I am serious when I say: Life is so cool. Fascinating coincidence, bizarre
happenstance, serendipitous stuff, quirky twist of fate, déjà vu mind bomb; they
seem to happen all the time. Here’s a
recent example:
I’m fishing on the beach on a recent Friday
night with a couple friends, the sun’s just starting to go down. We’ve got our poles baited, cast and set in
pole holders, kicking back in our collapsible chairs, adult beverages,
sunflower seeds – you know, Miller Time, just like in those commercials. Life is swell.
Then, two women walking the shoreline pass us and I instantly recognize
one of them.
“Mary?!” I call out. A dear friend, Mary W., whom I haven’t seen
for a few months, maybe a year or so.
She turns, takes a second to recognize me.
“Phil!” she cries when she does, and runs over
for a great Mary W. hug. What were the
odds of that?! I love that!
We spend just a few minutes quickly catching up,
introducing our friends to each other. A
very nice surprise on the beach that night.
Stuff like that happens, just pleasant, unexpected moments. Cool.
Fast forward to the following Monday, I’m at
work, rat race, lunch time. Normally I’d
reach for the sports pages, but no home deliveries on Mondays, what a
rip-off! That’s okay, lots of info
online. But I grab the book I so want to
finish, about 25 pages to go. It’s Jess Walter’s Beautiful Ruins. What a
fantastic read and what a gifted writer.
My sis-in-law sent me this one, she’s so great at sending me books I
wouldn’t think to read and she always sends me fantastic ones! I recommend this book to you, funny, quirky,
artistic, and a great story. Anyway, around
noon that day I head over to the mailroom to finish the book, quiet there, lots
of sunlight and a great view from those 5th floor windows.
You know how sometimes you’re reading a book and
you like it so much that you’re sad when it’s over? That’s how it was for me that afternoon. I had really enjoyed that book. But at least I still had the Acknowledgements
section to read. I love reading these
sections, especially since I have personally dipped my toes into the publishing
pool and I have come to realize how much effort an author puts into every
detail of the book, dedications, acknowledgements, the story, quotations, every
bit of it. It all requires painstaking
concentration and dedication to detail.
So I’m reading the Author Acknowledgements at the back of the book.
And there, printed in plain black and white, is
a ‘Thank You’ from the author, Jess Walter, to my friend, Mary W. What were the odds of that?! I love that!
Well, I immediately called Mary W.
“Mary, have you got a minute? It’s me, Phil!” I
excitedly gush. “You know, I haven’t
seen you in a while and it was really nice catching up with you on the beach
last Friday. But today I’m finishing
this great book I had been reading and in the acknowledgement section the author
thanks YOU!” Mary chuckles on the other
end.
“Jess Walter?” she asks.
“Yes,” I exclaim. “Jess Walter. Beautiful Ruins.”
“Oh, yeah,”
she replies. “That’s my
brother-in-law. Isn’t that a great
book?” What were the odds of that?! I love that!
+ + + + +
Then, we proceed to talk about all of Jess Walter’s books and projects. I can’t
wait to read more! Mary W. is obviously
proud of him and asked me to send her an email that she’d forward to Mr. Walter and put us in contact. I don’t know, I
feel weird about that possibility (read “I am not worthy! I am not worthy!”). Funny, part of the story in Beautiful
Ruins concerns a sort of loser guy who pitches an idea for a movie to a
big Hollywood mogul and his assistant.
The mogul tells him he loves the story and agrees to get him in to pitch
his idea to a famous film production company, but, in fact, the mogul is only
doing it to satisfy a commitment and free himself from some long ago contract
deal. The loser guy finds out and eventually
they all end up seeing some brilliant community play in the Northwest somewhere
(you’ve got to read the book!). The guy
sits in the audience, stunned at the artful magnificence and emotion of the
play and, realizing his own work will never be anywhere near as good, sits with
his head in his hands, lamenting, “F*$k me.
I think I’ve wasted my whole life.”
LOL: I’m trying really hard not to let myself feel like that comparing
my work to Jess Walter’s!
But, as my dear friend Mary W. so kindly pointed
out to me, I am not Jess Walter. I am
who I am, and my writing style is my own, for all that is worth. Yes, Life is cool and I do love that!
+ + + + +
Announcement!
Slow Pitch Softball – More Than Just a Game (author: Me!),
will be on display in the Independent Book Publishers of America booth:
May 29 to
May 31, at BookExpo America, New York, NY – The #1 Book and Author Event in the
Country (in 2013, over 20,000 attendees from 48 states and 82 countries)
June 28 to
July 1, at The American Association of Librarians Annual Conference, Las Vegas,
NV –
The oldest & largest library association in the World (in 2013, over 26,000
attendees from 48 states and 82 countries)
Check it out if you’re around one of those great
cities and love books. Unfortunately,
only my book will be on display, I will be at home!!! Please see more at my website: www.philcanalin.com
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