Dear Mom and Dad: Today I got some really good news, which I’ll keep to myself for now. In case you hadn’t heard, I signed up with a fake publicity firm that stole almost $40,000 from me. The guy who runs the company has no background in the publishing industry. What happened was that Tim…
A letter to Mom and Dad, Part Two
January 16, 2014
My letter to Mom and Dad continues. 28. On April 14, Mom, you came home. You refused to eat or exercise, even though you’d been told over and over that you needed to do so in order to be a good candidate for chemotherapy. We fought about it, and you accused us of criticizing you….
Seeing only what you want
January 14, 2014
A little followup on the reason why my publicists thought they could scam me without repercussions. It’s a classic case of seeing only what you want. The answer came to me when I reviewed e-mails that an interviewer sent. Writing about the book, your publicist refers to your humility… To me, you come off as…
It was all for nothing
January 12, 2014
It hit me today: Just like trying to save Mom and Dad, trying to publicize Ghosts and Ballyhoo was a waste of time. It was all for nothing. Tim and I are doing some cleaning up before we have the houses appraised. We’re having to throw away things that represent so much futility. Neither Mom…
The ruin of souls
January 11, 2014
The person I’m going to make famous has compelled me to disclose far more about myself than I wanted. But I’ve spoken to Tim and Eric, and I have their blessings. Some things will be neither confirmed nor denied. But now I’m going to reveal things solely for the purpose of helping you understand the…
From writer to publicist
January 10, 2014
I’ve never made a New Year’s resolution. Well, 2014 is different. My resolution is to make someone famous. Not just anyone; a specific someone. I’m going from writer to publicist. Though I always wanted to be a writer—a professional writer whose work sold—I don’t think it’ll happen. My experiences with Ghosts and Ballyhoo show that…
Caring is never wasted
January 3, 2014
Today I read “Al-Qaeda-linked force captures Fallujah amid rise in violence in Iraq.” The writers get a few facts wrong. For one thing they claim that only the US Marines fought in the Second Battle of Fallujah (November 7 to December 23, 2004). In reality army, navy, and air force units were present. The statement…
The first Christmas without Mom and Dad
December 24, 2013
This is the first Christmas without Mom and Dad. What I feel mostly is strangeness. When you get to be old yourself—I’m fifty-one—it’s incredibly bizarre to no longer have access to people who were there your whole life. Dad’s dying process was so sudden, unnecessary, and ghastly that when he finally passed away, it was…
The Great Ham Debacle of 1993
December 20, 2013
When I read news articles and listen to the radio, the one constant is the state of confusion people have about what motivates the bad decisions we see being made daily. Our government is utterly dysfunctional, companies do really crazy things that alienate their customers, individuals mess up their lives to a level of parody,…