The Story Behind ‘Colonel Trash Truck’ by Kathleen Crawley

Throughout my life, I have been fascinated with watching people and trying to understand why they do what they do…from what they eat to what they watch on TV, wear on their bodies or even believe.  I absolutely love to people watch and kids are no exception.  For example, why do a lot of boys like dinosaurs and trucks and many girls like dolls and pick dresses at an early age?  For years, I noticed how kids, especially boys, go bonkers when they see a garbage truck coming down the street.  One of the first words my nephew said was trash truck.  I also noticed there weren’t many books or toys about trash trucks that tell kids how they pick up the trash we create.  I thought, “Someone needs to write a book”.  It did not occur to me at the time that the someone I was thinking of was me!  

Then one morning when I had slept late, I was awakened by the sound of the garbage truck in my neighborhood.  I opened my eyes and suddenly saw a clear image in my imagination of Colonel Trash Truck, just the way he looks on the cover of my book.  He had a friendly but determined look on his face and seemed to be telling me to write something.  I then reached for a pad of paper and began writing the poem that is now the majority Colonel Trash Truck.  It felt like I was taking dictation because it seemed like the Colonel had a lot to say about telling kids to pick up trash and recycle.  

Colonel Trash Truck is a fun, likeable but admirable character, determined to fulfill him mission to win the garbage war.  What is so exciting about Colonel Trash Truck is that he appeals to kids and parents on so many levels:

• Kids love trucks, especially garbage trucks so the Colonel will get their attention.
• He is a fun, sometimes silly character that will make kids giggle.
• He is a hero that kids will look up to and want to mimic…”Karunch!” is his favorite phrase.
• Plus, he is teaching kids at an early age one of the most important positive habits they could possibly learn – to pick up trash and recycle. 

At a time when so much is being discussed about the future of our planet and its natural resources, it can be challenging to get kids to understand how important their part is in saving the planet.  Colonel Trash Truck is the perfect book to get their attention and convince them to ‘join him in his quest.” 

Kathleen Crawley has been an advertising executive for over fifteen years.  She resides with her husband Ronald Thomson in Redondo Beach, California.  She is a native Californian having graduated from UCLA with a B.A in sociology.  Colonel Trash Truck is her first book.  About writing for children, Kathy says, “I have a number of books I want to write for kids because I think children are fascinating.  They are open, creative, and interested in everything; they bring out the kid in me.” 

You can visit Kathleen online at www.coloneltrashtruck.com.

Buy Colonel Trash Truck at Amazon.com today!

The Story Behind ‘For the Love of St. Nick’ by Garasamo Maccagnone

Over the years, I listened carefully to many of my wife’s stories. Her father was Commander Blake Field, a naval academy standout and veteran of the Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf wars. I obviously patterned the commander in my story after him.

Prior to her parents’ divorce, my wife lived the typical military lifestyle, with the family moving every couple of years to far off lands. Often, her father went on secret cold war missions and I recalled listening to my wife tell me how frightened she was as a girl that her father would never return. That of course, sparked my interest and was the sentiment I built off of years later when I decided to write this story.

The other major incident, which inspired me a great deal, happened while I worked at a hospital in my early thirties. One morning after my shift was over, a priest I knew at the hospital divulged that a young mother died during childbirth the previous night. He used the term placenta previa and went on to explain what had happened and why he was told the woman passed on.

Together, somehow, over a fifteen- to twenty-year period these stories found their way to the forefront of my mind, and served as the mechanisms that launched my tale. From there, I simply needed to create the right setting and to apply my craft.

 

Garasamo Maccagnone studied creative writing and literature under noted American writers Sam Astrachan and Stuart Dybek at Wayne State University and Western Michigan University. A college baseball player as well, Maccagnone met his wife Vicki as a junior at WMU. The following year, after injuring his throwing arm, Maccagnone left school and his baseball ambitions to marry Vicki. After a two year stint at both W.B. Doner and BBDO advertising agencies, Maccagnone left the industry to apply his knowledge of marketing in a new venture in an up-and-coming industry. Maccagnone created a company called, “Crate and Fly,” and turned it from a store front in 1984 to a world-wide multi-million dollar shipping corporation by 1994.  

In the mid 90’s Maccagnone decided to fulfill the promise of his writing career, by first penning the children’s book, The Suburban Dragon and then following up with a collection of short stories and poetry entitled, The Affliction of Dreams. His literary novel, St. John of the Midfield was published in 2007, followed by his For the Love of St. Nick, which was released in 2008.  Maccagnone expanded the original version of For the Love of St. Nick and had the book illustrated for a new release in June 2009. 

Garasamo “Gary” Maccagnone lives today in Shelby Township, Michigan, with his wife Vicki and three children. You can visit Gary online at www.garasamomaccagnone.com.

The Story Behind The Peruke Maker: The Salem Witch Curse by Ruby Dominguez

The Peruke Maker by Ruby Dominguez (click on cover to purchase)

Driven by a mystical dream I had after trying on a 100% hand-tied human hair wig that I purchased online in 2004, described to be harvested from a reliable and youthful donor.

I woke-up from the dream in shivers, seemingly reliving a dark history of a young woman’s horrifying fate named Bridget and her father’s (The Peruke Maker) vindictive quest for justice beyond the grave.

Eerily, I believed that in Salem, Massachusettes from three centuries ago, the Peruke Maker’s Shop lay hidden behind a forgotten and abandoned room of an old crematorium built-up with dust and cobwebs with a finished white wig still sits by the boarded up window to this day.

Wefts of yak, goat, horse and human hair, fishhook-like needles, pomade, powder and a wooden head are laid down on a work table wherein a pair of rusty scissors, entwined with strands of Bridget’s red hair eerily rests by the wall mirror.

THE PERUKE MAKER – The Salem Witch Hunt Curse, is my first published book written as a screenplay.

It was my initial intention and still is, that it becomes a Halloween blockbuster  movie.

In the meantime to generate a buzz, I opted for self-publishing for immediate distribution to the e-world.

It didn’t take me long to discover Outskirts Press via internet and then submitted my manuscript for their consideration and acceptance.

And now my book is available in 25,000 internet stores around the world.

It took me 1 year of dreaming about it, 1 year of research work, 4 weeks to put down into written words, and another 2 years to crystallized the story.

Submitted it to Lejen Literary Consultant – Lee Levinson for script coverage analysis and after 2 months received it back with a good review.

Thereafter, it took Outskirts Press  approximately 2 weeks to review and accept

The author, Ruby Dominguez is challenged by the conflicting complexities of the past and future. Undeterred, she strokes with pen the somber and bright hues of her visions. She currently resides in San Francisco and works in the field of property management/leasing. She has been a recipient of the “Editor’s Choice Award,” by the National Library of Poetry in 1999 and 2007 for her published poems in the SHELTER OF SHADE. Visit her website at: www.outskirtspress.com/theperukemaker, and blog at www.salemcurse.wordpress.com

The Story Behind ‘A Land Beyond Ravens’ by Kathleen Cunningham Guler

The premise behind A Land Beyond Ravens, the final book in the Macsen’s Treasure Series, began with the question: how did the quest for the Holy Grail get started? A very big question with no definitive answer.

Each of the four books in the series involves part of a fictional set of five sacred symbols belonging to Britain’s ancient high kings—collectively called Macsen’s Treasure. They are loosely based on the mythical “Thirteen Treasures of Britain,” and include a torque, spear, sword, grail and crown. Except for the crown, all the other pieces were separated and hidden for safekeeping during the turbulent years following the withdrawal of Roman leadership in the early fifth century.

The bare sketch for A Land Beyond Ravens required it include something about Macsen’s grail, a sense of the growing influence of the Christian church in Britain, and that Arthur would finally become high king. A few other notes floated around involving the main characters of master spy Marcus ap Iorwerth and his wife Claerwen, as well as Myrddin (Merlin). That, and the framework that history and legend provided as a backdrop, was all I had when I started writing.

Where to go from there?

First popularized in the late Middle Ages (but long after Arthur’s alleged historical period), the quest for the Holy Grail became known as a catalyst that split apart Arthur’s court and ended his reign. From where the grail stories originated is unknown, but they became inseparable from the Arthurian cycle. The Christian overtones may stem from the church’s alleged “adoption” of many pagan symbols, festivals and holidays in its early days. Using activities with which people were familiar drew them to the church. Gradually, formerly pagan holidays and symbols were Christianized and the older influences were either forgotten or outright forbidden.

What if—likewise—a grail existed that was older than Christianity and was at one time held to be sacred by a people seen as pagan? My personal theory is that this grail could also have been “adopted.” We have the church’s story of Joseph of Arimathea, a kinsman of Jesus, coming to Britain with a cup that was allegedly used either at the Last Supper or to catch the blood of Christ at the crucifixion. If the grail of the high kings was lost, conveniently, who could refute the church’s claim on it?

Based on these thoughts, I wondered: what if the seeds for the quest for the Holy Grail were planted long before it actually gained momentum? What if it was started on purpose? What if it was started by accident? All impossible to prove, but still plausible. And so began the story of A Land Beyond Ravens.

The Story Behind Charlie and Mama Kyna by Diana Rumjahn

Charlie and Mama Kyna is an award-winning charming book with beautiful illustrations for children. The story and illustrations are based on my internationally acclaimed film, Going Home, which was shown worldwide, including 45 film festivals and London Film Festival.

The story is about a little stuffed animal frog, named Charlie who runs away in fear after accidentally breaking his mother’s favorite vase. Charlie makes his way to the city and meets a stuffed animal Lion, named Leo and a stuffed animal giraffe named Joe outside Mrs. Cupcake’s Bakery. The three become best friends and live inside a little orange tent outside the bakery.

After awhile, Charlie becomes homesick, misses his mother, Kyna, decides to go home and invites Leo and Joe to live with them. On the next sunny day, Charlie, Leo and Joe, journey to find Mama Kyna’s home.

The book was written because I received so much positive responses for the film, Going Home. My passion is to tell you this story.

My inspiration for writing the book comes from my love of animals and stuffed animals. They are so cute! In addition, when I am listening to new age music especially music by Enya, I am so inspired to be even more creative.

Diana Rumjahn earned a bachelor’s degree in social science from San Francisco State University where she currently works at the College of Creative Arts . She wrote and directed the film Going Home which has been screened at venues worldwide. She is also the author of the new children’s picture book, Charlie and Mama Kyna. Rumjahn resides in San Francisco and is currently at work on film and book projects.  You can visit her website at www.dianarumjahn.com.

The Story Behind ‘ The Jewish Lady, The Black Man and The Road Trip’ by Carol Sue Gershman

My lover walked out on me and I wanted to get him back! I took all of my negative energy and pain and turned it into writing. He and he alone was my inspiration!

It all started when I took a memoir writing course at Dade County College. I had previously written a two and half page story about a road trip I had taken with him and brought it an as an assignment. My friends and family had enjoyed my story.

Well, the class did not feel the same, thinking it was poorly written and kind of blah! I was more than insecure about myself as a writer and remember feeling terrible but challenged/ For the next four classes, I rewrote the story countless times becoming more and more inspired.

After one month I announced to my teacher, that I was going to write a book. I was on a mission. I wanted to shock my lover with our written story. We would read it together, realize our mistakes and go back together again.

For nine months morning noon and night all that I did was write. One day during one of the months the management knocked on the door saying there was water coming from my apartment. I said, “not here.” I turned around a saw a flood almost to my feet – that is how absorbed I was into writing.

It has been a joy and the whole process huge, bringing me on to new dimensions in my life that I never thought possible. In some ways, I am a completely different person.

***
Constantly reinventing herself, Carol Sue Gershman attended the Miami Dade College memoir class and decided that she would turn her two and a half page “Adventure in Love Story” into a book. Never having written before, it was passion that drove her each day to write.

After spending 25 years in New York City, she was one of the first to arrive into the new phenomenon of Miami Beach (South Beach) She is presently writing her next book while working on laws to ban
smoking in residential buildings.

Now at 73 she will take her completed book back on the road re-living the cities and states visited on the road trip. You might just see her driving her hot yellow mustang convertible packed with books, hats and what it takes for life on the road.

You can visit her website by clicking here.

The Story Behind the Emily the Chickadee Series

I moved to the Portland area in 1999. It was during that first year when I met a wonderful woman named Mary, who quickly became my best friend. Mary had cancer, as did my own mother, and was one of the most giving and special people that I had ever met. Before she died, she made me a wonderful birdhouse from twisted driftwood branches she found on our Oregon coast. Making things was just one of her many gifts. I’ll never forget the morning I woke up to find one of her beautiful birdhouses that she had apparently placed in my garden without my knowledge. It seems that Mary was making them for all the special people in her life and I was blessed to be one of them. Mary died a few months later, but ever since the day her birdhouse appeared in my garden, the magic began to happen. 

I soon noticed that the birdhouse was attracting all varieties of colorful birds to my yard. I delighted in watching them every day from my kitchen window, but it was one special little chickadee that really got my attention. She made her nest in unusual places like the big flower pots on my deck, my window box and even the artificial wreath on my front door. I eventually came to realize that this wasn’t normal chickadee behavior. I wanted to share all the wonder and amazement that I was experiencing as I watched her on a daily basis. I named her Emily and, putting my pen to paper, began the task of telling her story in my first attempt at writing a book for children. The words came out in a simple rhyme that seemed to flow out effortlessly. In one sitting, my very first children’s book was written, which I titled Emily Waits for her Family. 

I started asking friends who had young children or grandchildren to read my story to them. I valued their opinion and the reactions of their young audience. Friends and family continued to encourage me. Eventually, my mother also passed away and I found myself writing lots of poetry after her death. I soon realized there was more of Emily’s story that could be shared. I also wanted to teach children how to take care of the chickadees in their yard, which resulted in the writing of my second book, Caring for Emily’s Family. Somehow I always knew I would write one more book for this to be a three-part series, but had to wait a few more years for the inspiration to finish the story of Emily, the chickadee. 

After my mother’s death, my husband and I built our very first home and we moved to the country, where birds and deer were daily visitors. It was in the following spring that my husband opened our front door and couldn’t believe what he saw. He wouldn’t tell me what it was, but rather called me there to have a look for myself. There appeared to be a pile of straw on the floor and some sticking out from a bird nest in the artificial wreath hanging on the door. I was even more amazed to learn it was a chickadee nest, when I later saw the familiar little bird flying from it. Finally I had the inspiration for the third book, and sat down to write Emily’s New Home.  People always ask how I can be sure it was Emily, the same little chickadee. I tell them that even though I can’t be certain, the little girl telling the story had no doubt at all that it was indeed her little friend who followed her to her new home!

That summer my uncle passed away and I was gifted with some inheritance money. With my husband’s support, I now had the funds to hire a local artist to do the illustrations for all three books. Six years had passed from the time I wrote the first book until May of 2008 when it was finally published. The second book was released in August, followed by the third book in November. It has been quite a journey, but one well worth taking. I originally wrote these books with the hope of increasing children’s awareness of nature and its precious gifts that can be found as close as our own backyards. I never realized the important role they would soon play in my own personal life. My husband passed away suddenly of a heart attack in late November while we were vacationing with our family in Mexico. Had it not been for these books that I’d written and the local children charities they led me to, I never would have been able to get through the month of December. It was important to me that I fulfilled my previous commitments to donate my books to Doerenbecher’s Children Hospital as well as the Children’s Cancer Association before the holidays. I realized that I still had so many blessings left in my life to be grateful for. Even though I miss my husband every day, I am so grateful that the work I’m doing with my books continues to give me a greater purpose, gently reminding me to keep looking outside of myself and connecting with others. That is what is truly important and the gift they bring to me.

Carol Zelaya is a former nurse, recently widowed, and mother of two grown children. She grew up in the Chicago area, where she eventually met and married her husband and where they raised a family. Having relocated to Oregon in 1996, Zelaya began her love affair with nature and its beautiful creatures.  Inspired by her surroundings, she started taking pictures and writing. Writing poetry led to writing three children’s books, of course, in rhyme.  Zelaya’s Emily the Chickadee books are the true story of the special bond between a tiny bird and a little girl and the true meaning of family.

 Carol is now moving to the San Diego area to be near her children.  You can visit her online at www.emilythechickadee.com. 

The Story Behind The Cutting by James Hayman

Like so many thrillers, the idea for the plot of The Cutting came from something I found in the news.

I read an article about so-called “organ tourism.” Americans traveling to foreign countries for transplants they couldn’t qualify for here at home.

As most of us  know, there’s of a chronic shortage of organ donors and organs available for transplant in the US and other first world countries.  People in desperate need of kidneys, livers, and hearts die each year because there simply aren’t enough.  Some of these people are considered too old to qualify for legitimate transplant programs in the US.  Others are deemed to be too sick to benefit from a new organ.

This has given rise to a new and thriving international black market in organs.

Desperately poor people in countries like China, India and in South America often sell organs for money.  A thousand dollars for a kidney may not seem like much to us but it’s considered a fortune to poor people in third world countries.

And the trade isn’t just limited to kidneys.  There are many documented cases where people have been kidnapped and murdered so their organs,  the ones they can’t live without like their hearts, could be harvested and sold to an unknowing American in desperate need of one.

There are a lot of problems inherent in becoming a so-called “organ tourist.” You don’t know if the organ you’re buying is healthy. You don’t know if the surgeon is competent by American standards.  You don’t know if kidnapping, coercion or even murder was involved  in obtaining it.

So I just said “What if?”

What if, instead of happening in some third world country, it was happening right here in the US?

What if there were a number of very rich, very sick old men who couldn’t qualify for legitimate transplant programs because of their age and condition who were willing to pay an immoral but highly qualified surgeon just about anything to get a new heart?

What if they could be assured that the blood type and tissue would be compatible to their needs.

What if the brilliant surgeon also happened to be a sadistic psychopathic killer?

That’s the basic premise behind The Cutting (though the story takes a number of unexpected twists and turns in the telling.)

The Cutting opens as a beautiful young woman is abducted while jogging through the idyllic streets of Portland, Maine’s upscale West End.  The very same night the body of a pretty young high school soccer star is found in an abandoned scrap yard, her heart cut from her body with medical precision.

Former NYPD homicide detective and single father, Michael McCabe, left New York and moved to Portland to find a safer and more wholesome place in which to raise his teenage daughter. But he suddenly realizes he found a lot more than he bargained for.

As it says in The Cutting “standing here in a scrap yard in Portland, Maine, McCabe suddenly…knew with an absolute certainty that…no matter how far he ran, no matter how well he hid, he’d never leave the violence or his fascination with it behind.”

The Cutting is the first in a series of thrillers featuring Michael McCabe. The second, called The Chill of Night, is due out from St. Martin’s/Minotaur in late June of 2010.  That too was inspired by something I read in the news.

Like McCabe, I’m a native New Yorker. He was born in the Bronx. I was born in Brooklyn. We both grew up in the city. He dropped out of NYU Film School and joined the NYPD, rising through the ranks to become the top homicide cop at the Midtown North Precinct. I graduated from Brown and joined a major New York ad agency, rising through the ranks to become creative director on accounts like the US Army, Procter & Gamble, and Lincoln/Mercury.

We both married beautiful brunettes. McCabe’s wife, Sandy dumped him to marry a rich investment banker who had “no interest in raising other people’s children.” My wife, Jeanne, though often given good reason to leave me in the lurch, has stuck it out through thick and thin and is still my wife. She is also my best friend, my most attentive reader and a perceptive critic.

Both McCabe and I eventually left New York for Portland, Maine. I arrived in August 2001, shortly before the 9/11 attacks, in search of the right place to begin a new career as a fiction writer. He came to town a year later, to escape a dark secret in his past and to find a safe place to raise his teenage daughter, Casey.

There are other similarities between us. We both love good Scotch whiskey, old movie trivia and the New York Giants. And we both live with and love women who are talented artists.

There are also quite a few differences. McCabe’s a lot braver than me. He’s a better shot. He likes boxing. He doesn’t throw up at autopsies. And he’s far more likely to take risks. McCabe’s favorite Portland bar, Tallulah’s, is, sadly, a figment of my imagination. My favorite Portland bars are all very real.

You can visit our website at www.jameshaymanthrillers.com.

The Story Behind “Rain Dance” by Joy DeKok

From the time I was a little girl I wanted to write for kids. I was sure the stories ahead for me were the fun and sparkly kind.  I’d studied the craft, read books on writing for children, went to conferences, and was sure it was time.

Then, while cleaning house, a story line came to mind and tugged at my heart. It felt like a good idea, but I was certain it wasn’t for me to write. I tried to scrub, vacuum, and polish the idea away. Instead with every moment, it grew into something bigger. I could see the characters and heard their distinct voices.

I rebelled in part because the story involved my story. Who wanted to read about infertility and a pro-lifer who loved post-abortive women?  We’ve all been told to write what we know as well as no author intrusion. I wasn’t sure how to balance this advice so I clung to the latter. I simply could not write this novel – it was too close to home.

Ideas can be stubborn. I thought it might be cathartic to jot down the ideas to rid myself of them. This purging became a chapter and then two. As I quit resisting and released the words onto the page, a novel was born.

After the writing, re-writing, and editing, I considered putting it in a file cabinet and getting on with the real writing – kid’s books. Instead, I started the process of submitting it and receiving numerous rejections although many of them came with positive personal notes from the editors. Now I had editors, agents, established authors, and my husband encouraging me to self-publish. I hesitated to take the publishing road less travelled. I knew it was the harder path and I knew next to nothing about marketing. I was about to put the manuscript in a file cabinet in our basement when my husband brought me a check. He explained he believed the story had to be shared. His belief sparked a flame of hope in my heart.

It wasn’t until I followed the advice of the wise, the children’s books came together and I found an amazing illustrator.

After some time on the market, I approached an online writer’s group I belong to and asked them to read and review Rain Dance. It never occurred to me the woman who had started her own publishing house would be interested, however, she was.

Sheaf House Publishers released Rain Dance on August 3, 2009.

Louisa Mae Alcott once said, “Housecleaning ain’t no joke.” She wasn’t kidding. My second novel idea came while I was doing the dishes. I have no idea where this one will take me, but I’m done resisting. 

Joy DeKok and her husband, Jon, live in Minnesota on thirty-five acres of woods and fields. Joy has been writing most of her life and as a popular speaker shares her heart and passion for God with women. In addition to writing novels, she has also published a devotional and several children’s books.

Visit Joy online at: www.joydekok.com, www.raindancebook.com, www.believe4kids.com and www.gettingitwrite.net.

The Story Behind “72 Virgins” by Avi Perry

Many Americans do not understand the reasons and purpose of Islamic terrorism. People on the left side of the political spectrum blame the US foreign policy for the insane violence and the eruption of the volcano that breads that kind of hate movement. They are wrong. They simply need to examine the facts. Most Suicide bombings take place in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and other Muslim countries, where the majority of the victims are innocent accidental out-of-luck Muslim bystanders. There are many non-fiction books written about the violent nature of Islam. But, for me, Robert Spenser’s books: the Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam, and The Truth About Islam, have been the ones that triggered the spark for the idea of writing a novel, an action/thriller, which would attract and educate a different segment of the population, a segment whose main focus is entertainment rather than education, whose learning and enlightenment would be achieved indirectly.

As a university professor, at Northwestern University, and as a Vice President in NMS Communications, I always looked for ways to coach and educate—my students, my direct reports, my customers and colleagues. I discovered that winning an argument, gaining attention, and convincing, may, sometimes, be difficult, since my views may be considered tainted by my background and upbringing. However, when these opinions and counter arguments are delivered by fictional characters, they wear uniform of a different color. Arguments can be more extreme, more outrageous, less politically correct, and if I can add a bit of sarcasm and humor they may stick. For example. In my book — 72 Virgins — one of my favorite FBI characters tells a fellow he interrogates in response to the statement: “As far as I know, being a Muslim is not a crime in this country.” The response: “Unfortunately, ninety nine percent of Muslims give a bad name to the rest…” Of course, this comment is a vast exaggeration, pushing an argument to the brink of incredible BS. I would never say it to an audience, and I don’t believe it’s true, but it does make a point; it makes people listen, think, remember, and maybe—crack a smile.

For my first book – Fundamentals of Voice Quality Engineering in Wireless Networks — I got the attention of a literary agent via a book query. After establishing a contact with Cambridge University Press, my agent asked me to send my proposal to the publisher. The publisher forwarded my proposal to several referees. They all came back with very positive feedback—the book contract followed, and twenty months later I became a published author for the first time.

For my second book I picked a completely different path. Cambridge University Press does not publish Fiction. I could not go back and offer them the manuscript for 72 Virgins. I tried attracting agents with book queries, but out of the one hundred I tried touching, only one third bothered to respond, telling me “how sorry they were, but…” I started looking into self publishing when I met my current publisher at a party of a mutual friend. I was able to grab his interest and his pocket. He liked the manuscript, and one year later—here I am, a published author for the second time.

If you are not (yet) a best selling author, an established expert, or a known celebrity, you are going to be ignored or face rejections. If you had written or about to write a non-fiction book, you will not get attention unless you have already established yourself as an authority in that particular subject or field. If you had written a novel, you should let a Simon-Cowell-type person read it before you set your eyes on getting it published. If your manuscript is of high quality, and Simon approves, then you may try Self Publishing, but only if you have the budget to carry the endeavor all the way through. That journey does not end with the printing of the book; it includes professional editing, cover design, typesetting, and above all—marketing. Without a reasonable marketing budget, your book will get lost in the decimal dust. No one will know about it, except your close family and friends. It may be the greatest masterpiece of the century, but it will remain anonymous, lonely and cold. However, if you don’t care about sales, then forget about the marketing, take it out of your budget and don’t bother. Still, you wouldn’t want your friends and family to say things, and smirk behind your back, so you must ensure quality even if you merely get it published as a medal for your undersized ego.

Avi Perry  grew up in Israel. As a teenager and throughout his college years, he was a professional musician. He financed his student life with numerous gigs, playing with his Israeli band, writing songs, playing the various keyboard instruments, and enjoying listening to his performances on the Israeli radio (there was no MTV in late 60s Israel). He still plays and writes music, but as a hobby (at home), rather than as a line of work. During the Six-Day-War in 1967, he served in the Israeli military, in the field intelligence unit, and gained valuable and relevant experience in covert communications technology and a variety of spy craft and methods.

He has spent the past four decades in the US, first as a Ph.D. student, then as a professor at Northwestern University, a Bell Laboratories – distinguished staff member, and finally as Vice President at NMS Communications. He signed for early retirement in 2004 with the intention of writing a technical book. The title Fundamentals of Voice Quality Engineering was published by Cambridge University Press in 2007 and became very popular. Readers praised the book for its thoroughness and for my refreshing, unique and entertaining writing style, atypical among technical writers. Throughout Avi’s tenure at NMS, he wrote many short (humor-packed, peppered with company culture) satires, technical reports, white papers (published on company website), press releases, and more.

One may find more information on his websites (www.aviperry.org and www.aviperry.com ).