African Readers Needed - Also, Memories of Cooper Union, McSorley's Ale House and Alexander McCall Smith

I am a huge fan of Alexander McCall Smith. In case you are not familiar with the No. #1 Ladies Detective Agency, then you must have been particularly busy for the last 8 or so years. I'll fill you in. This book, and the series that followed, is like literary Prozac...when you finish reading it, you actually feel better. About everything.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer description really sums it up best...they said:

"One of the best, most charming, honest, hilarious and life-affirming books to appear in years." -- The Plain Dealer

My friend and fellow author, Chris Forman, (The Maria Hart Mysteries), and I actually went to the East Village in NYC a few years back to listen to "Sandy", as his friends call him, speak at Cooper Union. I can call him that because he is my friend. He may not know this...but let's not waste time on that right now. Anyway, Chris and I found out that this man was not just an outstanding writer, but somewhat of a stand-up comic as well. We couldn't stop laughing. It was a great evening, and even though the proper N.P.R. crowd didn't seem to appreciate us simulating the lighter swaying chant "SANDY, SANDY" before he appeared, we didn't let that bother us. Actually, not much was bothering us because rather than waiting on line at the college before the doors opened, we accidentally discovered the oldest continually operating saloon in New York called McSorley's Old Ale House . Everyone from Lincoln to John Lennon has has an ale or two in this place. They asked me what I would like and I responded "Um, I don't know yet." to which I then received two pints of ale. I really don't know why they even ask this because in reference to drinks, that's pretty much all they'll give you.

It was a night to remember and quite an honor to see Alexander McCall Smith in person. I thought we behaved rather well considering how excited we were to be there. Besides, when the announcer mentioned National Public Radio, the previously irritated pearl wearing woman with the highlighted chin-length bob in front of us did utter a tiny "woo-hoo!"...I heard her and so did Chris.

I've been getting some great hits on this blog, and I have the ability to check and see where my readers are coming from. So far I've been able to track hits from North and South America, Canada, Western and Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, Asia, and Oceania. (Big shout-outs to my New Zealand and Australian friends...your support is amazing...THANK YOU!)

What I've noticed is so far though, is no one from Africa has yet to visit talesfromadogcatcher.blogspot.com. Since I'm fascinated by all things African and wish to visit someday...I would love to have some visitors from that part of the world. My publisher, Lyons Press /Globe Pequot Press, has a great book out about that part of the world by Peter Allison called Don't Look Behind You! A Safari Guide's Encounters with Ravenous Lions, Stampeding Elephants, and Lovesick Rhinos that takes place in Botswana, parts of South Africa, Mozambique and Namibia. It's a follow up to his bestselling Whatever You Do, Don't Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide . Both books are absolutely hysterical.

Tales from a Dog Catcher is available in South Africa online at Kalahari.net and at http://www.loot.co.za/. Also, in parts of the Middle East at Mindreign.com. حكايات من الماسك الكلب (Isn't that cool!) I'm not sure if the book is in brick and mortar stores in that region yet...so if anyone sees a copy on a shelf in these regions of the world, please drop me a line and let me know. That would really make my day! Have to go now...please excuse any typos - had to rush this so I can drive my kids to their friend's houses because if I don't do that right now, they will turn into pumpkins.

Check Out Tales from a Dog Catcher at your Local Library

My daughter once told me that if she had to be stranded overnight anywhere, that she would like to be stuck at the mall. Actually, I think my son might have said the same thing when I posed that question to him a few years back as well. It makes sense. There's the food court, (no lines), the way overpriced mattress store, (comfy), a wide variety of flat screen televisions, video game consoles and DVD players, (no need to share)...and I think I may have even spotted a trampoline at Sears.

She's also in the process of trying to win an online contest at a website affiliated with the movie Night at the Museum 2. The winner gets to bring several of their friends to the Smithsonian for an over-night slumber party. It sounds like fun, although when none of the attractions come to life to entertain her, I can imagine that she might be a little disappointed.

If I had to be stranded somewhere for a night, I would definitely choose a library. It would be better if it were two nights...maybe three. I could handle three. Especially if I had a blanket and the availability of a vending machine. Being alone with all of those books and an uninterrupted period of time to read - well that even beats the trampoline.

With the current state of the economy, libraries are struggling to remain open and could use as much help as we can give them. Most of them accept donations and are in need of volunteers. Think about it...how many places can you go to and pick up items to take home and borrow for free without getting arrested? Public libraries are the true equal opportunity environment. There's no interest rate hikes on library cards, and no one is going to get a better deal than you because they have a platinum library card!

Libraries have been wonderful to me with this book. Tales from a Dog Catcher sits on the shelves of libraries throughout the country. You can also check it out in New Zealand, Canada, the U.K., Italy and other nations as well. A great site to find libraries located all over the world is Worldcat.org. You can find your closest library, search for a title to find out if it's checked out or available, and even reserve copies online to pick up later. You can find Tales from a Dog Catcher on Worldcat.org. by clicking the link or by going directly to the site and using the search option. Right now the book is only available in English, hopefully someday soon it will be available in other languages as well.

So if I'm missing for a few days and people are looking for me - please keep my secret. :)

Tales from a Dog Catcher Available for iPod, iPhone and Kindle

Like many new authors, I sometimes obsess over my Amazon sales rank. Even though it's a complicated algorithim that doesn't really give you concrete sales figures, it can still give a writer an idea of how their book is doing on Amazon. A few months ago Tales from a Dog Catcher was made available as an e-book on Kindle, and can also be downloaded through the Amazon wireless Whispernet service for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch.

It's been doing very well in this format which makes me very happy, (of course!), and I've also found that I really love downloading all sorts of books on my Ipod. It's easy, inexpensive and convenient. You can adjust the text for size and background so in some ways it's even easier reading than the traditional way.

Recently I was waiting at the Pediatrician's office for quite a while and the only reading material available were old copies of Westchester Magazine, which caters to the people who can buy a sofa for $10,000.00 dollars to put into the guest house on their $5,000,000.00 estate. Since I am most definitely not part of their intended demographic, I found myself searching for something, anything, else to read. Then, I realized that I had my iPod with me and pow! (Yes...I said "pow"... I know, but I don't care. The moment truly called for it), I had a new Elizabeth Berg novel to read.

Check it out if you haven't done so already. There are over 350,000 titles to choose from. Tales from a Dog Catcher is only $9.99 on Kindle, and it's also compatible with the text to speech option so you could listen to it on your drive to work as well. I don't know what it sounds like yet, since it's not a regular audio book but rather an automated device. Perhaps it sounds like a character from Star Wars is reading it...who knows? If anyone has a Kindle with the speech-to-text option, drop me an email or a comment here and let me know what you think. I'd really appreciate it!

Tales from a Dog Catcher as a Television Show or Movie?

Lately, I've had the great pleasure of having people come up to me to tell me that they've read my book. It's such a great feeling, and thankfully, most of them say they really enjoyed it. However...it seems that there are certain comments I hear over and over. The first one is a bit odd, but I think it's pretty funny. It seems that my book is a very popular bathroom read. I can't even count how many people tell me that they read Tales from a Dog Catcher in the bathroom. If I think about it, it does make sense. Each chapter can be a story unto itself which is great for a busy reader who can't find the time to read a book in one sitting...hmmm...sitting. Sorry, I really couldn't help that.

I wonder if Stephen King gets that? "Hey Steve, loved Salem's Lot, read it on the potty. Yup, great story...enjoyed every minute of it!" Another frequent, and less personal, comment is that people could see this book as a movie or a television show. I hear that one a lot. Of course, that would be wonderful for many reasons so if you are reading this, (cough-cough), and you are from a network or film studio, I'd LOVE to hear from you. Hey, I can dream.

So, my faithful blog readers and also for those just popping in for a quick visit - I have a question for you . Who should play me? It would have to be someone who could play a bit of a clutz, with spunk, and young enough to play someone in their early 20's during the mid 1980's. Of course that makes me, um....29 now.

The most popular answers so far are Drew Barrymore and Sandra Bullock. I love both of those actresses, yet Drew is 34 and Sandra is my age. So, if you're up for some fun - let me know who you see playing the Dog Catcher. I'd love to hear from you!

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