October 2008 Archives

Last email of the day before leaving work:
"Hello Paul,
Robin Brenner here -- I know we've spoken a few tiles at ALA, and I'm very happy to be emailing you today with good news.
I am writing to you today with my official hat on as the Chair of the Great Graphic Novels for Teens Committee to let you know one of your title's has been nominated for consideration by our committee.
Your book, B.P.M.,has been nominated for the Great Graphic Novels for Teens Selection list which will come out in January of 2009."

Well, HOT DAMN! THAT'S news I can take to the bank! I love librarians; they support books like crazy, and this list is gold for someone like me. MOPED ARMY made the list in 2007, so here's hoping BPM does as well for 2009!
Also, a cool photo of me and a young fan from my BPM Author Talk at the Kalamazoo Public Library last month! Note: she's the cool one, I'm the dorky one in the Utilikilt!

Part 3 of 8 for the Most People Are DJs podcast "BPM Media" series:

Come back next week for "BPM MEDIA" Episode 4!
If you'd like to download the podcast, you can do so with this link:
BPM MEDIA #3

Check out the rest of Mike's great work at his main site: MOST PEOPLE ARE DJs

All righty,here's the video proof of me either making an artistic statement or making a colossal fool of myself for the sake of B.P.M.: my beatmixing demo of finding the common ground between Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Something" and Nitzer Ebb's "Murderous (Instrumental Version)" during my author talk at the Kalamazoo Public Library on September 30. Luckily, I was playing for the easiest audience on Earth, most of whom were just impressed I knew what a record was.

NOTE TO REAL DJ'S: My beatmixing skills are laughable to actual DJs, so please do not assume I am passing myself off as a turntable master; I'm just a cat who digs the dance music. Thanks for not throwing beer bottles at me.

There is also a FLICKR slideset of images from the above mentioned author talk:BPM AUTHOR TALK @ KPL

Awesome! That's my con wrap-up report from this year's Small Press Expo in Bethesda MD. My lovely wife Jane did a bang-up write up, so in the interest of piggy-backing on her hard work, here's her convention report.

The specifics of my con experience overlapped Jane's; great sales, really positive feedback on current projects and meeting new fans in unexpected places. Mine took place mostly in meeting DJs who also like comics! A number of fans introduced themselves to me as DJs who were glad to see a book about their music and life. I met a pod of local Washington DC DJs who spun in local clubs within the very active and diverse DC scene, one I know of and respect. DC has always had a great club scene, so the possibility of getting BPM in front of these folks is a huge plus! I spent as much time talking about music as I did talking about comics, which is fine by me.

And to walk away from a con with table and airfare paid for (plus a little bit more) is just mind-boggling.

This is the first installment of an 8 part podcast series hosted by Mike Pfieffer, also known as Mikel OD, the brains behind "Most People Are DJs" an excellent music podcast from the Detroit area. Mike has been a long time supporter of my work, and when Mike heard that my new graphic novel was about electronic music, he came up with the brilliant idea of the two of us collaborating on a multi-part project to have me talk in depth about "BPM" and all the art. What started out as a simple podcast interview grew into a audio-visual videocast, allowing people to SEE what I was talking about. I'm really happy with how this turned out, and it gives me a chance to nerd out about all kinds of details about "BPM" and its creation.

Most People Are DJ's "BPM MEDIA" podcast #2 is now up and ready to see!
If you want to download the video, you can do so at this link: BPM MEDIA #2

Come back next week for "BPM MEDIA" Episode 3!
If you'd like to download the podcast, you can do so with this link: BPM MEDIA #1
Check out the rest of Mike's great work at his main site: MOST PEOPLE ARE DJs