First Draft: Belly of the Beast

We are still blog partying...and I have that N'SYNC song stuck in my head (I haven't played it for days). As far as I can tell, we hold the record for the longest continously running blog party. (If you know different, let me know.) Come join the fun! Everyone welcome! It is an 'open' party.

Nick (UK) was the winner yesterday for Erin's autographed copy of her book. Congratulations! Nick. (email me, please).

Andrew Revels is a long time friend. We met over in England at MyWritersCircle.com years ago, I think it was way before my moderator days. Anyway Andrew and I became mentor and 'grasshopper'. His was a quick and willing student. Andrew is a year, maybe two, older than my oldest kid. One time, I pulled the "This will make sense when you're older" line. Within 5 minutes, he rifled back to me one of the most beautiful and insightful poems I have ever seen, from anyone of any age. In about an hour, he sent me a YouTube link.

The next thing I know, he has a book through lulu.com. That book was his short story collection of Games Poor Kids Play.

The minute he emailed me, I went to lulu and bought the first copy - beat him to it! There were lots of 'oops' formatting moments in GPKP the (first) book, but the stories had both hubby and I rolling on the floor, laughing so hard we had tears running down our faces. I have the first copy of the first edition, and I'm hanging onto it!

My favorite game poor kids play was, wait for it, dart tag. Yes, darts...those sharp things with feathers on one end. Everything was going all right until someone got 'tagged'. Every kid knows the number one rule: don't tell your mom/mum when you get hurt doing something S-T-U-P-I-D!

Following shortly after GPKP came 32 Reasons I Need a Helmet. Yep, got that book too. I wrote in one book review that I was glad Andrew wasn't my kid, and his mom emailed me. She knew I was joking and she is very lovely. Andrew told me that Kathryn's Beach made his mom cry. Aaaah. See his other quotes on my website 'review page'.

Andrew has this writing late at night bug that I have, so just about every night he sent me a chapter of his novel, Belly of the Beast.

I have ALL of Andrew's books. The amazing thing about Andrew's writing is it is so nearly 100% perfect right off - first draft (I've seen them). Andrew is writing his second novel about a road trip. It's fantastic too.

Andrew is a natural and I can't wait to see where his talent takes him. He is a wild child with a gentle spirit and brilliantly creative mind. Can you tell I love this guy?

When he came to Arizona, we were able to get together for an afternoon at my house with my family. He is doing multimedia interviews of local bands and the FOX station did a feature on Andrew recently. It's on his website. http://www.planet-revels.com/

Andrew sent something to me he would like to add to this post. Here it is:

“Don’t go where the puck is…go where it’s going to be.”

I have become a huge fan of Wayne Gretzky as of late. Yet I’ve never seen him play a full game of hockey. I’ve never seen a full game of hockey period. Much like baseball, golf, and break dancing…it’s something I’ve always enjoyed doing more than watching.

I have frequented ESPN since I was a young lad in Wisconsin, so I am no stranger to the highlight reels featuring “The Great One” and his amazing performances. He made it look so easy. But as impressive as he was on the ice, he is twice as amazing as a man.

I’ve never seen a more genuine professional athlete in my life. Gretzky seems like such a warm, welcoming human being. Take a break from this for a second and google Wayne Gretzky’s charity work. It will blow your mind. This is a guy that got an opportunity, made the most of it, and became the best. He also became grateful. That’s one thing that we always need to be. Wherever any of us are, have been, or will go…we didn’t do it alone.

If I had never read Sherman Alexie’s The Loner Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, I probably never would’ve started writing my own collection of short stories. Had Nadine Laman never taken the time to mentor me and advise me in the writing industry, I never would not have written three books. Because of that, I will never stop giving props where props are due. I will always point people in their direction. Because I am grateful for what they’ve done for me.

But spreading the word on them is not enough. I asked Nadine how I could repay her for all of her help and kindness and she simply told me to make sure to do the same for other people. That was very Gretzky of her. I’ve tried to do my best to help other people out any time I can.

The internet is an amazing platform if you know how to use it. Two years ago I started inviting any unrecognized author to write a column on my web site. How did that turn out? I’m engaged to one of the writers that took me up on my offer. What goes around comes around. When I wrote my second collection of short stories, I wanted to include illustrations. So I scouted message boards and classifieds to find an unknown artist looking to make a name for himself.

When something happens for me, I want it to happen to someone else. And it goes beyond writing. I started PRTV as a way to help showcase any artist or entertainer who needed a place to showcase their talents. I’ve interviewed over 25 people so far, and for most of them it was their first interview. We have a local semipro football team that nobody has ever heard of. I am doing everything I can to get them noticed.

Wayne Gretzky’s father tells a story about when Wayne was playing junior hockey and had scored something like 380 goals. Wayne was getting ready for a game and said to his old man, “You know there’s a kid on the team that hasn’t scored a goal yet? I’m going to help him score one tonight.” And he did. Twice. He was ten years old. That’s what it’s all about. People helping people. If something great is happening to me, I want it to happen to somebody else. It’s a cycle. You help me, I help him. You inspire me, I inspire her. We are all eager and hungry, and if we have each other’s backs…we will all succeed. This is an amazing thing Nadine started, and I am grateful to be involved.

Live long. Live strong.
AR

Party Game: Post in the comments below a sentence that includes the words, "I know what it's like" or tell one of your childhood antics. There ya go! Go win Belly of The Beast, an amazing debut novel.

By request from the comment section group:

You asked for it, here is the Games Poor Kids Play cast of CHARACTERS!

32 Reasons Andrew Needs A Helmet.

And the man behind all of this...Grandpa Revels turns 80 (YouTube disabled the sound)

Coming tomorrow ~ SUSAN GABRIEL!

**If you need help navigating blogger, here are some basic instructions: http://nadinelaman.blogspot.com/2009/08/just-few-basics.html

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