The Writer's Life 1/4 - Essentials

Rip Donna Douglas, 82, who rocked the hormones of adolescent males in her turn as Elly May Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies, which ran 274 episodes on CBS from 1962-1971, and in syndication long after that. With so many cable channels available, I would be surprised if it wasn't still running somewhere.  IMDb lists 38 credits for her, all but five in TV. She had a wonderful sweetness about her. Here's a pic:

At one time Michael Vick may have been the most hated man in America. His abuse of dogs was reprehensible and made bold headlines, the story seemingly endless. He did jail time for his savagery. The salary he lost led to bankruptcy. To his credit, he is just weeks away from paying off the nearly $18 million he owed his creditors, which is remarkable, given that he chose Chapter 11, which is more demanding than Chapter Seven, which would have allowed him to wipe away all his debts without paying a nickel. I'm sure many will never forgive what he did, but this is most impressive. Kudos. (Story from the NY Post, which got it from ESPN, edited by yours truly)

As I was driving toward Bay Parkway, where I hoped to set up the floating book shop, snow flurries began to fall. Lacking the patience to wait out the precipitation, I headed home. If the forecast is right, book selling may be on hiatus for a while, as severe cold is expected to follow tomorrow's rain. Fortunately, I've had a bit of luck to bolster my spirits. This week Exchanges and A Hitch in Twilight sold at Amazon, my first web sales since July, not counting my niece Tanya's purchase of my short story, The Bat. It looks like I'll never receive royalties for Exchanges. At Amazon, nine print and 16 Kindle copies have sold. My guess is that amounts to around $40. I'm not going to hound the publisher, WheelMan Press, which I'm sure is not raking in big bucks. First of all, I appreciate him making it available. Second, the guy's been in a wheelchair his entire life, and no doubt pours his heart and soul into his own novels. And I've now learned that I can publish at no cost except the purchase of books at Create Space, which is probably what several small press outfits are doing, unbeknownst to authors. Still, it looks better to be published by someone else, even if the method is essentially the same.

Vic'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://tiny.cc/rP7o9

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

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

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

Vic's Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/