My fellow VerveStar Authors (Part 3): Franklin D. Murdock

Were you wondering if I’d ever get back on track? Truth is, I’ve been searching for more information on this venerable 90-year-old author and poet with very little success. If I’d taken notes during his talk instead of sitting there in an enthralled stupor I’d have it all. Finally (duh) it occurred to me follow his press release on Google. Since the cover of The Best is Yet to Come is still in development, and the book not available for me to review, this will be mostly bio. And believe me, it’s plenty impressive!

I tagged along to his media conference at The Hallmark of Battery Park, NYC on Thursday, May 26, after we closed up the booth at BEA. Although too blind to really see his audience, he spoke strongly and engagingly. We were all immediately involved.

Murdock was born December 15th, 1920 in Salt Lake City, Utah, the fourth of five boys and one girl. From his press release:

He volunteered his service to the U.S. Navy in 1944 and spent one year in intensive schooling studying radio and radar electronics; serving on two different surface vessels before being discharged early in 1946. Following the military, he worked with Douglas Aircraft Company as a technician in the study of radio energy propagation/development of flush mounted antennae. He was general foreman of all engineering research and development laboratories before accepting a position of design project engineer for electronics and weapons systems for the A4 SKYHAWK airplane used by the Marines, U.S. Navy and several foreign countries. He retired after 34 years; when last of the A4 SKYHAWKS had been delivered.

It was the R&D during those years that led to the HUDs (heads-up displays on fighter jet windshields), iphones and all the other gizmos of today’s life.

Murdock’s primary subject matter is inspirational and spiritual, and he continues to deliver it well. He has written four books: My Life in Poetry and The Absolute Truth, Blessing or Presumption and recently an updated edition of My Life in Poetry. He also contributes to an active blog, networks on Facebook, and still researches daily for his future books. The Best is Yet to Come and his memoir are to be released by VerveStar.

This picture was taken at the VerveStar booth at Book Expo America. With him is his great-granddaughter, Mary, who travelled with him from L.A. They were guests at an assisted living facility run by the same company as his home in California.

Writing BFFs: Elle Newmark and Seré Prince Halverson

Let me interrupt my series on fellow VerveStar authors to tell you a sweet story.

A few years ago I ran into an uproarious and informative article called “Better Late Than Early” by Elle Newmark. I was so impressed that I had the audacity to write her a fan email. And she answered! She was, in fact, packing for a research trip to India when my note popped up. We’ve had a few brief exchanges since then, especially after I read her novel, The Book of Unholy Mischief (now retitled The Chef’s Apprentice). I reviewed it (here) as well as on Amazon and B&N. It was amazing. It’s a thoroughly researched, deliciously detailed, story of intrigue set in 15th century Venice.

Happily, I am now on her mailing list and was duly advised when The Sandalwood Tree, set in 1940s India, was released. I hadn’t quite finished it when I had to leave for New York and the BEA.

From my motel room I dashed off an enote asking Elle if she would be there. She responded:

I've never gone to the BEA but I have a dear friend who I believe is there right now. Her name is Seré Prince Halverson, her book is The Underside of Joy, and her publisher is Dutton. If you meet her tell her Elle says Hi. She's a great writer and genuinely nice to the bone.

Thus, basically an unknown to them both, I set out to do just that. I found Seré’s table in the Book Expo’s autograph section and got in line. Elle was right. She was indeed warm, unpretentious, and wholesomely pretty. Feeling a bit awkward, I blurted: “I have a message from Elle Newmark.”

Seré froze and her eyes widened. She actually teared up a little. Oh, dear. “Elle says ‘Hi’,” I continued lamely, “I had an email from her last night saying you were here.”

They weren’t just friends. They had known each other and written together for years and years. They were “sisters in writing,” Seré said. By the time I left, clutching an autographed copy of her book, I was nearly moved to tears myself. I’ve never had an experience like that – being a living link between two busy besties. Great feeling.

I promise to review both wonderful books in this space in very soon.

My fellow VerveStar authors (Part 2): Matthew Scott Kimple

Is 27 years old too young for a memoir? Well…not if you’re a stuntman who’s worked his way up to Hollywood Stunt Coordinator (as well as acting in those same productions), is a screenwriter, wins medals in kung fu tournaments (is also a fung fu instructor), and has taught English for two years in China! In fact, it's quite a thick book. Sounds like he needs to do a memoir at least every couple of decades just to keep us caught up…

I didn’t know what to think when I met him. I mean, comparatively speaking, he’s just a kid. I wouldn’t say he was hyper or fidgety or anything, but he is definitely wired for action. And he kept everyone up and down the row thoroughly entertained with his quick wit and lively conversation. Until I got used to him, I panicked every time he spieled off some attention-getting scenario, like: “I’m going to run across the stage and knock over the podium!”

Other than that, he was completely poised and professional when meeting people at the booth. Believe me, we really missed him when he flew out on Thursday.

His book, cleverly entitled White Rice, chronicles his adventures thus far. Look for it November 2011. The cover is still in work. I’ve posted some prototypes. Which one do you like?

On a personal note, something seemed eerily familiar about Matt. I didn’t figure it out until after he was gone. There’s a character in my series called Daen, who was selected to the emperor’s elite personal guard force because of his quick wit, diplomacy, and acrobatic martial skills. While Ammanians on the whole are a large and muscular sort, Daen was small and agile – the type recruited to the imperial army’s special Stealth Force. The story often depends on his heroics. OMG. It’s Matt.

Yes! I Did Meet Jane Lynch!

Thursday, May 26, my last day at the BEA (Book Expo America) was long and hectic. The next day I flew home. Also long and hectic. So please forgive the lapse in time.

That morning (Thurs) there were four of us VerveStar authors at the booth. I managed to embarrass them all by shrieking “There she is!” when tall and picture-perfect Jane Lynch strode along the aisle toward the Uptown Stage.

She flashed a big smile. “Yes, here I am!”

Somehow I, a notorious klutz, scrambled over all the materials stacked around and under the table and emerged intact with my camera. She came right over to me, swung an arm around my waist and we turned to face a series of flashes. Husband and I are both big fans of hers. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I murmured something about how much I enjoyed everything she ever starred in. She gave me a gracious nod and was off to her speaking engagement.

By then I was aware that a crowd had formed, all of them busy sending pics to their entire contact list.

Around noon, Nick and Miranda arrived from a press meeting to announce that our press releases were now racing over the wires. We then proceeded to set up the cappuccino machine. Sort of. The machine seemed more bent on emulating Old Faithful than producing a trendy brew. After Housekeeping’s third visit to our booth, Miranda got it under control. By the time crowds started gathering for Jane Fonda’s turn on the Uptown Stage, it was turning out delicious shots of foamy hazelnut cappuccino. It proved to be a great way to attract a meet ‘n greet. (At right: VerveStar publicist Miranda Spigener, infamous coffee machine, author Jahnavi Foster)

At 3:00 The BEA was officially over. Time to strike the set. We were down to three by then: Nick, Miranda and me. We worked feverishly away, barely finishing in time to make it to Battery Park for Murdoch’s presentation.

Franklin Murdoch, I must explain, is the 90-year-old author of The Best is Yet to Come. He flew in from LA, aided by his great-grandaughter (above in background). When he wasn’t at the booth, he was at a nursing home in Battery Park owned by the same company as the one in LA. It was in one of their meeting rooms that VerveStar arranged his press meeting. Too blind to see his audience, he nevertheless held us enthralled. But ya know? That’s a whole nuther post. Stay tuned.

I’ll close at a nice quiet Japanese restaurant where we finally called it a day. Whilst sipping miso soup, Nick checked on my press release. It had gone out on Reuters, AP, and others I can’t recall off hand. Subscribers to these news services choose the items they wish to feature. By that time (7:30 PM) 268 had picked me.

On that happy note, we struggled back to our respective motels with a cabbie who didn’t know New Jersey. But that’s yet another story.

Will I see you at the BEA?

Only a few more days now! The VerveStar folks, Nick Delarosa and Miranda Spigener, are leaving Friday to set up Booth # 4885. As I run through the ranks of literary blogs, I find quite a few of you gathering your stuff to go.

There will be five of us debuting at the VerveStar booth this year: Mary Odle Fagan (that’s me!), Coco Mayor, Matthew Scott Kimple, Franklin Murdock, and Jahnavi Foster. My big media day will be Wednesday, but I’ll be cruising the Javits Center the rest of the time seeing how many of you I can find.

Tending to all the details just for my part makes me wonder how on earth Nick and Miranda are getting it together for all five of us. Sometimes I find emails that were sent at 4 AM! Sure hope they at least get some sleep on the plane. Can’t thank them enough for their Herculean efforts.

See you in NYC!

I might actually see JANE LYNCH at the BEA!

When publicist Miranda Spigener texted me that Jane Lynch would be at the Book Expo America in NYC I got very excited. She’ll be appearing on the Uptown Stage at the Javits, right across from the VerveStar booth! How perfect is that?

No, I haven’t been following Jane on Glee. I liked her best when she was typecast all over TV Land as a psychologist. She was so perfect in that role: always unflappable no matter how outrageous the confessions of her patients, and always ready with an acerbic one-liner.

Her credits are way more varied than that, of course. In one show I found her singing with a country music group. Only now have I learned she’s a regular voice on Phineas and Ferb, of all things, and even did a gig on Shrek. And I LOVE her commercials. A limo cat? Seriously.

No doubt she’s enjoying Glee much more than shrinking for the stars, most notably Two and a Half Men. For one thing, it’s catapulted her into well-deserved celebrity. For another, well…why keep trying to analyze Charlie Sheen?

You rock, Jane!

So…we’re getting ready for the BEA again…

The international Book Expo is getting ready to happen. Actually, it happens several times a year in various places – Frankfort, London, Beijing, etc. – but the last week of May it happens at the Javits Convention Center in NYC. Hence, BEA, meaning Book Expo America.

The VerveStar partners started preparing months ago. They scored booth number 4885, an enviable location on a corner across from the uptown stage. (You’d have to see the five-foot-long diagram of Javits’ main floor to appreciate that…)


Last year I found the BEA to be the most seriously non-productive fiasco I could ever imagine. Just scroll back forever to last year’s posts and see. But THIS year I’ve got a new publisher, world class publicists Miranda Spigener and Nick Delarosa, and Booth 4885 to report to. I gotta believe that THIS year it’s gonna be different!


And THIS year I’m taking a hint from my son, who went to NY on business a couple of years back. The trick, it seems, is to stay across the Hudson in New Jersey where prices are somewhat more reasonable. There’s a ferry that goes from Weehawken directly across to the Javits. And there’s probably also a bus that would kindly take me through the Lincoln Tunnel and deposit me within a couple of blocks of said destination. And instead of running the gamut of Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, Kayak, Priceline, Hotwire, etc., I’m trying Southwest Airlines. So far they’ve offered the lowest fares to both LaGuardia and Newark Int’l.

So if you’re thinking about the BEA, or New York City in general, stay tuned. When I get this all worked out, you can profit from my traveling discoveries!

Special note to my readers:

The Ammanon series has recently been acquired by VerveStar, LLC, terminating my association with my previous publisher. As a result, the first 3 books already in print may no longer be available until they are issued under the new imprint. I see that Amazon is already treating Book One, The Prophecy as a collector’s item! At this writing, the other two are still available from independent Amazon venders.

In approximately one year, re-edited and redesigned versions in hardcover and dust jacket will be released, and the series will continue. I assure you it will be an improvement worth the wait!

About my other projects: the non-fiction Confessions of a Clueless Caregiver, originally the first choice of VerveStar, is on hold for now. It is the true, bittersweet, often hilarious tale of the way I breezed back after years and miles away in order to "keep their lives normal." Right. But this is good, I think. The Ammanon series is already three books in, and should be continued in a timely manner.

The Hundredth Spring is my first, and avowed last, sci-fi novel. It's the story of a housewife from the 1940's misplaced among warring alien races. It's been a fun trip; combining a favorite fantasy with memories of Medaryville, Indiana, during the war years. It’s homespun wisdom and lots of Hoosier colloquialisms interspersed with tech talk and wildly different cultural norms. The first chapter has already been published online: Read it here!

My editor for this manuscript happened to know a sci-fi type artist (see my article “Look What I Found Without Looking”, September 12, 2010). He is now doing some original art for the cover. When it’s finished, I will start shopping the book again. There was little interest when I was submitting Spring awhile back, but I got so involved with my motley assortment of characters that I just may publish it independently. For one thing, the people of Medaryville who were so helpful during my research should see a copy before they die. Two dear ladies actually lived during the era described and are now quite elderly.

Well, that catches us up for now. Have a great weekend!

Are you trying to get published?

Let’s face it: when it comes to publishing, it’s a jungle out there! An aspiring author basically has three choices: a traditional and/or Big Name publisher, a subsidy publisher, or a vanity press. Unless you’re Stephenie Meyer, James Patterson, or Stephen King, you can totally forget about the first one.

A subsidy house is iffy at best and fraught with fraud at the worst. They will review your manuscript before offering a contract and, ostensibly at least, offer to share the cost of publication. Unfortunately, they are usually just after the front money – fees, plus however many copies they can get you to buy.

The vanity press is self-publishing, pure and simple. They will give you a finished product with the least hassle, but there’s no attempt at quality. Like the subsidy operations, the vanities offer all sorts over-priced and under-effective editing and marketing services. Sadly, it’s way too easy to suck in a new author chasing a dream.

But that said, far be it from me to discourage you from having a dream! Unfortunately, I have little help for you. Every time I think I’ve got a handle on the way things work in this business, I quickly realize I don’t know zip. I was lucky – at least with Books One and Two of my series. Eloquent, a subsidy imprint of Strategic, was pretty much a one-man operation when I was referred to them. That man was Mark Bredt, who did a brilliant job on my cover and generally took good care of the entire process. He also assigned an editor named Jennifer Leigh Mustoe to do a 3-chapter evaluation of the manuscript. She absolutely tore me apart. Best thing that ever happened to me! Then she disappeared. I’ve been Googling her for years now with no luck.

Book Three was a nightmare of epic proportions. The burgeoning Strategic was sucking in manuscripts by the hundreds and adding departments and off-the-street personnel at nearly the same rate. Even before I became aware of all the legal and ethical charges against them, I was contending with a deranged artist, a third-world Outsourced press writer, and complete lack of interdepartmental communication. But AMMANON Book Three, the Deliverance did finally get out there. And NOT with that cover!

My new publisher, VerveStar, is a small traditional publisher. They’re not just continuing the series; they’re starting over with Book One. This time it will be done professionally in hardcover with dust jacket, and properly promoted. Unfortunately that means Ammanon will not be available on Amazon.com or other sources until it comes out again under the new imprint. So, dear readers, please help me to be patient!

By the way, I’ve signed with a new publisher!

Remember last summer when I posted about VerveStar? (July 11, 2010) They’re a highly-rated international PR firm now branching out into more comprehensive media services and publishing. I met one of the partners, Miranda Spigener, while they were doing some contract work for my previous publisher. Later I did a bit of work for them on their new website, http://www.vervestar.com/, which is still being renovated, and was thoroughly impressed by their capabilities and operations. So when they approached me about taking over the Ammanon series, it was, like, are you kidding? I’m there!

VerveStar has a radically different approach. Actually, it’s the way it should’ve always been. Sort of an “Ah-hah!” moment in the literary industry. As recognized leaders in the PR world, the VerveStar partners understand that it’s publicity that moves the market. Obviously, you can’t sell it if nobody knows about it, right? Therefore, VerveStar is developing the publishing around the publicity...the way most businesses have done for years!

It only makes sense to build a campaign around the author and his book, and then publish in the wake of that in-place and ongoing publicity. This will provide authors with a much better outcome than the hap-hazard, largely do-it-yourself marketing programs of today’s publishing houses. VerveStar believes that the first and final product needs to be the publicity, not the book. They are publicists first, publishers second.

Think about it. Why do it any other way?

Odd Moments in History – August

I know, I know. August ain’t half over yet! But already there’s quite a collection of oddities – and who knows what impact they’ve had on life as we know it? For instance:

Aug. 3, 1985 - Mail service is discontinued to a nudist colony in Paradise Lake, FL until residents promise to wear clothes or stay out of sight when the mailperson comes.

Aug. 4, 1693 –Dom Perignon invents champagne. (This day is now more popularly known as U.S. Coast Guard Day. No doubt it’s celebrated with champagne.)

Aug. 6, 1981 – Fire fighters in Indianapolis, IN return from a false alarm to find their station ablaze from a grease fire. (Turn off the burners before you leave, guys…)

Aug. 6, 1762 – The first formally acknowledged “sandwich” since Roman times (beef and cheese between slices of toasted bread) is devised for John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich.

Aug. 7 was quite eventful:
1983 – Over 675,000 AT&T employees, mostly operators, go on strike. Middle management mans the switchboards and quickly decide they need a union, too.
1947 - The balsa wood raft Kon-Tiki struggles across 4,300 miles of Pacific Ocean only to crash into the reef of a Polynesian archipelago.
1876 – The centuries old custom of tup-running (trying to seize a ram by its greased tail) goes wildly awry at Eton College. The panicked ram swims the Thames and runneth amok through Windsor Market with the boys in hot pursuit. Much mischief resulteth.

Aug. 9 was even busier:
2004 - Donald Duck receives the 2,257th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1944 – Smokey Bear debuts as the spokesbear for fire prevention. He’s the creation of The Forest Service and Wartime Advertising Council.
1905 – Ty Cobb’s mother mistakes her husband for a burglar and kills him.
1678 - American Indians sell the Bronx to Jonas Bronck for 400 beads.

Aug 10, 1846 - Congress charters the Smithsonian Institution, called "the nation's attic."

Aug 14, 2126 - Comet Swift-Tuttle makes its closest approach to Earth. Just a little heads-up there…
1756 – And a society note here: Daniel Boone marries 16-year-old Rebecca Bryan.

Aug 11, 1984 – President Reagan (for a radio voice check): "I have signed legislation that outlaws Russia forever. We begin bombing in 5 minutes." This day has also been declared Presidential Joke Day.

August 13, 3114 BC – The first day of the Mayan calendar, according to the Lounsbury correlation.

August 15 is host to many momentous events:
1969 – The Woodstock Music & Art Fair opens in Bethel, NY (Max Yasgur's Dairy Farm). Billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music," it features
24 bands and draws over 400,000 people. The event became an iconic cultural phenomenon.
1968 – Pirate Radio Free London goes on the air. A transmitter was set up in an apartment, and their aerial was a long wire which ran across a street and a railroad track and was tied to the fire escape of a BBC building.
1877 - Thomas Edison writes to the president of the Telegraph Company in Pittsburgh stating that "hello" is more appropriate than "ahoy" when answering the telephone. Like, why not just call him about it?

Aug. 16, 1920 - The only fatality to date in major league baseball occurs when Ray Chapman (Cleveland Indians) was hit in the head with a fastball from Carl Mays of the NY Yankees.

Aug. 17, 1977 - FTD (Florists Transworld Delivery) reports that orders for flowers to be delivered to Graceland for Elvis Presley’s funeral surpasses any other event in the company's history.

And so it goes. I had no idea what neat stuff I’d be learning when I took on the “Today in History” feature for http://www.vervestar.com/. The biggest shock was August 10, 2003, which was the first marriage from space. It was between cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, who was orbiting in the International Space Station, and Ekaterina Dmitriev, who was down at Houston’s Johnson Space Center. Unfortunately, I misunderstood my source’s rather vague listing of the event and thought both were cosmonauts, and both were aboard the ISS.

But no problem. One of VerveStar’s founding partners, Miranda Spigener, is a personal friend of Ekaterina (“Kat”) and was able to correct my entry. It seems Kat even starred in a short film written/directed/produced by Miranda. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0280921/) It won Audience Choice as Official Selection at the 2001 Venice International Film Festival and appeared as part of the Alternate Selection/Audience Pick at the 2001 Berlin International Film Fest. Wow. Like I said, you never know what you’re going to learn.

Now get out there and make an Odd Moment for me to report!

A VerveStar is Born!

ENTERTAINMENT ∙ LITERARY PUBLICITY ∙ PUBLISHING ∙ MEDIA ∙ EVENTS ∙ PR

Okay, so VerveStar has been around for a while. It’s a literary PR firm I met through my first publisher. One of the partners, Miranda Spigener, happens to live in the area so I’ve actually met her. She surprised me by showing up to my first book signing a couple of years ago. She’s done a lot for me: got me on the shelf at Borders, got me translated into Indonesian, and wrangled me a neat display box. Much more, actually – guidance, encouragement, etc.

So what’s new? VerveStar is debuting their greatly expanded media services, now including special packaging and book publishing. They have a great new website: http://www.vervestar.com/ to which my miniscule contribution is to research the “Today in History” calendar feature.

Anyway, I find the whole thing terribly exciting. Miranda and her partners have been working sleeplessly on this launch for over a week now. They’re already well proven; real hard-hitters and go-getters.

Actually, everything in this field is pretty much over my head, but I'm learning!

In the meantime, I want to wish them all the best in their new ventures!