My editor, the incomparable Ed Schlesinger, sent me a copy of my book in CD form as published by Tantor Audio today. Up to this point I’ve really only ever heard my stories in my own head (voices…inside my head…echoes…,)(brownie points to anyone who knows where that’s from) so this will be interesting to hear someone else reading my words. I had a chance to talk with the narrator, Michael Kramer, when we were working out pronunciations and he has a terrific voice. If his name sounds familiar he’s also the narrator for Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series among others. Still, it’s a bit weird. For so long this was mine, and mine alone. Now there are people translating it into languages I can’t speak, reading it with their own take on how this or that character should sound, and even uploading and downloading it – dare I say it – illegally on the net (kids these days with their new-fangled gizmos). Not that long ago it was just my story, my dream. Now it’s taken on a life of its own. Believe me, I’m not complaining, but it’s just a very strange feeling.

After scaring the beejeebers out of millions of SpongeBob SquarePants fans Viacom and Time Warner have come to terms to keep the Bikini Bottom players on the airwaves. Terrific news to start the new year.

So are you a resolutions kind of person? Not sure if I am. I make them, don’t always follow them. For me, the slippery slope is in not being specific. Simply saying I’ll eat better or procrastinate less just isn’t firm enough. I find the same with writing. I need specific goals to aim for. They help me to focus and break down the tasks ahead and actually plan what I’m doing. I’m still working out just what it is I intend to resolve this year, but when I do I’ll post them in order to keep myself honest.

Happy New Year!

First, they came for Above and Beyond, and I said nothing. Then, they came for Firefly, and still, I said nothing. Pushing Daises was next. And now, they’re coming for the Sponge! Damn you Time Warner and/or Viacom (I can’t actually tell which is the real villain, likely both).

They’ve been flashing a banner across the screen warning that tonight at midnight the Sponge goes dark, along with a bunch of other shows. But how can they silence Mr. Krabs and Squidward and Patrick and Sandy? What will become of Bikini Bottom? And why is a grown man at all concerned about this? Uh…for the kids. Apparently you have to be 18 to call in and lodge your protest, so I’m indignant on behalf of all of those are not yet of the age to be legally recognized as among the indignantazzi (yeah, it’s a word, or should be).

Viva la Sponge! We march on Times Square tonight!

After Nat’s passing I was definitely feeling a bit dark about things. Add to that the current economic climate and the rain of the last few days and my mood wasn’t the best. So when I saw this it came as a very nice surprise. I’m especially pleased because I get to share this with a lot of people who have been incredibly supportive along the way. I’d name them all, but the orchestra would play me off stage before I was through 🙂

Library Journal Best of 2008 Picks If you’re curious, scroll down about 2/3’s to the SF&Fantasy section…you know, if you’re curious…

Nat Schoen passed away recently here in New York. He was 92 and a life long New Yorker. He served in WWII in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. I met Nat in 2000 when I first moved to New York. We were neighbors and used to go to a diner for breakfast on Sunday mornings where he would regale me with stories about the war, Broadway, old New York, his dearly departed wife, Ruth, and the Yankees. I learned more history from him than I did in some of my classes in university. I was also fortunate enough to witness nobility and honor as lived by a man who remained fiercely independent to the end.

Nat, you are missed.