NICK POFF - AUTHOR OF THE HANDYMAN SERIES

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Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Lazy-Hazy-Crazy
Ah, mid-July:  The air is hot, the grass is brown, and my brain seems to be experiencing its annual shift into neutral.  My summer mix CD is playing, featuring such forgotten classics as "Wonderful Summer" (Robin Ward), "Summer Means Fun" (Bruce & Terry), "Summer Nights" (Marianne Faithfull), "Summer" (War), "Beach Baby" (First Class), and of course "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer" by Nat "King" Cole.  Once I hear those songs my mind seems to flash back to my school years when summer was a warm and sleepy extended goofing-off period.  Too bad that seems to disappear in adulthood, right? 
 
The early part of the summer was dedicated to intense promotion for The Handyman's Reality.  Since I've been reassured that the book has been stocked at the appropriate locations for those folks looking for summer vacation and beach-time reading, I suppose I can relax and concentrate on my own summer reading. 
 
Let's see:  I'm still recommending Clearcut by Nina Shengold, and still adding the warning for potential readers that there's a hell of a lot more heterosexual sex than homo; still, it's one of the best novels I've read in some time.  There IS a strong man-on-man element in the story, and it's just far enough off the beaten trail to really rock my world.  As one of the book blurbs says, once you've met Earley Ritter, you won't soon forget him. In some respects I think this book would make a better movie than Brokeback Mountain
 
I'm still raving about The Brothers Bishop by Bart Yates.  The drama and suspense in this one took me completely by surprise, which tickled me enormously.  I love to be caught off guard.  If Bart Yates is anything like Nathan Bishop, I think I'd like to hang out with him sometime. 
 
I just finished reading Discreet Young Gentleman by MJ Pearson.  Now, this was indeed a surprise for me.  I usually don't gravitate toward historical fiction, but the book was highly recommended to me by Mary and Tammara at Out Word Bound Books in Indianapolis.  So I bought it, took it home, and was instantly charmed by the story and Ms. Pearson's style.  This woman has definitely got it going on when it comes to writing gay historical romance.  Her earlier book, The Price of Temptation, is now on my "must read" list. 
 
And if you haven't yet read Strings Attached by Nick Nolan, Foreward Magazine's Gay Fiction Book of the Year, what are you waiting for?  (Links provided on the Favorite Links page for this one!)  
 
As I learned recently the burning question on some minds isn't what Nick is reading this summer, but rather what he is writing.  Well, as usual, my muse seems to have packed bags and fled to a cooler place.  At some point, though, I'm sure the muse will return, and I'll be writing fiction instead of blog entries. 
 
I have also learned over the past month or so that quite a few folks are expecting a third book in the Handyman series.  That's gratifying, to say the least.  I'll be honest here:  I had no intention of beginning book three until I was sure people still wanted to read more of the story.  Ed and Rick's fans have spoken, and the verdict:  There MUST be a third book!  Okay, okay.  I hear you.  Now I know, and I am making it my goal to deliver the next book in 2008. 
 
It really does help to get feedback, although some of the stuff readers tell me takes me by surprise.  I jokingly told a friend the other day that the working title for Book #3 should be Mrs. Penfield Must Die.  Talk about a bunch of vultures!  I can't believe how many people want her dead so Ed and Rick can get their inheritance.  If she really existed in Real Life I'd probably hire security for her.  We'll see...we'll see...I promise nothing, and will reveal nothing...at least until the manuscript goes to the publisher. 
 
Again though, it's mid-July; I'm listening to "Hot Summer Nights" by Night, and instead of creating new fiction my mind drifts back to the summer of '79 and all the nonsense my friend Anj and I were up to back then.  Now that would be a book in itself, but as per our agreement on such revelations it couldn't be published until after we were both dead.  Anyway, Porterfield and Ed and Rick seem a million miles away, but at some point my imagination will return to the corner of Spruce and Race Streets, and the words will begin to appear on the computer screen. 
 
In the meantime, I'm off to Indiana Beach tomorrow with friends to ride the Hoosier Hurricane and prove once again there is more than corn in Indiana.  Anyone who hasn't suffered through the endless repetition of that advertising campaign over the years doesn't have a clue what I'm talking about, but for those who do, I promise that if I see that damn crow tomorrow I'll throw a rock at it, or do my best to drown it in beautiful Lake Shafer. 
 
Here's hoping the kid in you is enjoying your lazy-hazy-crazy days of summer.  I'm sure the minute I board the Scrambler at Indiana Beach tomorrow I'll be ten years old again, and thinking school and responsibility are a million years away.  It's not a bad feeling, and I think every grown-up should give into it at least once every summer.  Work will always be there, but sometimes fun needs an invitation.         
1:19 pm est


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When I'm Not Writing...
 
UPDATE:  If you are on Facebook I hope you'll join the NICK POFF Author of the HANDYMAN series group for discussions, updates, and more. 
 
 
 
 
The sad but honest truth is that most writers need to supplement their income with something other than writing.  I've worked in the radio industry since the tender age of sixteen, and for the same two radio stations for the past fourteen years.  We call it The Hotel California -- you can check out but you can never leave!  It's amazing how people go, but then seem to come back at some time, including me.  Radio has been good to me, and although there are still times I regret not sticking with the writing thing at an earlier age, it's been an interesting ride. 
 

Things I'm Enjoying....

In The Handyman's Dream Ed and Rick spend time at a cabin on a small lake in southern Michigan.  In a weird fiction-meets-non-fiction kind of way, John Sellers writes about just such a place in his latest book, The Old Man and the Swamp. It is a must-read for anyone who, like me, has been intrigued by that strange part of the world at the borders of Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio; fears and respects snakes, and has enitrely too much memory space dedicated to the 70's & 80's.
 
I enjoyed Joyce Maynard's latest, The Good Daughters.
 
I still can't believe All My Children is leaving ABC this September. I was a SLAVE to this soap opera for 27 years. Even though I stopped watching every day back in '01, I've checked in occasionally, and talked with co-workers about what was going on in Pine Valley. I mean......a world without Erica Kane? That, to me, is scarier than facing the end of the Mayan calendar!  I have, of course, read Susan Lucci's recent memoir, All My Life. It's a nice, breezy read, but for diehard AMC fans only. Still...Ms. Lucci is on my list of people I hope to meet someday, if only to say "THANKS!"  
 
The wonderful thing about "All My Children" is that it was, for many years, more than "just a soap opera." It was a second family of sorts to its most loyal fans. We can thank the amazing Agnes Nixon, the show's creator for that, but I also think thanks must be given to the entire production staff, and those incredible actors who made those characters so special to us. Did I learn some basic facts about life from watching this daytime drama? Yes. Did I learn how to write a good story from watching "All My Children?" You betcha. Anyone who reads and enjoys the HANDYMAN books can be grateful for the hours I spent in front of the TV, absorbing the finest writing in daytime television.
 
Just below is the link to the YouTube video from the intro of the 20th Anniversary special from 1990. It contains some brief clips from the first 20 years of the show.  Although AMC soared wonderfully into the 21st Century, I gotta admit the best stories were from the first 20 years.  
 
 
This show ain't dead yet, but it will be in September. Yeah, I'll probably be watching those final episodes. In the meantime, I want to celebrate some of the best creative writing classes I ever attended. Thanks, "All My Children!"
 
 
And I'm truly finding a great deal of joy in producing and broadcasting my little internet radio show on www.live365.com.  I hope you'll tune in some Wednesday evening for some wonderful old music and chat.
 
 
 It's all RETRO here at the House of Nick. I also love the occasional old game show clip on YouTube.  I'm all about the retro fun stuff.  I'd like to think it reminds us not to take ourselves too seriously in the here and now.  I celebrate old pop music on my internet radio show, NICK POFF RADIO 45. 
 
As most writers do, I love word games, so I always enjoyed the game shows dealing with words. I loved the $10,000 Pyramid (and the $20,000 and the $25,000 Pyramid, etc.). For those with a short attention span, here's Billy Crystal's record-breaking trip to the top.
 
 
 
 
"I can't even watch The New Treasure Hunt anymore because you give me so much shit about it!"
 
(The above line of dialogue was deleted from the final draft of The Handyman's Dream. Ed's enjoyment of game shows and Rick's dislike of them would continue to be a source of irritation.) 
 
 
 

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Meet two potential victims of global warming.  If you want to save the bears as much as I do, vote wisely in each and every election, and check out the link on my Favorite Links page.

Nick Poff