The Writer's Life 12/24 - Surprises

When Justin, a local porter, dropped off a bunch of books the other day, one immediately stood out: Apartment 4B, Like in Brooklyn by Evan Ginzburg. The author grew up in East Flatbush during the '60's as the neighbor was evolving from a mostly Jewish enclave to one of people of color. The memoir records his time on Lenox Rd. from his earliest memory until his teens when his family finally joins the white flight, in his case to Bayside, Queens. Although he's almost a decade younger than I, it was easy to relate to his experiences, particularly the games his friends and he played. It is a well written account, eminently readable. The most interesting aspect is his dealings with blacks who hate whites, who steal his money and sometimes beat him. It's amazing that the treatment didn't turn him into a bigot. Surprisingly, his musical taste tends toward R&B rather than hard rock. He was also a fan of pro wrestling, particularly of Bruno Sammartino, a hero to lower middle class Italian-Americans. He has published Wrestling Then & Now, a newsletter, since 1990. He works in radio, and is a publicist, promoter, booker and MC. He received credit as an Associate Producer on the the critically acclaimed The Wrestler (2006). He also has published a book about his father's experiences: Hey, Cabbie -- A Million Miles Behind the Wheel. Nine users at Amazon have rated Apt. 4B, forging to a consensus of 4.5 of five. It's 141 pages read like much less. There is profanity, but a lot less than in most modern fare. There are plenty of those great black and white pictures of the era, almost all of them of family and friends. In the parlance of the streets of Brooklyn, Evan Ginzburg would be dubbed "a good kid."

The proof copy of my latest short works collection, Billionths of a Lifetime, arrived to day. I hadn't expected it until next Monday at the earliest. So far, so good -- no errors in the first story -- at least I didn't spot any.

Mother nature also provided a big surprise -- a rainless three-hour window that allowed me to open up the floating book shop for the first time since Monday. Since it's Christmas Eve, I wasn't expecting much business and it seemed that would be the case until the final hour. My thanks to the kind folks who made purchases, especially the Russian woman who bought seven in her native language; to Herbie, who donated another thriller (he must read three books a week); and to Mira, who not only bought two Best-of short story collections, but gave me three Rocher chocolates and two tangerines, which have already been consumed. I hope they will tide me over until dinner time, which will probably be no earlier than nine. The seven fishes await!

Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Vic's Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/l84h63j

Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/

Website: http://vicfortezzaauthor.my-free.website/