hot pulpy goodness
Yesterday, I came home from work to find a box filled with ten copies of Excelsior, You Fathead, a biography of Jean Shepherd whose publication I was instrumental in fomenting. I brought the project to the attention of Applause Books, my former employer--by a stroke of luckitude, the CEO listened rabidly to Shep as a teenager, and still had fond memories of him. I did a lot of research, including a trip a
Boston to the WGBH studios, where I watched a bunch of old specials Shep made for that PBS station. For a short while, I was going to co-write the book, but that fell through. Still, I have a lot of time and emotion invested in the project. Right now, it is the only published book that features my name prominently (except this one). In fact, there are several references to my name in the footnotes and the index. I've been indexed! I've made it!
All I have to say is that the book looks amazing. When I worked for Applause, the quality of the books varied greatly--they could come out great or they could come out like complete shite. It was/is a small house, with not as many resources to draw on as, say, Random House has, so I feared that the book might wind up looking like a bunch of fortune cookies taped together. But no, the design is fantastic, absolutely perfect for the subject and totally classy. I am very impressed, and happy.
So when the book hits the shelves (not sure release date, but my guess is this Tuesday), check it on out. I'm not saying run out and buy it, but if you see it at the store, pick it up and look it over. It's worth at least a peek. Shep was an amazing, fascinating character. He inspired tons of people whose fame grew to dwarf his own--John Cassavetes, Andy Kaufman, Jack Kerouac, Harry Shearer, and hundreds of others. He talked about 'his life' in his stories constantly, but he was never consistent (or clear) about whether he was really telling stories about himself, embellishing them, or simply making them up. Every time he was asked, he gave a different answer. The 'real' Shep is frustratingly elusive, but this book is probably as close as you'll ever get to someone who took most of his 'real' life to the grave.
Boston to the WGBH studios, where I watched a bunch of old specials Shep made for that PBS station. For a short while, I was going to co-write the book, but that fell through. Still, I have a lot of time and emotion invested in the project. Right now, it is the only published book that features my name prominently (except this one). In fact, there are several references to my name in the footnotes and the index. I've been indexed! I've made it!
All I have to say is that the book looks amazing. When I worked for Applause, the quality of the books varied greatly--they could come out great or they could come out like complete shite. It was/is a small house, with not as many resources to draw on as, say, Random House has, so I feared that the book might wind up looking like a bunch of fortune cookies taped together. But no, the design is fantastic, absolutely perfect for the subject and totally classy. I am very impressed, and happy.
So when the book hits the shelves (not sure release date, but my guess is this Tuesday), check it on out. I'm not saying run out and buy it, but if you see it at the store, pick it up and look it over. It's worth at least a peek. Shep was an amazing, fascinating character. He inspired tons of people whose fame grew to dwarf his own--John Cassavetes, Andy Kaufman, Jack Kerouac, Harry Shearer, and hundreds of others. He talked about 'his life' in his stories constantly, but he was never consistent (or clear) about whether he was really telling stories about himself, embellishing them, or simply making them up. Every time he was asked, he gave a different answer. The 'real' Shep is frustratingly elusive, but this book is probably as close as you'll ever get to someone who took most of his 'real' life to the grave.