I’m late, I’m late!

For a very important date!

No time to say “hello,” “goodbye” !

I’m late, I’m late, I’m late!”

—White Rabbit, from Alice in Wonderland, 1951,

written by Sammy Fain and Bob Hillard

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Hi, I’m Christopher Ryan, a hybrid author with forty years of experience in journalism, education, sketch comedy, indie film, unions, community service, parenting, public speaking, acting, podcasting, and, most often, writing fiction, poetry, and pop culture essays. Now I’m working to discover what more I can achieve and share with the world, and whether an older author can find a place in the storytelling business. Together, let’s see what’s possible.

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NEWSish Stuff

No upcoming bookings. For now.

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This Week Marks the Return of Bob and Grace

For a while I had a one panel “comic” featuring married senior citizens discussing current events. Bob, the innocent, would share a news item with his beloved Grace, who would reply with, shall we say, a bit of spice. But I discovered the illustrations might have had AI aspects, so they were shelved.

Cut to recent work with the wonderful Christy Aldridge. Between new covers for Soul Scream Antholozine, I asked if she’d like to go on a side quest and illustrate Bob and Grace in five settings I can use to bring my favorite loving couple back. She did. I’m thrilled. Here are the first two, which have been posted on Substack and WordPress.

Do you think I should put them on other platforms? Let me know in the comments.

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This Week’s Tell The Damn Story Starts Silly and Gets Serious About…

This week Alex and I have some fun, offer some advice, and manage to go deep on how to keep going when the going gets weird.

Here’s a link:

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ON WRITING: Soul Scream Antholozine: Madness Takes Its Toll set for August 15th…and it’s Driving Me Crazy!

There’s a saying, “People plan, God laughs” that seems to have bred a variation just to humiliate me this week: “Chris plans, technology Snickers sardonically.”

The idea was to get this annual out for July 4th weekend.

snickersnickersnicker

Editorial needs bogged production down so the pub date moved to the first week in August.

heheheheheh

Finally, all the production was done. All that was needed was to export it and upload to Amazon….

Bwahahahahahahah

Yeah. Technology is having a pretty good time at my expense. I even had to call in Customer Service. You know its bad when you resort to that. But they seem quick and responsive and provided me with steps to take so that the problem can be accessed.

I wait and pace on Aug. 12 with an Aug. 15 pub date looming.

Let this be a lesson learned; for a July 4th pub date, the book should be done and up for pre-order at least three months in advance. So this bad boy should have been completed and available for pre-order by April Fool’s Day.

Damn.

This prevents the nervous breakdowns I’m enjoying now and allows for marketing and publicity and pro-order promotion efforts.

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And Now a Free Plug for a Great Series

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It’s Time a Picture of a Handsome Fella

For the record, Sonny Mehlman is not only head of security for Seamus and Nunzio Productions, he is also a reluctant party animal.

And One of a Purty Cat

Let’s be clear; the same culprit who put that party hat on Sonny did try to regift our alleged marketing guru Isabella Crumpit. She was not impressed either.

Our son has been charged with two flagrant domestic fouls and suspended from the cookie cupboard for two days.

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POP CULTURE FUEL

BOOKS:

A word about Hoopla. This is a public library app much like Libby, though it seems to embrace pop culture a bit more (That might just be me.) Here’s what to look for in your phone/iPad apps:

I have a shamefully tall, double-wide stack of TBR paperbacks, etc., so I use Hoopla for tracking down comics I always meant to read, such as:

I also utilize Hoopla to explore books other authors recommend on podcasts (Jon Frater recommended Eight Billion Genies on a recent episode of Horror Words) or in newsletters (Brian Keene declared The Tomb of Dracula “the best horror comic ever” in a recent edition of his Substack newsletter, which posts every Sunday morning), I am grateful for all such recommendations:

Both the app and these books are Most Highly Recommended.

MUSIC:

I finally finished Down in Jungleland: The Making of BORN TO RUN by Peter Ames Carlin. The book was fascinating, offering a deep dive into how this classic rock record was created, two subplots about the value of rewriting and trusting your creative instincts no matter how long it takes. It also inspired a deep listen to the full album.

Yeah, Born to Run is a masterpiece from start to finish, offering a different experience as a full album than any particular class song does, say, on the radio, or by itself.

Most highly recommended.

MOVIES/TV:

We saw Spider-Man: Brand New Day again, and picked up more of the beautifully subtle dedication to character development throughout the script, the cinematography, and the performances. This is a flick that will prove a rewarding experience for years and years to come.

Most highly recommended.

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Awright, thanks for stopping by. Talk atcha next week.