October 8, 2010
Mrs. Doah wondered what I would do to follow When Jello Attacks. And I said, "What, me worry?"
9. A still life photograph or painting - 3 pts. To read the comments or to add a comment of your own, please use this link.
Posted by Jeff Markowitz.
October 4, 2010
It was an ordinary day at the top secret government laboratory. The earnest young scientist and his ingenue assistant knew they were close to unlocking the secrets of the alien spacecraft.
Dr. Nelson worked all day and into the night without taking a break, determined to decipher the alien code while there was still time, eating lunch and dinner at his desk, leaving only a cup of jello uneaten, before locking up the lab and heading for home.
It's funny how the future of humanity can ...
Posted by Jeff Markowitz.
September 24, 2010
As a reader, I am not ready to make the switch to ebooks. I have an emotional attachment to books, to the thing itself. I wrote about that attachment last year. New books, like a brand-new automobile before the first ding, pristine, with that new car smell and that shiny new body, practically begging you to take it out for a spin. And old books, especially old books, worn and tattered like a favorite pair of blue jeans. But as a writer, I have to remember that different readers like to ac... Continue reading...
Posted by Jeff Markowitz.
September 21, 2010
In honor of Banned Book Week (September 25 - October 1) I am updating and reposting this blog entry from 3/31/09 -
The world may be moving in a digital direction, but it’s obvious that we’re not quite ready to give up the intimate relationship with our books. Trulyepic summed it up nicely – “Curling up in the corner with a book in my hands, turning the pages and getting lost in the words - there is no other feeling like it.” As an author, there are few things I love more than ... Continue reading...
Posted by Jeff Markowitz.
September 20, 2010
Saturday 5 a.m.and I was already in my car, heading for Harrisburg PA.
It's been nearly six years since I last had cause to go to Harrisburg.
It's a nice little town (the locals remind me it's a nice little
city). I remember an annoying drive from here to there, but at 5 in
the morning, an empty road, a cool breeze, pop some blues in the CD
player, and at 7:15, I'm parking my car at the State Museum of
Pennsylvania. I love when I get to spend a day surrounded by
books, by writers and reader... Continue reading...
Posted by Jeff Markowitz.
September 14, 2010
Summer is gone. Time is accelerating. I need to catch up. The
fall book tour starts on Saturday. I'll be exhibiting at a variety of
book fairs and street festivals over the next few weeks. Saturday, September 18 from 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
I'll be exhibiting at the Capital Bookfest
at the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg PA. (To find me at
the Capital Bookfest, look for the Five Star Authors listing). Saturday, September 25 from 11:00 am - 3:00 pm
I'll be one of many local authors f... Continue reading...
Posted by Jeff Markowitz.
September 12, 2010
I haven't thought about this for many years, but when saintvi announced her “Pirate” themed contest, it all came back to me like it was just yesterday. I was eight at the time. And so, I offer up this reminiscence as my entry in her contest.
As I say, I was eight. I had, at that time, and still to this day have, no particular talents that might be useful in the musical theatre. I can't carry a tune. Also, I have no grasp of acting. And
so, when my third grade teacher, Mrs. Locast ann... Continue reading...
Posted by Jeff Markowitz.
August 6, 2010
If you could live in any book world, which one would it be? The Featured Grownups
question has been tugging at a corner of my brain for a couple of days
now. You see, in a very real sense, I already live in a book world.
As the author of the Cassie O'Malley Mysteries, I have lived in
Cassie's fictional world for nearly a decade now. I've had breakfast
with her at The Eggery, ordering my eggs and potatoes from Greta, the
Eggery's popular waitress with Tourette's. I've spent the night wit... Continue reading...
Posted by Jeff Markowitz.
August 5, 2010
A very small number of authors generate a very large percentage of all
book sales. The rest of us comprise what is known as the long tail of
the publishing industry. When the google book settlement was hot news,
there was an effort to quantify just how long that tail might really
be. Some of the data that I've seen suggests that there are
approximately 4 million unique authors of print books published in the
United States. And there are probably millions more professional
writers who are ... Continue reading...
Posted by Jeff Markowitz.
July 29, 2010
Everybody's familiar with Mark Twain, right? The quintessential American author and humorist. But the Twain we know has been "scrubbed and sanitized" according to Ron Powers, author of Mark Twain: a Life. Twain is about to be unscrubbed and unsanitized and I'm curious to see how this new, old Twain will be received. You see, the University of California Press is getting ready to publish Twain's unexpurgated autobiography. His autobiography has certainly been available for many years; it ... Continue reading...
Posted by Jeff Markowitz.
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About My Blog
Folks tell me that my blog address is cumbersome, that it's hard to spell and even harder to remember. They may very well be right. Although it's derived from the title of my first mystery, even I can recognize that it's not a user-friendly address. So this page will contain selected entries from that blog. Each entry will include a link back to the original post. Use the link to read comments about the post and to add your own.
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