I've got some cool things coming soon!

Okay, so this has been an interesting week.  I am attending the DFW writer's conference next week and so I'm mentally preparing for the pitching of my book, which isn't an easy task when you've got social anxiety.  One on one conversations are fine, but plop me in a room with a hundred people and I'm a nervous wreck.  But I'm gonna do it people because I'm ready to let this baby graduate into adulthood so that I can move on to my next project about religion. Not that I'd be totally neglecting the baby, I just want it in college and maybe working at a minimum wage job.

So, if you've read my blog, you probably realize that I'm a bit quirky and maybe a wee bit insecure and you would be correct.  But, I faced a fear this week and contacted Mary Roach to ask if she'd let me interview her on this here blog.  After I completed the A to Z challenge, I realize that I really like to blog.  It's fun.  I like the interaction with people and one of the things that publishers look for in a non-fiction writer is a platform.  What is that?  It means, who the heck are you and why are you the person to write this book?  Well, I'm a nobody with a hard to pronounce name.  I'm not dying and I'm not an expert.  But, get to know me!

So, I emailed Mary Roach and she emailed me back within the day and said YES!!!  She is a super smart, witty writer and to top it all off, she has two books about death, "Stiff" and "Spook."  I practically had a coronary when I got her email.  So, then I felt a bit emboldened with my good fortune, so I sent an email to Thomas Lynch.  No word yet.  Then I contacted my classmate Mike Capuzzo who wrote the best selling books "Close to Shore" and "The Murder Room" and he said YES too!!!  So, I'm gonna have some big names here on my little blog.  I can't believe it.  I am oh so grateful.  And Eleanor Roosevelt was right.  Do one thing a day that scares you.  Well, I did and I lived to tell about it.

Also, staring this Monday on the 14th of May, I have a new regular feature appearing on this here bloggity blog.  It's called "Monday Mournings."  And it's posted on Monday morning.  Wow.  How cool is that?  I will be talking to real people about their experience with death.  It could be a parent, a spouse, a child, a sibling, a friend, a pet. You'll just have to pop in and see what's going on.

So, tell your friends.  Have your friends tell their friends.  And so on, and so on...

Heeeeeeere's my brother!

It's not every day that I get to feature a family member on my death blog.  And don't worry, he's not dead.  Yet.  At the moment, he's very much alive and kickin'.  My brother Robby (I refuse to excise the "by" from his name) is a composer out in Burbank, California.  He has been a musician for most of his life playing in bands, but in the past decade, he has had his music featured in movies and commercials.  Here's one right here.

Robby

He posted something on Facebook yesterday that caught the death writer's eye.  It's a song about death!  So, here I am promoting my flesh and blood on my bloggity blog.  So, grab a box of Kleenex and listen to his song.  I really like it and I hope you like it too.

A friend told me his 90-something year old father in frail health was looking forward to the afterlife to reunite with his wife...that struck me as such a sweet and poignant concept...so I sat down at the piano and this simple song kinda wrote itself.  Click here.

A video: "It Could Happen To You"

Today I am posting a video that I saw on a friend's Facebook feed because I think it's important to share this.  Yes, it is about death, but it's also about love and equality and life.  But, I'm going to be honest here.  I was too scared to post this on my Facebook feed.  Why?  Well, I guess I'm a wimp.  And I know that some of my "friends" don't feel the same way about this issue.  According to a poll I saw today, only 50% of American's support gay marriage.  Like Joe Biden, I am for it.  If someone finds another person that they love and want to commit their lives to, who cares if it is a person of the same sex? What's all the fear all about?  That there won't be enough towels or dinnerware at Target for Bridal registries? About 10% of the population is gay.  Seeing the word gay does not make you gay.  Seeing two men hold hands does not make you gay.  Watching this video does not make you gay, but it might make you more enlightened to the human condition.

So, here's the video.  I encourage you to watch it.