And Now For Something (Almost) Completely Different

For most of my life, I fantasized about what it would look like to write and publish a book. Most of my fantasies wound up with me chatting with Oprah and signing books for throngs of adoring fans and, of course, depositing large royalty checks into my savings accou-- er, my church's collection plate. Which just shows how little I really knew about the world of publishing. 

Also, I had always thought that the hard work came with the writing of the book. Turns out, the real work comes later, when you're trying to publicize the thing. I feel kinda bad for the first media outlets that tried to interview me: All my years as a journalist asking questions didn't prepare me at all for answering them. Witty? Intelligent? Ha! I was lucky to sound halfway coherent. During one interview, I found myself hurriedly thumbing through my book to see what I had said about utility belts. You'd think I'd know.

But I got better (I think) and had more fun as time went on, and while I still have no clue how many people have actually picked up a copy of the book, I know that the whole experience has been quite rewarding so far. I learned how to Skype, for one thing. I was able to write a bit for the Washington Post, or another. I met some really interesting people during my interviews--a few of them fellow writers and pop-culture geeks who sound quite normal and bright during interviews. Hopefully, if I publish another book one day, they'll give me some pointers. 

And while I'm still waiting for "God on the Streets of Gotham" to show up on The New York Times bestseller list, I knew I had "made it" (or, at least, made something) when my daughter-in-law, Christy, showed me a YouTube clip of someone (who goes by the name "Skeletroy") gently lampooning my book. Online mockery! Yay! 

Truth is, it's pretty funny--or at least most of it is. Skeletroy's No. 1 point suggests he might need a Sunday School refresher course, but hey. I'll take what I can get. That said, it might be wise to read the maker's warning before clicking the link:

If you're a very religious person and/or have no sense of humor, please watch something else. If you're offended, blame Paul Asay. If he hadn't written the book "God on the Streets of Gotham", I wouldn't have seen the ad or made this video.