with Julie Halpern, while working a series of very full-time days jobs and raising two kids. Now that I can devote all my energy to writing, I’m more excited than anxious, more hopeful than terrified.

I’ll be writing more in this space about this journey, and will likely engage more in social media, too, so stay tuned. In the meantime, let the writing begin.

 

 

 

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May the Horse Be With You

The way some people get excited about making their Oscar picks, I get excited for the Kentucky Derby. There’s a bit of history here.

In 1988, I was living in Atlantic City and working as the overnight radio voice of WFPG AM/FM. (That job is a story for another time.) Two college friends, Scott and Ed, called and asked if I wanted to go with them to the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore.

“That’s a horse race,” I said, “right?”

“Yep. And, oh, by the way, can you drive?”

Scott and Ed took a casino bus from NYC to the Jersey Shore, and met me early on a Saturday morning. I had worked the overnight shift, so had been awake since 1 p.m. the previous day. We got some food,  hopped in my car, and made the two hour drive to Baltimore.

I had no experience with, or really knowledge of, horse racing, or even the Triple Crown races (Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont Stakes). I didn’t know what to expect.

We paid thirty dollars to park on someone’s front lawn (it’s just how you do it on Preakness day), and made our way to the “infield.” The kindest description I can give the infield at either the Derby or Preakness is that of a drunken frat party. I’m not a party guy, and let me be clear, I’m not a frat guy. I was running on fumes, and the whole scene was kind of overwhelming. So I hunkered down, tried to tune out the beer swilling meatheads surrounding me, and focused on the racing. (If you haven’t been to the track, the featured race is one of twelve or thirteen contests that day, so you have hours to look at horses, pour over stats, and gamble.)

Scott & I at the KY Derby in 1995

Then, the worst possible thing that could have happened, happened. I picked the winner in the big race, a horse called Risen Star. I based my selection on the sole fact that Risen Star was a son of Secretariat, and hey, I’d heard of Secretariat. The thrill of cashing that ticket was like a hook in my mouth.

Scott, Ed, and I spent that summer going to the races in and around New York. I’ve since been to the Preakness a dozen times, the Derby four times (including my first trip on my 30th birthday — also a story for another time), and the Belmont Stakes nearly 20 times. I’ve been to tracks in California and Florida. Scott and I founded what was, at the time, the largest online horse race handicapping contest (the now defunct Public Handicapper). We went to Saratoga every summer. My first wife and I even played “I Got the Horse Right Here”(actually titled “Fugue for Tinhorns”) from Guys and Dolls while we cut our wedding cake. I was a horse player through and through.

Then, in 2008, 20 years after my first race, the best thing that could have happened, happened. I became a dad.

With demands on my time as a new father, and with a demanding day job, something had to give, so I retired my handicapping pen and said goodbye to active involvement in horse racing. Scott took sole control of Public Handicapper — which he has since parlayed into an awesome new site, Sport of Kings — and, stick a fork in me, I was done. Except, of course, for once a year.

Derby Week is still a big deal with me. I get the PPs (Past Performances) from the Daily Racing Form and dive deep on the race. I analyze the pace, class, speed, and breeding of every horse running. I look at every trainer and jockey, and their records on the track, at the distance, in stakes races. Kristen and I hold the best Derby part west of the Mississippi — last year, due to COVID, we slapped numbers on the backs of all the neighborhood kids and made them run around our cul de sac (they loved it) — and I make real world bets, very few of which ever pan out. But still… This is my week. (Side note to our many friends who have attended past Derby parties. For COVID safety reasons, we’re limiting this year’s party to neighbors only. Expect an invite next year, which, I promise, will be a blow out!)

So, on the foundation of that backstory, and with unbridled enthusiasm, I present to you my horse by horse analysis, in Post Position order (with #1 being closest to the rail and #20 being furthest from the rail) of this year’s Run for the Roses.

Known Agenda — No horse has won from the inside post since Ferdinand in 1986. The horse on the rail either has to burn a lot of early speed (in what is a very long race for three year old horses) or gets shuffled too far back. While it is technically the winningest post position since 1900, it has not fared well lately. Known Agenda did win the Fla Derby in his final prep for the KY Derby, but I didn’t like the way her bore out to the middle of the track in doing so. I think he regresses off that effort. I’m ignoring this horse completely.

Like the King — This post is even worse. No horse has won from post #2 since Affirmed began his Triple Crown winning campaign in 1978. Plus, this horse has been running against weaker competition. Instatoss.

Brooklyn Strong — This horse is 50-1 on the morning line, and at those odds, he’s intriguing. BUT, he’s also been running against weaker competition, his trainer is largely untested, his breeding is suspect, and it’s just too much of a stretch. Pass.

Keepmeinmind — This horse is my long shot bomb. He’ll be a very high price (morning line odds are 50-1), and offers real value. He was a STELLAR two year old, running in and finishing very well in the biggest stakes races in the country. While his three year old campaign has been lackluster, I’m finding enough reasons to forgive his two races in 2021 that I think he’s a very playable horse. Plus, the trainer is taking blinkers off for this race (an angle this train wins with fairly often), and he (the horse, not the trainer) had a monster workout last week. I’ll use him in all of my bets.

Sainthood — Too lightly raced and too untested against a field this strong. No thanks.

O Besos — Sounds like Oh Bezos. As in Jeff Bezos. Until recently I owned an independent bookstore. That alone disqualifies him (the horse and Jeff Bezos) in my mind. Plus, his best finish against good horses was a weak third. He’ll have to make a big step forward to win today, and I don’t see it.

Mandoloun — He finished up the track in the Louisiana Derby. Even if I make an excuse for that race — and I can’t find one — the rest of his line is simply unimpressive. His breeding is impeccable, which does scare me a bit, so he might be live long shot, but I’ll still play against.

Medina Spirit — Never worse than second running in all of the biggest races for two and three year olds on the West Coast. His trainer/jockey combo — Bob Baffert and JR Velazquez — is one of, if not the, winningest trainer/jockey combo in Derby history. He looks to improve off his last race, and is an incredibly live play at his ML odds of 15-1. I’ll use in all my bets.

Hot Rod Charlie — I should like this horse on the name alone (my son is Charlie), but there’s more to like here than just the name. His last race, a win in the Lousiana Derby, was a tour de force. He looked great in that race, and looks likely to improve. He finished second to today’s favorite in the biggest race last fall, losing by less than a length. Charlie is peaking at the right time. His morning line is 8-1, which is tasty, but he’s getting bet heavily on Sport of Kings, so don’t expect that price at post time.  Either way, a must use.

Midnight Bourbon — His breeding says he’ll like the KY Derby distance (1 1/4 miles), and he’s an accomplished runner. It will all come down to the pace for this guy. If the first half mile is fast (:47 or so), I think MB fades in the stretch. If it’s slow, look out. I plan to use him underneath in my superfecta.

Dynamic One — Slower, coming out of a suspect race, untested against good horses. Pass, pass, and pass again.

Helium — See above. No thanks.

Hidden Stash — While this horse seems to like Churchill Downs, he’s run poorly when facing good competition. I have to take a stand against.

Essential Quality — A deserving morning line favorite, Essential Quality is undefeated in five career starts. He’s gotten faster and more impressive with each successive race. The only thing I don’t like is the 2-1 ML price. I have to believe this horse will be there at the end, but will likely not offer enough value to use in 1st or 2nd place in my exotic bets (trifectas and superfectas, see below), so I’ll use him underneath.

Rock Your World — Also undefeated, but has only raced three times. He looks like he’ll want the lead, and breaking from all the way out in the 15th post position, he’ll have to spend a lot of energy early to run at the front of the pack, and/or he’ll run wide all the way around the track, which will make him tired at the end. I see this horse, who could be second or third choice in the betting, fading in that long Churchill stretch. I’ll take a stand against.

King Fury — He had a nice win in his last race out, but it was a come from behind win against a very hot pace. (This means the horses in the lead ran too fast too early and lost steam. King Fury was there to pick up the pieces.) When faced with better, he hasn’t performed. Pass.

Highly Motivated — He has the same sire as super horse Authentic, so you know he can get the distance, and you know he can win. He was only a neck behind the favorite in their last race, yet this horse is 8-1. I don’t like the post, but I love the value. I’ll play him in many of my bets.

Super Stock — This horse won the Arkansas Derby. I have been burned by more AK Derby winners than I care to remember, so I’m playing against on principle. Plus, with his running style, the outside post is just no good.

Soup and Sandwich — I was completely ignoring this horse until I talked to the aforementioned Scott. Still a very active horseplayer, Scott loves Soup and Sandwich, so I gave the horse a much harder and much longer look. Aaaaaannnnndddddd… I still think he runs up the track. He never raced as a two year old, has run in only one graded stakes race, and will get slaughtered in breaking from post #19. Scott and I haver a side bet as to which of our long shot bombs — Soup and Sandwich for Scott and Keepmeinmind for me — finishes better. The loser has to do a Wayne’s World style “I’m not worthy” video for the winner.

Bourbonic — Monster move from last to first to win the Wood Memorial in his final prep for the Derby, but that was a lackluster field. Even though the post doesn’t really hurt his running style, he’ll have to pass 19 horses here, compared to 8 in the Wood. Too tall an order.

My Picks:

1. Medina Spirit

2. Keepmeinmind

3. Hot Rod Charlie

4. Essential Value

5. Highly Motivated

6. Midnight Bourbon

My Bets:

$2 Win/Place/Show ($6)

Medina Spirit

(I win if the horse finishes first, second or third)

$2 Win/Place/Show ($6)

Keepmeinmind

$2 Win/Place/Show ($6)

Hot Rod Charlie

$1 Exacta Box ($30) 

Medina Spirit/Keepmeinmind/Hot Rod Charlie/Essential Value/Highly Motivated/Midnight Bourbon

(I win if any combination of these six horses finish first and second)

$1 Trifecta ($16) 

1st – Medina Spirit/Keepmeinmind
2nd – Medina Spirit/Keepmeinmind/Hot Rod Charlie
3rd – Medina Spirit/Keepmeinmind/Hot Rod Charlie/ Essential Value/Highly Motivated/Midnight Bourbon

(I win if I pick the horses in order to finish first, second, and third)

$1 Superfecta ($36) 

1st – Medina Spirit/Keepmeinmind
2nd – Medina Spirit/Keepmeinmind/Hot Rod Charlie
3rd – Medina Spirit/Keepmeinmind/Hot Rod Charlie/ Essential Value/Highly Motivated
4th – Medina Spirit/Keepmeinmind/Hot Rod Charlie/ Essential Value/Highly Motivated/Midnight Bourbon

(I win if I pick the horses in order to finish first, second, third, and fourth)

Total Bets: ($100)

Now, if you’re smart, you’ll look at the horses I picked, and choose any one of the others.

Good luck, and May the Horse Be With You!

 

 

 

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The Book Tour Playlist that Never Was

Hard Wired, my fourth book, came out last summer. As was the case with my first and third books — The Scar Boys and Life in a Fishbowl — a book tour was planned. (There was no book tour for my second book, Scar Girl, but that’s a story for another time.) I was to visit schools and bookstores in several parts of the country.

But then…

A pandemic.

A stay at home order.

A lock down.

No book tour. No school visits. No bookstore events. No airplane flights, hotel room nights, or angry bar fights. (I’ve never actually been in an angry bar fight, but lists of three work better than lists of two when telling a story, and I needed something that rhymed.)

And, importantly, no book tour playlist.

I made playlists for both The Scar Boys book tour and the Life in a Fishbowl book tour. The music kept me grounded while on the road, and creating and sharing those lists brought me back to the days of making cassette mix tapes, an art now largely lost.

Even with more and more people getting vaccinated and a return to normalcy finally (hopefully) on the horizon, it really is too late to tour for Hard Wired. But just because I’m not traveling, doesn’t mean I can’t make a playlist, right?

So, with great pleasure, I present you the Hard Wired Book Tour that Never Was, Playlist. I started with a pandemic theme, but quickly went astray. In the end, I decided to do what I always do when making a mix — go with songs I like, songs that mean something to me (sometimes something only I know), and songs still feel relevant, even if many of them are older. Enjoy, and please let me know what you think.

It’s the End of the World (R.E.M.) — Ok, sure, this is an obvious opening song for a world catastrophe mix. It works for pandemics, natural disasters, politics, and more. You gotta love how multi-purpose it is. I also once got a speeding ticket going 65 in a 40, simply because I was grooving to this song while behind the wheel. (Plus, there’s that whole connection to Peter Buck thing…)

We Will Become Silhouettes (The Shins cover of the Postal Service song) — Another really good end of the world song, though this one is, I think, supposed to be about a nuclear holocaust.

I’m So Tired (Beatles) — Because, you know, I am. All the time. This, along with “Dear Prudence,” are two of my favorite John Lennon songs.

We Oughta Be Drinking (Sheryl Crow) — This became a go-to favorite of mine during the pandemic. It’s off of Sheryl Crow’s really excellent country album, Feels Like Home.

Must’ve Been Drunk (Merle Haggard) — Sometimes playlists need good segues, and this is one of them. Thanks to my friend Eileen Powers for introducing me to this song years ago.

Fri?end (Kate Nash) — I just love Kate Nash and this whole album (Girl Talk).

A Shop with Books In (The Bookshop Band) — You would think this list would include Awake, the song The Bookshop Band wrote inspired by Hard Wired. As much as I love that song, I love this even one more. I can listen to it over and over again. (The video, linked from the song title, is really charming, too.) Every book tour playlist should include at least one song about books.

Yeah Yeah Oi Oi (Infant Sorrow) — Get Him to the Greek is a top ten all-time favorite film of mine. Part of the reason is the music. Just like Stillwater in Almost Famous, the music written for the fictitious band in the film, Infant Sorrow, is perfect. This is one of my favorite tracks.

My Stunning Mystery Companion (Jackson Browne) — Because Jackson Browne. Early on in the pandemic I started teaching myself songs on the piano (watch for a post on that soon, too), and Jackson Browne’s catalog provided great fodder for that endeavor. I spent a lot of time learning “The Load Out” and “Rosie,” off of Running on Empty. So why not include one of those tracks? Because I just love this one. Maybe I’ll adapt it for the piano, too.

I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will be Forever) (Stevie Wonder) — The soundtrack to High Fidelity is a top five all-time soundtrack. (See what I did there?) And this is one of my favorite songs from the film. Plus, you can never go wrong with Stevie Wonder.

Pleasant Sounds (Jessica Seidel with Len Vlahos) — Yes. I included one of my own songs. I’ve written hundreds of songs over the long course of my life, and this is one of the best. This simple, low tech recording of a guitar and vocal, featuring my friend Jess’s beautiful voice, just works. It’s something I’m proud of, and it makes me happy to hear it, so I’ve included it on my mix. Is that weird? (The track is linked from the song title.)

Tears of a Clown (Smokey Robinson & the Miracles) — It was, is, and will always be the perfect pop song. If you don’t sing along to this, go to urgent care and have them check for a pulse.

Mary Mary (Run DMC) — A few years ago Kristen and I had the good fortune to meet Daryl McDaniel of Run DMC. Anyone who was alive in the 80s listened to and fell in love with Run DMC, the two of us included. This is probably my favorite track of theirs.

Running to Stand Still (U2) –– One of my favorite U2 songs off one of the best albums ever recorded, and another song I learned on the piano during the pandemic.

Oh Sweet Nuthin (Velvet Underground) — Another nice segue moment, and one of my favorite Velvet Underground songs. Wait. I think this was on the High Fidelity soundtrack, too! Wasn’t it?

Wetsuit (The Vaccines) — Of course I was going to include something from The Vaccines. I mean, duh.

Carry On (F.U.N.) — Since the first few songs on the playlist are about the end of the world, I thought I should end, as this pandemic seems to be ending, on a hopeful note. These final four songs, staring with “Carry On,” make me feel like everything is going to be okay.

Toes (Zac Brown Band) –I love, love, love Zac Brown’s voice. And I love the message here… life is good today.

L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. (Noah and the Whale) — I bought this album at a record shop in London years ago. I asked the clerk to sell me records from really good bands that maybe weren’t as popular in the U.S. Among others, she handed me Last Night on Earth by Noah and the Whale. SUCH a good record.

Ray of Light (Madonna) — The groove in this song is infectious, and I would argue the vocal — raw and stretched to the edge of her range — is Madonna’s all-time best. I’m not the biggest Madonna fan overall, but this is a great, great track, and a perfect ending to this mix. And yeah, way down there at the end of the tunnel, there is a ray of light, and I’m pretty sure it’s not another train.

 

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Meet My New Agent

I’m thrilled to announce I’m now represented by Allison Hellegers of the Stimola Literary Studio. Both Allison and the agency have a tremendous reputation in the world of literature for young people, and I feel really fortunate to now be a part of their family. I’m so excited to work with Allison on the next phase of my writing career. Yay! My previously published books will continue to be represented by the most excellent Sandra Bond of the Bond Literary Agency.

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Weird Kind of Limbo

I’m living in a weird kind of limbo.

Until recently, my wife and I were the owners of the Tattered Cover Bookstores. It was an incredible privilege to have been the stewards of this 50-year-old Denver institution. But the impact of COVID took its toll on the business financially, and without an outside infusion of cash, we and the stores were headed for the trash heap of history. Thankfully, that story has a happy ending. We found two buyers to bring in not only the needed capital, but a brilliant and achievable vision for the future.

Huzzah!

Part of the deal has me sticking around until June 30 of this year, to help the new owners settle in, and to open two new locations (projects started before the sale and before the pandemic hit).

And so here I am, with work still to be done, but with the status of a lame duck.

It’s WEIRD.

To go from being the Grand Poobah to that odd-guy-in-the-corner-who-used-to-do-something-important-around-here is, well, unsettling. Don’t get me wrong, the new owners have treated me well, and my (former?) colleagues still smile when I say hello. Only now, I’m kind of like that uncle at family reunions who used to be cool, but frittered his life away on bad investments and poker tournaments.

More important than where I am today, is where I’m going. In addition to wrapping things up at TC, I’m spending my time laying the ground work for the next chapter of my life. Beginning July 1, I’m planning to start a new career. Want to guess what it is?

Here’s a quick quiz:

Starting in July, Len’s vocation will be

A) Zamboni Driver at the local ice rink
B) Astrophysicist
C) FULL TIME WRITER!!!
D) Teaching Golf Pro

Just in case the BOLDED CAPS didn’t give it away, the correct answer is C) Full Time Writer.

Yep, I’m going to see if I can make a go of it writing for a living. I’ll work on my own books (writing and promoting), ghost write, take freelance gigs, teach, speak, whatever it takes. I’m giving myself six months to a year to make it work. If after that time I can’t put food on the table (literally), I’ll find something else to do. (If that’s the case, Zamboni driver is a distinct possibility. I don’t have the education to be an astrophysicist, and I suck at sports.)

I am SO excited to give this a try. Since 2014, I’ve managed to publish four and a half books and go on two full book tours, all while holding down a variety of very full-time jobs and being actively involved in raising our two sons. Until now, I haven’t been able to devote more than an hour a day (many days less) to my writing career. Imagine what I could do if I had an entire day, every day? Egad! It boggles the mind.

So start your countdown clocks… As of writing of this post, there are 129 days to go.

Tick, tick, tick…

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New Year’s Resolution

Here’s what’s happened since I last posted:

I had COVID. Twenty days in isolation, five of those in the hospital, more than a week on supplemental oxygen,
My wife and I sold our interest the Tattered Cover Bookstores. Owning a bookstore had been a dream of ours, but the financial impact of the pandemic did us in.
An unhinged megalomaniac incited insurrection in Washington, threatening the very foundation of our democracy.

But that’s a glass half empty view, a 2020 view. Let’s try it again, 2021 style:

I had COVID, but it could have been so much worse. I was never in ICU, never on a ventilator, and I had a home in which to be comfortable and a family to care for me.
My wife and I found a brilliant pair of young, eager entrepreneurs to not only buy Tattered Cover, but secure its future for years to come. The community gets to retain a cultural icon, our colleagues get to keep their jobs, and while we won’t be retiring anytime soon, we didn’t walk away empty handed.
Democracy won out over demagoguery, and in eleven days, some semblance of normalcy will be restored.

So what’s my New Year’s resolution? To always look on the bright side of life. That and to finish all three of the writing projects I have going,

Happy New Year to one and all!

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Girl on the Ferris Wheel Reviews

“With its mix of the heartwarming and heartbreaking, this will be a strong what’-next for ands of Green’s Turtles All the Way Down. 

The Bulletin of the Center fo Children’s Books 

“

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Bookshop Band Sings Awake

Image from PracticalMama.com

When I was planning the pre-order campaign for Hard Wired, I wracked my brain to come up with something really cool to offer readers. My first thought was to build an actual sentient artificial intelligence. Three weeks, six rolls of duct tape, and a whole lot of coax cable later, and I realized I might have been out of my depth. Apparently advanced degrees in computer science, engineering, and neurobiology are the price of admission. Who knew?

Since tinkering wasn’t going to work, I turned to my old mistress, my first and one true love: Music.

In case you haven’t read them, my first two novels — The Scar Boys and Scar Girl — are punk rock coming of age stories inspired by my own experiences playing in bands in the 1980s. I brought my guitar on the The Scar Boys book tour, played songs from the book, and encouraged the students to sing and play for their classmates.

But I didn’t want to write my own song for Hard Wired. No, I needed really something special.

Enter The Bookshop Band.

Image from PW.com

Their website says this: The Bookshop Band – the offspring of an artistic love-affair between a duo of English folk singer-songwriters and a multi-award winning independent bookshop in the UK, Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights. They write and perform songs inspired by books, inspired by hundreds of authors from Shakespeare to Philip Pullman, and have released 13 studio albums featuring many of the authors they have worked with.

The duo in question, Ben and Beth, toured the U.S. two years ago, and I had the good fortune to see them at Tattered Cover. It was love at first listen. Their song, A Shop with Books In, instantly became one of my all-time favorites.

I contacted Ben and Beth to see if they would be interested in writing a song inspired by Hard Wired, and lo and behold, they said yes! Not only did the write and record a song, they recorded a video, too. The song, Awake, was only available to those who pre-ordered the book…until today. The song and video have now both been released for all to enjoy.

Thank you Ben and Beth!!!

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