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Saturday, April 26, 2008
THE HANDYMAN'S PROMISE HAS ARRIVED!
If you've been wondering whatever happened to Ed and Rick after they made up from that big fight at the end of The
Handyman's Reality, now you can find out. The Handyman's Promise is finished and ready for
the world! The book has been officially released from Authorhouse. At the moment it's only available through their
online bookstore and through Amazon.com (U.S. and Canada), but it will spread to other online stores, including Barnes and
Noble, Amazon UK, and European Amazon sites through the next few weeks. You can start looking for it in your favorite
GLBT brick and mortar stores by mid-May, and special order it through the big chain stores as well.
I've provided links for both Authorhouse and Amazon.com (U.S) here via the Book Info & Appearances page.
Just click on the link on the left side of this page, then scroll down a bit for the online stores links under the book titles
on the Book Info page. Links to the Imixes at Itunes are also provided farther down that right side column as well.
It looks as though some bookstore appearances are in the works for the next few months, so I hope I get to see some of
you and find out what you think of the new book. And by the way, it never hurts to inquire at your favorite GLBT stores
about a Nick Poff appearance. I've got my autograph sharpie and I'm ready to travel!
Happy Reading. I do hope you enjoy the new book, and as always, thanks for the incredible support.
1:49 pm est
Saturday, April 12, 2008
The Handyman's Promise -- The Music
It looks as though my third child -- uh, third book! -- will go out into the world in early May. Therefore I decided
it was time to once again stir up a little interest and excitement with another sneak peek, this time into the soundtrack.
Okay, for those folks unfamiliar with The Handyman books, yes, they all have soundtracks. As both
a writer and a disc jockey, stories and music simply go hand in hand for me. Ed Stephens, the hero of the Handyman
books, has a tendency to feel the same way, so he's usually listening to music as he goes about his daily business, or
as he ponders what life throws at him. In The Handyman's Promise, life does indeed throw a lot to think
about in Ed's lap, and I thoughtfully provided him with some music to help him sort it all out.
There are two playlists (or Imixes as they are called at Itunes) for The Handyman's Promise -- Oldies and 80's.
(It makes me feel quite old to hear 80's hits being played on Oldies stations these days, but for Ed, as his story
takes place in the early 80's, these are current songs.) You can find the Imixes at Itunes. Go to the Itunes
store, then click on Music in the left hand column. That will bring up new set of options in that left-hand
column, including Imixes. Click on Imixes, then type in the title of the book in the search box. That should
pull up the Imixes for that particular book, and might even pull up all of them. You might also type "nick poff"
in the search box to see some of the other Imixes I've posted over the years. If you can't trust a seasoned disc jockey
and avowed lover of old Top 40 to put together fun playlists for you, who can you trust?
I'm very pleased with the musical selections for The Handyman's Promise. Some of them strongly
relate to the story, and a few are thrown in just fun, including the "fag jam" dance songs on the 80's Imix. Most of
those songs are playing at a party Ed and Rick attend early in the book. As the party scene is one of my favorites from
the new book, it was fun to go through my old dance records and put together the soundtrack for that party. Happily,
I found several songs that were available on Itunes. I suspect they will bring back memories to those readers of a certain
age.
Music is the soundtrack of our lives. In addition to reading the new book, I hope you'll check out
the continuing soundtrack of Ed's life as well. Enjoy! When the book becomes available for online purchase,
you'll see it here first.
2:30 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.
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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
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