A Pretty Cool Story

On Friday, through yet another act of divine serendipity, I met Josh Kilmer-Purcell, author of the book I AM NOT MYSELF THESE DAYS (cover pictured above). What’s really interesting about Josh’s and my connection is that both his book and mine were endorsed by James Frey on James’ website just days apart. At the time of the endorsements I had no idea who Josh was. Then I clicked on the link James put up to Josh’s site, saw he had a myspace page and went to it (yes, I too have become a myspace junkie). Turns out he was doing a reading that very night in my much beloved hometown. I went to the reading, where Josh was kind enough to plug futureproof to his audience.

He then invited me to have a drink, where we could talk more about this industry of writing and our relationship to James Frey and really, the serendipitous way in which everything seems to come together some times, how he credits Clive Barker, in large part, with helping him get his book published. How it’s all part of the same blanket and you can’t force fortune, you must let it come in its own time (though I still cling tenaciously to the belief that one must work one’s knuckles to their proverbial bones in the meantimes, while waiting for fortune’s slow ass to finally make a house-call). In short, it was one of the most “writerly” moments I’ve ever had since embarking on this crazy roller-coaster of a visionquest.

To top off the evening, this tipsy southern belle of a woman, really great lady, came up to us and started talking to us as if we were celebrities. It was such a fucking surreal experience, I’m telling you, sitting in the lounge of the Ritz-Carlton having drinks with a published (and extremely gracious) writer who had just given a great reading at one of the biggest bookstores in Atlanta, talking about making it in one of the most cut-throat businesses in the world (at least in my perception).

So thank you, Josh Kilmer-Purcell, for a great intro to the world of letters. Thank you James Frey for making that a possibility. Thank you to all of you who have been such a great support in these early days.

Talk soon. ~NFD

Picking Up Steam

Now that futureproof is back up for sale and the website has been overhauled, things are really starting to look up. Over the weekend I went back to my alma mater in Kentucky and spoke with the school about promoting futureproof there, and they really seemed excited about it. I’ll be doing a reading and book signing there some time this summer. This is really fortunate and welcome news because as we move into this next phase of exposing futureproof to the masses, I wanted to start where my writing career really took off in the first place. Now I’m going to focus on getting the book into stores in the Atlanta area, as well as cities and colleges around the southeast, most likely starting in Nashville, TN, then moving on to Birmingham, AL, Tampa, FL, Savannah, GA and Raleigh, NC.

Also, this past week I signed with a small Atlanta-based literary agency. This is obviously a great development, because while I will be working with them to put futureproof into the hands of prospective publishers, they will be handling the lion’s share of that work, which will give me more time to focus on getting the book in front of readers. This is where my true passion lies.

Finally, it was a great feeling to go to James Frey’s website when I got back from Kentucky and see that he had plugged the book in the news section of his site. James is a great writer and a great supporter of futureproof. Thank you James. And thanks to all of you who have and continue to support the movement to get this book a larger audience. Talk soon. ~NFD

Oh, and check out my eerily prescient horoscope from FreeWillAstrology this week:

Aquarius (January 20- February 18)There was an indignant uproar after revelations that James Frey’s bestselling memoir A Million Little Pieces contains fabrications. Hearing about it prompted me to ruminate on whether there’s any such thing as a completely accurate account of any person’s life. My conclusion: no. In every autobiography and biography ever written, the author imaginatively strings together selectively chosen details to conjure up artificially coherent narratives rather than depict the crazy-quilt ambiguity that actually characterizes everyone’s journey. If you and nine writers set out to tell your life story, you’d produce ten wildly different tales, each rife with subjective interpretation, misplaced emphasis, unintentional distortions, and exorbitant extrapolations from insufficient data. Your assignment this week, Aquarius, is to celebrate the malleability of reality. Regale listeners with stories about the time you worked as a pirate in the Indian Ocean, or rode the rails through Kansas as a hobo, or gave Donald Trump sage advice in an elevator.

That says it all, doesn’t it?

The FUTURE Is NOW

After nearly 3 long years, futureproof is now ready for public consumption. The print version is $15, the downloadable PDF is $4.54. These printed copies are on very nice paper, and have every bit the same quality as any paperback you’d find in any bookstore. Get it while it’s hot, ’cause once it gets picked up by a house, it’ll be gone. These are limited edition printings, so take advantage. And thanks a million for all the support. Talk soon. ~FRANK

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