Susan Halberg and her vibrant collection of aspiring writers were kind enough to invite me to their Mesa College classroom where I gave a reading, fielded a few questions, and signed a few books. Young writers motivate me, inspire me. Got to tell you, this is the part of being a writer that is cool, very cool...
Clif the Lawyer came along to talk about some of the legal aspects of publishing and snap the photograph. Clif the Lawyer is the man.
"Dave Cruz," a short story from The Eight-Fingered Criminal's Son, served as the reading selection. The real life Dave Cruz recently contacted me. He has read the book and he approves the way he's been portrayed. If you read the book you'll understand why I was quite relieved to hear he approved. Dave will be attending The Beer and Cheese Whiz Eight-Fingered Criminal's Son Event at The Book Frog in Rolling Hills, California on October 6th.
I'm laying low this weekend after a tough week on the teaching front.
We have new email systems and grading programs, inferior and requiring more time and effort than our old systems. Furthermore, teachers are required to use a new system for formatting lessons. I've taken on an extra class and I have 50 more students than I had last year. There are 45 students junior English class. There isn't enough oxygen in that poorly ventilated classroom for 45 adult sized students. I once had a class with 50 students but I was 20 years younger. I know, whah, whah, whah, plenty of people work hard, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to figure out a way to streamline things. This became apparent Thursday afternoon when, totally engrossed in trying to remember why I left the my classroom, I walked into the corner of a door, leaving me with a massive headache all day Friday.
No flash reads this weekend. We'll get 'em next week. I've been invited to give a reading for a Rio Salado Freshman English on November 23. And then there is the October 6th Beer and Cheese Whiz Eight-Fingered Criminal's Son Event at The Book Frog in Rolling Hills, California. A few folks who inspired characters in the book will be on hand to take part in the festivities. Should be a real hoot.
Oh, something interesting happened at school this week. A couple of kids were caught drinking battery acid in one of the science labs. Authorities say they'll be charged later.
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Would you buy a collection of mostly true, pretty funny stories about growing up in 1970s Southern California from this man?
You can join the 364 people who have by clicking on this link:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Eight-Fingered-Criminals-William-Snyder/dp/1468142585
If you're in the metropolitan Phoenix area, you can pick up a copy of The Eight-Fingered Criminal's son at Papa Joe's Barber Shop or Chandler Auto and Tire. You gotta ask yourself how many people on the planet ever have the chance to get a book and a haircut or book and an oil change? The answer is darned few, baby!
The flash read camapign with Dickey "Tom Jones" Imburgia continues with two flash reads scheduled for next Saturday, September 15th.
If you're in So Cal, the Eight-Fingered Criminal's Son Cheese Whiz Event is scheduled for October 6th at The Book Frog in Rolling Hills.
360 copies of my book The Eight-Fingered Criminal's Son have been sold since October of 2011. We're not exactly talking New York Times best seller, but I wasn't sure I'd sell 100 books.
I've tried various goofball marketing ploys, posting quirky promotional videos on You Tube, doing book signings at Chandler Auto and Tire and Papa Joe's Barber Shop, and most recently the flash read campaign with Dickey "Tom Jones" Imburgia. And my oblique marketing campaign and over yet.
A spectacular flash read with Dickey "Tom Jones" Imburgia is scheduled for October 2 at Papa Joe's grand opening of his new new barber shop in Chandler, Arizona and a Cheese Whiz event scheduled for October 6 at The Book Frog in Rolling Hills, California. We're planning a flash read in the produce section of a Chandler, Arizona grocery store.
My new novel The Spirit Guide Bar will be available in 2013.
You can pick up a copy of the THE EIGHT-FINGERED CRIMINAL'S SON at the following locations:
The Book Frog, Rolling Hills, California
Chandler Auto and Tire, Chandler, Arizona
Changing Hands Book Store, Tempe, Arizona
American Import Auto Repair, Gilbert, Arizona
Zia Records, 8 locations in Nevada and Arizona
Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/The-Eight-Fingered-Criminals-Son-ebook/dp/B0083LH4HU/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1334182364&sr=8-1-fkmr0
