Has lightning been invented
yet? Is it too late for me to invent lightning? Feeling, oh
so, magical tonight. This happens to me now and then. My
crazy life – and trust me, the baseline of my life is craziness – warps
even further and becomes utterly surreal. Usually I have terrible
timing, ironies play wicked games, and frustrations abound. But
then there come these reversals wherein the stars align, incredible
good fortune comes my way, and I can walk unscathed down the middle of
a freeway like Mr. Magoo. It's Emerson's "Compensation," I
suppose, the universe coming into balance, only with me it tends to
happen in concentrated lumps. So, have to take advantage when I'm
on a roll. Call the patent office for me, will you? I'm
going to invent lightning.
The thing of it is, even when that treacherous trio of terrible timing, ironies, and frustrations are messing with me, I'm a happy guy. I think that's because I know that the Wizard Divine behind the universe is warning me, "Don't try to win in life through probabilities." That's not who I am. I am improbable, and everything I cherish, enshrine and celebrate is improbable. The up-side to that is, of course, freedom. When you don't particularly fit the world’s routines, clichés and defaults, nothing owns you. Conformity be damned, you can examine things solely for truth, escape narrowness, and are under little imperative to live façades and hypocrisies. The down-side is loneliness. Not utter isolation – on the contrary, improbability seems to attract. No, not superficial loneliness. But the deeper you go into originality, the less likely you will be to find a true companion for the journey. Yesterday I saw a man standing alone in the wind so choked up with life gone by that I knew he could not speak, could not be touched, could not be approached, could not enter into others or escape himself. It made me shudder…shutter, because I knew I was looking in a mirror. Have to overcome that. Did overcome it not so long ago –found the single star to steer my ship – but that is one of those improbability vs. irony things I mentioned. Alas, when irony has the upper hand, you are left with nothing save the journey, like a verb without an object, a stairway to an empty sky. But the magic is still there en route. Lightning, please! Lightning on sunny days and under a Hunter's Moon.
And here's another improbability. After procrastinating book-length projects for a couple of years, I signed with two publishers on the same day this month. That counts as a double lightning strike, doesn't it? My excuses for not producing more novels seem lame now, and I guess I’m a little surprised at how loyal my fans have been and more than a little ashamed for letting myself be distracted for so long. More details are available in my November column [ http://storytellersunplugged.com/thomassullivan/2011/11/15/thomas-sullivan-high-wire-walking-across-the-grand-canyon-imaginary-shoelaces-an-announcement/ ] over on StorytellersUnplugged, but my intention is to come in from the cold with all my work – old and new – in e-books, audio releases, and print editions. And – ta da! – here’s an announcement: the first release is – wait for it, wait for it –TODAY! Just hours ago Crossroad Press released my Best Novel Finalist from WorldFantasy Con THE MARTYRING in E-book form in time for Christmas. And Tell-Tale Publishing Group will similarly be bringing out BORN BURNING, whose popularity has now pushed it to a 4th English language edition in two decades. At $3.99 the E-publishing debut – which can be read in any reader, including on a computer – makes a good stocking stuffer, so count on it, I'll be most appreciative of anyone putting one or both on their holiday list. Here's the link where you can get THE MARTYRING now – http://store.crossroadpress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=101_22_28&products_id=488 – and it will also be available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords in a few days. My webmaster will be updating our website shortly to include all info: www.thomassullivanauthor.com .
And here's a special offer I think I can keep up with if I prepare ahead of time. If you give THE MARTYRING to someone, let me know and I’ll send them an author’s greeting to go with the e-book on Christmas Day or on whatever holiday you may celebrate. Just email me at mn333mn@earthlink.net and include their name and the email address where you want me to send the greeting.
The rest of November's column at SU attempts to answer some of your more intriguing questions, including some killers, like this soul-searching, thought-provoking poser: "What has caused you the greatest pain in your life?" That one turned me inside out. I’m thinking everyone should try to answer that – lots of defining things there. Thanks for making the Q&A format a success. Keep those fascinating questions coming, and I'll use it again. Any subject will do – writing, personal stuff, trivia, or life's profound mysteries!
Last month's lightning also brought in some reader thunder in the form of fan mail for Pete Adams (and moi), so I'm going with another Blast-from-the-Past photobooth strip below. Any of you recognize that guy behind the vampire? That’s Doc Foto’s brother, Dennis Manrique, from our swimming and water polo days, I think at West Point or maybe international competition in Canada. Speaking of water polo, what do you think the world's 10 toughest sports are based on endurance, speed, strength, skill, agility and physicality? The National Football League’s blog ranks them as: 10) Irish football, 9) gymnastics, 8) basketball, 7) hurling, 6) American football, 5) ice hockey, 4) rugby, 3) boxing, 2) Aussie football, and #1) WATER POLO!!! [ www.bleacherreport.com/articles/832927-what-is-the-worlds-toughest-sport/page/12 ]. Hey, who knew? (Just us water polo players.) Thanks Chuck Hines in NC for that info. Closing out the photos below are the new book cover for THE MARTYRING, a recent sky shot at Elm Creek, ice sculptures from a speaking trip to Oslo, and 2 shots from hiking mountains in Oregon with my daughter Colleen, grandson Seamus, and son-in-law Dave. The lead photo of my column at SU this month is a Doc Foto spoof!
May you receive the act of loving, and love the act of giving.
Thomas “Sully” Sullivan
www.thomassullivanauthor.com
http://twitter.com/thomassullivan
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=1219261326
The thing of it is, even when that treacherous trio of terrible timing, ironies, and frustrations are messing with me, I'm a happy guy. I think that's because I know that the Wizard Divine behind the universe is warning me, "Don't try to win in life through probabilities." That's not who I am. I am improbable, and everything I cherish, enshrine and celebrate is improbable. The up-side to that is, of course, freedom. When you don't particularly fit the world’s routines, clichés and defaults, nothing owns you. Conformity be damned, you can examine things solely for truth, escape narrowness, and are under little imperative to live façades and hypocrisies. The down-side is loneliness. Not utter isolation – on the contrary, improbability seems to attract. No, not superficial loneliness. But the deeper you go into originality, the less likely you will be to find a true companion for the journey. Yesterday I saw a man standing alone in the wind so choked up with life gone by that I knew he could not speak, could not be touched, could not be approached, could not enter into others or escape himself. It made me shudder…shutter, because I knew I was looking in a mirror. Have to overcome that. Did overcome it not so long ago –found the single star to steer my ship – but that is one of those improbability vs. irony things I mentioned. Alas, when irony has the upper hand, you are left with nothing save the journey, like a verb without an object, a stairway to an empty sky. But the magic is still there en route. Lightning, please! Lightning on sunny days and under a Hunter's Moon.
And here's another improbability. After procrastinating book-length projects for a couple of years, I signed with two publishers on the same day this month. That counts as a double lightning strike, doesn't it? My excuses for not producing more novels seem lame now, and I guess I’m a little surprised at how loyal my fans have been and more than a little ashamed for letting myself be distracted for so long. More details are available in my November column [ http://storytellersunplugged.com/thomassullivan/2011/11/15/thomas-sullivan-high-wire-walking-across-the-grand-canyon-imaginary-shoelaces-an-announcement/ ] over on StorytellersUnplugged, but my intention is to come in from the cold with all my work – old and new – in e-books, audio releases, and print editions. And – ta da! – here’s an announcement: the first release is – wait for it, wait for it –TODAY! Just hours ago Crossroad Press released my Best Novel Finalist from WorldFantasy Con THE MARTYRING in E-book form in time for Christmas. And Tell-Tale Publishing Group will similarly be bringing out BORN BURNING, whose popularity has now pushed it to a 4th English language edition in two decades. At $3.99 the E-publishing debut – which can be read in any reader, including on a computer – makes a good stocking stuffer, so count on it, I'll be most appreciative of anyone putting one or both on their holiday list. Here's the link where you can get THE MARTYRING now – http://store.crossroadpress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=101_22_28&products_id=488 – and it will also be available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords in a few days. My webmaster will be updating our website shortly to include all info: www.thomassullivanauthor.com .
And here's a special offer I think I can keep up with if I prepare ahead of time. If you give THE MARTYRING to someone, let me know and I’ll send them an author’s greeting to go with the e-book on Christmas Day or on whatever holiday you may celebrate. Just email me at mn333mn@earthlink.net and include their name and the email address where you want me to send the greeting.
The rest of November's column at SU attempts to answer some of your more intriguing questions, including some killers, like this soul-searching, thought-provoking poser: "What has caused you the greatest pain in your life?" That one turned me inside out. I’m thinking everyone should try to answer that – lots of defining things there. Thanks for making the Q&A format a success. Keep those fascinating questions coming, and I'll use it again. Any subject will do – writing, personal stuff, trivia, or life's profound mysteries!
Last month's lightning also brought in some reader thunder in the form of fan mail for Pete Adams (and moi), so I'm going with another Blast-from-the-Past photobooth strip below. Any of you recognize that guy behind the vampire? That’s Doc Foto’s brother, Dennis Manrique, from our swimming and water polo days, I think at West Point or maybe international competition in Canada. Speaking of water polo, what do you think the world's 10 toughest sports are based on endurance, speed, strength, skill, agility and physicality? The National Football League’s blog ranks them as: 10) Irish football, 9) gymnastics, 8) basketball, 7) hurling, 6) American football, 5) ice hockey, 4) rugby, 3) boxing, 2) Aussie football, and #1) WATER POLO!!! [ www.bleacherreport.com/articles/832927-what-is-the-worlds-toughest-sport/page/12 ]. Hey, who knew? (Just us water polo players.) Thanks Chuck Hines in NC for that info. Closing out the photos below are the new book cover for THE MARTYRING, a recent sky shot at Elm Creek, ice sculptures from a speaking trip to Oslo, and 2 shots from hiking mountains in Oregon with my daughter Colleen, grandson Seamus, and son-in-law Dave. The lead photo of my column at SU this month is a Doc Foto spoof!
May you receive the act of loving, and love the act of giving.
Thomas “Sully” Sullivan
www.thomassullivanauthor.com
http://twitter.com/thomassullivan
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=1219261326
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