The Writer's Life 5/13

I'm experimenting with Kindle again. Some time in the early '90's I wrote a screenplay, All Hallows, wherein five inmates escape from an asylum and terrorize the small fictional town of Bela. What I intended was a revenge of the townies story, pure fun. Throughout I make references (i.e. The Bate-Myers Institute) to film and TV fare baby boomers and media buffs would appreciate, paying tribute to what entertained us, no nudity or profanity, the emphasis on suspense, the potential for violence and breakneck action. I imagined Tom Selleck as the star, a Vietnam vet now in law enforcement, Willford Brimley as the retired Sheriff and Korean War vet, and Rachel Ticotin as the hot station house secretary who was raped years earlier. Each suffers flashbacks the night the story takes place. Anyway, I wasn't able to get anyone interested in it. I think the only person who read it is my niece, Tanya. When I got an email from Amazon the other day suggesting another upload, I thought: Why not? I'll offer it for .99 cents and also make it available for free to the lending library. There's only one problem - formatting. If memory serves me, I scanned the original print manuscript into my first computer. I noticed the spacing was odd in some places and, sure enough, the first upload to Kindle was a mess. I'm now working on cleaning it up. I won't post it unless it looks good. I'll also opt for the generic cover Amazon makes available.

There is interesting news out of the music world. Dee Snider, former front man for the hard rock band Twisted Sister, has jumped on the bandwagon, cutting an album of standards: Dee Does Broadway. Several vocalists guest star on the CD: Cyndi Lauper, Clay Aiken, Bebe Neuwirth and Patti Lupone. It's amazing how time and circumstances change us. Here are then and now pictures of Snider:

"We're not gonna take it."

The weather was spectacular, as moms deserve on their big day. Given the fact that billions is spent on Mother's Day each year, I wasn't expecting much business at the floating book shop, and that proved to be the case. I thank the two customers who bought.

Read Vic's stories, free: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/