Our Daily Red

I just posted a news item (click on news and scroll down to May 16) about the so-called YA (young adult) reader, readers age 12-18. Ask me, that’s a pretty vast gulf in readers. What appeals to most 12-year-olds is unlikely to appeal to most 18-year-olds. But it’s a growing segment, much to the delight of book publishers everywhere. And they’re starting to cater to the YA crowd, finding talented writers, setting up book groups and library/bookstore sections devoted to YA readers.

As I noted in the news feed, “The Kids Are Alright,” shamelessly stealing the phrase from The Who — one of my favorite all-time bands, by the way. Other faves are the Beatles, Stones, Led Zep, U2, R.E.M., (Akron’s own) The Black Keys, the White Stripes, and a quirky bunch out of Canada, The Arcade Fire. But I digress.

The feed quoted a recent Newsweek story about the resurgent YA book sector, and while that’s kind of biz-oriented, the real story is that teens are ignoring all the hand-wringing that nobody reads anymore, that we’re raising a generation video game zombies and that this country’s going to hell in a handbasket! Well, the kids are reading. At least some of them are, and they’re reading a lot.

Exhibit A: My son, Matt, who turns 13 in June, plowed through the entire Harry Potter series in two weeks. It was spring break. How much of it he absorbed, I can’t say. But still. There are times we have to pry the PlayStation controls out of his clenched hands to get him back to reading. Ya do what ya gotta do. Daughter Lindsey, 9, is following suit. She just finished her first Harry Potter book.

But it’s not just Harry. Matt loved the Series of Unfortunate Events, following the endless series of disasters bestowed upon the Beaudelaire children. He’s into the Chronicles of Narnia (yes , we plan to see the second movie, which is getting good reviews).

My wife, DeAnne, is especially persistent in making sure the kids read, and early on we read to them.

Curiously, my boy, the son of a writer, doesn’t much care for writing. Which kills me, of course. Then again, why would he want to follow in a family biz that had me working nights, weekends and holidays, and then laid me off? Maybe he’s the smart one.

Damn you, muse!! Damn youuuuuuuuuu!

And now we’re running with the big dogs! That Peter Gabriel tune “Big Time” is bouncing through my head. We have a deal to produce content for MSN.com’s shopping pages. We’re in the Ask the Expert section. There are some T’s to cross and an i or two to dot, but it’s basically a done deal. It’s already online. All we need is to get paid. This was a long time in the making — not as long as some others, but long enough. You have to first contact the right people, negotiate the labyrinthine bureaucracy (we’re talking Microsoft here) , wait for the lawyers to dissect the deal, make an appealing pitch and (sales talk time) overcome objections. And now, I ask you , dear and humble blog reader, to visit that site (see link below) and maybe purchase a product advertised on the site. Why? So that we can continue to exist as a Microsoft vendor. Crass commercialism? It’s the American way, baby! Thank you, thank you.

http://shopping.msn.com/content/shp/?ctid=4695

I found this quite amusing:

For many would-be entrpreneurs, one of the more distasteful things involved in a startup is fundraising, or dialing for dollars. Unless you hit the lottery (one in 20 million chance) or a sugar daddy/mama comes through (not likely), you’re gonna need to raise funds. And as you do that, figure for a year’s worth of labor, lawyers, accountants (assuming you’re not one yourself, and we’re not), office space (maybe), supplies, labor/salaries (maybe) — add all that up, then triple it, and you’re getting close to a realistic startup cost. Have a concrete business plan, in writing, and be prepared to revise it. A lot. Thank God for modern software. 30 years ago that rewrite meant spending untold hours hunched over the IBM or Smith-Corona typewriter, clack-clack-clacking away. Now, you just boot up your laptop and delete and insert. What could be more fun than that?

And so, with business plan and 30-second pitch ready to go, start dialing. Ask for money and ask for referrals.

Diane Evans, “the boss,” has been dialing for dollars for something like two years. She’s at it again today. She enlisted my wife to assist. It’s hilarious, they carry on like sisters. Through trial and error, Diane’s gotten really good at pitching. And we’ve made some amazing connections. I’ve made some small contributions, getting our foot in the door at the Cleveland Clinic and a connection with world’s most connected guy, Daniel Moneypenny. If you don’t know Daniel Moneypenny, you don’t know squat. Cuz he said so.

Prospecting leads to meetings and, sometimes, a deal. It all takes a lot of time and stomach-churning moments. But when it works, it is awesome.

One success story: MSN.com. More on that later (above).

So, Cindy McCain, the secretive recluse wife of wood-be prez John McCain, has backed out of a deal to write her memoir (no doubt rivaling Miley Cyrus in depth of experience), probably out of concern that it would cause more damage than help. I knew a young woman whose name, swear to God, was Candy McCain. Waitress at the Bethel Road Cooker in Columbus (Ohio, which seems odd to think it necessary to include the state of a city with roughly a million people). As far as I know, no relation. To John McCain, that is. Or Cindy.

For the record, we have assigned John McCain’s book, Faith of My Fathers, as an official Exploration here at DelMio. I promise we’ll have it done before November, book fans and McCain fans. We outsmarted ourselves early in the race, thinking Rudy Giuliani would run away from the field. Jeez.

I liked McCain a lot more before he morphed into a Jerry-Fallwell’s-ring-kissing right-wing toadie after he got Bushwhacked in 2000 by dirtball politics. He once referred to Falwell, Pat Robertson and their ilk as “agents of division.” He was right then. But then he flip-flopped! He seems stunningly tone-deaf, veering off to the right just as Bush’s approval ratings swirl ever lower in the political crapper — although he did just come out vowing to fight global warming, which sent Rush Lintball into a tizzy today. I love it when he gets all apoplectic. Such great theater. Alas, so many dittoheads out there actually believe him and his half-baked half-truths, which are harder to detect than outright lies.

The conservatives don’t trust McCain because of his “maverick” reputation, and the libs can’t get past the war in Iraq. Or his health care “plan.” Or his stand on abortion. Or his justice-nomination votes. If it weren’t for Hillary and Barack still exchanging body blows in their Democratic Smackdown, I can’t imagine how McCain would be competitive with either Clinton or Obama. The press (even the left-wing drive-by MSM) loves it, because it breaks the monotony of a slow news day.

But enough of politics. Nice weather today, huh?

Dave Wilson is the Grand Pooh-Bah of Editorial Content at DelMio.com, a site developed by SunLit Communications LLC. He also is at times janitor, chauffeur, chief cook and bottle washer. Once upon a time he was a metro editor and copy editor at the Akron Beacon Journal. Send love letters and trash talk to dave.wilson@delmio.com. Or post a comment.

I actually drank a little of Our Daily Red yesterday. Figured it’d be a good luck charm or something. Whatever. Yesterday was Mother’s Day, for those not paying attention to the calendar. Made brunch and dinner. Baked bread. I never bake bread. Yesterday I made an exception. I just had a hankering for fresh, still-warm bread and the ensuing floury, gooey mess left in its wake. Bread (good), wine (also good) and a criminally overcooked London broil (bad). I was afraid my older one, the one with braces, was gonna spring a wire on that Worcestershire-flavored leather. Won’t be doing London broil again. For an extra buck a pound, get something edible.

Random thought

I just noticed a small leak in the adjoining office’s ceiling. There’s a dental office above us, and it sounds like a sink is the source of the leak, judging from the sound of running water overhead and the gentle tap - tap- tapping of the occasionally falling drops.

Random thought II

Just heard our office suite was burgled over the weekend. Apparently nothing was taken. They must’ve been looking for some drugs, came to the wrong floor. Memo to burglars: Go upstairs for the Novocaine. You might have gathered by now that we are not housed in the penthouse suite. True, but we can’t complain about the price.

It occurs to me that nothing in this post has anything remotely to do with books. Slow news day. OK, here’s a feeble attempt: In anticipation of the summer release of “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” read “Inside Prince Caspian” for all the inside dope on the book, the movie, the wardrobe. Then, at the movie debut, you can annoy half the people in the theater by telling friends what happens next and why Lucy would do such a thing. I actually thought the first movie was pretty decent, especially for kiddie fare. If you had to sit through “Epic Movie,” you understand my baseline for ratings.

Dave Wilson is the Grand Poobah of Editorial Content at DelMio.com, a site developed by SunLit Communications LLC. He also is at times janitor, chauffeur, chief cook and bottle washer. Once upon a time he was a metro editor and copy editor at the Akron Beacon Journal.

This is not my first blogging effort. There are bits and pieces all over this site and at our old home, and few scattered postings on other, even more obscure blog hosts. But I think I’ll come back to here fairly often. In my quest for book news and between various and sundry editing duties, I find stuff that’s interesting but doesn’t quite fit any of the usual pegs, round or square. That’s stuff I’ll dump on you, the unsuspecting and unfortunate reader of this blog (Yes, all three of you). I think I’ll call it Our Daily Red. I know, the name’s been taken. It’s a decent red wine for everyday dinners. Probably a blog out there too. So sue me. Maybe I could call it Our Daily Sandwich. I dunno. Our Daily Ned?

Dave Wilson is the Grand Poobah of Editorial Content at DelMio.com, a site developed by SunLit Communications LLC. He also is at times janitor, chauffeur, chief cook and bottle washer. Once upon a time he was a metro editor and copy editor at the Akron Beacon Journal.