Actually, I think writing is harder than work.
And, there's no minimum wage. I began thinking of writing that way earlier this year. But on Monday night, I attended a Martin Cruz Smith book signing at the St. Louis County Library on Lindberg. Tatiana is the latest Arkady Renko novel. I have read all his Renko books. I think the author does a great job capturing the spirit of Russia. Tatiana served up another good dose of Moscow and a few other interesting spots. During the Q&A someone asked Mr. Smith if he had a co-author on Tatiana. He said he did. He said he had Parkinsons, and that he could no longer manage his typewriter, so his coauthor was his wife. He'd dictate. She'd type. He related that there were testy times. He cited the sentence, "He opened the door." As he's thinking about the story and the character, he changed it to "He had trouble opening the door." Then he decided to change it to, "He had no difficulty opening the door." And then he had the character open the door but not enter the room. At that point, the typist went to get a cup of tea. Kind of put writing as work into a new perspective for me.
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I was pleased with the book signing at Robin's store. I am making a contribution to Wounded Warriors (local St. Charles chapter) from the proceeds.
Plus, you always meet interesting people there. Last Saturday was no exception: two Missouri Writer's Guild board members; an independent book store operator from Florida; a musician and social media publicist for a local orchestra sporting a four foot blond pony tail and a most interesting guy to talk to. And I sold two more books than I bought. A friend of mine named Rat just read Sundown Town Duty Station. He asked me if I had read Terror in the Night before writing Sundown Town. I had not read Terror but bought it from Amazon. It was published in 1993. Author: Jack Nelson, Pulitzer Prize winning LA Times reporter.
It is the story of the KKK's campaign against the Jews in Mississippi in the late 60s. Rat was a student in Meridian the same time I was there, so we've had a nice time emailing about the town in 1968 and mutual friends and acquaintances. But the main point from Rat was that Terror in the Night is a great rendition of KKK activity in Mississippi in the late 60s. Good book, Terror in the Night. Book signing at All on the Same Page Book Store in Creve Coeur on Saturday, 10:30. The next Noble Deeds book signing will be this coming Saturday, November 16, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at All on the Same Page Book Store. Address: 11052 Olive Blvd., Creve Coeur.
Proceeds will benefit Wounded Warriors of Missouri. PS The event last night at Duchesne went very well. In attendance, a World War II vet, a Korean War vet, a couple Nam era types, plus a few from more recent service. Unfortunately, the DHS football team didn't fare too well in the regional game. They did however have a great season. The Veterans Day talk/book signing event tomorrow evening will be at 7 p.m. as previously announced. The location has been changed to the chapel because DHS is playing a state regional football game that night at the same time. So the parking lot next to the library is expected to be filled. So park on the gym end, the end farthest from Duchesne Drive. There will be students around to help
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John Zerr is the author of four novels, The Ensign Locker, Sundown Town Duty Station, Noble Deeds, and The Happy Life of Preston Katt.
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May 2018
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