The Color of Evil, the first novel in a trilogy that focuses on young Tad McGreevy, a boy with paranormal abilities, is ready to launch on Amazon and Barnes & Noble very shortly. A review of it has already appeared here: 

http://wordalert1.blogspot.com/2012/01/color-of-evil.html

"The Color of Evil," first in a trilogy about a young boy with paranormal abilities, will soon be available as an E-book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Writer Christopher Hitchens, who died of esophageal cancer on Dec. 15, 2011.

Christopher Hitchins’ death on December 15 makes it time to share this story of a Celebrity Encounter at the June, 2011 BEA (Book Expo America). Maybe encounter is too strong a word. More like two ships passing in the night.

I had bought a ticket for the breakfast, which begins early in the morning, but I did not purchase the food, but only a seat on the perimeter, as per usual. You still get the free books…if they are giving them out. (Last year, only chapters of books, not entire books). Other years, free copies of “The Kite Runner,” etc.

Because all the seats on the perimeter appeared to be occupied, I saw a group of people who were going up some stairs through a door near the back of the hall. They began climbing upwards. In my mind, I envisioned a balcony or loggia, like a church choir loft, if you will, and one of the men in the party was carrying a glass which was obviously booze, as it had a little parasol in it. This was approximately 9 a.m. and I remember thinking that that individual must really like to party hearty! I decided to follow the group and went through the same door and began climbing.

At about the second landing, I caught a glimpse of the group ahead of me and recognized Christopher Hitchens as the man carrying the drink. I also realized that I was, inadvertently, crashing the group of would-be speakers, who were apparently climbing to a behind-the-stage area where they would be introduced and seated.

Whoops!

I quietly tip-toed downstairs and took a seat on chairs at the back of the hall, the perimeter .
When Hitchens was introduced (by Patton Oswalt, the stand-up comedian who is now co-starring opposite Charlize Theron in “Young Adult”) he strode to the microphone and recited several dirty limericks, most of them by heart. As I recall, he also said something about homosexual hi-jinks in an English boarding school, but his entire demeanor was very preoccupied and grim. He then left, with Patton Oswalt explaining that he “had to catch a plane” or some such. Keep in mind, this was about 7 months before he would die of esophageal cancer, and he had known he was probably terminally ill for a year and a half before he died quite recently, of pneumonia from complications of the disease.

In the January issue of “Vanity Fair” Hitchens’ final essay appears, entitled “Trial of the Will.” He debunks the saying, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” and even speculated that Nietzsche, to whom the quote is attributed, might have stolen it from Goethe. Hitchens gives a brief thumbnail capsule of Nietzsche’s life. To wit:  “In the remainder of his life, however, .Nietzsche seems to have caught an early dose of syphilis, very probably during his first-ever sexual encounter, which gave him crushing migraine headaches and attacks of blindness and metastasized into dementia and paralysis. This, while it did not kill him right away, certainly contributed to his death and cannot possibly, in the meanwhile, be said to have made him stronger.”  More details of Nietzche’s life are provided by the terminally ill writer and, of his own condition he said, “And then I had an unprompted rogue thought: if I had been told about all this in advance, would I have opted for the treatment?  There were several moments as I bucked and writhed and gasped and cursed when I seriously doubted it.”

Hitchens, who was an avowed atheist and told Anderson Cooper that, if he heard stories that, on his deathbed he had recanted and “gotten religion,” he should not believe such reports. He recounted a poem by John Betjeman called “Five O’Clock Shadow:”

This is the time of day when we in the Men’s Ward

Think:  “One more surge of the pain and I give up the fight.”

When he who struggles for breath can struggle less strongly.

This is the time of day that is worse than night.”

Added Hitchens, “I have come to know that feeling all right: the sensation and conviction that the pain will never go away and that the wait for the next fix is unjustly long.  Then a sudden fit of breathlessness, followed by some pointless coughing and then—if it’s a lousy day—by more expectoration than I can handle. Pints of old saliva, occasional mucus, and what the hell do I need heartburn for at this exact moment?  It’s not as if I have eaten anything:  a tube delivers all my nourishment. All of this, and the childish resentment that goes with it, constitutes a weakening.  So does the amazing weight loss that the tube seems unable to combat.  I have now lost almost a third of my body mass since the cancer was diagnosed: it may not kill me, but the atrophy of muscle makes it harder to take even the simple exercises without which I’ll become more enfeebled still.”

And Hitchens added, “I am typing this having just had an injection to try to reduce the pain in my arms, hand, and fingers.  The chief side effect of this pain is numbness in the extremities, filling me with the not irrational fear that I shall lose the ability to write.  Without that ability, I feel sure in advance, my ‘will to live’ would be hugely attenuated.  I often grandly say that writing is not just my living and my livelihood, but my very life, and it’s true.  Almost like the threatened loss of my voice, which is currently being alleviated by some temporary injections into my vocal folds, I feel my personality and identity dissolving as I contemplate dead hands and the loss of the transmission belts that connect me to writing and thinking.”

“These are progressive weaknesses that in a more normal life might have taken decades to catch up with me.  But, as with the normal life, one finds that every passing day represents more and more relentlessly subtracted from less and less.  In other words, the process both etiolates you and moves you nearer toward death.  How could it be otherwise?”

And how could the end have been other than it was. Christopher Hitchens, dead at 62.

"Laughing through Life," a collection of humorous essays and anecdotes now on a Virtual Tour.

Just a reminder that December 7 at 7 p.m. I’ll be at the Bettendorf Public Library (Lillienthal Room, I think) both reading two short humorous selections from “Laughing through Life” (one only takes a minute and a half) but, also, playing carols (2 per instrument) on both accordion and piano for your sing-along pleasure.

Since one of the funny pieces is about a cat, that will be a logical segue for showing you my new Christmas book “The Christmas Cats in Silly Hats,” which is short. At 11 a.m. on Dec. 10th, Emily Marquez of Venezuela will be at Barnes & Noble with me to sign copies, which will be at a special pre-Christmas sale price of $10!

At 2:30 p.m., Emily and I will be at Razzleberries in LeClaire, because Mr. C, the store cat, invited us.

At 6 p.m., Emily and I will be in Geneseo in the window of the Four Seasons store for their annual Christmas walk. Come out and meet a girl from Venezuela who hasn’t seen any small-town Midwestern life (she’s been in Chicago) and welcome her to our local communities. She speaks excellent English and, as one of the illustrators, will happily sign our book for you at the bargain price of only $10 for the cat book and $10.95 for the humor book.

We wish that Andy Weinert could be with us (the other illustrator) but he is graduating from Northern Illinois University on December 11th with an advanced degree in Graphic Arts. Way to go, Andy!

A cool Christmas books for children aged 2-7.

"Laughing through Life:' humorous essays and anecdotes.

Although I’ve sent my schedule to both newspapers and the “River City Reader,” which has a nice write-up online right now, here is a reminder of when and where you can find me during the run-up to Christmas, with my two new books, The Christmas Cats in Silly Hats and/or Laughing through Life.

Both books are brand new. One is a collection of funny anecdotes and essays similar to Erma Bombeck or David Sedaris. I’ll be reading a couple short selections from that book at the Bettendorf Public Library during a free presentation on December 7 at 7 p.m., with free refreshments (delicious cookies from the Village Bakery) and piano and accordion accompaniment(s) for some brief caroling. I’ll also have the children’s cat book, The Christmas Cats in Silly Hats.

The next place I’ll be with the book is the District in Rock Island during the December 2nd Gallery Hop. (Atlante Trattoria restaurant). On December 3rd, I’ll be at the East Moline Public Library from 12:30 to approximately 1:30 before joining other local authors at Barnes & Noble at Northpark for a fundraiser for the Midwest Writing Center that starts earlier than I’ll get there. I’ll stay at B&N for about 2 hours (2 to 4, approximately) before relocating within the Woodland Gallery in the Village of East Davenport.

"The Christmas Cats in Silly Hats" for 3 to 5-year-olds; full-color Dr. Seussical book.

On December 7th, it’s the Bettendorf Public Library’s free “Readlocal” promotion. First floor room. On December 10th, one of the illustrators of the book, Emily Marquez of Venezuela (see article in the “River City Reader”) will join me at 11 a.m. at Barnes & Noble at Northpark Mall and again at the Victorian Christmas Walk in Geneseo.

Hope to see you there! If none of those works for you, the books are available online (Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites) and, in town, at the Watermark in downtown Moline for the children’s book only and at Barnes & Noble at Northpark for both.

The new illustrated cat book "The Christmas Cats in Silly Hats."

I’m pretty excited: the proofs for “The Christmas Cats in Silly Hats” have arrived, and the book is really cool. I will have it at all the appearances I’ve booked here in the Quad Cities during the holidays, and, if you’re reading this in some far-flung part of the world, order a copy from Amazon or Barnes & Noble! (It does not exist as an E-book title, yet, but may, in the future.)

I wanted to put this out here to encourage any readers that are interested to please come to the signing(s). The December 10th signing at Northpark Mall will also feature illustrater Emily Marquez from Venezuela, who will come from Chicago for that signing. Other places I plan to be are as follows:

November 21:  4:30 to 10 p.m.- Sizzlin’ Soiree at the downtown Radisson Hotel in conjunction with the Festival of Trees.

December 2:  Gallery Hop in Rock Island from 6 to 9 p.m.

December 3:  12:30 to 1:30 at the East Moline Public Library.

December 3:  2:00 on at Barnes & Noble, Northpark Mall, for a Midwest Writing Center fundraiser

December 7:  7:00 p.m. at the Bettendorf Public Library, which is going to involve a humorous reading from “Laughing through Life,” a piano, an accordion and refreshments. Please come so I don’t bomb on Pearl Harbor Day.

December 10:  Signing at Barnes & Noble at Northpark that will involve Emily Marquez, one of the book’s illustraters from Venezuela, beginning at 11 a.m..

December 10:  The Victorian Christmas Walk in Geneseo, beginning at 5:30, in the window of The Four Seasons, again with Venezuelan illustrator Emily Marquez present.

If you have any interest in humor OR an illustrated children’s book with a good lesson for children to learn, come to any or all of the above events.

My new humor book Laughing through Life will go on Virtual Tour beginning on November 28, 2011.

Here is the schedule:

Nov. 28th – Page Flipperz.  (Interview and Give-away on November 29th)

Nov. 30th – Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers – Giveaway of book with blog post.

Dec. 1st – She Treads Softly – Guest Post on Dec. 2nd

Dec. 5th – Carabosses’s Library – Giveaway

Dec. 6th – Ruthi Reads – Giveaway and Interview on December 7th

Dec. 8th – Joy Story – Giveaway

Dec. 9th – Read More Books

Dec. 10th – A Life Sustained – Giveaway

Dec. 12th – Stacy’s Books – Interview and Giveaway on Dec. 13th

Dec. 14th – Book Zone – Giveaway

Dec. 15th – Guest Post on Dec. 16th

Check these blogs for reviews of Laughing through Life and the chance to win a free book in either Kindle or paperback formats (check giveaway blogs, above).

You can read more about the book at www.ConnieCWilson.com at the link devoted to Laughing through Life, or you can go to PremierVirtual Author Tours or Amazon.com (Connie Corcoran Wilson) and read reviews already posted.

A close girlfriend, just returned from a 3 month visit to France, explained how her basic sense of honesty caused her to declare that she did, in fact, have a “food item” in her luggage at customs in Minneapolis. The food item in question was a sealed can of pate someone had given her as a parting gift.

She was ushered into a large room with various peoples who also had “food items” and got to watch surly customs agents launching various fruits and vegetables at bins along the wall for hours. Add to that the delights of experiencing a drug-sniffing dog! After the first “food room,” there was (apparently) a second food room and, well, the connecting flight didn’t allow for hours spent watching surly customs inspectors launch miscellaneous fruits at garbage bins.

When it finally came time for her to “declare” the precise food item she had, the customs agent just grunted and passed her on through…too late to make a connecting flight to Des Moines, I think.

Reminds me of the time we were asked, when re-entering the country from Cancun, if we had had any contact with “livestock” and I truthfully piped up, “What about the spider monkeys that climbed all over us at Coba?”  Despite my husband’s best attempts to muzzle me, much merriment ensued. These are the sorts of adventures I relate in “Laughing through Life” because, really, you have to laugh or else you’d cry.

"Laughing through Life:" enough laughs to keep you from yawning.

With the recent release (as a paperback) of “Laughing through Life” and the various anecdotes that make up this stroll down memory lane, I felt it apropos to share with you an amusing anecdote that is similar to those in this book

Here’s a new one for you. My nephew’s 4-year-old daughter, Sophia, decided to do a header by shoving her tiny body through a play tube that was never meant to hold a 4-year-old. She did a tremendous “clunk” to the  floor below, where she immediately moaned and began crying. (Fortunately, she landed on a carpeted surface).

Her father and mother, Chris and D.J.,  ran to her side and asked her if she was “Ok” and did it hurt.

She was crying intermittently and then looked up at us and said, “It hurts all the way to God.”

[Out of the mouths of Babes. OR from "Laughing through Life!" (Try it, you'll like it!)]