One of my favorite movies is Bull Durham. And not because it’s a baseball movie, because it isn’t. It’s a movie about life. There’s a great scene at the end of the film, where Costner’s character, Crash Davis, iscu t from the Durham Bulls. He’s a career minor league catcher who once spent 21 days in the Major Leagues. He’s in his mid-thirties now and knows he’s never going to make it back to “The Show” as a player. So he leaves because he wants to catch on with another team and break the minor league record for Home Runs. And Susan Sarandon thinks he’s gone forever. But at the end of the season, it’s a rainy day and she’s walking home only to find Crash sitting on her porch swing. He asks her if she thinks he could make it ‘the Show’ (the Major Leagues) as a manager. And she jumps over next to him and starts talking fast, telling him how great it would be and how he knows all the linear and abstract theories of baseball…and he holds  up his hand and says “Annie, you have a lot of great theories on baseball and I want to hear them all, I really do. But not right now. And not today. Today…I just want to be.”

For my next fifty years, I hope to keep growing and learning as a person. But I also hope I spend a lot more time just “being.”

But as for the things I’ve learned. Well, if it helps, you, makes you think, disagree or ponder…that’s a writer’s job right?

1) The three greatest days in my life were September 25th, 1982, October 3, 1985 and January 24, 1992. The day I married my wife of almost 28 years and the days my children were born.

2) The greatest honor I have ever received in my life was the day my son asked me to stand next to him as the best man in his wedding. My son is a wonderful young man, with many close friends, but when he asked to perform this duty on the biggest day of his life, it inspired feelings beyond my abilities to describe. No matter what else I’m ever able to achieve, not even winning a Nobel Prize would ever exceed this.

3) I’ve tried my hardest to teach my children two important things. The first is the 90/10 rule. I believe that 90% of just about every situation is life is worthy only of laughter. If you laugh your way through life, you children will see it and they will learn to laugh as well and be so much happier for it. They watch what you DO much more than listen to what you SAY! The second is the 80/20 rule. I believe that about 80% of life is compromise. The other 20% is your ‘sacred ground’. Those parts of yourself that you will never compromise. Fidelity to your spouse, honesty in your actions, respect for yourself and others. No job, no amount of money, no person is ever worth giving up those parts of yourself.

4) I believe that men should always ‘marry up.’ I am beyond lucky in that I somehow won the hand of a woman so far out of my league, I still have no idea why she said yes. And no matter what happens, through all the trials and tribulations of life, there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t tell her how much I love her. She has made me a better man, a better father and a better person. I believe that woman are much more intuitive than men. Maybe it’s hard wired into our brains, I have no idea. But if a man is open to it and listens to his wife, really listens, he will be the better for it.

5) I believe in America. I think it is, as Ronald Reagan said “A Shining City on A Hill.” It is not perfect, nor will it ever be. And it is a country that bears many shameful scars. We are not always right. But what makes us great, is that we never stop trying. Whenever something shameful occurred in our past history, their were always other brave Americans with the courage to rise up and say “This shall not stand.”I choose to live my life believing in the essential goodness of man. That when people are given freedom and opportunity, they will instinctively do the right thing. Maybe that is naive, but it is what I believe. Americans are the most generous people on earth. If that isn’t true, why is that even though we’re down in the middle of the list in per capita income among the civilized nations of the world, whenever a disaster strikes somewhere (the Tsunami, Haiti), Americans and America itself give more financial aid, medical assistance and materials than all of the other nations combined?

6) As a student of history, I never cease to be amazed at the profound changes in the world that have taken place in my lifetime. The comedian Louis CK said it much more cleverly than I, but think about it. Since I was born in 1960 we have sent men to the moon, not once, but several times, and safely home again (as Byron MacGregor of CKLW would say). Computers that once filled an entire office building now slide into a briefcase. Fifty years ago, most Cancers were an automatic death sentence. Today we can pick up a phone the size of a credit card and talk to someone on the other side of the world. To me, this is not science or technology. It is the magic of human ingenuity.

7) Alan Trammell belongs in the Baseball Hall Of Fame. This is not open to debate.

I believe it is too hard to be a kid today. At fifty, my ‘old-fogeyness’ is starting to show and all I can say is “we need to lighten up people”. While I’ve never been a scholar in the academic sense, I’m virtually certain that I couldn’t pass high school today. We put to much emphasis on our kids achieving things, instead of worrying what it is doing to them and what kind of people they will be. Your kid doesn’t need to be on three soccer teams. Send him outside for a pick-up game in the neighborhood. Your seventh grader will gain nothing from taking the ACT test for ‘practice’. Your kids can skip being on a ‘waiting list’ for a private kindergarden from the day they were born. Give them love, support and encouragement, not trips to visit colleges when they’re in 9th grade. One of the best pieces of parenting advice I ever received was try to never be the one to dash your child’s dreams. If your son wants to play NFL Football when he’s seven, just say ‘wouldn’t that be great!’ The world will tell him if he can or can’t play in the NFL. You’re going to need to be there for him either way, so why dash his dreams when he’s young or push him relentlessly toward a goal he may not be able to achieve? You’ll both lose.

9) I’ll probably be the last man standing, but I just don’t ever see an electrical device replacing the tactile sense of a physical, printed book, one of the most enduring and successful pieces of technology ever. I want to feel the paper in my hands. I want to write in the margins, not type. I want to dog ear the pages, not push a button. Devices are useful. But just because you can do something easier, quicker or faster, doesn’t mean you should.

10) I believe we are responsible for our actions and our destiny. We may need the additional hand along the way, but it is up to each one of us to do the heavy lifting of our own lives. I believe in equal opportunity for everyone but it is up to us as individuals to determine the outcome.

11) Anyone who intentionally seriously harms a child or hurts an animal should be locked in jail forever. I am very Code of Hammurabi on this. I believe we should be judged by our actions toward the weakest among us.

12) I know that times are bad right now. Times will be good again. And they will be bad again. But we will get through it all. And we will survive and prosper by the sweat of our labor and the freedom to choose our own path.

These things I believe.

Happy Birthday to me,

Michael P. Spradlin

©2010 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Your New York Times Best Seller Authorness here! (I never get tired off the sound of that!) Here with a few little tidbits to make your holidays a little smoother and more fun! Just one of the many services we provide here at Team Spradlin HQ.

But first, have you entered my contest yet? No? WHY NOT? It’s so simple. In fact you’re half way there. All you need to do is read one of my blog posts and post a comment. Comments such as “Hi!” “Did I win the contest?” and “Does this comment qualify?” all work. That’s all you need to do to win valuable prizes! So what are you waiting for. It’s a contest in advance of my my new picture book Baseball from A to Z, which is coming this spring, so don’t swing and miss!

IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE ZOMBIES: A Book Of Zombie Christmas Carols is #21 on the New York Times Best Seller List! Its third week on the list! And it’s getting all kinds of great publicity including holiday roundups in The New York Daily News, The Baltimore Sun Book Blog, and LA Weekly.com. And this week, I made a visit to New York City to visit the FANGORIA Radio studio on Sirius/XM. Here’s a picture of me in my official Radio Guy Earphones. It was a great night and special thanks to Kelly, Kateri, Rebecca and Aaron for rocking out on the carols. It was great fun talking to a national radio audience about the book.

So as you’re finishing up your holiday shopping, here is my annual MICHAEL SPRADLIN, NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLING AUTHOR, HELPS YOU CHOOSE WHICH OF HIS BOOKS WOULD BE PERFECT FOR THOSE EASY AND HARD TO BUY FOR INDIVIDUALS ON YOUR LIST list. I do what I can to help.

Boys Ages 10 and up.

The Youngest Templar Series–This is perfect for boys who like action-adventure novels like Ranger’s Apprentice or the Percy Jackson Novels.

Boys and Girls 14 and up.

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Zombies–This book is rated T For Teen. More than two dozen slightly twisted and definitely upside Christmas Carols with macabre art by Jeff Weigel.

Girls 10 and up

The Spy Goddess Series–Available in reasonably priced paperback editions. Full of action, intrigue and suspense. And humor. And action. And humor.

Boys and Girls ages 4-8.

Daniel Boone’s Great Escape–Daniel Boone is running for his life, literally as he escapes from Shawnee captivity. Young readers will enjoy this thrilling true story!

Texas Rangers: Legendary Lawmen–Young readers will enjoy exploring the Wild West as it was tamed by some of the toughest lawmen around.

And don’t forget, Baseball from A to Z and Off Like the Wind: The First Ride of The Pony Express will be on sale in the New Year, so gift cards or Coupons for a book will make a nice surprise for a young reader once the holidays are over.

That’s all for now. Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Your New York Times Best Selling Authorness

©2010 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

For the class The Modern American Novel, I was required to read You Can’t Go Home Again by Thomas Wolfe. Like another one of my favorite novels, The Great Gatsby, Wolfe’s classic tells us that we can never go back. We can’t reclaim our past. Time moves on, things change and even something as ‘familiar’ as home is never quite the same. People might accept you, but once you leave, you can’t return.

I’m no Thomas Wolfe, but I think his reach may have exceeded his grasp in You Can’t Go Home Again. Because you can. And no matter where you go, what you achieve, or where you live, home is always home.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit my hometown for a book signing at the Public Library. I grew up in Homer, Michigan a small town straight out of Norman Rockwell. About 1500 residents, with the population remaining pretty constant for the last few decades. Every time I have a new book, the staff at the Homer Public Library invites me to come and sign books.

It’s hands down my favorite event. I get to reconnect with friends and family. Sandi and Trixie and the rest of the staff are so supportive and friendly and it serves to remind me of what’s important. The people who have helped you along in life. Several of my former teachers come each year. (I always joke that they show up because they heard that I’d written a book and have to see for themselves). My typing teacher Mrs. Acker always comes. For years; my sixth grade English teacher came until she sadly passed away well into her 90’s.

Then this past week, I had a chance to visit my nephew Scott’s school for a presentation. He’s in fourth grade and smart as a whip. Just like his older brother Brent. Seeing the happy smile on his face while I spoke to his classmates about writing and books and history was a truly great feeling.

And then, like most gifts, I realized those good feelings came to me not because of what I’ve done. But of what was done for me.

Some announcements:

SPY GODDESS: The Chase for the Chalice has been named to the American Library Association’s Popular Paperbacks list. Along with both Spy Goddess novels! Which are on for the second year in a row.

There is now a Facebook Fan page for The Youngest Templar! Become a fan here!

Peace out!

Your authorness

©2010 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Anyhoo, I thought I’d fill you in on just a few random things I did and saw in the last couple of weeks, before I take off tomorrow to attend the International Reading Association Convention in Atlanta. Incidentally if you are attending the IRA convention (and no IRA does not stand for Irish Republican Army) I’ll be doing a bunch of appearances there to sign books so see the end of this post for the details (but don’t skip over to the end, read the middle part first!).

So first I went to Texas. It was the first time I’d ever been to the Texas Library Association convention. Them Texas Librarians! Are they ever friendly and do they ever love their Texas books! My signing of TEXAS RANGERS: LEGENDARY LAWMEN was spectacular and I thought it was a great show all the way around. I’ll definitely be going back.

From Texas I went to New York City for New York Comic Con. Wow. Where to even begin? This is my second time at NYCC and it was another great weekend getting in touch with my inner nerd. I saw so many cool things and signed a lot of books. The coolest thing though was the Penguin Young Readers Group banner at their booth that had the cover artwork for THE YOUNGEST TEMPLAR: Keeper of the Grail right there in the middle. (By the way, the book is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. I’m just sayin’!) All I can say is that Penguin Young Readers Group rocks! I had a great time hanging out in the booth and signing Advanced Readers Editions of the novel.

The thing I love about Comic Con is that you see things there you won’t ever see anywhere else. Some highlights:                                                       

1) The ‘light saber’ competition at the rear of the convention center with real judges like in a martial arts competition. I half expected to see Daniel LaRussa and Johnny and the rest of his Cobra Kai minions square off. You almost couldn’t tear yourself away from it.

2) I saw seven women dressed as Princess Leia from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

3) Almost every booth has a ‘booth babe’ an exceedingly beautiful woman whose sole purpose is to engage geeks in conversation and get them to buy stuff. What was funny this time is I saw a guy dressed in a Wolverine costume trying every move he knew (which apparently was about three moves, tops) to pick up a booth babe. Buddy, here’s a hint: YOU’RE DRESSED AS WOLVERINE! UNLESS YOU ALSO HAPPEN TO BE HUGH JACKMAN YOU HAVE NO SHOT!

4) A super cool Green Arrow statue. In the words of Napoleon Dynamite “I want that!”

It was almost too much fun and I’ve heard that San Diego Comic Con is even bigger and geekier so I can’t wait for that one come July.

From New York, a three day side trip to Orlando for other business, and then I was in Los Angeles for the LA Time Festival of Books. This is one of my most favorite events of the year. Held on the beautiful UCLA Campus it’s a gorgeous celebration of books and book lovers. Despite heat in triple digits it was a fun day and I can’t wait to go back again next year.

Then I came home and after two weeks in hotels and on airplanes breathing germy air, I got sick. So that’s my excuse for not posting for the last couple of weeks. Not to mention that in between all of that I had to get some writing done. 
 

So that’s it. Off to IRA. If you’re attending I’ll be signing at the Walker Booth on Monday May 5th from 4-4:30pm. And on Wednesday I’ll be signing at Anderson Bookshops from 10-11am, HarperCollins from 12-12:30 pm and Penguin Young Readers Group from 1:30-2pm. So if you’re attending the show during one of these times, please stop by and say hello!

Hope to see you there!

©2010 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Basically, Google Analytics is a service by Google that tracks visitors to your website. It tells you how they got there (via which search engines), how long they stayed, where they’re from (city, state and country) and how many pages on your site they looked at.  Frankly, it’s both fascinating and creepy all at the same time. (Important note: If you are or become a frequent reader of this blog you must come to know some essential things about me. One of them is I grew up during the Cold War and spent a large part of my childhood believing that we were mere seconds away from nuclear Armageddon. I was always burying time capsules with a bunch of pennies and copies of the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence so that future survivors would have something to go by when they had to start over. My fascination with post-apocalyptic science fiction by writers like Robert Heinlein didn’t help any nor did all the movies I watched growing up like Soylent Green (SOLYENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!) The Omega Man or Planet of the Apes. So it’s easy for me to believe that Google is becoming the HAL 9000 of our time and one day it will become sentient and wipe us all out and spend eternity just searching for itself while we all cower in a bunker with Charleton Heston. But I digress).

Anyway, there is a load of information on Google Analytics and most of it makes no sense to me whatever. What is a ‘bounce rate’ anyway? However there is one section of all of the reports and charts and graphs that draws me in each morning.

I’m talking about the map.

Yes, Google Analytics has a map that tells you which country, state or city your website visitors come from.  The first thing you see is the world map. Each country is a sort of yellowish color until you have a visitor from that country then it turns green. So far, I’ve gotten visitors from 15 countries (that includes the US and Canada). It’s become my new obsession to log on each morning and see if anyone has joined the one visitor I’ve had from South Africa. Or the two from Australia (or as I call it Canada Lite). Yes, today I got Sweden!

I feel a little bit like Dr. Strangelove, but it’s so cool to look at. Although I will say what is bumming me out is the states. Several states have provided my website with zero visitors so far. What’s up with that? What is wrong with you people in Maine and North Dakota anyway? I mean I know it’s cold there right now so you should be on your computer visiting www.michaelspradlin.com! You too Montana! I mean it.

So I need your help. As you can tell things are starting to get a little out of hand. Please do your part to help color in my world map. Send a link to my website to everyone on your email list. They’ll enjoy it and once my map is all colored in, I’ll find something else to obsess on and can back to work on my next book. It’s in your hands.

I’m counting on you!

Peace. Out.

Your authorness,

Michael P. Spradlin

©2010 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

I’m lucky enough to have the privilege of speaking to hundreds of kids every year at schools and lit festivals. I’m always encouraging them to hone their writing skills for the simple reason that writing is, at it’s simplest, a form of communication. And the better a young person learns to communicate their ideas the farther they’ll go in whatever occupation they choose. So I was glad to hear that this young girl had been inspired to write by reading one of my books.

But it was the next part of this fan’s email that socked me right in the heart. She went on to say that she seldom rereads books but she rereads the Spy Goddess books all the time, “especially at night, when my parents are fighting because they help calm me down.” She asked me to write her back “if I had the time” because she would love to hear from me.

I can tell you I didn’t know how to respond. I thought long and hard about what to say because I was on one level so touched by her words, and at the same time so angry at her parents for not realizing how their own thoughtlessness was impacting their child. Finally, I sent her a note of encouragement. I told her to keep writing and most of all to keep reading. I told her I was honored by her taking the time to write to me and said I hoped she would write again sometime to tell me about other books she liked. I wished her luck. As I pushed ’send’ I wished I could do more.

A few weeks ago, I received an email from ”my biggest fan” she said, who wanted to thank me for giving her a gift. Turns out it was the other way around.

Peace. Out.

©2010 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Still, I understand some people would like to write and some already have great ideas and just need a little nudge. So I have developed my very own set of “Super-Duper Guaranteed to Get You Writing, Writing Prompts.” I often tell students and teachers that 95% of all novels and short stories ever written begin by asking the question “What If?” What if Gatsby was still in love with Daisy? What if the Sun didn’t also rise? What if Henry VIII was really French?” Most writers start there.  And believe me it’s a good place to start. But there are times when “What If?” doesn’t work.

 So here we go. If you’re struggling to write, ask yourself one of these questions and see if it doesn’t get you started.

 1. Who moved my socks?

 2. Do you think this rash might be contagious?

 3. Did you know that hamsters did that?

4. What time is lunch?

5. Are you sure the leg is supposed to bend like that?

Feel free to use one of these or make up your own prompts. No need to thank me! It’s all part of the many great services we provide here at www.michaelspradlin.com. So sit down and write! You’ll be glad you did!

Feel free to send me some of your own prompts that you use for writing and I’ll post them another time!

Peace. Out.

Your authorness,

Michael P. Spradlin

P.S. In case you haven’t heard JUNO was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar today! Yay!

©2010 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

2. Is anyone watching Comanche Moon? There are two things that drew me to this six-hour mini-series. One is that I’m a huge fan of Larry McMurty. I’ve read everything he’s ever written and Lonesome Doveis one my all time favorite novels. I usually reread it every year just for the dialogue. The second thing that drew me in was Val Kilmer. Val Kilmer in a western is virtually without peer. How he never won an Oscar for his portrayal of Doc Holiday in Tombstone is beyond me. So I tuned in to watch the first two hours, and the verdict? I give it two and half stars out of four. Kilmer is fantastic. The problem is he isn’t on the screen enough. And the two actors playing Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call are trying to live up to two legendary performances that just can’t be outdone. Steve Zahn as Gus is probably the better of the two and is doing his best to channel a young Robert Duvall but he’s been asked to take on an impossible task. Still, there are McMurtry’s fingerprints all over the writing and I’ll keep watching.

3. I went to see I AM LEGEND over the holidays. I’m a big fan of the original novella and this picture is superior to the first movie version, The Omega Man (which I saw when I was twelve and scared the crap out of me! Now I rewatch it and can’t believe how cheesy it is). No spoilers here in this post in case you haven’t seen it yet. Let’s just say I found it entertaining but the end falls apart a little bit. One of the coolest parts of the movie is seeing a deserted New York City. Having traveled there many times, I found myself envying Will Smith being able to get across town so quickly. What did you think?

4. We had no school today. 4 inches of snow.

5. Today is the Presidential primary in Michigan. I will not miss the automated phone calls when it is over.

Peace. Out.

©2010 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

 I also don’t like it when the media spends all of their time ‘looking back’ at the top stories of the year. I’m ready to look forward. So here’s a list of what I’m looking forward to in 2008!

 1) On January 8th the paperback edition of Spy Goddess: To Hawaii with Love goes on sale. Isn’t that exciting!

2) February 26th, the all Spy Goddess Manga, Spy Goddess: The Chase for the Chalice goes on sale! Doubly exciting

3) March 1 TEXAS RANGERS: LEGENDARY LAWMEN goes on sale! My newest picture book will be released by Walker Books for Young Readers. Triply exciting!

4) Sometime in May. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull arrives in theaters. Sure the name is a little lame, but Spielberg could have called it Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Dirty Dishwater and I’m still there.

 5) July 22 DANIEL BOONE’S GREAT ESCAPE goes on sale! Another new picture book from Walker Books for Young Readers! Quadruply exciting!

6) In fall 2008, my newest novel THE YOUNGEST TEMPLAR: Keeper of the Grail will reach bookstores.

 So as you can see, 2008 has already been a very exciting year for me. What are you looking forward too this year?

©2010 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.

I mean I understand that kids are out of school, they’re bored, and having the family escape to a theater for a few hours is a method of relaxation for some people. And I’m not going to lie. No one is more excited to be going to see I AM LEGEND than me. When I get around to it. Which may be when it’s out on DVD. Or not.

But with everything else competing for our attention during the busiest time of the year, why do we flock to the movie theater? Personally I think it all started with It’s A Wonderful Life. In America’s simpler days that movie sucked us in. And we’ve be treading off to the theater ever since, hoping to rediscover that Christmas Magic.

So if you’re going to the movies, enjoy. Let me know if you see something good. And if you feel like staying home and renting or watching movies on cable here is a list of my ten favorite holiday themed movies for your delight and edification.

1. A Christmas Story–an almost painfully funny film not only for the gags but it’s depiction of the average family at Christmas.

2. ELF–Has become a holiday tradition at our house. “Is there sugar in syrup? Then yes!”

3. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer–Although the Island of Misfit Toys did creep me out a little. “Bumbles bounce!”

4. Trading Places–Okay, it’s not really a “holiday movie” but this is my list. Besides, Dan Ackroyd raiding the Christmas party in the Santa suit is hilarious.

5. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation–Chevy Chase just makes me laugh. Whatever happened to him?

6. Die Hard–See #4

7. A Charlie Brown Christmas–Linus is the man.

8. A Miracle on 34th Street–You have to be a total cynic not to tear up at this one. I am not a total cynic.

9. Home Alone–Every kid’s fantasy. Confront your inner demons and rescue your home from invaders.

10. Muppet Christmas Carol–There has never been a better version of the Dickens classic in my opinion.

What about you? What are your favorite holiday films? And has watching a particular movie at the holidays become a part of your family tradition?

©2010 Michael Spradlin Blog. All Rights Reserved.