IdeaJones

Category: Books

Items about books:

  • Kindle Scout: Based On A True Story: Really (Almost) True Story (BOATS:RATS) — Coming Soon!

    Kindle Scout: Based On A True Story: Really (Almost) True Story (BOATS:RATS) — Coming Soon!

    Merlin, aka “Mr. Darcy,” from Based On A True Story: Really (Almost) True Story

    This is a painting I did of Merlin, aka, “Mr. Darcy” from our book, Based On A True Story: Really (Almost) True Story. We got the notification from Amazon’s Kindle Scout publishing program that they’re going to consider our novel! This means that you have a chance to read an excerpt, and if you like it, vote for Amazon Kindle to bring the novel out. If you vote for it and it’s selected, you get a free online advance copy of the book!

    More info coming tomorrow, but we thought we’d share a secret with you… something that isn’t even on the page for the book’s campaign. Something the people who read early drafts of the book asked and we avoided answering directly…

    “Did any of this really happen?”  The short answer is “yes.” The slightly longer answer is “quite a bit of it, actually.” We did fictionalize events and people. So that thing happened, for example, but different people were there.  A lot of times, things happen in life and they don’t link up to form a longer story. Or you don’t know why it happened or what it meant. In a book, by fictionalizing reality, you get to string things together that happened on different trips, and include anyone you wish was there. Some of the characters are true-to-life. Merlin (aka “Mr. Darcy”) was our beloved friend, a puppy found stray on the streets who became a Service Dog and saved my life. He was just like the Mr. Darcy of the BOATS books.

    Some of the things in the book happened just that way. Pat, Mark’s mom and my friend, read the first draft of the book. She said it was odd reading it because she was present for many of the events in the book, so for her, it was part novel and part journal.

    Ultimately, for the novel, it doesn’t matter which parts are 100% accurate accounts. When you read a book, if you enjoy it, it becomes a real world, with real people. It’s just that this one happens to be real in this world, too, in places. Like Mr. Darcy.

  • Learning Tips From A Tutor — Don’t Get Married For The Wedding

    Working with a friend who is seeking his GED, we talked about how he came so close when he took the GED test before, and what he can do differently this time. He was within a point of getting his GED when he took the test, a heartbreaker, and I respect him for trying again.

    When we talked about how he prepared for the test last time, I realized that he had concentrated so hard on the test, as though that would be the end of the process. He’s also studying to become licensed as a truck driver. I helped him study and pointed out that he was so fixed on the test itself, he’d lost sight of the real goal, a career. The license is necessary but the exam, and the license, isn’t the goal. Those are steps to the goal, which would be the career that followed. “You’re studying for the test,” I told him, “but the test is just to show that you know the information you’ll need when you’re doing the job. Don’t study for the test, study for the career, so you’ll know this stuff and be able to use it.”

    He blinked at me. “That’s what I do,” he said. “I study for the test. I did the same thing with the GED. I didn’t study to understand it and be able to use it — I studied to pass the test. This time I’m studying for understanding more than for the test, so I’m remembering more.” It’s true. His English has improved so much in the past year. He’s worked hard, and it shows. He hasn’t just memorized things; he’s understanding concepts. “It’s like when someone gets married for the wedding,” he told me. “A wedding isn’t about the wedding. It’s about the marriage and the years and the life that follow.”

    And learning is about understanding. Yes, we need to pass the tests, but the tests are to show that we understand and can, hopefully, make use of the information. My friend has stopped studying for the test, or, as he puts it, getting married for the wedding, and he’s really learning.

  • June Challenge

    It’s been pointed out that if we don’t update more often, people will forget we’re here. With Joey’s show in San Francisco coming up, and other events on the horizon, RATS nearing completion (currently in final edit), and just a whole lot going on in our lives, my challenge is to make time each day in June for an update. Will I succeed? Stay tuned…

    By the way, as a bit of a tease, remember Simran? Joey’s first sculpted piece in decades was one of two chosen for the upcoming SF show. More on that soon on our Arts page.






    Let the challenge begin!



  • Open Mic Night…

    Fun to see the other writers at the B&N tonight. We read from both East West Crazy and BOATS:RATS, and heard four other writers read from their works (including some great travel tips). California Writers Club arranges this, and so far it’s been a very good experience – if you don’t count the noisy teen shoppers we were trying to read over/around/through.