You made it! Thanks for visiting.
So far, so good at the BookExpo. Los Angeles is a pretty cool place, and I've made a fair number of contacts on my first day. I still have a number of people to speak with, though, as I try to pitch "Polos to Ties" as well as give away a few more copies of "The Developers." But for tonight, I'd better get off here ... it's almost my turn on the karaoke mic!
Back in the early '90s, during the golden age of desktop computing (I chose golden only because neither bronze nor ice seemed appropriate), there weren't a ton of games around that were easily accessible. Sure, you could purchase real games at the computer store, or you could borrow your friend's floppy disks for more enjoyment. You could play solitaire or Minesweeper, perhaps even Tetris, and you could switch screens relatively fast to pretend to be working.
Nearly every weekend during the spring and summer, there's a festival going on in Baltimore. I'm sure many cities have the same thing, but the cool thing about Baltimore is that every one of these festivals is different. For instance, the Sowebo Art Festival brings together a conglomeration of artists and musicians to an area just west of downtown.
If you're a frequent visitor to this site, you've probably noticed that the last few months have been a little short on news. One of the reasons for this is because I just changed jobs, but the bigger reason is that I've been finishing a website for a charter school here in Baltimore. Well, it's finally live at sbcschool.org. It's nothing flashy, but there are a bunch of pictures and info about the school, which has been opened for only four years.
As I prepare to attend the L.A. Book Expo at the end of May, I decided to go ahead and post the first chapter of "Polos to Ties." I'm still negotiating with agents (and publishers, in the near future) to find the best fit for my latest endeavor. Check it out and let me know your thoughts!
Chapter 1 - The Big News
Wednesday, June 22:
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Subject: URGENT - PLEASE READ - Louisville-based Associates
To All Louisville-Based Associates:
Did Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax even enjoy playing baseball? As one of baseball's all-time best pitchers (and arguably the best left-handed pitcher), Koufax grew up wanting to play basketball. Instead, he turned in eight so-so years and four ridiculously remarkable ones in his second-favorite sport.
Google, never to turn away from indexing searchable material, is working with leading world libraries to catalog a ridiculous number of books.
Harvard, Stanford and Michigan university libraries, the New York Public Library and the Oxford Bodleian Library are lending their books to be scanned into the Google Print project. Melvil Dewey, the inventor of the Dewey Decimal System, could not be reached for comment.
Before reading too far into this post, I should first let you know that if you need details about many Disney World food establishments, you will not find that here. When doing research for the trip, one of the more universal tips from bloggers regarding saving money was to bring in your own food, snacks and drinks. Outside of glass containers and alcohol, everything else is fair game to bring.
Lily, my 6-year-old daughter, wanted to bring in copies of The Special Delivery for her friends at school. Not only does it appear that they enjoyed the gift, but they took a bit of class time to say what they enjoyed the most!
Here is the text:
Dear Mr. Woods,
You may have noticed that I recently changed the name of my new book to "Corporate Ties." I haven't had a chance to change all of my marketing material yet because, well, there's only so much time in the day, right? After thinking about it and discussing with others, "Polos to Ties" worked great for the local audience, but from a book sales standpoint, a random person might not notice the fashion connection.