Quick, grab a pen. I’ll wait. Okay, jot this down: November 3 – 7. That’s when the Vegas Valley Book Festival will take over the Historic Fifth Street School (actually located on 4th Street) and the Clark County Library (actually located in Clark County), among other venues. Now in its ninth year, the festival has…

One of my best writing decisions had nothing to do with writing at all. It involved listing my e-mail address in the back of my books. I wanted to make it easy for Steven Spielberg or Martin Scorsese to acquire the movie rights for an ungodly sum. Neither of those gentlemen has contacted me yet.…

I sit on the organizing committee for the Vegas Valley Book Festival, the largest literary event in Southern Nevada (and one of the largest in the western United States). As a Las Vegas-based author, my job on the committee is to represent the interests of the local writing community. In the past, the festival has…

Welcome to the second installment of “Real Men of Genius,” the semi-semi-regular feature that celebrates creative artists who, while successful, have been largely under-appreciated by the general public (with apologies to Bud Light for letting me rip off their commercial theme…so far). Today’s nominee is Mr. Albert Brooks. Brooks, like many of his contemporaries, started…

In its endless quest for the next “sure thing,” Hollywood seems to offer the following types of movies: Sequels Sequels of sequels Prequels Adaptations of TV shows Adaptations of comic books Remakes Many of these films still wind up tanking because, in the immortal words of screenwriter William Goldman, “Nobody knows anything.” You would think…

Here’s a quick story illustrating the weirdness of grass roots book marketing. A few years ago, I was hawking my wares in a book festival booth at a park in Boulder City, Nevada. A pleasant middle-aged woman picked up a copy of “Dice Angel” and began peppering me with questions. “What’s the book about?” “Where…

In my lifetime, I’ve only cried at the deaths of two public figures: John Lennon and George Carlin. (The Kennedy’s made me sad, but I was probably too young to really understand what was going on.) Lennon requires no explanation. For those of a certain age, his assassination signaled the end of an era and…

Sometimes, on a rare lazy Sunday afternoon, my wife and I will try to go to the movies. “Try” is the operative word, because more often than not, we can’t find anything that makes us want to leave the house (and spend forty bucks for two matinee tickets, two drinks and a medium popcorn). I…

Folks under the age of say, 35, might be vaguely familiar with singer-songwriter Randy Newman for his catchy little tune “You’ve  Got a Friend in Me,” which played under the closing credits of “Toy Story.” They might even associate Newman with one of his only true hits, “I Love L.A.,” especially if they happen to…

I love the Bud Light “Real Men of Genius” campaign that’s been running for years. You know the one I mean; the announcer salutes “Mr. Cargo Pants Designer” or “Mr. Beach Metal Detector Guy” while the over-the-top 80s hair band singer wails in the background. (Sidebar for future “Jeopardy” contestants: that voice belongs to Dave…