Rich Samuels's Blog, page 11

More Things to Do! [Blogging Every Day #29]

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In yesterday's blog, I didn't mention a few additional activities that I'd like to pursue in the coming months.

First, I hope to create a fully realized book trailer / short film based on my book. I already have a very basic trailer available, but it's primarily text and basic imagery. I'd like to produce a live-action version, perhaps in coordination with the launching of book two. It's a major expense in time and money, so I've moved somewhat slowly so far, but as the reach of book expands, I'll make the jump.

For quite a while, I've also been considering the creation of an audiobook version of the book, read by the author. That's a time-consuming process, so I haven't yet taken that jump - but you can expect that shortly. I'm considering producing the audiobook initially as a series of free podcasts, and later making the compiled book available for purchase. As long as I don't hire a reader, expense isn't a factor.

I've also considered returning to my YouTube channel, which has been on the back-burner as I've pursued book-related activities. I was discussing the book for a while, but it started to feel repetitive. I'll consider other options, and my re-visit the channel as I create the book trailer. For a while, I had an informal web series, The Vlogger Interviews, in which I interviewed a wide range of YouTubers. I'm considering reviving the interview concept with a wider range of individuals - authors, entrepreneurs - and perhaps occasional YouTubers.

All this is great, as long as reserve at least some time to write....

You can follow my activities @rickflix

What's Next? [Blogging Every Day #28]

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With the end of this month-long blogging challenge looming just ahead, the question becomes, What's Next?

While I won't necessarily hold myself to a daily blog, I will be posting on a more frequent schedule. Readership has been excellent, and it's an important part of my commitment to develop my social media "footprint" as an author.

With that goal in mind, I'm already pursuing other initiatives as well.

Some ideas:

I'm going to pursue the competition route for My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain - always a great marketing tool, should I be so lucky to be honored;I'm moving ahead as efficiently as possible with the completion of the second book in the series, an important step in the steady journey to build my reputation as a writer;I haven't had the chance to make many public appearances on behalf of the book and the issues it explores. I hope to have the opportunity to visit classrooms and other venues as time goes on. I haven't taken this path before, so I'm just learning how to make this happen.A small but important recent step was having my book put into circulation in my local public libraries. I'm hoping to develop a closer connection with the community, especially local authors. As I said, as someone who has spent his life working in visual media, I haven't taken this path before. I felt an immediate kinship with the authors at the local authors event a couple of weeks back.I'll be starting development on my third book, which will likely be a change of genre, and I'll also be offering some short fiction - you'll hear about that very soon.I'm hoping to generate media coverage - blog interviews, magazine articles, local websites and newspapers, etc. - focused on my book and its bullying-related subject matter. Coverage by third parties (other than my own website) and invaluable in helping to build word-of-mouth.On that same thought, I'm also hoping to generate more reviews. If you haven't already - please visit Amazon, Goodreads, or your favorite bookseller. As an indie author, I need all the help I can get!Thanks to so many of you  - friends and readers I've never met - who have read, discussed, and reviewed My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain, I believe that we haven't come close to the book's potential. 
That challenge continues!

Dogs Posing With My Book [Blogging Every Day #27]

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In a bid to shamelessly exploit dogs for my own selfish purposes, I offer you Bazil, my sister's dog (on the right), and Moonie, who counts Mike and Amber Lidskin as his family. Both are posing with my book, and neither seem very pleased about it.

But hey, I made you look!

Shameless.

You can follow my further shameless exploits @rickflix

Unexpected Advice [Blogging Every Day #26]

[26] 
Once again, as I approach the end of my month-long "Blogging Every Day" challenge, I turn to my iPhoto library for last minute inspiration. It's been a long day, though, so forgive me if this post lacks any sense of profundity.  It does, however, offer some good, basic advice.

First, I bring you this photo from Santa Cruz, California, which reminds us all to appreciate the world around us.

Or, more likely, to look both ways.

Either way, I suppose, you might find something unexpected.

On that same monuments day in 2012, Santa Cruz offered more solid advice that, I think, can be applied to any Big Day you might face in the future. One hopes that the reminder on this package would be enough for the reader to find adequate inspiration to unwrap the soap within.

I can't help wondering, however, the identity of the individual being quoted.

That particular trip in On that same trip, I discovered helpful advice in Reno, Nevada, posted inside my hotel room.  More intriguing, however, is the unknown story behind the poster. I can imagine a guest waking up one morning with a nasty surprise.

Signage is everything.

The Battle of Book Two [Blogging Every Day #25]

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For the past few months, I've been working on the second book in a series that began with My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain . For a while, I've been posting chapter updates on my progress as I struggled through the first draft.

Then I stopped.

I didn't stop writing - that process continues - but I stopped regular updates when I realized my progress through this second book wouldn't be as linear as the first book. I knew the general outline of "Food Chain," as it had previously existed as a screenplay. Though the story and characters would go through an extensive evolution, I knew precisely where the story should go.

More importantly, the first book was an unknown quantity to readers. I could always alter characters during the writing process.

Alexander, the main protagonist, is a fascinating character to create, and both readers and professional reviewers seem to have found him intriguing as well. Kirkus Reviews even warned that I risk "making Alexander unsympathetic by pushing his behavior from that of a risible obsessive to that of an outright psychotic." It's that edge of like-ability, however, that gives makes him feel authentic. Real individuals - especially kids - can't be neatly classified into nice, mean, gentle, cruel, aggressive or passive. Alexander's loyal friends like him for who he is, even when he's not perfectly behaved.

In the first book, Alexander lives in near terror of the threat of bullying, even if the reality might not be as perilous as he thinks. In the second book, he'll deal with the consequences of his actions near the close of the first volume.

The second book, though, has unique challenges. First, of course, the characters are well-established. Reviewers have written at length about Alexander and why he does what he does; one boy recently  presented a book report, cutting out pictures of kids that he though looked like the characters in the book. For the second book to work, Alexander and his friends need to start from familiar ground. Motivation has to make sense. My objective isn't to freeze Alexander in a single moment in time. Like all of us, he has his personality traits, but he'll learn from experience and evolve in his approach to the world around him. He can't be too brave, but he's not quite as fearful as he might have been at the beginning of the first book.

I didn't expect the second book to be quite the struggle it's become, but as it unfolds, it's an exciting process.

As those of you that have seen my updates on the book's Facebook page are aware, Alexander's strong personality has been a big help. If I veer off the path of believability, I can almost hear  him whispering in my ear, "Come on, do you really think I would do that?"

Follow my exploits, literary and otherwise, on Twitter at @rickflix

Who Walked Where You Walked? [Blogging Every Day #24]

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At Vasquez Rocks, I visited a Star Trek
location. So what?Here in Los Angeles, everything has a connection to movies and television. We're a company town, after all, and so much of what you see is shot in and around the Los Angeles area. I can easily take you to locations where iconic movies and television  shows were shot. The locations themselves may not be particularly special in themselves - but they take an extra meaning in the minds and sometimes the hearts of moviegoers worldwide.

The original Bad News Bears movie was shot in and around the community where I grew up. ET weren't far away. My high school has appeared in numerous films over the years, including The Brady Bunch Movie, Cher's The Mask and a couple of years ago, The Amazing Spiderman. The list is nearly infinite. Even where I live now, which is about 30 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, the area has served film crews since the beginning of the industry.

Within minutes of my home, Vasquez Rocks is an easily accessible park that has appeared in many movies and television shows, including several episodes of the original Star Trek.

Does it matter? Not really. It's a reminder, though, of the hidden history of so many mundane locations we pass through in our lives. Remember that tree that you and your friends used to gather under outside your high school? Generations before and after your time remember that tree with the same fondness but in an entirely separate context. That restaurant you frequent may have launched a thousand marriages, businesses, divorces and simple friendships. A single home may host generations of families. Children grow up, parents grow old, and finally move away. Another family moves in, making their own memories in the very same locations where another's family's history unfolded a generation before.

Who walked where you walked? Who lived where you live? "If these walls could talk," if you really think about it, is a mind-blowing concept.

The Demise of Facebook? [Blogging Every Day #23]

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An article posted yesterday on the NBC News website, Facebook like an infectious disease, will lose 80 percent of users, says Princeton study claims that Facebook is at the early stages of an irreversible MySpace-like decline.  A Facebook response, not surprisingly, mocks the Princeton study and playfully predicts Princeton's demise.

The question of Facebook's future, though, has been a topic of discussion for quite a while. Even with user levels at around 874 million, the future is never assured. Other studies, some even accepted by Facebook, show that teens are using the site to a lesser extent than in the past.

As Amazon is today what Sears was fifty years ago, it's quite possible that another concept five years from now may leave Facebook a struggling has-been. That's not inconceivable, and perhaps even inevitable.

Facebook is a form of communication, flexible to the individual user. To some, it's a more verbose version of Twitter, to others, it's Instagram or Tmblr.  To some, it's just a platform to further distribute content from those other sites.

Users are concerned about privacy issues, of course, but I don't think that concern by itself will drive users away. Google Plus, for all of Google's efforts, hasn't achieved anything near the following that Facebook enjoys, and is slowly achieving a level of the creeping complexity we've seen in its competitor.

As much as users complain about the site's endless tweaks and advertising experiments, Facebook won't quickly fade. It's become a utility - connecting communities far and near - as the telephone and newspaper - and even email - did in other eras. Families, friends and colleagues far and wide won't give it up unless there's something better.

And, in the name of MySpace, Friendster, and Compuserve, there will be.

For a while.

Finding Inspiration [Blogging Every Day #22]

[22]
In trying to keep up this "Blogging Every Day" challenge, I've sometimes resorted to my photo collection for inspiration. In the picture at left, I'm climbing through a hatchway somewhere aboard the USS Pampanito, a World War II era submarine now docked permanently as a floating museum at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.

Generally I'll try to find a photo that either inspires subject matter, or indirectly illustrates a topic I'm already considering. In this case, the photo serves only as a trigger - I placed the photo, and began writing, but only the vaguest idea of where this blog would be headed.

There are probably hundreds of books about finding inspiration - but we're all wired differently. I've tried a variety of flash cards and other gimmicks to fire up my creative engine, but vague suggestions don't really do it for me. When I'm writing fiction, I'll find inspiration from other authors, both known and unknown, movies, music and naturally my own history. Finding inspiration, for me at least, can't be forced. It has to be somewhat organic.

Recently, I had the opportunity to read, for the first time, the classic short novel, "Goodbye, Mr. Chips," by James Hilton (also the author of Lost Horizon). In relatively few pages, Hilton tells the story of a professor at a old British boarding school, as he looks back at the ups and downs of his life at the school over a period of several decades. In such a short novel, an epic story unfolds - and it's probably more powerful at seventy-four pages than it would have been if it had been seven hundred and forty pages. It's inspiring not only for Hilton's storytelling, but for his brevity.

While may consider "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" sentimental, it's effective and heartfelt.

For this writer, it's a rare inspiration.
The first edition, from Wikipedia

I've Done What My 9 year-old Self Dreamed About [Blogging Every Day #21]

[21] 
He's smiling underneath the table.

This weekend, I attended the Santa Clarita Public Library's "Local Author Celebration." I heard about it too late to participate as a featured author, but I decided to attend anyway and get to know some of my compatriots.

I've been to countless networking events related to non-fiction media, television and even motion pictures. This was the first writing-oriented event that I've attended since my book became available last year.

I didn't carry "My Life at the Bottom of the Food Chain" with me. I didn't even carry my giveaway bookmarks (though i probably should have). I did have my new business card, which includes my book on the reverse side. I didn't go there to make a sale. I went there to learn.

I'm not a big fan of networking events - but this felt different. I have a book that's readily available, I'm proud of it, and both kids and adults seem to enjoy the story. So, even though this is my first book, and it's self published - general reaction has been positive. I have a simple mission: to find an audience. At an event like this, everyone's accessible, and so many have been where I am now.

Rich at NineThe first result of Saturday's experience is that my book will now be available in all three libraries in the Santa Clarita Public Library system.

It's a small step, but when I handed over the book to the manager of my local branch, I realized that I'd reached a goal I'd set for myself when I was just nine years old.

I may have taken a bit of a detour for a few decades, but I feel like I'm home.

And that felt great.

Standing Up for Right [Blogging Every Day #20]

The President Hotel, on Swan Lake.[20]  In the 1930's, when my father was a young man, he spent his summers working at the President Hotel in the Catskill Mountains in New York. His Uncle Pete ran the hotel with a partner, Max Leshnick. The President Hotel was one of a series of resorts in the area that catered to a mostly Jewish clientele, and featured all-encompassing entertainment and recreation. An entire generation of entertainers got their start or broadened their popularity in the Catskills. The President, in fact, helped launch Danny Kaye's career - he performed there before he moved on to Hollywood.

Also performing at the President during this era were the Nicholas Brothers, a pair of young, African American tap dancers who would soon become a national sensation. The Catskills were one of the few places at the time where African American entertainers could expect to be treated professionally by their hosts - and could expect proper accommodations where they performed. The President was no exception.

The lobby of the President HotelLate one night, as my father and his friend headed into the hotel at the end of a long day running the hotel's boating concession, they came upon the Nicholas Brothers in the lobby. As it turned out, the clerk at the front desk was trying to turn them away, insisting that there weren't rooms available. Uncle Pete was asleep, and his partner wasn't around, so my father and his friend offered their own employee quarters. Fayard Nicholas turned to them, thanked them politely, but explained that it was important that they stand their ground and receive exactly they were promised. In time, Mr. Leshnick arrived, apologized, and made certain the Nicholas Brothers were accommodated properly.

The Nicholas Brothers in Stormy Weather, some years after my father
met them at the President Hotel (via Wikipedia)The experience made an impression on my father, and he would recall the experience years later. My parents taught by example, and the story of the Nicholas Brothers provided a powerful lesson for their children. It was a minor story in an epic struggle, but for me, as a little boy, it spoke volumes about what Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights struggles were all about: standing up for Right.

A short postscript: about sixty years later, I had the opportunity to meet Fayard Nicholas, and shared with him my father's story. It was such an unusual experience in the Catskills that Fayard remembered it, too. I felt privileged to be able to let him know, so many years later, how much that story meant to my father and his children.

My dad, in his President Hotel days...
...and here I am with Fayard Nicholas, nearly sixty years later