Sold one “Goshkin at Large,” which represents a decline of 80 % over the previous week’s sales, a downturn I can only attribute to the economic policies of the present administration. (Worse yet for my bottom line, the buyer, a lawyer-pal, is someone I’d already privately determined deserved a gift copy for his previous beyond-the-call support of my books.)
Also gave away an “I Will Keep You Alive.” It went to two young women who identified themselves at the Mended Hearts Forum as “college age sisters” who’d both received defibrilators recently. After identifying myself as old as four college age sisters and similarly equipped, we struck up an enjoyable correspondence, covering such experiences as being skinny enough to have our bulges initially make for locker room self-consciousness, especially in my case sice I lacked a “boob” to hide mine under.
In other news…
1.) That fan of “Fully Armed,” whose failurw to find any other books by me had made her an object of curiosity last “Adventure,” took slight umbrage at my surprise. She pointed out that she had looked only in the immediate aftermath of having read FA and that (a) at that point, I had only written one other book, which had come out 15 years earlier, and (b) there was no Google to help her. This left me much abashed, but I think we have become pals again.
2.) In my semi-recently published review “From Croatia With Love” (www.tcj.com), I highly praised the book “Mangalos vol. 1.” Its artist, Ivana Armanini, and writer, Marko Golub have now said really cool things about my piece separately at FB. “The best and most bizarre review ever” (IA) and “Strange, magical writing” (MG).
FLASH! And word has reached me just this morning that “comic activists” in Belgrade want to reprint my review in translation for distribution at a comic festival. “Serbian language,” I am told, “is fantastic for the psychedelic and bizarre,” which, I guess, is how my prose is regarded there and isn’t bad for an old Jewish guy from West Philadelphia. Makes you want to keep getting up in the morning and take another swing at the ball.
[Incidentally, I ought to point out, this very piece, slightly modified but hopefully even more bizarre and magical – though in English only – appears in “Goshkin,” for which orders are still being taken. Just send $15 to Spruce Hill Press. POB 9492, Berkeley 94709.)