GUEST POST: Thomas Shafer (aka, the Hubster)

My Hubster is one all-around-very-cool-super-handsome-awfully-sweet-terribly-smart guy.  When I told him I was lining up guest posts to help me cover the blog during the first few months of Little Miss Took’s life, he quickly piped up, saying,

“I can help you with that!”

And so, my partner in crime has become my partner in blogging.

The Hubster works in a unique field – he specializes in (among other techie things) high-end two-channel audio.  Really cool stuff that will literally change the way you listen.  I feel like I’ve re-discovered my ears because of what he chose to do with his life.

Because of his profession, he’s had a front row seat to much of what happened when the musical world went digital, and he’s got some interesting insight to the change the literary world is undergoing – the digitalization of books.

Read on for his thoughts and opinions!

oOo

I’ve seen music media go through a certain kind of life cycle.  Back in the ’60s and ’70s, the only choice was gramophone records.  Then, round about the late ’80s, CDs came along and most everyone dove head first into the wonderful world of digital playback.  

What is amazing to me is that nowadays, it seems people want both!  

Digital music is still the medium of choice for most people, BUT a lot of folks are remembering the value of good ‘ol records.  I hear folks say..

‘I love the convenience of my iPod, but really enjoy the feel of a record in my hand’.

If you are one of us that agrees that Music Matters, I bet you would probably agree with that statement…I know I sure do.

So here is the observation.

It seems that books are about to go through the same cycle.  Just as little as a couple of years ago, if you wanted a book, your only option was to get it on paper.  But now, e-readers are literally on the verge of changing this to where you might not ever read your favorite new book on paper.

Do you think we can cut to the chase here?  Is it possible that book publishers could learn from music media’s life cycle and avoid the 10-30 year experiment it went thru to discover that people want both analog and digital?  I can just hear it now…

‘I love the convenience of my e-reader, but really enjoy the feel of a book in my hand’.  

Here is what I suggest.

Book publishers, with every new book being published, put it out there in BOTH ANALOG AND DIGITAL.  Put a hard-bound book on the shelf with a digital copy of it inside the front cover!

Music labels…with every new album you are going to produce, put it out there in BOTH ANALOG AND DIGITAL.  Put a vinyl record on the shelf with a digital copy of it inside the cover!

This is what the consumer wants!

oOo

I think he makes a great point.   It’s one of my very favorite things, to open up a fresh vinyl album – esp. when a digital copy came along with it.  After all, a turntable in my car just isn’t practical.  :)  For me, it’s the same with books.  Personally, I would LOVE to be able to buy my books with a digital copy tucked inside.  I love the convenience of an e-reader, but nothing really compares to snuggling up on the couch with the weight of a book in my hands, and the smell of paper and ink in my nose.  People are analog beings, and we’re always going to be drawn to analog things, no matter how convenient digital might be.

What are your thoughts, opinions?  Let ‘em fly!

Q&A: Alica McKenna Johnson

I am super-psyched to introduce you Alica McKenna Johnson today.  She’s not new to my blog – you can check out her guest post here – but she’s recently released her novel PHOENIX CHILD, which is super-exciting news, any way you slice it.  This seems like a fabulous time for you to get to know her a little better, don’tchya think?  Check out the little Q&A we had the other day…

ME:  Alica!  Your new book has just been published, which is so very cool.  The day after PHOENIX CHILD was available online, what was the first thing you did when you woke up?

ALICA: Great question!  Nothing too exciting.  I was working, so up at 5:20 AM, opened the computer and logged in.  Then I woke up the first child, checked email, squealed at seeing two more purchased from Smashwords, got kids to bus by 6AM, woke my two personal kids (hubby was also working), woke two more work kids, when they were done in the bathroom woke final two work kids, made breakfast and managed to get them all off to school while obsessively checking Amazon, Smashwords, Facebook, and Twitter.

ME: Holy cow, woman, you are busy!  Six kids, four of which are foster kids (is that the right term?)…it makes my head spin.

Quick, which do you relate most to?  Hamster in a wheel, kangaroo with a pouch full of rowdy joeys, or goddess divine who can breeze through anything life throws at her?

ALICA: It’s actually five kids, did I leave one out?  The term ‘foster’ works, but I’m technically a houseparent  in a group home.  

I like to imagine that I’m a divine goddess, but really I think I’m more a kangaroo desperately trying to keep everything together.  Hey, what happened to my opposable thumbs?  I need those!

ME: Okay, first of all, anybody who’s a houseparent immediately gets rockstar status in my book.  Secondly, opposable thumbs are an absolute necessity.  How else would I drag the offspring around by their ears all day long?  And thirdly, I clearly can’t count, because now I totally see that you listed five kiddos, not six.  Scary thing, isn’t it, to think that I’m responsible for teaching my kids math…

ALICA: Don’t worry, Myndi.  Your kids will help you learn math.  :)

As for rockstar status, I don’t know about that.  Most of the time I’m desperately trying not to lose my temper!  

ME: That’s okay – I’ve heard rockstars have been known to lose their tempers a time or two…

Hey, speaking of homeschooling, you’ve been down that path before, and are looking to start up again.  In the spirit of homeschooling camaraderie, riddle me this: What’s the silliest question you’ve had to fend from non-homeschooling folks?

ALICA: I loved homeschooling, and most of the people we hung out with either home-schooled, or were alternative thinking, so I didn’t get too much flack.  But while we were on vacation in Denver some guy in a shop asked my son some weird question about a quarter – it might have been who was on it, or what the newest state quarter was?  All I remember was thinking he was crazy and a regular school kid wouldn’t know the answer!

My mom used to worry that my son was ‘too smart and active’ to be home-schooled.  And of course, there’s the ‘but what if you don’t know it?’ question.  Umm…I look it up?  I learned a ton homeschooling my kids.

ME: As I’m sure you’re well aware (because I can’t seem to shut my yapper about it), I’m about ready to pop out my fourth child.  You’ve mentioned in passing that you’ve home-birthed more than once.  Again, rockstar status is in order here.  I kind-of dig the idea, but I’ve never been able to get the Hubster on board.  How did you convince your Hunny it was the thing to do?

ALICA: Well, with my first hubby – once I stopped crying, realizing I was unmarried, 19, and pregnant – I said, ‘By the way, you know I’m having this baby at home.’  He wasn’t sold on the idea, but once we went to Bradley Child Birthing Classes, he was good with it.  We felt very secure with the midwife I picked.  Good thing, too, because he almost delivered Logan by himself!

Hubby #2 is as alternative as I am and dislikes hospitals as much as I do, so that one was easy.

I was blessed with a midwife that I trusted, and easy, healthy pregnancies.  I’m so glad I had my babies at home, and have even been invited to attend a few births.  So amazing…and I always hold my breath until the baby cries.

ME: Isn’t that first cry of life the most amazing, relieving thing?

ALICA: It’s amazing.  I don’t think I can describe it.  Just thinking about it fills me with hope and joy.

ME:  How old are your kiddos now, and what’s the one thing that sticks out in your mind that motherhood has taught you?

ALICA: Let’s see…my kiddos are 17 and 12.  What has motherhood taught me?  That being a good parent is more than just how you raise your children, it’s also how much work you’re willing to do to become a better person so you can show your kids how they can be their best.  Does that make sense?

ME: Absolutely!  So much is taught through observation.  I don’t think we can underestimate how much they learn from us when we don’t realize they’re watching.  

Back to this book of yours.  What did it feel like when you got to the place with your manuscript and realized, “THIS IS DONE!”?

ALICA:  At first I was shocked.  I just stared at the computer screen.  Then I jumped for joy and told everyone I could think of.  Then I realized I still had to edit and revise, and then I wanted to cry just a little bit.  Okay, a lot.  But after some moral support and chocolate, I pulled myself together.

ME:  Mmmmm, chocolate.  Favorite kind?

ALICA:  Is there any bad chocolate?  LOL.  I do prefer dark chocolate, and I like quality chocolate.  No cheap stuff for me.

ME:  …can we still be friends if I admit I have a love affair with Hershey’s with almonds?

(silence)

ME: Um….back to PHOENIX CHILD, shall we?  *grins awkwardly and throws Hershey’s wrapper behind sofa*  Give me a fast run-down of what the book’s about.

ALICA:  PHOENIX CHILD is a Young Adult Urban Fantasy.  Sara lives in a group home and is trying to make the best of her life in the system.  Waking up the morning of her fourteenth birthday, she finds her appearance has changed, and she has powers – like bursting into flames – that she doesn’t want.  

Soon she finds a family.  Not only others like her, but an uncle she never knew existed shows up in her life.  Confronted by the evil that killed her parents, Sara has to decide if she will let her fears win, or find the courage to accept her destiny and save her people.

ME: Sounds totally fantastic!  Who do you think would most enjoy PHOENIX CHILD?

ALICA:  I hope I have written a book that will appeal to teens and adults.  I know so many adults who love YA that I didn’t want to focus on just one age group.  

ME:  Where can folks purchase your book?

ALICA:  You can purchase PHOENIX CHILD at Amazon and Smashwords.  Both places have a free preview – 30 pages, I think.  

ME: Lovely!  Thanks for stopping by Alica!

ALICA: Thanks for having me, Myndi.  I’ve had a great time.

ROW80 Check-In: Week 4

Hey y’all!

Week four was satisfying. Reading, writing, exercising…all went well. There wasn’t a whole lot of overachieving going on, but I nailed each goal (except one), which is enough for me at the moment. The exception was the ‘do something good for myself’ goal (*scrunches up nose*), but I’ll do better this coming week, promise.

Hey, and you guys, I absolutely loved getting feedback on writing log-lines (and blurbs), and can’t wait to spend some time this week playing with your suggestions. Thanks – like, a ton!

The really, really good news is that I think we’re looking pretty darn good, homeschool-wise. If that aspect of my life is going smoothly, all the other pieces fall into place relatively easily.

Birthday boy!

Today marks my oldest child’s tenth birthday! We’re super pumped – at our house, we celebrate birthdays for a full week. Birthday weeks are everybody’s favorite because it’s a week chock-full of fun, fun, fun. So I might be a little more absent online than normal, partying my booty off to celebrate a decade with one of the coolest, most remarkable young men I’ve ever known. Go ahead and be jealous! Or, better yet, come over and join us in the fun. We know how to have a good time!

Wishing each of you a happy, productive week!

ROW80: Check-In, Week 2

Puppy hiding under desk. I want to join him. Thanks, Google images, for the pic.

It was one of those weeks.

Somehow I managed to meet my goals – writing for at least 30 minutes every day, being prepared for that writing, getting in physical activity, doing something good for myself, reading a little every day.  I got it all in, but I felt like I was clawing my way into it the whole time.  The triumphant feeling I had last week has deflated into something resembling a canned-pea-green deflated balloon.  Ain’t pretty.

Sometimes things come easy, other times…not so much.

I’m not sure this coming week’s going to be any easier.  We’re having curriculum issues for my boys’ homeschooling…and it’s taking its toll on me.  With a new little one coming in a couple months, and a sweet three year-old girl vying for my attention, we’re having to make some adjustments.  We haven’t found our stride yet this semester.  Not even close.

Educating your kids at home is a huge undertaking.  One I’m glad to do, because I see the fruit of it on a daily basis.  I don’t think it’s right for everybody – not by any stretch.  I’m not sure it’s always going to be the right choice for us.  And I’m becoming increasingly aware of how thin I’m stretched these days.  An infant is going to stretch me even further.

Not sure where we’re going to land.  And that’s pretty stressful.

Sorry for the disjointed post.  Frayed doesn’t begin to describe how I’m feeling, and it’s making it hard to focus on any one thing for long.

Which probably means I’m completely nuts to add another goal to my ROW80 list, but I really like this one, and I think it’s doable, and I think it will help me feel better…hopefully.

The hubster and I are wanting to steer our nutritional habits in a more healthy direction.  These kinds of changes can be a little intimidating, but we’re taking it in baby steps, changing one thing at a time.  For the next thirty-odd days, we’re changing the way we eat breakfast – no refined, processed foods.  Hopefully in a month a few bad habits will be replaced with new, healthy ones, and we’ll be ready to add another baby step in the direction of more wholesome, healthy eating.

Also, I’m finding that my five minutes of activity just isn’t enough – my body wants to keep going, so I think I’ll go ahead and give it what it wants.  I’m gonna tweak this goal a little.  Instead of 5 minutes every single day, I’m going to aim for 10 minutes (still going with the test-mile theory here – 10 min. may be far less than what I want to do that day, but on the days when I’m blech, at least I’ll get those 10 min. in) five days a week (instead of seven).

I hope my other ROW80 friends have had a wonderful, lovely week!!  Wishing you all lots of happy, happy ROW-ing!

(Not-So)Silly Soapbox: Mr. Popper’s Penguins

I wish I could sit you down and read this book to you.  Like, right now. Cover to cover, in one sitting.

This is one of my all-time favorite books.  Sure, it’s a children’s book, but the story is so sweet, so endearing, so funny.  No person with a heartbeat could help but adore Mr. Popper from the moment you see him walking down the street covered in paint and bits of wallpaper, ’till the end when you’re waving goodbye to him and his penguins as they make their journey back to Antartica.

From start to finish, this is a great book.  No wonder it was honored by Newbery.  They’re kind-of known for having great taste in children’s lit.

About a year-and-a-half ago, I had the happy job of reading this book to my kids for the first time.  They ate it up, just like I had when I was little.  Some things are timeless.

My kids are being raised in a world where everything is available on a screen of some sort – movies, books, music, tv, art, games.  While technology definitely has its advantages, I have to admit, I dig that convenience far less than the average person.  The hubster and I often butt heads about this.  It’s his job to be on the cutting edge of home integration technology – a job he loves.  Which means we have more gear than any sane person has the right to (even if it’s far less than he would like).  And it’s something that the kids have adapted to from day one.  They’ll never know what an answering machine is.  What a rotary phone is.  They’ll never know the joy of going to the movie rental store to pick out a movie to rent.  There’s been a digital world at their fingertips pretty much since the moment they emerged from my womb.  They’ve grown up with this stuff.  So whenever we read a book together that’s a hit, it’s only natural that they’d ask whether there’s a movie for it (and if they can watch it in the car on their iPod).

My response, as the ultra-stellar-super-cool-number-one mom that I am is to simply roll my eyes, chalk it up to my boys being little miniature versions of their dad (who, by the way, is ultra-stellar himself), and Google the title of the book in question.  This time, it was Mr. Popper’s Penguins.

Nope, I told them as I scanned the screen.  No movie.  Oh.  No, wait. (clicks on IMDb website)  They’re making a movie.  Oh.  (gulp)  It’s a Jim Carey movie.  Hmmm.  (squinches eyes)  Looks like they strayed from the plot a little.  There’s a trailer.  Let’s see.  (watches, dismayed)  Welllll….the main character’s name is Mr. Popper, and there are a few penguins, soo…I guess that’s the same.  

Thankfully, the movie wasn’t due to be released for several months, and the kids forgot about it.  *phew*  A family of five has to take out a second mortgage to see a movie in the theaters these days, so we usually only go if one of the children proclaims they might actually die if we don’t.  This usually only happens if the movie involves alien robots simultaneously trying to save/destroy Earth while some teenage busty babe – played by an actress who is clearly not a teenager – pretends to fix cars.  Gag.  Me.  Now.

(This, by the way, is a tactic I plan on using when The Hobbit is released.  I will die if I don’t see it in the theatre. The thought of missing it actually makes me feel faint and a little nauseous.)

So, we didn’t see it in the theatre.  In fact, we pretty much forgot about the movie altogether.  Until we found ourselves home this New Year’s Eve with kiddos who were anxious to watch a movie.  As we were scrolling through the rentable selection on AppleTV, Mr. Popper’s Penguins popped up.  And the kids remembered.

How bad can it be? I asked myself as the kids bounced up and down, noisily awaiting my decision.  I mean, even if they mess with the plot a little, it’s still Jim Carey.  He’s always good for a laugh or two.  Or at least a snorting chortle.  And there are penguins.  Penguins are cute, right?  If Morgan Freeman’s taught us anything, it’s that penguins are cute.

And so we rented Mr. Popper’s Penguins to ring in the New Year.

Blarg.

Let me tell you where the screenplay writers and director got it right:

(1)  There is a guy in it named Mr. Popper.

(2) A penguin arrives at his house via mail.

That’s it.  Those are the only two similarities between the book and the movie.  Oh my gosh, and it makes me so mad!  Not because they made the book into a movie – if there was ever a movie that could have rivaled the heralded children’s classic Babe (the book’s name is The Sheep-Pig) in the sweetness of the story, the humility and lovability of the main (human) character, and the ample personality and charisma of the main (animal) character, it’s Mr. Popper’s Penguins.

I understand that when a book is adapted for film, that the film will usually stray from the story a bit – that’s expected.  I don’t know if there’s a book out there that’s ever been made into a movie that hasn’t been changed at least marginally.  But this is a whole ‘nother animal completely.  They didn’t simply do some tweaking to make it more film-worthy.  They re-wrote the whole story.  Here are a few examples of how:

In the book… Mr. Popper is a poor but loving husband and father whose favorite pastime is daydreaming about adventuring into the wild.  In the movie… Mr. Popper is a very wealthy businessman who’s divorced, barely knows his kids, and daydreams about making lots and lots and lots and lots of money.

In the book… Mr. Popper receives a penguin in the mail from his hero, Admiral Drake, as a gift for a kind letter he wrote to the Admiral.  In the movie… Mr. Popper receives a penguin in the mail from his dead father (who was an adventurer) who never had time for his son when he was alive.

In the book… Mr. Popper teaches his clever penguins to dance and perform together, and he and his family hit the road to do a traveling show (and have many adventures together).  In the movie… Mr. Popper uses his penguins to try and win back the love of his kids and ex-wife.

In the book… Mr. Popper finally gets the dream of his lifetime when Admiral Drake returns and offers to take him on a trip to Antartica to return the penguins safely home.  In the movie… Mr. Popper finally gets the dream of his lifetime by managing to purchase Tavern on the Green for his real estate company, thus becoming parter in the firm.

Sorry.  I have to say it one more time.  Blarrrrrg.

I get it.  Movies with cute animals, spunky kids, physical humor, and parents getting back together work.  I mean, when I was a kid, I could recite The Parent Trap word for word.  But to take a book like Mr. Popper’s Penguins and break it…it seems so totally unnecessary.  Why not just write an entirely new movie, name it Mr. Miller’s Macaws, and be done with it?  Believe me, nobody in their right mind would have ever thought the two were similar…because by changing the name and the type of bird, you just completely erased any similarities at all between the book and the movie.

I would love, love, love to see this movie done again.  The right way.  Set in 1938 when the book was written.  With humble, sweet and charming characters.  With birds who are not named ‘Loudy’, ‘Bitey’, ‘Lovey’, and ‘Nimrod’, but have names like ‘Captain Cook’, ‘Greta’, ‘Columbus’, ‘Victoria’, and ‘Magellan’ – to name a few.  With hilarious hijinx that involve more than the birds pooping on Mr. Popper.

How do you feel?  Have any of you read the book?  Seen the movie?  Have a favorite book that’s been slaughtered by Hollywood?  Think I’m full of crap?  Talk to me, people!

The Power of a Good Story: Guest Post by Jessica O’Neal

Today’s guest post comes to you by way of Jessica O’Neal.  A self-professed ‘lover of the written word’, Jess is in the process of finishing her first novel.  You can follow her progress on her blog here (as well as read some great book reviews and thoughts on life in general), and you can cheer her on via Twitter, here.

Today Jess is talking about the power of a good story – the way it draws us in, turning the black and white of the page into something vivid, tangible, magical.

Jessica O’Neal, everybody!

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The other night I was reading a book and as I became more immersed in the story I could feel my body physically responding to the emotions the story was drawing out of me. This is not an uncommon occurrence for me, but it got me thinking and I realized that there are not many people I know who would understand what I was going through. In my limited circle of family and friends there are very few who truly “get” what it is about books that creates such passion in me. Most of the people I know find that emotional connection through music, some find it in movies, but very few find it through books.

Whenever I try to explain exactly what it is a book does to me I am usually looked at as though I have grown a second head, which is admittedly better than the people who think they know exactly what I am talking about but as they expound upon it I realize they have no idea. For me, the power of a book (or movie or television show for that matter) is in the characters and the story they are telling, and it is one of the most powerful forces I have ever encountered. It goes so much deeper than simply feeling a generic sense of happiness or sadness that you forget about an hour later as you go about your daily life; it is something that is felt deep within you and lingers with you for days or weeks, and even after you have moved on to new things you can pause to think back on that story and instantly feel those same emotions awakened within you once more.

I often wonder what I would look like to someone observing me as I read. I am not someone who just gets into a comfortable position and reads with a blank expression. I laugh out loud, I smile, I scowl, I gasp, I cheer, I exclaim and talk back, I cry (sometimes to the point where I can no longer see the words on the page), I make hand gestures, and occasionally I find the action so intense I have to sit on my knees so that I can move in motion with my anxiety. My poor husband has gotten so used to this that he hardly notices my strange behavior anymore and no longer takes offense when he comes to tell me something and I hastily wave him away without even looking at him because I am in the midst of some crucial scene. While most people find all this external display from a book odd, they can at least somewhat understand what I am talking about since it is tangible, quantifiable. It is when I attempt to explain the things going on underneath, the things that are causing this strange display, that I lose people.

I have been sitting at my computer wracking my brain for adequate words to describe what happens inside of me and nothing I come up with seems to do it justice. Whenever I am reading a great story there is a veritable storm of emotion brewing on the inside of me that I don’t know how to explain. How do you explain the feeling created in your chest and gut when tragedy strikes? How do you explain the happiness that bubbles inside of you so strongly that it causes you to cry when you watch a character who has struggled for so long finally overcome? How do you explain the wrenching feeling of frustration that makes you want to pull your hair out or reach through the pages and shake the character for being so stupid? How do you explain that nothing more than words on a page can be so intense they cause your heart rate and breathing to grow more rapid? How do you explain the feeling of emptiness and pain that will not leave you because of the way things ended? Sure you can use the words and phrases authors use to help create those emotions in the first place, but unless you have experienced these things personally those words are not going to help explain it any more than they helped create it.

It can be very lonely sometimes having such intimate and important encounters – even if is through “just a book” – and not having very many people, if any, you can share it with. This is one of the many reasons I am so grateful for the online communities created through blogs, fansites, and social networking sites. These things have allowed me to find and connect with some of my kindred spirits. I may personally only know a few people who “get” it, but all I have to do is go online to find a host of friends who understand the power held within a good story.

GUEST POST: Colin Falconer

“We’re not just here to rip off Foot Locker.”

In a real-life world full of ever-present Villains and often absent Heroes, we need stories more than ever. Stories about courage and hope. Stories about doing the right thing simply because it’s the right thing.

Colin Falconer is an author who believes in the power of fiction – or, as he calls it, stories. Colin has written over twenty – count ‘em, twenty – historical novels, including HAREM and OPIUM (click on those links to purchase. Support great books and the authors you love!). You can also check out his blog here, and his website here.

I’m super-psyched to have him guest-posting on my blog today! Colin Falconer, everybody!

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MY JERRY MAGUIRE MOMENT

I saw a curious thing reported from the chaos of London a couple of months back; it seems that while delis and electronics retailers were being looted all around them, most bookshops were left untouched.

Is it that rioters can’t read? Or do they all have Kindles? (If they didn’t before, apparently they do now – even if they don’t know how to use them.)

Looking at the TV pictures, it’s not much of a stretch to figure these kids can’t or won’t read, unless it’s a manual with lots of pictures on how to break stuff. But I’d bet London to a hurled brick none of them read fiction: or the word I like much better – stories.

With publishing going digital it is sometimes easy to forget that we humans told stories to each other long before there were paperbacks or iPads. We learned about life sitting around a campfire thousands of years before Amazon or Harper Collins.

I am a writer; but I am equally a reader. Books – stories – matter to me, not as an intellectual exercise, but something visceral that has guided me in my relationships and my working life. Wherever I go, Atticus Finch, Yossarian, Nathaniel Blackthorne, Harry Flashman and Huckleberry Finn go too. Picasso said that we use art to explain the world to ourselves, the same way that the Greeks used myth and fable to try and make sense of their place in the world and with the gods. It’s what stories do, intentionally or not.

And the one vital component of every story is a hero and a villain. You cannot have a story without them; and some, like James Bond or Hannibal Lector or Gordon Gekko, become larger than life and take up residence in our deep psyche.

As we have seen in recent times, there are plenty of villains in the world right now and more than enough weak secondary characters among our political and corporate leaders – but precious few heroes, people of courage and decency and toughness. There is little to inspire mankind about David Cameron or Rupert Murdoch. The rioters in Clapham may be scum, but really – is there much difference in the basic mindset of someone who hacks the phone of grieving relatives or steals from an injured and helpless kid’s back pack?

While it was all happening y editor at Corvus sent me a Youtube clip of a gutsy Hackney woman with a walking stick shaming the rioters to their faces. ‘We’re not fighting all together for a cause’, she yelled at them. “You’re just ripping off Footlocker.”

So what should be our common cause? I do not believe that any religious belief or political system will change the way we treat each other. Hardcore religion only breeds fanatics or atheists; political systems, democracy or communism, are always corrupted for personal gain.

It is why I think stories are so important to all of us. Because they work subliminally, they are very powerful in changing how we look at life. They are the way we enshrine our bushido, a way to fix our moral compass when politicians and corporate suits are all looking south.

Perhaps I am being fanciful; a starry-eyed Jerry McGuire in a world full of Bob Sugars. Maybe so – but I had me at hello.

You see, I believe in the power of stories, I have given my life to it. Stories are not about the size of the advance or how many sales we can make on Kindle. They are much more important than that. It doesn’t matter to me that I am not be the best storyteller in the world, or even close, just that I believe it matters. I think all writers matter in this world. Great stories can teach us about hope and courage, and that old fashioned word called personal honour.

Just for the record, my parents were from Hackney. I was born on the Blackhorse Road. I escaped North London so I know no one book will change the world, and it certainly won’t change Broadwater Farm. All the more reason for us to create a wealth of stories that affirm who we are and all that what we can be, both as individuals and as nations. We need heroes right now.

We need them in Croydon and Tottenham; we need them in our Parliaments and in our Senates. We certainly need them on Wall Street and we need somehow to infiltrate them as sleepers into Rupert Murdoch’s business empire.

The thugs in London and Birmingham didn’t steal from the book shops for this reason: there was nothing in there they wanted. I believe our job though, from the humblest story-teller to the greatest, is to make sure that at least there is everything in there that they need.

… And that goes for the vandals on Wall Street too.

There: I have had my Jerry McGuire moment. Go ahead and laugh. But I believe in the book (and the film and the play) and I believe in the people who make them. And I think that if we make common cause, like the lady in Hackney said, we can make a difference. We’re not just here to rip off Footlocker.