The Write Journey

New ventures

Yes, I've finally recovered from my big adventure in dreamland. Still having a hard time believing I actually met them all, and that they were just as wonderful in person as they appear on screen. Definitely an experience I'll never forget.

Lately I've been super busy. I had to speak in church on Sunday, so I had to prep a speech for that. Thankfully, it went very well and is over now. Whew! :smile My fantasy basketball draft has also been going on, and it went veeeeeryy slooooooowlyyyy. It's now over too, thank goodness.

But mostly I've been working over at Lulu.com, a content creation website started by Bob Young, who's a co-founder and former chairman of Red Hat. It's a unique place that gives would be authors, musicians, and artists a way to sell their work while maintaining complete control over it.

I've already re-published an old book of poetry of mine over there, and am waiting to receive my proof copy of the brand new short story collection I plan to debut soon, called "Crossroads and Other Tales". Self-publishing is hard, and the rewards can be little, but it's also empowering to have full control over every aspect of your literary baby, and the potential payoff if you happen to be even moderately successful is great. I did the whole book, from the cover design to the layout, and of course, all the short stories and poetry that'll be in it. I think it's going to be so awesome to see it hopefully listed on Amazon and Barnes & Noble in a few weeks! There's a sneak peek at my cover below.

I'll let you know when it's ready to buy. I've got some other possible ideas on my mind as well.

Later!

-The WheelMan

Dreams do come true!

Just got back from meeting Leo! He and Patrick and Michaela are such awesome people. There was a long line when I got there, but we went up to one of the assistants there and he let me in the back and I came out right next to where Leo was standing. As soon as Leo got through talking with some people, he came right over to me. We talked for while, and I asked if he'd met any other Leoviller's, and he said Bstream had been there (I must have just missed him, because I got there not too long after 1:00pm.

Anyway, Leo then called Patrick over and I got to say hello to him. I didn't really talk to him a lot, but he was cool too. Michaela was on the opposite end of the line from me talking to other people, and I asked Leo if I could meet her. He said "Sure!" and called her, but I had to wait a bit. Then she came right over (and she's just as beautiful in person, if not more so, by the way!). And she is just as open as I imagined too. She asked me about how I'd found TechTV, and I told her and said how I'd been watching her since Entertainment Tonight. We talked about Scott Herriott (her former co-host on Entertainment Tonight), and about Chris Leary (her current co-host on , both who she says are great too. She was so easy to talk to because she obviously she likes to talk (as anyone who knows me in the real world will tell you, so do I :smile). I then asked if I could take a picture with her, and I did. Have I mentioned how beautiful she is? :wink Leo and Patrick had already taken a picture with me too, and then after I took the picture with Michaela, Leo and Patrick came back over and all three of them took a picture with me.

I wish I could have met them in a less hectic environment, because in situations like that you don't get to say everything that you'd like, you know? I'd love to have told Patrick how he and I have some favorite TV shows in common, or talked to Michaela about her love of movies or asked her about Canada. But of course, they had tons of other fans to visit with it. Besides, who knows? Maybe I'll get to see them again one day soon.

All in all, it was an incredible experience, and I was actually pretty relaxed through the whole thing and managed not to make a fool of myself. :smile It's an experience I'll never forget.

Edit: I'm adding a couple of pics below.

-The WheelMan

How long? Not long.

Only two days until Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, and Michaela Pereira appear here, and looks like everything's a go. I'm trying to remain calm and cool, but it's very HARD! I watch these people every day. I've never been one to obsess over things (like the way people literally swoon at the mere glimpse of someone like Michael Jackson) but I think these are people who would be closest to that for me. Just hoping that upon seeing them I don't:

a) Lose the power of speech,
b) Ramble on stupidly,
c) Hyperventilate,
d) Pass out altogether,
e) Scream like a star-struck school girl
f) Drool on Tech Canadian Goddess, Michaela.

If I can just keep my brain functioning during the brief time I have with them, I should be good to go. Figure I can always fall to pieces right after.:wink

-The WheelMan