Well, dear readers, the book signing was a load of fun and we had a very nice crowd – in fact, the room was full and every seat taken, about twenty-five, maybe a few more, in attendance. Here is what you saw on the door prior to entering:
I must say, I love Mystery and Imagination Books and the owners, Malcolm and Christine, who are always so supportive and gracious. And all the people who showed up were the same. As I’ve said before, I have some friends in the city of Los Angeles who have never once come to any of my book signings, so perhaps I should put quote marks around “friends” because you know what, friends support each other and no one is going to tell me that in thirteen signings they had something to do every single time. And yet, these same friends ask me to attend their events or shows and, of course, I won’t be doing that again. Book signings these days are tough anyway, and many authors have given up doing them at all because it’s impossible to get people to come to them. I once went to a book signing Harlan Ellison was doing – want to know how many people attended besides me? Zero. I mean, it’s shameful. People just can’t seem to get off their ASSES anymore or it’s not about them or who knows what it is. It used to be so much fun in this city with the plethora of wonderful bookshops, and there were always signings and fun things to do and one did them. But enough about “friends” and more about FRIENDS. Here are some now in this lovely photograph taken during the signing. Left to right, they are Adriana fans Stephanie and Melinda, Sarah, Adryan, I’m in back of them, Sami, and Sami’s friend, Shanee, which I’m not at all certain I’m spelling correctly.
I love doing these Mystery and Imagination Signings – great ambience and I’m just really comfortable there. I began by greeting everyone and talking a little bit about the gestation of the book – because the fact is up until last November the plot and setting of the book were going to be completely different. Then I was at Little Toni’s after one of the Kritzerland shows with our usual contingent, and Jenna Rosen, and Sami and Sarah Staitman showed me Instagram, and the minute I saw it a little light went on above my head and I knew that it was perfect for me, and so I changed from what I was going to write (the entire book was going to be about what happens in the first chapter – an antiquarian book fair) to what I wrote, which was such serendipity. Then I read about half of the first chapter, all of the third, and the chapter where Adriana has lunch with Patrick Bronstein. I feel that this is the funniest of the Hofstetter books and the laughs it got lead me to believe my feeling is correct.
After the reading, I took questions, which is my favorite part of the signing. And we had some great questions. Then it was time to serve the Parisian cake and the strawberry shortcake, both of which were completely eaten up. I did manage to snag a small piece of the Parisian cake. I signed books, gave out the little gifts, and talked to people. Some of the folks in attendance were our very own Nick Redman and his ever-lovin’ Julie Kirgo, the Staitman mom and girls and Sami’s best friend, Jenna and her mom, Doug Haverty, Adryan Russ, an LACC friend, Anna Raner and her friend, Melinda, author Steven Paul Leiva and his wife, former assistant Amy Ennis and her mom and dad, singer Karen Gedissman and her ever-lovin’ Dan, our very own Amy and Mark, and several others, including Adriana Hofstetter’s biggest fans, Melinda and Stephanie. They’ve both read each of the books multiple times. The no-shows I knew would be no-shows. Here’s a photo of me and Doug Haverty, the Kritzerland designer – this is my newly-prettified and twenty-five pounds thinner look. Ten more to go and I’ll be very happy.
Of course, I signed the author wall – I was the first person to ever sign it back in October of 2002, and I have now signed it twelve times since. After, some of us went to BJ’s, an eatery I’ve liked in the past. But I have to say, what I ordered was pretty horrid and I should have sent it back – salmon and scallops – hard to do those poorly but I just loathed everything about the preparation. I did have a good cup of clam chowder, though. But it was fun and everyone else seemed to enjoy their foodstuffs. Then I finally came home a little after six, at which point I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled The Odd Couple. I’ve always been very fond of The Odd Couple ever since I saw the national tour at the Huntington Hartford Theater starring Dan Dailey and Richard Benjamin. It got some of the biggest laughs I have ever heard in a theater – great, roaring laughs, one after another, and I thought the staging by Mike Nichols was absolutely brilliant. When I saw the film version, I have to say I was a bit disappointed in it, mostly with Jack Lemmon – weird, I know. But over the years, I have come to appreciate the film version almost as much as the stage version and have come to really like Lemmon’s performance. Matthau is, of course, a comic wonder in the film (and I’m sure was on stage as well), and the supporting players, three of whom were in the stage show, are perfect. It’s quite fashionable and has been for the last decade, to poo poo the work of Neil Simon, but not for me. The Odd Couple has some of the best comic writing ever put on the stage (and screen) – the characters, the set-ups, the lines – and I will say it as loudly as I can, there is not one writer writing comedy today that doesn’t owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Simon, not that they’d ever admit that. But every comedy I have seen in the last forty years does owe something to Mr. Simon – the rhythm, the lines, the construction – he made an art out of it and everyone followed and that includes me. The scene in the film with the Pigeon sisters is one of the most perfect comic scenes ever, thanks to the brilliant performances of Carole Shelly and Monica Evans.
I watched all the extras, which were ported over from the 2009 special edition DVD and they were completely offensive to me on every level. Only cursory mentions of the play itself, not one mention of its director, Mike Nichols, who is surely responsible for some of its success and I’m here to tell you that much of his business was used in the film, and if you listen to the completely incomprehensible Robert Evans, you’d think it was all about HIM – he tells so many falsehoods in his interview it’s almost as funny as the film itself. The transfer is, I believe, the 2009 transfer and it looks fine, with wonderful and true color. And mention must be made of Neal Hefti’s absolutely perfect score, which features one of the greatest and most iconic movie themes in history, in part thanks the its use on the TV series. In any case, highly recommended by the likes of me, and I heart Neil Simon and I don’t care who knows it.
Prior to all that, I’d gotten up after a gloriously glorious ten hours of sleep – boy did that feel great. I did a three-mile jog, then went to pick up the Parisian cake with yellow cake that I’d ordered two days ago. Only they didn’t have the order and they didn’t have the cake. They didn’t apologize and they couldn’t have cared less. So, I bought the chocolate version and that will be the last time I ever buy anything from that bakery again and I will call their corporate offices and tell them that. If I want a Parisian cake I shall simply go to the baker on 3rd Street near La Cienega that invented it. After all that, I relaxed and played on the computer until it was time to write these here notes.
Today, I shall hopefully arise after another good night’s sleep, then I’ll jog, I’ll pick up packages if any arrived yesterday, and I’ll eat. Then, of course, it’s time for our Annual Tony Awards Bash right here at haineshisway.com, and you will not want to miss one minute of the merriment and mirth and laughter and legs because it’s the most fun Tony partay on all the Internet.
This week is very busy with liner notes to write, edit maps to create, meals, meetings, and several shows to see. The workers have two more days left, and then having to wake up at eight every single morning will no longer be an issue.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do a jog, relax, maybe pick up some packages if any arrived, eat, and then attend our Tony Awards Bash. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland happy that the signing went so well and happy that I heart Neil Simon.